Expert Lecture on Desired Learning Focus & Employability Skills by Dr Jnaneshwar Pai Maroor

Mangaluru: Agnes Towards Community (ATC) is a five-year old project of social responsibility undertaken by St Agnes College (Autonomous), Mangaluru to give their students a taste for community service before they leave the portals of the College.  For this purpose the College has adopted five villages in the vicinity of Mangaluru, namely Harekala, Amblamogaru, Munnuru, Kotekar and Hosabettu.  The ATC programmes are undertaken on saturdays wherein all the final year students as guided by their staff members are given hands on experience of community interaction and service.  The four saturdays in a month are divided to plan, prepare, execute and evaluate the whole service exercise.

The year 2019-20 saw a major change in the format of the project. The Science and Arts faculty came together with projects based on the syllabus of study and apply it for their service learning activity.  This was done with the dual purpose of helping students to learn the topic practically in a real social set up and to identify and render useful scientific based practical solutions to the problems faced by the villagers.  

One such problem is water purity. Since water plays an important role in maintaining the human health and welfare, water quality testing is important because it identifies contaminants and prevents water borne diseases. In this regard, Departments of Chemistry and Microbiology took up a project on water analysis.   The major objectives of the project were: 1. To provide hands on experience on water analysis, a topic learnt by the students in their course of study.  2. To test the potability of water sources of the villages, so that the scientific and practical solutions can be provided, wherever needed.  

The first village chosen for the study was Amblamogaru.  The two batches of students (20 students in each batch) were led by Mrs.Prajwal Rao, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Ms.Smitha, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry. They were assisted by Ms.Hezil Saldanha, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry in carrying out the project. 

The water samples from different sources were collected in sterilised glass bottles. The students were enthusiastic in collecting water samples and also interacted with the village folk regarding the availability of drinking water supplies. The students under the guidance of faculty carried out the experiments in water analysis in Chemistry and Microbiology Laboratories at St Agnes College. This included testing for parameters such as pH, conductivity, total hardness and turbidity, presumptive, confirmed and completed Coliform test. From chemical analysis, it is found that all parameters satisfy the standards of potable water. Microbiological analysis showed that the water samples were potable for human consumption (No faecal contamination observed). 

The project has been envisaged to help the villagers to have recourse to the information on the results of the tests conducted. The water samples collected for the analysis were found to be potable for human consumption. If the water samples not been found to be potable, the departments had strategized to guide the villagers on useful scientific and practical solutions wherever needed.

This project of Agnes Towards Community (ATC) helped students to go beyond classroom learning, develop practical skills, disseminate knowledge and render service to the community. This activity also provided direct and relevant experiences to the students that deepened and enriched their learning abilities.

Mangaluru, Mar 4: With an objective to create awareness among children about the importance of consumption of fruits in regular diet, First Steps Pre-School, Kudroli, celebrated Fruits Day on Friday 28th February 2020 with fun and frolic.

The tiny tots of preschool celebrated Fruit Day. Children, representing the fruits of their choice sang the fruit rhymes with great zest, enthusiasm and vigour, enjoying the moments of joy and happiness in the company of their mates & teachers.

Teachers had made interesting and simple stories on encouraging children to have fruits in their meals. The teachers also explained the importance of fruits’ intake in diet for mental and physical growth. The tiny tots also learned more about the taste, smell,

color and texture of each fruit. Children clearly understood the importance of washing the fruits before eating or cooking and about the benefits of eating fresh fruits.

All the children were found to be quite thrilled and were positive on the fact that fruits are better than junk food.

The head teacher Himna S. Ahmed, teacher Azeema and Master Shehzan S. Ahmed arranged the event in an impressive manner which added feather to the event.

The event magnificently concluded with fruit feast for the kids of pre-school.

First Steps Pre-School, Kudroli celebrated Red Day on Friday, 14th March 2020 with elegance. To mark the celebration, all the tiny tots wore Red clothing and brought Red coloured fruits, vegetables & toys to share with the class and each pre-schooler briefly described his or her Red item brought to the class. 

The classroom was decorated with red streamers, balloons and table settings. The bulletin board was designed with the word ‘Red’ with pictures of Red animals, vehicles, plants and foods.

The Bloomings were asked to bring Red coloured objects for a ‘Show and Tell’ activity.

The teachers collected the objects from the children and displayed them on a table and taught the names of the objects to the children and also introduced many other facts about them. Students were given a thorough understanding of the colour red through different activities.

The kids actively participated and were very happy and excited. Parents were equally thrilled and overwhelmed due to their child’s participation.

Career Guidance Counsellor, Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Shameer Ahmed was the chief guest of the event. He addressed the students on the importance of colours and explained the purpose of conducting such an event to boost the confidence and creative culture in kids.
 
Headteacher Himna S. Ahmed enlightened the importance of colour in our life. She further added that Red is the best colour to create enthusiasm for life and can awaken greater confidence & optimism. In the meaning of colours, Red inspires original thought and inquisitiveness. 

Red is the colour of energy, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense colour. Children learnt the significance, importance and identification of the colours.

The teachers Himna, Azeema decorated the classrooms with red objects that children can easily identify with. They created beautiful red tables, red drapes, red balloons, red toys, red boxes, red balls, red fruit and vegetable cutouts etc. Everywhere the kids looked, they found something or the other in red. Learning was fun on red day and the children are looking forward to learning about yet another colour.

Event coordinator Shehzan S. Ahmed arranged the event in a skilled manner, which added a feather to the event.

In the end, each child was sent home with a bright Red smiley prop. and the colouring sheets which they coloured as an indoor activity to commemorate the Red day.

The event magnificently concluded with refreshments for the kids of pre-school.