The highlight of the year was the Graduation Ceremony, which represented the culmination of all the years of effort and determination of the students of the Vocational section, the years of dedication, and hard work and perseverance of the teachers, and the constant support and encouragement provided by the parents.
The Graduation Ceremony was held on 22nd March at the Hall of Harmony, Nehru Centre. The Chief guests for the evening were: Dr. Rubina Lal, (former Professor in Special Education, SNDT Women's University, and Director, Suvidya College of Special Education, affiliated to Mumbai University); Mrs. Pilloo Tata, of the N.K. Tata Trust, a generous donor and staunch supporter of Sadhana School; and Dr. Sr. Anila Varghese, director of Sophia College and Provincial of the Sacred Heart Trust.
The evening began with a congratulatory message from Mrs. Krishnaswamy ex-principal of SPJ Sadhana School, followed by a warm welcome to the Chief Guests. A graceful dance entitled "Guru Vandan" was performed by our graduating students Sanjana Pore and Khushi Solanki. This was followed by a screening of the graduating movie, "The Climb", which was single-handedly shot, edited and created by our staff member Ms. Dhwani Dhupelia. The movie beautifully captured the struggles, joys and achievements of the students and the importance of partnering by the school with parents for the development of their child.
The Principal, Ms. Fionika Sanghvi addressed the audience beginning with a heartfelt poetic analogy describing the students as blossoming flowers. She highlighted the uniqueness of the curriculum at S.P.J. Sadhana School which is individualised to accommodate the needs of every student. She described the process of synergy and transfer of learning that developed as the students progressed from the initial phase to the stage where they are ready to fly into the work world. The speech ended with a quote from Audrey Hepburn that stressed that nothing is impossible. This idea smoothly transitioned into the school song: I am Possible.
This was followed by a speech by Ms. Simida Correia, Co-ordinator, Vocational Training Course, who talked about recognizing the potential of each student, and of the deep connection between students and teachers. She also talked about tough love from the teachers, which was necessary to build a strong foundation and to prepare the students for the challenges ahead.
Moving speeches were also made by other graduating students, Hiya Jain and Kriti Rijhwani. Students, teachers and parents shared moments of pride and joy as the Graduation Certificates were distributed by the Chief Guests, who then addressed the audience, and were felicitated by the students. Speeches were also made by the parents of several students, sharing their experiences over the years. The students were also presented with a memory book of their years in Sadhana School.
A beautiful song by Aaryamann Purandare was followed by the release of the school magazine, Sadhana Times. Certificates and medals won at the Special Olympics were also distributed. This was followed by a talk on the art exhibition by Mr. Avadhut Magar. The ceremony ended with a vote of thanks by Ms. Tejal Kothari.
The Art Exhibition, which was entitled "You Give Me Wings", presented the paintings created by the students of the Visual Arts Course over the last several years as a part of their vocational training. The title of the exhibition suggests the theme of empowerment, and the central image of the butterfly portrays this theme. In fact, the image of the butterfly also adorns the Memory Book given to each student, and symbolizes how Sadhana School has enabled the students to develop their skills, grow and spread their wings as they fly off to take their rightful place in the world.
The audience then proceeded to the art exhibition, to appreciate the artistic creations by the students. The evening ended with a Farewell Party at the Earth Banquet Hall, Atria Mall.
The graduating students have secured placements for internships at a series of well-known organisations including "The Courtyard by Marriot", "Smokehouse Deli", "Amazon", "Welspun", "Tanishq", "Solitaire Gemmological Laboratories", "Furtado's Music Pvt. Ltd.", etc. Sadhana School is indeed proud of the students' achievements.
As one batch of students graduated, the school conducted assessments of new applicant students to be admitted in the next academic year. This exercise is important in order to provide a baseline assessment of the abilities/skills of new students entering the school. On the basis of this assessment, detailed individualised training would be provided to each student.
In the month of March, a visit to the school from Dilkhush Teacher Training Centre, which offers a course in D.Ed. Special Education (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities), as a part of the course, the trainees are required to undertake Educational visits and internships at various institutions working for persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Mumbai, especially persons with ASD and multiple disabilities. Five first-year trainees from the Dilkhush Centre visited S.P.J. Sadhana School; the trainees felt that they benefited a great deal from this exposure which would help them to become better teachers.
Students of Sadhana School participated in a Music Show called "Light up Lives - Roshni 2024", at the Children's Museum (Prince of Wales Museum), Kalaghoda Fort Mumbai. The students participated enthusiastically in various events such as solo singing, solo dancing, group singing, group dancing, playing musical instruments, etc, for which they were awarded participation certificates.
The school celebrated the colourful festival of Holi. The Formative Years celebrated the beautiful colours of life by playing Holi with flowers, symbolizing the idea that the school helps the different personalities of the children blossom like the beautiful flowers. In order to beat the summer heat and provide the students with a fun-filled end to an exciting year, the Formative Years section organised a pool party for the children of Grades I, II, III, and IV The children splashed happily in the cool water, venting all their pent-up energy, bringing a playful end to the year.
Sadhana School participated in the Campus Placement organised by the Department of Special Education, SNDT Women's University, which has been training teachers in B.Ed. Special Education and M.Ed. Special Education for over 45 years, with specialisations in three disability areas - Learning Disability, Intellectual Disability and Visual Impairment. This institution provided an important source for recruiting trained and qualified teachers.
An extremely important component in the process of teaching and learning at Sadhana School is feedback. This helps parents to identify their children's strengths and achievements as well as areas where further reinforcement is required. The Open Days conducted at Sadhana School in April, thus served to provide valuable feedback to the parents. The sessions were conducted by a panel of the teachers and therapists who had worked with the child through the academic year. Guidelines were provided to the parents to help them enhance the potential of their children.
The last activity for the academic year was the Capacity Building Workshop for the staff members. This is always very crucial because it helps the teachers to develop strategies to be used in the forthcoming year. The Principal, Ms. Fionika Sanghvi, conducted an extremely useful session that focused on unleashing the creativity of the teachers and knowing the importance of the teaching-learning material. She suggested how teaching aids can be used creatively in every lesson for enhancing the learning concepts. She also focused on how the components of the teaching format, i.e. Introduction, Methodology and Follow-up/Recap activities can be conducted meaningfully with teaching aids. Thus the Capacity Building Workshop helped to guide and motivate the teachers to innovate and maximize their skills.
The teachers shared some of their best planned assessments. These assessments were formally conducted through using informal and play way methods. This helped the teachers to use a fun medium to observe and gauge the students’ ability to grasp, internalise and transfer the concept taught. Sharing among the staff is important to provide the beneficiary (i.e. student) a meaningful and stress free learning.
In this way the last activity for the academic year served as a bridge that helped the teachers to plan and prepare for the next academic year.
The Graduation Ceremony was held on 22nd March at the Hall of Harmony, Nehru Centre. The Chief guests for the evening were: Dr. Rubina Lal, (former Professor in Special Education, SNDT Women's University, and Director, Suvidya College of Special Education, affiliated to Mumbai University); Mrs. Pilloo Tata, of the N.K. Tata Trust, a generous donor and staunch supporter of Sadhana School; and Dr. Sr. Anila Varghese, director of Sophia College and Provincial of the Sacred Heart Trust.
The evening began with a congratulatory message from Mrs. Krishnaswamy ex-principal of SPJ Sadhana School, followed by a warm welcome to the Chief Guests. A graceful dance entitled "Guru Vandan" was performed by our graduating students Sanjana Pore and Khushi Solanki. This was followed by a screening of the graduating movie, "The Climb", which was single-handedly shot, edited and created by our staff member Ms. Dhwani Dhupelia. The movie beautifully captured the struggles, joys and achievements of the students and the importance of partnering by the school with parents for the development of their child.
The Principal, Ms. Fionika Sanghvi addressed the audience beginning with a heartfelt poetic analogy describing the students as blossoming flowers. She highlighted the uniqueness of the curriculum at S.P.J. Sadhana School which is individualised to accommodate the needs of every student. She described the process of synergy and transfer of learning that developed as the students progressed from the initial phase to the stage where they are ready to fly into the work world. The speech ended with a quote from Audrey Hepburn that stressed that nothing is impossible. This idea smoothly transitioned into the school song: I am Possible.
This was followed by a speech by Ms. Simida Correia, Co-ordinator, Vocational Training Course, who talked about recognizing the potential of each student, and of the deep connection between students and teachers. She also talked about tough love from the teachers, which was necessary to build a strong foundation and to prepare the students for the challenges ahead.
Moving speeches were also made by other graduating students, Hiya Jain and Kriti Rijhwani. Students, teachers and parents shared moments of pride and joy as the Graduation Certificates were distributed by the Chief Guests, who then addressed the audience, and were felicitated by the students. Speeches were also made by the parents of several students, sharing their experiences over the years. The students were also presented with a memory book of their years in Sadhana School.
A beautiful song by Aaryamann Purandare was followed by the release of the school magazine, Sadhana Times. Certificates and medals won at the Special Olympics were also distributed. This was followed by a talk on the art exhibition by Mr. Avadhut Magar. The ceremony ended with a vote of thanks by Ms. Tejal Kothari.
The Art Exhibition, which was entitled "You Give Me Wings", presented the paintings created by the students of the Visual Arts Course over the last several years as a part of their vocational training. The title of the exhibition suggests the theme of empowerment, and the central image of the butterfly portrays this theme. In fact, the image of the butterfly also adorns the Memory Book given to each student, and symbolizes how Sadhana School has enabled the students to develop their skills, grow and spread their wings as they fly off to take their rightful place in the world.
The audience then proceeded to the art exhibition, to appreciate the artistic creations by the students. The evening ended with a Farewell Party at the Earth Banquet Hall, Atria Mall.
The graduating students have secured placements for internships at a series of well-known organisations including "The Courtyard by Marriot", "Smokehouse Deli", "Amazon", "Welspun", "Tanishq", "Solitaire Gemmological Laboratories", "Furtado's Music Pvt. Ltd.", etc. Sadhana School is indeed proud of the students' achievements.
As one batch of students graduated, the school conducted assessments of new applicant students to be admitted in the next academic year. This exercise is important in order to provide a baseline assessment of the abilities/skills of new students entering the school. On the basis of this assessment, detailed individualised training would be provided to each student.
In the month of March, a visit to the school from Dilkhush Teacher Training Centre, which offers a course in D.Ed. Special Education (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities), as a part of the course, the trainees are required to undertake Educational visits and internships at various institutions working for persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Mumbai, especially persons with ASD and multiple disabilities. Five first-year trainees from the Dilkhush Centre visited S.P.J. Sadhana School; the trainees felt that they benefited a great deal from this exposure which would help them to become better teachers.
Students of Sadhana School participated in a Music Show called "Light up Lives - Roshni 2024", at the Children's Museum (Prince of Wales Museum), Kalaghoda Fort Mumbai. The students participated enthusiastically in various events such as solo singing, solo dancing, group singing, group dancing, playing musical instruments, etc, for which they were awarded participation certificates.
The school celebrated the colourful festival of Holi. The Formative Years celebrated the beautiful colours of life by playing Holi with flowers, symbolizing the idea that the school helps the different personalities of the children blossom like the beautiful flowers. In order to beat the summer heat and provide the students with a fun-filled end to an exciting year, the Formative Years section organised a pool party for the children of Grades I, II, III, and IV The children splashed happily in the cool water, venting all their pent-up energy, bringing a playful end to the year.
Sadhana School participated in the Campus Placement organised by the Department of Special Education, SNDT Women's University, which has been training teachers in B.Ed. Special Education and M.Ed. Special Education for over 45 years, with specialisations in three disability areas - Learning Disability, Intellectual Disability and Visual Impairment. This institution provided an important source for recruiting trained and qualified teachers.
An extremely important component in the process of teaching and learning at Sadhana School is feedback. This helps parents to identify their children's strengths and achievements as well as areas where further reinforcement is required. The Open Days conducted at Sadhana School in April, thus served to provide valuable feedback to the parents. The sessions were conducted by a panel of the teachers and therapists who had worked with the child through the academic year. Guidelines were provided to the parents to help them enhance the potential of their children.
The last activity for the academic year was the Capacity Building Workshop for the staff members. This is always very crucial because it helps the teachers to develop strategies to be used in the forthcoming year. The Principal, Ms. Fionika Sanghvi, conducted an extremely useful session that focused on unleashing the creativity of the teachers and knowing the importance of the teaching-learning material. She suggested how teaching aids can be used creatively in every lesson for enhancing the learning concepts. She also focused on how the components of the teaching format, i.e. Introduction, Methodology and Follow-up/Recap activities can be conducted meaningfully with teaching aids. Thus the Capacity Building Workshop helped to guide and motivate the teachers to innovate and maximize their skills.
The teachers shared some of their best planned assessments. These assessments were formally conducted through using informal and play way methods. This helped the teachers to use a fun medium to observe and gauge the students’ ability to grasp, internalise and transfer the concept taught. Sharing among the staff is important to provide the beneficiary (i.e. student) a meaningful and stress free learning.
In this way the last activity for the academic year served as a bridge that helped the teachers to plan and prepare for the next academic year.