January 29, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

So what did you think of our Jhansi ki Rani, Lal  Bahadur Shastri, Bina Das, Sarojini Naidu, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Bharatiyaar, Madam Bikaji Cama, Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, and Mahatma Gandhi ? 

They all came alive Sunday morning, and 'moved, touched, and inspired' ! to quote a Balavihar Teacher. Several teachers and parents came up and complimented the kids performance! We are so proud of their talents and the performance in a short span of time, and are sure you are too! All this would not have been possible but for your support!

Back in the class, we had a mini party to celebrate today's accomplishments with Munchkins, and cereal bars. Kids also received certificates for their outstanding performance today with a token prize.

We continued our quest into the Indian Freedom Movement in the class, connecting the periods between various leaders represented at the assembly presentation. Starting from how India's reputation of being the land of spices attracted foreign explorers, to Christopher Columbus to Vasco Da Gama's sea route, to the formation of the East India Company, and to how India was united under British rule. Had a lively discussion how each of the leaders helped the freedom movement, Doctrine of Lapse, Swadeshi Movement, Dandi March, etc., drawing parallels with American Independence.This is another subject which we cannot cover everything in a matter of 1-2 hours. So we encouraged the kids to do some research and reading at home.

We learnt that a couple of great/grand fathers fought in the freedom struggle, and encouraged them to have a conversation with somebody close to those family freedom fighters to learn more.

Here are a few reminders:

Feb 5th Class: Festivals. Please read up the relevant chapters, and come prepared to talk about it.

Guru Paduka Pooja: We hear that Apr 14th date is on a spring break week, and so it will most likely be moved to March 10, 2017, to be combined with 8th grade. More details when we get them.

Mar 26th Class: Please mark your calendar for a possible Chinmaya Madhuvan visit. More details to follow

Jun 4th Class: As mentioned before, please mark your calendar to stay the whole class- Assembly, in-class, and a class picnic. More details later.

Take Aways: Always love to receive '5 take aways' from the kids.

Next class is on Feb 5, 2017

January 23, 2017

Hari Om, Parents

"Pretty, Colorful, Beautiful, fun " Those are some of the feedback words on our Sankranti celebrations yesterday, with Rangoli, Kite Making, Mehendi, and most importantly, Sankranthi breakfast! Hope you all enjoyed ! We just posted some pictures from the day celebrations on What's App.

Our class yesterday was focused on our presentation next week. 

National Anthem: We are definitely ready with our National Anthem Vocals. Thanks for the practice at home. Instrument players did not have a chance to practice along with the vocals. So it is important to practice at home with some vocal support, and rehearse at 8.30am on the 29th. Hopefully we can present an harmonious Anthem! As far as we know, this will be a FIRST in BBNJ history ! But no pressure :)

National Leaders: We had a good start with practice. The goal is 'to speak the words'.  In case memorization is not possible, please have them practice several times so the words are not foreign to them, and most importantly, the names of the leaders that are being presented. We are doing great with time - 1 min or so. Key is PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE! Practice everyday!!

Costume: Please let us know if you have any question on the costume. Of course, the world wide web has plenty of resources. In case you need to rent from the Balavihar Costume store, please let us know ASAP.

Program Line-up: After a brief introduction by the teachers, the leaders will present themselves in the following order (alphabetical order of the last names)

1	Dauntless Diya	Jhansi Rani Lakshmi Bai
2	Dynamic Dhruv	Netaji Subash Chandra Bose
3	Delightful Diya	Beena Das
4	Nxxxx Nikitha	Sarojini Naidu
5	Smart Sitara	Vijayalakshmi Pandit
6	Supreme Shyam	Bharatiyaar
7	Sweet Seema	Madam Bikaji Cama
8	Super Suchir	Bhagat Singh
9	Powerful Prajit	Chandrasekhar Azad
10	Intelligent Isha	Mahatma Gandhi

Student Introduction

National Anthem

 

Guru Paduka Pooja: Please respond with your date choice - Mar 10th or Apr 14th. 

Looking forward to seeing the Indian Freedom Fighters in all their glory on Jan 29th at 8.30am. 

Thanks for getting them to practice their lines and the National Anthem every day! 

Happy Republic Day!

January 15th 2017

Hari Om!

It was so great to see the parents take the time to stop by our class this morning ! We really appreciate your time, engagement and enthusiastic support of our program! THANK YOU!

Hope you all had a good Bhogi, Pongal/Sankranthi/Lohri/Thanksgiving/Harvest Festival! We will be talking about festivals next class..

Firstly, Thanks for showing up for today's make-up class, and making our Mini Music Festival a grand success ! Kudos to all the kids who showcased their talents, and also presented on musical instruments! We shared videos,and photos of the performance/presentation, 

Earlier in the day, we had Yoga class, and learnt Surya Namaskar, and Pranayama.

Kids also chose the freedom leaders that they want to portray and present at the Republic Day celebrations on Jan 29th. Here are the choices made today:

Dauntless Diya - Jhansi Ki Rani

Delightful Diya - Beena Das

Intelligent Isha - Gandhi

Nxxxx Nikita - Sarojini Naidu

Sxxxx Seema - Madam Bhikaji Cama

Supreme Shyam - Bharathiyar

Super Suchir- Bhagat Singh

Please let us know if you are making changes as soon as possible.

Others, please choose your leaders and let us know.  (Please see some choices elsewhere on this blog)

BBNJ Costume Store has some costumes & accessories including Gandhi, in case you need help. If you need suggestions, please let us know.

Jan 29th Class: Indian Republic Day Celebrations

• Please plan to arrive at about 8.30am for rehearsals. You might want to come dressed or be done with costume at that time. In case you want to come early and get dressed at the school, please let us know so we can make sure the cafetaria is open at that time.
• Please prepare about 5-6 sentences for about 1 minute each. This is in 'first person'. So this will be like 'My name is Gandhi...'. We will review the prepared content in the next class, and have a rehearsal session.
• We will also sing National Anthem that we have been practicing. Please make sure that the kids have memorized the national anthem at home,

Jan 22nd Class: Festivals of India

• We did not assign any festivals for next week. Instead please have them prepare for the Jan 29th presentation.. As always, casual conversations on the festivals are highly encouraged.
• We shared the information on Rangoli competition on Whatsapp. Here is the flyer again

http://www.bbnjbalavihar.com/images/documents/rangoli_flyer.pdf

 It is a great chance to come together as a family, and showcase your Rangoli/creative talents! 

Guru Paduka Pooja

Guru Paduka puja is worship of “Padukas” or sandals of a Guru. Please avail this wonderful opportunity to invite our Guru to your home and perform a guru paduka puja under their guidance. This shall bring the grace of Guru in your home for you and your family & friends.

Guru’s feet or Padukas represent the knowledge on which He stands, and firmly abides in. Worshiping the Padukas with humility brings about the required purity in our mind for this supreme knowledge to flow into us and spiritual wisdom to take roots in our hearts. 

We shared all the possible dates with you on Whatsapp. Now there are 2 dates left for us to make the choice.

Mar 10th Friday or Apr 14th Friday. 

Please let us know either via email or Whatsapp as to which date suits you so we can choose, and let the organizers know. Also, please let us know if you would like to host this Pooja. You will not be left to do this alone. Expert veterans are here to help you with hosting this auspicious event, and the Prasad will be a Pot luck. 

Here is some material on the Pooja, if you like.

https://www.google.com/search?q=guru+paduka+pooja&rlz=1C1OPRA_enUS540US543&oq=guru+paduka+pooja&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.7079j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Jun 4th Class: In Class, Assembly and Class Picnic

Please mark your calendar for assembly presentation, and class picnic (12.30-2.30pm) and plan to spend your time in-class. More details to follow.

Reminder:

• Love to receive the '5 Takeaways' from every class.
• Next class is on Sunday January 22, 2017

Questions, suggestions, concerns, please feel free to email or Whatsapp us.