Tips

Back to school!

Before you know it, the summer holiday has come and gone, taking with it the lazy afternoons and lots of fun. It's time for the schools to reopen and for the children to head back to the regular routines of classes, tutors and extracurricular activities. And, it's time for parents to prepare themselves and the children for the upcoming scholastic year, mentally, physically and armed with all the required provisions.

Vacation means lax rules, no bedtime curfews, late night television and waking up late into the morning. With the starting of school days, children naturally find it difficult to adjust with the early mornings once again. So it would be better to keep this in mind and start adjusting bedtimes with the class routines, at least a week before school actually reopens. Late night television watching should be brought to a minimum, and children should be off to bed at a time which will allow them to have full eight hours of sound sleep and wake up early, feeling invigorated and ready to hit school with loads of energy!

With at least a week still in hand before school reopens, you should take stock of the school essentials. Chalk up a checklist with the names of all the items to be acquired, ticking off each item as you go on obtaining them. This will help you make sure you don't bite your tongue later when you suddenly remember something is missing.

Remember to pick the uniform from the tailor's place at least 4 to 5 days before the first school day, so that the school-goer can make sure it fits properly and, if needed, send it back to the tailor for alterations. The uniform should be washed and ironed and fully ready on the night before school. Properly fitted shoes and clean socks are mandatory accompaniments. Shoes should be polished and kept close at hand, so that early morning frenzy can be avoided.

New school bags, tiffin boxes and water carriers are incentives for children that make them look forward to school. Nowadays, attractive and unique book-bags for kids of all ages are available within reasonable prices. Check out the shops in Elephant Road, Gulshan 1 market and New Market for eye-catching bags, tiffin boxes and water flasks in a variety of designs.

Stationaries are an indispensable part of school-life. Remember to purchase the prescribed textbooks in the booklist at least a week before classes start, so that your child can skim through them and gain an idea about the lessons to be learnt. Books and notebooks should be bound with brown paper to give them a formal look, while smart name stickers can be added for a touch of colour, but make sure they are not too jazzy or striking!

Having said all that, it's about time you get that checklist ready and get your busy school-goer prepared for the end of a long lazy vacation and the beginning of an active scholastic term. Be the cool parent that you are, and head your child towards a smooth beginning to a brand new term!

By Wasia Mehnaz

News flash

A cup of goodness

Kazi & Kazi Tea has recently introduced an international standard pack of their 100 percent organic tea. Grown in a single estate in Panchagarh, it is the first Bangladeshi tea brand to be internationally recognised as Organic by SGS and USDA certifications. The sublime flavour, wealth of natural antioxidants, and that special aroma are Kazi's gifts for those who cherish a sip.

Exhibition

Subconscious Coincidence-work of seven artists

In the mystical kingdom of art, shades shape the insignia. The subconscious faculty of symbols and hues, and their coincidence signify the work of an artist in their own singular way. In a search to unveil the ultimate and unaffected aesthetic truth, seven young artists are presenting their work at Drik Gallery under the broad banner of 'Subconscious Coincidence'.

Professor Rafiqun Nabi, Dept. of Drawing and Painting, Institute of Fine Art, University of Dhaka inaugurated the programme. He shared with the audience his conviction that “the ideas of the artist take the form of different images and when art is finally formed it is easily distinguishable from the individual artist.” “An artist is not marked by gender but rather by his/her work,” he added.

Overall, the inaugural ceremony was an evening of congregation of very many creative minds, artists and connoisseurs.

The seven artists- Silvia Nazneen, Farjana Ahmed Santa, Nazneen Zobaida, Rudaba Mohsin, Shimu Roy, Farhana Ferdausi and Mehreen Zaman Khaled- perhaps coincidentally took an interest in answering the same queries that instigate an artist to create. What to do in the fastest growing world of communication, baffled every now and then by the apprehension of deepest subconscious streams of human behaviour? Where will art posit itself in a finance-struck globein coincidence or in the subconscious mind, or along the misty borderline of the two states? The painters clearly set out to answer all these through their work in a meaningful attempt to define the apparent meaningless.

The exhibition will continue till 10 August 08, at Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi.

By Fatima Tuz Zahra