Millennium National School

Success surely is a well known thing to these children of Std.5. After cracking the Ganit Pravinya, and getting selected amongst a few in Maharashtra, Mahimna Kelkar, Sayli Bapat, Chinmay Markale, Kaustubh Vinchure and Shubhang Kulkarni, were selected in the top 90 students of Maharashtra amongst thousands who had appeared. They will be given a scholarship and the prize distribution ceremony will be held on 12/04/2008, 5.00 PM, at Amar Hind Mandal, Dadar-West, Mumbai-28.

Here is a link to the website: http://www.mumbaiganitmandal.com/marresult_std_v.htm

The school is proud of them, and we hope they and other students continue to win such awards/scholarships! The children worked really hard - of course, with the support of our teachers, and made sure they made the school and everyone around them really proud!

Our kids have excelled again in sports! Raghavendra Tupekar and Saurabh Hejib won the Gold and silver medals at the District Level Skating Competition. Then, our girls from Std.6 won the District Level Qualifiers in Basketball, and have progressed to Quarter finals in the next step.

The point to note here is that these kids have learnt the sport they have excelled in, in the school. This reflects on our philosophy that a child should be an all rounder - all the way. The kids who excel in other schools usually go for training to some other institute - the school hardly coaches them. But our philosophy, that, all kids must learn to play all the sports taught in the school, is carrying off very well.

Our heartfelt congratulations to the kids!

As usual, the Gathering was a blast. We all had tremendous fun organizing it, and the kids had tremendous fun taking part in it! As we frequently mention, we do this for the kids - so that kids can enjoy a little and also be a part of an organized process. We make sure our kids know how things are organized and the rationale behind them. For instance, the house captains and the head boy and head girl played pivotal roles in the gathering this year. They came to know how dances are laid out, how anchoring is done, how children are dispatched to their parents after their stage show is done with etc. They came to know how decisions are taken at run time.

This year we had a Mallakhamb demo at the Yashwantrao Auditorium. This was the first time in all these years that we took the mallakhamb stands to there (it was a first for the Yashwantrao people too!). Parents were amazed to see our 4th boys do great things on the stage. Even climbing up a mallakhamb is really difficult! Here is a picture to show one of the pyramids:

Mallakhamb is a traditional Indian sport. We make sure all our kids know of this activity, as it requires maximum fitness and has not got publicity it deserves. Girls do a variation, on the rope - unfortunately, the auditorium could not provide us a strong beam on which we could hang the rope and show this demo too.

We were also going to miss our 10th Std kids who were going to be busy studying. Or so we thought. We missed them all day. But they couldn’t let go of our final dance! All of them appeared just before the end of the last sessions for the final dance! Our final dance is a medley of all the dances that are part of the annual gathering, all to a totally different beat.

Well, the fun is over now, and every one is back to academics.

I was going to title this entry as “Unit-3 done. Now what?” But it would have looked frighteningly similar to this previous entry! So, I changed it. The order of events is the same as last year. Unit-3 done. Now the Annual Day. The kids are practicing for the Annual Day, which will be held at the Yashwantrao Chavhan Auditorium in Kothrud on the 6th, 7th and 8th of February, 2008. BE THERE!

A lot has happened in the last month, other than academics. Some of our kids went for a competition sponsored by Neeti Solutions, and won many prizes. We won the first place in Evacuation and Knowledge Hunt (considering that it was similar to our Treasure Hunt, it was obvious that we would win!),  and won the first runners up in Snakes and Ladders.

Our kids also ranked in the Ganit Pravinya All Maharashtra Mathematics exam and the International Abacus Competition. They got selected for National Level Basketball and Volleyball.

Next, we were visited by the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Balramji Jakhar, for a prize distribution ceremony. We wanted to appreciate all our kids who had excelled academically and non-academically. But, you have to remember, that without the teachers, there is nothing that these kids would have achieved. Our teachers went way out of their way to train these kids to help them achieve their goals. He praised our childrens’ capabilities and praised the teachers for their “always on” support. It was a great honour to have him over!

As a side note, I have uploaded the new Unit-3 sample papers on the website.

We had our super annual feature - the Treasure Hunt!

The kids went crazy again. We had it for kids from Std.5 to Std.10. It was the first time for Std.5 - so their clues were easy. The rest, however, had to struggle. The Std.10 kids found it to be really easy though - sure enough - they have been playing this game for the past 3 years! Its very difficult to capture images or video of the electric atmosphere during the treasure hunt. We’ve tried, and not completely succeeded. I have some pictures, and some video. Check them out.

Just to give you a hint of the types of clues we give, here is a really easy one:

A room so huge with a wall of stones
Where we bend, twist and turn as if we have no bones
Kids can climb like monkeys and prance around
On this pillar of wood, look hard, the clue must be found

Can you guess which one this is? Well, its the Mallakhamb which we have in our gymnastics hall.

And here is a relatively difficult one:

I was writing out the next clue for you when all the words fell to the floor and got jumbled up. And since I was so busy, I had no time to straighten it out for you. Can you put the words in the right places and figure out for yourself where you have to go for the next clue?

Clues: Four, all, ground,  door, there, glass, more, walls, around, but, floor, room

Can you guess this one? Its “There is a room on the ground with more walls than four. It was glass all around it, but has no door”
What is it? The Lower Dining Hall!

We made about 250 such clues for the kids of varying level of difficulty. Arpita Madam was the star of the planning, while Dr. Phatak, the star of implementation. Kudos to these two!

What was I upto? I was the “Helper“. No - I wasn’t letting the kids cheat - I was there to help them solve puzzles - though at a price! 5 minutes! Costly, you might say, but things are expensive these days! And was I rich! By the end of the Hunt, I had penalized about 6 groups! Thats half an hour!

Our structure was that the students had to solve 8 clues and find the treasure. There were 30 groups from Std.5 to Std.10 who took part in the Treasure Hunt. Each group was divided according to houses, and each had an equal share of easy, medium and hard puzzles.

We feel that by doing such things, we are giving the children something that they will cherish as memories for the rest of their lives. At the same time, we are honing their analytical skills and improving their stamina (they run around the campus umpteen times). What do you feel? Let us know about it in the comments!

We have created houses for children from Std.5 and above, and have named captains for each house. We have also elected a Head Boy and a Head Girl to monitor over all the houses.

The houses names are Red, Yellow, Blue and Green. The Captains for each are: Red: Nivedita Patil, Green: Indraneel Khune, Blue: Aishwarya Lele, Yellow: Tanvi Shaligram. The Head Boy elected is: Sameer Deshmukh, and the Head Girl elected is: Naina Mehendale.

The responsibilities of each has been defined and explained. We have kept points for every house, that the Head Boy and Girl maintain. Every misbehaviour results in points being deducted. Each house is supposed to maintain its own forum and blog. A panel of teachers will review this forum and blog at the end of every month and give points on creativity and neatness.

I will now try to list down and answer some of the most common admission related questions I hear from parents.

1. What if me and my family are out of the country or in another city? What happens then? Can I still secure admission?
Yes! You can still secure admission. You basically need to read our website really carefully. Look at the admission procedure. Make sure you have understood all the rules and regulations of the school. Take a look at our sample papers etc. Let us know how your child has fared on the sample tests. After you let us know, someone you know can come and fill out the admission form for you, and pay the deposit to secure the admission.

2. How can they make their child actually appear for the eligibility test?
We can make your child appear for the test once you come to Pune.

3. How can they send the required documents?
You can give us the required documents once you get to Pune.

4. Can we fill the form online?
Unfortunately, no. It occupies a very high position on our to-do lists. Till we manage to do it, someone needs to physically fill out a form in the school.

5. Do we need to attend the first parents meeting?
Yes. This meeting is very important. Especially for new parents. Here, Dr. Phatak talks about the various rules and regulations that you need to know about. He also explains what is going to be done in the year for a particular class. ID cards and van details are mentioned on this day.

6. What do we do if we miss it?
You will have to learn as you go along.

7. Can my ward join in between the year?
That depends on whether we have place in that class.

8. Can you suggest a good time and age for us to move?
The move to India should be planned in such a way that your child gets a break from school. (S)he should also get some time to adjust to the Indian surroundings - the weather, the neighbours, the food/water, the surroundings etc. If enough time isn’t given, then the school adds on to the list of things that need to be adjusted to quickly. And that can be difficult. We are very accommodating to students who come from other places, because we know what they are going through. You, the parent, needs to be accommodating too. The child should get at least a 15 day break before school starts.
About the age, we suggest as early as possible. Before Std.3. After that, it becomes increasingly difficult to adjust to the Indian conditions, and studies. The Indians stress on writing, while in other countries its more on reading. Not that children don’t adjust- they do, and we have a lot of them who have - its just that their patience tends to run out.

9. What about water and the food? Can my child adjust to it?
In the school, yes. We serve non oily, non spicy vegetarian food (Marathi food). Our water is membrane filtered (filters germs upto 3 microns) - so its very safe. We serve standard milk for breakfast. But, we don’t force children, who have come from out of India, to eat everything from the first day. We give them some time. But eventually, they have to eat at least the first serving of what is given to them.

10. Why does Millennium admit children who are 3 years of age into JUNIOR KG? Shouldn’t they be going to Nursery?
This is because according to the Government circular, a child can be 5 years old when he goes to Std.1. This means that the child should be in Nursery when (s)he is 2 years old.

I shall keep adding to this post as and when I get any other questions.

We are glad to announce that admissions for the next academic year are now open! We are admitting students from Nusery, right upto the 10th grade. But, seats are very limited! So you better hurry!

What has changed in the admission procedure? Not much, really. Only that we will be accepting forms during the week, and holding a collective meeting of the prospective parents on the weekend (Saturdays). This is also the time when we will conduct eligibility tests for the children. Admissions will be declared through a list, after correction of papers happen. For KG, the test is conducted by the parents. Parents can come and check how their ward has done in the exam, and go ahead with admission. They are free to come and talk to us regarding the tests. We have no problem in helping out.

Do take a look at our FAQ and blog-FAQ for answers to more questions!

Its been almost a month from the last update. There has been a flurry of activities happening in the school. Especially in the Sports and dance departments. Our kids got selected for district and zonal competitions in volleyball. They won prizes in roller skating competitions. They won two prizes at a dance competition. They would have won all the prizes, had all the participating teams from other schools followed rules. But, next year, we’ll get wiser!

On the academics side, we are administering revision tests. The exams for KG are from the 17th to the 22nd and for primary they are from 23rd to the 26th October. Diwali vacation is from the 27th October to the 18th of November. Open house for KG, Std.1 and Std.2  is on the 24th of November, and for Std.3 to Std.9 is on the 25th of November.

As usual, there are lots of developments in the pipeline to be done in the Diwali vacations. A lot of cosmetic changes will be seen after the school reopens on  the 19th of November!

We, being different from anyone else, decided to give the teachers a rest on Teachers Day. No no - we didn’t declare a holiday (that would be too cliche) - we decided that the 10th Std kids would go teach the whole school! And what a terrific idea that turned out to be! The 10th kids had a blast teaching, while the rest of the children had a great time learning from them. The 10th kids got to know how difficult it is to teach, how difficult it is to maintain discipline, and how difficult it is to manage the school. Manage the school? Yes, some of the students were from the Management too! And that included Dr. Phatak, Mrs. Phatak, Mrs. Modak (our admin), Sachin kaka, Baban kaka (our admin support staff). Boy - were they tired by the end of the day. But - overall it was a great day - the 10th std. kids made a great impact on the other kids. They taught beautifully (we monitored), and made sure the other kids didn’t feel uncomfortable.