Merry Christmas

Sponsorship Needs 2013-2014

Gurukulam School currently has 212 children from LKG to IX Grade for the academic year 2013-2014. We request for your kind support to meet the needs of our School and children through various sponsorship options as mentioned below.

100% of your donations directly reach the children. All the administrative expenses are borne by Trust Children’s committee members and trustees.

*The conversion table below from INR to USD, GBP, Euro and SGD was based as per the average exchange rate in Nov 2013. Please feel free to convert INR into the respective currency at the time of donation.

Type of Donation	Donation Amount Required (2013 - 2014)
	Indian Rupees	US Dollars	British Pounds	Euros	Singapore Dollars
Annual Education & Meal Sponsorship per Child	INR 15,500	$ 260	£ 165	€ 195	SGD 325
Text Books	INR 66,000	$  1,107	£ 703	€ 830	SGD 1,384
Note Books and Stationery	INR 30,000	$ 503	£ 319	€ 377	SGD 629
Water Purifier	INR 20,000	$ 335	£ 213	€ 252	SGD 419
Window Curtains and Blinds	INR 10,000	$ 168	£ 106	€ 126	SGD 210
Stainless Steel Plates and Cups	INR 10,000	$ 168	£ 106	€ 126	SGD 210
Sports Kit and Playground Equipment	INR 250,000	$ 4,194	£ 2,661	€ 3,145	SGD 5,242
Staircase from 1st Floor to Ground x 2  Sides	INR 220,000	$ 3,690	£ 2,342	€ 2,768	SGD 4,613
Compound Wall - East	INR 430,000	$ 7,213	£ 4,577	€ 5,410	SGD 9,016
Compound Wall - North	INR 660,000	$ 11,071	£ 7,026	€ 8,303	SGD 13,839
Compound Wall - West	INR 160,000	$ 2,684	£ 1,703	€ 2,013	SGD 3,355
Compound Wall - South	INR 550,000	$ 9,226	£ 5,855	€ 6,919	SGD 11,532
Painting of the Entire School	INR 350,000	$ 5,871	£ 3,726	€ 4,403	SGD 7,339

A New Kitchen

Gurukulam's Own Kitchen :-)

On the 9th Nov 2013, our newly built Kitchen was dedicated...

Ms Sabita (Advisory Board Member), Mr Nathan (Advisory Board Member), Mrs Shakila (Principal), Mohammed (Vice-Principal) along with staff members dedicated the kitchen to service.

Thanks to "Gurukulam Inc USA"  for the wonderful new kitchen :-)

The school plans to start cooking wholesome, healthy and hygienic food from January 2014.

We welcome Rice, Dal, Vegetables etc., as donations for our children's meals.

SILC, USA raises funds for Gurukulam School

We are very excited to share the news that School of India from Languages and Culture (SILC) at St. Paul, MN organized a successful fund raiser called "United Through Dance" on October 12, 2013 for Gurukulam School. It was indeed very touching to see the support and encouragement of the entire SILC community for our children.

The program "United Through Dance" was a culmination of a year long effort by SILC students of "Special Achievements Projects (SAP)" - Tarunika Anand, Anushka Mankunath, and Danielle Raikar, led by their coach and mentor, Siva Jasthi. It all started in 2012, when Tarunika Anand visited Gurukulam School in Chennai and became passionate about helping the Gurukulam children.

We sincerely thank Tarunika, Anushka, Danielle, their parents, and the SILC Board Members, Shiv Bhatia, Siva Jasthi, Sunita Mannamkunnath, and Manju Nayar, among others, and all the dance groups for their hard work and commitment to make this fund raising event a huge success!

The funds raised at the event helped sponsor the annual cost of education and meals for 14 children at Gurukulam School. The Trust Children Executive Committee and Trustees are grateful to all the organizers and donors to make a significant difference to the School.

Please find below the videos of all the 12 dance groups that performed for the fund raiser.
(Click on the title to view the video)

1. Bharatanatyam - Natesha Kauvtavam - Meera Viruru (SILC)

This is an invocation dance to receive Natesh's blessings and begin the program on an auspicious note.

2. Minessota Dance Theater - Wawshishijay

"Wawshishijay" means "Our Beginning". The piece is built from classic modern dance technique.

3. Gujju Twist - Oldies Medley

Gujju Twist is a youth group that performs Gujarati and Bollywood dances all over the Twin Cities. Tonight's performance is a medley of various 1960's Bollywood hits.

4. Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center (TCCDC) - Creek of Flowers

The dance is about a group of Miao girls who come to play along the creek of Blossom in early morning. They are melted by Mother Nature's beauty and dance freely along the small creek.

5. Ballet MN - Rite of Spring

The section you are seeing is the beginning of the ballet. This is about an ancient culture that sacrifices a young girl each spring to ensure a good harvest in the Fall.

6. CAAM - An Amusing Game

This dance is from China's Yi Ethnic group. Three friends enjoy a summer's day - running, laughing and teasing each other. Let's watch them as they play an amusing game.

7. Kuchipudi - Bhama Kalapam - Aparna Lakshmi

Bhama Kalapam is one of the most famous Kuchipudi items. This dance is of a mercurial nature that shows bravery, wit, haughtiness, love, and intelligence.

8. Ballet Folklorico Mexico Azteca (BFMA - Potpourri of Nuevo Leon, La Bruja, El Son del Mariachi, Jarabe, El Viajero

BFMA will be presenting a potpourri of folk dances.

9. Universal Dance Destiny - The Thing

This dance piece is to an African song called "The Thing". The style of African dance performed to this song is called Azonto (which is the newest style of modern African dance)

10. SILC Ladies - Moyna Chalat Chalat

SILC ladies present a Bengali folk dance. Graceful movements accompanied by soothing music are the highlights of this dance.

11. Grupo de Danzas Colombianas de MN (GDDCMN) - Chemapale

GDDCMN will present a token of Colombian Folklore by performing a dance from the Atlantic region that combines Cumbia and Mapale in one song known as Chemapale. 

12. SILC Teens - Chunari Chunari/ Marjaani

Bollywood dance by the youth of SILC. Energetic movements and toe tapping music are the hallmarks of this performance. 

In addition to the above videos, please feel free to see other videos of the event below.

- Opening Comments "United Through Dance"

- Token of Appreciation to "Special Achievements Project" SAP Class

- Vote of Thanks by Vishal Khushalani, Trust Children

- Vote of Thanks by Shiv Bhatia, President of SILC

Thank you again everybody for your support and for making this event a huge success!!!

Parents Teachers Meet - Oct 2013

The Parents Teachers Meet was conducted on the 5th Oct 2013.

Parents, teachers, students and the Advisory Board Members joined together in discussing the progress of students.

It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm in the parents to join in and contribute to the discussions. 

Mrs Shakila, Principal and Mr Mohammed, Vice-Principal exhorted the parents to be more pro-active. 

Reflections

During a recent visit to school, I had a chat with the students of class IX exhorting them to make the best use of our school....

And it was a pleasant surprise when the children wrote back with their thoughts...

Seminar by Dr Sultan Ahmed Ismail

Gurukulam school organised a seminar on 7^th September for its students to educate them on the importance of conserving Natural resources and living in harmony with Nature.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Ismail, eminent scientist was the resource person. Dr Ismail enthralled the children with demonstrations and video clippings. He advised the children to save the Earth and serve the Nation by Leading an Environment friendly Life.  Students were excited and vowed to save and safeguard The Earth.

- Principal