Students of Staford School witnessed a day full of fun and frolic on 14th of November 2013. This day, celebrated as Children’s Day or Bal Diwas in India, is the birthday of India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. Nehru ji was very fond of children.
The children, dressed in colourful attires entered school and were greeted, much to their surprise, by balloons and buntings! The school started with the usual morning assembly; but unlike the regular days, the teachers conducted it instead of students. Mr. Vivek gave the commands to start the assembly, which was followed by the teachers leading the children into prayer and the pledge. Mr. Shiraz stated the ‘thought for the day,’ followed by ‘this day that year’ read out in true imitation of the children by Mr. Nirbhay. After assembly, the children proceeded to their respective classes where they had a gala time playing games, reciting poems, singing songs and dancing. Next, it was movie time. Classes 4, 5 and 6 watched Home Alone -2 whereas classes 1, 2 and 3 saw Ice Age 3– Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
After some time, all the students were asked to assemble in the lobby for a special program organized and conducted by the teachers! Ms. Aisha took everyone by surprise when she appeared in the guise of Chacha Nehru and addressed the assembly. She gave an account of the family history of Nehru ji and highlighted how the ‘Kaul Family of Kashmir ‘ came to be known as the Nehru family. This informative piece was followed by a puppet show. Conducted by Ms. Towheed, Ms. Krati and Ms. Sara the children thoroughly enjoyed the story narrated by the puppets. The program ended with a medley of children’s songs, presented by our music teacher along with our teacher’s choir of Ms. Sumbul, Ms. Siddique, Ms. Krati, Ms. Alka and Ms. Towheed. Ms. Aisha entered the scene dressed up as “Nani Ma’ and “dadi amma” for the song ‘Nani teri morni ko mor le gaye’ and “Daadi amma daadi amma maan jao”. She acted her part well and amused the children while distributing toffees among them. Respected Principal sir ended the agenda with his blessings. On behalf of all the students, Umama Junaid of class 6A thanked all the teachers for making their day special.
The fun was not yet over, and the excitement levels surged a notch higher when the children were invited for a round of games. The teachers had arranged for more games for the children in which they all participated enthusiastically, and had lots of fun.
Finally, it was now time to disperse, and the children were treated with sweetmeats before leaving for home. The day marking childhood was celebrated with immense joy and the teachers couldn’t help letting the child in them come out and join the fun!