SAI Alumni Talk with Vikram Aditya Sahoo

“The power of ordinary will push you reach for the extra ordinary” – Vikram Aditya Sahoo

‘Out beat yourself for the future you want from now, you are your astrologer and you yourself can write the future you desire for, work hard and believe in yourself” , said Vikram Aditya Sahoo at the SAI Alumni Talk on Saturday, September 12, 2020 for the students of Classes IX to XII of SAI International School and Classes IX to XI of SAI International Residential School.

Alumnus of SAI International Vikram spoke on the ‘power of you’ emphasizing on the it’s four important aspects; evolving from the ‘power of ordinary to the extraordinary’, ‘powers of self-belief’ to attain success, importance of the ‘power of fear’ and the ‘power of now’ to reach the set goal. The highly invigorating and interactive session had many learning key points for the students especially when they are at the threshold of entering a newer world of competition and exposure. While interacting with the students class X and XII he said, ”the only thing you can control is your present to make the future of your dreams”.

It was an emotional moment for the teachers as well as for Vikram at the session.

SAI Alumni Talk endeavors to pave a way for interaction between our alumni and our current batch of SAIoneers, to inspire our students to dream big and achieve their dreams. It is a brilliant medium for you to interact with your seniors and learn from their experiences. You will know directly from them the processes to get into the fields and areas of your interest. These sessions will not only widen your knowledge horizon but also your career prospects. Your seniors will guide you on how you can pursue your passion and the steps you can take to achieve your objective. The sessions will help you prepare for the real world.

Online celebration of Teachers’ Day

“Teachers are the backbone of any country, the pillar upon which all aspirations are converted into realities.” – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

SAI International School celebrated Teachers’ Day digitally with great fun and fiesta on Saturday, September 5, 2020. Students from Play Group to Class XII left no stones unturned to ensure a well organised programme, taking the aid of technology. Teachers and staff of SAI International, paid homage to the former President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on his birth anniversary, adhering strictly to the norms of social distancing.

Tribute to the Gurus

Students weaved magic with their wonderful show of love and gratitude through soulful songs, amazing dance performances, heart touching speeches, self-composed poems, beautiful artwork and paintings and heartfelt messages. They also prepared handmade cards as well as homemade cakes and cookies as a token of love. The enthusiastic students created a fun-filled ambience by organizing a magic show, recalling funny moments from classroom, organizing riddles and surprising everyone with a wonderful rap.

Applauding the earnest effort of teachers

SAI International organized an entertaining program especially for the teachers to applaud their concerted and sincere effort to ensure the continuity of learning of the students during the pandemic. Welcoming the teachers, Shri Nilakantha Panigrahi, Sr. Principal SAI International School said that ‘each one of you is not only the pillar on which SAI International rests, but also a true and inspired teacher’.

On the occasion, Founder and Mentor Dr. Bijaya Kumar Sahoo expressed his gratitude to all the teachers world over, for their painstaking effort in ensuring an interrupted learning of the students. He thanked the teachers of SAI International for their exemplary service, immense patience and dedication. Shri Amitabh Agnihotri, Headmaster SAI International Residential School (SIRS) thanked the teachers for their immense patience and power of endurance.

Special homage by the Student Council

The members of the Student Council kept the teachers spellbound with their wonderful cultural programme. Starting with Guru Vandana, to skits, poems, songs and band performances, the students leaders created an highly emotional yet an entertaining environment. Every word, every act was full of emotions and reflected wonderful values, making the teachers feel proud and precious.

On this occasion, eminent and retired teacher of D.M.School, Bhubaneswar, Shri Uttam Das graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. He spoke about the role and importance of a teacher in the life of a student. Shri Das shared his experience as the teacher of Founder and Mentor SAI International Dr. Bijaya Kumar Sahoo and how he inculcated a love for lifelong learning.

Career Talk @ SAI

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison

SAI International regularly organizes Career Talk sessions to enable students to choose the right career, basing on their talent, skills, interest and aptitudes. Choosing the right career is immensely crucial while students are still in school, so that they don’t regret in later lives. These sessions help students to reflect on their strength and weaknesses, weigh options before selecting the career path as well as have a back-up plan for an alternate career options if they decide to change their stream in future.

Ms. Rajashree Sahoo, Consultant, Higher Education & Careers Sector, Achivia delivered the SAI Career Talk on Wednesday, September 2, 2020. She guided the students on preparing themselves for choosing the right career path and also on the college application process. She spoke about different types of corporate internships and mentorship available online for high school students. Ms Sahoo also advised the students on how to make an attractive portfolio for internship.

Internships are beneficial because it help develop professional aptitude, strengthen personal character, and provide a greater door to opportunity. By investing in internships, students will broaden their spectrum of opportunity when seeking and applying for a job after college. It also builds up their profile for college application.

SAI Alumni Talk with Karran Pandey

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” – Albert Einstein 

“Your belief in yourself comes from the infinite possibilities your own potentials. Never let self-doubt hold you captive. Your potentials will help adapt to the environment. You are worthy of all that you dream of and hope for, dream higher, be curious and make this world a better place to live in with Maths”, said Alumnus Karran Pandey from the Class of 2014, who delivered the SAI Alumni Talk on August 29, 2020 to the students of Classes IX to XII of SAI International School. His presentation was followed by a question and answer session by the students.

Karan was humbled to be a part of the SAI Alumni Talk and thankful to SAI International fraternity to have groomed him to become what he is now.

Taking the talk forward Dr Bijaya Kumar Sahoo addressed to the SAIoneers and said, “believe in yourself, parents, in who love you and who are with you”.

Karran is presently working as Research Associate, Visualization and Graphics Lab at IISC, Bangalore. His research focuses on using mathematical ideas from geometry and topology to study shape and structure in the natural world. He has secured an offer to pursue a PhD from the prestigious University of Texas, USA. He completed his B.Tech in Computer Science and M.Sc in Mathematics from BITS, Pilani. His core skills include Geometry Processing, Data Visualization and Software development for visual interactive data exploration.

Karran has always been a diligent student with special interest in Mathematics, which led him to represent the State in the Indian National Mathematics Olympiad in the year 2013. The humble boy is also a brilliant musician who plays instruments like violin, guitar and keyboard with equal ease and passion. The extremely humble boy believes in spreading happiness and believes in pursuing his dreams through his talents.

Objective of SAI Alumni Talk

SAI Alumni Talk endeavors to pave a way for interaction between our alumni and our current batch of SAIoneers, to inspire the students to dream big and achieve their dreams. It is a brilliant medium to interact with seniors and learn from their experiences. Seniors will guide students of current batches to pursue their passion and the steps to be taken to achieve the objective. The sessions will help prepare the students for the real world.

Collaborative Meeting with Japan – Summer Fun

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

SAI International School has been regularly conducting collaborative, inter-cultural exchange meetings with various partner schools across the globe, to promote understanding and respect for each other’s culture and nurture students towards becoming global citizens.

The school has been actively conducting virtual meets with Jr & Sr High School of Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan since Thursday April 16, 2020, to understand the lifestyle, practices, education, culture and many more of each other’s countries. In continuation with the collaborative activities with the Japan School, the virtual meet on Friday, August 28, 2020 was held on the topic, ‘Summer Fun’.

Summer activities are always of interest to the children and this week they discussed what festivals they celebrate, what special foods are eaten and places they go to visit while school is closed.  SAIoneers spoke about two things including what they are doing this summer during the COVID 19 lockdown and what they normally do if they were having a regular summer break.  They spoke about honing new skills in drawing, singing, dancing and even learning a new language. They also spoke about what they would normally be doing if there was not a pandemic, such as trips to see their relatives, outings with friends, celebrating Ratha Yatra, the famous Chariot festival etc. They discussed the types of fruits and veggies available in India only in the summer like mangos and litchi.

The Japanese students spoke about a few festivals, specifically one called ‘Obon’, where they welcome their ancestral spirits home. Families place offerings of fruit, rice, green tea, and lotus-shaped sweets at the graves or family altars. Paper lanterns are hung round the house to help guide the spirits home. Some families carry lanterns from the graves back to their homes.

SAIoneers made a comparison to the praying areas in their homes where they keep the photos of their deceased loved ones. Japanese students also spoke about a summer festival that started over 300 hundred years ago with a focus on warding off diseases that could harm the Japanese people.  It was a highly enriching and enjoyable discussion.