The 3rd of March 2019 marked the beginning of an end which would herald a glorious new beginning altogether; this line concisely describes the eventful first day of the academic year 2019-2020 for the 10th graders and the 12th graders of Indian Educational School, Kuwait. ‘The 10th batch of grade 12 and the 12th batch of grade 10’ (It is neither any riddle nor is a code to any cryptogram, but, as it plainly reads, are the coincidently numbered batches of grade 10 and grade 12 of the academic year 2019-20) embarked on the last stage of their incredible journey which they started off at the then a humble shrine of knowledge which has gained, in the short span of time, a cult status of a miraculous pilgrimage centre where the devotees of knowledge come from different parts of the world to receive the blessings and divine touch of the gods and goddesses of knowledge.
The day started with the morning assembly in the school auditorium which paved way for an array of fun filled and thought provoking programs and games to welcome the enthusiastic end-beginners. The event, taking the name ‘Haardikam Suswagatham’ was dedicated to the armed forces of India. The event commenced with Mr. T. Premkumar, Principal, IES, delivering an inspirational speech which he perfected with the reading of a prayer written by him towards the end. Mr. Suresh. V. Balakrishnan, Vice Principal, Middle and Senior Wings, IES further addressed the students. The special invitees of the day were Mrs. Rathi Raveendran, Principal, Jack & Jill, Sushma Mary Joe, Supervisor, Kindergarten, IES, Mrs. Rajni Menon, Supervisor, Kindergarten, Smart Indian School, Mrs. Mini Nair, Mrs. Rekha Jaypal and Betty Joseph (Faculty, Smart Indian School). They were the teachers of IES since its inception, and some of them who later moved to the various branches of Bhavans in Kuwait. The air was filled with the fragrance of celebration and nostalgia when the special invitees then addressed the students. Their words filled with the warmth of affection certainly inspired the youngsters to the core.
The earnest mood was shifted to amusement and delight as the extremely talented teachers of IES, representing different departments entertained the audience with their ‘you-blink-you-miss’ hip-hop steps to peppy numbers and some vocally aired mellifluous songs. One of the special performers of the day was the Sr. Vice Principal himself. The highlight of the entertainment program was a dazzling classical dance by the sister duo Mrs. Deepa Praveen and Mrs. Deepthi Prasanth, members of Bhavans’ parent community.
To push the momentum of excitement yet further, the Department of Computer Science conducted a few mindboggling and exciting games separately for grade 10 and grade 12 designed specially with well-defined objectives to nurture the social skills of the students. The competitive nature of the games was instrumental in demonstrating the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship, multitasking and objectives in life. The emcee of the day was Ms. Sindhu Ashok, Faculty, Department of Science and Coordinator of grade 10. Thus the eventful beginning of an end came to an end with a lot of promises to be fulfilled.