#vidyavanam

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Closing with the bang!! Today 18 April was the last day of the academic year 2014-15 for Vidya Vanam as the progress report were handed over to the parents. The day started with the school-wide cricket match between students and teachers, mediated with Vidya Vanam director Prema Rangachary's (Patti's) meeting with the parents and culminated in the report-giving. Patti updated the parents with changes to come about. However, the higher two classes,i.e. Nilgiri-2 and Nilgiri-1 will be coming for more two weeks for extra classes and office will be open throughout the vacation. School will reopen on 8 June 2015. Happy holidays!!!

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Happy Earth Day from Vidya Vanam! 

In Tamil, 'Vidya Vanam' means 'Forest of Knowledge,' speaking to the true investment that we have in inculcating knowledge about our environment. 

At Vidya Vanam, concepts of sustainability and conservation are integrated into the curriculum, regardless of the academic subject. This year, our students have worked on designing solid waste management plans for Anaikatti; pledged to save the tigers in India; attended a Biodiversity Contest in Chennai; participated in a tree planting project, planting over 275 saplings in nearby villages; and, incorporated themes of sustainability into their artistic and dance performances. 

Vidya Vanam truly is a forest of knowledge, and the community created at the school embraces these crucial concepts of conservation. 

"The Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth." 

-Chief Seattle

Happy Earth Day!

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Vidya Vanam recently had two visitors from China spend a day at the school. Naranayan, a good friend and long-time contributor to Vidya Vanam, and his wife, Karpagam, came and spent the day with our students. They taught the students about Chinese culture, habits, food, etc. and the children were so excited to hear their stories! They even taught the students new phrases in Chinese, as well as how to eat with chopsticks! We are very fortunate to have visitors and support from all around the world. Thank you to Karpagam and Naranayan for spending time with us!

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Recently, American volunteer Faith Spencer, started a Student Council at Vidya Vanam. The Student Council will empower the students to have a voice in the happenings at their school. We're excited to see what the students do!

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This past week, Vidya Vanam students traveled to Chennai to participate in a biodiversity in Chennai. The students were excited to travel out of Anaikatti and share their thoughts at the competition. We're proud of them!

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Vidya Vanam though initially named as a school for tribal and underprivileged children has gone beyond empowering the children only. It is said that if one woman is empowered in return she empowers the 100 and that if one woman is educated her entire family gets educated too.Believing the same we have also started to empower the women of this area with needed to skills to help them mobilize upward from their penurious situation. For this last year we initiated Vidya Vanam Community College in affiliation with IGNOU and Pratham. These women are taking ECED (Early Childhood Education and Development) course which will help them to be teachers. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a premier Indian government university for distance learning courses and Pratham (literary means first) is internationally acclaimed non-government organization working towards improving educational skills of marginalized people.

-Written by Rajesh Barasara

(Photo: In the above image, Vidya Vanam Director, Prema Rangachary, inaugurates the second batch of IGNOU students.)

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In October, 2013, Vidya Vanam children participate in a puppetry workshop, led by Dr. Bhanumathi from the Pavai Centre for Puppetry, Chennai. 

Children from both the junior and senior schools were trained on how to make animal and insect puppets from chart paper. First, the children would draw and color the figures on chart paper; then, they would cut out the figures from the paper. They glued the different parts together to create the puppets. 

The children then used the puppets to tell the stories of their lives-- a strategy used to overcome hesitation to using English. Not only were the puppets used to explore the children's creativity and artistic skill, but also, to promote better English understanding. 

In the above photos, the children display their beautiful puppets, and watch as Dr. Bhanumathi shows them how to create the puppets. 

A big thank you to Dr. Bahnumathi for sharing her talents with us!

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Vidya Vanam students prepare for the 2013 Project Day, which occurred Monday, December 10th. Project Day allows students to study the same theme in each of their academic classes in order to fully grasp the topic from multiple angles. For the full semester students study the one theme, and then showcase their posters, models, presentations and skits for a chief guest and their parents. This year's themes were natural disasters and the solar system.