This issue is dedicated to the late Sri Ganesh, Kaushik Ganesh’s father, whose blessings embrace him always. And to Kaushik's
courageous mother, Subhashini, and his grandparents. More..
V-Excel Educational Trust News
A Certificate course on "Creation of Awareness about Special Education Among the Youth of Today" commenced on August 3 at the MGR
Janaki College of Arts and Science, R.A.Puram, Chennai. In all, 17 students enrolled for the course. The special educators of our
centre are handling the program with great enthusiasm and commitment.
The sociology department of MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai aligned with V-Excel to create awareness about Dyslexia. This
awareness creation program kicked off to a start with a talk show on SS Music TV channel, in which our director Dr. Vasudha Prakash
spoke about the strategies that can be followed to tackle children with dyslexia. In connection with this "Dyslexia Awareness
Campaign" the experienced faculty of our school Mrs. Gita Bhalla, Mrs. Neela Chandramouli, Mrs. Bhanu Anantharaman, Mrs. Girija and
Mr. John Murugaselvam addressed the teachers at various schools in Chennai. The awareness week concluded with "A Walk for Dyslexia"
on Marina Beach on Sunday 28th August 2005.
V-Excel Outreach Program News
The V-Excel Outreach program is currently servicing around 2,000 special children at Villupuram. Resource centers have been set up
at all the nine blocks at a total cost of Rs. 90,000. These resource centers are equipped with remedial material required for therapy
and appliances needed for rehabilitation.
A medical camp was organized by SSA (Sarva Siksha Abhiyan) program of the Government at Villupuram. At this camp, hearing impaired,
visually impaired, mentally retarded and physically challenged children were assessed and prescribed with suitable appliances. These
prescribed aids and appliances will be delivered to the children in September.
Academy of Teacher Excellence News
The ATE classes are going on as per schedule. The students are busy with their assignments. This month, at the guest speaker session,
Dr. Uma Ram, an upcoming city-based Obstetrician and Gynaecologist spoke about "Fetal brain development" which was well received and
appreciated. This was followed by question and answer session in which all the students participated with good enthusiasm.
Convocation 2005 - The Academy of Teacher Excellence was started in January 2002 with the vision of preparing and shaping teachers for
children with special needs. In June 2005, the fourth academic year drew to a close and we at V-Excel, with a feeling of great
pride and fulfillment presented eleven teachers with prestigious and well-earned diplomas in Special Education. The Convocation
function was held on 15th August 2005 at 5.00pm. The Chief Guest at the function was Mrs. Shyamala Prabhu, Principal of Vanavani
Matriculation Higher Secondary school. She spoke about the teaching profession in general and special education in particular. The
grand finale of the program was a beautiful dance program staged by our BLA children. We sincerely wish all the Diploma holders from
ATE, immense success in all their future endeavors.
Kaleidoscope Learning Center (KLC) News
Volunteers are an integral part of KLC. They are so indispensable that without them managing children and working with them
meaningfully, would be impossible. During this month, KLC bid farewell to two young volunteers, Mr. Shravan and Ms. Jyoti Manohar, who
had given a big hand with the Pre-Vocational training classes.
Otherwise, it was another busy month for KLC. The teachers were very busy training the kids for the cultural program that were to ensue
after the flag-hoisting ceremony on the Independence Day.
On 26th August, Krishna Jayanthi was celebrated with great gusto, with the little-ones in the Early Childhood Group dressed up as Little
Krishnas and Radhas. The children enjoyed themselves- singing, dancing and eating sweets.
V-Excel Remedial Center (VRC) News
The group class room at our Mandaveli center is now operational. The children are in the process of learning to be in the group
effectively. Month-end reviews showed that the children could learn to read and comprehend almost 10 words a day in addition to
acquiring mathematical and independent skills. The highlights of the month were:
Children can communicate better with the teacher facilitating the communication.
The children have learnt self de-stressing techniques to enable them to remain in a group.
The team at VRC got together in the continuing workshop series on 'Strategies to work with Children with Autism'. The focus was on
sharing strategies that worked and the reasoning behind that which did not.
Some strategies that have worked with our autistic children:
Expectations to their behavior were conveyed to them through direct talking and social stories. Most of the time the children
responded with appropriate expected behavior.
Teaching concepts to the children using their strengths helped us take full advantage of their abilities and to defocus from
their difficulties.
Facilitated communication for some of our children using computers is underway to enable them to express themselves effectively.
Bridges Learning Academy
Eleven students from BLA participated in the inter-school sports meet organized for Dyslexic children by MOP Vaishnav College for Women.
Events at the meet included art work, 50m run, lemon and spoon race, and three-legged race. The meet concluded with a magic show by
King S. Elango. All participants received prizes in the end. The children really had a wonderful time to be cherished!
An educational tour to the Egmore Museum was organized for the BLA students on August 24. The primary aim of the tour was to expose
students to the historical evidence of the Indus valley civilization and the varied religious and cultural heritage of India.
On a contemporary level, they were able to see how hydro-electricity is generated. The visit concluded at the zoological
section where the children witnessed real bones and artifacts.
Workshops
A unique hands-on workshop and assessment of Learning Disabilities was done at Madurai, where 4 schools belonging to the TVS Group
were serviced. 31 children were assessed and identified with specific LD and tailor-made prescriptions were given to the teachers.
It was a highly intensive 3-day workshop which included a meeting with the parents of the children with specific learning disabilities.
Teachers were also addressed by our experts who suggested different strategies that could be followed to tackle children with
learning problems. The enormous success of this workshop has been a source of inspiration to take on more tasks of this type,
in the future.
Other News
Independence Day was celebrated with fervor on 15th August. Mr. "Jayam" Ravi an upcoming actor from the tinsel-town was the Chief Guest.
Both BLA and KLC students participated with equal zeal. The function began with a march-past by the BLA students followed by
flag-hoisting. Later, the little children of KLC performed a drill titled "Joy of India" and the older kids carried out a loop drill
called "UNITY". Akshay from KLC was a 'little marvel' when he stunned the audience with his skating expertise with Mr. John Miller,
the proud trainer looking on and guiding. The students of BLA delighted the audience by the soulful rendering of patriotic songs
in Hindi and Tamil. A great deal of credit for the success of this program is attributed to the dedicated teachers of KLC and BLA.
Once again, Mr. P. Mohan Raj of Diamond Engineering Company, Sholinganallur, Chennai a good friend and benefactor of V-Excel, silently
displayed his munificence by sending special gifts to all the students who received their diplomas at the ATE Convocation held at
the MGR Janaki College auditorium on 15th August.
Kudos to Mr. Dev Anand, dancer, who trained our BLA children to give a lovely group dance performance that followed the ATE Convocation
ceremony.
Contact Info :: India:
V-Excel Educational Trust
#1 Norton 2nd Street
Mandaveli Chennai 600 028
Tel: 91 - 44 - 2494 2255
91 - 44 – 2495 6373 E-mail us or visit us at www.v-excel.org
Contact Info :: USA:
Academic Concepts, Inc.
1403 Merrywood Drive
Edison, NJ 08817
Tel: (732) 572-3748
Tax ID: 22-3632715 E-mail us
Volunteer Info:
Volunteers are an integral part of our success. Our most pressing needs are in the areas of occupational and speech therapies, and
as teacher aides. We also require assistance in library management.
If you have any of these and are interested in volunteering at V-Excel, please contact us.
Kaushik's Story
In September 2004, Kaushik Ganesh, a five year old child, came to us all wrapped up in his own world of autism. The mother and grandparents
yearned to reach him somehow, especially in light of the tragedy that had struck their home. Kaushik’s father, a dynamic young man,
whose mission in life was to help Kaushik emerge from his Autism, was suddenly killed in a road accident.
Kaushik’s brave young mother, Subhashini, and his intensely dedicated maternal grandparents came to V-Excel, determined to fulfill the
father’s dream for his child. There has been no looking back since.
This past year has been a year of growth for Kaushik. His grandparents and mother work tirelessly with him to help Kaushik respond
to his environment, to communicate, socialize, and develop his cognition. He receives intensive occupational therapy to deal with
his sensory needs and attends regular school for social and academic needs.
Kaushik’s progress has been remarkable in every area. In fact he has started communicating in his own way, is making excellent
headway in his social skills and cognition.
Kaushik’s mother decided to change her career and took one of our special education training programs. She is now a remedial teacher
in V-Excel. The quality of her work with her remedial children reflects her innate instinct for this field and her fervour to
help children with special needs.
Music Therapy
Music therapy is a creative therapy using musical improvisation to form a therapeutic relationship. Music is an intrinsic part of
all of us: pulse and rhythm are found in our heartbeat, our breathing and our movement; melody is created
in our laughing, crying, screaming or singing; the whole range of our emotions can be held within the rhythms and harmonies of
different musical styles and idioms. These intimate connections with music can remain despite disability or illness, and are not
dependent on a musical training or background.
Because of this, music therapists can use music to help children and adults with a wide range of needs arising from such varied causes
as learning difficulties, mental and physical illness, physical and sexual abuse, stress and terminal illness. Emotional, cognitive
and developmental needs can be addressed through interactive music making within a secure relationship offered by the music therapist.
Independence Day was celebrated with fervor on 15th August. Mr. "Jayam" Ravi an upcoming actor from the tinsel-town was the Chief Guest.
Both BLA and KLC students participated with equal zeal. The function began with a march-past by the BLA students followed by
flag-hoisting. Later, the little children of KLC performed a drill titled "Joy of India" and the older kids carried out a loop drill
called "UNITY". Akshay from KLC was a 'little marvel' when he stunned the audience with his skating expertise with Mr. John Miller,
the proud trainer looking on and guiding. The students of BLA delighted the audience by the soulful rendering of patriotic songs
in Hindi and Tamil. A great deal of credit for the success of this program is attributed to the dedicated teachers of KLC and BLA.
