Post on 17-Aug-2020
G.D GOENKA PUBLIC SCHOOL, SARITA VIHAR
WORLD SCHOLAR’S CUP: HANOI GLOBAL ROUND
(JUNIORS)
THEME: World Scholar’s Cup
REPORT: Hanoi Global Round, Junior Division
DATE: Saturday, June 24, 2017, to Saturday, July 01, 2017
EVENT REPORT
It is not every day that one gets to interact with people of different nationalities
under one roof, but that is precisely what unfolded when the World Scholar’s Cup,
Global Round Hanoi opened its doors to young scholars from across the globe. The
first in the series of three (others being Athens and Cape Town), the Hanoi global
round, being held from June 26, 2017 to July 01, 2017, is touted to have the largest
gathering at any World Scholar’s Cup, with nearly 3500 students from 56 schools from
countries such as China, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, USA,
Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, to name a few.
Six students of G.D. Goenka Public School, Sarita Vihar—Arnav Singh, Utkarsh Kumar,
Yeyati Prasher (Class VIII), Prabodhini Singh, Radhacharan, and Tanishqa Mehra (Class
IX)—qualified for participation in the global round chose Hanoi, Vietnam, as their
destination to experience the exhilaration, the rush, and the cult-like passion of the
World Scholar’s Cup—an academic competition comprising of essay writing, debating,
and quizzing. The energy and dynamism of the community of students, even though
they came from diverse backgrounds, at the event was unique and unparalleled. The
students were accompanied by Ms. Trisha Lalchandani. The contingent left on
Saturday, June 24, 2017 and returned on Saturday, July 01, 2017.
DAY 1 The World Scholar’s Cup 2017 initiated
the global level competition with
hosting the largest gathering at Hanoi,
Vietnam for juniors between Monday,
June 26, 2017 and Friday, June 30, 2017
and for seniors between Tuesday, June
27, 2017 and Saturday, July 01, 2017.
Arnav Singh, Utkarsh Kumar, Yeyati Prasher
(Class VIII), Prabodhini Singh, Radhacharan,
and Tanishqa Mehra (Class IX),
participating in the junior category as two teams, commenced the journey with the
Scholar’s Challenge.
The event witnessed a grand opening with the founder Daniel Berdichevsky and Burch
Wang greeting the scholars descending using a harness from the hollow of the
auditorium of the enormous Vietnam Convention Centre. A cultural performance of
traditional Vietnamese drum players set
the groove for the event and
foregrounded the centrality of Vietnam
this year. Celebrating ten years of World
Scholar’s Cup, Mr. Berdichevsky took the
audience down the memory lane and
marveled over the expansive leaps the
competition had made in size and
reputation. The keynote speaker for the
opening was American author Mr. Lawrence Watt-Evans’ Life recalled as an Event in
an Unlikely World
Alpaca-in-chief Daniel Berdichevsky’s Address at
the Opening Ceremony
Lawrence Watt-Evans.
It was soon time for the Scavenge Hunt wherein the participants were teamed with
students from countries as diverse as Slovenia and Australia to complete a series of
tasks. The tasks were aimed at getting the participants to cross the borders of their
familiar worlds. From the Vietnam Convention Centre, all participants travelled to the
Bao Son Park—populated with life size replicas of characters from films such as
Madagascar and Ice Age, to carry out tasks such as managing a group hug and group
selfie(with the group size ranging from 8 to 15 members), teaching English to Tarzan,
balancing the alpaca on their noses, inventing a new pwaa (the sound the alpaca
makes) word—students came up with Alice in Pwaanderland and The Hitchhiker’s
Guide to the Pwaalaxy—creating a myth around the creation of the world, writing
alpaca in different languages.
The day concluded with a cultural show of Vietnamese dancers. All in all, the day was
a journey into the highly fortified but vastly colourful world of the global round with a
dash of local Vietnamese culture.
Waiting to Begin at the Vietnam
national Convention Centre
Writing Alpaca in Languages of the
World as part of the Scholar’s Hunt
DAY 2 After an engaging first day, the Scholars leaped right into the deep academic regions
on the second day as the Scholar’s Challenge, Writing Challenge and the Team
Debates required them to intensify their passion and find the locus of their team’s
strength.
The Writing Challenge involved writing an essay on a topic from one of the six
prescribed subjects—Literature, Arts, Science, Social Studies, History, and the Arts.
The students were given forty minutes for writing of the essay. The Scholar’s
Challenge comprised of a series of 120 questions, 20 from each subject, which the
scholars needed to answer. The final and the most demanding part of the day was
fulfilled in the Team Debate comprising of three rounds.
Some of the topics for the debate were: Leaders must always be larger-than-life,
there should be a way for us to give our memories to other people, the world would
make more sense if curses were real.
Preparing for the Motion
The team comprising Radhacharan, Prabodhini Singh, and Tanishqa Mehra won all
three of their debates while the team comprising Arnav Singh, Utkarsh Kumar, and
Yeyati Prasher won one out of the three debates.
Looking Dapper in Formals for the
Debate Day
Debate Showcase
DAY 3
The third day of the World Scholar’s Cup Hanoi Global Round witnessed three events:
Scholar's Bowl, Debate Showcase,
and Scholar's Show, concluding
with the Scholar’s Fair. The
Scholar's Bowl is a series of rounds
containing questions directly or
indirectly related to the WSC
syllabus. Using a clicker, the
teams, seated in the Vietnam
Convention Centre, chose the
answers for the final academic
section in the competition. The Debate Showcase saw the best eight debaters from
the previous day's team debates form two teams of affirmation and negation and
debate on stage in front of the audience. The motion, resolved, was that "we should
be allowed a peek ten years into the future." The debaters were all passionate orators
and sharp thinkers. Celebrating the conclusion of academic competition, the Scholar's
Show threw a medley of
performances the audience's way.
Participants from all across the
globe sang and demonstrated
their moves, while some
showcased traditional art forms,
all to the audience's delight
manifested in the phone lights
being swayed in appreciation. Embracing the Alpacas
Another important--and the most looked forward to--activity of the day was the
Alpaca Distribution. Not only were the scholars given their alpacas, but this year the
teachers and coaches were also given a chance to win and take home their very own
alpaca--only through participation in the Alpaca Balance Challenge. It saw many a
teachers balance the alpacas on their heads.
The highlight of the day was the Scholar's Fair. It was a cultural fair which witnessed
hordes of students putting up stalls displaying the culture of their country through
food, colours, brochures, and posters. The students all proudly wore their love for
their countries on their sleeves and offered food samples to all visitors.
The day, though long, provided a keen glimpse into the cultures of other countries,
through art, food, clothes, books, and stories.
Making a Cultural Connection
DAY 4 On the fourth day, the students were taken on a city tour. The tour covered four major landmarks of Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature, and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is a place of solemnity as well as respect. The premises are heavily guarded and visitors are expected to conform to the somberness by not talking, not clicking pictures, and not using their phones. The inside of the mausoleum has dimmed lights with only a focus on the preserved body of the Vietnamese leader, guarded by the military. The one pillar Pagoda was built in the 11th century and is known to have a history behind it. The story suggests that the pagoda was built to resemble a lotus flower. Students prayed at the Pagoda and lit the traditional incense sticks. Temple of Literature is dedicated to Confucius, and was built in the eleventh century. It housed Vietnam’s first university and a school. Covering a large area, the temple has a history of being visited by students for good luck in their academic and professional endeavours. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is a treasure trove. The students learnt that Vietnam has a total of 54 ethnic groups, the dominant among them being the Viet. It was learnt that the name Vietnam refers to the being south of China while the name Hanoi refers to being situated between rivers. Lastly, a visit to the lacquerware studio was made where the artists were seen to be at work. After the visit, the students prepared to go to the Scholar’s ball, held at Grand Plaza Hotel. Looking dapper in formal party wear, the students were dressed to impress. The ball came to an end with all the scholars having made new friends with the same rhythm driving them to progress to the finals.
Work Hard, Party Harder
At the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh
Absorbing all of Vietnam at the
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
In the Frame with Confucius at the
Temple of Literature
The Ancient One Pillar Pagoda
DAY 5
The last day of the competition was a day of mirth as well as tears—since it was the day of the Award Ceremony. Headed by Mr. Daniel Berdichevsky, the team of World Scholar’s Cup announced results in all the categories. The Closing Ceremony began with a Flag Bearing Ceremony with one representative from each country. It was Shalom International School from India that held the Indian Tricolour on the stage. Out of two teams of G.D. Goenka Public School, Sarita Vihar, one team—Prabodhini Singh, Radhacharan, and Tanishqa Mehra—qualified for the Tournament of Champions to be held at Yale University later this year. The following were the medals brought home:
S. No. Name Medal Category
1 Arnav Singh Gold (Individual) Collaborative Writing
2 Utkarsh Kumar Silver Collaborative Writing
3 Yeyati Prasher Silver (Individual) Debate
Gold School Top Scholar
** Team (Arnav Utkarsh Yeyati) Silver (Team) Collaborative Writing
4 Prabodhini Singh Gold (Individual) Collaborative Writing
Gold Champion Scholar
5 Radhacharan Silver (Individual) Collaborative Writing
6
Tanishqa Mehra Gold (Individual) Debate
Gold School Top Scholar
Gold Champion Scholar
Silver (Individual) Collaborative Writing
** Team (Prabodhini, Radhacharan, Tanishqa)
Gold (Team) Collaborative Writing
Silver Scholar’s Bowl
A Trail of Medals: Tanishqa Mehra (left) and Arnav Singh (right)
A Sweet Conclusion