VIRTUAL ENGLISH WEEK CELEBRATIONS, 2k20!
“Language is to the mind more than the light is to the eye.”
The English Department of Mahavir Senior Model School celebrated English Week for the year 2020, beginning from November 23 to November 29. While the department has been organizing the extravaganza for quite some years now, this year marked a completely different experience for both the teachers as well as the students. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the teachers diligently prepared the students online and the students as well, put in all possible efforts. All this resulted in an amazing week- long celebration of various facets of English language through several intra- class competitions prepared and organized digitally on Zoom clouds platform. These included speeches, interviews, story narration, poetry recitals and what not!
Events at a glance
- Class- I My Favourite Icon
- Class- II Poem Recitation Competition
- Class- III Eco- friendly Diwali Celebration (Presentation)
- Class- IV The Story Studio (Story Telling Competition)
- Class- V Aware India, Safer India (‘1-minute Presentation’ Competition)
- Class- VI Talking Titans (Speech Competition)
- Class- VII Creative Short Stories (‘Writing and Presenting a Story’ Competition)
- Class- VIII Rendezvous with Luminaries (Interview Presentation)
- Class- IX Narrative Poem in Comic Strip Form (Poem Presentation Competition)
- Class- I Theme: My Favourite Icon
Young Mahavirians impersonated their favourite icons which included the Political Leaders, Actor, Sports Personalities and Freedom fighters. Participants expressed their creativity, imagination and brought their emotions to life. The aim of this competition was to hone public speaking, enhance vocabulary and language skills.
- Class- II Poem Recitation Competition Theme: Festivals of India
"Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” - Edgar Allan Poe
Our little learners not only presented themselves completely decked up in accordance to the festival they chose but also decorated their surroundings giving the audience the feel of different festivals. The little ones recited the poetry pertaining to the festivals very fluently and confidently.
- Class- III Presentation Theme: Eco- friendly Diwali Celebration
It is through festivals that we celebrate our glorious heritage, culture and traditions and play a significant role to add structure to our social lives. Often, we tend to forget that our mode of celebrations can cause undue harm to mother Earth. To make others more aware of how can we can 'Go Green' with our festivities, young scholars showcased different ways in which we can make our celebrations "Environment Friendly".
- Class- IV The Story Studio Story Telling Competition Theme: Moral Values
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
The young, enthusiastic storytellers armed with their props came forth with wonderful tales. While some stories gave the audience food for thought others reinforced moral values. The stories were adjudged on the basis of expression, confidence and presentation skills of the children and incited the curiosity and love for reading in children. Principal ma’am also narrated a story towards the end which left the audience mesmerised.
- Class- V Aware India, Safer India (‘1- minute Presentation’ Competition Theme: COVID- 19 Preventive Measures)
Students prepared a ‘1-minute presentation’ on COVID 19 precautionary measures. The students voiced their thoughts about this extremely relevant topic while serving the linguistic purpose of using English language for giving speech, making posters/slogans and using the digital technology to promote meaningfulness of their presentations through PPTs, videos etc.
- Class- VI Talking Titans Speech Competition Theme: Famous Speeches by Eminent Personalities
"The great joy of listening to famous people is the joy of discovering their story, their words and their ideas."
The children prepared the famous speeches by eminent personalities like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Malala etc. This competition gave learners the chance to practice the skill of public speaking with correct voice modulation, expressions and intonation.
- Class- VII ‘Writing and Presenting a Story’ Competition Theme: Creative Short Stories
The young learners weaved their stories on various themes and presented them. They opened their heart to their audience, spoke from their personal experiences and connected them on a much deeper level. The young and enthusiastic storytellers armed with the props came forth with the wonderful stories which made the entire message more memorable and well received.
- Class- VIII Rendezvous with Luminaries (Interview Presentation) Theme: Interview of Renowned Personalities.
“True conversation is about going on a journey with the person you are speaking with.”
The young Mahavirains participated in pairs- one playing the role of interviewer and the other acting as interviewee, depicting the role of prominent personalities such as sportspersons, political leaders, celebrities, social reformers, authors or poets. The participants left no stone unturned in presenting the interview with great articulation and expressions. They dressed up in vibrant attires to exhibit the role of the chosen personality. The conversations centered around the life style, career struggles, moral lessons, success mantras and tips given by the eminent personalities such as Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, M.S. Dhoni, Mr. Narendra Modi, Saina Nehwal, Ruskin Bond, etc.
- Class- IX Narrative Poem in Comic Strip Form (Poem Presentation Competition) Theme: Narrative Poems Presentation in Comic Strip Form
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”
To foster the love for narrative poetry amongst students, they were asked to prepare narrative poems in groups. The project was further interwoven with art integration in which students were guided to frame dialogues and illustrate the scenes in the form of beautiful comic strips. In addition, students presented the comic strips in the form of poem enactment.
The learners made all the characters of each rhyme come alive through their live performances. They performed in groups and conveyed the story through voice modulations, expressions, costume and props.
All the respective events provided the students the opportunity to-
- express themselves freely
- boost their morale
- enhance their self- confidence
- showcase their oratory skills
- give form to their creative imagination
- learn from their peers
- receive assistance and feedback from teachers, H.O.D and Principal
- learn about nitty- gritty of specific facets of language
- strengthen all four language skills- Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening
- foster and explore their love for language
- celebrate the richness of their culture
- integrate Art and other disciplines with language
Winners displayed excellent diction, use of emotion and fantastic gestures, which all help to hammer home the meaning in their words. The audience was enraptured by all the presentations and the judges had a hard time selecting the winners from all the stupendous performances. Winners were over the moon to have the announcement of result from the honourable Principal.
Each event of the English Week Celebrations was graced by the benign presence of the enigmatic Principal, Mrs. Ruchika Sukhija and English HOD, Mrs. Kanchan Naswa. Both of them applauded the strenuous efforts, creativity and confidence of the students and gave the students some valuable pieces of advice to hone their oratory skills. Headmistress, Mrs. Aparna Trehan also encouraged the students. The entire team of English Department graced each event with their reassuring presence. The entire celebration drove the inspiration from the reverent and versatile Director, Shri S.L. Jain’s insistence on encouraging children to learn anecdotes and words of historical figures. The entire department is indebted to his far-sightedness, guidance and unfaltering support for the students and teachers in every way.
