Kochi: A record 15 students from a Kochi school emerged with flying colours in the Mathematics Olympiad, a problem-solving competition originating at the regional level and culminating in the world championship.
Mohan Nandakumar, Vishnu H. Nair and Dhananjay R. Varma of Saraswathi Vidyanikethan School, Elamakkara, bagged the first three ranks in the Regional Mathematical Olympiad jointly organised across the state by the National Board for Higher Mathematics and the Department of Atomic Energy, on December 1.
Another 12 students from the school made it into the top 20. A record 31 students from the state were selected for the national level competition to be held in February 2014.
“We understand that it this is the first time that 15 students from a single school have cleared the regional level exam. The reason is that we have given them good orientation and special coaching classes taken by IIT experts,” said the school's principal Devan Gopal.
He said the 15 students will be given intensive training so that at least one of them makes it into the India team. “For this we have tied up with FIITJEE (Forum for Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination),” he said.
Last time, only 17 students from the state made it to the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO) and half of them barely managed to make the cut-off.
“It’s been a good performance in recent years; in fact, in the last two decades,” said Ambat Vijayakumar, regional coordinator, INMO.
“Long back, six students from the Layola School made it to the national level, but 15 from one school is definitely a record. I hope they continue to prepare together and go on to make the Indian team for the World Championship competition to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in July next year.”
The first five rank holders, four of them from Saraswathy Vidhyaniketan, will be awarded Prof. C. S. Venkataraman memorial prizes and KSCSTE (Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment) cash awards in the Merit Evening to be held in February 2014 at CUSAT.
“I found the examination tough but I performed with confidence thanks to the intense training received from the school. I referred to the Challenge and Thrill of pre-college mathematics. Questions were asked based on it,” said Mohan Nandakumar.
All the three toppers want to join an IIT for higher studies.
Their advice to fellow students who aim to take a crack at the examination?
“Confidence is a major factor. Don't be worried at the indirect nature of questions and try to relate it to the mathematical theories.”
Next: Kochi school bags tourism club awards
Kochi school bags tourism club awards
Kochi: The awards for the Best Teacher Coordinator and the Best Student Coordinator of the Tourism Club, instituted by the State Tourism Department, have gone to the Darul Uloom Vocational Higher Secondary School, Pulleppady.
Ever since the school formed the Tourism Club in 2003, the students have been active in forming innovative programmes to promote tourism in consultation with the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC.)
Sijimol Jacob, teacher of Darul Uloom VHSS, Pulleppady receive awards from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. —DC
“We’re very happy that our attempts to boost the tourism sector of God’s Own Country have been aptly recognised. It will be a further boost for more students to learn and make a career in the sector. We have air hostesses among our former students and quite a lot of them are running homestays,” said Sijimol Jacob, the teacher who won the coveted award.
And when her student Anamika K.M. won the award for best student coordinator, it was the third straight year that the school had been winning the award.
The awards were presented by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram, on December 11.
One of the tasks the students happily accept is to identify potential tourism spots.
“One such spot was Mangalavanam behind the High Court. It was hard to believe that such a mangrove could exist right in the middle of a bustling city. It was a congregation of rare breeding birds. We conducted an in-depth study and submitted a report to the Tourism Department on how it could be turned into a tourist spot without disturbing the flora or fauna there,” Sijimol said.
The club has made it a point to interact frequently with tourists and take them to scenic places nearby. “Foreigners are very enthusiastic about our programmes. For instance, this year we took out a cycle rally carrying placards with the message ‘Water and Tourism’. We were overwhelmed when a group of tourists joined us,” said Anamika.
And with Christmas bells ringing, the club is planning a surprise for all its enterprising members. “We’ll give them surprise gifts. For the time being, it’s being kept a secret,” grins Sijimol.
Next: Students as Santa raise funds for orphans
Students as Santa raise funds for orphans
T. Sudheesh | DC
Alappuzha: Santa has come early to Muhamma. In the true spirit of Christmas, students of CMS LPS, Muhamma are taking to the streets dressed as Santa Claus and singing carols to raise funds for their orphaned school friends.
The group of 15 little Santas visits shops and homes singing carols taught to them by their parents and teachers. Their three day carol singing mission titled Kaanaamarayathinoru Kaithaangu (A helping hand beyond the horizon) began on Tuesday and the funds collected will go towards buying Christmas gifts for students of the school who have lost their parents.
The group of 15 little Santas visits shops and homes singing carols taught to them by their parents and teachers. —DC
School headmistress, Jolly Thomas, says the gifts will include new dresses for around 15 students who have been orphaned.
“It’s not enough to simply celebrate Christmas . We wanted to do something to convey the message of compassion and sacrifice that Christmas stands for.
The Christmas carols were planned by teachers with Hill View, a students’ club set up for humanitarian causes by the school,” she says.
“The three day carol singing will end on Thursday. If the funds raised are not big enough, the teachers and parents will contribute to make up the shortfall.
Our aim is to make all students happy during Christmas and New Year,” says Sherly Annam, who heads the team of carol singers.
Abhiram Radhakrishnan of class IV is enjoying the experience as the carol singing students are getting a good response on the streets and the houses they visit. “We sing carols highlighting the message of Christmas. It’s fun to be Santa Claus,” he giggles.
Next: Free karate training for students in Idukki school
Free karate training for students in Idukki school
Abhish K Bose | DC
Kottayam: Students of St George High School, Udumbannur, near Thodupuzha, are being trained in karate once a week.
Almost 670 students from class five to ten are being trained in the martial art.
Geroge Joseph, headmaster, said the PTA had decided to launch such a project, considering the challenges students had to face these days.
"Martial arts have become indispensable when viewed against the increasing number of atrocities every day. By mastering martial arts, students will be able to attain a high level of concentration and discipline. This will also help them to perform better in their studies”, he said.
Girls were more interested in mastering karate than the boys, he said.
The training was being given for free and the PTA was providing all help, including the funds, said the headmaster.
Next: ‘Sachin, your innings will never end’
‘Sachin, your innings will never end’
Pooja Nair | DC
Kozhikode: If the God of cricket needed any reassurance that he was popular in God’s Own Country, he has got it in plenty as around 1300 students of classes I to XI of the Government High School, Nallalam have come out with a kilometer long paper banner filled with adoring comments like “Sachin, you are still batting in our heart” and “Your innings will never end.”
Also pasted with photographs and journals related to the country’s cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar, who called it quits recently, the banner is a glowing tribute to the master blaster who entertained people of all age groups and professions for decades.
Around 1300 students from classes I to XI completed the banner consisting of 2000 A4 sheet materials with the photographs and journals related to the cricket legend. —DC
For the students, the banner titled “A tribute to Sachin, the cricket God,” was clearly a labour of love as it took them a month to make.
“We have not edited any of the captions or comments of the students as we wanted them to express their love for their cricket hero in their own simple and sincere words,” says the school’s English teacher, Renjith Lal KP, explaining that the students painstakingly collected photographs of every stage of Sachin’s life and career and also writings about him dating back a decade for the banner.
Created by the English and Social Studies clubs of the school, the banner will be exhibited for public viewing on January 1 at Manachira Square.
But the school doesn’t intend to stop with this. It plans to organize events on similar lines every New Year day to pay tribute to the unforgettable master blaster of the cricketing world.
Next: CBSE to open regional office on Saturday
CBSE to open regional office on Saturday
Thiruvananthapuram: Meeting a long felt need of CBSE schools in the state, a regional office of the board will open at the LIC building here on December 21.
The regional office will mainly cater to the requirements of 1300 CBSE schools in the state and 12 schools in Lakshadweep, explains general secretary of the Kerala CBSE School Managements Association, Indira Rajan The association , which has been trying to persuade the CBSE authorities to open a regional office in Kerala for the last couple of years, is happy that its efforts have finally paid off.
“The regional office will be a boon to the CBSE schools in the state as it will save them a lot of time and energy in reaching the CBSE Regional Office in Chennai to get work done. It also means less expenditure on travel,” Indira Rajan points out.
The Kerala office, the 18th regional centre of the CBSE in the country, will occupy 13,000 sq ft space in the old building of the Life Insurance Corporation where the CBSE has occupied two floors on rent.
While the first floor will house its regional office, the ground floor will be used for storing textbooks, helping to tackle the constant shortage of textbooks for classes IX and X in CBSE schools of the state. Present at the inaugural function will be Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Union minister of state for human resources development, Shashi Tharoor, MLAs Benny Behanan and K Muraleedharan, and CBSE chairman, Vineet Joshi.
