The month of February 2023 brought a series of very rewarding events and activities.
Students from the SNDT University, enrolled for the Second Year B.Ed. Special Education programme were placed at Sadhana School as trainees for a ten-day full-time internship. They were placed as participant observers in the classroom activities, were trained to plan activities under the guidance of the teachers and were also given opportunities to teach the students.
The Sports Teacher, Ms. Rajashri Ghosalkar, attended the Project Coordinator Workshop at New Delhi from 8th to 11th February, organized by the Special Olympics Bharat, as part of the Young Athlete Programme, Athlete Leadership Programme, Youth Activation and Youth Summit. The inputs she brought back will prove extremely valuable in training our budding sportspersons at Sadhana School. Ms. Rajashri is now qualified as a Project Coordinator of Maharashtra besides bring a National Trainer from Special Olympics Bharat.
The Sports Meet was held on February 14th and 15th 2023 after a long break from the online sports sessions. The Sports Department organized skills competitions of team and individual games through a series of fun sports activities for students of the entire school.
The Chief Guests for the two days were Mrs. Manju Mangalprabhat Lodha, Chairperson of the Lodha Foundation, Mrs Mita Sheth, Chairperson of the Inner Wheel Club, and Mrs. Hansini Raut, Programme Manager of Special Olympics, Maharashtra.
74 students from Senior and Intermediate level school participated in team and individual sports specific skills competitions. The Fun Sports Day began with a March Past Drill.
The athletic track and field events were organized as Running Races, Obstacle Race, Prop Race, Body Balance Race, etc. Individual games like Table-Tennis, Badminton, Skating and Cycling were organized for male and female athletes from five different age groups ranging from below 8 years, to above 22 years. This year the school also organized the team game Bocce for students with multiple disabilities, and also involved parents in playing as partners or team members.
The two-day event was organized by the Sports Department along with the entire dedicated team of school staff, volunteers and care-workers. The goal of the Sports Meet was to train students with multiple disabilities, therapeutically, morally, emotionally, kinaesthetically and cognitively, as well as to develop their self-confidence, motivate them to demonstrate courage in front of others, develop not only gross-motor and fine-motor skills but also communication and social skills, as well as tolerance, discipline, and decision-making and a competitive spirit.
The School Principal, Ms. Fionika Sanghvi was the Guest of Honour at the 40th Annual Celebration of the Shishu Kalyan Kendra School for Children in Need of Special Care, run by the Mahila Parishad, Andheri. The Shishu Kalyan Kendra School caters to students from the lower economic strata, providing education, pre-vocational training, sports, dance therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc., free of cost or at minimal cost.
‘ROSHNI’, an initiative of Concern India Foundation, organized the Annual Musical Event at the Children's Museum, Prince of Wales Museum at Kalaghoda. Seven students from S. P. J. Sadhana School in the age group of 7-17 years participated and won the following prizes:
Singing:
- Arnav Chavan - 1st prize
- Aditya Akadkar - 2nd prize
- Abdullah Nazir - 3rd prize
Solo Dance:
- Yashvirr Koli - 1st prize
- Dhanashree Khandekar - 3rd prize
The students were awarded certificates and medals.
Seven students of our school participated in the National Drawing Competition for Specially Abled Children, organized by the United Schools Organization of India (USO). The topic for the competition was: ‘The Woman Who Makes a Difference in my Life’.
The results of the competition are to be declared on International Women's Day, March 8, 2023.
The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) organized an extremely important and relevant session for the parents, by Ms. Chitra Iyer, CEO of MFA Capital Pvt. Ltd., who conducted a workshop on "Wealth Planning for the Special Needs Family". Ms. Iyer, who has over 20 years of experience in the Financial Services sector, is a special needs parent herself and is also a Trustee and Treasurer of the Forum for Autism. She has been an advocate for the rights of people with Autism and has been actively involved in campaigns to raise awareness and educate parents, professionals and laypersons about autism. The workshop provided the parents with very useful insights and guidance.
Thus the month of February 2023 provided many rewarding and useful experiences.