An Official Newsletter of

open school and learning centre

Inside this issue:

Back to Basics in Brain Gym

How to keep your children away

from TV?

School Counselor

The Alphabet of Happiness

Question & Answer

Case Management

Who is a 21st Century Teacher?

Volume 1 | Issue 5

MAY 2014

21 st

Century Student

21 st

Century Teaching

"In Edu-K, we see

human beings and

their bodies as dy-

namic, not static;

what's important to

us is how a person

actually functions.

We seek to deter-

mine the relationship between an indi-

vidual's goal or intention and his or her

daily patterns of movement.", says Paul

Dennison and Gail E. Dennison in their

book Brain Gym 101.

B rain gym is considered as a learn-

ing program to bring about rapid im-

provement in reading, writing, language

and numerical skills. Many people use

the brain gym activities to enhance the

quality of their attention, concentration,

relationship, communication, memory,

organizational skills, athletic perfor-

mance and more. Brain gym movements

also help special needs children to im-

prove in areas in which they are weak.

Brain gym also helps to manage, organ-

ize and improve our life skills through

personal development.

Learning happens when the mind is at

ease. When we get over focused with the

new learning challenge, we tend to try

hard but unable to stop and think, at the

same time when we feel stressed about

our trying's and failures, we tend to un-

der focus. Learning requires, ability to

notice and be aware. Noticing is a pro-

cess of focusing one's attention in the

task that we do in the present. The more

we start to notice and observe our pos-

tural, sensory and movement patterns

we start to create a bridge that pro-

motes integrated high gear and integrat-

ed low gear abilities to new learning

with ease. This promotes movement

based learning rather than stress based

learning.

The brain gym action balance exercises

are divided into 5 easy step for easy and

structured learning. We are expected to

anchor each of the following steps by

noticing one's thoughts, feelings and

movement experience. The 5 steps are

as follows:

Prepare to learn by finding your own

PACE

Set and PACE a goal

Do pre activities

Choose from a learning menu

Do post activities

PACE is considered as the preparatory

exercise that readies the brain and sen-

sory system for new learning. Each one

of us have a unique rhythm, timing and

flow for new learning. When we relax by

noticing our body and mind we tend to

relax and sync into new learning at ease.

We begin each balance with finding our

own PACE. The PACE process works in

backward sequence from "E" (ECAP).

Energetic

Human body is made up of about 70 per-

cent water. Water supplies the electro-

lytes that carry electrical potential

across cell membranes to the function-

ing of the new neural networks being

created as we learn. Sipping the water

instead of gulping allows the water to be

absorbed from the mouth itself to re-

store hydration. This helps to benefit

from doing brain buttons.

Clear

Next step is doing brain buttons. Brain

buttons are the electrical reflex points

for the eyes. Stimulating these points is

similar to doing mini balance for cross-

ing the midline. Brain buttons is done by

moving our eyes from left to right as we

hold in the kinesthetic midfield. This is

done by making a "U" shape with our

hand and placing the thumb and index

finger just below the collarbone and

about an inch to each side of our breast

bone. This exercise is done by gently

massaging or rubbing the brain button

in a circular motion or by tapping gently.

While doing the brain buttons one hand

is placed on the brain button while the

other hand is placed on your belly but-

ton. This exercise is done for about 30

seconds to 1 minute. And then switch

hands, if you start with right hand on the

brain button now do with left hand. Do-

ing brain button prepares us to benefit

from doing the cross crawl.

Active:

Cross crawl is done by crossing the mid-

line. Touching the left leg with the right

hand while bending the knees followed

by the opposite side helps to fire the

neural pathways in the left and right

cerebral hemisphere. The whole body

activity of cross crawl prepares the body

for whole body relaxation.

Positive:

There are two parts in this step: hook

ups and rice bowl. Hook ups results in

exhibiting reflexive behavior supporting

higher order thinking and decision mak-

ing by drawing the attention and blood

to body's midfield. Hook ups can be done

standing or lying down on your back.

Start with crossing your legs, then ex-

tend your arms in front of you. Lift both

your thumbs up and invert your thumb

pointing the ground, then interlace the

hand and clasp both hand and draw your

hand up towards your chest. Hold this

position for a minute or more keeping

your eyes closed while holding the tip of

your tongue on the roof of your mouth

when you inhale.

Part two is done putting your feet flat on

the floor and by putting your finger tips

together in front of your chest, continue

to breathe deeply for about one minute,

while holding the tip of the tongue on

the roof of the mouth for about one mi-

nute when you inhale.

continued in 5th page

1 NEWSLETTER | MAY 2014

Back to Basics in Brain Gym

BY MURUGALAKSHMI THIRUMALAI

HEAD TEACHER, CENTERRA RANCH MONTESSORI SCHOOL, KATY, TEXAS

BRIDGE THE G A P

2 NEWSLETTER | MAY 2014

HSSW Field Work Trainees Speak

S. KARTHIKA

I am an MSW Student undergoing

Block Placement Training in Helikx

School. This training gives me a

clear picture about school social

work and also to increase stream of

knowledge in social work. It is useful

and informative for me through gaining practical

knowledge on conducting group work, preparation of

module and on research. It also extends my knowledge in

learning disability and effectiveness of remedial teach-

ing. It gave me a platform to choose my carrier.

AXA MATHEW

Helikx open school has given

me a good exposure in aca-

demic as well as in my life. It

extends my knowledge on

school social work with prac-

ticals. This school is a great

platform to learn, to experi-

ence and to enjoy with the learning disabilities. I am very

thankful to the school authority in changing my view on

learning disability from worms eye view to a bird’s eye

view.

MOHAMMED RASHEED

The training which I am undergo-

ing in helikx is informative. The

school provides me with great

experience in the area of learn-

ing disability. It also helped me

to take a strong decision in my

life to focus on this area. The

learning from the school is very useful for my carrier.

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

Happy to meet you all through this newsletter

As the new academic year has commenced expectation will be high from all quarters. Best

wishes for the successful holistic child development

Last one month I had an opportunity to handle 11 workshops for teachers of various schools of Tamil

Nadu and Kerala on various topics Character Formation, 21st Century Teachers, Multiple Intelli-

gence ,Specific Learning Disability and Counseling. Response for 21st Century teaching and Need for

School Counseling is gaining momentum and becoming the need of the hour for the management. Sug-

gestion from the workshop, we have planned to do two hours conclave for Principles, Management and

Heads of Schools on Need for School Counseling

With all your support let us move towards the holistic Development of the Child

From the Chairman’s Desk

Mr. G Senthilkumar

I n holidays, keeping children

away from the TV sets is not easy.

They have their set of excuses—

the weather is too hot to play

outside, we are bored, what to do—for

watching TV continuously for hours. But

before your house becomes a battle-

ground, we get you some strategies that

will help you keep your child occupied

and hence limit his TV watching.

1) Start the day early: Wake them early

and take them outdoors while the sun is

still bearable. Let them play on the

swings, run around, get their hands dirty

in the mud, or collect knick-knacks etc.

This will tire them out and will get them

to sleep through the hot afternoons. Eve-

nings again can be planned on the ter-

race/balcony or at a friend’s house.

2) Set a timetable: Set a time table for

your child. Look around for activities,

classes, camps, sports coaching's etc

that she is interested in and get her en-

rolled. But do not force her. The time

table should be relaxed and the child

shouldn’t feel stressed out with it. Give

them a choice on what they would like to

do: try their hands at cooking or photog-

raphy?

3)Keep them involved: Look for fun activ-

ities that will keep child engrossed. Pa-

per machine, origami, clay, painting etc

are some op-

tions. Get them

board games,

science kit sets

or a large jig-

saw that they

can play with a

friend or a sib-

ling.

4) Plan an ac-

tivity a

day: Think of

age appropri-

ate activities

for children

and allot them

according to

days. One can be a room cleaning day,

garden tending day, taking care of the

pet day, cooking for family day. Start on

the chore yourself and have them pitch

in. Even three days a week will suffice.

5) Organize play dates: Organize play

dates for children in the afternoon when

they can’t go out. Have a themed play

date, a fancy dress play date, a story

telling session, or organize games for

them such as making a tent out of an old

bedsheet (tie it around furniture legs)

and let them imagine it to be an army

camp!

6) Let them enjoy: If she likes playing

with water, set up a splash pool for her;

if mud is what they like, let them get

their hands and clothes dirty. Let the

children have fun. These activities will

keep the children busy for hours. Take

necessary safety measures though such

as keeping the pool in a shaded area or a

bathroom.

7) Restrict family TV: It is not fair on the

child that the mother or grandmother is

watching TV while he is not allowed to.

Communicate to the whole family that

TV watching has to be controlled in the

house. Be firm about it. And no meals in

front of the TV. Let children make an

effort to get up and eat food when hun-

gry.

8) Include more family time: Make a con-

scious effort to provide the child with

more family time. - out together to a

friend’s house, sit down for a meal to-

gether, ask them to help you arrange the

table for lunch, go on a walk together.

She will definitely prefer this to TV.

9) Have them watch programs and not

just TV: Limit the mind-numbing content

of cartoons. Instead, sit down together

to watch a documentary or short film

that is of his interest such as something

on animals, space, machines, medical

science etc. Or exchange rhymes and

educational CDs with friends. Make a

treat of this sort of TV watching. Sit

down with popcorns and a shake.

10) Loosen your grip: Don’t make it a

battle. Let him watch TV for sometime—

maybe an hour. Keep a clock next to the

TV to remind him when the hour is over.

Also, do not let TV run in the back-

ground. Switch it off when not needed or

the child will be tempted.

11) Be available to the children: House

chores and cleaning can wait. This is

more serious issue. Make an attempt to

participate yourself or at least start

them off on an activity such as a board

game or a puzzle etc. Children require

company.

12) Talk to them: Explain to them with-

out exaggeration or threats, the disad-

vantage of excessive TV watching and

how it will isolate them. Keep the tone

level and understanding.

These tips though may sound difficult,

once applied will eventually help you

keep the child away from TV. But re-

member, most importantly the initiation

has to come from you, the parent. You

will have to become your child’s compa-

ny—after all isn’t that better than she

finding a friend in the idiot-box.. - See

more at: http://parentune.com/parenting

-blog/12-ways-to-keep-your-child-away-

from-tv/420#sthash.tRqy9wNp.dpuf

3 NEWSLETTER | MAY 2014

BRIDGE THE G A P

How to keep your children away from TV

PARENTING

4 NEWSLETTER | MAY 2014

Continuation from 2nd page

These four steps clear your body and mind

to prepare for consecutive brain gym ac-

tivities. Make sure you feel positive, ac-

tive, clear and energetic before you start

further exercises.

I do this activity with my students during

circle time and during times when they

find it difficult to focus and concentrate, it

greatly helps to bring their focus back to

learning and prepares their body and

mind for their current challenges.

Reference:

Brain gym 101 balance for daily life by

Paul Dennison and Gail e. Dennison.

Midline : the line that separates one visual

field and hemispheric awareness from the

other. Say from left side to right side.

A School is a

temple of learning.

Students get admit-

ted in their early

years and go out

later after spending

a long period. Teach-

ers teach, students

learn and parents pay for it. Management is happy during admis-

sion, during good results and when parents are pleased. Manage-

ment is happier when the students come out with good perfor-

mance in public examinations. In fact it is the students who add

brand value to the institutions. Parents and teachers are behind

students in shaping them to reach their performance. So everyone

is happy when the students perform better. This is a chain of activ-

ity conceived positively. All is well when all ends well.

All those who had schooling will remember their school life. Very

often it is a rejoicing experience for all. Very few consider school-

ing as a bitter experience. It is because of their personal unique

problems which remained unnoticed. Such problems could be

broadly classified as Academic Problems and Behaviour problems.

Academic problems are centred on the self but behaviour prob-

lems are contagious, get extended to others also. Learning disabil-

ity is a major cause for academic problems. Personality, family

background and peer influence are some of the sources for behav-

iour issues.

An experienced teacher will be able to identify such issues. But

whether they will be able to deal with such issues effectively is a

different question. Their teaching is equal to all or sometimes to

fulfil the needs of the majority. Some of them may take special

efforts to correct the erring few, but not always and also not con-

sistently. More over the teachers’ emotional outburst, due to their

work life balance, disturbs their correcting process. Very often the

actual conditions of such students neither reach the parents nor

the school management. Even if it is known it is considered by the

parents and the management as the poor performance of the

teachers. So the teachers may remain safe without disclosing the

problems of the students with problems.

Then, who has to bell the Cat? The immediate possible remedy to

such issues is School Counselling. Counselling need not be viewed

with stigma. It is a positive approach. It is a benefit to all the stake

holders of the educational field. School Counsellor or School So-

cial Worker is a professionally trained post graduate in the disci-

pline of Social Work. He/she can understand the pupil in all the

perspectives that are needed to treat them. He/she looks at the

problem students in a theoretical and practical outlook. The

School Counsellor makes use of the theories in Sociology and Psy-

chology in an applied side to deal with the problem issues referred

to him/her. School Social Work is a developing specialization in

professional Social Work. Professional Social Workers are to be

appointed in schools as School counsellors. Their functioning may

ease the problems and please all the stakeholders.

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

DR.K.MURALIDARAN Mentor, Helikx Department of School Social Work and Research

FROM THE MENTOR

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

Need for a Coun-

HELIKX DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK AND RESEARCH

Need for a Counselor in your School?

We at Helikx School Social Work and Research Department con-

stantly involve our self in such research and have designed a mod-

ule to cater to school. We will train a counselor and set up a

counseling department, guide and supervise for two years.

Block Placement

Training for MSW

Professionals

Remedial Teaching Professional Counseling

Assessment for Students

Training for School Teachers

Certification Course on Learning Disability

Need Based Research Training for Life Skill Trainers

A ccept others for

who they are

and for the choices

they’ve made even if

you have difficulty

understanding their

beliefs, motives, or

actions.

B reak away from

everything that

stands in the way of

what you hope to ac-

complish with your

life.

C reate a family of

friends whom

you can share your

hopes, dreams, sor-

rows, and happiness

with.

D ecide that

you’ll be suc-

cessful and happy

come what may, and

good things will find

you. The roadblocks

are only minor obsta-

cles along the way.

E xplore and ex-

periment. The

world has much to

offer, and you have

much to give. And

every time you try

something new, you’ll

learn more about

yourself.

F orgive and for-

get. Grudges

only weigh you down

and inspire unhappi-

ness and grief. Soar

above it, and remem-

ber that everyone

makes mistakes.

G row: Leave the

childhood mon-

sters behind. They

can no longer hurt

you or stand in your

way.

H ope for the

best and never

forget that anything

is possible as long as

you remain dedicated

to the task.

I gnore the negative

voice inside your

head. Focus instead

on your goals and

remember your ac-

complishments. Your

past success is only a

small inkling of what

the future holds.

J ourney to new

worlds, new possi-

bilities, by remaining

open-minded. Try to

learn something new

every day, an you’ll

grow.

K now that no

matter how bad

things seem, they’ll

always get better.

The warmth of spring

always follows the

harshest winter.

L ove fill your

heart instead of

hate. When hate is in

your heart, there’s

room for nothing else,

but when love is in

your heart, there’s

room for endless hap-

piness.

M anage your

time and your

expenses wisely, and

you’ll suffer less

stress and worry.

Then you’ll be able to

focus on the im-

portant things in life.

N ever ignore the

poor, infirm,

helpless, weak, or

suffering. Offer your

assistance when pos-

sible, and always your

kindness and under-

standing.

O pen your eyes

and take in all

the beauty around

you. Even during the

worst of times,

there’s still much to

be thankful for.

P lay: Never for-

get to have fun

along the way. Suc-

cess means nothing

without happiness.

Q uestion: Ask

many questions,

because you’re here

to learn.

R efuse to let

worry and

stress rule your life,

and remember that

things always

have a way of work-

ing out in the end.

S hare your talent,

skills,

knowledge, and time

with others. Every-

thing that you invest

in others will return

to you many times

over.

T ry: Even when

your dreams

seem impossible to

reach, try anyway.

You’ll be amazed by

what you can accom-

plish.

U se your gifts to

your best abil-

ity. Talent that’s

wasted has no value.

Talent that’s used bill

bring unexpected

rewards.

V alue the friends

and family

members who’ve sup-

ported and encour-

aged you, and be

there for them as

well.

W ork hard eve-

ry day to be

the best person you

can be, but never feel

guilty if you fall short

of your goals. Every

sunrise offers a se-

cond chance.

X –ray : Look

deep inside the

hearts of those

around you and you’ll

see the goodness and

beauty within.

Y ield to commit-

ment. If you

stay on track and

remain dedicated,

you’ll find success at

the end of the road.

Z oom to a happy

place when bad

memories or sorrow

rears its ugly head.

Let nothing interfere

with your goals. In-

stead, focus on your

abilities, your

dreams, and a bright-

er tomorrow.

BRIDGE THE G A P

5 NEWSLETTER | MAY 2014

BY SINDHU LAKSHMI

PSYCHOLOGIST

The Alphabets of Happiness

Students of Summer Camp with the

mask prepared by them

MODULE

Intro to Professional Social

Work Practice– Scope & Objec-

tive

Opting for Specialization

Fields and Perspectives

Skills needed for a Social

Worker

Field and Block Placements

Helikx School Social Work And Research Department

149, Alamelu Nagar, Pagalpatty, Muthunaicken patty

Road, Salem - 636304. +91-9842733318

|info@helikx.com|www.helikx.com

BRIDGE THE G A P BRIDGE THE G A P

What is not Dyslexia?

It is not a vision problem

even though there are visual

processing difficulties

It is not a hearing problem

even though there are audito-

ry processing problems

It is not slow learning

It is not mental retardation

It is not the result of lack of

motivation

It is not the lack of sensory

impairment

It is not because of inade-

quate instructions

It is not due to environmen-

tal opportunities, or other

limiting conditions, but may

occur together with these

conditions.

What are the educational skill sets

most often affected by specific

learning difficulties?

basic reading (word identifi-

cation/word decoding);

reading fluency skills;

reading comprehension;

writing;

Mathematical calculation;

Mathematics problem solv-

ing;

listening (listening compre-

hension);

speaking (oral expression); •

reasoning;

Do all dyslexic children have the same kind of difficulties?

Individual patterns of learning

disabilities typically vary from

person to person. For e.g., while

one student may have specific

trouble with various aspects of

reading and writing, another

student may have primary diffi-

culties in language processing

and thinking that also affect

reading and writing.

How can SLD be diagnosed?

Diagnosis includes basi-

cally an educational testing after

taking a detailed case history

from the parents. An IQ test is

done when the cognition is in

doubt.

How can dyslexia be cured?

It is not a disease, so it can’t be

cured. It is only a condition and

children are taught to cope with

the condition. Children and

adults can be taught ways to

“cope” with their specific learn-

ing problems by using appropri-

ate and specific strategies.

What is multi sensory teaching?

It is using all our modalities:

visual, auditory, kinesthetic and

tactile. In a class room children

learn using different styles (V/A/

KT). A good teacher should try to

incorporate a methodology that

will appeal to more than one of

the modalities or to all of them.

MRS. DEVIPRIYA SENTHILKUMAR,

Secretary, Helikx Open School

C ase management is one im-

portant skill a social worker should

possess. If a person come to a so-

cial worker either for counseling

or for any kind of skill development training, from the pro-

cess of intake to the closure of the particular problem how a

social worker manage the client during the different pro-

cess is can be called as case management. There are differ-

ent steps in managing the case. It can be explained step by

step as given below.

Intake process-A person referred to a social worker-

Assessment - Collecting all information about the client

through observation, interview and by other methods

of data collection.

Case formulation- Understanding the basic problem

suffers by the client. (if the problem is beyond the limits

of the counselor’s skill we should refer the client to

other professionals)

Treatment planning- Selection of strategies to address

client’s problem, and creating a contract with the cli-

ent.

Implementation of selected strategies- it can be remedi-

al, counseling, behavior modification classes, skill de-

velopment classes etc.

Monitoring and maintaining progress- (even if the con-

dition worsens after the implementation of the strate-

gies or if there is no improvement in the client’s prob-

lem we should reconsider the original case formulation

and should refer the client to other professional)

Improvement in client’s problem and adequate skill

building for youth

Termination- at last after the achievement of the objec-

tive of the client we should terminate the relation with

the client.

Management of all these process by the social worker is

called as case management.

BY JAINY JOHN

HELIKX SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER

6 NEWSLETTER | APRIL 2014

For SSLC and Higher Secondary Students.

CONFUSION IN

SELECTING YOUR CAREER ?

We will help you in selecting the RIGHT choice through Psychometric

test. Contact us:

info@helikx.com | 91-98427-33318

T wenty first century teaching, what

does it mean by twenty first century

teaching? Is it just providing contents,

facts, dates and formulae’s; or conducting

research, working on theories, reciting

stories and imparting information. Then it

must be thought that teachers role in pu-

pils life has become obsolete. The current

generation of students are born into a

highly technological world. They inhabit,

navigate and communicate within a socie-

ty which is both technologically-rich and

information rich. They can find infor-

mation about anything, anytime from any-

where. Virtually limitless information are

right on the tip of their fingers like blogs,

social networking sites like Facebook and

Twitter, online encyclopedias like Wikipe-

dia and Britannica, video collection of

YouTube, cell phones . Etc.

Teaching and learning in twenty first cen-

tury context is highly diverse when con-

sidering the theories and technological

interventions. No one sees more clearly

than educators how the technologies we

use in our daily lives influence how stu-

dents learn. Students have changed, edu-

cators have changed, and learning itself

has changed. Teachers are no longer the

source of information. So teacher’s job is

helping students to handle the gathered

information, whenever and wherever pos-

sible. They must effectively guide students

to validate, synthesize, leverage communi-

cate, collaborate and problem solve infor-

mation. The 21st century methodology of

learning is typically constructivist, to be

more precise Vygotskyian Social Con-

structivism. According to him, creation of

knowledge takes place in the student’s

social environment. Teacher’s role is just

that of a co-learner and a scaffolder,

whom helps to enhance the potential of

the pupil. A 21st century learning curricu-

lum should give importance to enhance

skills rather than on facts and contents.

The framework for 21st century learning

can be as below.

Core subjects are: English, World lan-

guages, Arts, Mathematics, Economics,

Science, Geography, History, Government,

Civics. Etc. Twentieth century themes are:

Global awareness, Business, Finance, Eco-

nomics, Civic literacy, Health literacy. Etc.

Learning and innovation skills are: Crea-

tivity and innovation skills, Critical think-

ing and Problem solving, Communication

and collaboration skills. Information, Me-

dia and Technology skills are: Information

literacy, Media literacy, ICT literacy

(Information, Communication, Technolo-

gy). Etc. Life and Career skills are: Flexi-

bility and Adaptability, Initiative and Self

Direction, Social and Cross-cultural skills.

Create; Evaluate, Analyze, Apply, Under-

stand and Remember are the objectives

that have to be fulfilled in learning pro-

cess to attain the aim of effective learning.

Creating in today’s context involves blog-

ging, animating, podcasting, designing,

and programming. But when you think

about incorporating skills like paraphras-

ing, experimentation, searching, network-

ing locating, attributing, reflecting, post-

ing. Etc, we cannot find an objective to

suit it.

Responsibility, reliability, and integrity

are other social skills that are very much

needed in today’s life situation which can-

not be taught but

should be brought

to pupils. Here we

can say that it is

through friends, strangers and even them-

selves that contribute to their skill acqui-

sition and learning.

The 4 C’s that should be incorporated into

our rigorous curriculum are, Critical

Thinking, Communication, Collaboration

and Creativity along with an aptitude for

technology. We need to change our view

of the mind from classic education/

deductive reasoning to divergent thinking

in a multisensory environment. The 21st

century classroom incorporates a blended

learning environment where knowledge is

discovered by the student using a variety

of rich traditional and online interactive

resources. Teacher facilitates by directing

students to rich, learning sources and

asking students to demonstrate what they

know and are able to do? Teacher assess-

es for 21st century outcomes: core

knowledge, creativity, critical thinking,

problem solving, visual, written and oral

communication, collaboration and team-

work around 21st century themes.

As educational leaders, classroom teach-

ers, students and parents will agree, 21st

century teaching carries with it a compli-

cated mix of challenges and opportunities.

These challenges should be effectively

overcome and opportunities should be

intensively used to make twentieth centu-

ry teaching task reliable and productive,

which suits to needs of twenty first centu-

ry pupils. HSSW is practicing such a mod-

el of twenty first century teaching, collab-

orating all the novel methodologies.

BRIDGE THE G A P

Who is a 21st Century Teacher? LAST WORD ALEN KURIAKOSE

Trainer, HSSW

7 NEWSLETTER | MAY 2014