"We all want to break our orbits, float like a satellite gone wild in space, run the risk of disintegration. We all want to take our lives in our own hands and hurl them out among the stars."
...David Bottoms
V-Excel News
V-Excel initiated a Sibling Forum for the siblings of special children named LuvMySib. The second meeting of LuvMySib was held on 27th April 2012. About thirty siblings attended the meeting. The adult siblings had a group counseling session, facilitated by Dr. Vasudha Prakash, our Founder-Director. We were very happy to see the siblings bonding and having fun playing various games together. We see this forum becoming more active and involved over the next few months.
The year-end meeting involving the entire staff of V-Excel Educational Trust was conducted at our Sreyes Center in Chennai. This is a forum where every Unit shares its achievements and learnings for the year and gets a chance to interact with their colleagues across the Units. The camaraderie and team dynamics were extremely heartening. Each person, irrespective of their role and position in V-Excel, has sincerely contributed their time, energy, love, dedication for the children and are instrumental in their care and future. We are really proud to have such a wonderful team!
We also had a wrap-up meeting for the year with different Unit Heads. This meeting focuses on the plans for the specific target groups catered to by each Unit (such as young children for Early Intervention and adolescents for Vocational Training). As a group, we discuss the issues concerning every Unit and draw upon each others' experiences and ideas. The organization's direction for the forthcoming year is then chalked out.
The satellite centers in Nasik and Tirunelveli reported effective outcomes from remedial work done with the children with special needs. They were glad that the parents cooperated and acknowledged the good work being done. Their positive feedback is really a significant encouragement for all of us to reach out to various towns that have a dearth of specialized services.
Kaleisdoscope Learning Centre
April is the month of reports and progress reviews for the year. Our Principal, Mrs. Gita Bhalla, met all the parents individually and walked them the various developmental areas of their child. These comprehensive reports include -
General Skills - Attention and awareness, Imitation, Concept Development and Memory, Imagination and Creativity
Academic Skills - Language, comprehension, listening and reading, Speaking, Number Work, Writing Skills
Practical Skills - Skills learnt such as ironing, painting the wall, cooking etc.
Physical Development - Height and weight, Posture, Movement, Strength and Balance, Touch and Boundary, Rhythm, Fine motor skills, and health
Work Skills - Compliance, Discipline, Tolerance of frustration, Perseverance, Independence, Neatness
Social Skills - Sense of self, Moral Development, Interaction with peers, teachers and other adults, Interaction with others, Safety, Likes and dislikes Fears and rigidity
The teachers' meeting was also a very crucial part of the year end winding up. The tone was a reflective one that brought forth the importance of quality consciousness and areas of improvement, besides planning for the next academic year.
We had a wonderful group of six young volunteers from the Psychology Department of Ethiraj College for the summer. They conducted various interesting activities, both outdoors and indoors. Their creativity was very evident from their work and the fact that the children looked forward to coming for the summer camp speaks volumes of the interest their volunteer-teachers took in them. We sincerely thank them for their genuine involvement.
Academy for Teacher Excellence
Kuruvila Jacob Initiative (KJI) and V-Excel have been instrumental in orienting about 65 teachers across 27 schools in Chennai through a unique training program A Class Apart. The topics covered a range of subjects - various aspects of child development, areas to be focused on at different stages in their lifecycle, increasing understanding of a child's learning style, temperament etc., identifying special needs in a classroom, strategies for working with these children, besides a host of other related hands-on information required for a teacher. The nine-day program, spread across three 3-day workshop modules (one per term), concluded successfully this month. "We came in with a certain set of teaching skills, but realize now that there is so much more; we are going back with a whole new perspective towards child-centric teaching" has been the most commonly voiced sentiment.
There have been enquiries for a short term course in Special Education and we are developing a suitable curriculum for the same.
Early Intervention Unit
Our work with the children between 0-7 years with developmental challenges is meaningful and worthwhile only when they manifest clear development (if infants and toddlers) or are mainstreamed in regular playschools and kindergartens (if preschoolers). With the commitment and sincere inputs from our therapists and special educators, we are happy that we able to witness many successes giving us a sense of immense satisfaction.
We have over 20 assessments lined up for the months of April and May. This is a period when many outstation parents also come in and undergo summer sessions at our Center. We also train and encourage parents to take home programs for their children during the holidays, so as to maintain continuity of their program.
Bridges Learning Academy
This year flew by in leaps and bounds; even before we realized, the academic year had come to a close! We parted with mixed feelings of sadness and joy. Sadness, because we know we will miss our children, but at the same time we are filled with joy that they have been integrated in mainstream schools, just as their parents wished and hoped. No words can describe the parents' emotions when the admissions to regular schools were through. We know that our day (and year) was made; we have been successful in making them ready to mingle with confidence.
Exams were held from April 5th to 11th. On the Open Day on the 12th, we addressed the parents individually, and shared the good news of their children's performance. On 11th April, we celebrated with snacks and ice cream and gave a farewell party to all the children.
V-Excel Remedial Centre
April and May were very busy months at VRC. During summer holidays many children were brought by parents from Chennai and also from outside Chennai for comprehensive assessment and guidance regarding future course of action. Students who were low performers were also sent to us for assessment by some schools to understand the reasons for their present level of performance and their learning challenges.
We cater to many children who have different learning difficulties. Through the year, we equip them through various strategies to effectively cope with their studies, deal with their psychological issues and build their confidence. The month of April being the exam season, most of our remedial children are busy with their academics and school work. We are happy to share that most of them have fared well in their exams.
We carried out 10 assessments in April and May for 10 such children and 3 assessments for new children who are now attending remedial classes with us. Also, two children who have been admitted to our special school KLC for the June session attended the holiday remedial program for school readiness skills.
Rural Outreach Program
The rural work under the Government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) encompasses physically and mentally challenged children. Hence our team there works in Day Care Centers, Remedial Resource Rooms, municipal and government schools, and engages in awareness and medical camps. We have to work proactively in the villages to ensure that the parents send their children to get necessary education and rehabilitation services.
The summer months always ring in a new round of survey and identification of children with special needs. With stigma attached to disabilities in our society, especially to mental disabilities, it is not surprising that parents avoid bringing them to the fore. Schooling for them is a far cry. Our Special Educators take interest in each individual case; note the details of the condition, background etc. and counsel parents. They convince them of the need to educate and rehabilitate them to secure a better future for their children.
Vocational Training Unit
The annual 'Townhall' meeting was well-attended by our staff. The products made by the trainees of Vocational Unit were displayed on the day for the benefit of all other department staff. We were very happy to hear from the counseling department about the great demand for these products in the Cognizant camp held in the last week of March.
With the academic year drawing to an end, the teachers were busy preparing reports while the students were busy discussing their holiday plans.
Individual parents' sessions were held at length to discuss the progress of the trainees and we put heads together to determine their goals for the next academic year.
Screening and interviews for the new admissions are in full swing; evaluation of the applicants is a very in-depth process and a multi-disciplinary team does the assessments.
Counseling and Assessment Unit
In April, the school closed and the academic year officially wound up. Two of our psychologists went for further learning - one went to Australia for seven-week training in Art therapy while the other joined a week-long course on Group therapy.
As we were working with the families of the children with special needs, we realized what psychological impact it has on their siblings. Dr. Vasudha always wanted to create a forum where the siblings can come together and express themselves freely in a homogenous group. They can also collectively find ways to empower special children. A sibling forum was thus inaugurated; the counseling department is working very closely with admin and volunteers to get it together. Our work will have group therapy as a key component.
Review of the previous year gave us an idea of our needs for the forthcoming year. We have planned for more sessions of group art therapy with teachers and parents.
Our private clientele comprising of distressed individuals with counseling needs outside of the school children and parents has increased by at least 25% from the last year. We are glad we are able to support them.
Looking at all the initiatives planned for the next year, we see a busy year ahead!
Contact Information
V-Excel Educational Trust
#1 Norton 2nd Street
Mandaveli Chennai 600 028
Tel: 91 - 44 - 24620243
91 - 44 - 24956373 E-mail us or visit us at www.v-excel.org
V-Excel Center for Research and Rehabilitation
(In assocation with S.V. Sarada Foundation)
50 Sreyes, M.G. Road
Shastri Nagar, Chennai 600 041
Tel: 91 - 44 - 24522061
91 - 44 - 24521986 E-mail us
Academic Concepts, Inc.
1403 Merrywood Drive
Edison New Jersey 08817
Tel: (732) 572-3748
Tax ID: 22-3632715 E-mail us
