April is the 11^th month of the school year. The last month of the academic year.

Attendance and Nutrition

No. of school days: 24
No. of students enrolled: 90
No. of students enrolled at ASP: 20
Average attendance: 87
Attendance in %: 88%
Total breakfasts served: 1,833
Total lunches served: 1,524
Total meals served at ASP
(After School Program): 51
Total number of meals served this month: 3408
Total number meals served since opening: 68,614

Learning Focus:

Since, April is the last month of the year, before school shuts down for summer vacation; the entire curriculum was reviewed for the final examinations. The students were also taught music with the Brillkids Little Musician.

Physical Education:

The kids learned fundamental body movements like Walking, Running etc. They also enjoy playing in their play area.

Character Development:

The character development card for the kids in this month was ‘Being Respectful’.

Nutrition:

The academic year of 2012-2013 saw the nutrition program at Edelweiss cross a huge number of 68,000 meals.

Educational Visitors:

April 16^th 

Mrs. Sunita Kunzru from Kitab Korner Library had come to train all the Building Blocks teachers and managers on how to effectively use the library. She gave them insights on how to inculcate the habit of reading in the children and how they can help the children in improving their English speaking skills as well as their vocabulary by reading with and to them.

Celebration at Edelweiss:

April 10^th – Ugadi

Yugādi or Ugadi is the New Year’s Day for the people of the Deccan region of India. The name Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit words yuga (age) and ādi (beginning): “the beginning of a new age”. The Kannada, Marathi, Telugu and the Konkani diaspora in Karnataka, celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are ‘de rigueur’.

At Edelwiess, the Ugadi celebration was filled with fun and joy. The children were shown videos and discussed the meaning of the festival and why it is celebrated. The children were treated to a delicious lunch too.

April 14^th – Eye Camp

An eye camp was held for the first time at Edelweiss and it indeed called for a celebration, looking at the impact it had on the students and the entire community.

Troy Swanson, Founder, the AlphaBet Club and James Ambat, Founder, Building Blocks, with the help of Dr. Solanki’s  Eye Hospital – Project Drishti organized this free camp.

The camp served the students from Edelweiss and all others from the GD Mara slum community. A total of 249 patients were tested.  90 spectacles were given to people on the same day. Depending on the people’s comprehensive vision, 15 spectacles (for students) were made to order. 25 were referred to visit the eye hospital as they were diagnosed with severe problems.

The total cost for the 90 spectacles was Rs.7650 (Rs. 85 for each spectacle – €1.10). The cost for all the made to order spectacles was Rs. 3000 (Rs. 200 for each – €2.90).

Special Thanks to AlphaBet Club for funding this from funds obtained by ABC Event attendees on online ticket purchases as optional donations to ABC projects.

April 20^th – Graduation Day

Graduation ceremony of all the K5 students was held on the 20^th of April. This was an amazing occasion with all the awards and performances from the students in the slum.

The program was scheduled to start at 1.00pm and there were excited guests pouring in at Edelweiss. They were all taken to the GD Mara slum where the stage was set for the Graduation ceremony.

All the kids performed for the huge audience gathered and later awards and certificates were given to the top performers for that academic year. The photo exhibition at the slum also grabbed a lot of attention from parents and guests.

The entire staff of Edelweiss was thanked by receiving gifts. Mr. James and Mr. Troy were also given special gifts. It was a memorable experience for all the students and their parents. The guests and volunteers also had a great time with the children and the Building Blocks team.

April 23^rd – Teddy Bear Distribution

The children were in for a surprise on the 23^rd of April. Mr. Troy had planned to give out teddy bears to all the students of Edelweiss as they have minimal amount of toys to play with at their homes.  The kids were very happy and excited to receive these gifts. Many volunteers and guests had come to distribute teddy bears amongst the children.

April 30^th – Photo distribution

On 30^th of April 2013, the last day of school, the students at Edelweiss were given photographs of themselves. Each child was given 3 photos. The children were photographed by the renowned photographer, Mr. Hellmuth.

These children do not have photos of their own at their homes, and as in the photo were evidently very excited to receive them. They smiled even better than the day they were photographed.

Having completed an amazing year of learning, activities, celebrations and excitement, the children were given farewell to enjoy the summer vacations.

We’re happy to have graduated 34 bright students.  The school now re-opens on the 3^rd June, 2013, for a fresh new year.