Providing lifespan services to individuals with special needs...
Strides Newsletter - May 2025 - Issue 227
Kaleidoscope Learning Centre
From Shashikala Subramaniam's Desk
Go into the depths of the Ocean and there is a wealth. Just so is the human heart.
- Raza (Rander Heart)
May is the month of summer rest. School closes for about six weeks. It’s an essential rhythm for children and teachers to withdraw from the daily routine and perhaps savour the joys of indoor quiet times. It is also a time for the parents to spend more time with their children planning holidays for those who can travel and engaging in activities at home or in the city. Many teachers too, took a break with their families, making the most of the holidays and creating some good memories for themselves. Some students who needed support and guidance at home were held by some of our teachers who went to them for home visits.
A true success story:
Rekha Vijayakumar was the first student from KLC who got a job and joined Writer’s Cafe in June 2024. She has been coming to school to meet her friends and counselor in between as we held and supported her through this. She had always been a very confident student in the familiar environment of the school. But this May, we had an opportunity of observing her at her job in Writer's Cafe, Royepettah Branch, working confidently, calmly with purpose, putting together an online order for Pizza, independently. Her efforts at her job and her learnings at school under the able guidance of her teachers has given her this confidence. It gave all of us at school a feeling of fulfillment and happiness that we were working with the students on the right path.
Niharikaa Dinakaran, as we had already mentioned, joined her internship with Writer’s Cafe in September 2024 for 5 months. She completed it successfully. Her performance and work were evaluated, and she has got a job there starting from July 2025. She signed her letter of appointment and accepted it. She will be working with Rekha and Sharanya both from V-Excel, in the same branch.
Training for a Viable Vocation
Make best out of Waste Workshop, held on 24th May at BVB, was informative about how we can use what usually is thrown as waste into products which are of use in our day-to-day life. We had many participants from V-Excel as a whole that included 4 teachers from KLC. We are looking at having this training in the school for the other teachers so that it helps us with the Craftizen project which is in the pipeline as a community workshop project.
Our new academic year 2025-2026 will start in the first week of June for the teachers and then later for the students. Looking forward to an eventful year ahead.
Vocational Training Unit
From Manivannan's Desk
Hottest month of the year May began with activities, followed by cleaning, group session in Therapy and Counselling , visit by Grundfos Global team and then ended with summer break by 2nd week.
Highlights:
Therapy Session:
Our Therapist, Mr. Vasanth, conducted a two-day group session with our VTU Trainees.
Day1: The session focused on fun and engaging activities designed to build rapport, encourage social interaction, and create a joyful atmosphere. Trainees actively participated and enjoyed the experience.
Day 2: The focus shifted to therapeutic and sensory-stimulating activities. While some trainees found the activities enjoyable and engaging, others experienced certain challenges that provided valuable opportunities for growth and observation.
Overall, the two-day session was a meaningful experience that supported both emotional well-being and cognitive engagement for our trainees.
Counselling Session:
Two-Day Group Counselling Session with VTU Trainees, teachers, and staff.
Our VTU trainees participated in a two-day group counselling session facilitated by our Counsellor Ms Jayadevi and second day Teachers and staff also participated.
Day 1: The interactive sessions with our Trainees and focused and talked about general interaction about social manner.
Day 2: The session was on healing, everybody was given clay activity, where each of them created something on their own and they shared the meaning and feelings behind their creations.
Grundfos Global Team Visit:
In the middle of the second week, the Grundfos Global team visited VTU. They engaged enthusiastically with our trainees, conducting interactive activities and games that brought joy and energy to everyone.
Cleaning initiative by Trainees:
Trainees, with the help of teachers, began cleaning tasks which included cupboards, kitchen, rooms, and windows, with a sense of teamwork and responsibility.
Art Exhibition on 15th May 2025
Trainees and teachers are gone to ZENONZEN Art exhibition at ITC Grand Chola, Guindy on 15th of May, 2025.
Charu’s Birthday & End of academic Year 2024-2025 Celebration on 16th May, 2025.:
On our last working day, 16th May 2025, we celebrated Charu's birthday at VTU. Adrian's mother sent a delicious cake, and all trainees, teachers, and staff came together to cut the cake, marking both the birthday and the conclusion of the academic year with joy. Everyone exchanged warm wishes for a wonderful summer break.
Summer Break & Continued Engagement:
Trainee Hariharan continued attending the center during the summer break. VTU teachers ensured he was actively engaged with appropriate activities over the two-week period.
Deep Cleaning and White wash:
Deep cleaning work at Sreyes commenced on 19th May 2025, and whitewashing began on 1st June 2025 to prepare for the upcoming academic year.
Counselling & Therapy:
Counsellor Ms. Jayadevi had sessions with Trainees, Teachers and Parents apart from Group session.
Mr. Vasanth had therapy both individual and group Therapy with the Trainees.
Youth Empowerment Services
From Gayathri Suryanarayanan's Desk
Key highlights for the month of May 2025
• Group counselling session for the trainers
• Eye camp
• Year closure
o Movie Day
o Fun Day
• Annual maintenance work
Group Counselling Session for the Trainers
On 10 May, trainers of YES team had a group counselling session with Ms. Jayadevi. This session was intended for team building and to emphasize effective communication and interpersonal skills. The session was very interactive, interesting, and participatory. The trainers shared their challenges and experiences with each other and this helped them understand each other better.
Free Eye Camp
On 07 May, a team from Ramachandra Medical College conducted a free eye checkup camp for all the trainees and trainers at YES. Customized charts were used for nonverbal trainees and trainees without academic knowledge. Reports with recommendations were presented for all of them.
Year Closure
Movie day
As every year, this year also, on 14 May, we arranged a movie day for the trainees at YES and Mufasa – The Lion King was chosen for the same. Our workshop space was converted to a mini theatre with a big screen and comfortable seating arrangement. The movie was shown after lunch. Popcorn was also distributed during a five-minute interval. Healthy snacks were given to all the trainees after the movie. Popcorn and snacks were sponsored by the parents of a trainee who celebrated his birthday during that week.
Fun day – Last working day of the academic year
The last working day of the academic year, 17 May 2025, was planned to be a fun day for the whole YES team. Fifteen volunteers from Hexaware came to YES to make the day special for all. The day started with an intro session to allow to get to know each other. This was followed by a group activity which they did in small groups. Each group had a couple of volunteers and a few trainees. The theme given was ‘Vacation’ and the group was supposed to make an art using the choices of materials given to them. This was followed by a team lunch. After lunch a few volunteers and a few trainees showcased their musical talent. They took turns and sang popular from Tamil and Hindi movies. The day ended with wishes for happy holidays and a lot of hope for new beginnings.
The sixth edition of the YES Newsletter was also released by the senior person from the Hexaware team.
Annual Maintenance work
YES closed its operations from 18 May and reopened on 28 May for staff members. All the maintenance including civil work, cleaning and stock taking were done during this week. Rescheduling and restructuring of the training program, product reviews and year planning also happened during this period.
Trainees will resume from 04 June 2025 for the new academic year.