Prayers of Sundaram House turned Heavenward
In the third week of July 2011, Students and teachers of Sundaram house made a humble effort to explore and explain different aspect of prayer. On Monday, Smit Patel of Std VI A, Nimit Patel of VI B and Sarveshvar of VI B handled the mike very well with anchoring, thought of the day and news for the day respectively. Sundaram House members very well explained ‘Why should we pray’ on this very first day of the week, at the end of the assembly, on behalf all students, Sundaram House prayed to the lord to make every student an obedient child and a good listener. On Tuesday, Abhishek Purohit of VII was the host and Krushan Panchal presented thought of the day. Through a small skit, some students of Std 7th demonstrated the different timings of prayer which are early morning, before study, before meal, in evening and before sleep in the night. It was followed by, Tanmay Patel and Jay Baria chanting and explaining the different prayers to be offered at these timings. Thus, these students gave details about ‘When should we pray’. On this second day of their week, Sundaram House placed a prayer onto the lotus feet of Swamiji to give them good company and friends.
On Wednesday, Students of Std 8th came on the stage to explain yet another aspect of prayer, that is Whom should we pray. On this day, Mukesh Sir, in his speech, talked about grandeur and unconditional love of God. Once again, on behalf of all the students, Sundaram House offered a prayer to the lord to make every student ‘a focused reader’. The following day, Thursday, Students of Std 9th made an attempt to give you an idea about ‘How should we pray’. Everybody watched a video clip in which Swamishree Himself explained the significance of prayer for students. Students were benefitted by Swamishree’s divine words and resolved to pray before and after studies. At the end, students placed a prayer onto the lotus feet of Swamiji to make them ‘His Bhoolku’ (God’s choicest child).On Friday, students were showed a presentation to show the universal acceptance of Prayer as a medium to get connected with the Supreme. On this second last day of the week, Binu Madam told the students about yet another aspect of prayer that is ‘What should we pray’ .Last but not the least, on this day, Sundaram house prayed the Lord to ‘keep everybody at peace’.
The creative assembly on Saturday incredibly portrayed the transformation and positive change prayer can bring in a student’s life. The junior group presented a dance at the same time senior group, through a drama, evidently proved the prayer as an unavoidable part of student life. The students conveyed the message that no prayer goes unheard, sooner or later God does answer our prayer by blessing us with something which can bring us happiness and peace. The drama was based on P.P Swamiji’s praying habits which explained what a student should ask for… in his prayers; similarly, God might not give us exactly what we have asked for but it is sure that God gives us more and better than what we have prayed for. In this way, Sundaram House members assured the students that prayer is a medium to communion with The Supreme which keeps the mind free from anxiety and worries.
ગુરુ પૂર્ણિમા 2011
કોઠારી સ્વામીજીએ તેમના વક્તવ્યમાં જણાવ્યું હતું કે “આપણે તો એક દિવસ અથવા એક અઠવાડિયું ગુરુપૂર્ણિમા ઉજવીએ છીએ પણ પરમ પૂજ્ય હરિપ્રસાદ સ્વામીજીતો 365 દિવસ ગુરુપૂર્ણિમા ઉજવે છે અને જીવન પર્યન્ત પોતાના ગુરુને રાજી કરવા તેમના આદેશને તથા તેમના વચનોને અનુસરે છે” તેમણે ગુરુનું આપણા જીવનમાં મહત્વ સમજાવતાં કહ્યું કે આદર્શ ગુરુ એક આદર્શ માતા સમાન છે જેઓ પોતાના શિષ્યનું વાત્સલ્યપૂર્વક ઘડતર કરે છે. ગુરુપૂર્ણિમા એ કોઈ વ્યક્તિનું નહિં પણ આસ્થા અને શ્રધ્ધાનું પૂજન છે. ગુરુપૂજન વ્યક્તિના રૂપમાં નહિ શ્રધ્ધાના રૂપમાં જોવાનું હોય છે. આમ, ભાવાત્મક સમજાવટ દ્ધારા કોઠારી સ્વામીજીએ પોતાની વાણીને વિરામ આપ્યો. ત્યારબાદ સર્વે ભૂલકાંઓએ ગુરુપૂજન કરી પ્રસાદી ગ્રહણ કરી.
Building active communities through sport and games
Football is a very popular game among the school children. Part of its popularity may be its simple rules and the large field and for AVM students….part of its popularity may stem from the fact that a slight drizzle adds fun to the game and an excuse to get wet. Students display amazing ball control, dexterity and other skills with the ball, during this Annual Inter-School Competition termed as The Subrato Cup Interschool Football Tournament. In which five schools of Surat region participated, two revolutionary teams going head to head on the football pitch, just days after creative uprisings topple rain-bound passivity.
Subrato Cup Football Competition
The football event was in two categories, Under 14 and Under 17
Under 14:
8 teams participated.
1ST .SEMIFINAL:-SWAMINARYAN MISSION V/S VALMIKI VIDYALAYA
2ND SEMIFINAL: – ESSAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL V/S P.P SAVANI
WINNER TEAM:- ESSAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
Under 17:
10 Teams participated.
1ST .SEMIFINAL:-ESSAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL V/S VALMIKI VIDYALAYA
2ND SEMIFINAL: – ATMIYA VIDYA MANDIR V/S P.P SAVANI
FINAL: – P.P SAVANI V/S ESSAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
WINNER TEAM:- P.P SAVANI
AVM won the first knock out round against Ryan International School but lost against PP Savani School in the second round who were the eventual winners of the tournament. It ended with unprecedented excitement and many learning experiences. The match — between VALMIKI VIDYALAYA and ESSAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL kicked off in a festive atmosphere.
The thrilling game has promised to return stability to the academics, but in the aftermath of this tournament students are believed to win the other tournament too ….which was Inter House Table Tennis Tournament…..There were more than three groups in the Table Tennis set, junior and senior group but in house wise team.. Junior group for classes 6 and 7, and senior group for classes 8 to11. The school Table Tennis set practiced and played on four tables at the old hostel building. The inter-house Table Tennis trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the inter house Table Tennis Championship.
But as the game entered stoppage time with Satyam and Suhradam house students trailing 5-4 on aggregate and facing elimination from the competition, supporters of the house began pouring on to the place in droves, supporting their respective house player.
Watching children at play sometimes, one can see that teamwork does act as a natural condition . Teamwork must be learnt, and to be learnt, teamwork is stressed from the very first day of practice of games and Sports at Atmiya Vidya Mandir. Discipline is even more important. Participation in all athletic endeavors demand a lot of discipline, and this is something for which many young players are well prepared.The free event saw approximately 50 children – aged between 14 to 17 years old – entering a mini league.
May not be the winning but the importance of sports and games in school encompasses more than just the benefit of physical activity. Increases in self-esteem and mental alertness make school sports and games necessary for every school age child.
The evidence supporting sports participation for AVM students is overwhelming.
Failure is an event, NEVER an Individual.
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersThe Cultural Committee at Atmiya Vidya Mandir seems to be ahead of Harvard University in that respect as they decided to celebrate a unique value at Atmiya Vidya Mandir “Failing Forward”. Shivam House got the opportunity to celebrate such a unique value recently.
The original idea came from a book written by John Maxwell: “Failing forward – turning mistakes into stepping stones of success.” The book itself is one of the best sellers from the author and more importantly an inspiration to the readers.
Shivam House started the week with a presentation on Monday. The idea was to introduce the value to all the students with simplicity. Through various videos and examples it was made clear that if one can learn from a mistake then it is no longer a failure but a success. It was conveyed in the presentation that failure is a part of life, no one can avoid failure. More importantly it is about how to face the failure and bounce back from it. Students from Std 10 (Pranshu Savani and Hemal Gadhiya) gave a very meaningful presentation on 7 steps to fail forward. They cited different examples with videos which made the students and teachers want more. On Wednesday, Kishan G (Std 10) gave a speech on the importance of not to fail backward. He mentioned some criteria to help to see if one is failing backward or forward when they meet with failures.
On Thursday, Prajval Sir gave a presentation on the need to learn from mistakes and be prepared to face the failures in life as it is inevitable. He stressed the fact that failure is not fatal if we are ready to learn from it and not repeat the same mistake. Shivam House brought a new perspective to the value on Friday with a speech from Sarthak Jariwala (Std 12). Sarthak talked about the need of divine intervention when we cannot overcome the failures in life. He gave some good examples from different fields of life to make a very good point. He also explained Gunatitanand Swami’s vaat “Dosh rahe che ne tali jata nathi…” and explained the importance of setbacks in life.
Every week, students look forward to the creative assembly as it brings a lot of excitement and new ways to learn about a life value. Shivam House increased the excitement of students by multi-fold through a video sneak preview of the Saturday creative assembly. Pujeetbhai prepared two very well made sneak previews for the Saturday’s event which caught the imagination of the whole school including the teachers.
Shivam House did not disappoint the students by showcasing the assembly in a very innovative and refreshing form of a talk show. Vaishvik Patel (Std 8), the House Vice Captain, was the host of “The Saturday Morning Show with Vaishvik Patel”. Vaishvik impressed everyone with his humour and his casual but friendly attitude. He was equally intelligent and respectful towards his guests on the show. In the show, the students of Shivam House presented a scintillating and inspirational dance performance on the song ‘Chale chalo’ from the movie LAGAAN. Suhradam Sir choreographed the dance very meaningfully and told a story of failing forward through the dance. The dance (lead by Vinay Rathi) showcased the spirit and enthusiasm which lifted everyone in the hall. Then it was a time to call upon the guest played by Bhavik Parekh (Std 9). Bhavik confidently played the part of a motivational speaker and put across his points successfully with videos of Isiah Thomas (basket ball player) and America’s 16th president Abraham Lincoln. Bhavik explained that Lincoln was a very ordinary man and faced plenty of failures in his life but what made the difference was his attitude towards those problems. He also answered some questions from the audience.
One of the features of the show was its commercial breaks. The adverts were selected very carefully so that they were relevant to the value and also motivational for the students. The show ended with thanking the participants and key members of the staff who made the show possible through end credits. Shivam House also prepared a small ‘The making of Failing Forward’ video showing the efforts put by all the students and teachers with some funny moments.
Softboard presentation is a unique feature at Atmiya Vidya Mandir, as students and teachers prepare them week in week out with such creativity to convey some important life values.
Every success story is also a story of failure. All the successful and famous people overcame the hurdles and then became successful. Shivam House chose a similar theme of depicting the ‘famous failures’. They included the lives of Michael Jordan to Albert Einstein who all were told they could not succeed in life. But their courage and perseverance brought them unprecedented success. Such examples also included Amitabh Bachchan, Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs to name a few others. The message on the soft board was loud and clear “Achievers reject rejects, they never give up, and they redefine the failures”.
Shivam House thanks everyone who made this week possible and made it a huge success.
The Big Sport That Matters
/0 Comments/in AVM Updates, Sports /by Seema JoshiStudents were zooming over the football ground during sports time entire week to witness the thrill of the game. In the sub-junior section Sundaram and Suhradam House were on a close shave whereas junior section made the tempo rising between Shivam House vs. Sundaram House.
The various rounds of finals and semi-finals facilitated the students to enjoy and know more about the game. Football had been creating more and more craze across the school with players and cheering house members drooling over the game more than ever before. The best part of this competition was the competitive spirit which kept the students best on their physical fitness and swiftness. Moreover, the vigorous training by the sports teachers for their deft touch, dribbling skills and tremendous goal scoring ability, had seen them notch up more than half a dozen goals.
The great FIFA has created hype and hoopla in full swing over the game. Near around 50 students from different classes at various levels participated to represent their house and play with a competitive fervour. The football seems to be getting high on every one’s nerves, from students to teachers; everyone enjoyed the thrill in this game which proved to be refreshing enough to balance the strenuous study tasks for the students. It was Suhradam House that once again remained the winning team after their victory over Sundaram with a lead of 2 points.
Thus, the AVM students are busy chasing their interests through creative assemblies, soft board information and display or else sports competition!
Obviously Pele (1940) is not the most original choice as greatest ever football player, but there is no denying his pedigree.
मातृ देवो भव-पितृ देवो भव
/0 Comments/in AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM Teachers