An educational rather infotainment blog that caters to the needs of elementary or primary level education of children...a comprehensive coverage on academics, assignments and information for projects, confidence building mechanisms, kids personality,hobbies, extra curricular activities,talent shows,nature and the world around us...
Helen Keller was an American girl. At the age of 19 MONTHS, when she could just walk, she had severe stomach pain and
brain fever. After this, she became blind and deaf.
Do you
know what it is to be BLIND?
Yes, A blind person cannot see. Similarly, Helen
Keller also lost her eye sight and
she couldn’t see with her eyes anymore.
To be
deaf means, one cannot hear with her ears.
What
would life be if we cant see and hear? How sad it would be? Isn’t it?
But, Helen Keller
was a courageous girl. She had lot of will power. She was good at her studies
also.
She explored her ability to communicate by using signs and later the sense of touch.
Miss Anne Sullivan an intelligent teacher taught Helen Keller.She was also visually impaired. She became her governess and later her companion and they remained together for 49 years.
Helen could speak 5 different languages.
She went
to college and took a degree.
She wrote
12 books and many articles too.
Great
isn’t it?
Helen Keller has a place in history as the first blind person to be a graduate. She was an excellent author and speaker too.
Various organizations in Kozhikode city is all set to welcome hot summer with diverse mix of activities built into a multitude of camps to engage children during the months of April, May;2012.
Does summer and water go hand in hand?
It seems so; by the way all swimming pools in Calicut city prepare in advance to handle an anticipated rush during the vacation. Old students who have learnt to swim previously refresh themselves during this period.
Freshers also join every year; says Mr.Ratnakaran of Cherooty Nagar Rotarian Pool. “Children need a minimum of 36inches height to join such classes. It’s better if they are 8years or more. He adds. There is a lady coach for girls and separate timings also for the lady members. However, they can opt for mixed timings;” he concludes.
"How Ambili teacher follows each student amidst the rush during peak hours is a surprise for most Mammas"; admits Mrs.Rema Balagopal,one of the grandmothers who accompany their ward for daily lessons. She gets help from girls who are already aquatic champions, at times of extreme necessity. Her own daughter Ammu, a short kid to join Class I, is an amazing swimming wizard. Her demos are truly an inspiration for the new students.
"This is a lady swimming coach for ladies and children and we presume the only one in Calicut city, " said Dr. Gayathri of Beach Hospital. Her son is an enthusiastic beginner during this vacation.
Children learn fast, says coach Satyan of Chakkorathkulam swimming pool. Kids take less then 10days to pick the basics, he continued. Swimming gives all round coordination and is a wholesome exercise.
Cosmopolitan Club, near beach and Exclusive club near Civil Station also offer coaching camps in swimming for children as and when they join during this vacation.
Timing is an hour a day either in the morning from 6am to 9am or in the evening from 3pm to 6pm. Sunday is mostly a holiday for beginners. Monday is a general holiday for almost all pools in the city.
Fees for a 30day coaching vary from 1000 to 2000 INR depending on the pool.
Sports shops also join the spree with adequate swim suits, caps, ear plugs and goggles.
Concentrating on Music during the vacation…
Ragadeepam, children’s music club of Kozhikode has announced daily classes in instrumental music and choir singing during this vacation. This is in addition to their regular classes during weekends. The classes are offered for about 2 hours at IYA Hall and Chavara Cultural Centre.
Children can choose to learn keyboard or electric organ, guitar or violin; either eastern or western music. They can also join the children’s choir and practice singing in group. The fast and medium pace learners, including beginners get a chance to display their talent on stage on 19th MAY 2012 at Town hall, Calicut; says L.Sasikant, Director, Ragadeepam. For more details contact 9387480029 or watch the video uploads of their former programmes at the You Tube ID : Ragadeepam100.
A TASTE OF FULL DAY CAMPS FOR CHILDREN…
SK Pottekad cultural centre at Puthiyara is offering a short term 3 day camp for children on April 2nd ,3rd and 4th of 2012. As always this is the first camp of the season in the city with specialty of maximum participants numbering to hundreds. Snacks, lime juice, tea and lunch for all participants at reasonable rates are an added attraction. Generally the programme begins at 9am and goes up to 4 or 5pm. Drawing, colouring, arts, drama, movie show, music, origami, are all clubbed into the 3day show. Please contact 0495-2741252 for registration.
Vacation classes are also proposed during two months on various activities like Chess, Instrumental music, Drawing and colouring, etc.
Chavara Cultural Centre, Amalapuri.
Kaliveedu, is a half day camp for kids of class I to IX at Amalapuri. Beginning from April 9th it has a timing of 9am to 1 noon for a fee of Rs. 1200 per head. The camp ends on 4th May. From Monday to Friday, children are engaged in various activities from theatre arts, anchoring, magic, ventriloquism, games, aerobics, soft toys, etc. To register call 0495-2769021
Those who wish to spend the afternoon also at the centre can opt for additional coaching on any of the following items of their choice, for an extra fee of Rs.500 per head per month. The available choice is quite a beautiful range from skating, bolly wood dance, instrumental music, classical dance or music, drawing and colouring, voice dubbing etc.
Radcliffe School near IQRAA hospital is planning for their annual camp from 21st to 31st May, 2012; says Mrs. Susheela, their Principal. From 9am to 4pm daily with pick up and drop facility (transport) for all participants with a mix of diverse activities and outdoor trips, it is a camp that kids look forward to eagerly. For details call on 0495 – 2536139.
Miscellaneous Programmes
Apart from the activities listed above, coaching on various sports items like table tennis, badminton, chess etc are offered at various centers in the city.
Anand Chess Academy at Kuthiravattom offers daily classes in chess, says Mr. Venugopal.
Indoor Stadium is also set to cater to aspirants in sports and games.
Drawing and Colouring classes are also offered by innumerable centers for 2 hours a day during this vacation. Universal Arts near Gandhi Park conducts classes in two batches from Monday to Friday from 10am to 12 noon and 2pm to 4pm, says Sebastian of the Academy.
Abacus and Mental Arithmetic training centres are also prepared to lure interested candidates into heir regular and crash courses during the vacation.
UCMASis inaugurating their fresh batch for level I on 1st April 2012, Says Mrs. Malini Varma.
MARRS, is organising a series of tests for pre school, elementary and higher level students on English. Classes 1 to 12 are split into a total of six different categories.At the elementary or primary level, the test has few rounds.
FIRST ROUND AT SCHOOL
The first round is conducted during June to December at the respective schools. All interested students can register by paying a fee of Rs.150.00. This covers expense for study materials also. The test has two parts - a written round that is basically dictation, followed by identification of the correct spelling and word from a set of jumbled words. All those who score the cut off mark can then attend an oral test on the spelling of some other words. Those who qualify are selected from the school. The topper is naturally the winner. But additional qualifiers are also selected to attend the next level.
SECOND ROUND- INTER-SCHOOL AT DISTRICT LEVEL
The inter-school competition is the second level for the test. The registration fees is Rs.400.00 per student. Study materials are the same as in earlier round. Here the kids take up similar dictation and jumbled words for written round and spell out orally for the oral round. Here also winners and qualifiers from each district are selected to participate in the next level.
THIRD ROUND - STATE ROUND
The third level is a state level test. In this case the registration fees is Rs.600.00 per student. for participation. Here the oral round has thrust on pronunciation of the word to be spelled out.Written round has dictation, usage of words, jumbled words and so on. from this round students have to start learning phonemics, ie the script of the language. An additional book on pronunciation would be provided to help kids learn this.
The District level orals and State written are conducted together.( 3rd round)
The State orals and National written are conducted together.(4th round)
National orals and International written are conducted together.(5th round)
International Orals is the last and final round of the programme.
For 2010-11, the last lap goes on January6th and 7th,2012 at Al Nahda Girls School, Abudhabi.
A 10 hour coaching on pronunciation is arranged for those who wish to enroll at a fee of Rs.1500.00per student between each of these rounds.Altogether 4 or 5 such sessions (each at Rs 1500 ) or a repetition of the same when available at extra fees equip kids on phonetics to a great extent. Participants are free to attend the test without this orientation also.
MARRS has also introduced a regular coaching programme at Kochi on all Sundays from 10am to 12 noon for a span of 6 months and the fees is Rs 1200 per month.
NATIONAL ROUND
Here, in the written test, children have to additionally focus on grammar and usage of the language;idioms, phrasal verbs etc. In the oral round students have spell it, phonetics and synonyms and antonyms.
The registration fees for the round is Rs 1000 per student.
INTERNATIONAL PRELIMINARY ROUND
This written round encompasses all aspects from round 1,dictation, jumbled words, usage, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, phrasal verbs. Registration is Rs 2000 per student.
INTERNATIONAL FINALS- ORALS ONLY
This is the last round and is a meeting point for all spell bees, both winners and qualifiers for the last round. Registration fees is Rs 5000 per student. This year the venue is at Abu dhabi and warrants meeting formalities for international travel. Students being minors have to invariably be accompanied by their parents.
While the in between rounds involve lot of domestic travel, the final round necessitates an international trip. For all rounds of the competition and the orientation programme, travel, food and accommodaton are extra and has to be borne by the participants themselves...
The study materials provided by MaRRS at different stages are only a preliminary guide and not the content for the competition. The grade of participants is available online for the National Oral Round only. This in fact helps decide participation in the final round. However, if such results are readily updated after every round, it would help parents and teachers to guide students to tide over their lacuna and thus equip their kids in a better way from an earlier period itself.
Our kids have come up to the last round and from my personal experience, the test is a good chance to improve their vocabulary. Participation spirit is enhanced and sustained by the child friendly approach adopted by MaRRS.However most activities are an addition to their routine school affairs and extra curricular activities, if any.This makes the spell bees truly busy bees...
The rates noted are as per last year's programme and may get revised.
To sum up, a participant who reaches the last round needs Rs 9150 as registration fees alone.
Orientation would need another 9000 INR.(1500 * 4 + 3000)
All other expenses vary - food, transport, accommodation, etc - depending on location and extent of travel required to attend each level of the competition.
Hai kids, come on, lets find ways to beat this summer during April- May 2011. Lotof summer vacation classes, programmes, camps and coaching sessions have been announced for children in and around Calicut city. Browse and select your choice.
ULLASAPPARAVAKAL
S.K.Pottekkatt Cultural Centre, Puthiyara.
For details on the centre, please follow the link: http://www.skpottekkatt.org/
HARISREE EDUCATION CENTRE
Near CH Hospital, Nadakave 0495-3273217, 9526072100
Kids Abacus and Coaching classes for LSS, USS and Navodaya Entrance Exams.
MALAYALAM POETRY CAMP
N.V. Krishna Warrier Memorial trust at Kottakkal is organising a three days camp for budding poets at Vallathol Vidyapeedom, Edappal on May 13,14 and 15, 2011. Applications for registration should be submitted so as to reach them by 20th April, 2011.This should contain details on sample poems, class, name of school, date of birth etc. Please call 8086878010 for additional queries.
FOCUS MALL AND AEGLE AEROBICS
Phone: 9747300900 Camps are being organised for Bollywood dance, hip-hop, salsa, kids aerobics, shatokan karate, etc. Our kids enjoyed this programme last year along with the rides in Johnny and Jolly.
ANWAVE - DISCOVER ME - 15 DAYS PROGRAMME. Phone: 9020242924
KASYAPA VEDA RESEARCH FOUNDATION Phone: 0495-2724700, 9446842494
Veda study class for a week from 9am to 12 noon at Saraswati Nikunj, Opposite Apsara theatre, Link Road, Calicut from April 4th to 8th, 2011. Students of 8 to 16years are welcome to participate irrespective of religion, caste, creed and gender. Fees is rs.250/- per head.
GUJARATI SCHOOL - TABLE TENNIS CAMP
Phone: 8089685989
CALICUT DISTRICT TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION
Phone: 9447393853
Vacation classes during April and May for kids below 10years.
EXCLUSIVE CLUB Civil Station. Phone: 0495-3040311,3040315,9645620204
Summer Coaching camp in swimming from April 1st , 2011. A haealth club with multi gymnasium is also associated with this centre.
SADGAMAYA SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Chakkorathkulam. Phone: 9388682246
New batch starts from 3rd April on Carnatic Vocal, Instrumental Music (keyboard, guitar, drums, veena etc); fine arts, dance etc.
Details that we came across earlier on this topic has been updated on 21st, 24th and 28th March 2011. Copies of the same are reproduced below for easy navigation of those who are browsing for the first time.
SUMMER VACATION 2011- ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMES FOR KIDS(BLOG POSTED ON : 28.3.2011)
RAGADEEPAM - CHILDREN'S MUSIC CLUB AT KOZHIKODE
Under the able guidance of Shri.L.Sasikant, Music Director; Ragadeepam is organising a vacation program for children from April 1st to May 30th, 2011. The sessions are on keyboard.
Classes are conducted at IYA (Indian Youth Association, P.M.Kutty Road, Pilathikulam) and Chavara Cultural Centre, Amalapuri. While the classes are from 8.30am to 10am and 3.30 pm to 5pm at IYA; there is only one batch at Chavara Centre from 2pm to 3.30pm.Kids can select any batch of their choice depending on convenience of location and timing.
The proposed days for the classes are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Regular batches would follow up after the vacation at these centres on Saturdays.
The major attraction of this summer camp is that kids who wish to showcase their talent in music can exhibit the same under special guidance at a public program entitled "ragasandhya" proposed to be conducted at Town Hall, Kozhikode on May14th and 15th, 2011; in connection with annual day celebration of Ragadeepam.
For more details on Ragadeepam call : 9387480029
or visit: http://calicutnet.com/articles/rajesh/music@heart.htm
S.K. POTTEKKAD CULTURAL CENTRE, Puthiyara.
Phone: 0495-2741252, 9349102750
A three days intensive summer camp, titled "Ullasaparavakal" is being organised on April 4,5and 6th at this centre. Its a full day program from 10 am to 5pm for kids (5-15year age group). Registration is in progress and the fees is Rs.250 per kid.
From April 7th,vacation classes are proposed to be conducted in vocal carnatic music, chess and drawing @ 5 classes a week; instrumental music @3 classes per week. The instruments on which kids can get trained are organ, tabla and guitar.
Another innovative proposal is an Orchestra Orientation Class for kids who have some talent in singing film songs. These kids are screened and talented ones are selected and trained to sing along with orchestra. This would enhance their interest in music and reduce dependancy on karokae as a study aid. This class is on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11am to 12 noon. Fees is Rs.800 per student.
VIDYA KENDRA
S.K.Temple Road, Behind Coronation Theatre.
Phone: 0495-4022278
KIDS SUMMER CAMP AT ROOTS TO WINGS
Call: 9995220033,9349220033,9567220033
5/306 ,P.H.E.D. Road, Eranhipalam,Calicut-20
Summer camp is being organised at this centre for two batch of students.It proposes to cater to kids of 3- 10years.
One can join either for the April Camp or the camp in May !
A camp that spans 15 working days for one batch from 9am to 12 noon; the curricula covers crafts, painting, dance, grooming, field trip, pot apinting, kids yoga, clay sculpting, culinary chocolate making, paper bag making, photo frame, music, flower making and more...
CAREER GUIDANCE ACADEMY
YMCA Cross road, Near IDBI Bank, Calicut 1
Phone 0495-2360920, 2760795
Vacation courses for school students in Spoken English, English Grammar, Computer courses, Handwriting Improvement, Group Discussions for English Medium students etc. The offer also offers 1 or 2 test classes for every student, if necessary.
ADITHYA SCHOOL OF ARTS, Karaparamba
Phone: 9037277844
Vacation classes on drawing and painting, chess, abacus, spoken english, dance, classical music, instrumental music, etc.
KALLAI SOCCER ACADEMY - FOOTBALL COACHING CAMP
Phone: 9447772012
Venue: Ground, Ganapath HSS, Kallai
Time: April 2, 2011 -one month
Senior students: born between 1.1.1995 and 31.12.1997
Junior batch: born between 1.1.1998 and 31.12.2000
C.M.I. - FREE CAMP FOR MALAYALAM MEDIUM STUDENTS
Phone: 0495-2353582, 3263395
Under the joint auspicious of CMI Public school and Devagiri Residents Association, malayalam medium students of class vi to viii are being provided with a free summer coaching camp. Kids from the locality can participate in the program proposed to be organised from April 11 to May 6th, 2011. The curricula encompasses Spoken English, Basic Mathematics, Hindi, General Knowledge, Personality Development, Music, Dance, Drawing and Painting, etc.
Parents of interested children should submit their application between 9am and 3pm at the School office on April8th, 2011. The first 100 students can grab the precious opportunity.
VACATION PROGRAMMES FOR KIDS IN KOZHIKODE- AN UPDATE (BLOG POSTED ON 24.3.2011)
The following programmes have been announced for kids during this summer vacation in and around Calicut(Kozhikode).
Vacation Utsav: COMPUTER COURSES FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS
Lot of programmes are announced by C-DIT. {Centre for Development of Imaging Technology} under Government of Kerala.
Courses are offered in Animation, Web designing, Office Automation, DTP, Graphic Designing, Hardware training, Programming in C, Tally and so on...Fees in Rs.600 to Rs.1500 per course.Its a Talent Hunt to identify interested school children. Early birds who register before 5th April are offered a school bag.
Information on centres in Kozhikode and its contact numbers are added in the side bar.For more specific details, please log on to www.tet.cdit.org.
POONKAVANAM
This is the children's summer camp organised by Chinmaya Mission under the guidance of Swami Adtyatmananda.Children from 8 to 15years can participate in the camp being held from April 1st to 18th. Programme is proposed to span from 9.30am to 4pm every day, at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Thondayad. Fees @Rs.500 per child.
Classes announced for music by Smt.Bindu Suresh, Drawing and Painting by Shri.Paul Kallanode and Dance by Smt.K.Santhakumari at Police Club from 27th March 2011.
For further details contact: 0495-3196600 or 9387112511.
A theme based coaching on Magic is proposed by Magic World for 100 selected students from the district during the summer vacation. The program is led by magician Mr.Pradeep Hudino.(To know more about him, visit: http://magicweekly.blogspot.com/2011/01/magic-academy-award-for-pradeep-hodino.html)
For details of the program contact: 9847000102 or 0495- 2300062.
ROTARIAN CHEROOTY MEMORIAL SWIMMING POOL
Phone: 0495-2771641
Coaching classes are already in progress for swimming in this ozonised indoor class I swimming pool and continues till May31, 2011.Lady instructors are an available option for girls.
HINDI MAHAVIDYALAYAM, Arts College.P.O., Calicut 18.
Phone: 0495- 2321521, 9388887206
Vacation classes are proposed to improve Hindi communication ability and grammar in children. Other classes on Hindi like Prathama, Madhyama and so on can also be opted by those who wish to learn the language more. To catch upon details visit: http://dbhpskerala.org/index.html
TALENT HUNT ON ANIMATION-VACATION COURSES
The KSRVC Multimedia Academy (part of Kerala State AudioVisual and Reprographic Centre; an autonomous body under Govt.of Kerala) is conducting an Animation talent hunt. The Junior group is for students from Class V to X and the senior group is for elders until age21 years.For registration call 9249999646 and for details visit http://www.ksavrcmultimedia.com/
Vacation Courses are for kids above Class V.
SNES EUROKIDS- SUMMER CLUB 2011.
Phone: 9388006894, 0495-2770609
For kids from 3to 12 years, the Summer camp is at their campus at Cherooty Nagar, Calicut. The programme is from 10 am to 12.30noon for a period of 21days from April 4th to May4th(tentative); 2011. This years program is based on STORIES...vocabulary building, related craft activities and a mix of indoor games. The elder kids have resolution of puzzles and crosswords also. Transport facility is available from all areas of the city.
VACATION PROGRAMMES FOR KIDS IN KOZHIKODE
(BLOG POSTED ON 21.3.2011)
Summer is in.
Schools are winding up after the academic year, 2010-11.
Kids are enthusiastically exploring for the innovative vacation programs being declared to woo them in!
Some of those that we came across are noted here. This shall be updated as we come across new ones.
ANTS ANIMATION TRAINING SCHOOL
S.M.Arcade, P.M.Taj road,
Mananchira, Calicut 673001
Phone: 0495-3040161
They are organising an introductory course on animation for kids. This course proposes to cover an initial session on drawing wherein kids would sketch simple cartoons as it appears at every stage of the animation during the first month. Thereafter they would be initiated into 2D animation using Flash and 3D animation using Maya software. Targeting to kindle the interest on animation and to give them a hands- on- exposure on the topic, the course period is during April-May from Monday to Friday, at 2 hours a day.
CHAVARA CULTURAL CENTRE
Amalapuri, Near 4th Railway Gate, Calicut
Phone: 0495-2769021
As during last year, Chavara Centre is organising a kids camp titled KALIVEEDU for kids from April 4th to 30th. Timing is from 9am to 12.30 noon. This program is a mix of innumerable components like arts and crafts, aerobics, personality development sessions, self defense, and so on.
During the two months, they are also organising special classes on extra curricular activities on weekdays from 2 to 4pm. Children can choose any one of their preferred activity from Chess, Keyboard, Drawing and Painting, Skating, Bollywood Dance, Classical dance etc.
Registration already commenced.
GURUKULAM SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
Ceyon, 5/2310-A, P.R.Nambiar Road, Asokapuram,
Kozhikode. Phone: 9895835863, 8089626306
Vacation classes are being organised form April 4th, 2011.
Carnatic Music (vocal) , Bollywood dance - 2 classes a week.
Pencil drawing, water colour, Oil painting - 3 classes a week.
Chess - 3 classes a week (Tuesday, Thursday 9-10.30 am and Saturday 10.30-11.30am)
Spoken English classes - 3 classes a week for all age group
Registration has started at this centre.
IT MAGIC
G-TEC Education, City Centre,
Opp.SMGB, Kannur Road, Calicut
Phone: 0495-2762672
Summer Vacation Computer Courses for students of class 4 to +2 level. Duration of all courses is 2 months. There are 21 modules and kids can select any as per their taste and need. The different modules are : Computer Operator, Junior programmer, Junior Animator, 3D magic, Junior Architect etc.
KIDS WORLD
Near Reliance Petrol Pump,
St.Vincent road, Kozhikode.
Phone: 9895332132
Summer camp for kids from 4th till 30th of April, 2011. This is also a mix of various activities and targets to cater to a group of 40 kids. So rush in to join, as the early bird...
UNIVERSAL SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
Aravind Ghosh Road, Near Gandhi Park
Kozhikode Phone: 0495-2765348
The centre is organising drawing and painting classes for kids during April and May on all weekdays. There are two batches every day and kids can choose the timing as per their choice. The morning batch is from 10-12.30noon and the afternoon batch is from 2-4.30pm. Kids up to 8years are trained on crayons and oil pastels and elder ones on water colours.
Under the able guidance of Shri.L.Sasikant, Music Director; Ragadeepam is organising a vacation program for children from April 1st to May 30th, 2011. The sessions are on keyboard.
Classes are conducted at IYA (Indian Youth Association, P.M.Kutty Road, Pilathikulam) and Chavara Cultural Centre, Amalapuri. While the classes are from 8.30am to 10am and 3.30 pm to 5pm at IYA; there is only one batch at Chavara Centre from 2pm to 3.30pm.Kids can select any batch of their choice depending on convenience of location and timing.
The proposed days for the classes are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Regular batches would follow up after the vacation at these centres on Saturdays.
The major attraction of this summer camp is that kids who wish to showcase their talent in music can exhibit the same under special guidance at a public program entitled "ragasandhya" proposed to be conducted at Town Hall, Kozhikode on May14th and 15th, 2011; in connection with annual day celebration of Ragadeepam.
For more details on Ragadeepam call : 9387480029
or visit: http://calicutnet.com/articles/rajesh/music@heart.htm
S.K. POTTEKKAD CULTURAL CENTRE, Puthiyara.
Phone: 0495-2741252, 9349102750
A three days intensive summer camp is being organised on April 4,5and 6th at this centre. Its a full day program from 10 am to 5pm for kids (5-15year age group). Registration is in progress and the fees is Rs.250 per kid.
From April 7th,vacation classes are proposed to be conducted in vocal carnatic music, chess and drawing @ 5 classes a week; instrumental music @3 classes per week. The instruments on which kids can get trained are organ, tabla and guitar.
Another innovative proposal is an Orchestra Orientation Class for kids who have some talent in singing film songs. These kids are screened and talented ones are selected and trained to sing along with orchestra. This would enhance their interest in music and reduce dependancy on karokae as a study aid. This class is on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11am to 12 noon. Fees is Rs.800 per student.
VIDYA KENDRA
S.K.Temple Road, Behind Coronation Theatre.
Phone: 0495-4022278
KIDS SUMMER CAMP AT ROOTS TO WINGS
Call: 9995220033,9349220033,9567220033
5/306 ,P.H.E.D. Road, Eranhipalam,Calicut-20
Summer camp is being organised at this centre for two batch of students.It proposes to cater to kids of 3- 10years.
One can join either for the April Camp or the camp in May !
A camp that spans 15 working days for one batch from 9am to 12 noon; the curricula covers crafts, painting, dance, grooming, field trip, pot apinting, kids yoga, clay sculpting, culinary chocolate making, paper bag making, photo frame, music, flower making and more...
CAREER GUIDANCE ACADEMY
YMCA Cross road, Near IDBI Bank, Calicut 1
Phone 0495-2360920, 2760795
Vacation courses for school students in Spoken English, English Grammar, Computer courses, Handwriting Improvement, Group Discussions for English Medium students etc. The offer also offers 1 or 2 test classes for every student, if necessary.
ADITHYA SCHOOL OF ARTS, Karaparamba
Phone: 9037277844
Vacation classes on drawing and painting, chess, abacus, spoken english, dance, classical music, instrumental music, etc.
KALLAI SOCCER ACADEMY - FOOTBALL COACHING CAMP
Phone: 9447772012
Venue: Ground, Ganapath HSS, Kallai
Time: April 2, 2011 -one month
Senior students: born between 1.1.1995 and 31.12.1997
Junior batch: born between 1.1.1998 and 31.12.2000
C.M.I. - FREE CAMP FOR MALAYALAM MEDIUM STUDENTS
Phone: 0495-2353582, 3263395
Under the joint auspicious of CMI Public school and Devagiri Residents Association, malayalam medium students of class vi to viii are being provided with a free summer coaching camp. Kids from the locality can participate in the program proposed to be organised from April 11 to May 6th, 2011. The curricula encompasses Spoken English, Basic Mathematics, Hindi, General Knowledge, Personality Development, Music, Dance, Drawing and Painting, etc.
Parents of interested children should submit their application between 9am and 3pm at the School office on April8th, 2011. The first 100 students can grab the precious opportunity.
Vacation Utsav: COMPUTER COURSES FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS
Lot of programmes are announced by C-DIT. {Centre for Development of Imaging Technology} under Government of Kerala.
Courses are offered in Animation, Web designing, Office Automation, DTP, Graphic Designing, Hardware training, Programming in C, Tally and so on...Fees in Rs.600 to Rs.1500 per course.Its a Talent Hunt to identify interested school children. Early birds who register before 5th April are offered a school bag.
Information on centres in Kozhikode and its contact numbers are added in the side bar.For more specific details, please log on to www.tet.cdit.org.
POONKAVANAM
This is the children's summer camp organised by Chinmaya Mission under the guidance of Swami Adtyatmananda.Children from 8 to 15years can participate in the camp being held from April 1st to 18th. Programme is proposed to span from 9.30am to 4pm every day, at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Thondayad. Fees @Rs.500 per child.
Classes announced for music by Smt.Bindu Suresh, Drawing and Painting by Shri.Paul Kallanode and Dance by Smt.K.Santhakumari at Police Club from 27th March 2011.
For further details contact: 0495-3196600 or 9387112511.
A theme based coaching on Magic is proposed by Magic World for 100 selected students from the district during the summer vacation. The program is led by magician Mr.Pradeep Hudino.(To know more about him, visit: http://magicweekly.blogspot.com/2011/01/magic-academy-award-for-pradeep-hodino.html)
For details of the program contact: 9847000102 or 0495- 2300062.
ROTARIAN CHEROOTY MEMORIAL SWIMMING POOL
Phone: 0495-2771641
Coaching classes are already in progress for swimming in this ozonised indoor class I swimming pool and continues till May31, 2011.Lady instructors are an available option for girls.
HINDI MAHAVIDYALAYAM, Arts College.P.O., Calicut 18.
Phone: 0495- 2321521, 9388887206
Vacation classes are proposed to improve Hindi communication ability and grammar in children. Other classes on Hindi like Prathama, Madhyama and so on can also be opted by those who wish to learn the language more. To catch upon details visit: http://dbhpskerala.org/index.html
TALENT HUNT ON ANIMATION &VACATION COURSES
The KSRVC Multimedia Academy (part of Kerala State AudioVisual and Reprographic Centre; an autonomous body under Govt.of Kerala) is conducting an Animation talent hunt. The Junior group is for students from Class V to X and the senior group is for elders until age21 years.For registration call 9249999646 and for details visit http://www.ksavrcmultimedia.com/
Vacation Courses are for kids above Class V.
SNES EUROKIDS- SUMMER CLUB 2011.
Phone: 9388006894, 0495-2770609
For kids from 3to 12 years, the Summer camp is at their campus at Cherooty Nagar, Calicut. The programme is from 10 am to 12.30noon for a period of 21days from April 4th to May4th(tentative); 2011. This years program is based on STORIES...vocabulary building, related craft activities and a mix of indoor games. The elder kids have resolution of puzzles and crosswords also. Transport facility is available from all areas of the city.
Be on the outlook for more additions as we catch up on the latest...
Summer is in.
Schools are winding up after the academic year, 2010-11.
Kids are enthusiastically exploring for the innovative vacation programs being declared to woo them in!
Some of those that we came across are noted here. This shall be updated as we come across new ones.
ANTS ANIMATION TRAINING SCHOOL
S.M.Arcade, P.M.Taj road,
Mananchira, Calicut 673001
Phone: 0495-3040161
They are organising an introductory course on animation for kids. This course proposes to cover an initial session on drawing wherein kids would sketch simple cartoons as it appears at every stage of the animation during the first month. Thereafter they would be initiated into 2D animation using Flash and 3D animation using Maya software. Targeting to kindle the interest on animation and to give them a hands- on- exposure on the topic, the course period is during April-May from Monday to Friday, at 2 hours a day.
CHAVARA CULTURAL CENTRE
Amalapuri, Near 4th Railway Gate, Calicut
Phone: 0495-2769021
As during last year, Chavara Centre is organising a kids camp titled KALIVEEDU for kids from April 4th to 30th. Timing is from 9am to 12.30 noon. This program is a mix of innumerable components like arts and crafts, aerobics, personality development sessions, self defense, and so on.
During the two months, they are also organising special classes on extra curricular activities on weekdays from 2 to 4pm. Children can choose any one of their preferred activity from Chess, Keyboard, Drawing and Painting, Skating, Bollywood Dance, Classical dance etc.
Registration already commenced.
GURUKULAM SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
Ceyon, 5/2310-A, P.R.Nambiar Road, Asokapuram,
Kozhikode. Phone: 9895835863, 8089626306
Vacation classes are being organised form April 4th, 2011.
The proposed programmes are as noted below.
Instrumental Music- Keyboard, Tabala, Guitar, Violin - 2 classes a week.
Carnatic Music (vocal) , Bollywood dance - 2 classes a week.
Pencil drawing, water colour, Oil painting - 3 classes a week.
Chess - 3 classes a week (Tuesday, Thursday 9-10.30 am and Saturday 10.30-11.30am)
Spoken English classes - 3 classes a week for all age group
Registration has started at this centre.
IT MAGIC
G-TEC Education, City Centre,
Opp.SMGB, Kannur Road, Calicut
Phone: 0495-2762672
Summer Vacation Computer Courses for students of class 4 to +2 level. Duration of all courses is 2 months. There are 21 modules and kids can select any as per their taste and need. The different modules are : Computer Operator, Junior programmer, Junior Animator, 3D magic, Junior Architect etc.
KIDS WORLD
Near Reliance Petrol Pump,
St.Vincent road, Kozhikode.
Phone: 9895332132
Summer camp for kids from 4th till 30th of April, 2011. This is also a mix of various activities and targets to cater to a group of 40 kids. So rush in to join, as the early bird...
UNIVERSAL SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
Aravind Ghosh Road, Near Gandhi Park
Kozhikode Phone: 0495-2765348
The centre is organising drawing and painting classes for kids during April and May on all weekdays. There are two batches every day and kids can choose the timing as per their choice. The morning batch is from 10-12.30noon and the afternoon batch is from 2-4.30pm. Kids up to 8years are trained on crayons and oil pastels and elder ones on water colours.
Depending on the size we can classify houses as small,medium or big.
Based on the type of roof houses are divided into sloped roof or flat roof.Slope or slanting roof are used in places of heavy rainfall or snowfall.Different types of materials are used for slanting roof houses. This varies from dry leaves, palm leaves or grasses as in huts or clay tiles as in cottages or reinforced concrete as in modern villas.
Whether the buildings are dwellings for individual families or house many units each for a family, one in each separate building or all in a single building etc, we can call them independent houses and houses for community living or flats.
In remote areas and mountains etc, houses are simply made of readily available materials.Such houses are called kutcha houses. On the other hand, houses that are made of brick, cement etc are called pakka houses.
Some people keep moving from one place to another. They make houses that can be carried. These are temporary houses or mobile houses. Other houses that can't be moved can naturally then be called permanent houses!
Yet another classification that we can give for houses are as cheap and expensive. Huts are the least expensive. Cottages and Baker model houses are relatively cheap compared to Villas and Bungalows.
Those with the most costly interiors are categorised as luxury homes.
Thus we can find innumerable criteria to categorize houses. Whatever it may be, there are innumerable types of houses. I have listed some of the popular ones in and around Kerala and some others that may be of specific interest for kids from else where.
CAVES:
Primitive men and animals lived in caves or caverns. These are seen both on mountains and along seasides.
HUTS:
These are small crude shelters. Mostly made of natural and locally available materials. Its swift and cheap in construction. Nowadays we can see such huts on remote tribal areas only.
TENTS:
These are portable temporary shelters. Mostly made of assembled fabric and poles. Its used by nomads, military personnel and to aid disaster victims.
CARAVANS:
These are mobile homes. Its prefabricated material, shifted from one place to another by trailers as tow. Its a common camp dwelling.
STILT HOUSES:
These are also called pile dwellings. Seen on mountains. When constructed near lakes, it gives primary protection from flooding.
TREE HOUSES:
These are seen in forests for protection from animals. Its made among the branches of mature trees. Now used as recreation shelters in wild life tourism also.
IGLOO:
This is a snow house. Seen in Arctic regions. It is usually dome shaped. Its a traditional shelter.
HOUSE BOATS:
These are modified boast for human dwelling. Its either moored or motorized. In Kerala, house boats used for leisure trips are locally called kettuvallams.
MARQUEES:
These are large tents. Its made using aluminium frames and canvas. Though not used as dwellings, these are popular as circus tents, at fairs, for performance and banquets etc.
SHAMIANA:
Popular ethnic tents of India. Used for outdoor parties or restaurants. These come in excellent designs and multicolours. Mostly used as temporary venues only.
COTTAGES:
These are modest dwellings and cosy homes. Its a blend of traditional build and modern amenities. Now popular in tourist resorts and home-stays.
VILLAS:
Formerly this referred to elegant, upper class country homes. Now modern detached town houses are also called villas.
BUNGALOWS:
Low rise Indian dwellings with verandahs. Spacious homes used as single family unit.
KERALA HOMESTEADS OR MANSIONS:
Popularly called Nalukettu,Ettukettu or Pathinarukettu; these are traditional tharavads of Kerala now called Heritage homes. These have excellent natural modulation of light, air and heat. This is maintained through a special component called nadumuttam or courtyards that open to the sky and are within the buildings. The number of courtyards ranges from 1,2 or 4 and the names accordingly.(ex: 1 courtyard = nalukettu; 2 = ettukettu and 4 courtyards = pathinarukettu)
SHARED VIDEO OF A MODERN NALUKETTU
PALACES:
Royal residences of yester years, some have been converted as hotels, museums or tourist centres. Some are used as homes of Heads of State. The Kowdiar Palace in Thiruvananthapuram is still used by present generation of Thiruvithamcore dynasty.
KOVILAKOMS:
Traditional large palaces that refers to the residence of all members of the Royal dynasty who are not heirs of King or Queen.
ECO FRIENDLY HOMES:
These are houses that pool together many factors like rainwater harvesting, multi-fuel burning stoves, gardens, glazed windows, insulated loft, solar panels, wind turbine, compost heap, waste recycling, energy efficient appliances etc.
HABITAT HOUSES:
Baker model houses are cost effective, sustainable, organic architecture initiatives. Concept visualised by British Indian Architect, Laurence Wilfred Baker, this has been popularised in Kerala as the Eco-friendly low cost houses. Each building is unique and beautiful with space considerations that blend with nature of that plot.
For more information peep into: http://lauriebaker.net/
PAPER HOUSES:
Modern modular homes designed by a Swiss Company. These are structures made of resin soaked cellulose; proposed to be used in Nigeria and Angola.
GREEN HOUSES:
The term means 100% energy efficient houses. An isolated house with less impact on environment has been reported from Costa Rica.
GLASS HOUSE:
A house where the structure is natural glass enclosed rooms. First made as the residence of Philip Johnson in 1949. He is the apostle of modern austere architecture.
APARTMENTS/FLATS
These are self contained multi-storeyed housing units. the lower floors are called basement suites and top floors are called pent houses. The small ones are called studios or Bachelor's Quarters. Here, many families dwell in the same building. most public facilities are common. Popular community living of present urban locales.
TOWER BLOCKS:
Also called residential towers, these are extremely tall high rise buildings. These are popular as dwellings since 1940 in dense urban environments.
ANTILLIA
This is the world's first billion dollar house and is on Malabar Hills at Mumbai. A 27 storeyed building, it is Mukesh Ambani's new residence for his single family. With a proposed construction cost of more than 2 billion dollars it has 3 helipads and 9 elevators.
For amazing pictures and a quick look click:
http://lifeisreallybeautiful.com/lifeisreallybeautifulandsuchawonder/antilia-mukesh-ambanis-palace/
Video shot covered by News tonight shared from you tube:
For complete details see links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilia_%28building%29
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2010/oct/13/mukesh-ambani-antilla-mumbai
The category Read by yourself is an elaborated version of many of the earlier fairy tales; classics etc which kids enjoy reading by themselves. Because children are familiar with most of the initial crisp summarized versions, they enjoy reading this type in simple lucid style and it automatically enhances their language ability.
Harithavidyalayam is an education reality show being telecast on Doordarshan (Malayalam) daily at 8.30p.m.
Inaugurated on 19th November2010, by Education Minister, M.A.Baby; its an initiative to identify the best school in Gods own country. The programme aims to pool best practices in education at primary and higher levels onto a common platform, so as to explore pilot and model projects for replication and duplication, where possible. Learning through our mother tongue enhances the process of education. So, Malayalam should be seen as a medium for learning at school levels; he suggested. There is a popular belief that private schools are better than public schools. This is not true. So, this programme indirectly facilitates to shift focus from this pseudo belief to the developments in the mainstream education sector.
VIDEO LINK ON CEREMONIAL OPENING OF HARITHA VIDYALAYAM PROGRAMME
The programme was conceived by Anvar Sadath, Executive Director, IT@school and is jointly coordinated by SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan); SIET (State Institution of Educational Technology); C-DIT (Centre for Development of Imaging Technology); etc.The concept, coordination and execution are simply superb.
Telecast on Doordarshan from November22, 2010 and running to about 100 episodes; it starts with a title song with lyrics by O.N.V.Kurup that aptly strikes the theme. Music by Isaac and sung by popular playback singers Vijay Yesudas and Shweta Mohan it draws one to their seats as the show begins. Visuals of the song have been shot superbly creating nostalgia in the minds of every Keralites. With a magical trance it is an apt curtain raiser that covers our backwaters, rowboats, rural and natural scenic beauty, folk arts and all probable activities in our schools; each merging into the other in a cogent manner.
Initial applications were invited from recognized schools willing to participate in the programme during September-October, 2010. 3 schools were shortlisted from each educational district. Academic brilliance, creativity and innovativeness were analyzed and 127 schools participated in the first round. Evaluations during this stage were in accordance with the popular Green Kerala Express, the social reality show projecting our Panchayats.
Each school was given ten aspects and permitted to choose any 3 areas of strength, which was also evaluated. The major criteria encompassed Academics, Infrastructure, IT based education, Social indulgence, Environment, General health & Sanitation, Resource pooling and Utilization, Physical fitness, Innovations etc.
In the first round 26 LP, 36UP and 65 HS participated.
Each episode that was telecast covered 2 schools a day in a span of 40 minutes. Anchored by Premita Prem, with a striking introduction in the script daily; each episode had 3 major segments. The first part covered a part of the school profile followed by a short video recorded at school and the last part was an active, spontaneous interaction of school team (about 10-20 members); comprising Principal, teachers, Manager and selected student representatives with the jury.
The jury chaired by Dr.R.V.G.Menon; had Dr.Piyush Antony (Social Protection Officer, UNICEF, Hyderabad); Dr.Achuth Sankar; Smt.K.R.Meera (Freelance Journalist and Writer), Akbar Kakkattil (former teacher and popular writer); as permanent members and two invited guests as expert members.The manner in which each of them dealt with kids to make them comfortable during the interactive session, the way the questions were framed to adapt to the level of school kids, the modes, the approach and attitude exhibited during each evaluation process are all highly commendable. Experts in their own niches, their simple, straight forward and child-friendly nature took the show a mile further.
The guest experts kept on changing and the range was quite wide. It brought in famous personnel’s like Prof.M.K.Prasad, Smt.Parvathy Devi, D.Vinayachandran, Dr.Seema Bhaskar, E.Kunjikannan, A.Shajahan.I.A.S and so on…
The studio set up, floor arrangements, colour combinations, lighting all exhibit the talent of the team involved. The site on Haritha vidyalayam with all necessary details updated regularly needs special mention. This reality show in itself is an exemplary example of how a government project, jointly coordinated by different agencies and covering hundreds of participants from all over Kerala can be effectively organised and executed in so smooth a manner, for benefit of the society at large; especially the student community.
SAMPLE EPISODES
Lot of specialties from different schools got showcased during these simple interactions. This ranged from display of infrastructure facilities like efficient libraries, smart classrooms, digital or audiovisual rooms, separate labs for computer, science, languages, etc; participation and contribution to literary, arts, sports and science fairs; playgrounds, proper toilets, cultivation of ornamentals, vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants etc in the school premises and planting of trees (Ente Maram) at home; preparation of biodiversity register; watching birds and butterflies; animal welfare club, newspapers, short films and what not. Unique occasions where mothers took turns to join in the food preparation for kids; teleconferencing by students from certain schools; the attitude for upliftment of underprivileged children were noteworthy. While most schools had effective PTA, endowments by alumni, cooperation from expert and famous former students as motivators, even the intervention of social clubs in upholding the standards of some schools for value based education were also seen. Newsletters, poster exhibitions and campaigns were also part of the process along with multifaceted project works.
Kozhikode district had 16 educational districts. Balussery, Chombala, Chevayur, Feroke, Koyilandy, Kozhikode city and rural, Kunnamangalam, Kunnumel, Melady, Mukkom, Nadapuram, Perambra, Thamarassery, Thodanur and Vatakara. Altogether 13 schools participated in the first round. There were only two schools from Calicut Corporation. They were B.E.M.Girls L.P.School and St.Joseph’s Boys HSS. Other schools that participated in the programme were: GLPS THONDUMMAL, KOODALIL AND PONMERI; GMUPS ELETHIL, KODIYATHUR, MANASSERY, CHERUVADY AND THRIKUTTISSERY; GHSS, PERAMBRA; SACRED HEART HSS THIRUVAMBADY AND KPES HS KAYAKODI Etc. None qualified for the second round.
From the more than 100 schools in first lap, 10 schools were short listed for the second round which is in progress now. It is also telecast on the same time and same duration, each school a day. The jury members are directly visiting all these schools and appraising the real atmosphere, talents, exposure and facilities. After the same, winners would be declared.
The schools participating in this second round are listed below.
Sl.no
Name of school
Location
Score
1
GUPS, Nemom
Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram
98.00
2
GUPS, Koottakani
Kanjangad, Kasargod
97.40
3
GGHSS, Cotton Hills
Thiruvananthapuram
96.00
4
GRHSS, Kottakkal
Malappuram
95.30
5
NAMHSS, Peringathur
Thalassery, Kannur
95.20
6
PPMHSS, Kottukara
Malappuram
95.00
7
SDVGUPS, Neerkunnam
Aalapuzha
94.80
8
ALPS, Peringode
Ottapalam, Palakkad
95.00
9
SBHSS, Changanassery
Kottayam
94.20
10
GHS, Avanavandhery
Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram
94.10
11
GHSS, Karuvarakundu
Wandoor, Malappuram
94.10
12
GUPS, Keechery
Ernakulam
94.10
Viewers are eagerly awaiting declaration of results. The final ceremony is proposed to be conducted at Thunjan Paramba soon…
The programme was already by local media and others during inauguration, with adequate followup in between and at completion of 50 episodes and so on. A glimpse on theON CNN-IBN NEWS coverage goes below.
The best school selected would receive a cash prize worth 15 lakhs INR. The first and second runner ups would get 10lakhs and 5 lakhs INR respectively. For those schools who are enlisted as 4th to 10th positions, the prize is Rs.2lakhs each. All schools that participated would be given cash worth Rs. 10000.00 as well.
Parents, rather layman, who have been tracing the changes in curriculum and mode of teaching along with the changes in mode of study through participatory and activity based learning methods, since implementation of DPEP in 1996, through SSA were keen to watch this programme telecast in about 100 episodes both on Doordarshan and Victers Channel. From this, we have realized that activity based participatory and interactive learning is actually taking place in our Government and aided schools in an appreciable way and we can soon be proud of the transformation in the education scenario.
Efforts to equip and refresh our teachers, helping the majority to adapt and adopt the new methods in teaching, rekindling the commitment to their profession wherever lacking, stream lining of staff recruitment in aided schools also under PSC, timely inspection and proper monitoring of administration, providing better infrastructure and so on...With an attitude to achieve and succeed, the quality of general education sector in Kerala can definitely be revamped through a participatory revolutionary style!
In an era where private schools are mushrooming like STD booths in every nook and corner of the state and the significance of education merely getting reduced to a profitable business, executive machinery has to intervene and the initiative by our state Government in this regard is most welcome.
With the backdrop of latest Supreme Court ruling that 25% of seats are for the poor sections and that managements are not eligible to question national policies, the impact of this programme becomes far fetched. Lets hope that harithavidyalayam lays foundation to formulate adequate reforms towards sustainable education in future.
Seeds of confidence has been sown in the minds of innumerable students in our mainstream schools, let them sprout and grow into full-fledged personalities.Let teachers draw inspiration and transform themselves into burning lamps to uphold values of this noble profession...
This reality show, the first of its kind, has been a real success in being an eye opener to this vision and let us hope the flame remain ablaze.
