Providing lifespan services to individuals with special needs...
Strides Newsletter - November 2021 - Issue 186
Counseling & Assessments
From Radhika Sasankh's Desk
....
Early Intervention and V-Excel Remedial Center
From Lakshmi Sudhakaran's Desk
November started with the celebration of one of the most popular festivals - Diwali. We had planned for it ahead so that the children could be engaged for a week in many related activities.
As lamps form an important part of Diwali, we planned to make colorful lanterns and also painted the lamps. The stories associated with the festival were narrated according to the age of the students.
The day before the celebration the corridors were illuminated and decorated. On the day of celebration, every child was given an opportunity to participate without affecting their therapy schedules. Greeting cards were made along with the children and distributed. As a precautionary and safety measure, we did not burst crackers. On the whole it was a simple but satisfying celebration.
Kaleidoscope Learning Centre
From Gita Bhalla's Desk
"Our school - Our Journey" was a short film released this month by Kaleidoscope Learning Centre. It is the story of the past nineteen (19) years. It includes the beginning, philosophy, struggles, work, growth and outlines the possibilities in the future. We welcome our readers to view this, spending ten minutes of your time. This gives you a peep into our world and then we can meet each other if we are meant to. The link to the movie is given below. This work was undertaken by Neha Bharadwaj our curriculum coordinator and she has skilfully woven the past present and future together in a seamless journey with many of our teachers and parents speaking. You also get to hear the voices of our non-verbal children. Some of our children were the assistant directors of the movie and many nuances were directed by the children themselves!
School reopened for the next phase, longer day with more children. We also had our first field trip as a part of the lesson on Senses in senior school. Using the eye as the sensory organ they visited a park and came back with rich inputs about what was seen and perceived by the outer eye and their inner world.
A delegation of about 12-15 teachers from a special school in Latur, Maharashtra visited our centre on the 2nd of November. The school principal Ms. Deepa and her team visited all the three centres of V-Excel, and they were given an hour long talk by Dr.Vasudha Prakash and Gita Bhalla where we shared our best practices through a PowerPoint followed by a discussion.
Grade 5 did a lesson on Greece and the teachers treated us to their artwork of the 12 Titans, beautifully illustrated on the black board. Students made pretty utensils and objects with clay with the typical design of meanders from Greece.
This term we began with the students who call themselves Gaia hearts, Free hearts, and Sacred hearts, movement in the form of Yoga which Usha Suresh conducted.
The Farm program started as phase two, with the children who were being reintroduced to the practical living program. They began their day trips.
Practice for the Tumbaka Tumba began in right earnest. This is our sing along program with the Blue Blue Sky Choir which is going to be held for the people of Chennai on the 4th of December, as our marking of the International Day of Persons with Disability on the 3rd. Old songs and new songs, songs of joy and songs for Christmas are being explored and added to our repertoire.
The first child study of the year was embarked upon with Sai Kishan, with Kavita giving the first picture and his background details. This will be followed by a week of observation and a week of carrying the child during night life and then again, a meeting. This is an exercise undertaken by teachers every time a child's behaviour escalates into extremes or they are met with other challenges. A three-week intensive study is undertaken by a body of teachers and then pictures are consolidated. From here the interventions or ideas towards working with the child emerge as the strengths and weaknesses are thoroughly explored. This is a regular practice in a curative school which works on the tenets of Anthroposophy.
Month of December brings along the Christmas Season, celebrations and exciting happenings in KLC... keep reading.
V-Excel Educational Trust
The Thursday Ladies Club
The Thursday Ladies Club routinely makes donations to various organisations, every year, on different occasions to recognize them for their services to society.
This year, as in many years past, the club made a donation to V-Excel on November 14th, to commemorate the club's Founders Day on November 14.
Our heartfelt thanks to the Founder, Mrs. Sudha Seshadri, and to Mrs. Kantimathi (Jaya) Subramanian and to the Thursday Ladies Club for being such staunch supports of our cause.
#socialimpact #socialinclusion #gratitude #embracedifferences #supportspecialneeds
Free concert 'Tumbaka Tumba'
You don't need a reason to celebrate! But if reasons pile up, and music is the theme, the celebration becomes a song and a dance! It's the time to rejoice:
▌ V-Excel, our NGO committed to persons with special needs, has its 20th anniversary this year
▌ We are commemorating 'The International Day for Persons with Disabilities' (3rd December)
▌ The pandemic is lifting its veil, giving us a chance to meet, greet and shake a limb
▌ And most importantly, the very special students and teachers of V-Excel are the ones bringing you this gift of music and a peek into their world!
Hear Mr .Radhakrishnan Iyer talk about the much awaited event by V-Excel Educational Trust, sponsored by Ramco Cements - Sing a long "Tumbaka Tumba"- by the children for the children.
For more details click this link.
Please join us for a free concert 'Tumbaka Tumba' and connect with us. You and we together can create a beautiful world which is more inclusive and can embrace differences.
#music #childrensongs #singalong #specialneeds #embracedifferences #freedomtosing #happiness #everychildmatters
The story of our school
This is the story of our school. It speaks of our journey of 19 years: our beginning, philosophy, struggles, work, growth and looking to embrace possibilities in the future.
We welcome you through these 10 minutes into our world, and hope that we can meet each other if we are meant to!
Kaleidoscope Learning Centre is a unit of V-Excel Educational Trust that offers life span services to people with special needs.
YouTube e-Tarang
e-Tarang concerts were streamed on Friday, November 26, 2021.
The theme was 'Throwback 2020-21'.
Please visit our facebook page /freehearts for concert updates.
Blue Blue Sky Choir
V-Excel has come alive again... After 2 long quiet and deserted years the sound of children, various activities and of course our very own "Blue Blue Sky Choir" is heartwarming. Music indeed is therapeutic and does get people together.
So good to be getting back to normalcy and in person classes. Looking forward to a bustling and vibrant school again and happy times ahead!!!
#singalong #specialneeds #happythoughts #backtoschool #everychildmatters #schoolisfun
Educational Field Trip
It was all about space - the sun, the planets, the galaxies and the stars for our YES trainees, yesterday. 24 of us took a great educational field trip yesterday and visited the Birla Planetarium, Chennai. We watched a spectacular show on the solar system. Our trainees were already aware of the concepts of time, planets and stars. On Tuesday, we had a briefing session so they could easily relate to everything that was seen. It was a great experience for all of us. We also watched a mesmerizing 3D show on simulated roller coaster ride and animated graphics.
Satellite Centers
From Jayanthi Vishwanath in Nashik
The month of November began with the celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights. A Diwali party was organized for all the children and staff of Nashik Center, by Mr. Raju Sodhi and family at their Garden restaurant called Palmshells. The children came dressed in new, colorful attires and seemed excited. The party hall was decorated with balloons and colorful lights. The DJs played peppy numbers and the students and teachers danced and swayed merrily. The party culminated with a sumptuous meal and a box of goodies for all.
The Center had Diwali vacations from Nov 3rd to Nov 12th.
Another exciting event that took place this month was the Box cricket Tournament for all the staff working in Special schools in Nashik district. Ten of our staff participated in this inter-school tournament after practicing for a week. It was a new experience for all the staff, most of whom had never held a cricket bat in their lives. The tournament was held on 28th Nov and our school team was declared Semi-finalist.
Three students got admission into the Early intervention classroom this month
Erode
Greetings from all of us at Erode center!
We planned to celebrate Diwali in our center on Dec 3rd. Preparations were made through a detailed planning of the activities. Each staff was assigned a duty and it was heartening to see them coming up with cute creative ideas.
Dummy crackers were made which looked so real that the parents were surprised when they knew they were not real. The coloring, pasting,painting all were happening in full swing. The children were given a dance practice. Greeting cards were also made and distributed.
On the occasion of Children's day, the Early Intervention group was engaged in coloring activities of the various aspects related to the celebration. The Pre Voc group did role play enacting the teachers. They also did a play where a boy acted as Jawaharlal Nehru which was appreciated by all.
We always try to experiment on new methods of creating things. This month one of our staff came up with the idea of making clay out of sand. We tried it and it was encouraging. We are trying to modify and then come out with a perfect one.
We have started planning for the new year and shall be back with more interesting news from Erode Center.
Solapur
On 2nd November we celebrated Diwali with our children, parents and teachers.
Beautiful rangoli, Killa (Fort) made by our children, colourful lighting, silent Diyas and decorated hall created an ambience of Diwali Celebration.
We arranged a musical program for our children. Mrs. Neeta Bidkar a Music teacher and Asha Kondgule sung rhythmic and classical songs. All children participated in singing.
Mr. Shirish Vaidya our generous donor was chief guest for the function.
He distributed gifts for all the V-Excel staff and educational toys to our children.
Everyone enjoyed music, crackers and delicious food.
On 13th and 14th Nov 2021 Sakav foundation had organised an exhibition of NGO's working in varies fields to get connected to donors in Solapur. This type of exhibition was the first time experience for Solapur citizens.
The function was inaugrated by Padmashri Dr. Ravindra Kolhe and Dr.Smita Kolhe.
Chief guest was Dr. Suhasini Shah (Founder directer Pricision foundation) and Shri Harish Baijal (Commissioner of Police).
Ten NGOs participated in this function for two days.
V-Excel imparted knowledge about Autism and information about services such as therapies and special education for special need.
Visitors showed interest to know our servises and appreciated our work. Many of them promised to visit our center.
It was a very well organised and insightful function to know each others work and experiences.
We are greatful to Sakav foundation for their support and giving us this opportunity.
"उत्सव दानाचा सामजिक ऋण फेडण्याचा ..."
On 27th November Precision English Medium School conducted a seminar on the topic 'Handling Behavior Issues'
Dr. Radhika and Mrs.Sunita Vaidya gave a presentation and answered parents questions.
Mr. Shrinivas Bura (CEO), teachers and parents participated in this seminar.
MH 13 one of the local News channels published an interview about V-Excel's work on their channel.
Abhyasa Kendra, Srirangam
We celebrated Diwali in our Center by decorating the place, coloring activities and through stories related to the festival.
Srirangam Center has a production unit where we have been making podis (spice powders) and rice vadams. Quality is assured throughout the process. The raw materials procured are of superior quality. They are sun dried and fried and made in the traditional way to retain the flavor. The trainees are given practice and exposure according to their abilities to all the related activities.
This month we tried tailoring sessions with our trainees. The basic things like measuring the cloth, marking the sides, cutting them and then stitching was taught to the trainees individually. Three girls and one boy were involved in the work. They showed great interest in completing their work and were very proud displaying them. So we are planning to make a few things that we can sell in the market. The creativity of our trainees has always surprised us on many occasions and we are sure we will be able to bring in some unique work.
Vocational Training Unit
From Usha Rajagopal's Desk
November month began with celebration of lights and colours of Diwali closely followed by heavy monsoon activity. Attendance was thin.
Diwali Celebration
VTU celebrated Diwali doing fireworks with the trainees. Hariharan, Chandra Sailakshmi and Vishal enjoyed firing the crackers independently. Siddharth enjoyed watching along with other trainees.
Post Diwali the active South East Monsoon made the days unpredictable with heavy rains and water logging in the city as well as in the center. Some teachers and trainees managed to come. On the days we were open the pending orders were executed with the limited trainees and teachers. SNEH order for painting on Diyas, block printing, Vivikta Naturals packaging, stitching of wine bottle bags, and thambulam bags.
Saravana Prabu and Chandra did block printing on the Jute wine bag stitched by trainee Supraja. She stitched it independently and Sailakshmi inserted the golden thread and bead handle independently.
Counselling session went on with the limited trainees and special session for trainee Sriram who has been placed at Grundfos.
Order received for apron from Vivikta Naturals.
Trainees and teachers were busy with packing of marriage return gift order of jute jewel pouch.
Youth Empowerment Services
From Gayathri Suryanarayanan's Desk
November 2021 was a very wet month. Many days were washed away by rains and the inclement weather.
Key highlights for the month of November 2021.
• Vocational training activities, Counselling services and OT services at the center
• Tiffin Times at SBI card office
• Diwali celebrations
• Placements/Internships
• Field trip
• Take a Step
• Visitors from Maharashtra
• Birthday Celebrations
• New admissions
• Production
Vocational training program, Counselling service, OT service, Farm program
With rains dampening the momentum of the training, YES managed to continue with the program without much interruptions. We had less and irregular attendance last month, nevertheless the activities continued. We were forced to change the schedule a bit to accommodate the trainees in different activities. Regular activities like warm up routine, life skill activities, YES market and celebrations happened with usual josh.
Counselling services had a break of one week and resumed in the third week of the month. Individual sessions and group sessions for the trainees happened along with a few parent meetings. Counsellor visit the center once a week.
OT services were happening throughout the month. Therapist visits the centre twice a week and conducts group and individual sessions based on the needs and the requirements of the trainees.
Though there was a break in between, farm program was also happening for the 5 trainees who are in that. Depending on the weather status calls were taken to either go ahead or cancel the farm visit.
Tiffin Times at SBI card office campus
As part of their Diwali celebrations, SBI card office team had invited Tiffin Times to have a snack stall at their premise. We had prepared delicious cupcakes, aloo bonda with coffee as part of our menu. People at the campus were very friendly and so supportive. This is a great beginning for Tiffin Times post the tough times due to the pandemic.
Diwali Celebrations
YES had a great Diwali celebrations last month. We celebrated Diwali on the eve, 03 November 2021. Trainees were clad in traditional and colorful dresses and the ambience was very bright and cheerful. Celebrations started at 10.30 am with fun games for the trainees. All of them participated enthusiastically and it was heartwarming to watch them have so much fun. This was followed by music time. We had Ms. Surekha as a special guest for the celebration. She filled the hall with her lovely music. She sang classic Hindi melodies that was mesmerising. Surekha ma'am also joined us for the dance time that happened later. The celebration ended with a group pic.
Field Trip
Despite the rains, YES team to have field trip in November. On 30 November, 18 trainees along with 6 staff members, visited Birla Planetarium, Chennai. This was an educational field trip. Trainees have already learnt the concepts of the Solar system, planets, eclipse, etc., as part of time concept. Hence they were able to enjoy the spectacular show on solar system at the planetarium. They had a lot to share and talk about after the show. They also watched a 3D show on simulated graphics. As the weather was very pleasant on that day, trainees enjoyed the walk around the Science and Technology centre campus.
Placements and internships
Post the interview at an industrial unit in Tambaram Chennai, 2 trainees from V-Excel including one trainee from YES have been offered placement opportunities. YES trainee Ezhilarasan R. will join M/s. Super Auto Forge organization in the first week of December 2021. This has been a long awaited break through as not many have been placed before in an industrial unit. We wish both the trainees a very good luck for a bright and excellent future.
Take a Step with YES
Take a Step, a voluntary organization has tied up with YES to offer buddy program for our trainees. 4 volunteers have registered under this project. These 4 volunteers would be visiting YES once a week on Fridays. They will spend 2 hours with the trainees and help them in various activities apart from offering a peer mentorship. This program kicked off on November 2021. First session was basically an icebreaker one. From the second session activities like personality development, reading and writing, art therapy, functional academics and fun games happened. This surely has left our trainees waiting for Fridays to come.
Birthday Celebrations
November 2021, we had 3 birthday celebrations. Trainees Harish, Arvind and Govinda had their birthdays last month. Each one was celebrated with great enthusiasm. Lovely and tasty birthday cakes were made in house along with healthy snacks. Everyone at YES joined the celebrations and made it extra special for the birthday boys.
Visitors from Maharashtra
On 09 November we had visitors from Maharashtra, who were also special educators. 11 of them had come to Chennai as part of an educational field trip for their trainers and therapists. They took a tour around the center and had a lot to appreciate the system we follow. They also shared their appreciation for the activities that we have and the products made. They excitedly shared pictures and got them printed on mugs.
New admission
In the month of November 2021 there were 3 new admissions.
Production
Laundry services got hit a bit due to the rains and the power issues. We still managed to make it up for our regular customers.
Screenprinting – We completed 4 designs, which was an innovative initiative by Kocoatrait.
Kitchen – Apart from birthday cakes, orders were taken and completed for millet laddoos and idli malagai podi.
Digital printing – We completed internal orders on payment vouchers, donation receipt books, photocopying and printing. We have also started with Picture digitization for an external client and have completed 900 pictures last month.