EDUCATION

HAMARA SCHOOL
SPRING DALE PUBLIC SCHOOL
Spring of liberalism and the dale of secularism
Asha Ahuja

The larger the island of knowledge
the longer the shore line of wonder

Spring Dale sprang into life in '1982' and presently holds a star status on the educational map of Ludhiana. The school is being run by an educational society constituted by Ludhiana social elite and top intelligentsia under the banner of Spring Dale Educational Society (Regd), Ludhiana .

The most impassioned missionary is the one who takes up the challenge to educating the youngsters of society and by doing so aims at transforming the warp and woof of the social fabric. Mrs Avinash Kaur Walia, fired with the zeal of this vibrant passion, stood up to the challenge and floated in 1982 an institution named 'Spring Dale Public School' in the Sherpur area of Ludhiana.

An educational institution is the cathedral of learning which should provide to the booming and blooming youngsters the rainbow atmosphere o f love, light and amity. Spring Dale is such a sanctorum. It is the spring of liberalism and the dale of secularism. Its colourful staff always emits the -sunshine of home-spun affection upon the little angels. Owing to the missionary spirit of its Principal, the conscientiousness of the teachers and the committed genuine efforts of the committee, the school has created for itself a place both longitudinally and latitudinally, at least on the educational map of Punjab and carved a niche in the hearts of people. The school has 1500 students on roll and has a staff of 65.

The school has employed high calibre, accomplished and well qualified teachers who are fully trained in different scientific and psychological techniques with modern approach the result of which is that Spring Dale is continuously producing 100 per cent Board results and ensures a smooth and systematic transition for the children who come from all over the city i.e. Ludhiana as well as from the nearby localities. Being a secular institution, school admission is open to one and all without any difference of caste, creed, religion or region. All the religions are treated at par.

The school offers an excellent environment for orderly, psychological intellectual and physical growth of its pupils. The school is successfully functioning under the Affiliation of Central Board of Secondary Education since 1997 and is a regular participant in each and every activity organised by other schools and bags top position in various items.

The school has an inbuilt infrastructure to further expand the school upto class XII with a aim to start class XI from the next session, 2003-2004. Interestingly, the school provides day boarding facility especially for the wards of working parents and weaker students. But day boarding is not compulsory. Similarly, the students who do not wish to partake meals are exempted. There are special computer classes for the students to acquaint them with the latest in the field of information technology.

During the summer vacation, the school organises summer camps where children learn various activities like painting, art and craft, English speaking, yoga, clay modelling and excursion trips to hill stations. The Principal herself attends yoga classes held in the ground by Bharat Yog Sansthan. As regards transport the school has its own fleet of buses for transportation of students from all directions of the city. The school has a big playground across the road. The Municipal Corporation has promised to make a subway so that students can safely reach the play ground

The school strives to develop the faculty of independent thinking, logical judgement, good understanding, clarity in speech and receptivity in new ideas.

“Our outlook is secular and we are disciplined”

Mrs Avinash Walia has been the Founder-Principal and has deep commitment towards her students. She knows the names of all her students and interacts with them freely. Wanting to be adept in the latest methodologies of teaching, she frequently attends the meetings organised by the chairman and secretary of the CBSE to learn new trends in curriculum, evaluation system, administration etc.

On education

Mrs Avinash Walia feels that below average students have as much right to schooling as the bright ones. She throws a challenge that she would be able to educate any drop out from any other school .To prove her point, she has admitted a number of dropouts from other schools and they are doing well. She feels that if the problems of such students are understood and enough attention is given to them, they pick up. Outside her office, a board reads: All teachers present”. She consulted parents on the issue of competitive examination for admissions, and their unanimous opinion was that competitive examinations were both a strain on children and parents. The admissions to various courses should be based on marks obtained in the CBSE as the Board gives quality education.

On religion

Religion is the underlying force of our existence. I believe in freedom of religion to one and all. We have a secular outlook. I belong to a Sikh family but have respect for all religions. Gurpurabs are celebrated with as much enthusiasm as Janamashtmi and other festivals. If we don’t have faith in God, how can we place faith in any one else? Her teachers are from all states and the school has a truly secular family. For first two days of the week, prayers are recited in English. For the next two days, shabads are recited, and guru ka naam, mool mantar and guru mantar are chanted.. On the next two days ‘bhajans’ in Hindi and gyatri mantar are chanted. Moreover, seminars on moral education and personality development are held..The school is associated with 50 socio-religious societies and students’ interaction them also helps them develop the right moral values. A.A.

POEMS BY STUDENTS
My school

School is the place,

where I learn to read, write and draw,

school is a place

which helps me to grow,

School is the place,

where I learn to sing and play,

School is the place,

Where I do what my teachers say

Jasjeet Singh, class II-B

Song is life

Life is a bed of roses

An altar of sacrifices,

By crown of thorns,

with a part of mourns

Pleasant and unpleasant,

Target ever remain distant

Autumn sheds leaves,

But spring adorns with flowers,

Dealing as light and shadow,

With hill - hollows,

Vexation, there be may,

But for goods deeds better results lay

Jagtarn Singh, class IX-A

A gift of God

Your talent is a gift from God,

Don't let it fade away,

Use it to make someone happy,

and you too will be gay,

There is so much more we can do,

So many who need cheering up too,

Use your gifts and prove your word,

A happier place, makes this earth

Kanika Sharma,Class VII-A

Team work

When people work together in harmony,

Everything seems bright and sunny,

when there is team sprits, trust and faith,

the result is always great

Kushal Verma, class V

My teacher

Nice is our teacher

who teaches us how to write

she tells us many new things,

To make our future bright

Jasjeet Singh Raikhi, class II

Punctuality

Punctuality is a golden rule,

learn it well, while in school,

work put off, is time lost,

which won't come back at any cost

Do it well, do it soon

Punctuality is a boon

Ajay Sharma, class VI-A

Plants

Plants our friends

Plants give us food,

And fresh air to breathe,

They give us fruits and flowers

They are friends of ours

Harkiran Kaur, class - II

Serve the teacher

Don't go to temple, don't go to church

serve thy teachers living goods on earth

None is so near and dear you grow

and flourish all trouble they bear

You many rule over the sky any one you many defy

But a sob of their heart, will leave you not worth a pie

Serve them happily and seek their blessings

If you final to do that you will get from Him

strong dressing it is His command merely an

advice Life without His free service is a curse, a vice

Sajan Soni, class VII

MBA-II students bag overall trophy
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 29
MBA (final year) students won the overall trophy at Koshish 2002, an eight-day inter-class cultural festival of the Punjab College of Technical Education. Contests in 37 events were held during the festival. Dr K N.S. Kang, Director, PCTE, said, “The competition got so tough that most of the class teachers and students were tense throughout the last day after a month of preparing, because the results were not declared.”

Finally the last contest, fashion show, proved to be the decisive. Nearly 600 students, their parents, guests, and the faculty of the college sat spellbound last evening. It was won by MCA (II year) students who had hit the ramp with ‘Seasons’ followed by MBA (final year) students who depicted tribals.

Wg. Cdr. H S Gill, chairman of the trust, gave away the prizes. He also awarded Mr Sandhir Sharma with the Best Teacher Award-2002. MBA (final year) students led the way with 188 points. MCA (second year) student were the first runners-up with 182, and BCA (final) students were the second were runners-up with 180 points.

Results for the other events: Indian group dance: MBA (final) 1. MCA (1) 2; BCA (first year) 3; skit: MCA (II year) 1; BBA (final year) 2; BCA (final year) 3; and face painting: Megha 1; Harkirti 2; Harshdeep 3.

Workshop for aspiring models
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 29
Kaushik Ghosh, a well known mentor and godfather of former Ms Universe Sushmita Sen and many other famous top models like Don Morea, Gul Panag and Pooja Batra, is in the city to conduct a workshop for the aspiring models. The workshop is being supported by the J.D.Institute of Fashion Technology, and Hotel Gulmohar. The event is co-ordinated by Ludhiana’s leading model Manish Dang, a former student of Kaushik Ghosh.

Talking to media persons today afternoon, Kaushik said these days demand and craze for modelling has increased. Models are needed for print modelling, TV modelling, fashion shows and for commercial modelling.” Moreover, the people think that it is a very glamorous job. But after 12 years of experience, I feel it is 90 per cent grime and 10 per cent glamour. So it becomes very necessary to hold workshops to let the aspirants know of the hardships involved, what diet to take, how to become physically fit, how to approach agencies, how to walk and how to develop communication skills. The 10-day workshop will teach students a lot and bring them closer to their goal,” Kaushik said.

He further said these days the children between the age group 4 to 14 years were much in demand. So he would be holding a workshop for them along with their mothers as he wants the mothers to know all the ropes. This is Kaushik’s third workshop. Bunty Grewal , a student of his first workshop, a shy, gangly lad, has now become a very popular model and acting in a movie directed by Subash Ghai.

CULTURE

Rare dance performance enthrals spectators
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 29
Spectators at Guru Nanak Bhavan were amazed to see Karakattam, a rare dance performed only at Meenakshi Temple, Madurai. But K. Suresh, a great exponent, gave a beautiful presentation of this dance form yesterday. The steps were forceful as it is a martial dance. The accompanying music was equally strong.

He danced on the edges of a shallow vessel and revolved it with his feet. Next, he put a heap of grains on a wooden plank. He inserted a long needle into it. Then, bending down, he picked up the needle using his eye-lashes. He has entered the Limca book of Records by picking up 300 needles with his eye-lashes within 20 minutes.

In his most exciting feat, he called a person from the audience and placed a radish in his mouth. Then he blindfolded himself and brandishing a knife, came close to the youth. He suddenly brought it down and quickly chopped the radish in neat slices.

He placed a wooden plank on three glass bottles and danced on it. A step-ladder was held by three people and he slid up and down the ladder. His last item was drinking kerosene oil and rolling out a ball of fire by lighting a match. R. Shankar's performance was truly astounding.

The silky voice of Satish Babbar elicited an applause from the audience. His daughter Vani, a XII class student, also supported him. Satish’s choice of ghazals was excellent. His ghazal “raat din zindagi ka saath raha, ek din bhi na zindagi se mile” was highly appreciated. Ludhianvis pressed him to sing songs of Sahir. He promised that next time he would sing nothing but Sahir.