Learning in the lap of Nature (ECCE activity)

Nature Walk

Going on a nature walk and deliberately noticing things encourages children to observe with all their senses. A nature walk can help your child learn to focus their attention and take in the details of things around them. It can also be a peaceful, reflective experience for you and your child.

    Four Key Practices in Ignatian Spirituality Course 

The activity of God is everywhere and always present, but it is visible only to the eyes of faith. This course has encouraged me to seek and see the Lord first in my day. This new approach made so much sense to me and filled me with hope! Want to thank the resource people of this course who conducted all the sessions so compassionately. The break out rooms gave space to all individuals and enhanced the confidence of the participants too. 

 Course Facilitators

 

This group (Group 1) is facilitated by Jacquie McCabe, Head of Ignatian Ethos at Saint Ignatius College, Athelstone,  Australia,  Anne Slingo, Religious Education Leader, and Ignatian Formator, Xavier School, Melbourne, Australia, and Michael Tod, Ignatian Coordinator at Saint Ignatius College, Geelong, Australia. The course is coordinated by Educate Magis.(www.educatemagis.org)

Self Examen

As we get prepared to settle ourselves for self examen ,let us relax ourselves and sit back.

Take a comfortable posture and close your eyes. Be aware of God's presence around you .

Take a minute to stop and to be with God in silence. Remember that you are in God's

presence. God is present in you and in the world around you. Look back on the day and note

the times you felt God was with you, assisting. Feel God with you now and ask to become

more conscious of God's presence. Lord I possess nothing, I owe you everything. My very

self is your gift. The deeper my life in you becomes, the more stuck by a goodness to me. I

thank you for your infinite goodness and love. 

Let us look back with gratitude and review the past 24 hours and notice what you are thankful

for. What happened with you to make you feel blessed?  Let us take a moment to thank for

providing you these blessings. Reflect on the opportunities and the challenges you faced: how

did you respond to them? Pay attention to any strong emotions you felt positive or negative.

What caused these feelings? How did you respond to them? In Silence ask God to speak into

the events of the day. What drew you closer to God ?What pulled me away from God? Lord

has a look back towards the circumstances events and persons of my day let me see how you

have loved me and invited me to love you. As I look back over my feelings, thoughts and

actions, let me see whether I have welcomed your Love readily and loved others discerningly.

We often rush through each day, not pausing to reflect. Doing a deep,  honest reflection of the

past day causes us to learn more about ourself and improve our future actions. 

Focus on the moment during the day where you sinned or failed to do good. Allow yourself

to experience sorrow for your sins and failings. Express your sorrow to God and ask

forgiveness. You might find something God is directing you to work on-an emotion, a

relationship that needs mending ,an unpleasant situation. Pray for it and ask God's guidance to

resolve it. 

Start focussing on your breath now. It is a beautiful way to find serenity in the storm. Focus

on your breath has incredible way of bringing us right here in the present moment. It

transports us to here and now . Inhale deeply and feel the cool breeze around you. Relax your

shoulders and let go of any tension through your body. Focus on the rise and fall of your

breath as you inhale and exhale fully. Fill yourself with peace and calm. Feel yourself

centering, balancing and becoming present. 

As we are becoming present, thank God for His creations and the gift of breath in me . Thank

God for being alive. Communicate with the Almighty by breathing on His command.

Inhale… .. Exhale… Inhale… . Exhale… Dear God, I seek forgiveness for the times I have

been wrong . Lord, I m now ready to gently let go of all my blockages to restore my flow and

vitality. Inhale… exhale… take deep breath . Deeply cleansing and healing as it unveils the

light of our souls. Let your breath tell you, I am present, I am here, I m your breath. Feel the

lightness of your body, feel the awareness of your body. 

Prepare yourself and think for the next day .What opportunities will you have to serve God

and love others? Pray that you will be aware of God's presence. Ask for God's grace to use

your reflections from today to grow in holiness tomorrow. Feel deep gratitude knowing that

god has already answer your prayers and tomorrow is already blessed. Take some deep

breaths and know that all is already well. Inhale…..Exhale….

Neelam Chopra

St.Xavier’s Sen.Sec.School

Jaipur,INDIA

                                   Inculcating soft skills in children 

Soft Skills attributes to a well ettiquetted personality.They play a vital role in moulding a child’s character.The most seeked Soft Skills are team working ,collaboration ,turn taking ,problem solving ,decision making and critical thinking. In short, they are the good manners and personality traits needed to get along with others and build positive relationshipsThis article gives an insight in imbibing these skills in our children. 

Childhood is a period of massive development where the brain goes through a lot of transition.This affects the way the child's behaviour and the way they interact with thers.Real events help the kids to share their emotions in the peer group.Precious moments of childhood are when your child makes ladoos and castles with sand.The child gets amazed and runs behind a butterfly ;moments worth capturing . Emotional and Social development There is no other important and amazing responsibility than to help your child grow emotionally and socially

.Emotional and social development provides the foundation for how we feel about ourselves and how we experience others.Group learning plays an important role here.The child initiates learning new experiences.This method is called Cooperative Learning where the child wants to explore and try new things, learns to co-operate in the peer group, participates and shows interest in creative activities, follows instructions and uses self control, shows concern for others. Schools are a place where soft skills are executed and improved continuously, activities after school play a vital role in refining the soft skills but parents and families are where soft skills are observed and learnt . There are many ways in which we can inculcate soft skills in our children. Imbibing at an early age Assign an activity to your child at home ,for example cleaning of a fish tank or playing Ludo at home - allow him to lead the activity, show confidence and trust in his capability , praise and acknowledge the effort of your child.This will definitely foster integrity, communication, courtesy ,problem solving ,responsibility ,flexibility and teamwork in your child.It will also develop leadership qualities and self management. Children are soft clay and they imbibe all that they learn at a very tender age. 

Measure your words before kids ,they learn and imitate the same in school and even at home.Given the challenges our children face as they leave the classroom and enter the professional space, skills like networking, reasoning and conflict management are critical to help them navigate professional challenges and apply the lessons we teach effectively. Hybrid teaching hurdles The new age epidemic, COVID-19, has not only significantly affected on health and family life, but has forced the schools to adapt to new ways of imparting knowledge and soft skills as the entire nation went online during this time.Teachers in the education system are not exempt from this, they are encouraged by the new situation and forced to research and adopt new online tools and techniques in the process of knowledge transferring according to the students of various categories.The transition to distance learning was inevitable, and teachers made many efforts to develop innovative solutions for online teaching that they had not known or practiced enough until now.

Imparting Soft skills via online mode is not a herculean task but differs on how we execute them .For example :- Teaching soft skills in-person We teach our students to raise their hands without interrupting, maintain eye contact as they politely ask questions (of you and of their peers), submit their notebooks on time and with proper spelling and punctuation, etc.

 We teach them not to rock the chair .Thats being disrespectful. We emphasize on the use of Please May I in person . We accompany a lonely child to mingle with friends . Teaching soft skills online Emphasize the importance of “virtual discipline” by maintaining the same expectations as in person , reminding them not to show up on their webcams in pajamas, actively listen (and reflect that action in their body language), etc. Stress the same even in virtual class along with the use of magic words ( thank you ,sorry ,please,excuse me ) taught in class one as part of grooming the personality and character traits .We need to prioritize informal and speaking opportunities for the kids.Regular informal oral speaking opportunities are also valuable.These skills are present around them all the time – when students ask the teacher for help or when they ask a peer for help.By making sure the students are interacting with each other and while maintaining good eye contact, using a friendly tone, speaking confidently, etc., we can help them hone their communication skills. Inculcating soft skills in the children will offer tremendous opportunities for our children to learn and grow .Let us create an atmosphere for their holistic development ,at school ,at home and everywhere .It is a journey of accompaniment .

                                                    The First Day Interaction...Let the saga continue ! 


As I walk in Grade 4 as an English teacher,there are eyes of excitement,there are eyes of wonder and there are eyes of question marks .The new kids in the block are curious to know the new teacher and I was eager to know them.In next five minutes we got talking .

The introduction session began with a thunderous applaud for the most hesitant child in the class .The positive vibes that the kids shared was a perfect example of how it takes to break the ice.
Group activities help the kids to explore their potential.When we show them love and care ,they reciprocate in the same way.They emulate the attitudes that are presented before them so making sure to emphasize the value of education .

My little ones of Grade One walked in the class wanting to occupy the first chair .Mummas and Papas carrying their school bags and water bottles .Some trying to touch the classroom walls to feel the memory of their old school .Some holding hands of their parents and not wanting to leave the finger of their mother . Little do they that their holistic development journey has just begun.The class becomes interactive with music and ,dance and story telling .The kids enjoy music...songs take them to another world where there is fantasy world only .The musical atmosphere makes them comfortable .And soon the dancing ,singing and fun began .
When the school got over there was a spark in their eyes to return the next day.
And the teacher ? Well.......She waits in the classroom everyday to welcome her kids with a smile .

" Kalanjali ".... A Cultural Fest

Kalanjali ...a Cultural Fest of classes one and two was held on 8th Feb 2018 in front of an awesome gathering  of over two thousand people .The Chief Guest for the evening was Rev.Fr.Varkey Perekatt, SJ and the Guest of Honour was Rev.Fr.Mani SJ .Among the special invitees were Rev .Fr.John Ravi SJ , Principal of St.Xavier's School Nevta .

The students of Class 1 C  presented a Qawalli titled "Daasta-e-Bachpan ".The students were dressed in their ethnic best, it set the mood for the celebrations. The tone of decorations was very festive too .Here is the video of the Qawalli performed by the students of class 1 C. 

Earth Day Celebrations in I C 24th April 2017

Training the new kids of 4 C