Keekli Reporter, 18th September, 2013, Shimla
The welcome song — Pavitra Aatma, the English play titled The Apple, various delightful songs sung by choir groups and the tribal dance all set a perfect rhythm and tempo to the Annual Boys Speech Day, 2013, Auckland House School. The colourful performances, the action songs and the best part — boys dressed up as girls played their parts perfectly. The makeup, costumes and demeanour of the boys was so flawless that they could easily pass of as girls on any given day.
Old time favourite’s such as Its a Small World was sung beautifully by children of Lower Primary Department (classes Nursery to three) while the action song-dance performance to the tune of Do Re Me was impeccable, as the tiny tots gave their best. This was followed by a piano recital by Satvik Guleri and then the kids enacted a Hindi play Rishton se Pare, which emphasized the importance of values and brotherhood irrespective of any caste or religion. The Kashmiri dance number Bhumroo was equally scintillating and the Boys Band sung the evergreen, classic Rock number Winds of Change and Final Countdown. The Pahari dance was again entertaining as the children showed glimpses of our Himachali tradition and culture.
The stage as well as the audience was upbeat to the dhol beats and rhythmic moves on the Bhangra dance by the Upper Primary Department (classes III to VIII). The children exuberated such confidence and talent at such tender age, which was quite amazing as well as surprising. The changing times has seen the need to excel in not just academic’s but also in extracurricular events such as cultural performance and music. The boys clearly proved that apart from sports they have the talent when it comes to singing, dancing or acting.
The Chief Guest for the occasion was Neeraj Bharti, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Education, Government of Himachal Pradesh — a multifaceted personality with interest in agriculture, a social and political worker and a computer engineer. He appreciated and applauded the efforts of the children for presenting such a beautiful show and called them as the “jewels of the school”. He said, “Quality education and all round development with moral and ethical values should be emphasized while teaching. Auckland House School is promoting highest spiritual, moral, intellectual and esthetical values among students by giving special importance to developing good personalities, characters and teaching children to be courteous”. Bharti also spoke about the glorious past of Auckland School and stated that the school started in 1866 with only 32 pupils and today it was proving the best education to thousands of children, who have earned a name for themselves, bringing laurels to the school.
Principal Micheal John read the school report and stated the activities that had taken since the beginning of the academic session 2013. The notable highlights were the Annual Sports Day and the first of a kind interschool basketball and football competition between the dioceses of Shimla schools held at Bishop Cottons School, Shimla, in which nine schools participated. Karandeep Singh was adjudged as the most promising footballer, while Dhananjay excelled by scoring maximum points in basketball.
A craft exhibition was showcased by the boys on safety seats, rich heritage of our country and different types of tools and houses and much more. Boys were the active participants of a tree plantation drive, while students also took part in the Camelin Art Competition and the SJVN Penta Colour Quiz.
Principal John further added that the school had dispersed scholarships worth about two lakh forty four thousand to various students. The Best All Rounder Smt. Roshini Devi Award instituted by Dr. R. K. Goel was shared by Ayush Goel and Satvik Guleri and the Tarawati Ram Gopal Mehra Foundation Scholarship for Belvedere, instituted by a former Auckyite boy was shared by Aaron Daniel of UKG and Aakash of Form II.
Principal John said, “Such extracurricular activities help in bringing about all round development and apart from sports, boys are excelling in other cultural activities as well as music and have their own band. At Auckland House we lay emphasis on value based education, which is instrumental in unfolding and nurturing the ideals of life. Education which does not promote human virtues does not do any good to the society but rather misleads people. Education often open our minds but value based education purifies our heart. Education provides skills but value education provides sincerity in using those skills. Value based education is the need of the hour as our lives have become more complex and even though quantity of education has increased considerably but the quality has decreased. Our teachers put in their best to motivate and encourage the students to excel through all round development”. He ended on the note of appreciation and gratitude towards his teaching, non-teaching and support staff.
The Speech Day ended with prize distribution!!!
[line]
[line]
[line]
[line]
[line]
[line]
