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NOTE ABOUT ROTARY VIDYARAMBAM NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL, NAGAPATTINAM

A DREAM COMES TRUE

From starting off as a Centre to provide educational support, to running a full-fledged English medium school - Vidyarambam has come a long way. The dream of supporting rural children in their education became a concrete reality with the help of Rotary Club International and the Tamil Nadu Government, in the district of Nagapattinam.

NATURE’S FURY:

December 26, 2004 is a day that the people of Nagapattinam will never forget. A devastating tsunami struck coastal Tamil Nadu, and Nagapattinam bore the brunt. More than 7,000 people died, and the destruction left in its wake was immense. Tens of thousands were left homeless, and many families were severely traumatized. Worst of all were the hundreds of children, left orphaned for no fault of theirs. The world responded to the tragedy, sending in men, material and aid, and one among them was the Rotary Club of Madras Central.

SAVIOURS:

The collector of the Nagapattinam District outlined a vision, which was a challenge and an opportunity to help those in dire need. The Rotary accepted the challenge and a housing complex was built. It could house 200-orphaned children, a primary school for the Tsunami affected children and a senior citizens' home.

The Tamil Nadu Government provided the land and the Rotary took up and completed the job of building the complex. Though the school building was ready by July 2006, the Rotary did not succeed in identifying a suitable NGO to establish and run the school until they contacted Vidyarambam.

BLOOMING OF VIDYARAMBAM:

In an agreement signed between the Rotary and Vidyarambam, the Rotary agreed to hand over the building with its fully furnished classrooms and Vidyarambam agreed to fund and run the school. The primary aim was that the orphaned children would be admitted into the school and educated free of cost, to the extent of space and capacity available. Vidyarambam could enroll children from outside charging a very nominal fee.

This agreement encouraged the district administration of Nagapattinam to join the efforts and support the project in the interest of under privileged children. A tripartite agreement was soon signed.

Vidyarambam swung into action and swiftly established the school, naming it "THE ROTARY CENTRAL VIDYARAMBAM NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL".

On June 4, 2008, the Honorable Tamil Nadu Govt. Minister for Dairy Development, Mr. U. Mathivanan, inaugurated the school in the presence of many officials of the district administration and several Rotarians from Chennai and Nagapattinam. The parents of the children admitted in the school witnessed the function with great hopes that their wards would soon be among the best-educated youths of the nation. During the function, the Minister gave bags and books to the children.

Vidyarambam chose to run LKG, UKG, STD 1 and STD 2 to start with and carry it up step-by-step, providing quality education all along. The opening strength was about 108, and when the 5th STD was introduced, they had the full capacity of 250students, now 299 students. Ninety-five percent of the children are from fishermen's families and most of them are first generation learners.

VISION:

• To create a rural school that is highly regarded for its academic excellence, and for its contribution in actively serving and improving the community in which it operates.
• To create an extremely effective school that not only produces very high level of students’ achievement, but also helps train the next generation of rural teachers.
• To keep introducing wide range of resources and methodologies to excite, motivate and challenge the young minds.
• To develop academic, social and spiritual skills in children that would enable them to shape themselves in future as better individuals and as contributing citizens to the country at large.

THE CURRICULAM:

A special curriculum was developed to teach Languages, Arithmetic, Environmental Science, Life Skills, Yoga, Basics of computers, art and Culture and indoor and outdoor games. The library has not only books, but also hundreds of toys and educational games. The successful methodology that Vidyarambam used for educational support in its rural education was replicated in this school too. Recognizing the ability of its own teaching staff, the school was fully manned by Vidyarambam's experienced tutors, drawn from different parts of the State. The aim of Vidyarambam was to coach the children to take up the Matriculation exams in the English medium.

ACADEMIC ENDEAVOUR:

The dream to run a MODEL SCHOOL has become a reality, but Vidyarambam believes that it still has many miles to go...

After the demise of Mr. Ranganathan, founder and President of Vidyarambam, Mr. C.K. Sridhar took up the reigns and spearheaded Vidyarambam along with the support of Smt. Prema Veeraraghavan, the Correspondent of the school.

ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING:

Vidyarambam strives to make the children understand as well as enjoy the learning process which is why it focuses on hands-on learning. Various activities to enrich the learning process include science exhibitions, inter-school fests and environment-awareness tasks. To inculcate a sense of environmental responsibility, students are made to plant trees on their birthdays and nurture them henceforth. They are also sent on nature walks where they observe and enjoy nature in all its grandness. They are also asked to give speeches about their experience to improve their communication skills. ‘Project Day’ is an event conducted to apply the knowledge of students practically.

Fun activities such as Rangoli competitions, Sports fests, and cultural programs are organized keeping in mind the holistic development of students. Moreover, to improve their handwriting, students are encouraged to create patterns on the floor everyday (Rangoli – using naturally created powder). Difficult concepts are explained with the help of audio-visual tools.

Our Rotary Vidyarambam School has been adjudged as the best school in Nagapattinam district. Ms. S. Karthika, Headmistress received the Best school award from the Chief Educational Officer, government officials and ministers. In addition, the district level excellence teacher award was awarded by the government officials and ministers. Our school teachers received that award.

The parent-teacher meeting is held four times a year. Parents enthusiastically visit the school and discuss with the teachers about their children’s academic skills. They also participate in many special events such as Science Day, Math Activity Day, Vana Maha Utsavam, Annual Day, Sports Day etc.

Instead of testing children’s abilities on the basis of regular exams, individual skills are also identified by using several methods to evaluate each child’ s academic learning skills and interest in learning. The interest of the children is stimulated by conducting several action plan days in the school to showcase their talents.

Teaching methods are planned as shown below:

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