EXPLORE, ENGAGE AND EVOLVE
Carl Sagan has quoted that “To read is to voyage through time” and further rightly said by him “Books permit us to voyage through time” and ‘Nothing is pleasanter than exploring a Library’ to give us true pleasure. Keeping this in mind, we at Vikhe Patil Memorial School,
Pune celebrated the Library Week from 15 th November 2022 to 18 th November 2022. Various interesting activities related to reading and books were organized for the students from Jr. KG. to Std. 12.
The best way to help a child explore, express, understand emotions, solve problems, form good habits and much more is via stories. Stories help a child enter a completely different magical and imaginative world that has no boundaries. Taking this into consideration – Ms.
Varsha Seshan – a children’s book author had activities planned for the students from Jr. Kg. to Std. 3.
A story – about the power of imagination which introduces children to different parts of the body – ‘What Will Happen’ was narrated to our little ones – the students of Jr. KG. and Sr. KG. Later, students participated enthusiastically in the activity ‘How I Feel’ where emoticons and emotions were displayed and discussed along with creative thinking.
A short and heart-warming story – ‘The Clockwala’s Clues’ was read aloud to the children. The story conveyed a beautiful moral to the students of Std. 1-3. The students truly enjoyed solving the puzzles and repeating the tongue twisters put forth to them. They also realised
that ‘Reading is Fun’ and felt the need to ‘Blast off with a Book’.
A scientist by training and a spoken word artist by choice, a dually certified storyteller, Youtuber and podcaster – Ms. Shraddha Nigavekar – conducted a storytelling session with the students of Std. 4 and 5. She narrated two folktales to the children – one Indian Folktale
and the other an Indonesian Folktale. She was very well connected with the students and captivated their attention. The students were able to add to their Vocabulary Bank. They were also given interesting information about some specific facts related to the Indonesian
Folk Tale. The enthusiasm and fervour among the students could be witnessed through their active participation throughout the session.
Author Varsha Seshan conducted a book discussion session of her book ‘The Prophecy of Rasphora’ with the students of Std. 6. The message behind the activity was to empower children to experience the joy of reading. Language games, solving a cryptogram and a discussion on climate change and the environment was conducted.
As a part of the celebration, an author visit was arranged for the students of Std. 7-10. Mr. Vinay Sethi – author of the book ‘How Not To Speak English’, addressed the key issues in day-to-day English usage. The students themselves tried to learn how to – train their brain to
think in English, develop the confidence to speak fluently and express their ideas effectively under the author’s guidance.
Another fruitful session – an author visit for the students of Std. 11-12 was planned during the reading week. Mr. Ajay Joshi – a published author, presented and interacted cheerfully with the students. The author shared his journey of writing and publishing and the students
were thrilled to interact with the author. The session instilled within the students the urge to read and write.
Amongst the many activities in which the students enthusiastically participated and displayed their creative skills were decorating of the display boards according to the themes given standard wise – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Drama, favourite characters from the book,
favourite authors.
Last but not Least – a Book Fair was organized for students providing them exposure to different kinds of books related to various subjects and fields.
The prime motive of organizing this event was to create an understanding and passion in children towards reading and writing.
