A Refreshing & Inspiring Trip!

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Despite being a very young school with just 3 graduating batches so far, we are proud that our students are already doing well wherever they have gone across India or across the globe. With their hard work, Param Pujya Swamishree’s blessings and God’s grace, all are doing well at very good places.These Atmiyans have been building small Atmiya communities wherever they have gone. This Rakshabandhan break, we decided to visit two of these Atmiya communities.

The first trip was to Chennai, to meet with those studying at the SRM University. There are 16 AVM students studying there from the three 3 batches combined. As a pleasant surprise, we were greeted by familiar faces right outside the Chennai airport on 9th August evening. And it was such a pleasure to see them! We stayed with them for 3 very memorable days.We spent the entire Sunday with them, discussing all sorts of topics with them: about personal, academic, professional and spiritual progress. On Monday, we visited the university to find out first-hand about the place and the opportunities it offered. We were able to look around 3 departments, meet two HoDs and the Nanotechnology Research Centre Head.

The labs and the research facilities of the university are truly impressive. We were touched even more so by meeting with the HoDs. Dr. Thyagarajan (HoD, Dept. of Biotechnology), came across as an extremely learned and yet humble person. He spent about 2 hours with us, personally showing us around the labs and discussing his views about education and concern for welfare of the youths.

In our meeting with Dr. Murali (HoD, Dept. of Mechatronics), we found him also to be very much concerned about the well-being of the students. And in Mr Gopalakrishnan (Centre Incharge, Nanotechnology Research Centre), we found a patriotically hearted spiritual person.

We are extremely happy about the progress and performance of the atmiyans and especially so by seeing that they have continued with the Atmiya way of life, staying together, maintaining simplicity. They have made us proud of their continuing with the legacy. It was wonderful to see our children mature into responsible young men who are not only conscious about their academics and professional life, but also caring about their families, and making an effort to further improve their personal life. We feel all the more assured that these individuals will grow into outstanding citizens of our wonderful country and make their parents proud.

As for our views of the SRM University, we found it to be a place that offers ample opportunities for research, has great infrastructure while constantly improving and adding new facilities. Students indeed have the opportunity to learn from faculty who have exemplary qualifications and experience, and also the chance to study at some of the best places around the world due to the tie-ups with foreign universities.

The next part of the trip was to Mumbai where another sizeable community of atmiyans reside, doing great at great places like NMIMS, CBS, NM and HR. We spent an evening with them (with some good coffee!) and discussed a wide range of topics related to their all round development.

We came back re-energised and refresh, inspired by the thoughts, actions and aspirations of these young gentlemen.

And we look forward to meeting with them all soon and over and over again.

જેના મિત્રો સરસ, એની જીન્દગી સફળ!

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The one who has the company of True Friends, lives a truly successful life.

Friendship is the most important and influential factor of our lives. Friends provide the stimulus to the way we think, speak, act, talk, behave, etc. They delineate our character and mould our success stories. Shivam House was very much privileged to celebrate the value of “Friends” as part of weekly assemblies.
So, how do we make friends? What kind of success can a friend help us achieve? Generally, we make friends based on the following:1. Usefulness: How useful can one be to you? Will he lend me his perfume? Will he share his chocolates with me? Will he help me to complete my homework? Will he support me in case an adverse situation arises? These are some of the questions we ask ourselves and confirm, before making friends.

2. Pleasure: Some people are fun loving and their presence drives all your worries away. They always have some funny things to share that make you roar with laughter. Some others may accompany you in shopping and watching a movie. You may share the same interests in academics sports and technologies, for example:

  • I like watching and discussing about American Football and Raj also likes it, so he is my best friend.
  • I like gadgets and latest technology like an Apple iPhone and Ani shares with me the latest apps and games of iPhone, so he is my best friend.
  • I enjoy making working models and Jeet is also interested in making scientific models, so he is my best friend.

3. Virtue: When someone has creditable personality traits or values in him, we are naturally attracted to that individual and want to make him our friend. Some of these virtues include being respectful, faithful, effective communication, proactive, supportive nature, understanding nature, etc. The fact that he is your friend makes you feel proud. You will be ready to do whatever such a person tells you to do.

So now there is another very important question as to which of the above mentioned friends are good friends? And yes, there is still the question of definition of success.

Thinking carefully, the type 3 ‘Virtuous Friends’ are the ideal friends. But it is also true that one who is virtuous may not be as helpful and joyful. So then, type 1 ‘Useful Friends’ may be a good option. But there may or may not be situations in life where you may need help from people and hence, such friendship lacks quality and constant contact. Now the only option that remains is type 2 ‘Pleasure loving Friends’. But how long can one keep on laughing at jokes and foolishness of some other people. Moreover how long will you share things of interest? There will be a point of saturation reached, someday.

In a way, all of the above discussed friends are good friends. We need friends with virtues so that we can become virtuous, we need friends who are useful as they will be ready to share things with us, and we definitely need friends who bring joy and pleasure to our life and who share the same interest as ours. As Param Pujya Swamiji has regularly emphasised that whatever good we find in others we should observe, meditate and imbibe. Moreover, when we get to learn something good from someone he is our good friend.

Furthermore, Swamiji has also explained through His discourses that a true friend is the one who…

  1. Will help you to achieve academic success and will help you to make your senses positive.
    One may claim that he has friend(s) who helps him academically and they both are academically successful. But the real question to ask is:
    Are they helping each other to see positively? Are they helping each other to talk positive about others? Are they helping each other to listen positive about others? Are they selflessly helping others by sharing knowledge?
    Thus, a true friend will help you make your senses positive, develop the focus and hence become academically strong.
  2. Will help you to settle down in life, live a morally and culturally sound life, maintain positivity and live happily.
    One may say that he has earned a lot of money in life and he is successful. He may also claim that he has lots of friends who are extremely rich. But the question arises, is earning money the true success of life? Money will get you all the necessary materialistic comforts, however it will not be able to buy respect and humility; it will not fetch you a tension free live and it will not fetch you good and positive thoughts. Only a true friend will teach one to live a morally and culturally sound life and that will help one to develop humility and gain respect.
    A true friend will help you to stick to positive thoughts and hence, will be loyal and committed at all times.
  3. Will teach you to grow spiritually i.e. to live with ‘Atmiyata’ and ‘Suhradbhav’. He will support you in following the commands of Guru and will teach you to offer service with devotion. He will teach you to celebrate the diversity and adversity of life. He will teach you how to attain the true bliss of God.

Under the guidance of teachers, the Shivam House team made a humble effort to put forth the above discussion in the daily assemblies through videos, presentations and speeches.

The week concluded on 9th August with a heart touching drama depicting the importance of true friends. In the drama, it was portrayed that true friendship is brimming with faith, acceptance and selfless sacrifice. It not only benefits the friends but influences the people around in a positive manner.

Written by: Prabhudarshan Sir

The budding writers, poets, orators of AVM

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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

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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

Medical Camp at AVM

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On 27th July 2014 the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir were privileged to have a medical camp organised by Vijaybhai, (our resident medical assistant) and Pranav Sir, (our senior hostel incharge) with support of the school management. It was an honour to have qualified doctors on our campus to help us with the medical check-up of students and suggest solutions to challenges if any. The team was divided into three groups:
  • Eye check up held by Dr Popat Lunagaria
  • Skin check up held by Dr Jagdish Sakhiya and Dr Talpesh Vaghasia
  • Dental check up Dr Karishma Patel
The camp started at 9 AM with a disciplined approach of each standard completing check up at one facility and switching to another, all together, so that there was no chaos and doctors could document suggestions accordingly and order wise.
It started with junior hostel from grades 1 to 6 and then to senior hostel for grades 7 to 12 after lunch, where mentors guided the students in the process and particular didi/housemaster sat with facilitated doctor and students when they performed the check-up individually, discussing their concern and challenges.
All the doctors had come very well equipped with their medical kits. The eye specialist, Dr Lunagaria discussed more about how to keep the eye healthy and infection free. We gained new insights about how to take care of minor infections, irritation, what kinds of vitamins are necessary for eye to be healthy, etc.
The skin specialists, Dr Sakhiya and Dr Vaghasia minutely examined the skin, scalp and hair. They also discussed about allergy, irritation due to dryness or damp skin, how to control acne and pimples and how to keep skin clean. It was really satisfying for the students to talk to the doctors open heartedly who responded enthusiastically to all the concerns raised. While checking hair and scalp, they also answered various queries regarding dandruff and hair fall.
Dr Patel, the dentist, was very patient and also very responsive to the queries of students. She discussed about health of teeth and gums, how to protect teeth against cavity and ways of cleaning and brushing teeth.
It was a day to learn many things about dental eye and skin, doctors were very enthusiastic and didn’t hesitate giving their services till the last student. Students were very happy, satisfied and learnt how to tackle challenges if occurred and were satisfied with the solutions and advise of the doctors.
Reported by: Parth Amipara (Class 12 Science)

To a Research Laboratory – an overwhelming experience!

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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)

Glimpses from Swamishree’s Ideal Student Life

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Behind the iconic name of the school ‘Atmiya’ lies a noble mission of His Divine Holiness Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji. It is to nurture the qualities of compassion, harmony and devoutness in the students of Atmiya Vidya Mandir. Swamishree is an epitome of these values and His student life is a perfect example of an ideal student life, hence in the third week of July, from 14th July to 20th July 2014, Sundaram House members presented glimpses of Swamishree’s inspiring student-life.

 

In this week, Sundaram House members discussed how Swamiji’s student life is like a road-map showing a clear-cut route to success and happiness. On Monday, Purvesh Sir explained that if we analyse Swamiji’s student life, we can find glimpses of the qualities of sincerity, hard work, devotion and compassion. On Tuesday, students were shown through a video presentation, how Prabhudasbhai (Swamishree’s childhood name) was obedient and respectful towards his parents. Wednesday brought forth a presentation on Swamishree’s school life in which students learnt how Prabhudasbhai excelled in his academics through constant hard work, full attention and being meticulous about his books. On the following day, students were privileged to relive, through a video, one of Swamishree’s visits to AVM. In this video, by giving example of His own life, Swamishree advised students to stay away from misleading movies and remain focused to the studies. On Friday, Mukesh Sir, elucidated how qualities of respectfulness, acceptance and positive attitude made Prabhudasbhai an ideal student.And then arrived the most awaited, most significant, eventful day of creative assembly where an incident of Prabhudasbhai’s life was enacted. A drama presentation explained the students about Swamiji’s unflinching focus on maintaining his positive attitude and harmony with others in spite of all unfavourable circumstances. This creative assembly was a source of insight for the students as they realised not to expend their energy in those matters which do not contribute in living an ideal life. The dramatization of ‘Dudhpak’ incident from Swamiji’s life brought the students to a deeper understanding of their purpose of life. Thus, with a better understanding of their goal, they can stay focused in fruitful work.

In a world which is full of alluring interferences for the students, they have a daily battle with the distractions to stay prolific and in such a scenario, analysis of Swamishree’s student life helps to create a firewall against all distractions. As a matter of fact, by this week’s presentations, students are highly inspired to maintain acceptance, forgiveness and harmony amongst themselves which further creates clarity of destination.

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

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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.

Guru: God Personified

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Every nook and corner of AVM campus and every life associated with it, has been flourishing through the ever flowing grace of His Divine Holiness Param Pujya Hariprasad Swamiji. Hence, at AVM, Guru Purnima is just not a commemoration of Swamishree’s glory but a day to reunite with His supremacy by offering our prayers to Him.“Swamishree always blesses us with all success and happiness, we just need to be committed and resolute for a good cause and a good goal.” said Suhrad Swamiji while addressing the congregation of Guru Purnima celebration in the Atmiya Prayer Hall on campus. In the presence of all elders, teachers, hostel staff, students and all members of Atmiya family, the programme started with Thakorji’s pujan by saints from Haridham and principal Vijay Sir. The junior class’ students sang melodious bhajans admiring the beauty of a Guru-guided life.

 

Thereafter, the host of the programme, Mukesh sir narrated a few stories to the students elucidating that the Guru is God manifested and He cultivates the human potentials. The students were reminded that it was the day for them to resolve to those easy-to-follow yet hard-to-stick to injunctions given by Swamishree to all AVM students and to realise that following these will help them to be a better human being.The inspiring and elevating words of Pujya Suhrad Swamiji on this pious occasion explained that the best way of celebrating Guru Purnima and offering true reverence to Swamishree is by self – reflection to be worthy of His blessings. He further added that it is a day to decide to resort to prayers and take divine help each time we deviate from our goal. This would certainly bring a realisation which leads to improvement.

So let’s decide, how we are going to deal with the darkness within us – with the glare of fascinating distractions that obscures OR with the light – the glow of Guru’s grace that illuminates!!!