World Laughter Day was celebrated on 10th of January with students narrating different humorous incidents, jokes etc. In the evening, we also had an activity called 'Just a Minute' for the whole of classes IX and XI students.

11th January, was the most memorable day for a group of 30 Abhyasites who played host at Pandit Ravi Shanker's Sitar recital programme organized by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation at the Hyderabad International convention Center at Hi-tech city. The programme had a host bigwigs ranging from ministers to bureaucrats to Film actors, whom the Abhyasa children received and took care of them. This is one of rare opportunities that Abhyasa students receive and this also gives them practical training in hospitality.

Traditional Fervor has come to the fore again at Abhyasa on the13th, 14th and 15th of January, on the days of Bhogi, Sankranthi and Kanuma. The Bhogi fire was lit on the morning of 13th signifying the beginning of a new season. The Sankranthi had Kite Flying and Rangoli activities, apart from the presence of a Traditional Visitor, the "Doo…Doo…Basavanna", the Dancing Bull, which entertained the students at Abhyasa for almost an hour. Apart from the above there were also Nagarsankirtan, Narayan Seva and clothes distribution. Navoi Bolshoi Ballet, was presented by Shankrananda Kalakshetra for the First Time at Hyderabad. The Students of Abhyasa had the rare opportunity of interacting with those artists and witnessing Ramayana in the form of Russian Ballet.

Parents's Day, at Abhyasa was celebrated on 18th January, 2009, with all the students performing Padpuja for all the Parents present on that day. Prior to that, many enthusiastic parents participated in Kite Flying Competition and Rangoli Competition. In a programme that began at about 4.00pm with Mr.G.Chandrasekhar Reddy Managing Director, Vice Chairman, Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Development Corporation as the Chief Guest, had many parents participating in fun games conducted by the students. The Chief Guest was impressed by the way some of the students paid tributes to their parents through poems and by narrating touching experiences with their parents.

Bhansuri, the Indian Flute Recital by Pandit Hari Prasad Chaursia, was organized by SPICMACAY, at Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, Hyderabad. The Abhyasa students had this rare opportunity of attending this programme. In an Interaction at this programme, the Abhyasa students made all heads turn towards them by posing interesting questions.

Republic Day Run is a part of Abhyasa's way of celebrating Republic Day on every 26th January. The Run aimed at spreading the idea of unity and harmony, takes place through the streets of Toopran, starting from the local Police Station to reach Abhyasa campus. The winners of this race get the privilege of hoisting the Tricolour at the ceremony. This year's winners of the run were Master Mayank Kore of class XII and Miss. Monica Durga of class VIII. The day did not end there…it was a Solar Eclipse Day and all the children had to spend indoors throughout the afternoon. Despite that there was a Dental Check up conducted for all the students that day. Thanks to the efforts of Dr.Chandrakanth (f/o Yuvneeth of class VII) and his team. It was his suggestion to introduce Health Card to all the students, which is being implemented. Impressed by the curiosity of Abhyasa students at Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia's recital, a popular Music Therapist, Mrs.Rajam Shanker from Sangeeta Alankara visited the campus and spoke to the students on the importance of Music in life and how music can be a therapy for any ailment that we generally suffer.

Life Time Success was the topic on which Prof. Ashok Anand, Director of Sidvin School of Business, Bangalore, inspired the senior students of Abhyasa. In an interesting, fun filled, informative lecture on 27th January, Prof.Ashok, while quoting success stories of many people encouraged the students to plan and work for success.

Basanth Panchami, also happens to be the Temple Anniversary Day at Abhyasa. On 31st January, there was Nagarsankirtan with a palanquin carrying Goddess Saraswathi, in the streets of Toopran. Homam was performed in the evening followed by Veena recital by Mr.Vamshi Krishna and Bhajans.

Abhyasa does not limit its activities only to the campus. As part village development activities Abhyasa became the co-organizer along with the youth of Toopran to conduct Samaikyatha, a run for unity in the Toopran town. The run fulfilling its aim had brought people from all walks of life-from businessmen to bureaucrats, from politicians to people in poverty and from teachers to the taught. The activity held on 8th February 2009 had even the students of Abhyasa working for the success of the programme.

The Prema Jyothi Exhibition was organized by Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Andhra Pradesh between 5th & 15th of February 2009. The exhibition depicted the service activities done by Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. The Class XI students of Abhyasa had the rare privilege of acting as floor leaders at this exhibition for three days. They were trained and for about 3 days prior to the exhibition, in the art of receiving the visitors, speaking to them convincingly and answering their queries amicably .interestingly the whole of Abhyasa team received a unanimous appreciation for their excellent handling of every visitor. In appreciation of their untiring service the students of class XI were given a silver medallion each.

Valentine's Day, 14th February also had some special on the Abhyasa Campus where the students of Class VIII have organized a Candle Light Dinner for all the staff and students.

19th February has seen the, inauguration of the New Sports Block, Ashraantha by the noted Telugu Film Hero, Mr.Sumanth. Ashraantha has a pavilion also where the spectators or the guests could sit and watch the performance or the match. The students of Abhyasa also presented a Guard of Honour and welcomed the Guest by forming a path of flags of different countries. There was a ballet performed depicting the History and origin of Hyderabad, tracing the antecedents to ancient history and presenting diverse cultural and art forms. All the achievers in academics, games, sports, Student's Club Activities and in all the external competitions, were given away their medals, cups, certificates and shields by the Guest. The ceremony was followed by a Camp Fire dinner under the mango trees behind the science block.

Mahashivratri, on 23rd February, was celebrated with a lot of devotion by many students who fasted through the day and were present at the Vedic Chanting, Bhajans and the Homam that went till midnight. It was only after the distribution of prasadam, the fasting students broke their fast.

Media Advisor, Mr.Ramachandram, an expert trainer in Public Speaking from Solace Media India Pvt. Ltd., in an exciting lecture of about one and half hours spoke to the students about the origin and importance of Media, especially Print Media on 1st March, 2009. He interacted with the students by goading them to ask queries and encouraging them to answer his queries. The talk brought to light the History of News Papers in India and the current issues such as Satyam Computers, Barak Obama's Outsourcing policy etc.

Women's Day: Women are the essential component of the Creation and to acknowledge this very fact, International Women's Day was celebrated on 8th March, 2009, with full of fun-filled activities for all the women at Abhyasa which was followed by a special dinner for them.

Mrs. Christina Lazarus at Abhyasa: The Holi eve was celebrated with a different flavour at Abhyasa with Mrs. Christina Lazarus, a representative of the Anglo-Indian Community and the Member of the Legislative Assembly, as the guest. Mrs. Christina spoke about her fight for Social Service throughout her life and encouraged the students to be bold and expressive. In an interaction that followed, she answered all the queries on corruption, present social system and social responsibility.

Well Equipped Gymnasium, at Ashraantha, the New Sports Block, with a Multi Gym, Treadmill, abdominal press, bench press and different types of dumbbells and weights was inaugurated on 18th March, 2009 by our dear President Sri Rangadas Kalletla. The Gymnasium is meant for the students of classes VIII to XII. This not only help the students maintain better physique but also puts Abhyasa on the list of International Schools with most modern Games and Sports facilities.

Ugadi and Gudi Padva on 27th March, was a festival with pure traditional fervour where a dish which gives out all the tastes ranging from sweetness to bitterness, indicating the realities of life, was served as prasadam. The senior students also went on Narayan Seva distributing food to the people at Harijanwada. New clothes were given to all the Class IV employees at Abhyasa.

On 8th of November, Rev. Dr. Jose Aikara visited Abhyasa, honouring his commitment made to our Principal, Mr. Vinaayaka Kalleetla and also on being impressed by performance by Abhyasites at the opening ceremony during the National ICSE/ISC Athletics Meet, held at Ramadevi Public School.

Dr. Aikara, the Secretary of the All India Association of ICSE and ISC schools, was delighted to be in a pleasant ambience and also had an interaction, where he answered various queries posed by the students ranging from the bulk of syllabus, academics-related questions and methods to how to overcome stress during examinations, very patiently for almost two hours!

He shared with us, informative points regarding the board, the pattern of examination and the student friendly nature of the ICSE as the answers to the some of the related questions posed by students. The students of classes X and XII were all ears towards the talk as they knew that even small mistakes in their final examinations would cost them their valuable marks.

Dr. Jose Aikara, the Principal of De Paul's International School, inspired the students of class X and XII students to exert themselves to achieve the best in the forthcoming board examinations.

Master Abhinay Vyas

(Class X)

Gandhiji once said, "I am not against science but I am afraid of the way it is being directed." Abhyasa has always taken proper care to develop the scientific temper among her students but never encouraged what the Father of the Nation was afraid of.

The Science and Math Fest was organized by Abhyasa on 19th of November in which the schools in and around Hyderabad participated to give us a great and rich experience. The Chief Guest of the competition was Mrs. Srivalli, a software professional at Microsoft. The aim of the Fest was to share knowledge through healthy competition. The fest began with model presentation where the miracles of science seemed to be unfastened around the visitors, enchanting and amazing their inquisitive mind.

Aditya and Badrinath of classes XI and XII respectively tested every participants' mettle and succeeded in making it a 'fun + learning' experience. This was followed by a debate session on the topic 'Space Exploration sans Social Responsibility, is it really worth it? Wherein, heated arguments, accompanied by a message regarding duty towards society, had had a good impact on the tenacious minds of the students.

The greatest danger to the human existence is nothing but the degradation of environment. Considering that aspect, students of all the participating schools took part in the eco-parliament where the major objective was to make students conscious of the brutal actions which the human race has been taking against the environment and the measures taken by current government to tackle the situation.

Numbers, they fascinate some but cause fear and dilemma for many: but this phobia of numbers can be removed through activities. Magic squares- an activity, wherein a number between 31 and 39 can be obtained by adding any four numbers in a 4*4 grid was depicted by Abhyasites impressively, through dance and really rocked the dais.

The eventful day came to an end filled laughter and rejoicing, never to be forgotten.

The magic has been revealed:

The students of class VIII rocking the dais with magic square dance

Master Abhinay Vyas

(Class X)

The Interact Club of Abhyasa actively took part in the noble task of assisting the government on 21st of December; the National Immunization Day to administer polio drops. This day signifies the efforts of the government in trying to eradicate the dreadful disease called Polio from every nook and corner of the country. The Interactors got into action, quickly divided themselves into seven groups, covering the following areas in Toopran where the oral polio vaccine was administered to small children below five years of age :

The interactors arrived at their concerned sites and began helping the nurses, either by controlling the children while the vaccine was being administered or by administering the vaccine themselves. The students also benefited from the activity by being able to learn various things about the vaccine and its actual function in the body. The students had even paired up and went around the streets of Toopran, knocking each door to find a small child who was in need of the vaccine and reminded them if they had not. The whole program ended successfully at around 2:00 pm in. We would like to thank our parent club, Rotary Club of Hyderabad North, for making this program an unforgettable experience.

Interactor Pranitha administering the polio vaccine during the pulse polio program.

Master. Diwakar Raju

(Class X)

(A report by team Abhyasa at IYMC)

The young mathematicians of Abhyasa have again showcased their talent in the heart of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Nawabs, Lucknow. They have achieved:

• Second place in the junior and senior categories for the mathematics model presentation at the math fair.
• A silver medal in the team activity event.
• Two silver medals in the junior level accompanied by a bronze medal for seniors in the individual round.

This four day event, filled with lots of enjoyment and mathematics was also a session to know about the world peace and religious unification. This was made possible through the beautiful talks presented the founder manager of the City Montessori School, Mr. Jagdish Gandhi. We would like to thank our H.O.D. (math), Mr. P.Uday who guided us throughout the event.

The steps to success explained: The model that bagged the silver medal at IYMC, on display and being explained by Bharavi (left). The junior team (right) which also succeeded in pulling off the second place for their "Hallucinogenic Highway"

Master Piyush E

(Class X)

14th November, a day looked forward to by all the students for lots of fun and frolic; of course to remember the birth anniversary of free India's first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru or 'Chacha Nehru' as he is fondly called by the kids.

When the sun rose that day, Abhyasites woke up with laughter as this day is usually full of surprises and we were not disappointed throughout the day. The doorways in the dormitory and our cots had all been decorated with balloons and buntings starting off our special day on a joyful note. All of us were allowed to go for games which were a privilege we appreciated immensely and it was followed by Assembly which had a funny twist to it as all the duties usually performed by students such as escorting, giving counts etc.

The teacher in-charge of Assembly for the day-Uday Vora of class XII was escorted by the 'children' of the day - Mr.Shashank and Kailash (teachers from the English dept.) and all the teachers singing the prayer song in the Abhyasites' style and even sportively performed the march past! The teachers had us rolling with laughter in the aisles-and can we ever forget the delicious, mouth-watering lunch prepared by our teachers with love and care and served to us with their own hands? Hmmm…. just the thought of that lunch, has my mouth watering. In the afternoon, our Principal addressed us and spoke about living our childhood to the fullest extent, enjoying every moment of it.

Then came the event that every Abhyasite was waiting for! The cultural program, this year, it was filled with a variety- dance, drama, music, action, thrill and what-not from our strict, yet ever-caring teachers! No student would ever miss this gala event for anything in the world! In fact, this program was a very clear example of our Principal's address that afternoon.

Miss Pranita A.

(Class X)

The day dawned when the junior businessmen of Abhyasa were into deal, at the Picnic spot on the day of the Parent's picnic (Allapur). Classes 9, 10, 11 & 12 were involved in this activity in which the primary motive of all the teams was to pioneer their Brand names and promote their brands effectively to win the hearts of the customers. This support from the customers (Parents) would help these teams sell their products effectively on the day of the Commerce Activity. Class 9 had named their brand as INFERNO, Class 10 CHILLIN and Class 11&12 named their brand as FLAME TO FAME. All the teams promoted their brands successfully. Finally on December 7, all the teams set up their stalls at the Picnic Spot and sold a wide variety of products that included food, fashion accessories and clothing. On that day, all the teams conducted many games to entertain the parents. All the parents were very appreciative of the arrangements for the activity. The accounting process was efficiently handled under the guidance of the Commerce Department headed by Mr.Sashi Sekhar, Mr.Hareen Kumar, Mr.Tarun Kumar and Ms.Padmaja. This activity also proved to be a good learning experience as the students gained hands-on experience in internalizing concepts such as marketing, advertising, financing, accounting etc. The students also proved their creativity and created a neck-to-neck competition by introducing many new products and ideas during the activity. The prime motive of any business is to gain profits- but the profits generated by this activity goes for a noble cause i.e. for Arpan-Abhyasa's Gramseva program to help the Poor and needy. This time, a record figure of Rs. 75,000 has been collected by way of profit, in just a day!

Master K.E.K.Shashank

(Class X)

This semester, Abhyasa visited various places in and around Hyderabad to focus on learning through experiencing various aspects like marketing, energy conservation, etc.

Master K.E.K.Shashank

The places where students of Abhyasa visited are:

The second semester started on an exciting note where the students of Abhyasa made a record braking tally of thirty five points at the A.P. Regional Athletic Meet by achieving:

Senior boys (overall championship)

Senior boys (overall championship)

• Sawan Yadav (silver) 5km walk
• Piyush (silver) long jump.

Where Badrinath, Ashwin, Diwakar, Suraj (of class 12), Sawan and Piyush (of class IX and X respectively) qualified for national athletic meet to be held at Ramadevi Public School, Hyderabad.