Library Week

 “Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, and great libraries build communities.”

As soon as the dates of Library Week were announced, enthusiastic responses from students across the levels started pouring in. They began discussing what all they would do during Library Week! 

Library Week was held from 6 – 11 November 2019 and a plethora of activities were planned by our librarian, Ms. Indranee Banerjee.

The week began with a special assembly which comprised a dance performance by class 5, a recitation on the benefits of reading and the screening of a documentary film on the world’s top ten libraries. The students were introduced to the different architectural designs of these libraries and also their unique collections.

This  was followed by a storytelling session for the classes 1 and 2 students by Ms. Renu Anand, noted story teller. The children also created interesting puppets based on the story characters.

The second day was made special by a puppetry session by shadow puppeteer, Ms. Rekha Vyas. Students of classes 3 and 4 and their teachers waited with bated breath for the session to begin. They were introduced to the art of shadow puppetry and the names of the different types of puppets.

While some students carried their own puppets for the session, others created their own finger and glove puppets They delightfully learnt this to use their puppets to tell their stories.

Ms Vyas began her session with a short story using a rod puppet. She went on to demonstrate the art of shadow puppetry, one of the oldest forms of puppetry in India. She also explained how the craft got its name from shadow play- a form where figures are placed between light and a screen. The speaker then linked this with the history of filmmaking, explaining, how long before the advent of motion pictures, moving images through shadow play were used to create animated pictures in films. She shed light on the technique of shadow play used in different countries, especially China and India, where great legends and folktales are often retold through elaborate puppetry sessions.

Much to the delight of the students, Ms Vyas narrated an interesting short story about a fish using leather shadow puppets from Andhra Pradesh. The intricately designed and decorated shadow puppets with perforations looked very appealing. The students were mesmerised to see the puppets come to life through the wonderfully crafted storytelling session.

The two and a half hour session was not only very engaging and educative but also an insight into the history, significance and intricacies of puppetry in India. The session left the students motivated to create unique puppets of their own and incorporate them in their stories.

While the activities were underway in the auditorium, a book fair was held outdoors in the School compound. The two-day fair by “Scholar India” who are the distributors of almost all the major publishers like Penguin, Rupa, Harper Collins, Paragon, Random House, Jaico, Westland etc. displayed books on the latest fiction, non-fiction, activities, quiz, science, learning, reference, classics, encyclopaedias and many more. The young reading enthusiasts visited the book fair with their class teachers whilse students from the middle and senior wings made their own purchases. Some picked up gifts like exam boards, pocket dictionaries and pouches. The book fair was so greatly enjoyed that even the showers on the following day did not dampen the students’ spirit!

Durng Library Week, we were fortunate to interact with Chairman sir, Mr. Prafull Goradia. ‘Why do we need to learn sanskaaras’ was the topic. Students of classes 4 to 8 learnt to follow the path of virtues and values. Mr. Goradia took up some situations from his own life and also some from society in general, to clear the vision of the children. His words made it clear that it is important to think, judge and act based on the wisdom of one’s ‘sanskaaras’ rather than blindly following them.

The fourth day was a roller coaster ride for the students of class 4. Resource person, Ms. Champa Banerjee, writer and educationist, explained  the solar system in a play-way manner. She interestingly turned the auditorium into the universe by using props like a basketball to depict the sun and fruits and vegetables to depict the various planets of the solar system. She  performed a simple experiment on the launch of the Chandrayan 2, using a straw, thread and an inflated balloon. The experiment showing the launch of rockets and creating solar system models kept the students engrossed.

On the fifth day an interest for reading was kindled among the students of class 5 in a workshop on good reading habits and newspaper reading conducted by Ms. Ira Sehgal. During her interactive session, she effectively pointed out the mistakes which children commonly make while reading and how the mind can be sharpened by just a regular exercise on reading. She also went back to the age of Socrates and Plato to encourage the students to question, which in turn might give birth to new ideas.

Apart from these workshops in-house activities were also organised for each level. Class 1 showed their skills in ‘alpha play’ where they were made to arrange books in an alphabetical order. Class 2  was engaged in a story puzzle competition. Speaking on  their favourite story character was the event for class 3. Class 4 children used their creative juices to compose some beautiful verse on their school library. Extempore competition was on the desk for class 5. Speaking for a minute on different topics distinctly strengthened their skills of communication.

An interesting debate for class 6-  ‘In today’s world of internet, libraries are still important.’-they put forward some important points of comparison, showing the intellect of the present growing generation. Plastics are turning out to be a curse to nature-  students of classes 7 and 8 participated in a group presentation on the steps taken by different countries of the world to ban plastic.

The important week not only taught the students but the latter also enjoyed and exercised their grey matter to form and articulate their views about the modern world and learning.

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