JALANDHAR: Five schools of Innocent Hearts (Green Model Town, Loharan, Cantt.- Jandiala Road, Royal World and Kapurthala Road) and Innocent Hearts College of Education celebrated the festival of Diwali with great pomp. The children participated in various activities such as candle making, card making, Toran making, Sweet dish making, Slogan writing etc. with great enthusiasm in many activities.
Diya/candle decoration was done by the children of grades I and II, card making activity was done by the students of Grade III. The Grade IV students made a statement on 'Safe and Green Diwali'. Class V students participated in Toran Making, Class VI students participated in Sweet Dish Making, Class VII students participated in Candle Decoration and Class VIII students participated in a Slogan Writing Activity. Students of all classes participated in these activities showcasing their art in a very beautiful manner.
An inter-house Rangoli competition was also organized on this occasion. Class board decoration activity was conducted for the students of classes VII to X. In a special assembly, the students highlighted the significance of celebrating Diwali and its importance. On this occasion, children recited poetry and presented a beautiful dance on 'Ghar More Pardesiya, Aao Padharo Piya'.
In all the classes, the teachers made the children aware of the importance of the spiritual and social significance of Diwali. They explained that Diwali is a symbol of cleanliness and auspiciousness celebrated on the new moon of Kartik month, Diwali spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness. They exhorted the children to follow the ideals of Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram and also to celebrate a pollution-free Diwali by not using firecrackers.
Innocent Hearts College of Education organized an ‘Anti-cracker and Anti-plastic week’ with the aim of propagating the message of celebrating eco-friendly Diwali and spreading awareness about the ill-effects caused by pollutants emitted from the bursting of crackers and burning plastic. Visits were conducted to various community welfare centres in order to spread the message of celebrating green and peaceful Diwali. The whole college campus was artistically decorated with posters and rangoli designs which symbolized lighting up of our hearts and loving our mother earth.
Apart from the slogan writing and poster making competitions, mottos like “Burn your ego, not crackers” were beautifully embedded in the colourful rangoli patterns. The student-teachers and teacher-educators pledged that they would never make use of plastic bags which are a major source of pollution, instead they creatively prepared attractive Diwali gift packages with waste paper material.