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World at Isha Vidhya
Educating Rural India October 2013
State Level Swimming Trials:
The Director of School Education conducted State level swimming trials for school boys at Tirunelveli. Cuddalore school student Jayanth Nag participated in 3 events in the under 14 age category -15 meters breast stroke, 100 meters free style and 50 meters back stroke.

Despite stiff competition Jayanth Nag came 4th in 100 meter free style. Congratulations!
Synthesizer Competition:
Sahara school conducted an inter- school keyboard competition where 2 Tuticorin Isha Vidhya School students participated and won the 2nd prize. Congratulations to S. Nithyashree (6th std) and S. Abarajithan (5th std)!
Colours Day:
LKG students of Tuticorin School celebrated colours day to learn about colours. The students wore colourful dresses and were given beautiful cone caps and rings, made by the teachers, to match with their outfits. They also sang songs and danced to colour themed songs.
Fruits Day:
Fruits Day was celebrated at Villupuram School for for UKG and LKG students with an objective to create awareness about the importance of consumption of fruits in regular diet.

The classrooms were decorated with pictures of fruits and the teachers told interesting stories encouraging students to eat fruits as a regular practice. How can celebration be complete without songs? The students and teachers sang rhymes based on fruits and fruit salad made from fruits brought by some of the kids.
Teachers Day: Teachers Day is celebrated on 5th Sep as an expression of appreciation of the teachers and their contributions to the society. It is the birthday of India’s renowned academician and past President, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. Isha Vidhya schools celebrated the day by holding cultural programs and games for the teachers. A report from schools:

Aragonda School:The teachers got the day off. Senior students played the role of teacher and took junior classes. Later games were conducted for teachers, loudly cheered by the students.
Dharmapuri School:
Dharmapuri School students celebrated their first Teachers' day as Isha Vidhya students. The students decorated the classrooms in the morning to surprise their teachers with beautifully crafted posters, flowers and bouquets. Every classroom had a ribbon tied across its door for the teacher to cut and thus inaugurate the class.

The teachers were overwhelmed with the effort made by the students. Sound of students wishing the teachers resounded in the corridors throughout the day. The love for teachers was palpable. To show their appreciation for the love and effort put in by the students, the teachers arranged for a celebration function where the teachers sang 'Sounds of Isha' songs, and performed mimicry and classical dance. The function came to an end with the Principal’s speech on Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan,
Erode School:
A colourful cultural program was put up for teachers. The students performed dances, motivational drama and songs. A game was also conducted for the teachers, which led to much merriment. The students honored their teachers by presenting them with a surprise gift at the end of the program.
Nagercoil School:
Nagercoil School celebrated Teachers’ day by putting up a delightful program for the teachers. Students from 6th to 9th std prepared the program. They also created a greeting card for each teacher which was gifted to them at the beginning of the function.

M. Praveen, 9th std student, welcomed the teachers after which a scintillating cultural program was presented. Foot cricket was conducted for the teachers and they played it with abandon! The program closed with a speech by the school Principal, Mrs. Shyla and Vice Principal, Mrs. Betsy.
Visit by Scouts and Guide Trainers:
Tamil Nadu chapter of 'Bharat Scout and Guide' held basic and advanced training course for the school teachers of Cuddalore, Viruthachalam, and Perambalur district. Mr. Ezhil Raja and Ms. Manju from Cuddalore school participated in the training along with approximately 150 teachers.

Mr. Elaya Kumar co-ordinator for Cuddalore dist, Scout secretaries Mr. Veerappa Virurthachalam and Mr. Sekar Neyveli visited Isha Vidhya Cuddalore School. After taking a tour of the school and learning about the vision of Isha Vidhya, they remarked that it was similar to the motto of scout movement, which is to help the downtrodden and serve society. They also commented that at Isha Vidhya the staff practiced commitment to serving the society inline with scout mission without any training.

As a token of appreciation, the visitors were presented with a sapling from the school nursery.
Uyir Letters Day Celebration:
LKG students of Tuticorin School celebrated the Tamil Uyir letters day. LKG teachers drew beautiful and colourful alphabets on charts as well as crafted the alphabet letters into wearable pendants on a string. Each student wore one pendant and according to the letters they were wearing, collected all hand cards with these letters to keep in the letterbox designed for the particular alphabet.

The fun activities encouraged the students to learn Tamil alphabets without feeling overwhelmed by the process of learning.
Sujatha wins award:
Erode School Science teacher Ms. Sujatha was declared as the best teacher amongst a list of 200 contenders from schools in Erode. The award is given annually by JCI (Junior Chamber International). This is the third consecutive year that a teacher from Isha Vidhya is winning this award.
Karate Classes:
From September 2013 Villupuram School started Karate classes as part of Saturday activities. Students from 3rd to 9th std have enrolled in it and are preparing for the Karate tournament to be held in Jan 2014.
Chess competition:
Villupuram School students participated in the Zonal level Chess Competition held at Govt. Girls Hr. Sec. School, Sendanadhu. Suttivalavan of 8th std and Nishanthi of 9th std played in the finals after winning in four earlier rounds. They were declared as runners up after a stiff competition. The victory is really sweet given the fact that this was the first time they were participating in a Chess competition.
School Pupil Leader election: Elections were conducted in Tuticorin School to choose School Pupil Leader (SPL) and Assistant School Pupil Leader (ASPL). Students from 5th to 9th std participated in the elections as voters and candidates. They were asked to nominate candidates two weeks before the Election Day of which four highest nominated students were nominated for SPL while 8 were nominated for ASPL posts.

Susil of 8th std has been elected as SPL while Patrakali of 7th std is elected as ASPL.
Zonal Sports Meet:
Isha Vidhya students are bringing laurels to their schools in both academic and sports fields. Girl students from Cuddalore School competed in Zonal Sports meet, held at Annamalai University Stadium, along with students from 50 other schools. 7th std student, Parveena bagged 3rd place in the 100 meters athletic event while Oviya of 8th std, won 3rd prize in Shotput event.
Guest Lecture by ISRO Scientists:
Sheeju Chandran and Vishwanath, scientists at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Trivandrum, visited Nagercoil school and held a guest lecture session for senior students.

The program started with the introduction of the scientists, who were welcomed by Aravinth, 9th std student. Mr. Sheeju Chandran gave the lecture on several aspects of space vehicles and space.

He started his lecture with the simple topic about the forces acting on a car to make the car move which was followed by an explanation about objects in flight and forces affecting it. Through guided discussion and interaction, he then discussed about Newton’s 3rd law, use of the law in making rockets move, the type of fuel used to make it move etc.

Mr. Sheeju also spoke about various techniques used by our ancestors, improved rockets, the space station, the space shuttle, space gravity, the Russian space station and how space cultivation is done. The most remarkable aspect of the session was the simple language used by the visitors to explain things to students.

Thevisitors were given a tour of the school during the lunch break. After lunch a Q&A session was organized, where students asked several questions about the space and satellite which were answered patiently by the visitors.

The session came to end with vote of thanks by 8th std student, Praveen.
World Literacy Day Celebration:
Cuddalore School celebrated the World Literacy Day by creating awareness about the importance of education, especially of the girl child within local community. They invited the local ladies group for the program.

Students enacted 3 comic skits about the importance of education with clear message about the role education plays in changing a girl's life and suffering experienced in case a person does not receive education. Some students spoke, in English and Tamil, about the importance of education. Students also presented a song on the same subject.
Dengue Awareness Program:
Parangipettai Health Department conducted Dengue awareness camp at Cuddalore School. Health inspector, Mr. Hiruthaya Raj and Mr. Prakash, conducted the program. They shared information on types of dengue virus, the way it spreads, symptoms of dengue and the way it affects human beings. They advised students to get it diagnosed at earliest and treated properly as delay could prove fatal for the patient.

The health inspectors stressed the importance of spreading this message among villagers. They appreciated the school's effort in 2012 of spreading awareness among local community by distribution of student-designed pamphlets.

During the interactive session, students asked questions to clear their doubts and promised that they would support the ayahmaa in keeping the school clean and at the same time educate the villagers to keep their surroundings clean.
Vinayagar Chaturthi Celebration: Vinayagar Chaturthi is celebrated across India in reverence of Ganesha. Prayers to Ganesha are offered at the beginning of any new project as he is considered Vighna Harta i.e. one who removes obstacles. A report from schools:

Aragonda School:Aragonda School
students created idol of Ganesha from clay which they then prayed to for prosperity and abundance.
Nagercoil School:
Nagercoil School students made an idol of Ganesha (Pillayar) from the clay collected from fields near the school. The idol was kept inside a palanquin, made from a chair and cloth. The celebration area was decorated with paper garlands, made with the Art & Craft material by the students. Fruits, as offering, were kept in front of the idol. On the 7th day of the festival, Pillayar (as Ganesha is known in Tamilnadu) was taken in a procession around the school and as is the tradition, immersed in the lotus pond. Boys danced in front of the palanquin while taking the procession around the school.
World Peace Day Celebration:
Isha Vidhya schools were having their 1st Terminal exams till 21st Sep and the subsequent 10 days were autumn break. Despite the tight schedule, Cuddalore School managed to celebrate World Peace Day by spending an afternoon painting pictures based on “World Peace Day”.
English Language Activity:
Activity based learning has given much better results than simple content teaching in classrooms. Ms. Anitha, English teacher at Villupuram School, received enthusiastic response from 2nd std students when she combined activity based class with a reward system.

She wrote two letters on the blackboard and asked the students to list words starting with them. Students loved receiving a 'star' that she was distributing for each correct answer and so enthusiastically participated in the activity. By the end of the lesson, the students were more charged than ever and loving the game.
© Isha Vidhya 2013 14, C.A. Theyvar Layout,
Kannaperan Mills Road, Udayampalayam,
Coimbatore – 641 028, TN, India