Some things are just worth fighting for. Some are just worth dying for. More so when legends need to be told and champions honed. This championship is what we believe is the beginning of the end of a school of thought.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP:

A day long intra-class athletic championship. Just sports. No books. No gyan – Just before the examinations.

WHO’S INVOLVED:

The Pegasus, the Dragons and the Unicorns from the mysterious land of the epiphany dynasty-each with 15 members chosen to handle their intra-team dynamics while fighting it out on the ground for their team’s honour.

 

WHAT’S AT STAKE?:

• The Gladiators shield of honor

To be awarded to the team that shows outstanding team work and fights it out on the ground meeting all objectives and abiding by all the rules of the championship.

• The Outstanding Champions Trophy

To be awarded to the champion who plays to the tune of his/her heart and abides by the rules of the championship while not sacrificing his/her duty to the team.

• El Campeonato nomination for the Annual Scholarship

An athletic nomination entry awarded to the champion who embodies the true spirit of sportsmanship. This nomination would enable the champion to compete in the final rung for a scholarship that would partially waive his/her next years academic fees.

• Participation and Performance certificates

EVENTS:

• Drills
• Speed Workouts
• Kabaddi
• Amoeba race
• Relay race
• Obstacle crossing

The rationale behind El Campeonato:

March is generally a testing time for teachers and students. With end of year examinations round the corner and in an academic setup during times such as this,  it would be surprising to find the staff room void of any discussions around the projected ‘pass rate’ of the students. Besides, with the direct and indirect interactions with a networked group of teachers that we have here, most of the discussions are about the end of year examinations.That is where Kavitha and I found the disconnect. We just couldn’t figure out why the last few weeks before the examination had to be so stressful on the kids and their parents. Revision in the last moment just before the examinations and the data emanating from this process system wouldn’t really give a gauge of the students academic capabilities. More so the data from these examinations  just remain figures in paper or data projections that grossly are invalid given the scope of these so called examinations. We for one didn’t want the kids to pass through a cycle of unnecessary strain period – something that we were compelled to go through during our ‘education’ phase.

There’s this theory that is highly talked about in the circles here that academic achievement is what motivates kids to excel in other learning streams – yet another school of thought that we couldn’t digest. Through the second year, we focused our instructions more towards constructive learning than just based on formative or summative data analysis.  Eventually the time that the kids spent outdoors became almost equal to the time they spent indoors. Probably that is what led us to formulating this championship – El Campeonato. This by no means is the ‘mandated’ showcase. It’s just a platform for us as teachers to explore what holistic learning could mean, a platform for the kids to participate in the essence of team work and patience; not to compete just to win but to also learn by losing. As the baton passes, only time would tell what will last…

Event details:

Be there at our school premises at 0800hrs sharp on the 17th of March to see our dragons, unicorns and the Pegasus compete to win the Gladiators trophy.

Bring your own drinks and snacks to beat the march sun, for its going to be one long exciting day with lots of fun.