Preserve Earth, Preserve Life! Our planet Earth is a magnificent planet for it sustains life. It has an abundance of water, oxygen and other natural resources that make it possible for multiple ecosystems to thrive and flourish. However, factors such as deforestation and urbanization have led to global warming, deteriorating the richness of life that the planet provides. Earth day is a global annual day celebrated on 22nd April since 1970 to protect the environment and save earth. The aim of this event is to inspire people for earth’s healthy environment. McConnell, Nelson, and Hayes all continue to be strong environmental advocates long after Earth Day was founded, who spoke of raising public awareness of environmental issues plaguing earth and taking corrective environmental actions. On wake of the Global Earth Day, you could do your bit by any of the following ways: • Spread word about global warming • Plant a tree • Save oceans • Conserve water • Conserve electricity • Keep the surrounding clean • Go for a nature walk with family & friends • Become an environmental educator • Do your part to reduce pollution • Reuse and promote using recycled products. Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders and to bring the awareness amongst the children about “How to save our Earth”, Udgam School for Children organized an activity for students of Grade 5. Students displayed their creativity by designing beautiful posters and writing meaningful messages regarding saving the environment. The students who portrayed fantastically were applauded with appreciation certificates.

Let’s Save Our Sparrows There was a time when spotting a sparrow was as easy spotting the sky. Well,the little brown endearing bird is now nowhere to be seen! What are we going to do about it? The renowned Ahmedabad based Environmental Management and Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant, Mr.Jagat Kinkhabwala (popularly known as the SPARROW MAN) sensitized the students of class 5 towards saving the sparrows. He also gifted his book, “Save the Sparrow” to the school for a read in the library. The session began with unveiling of a sparrow sculpture by Mrs. Meetika Sharma, Vice Principal of the Primary section along with Mrs. Smita Jadhav, Hindi teacher for class 5. Following were the points that were explored in the session: • Causes of extinction of sparrows such as global warming, deforestation, and urbanization • Remedies to conserve the sparrows – gave a detailed discussion about the need of restoring nests of sparrows and even creating DIY birdhouses(nests) and giving them grains and water daily. • All the students were given a box with which they can make nests. The session concluded with inquisitive questions from our kids and satisfying answers by the guest speaker and with a note from him urging students to take steps by simply adopting and installing nests/birdhouses and helping the feathered friend – sparrow to survive!

Welcome Assembly – Class-X As students marched forward from class IX to class X, a welcome assembly was conducted on 20th April 2018. The purpose of the assembly was to welcome the students, brief them about the academic session, and stress upon the importance of discipline and education. Students were given information about the General Code of Conduct to be followed, Assessment Structure and the Assessment Scheme as per the CBSE guidelines and the schedule of the periodic tests and the pre-boards for their proper preparation. The Assembly also focused on the importance of Discipline in one’s life and students were given tips on time management. Students were encouraged to follow a proper time table and avoid procrastination. The issue of bullying was taken up and students were encouraged to speak up against the wrong and help the bullies to understand the importance of respecting others. As the year holds an important sphere of student’s life, our Principal, Sujata ma’am addressed the students guiding them to remain focused and stay healthy mentally and physically. The assembly was concluded by giving away the certificates to the students who had obtained 100% attendance in the previous academic session 2017-18.

Welcome Assembly – Class IX A welcome assembly was conducted for class IX today briefing the students the Assessment Pattern for the academic year 2018-19. Besides that, even the schedules of the periodic tests and the Annual Examination were shared. The session laid emphasis on the importance of discipline during the school life. Displaying good discipline daily intrinsically motivate students helping them progress beyond imagination. Exerting the same spirit, students of IX A delivered a speech – ‘Success is the mother of passion’ and beautifully shared steps on the importance of humbleness for being successful. Our Principal Sujata Ma’am addressed the students and spoke on the importance of making good choices in life. The assembly was concluded by giving away the certificates for regularity to the students who had obtained 100% attendance in the previous academic session 2017-18.

Class 2-English Activity Grammar games make language more fun and that is the purpose of the first two activities conducted in English in Class 2. These activities on ‘Alphabetical Order’ were conducted to inspire imagination and creativity in the minds of the children regarding words. In the first activity ‘ABC Fun’, children were divided into groups and given a flashcard to arrange themselves in alphabetical order. It was fun watching kids identify words and alphabets among themselves and this encouraged team work. Another activity ‘Do the Dice’ was conducted wherein children in pairs/groups rolled word dices and arranged the dices in alphabetical order. Children took turns to roll the dice and arranged the words according to the alphabetical sequence. This activity would help them in practical applications such as dictionary usage, correct spelling among others. Flashcards or dice, alphabetical order is just the first step to building strong linguistic skills in children.

Enlightening Talk Shows on World Health Day Zebar School in cooperation with My FM 94.3, on account of the World Health Day, 7Th April, Saturday, celebrated the day by organizing informative and soul-stirring talk shows, at Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Auditorium. Beat Breast Cancer Talk show, by Dr Shefali Desai, of Samved Hospital, was held in tandem with an invigorating talk show by the very renowned Gujarati writer, Kaajal Oza Vaidya. The talk shows were exclusively women based and meant and hence, the event witnessed many women coming to attend the talk show. The event was graced by the presence of leading ladies of the Zebar and Udgam School, Ms. Radhika Iyer & Ms. Pratima Patell, Director and Academic Adviser at Udgam and Zebar School respectively, Mrs. Daksha Desai, Trustee at Zebar School and Mrs. Bhumi Choksi, Assistant Director at Udgam School, along with My FM 94.eradio channel’s Programming Head, Ms. Krupa Trivedi and RJ. Nimisha, and Gujarati film industry’s lead star actresses, Esha Kansara and Deeksha Joshi.

Roadmap to Empathy 2018-19 Empathy is the cornerstone of Emotional Intelligence. Practicing it the right way results into phenomenal positive transformations in life. The Counselling section of the Udgam School for Children, Thaltej organized an interactive workshop for teachers on effectiveness of empathy. The aim of the workshop was to sensitize the teachers towards practicing empathy and the positive effects of it on personal and professional life. It highlighted the following points: · Significance of empathy for teachers to help maintain happy, satisfying relationships personally and professionally · Importance of an empathic teacher on student’s heart and mind · Tips and techniques to help teachers develop empathy for students · Tips and techniques on how to train students to develop empathy · Success stories/examples of empathizing showing fruition in the learning environment. The workshop dedicatedly aimed to help teachers develop the skill for empathizing and helping them realize the magic of the quality that empathy is. Not enough can be stressed about the importance of empathy, Vidhi Ma’am, Counsellor of Primary section, ended the session saying, “Empathy paves the way to the Road for Future Success” and believing it precisely, practicing empathy in the workplace or anywhere results in happy, successful relationships.