Jyotirmay Annual Celebration – Connecting Through Culture

The annual function at Jyotirmay has grown bigger along with the stage which allows our students to display their talent under the limelight; they have adapted with great ease and confidence, which added a sparkle to the event. This year’s theme ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ reflects the synergy experienced daily at our school by children, teachers, admin and even the support staff while connecting through culture to form one identity. 

Tableau by Jyotirmay Support Staff

Having watched and cheered the children’s performances from the sidelines so far, this year our superbly talented support staff made their own contribution with an opening act for the annual day celebration. They presented to us a glimpse of village life in Maharashtra where everyone has a role to play, giving the entire community a holistic identity with creative props.

A joyous Bihu dance performance by the tiny tots from Jasmine and Daffodils wove together yet another thread, from Assam. 

A little later, encouraged by their teachers Sonali di, Tejal di and Anjali di from the wings the little ones gave another peppy performance to the English song Everybody Dance Now. 







Guided by Shital di and Aarti di, the children of Marigold and Ivy danced to a delightful Marathi song ‘DeteKon, DeteKon’ which threw up questions about the origins of Nature’s abundance.

Another stellar performance of the evening was a dance performance to the English song ‘Try Everything’. Titled Zootopia: I want to try everything, it showed young children’s sunny disposition and youthful enthusiasm. Choreographed by Sagar da, and guided by Shrutee di and Priyanka di, this dance was performed by children from Amber, Basil, and older girls from Iris and Coral.

Fusion Dance

Carrying the dance theme forward children from Clover, Iris, Coral and Saffron presented a fusion of Indian classical, bollywood and contemporary dance forms, which was the essence of the theme Mile Sur Mera Tumhara.

Punjabi Jhumar Dance

The boys from the groups Clover, Iris, Coral and Saffron brought to this stage a Punjabi dance form seen rarely – the Jhumar which is performed only by men during weddings and celebrations like Baisakhi. This graceful dance was choreographed by the teachers Kulvinder di, Lata di and Rasika di. 

Salsa by some of the Seniors

Some of our seniors also had a couple of sparkling performances add to this day even as they are focused on their upcoming IGCSE Board exams. The popular Latin American Salsa dance choreographed by Sagar da, was performed by Rhea, Ziad, Jinisha, Sundeep, Janhavee and Parth.

In another meaningful performance, the senior girls Janhavee, Sanika, Rhea and Jinisha rendered the beautiful and meaningful song ‘Believer’. The lyrics spoke of their faith and self-confidence as they stood there facing the potential of their future. 

Younger students from the groups Marigold, Ivy, Basil and Amber singing the song Socha Hai from the Hindi film ‘Rock On’ had all kinds of questions to ask. We believe these questions are the best nutrition for a healthy brain/mind development!

The song Manjha from the Hindi film ‘Kai PoChe’ reflected the resilience of the human spirit which stands up to any challenges; taught by Sandhya di and Nikhil da, children from the groups Clover, Iris, Coral and Saffron made this melody their own.

We also had a delightful rendition of an amusing old children’s song called Father’s Whiskers which made playful digs at fathers. Conceptualized by Freny di and sung by children from the Marigold, Ivy, Basil and Amber groups. 

This year we had a variety of play acts which also included a musical and a mime. Choreographed by Sonali di, Rasika di and Tejal di, the musical titled School Chale Hum was performed by children from groups Jasmine and Daffodils and it beautifully portrayed what school means for our youngest members. 

Ek Boondh Jal - a Hindi Play

The Hindi play 'Ek Boondh Jal' performed by Ivy, Basil and Amber took us into a futuristic world with people suffering from extreme water shortage. 

Rain plays a very important part in our culture including classical, folk as well as film music, and a special dance performance by Marigold on the song 'Kale Megha', lightened the mood even as parents absorbed this powerful message. This dance was aesthetically embedded within the play 'Ek Boondh Jal'.

Techie Trouble - an English Play

An English play titled ‘Techie Trouble’ picked on the confusion caused by ordinary English words commonly used in computer lingo. It also humorously brought out how we have become addicted to our gadgets. Adapted from a funny short skit Hipster Hobo by Betty di, Freny di contributed the music and students from groups Clover, Iris, Coral, Saffron and Aster brought out quite a few laughs from the audience.

Mime is one of the most difficult theatrical techniques in which artistes act out an entire story through body movements and gestures, without using any speech. While Charlie Chaplin is the best known mime in history, we find these techniques used in all classical Indian dance forms. 

Our students Varad, Aryan, Samarth, Ruchika and Suresh, guided by Anisha di brought this subtle performance to the Jyotirmay stage for the first time with the act ‘Love your Parents’, which was very well received by the audience.

Marathi Dhol Tasha

For the grand finale of the 2017 Annual Day function, teachers and students of Jyotirmay International School stood shoulder to shoulder across the stage giving a stunning performance of the traditional Marathi Dhol Tasha which forms a vital part of Pune’s Ganesh Utsav. 

This musical ensemble came as a complete surprise for everyone in the audience who gave it a standing ovation and repeated calls for Encores! The resounding beats brought the evening to a thundering close, making it a memorable event which was signed off by our principal Farida di with thanks to the event head Rasika di and coordinator Priyanka di.

Annual Exhibition Extension – Montessori and Pre-school Classrooms

While the Multi-purpose Hall was the main destination for the Utsaah 2016 Annual Exhibition, the Montessori and Pre-school classrooms displayed all the daily activities which children do in their class.

Working in groups or individually, the little children explore and learn through these self-directed activities in which they are gently engaged and supported by their teachers.

Learning through experience and at their own pace, these help in improving motor skills as well as cognitive and language skills while giving them confidence and joy of accomplishment.

For the exhibition, these classrooms put out all the tools on display for parents and visitors to watch the students’ interplay as they worked with a variety of materials.

The Mathematics section had Multiplication and Decimal boards which are used to familiarize children with these systems in a fun way as they count colourful beads.

Sensorial materials on display included Smell Bottles, a Trinomial Cube, Geometrical Cabinets and cards. These activities help in refining their senses as well as developing a child’s finer motor skills and distinguishing different shapes.

The Language section displayed materials which are used for recognition of phonetic sounds, verbs and nouns.

In the Practical Life activity children learn how to accomplish everyday actions which are required in all aspects of life. Besides the Unbuttoning & Buttoning frame they also get to transfer grains with tiny utensils and make Chandan paste with tiny rolling pins.

While these exhibits were delightful to all visitors, perhaps the most endearing part of this section of the annual exhibition was how the youngest students of Jyotirmay International School eagerly and cheerfully dragged visitors - and other teachers - to show off their presentations!

Annual Exhibition Puts on Display New Concepts Learned

     

The Annual Exhibition is the final event of the academic year at Jyotirmay International School and it gives all the teachers and students a chance to put on display all the new concepts and ideas introduced during the year. 

                  

This year the challenge was to move away from poster demonstrations, to show models of concepts that were practiced by the students in class and the exhibits displayed children’s learning experiences.

Book Blocks from Festival of Books

In keeping with this theme was an activity called ‘Book Blocks’ which had been carried out during the Festival of Books during the previous month. These intriguingly mounted ‘Book Blocks’ were put on display in a prime spot outside the Multi-purpose Hall where the exhibition was held. 

Children could be seen confidently and even gleefully explaining their work to parents and other visitors who were visibly impressed. With each visitor at their ‘booth’ our students grew in confidence as they handled queries and gave demonstrations.

Two of our senior students

The exhibition came immediately after the spring break and some of our outgoing seniors who were busy preparing for their Board exams also took some time out to join us with their presentations.

There were two separate displays by the Montessori section as well as the Physics lab, which deserve their own blog post, something to look forward to in the next few days.

Meanwhile, here are some more images of exhibits which varied from models to graphic designs. 

Bookstore Visits – Greater Exposure to Authors and Genres

This March, our students visited three bookstores as a follow-up to the Festival of Books which was held at Jyotirmay International School on 7^th March, 2016, with an aim to understand how bookstores function.

Students from Ivy, Basil and Amber groups at Crossword Bookstore

First off, a mixed group of Ivy, Basil and Amber paid a visit to the Crossword Bookstore at InOrbit Mall, Viman Nagar on 11^th March where they got to see shelves filled with various genres of books besides magazines, some knickknacks, soft toys, art works and posters. They even saw CDs and DVDs for music and films being sold in a large bookstore.

For many of these young children this was their first exposure to a large sized bookstore, which understandably meant that they had many questions for the store manager. At the end of their visit, they made an attempt to sketch the layout of the store to add to their learning of how books are arranged.

One week later on 18^th March, two mixed groups set out for their bookstore visits: the middle schoolers from Coral and Saffron groups went to another Crossword Bookstore located at Phoenix Mall, also at Viman Nagar.

Coral and Saffron groups exploring books at Crossword Bookstore

Sitting under the Thinking Tree

After a detailed visit through all the sections, the children also got to sketch this store's layout and later through an interactive talk session with the store manager they learned about their marketing strategies.

Senior students exploring books

At Pagdandi Chai & Books Store

Meanwhile on the same morning, nine senior students stepped out for a field trip to the Pagdandi Chai and Books Store at Baner. Noted among the top five book cafés in Pune in an online review, this bookstore also hosts storytelling circles and open mic sessions for aspiring writers.

Besides looking up unusual books in various genres by known and unknown authors, the students also explored the benefits of technology – eBooks vis-à-vis use of paper in printing paperbacks and hard cover books.