Sunday, February 20, 2011

Parents-Teachers Meet for Students’ Progress


Dear Parents,

Namaste and Jay Swaminarayan,

A learning and progressive academic year for all of us is about to end soon. It has been a wonderful year so far and the children of Atmiya Vidya Mandir have learnt in leaps and bounds from all areas of life. Since the next two months are academically important for the children we would like to invite parent’s to come and discuss in person the progress of our child and together with teachers motivate them to perform even better. 

Kindly note the date and time of the schedule below:

 
These meetings will provide general updates and there may be an opportunity to discuss specific queries too, so your presence is highly sought on these days.

We look forward to meeting with you and discussing with you about our child’s progress.

With thanks and best regards,
Lata Shah
Principal

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

AVM’s Sparklers made the day brighter……

He loves…, He cares…, He guides…, He inspires…

The divine grace of the president founder of our school H.D.H P.P Hariprasad Swamiji has indeed blessed us with a feeling of honour and adoration to be at the helm of affairs of unending celebration in Atmiya Vidya Mandir. With His grace and guidance, the school has shown a quantum leap since it began its journey. The philosophy of the school is in sync with its motto “Dedicated To The Divinity In Every Child” propounding to respect their unique individual entity adorned with matchless worth and integrity.

In order to promote and prune the inherent talent of each child, all the members of Atmiya Vidya Mandir assembled to commemorate the maiden stride of student-Houses through various activities. This thought-thread runs across the students, academicians and staff community bringing them together and constantly motivating them to acquire a cutting edge. In order to further promote and flicker the glittering blaze, the closing ceremony of this academic session was held on 12th of Feb 2011. 
Dazzling dance

The curtain was raised as the stage bathed in rich tones of white and blues. The piece titled teamwork, commitment, loyalty and ….. 'The endeavor continues…..'- phrases penned specially for the occasion and creatively designed.

The welcome dance was an electrifying performance by the following vibrant and vivacious students from Std VI to X.
Umang Mistry (Std 6)
Manhil Borana (Std 7)
Prashant Gupta (Std 7)
Krutarth Rangunwala (Std 7)
Sumit Chaudhari (Std 7)
Jill Patel (Std 7)
Harshill Soni (Std 8)
Bhavik Parekh (Std 8)
Yash Dandawala (Std 8)
Vishesh Mistry (Std 8)
Tanmay Patel (Std 8)
Sonak Patel (Std 8)
Raj G Patel (Std 8)
Sunny Patel (Std 9)
Mishal Kansara (Std 9)
Smeet Bhatt (Std 9)
Vinay Rathi (Std 9)
Akshay Patel (Std 9)
Bhavik Patel (Std 10)
Raj V Patel (Std 10)
Aditya Patel (Std 10)

The dancers translated the moments into dance format divulging the core value ‘sportsmanship’. Starting with a beautiful duet, marked with sweeping lifts to flow into a pulsating piece as more dancers pour in to fill up the stage. A fast paced high-octane dance ensued large dynamic percussive movements, gravity defying lifts, turns, jumps and tumbles were the signature of this piece - symbolic of the core value – commitment.

The final climb performance kept everybody on the edge of his seats. Dancers garbed in pristine white open the piece to finally usher in with resistance...A large metal ring suspended from the top, spins and swings around the stage, creating an ethereal effect. As the dancers performed in this spinning contraption, their bodies folded, unfolded, contorted to take on new and beautiful forms. A breath taking, dare devil performance that says "I can, I will".
Each act was an aesthetic delight, high in skill, with supporting props, hats off to Suharadam (Montu Sir) and these swiftly, highly energetic boys of AVM.

The distinguished guests of the evening were Mrs Smita Patkar, an educationist from Mumbai and her husband along with respected Harish Sir and respected Trustee Natu Da. The guests lit the holy lamp and offered flowers onto the Lord’s feet on behalf of AVM family for the smooth flow of the event.

It was followed by Pranshu Savani (Std 9) and Sahishnu Patel (Std 10) carrying the audience with their scintillating anchoring and occasional remarks bursting with ultimate wit and humour. The duo raised the pulse of the event and kept the audience spell bound. Throughout the program, they brought in their best, displaying flair and grace.

Principal’s address

The program began with Principal Swayam Mam’s address. She applauded the untiring efforts of conveners and teachers of different Student Houses. She also congratulated the students for flourishing with their inherent talent through various house activities throughout the year.

Academic Winner House

Above all, the inter house competition and creative assemblies rendered development of a strong bonding of mutual love and respect among the teachers and the students which in turn creates magic in the class room: and the one who bagged the winner trophy for Academic Excellence with such magic wand is Suhradam House.

A Sweeping Account of the learning Extravaganza
The school vice head boy Yash Pachhigar and Suhradam House Captain Abhishek Panchal took us down the memory lane on how AVM fared competed and won in the world of Academics, Culture and Sports. The backdrop screen on the projector displayed the reminiscence in digital form. They talked about different activities, enumerated briefly the events and the outcomes of the year.

Once again Pranshu and Sahishnu, the hosts of the show amused the audience with their hilarious style yet sensible comments. It was the time to pinch the pang on physical ground, Satyam house with its invincible sportsmanship and physical agility took away the trophy of winning house for sports events. Satyam House convener Paras Sir was greeted with thousand smiles for this amazing prize.

The exciting proceedings started with conveners of all four student house arriving on the stage to share their experiences with their house members. They gave a boost to the event when each one of them took over as the main anchor of the event. Paras Sir humbled at the contribution of each of Satyam House members whereas Saumya Mam considered the members of Shivam House as a team of competent workers. Tarun Sir spoke about how Sundaram house lives its slogan ‘United Hearts And Unbeatable Spirit’. The Suhradam House Convener Prabhudarshan Sir stated his house motto 'One For All and All For One.' as his house members showed amazing joy to be in a house 'Where Diversity Is A Celebration'.“We are the world”
It was time for an eccentric bunch of budding singers to take over stage, the school choir group flocked to ‘We are the children, we are the world’, as Meherzan Turel (Std 8), Deval Patel (Std 10), Samyak Varia (Std 10) set in acoustic vibes, a musical performance that focused on softer music, seemed keenly jubilant and melodious. The ambience of the location, the stunning stage gave the event an added attraction. Thanks to all Didis and Samarthya Mam. The magical melodious voice of Meherzan took everyone in trance. Soon the music teacher, Somnath Sir joined, performing close-harmony arrangements with razored precision and swapping the leads between singers with nicely contrasting vocal sounds, from impassioned falsetto (arranger Ronak Mistry of Std 8) to soulful bass (Sawai Rathi of Std 9). An unironic cover with funky groove supplied by Somnath Sir and his students. Everyone was just carried away by them!

Display Board Winner House

In order to develop and encourage the skills of visualization, investigation and representation of concepts, the display board secures a major part. The display board activities were aimed at strengthening the atmosphere of cohesiveness & free-flow expression and to have fun at the same time. This prize was bagged by Sundaram House.

Best Creative Assembly

Here came the time to hold on the breath! Everybody was eager to find to be at the top for making the most spectacular shows! Values, music, dialogues, concept, script, costume, backdrop, theme and so on…. the category that intrigued and fascinated everybody. The best creative assembly award was taken by Sundaram House.
Certificate distribution

It was then, the time to appreciate and applaud the contribution, coordination and cooperation of the members of the Students’ Council. All the members of the students’ council were given certificates of appreciation for being the interface between the students and the administration as they shouldered their assigned responsibility superbly. This group of members represented the interests of the students and participated in all meetings discussing to identify and address concerns that affect the students directly and indirectly. Following list shows the names of the students received the certificates:
School Head Boy:  Sarthak Jariwala
Vice Head Boy:  Yash Pachchigar
Sports Captain:  Vikas Patel
Satyam House Captain:  Abhishek Patel
Satyam House Vice Captain:  Harsh Sarda
Shivam House Captain:  Darshit Patel
Shivam House Vice Captain:  Vishesh Mistry
Sundaram House Captain:  Sunny Patel
Sundaram House Vice Captain:  Ravi Patel
Suhradam House Captain:  Abhishek Panchal
Suhradam House Vice Captain:  Nishit Banka

Over all Winner House

With the start of every session, the busy and hectic schedule, classes, activities, exams and functions each have their own charms, anxiety and frolic. But still there is something that every house looked forward to…The Winner House of The Session. The beam of laughter, the splash of speculation, the high talks of hard work and appreciation and criticisms and then the final countdown began for the most awaited announcement of the d-day. The phonemes SSSS… and MMMMM….. seemed to rumble and resonated the hall, some anticipated and some just presume the another ……

Suhradam House perks up
It was noticeable that there was a fierce competition with the other houses that motivated “Team Suhradam” to perform extremely well both on and off the field. With their competitive spirit unleashed, they were really a team to reckon with as they went on to win competition after competition, and ended the academic year with a flourish by winning the coveted “Trophy” for the best house for overall performance for the year.

Talking about the win moments, after the event, would seem unbelievable to Abhishek Panchal, the Suharadam House captain as, he had a look of disbelief on his face as the triumph settled in and he took his time to describe the win.

In her speech, the chief guest Smt. Smitaben regarded the AVM family members the most fortunate for living in scenic and serene surroundings of pious vibrations in the school premises. She also revealed the fact that AVM is in the front page of Swamiji’s diary.

The excitement and enthusiasm seemed to defuse with the racing needles of the watch as it shrunk the belly craving for lunch. Soon, the programme came to an end with the acknowledgement and applause by Rupashree Mam for the untiring efforts of teachers, students and staff who have contributed significantly to portray the essence of being able to soar new heights, scale new skies and participate in various activities. Though the fervor was over and the tempo was doused with the end of the programme yet the celebration and joy continues……..

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder!

Amazing photography taken by students of Classes 8 and 9! Please click on the slideshow to view the gallery.



Inspired by: Manish Sir

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Thou Shall Be Pleased, I Owe My Existence to you Lord!.... Suhradam House

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

A student may be exceptionally brilliant, hardworking and focused but without the divine grace, things wouldn’t work for him or for any body. Today what others call as good luck or bad luck is what I call as Grace! In fact this is the simple yet profound fact conveyed by Suhradam House.

It was the most memorable assembly hosted by Suhradam House with a detailed perspective of ‘Devotion’- one that might relate to human love and care for the Guru or God, or affection and faith, or something stretched to the limits of fidelity.

A stimulating start of Suhradam House assemblies was witnessed with an out-of-the-box theme on Monday. Parth Amipara of VIII A, through his speech shared his views with the students that Devotion is the ladder that climbs to God. The first step, he said, of devotion is to call upon the God in times of need. Our next step is when our faith begins to grow, with every prayer answered. Then a feeling of attachment comes and at other times, a feeling of confusion, when things go His way and not ours. Our next step is we bond in love with Him and God becomes our source of comfort.

On Tuesday, in his speech, the Suhradam House Convener, Prabhudarshan Sir elucidated that we should give due consideration to anything we have a feeling for and feel a certain devotion toward. If, after exploring the situation carefully, we find it to be good and that it serves our purpose and the purpose of life, then and only then should we become devoted to that particular pursuit. He shared a wonderful thought saying If we stay faithful to God, then He will ultimately take care of any other problems that we may face.

On Wednesday, Suhradam House celebrated the Poshi Poonam marked as the Diksha Din of Gunatitanand Swamiji. The students depicted devotion for God and Gunatitanand Swami, reflecting a rare combination of poetic and devotional flair. P. P. Kothari Swamiji graced the occasion with His significant presence in the assembly. He addressed the assembly and spoke about the splendor and majesty of Gunatit. “It is His strength which binds the electrons and protons in an atom, it is His strength that gives taste to fruit, it is His strength that prevails in all the living and non living things” explained P.P. Kothari Swamiji.

On Thursday and Friday assemblies, Aneesh Sharma (Class 10) and Parikshit Patel (Class 8A) presented a detailed explanation of different ways of getting linked with God. They talked about nine different forms of devotion also commonly known as Navdha Bhakti.

Listening (shravana): Listening to devotional songs, recitations, scriptures and the life stories of saints and devotees can arouse feelings of devotion and love in the listeners.

Chanting (kirtana): Praising the Divine in various aspects by singing simple songs which are either stories, prayers, divine names or mantras. This is a way of joyfully keeping concentrated on the Divine through music.

Remembrance (smarana): Smarana means to constantly think of the Divine by either recalling the glories and leelas (stories) of the Divine or by constantly repeating the Divine names in a process called japa.

Service at the feet (pada sevana): Worshipping the feet can be a part of the ceremonial worship of a living teacher (guru) or it can also be meant as a symbol of surrender to the guru. The latter has traditionally been outwardly expressed by bowing and/or touching the guru’s feet.

Ritualistic worship (archana): This is the sincere performance of the various prescribed devotional rites.

Prostration (vandana): This stage describes an attitude of surrender towards the Divine, it can be seen as a physical action or exercise meant to lead to the inner attitude of surrender.

Servant attitude (daasya): This is the stage where the devotee does every act out of service to the Lord.

Friendship (sakhya): Sakhya describes a very intimate, close state of association with God as the result of long, sincere devotional practice.

Self-offering (atma-nivedana): This is a stage of complete surrender, where the devotee worships and loves God without any thought of reward or personal gain.



Saturday Creative Assembly: When God Descended………

Devotion took a completely different meaning in the creative assembly in form of dance drama, a group dance by eminent dancers of Suhradam House who portrayed the theme of devotion in a contemporary context, offering the viewers an aesthetic panorama of expressions that resonate around the concepts ranging from bhakti, loyalty to dedication and commitment that bring together faith, fact and fantasy.

Clad in pink and bright coloured costume, barefoot student-dancers filled the stage with graceful and delicate movements. The styled multimedia multiformed dance drama on the “forms of devotion” with a sterling performance kept the audience enthralled. Dhwijesh Vankawala, sophisticated in his footwork, who played the role of the Lord, had flamboyant costume with extensive jewels, a shimmering blue, complimented him godly beauty, as he commenced his magic with a calm posture.

Each form of dance had a specific depiction of form of Bhakti or devotion. Colourful costumes, synchronised moves and riveting stagecraft - glided on to the stage the enthusiastic students and hearts skipped a beat or two. As the students began their performance, unleashing moves and various avatars, rapture and exhilaration sprung forth from them…they were just stunning!!!!
"It was a voyage into mythology in all its glory. Their rendition was deep with emotions of love and devotion for the Lord. If you watched closely, it had the power of evoking similar feelings within you." said a member of Sundaram House.

The student dancers were very focused on gestures, postures, and expressions. They burst with verve and vitality. As the dancers performed, several students instantly joined them, crooning the songs, a few mumbled and the rest orchestrated it with their claps.

One of the teachers hastily flipped off his mobile as his students nudge him signaling the start of a dance show on stage. For the next 30 minutes, the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir sat spellbound, occasionally craning their necks to get a better view of the dancers.

It was a fusion of all forms of devotional offerings to the Lord, choreographed by Respected Suhradam (Montu) Sir and Shreejichintan Mam and conceptualized by Shreejichintan Mam and the Suhradam House team members.

“Dance, music and backdrops are perfectly fused into a whole, which forms a very excellent fusion of best dance forms as a whole. This is distinguishing feature of this assembly of Suhradam House.” said one of the teachers. “The performance is overwhelmingly touching!” said the Principal Swayam Madam.

The participating students were Mishal Kansara, Piyush Sarda, Harsh Ambaliya and Akshay Patel from Class 9; Yash Dandawala, Parth Amipara, Nishit Banka, Lalit Desai and Ronak Mistry from Class 8; Prashant Gupta, Chaitanya Patel, Krutarth Rangunwala, Deep Chamaria from Class 7; Vaishvik B Patel, Amit Choudhary, Diven Patel, Vishal Patel from Class 6; Madhav Ladha, Niramay Joshi and Yogin Patel from Class 5.

Thus, the direct message of Suhradam House Week was: “Devotion does not mean being confined to a religion. It is an attitude, a way of life assuring growth through unshakable devotion to God.”

The creative assembly was of its kind titled as ‘a Devotional life is a blessing of God’. Bhakti bhagvan ni den chhe…… Devotion allows us to be prepared for life.

Friday, February 4, 2011

The sun fails to reach where these Class 6 students reach!


Heart touching Hindi poems from Class 6 wonders...

Please click on the images below to have an enlarged view.

Amit (Std 6A): Mera Bhai

Darshan (Std 6A): Mera Desh

Parth (Std 6A): Suraj Nikla
Inspired by: Mukesh Sir

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Ceremonial grandeur marks Republic Day celebrations at AVM

“He should be the one who is proud of the place he lives in and he lives such a way so that his place will be proud of him”.

Guided by this motto, the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir are being trained earnestly in all fields of life so that they are physically robust, mentally agile and emotionally composed to serve their family as well as country. One fine example of such an effort was the Republic Day celebration on 26th January.

The R-day acquired the status of a special celebration as all members of Atmiya Vidya Mandir family participated whole-heartedly being spectators as well participants. The celebrational mosaic was studded with lots of activities. Though the flag hoisting and parade were the main ceremonies, various activities spill over the football ground of the school from early morning when students, teachers and house masters, Didis were gathered to witness the programme.

The ceremonial grandeur of the occasion started with Pujan of Thakorji, by the dignitaries and distinguished guests of the occasion. The flag was hoisted by the chief guest of the function Mr.Vasant Bhai a renowned industrialist of Surat, soon after the national song Vande Mataram was sung by everybody. Pomp and gaiety marked the occasion as he unfurled the National Flag. In his address, the Chief Guest remarked that the discipline and organizational skills of Atmiya Vidya Mandir are ‘at the top’. He also spoke about the fact that the school premises bears an amazing aura of irresistible positive vibrations. Children saluted the national flag and renewed their pledge to be loyal to their country family and country and make India a developed nation.

Soon, a sprightly parade and a colorful collage of cultural events marked the Republic Day celebrations. In the march past parade, the students of four different houses were marching in unison. The parade was succeeded by flag drill by the tiny tots which was an enchanting programme. The small hands, holding the replica tri-colour small flags in their hands and moving their body rhythematically, were well tuned with the live music. It was followed by hoop drills and dumb bells drill by different group of students. The swiftness, synchronization and various movements tuned with music were spectacular. Yathansh Joshi of Std V presented an impressive speech where he shared how being students and mere children they can contribute in making tomorrow’s world a better place. “Having achieved our freedom in total, it is essential for us to uphold its glory. True freedom means respecting the rights of other citizens as well,” he added.


Renuka Madam, Niramay from Std II, Niharika Mam, Parth Amipara and Harshil from Std VIII handled the announcement of various programmes. The lazium and dumble drill were appreciated by all those present. Gymnastics show by the students of Std VI to X added the purple flavour to the celebrations. The various physical exercises and drills assured and confirmed the fact that students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir are not only spiritually and mentally balanced and well tuned but also they possess energetic, sturdy and healthy body. The traditional predominates along with a touch of modernity reflected in the display of physical exercises.

The hearts of everyone present, were actually stolen by the cyclists champs of Std X, who presented a well rehearsed and synchronized show on wheels.

Republic Day gradually acquired the celebrational status as that of the national festival. The celebration was amazing, total and participatory, children took part in a big way. Variations in culture were displayed through colourful attires and moving exhibitions. A huge applause was heard for all the tableau, which presented the “Cultural and Religious Harmony” of the various Indian festival against the backdrop of the live performance by the students corresponding to the moving exhibitions. The tableaux were predominated by cultural motifs with a touch of the local highlights the identity of the area. The celebration is thus a homage to the culture diversity, the regional significance and the nation that is a true republic and imposes nothing.

The School Principal Swayam Madam, in her speech, stated that Republic Day is not just about celebrations, it is about renewing our commitments and the promises that we made to our motherland. It is also about enlightening our young generation about the sacrifices made by the brave and valiant martyrs during the freedom struggle. It is a solemn day to rededicate ourselves. The patriotic fervour was in full zeal when Pranav Sir sang a patriotic song in his melodious voice.

The teachers, students and all viewers were spell bound, astounded and rather carried away by the daredevil act of some students who proved their well tuned and well balanced mental and physical status. They courageously jumped through the rings of fire and even rode a bicycle through the burning ring. It was a breath taking performance. The safety measures and keen practice by Shekhar Sir was highly appreciable. These presumptuously daring acts of students indirectly conveyed that they have fearless attitude to meet any kind of challenge. Being under such guidance and schooling, they would be the trailblazers and trendsetters of tomorrow’s world as having been blessed with this vision of His Divine Holiness P.P Hariprasad Swamiji.

The students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir once again proved their mettle. The celebrations came to an end with a huge round of applause for all the participants. Thus it was a graceful and interesting programme by this group of young and enthusiastic students taken in the open air with a picturesque background with an imposing slogan “The Constitution With Atmiyata Lasts Forever”.