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Path Breakers of the Session………  Tagoreans invited to celebrate Chinese New Year at the Chinese Embassy, Delhi on 14th January 2012

5th International CHINH INDIA KIDS FILM FESTIVAL AND FORUM from 9th November 2011 to 14th November 2011

National Jury sessions of 5th International CHINH INDIA KIDS FILM FESTIVAL AND FORUM were hosted by Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar for Animation jury on 2nd November 2011 and Early Education Category on 4th November 2011. More than 1000 children from 55 schools participated in both the categories. International jury of the festival joined in from various parts of the globe including Russia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Itlay, Denmark, Afganistan, Pakistan and Korea. Kids joined the screenings of exceptional, impressive, motivating, touching and sometimes brutally honest children films. Miheek Rao of IX C, Yutong Ren of V A & Tanaya Bhardwaj of IX A of Tagore International School were selected to represent India in International Kids jury of the festival. Under International Media Literacy Exchange Programme, Miheek Rao was selected for Chinh’s Family Hosting programme for International kids jury. He hosted kids jury Zubkov Egor from CHINH partner festival in Moscow - ‘Colours of the world’. International Kids jurors were given an opportunity to attend a special music workshop by Canadian Musicians Patrick Spencer and Jairon Freeman Fox invited by CHINH at High Commission of Canada. Miheek Rao, Yutong Ren & Tanaya Bhardwaj were invited to join this international workshop held at embassy on 12th November. The international kids jury in the festival gave its verdict for CHINH GOLD and 3 Certificate of Excellence in "Kids for Kids" category. Kids for Kids category invites films made by children from across the world and it was a welcome change of the jurors to explore media expressions of children. International kids jury had been assigned the task of choosing CHINH Peacock i.e Meenakshi Vinay Rai award for the best CHINH children film of the year 2011. Film

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developed by Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar during media camp titled "Teen Blues" has won Certificate of Excellence in "Kids for Kids" category judged by international jury kids from 12 countries. 54 students from Tagore International School Vasant Vihar from different age groups from 4 years to 17 years were selected as a part of national jury of 1000 kids from 55 schools in three categories to decide CHINH awards. "Teen Blues"- winner of International Jury award of Certificate of Excellence in "Kids for Kids" category from Tagore International School students would be included in CHINH INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN FILMS COOPERATIVE this year to travel in the various kids film festival across the world. Visit by Ms. Elizabeth, Principal, Auckland Girls Public School, New Zealand Ms Elizabeth, Principal, Auckland Girls Public School, New Zealand was at the school as part of an educational exchange programme. Ms Elizabeth expressed her happiness and felt privileged to be in the school. During her stay she observed the classes, interacted with the teachers and witnessed the cultural events. She liked the various activities and the teaching methods of the school and felt the students were gaining knowledge in a happy environment. She felt that despite the difference in the teaching approach the aim of schools in both New Zealand and India is the same, that is to provide students with education to make them into successful individuals.

Asian Youth Development Programme in Okinawa, Japan From 6th August 2011 to 23rd August 2011)

“This world is a book and those who don’t travel read only a page”, so true are these famous words by Saint Augustine. It was the fourth day of the month of August this year that was the beginning of an unforgettable trip for two of our students who were selected to represent India at the Asian Youth Development Program in Okinawa 2011. The aim of this program was to find ways and come up to solutions to combat water problems at a global level and also to deal

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with certain environmental issues. There were 48 participants, 22 from Japan and 26 from 13 other Asian countries. Each participant brought up water problems faced by his/ her country and the others discussed solutions to these problems. This entire experience brought up many issues which they were able to understand. In the eighteen days that they spent in Japan, they learnt a lot about the culture and tradition of the Japanese people. They visited the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology which is futuristic in outlook and the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (second largest in the world) and had a few ‘nature experience activities’ such as snorkeling and beach combing. They also had many other pleasurable experiences such as a 2-day home stay which made their trip memorable as they interacted closely with the members of the host family and learnt to tap their feet to a traditional dance form of Okinawa- Eisa Dancing. This experience will last them a life time.

Global Gathering Meeting of Boys and Girls at Beijing, China From 13th August 2011 to 21st August 2011

On 12th August 2011, Eighteen students and two teachers from our school, once again embarked on a trip to China to participate in the International Childrens’ Meet organized by Foreign Affairs office, Beijing and the National TV Channel- China Central Television. Eight countries participated in this International cultural meet which aimed at promoting peace and harmony among the people of different countries in the world. Our students performed the famous ‘Ghoomar Rajasthani Folk dance’, amongst other traditional music and dance items, which was telecast on the Chinese television. The students got to interact with children from different countries, visit historical monuments and structures such as the Great Wall of China. They also visited the silk factory and enjoyed shopping for souvenirs. They had many other such memorable experiences which enabled them to have an insight into the Chinese tradition, culture and way of life. This was an enriching experience for them and this experience will be etched into the memory of each and every student who went for this programme.

A NEW INTERNSHIP VENTURE FROM TAGORE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, VASANT VIHAR

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Salil Shanker, a class XII student of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, returned to India after a month long internship programme, from 19th May to 20th June ’11, at Turkey through AIESEC (Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales). AIESEC is a global youth organization that develops leadership capabilities through their global entrepreneurship programmes. They engage students and graduates in international student exchange and internship programmes for profit and non-profit organizations. The Principal, Ms Madhulika Sen, of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar has introduced AIESEC to her students and encouraged them to enrol for the internship. Those interested need to undergo a number of stages of selection process starting from submitting CVs to video conferencing.The internship trains the Student for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Salil worked on a project called “Break Up The Barriers” in which as an intern, he worked with mentally and physically challenged children in Rehabilitation centers. Salil worked in two centers namely Behcecik and MaviZlenim wherein through interactive lessons and physical activities taught them keeping in view the seriousness of the child’s disability. During his stay at Turkey, he was supported by the host families who act as local guardians and got time off to travel across the country to see some of the most beautiful places on the planet vizCappadocia, Istanbul, Pamukale, Efesus, Bodrumetc. Salil states now working for the physically challenged children and seeing them learn was the most amazing element of the whole experience. Now this 12th grade of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, who is the youngest intern from any country to visit turkey, is trained in CSR that has gifted him a modified personality and the ability to face any difficulty. Salil is grateful to his Principal Ms Madhulika Sen for taking initiative and introducing her students to AIESEC but for her support the unforgettable experience of a month stay with interns from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds would not have been possible. He underlines, this programme was a great opportunity for ignited young minds to explore and develop their leadership potential, so don’t miss it.

Visit to Darwin Middle School, Australia under Australia-India Professional learning programme Ms. N. Saroj, Dean of School- Academics visited Australia from May 22- June 3 ‘2011 under the Australia- India Principal / Teacher Exchange Programme organised by Asia Education Foundation. She attended Professional Development Workshops at Melbourne related to Australian and Victorian education systems, School leadership and Assessment and Evaluation. She visited Darwin Middle School and was hosted by Ms. Loraine Caldwell, a senior teacher of the institution who had visited our school in January’2011. She had a firsthand experience of the working of a school there. Darwin Middle School has about 600 students from Grade 7- 9 and is a multi-cultural school. An Indian girl performed a dance on a Tamil song during the assembly to welcome Ms. N.Saroj. She also visited Kakadu National Park,

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Darwin Parliament , Crocodylus Park at Darwin. The programme ended with all the participants meeting again for a debriefing in Sydney.

TAGORE’S 150th anniversary celebration at shanghai, China

Thirty two students and four teachers, including the primary school Headmistress Ms. Preeti Chadha of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar had an unparalleled opportunity to be a part of the celebrations held at Shanghai, China to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The school was privileged to be the only representative school that was invited from India to be a part of the cultural program held at Shanghai District on 8 May 11 as well as be the Guests Of Honour at the unveiling of a bust of Gurudev in Shanghai. As a part of the commemoration held in schools in Shanghai this year, Tagore International gave a joint performance with The Jinyuan Senior High School students in the auditorium of JSHS on May 9. A dance drama based on Tagore’s famous work Bhanusingher Padabali, the kathak style Tarana, a group recitation and dramatization of Tagore’s poem The Hero, yoga demonstrations as well as recitations of other poems were a part of the celebration. There was also an ethnic dance performance- the Xiao Po Shao by the Jinyuan students themselves as well as playing of the school brass band and Guzheng- a Chinese musical instrument. What made the event unique was the regular collaborative learning of the Kathak style of dance and yoga by the Chinese students through video conferencing and the simultaneous learning of the Chinese dance by the Indian counterparts. This helped familiarize each of the performers with the art forms of the two countries.The responsibility of the costumes for the students in Shanghai were taken on by the school. The entire event was witnessed live by the Principal Ms. Madhulika Sen, teachers, parents and students through video conferencing. It may be recalled that Rabindranath Tagore had visited Shanghai in 1924 and had delivered a speech on the occasion. The President Ms. Pratibha Patil had also unveiled a bust of the Nobel Laureate in 2010 which was a part of her itinerary. 15 December 2010 had gone down in the history of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar when the Chinese Premier, His Excellency, Mr Wen Jiabao had walked the portals of the school and paved the way for furthering the ‘China - India friendship’ effort. The visit to the school was part of the dignitary’s itinerary on the first day of his three day visit to India. He had taught students how to write “India-China friends forever” in Mandarin and had spoken fondly of Tagore. The Chinese Premier had surprised the students with the vast knowledge he had of the poet. Visit to Lycee Broceliande, Guer, France under Indo-French Exchange Programme Twelve students and three teachers of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar had the unique opportunity to visit France in the month of April 2011. This visit was a part of an exchange programme and a sequel to a visit to the school by a group of 12 students and 3 teachers from Lycee Broceliande, a school in Guer. Their visit was a 15 - day trip from 13th October 2010 to 27th October 2010. The unique feature of this exchange is that each member of the exchange program plays host to one of the visitors from the other school, who stays with the family of the student who has hosted him. In exchange, he is then hosted by that member during his stay in France. The visit was a fifteen- day long trip, with 12 days being spent as hosts to the French families and the last three days in Paris. Brittany, which formed a major part of their stay was all green and scenic. Classes were also attended in the school- Lycee Broceliande. The students also visited, Paris, the capital of France, which they found picturesque and full of monuments. Eiffel Tower, one of the seven wonders of the world, Notre Dame the church, Le Louvre-the museum harbouring the Monalisa, Versailles Palace, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, the world’s most expensive street, all formed part of the itinerary. The host families showered each visiting Tagorean with care and attention, making the visit a memorable one for all.

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Visit to Lycee Broceliande, Guer, France under Indo-French Exchange Programme

Twelve students and three teachers of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar had the unique opportunity to visit France in the month of April 2011. This visit was a part of an exchange programme and a sequel to a visit to the school by a group of 12 students and 3 teachers from Lycee Broceliande, a school in Guer. Their visit was a 15 - day trip from 13th October 2010 to 27th October 2010. The unique feature of this exchange is that each member of the exchange program plays host to one of the visitors from the other school, who stays with the family of the student who has hosted him. In exchange, he is then hosted by that member during his stay in France.

The visit was a fifteen- day long trip, with 12 days being spent as hosts to the French families and the last three days in Paris. Brittany, which formed a major part of their stay was all green and scenic. Classes were also attended in the school- Lycee Broceliande. The students also visited, Paris, the capital of France, which they found picturesque and full of monuments. Eiffel Tower, one of the seven wonders of the world, Notre Dame the church, Le Louvre-the museum harbouring the Monalisa, Versailles Palace, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, the world’s most expensive street, all formed part of the itinerary. The host families showered each visiting Tagorean with care and attention, making the visit a memorable one for all.

Australia-India Professional Learning programme 2011 Ms. Loraine Caldwell, a teacher from Darwin Middle School, Northern Territory, Australia visited Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar from 17th Jan-20th Jan under the annual Australia-India Principal/ Teacher professional learning programme 2011. Ms. Loraine is the Head of English and Humanities in her school in Australia. Ms. N. Saroj will be visiting Australia to her school in May-June 2011.

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Events of the Session 

April-May 2011

Students from classes VI-VIII displayed their safe cooking skills in an Inter house competition held on 12th May 2011

Students of classes IX-XII had a poster making competition on 12th May on the topic-WOMEN

Live performance of students in Shanghai commemorating 150th Birth Anniversary of Guru Rabindranath Tagore in association with the Jinyuan School on 9th May 2011

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Students of Primary school celebrated 150th Birth Anniversary of Guru Rabindranath Tagore on 6th May by

presenting a mix of poems, plays, music composed by him

Pre primary students of school celebrated Red Day and had a Lemonade party before breaking off for the Summer holidays

Students from classes IX-XII showcased their talent in Spot Ad. competition held on 2nd May 2011

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Book Fair was inaugurated on 2nd May and the students were exposed to the wonderful world of books

Book Week The Book Week had students of classes Nursery to class IX participate, with vigour and enthusiasm, in a week-long frenzy of activitiesfrom 2nd May to 7th May 2011.Imagination and creativity were the key words in the range of activities that were planned by the library staff for the students.‘Book On Screen’ had studentsof class I enjoying a book in animation form presented by Ms Geeta Mehta.‘Making Book Marks’, ‘Who Am I’were some of the events that made the children not only think but also generated an urge to read.Equally enjoyable for class III was the task of ‘IdentifyingCharacters’from stories narrated to them. ‘Are We Similar or Different’helped the children relate themselves to the characters of stories.Pupils illustrated homophones beautifullyin ‘Oh! We Sound Similar’.The sparkling eyes of children spoke volumes of their interest in the activity ‘Description of supernatural characters’. Budding cartoonists in the middle school illustrated, through their cartoon strips,their concern for the effects of Global Warming.Apart from these, a Scholastic Book Fair was held where books were available for one and all.Ms.Geeta Mehta, Mr. Ravi Rastogi and Ms.KamleshMahendroo conducted Book Flip, Jazz and story- tellingworkshopsrespectively. Inter- Class activities of ‘DastaanGoi’involved the children of classes VIII who narrated their personal experience at a book bazaar while ‘Newsroom’had students of class IX enact scenes in a newsroom of a fictitious news channel. The results of the competition wee announced on the 7 of May. The children had fun in the week long events which werenot only entertaining but also enlightening.

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Nursery and K.G. students recited poems on 27th and 28th April 2011

WORLD DANCE DAY

To commemorate the World Dance Day, SPICMACAY organized a dance recital by world renowned dancing couple Dr. Raja and Dr. Radha Reddy at Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar on 29 April 2011. The dancing duo have been recipients of the Padma Shree and the Padma Bushan. They were accompanied by their younger daughter Ms. Bhavana Reddy who gave scintillating Kuchipudi dance performances. Other guests for the morning included Kumari Aditi Sharma (the vocalist), Shree V.S.K. Annadurai (on the violin) and Shree Bhaskar Rao(on the mridangam) while Dr Radha Reddy played the cymbals. Dr. Raja Reddy enlightened the students by telling them about the rich Indian culture and heritage. He apprised the students about the rich repertoire that comprises Kuchipudi dance. He told them that dance is divine and that Indian classical dance have their roots in God. When Shiva and Parvati danced, Lord Vishnu played the mridangam, Lord Brahma played the cymbals and Mahalakshmi provided the vocals. The performances started with the ‘Ganesha Vandana’ performed by Ms. Bhavana Redddy. After the performance Dr. Raja Reddy told the students about the various elements of Kuchipudi dance. Through hand, body and foot movement and facial expressions he demonstrated how the technique of Kuchipudi makes use of fast rhythmic footwork and sculpturesque body movements. Stylized mime, using hand gestures and subtle facial expression, is combined with more realistic acting. All these elements when combined result in a performance that is admired by one and all. What followed was a mesmerizing ‘nritya’ performance. The students were informed that Nritya encompasses steps and movements in the form of patterns of dance which, though ornate in themselves, have no meaning to convey. Then was witnessed an entirely expressional performance by Ms. Bhavana Reddy in which she played a milk-maid trying to lure Lord Krishna into talking to her. Dr. Raja Reddy also made the students aware of the rigorous training a Kuchipudi dancer has to undergo to perform with expertise. What followed then was a captivating performance by none other than Dr. Raja Reddy. He performed as Lord Shiva and depicted the nine emotions called ‘Navarasa’, depicting a range of human emotions which have been classified in Indian classical aesthetics as the nine sentiments or moods. The finale was a fascinating

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‘Tarangam’ performance by Ms. Bhavana Reddy who amazed the audience by dancing on a brass plate, placing the feet upon the raised edges. The dancer must move the plate with much balance as the indiviudal is traditionally dancing on the plate. It was a lyrical composition reflecting the desire of a devotee to merge with God. The recital was appreciated by one and all. It was an enthralling experience to learn about the dance form from an expert such as Dr. Raja Reddy.

Students of Classes IV and V had their TURN COAT competition on 21 April 2011

EARTH DAY

Earth Day was celebrated at Tagore International School, VasantVihar on 21st April 2011. The programme commenced with a speech highlighting the importance of protecting the environment and creating an awareness of sustainable resources. The students of TIS enthusiastically participated in the Earth Day celebrations with a determination that they will not tolerate anything that is injurious to public heath. A melodious song was presented by the school choir underlining the beauty of nature.This was followed by a recitation of a poem with the theme “International Year of forests”. The highpoint of the Earth Day celebration was the speech by the green loving Principal, Ms. Madhulika Sen. While stressing the importance of involvement of each and everyone for a healthy environment, her focus was to cultivate in the young minds a realisation that “small, easy to do things can turn into a movement if you believe in yourself”. She highlighted the effortmade by the school in building water harvesting pits in the school and drew attention to the TIS premises that today stand with green walls and which everyone needed to emulate in their surroundings. The enthralling street playthat followed,by a theatre group invited especially for the day, was well received and gave the message – “By destroying trees – we are destroying our own future”. It was great to see the demonstration by the students in joining the street play performers in voicingtheir views againstpolyeythene. The students pledged to work towards a cleaner, greener and a healthier environment.The students went back inspired to contribute their bit towards a better environment. Organising an interactive session followed by a quiz, the school Cabinet played their role in making students of class XI aware about their environment and simple ways that could be adopted by them towards its protection.. The programme ended with the students’ resolve to treat every day as Earth Day.

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Class III students reciting poems in Group competition on 20 April 2011

World Health Day The significance of World Health Day was driven home to the students of classes IX to XI on 7 April 2011 with an enlightening talk by Dr. Anoop Mishra, Chairman, Fortis Centre of Excellence for Diabetes, obesity, metabolic diseases and Endocrinology. Through a presentation he apprised the students of the lifestyle disease obesity, so common amongst the present generation especially children. He listed out various reasons which included unhealthy eating habits and consumption of fast food, leading of a sedentary lifestyle, avoidance of a breakfast meal and so on. Cautioning the students about the effects of obesity on the body, he not only warned them but also motivated them to be the brand ambassadors of healthy living after listening to his talk. Besides this, a talk on the importance of Almonds was given by Mr Sudarshan Majumdar, India Program Manager, Almond Board of California, USA. A Cookery contest had entries by mother - daughter duos of class IX which was judged by Ms Sapna Chaturvedi, Senior Dietician, AIIMS. Three best dishes were selected as award winning. Posters that were made by the students of class IX on 6 April were displayed on the various display boards. All in all the day’s events made the fact clear that if wealth is lost nothing is lost, but if health is lost everything is lost.

July 2011

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Tiny tots had their Show & Tell session on 28th July 2011

Primary school students from classes I and II enjoying their collage making competition on 14th July 2011

K.G. students sang melodiously in Sing a song show competition on 12th July 2011

French Day Celebrated

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The students of classes 7th to the 10th, who have French as their optional or second language, celebrated the French National Day on 14th July. Despite this day being celebrated for the first time in the school, the students participated with much fervor for they embrace the French culture much like their own. Every student and teacher of the school was given a small flag of France, prior to the commencing of the celebrations, which they wore as a badge for the day to show solidarity. The celebration consisted of a small speech in French by a student, which was simultaneously being translated into English by another student for the benefit if the non-French students, telling the students about the significance of the day to the French, followed by a march-past by the senior students dressed in blue, white and red - the national colors of France. A choir sang the melodious song 'Aux Champs-Elysees' which was met by a huge applause in the end. To conclude the event, another choir sang the national anthem of France, 'La Marseillaise', which was sang by Frenchmen to call their fellow brothers to arms and fight back against the corrupt king during the French revolution. The words of the anthem go as 'Aux armes, citoyens, Formez vos bataillons, Marchons, marchons...' which translate as 'To arms, citizens, form your battalions and let’s march! Let's march!'. The event was much appreciated by the Principal who congratulated our French teacher and the students for coming up with the idea of celebrating this day and remarked on the accurate pronunciations of the students. The success of the celebrations inspires the French students to organize a much bigger show for the years to come.

Mask Making Competition The Primary School held its annual Mask Making competition. Students of classes 1st to 5th standard participated in the competition. To spice up the competition each class was given a different topic. Class 3th made masks of migratory birds that make Delhi their home during the chilly winter months. Class 4th students made masks of the famous monuments of Delhi. The students of class 5th did their research on the flowers that bloom in Delhi in the various seasons and made flower masks. During the entire competition each class room was a buzzing with excitement and the competitive spirit was palatable. It was indeed a sight to behold, each team working and striving together to achieve a common goal. Some of the favourite flowers were sunflower, rose and marigold. Qutab Minar, among the monuments was the most popular and Lotus Temple a close second. The birds of choice was the lovely parrot and the graceful peacock The objectives of such competition are:

• to encourage pupils to carry out innovative and creative work ,and • to provide opportunities for pupils to apply their imagination and knowledge in making fun things and learning

and noticing things around them.

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Singing Competition

Singing competition for Nursery Class was held on 11 July 2011. Children sang songs, they also used aids. It was wonderful to see the young ones perform on the stage with full of confidence. Some of the songs were Saare Jahan se achha, lakdi ki kathi, Old Mac Donald etc. It was surprising to see the children learn the full song and sing it in rhythm.

August 2011

Students from classes I-II and classes III-V had their Spelling Bee competition respectively in the month of Aug.2011

Investiture Ceremony

Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar held its annual Investiture Ceremony on 12 August’11. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Mr. Vikram K.Porwal, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime Cell) who formally inducted the members into the School Cabinet in a sanctified and dignified ceremony. Sashes with the respective

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portfolios and badges were pinned on each member of the newly inducted cabinet. The Chief Guest then administered the oath to the Cabinet members, who solemnly pledged to uphold the dignity of their office and to carry out duties responsibly, keeping in mind the values of the school. The Achala Nadgir Award was awarded to Sonia Gupta and Sanchit Dhami by the Chief Guest for being adjudged the best student of the year for the session 2010-2011. Their exemplary performance in the class XII Board and class X exam, scoring an aggregate of 95% and a 10 point CGPA respectively was instrumental in earning them the award.Along with the investiture, the school also celebrated Independence Day with patriotic fervor and enthusiasm. The day began with the hoisting of the national flag by the Chief Guest. A speech on ‘Redefining Independence set the mood of the day. The theme was Freedom- Are we really free? It made the students aware about what being free is all about and what it takes to be a responsible citizen. A patriotic group song by the school choir and an Inter-house Singing competition, with each of the houses presenting a patriotic song in a regional language, was also part of the event. Shakti House was acclaimed the winner with their rendition of a Marathi song glorifying the warrior Shivaji while Pragati with Ekla Chalo Re stood second. Colours of India were depicted aptly in the foyer where children were welcomed with sketches of our freedom fighters and reminders of the sacrifices made by them. Besides, the Speech and Drama students of Classes VIII to X, under the direction of Stephen Marazzi, renowned Director and theatre personality presented ‘Aam Aadmi’ a combination of short skits on the varied problems faced by the common man and the aam aadmi’s attitude to them. The presentation was a combination of acting prowess, wit and humour, delivered in the inimitable style of the director.

As a befitting sequel to the ceremony, the Chief Guest spoke on education being instrumental in helping one to discover oneself and finding an answer to the question ‘Who Am I?’ He also emphasized on the importance of team work and unity to make any target achieve able. Impressed by the achievements and conduct of the students, he expressed a desire to go back in time and be a part of the TIS fraternity. In a lighter vein he elaborated on a commonly - used term by the students ‘etc’ which is ‘End of thinking capacity’. This sent everyone into peals of laughter.

64th Independence Day was celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm by primary school on 12th Aug.2011

Interactive session with eminent Australian author Ken Spillman

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Students of Tagore International School Vasant Vihar had a wonderful interactive session with renowned Australian author Ken Spillman. One of the most versatile and prolific authors today, Ken writes for the age group of eight to twelve years. Given this background, the session was enjoyed thoroughly by the pupils of class V who got an opportunity to have conversation with an eminent writer. With about thirty books to his credit, Ken’s first book was published when he was twenty five years old. Among his books the ‘Jake ‘ series is the most popular.During his visit, he spoke about his latest book ‘ADVITA’ and read out an excerpt from ‘Jake’ series. He shared his reading interests which included Rabindranath Tagore. The objective of his interaction was to generate interest in creative writing in children. He believes imagination is the strongest tool that a child is gifted with. Imagination is something which is of your own and you can use it to reach indefinite height. The students went enlightened and inspired to put their creative minds to work.

Students from various schools in London interacted with the students from the school on 8th Aug.2011

Words Worth, The Annual Literary Festival

Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar hosted its Annual Literary Festival- Words Worth on 4th August ’11. Pioneered by Mrs Rumna Mitra Lala, HOD (English), a first of its kind inter- school event, the event went into its 6th year this day. The event had an overwhelming participation of students from classes XI and XII from 34 elite schools of Delhi which included Delhi Public School, KIIT World School KR Mangalam, Ryan International and Convent of Jesus and Mary’s to name a few. Each of the events emphasize on originality, creativity and innovative ideas being implemented in each of the specified genres. This year, emphasis was laid on selections being made from literary works based on contemporary and global themes.

The major events were VERS-E-TILE- Poetry Recitation and Innovation, in which participants could use a combination of any two of the following in the presentation of the poem: dance, painting, acting or live instrumental music. The event had exquisitely delivered poetic expressions from each of the participants. VERDICT was the segment that comprised of dramatisation, either of an extract from a novel or of a poem or a parody of any literary piece. This event focussed on the students’ interpretations of popular plays or current issues. The various schools of Delhi brought a plethora of talent to the stage, showing different emotions, settings and excellent dialogue delivery. The plays ranged from awareness of the environment to issues like corruption. The judges for the event were Mr.

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Ranjan Kaul ,the publishing director of Oxford University Press India, a department of the University Of Oxford; and Mr.Torit Mitra, a notable figure in National and International theatre. Creativity and talent of the participants was also tapped through WEAV A TALE, which involved designing book covers as well as weaving a tale around a topic that was given on the spot. With a plethora of literary pursuits, there seemed to be a creative atmosphere around.

An august jury comprising four eminent personalities from the field of literature and performing arts judged the participants who vied for the top honors in the various categories. The distinguished panel of judges included Dr. Rita Malhotra, founder of Poetry Across Cultures and recipient of prestigious awards by the Ministry of Education and North American Poetry Society, Dr H.K.Kaul, Secretary General of the Poetry Society of India and Director of DELNET and Mr.Torit Mitra, short story writer who has attained the UNICEF fellowship for Fine Arts. Delhi Public School, Rohini ranked first in Vers-e tile and Delhi Public School Indirapuram was judged the best team in both Verdict and Weave a Tale. The overall Trophy was bagged by Delhi Public School Indira Puram. The participants left no stone unturned in their quest for excellence.

The event was an enriching experience for the participants as well as the audience.

Ordina@Trix, The Computer Festival

Ordina@trix 11.0, the Annual Computer Festival pioneered by Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, went into its ninth successful year on 2 August 2011. One of the biggest computer festivals hosted in Delhi, the event provides a platform to students of classes III to XII, not only from Indian but International schools as well, display their technical wizardry in a variety of computer related events.

Theming it “Technology nurtures Global Integration” this year, the event focussed on using freewares to make movies and morph pictures. Over 29 schools of the capital and the NCR region, along with participants from the Jinyuan Senior School, Shanghai, China, The Indian School, Muscat and Da Qiao Primary School Singapore participated in the grand event, breaking free geographical boundaries and barriers.

To hone talent and to help each participant explore as well as learn through their experience, the computer department of the school planned a range of innovative events for the day, thus setting new trends. The events included Movie@trix or movie-making for classes XI – XII wherein the participants had to make a short movie on a given topic. Ngage@trix for classes IX and X had gaming skills tested. Create@trix for classes VI to VIII showcased creativity using a range of software in animation, poster, programming or website. Presen@trix opened new avenues for children from classes III to V to make presentations on topics that ranged from Save Energy, 3R’s to United we Stand. Each event targeted a specific age group.

The judges for the event included Ms. Meenakshi Rai Mr. Vinay Rai( National award winning filmmakers and cultural activists),Mr. Amitabh Pathak, Filmmaker, Mr. Amit Dang from MAAC, Mr Puneet Makhija and Mr Vijay Dahiya from Bharatiya Vidya, (JIL.)

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The event awarded the first, second and third prize for individual events. This year, the first prize winners in the four categories Movie@trix, ngage@trix, create@trix and present@trix were Amity International School, Noida, Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar tied with Apeejay School,Saket, and Amity International School, Saket respectively.

The event had moviemakers, creators, gamers, and presenters all come together enthusiastically to showcase their talent. It was indeed an enriching experience for one and all.

September2011

Dussehra was celebrated in school on 30th Sep.2011

Students of classes I-III enjoyed magic show on 21st Sep. 2011

Classes I & II had their Quiz Competition on 15th Sep.2011

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Students applauded for their wonderful performance in the Vasant Valley School Theater Presentation under the guidance of Ms. Uma Chopra

Hindi Divas

The schools’ emphasis on the mother tongue was clearly evident on Hindi Divas celebrated on the14th of September’11. Exposing the students to the finest expressions in the Hindi language, the event had for its Chief Guest Ms. Manisha Kulshreshtha, renowned writer and editor of Hindinest.com who lit the ceremonial lamp along with the Principal, Ms. Madhulika Sen and the HOD (Hindi Dept), Ms. Archana Chauhan. Ganesh Vandana by students of class VII set the mood for the day.One-act plays based on the theme Women Empowerment were staged by students of classes VI to VIII as part of an Inter-House Competition organized for that day. While Ekta House performed a play depicting literacy as a major factor in empowering women, Shakti House brought forth the evil of female feticide and infanticide and the futility of it all in today’s time. Pragati House depicted economic independence and collective strength as being instrumental in empowering women. Students of Shanti house gave a heart rending performance on the discrimination that still prevails in the society. Each enactment, with apt costumes and props, transported the audience to different eras and situations. The plays were characterized by originality and creativity. In the Senior category, two members from each of the houses recited self-composed poems with powerful expression and intonation. Corruption being the given theme, the wit, humor, originality and relevance of the poems, as also the strong message sent across, made each presentation better than the other. The costume added to the effect.

Besides the exhibits of innovative language games displayed in the foyer, a literary feast of the finest pieces of creative writing by the students were put up on the various display boards. Each bore testimony to the effective teaching of the language. The students’ efforts were highly appreciated by the Chief Guest as well as the Principal Ms. Madhulika Sen. In her speech Ms. Manisha Kulshreshtha lauded the efforts of the teachers who had been instrumental in instilling a love for the language, so evident in the enthusiastic performance. In the one act play competition, Pragati House bagged the first position followed by Ekta while in the recitation , it was Shanti House that walked away with the first prize, followed by Pragati.

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Talent Hunt

Tagore International School organized a Talent Hunt Competition for its students to bring out their hidden capabilities. Students of Class III and Class IV participated in this competition. The event intended to promote competition and creativity amongst students. A contest that helps students to bring out the best in them and boosts their confidence and realize their potential.

Students participated in various activities like Mono-acting, Dance, Instrumental music and, singing. The performances of the dancers cast a spell on the audience. Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi considered to be the soul of Indian culture, matched steps with contemporary and hip-hop dance. The singers enchanted the audience with their melodious voice. Mono-acting participants spoke on various topics like corruption, state of the roads, government apathy, use of polythene bags.

The efforts of the participants of the Talent Hunt Competitions were appreciated by the judges and the audience.

It was difficult decision for the judges to shortlist the best performers as the competition was stiff.

Mr.Sato , Head teacher from Japanese school in Delhi visited school on 7th Sep.2011

Teachers Day

Teachers’ day was celebrated on 5th September 2011 with great enthusiasm. All the teachers were looking stunning dressed for the theme for the day ”Glitters”. The students put up an excellent show for their teachers. The programme started with students expressing their heartfelt gratitude to special teachers who had made a difference in their lives. The teachers were felicitated with mementos and certificates. The entertainment program began with a performance by the school band of the senior school followed by that of the junior school. Then we had an enthralling dance by the girls of the school. The teachers presented a comical skit which gave the students a glimpse of their own classrooms. The dance performance was worth a watch in which almost all the teachers could be seen on the stage. It was a treat to see teachers enjoying Shammi kapoor numbers, when the principal also let her hair down and shook a leg with with the teachers. The highpoint of the day was the surprise teachers day wish from our ex head mistress Mrs Saxena was at US then. It was a pleasure to hear from her. She shared some of the unforgettable moments she had spent with the teachers and the students. Finally it was time for the students to judge their teachers. Ms Arti , Ms

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Vatsala, Ms Loveleen, Ms Sonia, Ms Monica and Ms Bhawna were called on stage as the best dressed teachers for the day. The day was enjoyed by one and all and the teachers went home with a memory to cherish forever.

October 2011

A talk by Mr. Ved Prakash, S.H.O. Police Station, Vasant Vihar on 4th Nov.2011 to be awareness and social responsibility

Students of Electronics Club displayed their projects in an exhibition on 22nd Oct.2011

Students celebrated 100 years of Chemicals Students of classes VI-X put up an exhibition -- Magical world of chemicals on 22nd Oct.2011

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DIWALI CELEBRATION

Celebration of Diwali was filled with joy and enthusiasm on 21st Oct ’11. Ms Elizabeth, Principal, Auckland Girls Public School, New Zealand, who has come to the school as part of the educational exchange programme, was the special guest at the function. The show started with a warm welcome to the guest followed by a brief introduction to Diwali. Adya Gupta, a student of class X enlightened the students about the festival. The melodious Ram Stuti by the school choir, Hindi poem recitation by Sanya Arora of class X and Ganesh Vandana in a beautiful dance form by class VIII students were the main highlights of the celebration. This was followed by the school Principal, Ms Madhulika Sen’s speech wherein she brought out the significance of celebrating Diwali -- the victory of good over evil. She wanted everyone to identify the evil, present in each one of us in some or the other form which is stopping us from achieving our goal. In her view Diwali can be celebrated in the true sense by winning over our weakness getting rid of our vices. She urged the students to remember the relevance of Diwali in their lives and work with conviction to achieve their goals. She wanted the students to keep in mind the hardships of all the children that go into the making of the crackers while they play fireworks. Since Diwali signifies happiness, she wished that the children play crackers in bare minimum amount to show their support against child labour and contribute towards saving the environment from noise and air pollution. Ms Elizabeth expressed her happiness and felt privileged to be in the school. She liked the various activities and the teaching methods of the school and felt the students were gaining knowledge in a happy environment. She felt that despite the difference in the teaching approach the aim of schools in both New Zealand and India is the same that is to provide students with education to make them into successful individuals. In tune with the spirit of Diwali fireworks the celebration ended with the sparkles of two ‘anars’ and the customary ‘Arti’ in which everyone joined and rejoiced.

Inter House Character Portrayal

Inter House Character Portrayal competition was held for students of classes VI-VIII on 20th Oct ’11. The participants had to portray any character from the medieval history of Delhi. It was a pleasure to see the students confidently

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enacting their chosen characters dressed in colourful costumes. The audience felt they were taken back to the medieval times with the great rulers, coming alive on stage. The 1st position was bagged by Shanti House team comprising of Vanshika Upadhyay and Saurabh Bassi who portrayed the characters Razia Sultan and Aurangazeb respectively. Roshan Suresh and Soumya Singh Chaudhary as Jahangir and Noorjahan from Ekta House stood 2nd

.Pragati House was at the 3rd position with Anshul Bharadwaj and Richa Sharma who portrayed Shahjahan and Noorjahan respectively. The show was enjoyed by one and all.

Interhouse News Hour competition on 20th oct.2011

Spreading smiles among the underprivileged at AGAMYA - an NGO

Kathak Dance Recital By Pandit Rajendra Gangani

Under the aegis of SPIC MACAY, India’s rich cultural heritage was evinced to students of Tagore International School, VasantVihar. On Wednesday 19th October ’11 students of classes VII to IX got a wonderful opportunity to witness a dance performance by the renowned new generation kathak dancer, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, who is the son and disciple of kathak guru Kundanlal Gangani of the Jaipur Gharana. He is popularly known for his exhilarating performance through which he has mesmerised audiences worldwide reflectingthe essence of purity of tradition integrated with the creativeness of a contemporary approach. The show commenced with customary lighting of the

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ceremonial lamp by Pt. Rajendra Gangani and Ms Mallika Preman, Sr Head Mistress of the school .The kathak performance started by invoking the lord with Ganesh Stuti followed by a bhajan depicting Sri Ramchandra and Hanuman.What made the performance special was interactive approach through which the artist generated interest among the students.He gave an introduction to various movements in dance and their significance which helped the audience to appreciate the performance. He also demonstrated how the dancer matches his steps with the beats of Tabla. This enabled the students to thoroughly enjoy with active participation in identifying and counting the beats as he performed. His scintillating demonstrative performance of one of the kathak walking styles resembling moon walking, rhythmic matching of table sound to horse riding, and ghungru tapping to train sound kept the audiences spell bound. The kathak performance concluded with the Jugalbandi of tabla and ghungru. The show was curtained down with a vote of thanks and the artists were honoured with special tokens of appreciation.

Leadership Camp

DHAUJ (FARIDABAD), OCTOBER 15

Leadership Camp is organized every year for all the Cabinet Members of the school. During the camp we seek to build up the leadership qualities, traits which are possessed by a Leader. Often this camp is prearranged in school itself but this year we were fortunate enough to visit a beautiful place called Dhauj in Faridabad to attend this camp. Saturday morning all the cabinet members assembled in the school at 5:30am, since we had to leave for a two hour journey to Faridabad. We were accompanied by our Sports Teachers, and were all set to leave.

As expected, the bus ride was initially boring since everyone was almost asleep. But the journey became enjoyable after about half an hour. We began to sing songs, crack weird jokes, and jumping all over. Finally at 8:00am, we reached the camp site and we were all spellbound to see the view all around. It was simply breath taking. Then we had our breakfast. Later on, all of us went to the ground where we were divided into two groups. Primarily the two groups had a TUG-OFF-WAR which was indeed a lot of fun. After that we were guided about the tasks we’re going to perform. The first group had to go for Adventure Activities and the second group for Obstacle Course and later on we would interchange. Adventure Activities included Rappelling and Obstacle Course incorporated Tarzan Swing, Low Ropes Course, Burmah Bridge and Monkey Crawl. The experience was astounding. Especially rappelling because I’ve always wanted to do it. Finally, we returned and had our lunch. Next, we had a workshop with Mrs. Simi who told us things which were of great use. She told us how important it is to love oneself because only then are you capable of loving others, trust yourself and then trust others. Never think of changing someone with your influence because that will never happen, rather change yourself. Then we did a few exercises which actually made us realize that it’s not easy to trust others because you don’t trust yourselves completely in the first place. But those exercises were motivating. She made us design a visiting card for ourselves keeping in mind what we wanted to be in future. Then we made a timeline as well, it included the major things we have done till date and what we want to do when we grow up. Moreover, this camp was unforgettable. Our sports teachers were no less, they made us enjoy as much as possible. It was without doubt a remarkable experience and we all had a lot of fun. I’d like to thank our Principal

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Madhu ma’am, Senior Headmistress Mallika ma’am, Junior Headmistress Preeti ma’am and our Sports teachers Nishant sir, Praveen sir, Sandeep sir and Suvira ma’am for giving us such an opportunity.

Costume Parade

Why are the usually smartly children wearing unusual clothes today? The mystery was revealed, it was all on account of the annual event- ‘Costume Parade’. An eagerly awaited event, as the children get to dress up and show-off! Class I had a very fascinating topic – Costumes of Old and New Delhi. The kids out did each other. The various ensembles and the act put together took our breath away. Complete harmony among such diverse individuals - An unusual thing indeed! The students even expressed their opinion about clothes and the advantages and disadvantages of each article of cloth. For Class II, the chosen topic was Food World of Delhi. The students interpreted the topic in their own style. They dressed up like the favourite food items of the people of Delhi. It was amusing to see small kids dressed up like laddo, kaju kateli, Jalebi and even a burger. They narrated poems in Hindi and English on the famous sweet makers of Chandni Chowk. Their act had everyone drooling so much so that the audience wanted the programme to keep going on and on... All in all the Costume Parade was a success and a learning experience with a lot of fun thrown in.

Inter School Origami competition

Tagore international school, Vasant Vihar hosted the Inter School Origami competition on 13th October 2011. The event had participants from almost thirty four reputed schools of Delhi. The Japanese art of paper- folding and presentation based on given themes was done in creative and innovative ways. The competition was categorized on the basis of age groups. There was a group and a solo competition for the junior, middle and senior age groups. There were 7 categories and their topics were as follows: Junior solo had for its theme My Funny Animal while the Junior Group category had Seasons as its theme. In the middle solo and group category the themes were If I were… and A Fairy Tale. The Senior solo and group had Future Zone and Ikebana as the theme while in the teachers’

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category presentations had to depict a Folk Tale from Japan. Within 90 minutes the participants had to show their creativity through paper, without the use of scissors or glue.

The Judges for the competition were from the Japanese Embassy – Mr. Haruhisa Usui, Mr. Ryoji Noda and Mr. Yashiro Tanaka. In the junior solo and group category Mother’s International and Tagore International School East of Kailash bagged the first Prizes while in the senior solo and group category, Mother’s International and St George’s School Alaknanda were the proud winners. In the middle group category Vibhuti Kathpalia, Muskaan Jain and Safina Amin of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar won the first prize depicting the fairy tale ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin ’Soumya Singh Choudhary of class VI of the host school won the first prize in the middle solo category expressing her desire to become a musician. In the teracher’s category, Monica Kakkar, of the school bagged the first prize depicting the Japanese fairy tale ‘The Crane Wife’.The prize distribution ceremony will be held on 2nd November 2011 at the Japanese foundation.

Students from classes I & II dressed in colourful and creative costumes for their intra class competition on

13th Oct.20

Accolades At SSC Mun

Eight students of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar participated in a Model United Nations, SSCMUN hosted by St. Stephens School, Chandigarh from 7 October to 9 October. The conference had gruelling debates, discussions and negotiations between the "leaders" of different "countries.” The participants were able to come up with solutions and consequently resolutions to various International problems in their respective committees, that is, General Assembly, Human Rights Council and Security Council. Amlan Panda (General Assembly) and Projjol Banerjee (Human Rights Council) representing the Russian Federation received the BEST DELEGATE Awards in their respective committees while Shikhar Garg (Human Rights Council) representing Mexico received a SPECIAL MENTION. The delegation of the Russian Federation comprising of Amlan Panda (General Assembly), Projjol Banerjee (Human Rights Council) and Sanya Chhikara (Security Council) got the BEST DELEGATION award.

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Workshop On Film Making

The all round growth of the student has always been the focus of teaching in our school. This requires a balanced level of activities inside and outside the classrooms. Keeping this in mind, the school organized a workshop on film making in collaboration with Mr Aseem Asha Usman, a filmmaker. This workshop was conducted in the first week of October i.e from 1st October 2011 till 6thOctober 2011.The students learnt various aspects of filmmaking such as story writing, storyboarding, aesthetics, camera handling, editing etc. The students made a movie on the topic “Khadi- this Diwali”. The students thoroughly enjoyed the five days of rigorous film making. The invaluable suggestions of a professional film maker will enable our children to do better work in future.

Workshop for students of Astronomy Club on the use of Telescope & aligning of astronomical bodies was held on 2nd Oct.2011

The Support Staff of the school was given training to deal with fire emergencies in a workshop conducted by

IGL in October 2011

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November 2011

Costume Parade

Inter class costume parade for K.G. was held on Wednesday, 16th November 2011. The theme for this year’s event was “In the sky”. The children came to school dressed as rockets, sun, stars, fairies etc. The children spoke confidently on the stage which impressed the judges as well as the teachers and students in the audience.

LEAD ON

It is said that a good leader has determination, commitment and dedication. They also, however, have a vision to see beyond convention. A vision to achieve the impossible, Lead On- an annual event organized by the Student Council of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar was hosted on 28 November 2011 in the school auditorium. Providing an opportunity for the heads of various schools to meet and express their views on a shared platform, the conference, now into its fourth year, was attended by the head girls and boys of over thirty five reputed schools of Delhi and NCR region. Lead on provided the representatives of the different schools the rare opportunity to interact with eminent personalities namely Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament and Mr. Varun Gandhi, the BJP MP in the Lok Sabha who have had the vision to see what other people couldn’t. They were the keynote speakers for the morning and afternoon sessions respectively.

Theming this year’s Lead On Vision: Perspective makes a difference, the programme commenced with the key-note address being delivered by Mr Shashi Tharoor. Mr. Shashi Tharoor started off by explaining the concept of globalization. He spoke at length of how the world has become a global village and the need for proper planning to succeed in the present world. He emphasized that leadership depends on teamwork – it is not about I, but we. He also stressed upon the importance of self-belief and the ability to think clearly in different situations. The most

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important point he made was that leaders should not take credit but give credit to their followers. He rounded up by saying that it is not contribution that matters, but whole-hearted commitment.

But since Lead On does more than merely offer a chance to interact with visionary people, it also makes the participants, do, so after the interactive session by Mr. Shashi Tharoor, the session continued with a Leadership Workshop conducted by a team of facilitators ‘What’s your Perspective?’ which gave the participants a political scenario, and made them think of an alternative ending. This year, the students were shown a video clip from the famous movie Rang De Basanti, showing a scene where the Chief Minister gets shot. They were bombarded with various mind-wracking questions, such as ‘Could this be avoided?’ ‘What steps would they have taken?’ ‘Is violence always the answer in Indian political scenarios?’ ‘What would they have done?’ They were asked to give a better ending. The members then broke off for lunch. Post lunch, the rejuvenated crowd had the unique opportunity to interact with Mr. Varun Gandhi who addressed the students in the post lunch session.

Mr. Varun Gandhi began by stoically stating that being young is not easy. He went on to talk about the role of the youth and how they can take on roles of leaders in the near future. He emphasized on the need to dream big and to continuously strive to achieve it. He stressed on the importance of meritocracy in providing opportunities to all. He further mentioned the three aspects of a good leader – belief in the power of relationships, simple goodness and fighting for your truth. Later on, he fielded a number of questions pertaining to a wide range of issues including the Lokpal Bill.

The second event Lead MisLead, involved a fun game that restored the child-like spirits of our young leaders as well as provoked teamwork and direction. The third event If I were a Leader, brought a crisis-like atmosphere to the auditorium, as the young leaders were given a (hypothetical) situation they were supposed to react to, immediately. It brought out their ability to think on their feet, without being informed in advance, or having a chance to prepare.

This was followed by high tea followed by the valedictory function. What ‘Lead on’ made each one realize was that good governance can be achieved with good leadership but with leadership comes great responsibility and it is only ‘a vision’ - the essence of it all, that can help one achieve their targets.

All in all, it was a successful event, giving the participants a lot of insight into the tricky skill called leadership, and lots to ponder upon.

Exhibition by Primary School

On 26th November the Primary Section of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, Delhi wore a festive look. The classes were bustling with excitement . The hustle bustle was on because the students were displaying various language games, working models of Environmental Science, 3-D Diagrams and various other projects made by them. The tiny students of classes I and II confidently explained the games and models put up by them. The parents wore pleased smiles and felt extremely proud of their kids. The most popular model was the one which used ice creams to learn addition and multiplication!

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The second floor was taken up entirely by Classes IV and V. The displays were absolutely breathtaking! The parents were left amazed by the array of models. How our respiratory system works was shown using a used plastic bottle, balloons and a few straws. Simple but effective! The students showed magic tricks using mathematical principles. Various games on Hindi and English grammar concepts, vocabulary and idioms were played by the parents. Sometimes the parents were unable to answer – much to the delight of the children! All in all the day was a great experience for the parents. They saw how interactive the teaching methods followed in school were. The students enjoyed themselves too, as they got a chance to show-off their knowledge in front of their parents. Visit to the Stock Exchange

On 19th November, 2011, the students of class XII A paid a visit to Delhi Stock Exchange. The visit was organized by Ms. Chandrika, HR manager at the Delhi Stock Exchange. An arrangement of lectures and an interesting presentation was made for them. The students were briefed on primary markets, secondary markets, smart goals, security and exchange board of India. All in all it was a splendid and knowledgeable experience for the students as most of them had visited a Stock Exchange for the first time.

World Diabetes Day

14th November is celebrated the world over as the Diabetes Day. In our school the celebrations started two days before on 12th itself with an Awareness Walk by the students of class IXth. The walk was inaugurated by Dr. Kiran Walia, Health Minister, Government of Delhi who herself participated in the 3 Kilometer walk from the Rose Garden to the Deer Park. The students spread awareness about Diabetes through banners, placards and raising slogans. On the 14th November, students made book marks and logo of World Diabetes Day and distributed them to the teachers of the school. On the 16th November, the school played a host to Ms. Emilie and Ms. Mette Skarr, Program coordinators, World Diabetes Foundation and representatives of the DFI (Diabetes Foundation of India). Students of class IXth performed a short skit and presented their viewpoints on the disease and how best to avoid this lifestyle

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disease to the honoured guests and to the students of classes IX and X. DFI appreciated the students efforts by giving certificates and gifts to them.

Project Citizen showcasing

Project Citizen is an initiative to expose students and bring their attention towards social matters. It has been introduced not only to schools in India but it has also paved its way to schools in different countries around the world. Our school has been actively contributing and participating in this annual forum over the past few years. On the 15th of November 2011, sixteen representatives from class IX-C visited Ramjas school, R.K.Puram for showcasing of their presentation inclusive of a PowerPoint Presentation, a chart depicting the topic-“Slums in India” and a portfolio doing the same. The project was categorized into four parts – Problems in slums, Government Policy, Action Plan and Class Policies and each topic was given to a set of about ten students to work on. This topic was deliberated upon by the students of the class earlier this year because the slums have been a factor dwelling in all parts of urban India for the past few decades, thus leading to wastage of human resources. The students believe that Project Citizen would be the appropriate platform to exhibit this as it is a need of the hour and development in these areas should not be neglected. There were a total of 20 participating schools from Delhi this year. Once the students were done with their presentation they were cross questioned by the judges regarding their topic. Four out of these sixteen students attended the valedictory Function on the next day, 16th November2011 at the Teen Murti Bhawan. The students were enlightened by the inspirational speeches of the Chief Guests. After all the efforts and hard work put in, the students walked out with the glorious trophy for the Most Excellent Portfolio. Overall, it was a great learning experience, one that will remain cherished by the students for years to come. Costume parade- Nursery

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It was 15th November 2011 when the young ones of nursery class had geared up in different costumes for the theme “advertisements” for the costume parade competition. There were thirty participants dressed up in creative, colourful and bright costumes. The winners for the competition were well deserved. They had dressed up as “Kinderjoy”, lifebuoy Soap” and “McDonald” etc. The audience applauded for them and could not take off their eyes from them. The show was enjoyed by one and all. It was a great pleasure to see these children perform on the stage with such confidence.  

Students join hands in support of Delhi

“Dharohar”, the Heritage Club recently initiated a signature campaign to make a valuable contribution to Indian national Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage(INTACH) efforts to bring Delhi on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage cities. The effort undertaken was to reach out to the student community first and through them the society at large and increase their awareness thus making them take pride in their heritage city. The results of the initiative impressed INTACH’s Delhi chapter immensely and received their appreciation. The organization now plans to start similar drives in other schools as well. Junior Athletic Meet - 14, November 2011

The Junior Athletic Meet, celebrated as Grandparents’ Day, of Tagore International School, New Delhi. Keeping in tradition of the school the Sports Day started on time at 9 am and ended right on time 12:30 noon. The much awaited event began with the arrival of the Chief Guest, Ms. Suneeta Godara, Arjuna awardee and former Asian marathon champion. The other dignitary of the day was Dr. Saryu Ruhela, HOD, Physical Education Department, Kamala Nehru College.

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The opening ceremony commenced with the March Past parade by the participants marching proudly to beat of the drums. The Principal, Ms. Madhulika Sen, welcomed the visitors and invited the chief guest to declare open the sports meet. The Chief Guest lit the ceremonial torch and initiated the torch relay. The flaming torch was passed on, around the field by the outstanding achievers of sports of the year. The torch remained alight through the day representing the blazing spirit of enthusiasm underlining the event. The chief guest Ms Suneeta Godara then went on to administer the oath and declared the meet open. The combination of displays and healthy competitive spirit ruled the charged up atmosphere of the charged Sports Day. The track and field events took off with races of the nursery section. The Flat Race for the girls and boys and the Fun Race- ‘String me Through’ and ‘Crawl Sprawl'. The track events of K.G ‘ Crawl Sprawl’ and ‘Architects at Work’ which were then followed by a yoga performance by the junior students on Vedic chants and drum beats.Then it was class 1 chance to showcase their skill with the flat and fun races- ‘Revisiting Nehru’ and ‘Pop –a -Balloon’ .The flat races of the students of class II were followed by the fun races ‘ Travelling Tasks’ and ‘Jugglers’The races of the children of class III, which were followed by the track events of the children of class III - ‘Dribbling Scribbling! ’ and ‘The Balancing Act’ The races of the children of class IV, were followed by the fun event - ‘String me Through’ and ‘Balancing Balloons’.The races of the children of class V were followed by the fun event - ‘The Pop-corn Dancers’ and ‘The Piped Piper and the Dancing Balls’ .The winners received medals from the chief guest. Finally, it was the turn of the much awaited races –The grandparents and the Teachers’ Race’. The students loudly cheered their grandparents and teachers and enjoyed the races. The displays of the day culminated in grand finale of the event which was an all out extravaganza – a high energy display of Tea-kwon-do, and aerobics was followed by Drill by all the participants. The event concluded with the formation of the various monuments of Delhi through aerobic exercises by the children to show their pride at being a Delhite. Dancing teachers, cheering students, waving pom-pom concluded the Annual Sports Day.

Students of classes VIII-X participated in and won various competitions organised at European Union Sanskriti Festival held at IIC New Building on 11th Nov.2011

Walk for cancer… be the change..!!

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On Sunday 06 November 2011, 43 students of class IX-B along with two teachers Ms. Vandana Sengupta and Ms. Lovleen went to Navy Children’s School to be a part of the Indian Cancer Society’s Annual Walk 2011. The students witnessed a small cultural programme and then picked up a few tips from Ms Sheila Dixit, the Chief Minister of New Delhi who was the Chief Guest for the occasion. They walked on streets with placards and banners and shouting slogans to spread the message that ‘Cancer is a lifestyle disease’. Finally they pledged not to use tobacco products and spread awareness in the future as well.

SPIC MACAY Performance by Ustad Rehmat Khan Langa on 4th November 2011

December 2011

INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ECLIPSE CONFERENCE 2011

S.P.A.C.E organized International Solar Eclipse Conference 2011 from 15th to 17th Dec in Chanakyapuri.Many students from various schools of Delhi participated in this mega event which was presided over by renowned international scientist.

Three lucky students of our school: Aakrit Bhargava, Adil Aggarwal, Hrithik Malik attended the conference. I got a chance to attend this seminar. I was also one of them.

Twenty international speakers enriched us by their experience and knowledge of astronomy.

They had seen more than 5 total solar eclipses and their main focus was on ‘An Eclipse plan’ for the Total Solar Eclipse 2012 in Australia. They apprised us about the Venus Transit which will be occurring this year and can be viewed from China .We were also told about the various programs being organized for us by the Space Organization.

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On the last and final day of the conference there was an open discussion in which the participants were encouraged to ask any question that they had. We also had the honor of getting our pictures clicked with the eminent scientists.

Christmas celebration

Christmas was celebrated with full vigour and enthusiasm at the school .The programme started with a speech by a student of class X who enlightened the audience about the significance of Christmas. This was followed by an enthralling skit by students of classes II-VII. Helping the needy must be a part of the celebration, was the key point of the skit. The message was well received by the students. The programme ended with melodious songs by the school choir with children dressed up as reindeers and Santa Claus dancing and distributing sweets. Tiny tots and students of primary classes joined in the dance. The whole school rejoiced in the festive mood.

Senior Athletic Meet

22nd December saw the successful organisation of the Senior Athletic Meet 2011 at Tagore International School ,Vasant Vihar. The students of classes VI to XII assembled in the sports ground on the bright, sunny day. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Mr.Sabha Karim who carried out the torch lighting ceremony and conducted the oath-taking ceremony. In his speech he left the audience spellbound with two anecdotes from his playing days. He recalled his days with the legendary player, Sachin Tendulkar who scored a century in his first match at the age of 15 and Laxman, who used to practice his batting techniques even in his sleep. Once someone develops this degree of obsession for anything, he is sure to achieve it. With such golden words kick starting the day, the Athletic Meet was sure to be successful .The enthusiasm of the pupils could be seen in the well-decorated house enclosures with colourful banners. The students cheered their respective houses with catchy slogans. The cheerleaders of the four houses mesmerized the audience with their performances. Many records were broken and new records set. The various events in the junior and senior categories included races (100m, 200m and 400m), relay races, shot put, discus throw, javelin throw, high jump, long jump, slow cycling race and the hurdle races. It was all accompanied by cheerleading from all houses for which points were awarded to all the houses. The houses indulged in healthy competition against each other. The final moment of the sports meet was reserved for the highlight, the most fun-filled event which was the lemon race for the teachers. The Senior and Junior Sports boy were Akhil Pant and Aayush Saha while the Senior and Junior Sports girls were Khusboo Tanwar and Vanshika Sejwal respectively. Shanti House lifted the Winners’ Trophy followed by Pragati, Shakti and then Ekta.

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Itihaas Walk

Excited, each of us entered our respective classrooms one Friday morning all set to go for our first school outing in this entire session. Our batch had already walked those streets of Old Delhi that lead to the Dargah when we were in seventh grade, yet the energetic chirpiness that surrounded us didn’t cease. Our school has partnered with ITIHAAS, an organization which has been connecting children of our generation, since 2004, by walking us through the streets of the past. Its objective is to inculcate a feeling and bring about a connection between us and the stories behind the sites we visit. These stories are real, that take us to a destination not far off, but just around the corner, or even sometimes buried in the streets that we roam today.

The word ‘dar’ in Dargah, comes from ‘darwaza’ which means a door; and ‘gaha’ comes from ‘jagah’ meaning place. The Nizamudin Dargah lies in the olden part of the city which was in a village of those days outside Delhi that used to be known as Ghyaspur. Back then, the Islamic laws were extremely rigid and the people were not in favour of it, therefore came the being of Sufism, more liberal and spiritual aspect of Islam, by Khwaja Moinudin Chishti. Hazrat Nizamudin Auliya, one of the highly respected Sufi saints in India, was born in Uttar Pradesh and is a direct descendent of Chishti. Hazrat was a title given to him, Nizamudin his name, and Auliya, plural of wali which refers to being God-like or having God’s qualities was suffixed to his name as he was someone who all believed to be so. He was a man of generosity, humanitarianism, wit, and personal frugality. Meeting the kings was probably one of the only things Nizamudin didn’t like. He would say that when and if ever there to be a day when a badshah were to come to his residence from the front, he would exit from the back door. The most lavish of langars were held at his residence where thousands of people could be seen lining up from far away. Even the royalty would be jealous of his prestige and popularity, particularly Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq. There was an incident where Tughlaq had sent a message demanding Nizamudin Auliya to leave Delhi before his arrival from Bengal. To this, Hazrat replied, ‘Abhi dilli doorast,’ which translates into ‘Delhi is still far away.’ While resting on his journey, the palace that Tughlaq was staying in fell upon him and Delhi thus, turned to be far away eternally.

Many tales and legends like this we heard on our trip, however we also learned much more starting from the difference between a dargah and a mosque to understanding the variation of lifestyle and architecture then and now. I now look around this city and think, I’m walking on the same ground that once such great people stepped foot on and such thrilling events took place on. I feel that there’s so much more in this city yet to be explored, that the past still lingers on and it’s up to us to wander and come in contact with what is and not just keep wondering what might have been.

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EXPRESSIONS-2011

Expressions 2011 - The annual tiny tot show was held at Tagore International School Vasant Vihar on 17 December 201. Each student of the nursery and KG Section was up on stage displaying their talent either in acting, singing, recitation, dance or even in narration and display of props. The students of Nursery enthralled the parents with a graphic presentation of the theme ‘Nurture Nature’ wherein the amalgamation of three stories was presented with a twist in the tales. Song, dance, music was interspersed with an audio video presentation which added to the special effects. The colourful costumes added to the visual appeal. The KG section showcased their myriad skills with a presentation of the story Sleeping Beauty which captured beautifully the theme of Love and Good Values which is what helps Sleeping Beauty to awake and arise from her sleep into oblivion, ignorance and evil thoughts and deeds. Each of the kindergartners sang, danced and waltzed their way into the hearts of the parents, leaving the auditorium resounding with a thunderous applause, reflecting the hard work and talent of the tiny tots and teachers alike.

Computer Prowess

The Primary School hosted the much awaited Computer competition for the students of Classes I and II on 13th December 2011. The Theme for this year’s competition was “Celebrating 100 years of Delhi”. The competition witnessed enthusiastic participation from the students in teams of two competing in various events like ‘Artistic Galore’ for Class I and Card Making for Class II. The topic for Class I was ‘Make any monument of Delhi’ in MS-Paint and topic for class II was to design ‘an invitation card for a cultural festival’ in Print Artist. The judges were left spellbound by the imagination and creativity of the students. The Theme for this year’s competition for classes III, IV and V was “Celebrating 100 years of Delhi”. The competition witnessed participation from the students in teams of two competing in various events like ‘Designing poster’ for Class III, ‘Making Presentation’ for Class IV and ‘Animation’ for Class V. The topic for Class III was ‘Design a poster for Cultural festival on 100 years of Delhi’ in creative writer, the topic for class IV was ‘Delhi Meri Jaan’ in MS-Powerpoint and the topic for class V was ‘ Delhi then and Delhi now’ in MicroWorlds. The judges were left spellbound by the imagination and creativity of the students.

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Book Week (14 December-17 December 2011)

With great enthusiasm, a Scholastic Book Fair was organized in the school. The fair had books catering to the taste of all students. The children great time browsing, making their wish lists and buying books. Apart from the book fair, with the initiative of the library department, there was a Jazz Workshop for students of class VII by Mr. Ravi Rastogi and “Meet the author” session, where the famous children’s author, Ms Devika Rangachari interacted with the students.

A delegation from Ministry of National Education at Jakarta headed by Dr. Burhanuddin Tola,MA. visited school on 13th Dec. and were impressed by the comprehensive infrastructure for education

SCIENCIA 2011

The first-ever edition of ‘Sciencia’ the Inter-class Science Quiz was organized by the Quiz Club for students of classes 6th to 8th on Friday, 9th December 2011. It provided a challenging and interesting platform for students to test their scientific knowledge. The participants were selected on the basis of a Preliminary Round held in November and 2 representatives were chosen from each section. Six teams participated in the Final Stage Round with two teams per section comprising one student from each class. The Quiz comprised of 5 rounds – General, Act it out, Audio-Visual, Guess the Scientist and Rapid Fire. The two rounds which forced the participants to put on their thinking caps and think laterally were the acting round and the AV round where they were asked to act out terms like gravity and identify the sound of a blue whale. The students’ knowledge and intelligence even baffled the organizers when they easily

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answered questions which were considered to be ‘tough’. The Rapid Fire round proved to be decisive as it cut down a 40-point lead to leave the last two teams tied at 100 points each. An intriguing tie-break followed after which Team 6 were declared winners.

The members of these teams got an opportunity to participate in Derek O’Brien’s Bournvita Quiz Contest 2011.

Overall, it was an hour well-spent and an event students will look forward to in the following years.

Jazz Music Workshop

A Jazz workshop was conducted in the school in which the students of classes VIII-X had an interactive session with musicians Mr. Nils Olan and Mr. Tommy Smith from Norway. The students were introduced to some basic jazz rhythms and melody.. It was an enjoyable experience for the children who sang and played the instruments in the genre of Jazz with a touch of Indian music with Tabla and Dholak. The students were quick to grasp the concept and were ready to perform on stage on the third day of the workshop. The performance was brilliant and received great applause and cheers from the audience who joined in with singing with the performers. The workshop was intended to identify talented students from India for a live performance in Norway.

Founder’s Day Celebrations

On the occasion of the school’s Founder’s Day Celebrations on the 3th and 4th December 2011, 345 students of the school participated in a Musical play based on the popular folk tale ‘Robin Hood A Brush With the Beatles’ designed and directed by renowned theatre personality Mr. Stephen Marazzi. The Chief Guest on the first day of the presentation was Mr. Graham Granger, Director, The British School. The programme commenced with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guest and the Principal Ms. Madhulika Sen, followed by an audio - visual presentation of the school’s Annual Report by the Head Boy and the Head girl of the school. The presentation highlighted on the school’s achievements in the field of academics, achievements at the International, National, intra and inter-school level, in sports and also on inter school activities organized by the school during the session 2010-2011. What followed was a welcome speech by the Principal wherein she spoke of how education is not merely lessons in textbooks but lessons of life which makes us capable of interpreting things appropriately. Highlighting on the school’s endeavour to provide an environment to students in which they can

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discover and realizes his/ her full potential, she reiterated that this would result in empowering students to take on challenges ahead. The Chief Guest, highly impressed with the school’s achievements at all levels, spoke about the commonality in the goals of schools all over the globe. He expressed his eagerness to know how Robin Hood and The Beatles were amalgamated and so looked forward to the Musical. The Annual Production had woven, into the legendary tale of Robin Hood, songs by the renowned Rock and Roll sensation of the yesteryears ‘The Beatles’. The choice of the tale was relevant to the modern times as the hero here symbolized the change at a time when there is injustice, social inequality and corruption, oppression and discontentment. It is always one, from among the common man, who comes to the rescue and heralds this change. The choice of the Beatles for the Musical was also apt as they were the legendary rock and roll shockers in New England. It was the school western music choir, under the able guidance of Mr. Stephen Marazzi that brought alive the singing sensation of the yesteryears The Beatles, with their powerful rendition of songs like A Hard Day’s Night, Don’t let me Down, I want to hold your Hand, With love From Me to You, Rock and Roll Music and Yellow Submarine. The acting prowess of the Main Cast consisting of Divyang Tiwari as Robin Hood, Shouryaditya Ray Lala as Will, Raghav Mehndiratta as Little John, Niladri Chakravarty as Sheriff of Nottingham, and Amlan Panda as Guy Of Gisborne deserve a special mention. The synchronization, coordination and team work of the Choreo groups especially those that danced to the Yellow Submarine and Puppy Love captivated the audience. It was a definite departure from the usual stage presentations as it challenged the skills and creative potential of all the students. But what was clearly evident was that the entire production, which stretched over a period of a month (without a lapse in academics), transported the students from their mundane activities to a world of joy, fun, sharing, learning and most of all appreciation of one another. The month that went by with students practicing steps, humming the songs, walking with a lilt in their gait will be missed by one and all. It was a truly memorable experience for everyone present as each one swayed to the final tribute to The Beatles with the song ‘Hey Jude.’ Everyone grooved to the songs much after the presentation was over.

January 2012

Tiny Tots expressed their gratitude towards School Support Staff on 19th Jan. 2012 by giving them sweets and cards

Students from Pre Primary class had their Show & Tell on 20th Jan.2012

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Tiny Tots from Nursery Class at their Show & Tell held on 23rd Jan.2012

Just a Minute

Just a Minute Competition was held on the 24th of January for all the three sections of Class II in the school premises. The topic under consideration was “ Dilli Meri Jaan”. The children participated with a lot of enthusiasm and spoke eloquently, both in Hindi and English. Leaving the audience and judges impressed. Their love for Delhi was clearly reflected in their speech and was communicated well.

Students of class III had their Intra class Just a Minute competition on 25th Jan.2012

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Republic Day Celebration

Though India became a free nation on August 15, 1947, it declared itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state with the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950.

A salute of 21 guns and the unfurling of the Indian National Flag by Dr. Rajendra Prasad heralded the historic birth of the Indian Republic on that day. Thereafter 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and was recognized as the Republic Day of India. On this day every Indian fells his heart swell with pride and immense love for their motherland. The students of the primary section celebrated the 63th Republic Day with patriotic fervor.

Each student handmade their own tri-coloured flag, which they waved with great pride. The students celebrated the day with a dance show casing the various dimensions of India. The patriotic song sung by the students reminding us of the sacrifices made by the unsung heroes and the leaders of our country. The students understood the importance living in an independent country with a great constitution.

Hasya kavi Sammelan on 25th Jan.2012

Graduation Ceremony on 27th Jan.2012

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Farewell Party

Story Telling competition for Nursery was held on 30th Jan.2012

Students of class VII and VIII were sensitized on the need to Save Tigers on 31st Jan.2012

Chrysalis Day

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Annual Computer Festival for classes III-VIII , CHRYSALIS 2012 witnessed the anticipated zeal and enthusiasm of the students. The festival was inaugurated by Ms. Mallika Preman, Sr. Head Mistress of the school on 31st Jan. 2012.The judges and the audience were impressed by the computer skills of the students in various technical areas like movie making, presentations, story writing , spreadsheets, web designing etc. The presentations done by the students on thought provoking themes gave an insight into their young minds which was assuring and aspiring.

Story telling competition for K.G. on 31st Jan.2012

Inter house Quiz competition on 2nd Feb.2012

Students of class VII manning Qutab Minar on 8th Feb. 2012 looking after its beauty, sale of tickets and spreading

awareness about its historic importance

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Visit to Sariska Tiger Reserve

Roufes treepie, jungle babbler, painted stork, ospray…..

Good Morning! I Soumyaneel Das of class IX C was most clueless about such words as most of you would be unless now that I got an opportunity to visit Sariska Tiger Reserve on a 3-day trip to participate in a regional camp organized by the ‘Kids For Tiger Project”, initiated by Sanctuary Club Magazine.

It was a wonderful experience particularly because I represented one school in a group of 8 other schools in Delhi and NCR. What I realized at the end of the camp was that the word “Conservation” is certainly something that needs to be paid attention to and valued for the sake of our own existence. ‘Tiger’ our national animal, hardly held any significance in my life so far but today I know if I want to live I have to work towards saving the stripped mammal. It is the tiger who would force us to save our forest that eventually give us water and sustain many food chains.

So the most important lesson I came back with, has been that we must “save our tiger”.

Before I leave from here let me inform you all that the words I began my speech with are names of some beautiful birds I spotted in Sariska while tirelessly looking for atleast one tiger but in vain.

Annual Prize Distribution of Nur sery and K.G.

Annual prize Distribution for Sr. School was held on 10th Feb.2012

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100 Years Of Delhi’ Students Of The Primary Wing Present Dharohar 2012- The Performing Art Festival

What better way to pay tribute to the great city of Delhi than to have a Performing Art Festival celebrating 100 years of Delhi as its theme? Dharohar –2012 - The Performing Art Festival saw students of classes I to V present the various facets of Delhi, including its history, its rulers, its diverse culture, its various means of transportation, its lifeline - The Yamuna through a chain of performances which includedperformances in theatre,poetry, public speaking, dance, vocal and instrumental music as also through paintings and an art and craft exhibition.In fact so wide was the canvas that the Guests of honour, who were the proud parents, were all too enthralled by the entire presentation.The festival itself is a culmination of the year-long activities and effort put in during the weekly performing art and club-activity classes for the students through the session. It was not only the creativity in the way each aspect of Delhi’s history, present and past was presentedbut also the innovative techniques adopted, the riot of colours and the smiling, confident faces of the students that caught the imagination and set the mood for the day.

The show was an amalgamation of varied musical performances , enactments and elocutions. The Tale of Seven Cities by the students of class 3 enlightened the audience about the history of Delhi.The history from the establishment of QilaRaiPithora, to Shahjahanabad and how Delhi got its present name was presented through a play which kept the audience enthralled. The Sufi dance and semi classical dance took us back to Razia Sultan’s Durbar. This was followed by JeewanTarangini- Yamuna by the students of class 4.The programme began with the students telling the audience about how the journey of a river is similar to us humans. It begins its life, and finally it dies as it enters the sea- only to be born again.

The Public speaking students recited a poem about the journey of a river. They carried placards to express their anguish at the sorry state of The Yamuna. They even came up with solutions to solve this problem

The theater children presented a play on the life of Yamuna‘ JivanDayaniTarangani’.The dance depicting the blossoming love of Radha and Krishna on the banks of River Yamuna was amazing. The flow of Yamuna was beautifully shown through the rhythmic steps of kathak.The instrumental students and vocalists played the synthesizers and sang songs in praise of the river Yamuna.

They also played different pieces for each class presentation on their synthesizers.Delhi Durbar by students of class 5 took the audience to 18th century India. Budding kathak dancers performedTarana. The highlight of the show was Qawalli and other performances by budding singers of the school. What stole the show was the final contemporary dance on the popular patriotic number “SunoGour Se DuniaWalon….”.

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Each performance spoke at length not only of the students’ caliber but also the effort of the teachers in putting across authentic information to the students and parents. But it was the exquisite beauty of the paintings and the sculptures in clay that adorned the atrium of the school in the art and craft exhibition that stole the show. The exhibition had different sections depicting the students’ paintings of the art and architecture of Delhi using different mediums and techniques. Sculptures in clay and paintings brought alive the Mughal rulers, the Republic Day parade, The Red Fort. The 3D clay models were marked by finesse and perfection. Huge banners and collages, depicting writings in Urdu of the Quran in water colour and pencil sketches fluttered on the school walls surrounding the atrium. The Exhibition was a feast to the eyes of the parents.The show, besides enthralling the viewers helped the students to learn more about the heritage of their city –Delhi.

The performance concluded with the Principal’s speech in which the efforts of all the participants and the teachers was commended. The festival did leave a lasting impression on the parents who were all too happy and satisfied that the school leaves no stone unturned in bringing forth the talent in each child.

Francophonie Day

On the 11th February students form various schools of Delhi went to Lycee Francis de Delhi to participate in the celebrations of the International Francophonie Day. It was a truly enriching experience for 24 students of Tagore International School from classes 6,9 and 10! The day started with an opening speech by the French Ambassador followed by a visit to the stalls set up by 15 Francophone countries. It was really amazing to witness the culture of all these countries first hand. We tasted Couscous from the Tunisian stall and meatballs from the Hungarian stall. We played games on the Mauritian stall and admired the Senegalese wooden masks. The amazing part was all the things that we learnt like how Hungarians do not use chilies but paperoni to cook and Burkina Faso has these great bronze statues with so much of meaning behind them. All of us were overwhelmed by the richness of culture displayed by so many countries. After this we proceeded to our first workshop. As kids we have often attempted questions about framing a sentence out of word. Well, it was the same for us but only this times the words and sentences were in french. Thinking fast and writing even faster we managed to frame sentences from quiet a few words. if I might say so myself it was a job well done. But all that french vocabulary had left us hungry and chocolate croissants and cheese baguettes came to our rescue! Thank all the amazing french breads! The next workshop was even more interesting(like that was even possible). It was about the good old acronyms. Who hasn't tried to make all sorts of awesome adjectives out of their names. S for smart like Einstein, A for artistic like Picasso, N for noble like Gandhi, Y for _____(there is always that one letter that leaves you stumped), and A for amazing like Houdini. You guess my name now. Well, in this particular workshop We had to do the same for F-R-A-N-C-E but in pairs. It was actually pretty fun to decorate our papers and come up with new and innovative adjectives! All the schools then put up performances that enthralled the audience which consisted of students, teachers and parents. The students of Tagore International School presented a dance on the French song "Je Veux" by Zaz which was appreciated by one and all. From our friendly and supportive French guide to crooning to the French song Aisha, from eating lip smacking Tunisian food to meeting so many new people this was an experience we will all cherish thanks to LyceeFrancais!

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Police Week Celebration

Delhi is celebrating Police week. Vasant Vihar Police Station organized a Senior Citizen’s day on 22nd February at their premises. Our students of Class IV sang a song on “Delhi-100 Years as Capital of India” and performed a kathak dance. Class VIII-C students interacted with the Senior Citizens. The programme was attended by the DCP, Vasant Vihar-Ms. Chhaya Sharma, our Principal, Ms. Madhulika Sen and the students of Modern School, Vasant Vihar. Our children were widely appreciated and applauded