Spellbound: The Modern High School girls with the SpelLinc winner’s trophy

At exactly 9 am on December 19, our teacher Mrs I. Bhattacharya pulled all three of us out of our respective classrooms in Modern High School for girls for Mission SpelLinc. The event was to take place in a couple of hours? time at Rabindra Sadan.

All kinds of confusing spellings lay siege on us in the first round, but our English grammar and vocabulary arsenal saved the day for us. M.P. Birla, Ashok Hall, St Patrick?s (Asansol), St Xavier?s Collegiate School, Don Bosco (Park Circus), St Teresa?s Secondary School, National Gems High School and our school marched into round two.

Round Two had 10 anagrams that had to be solved in two minutes. The challenge, in Round Three, was solving crossword puzzles. The last round was a rapid fire where teams had to choose a representative who would spell the words aloud. The final results were revealed in reverse order. As the names were ticked off, our tension kept mounting. When only two trophies remained on the table ? that of the champion and the runner-up ? the two schools that were still awaiting a call were St Xavier?s and Modern High. And when the St Xavier?s contestants went to collect the runner-up trophy, the arclights were on us as the cameras took aim and the flashbulbs went off. We had won! It was an amazing experience. We just wish that we win again next year and keep this fantastic trophy with us.

Sahana Srinivasan and Sreeja Gupta (Class IX) and Laboni Sarkar (Class VIII), Modern High School for girls, Calcutta

DELHI
Modern reflections

The English Literary Society of Miranda House had ?Modernism: A Visual Journey? as the theme of its annual fest held on December 15 and 16. The event explored the period from 1890-1930 ? a period associated with the European modernist movement in terms of visual representations.

The exhibition had paintings by great masters like Picasso, Klimt, Schielle and Van Gogh, as well as photographs and posters of the time. The exhibition was also devoted to placing the various cultural movements in the perspective of their contemporary political contexts. Plus, there were lectures and films on the period and a workshop on the modern art of collage by Orijit Sen.

Not only did the students of the English department put together an impressive exhibition with the help of their teachers, they also organised a food court where they sold food cooked by themselves. A book bazaar of old books catered to diverse interests besides allowing the students a glimpse of what their teachers read during their spare time.

Diksha Madhok, Miranda House

CALCUTTA
Fun ?n? farewell

The journalism and mass communication department of the University of Clacutta organised ?Bonhomie-2005?, the freshers? bash, on December 9. Dr Tapati Basu, head of the journalism department, inaugurated the show. It was also an occasion when the final year students were given a farewell. With lively events like a quiz, a fashion show, songs and dances, the day was a memorable one for the University as it showed a sense of camaraderie that students of various disciplines share.

Amit V. Sengupta, first year, MA, mass communication, University of Calcutta

ASANSOL
Christmas prelude

On December 10, 2005, a grand cultural programme was held in our school. Five schools, including two from Calcutta, performed a short, 10-minute dance item each. Students of our school enacted a play based on The Selfish Giant, a famous short story by Oscar Wilde. Through this play we tried to convey the message that real happiness lies not in selfish behaviour but in giving. Every student from Classes V to IX and XI took part. The choir of St Patrick?s sang two Christmas carols, signalling the advent of Christmas. Br Gerard Alvarez, Province Leader of the Christian Brothers, was the chief guest on the occasion.

Anupam Dawn, Class XI and Akshay Minocha, Class IX, St Patrick?s H.S. School

Granny?s day

Loreto Convent, Asansol, celebrated ?Grandparents? Day? on December 8, 2005. The grandparents of the students of Classes IX and X were invited. The students arranged a cultural programme including skits, dances, songs to entertain them. At the end of the programme, some of the grandparents spoke, and some chose to express their happiness by singing a few lines. They were also given souvenirs from the school.

Kritika Sarkar, Class X-B, Loreto Convent

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