HAMARA SCHOOL
MOUNT CARMEL SCHOOL — SECTOR 47
Where education and nature co-exist
Parbina Rashid

WHAT strikes you about the school is an overwhelming feeling of serenity. As you approach beautifully maintained huts hidden behind a clusters of trees, amidst the courteous nods and wishes from the students hurrying towards their classes, you can not help but wondered if the 'gurukuls' of ancient India some how looked like this. The school in question is Mount Carmel convent in Sector 47.

And a round in the campus which is spread over three acres of land gives you an insight into the meticulousness of the management for making learning an enjoyable process for all. This is a school where nature and human beings live in absolute harmony.

Started in 1987 by Mr. Charles Samuel and Ms. Annie Charles, a husband and wife duo originally from Kerala, the aim to set up the school was just that - to make it different from the rest. 

“Fear of God is beginning of wisdom”

IN a world where cut throat competition, tension, stress rules the life, Mr. Charles Sammuel's preaching comes as a fresh breath of energy. "Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom" he says. So this founder and principal of Mt. Carmel School, Mr Sammuel adopts a different approach altogether to prepare his students for the harsh realities of life, the maddening rat race hose bottom line is "have fear in God, impose self discipline and give your best shot in life".

• On imposing discipline - Teaching children about self discipline is more important and the imposed variety. It is easy for a teacher to maintain discipline while present in the class, but more important is that the same discipline is maintained even when the teacher is away from the class. We entrust our students to maintain discipline in class room and make the process more effective by changing class monitors on fortnightly basis. Imposing disciplines on others lays the foundation for self discipline in life.
• On tuition menace —Tuition is more of a passion these days. If the parents are complaining about classes being overloaded, so are the coaching centers. if a student is regular in his studies, does his home works, it is enough to do well in studies. But the truth is that children are getting sandwiched between parent's expectations. It is high time for parents to realise that everybody has certain limitations in life and one has to perform within that set boundaries.
• On the present education system — To make the education system effective, the people who are formulating policies and making syllabuses have to come down to the level of poor harassed children. No doubt that as the time progressing, the education system has to adopt more scientific approach, but a mid way approach has to be sought to strike a balance between development and tender minds.
• On the future plans of the school — The school is still in a developing stage. two more blocks of the main building are likely to come up soon and after that we would be considering to upgrading the school till Plus two standard. — PR
  
  
  
  

My school

MY association with Mount Carmel School goes back to my post toddler stage when I had joined the school for my Pre nursery session way back in 1992. With its colourful ambience and the infrastructure could lure me to the classrooms even then. And now that the school has grown in its magnitude over the years, it has given us much more then just colourful toys.

One of the most popular schools in Chandigarh, Mount Carmel school has taught me moral values besides giving me formal education and wide exposure in co-curricular activities preparing me for the future.

It is said that an academic institute takes its own time to build up. Mount Carmel is not just another school for me, but a source which has been producing human beings with firm moral values and dignity.

Though a co- educational school, the teachers here take special care of the female students, inspiring them to overcome the hurdles in life and do something meaningful in life.

— Jyotsna Balhotra Class X

Poems by students

Girls are pearls

Don't destroy us is our plea to the world

— Jonathan Ivan Charles, Class VII- B

Our teacher

Our teacher is fair and proud

and is not afraid of a big crowd

A teacher is always there

someone to talk and share

She looks at you

and tells you what to do

Our teacher can't be shy

also she can't lie

A teacher is someone who helps you

in everything you possibly do

— Ebby B. Class X-B

Plant a tree

Plant a tree

Get oxygen free

Plant a tree

It costs no fee

Plant a tree

You will never go hungry

Plant a tree

Attain blessings free

Plant a tree or else you will be history

— Kamani Choudhary Class VIII-C

Nature

Observe everything done by nature

Then you can have a bright future

Learn from the hills

To have a strong power of will

Learn from the rivers

To keep on trying till you are the winner

Learn from the flowers

Never to be exhausted and dismal

So I hope you'll observe again and again

Till the time you are able to gain.

—Jyotsna Class X-A

City to have animation school
Chitleen K. Sethi
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, November 24
The Centre for Electronic Design and Technology of India (CEDTI), SAS Nagar, is all set to launch the first special effects and animation centre of North India in Chandigarh.

The centre, School of Animation and Advance Multimedia, has been housed in the Punjab IT building in Sector 34 and will be involved in all aspects of multimedia production and training.

While one wing of the centre will be involved in training students in various multimedia, animation, web design and editing courses, a separate wing will cater to specific production projects including animation films and special-effects, creation.

The centre will operate will function directly under the Ministry of Information technology and Communications. “We are starting with the basics in animation and offering the latest available internationally in the filed of multimedia’’, says Mr J.S. Bhatia, Director Incharge, CEDTI.

Some of the main courses include an advanced course in graphics and multimedia, a certificate course in three dimensional animation, an advanced course in computer animation, an advanced course in computer graphics and animation and a postgraduate diploma in computer animation and multimedia.

The duration of the courses will range from 12 weeks to 52 weeks with the fee structure ranges from Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 per course. ‘‘There is going to be a course for students who have just passed their matriculation examination and may have no knowledge of computers but can become adept in graphics and computer animation’’, informed Mr Deepak Rana, public relations in charge and faculty member of the CEDTI.

The centre will offer the latest software and have small duration courses in image creation, editing, sound editing, video editing etc.

The centre will also be fully equipped to produce animation films starting from the creation of an animation character to scriptwriting followed by the projection process editing etc. ‘‘We are looking at catering to animation movie creation or even clip for markets both in India and abroad,’’ says Mr Bhatia.

The multimedia lab currently running in the CEDTI has already successfully completed a large number of multimedia projects of various government agencies in India. ‘‘We will also be introducing integration of architectural drawing with 3D images’’, said Ms Anumati Kandari, Graphic designer.

Complaint against exam centre
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 24
Parents of students appearing in the State Talent Search Examination, conducted by the State Institute of Education (CIE) here today, complained that in one of the centres (Government School, Sector 46), students were asked to leave the examination hall at least half an hour before the scheduled time.

One of the parents said that the morning examination pertaining to mental ability was held as scheduled. However, in the second session, students were asked to leave half an hour before the scheduled time, “which was unfortunate because each single moment meant a lot to students competing in a competition where only 10 students would be selected from Chandigarh to participate in the National Talent Search Examination.”

Dr Surinder Tangri, Director of the institute, however, clarified that nothing wrong occurred at the venue. Due to a slight mistake the peon rang the bell, which led to certain children leaving the venue. However, they were immediately called back.

National seminar on pteridophyte
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 24
A two-day national seminar on “Pteridophyte — the vanishing plants” will be organised by the Department of Botany, Panjab University, tomorrow onwards, an official press note stated here today. Nearly 100 delegates from various parts of the country are likely to participate in the seminar.

“Pteridophyte have been around on the earth for about 400 million years. Ever since plant life moved from water to earth, this group of plants was probably the first to appear on land”, the press note stated.

The seminar, being organised in collaboration with the Indian Fern Society, will be inaugurated by Prof C.L. Kaul, Director of the NIPER.

Dancing away the blues of life
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 24
Sonali Mahapatra (23) has to her credit not only laurels she has won but also rich presentations she has made across the length and breadth of India for organisations as reputed as the Austrian Embassy and the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi.

When you see the petite looking Sonali in the backdrop of her age, you certainly wonder what determination must have flowed in her veins to make her scale such heights. But when you see her in context of the major hearing impairment she suffers from, you wonder even more over the girl’s aplomb and her mettle to make it further in the field of Orissi dance.

Since seven years of age, Sonali decided to fight her infirmity and draw the courage to realise her dream. Her father and mentor, who is accompanying Sonali to the city for a classical dance presentation under the UT Administration’s Jhankar series, explains everything on behalf of his daughter, who cannot hear what we ask.

“Sonali used to emulate dancers when she was a kid. She had an innate grace about her which we took time to discover. In fact, the credit for Sonali’s discovery as a dancer goes to the headmistress of the school she went to as a kid. She was the one who traced the latent talent in young Sonali and impressed upon us that we do something about it,” said the proud father.

As Sonali chose to fight her impairment and respond to rhythm of the dance form under guru Truptee Mayee Mohanty, she gained a fresh insight into herself and the art form. So dedicated to Orissi she was that there was nothing stopping her — no social stigma, no pressure of performance, not even the lack of sound in life. Walking like a shadow by her side was her mother, who accompanied her to the dance school everyday because she had to do the interpretation for her.

However, the lack of sound has been a problem at times. Ask her about her most difficult moments on the stage and she explains through her father, “I feel lost when the stage gets too dark, sounds get mixed up and sequences get altered.” Sonali generally performs rehearsed items, but she has acquired the skill to identify the change of rhythm.

Sonali’s father says, “Mother’s presence was everything to her. She would sit through her lessons, explaining her the meaning of whatever the guru uttered. It took her a lot of determination to conquer her problem, but she did it as if there was never anything wrong with her.” Confident as ever, the young girl spoke in the language of dance. She moved with grace, replied to her father’s queries by reading his lips and gave bright answers to questions.

Sonali has a Natya Visharad from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai, to her credit. She has also been trained under the guidance of guru Durga Charan Ranbir and she has performed extensively during national-level symposiums, like at the Biswa Oriya Sammelan, IIC Auditorium, New Delhi, Austrian Embassy, New Delhi, Ved Vyas festival, besides many more places. She has also imbibed the art of Orissi by studying the sculptural forms at Konark Temple minutely. This study helped her a lot because Orissi is essentially a sculptural form of art, inspired by the architecture of rich Orissa temples.

Sonali will perform at Tagore Theatre here at 6 p.m. tomorrow.

Timeless tale told through puppets
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 24
Kath-katha, an association of puppeteers and storytellers that operates under the aegis of the Foundation of Universal Responsibility of HH Dalai Lama, again presented the adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night” in the medium of puppet theatre today.

After yesterday’s success of the show at CITCO’s Drop In restaurant, in Sector 34, where four members of the association — Anurupa Roy, Anamika Mishra, Javed Naseem and I.P. Singh, breathed fresh life into the story of twins Viola and Sebastian who are separated in a ship wreck, the presentation was made again at Kalagram this evening. As expected the crowd was thick and the cheering was incessant.

The adaptation of the play has been done in Hindustani in order to make the script crisp and understandable for the modern day audience.

Using rod puppets and other elements, the puppeteers brought home the theme of the evergreen comedy very convincingly.

The story traces the journey of Viola who disguises as a page boy and finds work in the palace of the Duke of Orseno. The latter uses Viola to woo his love lady Olivia, who finds herself in love with Viola, the page boy.

The tools of presentation in the puppet theatre are then employed to underline the basic theme — how to seek one’s true identity, drop illusions and regain the self. The presentation was brought to the city by the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi and CITCO.