“Children are precious gift of God, and they are also truly a gift to a institution. Children do have hidden talents in them, either to speak or sing – so as adults we need to give them a chance and allow them to unleash their talents either through elocution, singing etc. Don’t ignore them, but encourage them-You will be surprised to see that they too can perform well and impress their mentors, teachers and parents” – Rev Fr Wilson Vitus D’Souza- Parish Priest, Bejai church and Manager- Lourdes Central School, Mangaluru
Mangaluru: Seems like the above words of wisdom by Rev Fr Wilson were absolutely right- the way that the children of Tender Foot Pre-School and Coaching Institute impressed their management, teachers and their parents during the First Convocation and Fourth Anniversary celebrations was truly amazing and indeed commendable. These kids were given a chance to unleash their hidden talents, and they showed the audience that they too can shine and perform well at a very early stage too. Tender Foot Pre School is a unique place where little children are nurtured to grow in an atmosphere of love, care and security by developing their inherent skills through a play way method of observation, understanding and self exploration.
Three and four-year-old children are often called preschoolers. Preschool children want to touch, taste, smell, hear, and test things for themselves. They are eager to learn. They learn by experiencing and by doing. Preschoolers learn from their play. They are busy developing skills, using language, and struggling to gain inner care. Preschoolers are more independent than toddlers. They can express their needs since they have greater command of language. They may also talk about imaginary friends. They enjoy dramatic play with other children. Their emotions are usually extreme and short-lived. They begin to learn to share. Preschool children learn best by doing and involve in variety of activities. They communicate their needs, ideas, and questions. Their attention span is a little longer so they can participate in group activities.
They can make representational pictures (for example, pictures of flowers, people, etc.) They are very active and aggressive in their play. They sometimes have imaginary friends. They tend to brag and be bossy. They have very active imaginations. They need to feel important and worthwhile. They can be aggressive but want friends and enjoy being with other children. They enjoy pretending to be important adults such as mom, dad, nurse, doctor, mail carrier, police officer. They appreciate praise for their achievements. They need opportunities to feel more freedom and independence. They are learning to take turns and to share. They ask lots of questions, including “how” and “why” questions. They are very talkative. Their language includes silly words and profanity. They enjoy serious discussions. They can understand some basic concepts such as number, size, weight, color, texture, distance, time and position. Their classification skills and reasoning ability are developing ‘ –these and many more qualities found in the kids belonging to the ‘Tender Foot Pre School and Coaching Institute’ located in Bejai, came to light at the Convocation and Annual day celebration held at Lourdes Central School Hall on 17 January 2015, which was celebrated with great gusto and fan fare.
The celebration began with a thoughtful prayer sung by the cute little kids of Tender Care Pre-School. Doreen Patrao- trustee of the school welcomed the gathering and introduced the chief guest Fr Wilson Vitus D’Souza- Parish priest, Bejai church & Manager, Lourdes Central School, Mangaluru, and Guest of honour Dr Amitha Hegde (Professor and HOD Paedodontics and Preventive Dentistry AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences Mangaluru) who presided over the function. Following the introduction the traditional lamp was lit by the dignitaries along with Glen Patrao Correspondent accompanied by his spouse Doreen Patrao Trustee and Mamtha Bhandary Trustee accompanied by her husband Rathindranath, and also the student of the year, Druthvick. Peter Nirmal -General Manager of Taj Gateway Hotel also graced the occasion.
Addressing the audience Fr Wilson D’Souza said, ” Children are precious gift of God, and they are also truly a gift to a institution. Children do have hidden talents in them, either to speak or sing – so as adults we need to give them a chance and allow them to unleash their talents either through elocution, singing etc. Don’t ignore them, but encourage them-You will be surprised to see that they too can perform well and impress their mentors, teachers and parents. The purpose of training and education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their life”.
Recalling a Irish proverb, ‘Every child born has a definite story to tell, a definite song to sing and a definite smile to give and that story only that child can give and no one else’, Fr Wilson said, “We should allow our children to speak, sing or whatever talents they have. Also never compare your kids to others kids. Spend time with your kids, communicate with them, encourage them, but never ignore or leave them alone. You must be a role model to your children. Parents are principle educators, parents should entrust their children, follow up with their education, teach them morals and values of life”.
He furthers aid, “Children are the beauty of the family. They are the beauty of the society. Today’s kids are tomorrows leaders. Little ones can achieve great things and success if they are given the training and showed the right direction. And pre-schools like Tender Foot play an important role in moulding the tiny tots, training them, teaching them the right qualities and manners etc etc. Compliments to the founders of this great institute for thinking and caring about the kids and making them active when they grow and move forward. Best wishes and all success”.
Quoting Swami Vivekananda’s words “Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man”, Dr Amitha Hegde in her speech said, “Each and every one of us were born perfect, even if we don’t realize it. What education does is simply polish our ways of expressing it. Thus, in this way, education is also an ongoing process. Children are to become the leaders of tomorrow, they must be guided to accept the responsibilities that come with it. Granted that kindergarten years are way too early to start pounding their minds with the pressure of tomorrow, but it is an important stage to be moulding them to adapt themselves to what the future may hold for them- both good and bad! Only then, they will be able to make great leaders”.
She further said, “The bond between a teacher and student is more sacred for us than to many other cultures around the world, because of the not-so-obsolete ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’. Thus, a role a teacher plays in each child’s life is of utmost importance . In kindergarten, what they learn from themselves and others, their friends and us elders, will go a long way in shaping their characters, and in turn, their future. Children are a gift of God and epitome of innocence. The faith and belief we instill in them today is what they return back to the society in future. As a paedodontist, I consider myself blessed and humbled to be able to surround myself by the wealth of innocence that is children, as should everybody gathered here”.
Dr Hegde concluded saying, “A model school should be mirror of the child’s personality in that the education imparted to him/her must and should be joyous. A school is a second home for kids. Being here for a short while, I can say that the teachers of this school are very caring and loving as a mother to her child. So rest assured parents, your little masterminds and geniuses are in good hands-these teachers will do justice in not only educating these young minds, but also in loving and caring for them as their own. My congratulations to the management and teachers for capturing the essence of true education”.
Following the awards ceremony, where the children of Tender Foot, and also some of their parents were presented with prizes by the dignitaries and family members of the School Trustees, for their success in various co-curricular activities. Then it was time for the First-ever Convocation of the school. Convocation , whether it’s from school or a college commencement, is not only a time to reflect on the past while planning ahead for the future, it’s a time to celebrate accomplishments and reflect, thereby find inspiration for life beyond the big day. The tiny tots in their blue-gowns looked cute and thrilled while they received their certificates of accomplishment.
Druthvik- a student from the Mont-II shared his thoughts and experience about Tender Foot School, management and his beloved teachers. Even some of the parents wanted to share their thoughts and experiences about Tender Foot Pre-School & Coaching Institute- Dr Vandhana Rao (mother of Shriyam Shenoy-Nursery), Supan Deshpande (father of Pracheth -Mont I), and Bhavya Latha (mother of Nishkala-Mont II) praised and complimented the School for nurturing and training their children with the best education, good manners, co-curricular activities skills and moral values- they all said it was best choice they made by enrolling their children in Tender-Foot School.
Mamtha Bhandary Trustee of the school presented the annual report and the milestones of the school. The programme was professionally compered by Sonia Rodrigues, and as they say that gratitude helps you to grow and expand, it also brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you- and since gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy, Glen Patrao- Correspondent delivered the vote of thanks, where he sincerely thanked all those who were responsible for the success of the “4th Anniversary Celebration” and also for the growth of the School.
The talents of the kids were unleashed through various acts songs and dances which were choreographed by Raksha and the teachers Sandhya, Malini, Shobna, Sumalatha, Shreelatha and Padmashree assisted by Sarla and Bhavani. It was indeed a fun filled occasion to be in the midst of tiny tots which brought back some fond childhood memories when I was a kid- although we didn’t had much encouragement from our teachers and adults, and also better facilities then, it is nice to see that the present generation of kids are pondered and showered with all the goodies/facilities- and I urge them to make avail of all the opportunities/facilities provided to them, thereby grow up with rich qualities/skills to be the good and responsible citizens of this country.
Kudos to the management and staff of Tender Foot Pre School and Coaching Institute for putting up a great celebration, and also for providing their students an atmosphere of love, care and security; and provide a chance to the children to develop through self exploration and play way method of observing, understanding and exploring. No doubt with their motto “Tender Care Toward Greater Success”, Tender Foot Pre-School is a home away from home for the “Tender Ones”.