Khaldunia honours outstanding students at colourful convocation

Award handed out amid thoughtful performances.

ISLAMABAD:

Madness,creativity and, most importantly, dreams were the three focal points of Dr Ayesha Siddiqa’s keynote speech at the 12th convocation of Khaldunia High School. In an inspiring speech on Saturday, she urged the students to have passion for their dreams, to be creative and not to measure success in stereotypical ways.

The event was organised to highlight and honour the achievements of diligent students of the school.

The awards, that were announced by Director of Studies Hajra Ahmed, were distributed at the end of convocation. Ammar Khan, who scored 10 As in )-Levels finals, received an award for academic excellence. He also got the award for student of the year. Other prominent students, who got outstanding results last year were Reem Kiran, Sana Malik and Khadija Zaman.

In her speech, Dr Siddiqa gave the “young leaders” plenty to think about. She said, “The importance of education is not lost on the youth, the novelty of learning seems to be.” The academic also urged them to recognise the unsung heroes. And that they did in a befitting manner.

The event also presented creative takes on the classics of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Habib Jalib and Khwaja Moinuddin through plays. Moinuddin’s Taleem-e-Balighan and Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, however stood out with the contemporary twists that they were given by the performers.

Taleem-e-Balighan was a welcome change from Islamabad’s onslaught of western adaptations. The cast’s strong and acutely convincing performances despite the make-shift sets, proved that a solid script and direction is all that is required for a successful performance.

The Wizard of Oz, given the large number of students taking part in it, was a commendable effort as well. Earlier, the opening number that was adapted from the animated children’s feature, Rio, was performed by first graders to the amusement of the audience.

In her remarks, Principal of the school Mrs Paracha exhorted the graduating class to use their education to make a difference. She cited Steve Jobs and Malcolm X as inspirational examples of “innovation and creating individual maps instead of following anyone else’s.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2011.