In general, play is a developmental task, a process of exploring and experiencing the world. Children confront situations that stimulate real life when they play and by enacting them they acquire the abilities necessary to master these situations. Play helps to prepare children for a world that belongs to adults, as well as to learn, many fundamental life skills.
The values of play:
Recent research has shown that play is childhood stimulates the brain and the body and that it is the best resource to make learning easier. Imagination and creativity are the skills that benefit the most from play. Apart from the intellectual aspect, a child’s social, emotional and physical potential can be developed also. It is thus an indispensable activity for a child’s integral development.The reality is that a quantity of toys will never trump quality. Focus on a few toys that will challenge development.For sustaining interest in toys it is important to rotate their availability, so as to avoid your child from getting bored with one particular toy. Toys are one of the most important tools in play. The child’s age can be
a guide in choosing a toy. The purpose of educational toys is to give children greater learning opportunities.The value of toys is that children learn better through interesting and challenging activities, which are not too complicated and difficult. When a child performs a new activity successfully, they feel motivated to do it again or a more complicated version, hence learning new skills. Children need a variety of toys to stimulate all their senses. Some of the toys should offer specific features that can be touched, observed and analysed, in order to understand concepts like fast & slow, light & heavy, thin & fat. In this way, children will
base their learning on experience and adult explanation.
Opportunity to play in different environment is also very enriching.
One should hence provide your child with certain toys for outdoor activities. Playing outdoors allows a child to stretch themselves
physically which they cannot do indoors. Outdoors they can run
around unhindered and develop strength and fitness in kicking or
hitting a ball or climbing. It is important for children to play outside whenever possible.
“ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY.”
Parenting –The Way It Should Be!
Mrs. Villoo Parikh,Head of Preschool
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Hard times, today have become a part of our lives, be it adults or children. Parenting today has become a totally new and difficult job for reasons no one can explain.As parents, we have begun to expect our children to perform miracles at every stage of life, be it studies or extracurricular
activities.In this fast moving
world, where most of the parents are working, they give less and less time to their
children, but expect that their child performs in academics and other fields.Generally it so
happens, due to shortage of time, parents
bribe their children with goodies, if they get a good grade
in school, little thinking that they are imbibing wrong values in the child’s minds. We complain about corruption in the society, but see corruption has begun at home. This is a wrong practice, which is rampant in today’s world.Parents for a certain reason want their child to be a jack of all because there is so much competition everywhere. They continuously compare their child’s likes, dislikes,
strength, weaknesses with either their friends, classmates etc.Aren’t we putting a lot of stress on them? They are doing so many things in such a short time.
Television and mobiles have taken the place of open
gardens and outdoor play. Who is responsible for this? I think we
all know the answer but somehow ignore and avoid it.A humble request to one and all please let the child remain a child and enjoy his/her childhood.
Some tips: (1) Give quality time to your child.(2) Have a healthy conversation.(3) Motivate them at every stage of life.(4) Encourage them to play outdoor games.
These are just small things, which can help the child to become independent and a strong individual.A lovely saying by Shri Rajesh Reddy…Mere dil ke ek kone main masoom sa ek bachchhaDekhkar bado ki duniya, Bada hone se darta hai.
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Parenting –The Way It Should Be!
Mrs. hina Desai,Teacher – Preschool
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Mrs. G.ViJayalakshMi,Teacher – Secondary School
MUSE OVER THESE AMUSING WORDS…..
SNIGLETS are words that exist but do not appear in a dictionary. Here are some amusing sniglets that are universally accepted as words:
ZIZZEBOTS- The mark on the bridge of one’s nose visible when glasses are removed.ABRACADABBLER-An amateur magician.BALOOZA-Something that’s not true.CARBAGE-The trash found in your carQUIZZLE- A common phrase represented by a picture BOVILEXIA- the uncontrollable urge to lean out the window and yell “Moo” when driving past a herd of cowsTREEWARE-Documents made out of paper as opposed to electronic documentsGLEEMAIL- Inspirational mails forwarded to you by a friendGLEEMULE-One unit of toothpaste measured from bristle to bristleFLOPCORN-The unpopped corn kernels at the bottom of the cooker
Career Guides
Seminars on higher studies were held for students of Class 12. The students were guided about various branches of higher education post school. They were told about unconventional choices too.
SCHOOL EVENTS
HUSTLE-BUSTLEMrs. DeePa heMnani
Academic Coordinator
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MUSE OVER THESE AMUSING WORDS…..
GANDHI JAYANTI CELEBRATION
In order to pay respect to the ‘Father of our Nation’, a gamut of activities were conducted in the school, in accordance with CBSE directive. Starting from 25th September the school observed Swach Vidyalaya Campaign. The junior classes took a pledge on cleanliness. The children ensured that the classrooms remained clean. Competitions were held to make the drive exciting and the rally slogans outside the school were sure to reverberate long after the period. Recognitions were given to Cleanest Class. The students were also involved in songs and bhajans to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. Also students presented skit to bring out essence of being clean. One more important principle given by Gandhiji was touched in the form of Debate: NON-VIOLENCE. The students confidently on the topic ‘Global Violence: Are we civilised or not?’ As this generation has come across global violence in a major way and they realise the need for non-violence now more than ever before, they spoke about World Peace.
UNITY DAY
Udgam School has always shouldered the responsibility for social causes, so not missing a chance, in spite of the ongoing Diwali break, 25 enthusiastic students participated actively in Unity Day celebration on 31st October and also held activities in school on 7th November for the school students to create the essence of being United. The activities included Poster Making, Run for Unity, Pledge etc.
NAVRATRI CELEBRATION
India is a country of Festivals, and Gujarat is a state of celebration of Festivals, so students of Primary and Preprimary section had a chance to come to school
dressed in Traditional outfit and dance to the tunes of Garba with their friends and beloved teachers.
CHILDREN’S DAY
If September is for Teachers, November is for Children. To make Children’s Day
a special one, teachers planned several surprise activities which left the children
overwhelmed and happy.
Mrs. DeePa heMnaniAcademic Coordinator
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TRAFFIC AWARENESS
Traffic awareness was held in the school right from Preschool section to higher secondary. All the age groups were involved in the campaign in unique way. On one hand preprimary children were taken to Traffic Park simultaneously secondary section students make PPTs and presented before Junior classes. One age group went on roads to create awareness among general public. All learned many unknown facts about the Traffic rules and also spread the same to the public.
CRYPTIC CROSSWORD COMPETITION BY CBSE
A team consisting Shriraj Gandhi of Class 12 and Arnav Buch of Class X won the City level round organised by CBSE to enter the National Level to be held in Delhi in December.
FESTIVALS GALORE
To imbibe the diversity of India among the children of Class 2, Festivals Galore was organized, wherein children were divided into groups and were taught about different festivals and their customs thereon. After gaining knowledge about the same children presented and staged it with dances and unique food of that region and festival.
PLASTIC WASTE RECYCLING AWARENESS
Gujarat State Plastic Manufactures Association (GSPMA) conducted a Plastic Waste Management Workshop in
Udgam School as a part of the Recycling Week campaign. The resource person created awareness through short films and presentations in a highly interactive session.
There is a need to motivate students to value plastic waste as a resource material and not as something
unwanted, ugly & useless. This will promote separation of dry waste at source, careful disposal and litter free
campuses ultimately leading to a cleaner & healthier environment.
CLASS EVENTS
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SANDWICH MAKING
Classes 3, 4 & 5 enjoyed making Sandwich with their group of friends, they brought interesting ingredients from home and assembled all the things to make delicious, healthy, hygienic and presentable sandwiches which they relished with their friends and teachers during the break.
SALAD MAKING FOR CLASS 3
A healthy salad making activity was conducted in Class 3. Children brought a variety of fruits and vegetables from their homes. Teachers helped them to prepare yummy tasting salads.Children discovered that boring looking green vegetables can be consumed as salads by mixing it with other vegetables and promised to make and eat salads regularly.
SWEET DAY
Sweet Day was celebrated in Class 4 as a part of Diwali celebrations. Children brought a variety of
homemade sweets and savouries which they happily munched and shared with their classmates.
CLASS 8
‘ Boring’ is the word used usually for ‘History’. But this is not true for Class 8, as the topic of Coming of Europeans to India was taught through a unique ‘Comic Strip Mode’. Students chose an event from the above topic, gathered information from the Internet , worked in pairs and the result was unimaginable. Students became the comic strip creators and depicted the event chosen in the comic form and gained knowledge about the event and the topic was easily understood by the students.
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PRESCHOOL
Nursery Class went on a Farm Visit to witness the rare collection of birds like Ostrich, Turkey, Emu, etc. Fishes greeted the kids and students enjoyed the visit to the fullest. Green Day was celebrated in Playgroup of Preschool. Children wore green and played with green. Through a variety of fun and learning activities they were introduced to the concept of green colour. They were encouraged to water plants, wash and play with green veggies and thread beads that were green in colour to enjoy the vibrancy of the colour of nature.Children of Preschool were actively involved in the Traffic Awareness drive too. They also had a gala Children’s Day celebration.
PRESCHOOL IN ACTION
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MEDIA BUZZ
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MY TRIP TO IMAGICA
The Family of Rabbits
neerJa BhattClass 2 C
Priya shahClass 5 G
I had an exciting trip to Imagica in October. I went with my family and friends. There were 17 of us. There were so many thrill rides like Nitro, Scream machine, Gold Rush, D2 etc. I went for Gold Rush –the big roller coaster ride twice, which I think was the best!Another ride which I liked was Mr. India, in which the famous characters of Anil Kapoor, Sri Devi, and Calendar, take us through the simulated car ride of Imagica, and saving the children from the villain, Mogambo!Rajasauras was another thrilling ride in which we ride a boat, get attached by dinosaurs and eventually have a roller coaster ride in the water!Last, but not the least, the Princess Castle, The Cinderella Shoe, and the Imagica parade in the evening made the place very lively.We spent almost 11 hours having fun at Imagica and stayed there till 9 p.m, until the wonderland closed. In the evening lightings Imagica seemed like a dream world, the world from which I never want to come out. While coming out of the gates, we could only remind ourselves of the Imagica song which goes as follows:Imagica Imagica
Yeh to hai apna imagination,Yehi pe crazy ho jayega,Yeh to hai family fun ka destination,Yehi pe masti me time ud jayega,Imagica …. Yae yae ya Imagica Yae yae ya ,Imagica its truly magical!
I would definitely recommend a trip to Imagica, and would love to visit again!
Once upon a time in a beautiful jungle there lived a family of rabbits. The mother’s name was Snowbell, the brother was Jack and the sister was called Snowy. One sunny morning the three went in search of a juicy green patch of grass. In no time they found the perfect patch of green wholesome grass. They tucked into the succulent food. While they were eating a tiger came near the patch. As we all know rabbits are afraid of tigers and the three bolted as soon as the tiger. They saw Pinky, the elephant across the river, and shouted to her for help. She stretched her long trunk across the narrow river. The rabbits hopped on to her trunk and then climbed on to her back. Pinky splashed some muddy water on the tiger and the tiger ran away.
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Sweet Sister
THE ANONYMOUS
rushil ChaDhaClass 7 F
A sister is the one, who fills your life with thrills.But sometimes due to her, you eat bitter pills.
If she’s is elder then all’s well and good,Shell give new toys and make tasty food.
But go to her only when she’s in a good moodOtherwise in anger, she’ll always be rude.
However, things are different if she’s smallShe’ll beat you by kicking and slapping you, in spite of you being tall.
So, if you have a naughty little sister, I can imagine the stress given to you.Don’t worry friend, I have one in my house too.
“We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.” I’m sure the above lines look a bit strange to you. But these are not just any lines. These are the lines of revolution, according to Anonymous, a hacktivist group which has gained quite some attention in the past few years. Anonymous does not work under a leader or anything of that sort, it is a group of hackers who are against censorship of the internet and the breach of privacy done by the national intelligence agencies.Anonymous is believed to have started on the image sharing website 4chan, starting initially as a group of “trollers”, or people who make jokes out of other people for entertainment. Slowly they started to grow in number and started to shift towards social issues. In 2008, they launched their first hacktivism operation, “Operation Chanology” against The Church of Scientology after the church issued an infringement letter against a 4chan member for leaking Tom Cruise’s video about the religion. The group responded by launching multiple
attacks on the church’s server. The video they uploaded gained thousands of views.Anonymous members, called “Anons” usually wear Guy Fawkes masks and are known to keep their identities secret. They have been labelled as “freedom fighters” and “digital Robin Hoods” by many people. In 2012, they were voted by Time magazine as one of the “100 most influential” people on the earth.
Anonymous, until now have carries out hundreds of movements against various governments and organizations like PayPal, Sony, Visa, MasterCard and also the FBI. The
group has also attacked the Tunisian government and the Uganda government too, making a political statement about government surveillance and censorship.They have carried out not only hacks but also protests in public. Thousands of people wear the Guy Fawkes masks and have carried out movements opposing certain policies and rules of the organisations.Governments have taken various steps to shut down this radical group but have not been able to fully shut down the organization. Thousands of hackers have been detained but the organization is still functional. Their activities have reduced to quite an extent, but it won’t be a surprise if they strike again anytime soon.Such organizations have shown time and again what common people can do to voice their opinions.
Dheer PatelClass 10 C
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PAUCITY OF TIME
ELEMENTS OF ELOQUENCE
On 27th August 2014, going through the daily newspaper, reading about issues like the new party-in-power’s plans and committees, the exciting US Open results, Business and Economy, the soaring Forex and Sensex values, I stopped.....with my whole heart and soul at a corner and realised that something of much colossal significance has been belittled by our country. The news read, “Stalked and harassed Rohtak teens and lives, and American dream”. My heart pounced but I managed to keep it to my wits..!! Both the girls, Madhu and Nikita shared a dream: a life in America, a world free from Rohtak. The two teens were being harassed and followed by young men. The lewd remarks, their atrocities knew no bounds when these tormentors troubled and stalked them incessantly. The two girls were working hard to fulfill their and their families’ dream of making to the United States of America. People often question that such incidents take place in the country time and out and the conditions will certainly not improve so what’s the point of such news?But its important to bring light to such
cases as these form the substantial component of our “wrecking” society! Is it really worth making big international deals, or attending huge conferences, or the striking down of the collegium system, or the formation of the new party’s parliamentary board, or other such political operations, when the country is not able to protect two innocent girls from three “stray dogs”!!.With due respect to the
prestigious Constitution of our country, when our constitution provides every citizen to reside in any part of the country with assurance and refuge, then why the two girls were deprived from this right?? Our homeland has failed to provide its daughters a shelter, a
shelter where they can live with safety, security and care, where the society doesn’t question their character for being harassed.None of us is familiar with their day to day brutalities and so we are no one to judge their “call of action”.Even after so many heinous crimes taking place in the country and the never ending court procedures and hearings, we are always back to square one! It’s time for all the girls to proclaim that the fate of their existence is in their hands and no one can seize hold of their dignity and self esteem! These probes have proved to be exemplary for all the females that they themselves will have to safeguard and armour their lives........Because India will wait. It will wait to see another Nirbhaya grow, dream, relish the fake promises and commitments of the society and then subside into a helpless end as India has much “macro” problems to deal with then such “iota” issues.
Shakespeare was not a genius. He was, without the distant shadow of a doubt, the most wonderful writer who ever breathed. But not a genius. No angels handed him his lines, no fairies proofread for him. Instead, he learnt techniques, he learnt tricks, and
he learnt them well. Genius, as we tend to talk about it today, is some sort of mysterious and combustible substance that burns brightly and burns out. It’s the strange gift of poets and pop stars that allows them to produce one wonderful work in their early
Dishen MaJithiaClass 10 A
MeGha GuPtaClass 12 D
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twenties and then nothing. It is mysterious. It is there. It is gone.
Shakespeare didn’t started out with complete success as we can see in his earlier novels like ‘Titus Adronicus’ and ‘ love’s labour lost’. The novels to be quite frank were not up to the mark and lacked inspiration. But then Shakespeare learnt new tricks and developed his writing and improved. Shakespeare did not consider himself sacred. He would often just steal content from other people. However, whatever he stole he improved, and he improved it using the formulas, flowers and figures of rhetoric. A moderate Henry I becomes a great Henry IV. All of his novels were glutted with beautiful descriptions and the way of presenting these descriptions, the way of describing the particular tragedy is what makes his plays
great. The tricks that he learnt developed his thinking and that showed in his writing. But one of the most important trick that he learnt was that people, knowingly or unknowingly are attracted to works of alliteration. Such a simple figure of speech transformed his works.
To prove my point I would refer to a verse from a translation of Plutarch’s novel by Thomas North. The verse was a quite simple yet beautiful one and Shakespeare has adopted it in Hamlet. The verse was quite similar in meaning and composition but when we ask a person whether they have heard about North’s translation or Shakespeare’s hamlet, the obvious answer would be Hamlet because it is a much more popular work and because it contains one of the few elements of eloquence. Alliteration.
Shakespeare transforms each and every word and puts it down in Elizabethan in his well-known style and simply replaces words with similar meanings.
As a result, we know Shakespeare more widely and more fondly than North or Plutarch. I’m not saying Shakespeare was a cheat. He was a wonderful writer and was much better than anyone else. But he simply understood the need for rhetoric in literature and generously provided it. Not only Shakespeare but also many great writers like John Keats have adopted alliteration. Keats once wrote fourteen lines of F’s and S’s and it was beautiful. All the great writers or the so-called ‘geniuses’ have created a world for the readers. A beautiful world irrespective of the genre. And the writer creates this world with the help of the ‘elements of eloquence’.
LET THERE BE LIGHT!Pitch black save for the glowing embers of coal
The young things toiled awayDamp and unbearably hot
Furrowed brows dripping with sweatNimble fingers caked with soot
The children mourned the unfortunate passing
Of Rama in last week’s blast
The board outside proclaimed “Saraswati Fireworks”And underneath
(though they couldn’t read it)“Let there be light”
shriraJ GanDhiClass 12 B
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shriraJ GanDhiClass 12 B
kathan ParekhClass 10 B
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Vanshika thakurClass 8 C
“You are going to meet the CM”, these words from Radhika Ma’am, our Principal, left me super excited, suspicious and confused at the same time. Next day as per plan, I reached the Ahmedabad Mirror office in the morning. The program had been arranged by the Mirror team. They were to take hundred children from different schools and sections of the society to seven different places that is the CM’s office, fire station, radio station, railway museum, GIFT city, DGP’s and IP’s office and Ahmedabad International Airport. The children were divided into ten groups. As time constraint was there each group would visit only two places. Our group visited the CM’s office in Gandhinagar and the GIFT city. Meeting the CM was a wonderful experience. Mrs.
Anandiben Patel had initially decided to spend only 30 minutes with us but when we all started talking to her and putting our queries to her, she spent about an hour and a half. She spoke to us like a teacher and not as a CM. We asked her many questions about her life, her interests, her role as a CM and her childhood. She answered them all with a lot of patience. She is a very down-to-earth lady despite her position. She is also very disciplined and it is an integral part of her life. After the meeting room interaction we went to the garden where we were served chocolates and sweets. Next we headed towards GIFT city. This tech city aspires to cater to India’s large financial services by offering global firms world class infrastructure and facilities.
It aims to attract top talent in the country by providing them the finest quality of life within integrated townships. Its unique architecture and planning is that attracted me most. Completion of the city will take another decade or so. Afterwards we went to Patang, a revolving restaurant in the heart of Ahmedabad city. Of course this was the best part of the day! We had a lot of fun there with RJ Megha hosting the party. We played games and ate to our fill. I met a lot of other children, many from municipal schools during this visit. I loved interacting with them. But I realised that they do not get the facilities that we take so much for granted. This was undoubtedly the happiest Children’s Day of my life!
My HappiestChildren’s Day
BOOKS FOR A BUBBLY CHILDHOOD: A CHILDREN’S DAY SPECIALAnother Children’s Day has come and gone, but if you ask me, every single day is their day. More so, when I see the little cherubic faces make their way into the library and clamor for their favorite books! Come, let’s delve into some of the most loved children’s literature from all around the world.
Writing for children is a monumental task, given their fragile, impressionable minds and infinite capacity to absorb any and everything which comes their way. Writers like R.K. Narayan (Malgudi Days, Swami and Friends),Dr.Seuss ( Green Eggs and Ham,The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish),Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, The Witches) and Eric Carle ( The Very Hungry Caterpillar) have managed this feat admirably.
Slightly older children, in the age group of nine to thirteen delight in reading Enid Blyton (Malory Towers, St.Clare’s, The Enchanted Wood series, The Naughtiest Girl), Sukumar Ray ( Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne series), Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys series), Geronimo Stilton, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series,Aesop’s Fables, comic book collections like Tintin, Asterix, Archie,Benton, Artemis Fowl series, the Percy Jackson series, short stories by Sudha Murty,Ruskin Bond,the Chronicles of Narnia series etcetera. Older children have varied tastes, ranging from Harry Potter,Lord of the Rings, Twilight, Sherlock Holmes to
P.G.Wodehouse, Shakespeare, The Fault in Our Stars, The Hunger Games, horror story collections by R.L.Stine, Ray Bradbury,Satyajit Ray,Roald Dahl and many more.
The reading and attention span of children is very less, therefore, it takes a genius of a high order to create a story and visuals compelling enough for them to read the entire book. The authors and books mentioned here are only a starting point, many children read beyond their years, displaying immense maturity and a level of understanding at par with adults. To get a child to read something which is purely for fun, and which won’t be tested in the classroom nor will fetch him marks is a task of herculean proportions. I doff my hat to all the children’s writers who have managed to carve a splendid niche for themselves in their target market, the impressionable young mind.
Ms. PallaVi sriDharLibrarian
BOOKMARK THIS
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FUN ZONE1.Sudoku is fun.
2. Can you guess the missing number?
64
40
5 81
63
7 16
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4
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3. Solve the number puzzle below.
4. Unscramble the words.
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Beautiful Colours
Ahaan Thakore 5C Uday Malhotra 5 E
Falak Doshi 1 E Srushti Shah 3 C
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Krishna Oza 8 A
Punya Chhajer10C
Vedanshee Panchal 1 E
Mansi Shah 10 C
Throughmy lens
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Children’s Day...a day that is celebrated in very few countries and fortunately India is one of them! When Chacha Nehru suggested his birthday to be celebrated as a day for children, the idea was welcomed with great enthusiasm. Being a child is not easy, as you have learned over the past years, so on this day you can simply forget everything else and enjoy life. An idea! Why don’t you simply enjoy each day of life and make every day Children’s Day?! Of course, I don’t mean giving up your studies and playing games all the time, but enjoying whatever you do with full enthusiasm. Whether you are at home, in
school or outside, live your life to the full. Be happy with what you have and let others be happy too. Make it a mission to put a smile on every face. Start with your home and spread the joy to your school and outside world. The happy faces all around you will add to your joy and soon every day will be a Children’s Day!
Come on give it a try...what can go wrong?! Meanwhile I have written a few lines for all young and young at heart people-
Colours of the sun merge into one,When I see you my child after a long weary dayI forget my worry and the burdens that I carryWhen you smile in welcome, it works like a balm
The day does not seem long, with a song in my heart I sayCome Ladli! Come let’s go out and play...
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
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Udgam School For Children
Opp. Sardar Patel Institute, Thaltej, Ahmedabad- 380 054 Gujarat.Phone No: 26850339 99251 53153 | Email Id : [email protected]
