“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
Responsibility & Accountability
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersResponsibility 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:
2. Why become responsible and accountable?
3. Responsible children should
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.
Admission Notice – IISER, Gautam Buddha University and B.L.D.E. University
/0 Comments/in Career /by AVM TeachersInter House Volleyball Competition 2013-14
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Sports /by AVM StudentsStudents were divided into three groups:
On the second day of the competition, students came back with recharged energy and enthusiasm. The first match was the 3rd place match in the Sub-Junior group between Shivam House and Satyam House, in which Shivam House secured the 3rd place by winning the game with a set score 2-0 in a best of three set match. In the Junior group, the match was played between Satyam House and Suhradam House, in which Suhradam House won by set score 2-0. Next match was played between Sundaram House and Shivam House in which Sundaram House won by set score 2-0.
The third day of the competition was pretty exciting as the final match was held in the Sub-Junior group between Sundaram House and Suhradam House, in which both the teams played equally good but it was the Suhradam House that managed to secure the 1st place in the Sub-Junior group by set score 2-1. The next match thereafter was for the 3rd place in the Junior group. This was played between Satyam House and Shivam House in which Satyam House won with a set score 2-0. After this match, the third place match in Senior group was played between Shivam House and Suhradam House in which Shivam House took away the 3rd place by winning the match with set score 2-1.
The last day of the competition saw excitement at its zenith as the two finals were played – one from Junior group and second from Senior group. The occasion was made even more special as the school principal, respected Vijay Sir and vice principal, respected Ashish Sir graced the volleyball court. Fitting to the occasion, the students gave an incredible performance as the excitement level increased by many multi folds. The day began with the first final match from Junior group between Suhradam House and Sundaram House. Both the teams performed brilliantly, as from the Sundaram House side, Mantavyabhai and Jaybhai played exceptionally well and from the Suhradam House side, Rajveerbhai and Rahulbhai kept the spirits high. But it was the efficient smashing from the Suhradam players which led to secure the first place in their group by set score 2-0. But it was not the end of the day because still the second final was left – between Satyam House and Sundaram House from the Senior category.
Both the teams looked very confident and equally matched. This was because both the teams had one marvellous smasher each, Parthbhai from Satyam House and Nirmalbhai from Sundaram House. Both these players had recently represented the school in the CBSE Inter School Competition and this time around they were to face each other in the last match of this competition. The match began with both teams countering their opponents very well. This tightly contested match reached the deciding set as both the teams won 1 set a piece. Initially, Satyam House fell behind but their rejuvenated and inspiring serving took them to equal points. They kept their nerves in the final few points of the game and narrowly beat Sundaram House.
The overall house winner position was a bit tricky as no particular house team dominated all the three categories. Following is the overall points table for the competition:
As can be seen above, the Sundaram House team captains led their teams to secure the first position in the competition. In the end, Tarun Sir concluded the competition by thanking the sports department for managing and organising such a memorable competition and the students for their louder than words enthusiasm and sportsmanship.
The Habit of Winning
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersOur habits can make or break us but we do not give enough attention to them. Habits are really more important than we think. Our habits are formed by the choices we make over the years. We seldom think upon whether these choices are good or bad ones. It is very important to cultivate good and positive habits from the childhood because we are not born with them. Habits are the result of the choices we make time after time. These choices finally harden into habits.
So as a school, it is very important for us to imbibe such good and positive habits in our pupils. Sundaram House was privileged to be part of such an endeavour by celebrating the value “Habit of Winning” through the medium of daily morning assemblies. During the week, Sundaram House team members shared different habits of winners through short motivational stories. These stories can change the way one thinks, works, lives and ultimately leads him towards the path of success. Furthermore, most of the discussions in the assemblies during the week, including the key points and many inspiring stories were taken from the book “Habit of Winning” – by Prakash Iyer (Author, Coach, Speaker and Managing Director of Kimberly-Clark Lever).
The first habit highlighted was “Setting the goal”. We have to first set a goal to have clarity of what we want to achieve. We may have the best tools to climb a mountain, we may also have a group of other climbers with us but what if we don’t have a mountain to climb! All those sophisticated tools are useless if there is no mountain to climb. Similarly, if we don’t have any goal to achieve in our life, we’ll be purposeless like an animal and will not achieve anything. It is also very important to stick to the goal once it is decided. If we identify the rabbit we want to catch, we should focus only on that one. If we try to catch many rabbits, we may end up with none. If the rabbit proves elusive, we need to change our tactics, but we shouldn’t change the rabbit. At AVM, incidentally, the summative exams are on their way so this was a very timely opportunity to set or review the goals set by the students.
The second habit discussed was “Self-Belief”. Once we fix our goal we should believe in what we are doing and have faith in God. If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t. Believing in ourselves is a big step forward after setting the goal. Often, in our quest for more, we believe we need to abandon what we are doing and go out and look for new ways of success. We fail to recognize the diamonds lying right under our feet.
The third habit that followed was “Perseverance: Consistent hard work”. “Main Khelega!!!” these were the two magical words with which the cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar, achieved many milestones in his life. In his debut test match against Pakistan in December 1989, he got injured by Waqar’s nasty bouncer and he started bleeding but he did not quit and said “Main Khelega!” and kept playing. In our life there can be situations when the pressure mounts and we feel that we cannot do this and we give up. But at that time we have to stick to our set goals. We need to keep that “Main Khelega Spirit alive” and continue fighting with our mann. That is perseverance: continuous hardwork.
The fourth essential habit is “Appreciating the role of other contributing factors to our success”. It was brought to light that apart from our own selves, our teachers, didis, housemasters, parents and friends play a critical role in our lives. In the game of football, there are a total of 22 players on the field at the same time but only one plays at any given point of time. And yet, what the remaining 21 players do on the field at that moment has a significant weightage in deciding the fate of the game, not just what the one who is sprinting ahead with the ball does. Life is not just about what we do when we are in control – it’s also about what we do when someone else has the say. Students were encouraged to be pillars of success for each other by being considerate of each other rather than being the cause of others’ failure or even under-performance.
The fifth habit discussed upon was “Developing a winner’s mind-set”. How do winners think? If we expect more, we get more. In much the same way, if we expect failure we get that too. The secret is remain persistent and not giving up. Being such a fundamental thing, the students were yet again reminded about the significance of the company of good friends. Furthermore, they were encouraged to exploit the potential of mind that God has gifted to all rather than being tricked by it. In order to achieve beyond what was already achieved, one needs to do things differently and that surely requires a different mind-set – a winner’s mind-set.
The sixth habit taken up was “Finding Balance”. The bottom line was that one needs to take a good judgement in balancing between success and the core values of life. The necessity of being righteous and acting accordingly was emphasised through some remarkable stories. The story of the Canadian sailor and an Olympic hero Lawrence Lemieux who never won a gold/silver/bronze medal but instead was presented the Pierre de Coubertin medal (True Medal of Sportsmanship) for his selfless conduct in the Seoul Olympics touched everyone’s hearts. Together with other anecdotes, the students were inspired to aim for a rightful life full of values.
The seventh habit discussed was “Winning with TEAMS”. Whatever our goal may be, we cannot achieve it alone, we need a team for that. Teamwork always wins. To make a kite fly higher, one needs to pull it towards self, not let it lose. The same also works with people. Atmiyata, the core value of the school was elaborated upon and students gained a fresh perspective of it’s importance.
The eighth and the last habit for winning taken up was “TAKE ACTION”. Dreams always come true, although, for that one has to wake up from sleeping and take action. Again, using some real life incidences both at AVM and from outside, the all-important need to take action in the direction of achieving our goal was conveyed. It was highlighted that the key to success was to get started and to learn to finish what we started.
Finally, the students from grades 1 to 4, presented posters, one each for each of the habits talked about during the week. One student held the poster, another summarised it for the school and the third in the team appealed to all to take the first step, today and build upon that as days pass.
Throughout this week Sundaram House students and teachers shared the above mentioned habits through small talks, short stories, presentations and videos.
Admissions Announcements by IIM-Indore and D Y Patil Vidyapeeth-Pune
/0 Comments/in Career /by AVM TeachersIntrapersonal Intelligence Competition 2013-14
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Thinking Skills /by AVM TeachersStudents with intrapersonal intelligence have a deep awareness of their feelings, ideas, and goals. They have self-reflective capacities i.e. what one’s strength or weakness is. Often they have capacity to introspect and predict their own reactions at certain situations. They generally enjoy analyzing theories and ideas. So, keeping the skills in mind various competitions for different grades were organised for the four houses.
Group A: (Std. I to III) – Puzzle, Picture Pasting & Observe and Write
Group B (Std. IV to VI) – Poster Making on General Hygiene
Group C (Std. VII – VIII) – Thoughts and Responses
Group D (Std. IX – X) – Mind Mapping
Overall Results:
Field Trip: A Class outside the Classroom
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates /by AVM StudentsThe Journey Begins….
Introduction
We were given a hearty welcome by Dasrathbhai, Director of the sugar factory and were briefed about the factory. We learnt some fascinating details about this 50+ years old plant and its glorious journey towards becoming a leading sugar producer in Asia.
Real life insight into the production of sugar
Thereafter, the students were distributed in different groups and each group was taken separately and explained the functioning of the plant. We had learnt in class about how the manufacturing units focus on Total Productivity, Total Quality, Zero Defect, etc… and this was our first-hand experience on how a manufacturing plant works. We were taken through a complete channel of stations and were explained by the supervisors the complete process of producing sugar. There was a highly interactive conversation between the students and the workers about the different steps in the process. The exposure to highly efficient automated systems which performed these complex tasks in few seconds helped us understand the present level of automation and testing in industrial scenario. To students’ pleasure, at the end of this plant visit everyone was served with a glass of fresh sugarcane juice which they all enjoyed.
Dyeing Industry
We proceeded further to visit a cloth dyeing unit. The well-coordinated processes of the plant snatched away our afternoon sleep as we remained stunned seeing the innovative technology that was used. We watched a great combination of science and colours, learned how the cloth was coloured and how designs were printed on plain cloth with the latest technology.
Textile Industry
Moving further, we were delighted seeing the process of how threads were combined to form the cloths. Manufacturing of cloth is a complex process and it involves many skilled workers, each performing a particular critical step in the overall process. We got to know that the many complex steps can be divided into three general categories – Preparation, Spinning, and Weaving.
The Journey ends…
We started our return journey from the textile factory and reached the school at 6.00 PM, a bit tired, but well informed. On the whole, this industrial visit turned out to be highly fruitful. It helped to gain a better understanding of the industrial processes and also an appreciation of the effort and dedication involved in the successful working of the entire team.
An interesting summer opportunity and an Admission Announcement
/0 Comments/in Career /by AVM TeachersVande Mataram! My India, My Pride…
/0 Comments/in 21st Century Skills, AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersThis morning event was graced by Respected Fuvaji, Pujya Suhrad Swamiji, Respected Narendra Bhai, Haresh Sir and Honourable Dr. Vijay Patel. They all were escorted by our sports teacher and Students Council members. After our guests performed Thakorji’s Poojan, the programme continued. The chief guests unfolded our tri-coloured flag and there by infused the spirit of nationalism and patriotism at Atmiya Vidya Mandir’s campus. The school choir sung the “Zanda Geet”, “Vande Mataram” and “National Anthem”.
A wide range of activities centred on the theme of nationalism were conducted to instil the spirit of national pride and love for the country. A grand march-past by students of Grade 7, 8 and 9 was witnessed with zeal by everyone. A broad smile could be seen on everyone’s face when the excited young kids of classes 1st, 2nd and 3rd presented Mass PT on the beat of beautiful music. The primary students of classes 4th, 5th and 6th added colours to the programme with Hoop Drills. This celebration also included an eye catching dance performed by the students of class 10 on the song of “Satyagraha”. The entire school courtyard was echoed with the rhythmic beats of “Satyagrah”.
Our honourable chief guest Pujya Fuvaji expressed his gratitude in witnessing the program presented by the students. Though in simple tone, he addressed the essential aspects of students’ day to day life. Mukesh sir explained the history and significance of the Republic Day. The guests also acknowledged the student winners from different fields who were awarded on this momentous occasion.
The day’s celebration came to an end by proposing the vote of thanks, where the staff and students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir were thanked for making the day a wonderful success. The event came to an end with the distribution of sweets to all the members of Atmiya Parivar.
Ghanshyam Charitra (Divine play of Bal Ghanshyam)
/0 Comments/in AVM Updates, Value Based Education /by AVM TeachersSatyam House was indeed blessed to have been gifted with an inspiring value “Ghanshyam Charitra”. Satyam House teachers led by respected Saumya Ma’am had a splendid discussion to organise and plan out the schedule of the daily assemblies.
Pleasant weather gave a thunderous call to start the morning assembly in the divine presence of P.P Swamiji. The template of the daily assembly was designed as such to have a video darshan of different charitras of Bal Ghanshyam followed by the unique message each day.
Monday:- The very important and fundamental message of the assembly was that ‘God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient’. He cannot tolerate the atrocities incurred on His devotees. To liberate them, He takes incarnation on the Earth and saves His devotees through His divine touch.
Tuesday:- The message of the assembly was: “Don’t suppress and make others feel inferior through the power of muscles or brain. God weakens the power if it is not used for the welfare of others.”
Wednesday:- Inspiring message of the assembly was: “We should respect all the creatures living on Earth as everyone has a right to survive.” The incident watched showed how compassionate Bal Prabhu was towards the tiny creatures like fish also.
Thursday:- One of the exceptional charitras of Bal Ghanshyam was: “Samadhi”. In the episode shown, He saves the crop in the field by sending 1000 sparrows into samadhi through His divine power and thus obeys His father.
Friday:- The loud and clear message of the episode shown was: “Do not claim ownership of things which you have not earned through hardwork.”
The Saturday Creative Assembly, entitled as ‘Ghanshyam Charitra Vihar’ began with a rousing welcome and introduction by two tiny tots. The underlying truth behind the play was Divine miracles of Lord is the source of bliss, peace and happiness.
A very fascinating aspect of the play was to witness the commendable performance of 80 participants on the stage.
The play was divided into three episodes from the life of Bal Ghanshyam.
The first episode was about the glory of Bal Ghanshyam. Lord Indra commands Ashwinikumar (the doctor of Gods) to render his medical treatment service when Bal Ghanshyam gets a cut on His thigh while playing the traditional sport ‘Ambli Pipali‘ with his dear friends Veni, Madhav and Praag.
The second episode was about His divine power. Bal Prabhu teaches a lesson of humility to three mighty wrestlers of Ayodhya by defeating them in wrestling.
The last episode was about His ultimate wisdom. At a mere age of ten, in the presence of great scholars, He participates in the philosophical debate and successfully establishes the Doctrine of ‘Vishishtadvait’ (qualified non-dualism) at Gomath, Kashi. By giving a divine vision of their istdevs, He brings the realisation to those age old scholars that Brahma Darshan is not a matter of debate but of experience.
It was really a tough job to work with tiny tots but being the director of the play, Suhradam Sir exhibited tremendous patience and enjoyed their innocence. He successfully brought out the best from them.
Our inspirational source beloved P.P Swamiji’s divine presence has remained the constant guiding force without which the creation of the assembly would not have been possible.
All the members of Satyam House strongly felt that it was a charismatic experience to deal with young Bal Ghanshyams of AVM and getting involved wholeheartedly in the making of the play that has left the everlasting impression on everyone.