S.P.J Sadhana School started the month of October 2024 with very heartwarming recognition. The school has earned a well-deserved place of honour, being ranked No. 1 in India, No. 1 in Maharashtra and No. 1 in Mumbai among Special Schools, at the Education World India School Rankings 2024-25. This is indeed a proud moment for the school, and an endorsement of the vision, dedication and hard work of the Principal, Ms. Fionika Sanghvi, the Management, and all the staff members
The Sports Department at S.P.J Sadhana School has been active and successful as usual. 13 students from the Prevocational, Visual Arts and Craft, by Office Procedure Course, Wood Art and Handicraft, and Hospitality and Catering Departments participated in the A.W.M.H. State Level Table Tennis Tournament, winning a wide range of medals - 6 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze and 3 Copper medals in the Skills Contest and the Singles Competition. We are proud of their achievements and are grateful to Ms. Rajashri Ghosalkar, Sports teacher and other teachers and careworker for their valuable help and their patience in guiding our students.
Besides education, a primary concern for everyone at S.P.J Sadhana School is the safety and security of the students. Keeping this in mind, the management planned several talks for the staff and parents of the school, to understand the students' physical development and their education in sexuality. The talks also included an orientation to understand the provisions of the POCSO Act 2012, and its relevance for our students. Across October, five sessions were conducted by the psychologist of the school, Dr. Kashmira Vazifdar, including three sessions for the staff and two for the parents.
A vast array of issues were addressed, including correct labeling of the parts of the body, physical developmental changes, creating a preparedness among our students and educating them about these changes, concepts of private and public, safe touch versus unsafe touch, issues related to menstruation, masturbation, nocturnal emissions, social greetings, healthy relationships, pornography and internet safety, prevention of sexual abuse, as well as issues related to Interpersonal attraction and marriage.
The salient features of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 and its relevance were also discussed in detail. Keeping in mind the vulnerability of our students and their special needs, it is important for parents and teachers to implement relevant cautionary measures to avoid any instance of sexual abuse. In future, the staff and parents will be provided reference materials to revise, refer and implement all of the above.
Besides these talks, the Counselling and Therapy Department of the school has been conducting sessions throughout the term, to develop self-awareness (body awareness) and safety awareness among the adolescent and emerging adult population of the school. With all these inputs, the school hopes to empower the students, staff and parents with sufficient knowledge to build the foundations of safety and security.
A music programme was conducted at Sadhana School by the Inner Wheel Club of Bombay, which is the first such club in India and has now completed 62 years. They organized an interactive session managed by girls from underprivileged backgrounds who had been trained and hired by the NGO called Sound Space which is run by Ms. Kamakshi Khurana.
Sadhana School received a visit from 38 students of the Cathedral School as a part of an awareness raising programme. These students interacted with students of the Formative Years and the Intermediate level and enjoyed doing an activity involving puzzles and playing housie. The activity created rapport and empathy between students of both schools.
The Formative Years team conducted a series of important learning activities. As an introduction to life skills, the students visited the local stationery shop with their wallets and participated in a money exchange activity. They also revised various Math concepts through the use of different TLMs (Teaching Learning Material) such as Tamar learning blocks, playing cards, pegs, dice, etc, where each TLM served the learning of different math concepts.
The school celebrated Navratri with a colourful session of garba and dandiya. It was indeed delightful to watch the energy and enthusiasm of our students as they danced joyfully.
The school wore festive attire as the students also decorated their classrooms by painting diyas, sticking sequins; making torans and rangoli etc. the Diwali sale was held on Open day. The products on sale were made by students of Vocational; Training Course- Diyas by Visual Arts and Craft, Torans by Wood Art and Handicraft, Digital print Torans by Office Procedure Course and fresh Chivda by Hospitality and Catering department.
The students participated in various activities as part of the "Joy of Giving" Celebrations. Students of the Formative Years sent Diwali hampers to students of Sophia Balwadi. Students of the Vocational training class visited Vatsalya Foundation at the King George Memorial Centre, Mahalaxmi, where they expressed the joy of giving as a part of the Diwali celebrations. Our students from the IL visited the Thelma JRD Tata Orphanage, Worli where they distributed gifts and Diwali hampers to the residents bringing them joy and festive cheer. These activities were indeed very heartwarming, promoting inclusion and social responsibility.
The Diwali celebrations ended with a festive Diwali party for students and staff members including a Bubble Show, a Magic Show, gifts, crackers and snacks.
As part of an Outreach Programme, Sadhana School received a visit from "Care and Special Education", a special school based in Oman, which is involved in a range of activities aiming at holistic development. As part of their educational and developmental initiatives, they visited S.P.J Sadhana School and found it extremely useful to observe our approach and practices in Special Education. They felt that their visit to Sadhana School provided invaluable insights and helped them to enhance their programmes.
As part of the Capacity Building workshop Sr. Annie Peter and Sr. Patricia D’souza shared with the staff, the philosophy and values of the Sacred Heart Education. The small group discussions and sharing that followed were very inspiring.
Another very interesting session was a Speech & Drama presentation by J's Academy, for our students. This presentation was the culmination of S.P.J Sadhana School's Drama training, entitled "Greedy Karodimal". The presentation was a brief Reader's Theatre-style performance and provided the students with an opportunity to perform and present their talents before a supportive and encouraging audience. The skills developed and presented included vocal techniques such as voice projection, variation in tone, pausing, pacing etc, facial expressions and gestures, physical performance techniques including movement and spatial awareness, audience engagement, collaboration and teamwork.
An enjoyable outing was the visit to the Gaming Zone at Atria Mall, where Shridul's birthday was celebrated with cake, snacks and games, followed by lunch at Gujjubhai ni Thali. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the gaming zone and later danced together enthusiastically. Such outings achieve multiple objectives.
Apart from motor skills in the gaming zone, using controllers or other devices to improve eye-hand coordination, social skills are also developed through multiplayer games. Above all, such experiences build confidence, encourage independence, provide cultural exposure, and foster empathy and inclusivity, so that the students develop bonds of friendship. The outing also provided precious insights into the students' personalities, strengths and areas for growth, with valuable opportunities for the teachers to observe students' behaviour in external settings and assess their independence in eating and other skills.
As the term drew to a close, a very important part of the school programme was the assessment of students' progress. Open Days were conducted for each Department, where parents were given feedback on the students' abilities and strengths, and the focus for further training for each student was identified for the following term.
The final event for the term focused on a very important aspect, the discussion by staff and management of the term just completed, and planning for the next term.
This meeting brought the term to a close, and prepared the ground for the work to be done during the next term.
The Sports Department at S.P.J Sadhana School has been active and successful as usual. 13 students from the Prevocational, Visual Arts and Craft, by Office Procedure Course, Wood Art and Handicraft, and Hospitality and Catering Departments participated in the A.W.M.H. State Level Table Tennis Tournament, winning a wide range of medals - 6 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze and 3 Copper medals in the Skills Contest and the Singles Competition. We are proud of their achievements and are grateful to Ms. Rajashri Ghosalkar, Sports teacher and other teachers and careworker for their valuable help and their patience in guiding our students.
Besides education, a primary concern for everyone at S.P.J Sadhana School is the safety and security of the students. Keeping this in mind, the management planned several talks for the staff and parents of the school, to understand the students' physical development and their education in sexuality. The talks also included an orientation to understand the provisions of the POCSO Act 2012, and its relevance for our students. Across October, five sessions were conducted by the psychologist of the school, Dr. Kashmira Vazifdar, including three sessions for the staff and two for the parents.
A vast array of issues were addressed, including correct labeling of the parts of the body, physical developmental changes, creating a preparedness among our students and educating them about these changes, concepts of private and public, safe touch versus unsafe touch, issues related to menstruation, masturbation, nocturnal emissions, social greetings, healthy relationships, pornography and internet safety, prevention of sexual abuse, as well as issues related to Interpersonal attraction and marriage.
The salient features of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 and its relevance were also discussed in detail. Keeping in mind the vulnerability of our students and their special needs, it is important for parents and teachers to implement relevant cautionary measures to avoid any instance of sexual abuse. In future, the staff and parents will be provided reference materials to revise, refer and implement all of the above.
Besides these talks, the Counselling and Therapy Department of the school has been conducting sessions throughout the term, to develop self-awareness (body awareness) and safety awareness among the adolescent and emerging adult population of the school. With all these inputs, the school hopes to empower the students, staff and parents with sufficient knowledge to build the foundations of safety and security.
A music programme was conducted at Sadhana School by the Inner Wheel Club of Bombay, which is the first such club in India and has now completed 62 years. They organized an interactive session managed by girls from underprivileged backgrounds who had been trained and hired by the NGO called Sound Space which is run by Ms. Kamakshi Khurana.
Sadhana School received a visit from 38 students of the Cathedral School as a part of an awareness raising programme. These students interacted with students of the Formative Years and the Intermediate level and enjoyed doing an activity involving puzzles and playing housie. The activity created rapport and empathy between students of both schools.
The Formative Years team conducted a series of important learning activities. As an introduction to life skills, the students visited the local stationery shop with their wallets and participated in a money exchange activity. They also revised various Math concepts through the use of different TLMs (Teaching Learning Material) such as Tamar learning blocks, playing cards, pegs, dice, etc, where each TLM served the learning of different math concepts.
The school celebrated Navratri with a colourful session of garba and dandiya. It was indeed delightful to watch the energy and enthusiasm of our students as they danced joyfully.
The school wore festive attire as the students also decorated their classrooms by painting diyas, sticking sequins; making torans and rangoli etc. the Diwali sale was held on Open day. The products on sale were made by students of Vocational; Training Course- Diyas by Visual Arts and Craft, Torans by Wood Art and Handicraft, Digital print Torans by Office Procedure Course and fresh Chivda by Hospitality and Catering department.
The students participated in various activities as part of the "Joy of Giving" Celebrations. Students of the Formative Years sent Diwali hampers to students of Sophia Balwadi. Students of the Vocational training class visited Vatsalya Foundation at the King George Memorial Centre, Mahalaxmi, where they expressed the joy of giving as a part of the Diwali celebrations. Our students from the IL visited the Thelma JRD Tata Orphanage, Worli where they distributed gifts and Diwali hampers to the residents bringing them joy and festive cheer. These activities were indeed very heartwarming, promoting inclusion and social responsibility.
The Diwali celebrations ended with a festive Diwali party for students and staff members including a Bubble Show, a Magic Show, gifts, crackers and snacks.
As part of an Outreach Programme, Sadhana School received a visit from "Care and Special Education", a special school based in Oman, which is involved in a range of activities aiming at holistic development. As part of their educational and developmental initiatives, they visited S.P.J Sadhana School and found it extremely useful to observe our approach and practices in Special Education. They felt that their visit to Sadhana School provided invaluable insights and helped them to enhance their programmes.
As part of the Capacity Building workshop Sr. Annie Peter and Sr. Patricia D’souza shared with the staff, the philosophy and values of the Sacred Heart Education. The small group discussions and sharing that followed were very inspiring.
Another very interesting session was a Speech & Drama presentation by J's Academy, for our students. This presentation was the culmination of S.P.J Sadhana School's Drama training, entitled "Greedy Karodimal". The presentation was a brief Reader's Theatre-style performance and provided the students with an opportunity to perform and present their talents before a supportive and encouraging audience. The skills developed and presented included vocal techniques such as voice projection, variation in tone, pausing, pacing etc, facial expressions and gestures, physical performance techniques including movement and spatial awareness, audience engagement, collaboration and teamwork.
An enjoyable outing was the visit to the Gaming Zone at Atria Mall, where Shridul's birthday was celebrated with cake, snacks and games, followed by lunch at Gujjubhai ni Thali. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the gaming zone and later danced together enthusiastically. Such outings achieve multiple objectives.
Apart from motor skills in the gaming zone, using controllers or other devices to improve eye-hand coordination, social skills are also developed through multiplayer games. Above all, such experiences build confidence, encourage independence, provide cultural exposure, and foster empathy and inclusivity, so that the students develop bonds of friendship. The outing also provided precious insights into the students' personalities, strengths and areas for growth, with valuable opportunities for the teachers to observe students' behaviour in external settings and assess their independence in eating and other skills.
As the term drew to a close, a very important part of the school programme was the assessment of students' progress. Open Days were conducted for each Department, where parents were given feedback on the students' abilities and strengths, and the focus for further training for each student was identified for the following term.
The final event for the term focused on a very important aspect, the discussion by staff and management of the term just completed, and planning for the next term.
This meeting brought the term to a close, and prepared the ground for the work to be done during the next term.