Being the close of the term, we were happy that the lesson plans were on schedule and also with the progress made by the students.

Club activities were conducted every afternoon.

The art club was busy during the month, designing the New year greeting cards. Students also participated and displayed their talent in various art competitions conducted during the month and also during the various art activities conducted by corporates.

Special mention also goes to our gardening students who seem to have quite a green finger and they put in wonderful efforts to make the garden look green and beautiful. The vegetable garden was at its productive best thanks to the diligent efforts by the students coupled by the favourable weather conditions during the month. We had a good yield of yams and snake gourd.

Term end progress review meeting was conducted for all the students where our director, along with the team of special educators and therapists had a discussion with all the parents. It was a fruitful discussion with many useful inputs and feedback, with complete focus on holistic student development.

We are open for admissions at both our centres – Tiruvanmiyur and Guru Nanak College campus. Enquiries for admission can be made at 9884746078 and by writing to us at swabodhini@gmail.com.

Collaboration brings benefits! And what other better way than when two members in the same network begin to work together.

One of the highlights of the month was the Lotus foundation joining hands with us to take their students through the retail skills training course. Their students will henceforth visit us every Wednesday for the session and will also be given a hands on training at our Swayam shop.

We look forward to a long and a mutually beneficial relationship.

Visit To Lennox India:

As a part of the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC) certification course curriculum, the students visited the premises of Lennox India Pvt. Ltd. as a part of their industrial experiential visit.

They were taken on a tour of the office and also given a demo on how to use the video conferencing facility. The staff of Lennox also taught the students how to use the internet & send email. The visit ended with lunch.

Such experiential visits are important as they make learning relatable to the students. We are thankful to the team at Lennox for making this visit possible.

Randstand Visit:

We were happy to have the enthusiastic employees from the Chennai office of Randstad India Ltd volunteer a day at the school. They spent their valuable time engaging the students with a t-shirt painting activity.

Some of the staff also conducted mock interviews for our vocational students and enlightened them about life in the corporate world. This was much appreciated by our students who are ready for internships and placements as it gave them a real time experience.

The group went around the school observing class room sessions and posed many interesting questions.

We are thankful to the team for taking time off from work to spend with us.

Novotel Visit:

The Novotel hotel Chennai hosted our primary and pre-primary students this week.

The students and our teachers were given a warm welcome and made to feel at home there.

Students enjoyed themselves painting and colouring to their hearts content.

We thank the management and staff for their warmth and the wonderful opportunity.

Music Concert:

Our students undergo music therapy every week to help with their sitting tolerance, behaviour and communication challenges and to improve their overall quality of life.

Pioneer Music Gym conducted a wonderful light music concert on 16 December at the Egmore museum theatre to raise funds for music therapy sessions. Aptly named, “The Elixir beats” was an evening of nostalgic music from 80s and 90s.

We are thankful to Mr Pioneer Suresh and team Symphony for organising this amazing fund raising show.

We also thank all who supported us by their presence and their contributions.

Beach Walk:

A walk on the beach can have profound beneficial effects on autism behavior. The simple act of being outdoors can decrease anxiety, reduce stress, promote healing and increase cognitive functioning.

Being at the ocean stimulates all the senses. The feel of the sand under your feet, the smell of the ocean air, the beautiful views, the sight, movement and sound of the waves or birds – it helps to regulate the sensory system.

Thanks to Nandavanam and Newgen Knowledge Works Pvt Ltd., our students had the opportunity to experience a barefoot walk at New beach on the occasion of International day of people with disability.

Xmas Celebrations

Swabodhini students, staff and families had the Christmas celebration at Guru Nanak college campus along with staff and students of the college.

This year’s celebration was truly inclusive, demonstrating the spirit of the season – the joy of sharing and giving! A mega event was planned for the occasion. Students were dressed their best and participated whole heartedly in the celebrations.

The students put up a mega performance entertaining the audience with colourful dances. Students of Guru Nanak College also participated in the event by putting up a dance & music show. Fun games were conducted after the program and the students were happily entertained. The program ended with the traditional cake cutting.

The celebrations were well attended by parents, staff of Guru Nanak College and our well-wishers.

“Behaviour modification from inside” was the subject of the workshop conducted over the weekend at our premises.

This workshop saw a good turnout of parents and staff and the concepts shared were well received by all who attended.

We are thankful to Ms Nandhini Founder Director of Lotus Foundation and Mr Vijay Co- founder for sharing their valuable inputs with us .

It was the last time the staff convened for a meeting in 2018 and it was only fitting that we took stock of the year gone by.

A presentation was made by our Director Ms Anuradha Mahesh to all the staff re-iterating our mission, vision and our aspiration and plotting the way forward.

We are filled with pride and gratitude for all that our students and staff have achieved.