CHINMAYA VIDYALAYA
Virugambakkam
ARCHIVE 2022-23
School celebrated its Golden Jubilee on Sunday 29th January 2023 at YMCA, Royapettah, Chennai. Thiru. R. N. Ravi, Hon'ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, was the Chief Guest and delivered a very inspiring address on the occasion. Hon'ble Governor also gave prizes to CBSE Board toppers of 2021-22 and mementos to teachers with meritorious and long service. Dr.S.P.Thiagarajan. Former Vice Chancellor, Madras University, Chancellor, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science & Higher Education for Women, Chairman, Chinmaya Vidyalayas Chennai, delivered the Presidential Address and H.H.Swami Mitranandaji, Spiritual Mentor, Chinmaya Mission, Chennai delivered the Benedictory address. Children enthusiastically participated in a colourful, enthralling cultural events and the event ended with a grand display where the audience were taken down the memory lane of school achievements in the past decade.
View Images...
View Media Articles...
April 17th 2022 saw a much-awaited event, the Launch of ‘Bharathiya History – Textual and Actual’ textbooks on Indian History, a collaboration initiated by Vidya Bharathi and Chinmaya Mission Chennai. The festivity began with an introduction on how Our Pujya Swami Mitranandaji, Advisor of the All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra (AICHYK)
ignited the spark of rewriting Bharatiya History as it is, for the future generations to understand Bharat better and fill them with pride. The panel discussion. ‘History – Factual, Actual, Textual’ which followed provided a new perspective and threw light on the real story which was never told all these years. The panel discussion was an eye-opener glorifying facts about our country's history which are not found in history books.
View Images...
Chinmaya Alumni App was launched on 26th October 2022 at Chinmaya Heritage Centre by Sri.Viswanath.B (alumnus of Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Taylors Road), Head Engineering, Delphi TVS, Chennai, in the august presence of H.H.Swami Mitranandaji, Chinmaya Mission, Chennai and Shri O.V.Nambiar, Zonal Director, Chinmaya Educational Institutions
View Images...
Navaratri was celebrated by Kindergarten tinytots dressing up as Gods and Goddesses to present a Live Golu.
The topic was the Seven Kandas of Ramayana.
View Images...
On the occasion of Chinmaya Golden Jubilee Celebrations of our Vidyalaya, Chinmaya Kalvi Payilakam, a free coaching centre for underprivileged students of classes I to III was inaugurated on wednesday, 5th October at Chinmaya Public Library. HH Swami Mitranandaji, Chinmaya Mission, Chennai inaugurated the centre and conferred his blessings. Shri.O.V.Nambiar, Zonal Director, Chinmaya Educational Institutions and Shri.C.Sathyamoorthy, Director, Chinmaya Vidyalayas, Chennai also graced the function.
View Images...
To instil the values of our Indian culture and tradition in the minds of our younger generation and make them understand the importance of following it, we have been organising Golu on different themes every year. The theme of this year’s Golu is themed on Bhagavad Gita and Thirukkural.
View Images...
On 24th September Chief Minister MK Stalin launched ‘Tamil Parappurai Kazhagam (TPK),’ an initiative with an aim to teach Tamil language to non-resident Tamils living around the globe. Under the initiative, to be implemented by Tamil Virtual Academy, Tamil Sangam centers functioning in various countries will make arrangements for teaching Tamil to non-resident Tamils. Non-resident Tamils from various countries received Tamil textbooks translated into 24 languages from the CM at the event. Mrs. Chitrakala, HOD, Tamil Department, was part of the curriculum development team.
View Images...
World Heart Foundation in collaboration with the WHO established World Heart Day which is observed and celebrated annually on September 29, with the aim of increasing awareness of cardiovascular diseases and how to control them to negate their global impact. Dr. Mahadevan addressed the teachers on 23rd September regarding heart attack, strokes and other CVD. He explained the importance of exercise, a balanced diet and managing cholesterol levels. It was an interactive session with teachers raising their doubts regarding heartcare and the doctor clarifying them with elaborate explanations.
View Images...
Annual Sports Day was celebrated on 6 September at SDAT Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Mr.K.Periaiah(IPS) graced the occasion as Chief Guest and received the NCC Guard of Honour. Many events were conducted for students divided into four categories namely Sub-Juniors, Juniors, Seniors and Super Seniors. Children participated in the events enthusiastically. Chief guest, Ms. Rosymeena Paulraj shared valuable inputs for a successful future with the over-enthusiastic students.
View Images...
The investiture ceremony for the year 2022-23 was held on 3rd September where the newly elected office bearers were sworn to power.
Mr. Nagarajan, the correspondent of our Vidyalaya was the chief guest for the day. The programme started with the invocation song.
The newly elected office bearers were sworn in during the badge ceremony, by Our Correspondent Sir. The leaders received their badges with enthusiasm. The School pupil leader for girls, Anjana Venugopalan and the assistant school pupil leader for boys, Sandeep Ramani took the oath which was repeated by all the office bearers which was followed by the acceptance speech given by Sri Vaishnavi, the assistant school pupil leader, girls.
The event was also graced by the special guest of the day, Mrs. Sayee Bhuvaneshwari, a renowned entrepreneur, transformation coach and psychologist. She addressed the crowd on ‘LEADERSHIP’ and the characteristics of a good leader.
View Images...
On the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi, various activities were conducted in the school premises on 18.08.22.
Baby Krishna was placed in a cradle in the Auditorium. Students chanted Krishnashtakam and Mathurashtakam and rendered Bhajans. The main highlight of the programme was the dance performance by the students of primary classes. Puja was conducted and Arati was performed.
A food mela was held by the students of classes 7 and 8. Students brought homemade food and sold it to other students for a nominal cost. The amount collected was given to the charity.
Classes 4 to 12 decorated their classrooms and performed puja for the Krishna idol brought by them.
Students of KG and primary came in blue colour traditional attire.
View Images...
Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated with great pomp and show in our school on 30.08.2022. A grand puja was performed in the Selva Ganapathi temple in the school premises.
Students of classes 1 and 2 coloured pictures of Ganesha and sang Bhajans. Students of class 3 made Ganesha-themed bookmarks. They also wrote a quality of Ganesha that they liked most on the bookmark.
Class 4 students designed umbrellas for Ganesha and class 5 students made Ganesha masks with colorful paper. Class 6 students modeled images of Ganesha with eco-friendly materials and performed puja in their respective classrooms.
Students of classes 7 and 8 performed Vinayaka puja by following the Puja Vidhi in the school auditorium. Students chanted Ganesha pancharathnam and rendered Bhajans.
Classes 9 and 10 made posters depicting the various symbolisms present in the image of Ganesha. Class 11 and 12 students carried a Ganesha idol on a decorated palanquin (Urvalam) around the school raising slogans like ‘’Ganpathy Bappa Morya’’.
Students and teachers alike participated in the celebrations and offered their due respects, prayers and offerings to the deity.
View Images...
The students of Class 10 were asked to prepare an album of the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu as part of the Hindi classroom activity. The same was conducted in the month of August as a group activity comprising five members. They came up with colourful and exquisite drawings along with short notes on each avatar. The students developed a keen interest in Hindu epics and other mythological stories. They exhibited exemplary drawing skills.
Balsevak students prepared paper bags during their work experience periods under the guidance of craft teacher Mrs. Usha Govindarajan in the month of Aug. Each student prepared 100 paper bags and donated the same to nearby shops. The shop owners were very eager to accept them. They expressed their gratitude to the children.
View Images...
The Chinmaya Balsevak students of classes VII and VIII organized a ‘Food Mela’ on 17th and 18th August ’22 in our Vidyalaya. The students as well as the teachers displayed great zeal and enthusiasm in setting up stalls for the Mela. Children from all the classes made a bee-line to purchase the goodies sold by their friends. Mouth-watering eatables and juices were sold by the students.
View Images...
Students of class IV made a collage of human body using food wrappers (chips, biscuits) on 25th August. They also tabulated the nutrients of each product. Students perceived packed food items as a comfortable alternative to handle hunger in-between meals. At the same time they accepted and appreciated the benefits of eating healthy homemade food as opposed to eating packed food. They concluded that homemade food is in greater compliance with guidelines for a healthy diet than fast food.
View Images...
Chinmun, organized by our school between August 25 -August 27 was a grand success. The MUN was inaugurated by K.S. Sripathi I.A.S( Retd), who addressed the students by sharing his interesting world views and even answered questions posed by the students. The MUN had 9 committees namely: United nations security council(UNSC), World health organizations(WHO), Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), European Union(EU), United Nations Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC), World trade organization(WTO), United nations human rights council(UNHRC), International press conference(IPC), United nations environment program(UNEP). Schools from around Chennai like Chettinad Vidyashram, PSBB KKN, PSBB Millennium, Chinmaya Vidyalaya Anna Nagar, attended the MUN.
View Images...
The students of class VII visited the villages in and around Tamaraipakkam on the 22nd and 23rd of August. Under the guidance of CORD volunteers, the students prepared kitchen gardens for the people of Mangalam and valliyur. The students sowed pumpkin, lady’s finger, bottle guard and seeds of other vegetables. They also prepared organic manure for plants using cow dung. After lunch, Students prepared alphabet, fruit and vegetable charts for Aanganwadi schools. They tidied the temple and aanganwadi premises thus demonstrating the importance of cleanliness.
View Images...
Maha Kumbabhishekam of Lord Srinivasa (Sri Hari), Lord Pasupatheeswara (Sri Hara), Devi Bala Tripura Sundari and Lord Ayyappa was performed on 17th June in the presence of H H Swami Mitrananda, Acharya Chinmaya Mission. On the eve of the auspicious ceremony, our balsevak students packed Vibudhi, kumkum and manjal in small packets to be distributed to all devotees who attended the maha kumbabhishekam. They took up the task with dedication and devotion and packed around 3000 packets.
View Images...
The formative activity, “Model the multiplication sentence” was conducted for class VII in the month of June. The blackboard is divided into four parts. Different multiplication sentences are written on the board. Four children are called at random to create the model on the board. The other children would work it on their notebooks simultaneously. Different sets of children would get a chance to work it out on the board. The students found the activity engaging and took part in the same with keen interest. It proved to be a simple and easy method to teach fraction multiplication.
View Images...
Students of class 8 learned the steps to make bio-enzyme that can be used to wash clothes, vessels and clean the floor. During the summer vacations, the students prepared bio-enzyme using citrus peels, jaggery and water and contributed them to the school in June.
The Ambulance Man Badge Camp was held on 25th June 2022 at Chinmaya Vidyalaya Sr Sec School, Anna Nagar. This was the first camp for the scouts and guides after 2 years of the pandemic. 15 of our school Scouts and Guides attended the one-day camp. The camp started off with flag hoisting, prayer song, and flag song. The first session dealt with the Dos and Donts during fire, earthquake, tsunami, flood and other disasters. They got hands-on experience in putting out a fire.
In the second session, they learned the basic first aid skills to handle fractures, snake-bite, suffocation, epilepsy, etc.
The camp stressed the necessity of acquiring these skills. The resource person busted many myths about first aid and disaster management.
View Images...
Trash to treasure activity was conducted for classes 6, 7 and 8 on 24th June. When e-waste is improperly disposed of through illegal recycling or dumping, hazardous chemicals and metals contained in them, such as lead, mercury and cadmium, can be released into the soil, water or air, with the potential to harm our health and the environment. Disposal of e-waste is a challenging task that we face in this digital world. Children came up with innovative and effective solutions to reuse e-waste.
View Images...
Carrying out a random act of kindness with no expectation of reward is Compassion. To instill in students this value Karuna Club was inaugurated on the 23rd of June. The programme began by invoking the blessings of the lord followed by Karuna prayer. Correspondent Shri N. Nagarajan addressed the gathering the welcomed the Chief Guest Shri K.P.G. Reddy, Vice-President Karuna International, Chennai Kendra. An auspicious beginning to this year’s Karuna Club events was the lighting of lamp which was followed by the keynote address by the Chief Guest. A vibrant dance on Karuna theme of kindness and compassion was rendered by our Vidyalaya students. All the students of classes VII and VIII took up the Karuna Pledge to follow the Karuna way of life and propagate the message to all. The programme concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Principal Madam Mrs. P.Vijayalakshmi.
View Images...
Around 100 students of classes 7 and 8 took part in a cycle rally conducted on 22nd June. The main objective of the rally was to create awareness about the segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes. The rally was flagged off by the Principal. She was accompanied by our Vice-Principal. The students carried placards that gave key information regarding the importance of segregation of wastes. The slogans raised by them emphasized how crucial this task was as these wastes could otherwise give rise to several hazards to the environment. The students covered almost 2 km walking through the main streets of Virugambakkam. People came out of their houses to watch the rally. Roadside vendors and passers-by halted to take a look at the placards and listen to the slogans. On the whole, the rally was a huge success.
View Images...
International Yoga day was celebrated on 21st June 2022 under the theme, “Yoga for Humanity”. The Yoga session was held in our auditorium. Students of classes I to X participated in the programme with fervour and zeal.
View Images...
India celebrates National Reading Day to recognize Sri. Panicker’s remarkable contribution to education.
Our Vidyalaya celebrated the same with great zeal and enthusiasm on the 19th of June. The Students of classes 7 and 8 presented a skit during assembly highlighting the significance of reading and the reason behind celebrating this day. They took a pledge to read every day.
View Images...
The Mahakumbabhishekam of the Chinmaya Harihara Temple, Chinmaya Nagar, Virugambakkam was held on 17th June. Thousands of devotees gathered at the premises to witness the sacred ceremony. The temple houses the deities of Sri Vinayaka Peruman, Sri Bala Tripura Sundari sametha Sri Pasupatheeswarar, Sridevi Boodevi sametha Sri Srinivasa Perumal, Sri Ayyappa Swamy and other Gods.
View Images...
A mime was performed on 14th June by the students of class 8 on the topic “Creating awareness on Right to Education and against Child Labour”. The mime stressed that Government social protection systems are essential to fight poverty and vulnerability to eradicate and prevent child labour. It strongly recommended that social protection is both a human right and a potent policy tool to prevent families from resorting to child labour in times of crisis. Classes 6 and 7 designed posters on “ Anti Child Labour – an evil against the innocent” and “ RTE-a right to a bright future”.
View Images...
A blood donation camp was organized on 6th August by the Chinmay Balsevak in association with Lions Club at our school premises. The camp was inaugurated by our school Principal. A team of expert nurses and lab technicians arrived at the auditorium and set the place for blood transfusion. Parents, teachers and alumni attended the camp and donated their blood willingly.
Students of class 9 presented an onstage programme highlighting the importance of blood donation and how the blood is typed. They also stressed on the concept of universal donors and universal recipient blood groups.
View Images...
Chinmaya Computing Club organized Build a website HACKATHON competition on 6th August. 14 teams of 2-3 students participated in this one-day-long event. They made a website on the theme - “Values from the Vedas”. In the first half of the hackathon, children spent time contemplating Gurudev’s teachings and assimilating them within themselves so that they can present them clearly on their websites. In the second half of the hackathon, they went about coding their website and bringing it to life. The websites have been developed for the children by the children. The judges for the event were Mr. Anto and Mr. Winson for the technical side and Mr.Pranav Athreya for the Content. They were very appreciative of the energy and enthusiasm exhibited by the children. The intention to learn, explore and help the society was the theme of their talk. The event came to a nice closure – so true to the purpose of having this – when the judges talked about giving back to the society. They emphasized the need to use our technical expertise for the benefit of the society.
A simple activity of solid shapes was conducted for students of class 2 in the month of July. A collection of solid shapes was kept in a box. The children were asked to pick up an object from the box with closed eyes and identify the shape just by feeling it with both hands. They found the activity very exciting and amusing.
An individual activity was conducted for class III students in the month of July. The students were required to bring animal toys or placards and narrate a story in Tamil. They performed the same as a mono act by imitating all the animal characters in the story. They concluded the story with a moral. The expressions of the kids were enjoyable
View Images...
Poetry writing competition was held for classes 9 & 10 in connection with the CCA activity in the month of July. Around 40 children took part enthusiastically and channelized their thoughts to create beautiful pieces of poetry. The theme for the competition was ‘International Day for Tolerance’. The students showcased quality poems with a deep understanding of the theme and this showed their sensitivity to the social issue. Overall this was a successful competition where children proved their creative and intellectual prowess.
View Images...
“An Introduction to Internet of Things” was very well organized and presented by the Department of EEE, SRM Easwari Engg. College on 23rd July. The students gained hands-on experience in Arduino microcontroller programming. The workshop was headed by a team of resource persons. The team consisted of Mr.Vignesh and Ms. Lydia, Assistant Professors at SRM Easwari Engg. College, Mr. Kothandaraman, an alumnus, Mr. Muthukumar, Ms. Preethi and Mr. Dhinesh, final year students at the college and Mrs. Akash Hari, an alumnus of our school.
View Images...
Speaking skills hold a special place of value in the acquisition of languages. Well-developed communication skills are essential for a child’s academic success and successful future career. A speaking activity was conducted for class III students on 11th July. They were assigned to make a model of a cage with a bird inside it. They had to speak a few lines as well on the differences between the lifestyle, feelings and emotions of a caged bird and a free bird. The students actively participated in the activity and were very much expressive in putting forth their feelings and emotions for a caged bird. It was indeed a productive, enjoyable session for both the students as well for the teacher.
Solo Singing CCA competition was conducted for classes IX & X on 2nd July on ‘classical Singing.’ A preliminary round was conducted from which 20 students were shortlisted for the finals. Three students emerged as winners. Our Alumni students Ms. Atchaya Harini and Ms. Srividya adjudged the Singing Competition. They shared a few useful tips to improvise their singing. The children sang with great enthusiasm and vigor.
In connection with the International Plastic bag free day Chinmaya balsevak students donated cloth bags and held a stall during Area Yagna conducted on the 2nd and 3rd of July. A signature campaign was also conducted to take a pledge to say NO to plastic carry bags. H H Swami Mitrananda, Aacharya, Chinmaya Mission Chennai, signed the pledge chart and appreciated the students for the initiative. 25 bags were sold and the amount was donated to school and the remaining bags were donated to Chinmaya Publications Chennai.
A teacher’s training was held on 10.06.2022. Mrs. Radha, Mr. Sriram and Mr. Anand were the resource persons. Swami Mithranandaji gave an inspiring talk on the reason behind the introduction of the new History books- Radiant, Resilient and Resurgent Bharat. His speech emphasized the need for a drastic change in the pedagogy involved in teaching history as well as the content if we truly want our descendants to have a grasp of their civilization and appreciate its uniqueness. His words struck the chords of patriotism in everyone’s mind. The teachers realized that History should not be taught as a dead record of the past but should be used as a tool to learn from past achievements and failures.
The Chinmaya Vidyalaya Management along with Orient Blackswan organized a workshop for the English teachers of their schools in Chennai on 4th June 2022 at the Virugambakkam premises. The topic of the workshop was Innovative Pedagogy for Experiential Learning in English and framing MCQs and was facilitated by Mrs. Meera Ravishankar.
The Chinmaya Vidyalaya Management along with Orient Blackswan organized a workshop for the English teachers of their schools in Chennai on 4th June 2022 at the Virugambakkam premises. The topic of the workshop was Innovative Pedagogy for Experiential Learning in English and framing MCQs and was facilitated by Mrs. Meera Ravishankar.
Our PujyaGurudev Swami Chinmayananda’s 103rd birthday was celebrated with Ashtothara Namavali of Gurudev with complete dedication. The Puja for the padukas was performed by our Principal Madam Smt. P.Vijayalakshmi and by the faculty of our vidyalaya.
View Images...
VISHWA VASUNDHARA DIWAS (Earth Day) was celebrated in a splendid manner in our school. The celebrations began by chanting the “Bhoomi Gayathri Mantra'' during the assembly. Various activities for classes I TO X were planned based on sustainable goals as suggested by UN like climate action, responsible action, energy conservation, zero hunger etc. All the children took part with great fervor and enthusiasm. This created an awareness among children. The activities of the students were displayed in the class bulletin boards.The students of class IX and X visited the Open House at SRM Institute of science and technology at Ramapuram. Various projects from different fields like chemistry, biotechnology, biochemistry, architecture were demonstrated by the college students. The projects mainly focused on innovation, high-end technology and eco-friendliness.
“0” THE KING NUMBER activity was conducted in the month of April for class VII to enlighten the students on the invention of 0 and its properties. It was performed in the form of a role play, where the students disguised themselves as integers on the number line, with “0” the King, crowned in a special costume. The other students were the audience. The narrator introduced the participants on stage and the properties of 0 were enumerated by the other integers. The students learned about the great Indian Mathematician and Astronomer, Aryabhata, who invented 0 in the 5th century. They also learned about Brahmagupta who developed the symbol for zero and defined its operation.
To enable the students discover their inherent divinity and manifest it. Lord Ganesha, also known as Vighneswara, is considered to be the God of wisdom and the Remover of Obstacles. Well begun is half done. Therefore any good beginning is done with a prayer to Lord Ganesha. To invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesha, a Ganapathi Homam was performed in the school auditorium on 8th April 2022 .The students of classes 10 & 12, teaching and non teaching staff attended the pooja. The chanting of mantras created a divine atmosphere. Prasadam was distributed to all.
