This year 21 students became the State/Zonal toppers and bagged Gold Medals of Excellence in 5th  SOF International English Olympiad.

They were conferred with medals.

Here are the class toppers of the 5th SOF International English Olympiad. Following is the list of students who bagged medals for their outstanding performance in IEO at school level:

Congratulations to all!

It is more than a new beginning for the students of Class 1 who are joining the Thaltej School from this academic session. It is quite a change as they are becoming a part of a much bigger set up now. Today the Director of Primary School Ms. Pratima Patell, Vice Principal Mrs. Meetika Sharma, Supervisor Mrs. Arathi Kellogg and teachers had an orientation meeting with the parents of students of Class 1. They discussed about the changes that students are likely to face, the essentials of being in Primary Section among other things, in an interactive session. The aim is to raise the comfort level of the new students. 
At Udgam School we follow 'together we win' approach.

A temple was inaugurated on our Thaltej school campus today under the aegis of School Trustee Mr. Gautam Choksi and Mrs. Shefali Choksi. The temple is mainly dedicated to the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati. There are small idols of Lord Ganesh and Mahalaxmi also. There was a small gathering attended by school trustees and partners, directors and principal for the ‘sthapna’ of the idols. The inaugural pooja was offered by Executive Director Mr. Manan Choksi and Joint Director Mrs. Bhoomi Choksi. 
We would like students to go to the temple on their own and pray. However, we do not expect any pressure to come from parents or teachers for doing so. After all one doesn’t need a particular God to pray to or a particular place to pray in. The idea of establishing the temple is to give spirituality a form and designate a sanctum sanctorum for praying where one can peacefully communicate with God.

Homage to our founder, Mrs. Sarojben Carvalho

"Lives of great people all remind us we can make our lives sublime, 
And departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time."

“Don’t allow the perception of others to become your reality”. 
A session of inspiring talk by Wing Commander Rajneesh Lakhanpal was arranged for the students of Class IX in the school auditorium. Wg Com Lakhanpal began by explaining to the students about our fundamental duties in life and towards our country along with the relevance of the Preamble. He recounted simple anecdotes about great men who have left their impression behind in the form of huge achievements. This included people from all wakes of life like scientists, artists, sportsmen and even business magnates. The stories about people who faced opposition and made it big amidst much struggle enthralled the children. He spoke about the need to wonder, think and radiate by asking them a few simple questions. He spoke about the fact that each one of us is an infinite storehouse of energy and stressed on the importance of self reliance. The above quote by him and his inspirational talk has surely motivated our students to go on a soul searching spree. The talk was followed by a question hour session.

Grandparents are special to every child and they share a special bond.
The little cherubs of our Nursery celebrated Grandparents Day. Tiny tots were dressed up in colourful dresses. They were all very excited to perform for their grandparents and the show was excellent. Needless to say, the Grandparents were very happy and overwhelmed to see their grandchildren performing for them. A beautiful day indeed!

Skating is a part of the regular school curriculum at Udgam School. Besides being an engaging activity, it teaches the child perfect coordination of movements and balance. 
Roller Skating is ideally learnt at a tender age and hence it is a part of the regular school in the lower classes.
The students of Class IV had a Skating session in which they presented stunts on skates and hula hoops. The show was enthralling and the little children surpassed their teacher’s expectations.

India’s 66th Republic Day was celebrated today with great reverence in our school. 
The day began with a prayer followed by flag hoisting by the Guest of Honour, Retired Wing Commander Rajneesh Lakhanpal, who attended the session with Mrs. Lakhanpal. A commissioned officer of Indian Air Force, he has had the privilege of serving in several senior level appointments in the operations and administrative branches, during a service tenure of over 24 years. This was accompanied by the Flag Song, our national anthem and the pledge. The Guest of Honour spoke eloquently about our diverse nation and the relevance of the Constitution and the Preamble. He enthralled the audience with inspirational stories and reiterated the need for being resolute in our path to achieve our goals. 
This was followed by other speeches in Hindi, Gujarati and Sanskrit and patriotic poems. The cultural programme included Bangla patriotic song, skit, patriotic mix and orchestra. The danceform of Jhansiwali Rani alongwith awe-inspiring rendition of the same by the students made all bow in allegiance to the brave freedom fighters who laid their lives for the motherland. Finally all assembled bowed to the strains of our national song, Vande Mataram, a perfect tribute to our motherland. Today we are proud of our nation’s achievements and look ahead to a bright future for our country India which has flourished despite adversities to rise victorious.
Hail India! Hail our motherland! Jai Hind!

30^th January is a sad day for our country when one of her true sons, Gandhiji, the father of our nation, was assassinated. This day is also known as Martyr’s Day when we remember all those great souls who gave up their lives for the freedom of the nation.  Children need to be aware that our freedom was not easy and our country lost many brave warriors for the cause. We should not take our freedom for granted and ensure that it goes hand in hand with responsibilities. We should honour and respect our country and strive our best to uphold her dignity. In an attempt to foster respect for the great soul and all others who lost their lives during the freedom struggle, Udgam School observed Martyr’s Day. After the customary 2 minutes of mourning at 11:00 am the students sang the favourite bhajans of Gandhiji. Strains of Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram and Vaishnav jan toh tain kahije rendered the air after the solemn silence. Following this the entire school from Classes 1 to 11 participated in a Drawing Event. The theme was ‘sanitation and cleanliness’ which the school is also actively involved in maintaining. The students were scattered around the building campus and drew inspiration from nature which was evident in their drawings. 

Students of Senior KG section had a grand Fancy Dress Parade. The theme was “States of India” and the variety was charming. Children began with a lovely speech on culture, food, capital of states. All of them dressed up beautifully in traditional garbs of the colourful states of our country and enthralled all with their superb performance. Apart from an event in which they could come all decked up, the children got a good idea about the unity in diversity that is part of the Indian culture. It was a wonderful day for all the children.
Catch a glimpse of the colourful costumes in these pictures.