WELHAM GIRLS' SCHOOL

Guneev Sachdeva, Welham's grade 12 student, clinched the title - Young Chef of India 2018, at the IIHM (International Institute of Hotel Management) program's eighth season grand finale, in their Delhi campus. Suborno Bose, the chief mentor and CEO of IIHM presented her with the trophy along with the IIHM culinary directors - Sanjay Kak and Shaun Kenworthy. The competition saw eight high school students across the country, including Guneev, fight it out at the grand finale. The finalists had to cook a main course with two accompaniments and a dessert in two and a half hours. "When they announced my name, I was literally on top of the world. I just could not believe it! Messages and phone calls have been pouring in from friends and family." said Guneev who had prepared Tomato Fish, Jeera and Onion Rice, Honey Chilli Lotus Stem and Arbi Tadka along with Gulab Jamun for the final cook-off.

Music and Dance play an integral part of the Welham Girls School Curriculum. The senior and the junior girls showcased their talent at the recent Inter House Music and Dance Competition 2018. It is a yearly event which closes the first semester of the new academic year. The first day of this competition is dedicated to the memory of Late Shri Vasudev Rao Deshpande, who was a legendary teacher of music in the Doon Valley. In Music the students took part in Sitar, Vocal Trio, Tabla Duet, Indian Fusion and Western Choir. The girls enthralled the audiences with their spectacular performances in Folk Dances, Kathak and Bharatnatyam. Both the Dance and Music performances were divided between two days. The first overall position in both Music and Dance went to the Woodpecker House. The second position went to the Flycatchers and the third position went to Hoopoes.

Welham Girls School fondly remembered her founder Principal Ms. Grace Linnell and hosted a prayer service in her memory on the 8th May 2018. The campus was filled with the harmonius and mystic bhajans sung by our very own students in her remembrance. This has been a yearly event and is loved by all. It’s also a ceremony for us to show our gratitude for all that she has done for the establishment of this esteemed institute. Our guest for the morning prayer service was Ms. Geeta Nanda who was Ms. Linnell’s last Secretary and had known her very closely. She shared some of her memories and stories about Ms. Linnell and her family. It was a touching moment, which made us feel her presence amongst us.

A Delegation of eight girls participated in The MCGSMUN 2018 at Mayo College Girls School, Ajmer. The MUN was conducted from 20th to 23rd April 2018. Our girls did us proud by winning prizes in their respective Committees. Rishika Singh and Madhul Sharma bagged the prizes for the Best Delegate in the United Nations Security Council, Ananya Lekhi received honorary mention in the Human Rights Council, Rishita Khandelwal received verbal mention in the Paris Peace Conference, Anmol Kejriwal and Tanisha Gupta received verbal mention in the International Press Corps. Tanisha Gupta’s Research Paper for Rural Campaign was adjudged as the Best Research. The delegation was escorted by Dr. Tanushree Verma and Mrs. Gitanjali Bhatia.

Guneev Sachdeva, a student of class 12, emerged as a finalist at the Young Chef India Schools 2018, 8th edition, Culinary Competition. It is India's largest Culinary Contest for School students and Guneev has been chosen as one of the eight budding culinary stars from among 30,000 Higher Secondary students, representing 2,800 schools across India. Guneev was elated to have made it to the mega-finals, where she will represent North India at the National level. Conceptualized and executed by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), the winner of the Young Chef India Schools 2018, will be announced in the first week of June 2018.

Ten students of Art from class Twelve visited Museums, Galleries and Craft Emporiums in Delhi as part of an Art Educational excursion. The main objectives of the trip were to expose our students to the professional Contemporary Art world while at the same time, providing a historical context to their understanding of Art. The group visited the National Gallery of Modern Art, Triveni Kala Sangam Art galleries and National Museum. At the Triveni Art Galleries, the students got a chance to see works of some contemporary Indian artists on display in group shows. At the National Gallery of Modern Arts, the students learnt about the history of Indian painting in a hierarchical order starting from the miniatures to the Bengal school and the Progressive artists group ending at the contemporary works by artists such as Subodh Gupta, Atul Dodiya and Mrinalini Mukherjee. They attended the ongoing exhibitions ‘Anzac Centenary Print Portfolio’ – an exhibition of prints by artists from Australia and New Zealand showing contemporary artistic responses to the First World War; ‘Dhwani se Shabd Aur Chinha’ – a group exhibition of artists who studied and practiced or are natives of the Southern states of India; and ‘The Self and the World’ – an exhibition of works by Indian women artists. At the National Museum, the highlight was the Dancing girl from Harappa. As the students were amazed to see the tiny bronze sculpture in front of them which most of them remembered studying in History and imagining it to be of a much larger scale. The students learnt about the History through some important artifacts and antiquities. A small activity about museum display was conducted by Ms. Vasundhra Sangwan, an ex-Welhamite and a Museum professional and Ms Rige Shiba, National Museum’s Education officer. This gave the students an opportunity to think about display design at museums and how information about each artifact is the most important aspect of Museum displays. Another objective was to sensitize the Art students to the local crafts practices of India, and show a glimpse of the lives of artisans and craftsmen/women. The group got an opportunity to interact with the artisans and craftsmen at the Crafts Museum where they also visited the displays of various textiles, and traditional and Folk Art forms from India.

Eleven students from class Twelve, escorted by Ms. Deep Shikha Walia and Mr. Joshua Paul attended the last day of the three day long Mussoorie Mountain Festival on 17th March 2018, at the Woodstock School, Mussoorie. They attended the talks – ‘Sound, Music and Nada’ by Dr. Andrew Alter, ‘Vanishing Himalayan Languages’ by Dr Shekhar Pathak and ‘The Third Pole’ by Stephen Alter. The students observed the master Sculptor from Ladakh - Chhemet Rigzin and his son Stanzin Chokdup making a sculpture of Buddha’s face in clay. In their interaction with the artists, the students got to know about the iconography and measurements in Buddhist Art. The students also had the opportunity to take a guided tour of the exhibition put up by CSMVS Museum Art Conservation Center and conducted by Mr Anupam Sah. In this exhibition, the students learnt about Art Conservation as an independent field of study and the kind of expertise required in being an Art Conservator.

After the hawan ceremony, which was attended by members of the Board of Governors, special guests, Mrs. Sambasivam, Gp. Capt. SK Singh, teachers and the students of Grade 12, the much awaited dream project of Welham, the subway, was finally inaugurated by Mr. Arijit Banerji, former member of the Board of Governors. The walking across to the other side was accompanied by loud cheers from teachers and students alike.

The 5th Uttarakhand Spring Bird Festival was held at Thano Forest. Mr. Suniti Bhushan Datta, a nature educator and a consultant wildlife biologist led the walk. Ten girls from class XII who are members of the Nature Club were accompanied by Ms Kusum Dandona, Ms Anchal Sondhi and Ms Tanushree Verma participated in the walk. Mr. Datta provided the girls invaluable information on flora and fauna.

9 girls from Groton School, Massachusetts, USA, visited the school for a week. They were exposed to an array of activities like Indian Craft, cooking, pottery and Indian classical dance. They enjoyed a day in the life of a Welhamite and attended classes along with the girls. They especially enjoyed cooking halwa, learning a few Hindi phrases and discussing poetry. During their brief stay in Dehradun, they visited Rishikesh and even watched a Bollywood movie. It was a great learning experience for our girls as well as they even got to attend a few classes conducted by their History teacher.

Welham Boys School organized a Story Telling Competition. 13 Schools participated in the event and Keya Aggarwal of Grade 6 narrated a self- composed story in the Science Fiction Category. Her story was unique and interesting and bagged the third place in its category.

The Department of Hindi organized a visit to the IMA Blood Bank for the students of Grade 6. The students were briefed about the importance and process of collection, segregation and preservation of blood after it has been donated. It was a great learning experience for the students and the escorts as well.The students were escorted by Mrs. Kusum Dandona and Mrs. Richa Joshi Pant.

Ananya Likhi, a student of Grade 10 was awarded a platinum certificate and a cash prize worth rupees two lakhs for being in the top 5% in the Interview Round conducted by Times Spark, a scholarship under the Times of India's Read to Lead Programme for Awareness, Responsibility and Knowledge. A total of 2.5 lakh students appeared for an online test based on the articles that were carried by the newspaper everyday. From among this whopping number, only 400 students made it to the Interview Round and the winners were further shortlisted by a panel of judges.

The students of Grade 6 attended a poetry workshop organized by The Shikshankur Global School as part of a series of workshops called 'Katha Kahani - A Storytelling Fest'. It was conducted by Mr. Ameen Haque of The Storywallahs, Bangalore. Through an interactive and entertaining session, Mr. Haque got the children to create and share free verse poems of their own. The session was interspersed with music and bits of drama. The children enjoyed themselves as they gave their thoughts and feelings expression through poetry. The students were accompanied by Ms Deepti Kumar and Ms Mamta Govil.

On 1st February, the school held the Investiture of Captains and awarded the School Colours. The team of Captains for the year 2018-‘19 were formally administered the oath of office by the Principal, Mrs. Padmini Sambasivam. School Captain: Aalekh Dhaliwal, Games Captain: Yashkritta Shekhawat, Bulbul House Captain: Ragini Kayal, Flycatcher House Captain: Anandita Singh, Hoopoe House Captain: Neharika Sharma, Oriole House Captain: Kairavi Goenka, Woodpecker House Captain: Tanisha Tekriwal. The Chief Guest on the occasion was a member of the Board of Governors and an ex Welhamite, Mrs.Hema Badhwar Mehra.

The National Cooking Competition was organized by The Heritage Girls School, Udaipur for girls in the age group of 9-16 years. 16 girls who take up Home Science in Grade 9 and 10 registered for this competition. Rhea Khullar was chosen for the Finals in the ‘Curry’ category and Ananya Likhi was chosen for her entry in the ‘Salad’ category. Rhea made a Coconut Aubergine curry and was adjudged the Winner in her category. She received a cheque for Rs 11,000/- , a Gold medal and a book. Ananya Likhi made Caesar Salad and was awarded the 3rd prize in her category. She received a Bronze medal and a cookbook. They were personally commended by a Team of Celebrity judges, Vicky Ratnani, Chef Salil Fadnis and Chef Alpesh Lodha.

The Pestleweed College organized the Principals’ Progressive Schools’ Association (PPSA) conference from 14th to 16th December on the theme “Global Shift in School Education” for Principals and “Engage, Evaluate, Extend, Explain and Explore” for teachers. Principals Progressive Schools’ Association is the brain child of stalwarts and educationists of high repute, brought into existence to cater for the vibrant platform & wide opportunities chiselled out for the young students to mould them into progressive & energetic human beings. At the conference, Mrs. Sambasivam gave a talk on “Innovation in Education” where she stressed on the need for change in the current teaching practices. She said that the need of the hour is an integrated approach to teaching instead of compartmentalizing the disciplines. She spoke about the concept of “Blended Learning” where students get a chance to become their own teachers and teachers act as facilitators. She was conferred with the “Shiksha Ratan” award during the conference. Prominent educationists such as Dr. Harish Chaudhry, Professor,IIT, DMS, Delhi, Shri Ashok Ganguly, Former Chairman, CBSE, Dr. Kamal Taori, IAS (Retd.), Secretary, Govt. of India and Dr. (Mrs.) Sheela Taori, Principal,PWCIT, Dehradun, Shri G. Bala Subramaniam, Former Director Academics, CBSE,New Delhi, Mr. Shomie Das, Former Headmaster, The Doon School, Dehradun also attended the conference.

The students of Grade 11 engaged in an interactive session with Ms Rajni Sekhri Sibal, an alumna of Welham Girls' School. At present she is the Director General of National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, Government of India. She narrated her experiences and spoke to the girls about the Administrative Service as a career option.

Four students of class 12 participated in the DBS Quiz 2017 organized by Doon Business School, Dehradun. We competed against 65 schools and were among the top 6 teams that made it to the Final Round. We bagged the Runners Up position and received a cash prize of Rs 12,500.

From among the eight teams that participated in Joíe de Vívre (Joy of Living), a cultural festival hosted by Chickar International School, Bareilly, the students of Welham Girls' School were awarded the First Runners Up Position. The results of the various events are as follows: Creating an Advertisements and Enacting them on FM Radio – Yashkrita Shekhawat, Avantika Pasari and Afsana Kumar won the First Prize. Group Singing Competition - Yashkrita Shekhawat, Avantika Pasari, Afsana Kumar, Shivanshi Gupta, Tanvi Trehan, Nandini Goyal, Jahnavi Manish Dalmia and Medha Ajitsaria won the First Prize. In Vocal Singing (Solo) Nandini Goyal was awarded the Third Prize. In the Street Play our school was given a special mention by the judges. It was a great experience for the girls. The team was mentored and escorted by Ms Kusum Dandona and Mr. Dinesh Chand.

Nitya Jain, Madhul Sharma, Rishika Singh, Aalekh Dhaliwal, Richi Singh, Ruchita Nagar, Prisha Manocha and Taarika Mann participated in the La Martiniere College Model United Nations at Lucknow. Aalekh Dhaliwal was adjudged the Best Delegate in the United Nations Human Rights Council as the delegate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The girls were escorted by Ms Jaya Chaturvedi.

Ridhima Ahluwalia, Anjali Midha, Eshanya Agarwal and Raavya Jain participated in The Doon School Chess Tournament in November. Ridhima Ahluwalia was awarded the Board Prize for winning all her matches. The girls even attended a chess workshop by Grandmaster Sriram Jha.

12 girls along with Ms Vanshree Scott visited the European Council for Nuclear Research, in Switzerland. The girls attended lectures by renowned physicists on Standard Model, Higgs Field, Particle Accelerators and Medical Application of Physics. The main focus was on the CMS experiment which had played a huge role in the discovery of the Higgs Boson famously known as 4od Particle. The girls also explored Geneva and visited the UN. It was an unforgettable experience for the young science enthusiasts.

Charlie and Chalotte spent a fortnight at Welham as part of the Students' Exchange Programme. They engaged in a plethora of activities at school and also spent the Diwali weekend with two of our girls. They visited the Buddhist Monastery and went to Rishikesh to be a part of the 'Ganga Aarti'. Besides attending classes, they cooked Indian dishes and also learnt the basics of the Hindi Language. In the short time they spent with us, they forged bonds for a lifetime.

36 History students of Pre SC and SC classes attended a talk show at RIMC. Eminent military historian Shiv Kunal Verma spoke about the 1947-48 Indo-Pak War. The session was beneficial to the students as they not only co-moderated the discussion, but also asked incisive questions, which added to their learning.

The opening ceremony of the IPSC Music Festival 2017, Ninad, which has been co-hosted by Welham Girls' School and Welham Boys' school, was held at The Shanti Varma Auditorium. The Chief Guest for the programme was Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, an outstanding vocalist of the famed “Jaipur-Atrauli” Khayal Gayaki tradition of Indian Classical Music. After the lighting of the ceremonial lamp, the programme began with the first event of the festival, Indian Classical Orchestra. The judges for the event were Ustad Mujtaba Hussain, Shri Sukanta Bajpayee and Shri Shrawan Kumar. The beautiful compositions presented by the eleven schools that were participating, left the audience spell bound.

The Diamond Jubilee Celebrations commenced with the fete organised by 'Kar Kamal'. 'Soaring High', a coffee table book commemorating the sixty years of Welham was released by the Principal, Ms Padmini Sambasivam and the WGAA Executive Committee. On the second day of the celebrations, an exhibition tracing the history of Welham was put up in the Activity Centre, Tadpole. The Nukkad Natak made the exhibition come alive by illustrating its theme. Following this, the school orchestra presented a beautiful piece and there was an Audio Visual Presentation – I Believe I Can Fly, celebrating those Welhamites who have chosen the 'road less travelled' and achieved great heights in their respective professions. Thereafter, the Principal, staff and students thanked the ex-Staff members for their long and invaluable service to the School and their contribution in taking Welham to greater heights by felicitating them. Ms. Tavleen Singh, an eminent journalist and an ex-Welhamite was the Chief Guest for the morning function. The main Founders’ Day programme included Speeches, Prize Distribution and a dance performance ‘Navadha-Rasdhara’ an artistic rendition featuring the ‘Navarasa’ or the nine supreme emotions that govern our way of life. The Chief Guest for the evening’s programme was Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya, former Chairman, State Bank of India. The celebrations concluded with the 'bada khana'.

Four students attended a Military History Seminar at Welham Boys’ School. They discussed varied topics like the Kargil War, Modern Warfare, and Indo-Pakistan Relations. They had the privilege of meeting (Hony) Capt Bana Singh, PVC, the Hero of Siachen, and listening to first- hand accounts of battles of various retd Army Generals.

19 girls represented school in the 8th Inter School Uttarakhand State Karate Championship held in Rishikesh. A total of eight schools from different Districts participated in both the Coloured and White Belt Sections. The school won a total of 30 medals - 12 Gold,11 Silver and 7 Bronze. Over the Welham team stood Third.

15 girls represented Welham at the Young Thinkers' Conclave 2017 held at Mayo College Girls' School, Ajmer. In the English Debate, Nitya Jain was adjudged the Best Speaker and the team represented by Rinchen Angmo, Amla Srivastava and Nitya Jain, stood second. In the Hindi Debate or girls performed well too. Sejal Kapoor won the award for the Best Opposition Speaker whereas Sukhman Arora won the award for the Most Promising Speaker. From among a total of 20 schools that participated, our Quiz Team, represented by Bhakti Bansal, Poornima Kukreti and Diya Kalsi, won the second prize. The team was escorted by Ms Nalanda Pandey and Ms Sapna Sharma.

A group of 8 budding shooters represented Welham at the Uttarakhand State Shooting Championship 2017 held at Jaspal Rana Shooting Academy. Aditi Shrivastava and Gitika Karwa won a silver medal each while Ritagya Singh, Anshika Kamboj, Roshni Singh, Ishani Poddar, Khushi Moda and Ridhima Ahluwalia brought home a total of 9 Bronze medals.

The School Table Tennis team did us proud by winning the overall First Position in the 13th Manorite Table Tennis Tournament held in St. George’s College, Mussoorie. Kartikee Mahadik and Areena Makker won the titles of the U-14 & U-19 respectively and Khushi Goyal and Shreeya Gupta were the Runners-up in the U-19 and U-17 category.

A seven students delegation represented the school at The Doon School Model United Nations Conference 2017. Aalekh Dhaliwal was adjudged the 'Most Outstanding Delegate' for her representation of Algeria in the UNHCR.

A group of 18 Nature Club girls went for the WII Nature Trail on Sunday morning. The lecture cum walk by Dr. Suresh and his wife Dr. Manju was very enriching and informative. The girls saw specimens of birds and the tarantula spider. They were accompanied by Dr. Reema Pant.

The team comprising Aadya Dewan, Shreya Bahukhandi and Sukhman Arora won the 19th Inter School Science Quiz 2017.St. Josephs Academy were a close second while Brightlands School Dehradun bagged the third position. Dr. Amrita Dass, Founder - Director, ICS International, was the Chief Guest for the evening.

The School Swimming team did us proud by winning a haul of medals in the Swimming Competition held in Wynberg Allen School, Mussoorie. The girls won a total of 5 golds, 4 silvers and 2 bronze medals. The school was represented by Anushka Prakash, Tahira Dhillon, Shivya, Tanvi Bhargava and Ishita Bhargava.

From among a total of 8 teams, The Doon School, represented by Anuman Goel, Raghav Bagri, Aryan Kasera and Devasnsh Sharma won the 4th Invitational Chess Tournament held at Welham Girls' School, Dehradun.

In the final match Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai beat Welham Girls’ School by 39-32 points. Mohini was the highest scorer from Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai with a total of 13 points while Ananya Singh was the highest scorer from Welham Girls’ School with a total of 10 points. Dr. Arti Trehan, an alumna from of the batch of 1985 was the Chief Guest for the occasion and gave away the trophies, mementos and individual prizes to the players and officials.

A group of 16 girls participated in the 13th All India Independence Cup Karate Championship in Delhi. From among two thousand participants belonging to 28 states, the Welham team came home with a total of 9 medals - 5 Silver and 4 Bronze. In the Sub Junior Section (12 to 13 yrs), Aditi Bhojnagarwala won a Silver Kata and Diva Bakshi won a Silver in Kumite. In the Cadet Section (14-15yrs), Saumya Chowdhary won a Silver in Kata. Harshita Mitra won a Bronze in the Under 47 kg Kumite while Anoushka Mehrotra won a Silver in the Under 54 kg category. In the Junior Section (16 - 17 yrs), Keara Bakshi won a Bronze and in the Under 45 kg Kumite while Muskan Kuchhal won a Silver. In the Under 48 kg Shipra Agarwal won a Bronze while in the Under 59 kg Swechha Sikaria too won a Bronze.

A group of eleven girls participated in the Inter School Geeta Paath Competition organized by Kasiga School, Dehra Dun. Our girls stood first in the event and received accolades for the beautiful rendition of the shlokas. They were escorted by Mrs. Prabha Nawani.

Twelve girls participated in the Inter School Hindi Poetry Recitation Competition hosted by Hometown Girls' School, Dehradun. Jaya Dewan stood third in the Individual Category. Our girls won the third prize in group recitation as well. The team was escorted by Mrs. Kusum Dandona.

On Wednesday, the staff, students and residents of Dehradun joined the family of Mrs. Shanti Varma, former Principal of Welham Girls' School, who passed away on August 4. A number of speakers paid tribute to the dynamic personality who had touched and moulded many lives. She was remembered for not just being an exceptional educator but also an extremely public - spirited individual who plunged herself actively in social work after retirement. As the saying in Gita goes, the body is perishable but the dwellers in these bodies are eternal, indestructible and impenetrable. Mrs. Varma will always be remembered with love, affection and admiration by all those who knew her. Her passing away is a great loss to the city of Dehradun and the world of education but the spirit with which she celebrated each day is something for which she will always be remembered.

Twelve students from grade 8 participated in the 7th Cultural Exchange to Bhutan organized annually by India Trust and Vasant Valley School, Delhi. The trip included visits to two schools in Bhutan, visits to various places of cultural interest, hikes, and a meeting with the Indian ambassador to Bhutan. The trip to Bhutan ended with a performance by Bhutanese Folk artists. They played traditional instruments, sang folk songs and performed classical and traditional dances for the group. The girls were escorted by Ms Deepshikha Walia.

A team of 10 girls participated in the Festival hosted by City Montessori School, Lucknow. From among the 95 schools that participated, Shiva Saraogi stood First in the debate, 'Artificial Intelligence is Taking Over Our Lives.' Palak Porwal, Arushi Bansal, Anmol Kejriwal, Nandini Goyal and Khyati Jamwali received a Consolation Prize for the 'Jingle'. The girls also received 'The Most Creative Team Award' at the Prize Distribution Ceremony. They were mentored and escorted by Ms Seema Issar.

The school was represented by Rinchen Angmo, Amla Srivastav and Anushka Khaitan. Besides our own school, there were 10 other schools which participated in this prestigious debate - The Doon School, R.I.M.C, St. Joseph’s Academy, Welham Boys’ School, PYDS Learning Academy, The Scindia School, La Martiniere Girls’ College Lucknow, Mayo College Girls’ School, Springdales School and La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata. Springdales School was given the trophy for the Best Team. The Runners Up Trophy went to Welham Girls’ School. Amla Srivastav was adjudged the second best speaker For the Motion, while Rinchen Angmo was the second best speaker Against the Motion.

Ten girls participated in the recently concluded Model United Nations Conference hosted by Welham Boys School. The student delegates were a part of the various committees such as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Human Rights Committee, Continuous Crisis Committee, Security Council and the International Press Corps. Alma Shrivastava and Sasha Sarin received a special mention for their brilliant debating skills, while Madhul Sharma, Nitya Jain, and Aalekh Dhaliwal received a verbal mention.

The Tadpole was inaugurated by the Chairperson of our Board of Governors, Ms Vinita Bali. This was followed by a beautiful dance recital by the girls. The highlight of the evening was a friendly Basketball and Table Tennis match between the girls and the Board of Governors.

The SC Nature Club girls went to Flag Hill, Sahastradhara for a tree plantation activity organized by Tara Foundation, and Citizens for Green Doon. The occasion was graced by HE Kalden D. Sakya. The girls were escorted by Ms. Anchal Sondhi and Ms. Reema Pant.

After winning the Regional Round conducted at Unison School, Dehradun, the teams comprising 16 girls proceeded to Hanoi for the Semi-Final Global Round where they competed with 40 countries and 3,500 students. The teams qualified for the Final Round which will be held in Yale this year. The students participated in debates, creative writing, quizzes and a multiple choice question exercise called The Scholar’s Bowl. Manya Kheria was adjudged the Top Scholar in School Delegation and won Gold in Literature. Hansika Nath won Gold in Art and Music. The Senior teams too did the school proud by finding a well-deserved place in the top ten global schools.

As part of the Student Exchange Programme, this year Welham Girls’ School was represented by six students to Downe House School, UK, Millfield School, UK and Groton School, USA. Diya Kalsi and Kairvi Goenka went to Downe House School. Yashkritta and Aalekh Dhaliwal to Millfield School and at Groton School, Welham was represented by Lakshita Jamwal and Neharika Sharma.

To build international and cultural connections, Ms Juhi Barakoti was invited to Groton School, USA, to spend almost two weeks with them. She observed their classes and activities and enjoyed the experience of interacting with the students and staff.

19 girls attended a Summer Science Camp at NUS, Singapore in the month of June. The week long programme was packed with lectures and exciting activities for increasing their awareness and understanding of science. The students were exposed to various aspects of scientific concepts along with hands-on experience with cutting edge technology. They were escorted by Ms Reema Pant and Ms Meena Gupta.

A group of eleven students visited Japan in the month of June. Their eight day trip was an enriching experience with visit to places such as The japan Exchange Group, Historical Museum, The Imperial Palace, Kikkoman Factory, Sophia University and Mt. Fuji. The girls even participated in bonsai making and tried their hands at origami. They were escorted by Ms Chavi Gupta.

The HMs and Matrons of all the houses had a three day workshop on CSE (Comprehensive Sexuality Education) was conducted by resource persons from the Delhi-based NGO, TARSHI (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues). It covered a wide range of issues ranging from Body Image to Sexual Abuse, sensitizing and training the participants on how to handle various situations.

Ria Jain, Tanisha Tekriwal, Shivanshi Gupta and Rishika Singh represented Welham at The 8th SGGS International Students’ Conference in Penang, Malaysia. The theme for the conference this year was ‘Global Citizen’. Students attended a number of workshops and group activities centered around the theme. There were plenary sessions in which Rishika Singh was the Chairperson and Shivanshi Gupta and Tanisha Tekriwal were the Respondents. Shivanshi Gupta participated in SISC Idol competition and was appreciated for her talent in singing. For the cultural evening, Ria Jain, an exponent of Bharatnatyam presented a solo on Lord Shiva. Additionally, there was a video making competition and our girls chose the topic, Lack of toilets in India. The team was awarded the Second Prize for their hard-hitting short documentary. The girls were mentored and escorted by Mrs. Arundhati Shukla.

An Inter School Hindi Debate Competition was held at Shri Ram Centennial School, Dehradun. Our school was represented by Vibuti Arora and Vanshika Gupta. Vibuti was adjudged the Best Speaker and the team stood second overall. The girls were escorted by Dr. Jyoti Verma.

A group of 32 SCs attended a panel discussion by Ms Malvika Rajkotia and Ms Maya Mirchandani as part of the Dehradun Community Literature Festival at World Integrity Centre. The engaging talk on Indian Women and their battles and success stories, elicited insightful questions and responses from the panelists and audience. The talk, which lasted for over an hour, was moderated by Mr. Daleep Akoi and Nazia Y Izuddin. The students were escorted by Ms Neera Kapoor, Ms Swati Singh and Ms Aarti Seth.

The school Hockey Team participated in the 6-a- side Hockey Tournament at St. Agnes School, Dehradun. The defeated Moravian Institute in the finals to win the trophy. Prerna Kejriwal was awarded the prize for the Best Player of the tournament and Gunchica Bhalla bagged the prize for the Best Defender.

Chetna Agarwal participated in the All India Finals of the Young Chef Competition 2017 and was among the top 8 finalists. She had to cook an Indian meal by choosing the ingredients from the basket given to them. The results will be announced in June after compiling the votes and the judges' scores. The voting lines are now open so you can vote for Chetna on http://iihm.ac.in/contestants/chetna.

In commemoration of the School's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, Welham began its Lecture Series by an enthralling talk on Business Ethics and Finance by Dr. Reena Mithal. The talk was followed by an interesting Q&A session.

The Welham Girls' Shooting Range was inaugurated by Mrs. Dayita Datta and Mr. Arijit Banerjee, Member, Board of Governors, Welham Girls' School. The students are most excited as they now have a new sport to try out.

The students of Welham Girls' School bid farewell to the legendary Vice Principal, Mrs. Datta, who retired after 30 years of dedicated service. After an enjoyable cultural programme and speeches by the Principal, Mrs. Sambasivam and the students, everyone surrounded her to get that perfect parting shot.

Arshi Singh from the Batch of 2013 won the Academic Excellence Award at the University of Toronto. She received a certificate, memento and an award of $1000. After graduating from University, she will be working with HSBC Bank, Toronto. We are proud of her achievement.

The students and teachers were treated to a melodious Sitar recital by noted instrumentalist Pt. Purbayan Chateerjee. He was accompanied by Ustad Akram Khan on the tabla. A torchbearer of the Senia Malhar gharana, the virtuoso, who has participated in various fusion projects all over the world, mesmerized the young audience. The concert was held under the aegis of SPIC MACAY's Dehradun Chapter.

O-325 Vibhuti Arora, F-252 Radhika Sachet Prakash and Sonika Bhardwaj went to the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology to participate in the Hindi Essay Writing Competition on the occasion of National Science Day. Sonika Bhardwaj was awarded the Consolation Prize. They were escorted by Dr. Jyoti Verma.

Tanvi Trehan and Hansika Nath, represented the school at 'The Poetry Appreciation Hour' held at The Doon School. Budding poets from The Doon School, Welham Girls' School and RIMC read out self composed and some famous poems in both Hindi and English on the themes of love, spirituality, childhood and patriotism. It was a delight to listen to the beautifully composed poems which were recited with emotion and passion. It was truly an enriching and enjoyable experience.

A group of 8 students attended a two day workshop at the Wildlife Institute of India. The first session of the seminar began with an enriching glimpse into the life of a world renowned scientist, Dr. George Schaller, who has over six decades of experience in the field of wildlife research conservation. The day ended with a session by Mr. Bikram Grewal. The next day, the girls visited the Forensics Laboratory at the Institute. Even though the session after lunch by Ms Rita Banerjee was an interesting one, the best was yet to come. Mr. Dhritiman Mukherjee’s brilliant photographs of the snow leopards at Leh left the audience mesmerised. The girls, who were escorted by Mrs Richa Pant and Mrs Reema Pant, had an unforgettable experience.

The students of Grade 9 and 11 staged a satire ‘ Tender se Udhghatan Tak’ on Friday evening. The play was divided into five acts and each House was given an Act to perform. They were judged on their Acting Skills, Diction, Use of Space, Innovation in Costumes and Overall Impact. The judges for the competition were Mrs. Shanti Varma, Former Principal, Welham Girls’ School, Mr. Rajiv Shukla, Theatre Personality and Mrs. Nalanda Pandey from the Department of Hindi. The results were as follows: First Prize: Flycatcher House; Second Prize: Oriole House; Third Prize: Woodpecker House. Mrs. Gunmeet Bindra, Principal, Welham Boys' School, was also present on the occasion.

24 girls from Grade 9 and 11 went to Asan Conservation Reserve to celebrate World Wetlands Day. At the Conservation Reserve, the girls were explained about the significance of wetlands and the Ramsar convention. They did waterfowl identification and also spotted about 21 species of birds. They worked in close association with Waste Warriors and collected 15 kilos of garbage. They were accompanied by Ms Reema Pant, Mrs. Vatsala Dubey and Mrs. Anchal Sondhi.

Amity University Lucknow Campus and Institute for Career Studies, Lucknow honoured Mrs. Padmini Sambasivam for "exemplary leadership" in the field of education at a conference of Educator Leaders at Lucknow.

Our girls,attended the "SPIC MACAY National Convention" in Kolkata New Town School. They learnt their respective dance forms in five days and performed on the last day of the convention. Areena Makker (F/154), Odissi Dance; Maitreyee Sayyonee (W/624), Kathakali Dance; Mahima Chaudhary (B/035), Odissi Dance; Sonika Bhardwaj (B-46), Kathak Dance and Anjali Middha (H-159), Sattriya Dance. It was not only a great learning experience but they were also treated to back to back live concerts. The girls were escorted by Mrs Upma Shukla.

A group of girls, escorted by Mrs. Rajlakshmi represented the school at the IPSC Dance Festival at the Sharada Residential School, Udupi. They participated in the Creative Choreography, Western Dance, Folk Dance and Indian classical Solo. Aryashree Kunhambu won the 1st Prize in the Indian Classical Dance (solo) for her Bharat Natyam item depicting Durga.

As part of the Student Exchange Programme, Welham Girls’ School was represented by Sakshi Manglik and Gunchica Bhalla to Scone Grammar School, Scone, New South Wales, Australia. They spent a delightful three weeks with O’Brien family at Scone, four hours north of Sydney. Besides attending school from Monday to Friday, they participated in an adventure camp where they did kayaking, mountain biking, high ropes, table bouldering, and abseiling. The trip was packed with fun, learning and adventure. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Five students from Class 11 spent an evening amidst eminent authors like Mr. Ruskin Bond and Ms Nayantara Sehgal at the launch of Ms Namita Gokhale's 'Things to Leave Behind'. They were excited to read the book after listening to a few select passages that were read out and even interacted with Ms Gokhale over a cup of tea.

Our school was represented by Shristi Khemka, Mrinaal Sehgal and Rajlakshmi Das at The Doon School Chukerbutty Debate 2016. We won two rounds of the Preliminary debates, and Rajlakshmi Das was adjudged the Best Speaker in one of the Preliminary rounds.

Twenty students participated in the All India IPSC Athletics Meet that was held at Punjab Public School Nabha in the first week of November. The Welham Athletics Team scored a total of 91 points and bagged one Gold, four Silver and six Bronze medals. We lifted the March Past Trophy along with Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya,Gwalior.

The School U-19 Basketball team participated in the All-India IPSC Girls' Basketball Championship held in YPS,Mohali. A total of 15 Schools participated in the Championship. Welham Girls' School qualified for the Semi-Finals but lost to Modern School,Barakhamba,New Delhi, We stood 4th out of 15 teams that participated in this mega event.

Bhakti Bansal and Diya Anand represented the School at the first Lit-Fest hosted by The Lawrence School, Sanawar and emerged as the winners in the Literary Quiz. In the 'Book Review' Event, the girls presented a critique of the book ‘The Place of Illusions’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni,and secured the Second Place. They were commended for their performance by the judges and received trophies,certificates and books as prizes.

Our young athletes did us proud by winning a total of 44 Medals at the Wynberg Allen Inter School Invitational Athletics Meet 2016. Sneha Chauhan was awarded the Most Promising Athlete Trophy while Shreya Bhaukhandi and Jyot Kaur Thind were awarded the Individual Championship Trophy.

The Founders’ Day Celebrations commenced with the Annual Sports Meet involving the March Past, Athletics Track Events, Karate and Aerobics Demonstrations. This culminated in the Prize Distribution by the Chief Guest Mrs. Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, OSD, P. N. S. Mountaineering Institute, Munsyari. After an interaction with the teachers during the Parent Teacher Meeting, the parents and guests witnessed an enthralling production by the students of Junior School, ‘Beauty is a Beast’. The Exhibitions this year were different as they ensured involvement of all the students of Classes VI to XII. Through these exhibitions they established that there is a symbiotic relationship among all subjects. The Nukkad –Nataks; live dance shows and art demonstrations made the Exhibitions literally come alive. Her Excellency Ms. Melba Pria, Ambassador of Mexico to India, was the Chief Guest this Founders’ and gave away the awards. Her inspirational speech to the girls left the audience spellbound. This was followed by a dance performance ‘Krishnaya Tubhyam Namah’ an artistic rendition featuring various antics of that Universal Teacher – Krishna. The celebrations ended with a grand dinner for parents, guests, staff and students, accompanied by the students’ Live Band.

The J.L.D'Souza Memorial Inter School English Debate took place at St. Joseph's's Academy,Dehradun. It was an extempore debate followed by Turncoat. Shrishti Khemka was adjudged the first Runner-up in the Extempore Debate and the Best Speaker in the Turncoat. She also got the prize for Best Rebuttal. Welham Girls School was adjudged the second best team in the Debate.

Our young swimmers did us proud at the Swimming Meet held at Wynberg Allen School, Mussoorie. In the Sub junior category, Anushka Prakash and Amber Singh won the gold medal in the Freestyle and Breast Stroke event respectively. Ishita Bhargava, won three gold medals and also bagged the individual championship trophy in the Intermediate Category.

On the occasion of Independence Day, the school hosted the joint Welham Boys' Welham Girls Incredible India Quiz. There were eight teams of four members each, with two members from each school. The questions were jointly set by the teachers of both schools and comprised rounds of Current Affairs, Science, Sports, History, Geography Awards and Honours, a video round and a final buzzer round.

Aryashree Kunhambu,enthralled the audience with her first public performance ( Arangetram ) at Welham Girls'School. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Padma Shri Smt. Geeta Chandran. The most touching moment was when Aryashree touched her guru's feet,Mrs. C.K. Rajlaxmi, who is also her mother, to seek her blessings at the end of the performance.

The school took part in the Literary and Drama Competition at Pathways World School "Ek Pehchan". The students had to read the novel "Tamas" and prepare a script, focusing on its contemporary relevance. From among the 10 schools that participated in the English event, Welham Girls' School won the Best Performance. The Hindi play was called Aahwan and the girls won the First Position in Script Writing and Second Position in the Play. Tara Katyayini Singh won the Best Actor Award.

The Inter-House Music Competition was held on 12th and 13th August,2016. The results were as follows: Instrumental Solo: 1st Flycatchers 2nd Hoopoes 3rd Woodpeckers. Classical Vocal Trio: 1st Flycatchers 2nd Orioles 3rd Hoopoes. Indian Choir: 1st Woodpeckers 2nd Orioles 3rd Bulbuls. Western choir: 1st Flycatchers 2nd Woodpeckers 3rd Hoopoes. The points from the Dance Competition, held earlier were added up and the final tally for the Inter-House Music and Dance Competition were as follows: Overall: 1st Flycatchers 2nd Hoopoes 3rd Orioles.

St. George's College Mussoorie held its annual 'Brother J.G.Masterson Inter School Debate for classes IX & X on Wednesday, 10th August. They also hosted the Brother C.J.Bergin Inter School Debate for classes XI & XII on the same day. Welham Girls' School won the trophy for the Best Team in the senior debate. Akansha Naithani was adjudged the Best Speaker while Rinchen Angmo was adjudged the Second Best Speaker.

The third Welham Girls’ School Invitational Chess Tournament took place from 4th August to 6th August 2016 at Welham Girls’ School. Eight teams participated in this event. A total of 7 rounds were played in 3 days. The overall positions were as follows: The Doon School (Winner) Welham Boys’ School (Runners Up) Welham Girls’ School Team A (First Runners Up).

A group of 15 girls participated in the Global Round of the World Scholar's Cup at Prague from 21st July to 27 July, 2016 . Students from different countries across the world participated in the competition. The four competitive events were the team debates, Scholar's Challenge, collaborative writing and Scholar's Bowl. The two teams in the senior division won 12 gold and 25 silver medals.The three teams of the junior division won a total of 27 gold and 39 silver medals. All the teams qualified for the Tournament of Champions at Yale University to be held in November 2016.

Shri Sikkil C. Gurucharan, an exponent of Carnatic music, a Fulbright scholar and a Grammy Award nominee, enthralled the audience with his mesmerizing performance. His recital was based on the theme of women empowerment. Vidwan Sanjeev accompanied him on the violin and Vidwan K. Balaji on the mridangam.

As part of the Student Exchange Programme, this year Welham Girls’ School was represented by six students to Downe House School, UK, Millfield School, UK and Groton School, USA. Lhachi Selden and Areena Makker went to Downe House School. Shreya Bahukhandi and Rinchen Angmo to Millfield School and at Groton School, Welham was represented by Sukhman Arora and Sejal Kapoor.

A gropu of thirteen students escorted by the French teacher, Ms Vibha Kapoor, went for a French Immersion Programme to Paris, Rouen and the Province of Normandy. The programme involved intensive French language classes, historical and cultural visits to places around Rouen and in the Normandy region of France, weekend visit to Paris, home stays with French families, and lectures and presentations on French history, art and culture.

Seven students participated in the Kai National Karate Championships organized by the Karate Association of India at the Talkatora Stadium from the 20th to the 22nd of May. Pritha Singh reached the third round and lost a very close individual bronze medal bout. The team comprised Srishti Prakash, Chandni Garg, Lavya Chadha, Pritha Singh, Kevika Singla and Arushi Bansal.

Welham Girls’ School beat Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala (MKP) by 5 goals to lift the coveted trophy. • Best Defender of the Tournament was Sunita Rawat of SAS. • Best Forward of the Tournament was Shruti Kaul of WGS. • Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament was Preksha of Wynberg Allen. • The Most Promising player of the tournament was Pema of MIS. • The Most valuable player of the tournament was Prerna Kejriwal of WGS. The Chief Guest of the finals was Mrs. Jyotsna Brar, Principal of Welham Girls’ School.

With a heavy heart the staff and students bid farewell to Mrs. Jyotsna Brar, who has been the Principal for sixteen years. Vanshikaa Saavla, School Captain, presented a memento to Mrs. Brar and every class put up a small presentation. Mrs. Sambasivam, who takes over the reigns after Mrs. Brar, addressed the gathering and presented a bouquet of flowers to her.

In the final match Welham Girls’ School beat Pinegrove School by 41 – 25 points. Sarah Chaudhary of WGS was awarded 'STAG' Most Valuable Player of the Tournament 2016. The Highest Scorer of the tournament was Sarah Chaudhary from Welham Girls’ School with 94 points. The Highest Scoring Match of the tournament was the Semi final match between MNSS and PGS with 105 points. Ms. Vinita Bali,President of the Board of Governors of Welham Girls’ School gave away the trophies, tokens and individual prizes to the players and officials. Ms. Vinita Bali,President of the Board of Governors of Welham Girls’ School gave away the trophies, tokens & individual prizes to the players & officials.

Welham Girls' School participated in the IPSC Tennis Tournament held at The Daly College, Indore from 24th to 27th April 2016. We participated in three age group categories,U-14,U-17 & U-19 . In U-14,U-17 & U-19 age group categories we reached the Quarter Final stage of the tournament. In U-17 age group individual category ,Roshini Singh played the Quarter-Final. In the U-17 age group category the WGS team stood at 4th position out of the12 participating teams.

The Programmes began on the 22nd of April with 8 schools participating in the debates and quiz. The first event was the Miss Saroj Srivastava Inter School English Debate. The Topic was ‘These are the Worst of Times'. Akshat Singh of Welham Boys' School was adjudged the ‘Best Speaker’ For the Motion and Ishaan Kapoor from The Doon School won the award for the ‘Best Speaker’ Against the Motion. The prize for the ‘Best Interlocutor’ was won by Mrinaal Sehgal, Welham Girls' School. The trophy for the ‘Best Team’ went to Welham Girls' School. The Mrs. Russell Nature and General Knowledge Quiz 2016 was held on the evening of 22nd April. 9 teams participated in the Preliminary Round and the top six teams went up for the main round. Springdales School, Pusa Road came 1st, RIMC, Dehradun was second, and La Martiniere Girls' College, Lucknow was 3rd. The Miss Linnell Memorial Inter School Hindi Debate was held on Saturday, 23rd April, 2016.Ena Asif , La Martiniere Girls College, Lucknow and Shikhar Trivedi, The Doon School, Dehradun were adjudged the best speakers For and Against the motion respectively. Neha Roshni Yushing, La Martiniere Girls College, Lucknow was adjudged the ‘Best Interlocutor’. Overall Positions were as follows: 1st La Martiniere Girls College, Lucknow; 2nd Welham Girls' School, Dehradun; 3rd The Doon School, Dehradun.

W-516 Nitya Khanna, B-25 Navya Sureka, and B-403 Manishka Banerjee represented the school at the Rajeev Khanna Inter-school Quiz at Scholars Home on 23rd April. Twenty schools took part and the theme this year was on tribes of the world. The team made it to the final round. In the final, they were placed first. They received the trophy for the second year and got a cash prize of Rs 3000/-.

The Inter House Dance Competition was held on the 15th and 16th of April. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Mrs. Padmini Samabasivam. The results were as follows: Kathak: 1st Bulbuls 2nd Hoopoes 3rd Orioles Folk Dance: 1st Flycatchers 2nd Woodpeckers 3rd Hoopoes Bharat Natyam: 1st Woodpeckers 2nd Orioles 3rd Flycatchers Overall Positions: 1st Woodpeckers 2nd Bulbuls 3rd Orioles

The Swimming Pool was inaugurated on the 26th of March by Mrs Jyotsna Brar, Principal Welham Girls' School. After the lighting of the ceremonial lamp, the School Games Captain, Sarah Choudhary, addressed the gathering. The ceremony ended with the junior and senior girls displaying their swimming skills.

On 23rd March Welham bid farewell to members of the staff retiring after putting in many years of dedicated service and commitment. It was a tearful occasion as we got together to express our gratitude to the pillars of the Welham community. They are Mrs Vijaya Lakshmi Jugran , HOD of the Hindi Department and HM of Senior Bulbuls , Mr J.P.Dangwal , Accounts Officer , Ms Pammi Kaur , Senior Librarian , Ms Zohra Nizami , Senior Crafts Teacher , Mr Anil Sharma , Stores In-Charge and Mrs Shashibala Chakravarty , Matron Senior Hoopoes. The Farewell Lunch was graced by the presence of a huge gathering of ex-staff members who took us on a trip down memory lane with their interesting anecdotes.

ZSL London Zoo's newest exhibit 'Land of the Lions' was opened by Her Majesty and HRH, The Duke of Edinburgh on 17th March 2016. Dr. Gitanjali Bhattacharya (Ex-H 18) has been instrumental in the development of the newest exhibit at London Zoo which transports visitors to the colourful sights and scents of India and allows visitors to get closer than ever to London zoo's amazing pride of Asiatic Lions. Gitanjali had the honour of briefing Her Majesty and HRH Prince Philip about the project as well as the broad spectrum of excellent conservation initiatives in South and Central Asia.

On 28th February, A Spic Macay concert was organized at school. Kamala Shankarji enthralled the audience with her Shankar guitar which is a modification of the Hawaiian guitar. The programme concluded with an interactive session with the students.

A group of 30 students who are studying Political Science and History visited New Delhi on Saturday, 27th February. As a part of their educational tour, they visited Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning followed by a walk through the Mughal Gardens. They also saw a collection of rare memorabilia belonging to the Nehru family at Teen Murti House and concluded the eventful day with a light and sound show at the Red Fort.

A Life Skills workshop was conducted by Miss Aarti Chandra and her team from Silverline for the students of grade 11. The aim of this four day workshop was to provide an insight into 'Employability Skills' that are necessary for success in the world today. The activities and interactive sessions were enjoyed by the students.

The Prefect body for 2016-2017 attended a two day workshop on Leadership Management conducted by Dr. Manisha Sahni and her team. The students were engaged in a variety of activities which made them identify their strengths and work more effectively as a team.

Preksha Jalan and Jyot Kaur Thind made us proud by being selected for the National Athletics Meet 2016 held in Kerala from 29th January to 2nd February. They participated in the Under-14 category in 400m, 100m and 4*100 m Relay.

It is a matter of great pride that Welham Girls' School, Dehradun was ranked the Number 1 boarding school for girls in the country in a survey conducted by Education World, a leading education portal in India.

The school participated in the IPSC Dance Competition hosted by Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya Gwalior on 2nd and 3rd September. The girls were placed First in the Choreography and Maitrika Kumari Rathore’s brilliant Bharatnatyam performance won her the First prize in the Classical Dance Category. Overall the girls were placed third.

It is a matter of pride that the school has been awarded The International School Award by the British Council for 2015-2018. To qualify for the award the school submitted an Action Plan for seven Projects, which had an international dimension. A detailed description of the projects, which covered a wide range of activities in both the curricular and the co-curricular areas, was submitted to an eminent panel of judges.