TOOLS IN SCHOOLS

Story Telling Carnival at Loreto Day School Sealdah

                          Roshni Ghosh

                      Teacher, Loreto Day School Sealdah

On the 23^rd of February, 2011 our first Story Telling Carnival was organized in the school premises. Students from classes V to VII participated with great energy and enthusiasm. The children came up with their own stories and worked on the presentation themselves. This was preceded by a day – long workshop on story telling in each class conducted by Sandra Krahn who specializes in organizing such programs in schools all over the world. The eager participants surprised us all with their innovative tales on a variety of topics ranging from horror stories, safaris in the Amazon forest to stories about everyday life. Equally varied were the characters - vampire bats, Royal Bengal tigers, anacondas, hunters, evil spirits, college students and regular office goers. The children came dressed in a flurry of costumes complete with plumes, horns, wings and tails- the younger ones preferring to act out their stories while their more senior counterparts chose to read them out with special sound effects. Creative spirits rose high and we the teachers marveled at how quietly and quickly our little ones had gathered their resources and summoned their faculties to give the best possible expression to their creative energies. The preparation time for this endeavor was a little less than a week and while some girls chose to work in pairs, some worked in small groups while a couple of group performances included entire classes. Scripts were written , cast was selected, appropriate music added both as background scores and even little dance numbers choreographed. Not only did this unique experience prove invaluable as a hands-on language exercise, it was also a lesson in team effort, organization and delegation of task as well as a fun filled introduction to creating and executing stage presentations of their own stories. To make the exercise a more wholesome one the aspect of recording and editing this event was also added and a group of class VIII students was entrusted with this job. The results left us surprised and happy. The success of the carnival led to a further decision- that this is to become a biannual program in school from this year onwards.

 

                                                                                       

Posted by Debasish