Mangaluru: The First Ever Inter-School one day cultural, literary and technical fest, “Carmel Ingenium” was organized by the students of Mount Carmel Central School in the school auditorium on November 9th, 2015. What marked its uniqueness was the fact that it was a wholly ” Of the student, By the Student, and For the student” planned event with a touch of guidance from teachers. Seventeen schools in and around Mangaluru, including CBSE, ICSE and state board schools participated in this fest. A total number of 149 students of Mount Carmel Central school had divided into eight different committees along with involvement of 8 event forums in making “Carmel Ingenium” happen.
An interesting mix of individual and group events were held which included various fun filled activities like Chameleon, Sur-Taal , 90 Seconds to Fame, Origami, Battle of Brains, Weave a Tale, accompanied by the mainstream exciting Quiz and Technical events. However, the host school-Mount Carmel Central School refrained from participating in this event. As propounded by Sr. Melissa A.C , Principal of Mount Carmel Central School, this Fest was conducted in order to enhance the organizing and managing skills of the students of the host school and act as a catalyst in their learning process . Moreover, it also provided a platform for students to explore and appreciate the untapped talent concealed in them and showcase it in an enthralling manner.
“We keep pushing forward, opening new doors, and doing different things-because we’re curious beings and curiosity is what keeps leading us down new paths forever”-these thought-provoking words of Walt Disney rightly summed up the rattling of the curious little brains at Mount Carmel that started rattling 2 months ago to bring this event which was unfold today. Student Coordinator Radhika Bansal in her welcome address said, ” A good play is not when the actors cry but when the audience cries”, is a theatre quote. And here today, it is you who is both, the actor and the audience. Your presence here today is a very joyous indication of our commitment to turning ideas into reality”. ‘Carmel Ingenium’ was inaugurated by lighting the traditional lamp by chief guest Ananthesh Prabhu, partner, Aruna Industries along with other dignitaries on the dais namely- Mount Carmel principal Sr Melissa AC, teacher coordinator Latha Shenoy and student coordinator Radhika Bansal.
The chief guest recalling his college days at St Aloysius college when he was involved in many cultural events said that cultural, literary and technical fest like these will unleash the hidden talents among youth where they showcase them to the outside world. Quoting Julia Gillard’s words ‘ Our future growth lies on competitiveness and innovation, skills and productivity..and these in turn rely on the education of our people”, Sr Melissa AC addressing the students said, ” Perhaps you have heard the word ‘Learn Challenge’-it’s a modern term for innovative education and learning. It gives us a pointer to the quality of education in the near future. This education will focus more on life and living, rather than learning facts and information”
” Making sense of abundant information, analytical skills and decision making skills will be highly priced in the near future. Keeping this unknown trend in mind, we have initiated a methodology and the manner in which we nurture our students towards attaining their long term goals. ‘Carmel Ingenium’ Fest is one such attempt where our students have taken the responsibility under the guidance of their mentor Manoj Louis, and staff coordinator Latha Shenoy. I feel proud and elated that the young minds can come up to this rung of the ladder to have this mega event at the school level holding the saddle in their hands with open transparency and accountability. Hats off to you dear students” added Sr Melissa AC.
Soon after the inauguration the events began in full swing. The first event after the inauguration was ‘Chameleon’, in which the participant had to speak both for and against the topic allotted to him/her. It was followed by other events like ‘Tech arena’, ‘Weave a tale’, ‘Origami art’, ‘Theatre of fun’ etc. After lunch, the remaining events were conducted simultaneously. The last event ’90 seconds to fame’ came to an end by 3:10 pm, and as scheduled the valedictory function began at 3:15 pm. The chief guest for the valedictory was Dr Prashant Marla, medical director, AJ Hospital and research Centre.
Dr Marla said that winning is not important but taking part is important. Competition is not just about winning. It’s more about finding the potential in you and nurturing it as knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. He further said, ” Happiness and fun develops in school-students should avail all the opportunities that the school offers in co-curricular activities and such. In the same time you should also respect your teachers and adults without any discrimination of caste and creed. Work in unity for the betterment of your school, yourself and the community”.
Few students from participating schools expressed their opinions, and all of them thanked the school management, staff and students for organizing this event very successfully. They all had praises for the organizers for hosting an excellent event-one participant said that he felt that Mount Carmel was a school away from his school. Some participants said that the escort and royal treatment that was provided by the organizers when they walked into Mount Carmel felt like they were like King and Queens!- and with such kind of hospitality and arrangements they want to return again. Not only were the winners awarded at the valedictory dais, but the students involved in the planning and execution of the event were awarded too with a certificates of recognition. Manoj Louis- the mentor behind this unique fest was also felicitated with loud applaud from the audience.
St Theresa’s school won the overall championship while the runner up trophy was bagged by Cambridge School. This event, for sure has successfully achieved these aims. The students at the end expressed that they hope having such events in the school in the coming years too. Kudos for the great job done by the student organizers of Mount Carmel Central School – you guys simply rocked!
About the events :
Chameleon: was all about switching between for and against on the same topic. If the participant begins speaking in favour of the topic, on ringing of the bell, the participant had to switch to the negative phase of the topic immediately and vice versa. They had to switch again on the next bell.
Origami: is the Japanese word for paper folding. ORI means to fold and KAMI means paper. It was all about using paper in a creative way to depict a short scene.
Weave A tale: We all love listening to stories and so now it was the time for participants to take their imagination to another level and weave a tale using their creativity.
90 Seconds to Fame: Want fame? This was an opportunity to become a star. These 90 seconds performance on stage made them a celebrity. In this one and a half minute, the participants exhibited their hidden talents to the audience.
Battle of Brains: The most interesting thing about this quiz was that it was both a team as well as an individual competition. Even though participants compete as a team , the whole game can change based on the random knowledge of a person. This was a chance to a be a part of one such competition in the form of a General Knowledge quiz!
Theatre of Fun: Bored of TV Advertisements, participants used their creativity and came up with a crazy mad act of their own.
Sur-Taal : Music, song and dance is one entity. Here is the chance for the participants to celebrate them together by singing and dancing to the Karaoke music of their choice.
Tech-Arena : Competition is not just about winning. It’s more about finding the potential in you and nurturing it as knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. So the participants joined in and explored the Tech genius hidden in them.
