Guest Speaker Programme – “Learning from the Best #1” Celebrating 50 years of DPS RK Puram

Think Club hosted a Guest Speaker Programme on 13th November 2021  for the students of classes IX and XI, the first one in its series of Guest Speaker Programmes “Learning from the best ” in its endeavour of providing the students with a chance to interact with the illustrious alums of Delhi Public School R.K. PURAM. 

Mr. Manhar Bansal, the guest speaker, is currently pursuing  B.A. LL.B (Hons.) at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. He was the all India topper in Class 10 from the ICSE Board. He joined Delhi Public School R.K Puram in 2019. He worked hard to secure his place in several of the most prestigious clubs at the school like the DebSoc, MUN club, Law Club and many more. He represented the  school at various debates and competitions, collecting numerous accolades along the way. He was also a member of the student council and went on to become the head boy of the school. He cleared the Common Admission Test, commonly known as CLAT as well as the Law School Admission Test- LSAT- with an All India Rank of 1. He secured AIR-2 in the All India Law Entrance Test or AILET. 

Ms. Padma Srinivisan, honourable Principal, Mr. Anil Kathuria,respected  Vice Principal , Class Representatives, Teachers and students of classes IX and XI attended the session. While addressing the gathered audience, Ms. Padma Srinivisan, honourable Principal warmly welcomed Mr. Manhar Bansal and also emphasized upon the significance of such programs to gain first hand experience and suggestions from the toppers, such as himself. 

The compère Divyansh Nayan cheerfully welcomed the Guest Speaker and presented a virtual token of appreciation to him. This was followed by the Question and Answer session conducted by Samyak Kapoor and Sahana Agarwal where Mr. Manhar Bansal answered the questions asked by the students. While answering the intriguing questions, Mr. Manhar Bansal particularly highlighted the remarkable importance of self studying and enjoying what one does to crack a competitive exam, like CLAT.

The Question and Answer session was concluded by Suhani Vats and Vote of thanks was presented by respected Vice Principal, Anil Kathuria sir. The programme was organized by Ms. Shelly Malhotra and Ms. Archana Deepak with the technical support provided by Mr. Mukesh Kumar and his team.

Interactive Online Webinars

A series of engaging and interactive Online Webinars were conducted on Monday, 6th December 2021 for the students of Classes VI-VIII of Delhi Public School R.K. Puram on the online platform of Zoom.

The first online webinar was organised on the topic ‘Cyber Security and Cyber Essentials’ from 11:00 AM-11:45 AM and the Guest Speaker for the session was Mr Mukesh Kumar, Head of the Department of Computer Science at Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram.After a warm welcome by the members of the Student Council, Mr Mukesh began the session by tracing the interesting history of computer technology and email. He also illustrated the latest news in the cyber world through a wide variety of newspaper snippets and colourful visuals. 

Elaborating on the theme of ‘Cyber Security and Cyber Essentials’, Mr Mukesh went on to explain a number of ways through which we could protect ourselves and our organisation in the cyber world. He emphasised on the importance of cyber safety and enumerated the steps through which cyber security can be protected from potential threats such as virus, hackers, worms, etc. He also spoke about the Do’s and Don’ts of Cyber Safety and explained the meaning of some important terms such as phishing, computer worm, computer virus, botnet, pharming, spyware, dark web, etc. 

The speaker also guided the students by illustrating different ways such as safe browsing, resetting and cleaning up Google Chrome, browsing in incognito or private windows, how to avoid spamming, etc. through which the students can increase the functionality of Google Chrome while using it on a daily basis through their institutional IDs.

 The presentation was followed by a Question-Answer Session during which Mr Mukesh answered a number of queries from the students. 

The session was well-placed and it encouraged the children to ask a wide variety of questions about the cyber world and the personal challenges that they encounter while navigating through it, especially in a pandemic-stricken era where online schools have become the new normal. The students’ engagement and interest in the webinar was reflected through the  number of queries put forward by the students which prompted the Guest Speaker to promise to conduct another similar program in the future.

The second online webinar was conducted on the topic ‘Theatre in Education’ from 12:00 PM-12:45 PM and the Guest Speaker for the session was Mr Stephen Marazzi, an eminent theatre personality. Following a gracious welcome by the members of the Student Council, Mr Marazzi captured the attention of the audience from the very beginning of the webinar by playing a small piece of music on his keyboard. He then proceeded to explain how ‘drama’ is the heart of all theatre activities. 

Through interesting anecdotes and captivating enactments, Mr Marazzi explained to the students how drama and theatre can be used in the field of education through interdisciplinary studies. He played the popular English song ‘Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do’ on his keyboard and illustrated how this very easy song can be dramatised and used to learn important concepts of Science, Music, Arts and English. He also enacted the popular fairy tale of ‘Three Little Piggies’ namely, Aklu, Shaklu and Baklu and elucidated how simple concepts of Science as well as other subjects can be learnt through theatre and drama. 

The students were completely enraptured by Mr Marazzi and his dynamic presence during the webinar. They enthusiastically participated in the songs and chants led by the speaker and thoroughly enjoyed the session. The speaker also encouraged the children to submit their own creative stories to him in the form of drawings/write-ups and promised to choose the best stories as the premise for his own theatrical productions. 

The programmes were concluded by the vote of thanks, which were delivered by Ms Vinita Gupta, the Supervisor of Classes VI-VIII. She thanked the esteemed speakers for sparing their valuable time for these webinars as well as the Principal, Ms Padma Srinivasan, for her support and guidance in organising these webinars. Based on themes relevant to the students of Classes VI-VIII, the online webinars were a grand success that not only proved to be beneficial for the students but were also thoroughly enjoyed by them.

NATIONAL DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH

To celebrate the National Diabetes Awareness Month in November ,the following activities were organized by the Health and I Club,Biology Department .

1) Poetry Writing and Recitation for classes VI to VIII on the theme :Do’s and Don’ts for 

    diabetics.Students had to recite a  self composed poem of minimum ten lines and 

    submit their video and soft copy of the poem .The excitement and involvement of the 

    students was noteworthy. Through their poem, they promoted healthy food choices 

    and  motivated diabetics to have a positive outlook and stress free lifestyle.

2) Awareness Ad On Diabetes for classes IX and XI on the theme :Early Signs And 

    Symptoms of Diabetes /Causes Of Diabetes .Students had to enact an advertisement 

    for 2 minutes as a team,keeping in mind the use of appropriate costumes and 

    characters  .Video of the students,enacting the advertisement had to be submitted. 

    Students brilliantly showcased their team work and creativity .

    The activities were organized under the guidance of  Ms Niva Chhonkar ,HOD Biology 

    and coordinated by Ms Jyoti Sharma and Ms Shalini Chanana,Incharges of the 

    Health And I Club

The result of the competition is as follows:

THEME                NAMECLASS/SECTIONPOSITION
Do’s and  Don’ts   for  diabetics(Poem Recitation )AHAANA PANDITMAHIRA JAINVINEETA SINGHVII JVIII EVII B   FIRST   SECOND   THIRD
Awareness Ad   On DiabetesCHAHAKPRARTHNA PRAKASH XI BXI BFIRSTFIRST

Intellectual Property Rights

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. -THOMAS JEFFERSON

Cell for IPR Promotion and Development (CIPAM), a professional body under

the aegis of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India organised a virtual seminar on November 27th, 2021 for the students of classes VI, VII, VIII, IX and XI of DPS RK Puram on the topic “Intellectual Property Rights”. The programme was hosted with the aim of providing the students with the opportunity to interact with and learn from the accomplished people in the field.The class representatives, teachers and students of classes VI, VII, VIII, IX and XI attended the programme.

The virtual seminar was conducted by Mr. N. Subramanian along with Ms. Drishti Khurana. Mr. N. Subramanian, an engineering graduate and a registered Patent agent, started his IP Career as a Patent Scientist and grew as an in-house IP Trainer cum Analyst in the University. He has experience in Patent searching, drafting and filing; Handling the IPR seminars, Awareness programmes, Hands-on training; Handling the Value-Added course on IPR; Framing University IP Policy and creating an innovation ecosystem in the University. 

While working at CIPAM as an Assistant manager, he takes care of awareness vertically. He is also a mentor of change for Atal Tinkering Lab and acts as a resource person to promote IPR in several schools, colleges and forums such as UGC-HRDC, EDII-TN, All India Radio etc. 

Ms.Drishti Khurana is working in Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of commerce and industry as a Management Trainee. 

The programme began with Riya Gupta and Lipi Saini welcoming the audience and the guest speakers. This was followed by Mr. N. Subramanian’s presentation in which he discussed Intellectual Property Rights and its different types with the audience. He also included various fun activities to interact with the audience which took the energy level of the audience to great heights.

The question and answer session was conducted by Drishty Ajwani and Aryan Kumar. Students asked their questions regarding the topic which were very patiently answered by Mr. N. Subramanian. He emphasised the importance of intellectual property rights and how they help the authors to publish their work without the fear that someone else will use it and take credit for it. 

The session was concluded by Riya Gupta with a vote of thanks. The event was organised by Ms. Shelly Malhotra and Ms. Archna Deepak, with technical support from Mr. Mukesh Kumar and his team.

Bio Whiz Quiz 2021

The Bio Whiz Quiz was organized by Inquisitio, the Biology Club in association with Plasmid, the Biotechnology Club, on 26th November 2021, at 5.30 pm. The quiz was put together for all students of classes X to XII. To express their endless passion for Biology, and to strengthen their existing knowledge on the same, the event saw participation from 11 teams of 2 participants each. 

The event was hosted by Aadrita XII A, the President of Inquisitio, who was the quizmaster for the day. Her team included Archisha Bansal XII D (President) who was the moderator, Tejaswi Sharma XII A (Vice President) who designed the slides, Smiti Chawla XII B (Vice President) and Shubhika Pandey XI L (Biotechnology Club) who were the scorekeepers. After the rules of the competition were introduced, the teams began actively participating in the quiz. The rounds were as follows: 

Round 1: Multiple Choice Questions, 

Round 2: Audio-Visual Questions, 

Round 3: Identification Questions, 

Round 4: Rapid-Fire (based on themes) 

All the teams, as well as the audience, had an impressive knowledge of the subject and answered questions promptly and accurately. There were plenty of questions for the audience, who were especially delightful and full of energy.

After a tough competition among all the teams and following a set of tiebreakers, the 1st position was bagged by Parth Kumar and Sneha Chandra of XI D, followed by Prathamesh and Aditi of XI D at the 2nd position, and Parmarth and Nysa of XI D at 3rd position

 The Vote of thanks was proposed by Ms. Niva Chhonkar who offered words of appreciation for all. The Club incharges Ms. Kajal Sethi and Ms. Kusum Yadav also addressed the gathering before concluding the event. It was a day of enjoyment and learning, and all those who were present went home with some new knowledge about the subject.

NEET Rank 1 – Tanmay Gupta

Tanmay Gupta DPS RKP Batch 2020-2021

Tanmay Gupta DPS RK Puram Batch 2020-2021 is the National Topper of NEET 2021. He got perfect 720 out of 720 and stood at All India Rank 1 among more than 16 lakh students who appeared in the all India medical entrance on 12th of September 2021.

NEST MAKING WORKSHOP BY MR. RAKESH KHATRI

“Let us save our sparrow’s habitat before it’s too late.”

A unique workshop on ‘Nest Making’ was hosted by Delhi Public School, R K Puram on 13 July 2021.  It was taken up by Mr. Rakesh Kahtri, an environmentalist and founder of Eco Roots Foundation, who is well known for saving sparrows by having made thousands of nests so far.

The workshop started with showing a video on saving birds and it was followed by the address of the Principal, Ms. Padma Srinivasan.  Next, Mr. Rakesh Khatri was invited to interact with students and instruct them the process of nest making. He spoke about the importance of sensitising young minds towards the habitat of birds and their migration due to the rapid expansion of cities.  He shared his life experiences pertaining to the beginning of the process of nest making and the success that followed as 70 to 80 percent of these nests were occupied by birds.  He explained the habitation system of birds, the food birds eat, the medicinal value of turmeric to heal an injured bird, using ice cream sticks to feed birds, and placing a bucket full of water in balconies or verandahs to help the survival of home sparrows. He exhibited various kinds of nests made from waste material, tetra packs and organic material.  

He showed the step by step process of nest making using materials such as plastic jar, pencil, cloth, jute, rope, wool, paper cuttings and dry leaves etc.  He talked about the placement of the nest 10-12 feet in the wall.  This was followed by ‘Question- Answer Session’, various queries of students and teachers were addressed.  It was also announced that ten beautiful nests’ creators would be awarded a ‘Warrior Badge’ and a certificate for their creations. The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks as given by the Headmistress, Ms. Rashmi Malhotra and a special note by Ms. Preeti Pratihari and Ms. Vinita Gupta.

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH 2021

The World Federation for Mental Health celebrated World Mental Health Day on 10th October 1992, under the aegis of the then Deputy Secretary General Richard Hunter with the aim of promoting mental health advocacy and educating the public on relevant issues related to mental health. Since then, the day is commemorated every year on 10th October. This day serves as a reminder of the dangers associated with the stigma around mental health and the pressing need for greater acceptance of people with mental health issues as well as recognition of mental health professionals.

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day was ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’ to bring into focus the glaring disparities in access to mental health services due to the widening health, social, economic, and cultural inequalities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To celebrate this year’s World Mental Health Day, the Psychology Club prepared a short presentation on the topic ‘Dealing With Setbacks’. It began with snippets of a survey the members conducted in which they asked people about what they think mental health means and how awareness around it has evolved over the years. This was followed by a panel discussion held by four of the members in which each of them spoke about the major setbacks they faced and how they dealt with them. The aim of the presentation was for teachers to conduct classroom discussions and encourage students to share their experiences as well. Students in all classes actively participated in these discussions and it was an enriching experience for both the students and teachers alike.