Deeparaya, a term uniquely Singaporean, is reflective of the celebration of Deepawali and Hari Raya (or Eid) in a multi-cultural society that’s common to both India and Singapore. On 19th October, 2006, the students of Class IV transported all present at a special assembly – to India, where the celebrations never end and where these festivals are symbolic of the spirit, culture and dynamism of our nation. An enchanting narration and enactment of scenes, both mythological and real, interspersed with a couple of poems, dances and songs, caught the imagination of the audience, much to the delight of the performers. The celebrations were brought to a close through the exchange of huge Deepawali and Hari Raya Greeting Cards, the purpose of which was to communicate the importance of reaching out to one’s brothers and sisters at a time when parochial sentiments are threatening to erode the secular fabric of nations across the world. The rendition of a song on religious harmony was befitting of the grand finale. Celebrating religious identities while fostering a spirit of collective harmony was indeed an accomplishment for all involved and it left a lasting impression.

Click here to view snaps of Deepa Raya Assembly

Hum Hain Chotte bacche, Pyare  Bhacche……………..HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY”………as the choir took their bow, the enthralled audience put their hands together to cheer the young confident performers of Class III A, B, C.

                Keeping up with our school’s tradition of welcoming an important calendar day into the hearts of the children by highlighting the day’s significance through special assemblies, the students of Class III (A, B, C) put up a wonderful show on 14th of November 2006. The entire show was handled superbly by the enthusiastic participants. The Assembly began with a student speaking about Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru whose birthday is celebrated in India as Children’s Day. Children were amused to see Pt. Nehru amongst them as he spoke to them about the joys of childhood. The students sang to “We are the world …” with emotion that showed their willingness and determination to help others. The graceful dancers performed folk dances from various parts of India. Rajasthan, Goa, Punjab, that added colour and life to the show. The audience was enthralled by these foot-tapping numbers.

                  The show came to a close with a grand finale song, a chirpy rhythmic number specially composed for this occasion. The children had put up an amazing performance and the audience definitely had a satisfying experience.

Click here to view snaps of Childrens Day Assembly

The year 2006 turned its last page to welcome another year with the Yuletide celebrations coupled with New Year wishes. This was amazingly done by the students of Class 5(A and B). The special assembly presented by the young artists really left an impression on everyone present to witness the spectacle. The assembly began with the significant message on Christmas followed by a short skit on Nativity. Melodious Christmas carols mesmerized all but the highlight was the stunning entry of our very dear Santa Claus with his bag of goodies. Santa Claus mingled with the audience and amused everyone with his hearty laugh. This was the best way to come to an end of the year and welcome another one with outstretched arms.

Click here to view snaps of Christmas Celebration at DPSIS

Singapore National Day is a significant event in Singapore. The people of Singapore show their love and respect for their country by holding a National day Parade on 9th August every year with great fervor. As an Indian community living in Singapore, we at DPSIS also decided to pay our reverence to our adopted country. The typically seven year old students of class 2 were deemed with the task of preparing for the event. On 8th August 2006, we were all set to present a spectacular show. We all gathered at the assembly hall situated at the rear of the school. Our Pro –Vice Chairman Mr. Kabra and our Principal Dr. A. Ebenezer graced the occasion by there presence. The event was kick started with an opening speech from our Principal Dr. Ebenezer. In his speech, he highlighted the positive and endearing aspects of Singapore. It was an inspiring speech. A range of speakers were prepared to highlight the aspects which have made Singapore what it is today. The show was based on showcasing the‘Racial Harmony’ practiced in Singapore. The Racial Harmony maintained by the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian communities is a Unique Selling Proposition of Singapore. The first set of students presented a famous dragon dance paying tribute to the Chinese community. A Malay song ‘Rasa Sayang’ enthralled the audience. The song was followed by a Dance on a Tamil song written by the famous poet ‘Bharathiyar’. An English song was sung for the Eurasian community. The forty–five minute program was brought to a close with the singing of the Singapore National Anthem when the whole school stood up and sang with the choir. It was an enthralling performance made possible by the relentless effort put in by our ever enthusiastic students, the excellent script writing and coordination done by the class teachers, invaluable support provided by the talented Music teachers and the vibrant and colourful backdrop on the stage done by our very creative Art teachers.

Click here to view snaps of Singapores National Day Assembly

‘A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new; when an age ends; and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.’ ~Jawaharlal Nehru Modern day India represents the largest democracy in the world with a seamless picture of unity in diversity, unparalleled anywhere else. However, this would not have been possible without the sacrifices of the freedom fighters and the accomplishment of their dreams to make India an independent nation. August 15th marks for her the end of an old era and the beginning of a new age in areas political, social, cultural and spiritual. To celebrate such a momentous day, there was a special assembly in the morning and the tri-coloured flag of India was hoisted with great pride. It was on this day that the Prefects’ Investiture Ceremony took place along with the Distribution of Awards to students of the academic year 2005-06. The hoisting of our first ever-blazing blue coloured school flag made this day even more special. The programme commenced in the traditional manner of the lighting of the lamp by Mrs. Jyoti Kabra and Mrs. Neeta Kapoor. This was followed by a divine rendition of the Shri Ganesh Vandana, invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesh. Mr. Amit Dhamelia, our music teacher, through his beautiful and moving composition “India, yeh hai India”, sung by the DPSIS choir group, reflected the true spirit of India and filled our hearts with pride for our country. The Welcome Address by our Head Mistress, Dr. Manju Sharma, was truly encouraging and inspiring. It was unfortunate that our Principal, Dr. Ebenezer, could not make it due to his illness. However, Mrs. Aarti Kansal shared his message with us. Chetan Singhal’s patriotic song, “Ye Dharti Hai Balidaan Ki” took us back to the time, when Satyen Bose directed “Jagriti”, a patriotic film that captured the imagination of a young nation. The School Captain, Eshita Kabra, has been chosen for her academic as well as leadership abilities and is aided by the House Captains and Prefects; students chosen for their leadership acumen. They took the oath to office on August 15th, 2006. Walter Savage Landor once said- “Music is God's gift to man, the only art of Heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to Heaven.” Sarthak Bhatnagar of class 3, a young talented ‘tabalist’ in the making, delighted the audience with the resonating beats of the tabla and Saloni Gupta of class 8 ‘pianoed’ us through the staccatos and dynamics of a western classical composition of Bach and her favourite piece, “Polonaise”. “If you can dream it, you can do it!” The achievers of DPSIS have held onto their chosen goals as one would hold onto a kite string in a strong wind. They have proven that with hard work, determination, dedication and perseverance one can attain great heights. Mr. Narain Murthy (Chief Executive Officer of IOB), Mr. C.P. Kabra, Mr. Devendar Kapoor, Mr. Manek Maheshwari and Mrs. Jyoti Kabra did the honour of presenting the awards to the students. High Achievers, Rank Holders, Scholar Badge Holders, All-Rounders and Special Awardees were recognised and awarded. Early this year, DPSIS had sent its 1st batch of Class 10 students for the ICSE board examinations and each Dipsite has secured a distinction. Some of the trailblazers were present on the day and were honoured for their excellent performance. The cultural show triggered off with an Italian Dance performed by girls of class 4. It was absolutely superb and nearly got everyone onto their feet! Next, three boys of class 7 sang their hearts out on a song by Greenday- “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”. The Bubblys of class 3 danced fantastically to the hit song from Bunty aur Bubbly “Dhadak Dhadak”. Following this was a performance of a Tamil Song by our young, cute students of Class 2. Three students from class 4 danced beautifully to “Maa Tujhe Salaam” by A.R. Rahman. The students of classes 5 and 6 put their heart and souls into a dance drama ‘Krishna’ that was performed next. It was directed, conceptualised and choreographed by Mrs. Patralekha Dasgupta. It was, no doubt, simply marvellous. The girls of class 9 then danced to “Desh Rangeela” from the movie “Fanaa”, which reminded one and all of just how unique our country really is. The show ended with a patriotic song sung by our teachers. August 15th 2006 was a memorable day, not only because it celebrated India’s 59th birthday but also because it was the day when DPSIS accomplished another milestone by the introduction and installation of the Prefects. I would like to end with the words of Joel Barker- “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” …The Dipsites are truly making a difference.

Click here to view snaps of Indian Independence Day '06

Our young kindergartners celebrated their graduation to primary school with due pomp and ceremony. Their gowns, caps and cherubic smiles stole the hearts of the spectators who warmly applauded their accomplishment. It was a joyous occasion that marked the first milestone of their academic career and instilled a special school spirit.
Our BLOSSOMS correspondents spoke to a few kindergartners and noted down their heartwarming responses, which they shared with us:
Who doesn't like small kids? We all do and for a multitude of reasons: they are playful and bright-eyed, and their innocence and perkiness make us smile. When we see them, we exclaim, "Oh! Cho Chweet!" We lift them up or pull their cheeks and even ruffle their silky hair. The kids here at DPSIS are as cute as they come. When I referred to one of them as cute, she retorted, "I am not cute, I am a big girl now, and I am in Grade 1." I smiled.
The First Graders recently 'graduated' from Kindergarten II; and the special ceremony was held while the rest of us were racking our brains in the exam hall. They had a formal graduation ceremony with the black gowns, caps and the most important part - a photograph.
Attending 1st Grade was quite a change for these young students – more books, longer hours, different uniforms, new faces, new teachers and new lessons but their lips were curved into a smile from the beginning.
We were curious to learn if this change agreed with them and questioned a few of them to know how they really felt. The response was awesome.
While going home in the school bus I asked Kushal, a student of 1C, whether he enjoyed First Grade and he promptly answered that he did and had fun too "My teacher is nice and I like having a bigger class. I like the Math I learn". Wow! That's a first - hope he has that attitude towards Math throughout his life!
Anushka, a bubbly and adorable girl of 1A said,"I like First Grade better than K2 because of the new friends I have made. My teacher is very nice but I miss my K2 teacher".
Nikita, another lovely girl of 1B said, "I like it because we learn more and the class is big but I miss my K2 teacher and my best friend who is no longer in my class".
It sure seems like these lucky children are going to enjoy themselves tremendously in their new class!

Celebrating the bond of brotherhood was the underlying objective of Raksha Bandhan celebration by the Nursery children on 19.08.05. The Butterflies and Bumble Bees began the show with sharing of sweets and in accordance with the age old custom the Nursery Butterfly girls tied beautifully crafted hand made Rakhi to the Pro-Vice Chairman of DPSIS, Mr. C. P. Kabra, to his great delight. The Rakhi tying ceremony was followed by a dance performed by the Butterflies to the famous song sequence "Bhaiya morai rakhie ke bhandhan nibhana......" and the Bumble bees danced to the tune of "Phooloan ka taaron ka sab ka kehna hai...." The audience was enthralled by the tiny tots' performance.