Successfully organized Marathon'12

So.. We pulled off the Marathon!!!! And Boy! we pulled it off well despite all the apprehensions and negativity surrounding it.We the members of Student Council would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the entire batch for the support.

It all started with the responsibility of the Marathon being entrusted upon us. A small team came to our rescue and we started building on the concept bit by bit from September onwards. I'd specially like to thank Karunesh, Saurabh Patel, Harendra Sahu, Kalpesh and Deepali for coming upfront to take up the challenge and  conceptualize & envision the entire event. The first big hurdle was to get sponsors for the event which we all know how difficult it is. This team worked day and night without losing any motivation to finalize the first few sponsors. There were some hiccups and many questions asked on the very existence of the event but the determination of the core team was not deterred and we could finally move ahead. 

Then came the herculean task of publicizing the event and I thank the publicity team for the efforts they made. Their work has been stupendous whether it was to convince the schools to participate or create a general awareness about the event.Thanks to the Design team that helped the PR for publicity of the event ; Josyula, Prabhakar Banerji and Abhishek Kesarwani. Special thanks to Prabhakar for his continued support till the end helping us make last minute changes.We are also grateful to  IRIC's support for approaching the corporate sponsorship , specially Prabhjot and Sanjeev . And not to mention the tireless efforts of Mukesh, Vijay, Prem, Pallav, Divyanshu and team to publicize the event locally and get mass registrations.

We also thank Saurabh Aggarwal for his efforts in publicizing the event and for getting us in touch with Sindhu sir (Coach MDU) without whom the event would not have been what it was.

Then started the preparations for the "D-DAY" .The entire batch supported us in making this event a grand success.The logistics team , specially Naveen,Tarun Sharma and Vivek Rokade worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the logistics support . The route Management team's effort in exploring the route and managing the event successfully is highly appreciated.The CEO's of the route Management were Tushar Rhode & Arun Salim. We would also like to thank the crowd Management Team , Arun Pillai and Manish Prakash .The Parking & Directions team , Shivam ,  Atif, Naresh and team did an excellent job . A big thanks to all the girls for helping in writing and distributing certificates . Kudos to the overall Event Coordinators Ankit Bajaj and Saurabh Patel (Mr Ticker ). A special thanks to Roy, Sharad and Atulya for handling 'Herbalife guy'. We also appreciate the contributions of Aniruddha, Chaterjee, Bhol, Anupam and Prashant for helping manage the event. The stage management team can not be forgotten which did a great job to make the event a great success.. Thanks Kshitij, Dhiraj, Aanchal, Shivhare, and team!! A special thanks to the Choir team as well.

Springfiled Model School in support of Marathon 2012

Thanks to Apurva Prabash and Deepali Thakur for all their initiative to support the Marathon 2012. They walked-in to the Springfield School in Model Town, Rohtak to invite the staff and students to participate in Marathon 2012 and support the Girl Child. They had interviewed Mrs.Vidhu, Principal of Springfield Model School on November 20, 2012. She said that the sex ratio of Haryana which is 873 as per the present statistics is further more abating and will go less in the future days. She quoted the reason that the present population thinks of girl as a long term expenditure and need to pay more money as Dowry for the girl to get married.

But she has quoted her views that in this present generation many of the developed countries doesn’t follow any gender discrimination and girls have occupied many jobs and many other major positions. She said that when India will be free of gender discrimination, when a girl in India is treated and respected equally, then India will definitely be one of the top developed countries and will be praised by the world.

I once again thank and congratulate Apurva Prabash and Deepali Thakur for all their effort and time.

Project with iCare India

Anand S, Akshay Khatri, Achyuta, Tanuj Maggon and I had a great experience working with iCare India. iCare is registered under SUSWA, an environmental trust that supports conservation education, research, and outreach activities that increase understanding of the cultural and natural heritage of the Doon Valley. It is a non-profit, youth-based organization that works towards creating a beautiful and sustainable future by promoting community involvement and educational outreach.

iCare wants to encourage young people to become envi­ronmentally aware and actively promote heritage conservation. Therefore they have decided to organize iCare Awards to felicitate the unsung heroes who have taken up the mantle to save the precious resources for the future generations.

As a part of their endeavour, our team helped them to plan the iCare Awards ceremony which is scheduled for January 2012. We designed the Corporate Communication and Promotional Strategy for the Awards including the following:

• Preparation of presentation, sponsorship letter and cover letter for the Sponsorship drive

• Preparation of the list of companies which are actively participating in CSR activities and which could be approached for sponsorship

• Cost Accounting: Identification of the probable financial headers

• Design of the Social Media marketing plan to promote the awards

This experience has instilled in us the passion to pursue similar endeavours in future for the betterment of the society. We wish them success in all their future aspirations and hope that they continue their good work.

Working with the Etasha Society

Laxmikant and I are currently involved in a project with the Etasha Society. Etasha is an NGO working to change the lives of the disadvantaged youth of the country, by providing skills development and vocational training to them. This training makes it easier for them to get jobs in various industries, such as Hospitality, Retail, Manufacturing, BPOs and Financial Services. A number of young men and women have benefitted from the training provided by Etasha, and are working in positions of responsibility with a higher pay, and more importantly, a sense of pride.

In order to carry on their good work, Etasha needs as much funding as it can get. In the past, they have had tie-ups with organizations like Barclays and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to conduct workshops for the underprivileged members of society. However, these have been one-off projects. So, our goal is to come up with strategies to increase the retail funding base of Etasha by building long-term relationships with companies in different industries. We aim to make these partnerships mutually beneficial for both parties, resulting in the economic and social growth of society. For this purpose, we have divided companies into different sectors, and are coming up with different plans customized for each sector. The major sectors identified are –

§ Hospitality

§ Retail

§ Manufacturing

§ BPO

§ Design & Architecture

Generic strategies for each industry will be formulated, and implemented first for companies that Etasha has a history with. Gradually, other companies in the industry will be approached with similar plans, hopefully with the added advantage of already having successfully implemented it with the original companies.

The main attraction for companies to tie-up with Etasha is the opportunity to engage in Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Companies today are expected to contribute to society through their CSR wings, and working with Etasha, a registered NGO, would provide a platform for them to showcase these activities. More importantly, the companies can expect something tangible in return as well, as the individuals trained through their funds can become future employees of the companies. This enables the companies to advertise their contribution to society.

This is our humble effort to contribute to the change that Etasha is attempting to bring to society. We shall keep you informed about our project developments as time progresses. In the meantime, if you or your organization would like to contribute to this wonderful cause, do feel free to contact us at guptaaks@gmail.com, or laxmikantborase@gmail.com.

As a wise man once said, “in helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us”.

The Final Test

9^th October ’11,

After 3 odd months of teaching at JSS, it was time to reflect upon our as well as student’s performance. So Salil, Sagar, Varun and Priyamvada went to JSS on Sunday to carry out the tests. The test focussed on English writing and reading abilities and understanding of Mathematics fundamentals. The questionnaire was the same as given for benchmark test taken earlier. This was done to maintain the clarity in showing the improvement achieved.

A common test on basic mathematical operations was given to the children irrespective of the class in which they study. A separate test with increase in difficulty level was given to children of std. VI and above. It was nice to see each kid making efforts to complete the test correctly.

Everyone was asked to write a short composition on the topic ‘My Best Friend’. In oral test, each kid was asked to read few paragraphs of a story. The paragraph for everyone was same.

When asked about the test ‘how was it?’ it felt good to see the enthusiasm when the kids said they liked it. Significant improvements are seen in the performance by kids, in some case by more than 100%, in both English and Maths. Quantified exact improvement will be reflected in the comprehensive report being prepared.

15th August- A visit on Independence Day with a purpose

On Independence Day Sagar, Salil, Maitree,Mohit, Dhiren and many other volunteers visited JSS to administer a test for the children.

The test aimed at assessing the basic capabilities of the children in written and spoken English and certain areas of Mathematics. The assessment was to be made using some pre-defined parameters on which their performance was evaluated. For English, children were tested on parameters such as comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, with focus on algebra, arithmetic and geometry in case of Mathematics. The test was administered for nearly an hour and half.

Besides the test some of the volunteers interacted with the children on the importance of Independence Day. They sang patriotic and devotional songs, and we had a fun session interacting with everyone.

On the whole, it was a few hours spent well on the occasion of I-Day!

Teaching time at JSS

We have made a number of visits to JSS teaching the kids during last one and a half month. Brief description of the same is provided below.

On 21^st August, Varun and Mohit made visit to JSS for their session with kids.

Varun preferred to help kids with computers. He explained them about the basics of Input and Output devices of a computer. He helped them in using keyboard. Along with learning to type on keyboard, kids also enjoyed learning English. This improved the efficiency of the exercise as it served 2 purposes.

Mohit took care of solving their doubts in Maths. He took a session of whole batch on Algebra dealing mostly with Squares and Prime Numbers.

With these 2 sessions, the day ended with adding value to these kids.

Next week, on 28^th August, Maitree and Sagar went to JSS for their session with kids.

For their convenience, they divided the batch in two groups such as kids of 4^th and above in one group and rest in other group. They took turns to teach them within their limited time frame.

Maitree took English as the agenda for the day. The focus was on three aspects of English language – grammar (noun and verb), vocabulary and pronunciation- by means of involving the children in a story exercise. She took a small story with the senior kids, working on the three aspects as she went ahead with the story. A similar exercise was followed with the junior children as well.

Sagar took up computer and made efforts to make kids comfortable with the components and basic concepts of computer and how input/output devices work. For the group of junior kids, he tried to make them acquainted with the keyboard by asking them to type their names. While for senior group, he extended the exercise by asking them to write the story they studied in the session with Maitree.

The following Sunday i.e. 4^th September, Salil and Priyamvada visited JSS for the session.

Priyamvada took English class with children this time. She preferred to teach them the topic which was coming for the students of 5^th standard in the exam they had next day. She read out few lines from the story given in their English book and made them read it aloud. She also further explained them the meaning of the sentences word by word. Since Maitree taught them Noun in the last session, she asked them to identify noun in the sentences. She helped them identify if they failed to. She also introduced them with the idea of pronouns and verbs. Thus children did split the sentence in the noun, verb and the few adjectives present in the sentences.

She also separately taught 5^th standard students about letter writing since it was coming in their exam. The response of the children was good. They enjoyed studying story, would follow the pattern most probably.

Salil taught Computers in the meantime. All the students up to class 5^th were made accustomed to mouse and keyboard. They tried to type anything they like for a span of 5 minutes. Also they made merry working with the mouse for the first time. Some students had nice control and could paint in MS- Paint while others did find it difficult and required some help. The enthusiasm and confidence of all the students were worth applauding.

Next Sunday i.e. 11^th September, Varun and Maitree visited JSS for the session.

Maitree proceeded with her English as agenda for the day. This was in continuation with the previous session on 28^th of August. Similarly, the batch was again divided in two groups-Seniors and juniors.

She focused on same three aspects of English language – grammar (nouns and verbs), vocabulary and pronunciation- by means of involving the children in a story exercise. She took a small story with the senior kids, working on the three aspects as she went ahead with the story. She also indulged junior kids in an exercise involving story building with animals, where she emphasized on nouns and verbs using their own choice of animals.

Varun again took Computers at hand to make kids comfortable with the use of keyboard. Using the same method as before, he continued with the teaching.

This session turned out to be the last session before out End-Sem Exams. We continued with our sessions after the exams from 2^nd October.

This day, Maitree and Sagar went to JSS. Maitree took up the task of teaching Computer skills to 40-odd children. Keeping in mind the differing comprehension and ability of the kids, divided them into seniors(class 4 and above) and juniors (class 3 and below).She took up typing specifically as agenda for the session .Starting with the senior children, she gave them a small typing exercise involving words, punctuations and special characters. The children attempted the same on her laptop one by one and by the end of the session were able to identify some of the keys apart from the alphabets. She repeated a similar exercise with the junior kids and by the end of almost two hours the children were able to recall some of their learning during the session.

Sagar took session on maths covering aspects of algebra and basic arithmetic. Students showed interest in learning and their doubt clearance even pushed the class beyond its stipulated time.