Dear Parents, Wish you all a very happy New Year. I hope you all had a wonderful Diwali celebration and vacation. The first term for the academic year 2013-14 has been splendid. As we stand at the threshold of the second term, we look back and are awestruck by the tremendous growth of the School. The School has stepped into the third year and has grown in leaps and bounds with the number of students under our care increasing to 1,200 ably handled by 80 dedicated teachers. The School believes in creativity and innovation which keeps the interest and excitement going. The English Enrichment Program, incentive cards, Math and Integrated subject cards for students were started this year. These have motivated the students and the urge to explore the potential in them has increased manifold. We have given you a glimpse of the events and activities the School was bubbling with in the first two months in our earlier newsletter. The months of August, September and October were even more exciting and filled with fun and learning. We take you through these three months in this newsletter. We are thankful to you for the unstinted support and cooperation you have rendered for the School. We look forward to a fantastic second term. Rajani Pattabhiraman Principal

International Peace Day EuroSchool Thane joined in the celebrations of Peace around the World to promote a message of Peace and Harmony. A special assembly was conducted at School where a documentary on the significance of Peace was shown to the children. On Gandhi Jayanti , students put up a program at R-Mall, Thane which aimed at creating awareness about the need to make the world a safe haven for the Girl child and towards the empowerment of women with an underlying message of Peace.

Primary & MiddleSchool

Thane

Second Edition: November 2013

Investiture Ceremony –Cubs and Bulbuls

The Investiture Ceremony of the Cubs and Bulbuls was held on 13th August 2013. All students of Grades II and above are inducted into the Cubs and Bulbuls program. Children took their pledge and were awarded their Cubs and Bulbuls scarves by their class teachers.

Solo Dance Competition This competition was held for grades III-V. Interested students submitted their names for participation. A large variety of classical and contemporary dances were put forth by the children

International Tiger Day Tiger is the national animal of India, but if we do not act today our future generation may have to see Tigers only in pictures and videos. International Tiger’s Day is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation, held annually on 29 July. The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation. Students were shown a BBC documentary on the dwindling numbers of the Tiger population and the effect this would have on the ecosystem. Grade 1 students put up a skit ‘A Tiger who came to Tea’ on the day.

Friendship Day Considering the valuable role friends play in our life it was deemed fit to have a day dedicated to friends and friendship. The United States Congress, in 1935, proclaimed first Sunday of August as the National Friendship Day. The noble idea of honoring the beautiful relationship of friendship caught on with the people and soon Friendship Day became a hugely popular festival around the globe. At EuroSchool –Thane our students celebrated Friendship Day by performing a small skit which was followed by a beautiful song by Whitney Houston-“Count on Me” sung by our students in the morning assembly. The celebrations continued throughout the day wherein children tied friendship band on each other’s wrists.

Eid Celebrations A special assembly was conducted where a skit on the significance of Eid was performed by students. Children recited an Islamic prayer. In order to understand our cultural and religious differences better, children were explained the significance and the importance of Ramzan. Children came to school in festive attire and brought Dates from home.The reason why Dates are so important during Eid was told to the children.

Independence Day Rakshabandhan Celebration

Freedom Week The struggle for the country’s independence was a multipronged effort of people to whom we can never pay adequate homage. To bring this realization among the children and the youth of today, EuroSchool Thane celebrates an entire week as the Freedom Week. Various activities were conducted for the students at School and efforts were made to involve the parents as well. An inter house Patriotic song competition was conducted. Parents were sent cut-outs colored by their wards on which a slogan on the topic ‘Proud to Be an Indian’ was invited from parents. This was made into a huge Collage and displayed at School. Another ongoing activity during the week was glass painting where students decorated the glass panels with the symbols of India. A special assembly was conducted on the 14th to celebrate Independence Day. On 15 th August, the tricolor was hoisted amidst the presence of Staff and students. Students and Teachers presented songs and a small skit relevant to the day ,was put up by the students.

Africa Alive and Culminating Activity An extraordinary show was put forward by the students of Grade VI and VII in a program called Africa Alive. The aim of the event was to put up a culminating activity by integrating the content of Social Studies and Hindi. Grade-VII students performed a small skit on the birth and life of Lord Jesus as a part of their study of the Roman Empire, followed by Hindi, where children demonstrated the unique and diverse factors which makes India a very special country. Children of Grade-VI concluded the program with songs, dance and a mini exhibition on the continent of Africa. An enactment of the play ‘The Lion King ‘was put up by the students. On display were the traditional African mats and beaded jewellery used by the natives of Africa. These were made by the students as part of their class work.

Hindi Diwas: The entire first week of September was dedicated to our National language where a number of Inter-house competitions in Hindi were organized for the students and culminated in the Hindi Diwas being celebrated on September 14th. School assembly was conducted in Hindi during the Hindi Saptah. Many competitions like Hindi poem recitation, Hindi essay writing and Hindi Declamation were organized in the school. On the last day children culminated the Hindi Diwas by wonderful performances of Qawwali, Hindi jokes, Skit and a small speech telling us the importance of Hindi as our national language.

Janamashtami One of the popular festivals celebrated in school is. A special assembly was conducted on this day. Students were shown an animated short movie on the birth of Lord Krishna. The school wore festive colours with girls and boys dressed as Radhas and Krishnas. The pre-primary section put up an enactment on the birth of Krishna. Little Radhas and Krishna danced to folk songs related to Krishna.

National Sports Day The birthday of Major Dhayanchand is celebrated as the National Sports Day all over India. EuroSchool Thane paid tribute to this great legend on this day. A documentary on Dyanchand and his achievements was shown to the students. Later in the day, the students participated in various sports activities which were organized in the school like Table tennis, chess, carom etc. Not only the students, even teachers were enthusiastic and participates in these activities and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations Lord Ganesha is welcomed to EuroSchool Thane every year with great devotion and religious fervor. The idol of Ganesha was installed to the accompaniment of the traditional Dhol and Nagada. Children saw an animated movie on Lord Ganesha. A dance and skit were put up by the students. Students of EuroSchool showcased their talents in dance, mastery in tongue twisters and moon walking. Every one enjoyed this day to the fullest.

Onam Celebrations The harvest season of Kerala, which also relates to the legend of King Mahabali was celebrated in a special assembly on Onam. Girls dressed in traditional attire performed the “Kaikottikalli”- a traditional dance form of Kerala. Huge flower rangolis were put up at the entrance of the school. Children were shown a short story on “Mahabali and Vaman” which is the origin of the Onam celebration.

Poster Making Competition

A theme of World Peace and Save the Girl Child was given for this Inter house competition conducted in School. The competition was judged by the Art teachers and House winners were declared.

Show and Tell

The competition was conducted for grades I-II. The children all got a chance to bring any object from home and speak about it in class. The final contestants were selected from each class and the final round of the competition was held and the winners declared. Quiz Wizard

The week corresponding to the date of the competition was celebrated as the World Space Week. It had three rounds of competitions, namely- audio visual round, buzzer round and questions based on Science and sports.

International Tour

Students of grades III-VII accompanied by their teachers went on an International tour to Thailand. The sightseeing included the islands of Pattaya and Bangkok. Children went on the Chao Phraya Princess Cruise, Safari World and Marine Park. The itinerary included visits to the famous Buddha Temple, Gems Factory and a boat ride to the Coral Island.

World Space Week

The World Space week was observed from 4th October to 10th October for a week. Activities related to Space were conducted throughout the week. Children were made aware of new celestial discoveries, amazing facts about the Universe, famous astronomers and their work in special assembly through the week. Children in the Astronomy Club constructed models of the Solar System, telescopes and Aliens. World Students day

The parents of primary and middle school were asked to send one special anecdote from their student days. The children enjoyed reading out their parents experiences at school in class.

Roald Dahl day The birthday of the famous children’s author Roald Dahl was celebrated on 13th September. Children watched a movie named “Matilda” based on the novel by the same name written by Roald Dahl. A power point presentation on Roald Dahl was shown to children in the Library which briefly explained about the author’s life, his books and love for children.

Navratri Celebrations Navratri is characterized by colour and gaiety, by dance and music, and so it was at EuroSchool, where children danced to the tunes of traditional garba and dandiya interspersed with popular contemporary music.

World Water Day

Toran Making and Rangoli Competition

Inter-house competitions in these skills were conducted at School for grades III-IV and V-VIII respectively on the occasion of Diwali.

World Food Day The school celebrates the World Food Day on 17th October 2013. On this day special food corners were created where different cuisines of India were displayed. An awareness about healthy v/s junk food was created and they were put up as exhibits in the food corner. A presentation on foods that help us to ‘Go, Grow and Glow’ was made.

Culmination Activity-Grade 1

The culminating activity for Grade1 was named ‘Jumanji’. The activity was concentrated around the concepts taught in Maths, EVS and English. Parents were invited to witness the children perform.

Diya Decorating Competition

This competition was held for grades I-II. For the competition, earthen Diyas were provided for each child from the School. Children brought in a variety of materials to decorate the diyas. Myriad colours of glittering diyas were displayed which showcased the creative talent of the children.

Halloween Day The festival of Halloween was marked by the primary school children dressed as witches and their sort and visiting all the classes to play games of Trick ‘o’ Treat.

Diwali Celebrations A special assembly was conducted at school where children presented a special song for Diwali. A group dance was put up by the students. A presentation on the legend behind Diwali was made. Children came up to speak and create awareness about a safe and sound Diwali. Diwali sweets and savouries were served in class and a good time was had by all.

The Annual Concert for the Primary and Middle School was celebrated on Sunday, 27th October 2013 at Dr Kashinath Ghanekar Auditorium at Thane. Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai, Sardar Patel Awardee and Author presided over as the Chief Guest of the day. The event,’ En Busca De’ meaning ‘in search of’ took the audience on a journey to all parts of the World. The torch of EuroSchool soars through and enthralls the audience with glimpses of Siberia, the Caribbean Islands, Bahamas, Tonga, Venezuela, Sudan, New Zealand, Japan, Sri lanka and the Philppines, finally returning to India. The show ended on a note of Euphoria with a resounding Grand Finale.

That was one educative and fun-filled learning experience!!! While we bid adieu to this term and wait in anticipation for the next, we take a moment to extend our best wishes to a few of our Staff members.

Our sincere appreciation to Ms. Lata Raman, Deepal Vora and Nupur Guha for conducting interactive workshops across EuroSchools.

Congratulations to Ms Anupama Rao for being blessed with a baby boy.

Our best wishes to Ms. Neha Manchanda for a happy and prosperous married life.

EuroSchool, Thane