Hari OM!
Welcome to the Balavihar 2018-2019 year! If you are receiving this message, your child is enrolled in the Sunday 12:45PM session.
This year's 10-12th grade class for the Sunday afternoon session will be lead by Devika Krishnamoorthy and Ankita Janakiraman. Both of us are "CHYKs" or Chinmaya Yuva Kendra members. We have both attended Balavihar for 10+ years and graduated from high school in 2011 and 2010 respectively. We are now young professionals in the working environment and are still very active in Balavihar, CHYK, and other Chinmaya Mission activities.
Below are some important information regarding house rules/expectations, class curriculum, upcoming activities, etc.
House Rules/Expectations:
- We kindly request to NOT be referred to as "Aunties". Your child may refer to us by our first names or by Didi/Akka.
- Each child is required to bring to class:
- A notebook or loose leaf paper
- A pen or pencil
- Balavihar Handbook (please see front desk during BV if you don't have one)
- We have emphasized that each child should NOT use their cell phones while in class. Please refrain from contacting your child between the times of 12:45-2:15PM!
- Each child is REQUIRED to attend Aarti in the Temple after each Balavihar session (unless we are told otherwise from the child in the beginning of class).
PLEASE DO NOT pick them up from Balavihar before 2:30PM unless it is extremely necessary. We want them all to be a part of this as every other child/parent/teacher so that they can also receive blessings from the Lord and Gurudev!
Class Curriculum:
The topic this year is the Bhagavad Gita. This year, we will be covering Chapters 1-6 of 18. So far in class, we have covered:
- Overview of the characters from the Mahabharata. Setting the scene for the Kurukshetra War.
- Morals and lessons of various stories in the Mahabharata leading up to the Bhagavad Gita. (Example: The Game of Dice)
- Escapism: Arjun running away from his problems and hesitation/fear with fighting against his family and teachers.
- Scene from The Lion King (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7fXfCZ4sB4) - Simba's guilt and hesitation to rule the kingdom and Rafiki's guidance towards The Truth.
- What are some problems we try to escape from in our daily lives?
We are also teaching them to chant the Gita Dhyaanam at the beginning of each class.
Each year, as a part of everyone's curriculum, we teach Gita Chanting. This year we will be teaching them to read and recite Chapter 18 verses 41 to 78.
Upcoming Events:
- Garba/Dandiya: October 13th from 7-11pm at the Chinmaya Vrindavan ashram. The event will be organized and run by the 9-12th grade children, with supervision by the class teachers.
- Apple Picking/Bonding Time @ Terhune Farms: Date TBD - open to all high school Balavihar children as a fun activity around October/November 2018. -- More Details to Come --
- Balavihar Houses: this is the 3rd we are incorporating the "Housing System" for all Balavihar children. The 10-12th grade children will act as "Team Captains" for their respective house during events like Field Day, Pep Rally, etc.
- Teaching Assistants: each child in the 10-12th grade class will have 3 opportunities this year to help out teachers in the other grades (KG to 8th) of the Sunday afternoon session. They will also be responsible for teaching part of the class as well. -- More Details to Come --
If you have any questions ore concerns, feel free to reach out to Devika (dkmoorthy16@gmail.com) and Ankita (ankita.janakiraman@gmail.com)!
We look forward to teaching this class this year!
In His Service!
Devika and Ankita
