Vidya Dhwani November 2006

News Letter
Vol 10 Issue 1
Hi everyone!
I can't believe it! Vidya Dhwani is entering its 10th year already!
This edition of Dhwani is very special to all those who have
worked on it, and I sincerely hope that all you readers have as
much fun going through it as we've had preparing the issue.
Watch out for an exclusive interview with Ms. Asha and
Ms. G. Meenakshi, a few quotes from our tiny tots on how they
feel about the new block, club reports and the other usuals.
Until next time, ciao and happy reading!
-Student Editor
VM is still on celebratory mode ! Vidya Dhwani turns 10 this
year chalking up yet another triumph to her credit.
'Improvement' and 'Innovation' are the key words today and
conscientious efforts are being made to achieve refinement in
teaching practices and learning levels. Edward de Bono's “CORT
Thinking Tools” was a step in this direction with the tools being
implemented in all the classes. Similarly, 'HEY MATH' was
introduced to enable our students to explore new vistas and
measure up to global standards.
Meanwhile, looks like a '50 year old'- our Project Day had a new
look!
So folks, hope you enjoyed the Project Day.
-Teacher Editor
[
NOV. 2006
Vidya Dhwani…..great, fun, cool and exciting
to read. We are always keen for our copy. It
interests us a lot and we are sure everyone else is
interested in it too. Thank you, Vidya
Dhwani!! Keep up the good work!! We are sure
that the next edition will be as informative as
the ones before.
- Students of class VI D
We want to shift to the KG block because it is
new, big and airy. Also, primary children
should be allowed to go to the canteen once in a
while.
Karthik, Class V
I think every class should have two reporters for
the Dhwani. We would also like our classrooms
to be painted and regularly dusted.
-Dhwani Sabesh, Class IX
It would be nice if the newsletter is circulated
every month rather than at the end of each
term.
-Y.S Vishvak, Class X
We would really like a study-hour included in
the timetable
-Samyuktha, Class V
Susan Ninan, Rachna Ravi, Krithvi Shyam, Anantha Ranganathan,
Athirupa Manichandar, S.Harini , Vivek Parthasarathy,
Rohan Natarajan, S.Hamsini,V.Anjanaa , Ashwath Rabindranath, Surya
Ramachandran, P.Shruthi, Shreyasi,
Vijayasri Sarath, Anuradha Anand, A.B. Harikrupa.
]
TO SINGAPORE
AND BACK
As a part of the academic/cultural
exchange program, a team
comprising four teachersMs Maheshwari Natarajan,
Ms Geetha Subramanian,
Ms B.Chitra, Ms Jayalakshmi
and two students-Harini.S and
Divya.H of class 12 visited
Singapore's Methodist Girls
School (MGS). Here's what they
had to say:
“The objective of our visit was to
examine and understand their
pattern of education and schooling
and come back with suggestions
that might improve our system. It
was also to look at the feasibility of
a twinning programme between the
two schools on a sustained basis. We
spent a week in July at Singapore.
Like our Golden Jubilee
celebrations last year, the MGS
family was celebrating its 119th
Founder's Day Service and
Graduation Ceremony in a very
vibrant manner throughout the
school.
MGS was a great host during our
stay there. We had a daily routine:
attend School assembly at 7.15
AM, then attend a few classes like
Mathematics, Geography, Chinese,
P.E (that's our P.T) and Social
Studies / Literature in “Sec 3T”
(equivalent to our 10th standard).
The teachers too had their own agenda. We were in and out of classes
pertaining to our own areas of specializations.
We also participated in special events like Singapore's “Racial
Harmony Day”, the official opening of the Puan Sri Helene Tan
Chin Tuan Building (presided over by the Minister for Education,
Singapore, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam), “Fringe Activities”
organised by MGS and the splendid dinner hosted by MGS in Raffles
City Hotel on the eve of our departure. As a part of these events, we
gave song and dance performances and also participated in the
exhibition presenting themes about our school and country. In the
evenings, we had fun visiting the tourist spots and shopping areas of
Singapore.
This tour to Singapore and Methodist Girls School had been an
absolutely unforgettable experience for us. The whole visit has been an
eye opener for all of us. Not only have we had a new experience but
have also gained insight into a different system of education and a
whole new set of friends! ”
Crazes come and go but it looks as though one craze is here to
stay… almost all the students right from the 6th to the 12th seem to
be hooked on to 'Orkut', a new site in affiliation with Google .The
site, with it's simplistic and user friendly layout, has been an
immediate success with the students and Alumni alike. Orkut
serves as a bridge between people from different places and is an
excellent spot to make new friends, keep in touch with existing ones
and find old ones. If you haven't tried it yet, you should. On a more
patriotic note, there at least 7 communities dedicated to V.M!!
If you have a Gmail ID, and know someone with an Orkut account,
get an invite sent to you and start orkutting!!
Come August, Vidya Mandir prepared itself for its much
awaited school day. Staged at the Mylapore Fine Arts
Club on the 18th of August, the school day was simple and
yet elegant. The Chief Guest was Mrs. Saroja
Ramamrutham, actress of the yesteryears. The evening was
a thoroughly enjoyable one, starting with the traditional
orchestra and ending with the high school English play,
"All My Sons".
The Hindi play-"Sarkari Hospital", Tamil play
–“Maariyadu Nenjam” and “Badrakali” in Sanskrit,
captivated the audience. The dance drama was perfectly
co-ordinated. The middle school English play, "The
Princess and the Woodcutter" was executed to perfection.
The amazing props made by the students, made the stage
look more colourful!!
Teachers who have served the school for commendable
periods of 20 and 30 years were given awards that night.
Courtesy: Jim Davis
Students of classes one to five were in
for a treat with a week filled with
different movies at Woodlands
theatre. The money collected was
presented to "Child Welfare
Associations.”
The annual excursions for the
primary took off well before the rains.
Class 1 went to Guindy Park as usual;
Class 3 went to Vandaloor Zoo and
had a fabulous time. Class 4 went to
Tonekela, a camping ground in the
outskirts of Chennai. Class 5 went to
Mahabalipuram, where they went
trekking in the hills and saw Arjuna's
penance, Krishna's Butter Ball and
the "Five Rathas". They also had a
sumptuous lunch at Maamalla
resorts.
Vidya Prashna, a challenging
Interschool quiz competition for class
5, was conducted in the school.
Sishya walked away with the First
Prize. St. Michaels came second and
Sacred Hearts secured the third place.
Then the students had Gita chanting.
They chanted parts of the Gita every
morning. On the second of August,
World Peace Day, a volunteer from
the Chinmaya Mission came and
recited with them.
DHWANI GOES TO KINDERGARDEN
A new block for the kindergarten
th
was inaugurated on the 20 of
August. A few weeks back, we
"interviewed" some of the
children, and here's what they
had to say:Q: What do you like about the
new block?
Mano: I like new buildings...
Abirami: It has nice chairs!
Priyadarshini: I like the new
sandpit.
Q: But even the old block had
sandpits. Why do you like this
new one better?
Priyadarshini(stubbornly):I like
the sandpit
Bhavani: I like the pictures. I
have a fascination for pictures.
The Annual Prize Day was held on the 9th of June this
year. The chief-guest for the day was Mr. T.S. Krishna
Murthy, the former Chief Election Commissioner.
Mr. Srikanth, the Secretary of the school committee
handed out the prizes.
DAY
A small group of middle school kids were especially
enthusiastic, cheering on V. Balakrishnan and Pavithra
Ramanujam as they came on stage for the 'n'th time to
collect their respective prizes.
Yet another term has gone by as eventful as ever, and
here we are, bracing up for hard work again, But
before that, a briefing on all that happened this term :
•
The
school prefects took part in a training
programme aimed at improving their leadership
and communicative skills and learning to handle
all kinds of situations.
•
HEY MATH IN PROGRESS
•
Class
12 had visitors from the Educational
Council of Canada, the National University of
Singapore and from the merchant navy to provide
career guidance ideas.
•
The
THE PREFECT TRAINING PROGRAMME
Ms. Srividhya, our receptionist, was given a
farewell party, after more than a decade of service.
•
The
Mylapore Times conducted a workshop on
journalism, which was attended by two of our
students, Shankar and Sidharth of class 9. They
received professional training on basic writing
skills.
Middle and High school (up to class 10) have
recently been introduced to an online
mathematics network, Hey Math, where they
receive extra practice in Mathematics from their
teachers.
INMUN program was held during 6th to 8th of
October at Faridabad. The students who
participated were Kripa.S.Ganesh, Vivek
Parthasarathy, Akhila Phadnis, S.Jaichander,
Avantika R. Kannan, Rachna Ravi and
M.Shanmugapriya of class 11, accompanied by
Ms. Bhagyalakshmi and Ms. Bhuvaneshwari.
They represented North Korea and Mozambique.
•
The
•
This
THE RESULT OF STUDENT VOLUNTEERS MINDING
THE CLASS DURING TEACHER’S DAY
•
Teachers'
th
Day was celebrated on September 5 . It
was a simple affair and we had the usual rounds of
volleyball, throwball and indoor games, minus the
Anthaakshari this time.
•
The
campus' security system has been reinforced.
We now have extremely competent security at
each of the school gates.
year's Independence Day celebrations
consisted of dance performance by the 10th
standard, a Villu Paatu about Sister Subhalakshmi,
our founder, and Vande Mataram by boys from
the 10th and 11th standard. No better way to
celebrate independence. Jai Hind!!
•
This
year we have an influx of new staff. We
extend a warm welcome to Mrs.Latha Raja(our
new receptionist), Mrs.Padmasini
Venkatesan(Librarian), Mrs.Vijayalakshmi
Suresh(Biology), Mrs. Subhapradha(Sanskrit) and
Mr.B.Rajmohan(our Assistant Librarian).
Reflections 2006, our Inter School Culturals,
was held on 30th June and 1st July, with
Ms Ranjani and Ms Gayatri inaugurating it.
P.S Senior Secondary School finished first,
with PSBB coming second. Ms Uma
Padhmanaban distributed the prizes to the
winners. New wacky additions to the events
this year were mummy making and junk
music.
Students of classes 10, 11 and 12 actively
participated in "Entrenous 2006", held on
the 8th of July. The day kicked off with
Antakshari and culminated in the evening
with the variety programme.
It was unanimously agreed that this has been
the best performance by the 10th yet, with
10 A securing the third place for overall
performance. The Entrenous shield was
bagged by 12B, and 12D finished as
runners-up.
This year, the first inter school cultural event
that the students of Class 12 participated in
was Chettinad Vidyashram's Maithri 2005-'06.
Actor Parthiban inaugurated the event and
drummer Shivamani was the Chief Guest for
the valedictory function. The rich topping to
this gala affair was when the students of VM
crowded onto the stage and held the coveted
overall shield in their hands! Second year in
succession!!
Vidya Mandir also took part in
Reverberations 2006, conducted by the
PSBB group of schools, and came overall
second. Among the highlights of Reverbs,
were its Chief Guests, actors Surya and
Vikram.
The 11th standard took part in two Inter
School culturals - Kalanjali, hosted by Bala
Vidya Mandir and Kala Vaibhavam hosted
by Hindu Senior Secondary School.
At Kalaniali, we bagged the 3rd place.
R.Vaishnavi was awarded a fabulous
Rs.18,000 gift hamper from Club Mahindra
for her brilliant vocal performance in the
Carnatic music event. We claimed the 2nd
place in Kala Vaibhavam.
Interact Club: The installation of the new office bearers was held on
the 20th of July. The members attended a presentation by the Madras
School of Social Work on important social issues. The annual raffle
draw was conducted on the 24th of August with record collection
made and distributed to various needy organizations.
Heritage Club: The club was inaugurated on 20th of July. The club
organised successful activities to promote traditional games like
Paandi, Pambaram, Pallanguzhi, Paramapadham etc. On September
7th, the club members recorded a program for an All-India Radio
show. Gyanavani (104.2 FM) will broadcast this program on January
8th, 2007 to increase the general awareness about our city. With their
theme as “Trailblazers-Women of Chennai”, 10 students performed a
“Villupaatu”, on Sister Subbalakshmi, one of the founders of VM.
Literary And Dramatics Club: This year, Mr. Vincent D'Souza
inaugurated the Literary & Dramatics club. In the month of June, the
members of standard 10, 11 and 12 attended the exceptionally
hilarious play “The Cut of Hamlet”, by Evam.
Commerce Club: On August 2nd and 3rd, Class 12 Commerce
students participated in “Business Battle” (the Commerce Culturals
of P.S.B.B). The events were challenging and varied. In this battle of
wits, VM finished in the 2nd place. Then, later in the month,
Mr. Nagarajan of Shankara Coaching Centre gave an enlightening
speech to 12th Commerce students about the present CA course.
Maths Club: On Saturday 15th of July, Maths Club members
attended an interesting presentation and lecture on 'Magic Squares'
by Mr. L.S. Ganeshan.
Chemistry Club: This term, the members enjoyed a Crossword and a
Sudoku competition for the juniors while they had a quiz for the
seniors. The 12th class members went on a field trip to Orchid, a
pharmaceuticals factory and waste disposal plant where they (quite
literally) saw chemistry in action.
On the 23rd of October, Mole Day was celebrated by decorating the
Chemistry lab lavishly with projects made by the students.
Nature & Exnora Club: The Exnora and Nature Club of our school
went on a trip to Parambikulam for 3 days. The students were taught
to identify a few animal and bird sounds and saw bones and pug
marks. On the 14th of October, the members of 8th and 9th class
attended a puppet show by Mrs. Bhanumathi of 'Paavai Puppetry'.
They had fun learning the art of making puppets and exhibited their
creations at the end of the show. Then, on 21st of August, the
members went on a trip to crocodile bank.
SPAM Club: The members of the SPAM Club attended a music
forum on the 9th of August. They learnt about the structures of
different Ragas from experts in the music field.
23-10-2006 MOLES
IN CONTROL
HERITAGE MEMBERS
PERFORMING VILLUPATTU
Ms. Asha Raghavan and Ms.G Meenakshi are two teachers whom
we miss terribly. Though life goes on as usual in school, Asha miss'
trademark nod and GM miss' warm smile will be remembered
forever. Here are excerpts from their conversation with Anjanaa V…
AR: I have a heavy heart… VM has been my home
away from home.
GM: Yes memories keep flooding me…(Goes into a
wave of nostalgia). I was so at ease in VM. It has this
warm atmosphere that makes you feel so welcome and
accepted. In these years, I have laughed and cried,
taught and learnt…
AR: Each day was something different in VM. The
students on one hand are fun loving and
mischievous, but at the same time, charming and
receptive. They looked upon us as friends rather
than teachers…
GM: That's true. I've spent some of the best years of my
life here, teaching Biology and English. The Interact
Club brought out the best in me. Every year, giving
organizations the money we made from the raffle draw
made me appreciate how fortunate I was. Serving the
Kargil victims and the earthquake victims gave me
immense pleasure and satisfaction.
AR: Like wise, for me it's been the Nature Club. I
loved running it and being a part of it. I hope the
club inspires many more children to value and adore
nature
GM: I will miss VM a lot. I wish all of you the very best
in your lives.
AR: Stick to principles and values. It is with
poignant feelings that I say goodbye and the best of
luck.
•
Bagwat
Krishnan of class 8 was recently
awarded a prize from the YMIA for his
excellent performance on the keyboard.
Not only that, the Lions Club of Madras
presented him with the Melvin Jones
Award for his amazing talent. "Child
Prodigy"- yes, that was the word they
used. Talk about musical genius!
•
Ours
was adjudged one of the best
Heritage Clubs by the INTACH at the
national level and the club was presented
with a cash award of Rs.2000.
•
Satyanarayan
Rao of class 10 has been
selected for training to the commonwealth
games in shuttle badminton. Sainath of 9D and Anirudh Kasthuri of 10-C have
been chosen for state cricket. Way to go
guys!!
•
Our
Principal Mrs.Bhavani Raghunandan
attended a course on leadership at the
prestigious Harvard University, Boston.
The canteen, as usual, did brisk business,
and our mascot, Mr Cheetah, was
constantly seen prowling around the
stadium! The middle school performed its
well-practiced mass drill display. Let's not
forget that we VMites are health
conscious too! A yoga demonstration
quickly followed the mass drill display.
Parents had a shot at the fun through the
events organised specially for them.
It seemed as though no time had passed since our Golden
st
Jubilee sports bonanza, and here it was - our 51 Annual Sports
Meet at Rajarathnam Stadium on the 25th of August.
A special feature of this year's march past was that the Road
Safety Patrol (RSP) cadets marched along with the four
houses.(VMites just get better and better at marching!)
The part that was most looked forward to were, of course, the
EVENTS. It was exhilarating to watch the sportspersons of our
school in pristine condition, doing what they did the best.
The Inter House Dramatics was held on the
nd
22 of July with the four houses, Kailash,
Kanchenjunga, Nilkant and Nangaparbat all
vying for first place.
The judges were Yog Japi and Karthik Varma.
The competition was a great opportunity for
the students to show case their talents,
especially when the electricity failed us and
Nilkant had to make do with talking at the top
of their voices so that everyone could hear.
The Chief Guest Mr. V.B Chandrasekhar
(former Indian cricket player), distributed
the prizes to our deserving students.
In the Juniors category, the sports
champions were Raghav and
th
Nivedhita(8 ); in the Seniors category, it
was Pradeep Bharadwaj and Ramya(10th);
and Super Seniors, Shivani S (11 B) and
R.Vignesh(12 C).
IN RSP'S WE TRUST
Four cadets of the R.S.P- Nandeeshwar, Shankar, Siddharth
Mahesh, and H.B Keshava-represented the school in the R.S.P.
Seminar, held in P.S Higher Secondary School.
Mr. Suryanarayanan, Additional Commissioner of St. John's
ambulance, gave them tips on road safety. The Cadets also
participated in a rally held on the Beach Road, to advise people
against using cell phones while driving. These cadets along with
the other RSP cadets now tackle the traffic in and around the
school with ease!
While Nangaparbat and Kanchenjunga staged
comedies, Kailash and Nilkant “played” out
more serious themes.
At the end of a really good show, Nilkant
bagged the shield for the best play (“All My
Sons”) with Kailash coming close behind. H.B
Keshava and Keerthi Ramanathan won the
Best Actor and Actress Awards respectively.
Hrishikesh Sidhartha was adjudged the Best
Supporting Actor and Sandhya Iyer, the Best
Supporting Actress.
The prizes for the Best Director, Music
Director and Art Director went to Anjana
Palepu (Kailash), Akshey Krishna
(Kanchenjunga) and Susan Ninan and crew
(Nilkant).
We miss Santhoshini Rajendran (11 D), who
passed away in August. She was a good friend and a
valued student. She succumbed to injuries
sustained in an auto accident.
May her soul rest in peace.