Young learners spread awareness on benefits of millets based diet

The modern generation is wise in many ways. Be it financial investments or emotional well-being or even food choices, they seem to have learned from the mistakes of their previous generations. The current youth by large is fitness conscious. They are increasingly getting mindful of what they put into their bodies. Healthy snack options such as sprouts are replacing the traditionally fried fritters. Oats and tofu are also on the rise due to their rich fibre content.

Another great food grain that has gained prominence, thanks to its immense nutritional and digestive value, is the millet. You must have heard dieticians and health coaches advising to include millets in the regular diet. Afterall, millets are tasty, easy to cook and digest as well as instantly help one feel lighter, stronger and more alert. 

Our  diet indeed plays a huge role in our lives, far beyond our imagination. It influences everything, from our body performance and body language to our thought process and energy levels. 

Apeejay School, Noida has always stood for a balanced nutritional diet for its students. The school has time and again organised many workshops and fun activities on the same. In line with the aforementioned thought, the school recently organised an inter class role play competition for class 4 students. 

The theme for the competition was Mota Anaaj i.e.millets.The event witnessed an enthusiastic participation by students across all sections. The objective of this competition was to develop the oratory skills of the students alongside telling them about the wonders of millets. The competition also aimed at developing the public speaking confidence, creativity and presentation skills of the students.

The excitement of the young actors knew no bounds as they waited eagerly for their turn to perform. Resplendent in their costumes, they emulated various types of millets. The students dressed and enacted numerous millet subtypes such as finger millet (Ragi), pearl millet (Bajra), sorghum millet (Jowar) among others. Their performances were truly a visual treat.

Through role play, students learnt that millets had always been an integral part of the diet within Indian households. They also learnt the names of different types of millets grown and consumed in India and the ways in which millets are making a resurgence as people opt for a healthier lifestyle.

The judges for the event were highly impressed with the performances of the students. Principal, Ms. Ritu Kohli, and Primary Incharge, Mrs. Smriti Samuel, applauded the performances of the students and reiterated the aim of the competition: To promote cognitive flexibility, oratory and socio-emotional skills of the students.

Speaking about the same, Mrs Smriti Samuel mentioned, “I firstly congratulate all the students for giving such wonderful performances. They all did a commendable job. I am happy to see that through this activity they learnt about the nutritional value of millets and also worked on their speaking and presentation skills.”

While all children were winners, thanks to their fabulous enactments, the format of the competition called to shortlist the top performers both overall and class wise.  The first prize was bagged by Pruthi from class 4-A, second position by Medha Dhawan from 4-A, and third position by Samridhi Jain from class 4-B. 

Students were also awarded for being the best performer from a particular class. Divit Aggarwal was the best performer from class 4-B. Akshaj Bhardwaj from class 4-A, Ashni Saklani from 4-C, Vriti Tayal from 4-D, Vedant Verma from class 4-E were the best in their respective classes.