Satyam House celebrates the value Sincerity

To offer real service to mankind we must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money and that is Sincerity and Integrity.The central message that was delivered by Satyam House during daily assemblies in the middle of August 2014 was ‘Sincerity is not to SAY everything we think, but to MEAN everything we say’. It is indeed difficult, but not impossible, if we assure ourselves to dedicate our service to the nation with utmost commitment.

Satyam House began by presenting an invaluable description of the life of Param Pujya Swamiji whose sincerity, right from the childhood till date, is immeasurable and unspeakable. Imbibing lessons of Sincerity, a bit every day, from the life of this divine entity enables us to inherit the qualities of modesty, integrity and value oriented life.

There are various aspects that could be considered in order to understand this important value of sincerity. How can we say that a person is sincere? Is it when he/she is honest, faithful, truthful or hardworking?

When we say a person is sincere, then the virtues like honesty, innocence, nobility, faithfulness and truthfulness are bound to be found in that person. The real quality of a ‘BHOOLKU’ is that he/she never compromises with the quality of work that he/she undertakes.

Throughout the week, the students were explained that in order to be successful in any field, whether it is academic, sports, arts or music, one has to be sincere in his/her work. ‘Sincerity means to put our 100% efforts in whatever we do’.

To further justify the topic, anecdotes from the lives of the great personalities who have encouraged all by living a life that demonstrates sincerity were highlighted.

Through these assemblies, the students were assisted to gain the understanding that development of the nation not only depends on the intelligent human resources but also on the sincerity and honesty of these human resources.

Thus, Satyam House put in humble efforts to inculcate the important value ‘sincerity’ in day–to–day life. The seeds of sincerity that have been sown in the students’ hearts and minds will definitely bear fruits in their attitude in the coming time.

Written by: Samidh Ma’am

The budding writers, poets, orators of AVM

As the school campus draped in a green covering after the monsoon-showers, the freshness and vivacity became fast prevailing, the palpable verve spread all over as if accelerating learning with conducive environment. Hence, the school retrieved its rhythm in academics, activities and incorporated competitions.
As a matter of fact, at AVM, learner’s delight comes unbidden in activity based learning. However, the implementation of the unique multiple intelligence based competition approach in the school, provides a rich backdrop where students make exuberant discovery of embedded content resulting in the most stimulating learning experiences. This time in the first week of August, Linguistic Intelligence was at work when students showed their fascination for words, reading and writing. A competition for Verbal and Linguistic Intelligence was held for classes 1st to 10th.
Poetry Recitation: 
In this academic competition, students of classes 1st, 2nd were guided by Kavita Ma’am to perform in Poetry Recitation or Action Song depicting importance of fruits and vegetables. Through this competition, the tiny tots got an opportunity to improve their clarity of speech, understanding and using apt words for needed expressions and remaining calm, focused and polite on the stage.
Story Presentation:
Here, students of grade 3 were encouraged and guided by Vaishali Ma’am to narrate a story through dialogues and enactment. In this story telling competition, students were exposed to some significant language skills of expressing their story through dramatization. The young participants of this competition gained confidence to present themselves on the stage in front of an audience.
Crossword Puzzle:
Linguistically smart students of grade 4 savoured and enjoyed arranging words and alphabet for the word puzzle and were on check for complicated words and rich vocabulary. Renuka Ma’am arranged for these interesting activities for grade 4th, 5th and 6th.
Parts of Speech in Sentences:
In this competition, grammar was on check, as the students of grade 5 appreciated and enjoyed the challenges in the complexities of sentence structure in which they required to identify parts of speech and collect them in their respective bowl with the labels of Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Adverb, Interjection and Preposition, etc
Story Writing: 
This competition was for students of grade 6th who are linguistically intelligent possessing a knack of writing. The story writing competition was to enhance the skill of appropriate usage of words and grammar for writing a particular text type.
Poetry Writing: 
Writing in the native or the mother tongue is an important part of language learning. Mukesh Sir and Rekha Ma’am organised this competition to assess students’ aptness and precision at linguistic contest, students of classes 7th and 8th were guided to compose poems on the given subject. 
Persuasive Speech: 
Chirag Sir and Saumya Ma’am arranged for this competition for students of grade 9th and 10th where students were given exposure to show their oratory skills. The participants persuaded the audience with their impressive speeches on the topics like ‘Money is not everything’. The elegant speakers of all houses created a tough competition amongst themselves:
In this way AVM students, participated in this Verbal-Linguistic competition to enhance their oratory skills and hone their writing skills. It has definitely created awareness for vocabulary and grammar.
Thus the future poets, novelists, journalists, bloggers, speech writers, editors and linguists are in the making at AVM!

Inter-house Carrom Competition 2014-15

Monsoon brings life to nature and fills the lives of millions of people with happiness and joy. But it also often restricts the outdoor activities. Therefore, at AVM we always start the inter-house sports competitions with Carrom.

Like many sports, carrom also requires focus and determination to succeed but, in addition to that, carrom also requires a good knowledge of geometry and angles to put the difficult coins in the pocket. Even though students don’t play carrom when the outdoor activities are possible, the spirit shown by the students indicates the enthusiasm especially amongst younger students.

 

The competition was divided into three categories: Sub-Junior, Junior and Senior. Each category had two pairs of students from each house for a knock out match.

In the Sub-Junior category, Sundaram House took the first and the second place while Satyam House took the third place. Harshilbhai and Vrajbhai became champions by beating the other Sundaram House team of Pranambhai and Aryanbhai.

Sundaram House continued their good showing with taking the second place while Shivam House took the third place. However, Satyam House duo of Gauravbhai and Dhruvbhai won the category by beating Sundaram House pair of Shreemadbhai and Shivangbhai.

The Sundaram House pair of Rajveerbhai and Mantavyabhai won the senior category by beating Shreybhai and Harshbhai of Satyam House. Shivam House took the third place in the category.

Here is the brief summary of the final score:

Reported by: AVM Sports Team

To a Research Laboratory – an overwhelming experience!

At the time, when the rain-God showered generously, the school management organised an educational trip to Rajkot and Junagadh. The main objective of the excursion was for Std 11 and 12 Biology stream students to explore the intriguing world of Biotechnology.
The voyage of set its sail in the evening of 24th July 2014. After getting fresh and having lunch at Yogidham, Rajkot the next day, we left for Junagadh, where we all arrived excited to learn and eager to satisfy our curiosity. We got an opportunity to visit the “Food testing lab – Department of Biotechnology at Junagadh Agricultural University”. The department has eight labs with different objectives, such as, to check adulteration in food, soil analysis, pesticides content in food, nutrient content, etc. We were delighted to see the high–tech labs where we were explained about the instruments and objectives by the research scholars from the department. And the cherry on the cake was the opportunity we were provided to have question and answer session. Dr. B A Golakiya (Professor and Head of Biotechnology Department) who further quenched our curiosity and appreciated all the students for their scientific enquiries. The day ended with lots of learning and fun, both.

 

On 26th July 2014, the other purpose of the trip was achieved when we reached the M N Virani Science College at Yogidham campus in Rajkot. Firstly, we were explained about different fields and careers in Biology like Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, etc. by Dr. Shivani Patel (Professor and Head of Biotechnology Department). We got an interesting insight into the widespread applications of Biology. The session was then taken over by Dr. Leena Ambasana for an experiment. The aim was to isolate DNA from plant material (spinach). She started with explaining the theory and then came the most awaited moment, to see all that description really happen in front of us! During the entire process, all the students enthusiastically and sincerely followed through the instructions given by her.The duration of the experiment was about 5-6 hours. Indeed, it was a long experiment but in between the waiting time of experiment, we were shown around the Department of Tissue Culture, Department of Biochemistry and Department of Microbiology. We also got a chance to visit the engineering department and were in awe while visiting the library there and looking at different labs, classrooms and auditorium halls.

Although the experiment was long, there wasn’t any trace of tiredness on anyone’s face and enthusiasm seemed permanent! And then the time was for results of the experiment and of course it had to be the best due to the Grace of Swamiji, efforts put by students as well as our teachers. We were very much satisfied due to the achieved outcome. In the evening, after a long day of learning and exploring the field of Biotechnology, the team enjoyed a delightful dinner at Subway.

On the 27th July, we were back to school with new learning, new experiences and satisfied curiosity, all due to the grace of Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji. And not to forget all the enthusiasm and support of Sarvajit Sir and Archana Ma’am (our Biology teacher) who patiently executed this wonderful educational trip in such a way that it could not have been any better. Their determination, dedication and devotion towards the academic welfare of students made such a learning process possible. We all express special gratitude to them.

This well planned trip taught us the important virtues such as Atmiyata, patience, hard work and a very essential scientific approach.

Written by: Het (Class XII Science) & Keyur (Class XI Science)

Visual-Spatial Intelligence Competition: The Expedition from Vision to Reality

The beauty of garden lies in the variety of flowers with myriad of fragrances it has. Likewise, the glory of school lies in the environment created for the students to foster their hidden talent and polish the same. Teachers of Atmiya Vidya Mandir try to nurture the blooming buds of the school by developing their unique talent through various inter house competitions based on multiple-intelligences.
The first competition in that series was organized on 12th July 2014. This competition was based on Visual Spatial Intelligence which deals with the ability to comprehend shapes, patterns, designs and the entire spectrum of colour. It includes the capacity to visualize and imagine which can help to improve memory, cognitive ability and thinking. The competition was divided into four different groups mentioned below:
Group A: (Std. I to III) – Colour the Picture 
  • Colouring plays a major role in the development of children. Various pictures were provided to students for colouring by Manish Sir and Suhradam Sir.
  • All the students of grade I to III enthusiastically participated and enjoyed the colouring competition. They were able to showcase their imagination, choice of colours and creativity that helped them to develop attractive colour combination, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. It was a pleasure to watch these tiny tots work with such ease.
Group B: (Std. IV to VI) – Model Making
  • “Imagine the concept and make your imagination visible to all” was the main idea of the competition organized for grade IV to VI by Sunita Ma’am and Binu Ma’am.
  • The theme for grade IV was “Season”. Two participants from each house, thus total eight students participated and demonstrated their ability to organize related pictures of the season in the given space to make their model relevant and sensible.
  • For grade V, two participants from each house were selected, thus total eight students were there for making a model of different landscapes like desert, polar region, coastal plain and valley.
  • For grade VI, four participants from each house were selected, thus total sixteen students were there for making models of different land forms like plateau, island, mountain-valley and coastal plain.
  • Participants of Model Making competition showed their ability to visualise the world, perceived and interpreted in their own way. They were able to think in three-dimensional terms and re-created ideas into eye-catching models.
Group C: (Std. VII – VIII) – Draw and Label 
  • Accurate and abstract visualization is just one of the many skills possessed by ‘picture smart’ students. With their exceptional ability to memorize the pictures shown to them, grade VII and VIII students drew and labelled the pictures based on topics picked up from science.
  • There were four participants from each house, thus total sixteen students participated in this competition under the guidance of Anand Sir and Prerak Sir.
Group D: (Std. IX – X) – Mind Mapping
  • A Mind Map is a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlock the potential of the brain. It harnesses the full range of cortical skills – word, image, colour, spatial awareness and precise information of the topic – in a single, unique powerful manner. To encourage students to show their creativity, Mind Mapping competition was organized under the guidance of Samidh Ma’am and Rashmi Ma’am.
  • There were four participants from each house, thus, total sixteen students participated in this competition. The theme “Physical Features of India” and “Natural Resources” were given to grade IX and X respectively.
  • Participants of this competition exhibited an extraordinary ability to create a mental map providing a strong sense of spatial awareness for the topics given to them.
Competition was designed to help students reinforce their strengths and boost their confidence in the areas where could further improve.
Congratulations to all the students who took part in the competition and thanks to all those who contributed to make the event successful.

3Ds for an Ideal Student: Determination, Dedication & Devotion

The destiny of a nation depends on the character of people. And as defined, the character is not merely the awareness of some values but also both, the desire and capacity to uphold them in practice. On one hand, we are experiencing a rapid global change, and on the other, we all are also hoping for peaceful and prosperous global community.

Our school functions on the essence of the basic Indian culture, supported by His Divine Holiness Hariprasad Swamiji. According to him, every child can be an ideal child, if he is determined, devoted and dedicated to understand the core of every task assigned to him. It is said that an ideal student is the wealth and future of the nation. Such student is a hope of a family and pride of the school. Such bright and good students are the gems of an institution, thus they are able to become responsible citizens, statesmen and leaders of tomorrow.

Working on the same line, Satyam House took an initiative to project the aspect of “3Ds” for an ideal student i.e. ‘Determination, Dedication and Devotion’. It was demonstrated in regular assembly through real life examples and live role models. Everyday a personality was selected and was appreciated by teacher and students together.

Day
An Ideal student
Monday
Dr. Prakash Aamte, the sincere social worker
Tuesday
Sardar Patel, an iron man of India
Wednesday
APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India
Thursday
HDH Hariprasad Swamiji, the spiritual master
Friday
Helen Keller, the first deaf & blind person to earn a bachelor
degree
Saturday
Sage Panini, a great Sanskrit Master
All the presentations depicted the value in its real sense. It not only helped students discover the hidden powers of 3Ds – Dedication, Determination and Devotion, but also help them in setting good examples for their personal and professional lives.
– By Satyam House Team

Habits – Key to Effectiveness

We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not just an act, it is a habit.
-Aristotle

The power of habits is mind-boggling. If we develop positive habits then we can multitask efficiently and achieve the desired results in all that we do. The question is, “Is there any standard technique, strategy or rules that can help us to develop the habit of becoming successful?” The answer to this is very well explained in the very inspiring book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens’ by Sean Covey. In this book, he has put forward the seven fundamental habits that can help a teenager achieve the desired goals, fulfill his dreams, build a successful career, live a happy and stress free life and build a highly esteemed character.

Shivam House had an opportunity to explore, analyze, correlate and share the 7 habits of highly effective teenagers with all the students at AVM throughout the week. The following points were discussed in the assembly:

Habit 1: Be Proactive
· I am a responsible person
· I take Initiative
· I choose my actions, attitudes and moods
· I do not blame others for my wrong actions
· I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking

Habit 2: Begin with End in Mind
· I plan ahead and set goals
· I do things that have meaning and make a difference
· I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my schools mission and vision, and look for ways to be a good citizen

Habit 3: Put First Things First
· I spend my time on the things that are most important. This means I say no to the things I know I should not do
· I set priorities, make a schedule and follow my plan
· I am disciplined and organized

Habit 4: Think Win-Win
· I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want
· I make deposits in other’s emotional bank accounts
· When conflicts arise, I look for third alternatives

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand and then to be understood
· I listen to other people’s ideas and feelings. I try to see things from their view points
· I listen to others without interrupting
· I am confident in voicing my ideas
· I look people in the eyes when talking

Habit 6: Synergize
· I value other people strengths and learn from them
· I get along well with others, even people who are different than me
· I work well in groups
· I seek out other people’s ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others we can create better solutions than any one of us alone
· I am humble.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw (Perpetual Learner)
· I take care of my body, by eating right, exercising and taking rest.
· I spend time with family and friends.
· I learn in a lot of ways and lots of places, not just at school.
· I take time to find meaningful ways to help others.


Under the guidance of teachers, the students explored what the parents, teachers and the business world expect from all the students. It was also an opportunity for the students at AVM to realize how the principles of AVM as laid down by Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji are leading them towards becoming the leaders of tomorrow.

What
Parents, Businesses and Teachers want for students?
Mapping
Habits
Swamiji’s
Vision
Independence
Initiative, Self Motivation
Habit 1-3
Be proactive
Begin with end in mind
Put First Things first
Students should have a goal in life which should be serving parents
and society…
Self Confidence
Planning Skills
Goal Setting Skills
Organization/Time Management
Interdependence
Conflict Management Skills
Habits 4-6
Think Win-Win
Seek first to understand then to be understood
Synergize
The Student should have stable Speech (vani), righteousness of act
(vartan) and Thinking (Vichar).
Communication Skills (both listening and presentation skills)
Honesty
Fairness
Openness to Suggestion
Team Work
Problem Solving
Decision Making
Creativity
Renewal
Technical Skills
Habit 7
Sharpen the Saw
  • Physical
  • Mental
  • Emotional
  • Spiritual
The student should be a leader; wherever he should go he should make
changes.
Love, passion, dedication, devotion, determination, enthusiasm and
spirituality.
Good Health and Hygiene
Emotional Stability
Analytical Skills
Involvement in Meaningful skills

 

 Students understood that if they started with any one of the above mentioned habits, then slowly and steadily they will be able to imbibe the others. This will not only help them to become successful but also a good human being.

Such a person will be a significantly contributing factor to the family, society and nation.

Compiled by: Shivam House Team

Student Council Election 2014-15

A leader is one who knows the way, walks the way and shows the way.

To be a responsible citizen of any nation, one needs to inculcate the 3D’s i.e. dedication, devotion and determination. The seeds to develop such a citizen should ideally be sown right at the tender age, during school education.At Atmiya Vidya Mandir, students are given such an opportunity to use their talents, and shape their being not only into better humans but also into proactive citizens of the nation.

According to the vision of H.D.H Swamiji, a child must be made capable of serving his parents, society and nation. And, school is the sphere where a child can learn the value of serving mankind. To put this into action, the Student Council further advanced this year.

 

Atmiya Vidya Mandir witnessed its fifth student council election in the last week of June of the academic year 2014-15. The election campaigning process took place from 26th June to 28th June, wherein all the nominees expressed their thoughts and reasons to be a part of the student council.The speeches were delivered focusing mainly on offering services to school, house and students with utmost devotion and dedication. Each of them was heart-touching and mind-stirring even to the elders. The campaigning process ended, with the election held on 28th June 2014 i.e. on Saturday, at the school prayer hall. It was a challenging task to vote, as all the nominees were equally capable and devoted.

The entire voting process went very smoothly. All the students of grades VI to XII, teachers, Vice-Principal, Principal, Administrator and entire non-teaching staff enthusiastically participated in the election.

1st July 2014, Monday, the most awaited morning rose with the arrival of results and declaration of the new leaders.

The members of 2014-15 Students Council are mentioned below:-

Head Boy: Arpit Trapasiya
Vice Head Boy: Vinamra Patel
Sports Captain: Rahul Patel

Satyam House
Captain: Nikunj Aggarwal
Vice-Captain: Dhyey Rathod

Shivam House
Captain: Sarvanaman Patel
Vice-Captain: Niramay Kachhadiya

Sundaram House
Captain: Smit Patel
Vice-Captain: Sahaj Bakhda

Suhradam House
Captain: Prashit Patel
Vice-Captain: Karan Desai

Waiting for the Student Council to take their charge of duty and assure all of their commitment to serve the school with a difference!

Written by: Rashmi Ma’am

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 HouseShivam House
  • Best Soft Board DisplaySuhradam House
  • Winners of the Debating Club CompetitionShivam House
  • Best House in Creative AssembliesShivam House
  • The Annual Athletic Meet ChampionSundaram House


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

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)