Mangaluru: School Day, Sports Day, Independence Day, Teacher’s Day or for that matter any other celebrations that take place at St Angela’s Primary School-Bejai- I am always there to cover the event- only for the reason that I love the cute kids of St Angela and also that my cousin Sr Matilda has been the active Principal for so many years. Once again I was there for the just concluded ‘Smart Kids Contest” , where the kids unleashed the hidden talents and wowed their teachers, parents and the audience.
Talents, Gifts, and Abilities- I must admit I find it hard to distinguish between these three titles; what is a talent, gift and ability, and what are the differences? I am not going to make those distinctions. When a child has an ability he/she loves doing that, he/she learns it easily, he/she is passionate about it, he/she wants to do it, in fact sometimes he/she can’t stop from doing it. And that’s what I found out at this “Smart Kids Contest”, which was kind of similar to a ‘Talents Day’ where the cute little kids unleashed their hidden talents, and performed them to the best of their abilities to wow the management and staff of the school, parents and well-wishers.
The enthusiastic kids shared a kaleidoscope of skills and interests, and no matter what the sharing, though, an audience of classmates, teachers, parents, and others invited by the children offered enthusiastic support and appreciation. ‘The Smart Kids Contest’ was designed to allow all kids to be recognized, whether their special interest was in music, acting or some other area. Even those children who choose not to share, also played an important role as respectful audience members.
Call it a Smart Kids Contest or a Kids Talent Day, over the years, I’ve seen children benefit in many ways from their Talent Day experiences. Not long ago, a very quiet, new-to-the-school child at one primary standard school in the City was having trouble finding a place in her fourth grade class. On Talent Day, she shared her karate techniques, and the other children began to appreciate something that was important to their new classmate. To me, that’s the best part of Talent Days: giving children who have been stumbling a chance to shine.
The ‘Smart Kids Contest’ began with seeking God’s blessings. Matilda Pinto and Jerry Rasquinha were the judges for the 2-day event. Nearly 85 kids took part in the contest, where they were judged on their presentation/Expression, Confidence, Questions & Answers. The chief guests for the both the days were Jerry Rasquinha, and Matilda Pinto, while guests of honor were Sr Leena D’Souza- Principal, Lourdes high school, Sr Ancilla Pinto-Correspondent, St Angela Nursery School- and both the functions were presided over by Sr Matilda- Principal, St Angela’s Nursery School. Winners of various categories were presented.
Sr.Smitha and Sr Sushma- welcomed the guest and also played an important role by compering the event very systematically and smoothly. Principal Sr Matilda extended her heartfelt thanks to Sr Ancilla for her constant support and encouragement, to the staff for their tireless efforts in setting up the event and to the parents /well-wishers for their unstinted support towards the school -without whom this unique and entertaining event wouldn’t have seen the light of the day. With true patriotism the event ended with everyone singing the National Anthem. The vote of thanks was proposed by Miss Vidya and Miss Savithri- the teachers at the school.
Winners:
Girls Pre-Nursery (Below 3yrs)
Kshethra H Shetty -First Place
Simrah Mariyam — II place
Andrea Viola D’Souza–III Place
BOYS–Pre Nursery (Below 3 Yrs)
Keerthan G–First place
Lekhaj S –II place
Pratham—III place
GIRLS Pre-Nursery (Above 3 Yrs)
Sahithi-First place
Deepika Riya Lobo–II place
Sanvi P Menon–III place
BOYS Pre-Nursery (Above 3 Yrs)
Ayush Ashok–First place
Shiurya Shetty–II place
Gayam–III place
GIRLS–LKG
Kirthika Shree–first place
Samskrithi–II place
Oshiene Rose–III place
BOYS–LKG
Vanish Shetty–First place
Swanik Kamath–II place
Vaishak D’Kulal–III place
GIRLS–UKG
Samudhyatha–First place
Hiba Aisha–II place
Thriveni–III place
BOYS–UKG
Prahnam Attavar–First place
Teerth Shetty–II place
Vaibhav Prabhu–III place
