Library Week 2015

A room without books is like a body without a soul. Marcus Tullius Cicero.

School celebrated Library Week between 7th and 11th December, 2015. This event was the first of its kind. The School library which was the venue of this exhibition saw the participation of students from classes V to X. The Book Talk Corner had students enthusiastically discussing books they had recently read or had been moved by, in some way. Alluring work of art in the form of bookmarks and pictures of characters from books, painted by students, festooned the library. The exhibition was inaugurated by Ms. Herminder Ohri, in the company of Principal, Ms. Joshi and Head Teacher, Primary, Ms. Maini. Ms. Ohri interacted with each group of students and quizzed them about the activity. She also offered valuable tips on writing. The students were naturally delighted and encouraged.

Ms. Ohri aldo undertook conducted a story- telling session for classes IV and V. The students listened with rapt attention as she read aloud animal stories written by her. All the stories she told had interesting aspects about animals which aroused excitement and curiosity among the students.

After the session, Ms. Ohri inaugurated the Book Fair put up by Scholar India which had books on subjects ranging from fiction, non-fiction, reference, philosophy and activity books in English and Hindi. The graphical collection was an instant hit with the students, who were seen flocking the fair to pick up some.

The occasion was apt for a Book Donation Driveorganised by School.The students donated books and notebooks generously. These were later forwarded to the Uday Foundation.

The second day of the Library Week started with an interaction with Mr. Mayank Rawat, renowned poet for class VIII. Mr. Rawat spoke about his book Badhte Kadam and showed the students a picture and asked them to put their thinking caps on and pen their thoughts. The students came up with fascinating and very innovative ideas!

The third day began with a visit to the British Council Library by students of class X. The session started with an orientation. Students were told about the recent developments in the field of Library Science.

Later in the day, there was a cartoon workshop for class VI by the renowned cartoonist Mr. Ajeet Narayan, professional freelance cartoonist who has been drawing for reputed publishing houses and other print media for over 20 years. The workshop proved to be a perfect amalgamation of learning and fun and our young learners were delighted to draw their own comic strips using stick-figures with guidance from the acclaimed cartoonist. He selected the comic strips of two students from amongst 180 and announced them as winners. The delighted students, Aditya and Ishita Wadhwa, received books autographed by Mr. Narayan as their reward. It was an enriching experience of creativity that was appreciated by both teachers and students alike.

On the last day, 60 students of class VII visited the American Centre Library. The session at the library began with an orientation by power-point presentation on on the rules of the library, membership details, about e-books and e-libraries.The students were also shown an e-book by Britannica. They were fascinated to learn about how to retrieve information from e-books. A small quiz based on the presentation was conducted and students were asked some general questions on American culture. The students enjoyed browsing through books in the library. A one-year complimentary membership to the library was gifted to the accompanying teachers.

Later in the day, class IX had an interaction with Mr. Gaurav Kushwaha, an engineer by profession. Mr. Kushwaha is also the founder of Engineers Adda and Papers Adda. Mr. Kushwaha talked about his debut book, Goofy. He talked to the students about the importance of having a passion and how to turn one's hobby into a career. He gave useful tips on writing too.

The Library Week was a great learning experience for all of us at School. It not only engaged us in several fun-filled activities, but also reminded us that books are indeed a mans best friend!

Ms. Tarannum Athar.