Exhibition on Acids, Bases and Salts by Std 10 students

I Hear And I Forget,

I See And I Remember,

I Do and I Understand.

Chemistry is a science of experiments. Scientific concepts can be easily
understood by performing experiments. Students learn how to handle the
equipments and develop a scientific attitude.

Students of Std 10 recently organised an exhibition on Acid, Base and Salt. They gathered the information about the topic from various books, encyclopaedias and websites.

Students presented experiments to the visitors (students and teachers)
to detect whether the given substance was an acid, basic or salt by
nature. They gathered many food items and checked their nature with
different indicators (litmus paper, phenolphthalein and methyl orange)
and also measured pH of the given material with pH strips and universal
indicator.

In the process, the students (both – the presenters and the visitors)
not only learnt about the topic but also understood the nature of the
food they eat daily. They also found out the three gunas of the food that is, Satvik food, Rajas food and Tamsic food.
Many students became aware that taking certain types of food (like soft
drinks, tea, coffee, spicy food, junk food, etc.) in excess is not good
for the health. They learnt about 10 different ways to maintain a
balance in our body by exploiting the neutralising nature of the
reaction of an alkali and an acid.

The presenters also gathered soil from different areas of the campus and
measured pH of these samples and understood the nature of the soil and
types of crops that grow in a particular type of soil.

The school principal, Dr. Vijay Patel, all teachers, especially the
Chemistry teachers (Anand Sir and Archana Madam) encouraged the students
and discussed with them about their selected topic(s) and gave them
some very valuable feedback. Their questions made the presenting
students think differently at times to find an answer and a few were
left unanswered on the day for the students to dig out an appropriate
explanation.

Overall, the “fair” turned out to be a great learning experience for both the participants and the visiting students. 


Written by: Swayam Madam

Inception of the AVM Debating Club

Live in a way leaving a mark of your existence

Exist in a way establishing your recognition

Be recognised in a way

Rising above the crowd while still standing
 

among them………

It seems as if this verse is especially composed for the students of AVM to inspire them to live a meaningful and purposeful life and nurture leadership quality to become legendary. In addition to this, communication skills are most essential to stand in today’s fast pacing and competitive world. It is mandatory for the students to express their ideas precisely and effectively. Students must have the skill to speak impressively what they think and feel. In order to facilitate the students to acquire such good communicating skills, the founder of the school His Divine Holiness Hariprasad Swamiji wishes AVM students to be great debaters. Hence, the teachers of the English Department of Atmiya Vidya Mandir have started a Debating Club for the students of VI to XII Std.

The registered student members of this AVM Debating Club are divided in many groups to participate in the club activities which allow the students to socialize and build friendships with teammates while collaborating and sharing ideas. Club members are trained by the English teachers to build their individual abilities to reason and employ analytical thinking as they strive to understand all the possible arguments about the topic. The activities of this Debating club are scheduled in such a way that students are trained and taught about all aspects of debating skills. Under this Debating Club, teachers guide students to learn the art of public speaking and critical thinking. While discussing and debating current events, they brainstorm ideas and utilize their research skills to dig up relevant information about the week’s topic. Facilitators/teachers help students develop position statements, supporting arguments, and rebuttals.

Teachers train students to think analytically, abide by debate rules, and become comfortable with friendly discussion in a virtual environment. The first training session with the introduction module was held in the second week of July in which Seema Madam introduced the club to debating. It was an interactive session with activities and a spectacular audio-visual presentation. In the second session Prabhudarshan Sir taught the students Assertion-Reasoning-Evidence, commonly known as A-R-E for debates. Students were benefitted with many rules and procedure of debating and communicating ideas through this module. The third session was conducted by Nikhil Sir in which he taught students how to write and deliver a speech with respect to debates. It ended with a very apt example from the movie Julius Caesar – Speech by Marc Anthony to the Romans on death of Caesar. It was followed by training and practice of research skills by Prajval Sir. In the next training session, Chirag Sir explained the students how to refute and respond the verbal attack in a Debate. In this manner, through different modules and training sessions, students will be trained and taught the skills and art of debating by English Teachers.

Fukuda (2003), in a debate study conducted with Japanese students, found that “before the debates only 30.8% of the students were not afraid of expressing their opinions when they were not the same as others’. After the debate this figure rose to 56.7%.” AVM teachers believe that the knowledge or skills which came from the practice in the debates lead the students to become more accustomed to expressing opinions. This suggests that, although debating can be challenging, through debating skills, students can help themselves to further develop their communicative skill. Students of AVM have a lot of contributing practical reasons for being the part of Debating Club and getting involved with debate. Learning how to prepare a speech will probably improve their marks in English essays. Learning about political issues and current affairs will help them in Social Studies.

For all these advancement and achievement, the ultimate inspiration is this Quote: “My Favourite activity in school was debating. I picked the side of the motion last which meant which was unpopular. I did this because it required a lot of thinking”. P.P. Swamishree

Science Competition 2012-13

It was 14 July 2012 when all the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir, from grade one to ten enthusiastically gathered in the school assembly hall to witness the inter house science competition.

There were four categories of participants. Grades one and two; grades three and four; grades five, six and seven and, grades eight nine and ten.

The participants from grades one and two took part in the picture and video based quiz in which they answered questions based on their everyday experiences.

A scientific process or scientific method requires observations. The teams of grades three and four presented a drama each on a different scientific concept. Four dramas were presented, one from each house (Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram and Suhradam). The topics were:

  • Satyam House : Body Parts
  • Shivam House : Importance of vitamins
  • Sundaram House : Plants and animals are dependent on each other.
  • Suhradam House : Solar family.

Based on their observations of the drama(s), respective members of the house from grades three and four attempted a set of questions for their house after the dramas.

Grades five, six, and seven participated in a three rounds quiz with multiple choice questions (MCQ) based on their grade levels and everyday experiences.

Finally, house teams from grades eight, nine and ten also participated in a quiz in which they were posed questions which required them to apply their knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology. The questions gave them opportunities to think about their strengths and weaknesses whilst giving them a realistic perspective of Science.

Throughout the event, the audience also actively participated in the competition. They too were asked questions and gifted chocolates as reward for their correct answer.

As is the nature of any competition, the results were the most awaited part through out. It turned out to be quite a thrilling finish eventually with the first and second houses separated only by half a point!

The results were as follows:
First: Sundaram House
Second: Suhradam House
Third: Satyam House 


Compiled by: Anand Sir

Investiture Ceremony 2012-13

“With great power, comes great responsibilities.” – (Uncle Ben to Peter Parker)

30th June 2012 was a very auspicious day for the students as well as the staff members of Atmiya Vidya Mandir as it was the day of honouring the newly elected members of the student council. The ceremony started at 11:30 AM after the usual Saturday school hours.

The hosts of the ceremony Pranshu Savani and Abhishek Panchal first invited our Principal Dr Vijay Patel and Administrator Mr Harish Patel to perform poojan of Thakorji. Next came a mesmerising performance by the school’s choir of the song “I believe I can fly” with an able guidance from Somnath Sir. The group led by Raj Panpaliya, Siddharth Jain and Nirmal Patel left one and all present there with high spirits and hope and set a perfect stage for the oath taking ceremony of the new student council members.

The newly elected Head Boy: Vikas Patel, Vice Head Boy: Rohan Shingala, Sports Captain: Harshill Soni and the captains and vice captains of various houses marched towards the stage for the oath taking ceremony. They were followed by a highly enthusiastic team of house prefects. All the council members were then conferred their titles and responsibilities by the respective house teachers through pinning up the badges. These stars, shining due to their achievements, badges and most importantly their determination and humility, then took their oaths administered by the school principal.

The school then received an inspirational treat in the form of a group dance on the song “Lakshya” choreographed by Suhradam Sir. The new Head Boy Vikas Patel then conveyed his feelings to the school and appealed to all the students to excel in whatever they were involved in. Further, our principal Vijay Sir enlightened the newly elected student council members and all the students by his experience-filled-wisdom and urged everyone to ponder over the benefits of practicing “atmiyata” on a daily basis.
The head boy, vice head boy and the house captains then lit the sacred lamp marking the beginning of the new year full of challenges and achievements with sincere prayers to remain committed to atmiyata in whatever they would do. The ceremony ended with the school song and the lively hearts then marched to the school dining hall for a sumptuous lunch.
Compiled by: Denish Zalavadiya, Deval Patel, Manav Patel (12th Science)

2012-13 Student Council Elections

For the smooth functioning of any institution, stable governance is a must. Similarly, for maintenance of discipline in the school and representing of students’ views to the school authorities, a students’ council is required. Thus, Atmiya Vidya Mandir witnessed its third student council election in the second week of the academic year 2012-13.

The students who were shortlisted for the posts of House Captains and House Vice Captains in the council gave their campaign speeches during the Monday-Thursday morning assemblies. The nominees for the post of Vice Head Boy & Sports Captain appealed for votes on Friday. Whereas the nominees for the central post of the council i.e. Head Boy tried to win the hearts of students and teachers and appealed for votes on Saturday.

 

 
The elections were held on 23rd June 2012 in the school assembly hall from 11 AM to about 1 PM. The students and teachers gave their votes using an electronic voting system and witnessed the functioning of a true democracy in the process.

The results of the elections were as follows:

Head Boy:           Vikas Patel (Class 11 Commerce)
Vice Head Boy:  Rohan Shingala (Class 9)
Sports Captain Harshill Soni (Class 9)

Satyam House
Captain:             Sachin Verlekar (Class 10)
Vice Captain:    Jay Vankawala (Class 8)

Shivam House
Captain:             Het Adhvaryu (Class10)
Vice Captain:     Abhishek Patel (Class 8)

Sundaram House
Captain:             Tanmay Patel (Class 10)
Vice Captain:     Vaishvik C Patel (Class 8)

Suhradam House
Captain:             Harsh Vaghela (Class 10)
Vice Captain:    Vaishvik B Patel (Class 8)

And thus starts a new journey of Atmiya Vidya Mandir for a yet another year led by these remarkable student leaders.

Compiled by: Ishan Vaghasiya, Purva Patel, Romal Patel, Aditya Patel (12th Science)

Lessons learnt from the Great Depression

An attempt was made to reveal the historical decisions and events that led to the Great Depression during the 1930s in the form of a book review presentation on “Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World”. The author of this book is Liaquat Ahamed, a Pulitzer History Prize winner, who received his education from Cambridge and Harvard and has also worked in the World Bank.

The presentation was prepared and given by a group of four members: Anand Kalavadia (Leader, Reader), Agam Shah (Information), Harsh Solanki (Artist, Concept draws), Vishlesh Gondalia (Presenter, Computing).

The author has explained the cause(s) of the great depression focussing on individuals who had contributed to the start. Benjamin Strong Jr. of the New York Federal Reserve, Montagu Norman of the Bank of England, Émile Moreau of the Banque de France, and Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbank were the key players. These were the central bankers of the four major powers of the time – US, Britain, France and Germany. The book unfolds the details by explaining about the situations of these countries before the First World War, The Great Depression and after it.

The conclusion made was – a great depression can occur again if ruthless and unthoughtfull decisions are taken.

Quick Links:

Book review 1: Good to
Great
Book review 2: We are
like that only
Book review 3: 2G
Spectrum Scam

Written by: Vishlesh Gondalia and the Lords of the Finance team

Reviewing the 2G Spectrum Scam

On 20th April, 2012 we had a book review presentation on the book “2G SPECTRUM SCAM”. The author of this book is Dr. Subramanian Swamy who is a renowned economist and political head of the JANATA PARTY.

The students who presented this book were:-

  • Aneesh.P.Sharma (Leader and Reader)
  • Saurabh.B.Biyani (Multimedia Person)
  • Agam.N.Shah (Artist)
  • Prafful.G.Chandaliya (Presenter)

The presentation was divided in 5 parts, they were:-

  1. About Author
  2. What is Corruption?
  3. 2G Spectrum Scam
  4. C.B.I. Investigation
  5. Jago India (conclusion)

There were a few concept draws made on topics like Impact of Corruption and The Causes and Solutions to Corruption.

A cover page was also made by the group. Through this presentation the audience was able to gain the knowledge about how this scam had taken place. With the help of the Judges the students were able to know where to improve upon.

The presentation left both the presenting team and the audience in a thoughtful mode. And one could hear all the thoughts : “What should I do to light that little lamp and keep it lit so that such evils like corruption continues to fade out until it disappears completely?

Quick Links:

Book review 1: Good to
Great
Book review 2: We are
like that only

 

Written by: Aneesh Sharma and the 2G Spectrum Scam Team

Reviewing the Indian Consumer

The second (of the total 4) book review presentation was given by 11th Commerce students on the book “We are like that only” by Rama Bijapurkar. This book is about the mentality of Indian consumers before and after liberalisation.

The review was presented by 3 students Harsh P. Patel (reader and presenter), Shubham S. Bagaria (presenter) and Raj V. Patel (artist/designer).

The presentation highlighted various aspects of the India market and Indian consumers. The concepts such as the market structure and the DNA of Indian society were explained with the help of concept draws. The content on the slides was very informative and graphical which made the presentation very visually appealing. The students even took an initiative to correspond to the author through a written mail.

This book review presentation helped the students learn more about the modern Indian consumers’ behaviour. The presentation was followed by a Question and Answer session after which various invaluable suggestions were given to the members of the group by esteemed panel of judges.

It was indeed a very enlightening book review presentation. 

Quick Links:

Book review 1: Good to
Great
Book review 3: 2G
Spectrum Scam

 

Written by: Nikhil Chaudhary and the “We are like that only” Team (11th Commerce)

Fun and some reality check in Ahmedabad

The students of class 1 to 6 enjoyed their outing on 3rd and 4th April 2012. The journey started on 3rd April at 6:00 am towards Kankaria lake Ahmedabad having a halt at Baroda at 8:30 am. The Lake is a polygon with 34 sides and 3 balconies on to the water from the edge of the lake. The place is peaceful and blessed with the beauty of nature. The pleasing view of the lake, the humming and chirping of birds and the greenery bordering the lake made students fall in love with this place. Candies, ice creams and beverages were served throughout the journey.

The students enjoyed the colourful creation of God in the form of various aquatic lives. Kankaria aquarium is the abode of beautiful fishes and colourful plants.

The luxurious train journey was a joyful experience. A train named ‘Atal Express’ was imported from London, the train circles the lake. Students enjoyed the ride with the company of teachers.

In order to experience floating, students were taken for the sailing in Kankaria Lake. Then the time came to relish the delicious lunch at Kankaria.

Adding to the enjoyment, the students were taken to Bal-Vatika. The Bal-Vatika has collection of mirrors which made students laugh. Amusement park entertained the kids to its fullest.

A dream world for the little ones, Kids City, was also visited and explored. A miniature of an entire city is created where the kids can role-play various occupations and take part in everyday tasks just like adults. It is a bouquet of 19 civilian activities, giving insight to children about their origin and application in real time. In this city, children learned about the adult world, and the value of money and work.

This gave kids the chance to become grown-ups. The various activities that they participated in were functioning of telecoms, police academy, court room, fire station, archaeology, theatre, ice-cream making, NCC etc. This air-conditioned complex has interactive models of a bank, radio station, fire and emergency service stations, IT centre, BRTS, an airport, a police station, theatre and city governance which were explored and enjoyed by all the students.

Fun had a halt here and students called for a joyful day at Kankaria with the treat of ice cream.

The tour was continued, and forwarded towards Mehsana Water Park. Shanku is India’s first water park and largest in Eurasia that offers fun and adventure for every age group. The residence was of ancient kind and cottages were full of accessories and comforts. Surrounded by a Mughal garden, dormitories have a royal look. The students enjoyed swimming, dining and in all living there. The place is well equipped with all the modern facilities.

The next day began with a yummy Breakfast. Students were excited for self-boating and were allowed with a company of an elder in the boat.

The park offered excellent rides for children as well as kids, which ranges from lazy still river to the thrilling tunnels. It consists of rides which are very exciting and adventurous. Students not only enjoyed the pools but also had fun in showers and falls and many more activities throughout the day. In all, the most awaiting fun approached in the form of Water Park.

Concisely, the tour was a whole lot of fun, an endless dose of play and a great deal of learning.


Written by: Rashmi Madam

Experiential Learning at Mt. Abu

Filled with the joy and enthusiasm, the students were ready on 30th March 2012 to explore a new horizon of glorious India. In order to provide our students with the opportunity of “experiential learning”, we have been on the excursion of nature for 3 days on the hills of Abu, Rajasthan. During this adventurous endeavour, students discovered the new insightful ideas about the existence of life and nature.

Mount Abu, situated at an average height of 1,219 mt’s above sea level, is the oasis in the deserted land of Rajasthan. It possesses the honour of being the only hill-station in Rajasthan as well as in north-west India.

Scout camp turned out to be an interesting experience for the students. The professional trainers not only guided the students but also helped them for every single activity conducted during the camp. There were around 10 activities (like ladder climbing, rope climbing and other such physically challenging activities) which were carried out throughout the day. All the activities were designed, keeping in mind the age group of students, to develop the kinaesthetic skills of students.

The learning was beyond the limits of subject and content. Hills of Abu presented unknown historical facts and displayed unseen geographical transformations through several types of rock formations. Caving gave a new exposure through ‘learning by doing’. Tracking provided the real experience of the natural formations of mountains and hills.

The science of gravity was explained by the guide before climbing the titanic rocks. The skill of balancing was developed during the rappelling activity. Acquaintance with the core nature not only exposed students to the opaque forests but also exposed them with the hardship of the tribal people. Night tracking was very adventurous and amazing. It turned out to be a first time experience for many of the members. The fear of dark and height were overcome during the tracking through the forest.

Nakki Lake, the mythological lake with a very interesting and sacred story behind its creation, is the heart of Mount Abu. Students sailed the lake in groups accompanied with teachers and staff members. That was followed by a visit to the Delwara Jain temple, which is an architectural wonder that has been preserved as an ancient heritage of aesthetic arts. The carving and structuring of the temple were observed and appreciated by everyone.

The best among luxury hotels in Mount Abu is Hotel Hiltone. With a wide range of well-furbished rooms, it offers a homely atmosphere with all modern amenities. Everyone was paid the utmost attention and served with care and concern. The students experienced comfort and relaxation in the rooms after the adventurous activities. The delicious food was served with starters, desserts and ice creams.

Abu offers a tranquil and tender ambience amidst the lap of Aravalli range. Students experienced the environmental changes and atmospheric variations. They were exposed to the diversity of languages and people. Tourists from different places and with different languages interacted with them.

The beauty of nature certainly inspired more dynamism in the students. It remains an unforgettable experience as it has given a new ray of learning and knowledge. By the end of the excursion, everyone was contented and filled with joy, ready for a new venture of life with the lessons of experiential learning.

Under the efficient guidance of Principal Sir, Vice Principal and the staff members, the students enjoyed the tour to the fullest. The support and effective planning of management made the tour an enriching experience for all. 


Written by: Chirag Sir