A Silent Revolution - Helping the helpless

Computer Masti - Annual Teacher Training, Mumbai, May 2014

The Annual Computer Masti Teacher’s Training was held from May 19 – 22, 2014 at IIT Mumbai. The training was conducted with the objective of equipping the Computer Masti teachers with the skills necessary to deliver the content in their full spirit to the students. The training was based on the well-known model of teacher training – the TPACK model (Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge). There were special sessions undertaken by experts and partners in the education field. The speaker list included Prof. Sridhar Iyer (Author – Computer Masti, Co-frounder InOpen, Professor - Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay), Mr. Rupesh Shah (CEO and Co-founder, InOpen), Ms. Sucheta Phadke (E-learning content developer and teacher training expert). Our teachers who attended the training were Pinki Sharma and Niraj Kumar Shrivastava.

Photography Workshop by Jesal Bhuta, May 2014

From 27-31 May, 2014 Jesal Bhuta, a professional photographer who owns Mumbai based clickmenow, conducted a series of photography lessons for our students right from grade I to XII. The topics covered were - Basics of photography, its brief history, working of the camera – its basic functions, types of photography, composition & creative visualization, tips and tricks,  camera handling, Photo critiques after shooting, brief on photography as a profession, self expression through photography.

A mini project was presented at the end by senior students of classes VIII-XII. Many students were able to use the theoretical lessons and their photographs had nice stories to tell.

New Appointments: Principal and Deputy C.P.O, May 2014

Mr. R. U. Khan from Ujjain who has over 29 years of experience being an educator joins us as the school’s Principal. He holds triple Masters in Political Science, Philosophy, and Sociology & Bachelors Degree in Science and Mathematics. He has a very strong understanding of CBSE policies and procedures.

Mr. Baidurya Sen from Kolkata who has just graduated from the Teach For India Fellowship(2012-14) has joined us as Deputy C.P.O. He has a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering.

Birla Family supports SSK, May 2014

On 17th May, 2014 Kumar Mangalam and Neerja Birla celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by organizing a philanthropic event inviting twenty impactful organizations from all over India. Shoshit Samadhan Kendra was privileged to be a part of this highly memorable occasion. We extend our congratulations to the Birla Family and hope to get their support in the times to come as well.

41 Boys visit Delhi for 4 days, May 2014

The Young India Fellows organized an exceedingly educational trip for 41 students of SSK. The trip, which had a budget of over Rs 2 lakhs was entirely crowd funded and was very well organized by the fellows. The students visited several places of interest and had heritage walks inside Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Lodhi Gardens, India Gate and went to different institutions of higher learning like National School of Drama, National Institute of Fashion Technology and IIT Delhi. They also had a variety of workshops by their mentors, a session on Ultimate Frisbee by Stray Dogs, Delhi Frisbee Team and a Kathputli show by artists from the Kathputli colony, New Delhi.

The trip was a great exposure for the students and has deeply motivated them to bring the best out of them. We are really grateful to the YIF fellows Ashiwn R, Ashwin M and Smrity R for conducting this.

 Special Talk-Show on SSK kids aired on DD News

During their Delhi Trip, SSK kids had a chance to visit the studio of Doordarshan and as a part of which a special half an hour talk-show was shot on them named GenNext. The show was aired on 3st May at 1:30 pm and the responses of SSK boys were widely appreciated.

SSK Boys win Art Competition, May 2014

The Buddha Mission of India organized an art competition on 14^th May, 2014 on the eve of Buddha Poornima in which 30 students from SSK had participated. All the top five positions were bagged by the SSK boys in the event in which more than 200 children had participate from different schools in Patna.

Workshop by ‘The Looking Glass’, Mumbai, April 2014

From 25 – 28 April, the Founders of The Looking Glass, Anuraag Dhoundeyal and Priyanka Patel conducted a series of workshops for students as well as teachers. The Looking Glass is an initiative towards integrating Arts and Education at the most natural, organic and humane level. They use Music, Dance, Theatre and Visual Arts, to create an ambience that perpetuates the natural development of an individual. There team was here to basically assess the setting up of a dedicated Performing Arts Studio in the school effectively run by TLG.

SSK Boys meet Sachin Tendulkar, April 2014

Two little champs of SSK, Ram Murari (III) and Mithilesh (VIII) met with the Little Master on 10^th April, 2014. They had to go through a rigorous selection process to be able to finally win a trip to Mumbai and have lunch with Sachin. The kids bowled him over with their questions and he mesmerized everyone present there with his answers. Other present at the event were Anjali Tendulkar, Annabel Mehta (CEO of Apnalaya, Board Member of GiveIndia) and Amit and Archana Chandra. The entire SSK family had sent loads of presents and good wishes to the legendary cricketer and also extended the invitation to visit SSK.

SSK featured in BBC Hindi,March 2014

On 28 March, 2014 our X and XII std students were featured in a special Hindi edition of BBC where they talk about their dreams and aspirations. The link for the same is:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/india/2014/03/140327_dalit_series_mushar_bihar_election2014spl_aa.shtml

Mission Society: A Community Development Programme
initiated by SSK students, Match 2014

In March 2014, the IX graders came up with an idea of initiating change in their communities by creating awareness about education, sanitation, social evils and much more in their respective villages. In seven days, they covered seven villages, and conveyed their message through street plays. The entire project was self organised and executed by the students themselves. This was a small but very important step in creating long lasting change in the community initiated by these change agents in our students.