Every year the Annual Day celebrations form an integral part of every school’s academic calendar. For us at GIIS Noida, it is an occasion of celebration and felicitation when students not only present their wonderful performances but also display the club activities to showcase the work done by them in their respective clubs throughout the year. 

This year, the Annual Day celebrations were special as for the first time ever, we conducted something this big on a virtual mode that would be cherished by the audience, participants, and attendees for a longer period of time. 

The umbrella theme for this year celebrations was woven around the title ‘Sankalp’ and the annual day for Grades 6-12 students was based on sub-theme Navrasas, in which the young artists of the school presented a spectacular drama based musical and dance rendition linked with all the nine emotions- Navrasas, that emanate from mother Nature and humans.

The occasion was graced by the Chief Guest Dr. A K Srivastava - Astt. Professor from Department of Science and Mathematics. Other dignitaries who joined us as the Guest of Honor were Ms. Neelam Arora - an esteemed Writer, Speaker, and Advisor, Mr. Rajiv Bansal- Director Operations GIIS India, and Ms. Vaishali Borde National Co-scholastic head, GIIS India.  

The celebrations began on a beautiful Sunday morning with a prayer to invoke the blessings of the Almighty. The Principal, Mr. Ganesh Sharma, then extended a warm welcome to the Chief Guest, Guests of Honor, parents, and students attending the webinar. He then presented an annual school report highlighting the achievements of students and the school. He also spoke at length about the plethora of opportunities that GIIS Noida offered to its students even during the pandemic and applauded the incredible work done by the entire staff of Noida in teaching & learning through the digital platform.

The chief guest, Dr. A K Srivastava, in his address congratulated the school Principal for the achievements of the academic year. He further urged parents to take note of learning outcomes and emphasized on the same while their wards study the subjects. He also motivated the students to focus on understanding the concepts rather than mugging them up. 

The one-hour-long cultural show based on the nine emotions, which every one of us experiences in our regular course of life, held the audience in awe and left them enlightened.

The nine emotions namely hasya (joy),adbhutha (wonder), shanthi (peace), raudra (anger), veera (courage), shringara (love), karuna (distress), bhayanaka (fear), bheebatsa (disgust) were beautifully showcased around nature and activities of humankind. The cultural show presented few events of life which were experienced during the pandemic and how these events can be symbolized in human life with these emotions as a prime essence.

The props and costumes added color to the celebrations with the synchronized dance movements of our talented students to the foot-tapping music. The explosive intermediary dance performances inspired the audience to shake their leg, and the upbeat choral singing enthralled the spectators present. It was indeed a truly mesmerizing show. 

The cultural programme was then followed by eye-catching presentations showcased by various clubs i.e. IT club, Journalism Club, Cooking Club, Dharohar Club, Yoga Club, Art Club, etc., which showcased the skill sets acquired by the students of these respective clubs through the activities conducted throughout the session. Each club displayed a plethora of activities conducted during the year; videos shot in real time were also played for the audience to understand the quantum of work done under various clubs.

The Guest of Honour Ms. Neelam Arora was all praises for the show. She congratulated the school for taking such an edifying topic of ‘Navrasas’. She spoke about the online education which GIIS provided during the pandemic and the extraordinary efforts taken by the teachers at the school to impart education during the unprecedented times through various clubs and regular teaching-learning sessions. She emphasized on the learning outcomes and also urged students to do written practice to improve upon their writing skills. She further praised all the clubs for conducting such innovative activities. 

The Vote of thanks was proposed by the segment Coordinator Ms. Madhuri Kaw. She thanked all the parents for supporting the school programs and specially preparing their wards for the dance, drama, and musical recordings, and helping their wards to get theme-based costumes and accessories to be all set for the virtual Annual day this year. The programme ended with the feeling of inspiration and togetherness, and a salute to the motherland after singing the National Anthem.

This year’s Annual Function proved to be an astounding visual treat that enthralled every spectator connected virtually to the show.