Indian School Muscat, under the aegis of the Board of Directors of Indian Schools in Oman, recently organized a mega Interschool event STAI 2018-‘19 (Science, Technology and Innovation).

STAI – 2018-’19, held on Thursday, January 24, 2019, is a first of its kind pioneering initiative, and the biggest Tech event ever for the Indian Schools in the Sultanate. Across 15 venues, more than 25 diverse programs, activities and contests were held under 3 categories of age groups – Ignitors, Innovators & Inventorsin this collaborative, interschool event. The innovative programs included Planetarium, Youth Conclave, Augmented Reality Room, Concept Rooms, Game Rooms and Contests like Paper presentations, Debates, Street Plays, Website Designing, Mobile Application Development. A total of 650 students from 16 Indian Schools in the Sultanate whetted their technical acumen.

Dr Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman Board of Directors of Indian Schools in the Sultanate presided over the inaugural function. The Chief Guest, Dr Suadbint Mubarak Al Fori Director of Technical Office for Studies and Development declared the event STAI 2018-19 open and also inaugurated a new mobile application intended to keep the parents updated with the latest tidings at school. Sheikh Talal Said Marhoon Al Mamari, Chief Executive Officer, Oman Telecommunications Co. SAOG, Sultanate of Oman, Mrs. Siddiqa Abdul Majeed Al Lawatia Director- International School Office and a conglomeration of other honorable officials from the Ministry of Education graced the inaugural function. As Keynote speaker Mr. Gaurav Nahar CEO Akeed App shared his views on the need to pursue one’s own dreams.

“With STAI, our aim, as the Board of Directors of the Indian Schools in Oman/ Indian School Board, is threefold: to ignite the spark of interest, identify & appreciate the talents of our children; and provide them with an arena to showcase these skills to the world”, explained Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman Board of Directors.

During the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Sivakumar, Member SMC presented a report on the STAI Aptitude Test held in November 2018 for students of classes 6 to 10 to evaluate the scientific flair of the participants. Around 7000 students from 18 Indian Schools underwent the STAI Aptitude Test.Dr. Sivakumar highlighted on the scientific and statistical approach used for the evaluation. The result analysis indicated the performance of each student, comparative performance at school level and national level and also highlights the areas of weakness and strengths of the student.

This mega event on Science, Technology and Innovation, featuring the tagline “Dream-Create-Inspire”, upholds the objective of providing a stage and showcasing the talents of young minds adept in the fields of Science, Technology and Innovation spurring them to investigate into their passion and assess their ingenious ideas.

A major highlight was the breath-taking UV-show ‘Evolution’ which presented glimpses of the history of scientific advancements and the milestone achievements in technology and innovation. Another huge draw was the in-house portable Planetarium and Augmented Reality Room; close to 6500 students visited the Planetarium. Events like Myriads and Sci-fi Hero attracted younger scientists to bring out their ideas of imagination with science-based facts. Eureka is another area where students from 15 schools displayed their 73 innovative models.

It was the first time opportunity for students and teachers to bring out their ideas with a scientific approach and solutions in the form of Paper Presentation. MegaBytes, Great Scientist- Web Design, Developing a Mobile App were an attraction for young scientists. In Reflections – Street Play, students reflected the issues and benefits of Modern Technology in Day to Day Life. On Sciduel – the debate, students poured out their ideas on topics “A World without plastic – Fact or Fantasy” and “Human Beings are the most destructive creatures in the world”.

“The events of STAI 2018-19 were conducted to promote collaboration and scientific temperament amongst students rather than competition”, explained Principal, Dr Rajeev Chauhan.

The well attended a-day-long event concluded with the formal valedictory function where His Excellency Shri. MunuMahawar, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman was the Chief Guest. The top performers/performances from the various categories of the STAI events were felicitated by the Chief Guest. The top 2 percent of the successful candidates of the online STAI Aptitude Test were felicitated during the concluding ceremony. A video presentation of the flashes of the day’s events brought home to the gathering the enormous possibilities of innovative initiatives.

Care and Special Education (CSE), the special education facility functioning under the aegis of the Indian Schools in Oman, recently hosted their first Annual Exhibition titled “Teach to Reach”. The two-day event was formally inaugurated on Saturday, 19 January 2019, by the Chief Guest, Mrs.Siddiqa Abdul Majeed Al Lawatiya, Director, International Schools, Ministry of Education.

It was a spectacular event that witnessed visitors from various sections of the community which included parents, SEN children and teaching fraternity.

The Guest of Honour for the occasion was Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools Oman. Mr.Tariq Jawad Al Khabori, Founder Member, Early Intervention, Mr. Yusuf Nalwala, former Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools Oman, Mr. Babu Rajendran, General Secretary, Indian Social Cluband Mr. Saurabh Saksena, President,School Management Committee, CSE, also graced the event.

The incredible turnout and the pleasant weather was the perfect boost for the event. A first of its kind at CSE,“Teach to Reach” truly brought out the essence of the theme which was to portray how assistive and adaptive technology can promote independent living skills in children with special needs that are critical to life participation and satisfaction.In today’s fast world and nuclear family culture,this is an area that needs a lot of focus on. The other areas of focus were Activities of Daily Living, Communication, Multi Sensorial Learning Styles by using a variety of learning aids and Sensory Experiences.

Various exhibits made by the CSE students were also showcased and it revealed the multifaceted talents and skills of the differently-abled children.

The occasion was also graced by the presence of many other dignitaries, members of Board of Directors, Presidents and Members of School Management Committee and Principals of Indian Schools in Oman.

Other exuberant highlights of the day were the model CSE Cafe, CSE Boutique and Insta Studio.

The exhibition that lasted for two days, was filled with fervour and excitement. Each child has the indomitable inner spirit within them to transform their lives if the teachers adapt the way they teach to suit the way children can learn, that was the key message conveyed through this exhibition.

The Board of Directors of the Indian Schools in Oman conducted a formal ceremony for marking the handover of Indian School Bousher, the seventh Indian School in the capital area and the twenty-first in the Sultanate of Oman.

Mrs. Fatma Noorani, Director General of Private Schools, Ministry of Education presided over the function as the Chief Guest for the event, held on 15 January 2019 at Indian School Muscat. Mrs. Siddiqa Abdul Majeed Al Lawatiya, Director of International Schools, Ministry of Education and Mr. Rakesh Adlekha, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India were the Guests of Honour.

Mr. Khaled Hamad Al Ghazzali, General Manager (Investment) of M/s Al Omaniya Al Nahdha LLC handed over the miniature replica of the School building to the Board of Directors.

The function was attended by the honourable Chairman of Indian Social Club, Dr. Satish Nambiar, former Chairpersons of the Board Mr. Kiran Asher, Mr. Sandeep Arora, Mr. Tonny George Alexander and Mr. Wilson V. George; members of the Board of Directors, Presidents and members of the management committees, Principals, Vice Principals, assistant Vice Principals and members of the esteemed business communities in Oman.

The school is a modern, secure campus that offers high quality educational opportunities complemented by state-of-the-art infrastructure and latest technologies, all intended to provide exemplary 21st century education.

“The Indian School Bousher envisions holistic approach to education; it is yet another significant milestone in the annals of the Indian Schools in Oman and is the realization of the Board’s vision that every child of Indian diaspora in Oman be provided with world class education,” said Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors – Indian Schools in Oman.

The school is equipped with swimming and splash pool, health & wellness centre, world-standard synthetic athletic tracks, cycling track, football ground, basketball court, cricket pitch and kabaddi play area. The school has one of the best libraries with modern amenities, art & music room with finest instruments, exclusive kindergarten classrooms, and resource centre for augmented learning, STEM laboratories, robotics centre for advanced learning and a kindergarten play area with sophisticated learning with fun equipment.

The school, under the leadership of Principal Mr. Rakesh Singh Tomar, an academician with decades of experience, is ready to take off with full-fledged classes from the beginning of the forthcoming academic year. The school will initially be accommodating children of Kindergarten to Class VII, adding more senior classes in subsequent years.

Considering the high quality of education at an affordable rate, the environmental friendly campus, and the easy accessibility through the Muscat express highway, Indian School at Bousher is expected to attract a large number of new applicants as well as those already studying in the afternoon shifts in different Indian schools in the capital area.