Being blessed by Him to be better

It was the eventful month of February and the so called examination mammoth was inching closer……the students and the teachers were feeling nipped; Occasionally, the pursuit of targets left the minds weary and the fatigue engulfed these mortal forms,… as if passivity was hovering over for its prey: consequently, a growing urge for a divine help was apparent from the swelling visitors to the altar at school’s prayer hall….hurrah !!!! The prayers were answered!!! His Divine Holiness Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji Maharaj arrived at AVM, His very glimpse was like a sight of an oasis by the parched travellers, there were delighted faces and elated hearts, the joy was unfathomable as the students, the teachers and the entire AVM family and everything around here.. took on a bright sheen as if rejuvenated and imbued with happiness by His presence.

His boundless love for the students called for an assembly (Sabha) which was held in the school prayer hall on 25th February 2014. The hall was brimmed with devoted heads and eager hearts as Swamishree addressed all with His kind and deep concern. To begin with, the students sang a heart stirring lyrical hymn… adding a bit edge to the ardent ambiance and there came a benign smile on Swamishree’s face as He listened to these prayers being offered to Him. Purvesh Sir handled the mic and being a zestful host of the programme, he shared a few incidences where students of AVM evidently practised ideal behaviour in classes, playground and in hostel. Soon after Vinamrabhai of Std 8th was invited on the stage to present a brief report on cultural activities through which lessons of harmony and the moral values are imparted to the students. Thereafter, Purvesh Sir specified a few more incidents stating how the very mission of the school “Union of Body, Mind and Soul” is being accomplished. This brought an appreciating and enchanting gesture on Swamishree’s face and His encompassing gaze left us in total bliss. After that Abhishekbhai Ariwala and Nileshbhai Yadav of Std 12th offered a prayer on behalf of all students and asked for His blessings in all their endeavours. It was followed by a much awaited and momentous opportunity for the students of class 12th to get one-to–one meeting with Swamishree. He was being affectionate, listening patiently to each one of them enveloping them in His divine aura and blessing them.

Then came the ever auspicious “better one day in your court than thousand elsewhere” moment, when Swamishree voiced His golden words. How convincingly yet persuasively He explained to the students that they should always be extremely respectful to their parents and withdraw instantly the very thought of aggressiveness towards elders in the family! Students listened very earnestly when Swamishree stressed over becoming God-Loving and adopting the habit of resorting to prayers in all times. Moreover, He strengthened their commitment and zeal for being better by insisting them to avoid watching distracting movies and keeping good company. Thus, Swamishree blessed students not only for a brilliant career but induced the contemplation to lead a fearless existence with righteousness, purity of intentions, positive thinking and focused mind.

If glorious sun shines above our head … what more light needed to be asked for? Seemingly Swamishree’s very presence among us exudes a powerful scent of serenity, how fortunate we are to be sheltered under His umbrella of love and enjoying the bliss!!!!!!!

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SARANSH 2013-14

The myriad celebrations throughout the year 2013-14 culminated into a grand, touching and inspiring closing ceremony on the 15th of February 2014, titled “Saransh – Lets celebrate each other”.

This year was a very memorable and a historic year for Atmiya Vidya Mandir in so many ways. Historic because the year 2013-14 marked the 10th anniversary of the school’s inception. It was memorable and enjoyable as we had as many as 8 creative assemblies, 8 academic competitions, 6 inter-house sports competitions, 3 soft board displays and many other cultural activities full of singing and dancing. The annual athletic meet this time had many record breaking performances by the students on the track and field events.

The ceremony presented the moment to give away the awards to all the winners. But before we declare that, we would like to make the readers aware of what Saransh is. Saransh is about re-living those incredible moments that the school has given us students this year. Saransh is not merely an event of giving away awards and trophies, but, is a highlight of what we all could achieve together as a school. And it is also about appreciating each other and counting our blessings. This legacy event celebrates the very core of our school: Atmiyata.

 

The function began according to the school’s tradition, with Thakorji’s poojan. It was followed by the marching off of all the student council members.

Next was a unique performance that was never witnessed before in our school. This performance needed a lot of hard work and practice to perform live in front of the whole school. It was named ‘Naad Brahma’. Students as young as 7 years to 15 years old took part in this mesmerizing performance. It included some budding musicians from the school playing various instruments as well as young singers lending their voice to some unbelievable musical melodies. This miracle was possible because of the vision and hard work of our music teachers Jaimin Sir and Himanshu Sir. Thank you Jaimin Sir and Himanshu Sir.

Closing ceremony also presents an opportunity to various house representatives to express their gratitude and share their experiences. This year, the house captains (all from class 10) gave speeches instead of the house conveners. It was heartening to see the leaders of tomorrow speak confidently in front of a sizable audience. They expressed their experiences about how they felt leading their house. They also thanked the students who contributed significantly towards their houses.

The members of the school student council, especially the captains, vice captains, sports captain, vice head boy and head boy had been instrumental in carrying out various activities throughout the year. To applaud their efforts they were all given certificates by respected principal sir.

Then it was the time to give away trophies and awards for different activities held in the school.

The winners were:

• Best Sports House - Satyam House
• Best Academic House – Shivam House
• Best Soft Board Display – Suhradam House
• Winners of the Debating Club Competition – Shivam House
• Best House in Creative Assemblies – Shivam House
• The Annual Athletic Meet Champion – Sundaram House

The other set of awards were received by the following inspiring performances/talented individuals:

• Best Singing Performance – “IN YOUR HANDS” (Teacher’s Day 2013-14)
• Best Dancing Performance – “Shubharambh” by Class 10 ( Investiture Ceremony 2013-14)
• Best Acting Performance - This award was given to 8 great actors of A.V.M. They were: 
• Nishkam Patel (4B) 
• Geetgaurav Joshi (6A)
• Rishi Patel (7B) 
• Prince Dhameliya (8B)
• Nihar Dudhatra (9A) 
• Naman Banka (7A) 
• Yash Jariwala (9A) 
• Krushan Panchal (9B)

Next, respected Vijay Sir and respected Haresh Sir were called up on the stage as it was the turn of the biggest announcement of the evening. As they announced the runner up winners: Shivam House, and the BIG WINNERS of the year - Sundaram House, the entire hall was filled with voices of joy of the students and teachers alike. Sundaram House representatives came forward to receive the glittering trophy of the year.

Throughout the year, many people from different segments of the school contributed immensely to make the year successful and enjoyable for the students. So it was only fair that on behalf of the students someone would deliver a vote of thanks. Being the head boy of the school as well as the role model for all the students, this responsibility was bestowed upon Sachinbhai Verlekar. During his speech, Sachinbhai thanked the school management, principal sir, all academic teachers, sports teachers, house masters, didis hospitality staff and security team for their love and affection throughout the year. He showed maturity beyond years as he completed a very touching speech.

The ceremony then ended with aarti of Thakorji. The academic year 2013-14 may have come to a near end but the memories of this historic year will remain in the memories of the students and teachers for many years to come.

Written by: VINAMRA AND SMIT (GRADE 8)

INDIA - THE LAND OF FESTIVALS

“Festivals of India”, one of the most awaited themes, knocked the doors of Satyam House on 3rd March 2014, to which, Satyam House responded quite earnestly and enthusiastically. Throughout the week the team brought to the students’ attention various interesting and significant aspects of different festivals of different regions across the country.

The week started off with a thoughtful talk delivered on ‘The Importance of Festivals’ supported by colourful visuals and also coupled with what does festival mean to Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji. Subsequently, through the following days, the students were shown how Swamiji celebrates different religious festivals at Haridham followed by the various festivals from south (Pongal, Onam, etc.) to those celebrated in the western and eastern parts of the country. The students learnt about the rich tradition and culture of India with absolute clarity of the pious purpose of celebration through those festivals.

The week ended with special festivals celebrated to preserve our environment like Van Mahotsav. During the week, everyone witnessed a unique collection of videos accompanied by graceful talks delivered by students of Satyam House.

Continuing with the tradition, in the junior assemblies, the value was celebrated by presenting the actual rituals, worships, dances and songs. The week was celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm. Each day the assembly was so lively! And to this was added the significance of upcoming ‘Atmiya Yuva Mahotsav’, the festival of all festivals. Students were given a different vision by explaining how ‘Atmiya Yuva Mahotsav’ serves the purpose of Holi, Diwali and Uttarayan and how Swamiji has envisioned the future of Indian youths. But all this wouldn’t have been possible without the creative minds and hard work of the teachers. They were the reason for the successful accomplishment of the week.

In a nutshell, the main aim of Satyam House team was to leave a message in the hearts of everyone that we should celebrate each moment of our life like a festival, whether it is favourable or unfavourable. Life will be a heaven if we celebrate each moment of our life like a festival.

So let us live the remaining of our lives like a festival!

Written by Sumit Choudhary

Responsibility & Accountability

“One cannot be casual today thinking that tomorrow will be bright!”

Responsibility is one of the most important aspects of human existence and personality. It is taking accountability for all our thoughts, feelings and actions. It is a characteristic that can make an individual successful in life.

Shivam House celebrated the basic, yet a very important value of life ‘Responsibility and Accountability’ in the first week of February. Throughout the week Shivam House made a humble effort to share with the students the real meaning of responsibility and accountability and how they are a valuable tool in achieving goals in student life and beyond.

Some of the aspects of Responsibility and Accountability shared with the students are as follows: When one becomes aware of his duty and knows what is expected of him, he becomes responsible for that duty.

1. When we were small we were taught by our parents to brush our teeth after waking up, then have bath and perform other daily chores in an appropriate sequence. Our parents made sure that over the years we did it sincerely and we understood the importance of performing our daily morning chores. Once we know that we have to do all this and in a particular sequence as taught, then it becomes our responsibility to follow our parent’s instructions.

2. At hostel, didis and house masters make students aware of folding their blankets, hanging the towel properly in the balcony, folding clothes, arranging cupboard, etc. then it becomes the responsibility of the student to follow his guardian’s instructions.

3. At school when students are taught various topics in class and given homework or asked to do the revision of the topic then it becomes their responsibility to follow their teacher’s instruction.

4. Different places around the world have their own customs, rules and regulations that they follow. When one goes to these places one must follow the rules and regulations that they follow. It becomes their responsibility to follow the native customs, traditions, rules and regulations.

Students were explained that as responsible members of Atmiya family it is their foremost responsibility to follow the basic principle of Atmiya Vidya Mandir i.e. ‘Atmiyata’ and be aware of the School Discipline policy.

Thus responsibility means doing what we are supposed to do and following rules and regulations.

Further, when one becomes responsible for any task, he starts keeping an account of it, meaning: he keeps an account of how many times he was successful in performing his duties and following rules, and how many times he failed and why? What can he do to overcome his failures? When one is able to account for all these questions based on the task assigned to him in a just manner without saying a lie and being honest is called accountability.

Responsibility and Accountability go hand in hand. The more one becomes responsible towards a task, the more one becomes accountable for it and the more one becomes accountable for the task the more one becomes responsible for it.

Moreover, it is believed that, the habits which are developed at the early age lasts longer. The most common problem which can make students irresponsible, is making excuses. Irresponsible people tend to shift the blame onto influential factors, and vocalize them as excuses. Students acknowledged that another way to accept responsibility is to stop putting the blame on everyone around. Blaming other people instead of one’s own self will not only make one spiteful, but it will make one powerless to change his life for the better.

Students were also informed about the different types of responsibility like personal, social, moral and family responsibilities. The points covered in the assembly were as follows:

1. Responsibility and Accountability means:

• a. Following rules and taking care of your duties
• b. Answering for their own actions, not giving excuses and not blaming others
• c. Being trustworthy

2. Why become responsible and accountable?

• a. They are core values for living honourably
• b. They increase self-esteem and confidence
• c. They increase trust between people
• d. Makes us adorable

3. Responsible children should

• a. Understand and accept consequences of their actions and try to correct their mistakes
• b. Complete assignments and tasks
• c. Clean up surroundings
• d. Do the right things and apologize if wrong
• e. Follow through without giving up
• f. Understand the effect of their actions on others

Students got information about what is responsibility, why is being responsible important, what is expected from a responsible student, how to put responsibility into action in their day to day life through different quotes, presentations, stories, advertisements, real life incidents of great personalities, videos, etc.

The truth is that being responsible and accountable adds meaning to one’s life. It makes one independent, trustworthy, adorable, and successful and allows one to develop a positive influential character. No matter what you do, whether at home, school or work, being responsible and accountable are key traits.

Written by: Dipika Ma'am

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