Birla High School (Senior Section)

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES

 

Report on visit of the students and Teachers of Kunming No.8 High School to Birla High School and Sushila Birla Girls' School from July 12^th -19^th 2014.

 

Birla High School and Sushila Birla Girls' School entered into a partnership with Kunming number 8 High School for an Exchange Program and therefore twelve students from the Chinese school and two teachers, Mr. Wang and Ms Lou visited Kolkata from the 12^th-19^thJuly. These students were hosted by the students of the host schools and the teachers were hosted at Senator Hotel. During their stay here, the schools and the hosting families tried to give the visitors an insight into the daily life of an Indian home, our Culture and show them the essence of Kolkata. A small welcome was organized by Sushila Birla Girls' School on the delegation's first day in school where the junior girls performed a song in Chinese and the Seniors performed an Indian folk dance. The first two days the teachers spent in the girl’s school to know more of their school and were entertained by them. Whereas the visiting girls attended classes in the girls school and the visiting boys spent time in our school. Throughout the week the students attended classes, participated in the ACM (art, craft & music) classes, observed yoga and rollers skate’s classes and attended the various clubs. This gave them a good idea about our school. On the 16^th of July the teachers spent the day in our school, they attended classes, and also conducted a class in Chinese, and the children were over enthused to learn whatever they could of the new language. The teachers also observed the Art, Craft & music classes, yoga etc. In the evening Chinese School of language celebrated its 6^th anniversary and we had the proud privilege of being a part of it. The Chinese students performed a song while the boys from Birla High School performed on a folk song which was appreciated by all.

On Thursday, the entire group of students and teachers Indian and Chinese were taken on a city tour where they were shown some of the most important landmarks in the shaping of the culture of Kolkata like Belur Math, Jorasanko Thakur Bari , the Victoria Memorial and the Town Hall. They had an enjoyable trip discovering Kolkata.  On Friday, Birla High School arranged a farewell which had a cultural programme and all students who were a part of the exchange were presented with mementos. While Cao Huacheng a Chinese student showed us some of his skills in kung fu, Zhang Haozhe, another Chinese student, impressed us by his melodious tunes on the flute. The students of the host schools put up dance and musical performances. They were all bid a farewell with promises to meet soon. The teacher were taken to try various cuisines and  especially Indian Chinese food which they found was very different from their Chinese food but enjoyed it. They relished the Indian kebabs etc. On Saturday  everyone was invited for dinner by the Acting Consulate General of China on the 19^th of July. After a scrumptious

dinner at the Beijing restaurant in China Town, Kolkata, the hosts accompanied their guests to the airport. It was indeed a tearful farewell and it was a marvel to see that people who met a week before had bonded so well and become so close that they were not willing to leave each other. The hosting parents of the students were also sad and with heavy hearts bid goodbyes.

The group left for Kunming with a wish to meet soon in October when the Indian Group travels to Kunming to experience the Chinese culture.  This was a life changing experience which will be etched in everyone’s memories forever. The Indian group looks forward to visit Kunming, China in October 2014.

 

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Birla High School is committed to its goal of creating Global citizens of its students and therefore has embraced a lot of International Programmes. The School has not only added the international learning in its curriculum but also believes in giving the students practical experience through exchange visits,projects etc. The School is an Ambassador school for the British Council and was one of the earliest recipients of the International School Award given to Schools who support international learning in 2009 for the period 2009-2012. The School reaccredited itself and received the International School Award this year for the term 2013-16. The School wholeheartedly supports all British Council Initiatives and participates enthusiastically in all their activities. The School has participated in the British Council Drama festival, Shell Junior Scholarship Program , BBC School News Report to name a few. The School being a British Council Ambassador School encourages and mentors other school in the city to apply for the International School Award and other programs of British Council.

The School has been successful in receiving various educational grants from the British council like the Reciprocal Grant, Global Curriculum Grant and the Connecting Classroom Grant in the last few years. These Grants have helped the school to develop a very strong, sustainable partnership with Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood, and Lancashire, U.K. The schools have worked together since last four years across various projects in the subjects of English, Science, Maths, Art, Physical Education and Drama. The partnership has also resulted in teachers and students of both the schools visiting each other every year. The schools are planning to build and continue with this collaboration in the future with more engagements of the students and teachers.

Birla High School being a PASCH School has a budding German partnership with Amandus Abendroth Gymnasium, Cuxhaven, Germany and Sushila Birla Girls’ School. The school has been working with them since last two years and has worked on the “Carbon Footprint” project with them. The School applied for the prestigious Robert Bosch Foundation Grant along with its partners and was granted the same this year for the project on “Endangered Animals- Tiger and Mussel”. The same too involves visits to the partner countries along with classroom work. The German School group has visited our School in November and our Group will be visiting Germany in May 2014. 

This year Birla High School and Sushila Birla Girls’ School have successfully started Chinese Exchange Programme with a School, Kunming No 8 in Kunming, China. The School leaders visited China in September to discuss and initiate the exchange programme .The Indian Schools will welcome the Chinese leaders in January 2014 to their respective Schools. Post the leaders visit the Schools will start with the students exchanges in 2014.

Besides all these exchange programmes the school is connected with Schools in Malaysia and Thailand. Birla high School does not miss any opportunity to give an international experience to its students and thus participates in various excursions, seminars and  youth camps, to Germany , Kerala etc which are organized  by  the  Max  Mueller  Bhavan  for PASCH Schools. The school is constantly  looking  out  for opportunities for its  students which  will give them a truly international experience and help them in their journey of becoming Global Citizens.

 

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Sushila Birla Girls’ School and Birla High School, well known schools of Kolkata, run by the Vidya Mandir Society have entered into a partnership with Kunming No 8 High school of Kunming,Yunan province, China. In this connection, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in the presence of the Consul General of China in Kolkata, Mr. Wang Xuefeng, on 9th. January, 2014.

 

This MOU was the culmination of a visit to Kunming No 8 High School, Kunming by a delegation led by the Secretary General of Vidya Mandir Society, Ms Rita  Bibra, from 7th. September to 12th. September, 2013 followed by the visit of a Chinese delegation led by the Principal of Kunming No 8 High School, Ms Li Lilihua from 5th. January to 9th. January, 2014

 

The partnership has been formed with the intention of introducing students and teachers of both countries to each other's peoples, cultural practices and educational systems. In pursuance of these objectives, there will teacher and student exchanges every year to each other's schools.

 

This partnership is being supported by the School of Chinese Languages, Kolkata and the Center for Cultural Learning located at Yunnan Nationalities University, Kunming.

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Report on the visit of the German students and Teachers from Amandus Abendroth Gymnasium (AAG) to Birla High School (BHS) and Sushila Birla Girls’ School (SBGS) from November 14 to November 27, 2013.

A group of twenty students (twelve Girls and eight Boys) along with two teachers Ms Katja Steinmetz and Mr. Imko Scharf visited us from the 14^th November to 27^th November 2013. The group was received by Ms Bharati Daftari and myself at the Airport and brought to our School for a formal and traditional welcome ceremony. Post which the children were handed over to the Host families and the teachers went home with the host teachers. The eight boys and two girls were hosted by the Birla High students and the ten girls were hosted by the girls of SBGS.

 The two teachers were hosted by the teachers till the 19^th and post that were shifted to the Birla Guest House. There was a detailed itinerary for them which were prepared with lot of discussion between all concerned and the Principals of both the host schools. They were welcomed and shown around the campus of the Schools. The children participated and attended classes with their partners. They observed the Yoga classes, Art, Craft and Music classes. They all were taken to Sunderbans Forest from the 16^th-19^th for an excursion. The same was to support the project on Tiger and for the group to see the habitat of Tigers and if lucky to spot one. The trip was enjoyed by the group. Post the Sunderban trip the group was made to do project work and they discussed and shared the information on Tigers and Mussels with each other. “Kids for Tiger” showcased an animated film on the animals to the group which was to give them ideas about the animation film which needs to be prepared by the group at the end of the Project. An Animation workshop was arranged for the group which taught them the basics if creating an animated film.

A visit to Max Mueller Bhavan, Goethe Institut was organized where they was some quiz and presentations organized by their staff, followed by lunch. The teachers post the School hours were taken for local sightseeing every day. Birla High School alumni organized a lavish dinner party for the group where there all got an opportunity to interact more informally. The group also visited the Hope Foundation in Kasba and met the children there. A visit to the Zoo had been organized so that they could see the “Tiger” their project subject before they left for Germany. The children had an enjoyable time and were amazed to see some of the Indian Animals and birds. A lot of project work was completed by the group as per the Project Plan. A Farewell ceremony was organized by Sushila Birla Girls School on the 26^th. The same was also attended by the host families. The German children made a very informative presentation on their School, Country and “ Mussels”. The students of Birla High had put up a Band performance which was appreciated by all. The group of German students and teachers were dressed in traditional Indian costumes by the host families. A Fashion Show was organized and the entire group German and Indian walked the ramp. They were looking beautiful and it was a nice event. Ms Bibra and the Principals thanked the host families. They handed mementos to the teachers and students and some gifts. The same was followed by a sumptuous Hi-tea.”

The visiting teachers were taken care by the school teachers who took them for sightseeing and meals. The teachers were touched by the hospitality. Every day they explored new places from Victoria Memorial, Mother House, New Market, Botanical Gardens, the Railway Museum, Shopping Malls and the Art Galleries. They also witnessed a grand Indian wedding reception with Ms Nain. They enjoyed shopping in the local markets of Gariahat. Not to forget they bought Indian outfits for themselves and wore them for the farewell. Post the 19^th they were at the Guest house but had experienced Indian lifestyles with their host families where they saw how Indian families stay in a joint family. They were awed by the graciousness of their hosts and the hospitality they received from them. Finally it was time to leave and the group bid a tearful farewell to all the hosts and left for Germany on the 27^th November. It truly was a very successful Exchange Program and the schools are confident of continuing these ties and will build a strong friendship between the German and Indian Schools.                      

 RENUKA CHOTRANI

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE COORDINATOR

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A Report on the visit of Cardinal Allen High School  teachers and students to Birla High School –

 29^th September 2013- 6^th October 2013.

As part of the Connecting Classroom Grant 2012-2013 two teachers and five students from our Partner school in U.K visited us last week. The teachers were Mr. Andrew Harding and Ms Jessica North with the students.  I received them on Sunday morning along with the five students who were hosting the U.K students at the Kolkata Airport. The teachers were dropped at the Birla Guest House in Alipore.  Later Mrs. Tendon had hosted lunch for them at the Club Verde Vista which was thoroughly enjoyed by them. After the sumptuous lunch they went for local sightseeing and then were dropped back at the guest house.  On Monday, 30^th September they came to school and were welcomed in the Middle School Assembly. Post that they met Ms Nain and then went for a school tour. They were shown around the Senior and Junior School where they interacted with teachers and students. They met Ms Bibra, over coffee and shared their views about India and Kolkata. Then they were shown the Yoga class and they attended regular classes with the students. The teachers attended my Life Skill Education class in Class 8B where the children had a wonderful time interacting with them.  After the School they were taken to the Jain Temple by Sharmistha Starker and the students were taken care by the host families.  On Tuesday, they all attended a Special assembly on “Peace” which was one of the topics of the projects undertaken this year with them. The visiting children too participated in the same and all sang “Heal the World” together.  There was an interactive session organized in the AVR for the BHS students with the UK group. The students presented on their school post which there was a Question Answer session where our students asked a lot of questions to them. Then we had a formal meeting where we discussed our activities which we had to complete and plan for our next year. We discussed a lot and were able to decide on the projects etc for next year. Then we had a Musical piece recording which too the part of our current projects was and we recorded the same where the UK children played the Indian instruments along with the BHS students.  Then they were shown the various clubs and Karate class.  In the evening the School Alumni had hosted a dinner for them at the Tollygunge Club. Everyone had a nice evening where they interacted with the Alumni members and school Coordinators and teachers.  Wednesday being 2^nd Oct was a school holiday so they were taken to Science City for a field trip by the BHS Science teachers.  The teachers and children had a wonderful time together. The teachers were taken to “Tangra” for Chinese lunch, in the evening they had a continental dinner with Ms Biswas at Mangio which was relished by them.  They came to School on Thursday 3^rd Oct which was their last day at school. They participated in the Land Art display which was also a project activity. The children attended the Inter house elocution contest and the teachers judged the same. Then they participated enthusiastically in the activities planned for the “Joy of Giving Week”. Mr. Harding conducted the Rugby match for the children from Hope Foundation which was thoroughly enjoyed by the children. After this they participated in the “Wish Tree “event which too was an important event of the Joy of giving event. The wishes of the Hope Foundation children were fulfilled by giving each one of them a gift which they had desired. The UK visitors too gifted them with Soccer T-shirts, Rugby balls and most importantly donated 100 Pounds in cash to the Hope Foundation children. On the whole the entire event was very well received and actively participated by the guests.  Then they proceeded to see Victoria Memorial and the Ganges riverside for a boat ride followed by shopping at New Market. Next day was Mahalaya, when the teachers were taken to Kumartoli to see the preparation of the idols , and puja pandals. They visited  some of the pandals and were impressed with the efforts and creativity displayed in making these. Then they went to Mrs Bubna’s house for lunch which was to celebrate the Shraddha ceremony and was served traditionally in the Indian style and the guests had to sit on the floor and eat. In the evening they visited the South City Mall . On Saturday 5^th October they attended the concert put up by Sushila  Birla Girls School on “Krishna –The eternal melody” and were  enchanted by the show, the costumes and the fineries. Then they visited Mother House and St Paul’s Cathedral etc . In the evening they saw “Agomoni” which was a dance drama on Durga Puja by a Bangladeshi troupe. They were very impressed with the costumes.  On the whole a very enjoyable evening.

Finally on Sunday 6^th October they left with a very heavy heart and tears but with lots of fond memories. This trip made the partnership very strong and both schools became more committed to each other .

 RENUKA CHOTRANI

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 Report on the visit of the German students and Teachers from Amandus Abendroth Gymnasium (AAG) to Birla High School (BHS) and Sushila Birla Girls’ School (SBGS) from January 16 to January 29, 2013.