Why Art and Craft?

The early years of a child are very important that continues into childhood, teenage and adulthood. Art and craft have long been proved to be crucial educational tools in childhood development programs. In nursery and preschool (ages 2-5) the process of art and craft work is of great interest to the young minds. Children learn through fun and are more likely to remember when hands on activity go along with learning. During these activities we reinforce the concepts of colour, shape, size, texture, orientation et cetera.

When children work with art and craft materials they learn to develop a vast set of skills ranging from creative, cognitive, fine motor, language, mathematics and science to social, behavioural, physical, personal and emotional development. The activities are carefully designed and chosen for in accordance with their age and attention span. Greater emphasis is always placed on making the process playful, fun filled, active and happy. We also encourage our parents to engage the kids in art and craft work while the children are at home.

Hence, here at Sancta Maria we believe that it is truly beneficial to put lots of positive energy and effort to achieve these developmental milestones. The moments captured in the pictures below clearly depict their excitement, pride, joy, self esteem and fun these kids experience during every tiny bit of art and craft work done by them.

Kamala Deepti

Diwali Celebrations @ Sancta Maria

The pre-primary section welcomed Diwali with great splendour. An assembly was held on 20^th October, Monday, in honour of Diwali, wherein the students of PP2 jointly presented a skit demonstrating the reasons for celebrating the Festival of Lights, and how is it observed. The skit included a scene from Ramayana, where the students were dressed up as the main characters like Rama, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman. Students of PP1 and Nursery entertained the audience by singing two rhymes on Diwali, one each in English and Hindi.

Diwali goodies distributed in the classrooms brought much joy to the students. The students who were decked in traditional attire were delighted to learn about the festival. The excitement peaked when they were painting ‘diyas’ and decorating ‘torans’ rendering the day more colourful. Towards the end of the day, the students were excitedly sharing their ideas on celebrating Diwali once back in their homes. Needless to say, lighting the diyas they painted came on the top of their lists.

Animation and Learning

Whenever I see children spending excessive time with a smart phone or a laptop or an iPad, I cannot help think whether they are being exposed to technology in the right way. The effects of constant video gaming on children’s development and socialization can be long-lasting and they have been proved as adverse too.

It is healthy to have hobbies, especially for the younger generation, as they help in the overall development of the personality. Animation could be a great hobby for the new tech-savvy generation. In schools, an Animation Club is an excellent program to steer students from being the end users of games to become creators of the game. The students get an opportunity to “create” through imagination, in the new medium of technology.

At Sancta Maria, we introduced Animation Club this year. It started with the fourth grade students watching a short demo on animation I had created. They could hardly contain themselves from the excitement that they were going to create their own animations. The presentation did not take long, but I was truly amazed at how much they were able to pick up in such a short amount of time.

Students soon began creating animations of different characters, both animals and humans; sometimes the animations were much evolved like a cartoon, including dialogues between the characters.  The innovation in their thought process was evident from the marvellous animations they created. This experience with fourth graders was so encouraging that, we extended the activities of the animation club by including the third graders into it.

The fun and the celebration of creativity know no end in our Animation Club!

What was I Thinking...

What was I thinking........?

that life’s gonna be like a cherry on a pie;

no worries, no tension and no one to question ‘why’;

that I’ll be smiling forever with no moments blue;

then hold on kid......you haven’t any clue.

What was I thinking........?

that parents and teachers are devils on earth-

their lessons and lectures aren’t any worth;

that I am ‘CEAT’- born tough;

then hold on kid......you haven’t met rough.

What was I thinking........?

that completing homework was my biggest task;

writing exams, which I wonder who asked;

that fights with friends were important issues;

then hold on kid.......you’ll be needing more tissues.

What was I thinking........?

when I was dreaming of a future so far;

missing out moments which were at par;

wanting desperately a life like a ‘movie star’

then hold on kid.......you’ll be needing a racing car.

Now that I have grown up, I realise how much I miss

those fun filled days, where not a worry did exist

travelling back in time, is what I wish

where life was at its extreme bliss.

But, what was I thinking........why in such hurry was I to grow up!!!!

Why in such hurry was I to join the ‘Big club’??

It’s been a long time since I have penned down my thoughts. Keya, a friend from my previous school always kept saying that I should not stop writing poems. But where is the time I kept wondering, life has become so hectic that we fail to create time to do what we love most. Then pops up this additional responsibility to write for the school blog- which people mostly would think as a burden, but I take it as an opportunity.

It was the last day, I completely forgot about the blog and I was running short of time- thousands of mental calculations, great dilemma- What should I write?? Out of nowhere this topic popped out- “What was I thinking….?”

It’s been over a decade, 12^th year exactly, I have been in this profession and I kept wondering- What is the reason?  Why am I in this profession? Why have  I not got bored yet? I guess its because, when I watch the kids playing and having fun, I get to relive my childhood.

‘Childhood ’- those golden days, I guess no one would deny that those were the days filled with happiness when we had no worries. But little did we know what future had in store for us. The only worry we had back then was when will we grow up. Now that we have grown, we know how much we have to struggle- busy planning and securing future and missing out on all the fun. I wish I could go down back in time, to relive those moments one more time.

-Laxmi Goyal

Gratitude

Quite a few people who have done remarkably well in their day have realized that we can truly be alive only in those moments when we are conscious of our blessings. By being grateful towards what we have, we are paving way to allow more into our lives. Those who have realized this became wonderful leaders by understanding, appreciating and valuing others. Here, in Sancta Maria, we believe in ‘Leadership through Gratitude’ and therefore observed, the 1^st to the 5^th of September as ‘Gratitude Week’. In doing the same we, both the students and teachers, learnt the importance of saying ‘thank you’.

The “movement” we began in our school reached its pinnacle when the pre-primary section conducted an assembly on 9^th September, based on the theme of gratitude. Through the assembly, the students honored the staff members which included the administrative staff, hospitality division, security and supporting staff like our didis and drivers. Selected students from all the four sections of PP2 delivered short speeches expressing their gratitude towards all those people who work to make the school a beautiful place. Students of PP1 excitedly distributed smiley badges to all the members of the staff as a token of their gratitude. The excitement was not any less on those faces who received the smileys. Many of the staff members, who were initially timid to join the proceedings later, became very enthusiastic when they realized their work is being valued and honored by the students. It is said that, joy is what happens to us when we express our gratitude, because however little, each gesture of gratitude, every ‘thank you’ matters!

By- Shwetha and Ashwini

Annual Sports Meet @ SMIS

This maiden edition of the Sancta Maria Annual Sports Meet began with an eclectic mix of nerves, excitement and a culmination of days and nights of preparation by the sports team of Sancta Maria International School. Twelve teams from twelve schools around Hyderabad, making up a total of 230 young sports boys and girls alongside their coaches lined up on the soccer pitch on Tuesday, 26th August 2014, for the launching ceremony of the games.

One could savour the moment with a feeling of satisfaction as one as the Principal addresses the audience and welcomed the participating schools . The event was kick started when Captains of various teams co released a beautiful bunch of blue and white balloons. Enthusiasm and effervescence was rekindled as the participants watched the balloons scale the height of the SMIS buildings into the bright sky, announcing the start of the games. Competing in different sporting categories including the under 12 football boys; under 14 and 16 badminton boys and girls; under 14 and 16 lawn tennis boys; and the under 14, 17 and 19 table tennis boys, master pieces of talents could be seen skilfully executed across the different pitches on the SMIS campus.

For two days, deadlocks were broken, new champions established and new friends made. The flair of the games busted out in to a blast as the joy of winning bubbled through junior fans right up to the adults. The meet definitely provided a platform to build a sporting spirit in the students, an avenue to display their physical prowess and an opportunity for the SMIS sports team to show case their hands on experience in the organization of annual meets.

To crown it all, trophies, medals and certificates of participation were awarded to the winners and runners-up during the closing ceremony on Wednesday, 27th August 2014.