Three teachers Ms. Jhumur Ghosh, Ms. Ratri Banerjee and Ms. Bannya Mukherjee left for Sydenham Primary school, Leamington Spa, U.K. on 11th September 2009 for an exchange programme under the aegis of DFID Global School Exchange programme funded by British Council. This was the phase-II of the programme in which both the schools worked on the project related to ‘Water’.

The children of Sydenham Primary School put up a short skit for their Assembly taught by these teachers. There was an excursion arranged for the children and teachers by Sydenham Primary School to Sea Life center to learn about the marine life. The teachers returned to Kolkata on 22nd September 2009 enriched with vigour to implement the new ideas acquired.


The school being the recepient of ISA 2006-2009, has reapplied again for ISA 2009. The application has been approved by The British Council and the work has started.
 

GLOBAL CURRICULUM PROJECT

A group of three teachers from our partner institution of Sydenham Primary School visited Vivekananda Mission School.

Duration Of Visit : 16th February 2009 to 20th February 2009
Teachers visited : 1. Ms. Carla Matthews
           2. Ms. Michelle Barlow
           3. Ms. Katy Longhurst

The aim was to work further on the Water Project and to increase the involvement of the greater school community in the partnership. Thus the students,teachers and parents from Transition to class IV actively participated in this project and worked together to make it a success. The various activities which took place for the week were as follows:-

1.	Scroll Painting	Depiction of stories based on Water
2.	Group Painting	Children worked on the Indian version of the famous painting ‘Umbrella’ by Renoir, the famous French artist.
3.	Pepsico Visit	Visited Pepsico India Ltd. To see and learn about water conservation, Recycling and the use of water.
4.	IIMS Campus Visit	Visited the IIMS Campus to study a local water body and its Flora& fauna.
5.	Exhibition	Exhibition of Children’s work on water. Parent’s involvement in the childrens’ work for the project was ensured. A larger community was involved and the students were highly motivated.
6.	Stories on Water	Various short stories on water from Africa, SouthAmerica, Russia and China were narrated to the children. Objective - Adding a Global Dimension to the curriculum.
7.	Kalia Daman	A dance drama Kalia Daman was performed. The objective was to connect mythological stories to the present context.
8.	Botanical Garden	Visited the botanical gardens

Objectives Fulfilled:-

• The Global nature of the project created a cross-curriculum approach.
• All areas of the curriculum were thoroughly covered at different stages and times.
• A greater number of students, teachers, parents were involved.
• The great strength of the Project is the ability to bring together teachers, students and organizations from different parts of the world through exchanges, visits and emails.

School Exchange programme with Macleans College Aucland, NEWZEALAND

Mr Steve Lewis and Mr Dave Norris, senior teachers of Macleans College, Auckland, New Zealand had paid a visit to Vivekananda Mission School, Joka from 3rd November 2008 to 11th November 2008 in order to strike a common chord between the education system prevailing here and there. It has taken the VMS family one step closer to the conceptualization of the ‘global family’ work plan.

The teachers interacted with different sections of VMS faculty at different levels. They gave us a feedback of how they conduct their academic courses and co-curricular activities. Our teachers helped them have a clear idea about the working conditions prevailing in the Indian Educational scenario.

On 10th Nov’08 they visited the Ajanta slum and interacted with the students and parents. They were so touched and moved by the way Vivekananda Education Society, Kolkata has come up to help these needy children that they have been kind enough to sponsor the education of eight children from the slum for holistic development.

This exchange programme has opened up new vistas for Vivekananda Mission School and we can proudly say that we are truly global.
 

Global Curriculum Project

Vivekananda Mission School, Kolkata, India and its partner, Sydenham Primary School, (Leamington Spa, UK ) had jointly applied for the Global Curriculum Project. The aim is to build upon the foundations already established through initial contact and reciprocal visits. The grant was issued by the British Council.Thus the Principal of Vivekananda Mission School, Ms Keya Sinha and the Project Co-ordinator Ms Anindita Dey visited Sydenham Primary School, UK to work on the ‘Water Project’ and to make the ‘BANDHAN’( The Bond ) stronger.

Date of Visit: 26th September 2008 to 5th October 2008

Children have already shared information about their Countries

VMS on Global Mission

In June 2008, Vanita Basu, in-charge of the Lower Primary Section and Sabari Ghosh, co-ordinator, visited a few primary and infant schools and play houses in Coventry, U.K. They took the opportunity to exchange notes, learn new techniques and concepts to enrich themselves. They also acquired first hand knowledge of infrastructural facilities, classroom decorations, etc.


Vivekananda Mission School, Kolkata & Macleans College, Auckland, New Zealand have recently signed a protocol on long term partnership:

•  Macleans College will support comprehensive education & living cost of the children of the Community School anchored by Vivekananda Mission School under its Community action programme.

•  Reciprocal Exchange Programme for students & teachers with thrust on bilateral education development programmes.

•  Cultural, sports & social interaction also will feature in this project.
.

The Principal of VMS Sister Keya Sinha along with Sister Anindita Dey visited Sydenham Primary School Leamington Spa, U.K. in September 2007 to complete the Global School Project in accordance with the Reciprocal Visit Grants terms. The visit was a major step towards a better understanding of future projects and work and towards experiencing the real context of the partner schools.

The ‘BOND’ was strengthened as the partners jointly applied for the Global Curriculum Project Grants. They discussed to focus on the topic ‘Water’ in order to get the students in both the schools thinking about the warp to deal with the scarcity of this precious resource.

So far the partnership has generated three major learning outcomes:-

• Enabled teachers and students to re-evaluate the educational approaches and develop mutually complementarily curricular projects by learning from their partner schools.

• Encouraged students to gather & exchange information on a variety of global issues.

• Acquired in depth knowledge about the Socio-economic and educational systems of the partners’ countries. Thus we have learnt to appreciate the similarities and value the diversities.

VISIT OF Ms. SHIRLEY HEATH

Ms. Shirley Heath, Head Teacher of Three Spires School in Coventry, UK is currently visiting our school on an invitation. During her stay in the school from 23.07.07 to 10.08.07 she will be helping the teachers to develop innovative teaching methods and learning skills which will improvise teaching in a Class Room setup in the Pre-primary and Primary sections of the School. Shirley has special training and a vast experience in handling children having moderate to severe learning disabilities. Methods and techniques used by her are expected to augment the imaginative faculty and communication skills of the children belonging to 3+ to 9+ age group. She is meeting Parents at Interactive Sessions dealing with slow learning children and will be conducting a session of Emotionally Intelligent Parenting on ‘Laws of Communication —a guide to effective Parenting’ in the school.

Mr. Richard Thornton, Principal Manuwera High School, New Zealand along with Mrs Suzane Thornton visited Vivekananda Mission School on 9th May 2007 to explore the possibilities of tying up various exchange programmes in the field of education.

Global School Project – Bandhan, A Special Bond
Partners – Vivekananda Mission School
and
Sydenham Primary School

The teachers of V.M.S. primary have tied up with the teachers of Sydenham Primary School, Leamington Spa, under the G.S.P. programme conducted by the British Council. Carla Mathew, Deputy head and Emma Place, co-ordinator year III, IV of Sydenham Primary School visited V.M.S. in the 1st week of April. They worked together with the teachers of V.M.S. primary to generate ideas which when implemented will add a global dimension to the set curriculum. The project is named BANDHAN – A SPECIAL BOND.

It aims at
v Developing a global curriculum with special emphasis on life skills.
v Providing opportunities to schools to jointly explore issues of international concern.
v Celebrating diversity and building community participation in learning and teaching experiences.
v Lightening school bags by minimizing the burden of textbooks.
v Introducing e-learning in classrooms

Mr. Byron Bentley’s visit to V.M.S.

Mr. Byron Bentley, Principal, Macleans College, Auckland, New Zealand on his good will mission to India, visited Kolkata between 6th – 13th April, 2007 on an invitation extended to him by our founder Mr. C.G.Chandra. A meeting was held between Mr. Byron Bentley, and a team of teachers and Administrators of V.M.S, Kolkata and Vivekananda Education Society led by Shri C.G.Chandra, Secretary and Chief Executive on April 9,2007 at V.M.S. The purpose of his visit is to explore the possibilities of collaboration, cooperation & partnership between the two institutions, each of which is distinguished & contributes meaningfully to the progress & development of secondary education in its own country.
At the end of the visit, it was agreed that there is enough scope to widen the contact between the two schools to facilitate establishment of full scale partnership over a period of years.

Special focused areas:
v Exchange programs for students & teachers
v E-learning
v Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO)
v Environmental Conversation (specially global warming)