Atmiya Vidya Mandir: April 2011

Sunday, April 17, 2011

AVM Turned into a Fantasy Land!

Powerful, invigorating and enduring learning experience seldom takes place without getting out of one's comfort zone. Considering this the need of the time, the post exam phase was all set to give a different experience to the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir strengthening their team work ability and coordination.

The three day adventure camp in the school proved to be an exciting and a unique learning opportunity for the kids to indulge in education, fun and adventure while further developing their personality. This adventurous camp was organized hiring expertise from Edufit Company which is well-known to conduct various adventure activities under the supervision of experts and professionals.

Fun, frolic and a lot of excitement coupled with ascending daring level among the students to drive away the phobia for many risky yet thrilling tasks. Students of Std VI to X were relishing their leisure in an adventurous way by taking part in rock climbing, river crossing, net crawling, pitching tents, body balancing, Commando net and many other dares.

Enjoying the activities after finishing their exams, this camp also helped the students to test their physical abilities to cope with adverse situation as it emphasized the need of being fit and active all the time.

Leveraging on this extensive experience, this adventurous carnival put forth many exhilarating activities (for the students) which were organized under the supervision of experts and were meant to provide great adrenaline rush to the participants. These activities were organized in compliance with the different age groups amongst students.

These Group Activities proved to be great for educating students about team work and build up trust upon the other members of the team. These activities were also apt for enjoying a feeling of togetherness with peers, teachers and house masters. Students tried throughout the camping time to update their managerial skill smeared with a gala and fun-filled time of their lives.

The centre of the attraction was the Zipline activity. This consists of ropes tied at two ends and a glider that goes from one end to another. It provides a feeling of flying to the rider, who is harnessed to the glide with the help of sturdy and safe equipment. Another activity was climbing the Alpine Towers that comprised of a 50 foot high structure (set up along the new school building). The contraption consists of platforms, logs, nets and suspended ropes. The students were to utilize varied challenging pathways up to the platform at the top.

The camp was intended to provide basic activities such as keep checklist, building tents, camping preparation, safety tips and some frequently asked queries regarding camping and above all managing in odd and unfavourable situations and preparing oneself to embrace the hardships and challenges with confidence. On the last day, a snake-show was organized where the snake charmer was called in to make the students aware about myths and facts about snake bite.

Thus the school designed a safe environment in natural settings where experimentation and exploration was encouraged and there were no failures but only mistakes to learn from.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Amazing Art Mela at AVM

Pampering their creativity and tapping into their inner artist, the recent Art and Craft Fair at Atmiya Vidya Mandir was a real treat to fondle students’ inclination towards drawing, painting, moulding, colouring and craft. Experts from Pidilite industries, who have excelled in the field of art and craft, were invited to organize a workshop for the students of classes 1 to 6. In this Art Fair, there was something for everyone, delivering more than just art, reason to celebrate childhood at fullest; with a whiff of summer and monsoon in the air, the buzz of nature’s colours just flourishing. With the countdown of summer holidays and amidst all this excitement the Art Fair gave one more reason to rejoice their senses. An essence of all the creativity and imagination was on the move in the Art fair.

Art fair for the children of primary classes focussed on colouring activities. This steadies the hand and helps them cultivate their imagination. They loved doing the rainbow, clouds and also attempted to draw vague creations. During this Art Fair, even monochromatic scribbles on a piece of paper gave the kids a sense of accomplishment, because they’d created something that wasn’t there before. And as they progressed towards using multiple colours and forming recognizable shapes, they gained even more confidence.

Students of Std I, II and III were trained extending their imagination and creating creatures with their thumb impression. The vegetable print making encouraged them to develop liking for vegetables and learning to cut them in various pattern to learn vegetable print making. They loved making finger puppets by assembling small handy things.

Exposing them to the Modern Art, students of Std IV, V and VI were taught the technique of mosaic painting. Tickling their creative skills, they learnt to make photo frame to gift their dear and near ones. Tampering their artistic fervour for painting, students were also trained to glass painting where they were to design and paint on the engravings showing their stunning clarity and choice of colours.

Expressing his joy on this workshop, the Art teacher Manish Sir told, “Passion, energy, intelligence and creativity” of students for art is on work. Crafts offer children the opportunity to express themselves in two- and three-dimensional ways. Students can develop vital problem-solving skills without having to rely on areas of expression that may be more challenging”. The painter, artist and gifted teacher Manoj Sir said, “Creative projects offer these students the freedom to show what they know without the constraints of printed text”.

Thus, the Art Fair consisting of a thematic variety brought out the sheer brilliance and unmatchable imagination of each student.

Friday, April 8, 2011

The tiny-tots’ prayer echoed in the holy abode

They moved like the breeze blowing rapturously laden with enticing scent in the fists of the weather,

They scrambled like butterflies on fragrant flowers, like the buds pestering to blossom,

They sang like the exuberant river spumes froth rendering the dulcet melody of the immortal song of life…

They are our dearest children, our precious pearls from Std I and II, who adorned the prayer hall stage with their gripping performance. It was a glorious spring day made to order….the Satyam house members trained these tiny tots to display the power of prayer. It was a part of extracurricular activities serving the very purpose of channelizing the bursting energy and gifted qualities of these children. “We figure out if our child is shy, extrovert, boisterous or artistic. Then give him various options that complement his interest and temperament,” said Sharmil Mam, the Satyam House Convener (Junior Section).

The programme was loaded with exciting skits, song and dance performances by the students of I and II Std, which captured the hearts of the audience. These tiny tots were trained to perform brilliantly, giving a colourful ambience by their dedicated teachers and didis, who had strived hard to train them.

This memorable morning’s proceedings commenced with a willful prayer sung by these children “O Lord teach me to be kind…” It was followed by an action song “All things bright and beautiful” The innocent children attired in saffron and red, illuminated the stage while the audience watched them with rapt attention. The dazzling display of talent by these children was amazing to watch with their spectacular performances. Their innate inherent spontaneity of expression and the confidence kindled by Satyam House members was beyond comparison.

Then, the curtain rose to reveal the "dance skit" with a backdrop setting of the holy palace of the God as the play entitled "Heavenly Abode" began. Students dressed in celestial costumes depicted the happenings and procedure of Heaven where there are different sections handled by many angels to receiving prayers and delivering blessings. But the most highlighted part of the performance, which was also the message of the skit, conveyed the need of developing the sense of gratitude towards the received blessings. These children through this skit enkindled in the audience the sense of gratitude towards the God and the need to acknowledge His unconditional love. They presented beautifully How to pray and what to pray. The message conveyed by these children was to thank the almighty for His love, to express gratitude for the everyday miracles that occur that we often take for granted and to be grateful for the power of choice. This skit was a sort of fairy tale fiesta, and icing on the cake was the final burlesque performance of children playing the arch angels.

Finally they waved at the audience with their lovely and enchanting singing "Teri hai Zami…Tera Aasma….Tu bada meherban...”. The message conveyed by means of dance, skits and enactments synchronized so beautifully showed the outstanding caliber of the small students. The audience watching was surely in a quandary as each child seemed to outdo the other. The applause they received was deafening and they did deserve it.

The very presence of respected Vijay Sir and Ashish Sir made the moments of the programme special as they were present to witness the bubbling enthusiasm of these tiny tots. It was amazing to see the creativity displayed by these small students in their efforts to perform as per the guidance of the teachers. When complimented for their support, the teachers from Satyam House expressed happiness for being involved in the event. Many of them said, they were re-living their own childhood through these kids! Our youngest student, six-year old Aaryan from Std I, also was not far behind in the dance and skit, he came dressed as arch angels, with crown and star- headed-magical wand and a cute little outfit. Though he could not understand what all the fuss was about, he enjoyed prancing around, lapping up all the attention he was getting.

It was a performance par excellence. The senior students were caught up working merrily with their tall presence to help these small kids to perform with a backdrop of ongoing presentation through projector, the confidence and enthusiasm of these children was infectious which made their face luminous. On this day, the morning sun did not seem brighter than the dazzling and sparkling light in the eyes of these enthusiastic kids.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The spell-binding success of World Spelling Day

They spelled it right!!! “W-E- A-R-E W-I-N-N-E-R-S”

Worldwide marathon of spellers on the screen, top global competition for spelling spelled success for AVM students. Battled neck to neck for several rounds until student contestants of Atmiya Vidya Mandir finally pulled out the win in the online world wide competition of spellings held on 2nd and 3rd March 2011. This competition offered one of the Internet's largest collections of quizzes for the students to create the spelling mania and charm to master the word list. The success and participation of World Spelling Day can be gauged from the fact that AVM students have participated in Spell Bee competitions at school and state level previously.

But it’s not all about the competition, as the English department of Atmiya Vidya Mandir believes in inculcating a competitive spirit amongst the students to employ their learning efficiency at their level best. Students not only made sincere efforts to secure the first position but also enjoyed the game finding it an amazing experience to practice a fine combination of listening, identifying the word and typing the correct spelling rather fast.

The tiny tots participated too, the junior kids tugged at the mouse, shifted anxiously in their chairs, looked carefully on the computer screen, when searching for the right letters, and some even took a moment to use their fingers to feign (that was a contest word too) tracing the letters on their key board. All the while, English teachers on duty, attentively and proudly observed them.

Talking about the crowning glory of Dickinson team consisting of the participants from Std X and XI , “they have spear-headed the bee” said Paras Sir for Sahishnu, Ghanshyam Dabhi and Samyak Varia who were major players in heading the race of being at the top. “Spellers tackled tough words on way to final win and it’s all Swamiji’s blessings” added Chirag Sir, who toiled hard and supported the students invariably to lead the contest. Getting the right spelling wouldn’t be important enough to warrant competition which was fought tooth and nail among thousands of participants across the world. “Spelling Bee contests not only contribute to hone our student’s listening skills and vocabulary but also train them to unscramble the scribbled web of letters” said an overwhelmed English teacher Renuka Mam.

It was an anxious wait from the moment when they finished their last game on Thursday (3rd March 2011) afternoon until the competition closed on Friday morning, with teachers and students waiting with baited breath as the timer counted down the final seconds. When it was finally certain that we had secured amazing and incredible positions over the participants of various age group, the sound that came from the computer labs can only be described euphoric.

The competition lasted for 48 hours, and included competitors from all age group who are in grades 1 through 12. It took ten rounds to arrive at a champion. The first round took almost two hours to whittle down over 100 contestants to 35 for the second round. Almost more than 2000 words were spelled - or misspelled - during the competition. But finally, much assured by Swamiji’s presence in the campus and His blessings the AVM spellers created histoy.

Here is the hall of fame:

Group Ranks

Individual Ranks