“I want to be just like a Didi and teach at Akanksha.”- Pinky

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, Holy Name 2 kids are Superstars”


 


Team: HN 2
Teachers: Hetal didi and Krupa didi
Education Co-ordinator: Anjali Didi
Social Worker: Dheeraj Bahiya
Volunteers: Nidhi, Michelle, Preeti, Anandita, Sameeha, and Stephanie Didis
Helper: Archana didi
Sponsor: Ad Astra Trust

Our Goals for the children:
  1. We want our kids to be thinking and responsible individuals.
  2. We want our kids to speak in correct and fluent English.
  3. We want our kids to be sensitive and empathetic people.

Some of what we are learning:

  1. Blend words
  2. Grammar rules
  3. Comprehension
  4. In math, estimation, multiplication and a lot of mental math
  5. To ‘think’

Our Children say:

“We learn English, math and values. We learn to read, write, do worksheets and speak in English, concepts and colours. We learn ‘a’, ‘o’ ‘I’ ‘u’ ‘e’ family words like cat, log, bin, hug, web, etc. We learn reading. We learn to use Stern blocks, putting things in order. We play new and different games, we learn new songs, and we like to hear new stories. We learn to follow rules like sitting nicely, not hitting others, etc.”

Our Favorite Thinking Questions are:

1. What gift would you like to give your mother on her birthday?
‘I want to get a cook for my mother so that she gets help in the kitchen’ Rachna
‘I want to get a car for my mother so that she does not have to walk too much.’ Sunita

2. Suppose you get 2 gifts for your birthday. One is a big decorated box and the other is a small one. Which one will you open first and why/ what would be inside each box?
‘I will open the big box first as there would be a TV in it and the small one will have a remote.’ Rajkumar, 11 yrs old
‘I will open the small one as there will be a letter from the village sent by my best friend. Then I will open the big one to see the surprise she has sent me.’ Gayatri, 11 yrs old


Programs and Special Events:

Our children participate in:

  1. Art Class
  2. Sports Day
  3. Dance




Hameet Kazin Sheikh, 8

 


Hameet Kazin Sheikh, 8, goes to Colaba Municipal School and is in class 3. He goes to Holy Name 2 center and is at level 3.

Hameet lives in the Cuffe Parade community. He lives with his parents and younger brother. His father is a TV mechanic.

Hetal Didi says he is a very bright, happy and confident student. He knows a lot and seems to be very aware of things around him. In terms of values, he is very competitive. Given a goal, he takes all the steps towards achieving it. He is the kind of person who “captures the stage”. He confidently talks in front of 50 parents. Didi says he has a good memory too, as he is excellent at making connections. Sometimes, though, he is a little mischievous!

Hameet prefers going to Akanksha to his formal school because at Akanksha “we do drawing and party.” Akanksha is more fun and they are always doing fun things that make him go back. One of the interesting things that his center does is drama as an activity. The children go outside, practice and perform plays during class time. He remembers the drama they did about pigs and enjoyed it very much. He also had a great time at Sports Day. His proudest moment was when he won two medals on Sports day. There was one red and one blue ribbon, which he proudly took home to show his mother. Hameet admits that Jiten and him do a lot of mischief in class. He used to say a lot bad words also. But now after being in Akanksha for a while, he listens to Didi and has changed his behaviour as well as attitude. Hameet wants to be like his father and work with television mechanics. He watches a lot of television at home.
Pinky Pillai, 6


Pinky Pillai, 6, goes to Colaba Municipal School and is in class two. She attends the Holy Name 2 center and has been with Akanksha for a year.

Pinky lives in the Cuffe Parade community. She lives with her parents and her four sisters. Her younger sister also goes to Akanksha.

Krupa didi says that initially Pinky was very quiet and would not answer questions. There has been a lot of improvement in her. She now answers questions voluntarily and even if it is wrong she makes an attempt to answer. She has a good amount of confidence now. She is also very well behaved and never caused any mischief.

Pinky remembers a day at Akanksha when Didi had taken them out to see a cartoon. She had a lot of fun that day. One time they had to cut out articles from newspaper and copy it out. She found it difficult to do at first. Then she understood how to do it and hers was the best. Didi praised it and she was extremely proud that day. Sometimes when her older sister has to go to buy fruit and vegetables, she helps out and sweeps the floor. She feels proud whenever she helps out in household chores. When asked what she likes best about Akanksha, Pinky says she likes “writing.” She knows English after coming to Akanksha. Pinky wants to be a teacher when she grows up.