Library and how we engage children - thanks to KPMG

02.04.2019

Update on our Library and how we had engaged our children for this academic year...

ANNUAL REPORT FROM GURUKULAM LIBRARY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2018-19

“BOOKS ARE A TREASURE TROVE OF KNOWLEDGE”

Library Board

Our school library plays a pivotal role in the school curriculum. Our School library is sponsored by KPMG. The teacher-librarians are Mr. Lourdu Raj, Mrs. Grace Lilly and Ms. Darthy Rani. The library system is completely aligned with the strategies of Hippocampus Reading Foundation and is both maintained and administered in accordance with their set guidelines and instructions. The reading of library books is carried out following the GROW-BY method given by them.

Teacher-Librarians

Receipt and Catalogue of books

The books that come into library are catalogued into the stock register maintained by the Chief Teacher-Librarian. Books are then categorized, depending on the criteria specified by Hippocampus, numbered, colour coded and shelved accordingly. The library resources comprise of materials belonging to various genres like literature, tales, art and craft, sports, fiction and non-fiction.

Assigning Levels to Books

To facilitate the literacy skills and the quest to read and to enable them nurture the habit of learning through reading, we follow the escalation method of GROW-BY (Green, Red, Orange, White, Blue and Yellow), wherein the student-readers begin their reading from Green colour coded books that are picture-dominant and gradually improve their reading and comprehension to reach their destination of being able to fluently read the Yellow colour coded books.

Library Schedule and Routine

The library is open and active for all the weekdays to provide access and assistance for individual needs during school. There is a structured timetable with each class, starting from Grade I to Grade XII, visiting the library twice a week. Students are issued with individual folders named ‘Circulation Register’ labeled with his/her identity. In the respective folders, the students register the name of the book, level and the date on which they appear to the Library. Even their absence is marked by the teacher in the provided column.

After their use, the students are encouraged to replace the books in the same shelf they have taken them from. Students have easy access to the library during the school at any time that the library staff is on site. They can also borrow books of their choice to have their reading perpetuated at home and at their leisure.

Periodical Assessment and Upgrade of the Levels

The students are periodically assessed of their reading and comprehension skills at the beginning of every term and as and when required. Based on their performance, their levels are upgraded and the same is updated in the designated folder over the Google-Drive to be viewed by the Management.

Monthly Vibrancy Activities

The librarians conduct monthly activities for the students entrusted to their care in line with the Hippocampus following the Vibrancy Activities manual which provides variety of activities enhancing diverse skills such as cognitive, reflective, Judgmental, auditory along with reading and writing.

New arrivals – new initiative and Students’ recommendations

A new shelf and slot has been additionally introduced at the library entrance, this year, to inform the students of the new resources and to kindle students’ curiosity to reading and acquiring knowledge. 

The library holds a very special notice board where the students, after reading a particular book, can recommend the same by disclosing the name of the book on the notice board. This makes the student-readers feel proud.

Update on Reading Collection

At our library, we maintain various records and registers to track the movement of the books and the stock. Many new resources were added to the collection this year including posters, Video cassettes and miscellaneous numbering about 250 items. The total for the Reading collection till date is 5225 items. In addition, we too have around 800 books and resource materials in the reading room adjacent to the School Library.
The Library Collection has Curriculum items,Reference items, Teacher Reference, Dictionaries, Video Cassettes and General collection items. Thanks to our Prime Sponsor KPMG and the other benefactors for generously adding to our catalogue consistently.

THANK YOU…

Macquarie Group Foundation supports our nutrition programme and GVTC

18.03.2019

Macquarie Group Foundation will support the nutrition programme for our next academic year along with helping us with running costs of GVTC and Gurukulam. 

It is our firm belief that children from underprivileged background need good nutrition to help them grow in mind and body. It is essential that we provide them a balanced meal along with education as part of our holistic reach towards empowering them. 

Our loving thanks to Macquarie Group Foundation for their support.

GVTC reaches out

19.02.2019

Our Vice Principal for Gurukulam Vocational Training Centre (GVTC) reached out to the Govt run school towards vocational training.

In her own words:

Report on Power Point Presentation at Govt.High School, Kovalam

Meeting Venue  :  Conference Hall , Govt.High School ,Kovalam.

Date & Time  : 19-02-2019, 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm

Participants : 12 Teachers + 150 Students

Presentation Made By :  Farzana

 Assisted By :      Saravanan

Points highlighted : Quality of Training offered, Cost & Class room infrastructure.

Material Presented :  Pamphlets , Practical scarb books , Record books of past trainees exhibited.

No. Of pamphlets distributed: 180

Feedback  by  GVTC Participants:

1) Students expressed desire to visit GVTC with their parents

2) X th std students desire to join GVTC  after their Final board examination

3) Teachers offered to create awareness of programs.

Warm Regards, 

Farzana

Impact of our vegetable garden...thanks to KPMG Volunteers

04.04.2019

Our vegetable garden has grown amazingly well! And so has the impact of gardening on our children, teachers and school...Kudos to KPMG volunteers who helped us with starting this initiative...

As written by our Trustee, Mrs Sabita Currimbhoy:

Recently we have engaged Ms. Suganya S. to help with what she calls "School Transformational Systems".. well one thing led to another and with the gardening boost that KPMG has also given us, one of our teachers has taken this to another level with her interest in both her class and gardening.. here is a report of this teacher. Thought you would like to know and see how small moments and changes can transform lives.. thanks to KPMG for being a part of this change..

A Snippet of impact we are seeing in our classrooms

Young, Energetic Grade 1 students are Learning by Gardening! Our Grade 1 students are stepping out of their classrooms, soaking up some sun, planting seeds and watering their plants to their heart’s content!Ms. Revathi, a primary school Tamil teacher at Gurukulam School is showing the way for all of us to follow by trying different hands-on learning activities to help her students have fun and grow as inquisitive learners.

While attending a training workshop in the school, Ms.Revathi had an opportunity to share the passion she has for teaching and also think about her ‘dream classroom’. Her dream classroom, as she articulated it, was a space which had a gardening corner and an activity corner where children are happy and learning by doing.

Fast-forward a week post the workshop, Ms.Revathi was making her dream classroom a reality one step at a time. Together with her young and energetic Grade 1 kids, they were preparing a garden patch right adjacent to their classroom, fermenting the soil and planting seeds -- they were creating a beautiful garden-corner

“I got this idea to create a garden when we shared about our ‘dream classroom’ the other day. While I still do not know how to go about the activity corner, I thought I will start with the garden corner -- something that I can do towards contributing to my dream classroom” -- Ms. Revathi

As a morning routine, everyday her students watered the plants, cleaned the garden patch and ensured carefully that nothing caused harm or danger to their patch. What caught Ms.Revathi by surprise was that her students were taking ownership by themselves (without anyone asking them to) to grow and take care of their garden. And through all this, Ms.Revathi realized and experienced that these simple activities go a long way in establishing a relationship with children beyond the classroom walls.

As the beautiful garden grew, with flowers blooming and the first vegetable appearing, there was visible joy and excitement in her classroom. Ms.Revathi leveraged this opportunity and organized a ‘Discussion Time’ with her students. This discussion time helped the children reflect on how they felt while they were gardening, what they had learnt about plants and their growth and how the entire experience was.

“I am really happy seeing how much my kids enjoy gardening. Everyday, they themselves ensure that the garden work is done. And with so much excitement and pride, they show it to others as well. I also observed growth in my students -- they started engaging with me a lot more. They also take ownership to do their job and this is something I never expected. Even the kid with whom I have found difficult to work with before has shown so much care and behaviour towards gardening. I also had a discussion with them about the garden and they themselves shared with me how plants grow -- that they need soil, sunlight and water. Without me explaining, all my kids knew the concept!” -- Ms.Revathi

Ms.Revathi is truly a powerhouse of ideas when it comes to helping her kids with creativity and extra-effort. Her plan ahead is to share her experience with her peer-teachers on how this helped her build relationships with her kids and how it was a powerful yet fun learning experience for her kids too. She also has plans to continue to grow and sustain the garden, leveraging it to promote collaborative learning among the children.

Science Practicals

25.01.2019

8th grade students do a very good salt analysis as part of their practicals...

Soft toys from Spain for UKG by Merche and Mercedes

21.01.2019

Merche and her mother Mercedes sent gifts all the way from Spain for the entire UKG and the child they sponsor. The children adored the soft toys!

Our loving thanks to the beautiful gesture of love from mother and daughter...

Ornithology Workshop with Adyar Park volunteers

21.01.2019

Volunteers from Adyar Park conducted a workshop on Ornithology  It included a session in the class room as well as a nature walk around the campus.

The children had an interesting morning!

Projects for 2019 and the opportunities for supporting them

12th Dec 2018

Current projects that require support in 2019-20

To support us, please click on the below link to donate. Our loving thanks!

To donate towards any of the projects, please click here.

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S No	Project requiring support	Donation amount required
		Indian Rupees	US Dollar	British Pounds	Euros	Singapore Dollars
1	Annual Education Sponsorship per Child	₹ 19,000	$276	£228	€247	SGD 380
2	Field Trips	₹ 30,000	$435	£360	€390	SGD 600
3	Stationary	₹ 75,000	$1,088	£900	€975	SGD 1,500
4	Notebooks	₹ 90,000	$1,305	£1,080	€1,170	SGD 1,800
5	Text Books	₹ 200,000	$2,900	£2,400	€2,600	SGD 4,000
6	Lab Supplies	₹ 80,000	$1,160	£960	€1,040	SGD 1,600
7	Computer Labs, UPS - maintenance	₹ 100,000	$1,450	£1,200	€1,300	SGD 2,000
8	Uniforms	₹ 300,000	$4,350	£3,600	€3,900	SGD 6,000
9	Painting of School (Outer)	₹ 700,000	$10,150	£8,400	€9,100	SGD 14,000
10	Painting of Classrooms	₹ 1,300,000	$18,850	£15,600	€16,900	SGD 26,000
11	Internet teachers and admin	₹ 177,000	$2,567	£2,124	€2,301	SGD 3,540
12	CCTV - Maintenance	₹ 30,000	$435	£360	€390	SGD 600
13	Breakfast, Snacks	₹ 440,000	$6,380	£5,280	€5,720	SGD 8,800
14	Lunch	₹ 500,000	$7,250	£6,000	€6,500	SGD 10,000
15	GVTC - Cost of setting up electrical, home appliances	₹ 350,000	$5,075	£4,200	€4,550	SGD 7,000
16	GVTC - Cost of setting up mobile and laptop repair	₹ 300,000	$4,350	£3,600	€3,900	SGD 6,000
17	GVTC - running cost , include salary and material	₹ 1,400,000	$20,300	£16,800	€18,200	SGD 28,000
18	Furniture for classrooms	₹ 150,000	$2,175	£1,800	€1,950	SGD 3,000
19	Playground levelling	₹ 1,200,000	$17,400	£14,400	€15,600	SGD 24,000
20	Salaries	₹ 6,000,000	$87,000	£72,000	€78,000	SGD 120,000
21	Water for other uses	₹ 50,000	$725	£600	€650	SGD 1,000
22	Drinking water	₹ 36,000	$522	£432	€468	SGD 720
23	Sports Equipment	₹ 40,000	$580	£480	€520	SGD 800
24	Kitchen equipment upgrade	₹ 80,000	$1,160	£960	€1,040	SGD 1,600
25	West side compound wall	₹ 410,000	$5,945	£4,920	€5,330	SGD 8,200
26	South side compound wall	₹ 465,000	$6,743	£5,580	€6,045	SGD 9,300
27	Kitchen renovation	₹ 60,000	$870	£720	€780	SGD 1,200
Conversion of INR to other currencies are as per annualized currency rate in 2018. Please feel free to convert INR into the respective currency at the time of donation.