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