Little ones dazzle Jashan-E-Bachpan

Day 1

Bachpan, that is childhood- the golden period of every individual’s life span, was being celebrated at the Study Hall Junior School on 24th and 25th of July 2019 ! Kidoos from 15 schools participated in this competition to savour their elated and merry days up to the brim! childhood means simplicity and hence simple but inventive games were organised for the festival. on the first day, there were 232 contestants in total of 8 events. before the activities, the inauguration was carried out by the Junior School headmistress Mrs. Bani Malhotra and the principal of Study hall school Mrs. Shalini Sinha with the planting of a tree. unconventional, but why not after all plants are our saviours. The headmistress addressed the participants and inspired them to compete with their own selves rather than competing with other schools.
 Succeeding this cheerful start, the first event to come was Just A Minute, not the usual JAM but a relay race in it! each team had to pass several stages like using plastic clips to drop the Pom-poms into the glasses, arranging the flashy plastic eggs in the egg trays while following the colour code, the buttons were waiting to be dropped into the glasses with the help of a straw and lastly they had to weave a necklace using straw pieces! The champion of this uncommon relay world the brain of boys and the runner up was Study Hall (loud cheers) then in queue was a game called Turn-O-Turn. It tested the children’s mathematical solving, logical reasoning and sequential arrangements. In this buzz quiz of brain racking, the conquerors of the first position were the geniuses of Jaipuria and the second position was occupied by the brainstormers of CMS! Fold to Mould, as the name suggests was about folding the papers to bring out their idea of nature through origami. This event was won by Study Hall with DPS at the second position! Colour Pool with a Foot Stool was about painting a wodden stool in pairs in an hour. This event was free of theme and was won by the artists of Study Hall, followed by the Vibgyor School! Unfold the Mystery test the kids’ grammatical skills. Each letter of the secret message was unfolded with a correct answer sheet. Study Hall acheived the 1st prize by unfolding all the letters that said WELL DONE!
Then arrived the Hindi events including poem recitation, flexibility depiction through yoga performance in pairs and speaking on a topic which was provided on the spot.
This was not the end, our special and differently-abled friends too put up a great performance. They tip-tap-toed to the music in their beautiful costumes! It filled the spectators with happiness to see them celebrating their childhood, unhindered by any disability! With this the  day 1 of the event came ta an end!

Day 2

On the 25th of July 2019, the ‘Jashn-E-Bachpan’ celebration of childhood progressed into its second day with twice the vigour. Enchanting events like, ‘Visitors from Fairyland’ where winsome children dressed up as fairy tale characters with reversed genders, were held. Dance, theatre and musical events like ‘Sound of Music’ (Retro style western music group singing), ‘Tarangani’ (Indian music group singing), ‘Sound of Silence’ (miming) and ‘Dharohar’ (Folk dance) took place. Testing the students’ creativity, events such as ‘Verse-E-Style’ (dramatic poem recitation), ‘Link-it-Up’ (Creating an Advertisement) and ‘Play with Clay’ (Clay modelling) were also held. Study Hall bagged nearly all prizes except ‘Play with Clay’ (CMS Gomtinagar) and ‘Tarangani ‘(Sacred Hearts). The Final Trophy was in the hands of CMS Gomtinagar. The specially-abled children had great fun in events such as ‘Non-flame cooking’ (DOSTI), ‘Rhythmic yoga’ (Asha Awaa), ‘Fun with colours’ (DOSTI) and ‘Play with clay’ (Asha Awaa). The Final Trophy was awarded to Asha Awaa. Jashn-E-Bachpan 2019 ended with high spirits and infectious smiles.
 

Go green – Tree plantation drive at Vidyasthali

Vidyasthali Kanar Inter College organised a tree plantation drive at its campus. As we know, trees play a very important part in maintaining the ecological balance and equilibrium but due to deforestation we have lost a lot of bio-diversity. The students of Vidyasthali made an effort to save the environment and planted several plants and vowed to care for and protect their saplings to see them grow and bloom.

A session on gender, caste and democratic citizenship education at Vidyasthali

A workshop with the Vidyasthali staff members was conducted on gender, caste and democratic citizenship education. Nikhil Sahera, a Phd student at Delhi University interacted with the staff members and talked about gender and caste related issues. Nikhil explained how power has always played a crucial role in discrimination on the basis of gender and caste. He deconstructed patriarchy, gender and caste and talked about the solutions.

The Principal of Study Hall School, Ms Shalini Sinha, took a session on Democratic Citizenship Education (DCE). DCE is based on the pillars of equality, liberty and fraternity and teaches to be active advocates of a democracy. A classroom is a place where teachers can influence a social change. Ms Shalini Sinha said, “It is the responsibility of a teacher to teach and prepare children to become active citizens and play their part in the democracy.”

Yuva Manch 2019

On the 12th and the 13th of July, Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) organised its theatre festival – ‘Natyotsav at Sant Gadge Auditorium. Natyotsav’s ‘Yuva Manch’, which is a platform for promoting theatre among students. Since 2006, our foundation is offering various theatrical productions. The chief guest of the event was the founder of Study Hall Educational Foundation, Dr Urvashi Sahni.

The program highlighted three major plays performed by units of SHEF. It opened with ‘Sara Ka Sara Aasman’, performed by the students and alumni of Study Hall School, Prerna Girls School and Prerna Boys School. The play was about a Pakistani poetess, portraying how she loses her mind fighting the patriarchy present in most of the countries in the Indian sub-continent to pursue her passion for writing. A drama, ‘Soch Rahi Hoon’, presented by students of Vidyasthali Kanar Inter College, Malihabad, portrayed a modern-day woman who stood up against the ‘dowry practices’. The students of Prerna Girls School and Prerna Boys School enacted a poem, ‘Meri Duniya Ke Tamam Bacche’, which was about how the children across the globe can change the world if we teach them, how they can erase the differences among the nations if we let them, and how they can bring peace that the world needs. A dance performance by students of Center for Learning (CFL) ‘Sapna’, showing young dreamers.

Dr Sahni addressed the audience, saying, “Drama is a very important part of education. It provides children a safe space to rehearse life and learn to think critically, which leads to personality development.”

At the core of all these programs, the issues women face was brought to light. The audience appreciated the acting of the children. The program concluded with a vote of thanks.

English Access Micro scholarship Program’s joining ceremony and alumni reconnect

Study Hall Educational Foundation organized an opening ceremony and alumni reconnect of the English Access Micro-scholarship Program. The students were awarded certificates. Vidyasthali, Prerna and Study Hall College students shared their experiences, what they learned and how the program has brought the change in their personality and their lives.

Access is a 2 year intensive English language program funded by the U.S Department of State for youth around the world.

Maria Snarski, Regional English Language officer, Embassy of the United States of America told the students, “It’s not just a fun way to learn English; it gives you so much more than English. The things you learn in the Access program is going to stay with you forever, build your confidence and enhance your personality.”

The alumni welcomed the coming batch of Access Program and wished them luck.

Italian exchange programme 2019

On the 25th of April 2019, we welcomed our friends from Arezzo, Italy for a 10 days long exchange programme which has come in routine for our school. We set some goals for ourselves as to what we need to achieve from this opportunity. Keeping cross-cultural interaction as a top priority the students from Italy stayed with their studyhallian ‘buddies’ in their homes. The idea was to expose them to Indian culture as much as possible while simultaneously learning about theirs. The lot of 21 seemed to be relishing spicy food and loving the colourful vibe of the country. The Italians engaged in many comprehensive and substantial workshops at school. Daily Yoga classes emerged as a common favorite amongst them. Our extremely accomplished facility of music, fine arts and dance gave them a crash course on traditional Indian performing arts. The students hit the notes of “सा” as perfectly as they stroked the brushes to Madhubaniani folk art. The beauty of ‘Bada Imambara’ and the intricacies of ‘Chikankari’ left them in awe. On the evening of 29th April, our guests prepared mouth watering pasta for a small gathering at school. Our guests turned out to being a sporting lot as they were keen on taking up casual matches of football, volleyball and basketball with Studyhallians. Some field trips included a visit to other branches of the Study Hall Educational Foundation like ‘Vidyasthali’, ‘Study Hall Prerna’ (school for underprivileged girls), ‘Dosti’ (school for children with special needs) and ‘Gyan Setu’.
As we stand at the crossroads of human civilization we need our younger generations to be more accommodative, accepting and affluent of different cultures. We at Study Hall are proud that these values flourish in our students and prepare them to make a better tomorrow at a global scale.

Panel discussion held at Vidyasthali Inter College

April 27, 2019, Global Shapers Lucknow along with Vidyasthali Inter College organized a panel discussion under the aegis of India’s Daughters’ Campaign. The topic of this panel discussion was ‘’Why has the women’s’ movement in India failed to create a political front?” the discussion also explored why the political parties are not addressing this gap and consolidating the women vote bank?
Nitin Mittal – Youth Front Coordinator Bharatiya Janta Party, Geeta Pandey – State Treasurer of women wing and former member of the state women commission, Samajwadi Party, and Sadaf Jafar – Congress spokesman, along with Reshma – a member of Sheroes Hangout were present on the panel.
Students from Vidysthali School performed a street play on the condition of women in India. The panel first responded, ’Why has the women’s’ movement in India failed to create a political front?” The panel moderator, Ruchika from AFP asked, “how many females are a contesting election in comparison to their male counterpart in their party.” None of the members on the panel were certain about this number. Nitin Mittal from BJP exclaimed that his party has the maximum number of female candidates. The moderator later informed the panel that none of the political parties represented in the panel had more than 20 percent women in the election while almost all supported the 30 percent reservation in the parliament.
In the discussion, Sadaf Jafar, spokesperson congress, said, “Women’s two big weapons are education and employment; when a girl is educated, she will be aware of her rights and then find the freedom to make their decisions.”  She also advised students, to start working on breaking systemic patriarchy in their home and redefine cultural norms. Adding to her point Nitin Mittal, Youth Front Coordinator for Bharatiya Janta Party, said, “many times women do not get the opportunity and many times their rights are exploited, the main reason behind this is they are not aware of their rights.” Geeta Pandey said “When will talk about equality why are we asking for 33% reservation we should demand 50% reservation for women. In our party, we will try and work on it.”

India’s Daughter Campaign- Awareness march taken out against child marriage at Vidyasthali

On 19th April 2019 Vidyasthali Kannar Inter College, Malihabad organised awareness march regarding child marriage and promoting girls education.This march was carried out in two villages, Narsing khera and Aatha. This march was a part India’s Daughter Campaign organised yearly by Study Hall Educational Foundation. This Campaign aims to raise awareness regarding girl’s rights and education.

More than 170 members participated in this and reached out to more than 500 community members. The students used slogans like “Bal Vivah Gulami Hai, Yeh Gulami Hume Rukwani Hai”, “Nari Ka Karo Sammaan, Tabhi Banega Desh Mahaan”. The students performed a ‘nukkad Natak’ to explain why child marriage should be forbidden. The students interacted with the community members and asked them take a pledge and say no to child marriage. They also took signatures of the community members.

India’s Daughters Campaign Rally
httpvh://youtu.be/esIOwhRUcSA


Vidyasthali Kanar Inter College organized its annual concert ‘Goonj’

Vidyasthali Kanar Inter College organized its annual concert on December 21st, 2018, at the Central Institute of Sub-tropical Horticulture. The theme of the concert was ‘Goonj’. Raj Bisariya, a director, producer, actor, and an educationalist, described by the Press Trust of India as ‘the father of the modern theatre in North India’, graced the occasion as chief guest.

The concert started with a welcome speech by Anusha Sharma, Principal, Vidyasthali Kanar Inter College. The students performed a skit, ‘Aam ke aam, guthliyon ke dam’, through which they informed the audience about the extinct varieties of mango. An english play,  ‘The Awful Eight’ was performed, which aimed at raising awareness about different air pollutants, their causes and effects. Students then performed a delightful sufi dance. A musical drama ‘Ambrosia – Nectar of life’, which portrayed how rivers are getting polluted by the selfish nature of humans and how to maintain the cleanliness and flow of the river.

Dr. Urvashi Sahni, Founder, and CEO, Study Hall Educational Foundation, said, “Students presented some very serious social and environmental issues and performed wonderfully”. She added, “Education is not about how qualified you are, it is about how much you have learned through education in your life”. On this occasion, Renu Yadav, alumni of Vidyasthali, shared her journey and spoke about how she feels more empowered now. She thanked the school and Study Hall Educational Foundation and launched the Vidyasthali Alumni Association. ‘Mai Savitri Bai Phule hoon’, a Hindi play, won the applause of the audience because of the social message it presented very effortlessly. The concert was greatly enjoyed by the audience and it showed the hard work of teachers and students. The program was concluded with the vote of thanks and national anthem. 

Vidyashtali Sports Day- Confluence 2017

मलिहाबाद स्थित विद्यास्थाली स्कूल मे वार्षिक खेल स्पर्धा Confluence 2017 का आयोजन किया गया। इसमें
लखनऊ यूनिवर्सिटी की प्रोफेसर निशि पाण्डेय मुख्य अतिथी स्पोर्ट्स मीट के दौरान सुमति हॉउस 505 अंको के साथ पहले और 451 अंको क साथ सहस दुसरे 399 अंको के साथ तीसरे और 279 अंकों क साथ चौथे सतगुण पर रहे।
समारोह के दौरान विद्यास्थाली स्कूल के पूर्व छत्र शुभम प्रताप सिंह जिनका चयन राष्ट्रीय डिस्क थ्रो टीम में हुआ है और रचना गौतम जो स्टेट लेवल हाई जम्प और आरती यादव जो स्टेट लेवल लॉन्ग जम्प में कांस्य पदक जीती हैं उनका सम्मान किया गया।
 कार्यक्रम के दौरान 100 मीटर दौड 4X100 मीटर दौड, योग एक्सरसाइज, डांस परफॉरमेंस, पिरामिड फार्मेशन का भी प्रदर्शन विद्यास्थाली स्कूल के बच्चों ने किया।
प्रोफेसर पाण्डेय ने स्कूल के बच्चों और टीचर्स की सराहना करते हुए कहा की इस तरह के आयोजन आल राउंड डेवलपमेंट के लिए बहुत ज़रूरी है।
कार्यक्रम के दैरान अभिभावकों के लिए भी प्रतिस्पर्धा का आयोजन भी किया गया।
अनुष्का और आदित्य को सर्वोत्तम एथेलीट का पुरस्कार प्रदान किया गया |