March 2009

Dear Parents,


It has been a full and productive School year, yet we are still left with the feeling that much remains to be accomplished. It can safely be said that one of our main strengths as an institution is our ability to assess ourselves critically. Students, teachers and administrators have regular self–assessment sessions and mentoring is arranged as and when required.

Here is our progress report for the year, which you will receive along with your children’s :

• Parents’ Role:
  Thank you for your unflagging support, which has been a motivating force for us. However, we look forward to your active role in teaching our children to manage their time better. On no account should they be permitted to stay away from School in order to prepare for tests and examinations. Nor should they insist on coming to School even though they are ill.
  
• Students’ Achievements:
  Students have won their fair share of laurels this year in Sports, Public Speaking, Dramatics, Art, Creative Writing, Film Making and Music.This year our students won the second prize in the popular Spel Linc contest, after having won the Winner’s Trophy for the past three years in succession. The ICSE and ISC results, as you already know, were quite outstanding, and the Class of 2008 are all, without exception, pursuing courses of their choice ranging from medicine and engineering to design and fine art. Several have left the city to various centres of learning in India and abroad while others have chosen to stay on in Kolkata. Incidentally, most of our students have learned to take examinations in their stride, and the few who still suffer from anxiety are well on the way to overcoming it. This time a record number of students have had perfect attendance.
  
• Our Teachers have been steadily upgrading their existing skills. Some of them have completed advanced courses in ICT and have received recognition for their efforts. They have held innovative demo classes which their colleagues and Co-ordinators have observed. The evidence of fresh ideas and meaningful use of technology can be seen in many of our classrooms today.
  
• Reaching Out:
  The School is continuing to reach out to others, in Kolkata and elsewhere
  
• We have collected funds for villagers affected by the floods in Bihar, which were disbursed through Apne Aap, an NGO run by our alumni. Our students continue to support the Sharehouse Charitable Foundation and work with CINI-ASHA, CHIP and DISHA.
• Our students went to Dehradun and Mumbai, Germany and the UK to participate in various activities. Rishika Das Roy was selected out of hundreds of young people to represent India at the World Humanitarian Forum in Geneva. In turn, we received visitors from the UK, USA, Germany and Singapore. Excursion groups visited places of interest in and around our city as well as different parts of the country. This year our Bulbuls had the privilege of participating in the first ever overnight camp in School itself. We could see that the little ones savoured the total experience which also included an early morning walk in the neighbourhood.
• The Arts:
  You are already aware of our love for the visual and performing arts and we continue to be actively involved in these areas. Our students won the award for Best Production in the Patton-Padatik One-Act Play competition and second prize for Film Making from the Goethe Institut. This year we inaugurated IMAGES, our Film and Book Club.
  
• Our Environment-related work continues to be purposeful and effective. This year’s projects included rainwater harvesting, bird watching, gardening, anti-litter drives, recycling, waste management and others. This time the Better Kolkata Contest theme, ‘Bio-diversity’, fitted in very well with our normal year-round work. We enjoy this contest, as it gives focus to our numerous activities. Incidentally, we have won 10 major awards in this contest over the last 9 years.
  
• Infrastructure:
  Additional rooms have been fitted with audio-visual equipment and the number of toilets has been increased. The School bell has been automated, and two pianos have been purchased. Shades have been set up over the pathway from the main gate to the Primary entrance, as well as over the waiting area in front of Bengal Stores. Similar shades will soon be set up over the pathway from the main gate to the side gate. Application forms for admission are available on-line on the School’s website, and we have introduced SMS messaging for urgent matters. Sports Day was far more enjoyable because galleries were set up for better viewing.
  
• Bus Service:
  As mentioned in our notice, on account of the extension granted by the Court, all our buses will ply till 31^st July. We shall let you know of our future plans as soon as we have arrived at a decision after considering all perspectives.
  
• Safety and Security:
  CCTV cameras have been set up at strategic points. We now have armed guards at our gates and some of our students have been practising evacuation drills. We have recently received a document from the Kolkata Police detailing emergency procedures to be put in place. We are in the process of implementing these.
  
Alumni
: Our alumni continue “to bring honour to our name” in the many diverse fields in which they are engaged. At our Annual Alumni Meet this year, we felicitated three of them in the field of dance and music: Priti Patel, Alokananda Roy and Alka Yagnik.

We hope to continue to learn and achieve, with your ongoing support.



Devi Kar
PRINCIPAL