Strides Newsletter Archives
- Academy of Teaching Excellence
- Counseling & Assessments
- Early Intervention
- Kaleidoscope Learning Center
- V-Excel Educational Trust
- V-Excel Remedial Center
- Satellite Centers
- Vocational Training / Youth Empowerment Services
Academy of Teaching Excellence
From Meera Suresh's Desk
ATE classes for multiple disabilities and Inclusive Education started with very dedicated and sincere candidates. Mrs. Usha and Dr. Santhanam are handling the classes and are very happy with the choice of candidates. Attendance on most days is full. We as a team sat together to discuss the current syllabus and the changes that should be facilitated in the books for the benefit of the candidates. Dr. Santhanam, Mrs. Usha Venkatesan, Mrs. Hemamalini and Meera were the part of the discussion. Based on the same we have submitted the Document with the necessary changes to the University for their approval. We have personally handed over the same to the Director Mr. Arul during our visit to the University. We were invited by Dr. Arul Director of Annamalai University to meet the newly appointed Vice Chancellor Mr. Murugesan. He shared his happiness at the way we were going about with the program and blessed us with his continued support for the same.
We received the happy news of the 100% result of Batch 2 candidates. Out of the 35 candidates who had taken the Examinations, 32 candidates have got the First class , One candidates Mrs. Eswari Andiappan secured the Distinction, and 2 candidates got the second class. We had Individually called up all the candidates and conveyed their success to them and shared our wishes and happiness.
Soft Skill Classes are also going on in full swing with most days having full attendance. We then started the follow up of the weekend classes for Inclusive Education. We sent mails to special schools and to normal schools regarding the same. We had also called many candidates to meet us in person at our office. We have been able to admit a few candidates (Target was only 10). We have admitted 4 out-station candidates in the Distance Education Mode. They will also give their examinations from their place of residence, Kerala, Hyderabad, Nashik and Orissa.
We had the shoot of the ATE classroom where Dr. Santhanam and Mrs. Usha shared their views on the importance of doing this course and also the need for additional faculty members. A Classroom assessment test on Communication as a part of the Soft Skill training was taken on 27/7/18. We had a full attendance for the same. All candidates gave their exams with enthusisasm. I will be correcting the paper and adding the scores along with the Internal assessment marks.
We have placed a few candidates, at V-Excel (VRC, KLC and EI) A few have also been suggested at Special schools as per their requests. We will be planning the Valedictory function soon for the Batch 2 candidates.
Counseling & Assessments
From Parimal Pandit's Desk
The highlight of the month was the high school teachers program which V-Excel started with Kuruvilla Jacob Initiative called 'Heart of the Matter'. This program is mainly aimed at creating awareness amongst high school teachers about the developmental tasks of adolescents and understand what kind of educational environment can raise healthy (emotionally and psychologically) youth. It equips the teachers to be sensitive observers, listeners and responders. There were two batches conducted. The first one for Principals and second one for teachers. Both the programs recieved very encouraging feedback. The facilitators were Dr. Vasudha, Gita, Parimal, Akanksha, Kejal, Neha, Puja and Doctors.
Our usual play therapy continued for the groups in classes and also individually for KLC. In group play therapy they dress up and play out a situation. Our counsellors from YES and VTU meet the trainees regularly and have also started meeting the parents. They are able to strike a rapport with the parents and alternately you can see it being reflected in the trainees. Some of the trainees have started opening up to the counsellor at YES and await her time to see them. They also have started trusting the counsellors and hence work on their emotions.
We had two counselling desks at our corporate companies and we met 8 people. Under our TLLLF project there were 3 schools visited by our counsellors for the awareness programs. We had fewer consultations but more individual cases for counselling since June. A full month as usual.
Early Intervention
From Lalitha Sridhar's Desk
Strategies to Improve Eye-hand Coordination in Children:
Eye–hand coordination is the ability to track the movements of the hands with the eyes, thus enabling the eyes to send important signals to the brain about hand movement. Poor eye-hand coordination can greatly affect your ability to exercise and can also affect everyday task such as writing.
It is important for
- Hand writing: Eye-hand coordination is a vital skill for handwriting. The eyes need to guide the hand in forming the letters and making sure they stay within the lines.
- Reading - eye tracking skills, is vital for reading. This can be developed through games and activities for eye hand coordination.
- Sports - eye-hand coordination can help your child catch and hit a ball.
Activities to improve eye-hand coordination
- Peg-board activity
- Threading and lacing: Threading beads is a fine motor activity that has a big eye hand coordination component. Use different sizes of beads to challenge the child. - Homemade puzzles:
- Collect different objects (different shapes & sizes) at home, place them on a piece of paper & trace around them. - - Have your child match the items with the outlines and put them in the correct place.
- Mini clothesline:
- Using a piece of string suspended between two objects to form a small clothes line. - Give your child small squares of fabric and pegs to hang them up.
- Suspend a ball in net:
- Throwing and catching the suspended ball using both hands help to increase eye-hand coordination.
Kaleidoscope Learning Center
From Gita Bhalla's Desk
The month of July came with a huge number of challenges. It was a month of illness, a few homes with personal losses, grey clouds of teachers leaving or not being well. In a nutshell , the entire month has been spent in firefighting and just ensuring that the school runs smoothly. For all those who steadily held the reins of the school, making mixed age groups, having common sessions and just holding everyone together, it was indeed challenging and a job well done because the children continued their journey in school without a tremor! So July has been an intensely hands on learning month and hugely empowering for the teachers to shift gears, multitask and remain cool and collected through it all.
We welcomed four new teachers in our midst, Liji, Arulmozhi, Satyakala, Sudarvizhi. Except for Satyakala all the others are freshers and we really look forward to some new ideas, fresh energy and more synergy with the rest of the KLC family. A warm welcome to them to V-Excel.
The biggest and most rewarding experience of the month has been the vocation of farming which began at the Sreyes farm in Red Hills. Our Trustee Mr. Rajgopal and Usha have taken such personal interest in the setting up, planning and execution of these trips that the students have had an absolutely rewarding and engaging experience. To sow, to reap, to mix, to fortify the soil, to till and plough in real terms on large fields battling the sun and watching the whole process of growth and development at such close quarters , indeed has been beneficial on the physical as well as the soul level for our farming students.
The ragi and rice seeded in the first week had sprouted at Sreyes farm and the students went in the following week to plant vegetable seeds on the land prepared for it with drip irrigation method. The students are happy to work and are enjoying this vocation.
Wednesday, the 25th of July we had 9 social workers from Raju Hospitals Pvt Ltd came to school and spend the whole day with the junior school in activities like alphabet game, zumba, chart matching, object picking and art therapy. This was the first time that they were working with special students and they learnt a lot on this day. They were interested in knowing about how the teachers worked with the students and had an orientation session with some teachers later in the evening.
Senior School students on the same day went to Fort St, George in Chennai in relation to their main lesson of India and its Past. They went around the museum there and saw the beautiful old church in the complex. Though it was a crowded place and the day very very hot, the students were calm and enjoyed the trip and visit to these places.
Swathi, our ex-teacher, now in Dubai came back to be with the students and children for a week. She just fell into the routine and went around helping teachers and classes where it was needed. The children and staff both greeted her warmly and it was touching to see the mutual free flowing affection between the students and their beloved teacher. On Friday during music time the children gave a warm send off to Kiki and Thore, our young German volunteers who have been with us at KLC for the last 11 months. They have completed a year of volunteering and left in the last week of July. Some classes gave them gifts made by the children and letters written by them. Later in the evening many teachers went to Cafe Samarth, Adyar with them and gave them an official send off. They spoke about their experiences in KLC and in India. Teachers gave them a going away present and slips about what they liked and remembered about KIKI and THORE.
Swara, a young trainee student from Berkeley School of music came on Friday afternoon and enjoyed the music session with the children. She sang some songs for them which the students enjoyed too. In the staff meeting we closed the Child Study of Preethi discussing about the night life, after the announcements.
A few stories from the classes:
The senior school has been doing the "Digestive System" and related to this topic they had the whole week set aside to many experiments. Drinking Ajwain water, doing Yoga that helped in digestion was on Monday. Tuesday was hot pack massage with hot water bags and heated sand on their stomach and back. Wednesday was demonstration of how food was chewed, mashed, digested and passed through the stomach (a Zip Lock bag) , small intestine (long panty hose), large intestine and then out. Thursday was putting together food pictures which provided Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein, Vitamins and Minerals, on charts. The students enjoyed it thoroughly. Learning experiential, incorporating movement in the curriculum has been taken to another level in the teaching of science and humanities for our senior students.
Thursday senior school celebrated Aravind Karthik's and Eshwar's birthdays. Thursday again Grade 5 cooked an Egyptian dish "Kosheri" in class with the students and had it for lunch. The students who are enjoying the Egyptian Civilization Block had a chance to taste a dish from that country. We are looking forward to a more peaceful August and practice for the Independence Day has begun in right earnest.
V-Excel Educational Trust
Rotary International Global Grant
V-Excel Education Trust was recently presented with the Global Grant by Rotary Club Madras East(RCME) along with the Rotary Club of Romford and Rotary Club of Cataraqui-Kingston. Through this Global Grant, Rotary has supported V-Excel, Empower Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), Enrich the vocational programmes and Enhance the infrastructure.
Project E3 (Empower, Enrich and Enhance) was drawn to
- Technically train 'special educators' who will work with intellectually challenged in the community.
- Establish a Smart Class setup infrastructure to enhance the competencies of Special Educators through regular interactions with SMEs
- Vocational training to intellectually challenged & Autistic children and young adults through computer education, graphic design, design studio programs, and empower them to take up back end white collar work.
Through this initiative, we have established a complete Smart Class Set-Up including state-of-art infrastructure, audio-visual equipments, laptops for trainees and trainers, tablets for assessments, applications, tools and softwares. The Global Grant has been utilized in 3 centres of V-Excel within Chennai and satellite centres across the country. Thank you RCME for the support and guidance through this process. With your encouragement, V-Excel will continue to work towards an inclusive life in society.
Spice Space
Our food platter is never complete without some spice! Ready-to-mix additives better called 'podis' are integral to the meals at most Indian households. At YES (Youth Empowerment Services), we inaugurate 'Spice Space' - a spice grinding and packaging unit with the support of L&T Construction. We have started off with 'Molaga Podi' and 'Rice Upma Mix' and will offer a lot more in the future. And to add to the flavour, these products are done by individuals with special needs as part of their Vocational Training at V-Excel Educational Trust. Do you stay in & around Mylapore? Contact us (044-45493638) for some yummy additives and ready-to-cook products!
Tarang in Chennai
Music has a unique ability to bring the right emotional balance to our lives. Amidst the multiple emotions we carry - happiness, sadness, elation, anger and lot more, music provides a therapeutic healing to all of it. At V-Excel, we have monthly concerts - Tarang for our students, trainees, families and anyone who would like to spend an afternoon fulfilling your aural senses.
This month, Saketharaman performed some soulful numbers making the afternoon memorable! Tarang Days are always special at V-Excel. An afternoon when all the centres come together for an hour of music therapy. Everybody likes to take a centre stage! Our students Kailash and Krishnaa sang alongside Saketharaman.
ISO Certification
V-Excel Educational Trust is now ISO 9001:2015 certified for 'Providing Lifespan services for persons with cognitive and intellectual disabilities with an aim of promoting social inclusion'
The newly revised version of ISO 9001:2015, the world’s most popular standard for quality management, has been published. This is the first major revision of the standard since 2000, and it has been written with today’s business challenges in mind, and for organizations of any size in many different industries. The changes to the standard make it flexible enough to offer multiple benefits to organizations not only as a quality management tool, but a significant framework for business improvement, delivering efficiencies and improving customer satisfaction.
V-Excel Remedial Center
From Lekshmi Ramesh's Desk
The activities of the Remedial unit for the month of July were as follows:
* In-service training for the teachers - To bring about a change in the training pattern, it was decided that every teacher be given a chance to conduct the sessions,based on the topics they choose.
* The birthdays and other important occasions of the members during the month to be celebrated on In service day.
* Assessment Camp for the Anandam Learning Center children- Twenty children were assessed by our team on Saturday, 25th July. The IPP goals are being set and these children will be given remedials in the Anandam Center
* Training for the Anandam teachers - The Special Educators who will be taking charge of the Remedials at Anandam Center are being given training in the unit for three days a week.
* The shooting of the unit and the Neev school went on well.
* We have two children in the Pull out Program, being given Academic and other therapies. These children are taken with an intention of putting them back in the school.More children to be taken based and the permission of the Principals requested through letters that states the need of the child.
* We have an Occupational Therapist available for VRC for six days a week. We have a Counsellor, who is also a Special Educator coming in for sessions on Saturdays.
* The usual activities and sessions are being done in a normal pace. More special educators are needed to handle the evening sessions.
* The Anandam Learning Centre inauguration is scheduled for August 9th 2018. This will be our 10th Centre and the services are planned to begin from that day.
From Bridges Learning Academy:
It shouldn't matter how slowly a child learns as long as we are encouraging them not to stop. Mistakes are the proof that we are trying..
BLA continues to have regular schedules of training students based on their curriculum. We firmly believe that school days should be the happiest days of everyone's life and we work hard to make sure that is true for all our students. This means educating according to the abilities, background and potential of each individual. Students have shown lots of enthusiasm in the daily routine. Pre-NIOS is gearing up for their secondary courses in the coming years. It too consists of subject content, planning and resource guides, guidance for curriculum implementation and development, and support for classroom teaching and student learning. NIOS students have started for preparing for their Secondary & Senior Secondary registration and examination forms have been remitted. All our efforts were applauded by the Parents and they communicated their happiness in front of our Unit Heads in the Parents Teachers Meeting, held on July 5th 2018.
From Neev Schools:
In Olcott school, we successfully completed 19 assessments for new children. Regi Sara, a teacher from Olcott school has joined our resource room. She is very committed and hard working. We are imparting training to her for informal assessment and remediation. She is also taking classes for children coming to resource room.
At Cathedral School, Nivas, a 7-year-old is a child with hyperactivity. He had difficulty in reading, writing Tamil and to sustain attention for a longer period. Activities like Braingym, Animal walk, VAKT method for writing, other activities related to attention and memory were planned for him. After 2 months, he can now sit and write 1-50 by himself and also letters in Tamil.
Satellite Centers
From Jayanthi Vishwanath's Desk
The newly prepared IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) was discussed with the parents in individual parent meetings and implemented from the beginning of this month. The Physiotherapists, Occupational therapist and Speech therapist of the school assessed the children and prepared the therapy protocol for all the children. The therapists held individual parent meetings and prescribed home program for the children.
Ashadi Ekadashi was celebrated at the school. All the children came dressed in traditional attire like Warkaaris with the women carrying Tulsi saplings on their head and took out a dindi procession. On 27th July, Guru Purnima was celebrated to honour the teachers of the school with reverence. The students presented flowers to all the teachers. The music teachers of the school sang songs praising the Guru and the Goddess of Learning.
On 30th July, the products made by the trainees in the Vocational Training Unit were displayed in the exhibition organized by the Teaching Learning Community, that comprises of Industrialists, who had gathered to attend a Confederation of Industrialists of North Maharashtra.
On 31st July, our children participated in the District level dance competition held by Sakshamm Foundation. Many schools participated in the dance program.
From Gopal Jahagirdar in Solapur
On 2nd July Mrs.Jayanthi Vishwanath visited our center and did the appraisal of all staff and assigned roles and responsibilities to every staff. On 9th July, Mrs. Charumati Sriram and team from Chennai visited us and video shooting of our center was done to produce a Documentary film. On 21st July Dindi program was arranged by our center, to celebrate Ashaadi Ekadashi. All parents and children are participated in this program with great enthusiasm, The children came dressed in traditional Waarkaris attire and went on the street in a procession.
From this month Mrs. Amruta Gayatri (a person with Special needs) joined us as Music Teacher. On 31st July Sri Suresh Patil, founder-member of Sanvedana Latur, visited our center and guided us for future plans.
From Abhyasa Kendra - Srirangam
Our trainees in Abhyasa kendra are successfully continuing their work in our production unit, they have been producing 8 edible items and Areca leaf plates. In July month the above items are produced around 156 kgs of Podi and vadam items which is worth of Rs 45,000. In the kitchen unit, the following products are prepared: Angaya Podi, Arisi Upuma Mix, Elaivadam, Ellu Podi, Idly Podi, Kanchipuram Idly Mix, Kootu Podi, Paruppu Podi and Rasa Podi.
In the areca Leaf plate unit, the following plate sizes have been produced by our trainees - 12", 10", 8" and 6". All put together totally around 7850 plates are being produced, which is worth of Rs 24,850.
From Outreach Centre - Pollachi
Unit Head Visit - Ms.Lekshmi Ramesh, Unit Head of our center visited Pollachi on 13 & 14 of July 2018. On 13/7/18 she viewed the reports of full time remedial students, gave counseling for a parent, consultation with a parent for admission of their ward, discussed the format for assessment of students with Learning Disability, meeting with faculty and also observed the remedial sessions given to the students in our center. We are thankful to her for providing two sets of teaching material on English language games.
The V-excel film shoot on 14 July 2018 - On 14/7/18 Mr. Sunil Kupperi and team came to our center and they filmed all the activities given to the students in our center, students performed yoga, Brain gym and exercises, remedial sessions for students in English and Math by our faculty, a parent shared the view about her wards' learning experience in our center, an interview with school Principal where we have conducted a free awareness program and discussion with faculty about in house activities by unit head was covered by the film crew.
Remedial kit for Tamil - We are happy to share that a remedial kit for Tamil Language Assessment in Tamil for classes (1 to 5) was prepared by OutReach Team as a part of our research activity. It was appreciated and approved by Ms.Lekshmi Ramesh and a copy of the kit was sent to VRC .
Vocational Training / Youth Empowerment Services
From Usha Rajagopal's Desk
The visit to Lalit Kala Academy, Art exhibition at Greams Road on 10th July, turned out to be a memorable and enjoyable one for our trainees. They got inspired by the paintings depicted from the stories of The Mahabaratha. Farm visits were organised on 12th and 17th. On the 12th selected trainees and teachers from VTU and KLC visited Sreyes Farm, near Red Hills. They enjoyed involving themselves in the sowing of the seeds of ladies finger (okra) and flat beans. On 17th selected trainees from VTU and KLC made a visit to Sreyes Farm. The trainees were involved in the preparation of bio-pesticide and bio-Manure.
Celebrating the beginning of the month of Aadi, the trainees had a Kummi Attam and payasam at the farm.
3 teachers from VTU underwent the training and experienced foot massage and foot bath from KLC team at Sharada on 13th. A farewell party was organised on 20th by the KLC team for the German Volunteers at Cafe Samarth, VTU. A song sung by the teachers of VTU to entertain the guests, received much appreciation.
The Founder's Day was celebrated on 21st at Sreyes which was attended by Prof. Anand and Mrs. Shanthi from Sharada. Mrs. Deepa Kameshwaran joined as the Co-ordinator at VTU on the 23rd.
Production of the vocational activities went on in full swing to complete the big orders of thamboolam bags & jute file folders. Bean bag order got completed. Also, quilled coaster sets, jute file folders, bhoomi mitra shopping bags & double colour jute hand bags were prepared for the occasion of Graduation Day.
Tarang musical programme was attended by all our trainees, teachers and other staff.The trainees enjoyed thoroughly the rendition of Mr. Saket Raman on the 28th afternoon at BVB. Sri Saketharaman encouraged the students of V-Excel by giving them an opportunity to share the dais with him for some songs . Our students got carried away by this singing experience, which was a wonderful sight for all of us to witness.
Film shoot was held on various days. Day-to-day activities of the trainees which included the Foundation course study as well as the various vocational training processes were captured. As part of our ongoing process, our trainees get regular training in sanitary napkin making, Kitchen activity, Paper Mache, packing, Paper bag, Jute Loom, Hand stitching, Automobile and art & Craft. They are helped by our teachers. Two trainees continue to get trained at the local automobile workshop, after VTU training hours.
Our counsellors, Mrs. Surya Rekha and Ms. Radhika meet the trainees individually and with their parents regularly on Mondays and Thursdays. Ms Rama, our volunteer continues to train the trainees in music during her Friday sessions.
From Youth Empowerment Services
From Rama Nagarajan's Desk
We started this month with a new admission at YES taking the total number of students to 33.
* Mr. Muhaimin from Just Change visited the centre on July 2, to discuss about the coffee/tea packing process. We got some good suggestions from him on packing, sticker designing and usage.
* On July 4, we delivered 25 solar lamps to Bahwan Cybertek, Perungudi.
* On July 5, we inaugurated our podi making unit, SPICE SPACE, which is supported by L&T constructions. Mrs. Niranjana, Director - Finance, L&T was the chief guest. We started making idli chutney powder and rice upma mix.
* All the trainees were taken for an art exhibition Mural Mahabharath at Lalit Kala Academy on July 9. It was really nice to see that all the trainees were curious to know about each painting and thoroughly followed the storyline.
* On July 10, all the trainees who got placed outside V-Excel from YES, were invited for a casual chat. This enabled them meet with their friends at YES and also share their experiences with us. This also helped us understand the key issues to focus when dealing with placements for other trainees.
* On July 11, we had the orientation session by Mrs. Uma Shivakumar from SWM (Solid Waste Management) for all our trainers and trainees. This was a very useful session for all of us and a wonderful start for our Swachch Bharat project.
* In laundry unit we had continuous orders for washing and ironing.
* Four students from ATE unit started their OJT at YES. They were assigned different vocations to observe on a rotation basis to understand the vocational training as well as the handling of young adults with special needs.
* We had 2 new trainees joining us on July 24 after their consultations.
* We have finished packing the first lot of tea and coffee powder from Just Change
* On July 26, our monthly music concert, 'Tarang', was organised at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Vocal artist Sri Saketharaman performed and enthralled the audience. A couple of our students got the wonderful opportunity of sharing the stage with the artist. Our trainee Krishnaa joined Saketharaman in singing Theeradha vilayaatu pillai, which was very much appreciated and applauded.
* On July 31, video shooting for the V-Excel movie by Mystic Canvas happened at YES. All the activities pertaining to each vocation were captured in detail.
* Apart from the regular counselling sessions, we had the vocational assessments done by Mrs. Usha Venkatesan for the new trainees.
* Our P&D unit were very busy in making mementos ready for the upcoming Graduation Day, along with all the internal and external orders of printing visiting cards, ID cards and receipt books.
* In our kitchen unit we made a new batch of idli melagai podi and Rice upma mix. They were also actively involved in making chocolates for the gift hampers planned.