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...
Who is Nizar Juma?
Please read his profile at : http://ke.linkedin.com/in/nizarjuma
(Winner of Silver Star award by the President of Kenya for outstanding service to the nation in 1982)
ACTION PLAN TO BE A BETTER "SELF" (In his words, honesty is spirituality. His words are truly inspiring for aspiring leaders who are on the path of righteous living)
Control thoughts. Be positive, be neutral.
Stop anger: No multitasking
Meditate: Focus your mind for good decisions
Don't give sorrow.
Don't take sorrow, either.
Be responsible. Never blame others.
Schedule personal meetings with your own self.
Manage your energy.
Do something selfless everyday.
Reduce dependance on technology.
(Courtesy: Speech on Future of Soft Power in Calicut; 2013)
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.
The State Assembly elections are to be held in Kerala on 13th April, 2011. As the campaign gathers momentum to a full swing, kids wonder as to what is going around. In my efforts to explain various aspects regarding this topic, the brochure by our own MLA, A.Pradeepkumar came in handy. A model worth replication, I used the same to describe about the role of an MLA, limited just to education scenario, that too in our own vicinity.
Sky has been his limit for all endeavours. Peep in to this slide show and read how he has been appreciated for his dedicated mission by Jnanapith Award winner, Shri,M.T.Vasudevan Nair...
Further details on the process as elaborated to my kids would be updated soon...
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.
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
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.
In this voiced opinion, blogger, tries to openly point to the probable negative influence of media on our kids. Media as everything, has both merits and demerits. As far as young children are concerned, its up to us as parents to guide them effectively.
Of course, there is a vast difference over generations. So shunning all that evolves overtime is impossible. Keeping this in mind, opening our minds carefully to adopt developments in technology, let us protect our children while exposing them to all latest developments...
Using child lock and keeping passwords with themselves, cooperation between parents, so on...there are lots to it....
Let our kids enjoy their life like butterflies, but let them also remember every moment that this freedom offered is always at our liberty! The limit is at the tip of our nose...!!!!!!!!!!! or wherever one's parents fixes it....
Water cycle is a comprehensive and essential topic we learn every year. Technically called the hydro logic cycle, it is in fact the story of the most essential and basic need for life on earth. Read more at:
Universe is the outer space. All things around the earth are called Space. There are billions and billions of stars in the universe. Sun is also a star.
GALAXY
The sun, moon, earth, planets, stars, asteroids, comets all together forms the galaxy.
Galaxies are the largest structures in the Universe.
There are 30 galaxies in outer space, where earth belongs.
Our galaxy is called the Milky Way. It is a spiral galaxy with more than 500 billion stars.
(Andromeda Galaxy is another galaxy near to our Milky Way Galaxy. There are 30other galaxies in our Cluster.)
GRAVITY
Earth also has a pull on us. This force is called gravity.
Gravity is the force of attraction between any two objects.
It is a universal force that keeps everything together.
Gravity holds gases within a star.
It helps Sun to hold all components of the solar system together.
It holds stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
It helps things and Man to remain on the surface of earth.
The force of gravity is strong when the mass is high and distance is low.
Earth pulls all things to it by gravity. Let it be a flying kite or bird. So all things thrown up, comes down. It also helps us to walk on earth.
Gravity in earth is stronger than gravity in moon. So people float. We say, in outer space there is no or little gravity.
Tides in the oceans are caused by gravity force of the moon.
ASTRONAUTS & LIFE IN SPACE
People who go to explore outer space are called astronauts or cosmonauts.
Life in space is different from life on earth. In space there is no air, water or gravity.
Water is taken from earth and once in space all forms of water including sweat and urine is recycled and used. they resort to scrub bathing using soapy towels. All used clothes, crushed food packets and utensils of the disposable type reduce usage of water for cleaning.
Clothes are changed only once in few days. They have printed mission logos on their dress.
Astronauts also carry oxygen to breathe.They have special dress called space suit. It takes 45minutes to put on a 280 pound spacesuit, including the bulky back pack.They are always tied to the space craft to avoid floating. However, weightlessness helps scientists to easily lift heavy objects in space.
Food is precooked as per predetermined and tested menu and are used in powder form form packets directly.
Astronauts work on prefixed timetable controlled from earth!They are provided with morning alarm which is mostly a tune or song selected by their family members ...
In space, Sun rises once in every 90minutes. So they use masks and are tied to their sleeping bags and to each other while sleeping. They are always hooked to their vehicle as they can’t walk steadily.
Water doesn’t flow in weightlessness in space. So they can’t drink water!
Air is used to suck wastes from their body and for flushing. The waste is expelled out to earth.
In space, sound is not heard. So astronauts knock on their helmets to speak, as sound also doesn’t travel in empty space! They use radio waves and wireless phones also. They call home using soft phones.
All astronauts grow tall when they are in space and regain normal height once they are back on earth. However, they have to exercise more than two hours a day to keep themselves fit.(due to lack of gravity, blood flows to head and so bones and muscles become weak...)
In brief, life in space is hard but interesting and needs lot of training. View of earth from space, spirit for adventurous travel in rockets, fame associated with this hard work all attract brillinat students into space....
First Man in space is Yuri Gagarin. (1961, Russia).
First person to walk in space is Aleksei Leonov.(1965, Russia)
First woman in space is Valentina.V.Tereshkova.(1963) She is also the youngest.
Woman who flew more space missions is Shannon Lucid. (more than 5 times).
First paid space tourist is Dennis Tito from US, in 2001.he paid 20 million US dollars.
12 men visited moon. The first was Neil Armstrong. (1961).
STARS
A star is a spinning ball of hot shining gases.
Stars are formed from clouds and dust, which is called a clump. It swirls and condenses. When the heat inside the clump reaches 10 million degree Celsius, protostar is formed. Hydrogen is formed in the core and it burns to form Helium. This emits light that we see. When the Hydrogen gas is finished, core becomes more hot and small. This is called red giant. Helium starts burning in the core. Outer layers are cool. As Helium also gets finished, it bursts. The outer shell is called nebula. The glowing inner core forms a white dwarf, which weakens and diminishes as a black dwarf.
Lifecycle of a star takes billions of years.
Massive big stars form red super giant and on bursting as a supernova, forms neutron stars and black holes.
Star patterns that we see in the sky are called constellations. There are 88 different constellations.
Groups of stars living together are called a cluster.
Hipparchus, an ancient Greek (17-127BC) classified 850 stars according to their brightness.
Star patterns that we see in the sky are called constellations.There are 88 star constellations.
SUN
1. I am round in shape; yellow in colour. I give you light. I am the cause for day and night. Who am I? I am the Sun.
2. Sun gives us light. Plants, animals, human beings- all living things need sunlight for life.
3. Sun gives us lot of energy in the form of light and heat.
4. Sun means “yellow dwarf”. It is a star, smaller than many other stars.
5. Sun looks bigger to us, because Sun is closer to earth than most other stars.
6. Though it looks close to earth, it is 150 million kilometers away from the earth.
7. Sun is enormous. It can hold one million earths inside it. It is 3.3lakh times bigger than earth. There are stars bigger than this!!!
8. Sun being the heaviest star, its gravity is also high. So it can keep 9 planets, their more than 60 moons, and millions of comets and asteroids around it.
9. Sun is a ball of hot gases. The gases are Hydrogen (70%), Helium (28%) and heavy elements.
10. Core of the sun is 15million o C. It’s the innermost part of the sun. The surface of the sun is called Photosphere. It is 6000 o Celsius hot. The surface of the Sun is wavy. Sometimes we can see small black holes on the Sun. These are called Sun spots.
11. The inner atmosphere is called Chromosphere. It is 50000 oC. Corona is the outer atmosphere. It is I million km around the core. We can feel the heat so far down here.
12. Sun is 5 billion years of age. It will live another 5 billion years before it starts to die.
13. Sun spins on its axis. It takes 25days to complete a spin for the centre of the sun, while its ends take up to 36days. This along with the rotation of earth makes us feel that sun rises and sets.
14. The imaginary path of the Sun through the sky is called an ecliptic.
15. Sun rises in the East and we have morning. Sun sets in the West and we have night. So Sun is called the Morning Star.
16. Brightness of the Sun is 380 X 10 24 watts. When a part of Sun taken, the light is equal to 2 lakh 30 thousand candles lighted.
17. Whenever you want to know your direction, stand facing the Sun. Then, side of your right hand is the North.
COMETS
1. Comets are a ball of snow and dust found in the outer space.
2. They are far away from the Sun, beyond the nine planets.
3. These are seen in the outermost part of solar system, called the Oort cloud.
4. There are 10 trillion comets in this Oort cloud.
5. We can’t see them usually. Only when it comes near the sun is it visible.
6. Comet has a head with nucleus and ice called coma. It also has a tail.
7. When a comet comes near the sun, the light rays of the sun fall on it and the nucleus mixes up with the atmosphere. Snow melts. Gas and dust are released. This forms one or two tails which reaches from 150 to 280kilometres.
8. We have studied only 700 comets.
9. Of these, more than 20comets come to earth more often than Hailey’s comet. They are Encke, Hale-Bopp, Temple, etc.
10. Hailey’s Comet is visible once in 76years. This was last seen in 1986.
BIG BANG THEORY
All energy, matter and space were first a small dot. Huge explosion occurred. Universe was formed. It was only a hot, dense mass, without light. About 3 lakh years later, this cooled. Atoms formed. Hydrogen, Helium and other elements were created. Gravity brought these together. It developed into millions of galaxies. In between the galaxies there are lots of empty spaces. Thus, Universe was formed 15 billion years ago.
Scientists who studied about various aspects of the universe are mentioned below.
1 Ptolemy
2 Coppernicus
3 Edwin Hubble
4 Galileo Galilei
5 Aristotle
6 Albert Einstein
7 Issac Newton
8 Arthur Eddington
9 Johannes Kepler
10 Edmund Halley
SOLAR SYSTEM
Sun is the centre of our Solar System. There were formerly 9 planets including Pluto, which has been discarded. It was an ice planet. So now, there are only 8 planets. Of these, 4 planets are terrestrial planets, 3 are Gas Giants and one is a Windy planet.
The terrestrial planets are:
1.Mercury, which is the smallest planet;
2. Venus which is also called the Morning or Evening Star;
3.Mars or the red planet and
4. Earth which takes 365 days, 6hours to go round the sun once. Earth has only one satellite and it is Moon. Earth rotates around its own axis in a day, 23hours and 56minutes.
The Gas Giants are:
1.Jupiter, the largest planet;
2.Saturn or the ringed planet and
3.Uranus or the Father sky.
Neptune is the windy planet. Sun pulls everything to it by gravitation.
Planets and asteroids go round the sun in same direction at different speed.These paths are oval or elliptical in shape and are called orbits.
Aristotle and Ptolemy were the pioneers who studied about our universe. However, it was Nicolaus Copernicus, who suggested that Sun is the centre of our solar system, in 1543. Later in 1610, Galileo Galilei studied about the surface of Moon. This branch of science later came to be known as Space Science.
Light Year:
In space, light travels at a speed of 3 lakh km per second. The distance covered by light in a year is called a light year. Light from moon reaches earth in 1.26 seconds. Light from sun reaches us in 8 minutes 17 seconds. Light from a star reaches earth in 4.22 years….
