Froebelians entertain audience with skills, sportsmanship

ISLAMABAD: Froebel’s International School held their annual Sports Day for the primary school in Islamabad on Wednesday. The two-day event was full of excitement with students competing in front of their families and friends. Dressed in their stylish track uniforms, students from grades 1 to 5 enthusiastically exhibited their athletic talents. Almost 800 students competed in various events.

Primary years’ mentors, Ayesha Ejaz and Saira Aftab, worked with the faculty to coordinate the activities. “Apart from engaging in enjoyable activities, sporting events are necessary to inspire children to develop a resilient, sporting spirit and even inspire them to become future athletes,” commented Ms Ejaz. “It’s great to see our children competing and representing their classes with such pride.”

Playful events including banana, bead and dress-up races were enjoyed by parents and the chief guest Rizwan Saleem Haider, a former all-rounder in the Surrey Cricket League. “It’s wonderful to see children participating in healthy activities. In today’s world of PlayStations, the value of physical activity cannot be undermined. A fine balance of sports and studies is the key to good mental health,” remarked the chief guest.

Commenting on the taekwondo demonstration by the ‘Froebelian Dragons’, media coordinator Laaleen Khan said, “I was pleasantly surprised to see the talent, grace and skill the children displayed in the particularly hard field of taekwondo.” The proud parents cheered throughout the day as encouraging music pumped the crowd while adding vigour and bounce to the competitors. To round off the event, Froebel’s held a tug-of-war between the mothers and the teachers. Adults seemed to echo the students’ competitive spirit, as demonstrated in the tug-of-war, PTI’s races and ayah’s race.

There is always a winner and the chief guest presented the champions with trophies that these six to 10-year olds would proudly display in their homes to remind them of a wonderful December afternoon spent with their friends and families.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2010.