The parents, students and the staff of the 21 Indian Schools in Oman were enthralled to witness the Virtual Grand Finale of the second edition of the historic Inter School Quiz Competition ISQUIZ In the Senior Category, Joshua Shalom Armstrong of Indian School Muscat emerged as the winner of the Championship Trophy. The First Runner-Up position was secured by Chethan Sethu of Al Wadi Al Kabir while Aarav Rana of Indian School Muscat bagged the Second Runner- up position. The winners of all the categories shall receive certificates, Gift vouchers and Surprise gifts.2020 on Saturday, 10th October. 

Organized by Indian School Salalah, under the aegis of the Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman, the grand finale was hosted by the celebrated Quiz Master, Mr. Vinay Mudaliar. The virtual competition was conducted on Zoom platform with the live telecast made available for audience on YouTube.

In this second edition of IS Quiz, a total of 8158 students from the 21 Indian Schools competed across three categories – Senior, Junior and Sub Junior and four stages – two qualifying rounds, followed by the Mega Prelims and the Grand Finale.

Sixteen finalists from both senior and junior category had successfully accomplished the specific benchmarks of the Mega Prelims and reached the final stage of ISQUIZ 2020.

The celebrity Quiz Master, Mr. Vinay Mudaliar of Mindcogs, a prominent Quiz venture, ruled the stage with his innovative digital rounds and thought provoking questions. The four rounds of the finale had exciting digital names such as “Join the Meeting, Camera Switched on, Enable the Chat Box and Leave the Meeting’. The pro quiz master Mr. Mudaliar captivated the audience and left them spellbound with his high energy, wit, high quality content and his connect with the competitors. It was a hard fought fast-paced competition where the ultimate battle of the brains took place for lifting the prestigious championship trophy of Mega ISQUIZ 2020. 

After a nail biting neck to neck competition, the Winners of IS QUIZ 2020 were declared.

In the Junior Category, Hiba Malik of Indian School Bousher won the coveted BOD Ever-Rolling Trophy; Naren Karthick Padmanabhan of Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir secured the First Runner-Up position and Ashmi Raniga of Indian School Al Ghubra finished as the Second Runner-Up.

In the Senior Category, Joshua Shalom Armstrong of Indian School Muscat emerged as the winner of the Championship Trophy. The First Runner-Up position was secured by Chethan Sethu of Al Wadi Al Kabir while Aarav Rana of Indian School Muscat bagged the Second Runner- up position. The winners of all the categories shall receive certificates, Gift vouchers and Surprise gifts.

The winners of the daily quiz that appeared in the school website from 25th August to 24th September and the weekly quiz in the ISQUIZ space in Muscat Daily from 1st September to 29th September 2020, were declared to the audience through a video presentation.

To spread a positive vibe amidst this pandemic situation, the Department of Music, Indian School Salalah, mesmerized the audience with a melodious composition which inspired and motivated everyone to be united to overcome COVID 19.

The Grand Finale event commenced with a video presentation displaying the glimpses of the journey of ISQUIZ 2020. It was followed by the welcome address by Dr. Syed Ashan Jamil, the President of School Management Committee, Indian School Salalah. In his addresshe appreciated Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman for taking up the initiation to conceive, design and implement ISQUIZ 2020 in the digital form. He also emphasized on ‘Educare’, the vision of the Indian school Salalah, with a legacy of 39 years. ‘Educare’, is where every student is taken care of and believes that all the students have their own core values. He called the digital ISQUIZ 2020 as a mini revolution during the pandemic.

In his introductory message, Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman, accentuated that love and thirst for knowledge is beyond age or situation. He said that Knowledge can improve life experience and vice versa and that true power comes with the application of knowledge. He highlighted that ISQUIZ 2020 is one among the many initiatives of the Board and the aim is to give the students 360 degrees of education in different styles and modes of learning.

The Chief Guest of the day His Excellency Shri. Manu Mahawar, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman officially inaugurated the grand finale of ISQUIZ 2020. In his inaugural address, he expressed his happiness to join this event as it was the first school event that he was attending in the Covid phase. He noted that Covid-19 has forced everyone to face tremendous challenges and added that it was necessary for all to adjust and adapt according to the unprecedented situation. He emphasized that the entire Embassy team has tried their best to render their service to the Indian community along with the help from the social workers. He commented on the functioning of the Indian School system and appreciated the Board of Directors, Teachers and the students for their initiative to switch on to the new online system of education and to continue with it smoothly. He appreciated all the finalists of ISQUIZ 2020.

The mega sponsor of the event ISQUIZ 2020, Noor Gazal and the media partner Muscat Daily along with the co-sponsors were felicitated for their generous support and encouragement.

On behalf of the host school and the Board of Directors, Mr. Deepak Patankar, Principal, Indian School Salalah proposed the vote of thanks. He in his speech appreciated Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in Oman for encouraging the holistic development of the students. He thanked the sponsors for their generosity to make the event successful. He also appreciated and thanked all who worked from day one for the smooth conducting of the event.

Promising to provide exciting events in the future, the compering team Mr. Binoy CA and Mrs Renu Jethin, faculties, Department of English, Indian school Salalah signed off and thus marked the end of the Second Edition of ISQUIZ 2020 in its ‘Digital Avataar’.