NEWS & EVENTS

Resource Academia Middle and Senior School staged its Parents\\' Commemoration Day on February 26, 2014 at Al-Hamrah, the Mall. The students paid a commendable tribute to their parents and reflected a well-rounded learning tradition. The Head Boy, Mohammad Zaid Bin Zafar and the Head Girl, Syeda Alizah Hassan hosted the program. Recitation of verses from the Quran was followed by the National Anthem. The Principal, Ms. Jamila John welcomed the parents and appreciated the effort made by the students and staff members in putting together such a wonderful programme.

The Stone Soup, the opening play by Class 4, presented an old folk tale in which some shrewd hungry travellers outwit the selfish villagers who refuse to give them food. Pretending to make a stone soup, they manipulate the villagers and take all the ingredients from them. Touched by an Alien, also by Class 4, told the story of some space explorers who hold some aliens captive and want them to sign the Galaxy Confederation Charter. Both plays were presented by the youngest students at the school!

Bashira Challa London by Class 5 took the audience into a village home. This play portrayed the fascination of our people, particularly villagers, in travelling to London. The humorous but satirical play told the story of Bashira, the main character of this play. He manipulates his father into selling off his land and pays two fraudulent travel agents for a visa and ticket. Ironically, he ends up in jail for a fake visa! The Peacock Dance by Class 5 students was as pleasing aesthetically as it was musically. Dressed in vibrant green outfits and peacock feathers, the elegant movements of the girls had everyone completely enthralled.

An adaptation of a story by renowned Urdu writer, Ismat Chughtai, Kaam Chor told the story of an average middle class household within our society, where the entire family lives together. As the father nears his retirement age, he tries to cut down on household expenses. The result, chaos! The children are too irresponsible and do not realize the harsh realities of life. The very talented Class 6 students displayed an excellent performance. Another remarkable performance by Class 6 was King Arthur and the Witch. The audience was taken back into the medieval times of King Arthur, when his best friend Sir Gwain stood in deadly peril. To save his friend, King Arthur agreed to marry an evil witch!

Ebony Scrooge, a successful restaurant owner in the play A Christmas Carol believes in over-charging his customers and underpaying his employees. He learns a lesson when he is visited by ghosts from the past, present and future, who remind him of the importance of sharing and giving. Presented by Class 7, the play had the audience completely engrossed. The Goblin Market, enacted by Class 7, told the story of two sisters who lived on the edge of a forest inhabited by evil goblins. One of the sisters falls prey to the goblins’ plot to taste their magical fruits. The other sister risks going into the goblins’ midst returns successfully with magic fruit juice for her sister, which helps her to recover. The play ends on a happy note and they both live happily ever after!

Order, Order! Adalat Ka Kamrah transported the audience into a court room. The sophisticated lawyers and judges spoke their dialogues to perfection and exhibited the way in which courts reach their decisions. Performed by Class 7 and 8, the students did an excellent job. The tale of the Millionaire Miser is a Buddhist folktale based in the 5^th century AD. The story revolves around Sakka, the King of Heaven and a Buddhist version of the Hindu God Indra. Class 8 presented this very interesting story.

The grand finale was a musical Umeed-e-Sahar by students of Class 8, O1 and O2, who put together a spectacular performance. Although presented in an innovative manner, the play was based on our everyday characters that face difficulties due to religious and social issues. The audience was completely captivated by the classical Turk dance performance!

Alongside the main performances, the fillers successfully captivated the audience\\\\\'s interest. A Sitar Recital by the very talented siblings, Abeeha and Numair, transported the audience to a pleasingly peaceful mood. The Wake and Shake aerobics display was pleasantly invigorating. A melodious rendition of the song Main Bhi Daikhoon Ga was much applauded. The poem Hamdardi was enacted beautifully. The Clap Dance displayed brilliant coordination by O2 boys who created music and rhythm simply with their synchronized hand and foot movements. Natawan Pehlwan was a hilarious display of the pomp and glory displayed by a supposed ‘pehlwan’! The Leotard Dance by O1 and O2 girls was a dazzling display of illusion created by the black and white in the performers’ outfits and their fascinatingly orchestrated dance moves! Shazia Gaa Mian gave a lovely display of her musical expertise with a beautiful keyboard performance.

The Parents Day performances exhibited the skills and talent of the participants and organizers simultaneously. There was a variety of colours, an assortment of sounds, and a careful blend of entertainment and sombreness. The fabulous backdrops and props by the Art teacher, Ms. Uzaira Humayun added grandeur to the show. The Parents Day was a remarkable success due to the coordinated efforts of the students, the teachers and the Academic Coordinators, Ms. Humaira Tariq and Ms. Samira Butt.

A day trip was organized for the students to experience the Metro Bus Ride on September 21, 2014 by the Sports Teacher, Ms. Lubna Afzaal. Some students from Classes 5, 6, 7 and 8 were taken to the Model Town Metro Bus Station on school transport accompanied by the teacher.

Class 5 girls went for a bus tour along the Lahore Canal on March 13, 2013. They were accompanied by their teachers. The bus ride was organized as a celebration of spring. The students enjoyed the lovely displays on the canal, had a picnic and thoroughly enjoyed the entire activity. 

The Student Council 2013-2014 comprises the following members:

Head Boy: Mohammad Zaid Bin Zafar [O3A]
Head Girl: Syeda Alizah Hassan [O3A]    

The Dawn Group of Newspapers organizes the National Spelling Bee every year, which aims towards creating a competitive and challenging contest for young spellers all across the country. The Spelling Bee aspires to expand children\\'s horizons beyond the classroom and enhance their process of learning. The contest is designed to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabulary, learn new concepts and develop correct usage of English language.

The nine outstanding spellers who will represent Resource Academia at the 10th DAWN in Education Spelling 2014 at the Regional Championships are:

An English Spelling Contest was conducted in all sections of Classes 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. English teachers compiled spelling lists with 100 to 200 words that are frequently misspelled by children in each of these classes. All students had the opportunity to compete in the initial round of the spelling contest that was conducted by the English teachers within each class. Two students scoring the highest percentage were selected from each section of each class for the final round.

During the final round, students were tested on words from the initial spelling lists in addition to five new words that had been selected by the Academic Coordinators, Ms. Samira and Ms. Humaira. The top two students in each class were announced as the winners. These winners received prizes and certificates from the Principal, Ms. John, at a special award ceremony. All 96 students who scored A grades during the initial round were also awarded certificates and prizes.

The winners included:

At Resource Academia, acquiring General Knowledge is considered very significant. Teachers emphasize the importance of acquiring such skills and being in touch with the current affairs.  Classes through the year have contributed towards personal enrichment and a better understanding of the world as a whole for students at the Middle School Campus. Students have learnt about a diverse range of facts related to various subjects. To mark the end of the session, a comprehensive ‘General Knowledge Quiz’ was organized for students from Classes 4 to 7.

In the qualifying round, questionnaires with 50 written questions were given to all students in each class. The top scorers were selected for the final quiz. The grand finale of the contest was in three rounds, each displaying questions using the multimedia. The first round comprised MCQs, the second round was a question-answer section, while the third round was the visual round where competitors had to identify pictures of important people, landmarks, flags, and maps of countries.

All participants and supporters participated very enthusiastically, which created an environment of healthy competition. In the audience round, audience members were asked questions just for fun!

The winners were:

All winners received certificates and prizes from the Principal, Ms. John, who appreciated their hard work along with the effort made by the General Knowledge Teacher, Ms. Sophia Khan.

Cancer accounts for one in eight deaths globally. In the 20th century, the tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide. According to the World Health Organization\'s (WHO) 2008 report, the global tobacco epidemic will cause more than 8 million deaths every year by 2030, unless urgent action is taken. An estimated 80% of these deaths will occur in developing countries.  

Joining the global crusade against Tobacco, Resource Academia participated in the \'No Tobacco\' Poster Contest 2014 organized by Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. The poster contest was in line with the \'World, No Tobacco Day\' on May 31, 2014. Students from Grades 1 to O3 designed posters that highlighted the negative effects of smoking. These posters were judged by a committee and names of winners were displayed on the Hospital website. The Art teachers at the Pre-Junior, Middle and Senior Campuses are appreciated for the guidance and support that they provided to the participants.

Students from Resource Academia Pre-Junior Campus participated in an art competition, Art for Change, organized by Discovering New Artists, a non-profit organization that aims to create opportunities for underprivileged children through education and by discovering artists within them. This contest involved participation by students all across Pakistan and included students between the ages 4 to 18 from all walks of life.

Change has become a popular phenomenon and everyone seems to be willing to see a reformed society. Based on the belief in art as a medium for change, participants were required to base their art on the theme Pakistan Tomorrow. The contest urged children to think about Pakistan’s tomorrow and the outcome was art that provided insights into how these children see their country in the future.

Each participant had to pay a contributing fee that will help the organization in bringing about change in the community by empowering the underprivileged children with a love for story books and an opportunity to participate in the competition free of cost. This competition also sponsored education of needy children through the proceeds generated from the registration and selling of artwork received from private school students. All participating students received Certificates of Appreciation.