Failure is an event, NEVER an Individual.
The 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
Students 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
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.
Identifying and motivating the Lingua-Holics
/0 Comments/in AVM Updates /by AVM TeachersThis year’s academic competition kicked off on Saturday the 23rd of July 2011. The English department of Atmiya Vidya Mandir did the honours by conducting an English competition with participants comprising from first standard to tenth standard. The competition was organized to enthuse in the students the love for the English language. This event took place in the prayer hall from 11.45 am to 1.30 pm.
Each house – Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram and Suhradam, had 20 participants from standard 1st to 10th. The participants were divided into three levels i.e. first level included students from first standard to fourth standard, second level included students from fifth standard to seventh standard and third level included students from eighth standard to tenth standard. Each round included all the three levels of students.
The judges Rupashree Madam and Kshitij Sir were also very excited and they kept the students motivated by their consistent words of praise and applaud. Shivam house scored the highest by bagging 744 points. Suharadam house scored 655 points and held the second position. The Sundaram house and Satyam house scored fairly well bagging 615 and 560 points holding 3rd and 4th position respectively.
The overall competition was hosted by Seema Madam and she brought the audience to their feet by asking them various competition related questions. The students from the audience who answered the questions were aptly awarded with a candy and huge applauds from the teachers and the audience.
By ~
Binu Madam
English Department