It was nice to be back in school on Saturday. The first day saw parents and children excited to take on new frontiers in the form of various classes they had enrolled for.
[1] Orientation - First day presentation
You can find the orientation presentation shown on the first day here at this link
http://www.silcmn.com/docs/2011-12/SILC_orientation_2011_12.ppsx
Note that the presentation is a slide show and some of these slides contain the videos and audio. Click those links to activate the multimedia content.
[2] CHITRAM - our first field trip
SILC's first field trip is quickly approaching. CHITRAM: A Portrait of India will be performed Oct 2, 2011 at 7pm. at O'Shaunessy Auditorium. Do not miss this one of its kind performance in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area where the Indian community will bring to life a multimedia portrayal of India under the leadership of visionary composer and McKnight Fellow Kanniks Kannikeswaran of Cincinnati, Ohio. Chitram has been performed to packed houses in Ohio, Michigan, and Florida and is now coming to Minnesota.
Tickets are $15 for adult general admission and $5 children/students through SILC. (Regular prices at the box office are $17 for adults and $10 for children/students; We managed to get the discount tickets for adults and SILC will be picking up half the cost for children tickets). All proceeds will benefit Second Harvest Food Shelves. You can sign up for tickets at SILC on Saturday or email Erin at oberdorfer.erin@dorsey.com with your ticket request and then pay for them at SILC. Orders must be placed by 9/24 for the discounted rate.
[3] Please make sure that you collect SILC folder
If you have registered and are in need of folder (returning families may be reusing the folder from last year - those can collect new calendar), please make sure that you contact Lakshmi Buddhavarapu.
[4] Can PRESCHOOLERS attend other classes for the last 30 minutes?
We had some parents asking if they could have their pre-schoolers attend the art class for 30 mins while they waited for their older child or for the end of day announcements. We are exploring the possibility of putting out some art related materials for such families in a separate area (so as not to disturb the art class). We have enough art supplies to engage the preschoolers for the last 30 minutes. We are looking for some parents from within the pre-schoolers’ class who would like to lead this activity. If you would like to volunteer, please reach out to the Asst Principal or Principal.
· Some parents inquired if SILC could rent out “Tablas” to students who do not have one. This is an excellent suggestion and we are looking into purchasing a couple of sets so that these could be rented out at a nominal rate per week. These will be available on a first come-first served basis, so do email us to let us know if you are interested in renting them.
. If you are making a visit to India or if someone from India is visiting you, it is a good idea to get Tabla set from India.
[6] "Unknown" Levels in Hindi and Social Studies
There were a few parents/students who had questions and we hope that their queries were answered satisfactorily. If you have more questions, please contact any of the board member or the Asst Principal / Principal.
· One of the questions that were being asked frequently is, “My child may be 4 (or 5) years old but knows ‘this’ language fluently. Why can’t she/he register for the language class?” The SILC board understands this concern. However, we would like to point out that we prefer to have the class composition based on a balance between the age and proficiency of a student. Even though the proficiency level of a student may be higher, we also want to place students within their age group so that they can interact at the same maturity level and develop well, socially. At the same time, it also becomes challenging for our volunteer teachers to impart knowledge to students with different maturity levels.
· Some parents also clarified the levels for their children, since they had registered as “Unknown”. We have got changes for only 6 students, which will be done according to the discussions of parents with SILC board member, Raj Menon. We still have a large number of students who are still showing up as Level “Unknown” in our reports. Their parents are requested to get this reconciled at the earliest by meeting Raj Menon, who will be available next Saturday.
· We also witnessed a few classes which had more students than were registered. Please make sure that your child is attending the correct class (and level) for which she/he has been registered. Effective next week, teachers will not be allowing students who have not been registered for their class/level.
[7] Complete your online Registration
We plan to publish SILC Directory during October first week. If you have already done so, please ensure that you are registered. If you are not formally registered, you will be missing out SILC and teacher communications. Some of the registrations are showing up as "Unpaid". Please ensure that you handle the payment as well (please contact Mangala Achar - SILC Treasurer for paying through check).
[8] This week's Question or Quiz:
"A number of Indian cities and territories have been renamed over the years, mostly in an effort to erase the supposed 'colonial hangover'. This quiz deals with some of the more popular name changes over the years."
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz2589221da4eb8.html
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Regards
Siva Jasthi
Director - Communications
School of India for Languages and Culture
http://www.silcmn.com
(mobile) 612.217.4821
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