Sri Vivekananda Vidya Sadan

Location:

Sri Vivekananda Vidya Sadan school is located at the picturesque hill town of Adimaly. Adimaly is well known as a centre for spices and surrounded by tea plantations. Set amongst the hills of the western ghats, it's about 1½ hour drive and approximately 100 kms from Cochin. The nearest town is Munnar, the famous hill station known as the kashmir of South India. Kerala is also among the top 50 recommended destinations of a lifetime as per the National Geographic magazine.

School - A brief note

Sri Vivekananda Vidya Sadan was started as Sri Vivekananda Sabha in the year 1979 by a group of like-minded people under the effective leadership of Sri M. Thankappan. As it was incurring heavy financial burden to the managing committee, all others except Sri M. Thankappan decided to close the school or to leave the committee. Because of his commitment to society and concern for the future of the students studying in the institution, he decided to bear all the loss himself and continue the functioning of the same institution. And hence, the name was changed to Sri Vivekananda Vidya Sadan and is being run by the staff and management under the control of Thankappans Group Concern. This school was recognised by the state government in the year 1984 and got permanent recognition for the High School section in 1998.

A new section for Higher Secondary was also started in 2002. This school functions in a double storied building with vast play area and full-fledged labs and library. The Junior Vivekananda nursery section functions in a newly constructed building of modern style and facilities which enriches the young's personality and individuality. Here education through entertainment is followed rather than simple education. Adequate emphasis has been given to co-curricular activities so that the children are given opportunities to develop their creative talents. Apart from formal education extra curricular activities such as dance, music, art and craft, needle work etc. are also introduced in the curriculum. The school has been divided into three houses namely house of Joy, house of Peace and house of Love to encourage healthy competitions in the co-curricular activities. Now Sri Vivekananda Vidya Sadan provides quality education to 1000+ students from the mountainous town of Adimaly and its surrounding areas. The school has a strong team of teaching staff, 30 in number. Most of them are either Trained Post Graduate or Trained Graduate teachers.

Achievements

The school presented its first batch of SSLC students (Public Exam ) in the year 1998 and secured 100% success rate. Since then the school has been achieving 100% pass rate in flying colours. Our students of 2000-2001 batch gave us the privilege of being the first school in the sub-district to secure 100% first class in SSLC exam.

In co-curricular performances, the school has been retaining the status of being the over-all champions for the LP, UP and HS sections at the sub-district level youth festivals since 1998. Several other prizes were won at various State and district level competitions over the years.

Voluntary positions available

You can be a refreshing change in the classroom teaching students from elementary through to high school. With most programs you can volunteer as an "English Teacher" which are enjoyable, intensive projects, or teach music, art, drama or sports. These can be extended according to the need of the children and the skills of the individual volunteer.

If you're a native English speaker or with some teaching experience, you can be a valuable resource in these village classrooms. With your English skills you could teach proper English pronunciation and usage. The emphasis of both the classroom teaching and teaching English is on improving real-life conversational skills, not formal rules of grammar.

Even if you've never formally taught a classroom subject, you can contribute in many ways. This could involve you assisting the local teachers in their day to day work at the school.

Yearoutindia's is also looking for enthusiastic individuals with a flair for sports to come, live and teach/coach at the school. The school plans to conduct sports camps throughout the year. These are ideal opportunities for any sports enthusiasts to be a resident sports coach/teacher at the school for 4/6/8 weeks. Even if you've never formally taught/coached before, you can assist the local sports teachers in their day to day work at the school. You don't need to know the local language or the methods of the local school system. All you need is enthusiasm and a desire to share your knowledge with these children. The outcome could easily be the most rewarding volunteering experience of your life.

The children range from upper primary to high school. You could help conduct camps in any sports discipline from football, cricket, volleyball, badminton, gymnastics, Aerobics to maybe something new like rugby, pickle ball or bocce ball which probably none of the kids have ever played let alone heard off. In exchange, they might teach you the exciting & physically challenging Indian sport of "Khabaddi". So be prepared to get mobbed!

Volunteers can also host discussions about their homelands, including culture, history, lifestyles, sports and school systems. You'll usually teach four hours a day, Monday through Friday, and have 2 hours each day to collaborate with your team mates and prepare for classes. The rest of the day is for free time.

Program Schedule

4/8/12 Week Teaching program at South Indian Hill Station School:

Through the Reach and Teach Programs, volunteers will be able to teach at Sri Vivekananda English Medium School located at Adimaly, high up in the Western Ghat mountain ranges. The school is among the few that cater to the needs of children beyond the realms of the state syllabus. The school has children from all the sections of the society and also provided subsidised schooling and travel for children from families with poorer financial backgrounds from around the region. As a Yearoutindia volunteer, you will be able to supplement the teaching activities and also provide a refreshing change to the children of this amazing school.

Please note that teaching schedules are planned taking into consideration the current timetable of the school and teaching volunteers must be flexible enough to adapt to the teaching needs of the school.

Program duration & cost:

RT-VVS101- English / Art

RT-VVS102- Sports Camp

Please read our Do It All Program page for opportunities to mix and match various volunteering activities according to availability