Bell Matriculation Higher Secondary School

Bell Matriculation Higher Secondary
School

History

Bell Matriculation Higher Secondary School was founded in 1992 by Mr. A.Chelladhurai, an eminent industrialist and entrepreneur in Southern India. The school is run by Indrani Chelladhurai Charities, a trust that was formed by the founder in memory of his infant daughter who died in 1952 due to a lack of adequate medical facilities. Bell School is a part of the Bell Group, established in 1952. Mrs. Lily Darling was the first correspondent and it was inaugurated on June 2nd,1992 in the presence of Rev Jason Dharmaraj. The school grew exponentially over the years, and has gained a wide recognition. The management that runs Bell School also run other premier educational institutions like Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Bell Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Idayankudi Community College and SFR College for Women.

Motto, Mission and Monogram

The motto of the school is "Be Illustrious, Be Industrious". It was chosen by the founder himself, along with the assistance of many notable educators from Palayankottai. The mission of the institution has always been to enhance children's creativity and to foster a scientific temper among its 2500 students. The school has two versions of registered logos. One is a luminescent 3D golden torch held tightly by a golden hand, and the other is a Golden Bell.

Tippy the Torch

In 2007, commemorating the 15th anniversary, Bell school introduced its own cheerful little animated mascot, Tippy the Torch. The mascot is a colourful and lively version of the official school logo, created by the DTP operator Mr. Jerosine Jeyakumar and the student activities' director, Mr. Vashikaran. The character is inspired from Walt Disney's "Sebastian", the crab from Little Mermaid. Tippy's Gold Cards, issued to exceptional students by their teachers, is a very popular rewarding policy in Bell School. Children who get 5 Gold Cards in the same academic year are entitled to a shiny cup for their personal showcase.

Location

The school is located in Palayamkottai, a city that is popularly called the Oxford of South India because of its large concentration of schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Bell School is located on the Tuticorin-Tiruchendur Highway, which is being converted into a major 4 lane highway connecting straight to the port city of Tuticorin and its airport. The school has an extensive parking area in front of the entrance, which can accommodate over 400 cars.

Growth

In less than 15 years, Bell School has gained a tremendous recognition. It has grown from less than 45 students in its first year, to well over 2500 in its 15th year, in 2007. This phenomenal growth is primarily credited to the highly committed staff team, the excellent educational administration by its management and the school's unique infrastructure and policies. The school follows a professional approach of an educational organization with independent academic and extracurricular departments, co-ordinators and counselors.

Academically, the school has grown consistently. In 2005, the school got the Tirunelveli educational district's first ranking in Std X board exams. In 2006, Sree Rukmani of Std X achieved the Tamil Nadu state first rank in the national language, Hindi, and also the third overall district rank. In 2007, Fareena Begum (Std XII) acquired Tirunelveli district's first rank with a grand total of 1175 marks for 1200. [http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/15/stories/2007051512280300.htm] Consistent academic successes have really brought Bell School to the top ranking amongst 1588 schools in the district. [http://www.schools.tn.nic.in/DistSchools.asp?DCODE=29]

Infrastructure

Bell School has an extraordinary infrastructure for a school in a small city like Palayamkottai. A vast, lush 10 acre campus with open squares and long avenues, punctuated by lampposts and frequently changed banners welcome visitors. The impressive Black-Gold gates at the entrance weigh an amazing 770 kg and were custom-made, yet bear a striking resemblance to the popular gates of Buckingham Palace. A huge metal globe on top of the entrance signifies global peace that the institution spread during its popular Bellionize Interschool statelevel competitions.

The school has innovative Touchscreen Kiosks in the lobby for public, student and staff access. Photo Touchscreens allow students to view their photos from all events and activities and get them printed immediately. Montessori Touchscreens allow kids who had just been toddlers to use computers.

The school has complete wireless broadband internet in all its 75 state-of-the-art computers. The computer labs of Bell School are one of the institution's highlights. The modern labs are equivalent, or better than most laboratories in other educational institutions in the region.

Bell School has air-conditioned staff rooms and primary classrooms. All other classrooms have up to 4 fans and imported furniture. Separate laboratories for Botany, Zoology, Physics and Chemistry with well-stocked specimens, scientific instruments and displays create a conducive learning atmosphere.

Activities

Bell School has a lot of unique activities which are very different from other regional schools. Events like Domino Day are held similar to those held in the popular international event. In 2005, students stacked over 10,000 colourful wooden dominoes and toppled them in a continuous chain reaction. As the dominoes fell, various colourful patterns and designs emerged. The event in 2006 was shown on all the local TV channels. This event is probably the first of its kind performed by any Indian School.

Excelling students in sports including swimming and tennis have represented Bell School in many state-level tournaments. Of specific mention, Brightus Raj, a Bell School athlete has represented the state and won medals in the National Level Athletic meet in Allahabad in 2007.

Also popular among Bell Students are the numerous Trekking Trips to areas like Tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, assisted by trained professionals. Students are also frequently taken on trips to factories and field trips to places like ports, and government institutions with restricted access.

The School also has a wonderful marching band, an excellent swimming team and numerous other teams for Volleyball, Shuttle, Badminton, Tennis, Chess and Yoga.

Bell School has also begun organizing Eco Mini Marathons, an event focussed on creating environmental awareness by having hundreds of children run for a cause. Started in 1993 first, with over 100 children not running but rollerskating an 80 km course to Kanyakumari, the most recent mini marathon had nearly 800 children and 100 members of the public running a much smaller, 6 km course around Palayankottai city.

Celebrations

Regional Celebrations like Onam, Pongal, Kamaraj Day are celebrated. The school's internal celebrations include Sports Days, Founder's Days, Swimming and Skating Days and Annual Days. These celebrations have about 3000 people attending them on average.

International celebrations like Earth Days, Christmas, Father's Days are also celebrated grandly in Bell School. Farewell feasts for the graduating students are also given as a grand dinner with entertainment programmes by their juniors. Other celebrations include Children's Day, Independence Day and Republic Day.

Yearbooks and Newsletters

The school publishes an excellent Yearbook called Reminiscence annually. It is a hardbound book with about 100 colour pages and a mini CD which supplements the book with multimedia content. The school also produces colourful terminal newsletters highlighting the events and activities of every term.

External links

* [http://www.bell-school.com Bell School, Palayamkottai]