Language & Cultural School Happenings

--Sonia Gera & Priya Vaidya

Pictures from event, compiled by Kiran Gahlot

On Sunday May 21st, ISW Cultural and Language School celebrated its Annual Day which marks the end of the academic year for the school. This year it was an extra special celebration as the school completed 30 years since its inception. On a bright and sunny morning, this fabulous event was graced by the presence of over 270 attendees including students, parents and teachers. The event started with reciting the Indian and American National Anthems. It was followed by amazing and extraordinary performances by each of the language classes (Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, and Kannada). After each performance, the students were handed out the certificates, attendance awards and they posed for the group pictures. Dances, skits, speeches, songs, the performances included so much talent, it was a real treat to see the kids grow with each other and become so fluent in these languages. The program also marked honoring the ISW volunteers with the PVSA (Presidential Volunteer Service Awards). ISW President Puneet Kohli felicitated Mrs. Carolyn Passey, co-founder of the school and Mrs. Shiamin Melville, co-director of the school for their dedication and commitment to the school. Last but not the least, the celebration ended with a very youthful, musical and lively performance by the teachers. They danced to the medley of songs in four different languages from the 1980's era and ended the program by singing the "... ज़िन्दगी मिल के बिताएँगे '' It was loved by everyone and the air was filled with exuberance and enthusiasm. The program ended with a scrumptious lunch feast. All the families had pitched in to bring potluck items.

Behind the Scenes:

Committed to making this event memorable and special, ISW faculty and administrators worked relentlessly until the day of the event. With support and encouragement from our co- directors Shiamin Melville and Ruchi Chauhan, the event was meticulously planned so that it showcases not only the students' linguistic abilities but also gives a glimpse of the rich Indian culture. The event truly depicted the "Unity in Diversity" theme of our school.

The decoration team led by Bindiya Jain worked on creating beautiful bulletin boards and a unique centerpiece to decorate the hallways of the main lobby. While one of the boards had pictures from assemblies held throughout the school year, the other one had messages from students written on hearts that created the number "30". The hall was decked with marigold garlands and windows had mirror-work umbrellas to add more colors to the decor!

Teachers' dance performance was choreographed by Anupama Debroy and the medley had songs in four major languages (Tamil, Marathi, Hindi, and Gujarati) taught at our school.

The idea for the grand finale of the event was conceived by Sarita Deshpande. Intended to bring everyone together and spread cheer, the song created a melodious and mesmerizing environment where the audience joined the teachers singing the final few lines of the song while clapping their hearts out! It was truly an amazing 30th anniversary celebration and as our co-founder Carolyn Passeyji mentioned, "Cheers to another 30 years!"

Message from our co-founder Carolyn Passey

Thank you to Ruchi, Shiamin, and all the teachers, parents and students for allowing the school to continue to flourish and grow for the past 30 years!

Today’s celebration was just perfect - from the festivities planning to the decorations, all the well prepared student presentations thanks to the teachers and the students hard work, the great food thanks to the parents, to Sarita and Anu for the most fun way of ending the day with dance, music and song, and to everyone who “dressed” me and showered me with so much love!! The whole day was filled with laughter and fun and I am so glad I could be a part of it!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing many of you at India Day!!

Cheers to another 30 years!!

Teacher Appreciation Donations

This year has gone by so fast, and the academic year draws to a close this month

Our Annual Day celebration is going to be on Sunday, May 21. This year is very special as we complete 30 years of ISW School. To celebrate this milestone event, each class will be doing a presentation. The teachers will be providing more info on the class WhatsApp group.  Everyone will receive the participant certificates on this Annual day.  It will be followed by a potluck lunch.  Please RSVP, thanks

Registrations for Sept 2023 will be opening soon.

In the past we have collected donations for Teachers Appreciation online and the link is available here. 

Donation for Teacher Appreciation 2023

Should you wish to donate to teachers, you may do so at this link by the end of June 2023 and once thank you for your support. Funds will be donated as per teachers choice.

Hi Parents, it is that time of year again, the academic year draws to an end.  Many of you wanted to show your appreciation for the great volunteer work done by the ISW  Language Teachers, Assembly Teachers and Staff.  Our school has been going strong for 30+ years with the support  of our teachers, so thank you to them.  

In 2020  $900 was donated on behalf of teachers to Greater Worcester Community Foundation GWCF for the 'First Responders Fund'.

In 2021 The donation collected for 2021 went towards the ISW building expansion fund. Once again thanks to all the teachers and volunteers for their hard work and dedication.

In 2022 The donation $670 collected went to World Central Kitchen for their work in Ukraine, and the remaining amount was donated to local charities like Abby House, Floral Street School(for a family in need), Northborough Junior Woman club (Turkey earthquake relief fund) and Senior Center In Shrewsbury(Food Pantry)

We had an amazing celebration for Holi and a fun Easter Egg Hunt and all the students,teachers and parents actively. We applaud Divya Gahlot, Swati and Mukul Agrawal, our Student teachers, and last but not least our lovely group of parents. It was really fun.

Check out the pictures

ISW School/IYG and WeCareCharity collaborate to collect gently used/new clothes for India

Collection Sites

April 2, India Center school hours
April 30, India Center school hours
May 13, Showcase India 

From April 1, 2023 to May 19, 2023, a collection will be made.

• Sarees with or without blouses
• Men's Western or Indian Clothes
• Children's Western clothes only
• We are unable to accept additional petticoats and blouses along with any salwar kameez at this time

Contact:

1. Tejal Doshi WeCareCharity rep for Worcester
2. Ruchi Chauhan/Shiamin Melville/Meetali Desai ISW School
3. Rahil Doshi/Priyanshu Sahu/Aryan Das IYG

New Saraswati painting at ISW School

Update:  Saraswati Puja was attended by the school kids, parents and teachers on March 12.  Anju Shukla guided the kids through the puja rituals with thali's prepared by Carolyn and Beena.  The new painting was tastefully displayed, and adorned with flowers.  Prasad prepared by the parents was handed out with special Saraswati statue brought from India by Carolyn and Sahdev Passey every year for the school kids

For Video and pictures

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CGUaHL34h2Fopayr8

Many years ago when the ISW school was established, Carolyn, Pushpaji and Ushaji started the tradition of honouring the Goddess of Education, Saraswatiji as part of the school curriculum. A large portrait of her was lovingly painted plus zari and fabric was incorporated Over the years it was restored by Dr Passey and used annually. Some time back we were gifted a beautiful large sized framed picture of Saraswatiji by the Arora family which was incorporated into the celebrations.

The tradition of Saraswati puja continued online during Covid lockdown and in 2022 we were fortunate to be back in our beautiful India Center. This year we are very fortunate to have Divya Gahlot present us with a gorgeous hand painted portrait of Saraswati Maa. It took her 68 hours over 19 days to complete the creation of the 20x30 painting starting in November 2022.

We invite all to attend Saraswati puja on March 12 and come and celebrate, plus see our forever gift.

Mahashivratri Assembly with Sonia Ji and Saraswati bhajan practice assembly with Sarita Ji, Dhruv and Aarush

ISW school hosted a Talent show where a lot of students participated. It was great to see so many hidden gems. Amazing performances were showcased by the kids during the Talent Show… Dancing, Singing, Drawing, Instruments and impromptu presentation.

The donation made by ISW School to help families in Turkey and Syria impacted by the catastrophic earthquake was dropped off at the home of a Northboro Junior Woman's Club member. The community's generous donations were loaded up to four vans and a UHaul truck and delivered to the Turkish Consulate and Syria’s collection centers by NuDay.

ISW school celebrated this year's Republic Day with Assembly presentation, learning about the Indian flag ,constitution, how it’s celebrated in India and more. We also had a veteran share their experience of Republic day parade with us. We concluded with making Flag of India.