The month of August 2023 began with the first event for the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of SPJ Sadhana School, the Inauguration of the Memory Wall. The unveiling of the Memory Wall revealed the emerging story of 50 years of the school. An important aspect was the Golden Jubilee Logo, which celebrates the milestone of 50 years and symbolizes the promise to continue the journey onwards.
The 76th Independence Day was celebrated with joy at S.P.J. Sadhana School. A heartfelt speech was made by our student Aria Mansinghka of Prevocational class, expressing love for our country. Describing various aspects of our wonderful country, our people, our soldiers and our leaders, the refrain was: "I love my India; I love my India, Karam mera India, Vatan mera India". The Independence Day celebrations included hoisting the national flag by one of student and enthusiastic singing of the national anthem.
Our Principal, Ms Fionika Sanghvi was also invited to the Independence Day celebrations at Shishu Kalyan Kendra School for Mentally Challenged Children.
The School celebrated Friendship Day with the slogan"Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai!", placing emphasis on sharing, caring, helping each other and studying together inthis happy place, S.P.J. Sadhana School. A friendship circle game and a story were shared with the students to teach them the values of friendship and bonding. The Hospitality & Catering Department sent out a message that "A friend is one because of whom we laugh a little louder, cry a little less and smile a lot more!" To intensify this bond of friendship, they had a celebration where they shared a meal, each student bringing a portion enough for 7 students. The delicious meal, which was enjoyed by the students.
The month of August also saw the beginning of practice sessions for the Annual Concert, which has been planned as a part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. The concert involves collaboration between Sadhana School and J. Academy, where neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals will perform together. The practice sessions are being conducted under the guidance of Spruha Mehta of J. Academy.
As part of the efforts towards Inclusion and Integration for our students, sensitization programme was conducted at the Courtyard by the Marriot Hotel, where our students will intern.
The Principal, Ms. Fionika Sanghvi, as well as Ms. Tejal Kothari, Co-ordinator, Intermediate level, and Ms. Simida Correia, Coordinator Vocational department were invited to attend a conference that was a culmination of the programme "Accelerating PWD (Persons with Disabilities) Enterprises with a focus on Women Entrepreneurs". This programme was supported by the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund (CAPF) with the backing of the British High Commission and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The programme focused on empowering PWD entrepreneurs through comprehensive training, on-going mentorship and access to diverse market opportunities. The event was hosted by Hindustan Unilever.
The Sports Teachers, Ms. Rajashri Ghosalkar and Ms. Alpana Koli, along with 20 students from the Junior, IL and VTC classes, attended the 14th State Level Table Tennis Skills Ability Test organized by the A.W.M.H. Maharashtra.
Sadhana School received recognition in the neighbourhood journal of the locality, “The Voice of Malabar Hills", Volume 10, Issue 7, August 2023. The article praised its "five decades of... consistent selfless hard work" and the "devotion and persistent efforts of the teachers and volunteers." The article outlines the holistic curriculum which brings out the potential of each individual child. Realizing that merely helping students become selfsufficient is unsustainable, the school aims to help them to integrate into mainstream society and the workplace. To achieve this goal, the school strives to broaden their horizons by pushing their boundaries and exploring new territories, with the theme of "Inclusion and Integration". The school has planned a series of events such as the Annual Concert, the Annual Exhibition, the Sports Meets and the Student Internships, where the students of the school will function alongside neurotypical individuals, thus helping them to become a part of a broader society.
Thus the month of August 2023 set the school firmly on the path of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.