Mr. Harsh Valechha living in an off-grid environment following a sustainable lifestyle visited the school to talk about sustainable practices and different ways to grow food organically.
Project Day-Arivu 2018 was on 15th December 2018, Ms. Nalini Thimraj, Principal of Monarch International College of Hotel Management , Ooty honoured as Chief guest.
Ms. Sujatha, Montessori trainer from Bengaluru conducted a workshop for Montessori and Junior school teachers.
Ms. Prema Rangachary presented the story of Vidya Vanam: Evolution of Transformational Education at the 25th International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC) held in Bengaluru.
Our students and teachers spent a week at the CFL (Centre for Learning), Bengaluru and interacted with their students and teachers and also those from other schools.
Mr. Rakesh Raghunathan, a Food Blogger and a Food & Travel show host visited the school to talk about his journey through food.
Students made chekutty dolls for the community of Chendamangalam weavers in Kerala that was badly affected by the floods in the state.
K. B. Jinan, a social worker, an activist designer, teacher, and researcher, conducted workshops for the junior school teachers.
Two of our students, Dejashvi and Prakash, participated in a National Workshop on “Crafts of India-Gond Painting” organized by Department of Apparel and Fashion Design, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.
Ms. Shantini Rajkumar, a Farmer, and a Food Blogger visited the school to share her valuable inputs about food, health, and lifestyle.
Prema Rangachary inaugurates Avinashilingam University’s English Literary Association with well-received talk on Literature and Life
Eminent educationist Amukta Mahapatra visited the school and interacted with the teachers, talking to them about education practices, teaching and child development
Vidya Vanam, in collaboration with Coimbatore’s Udalveli and Theatre Akku, brought the Therukoothu-based play Adavu to Kondanur village.
Students and Teachers from CFL(Centre for Learning), Bengaluru visited the school and spent a week interacting with our students and teachers.
Parents meeting happened at the end of 1st term.
Mr. Kasimbhai Inamdar from Vigyan Ashram, Pune, spent a couple of days with our DBRT students to show them how to construct low-cost dome.
Vidya Vanam hosted the meeting of 35 teachers from Tamil Nadu Alternative Education Network. Over two days the teachers and educators shared their ideas and struggles in establishing alternative schools.
The third batch of Std X students clear the EdExcel IGCSE exams
Students learn about spinning with organic cotton in a workshop conducted by Shivakumar and Aishwarya from Tiruppur
Vidya Vanam’s Volleyball team particpated in the K Venkatesalu Memorial District Level Volleyball Tournament
Artistes from the Kanchipuram’s Kattaikuttu Sangam visited Anaikatti and showed the children what the ancient art form was all about. VIdya Vanam’s students also showed them a sample of the koothu performance in and around this area.
Vidya Vanam played host to a day-long event to commemorate World Environment Day on June 5. Organised by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), the programme was on the theme was Beat Plastic Pollution. Over 700 children from various schools in Coimbatore participated in various competitions like painting, elocution, just-a-minute sessions, games and quizzes.
Prema Rangachary, Vidya Vanam’s Director, spoke about Vidya Vanam’s methodology at a three-day education conference held at Vedavalli Vidyalaya, Ranipet. Four teachers from Vidya Vanam attended the conference. Vidya Vanam’s students performed a tribal dance during the conference.
Three students from the DBRT course went for a six-day training programme to Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, Maharashtra in the second week of June. They were accompanied by C Sridharan, the DBRT coordinator. DBRT stands for Diploma in Basic Rural Technology and is offered by NIOS as a livelihood training course for students who have completed Std. VIII. At the Vigyan Ashram programme, Paramasivan, Satish and Bharat learnt to take measurements using Vernier Calipers, about the basic tools of electrical work, to measure wires using the wire gauge, to calculate electricity bills, about circuit wiring (simple, parallel and series) and how to set up wiring for a staircase and gowdown. In the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry section, they learnt to calculate the animal’s age, how to measure its weight and height, to prepare a vermicompost pit and bio-pesticides. In the Home Science class, they learnt to make biscuits, jams and pickles and also how to market these products.
Vidya Vanam’s third National Conference on Education was conducted on May 25 & 26, 2018. The theme was Peace in Education. The conference was inaugurated by Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, former Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile, and the Keynote Address was delivered by Dr K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
Other speakers were eminent author Perumal Murugan, academicians Prof AR Venkatachalapathy, Gita Jayaraj, Dr N Markandan, Prof Sambaiah Gundimeda and V Vasanthi Devi, eminent musician and public intellectual Vidwan TM Krishna, former IPS officer and social activist Dr RS Praveen Kumar, peace educator Chintan Girish Modi, neurologist and researcher Dr Subramaniam Sriram, educationists Santhya Vikram and Banu Nagesh and Vidya Vanam’s Academic Coordinator TM Srikanth and some of the school’s students. The conference was attended by over 100 teachers and educators from across India. The conference included workshops on the role of language in conflict resolution, inclusivity, living in sync with Nature and reflective writing facilitated by Dr Kathy Ganske, Prema Rangachary, Dr Sanjay Molur and Dr Neeraja Raghavan.
Padmarekha Anjan, a Montessori trainer from Bengaluru’s Jnanagamya, conducted a 10-day refresher course for Vidya Vanam’s junior school teachers. The programme reiterated the Montessori philosophy and its efficacy in early childhood development.
TM Srikanth, Vidya Vanam’s Academic Coordinator was one of the delegates at a National Education Conference organised at the Mahatma Gandhi Hindi Vishwa Vidhyalaya at Wardha, Maharashtra. The theme was Schooling in the 21st Century: Changing Dimensions, Interventions and Emerging Alternatives. Srikanth spoke about attitudes to education and Vidya Vanam’s work.
TM Srikanth, Vidya Vanam’s Academic Coordinator, and Sarbamit Choudhury Senior Science Teacher, participated in a science communication workshop organised by Zoo Outreach Organisation, which dealt with simplifying science for students and common people alike and to create an interest in science. A group of Vidya Vanam’s students accompanied by Srikanth were part of the Kids Ask Scientist programme by Mango Education. Children from different schools interacted with B Hariharan, scientist from the Cosmic Ray Laboratory, Ooty, and Dr Sanjay Molur of Zoo Outreach Organisation.
Srikanth wrote about both these programmes for The Hindu MetroPlus Coimbatore edition. Links below: