The Academic year 2019-20 started with a bang; amongst curriculum and pedagogical changes, Principal – Dr. Archana Mishra was keen on reinstating the yester-year pattern of House Activities as part of co-curricular events as she strongly believes that these activities help in fostering team spirit, confidence building, instilling leadership qualities and overcoming stage fear.

With these revitalizing thoughts, we started the year with House Meetings and house teachers going about explaining the year-long list of activities that would eventually unfold. Rules for each activity was provided to house teachers in advance so that students could be intimated and trained accordingly.

For the tiny tots of Grades 1-3 the House Activities like ‘English Action poem’ and ‘Weave a story’ dealt with the literary aspects and thereby enhanced the student’s linguistic skills . While those inclined towards music got a chance to show their talent when they participated in the ‘Patriotic song Competition’. In ‘Carnival (Fashion show)’ the students had a gala time dressing up as per the themes that were allotted to them. Activities like ‘Designing a Greeting Card’ for the festival of Diwali, or be it participating in the quiz ‘Spread your Knowledge’ only gave an opportunity to the students to explore the various facets of themselves and thereby making them more competent.

Similarly for Classes 4-6 various activities namely ‘Trashion show’, ‘Odyssey of mind’, ‘Desh ki pukar’, ‘ Advertisment ‘, ‘ E-invite card designing’, ‘ Madhubani’, ‘One act play’, ‘Music competition’, ‘Science Expo’ showcased the students’ creativity and also developed their confidence level and removed their stage fear to a considerable extent.

These activities helped students to develop and use their skills and knowledge in different contexts.

For example ‘Trashion Show’ – It changed the student’s perception about waste. Students made various types of costume using recycled materials and walked the ramp. This was totally a new experience for both students and teachers. Another such example is ‘Odyssey of mind’. This competition had different rounds for a team like ‘puzzle solving’, picture perception’, silent movie’ and ‘hidden talents’. Through these activities they not only learnt team work but also developed skills like promptness, identification, perception and narration, enactment, etc.

“Science Expo” developed their creativity, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, research skill, and scientific temper. Other activities like ‘E-invite card making’, ‘Madhubani painting’, ‘Desh ki pukar’, ‘Soul symphony’, helped in developing their IT skills, aesthetic skills and singing talent . In the rainy month of July students of Grades 7-9 enjoyed ‘Designing a Travel Brochure’ while August brought in the spirit of (Desh Bakhti Geet) competition. The eagerness of students bursting with information was brought forth during the ‘Quest’ (General Knowledge quiz) competition. The Advertisement Jingle, Collage-making and Tell-a-Tale competitions brought out the creative streak, artistic aptitude and linguistic ability of our students. We decided to hold the Street Play (Theme-Social issues) on the basketball court with Archana Ma’am as the guest; this was one of the greatest hits of the entire H.A. programme and the best group re-enacted their play during the Republic Day celebrations too. Not only did the musical extravaganza in the form of Rock Fiesta (music created from regular household equipments) captivated the audience, but also the Shoot-at-sight Photographic skills enamoured the spectators and made them spell-bound with the students’ view of the world through their lenses. Each competition presented a challenge as well as excitement to every competing member and team. The learning experience garnered during the H.A. programme was enormous with students learning to research extensively, to create and work on computing skills and to adapt as the situation demanded. Each activity was packed with life skill lessons worth imbibing for the educational, personal and spiritual development of all students. Special mention for the Student-council who took charge of the competitions (arrangement, discipline) with pure zest and vigour. Each competition presented a challenge as well as excitement to every competing member and team. The learning experience garnered during the H.A. programme was enormous with students learning to research extensively, to create and work on computing skills and to adapt as the situation demanded. Each activity was packed with life skill lessons worth imbibing for the educational, personal and spiritual development of all students. Special mention for the Student-council who took charge of the competitions (arrangement, discipline) with pure zest and vigour.