Celebrating India Month in the Elementary School

Lynn Schneider, Elementary High School Principal

The focus of India Month this year was to provide students and teachers with an “immersive experience” of art, music, dance, and food to celebrate our host country’s Diwali holiday. Students were engaged in a myriad of in-class and specialty workshops hosted and led by professionals in Chennai, our own teachers, teaching assistants, and local staff.

The event kicked off with an opening ceremony for Elementary and Middle School students, complete with the lighting of the diya, professional dancers who performed four traditional Indian dances, and our annual Indian dance choreographed and performed by some of our own faculty. The theater was filled with energy and awe.

Throughout the month of October, students were fully engaged in learning about Indian culture in many of their specialist classes. Students then had the opportunity to share their knowledge with other grade levels. Grade five students learned the Indian sport of kho-kho in PE class and then taught it to Grade 3 students. Grade 4 students retold their version of “The Panchatantra” using various storytelling methods to our Early Years and Kindergarten students, while Grade 2 students taught first graders their version of the game paramapadam. During Indian Studies class, Grade 5 students learned about photojournalism and showcased AISC’s 1st Photo Biennale called “Chennai through my Eyes.”

We were fortunate to have experts in their field provide various cultural experiences for our students, including creating palm leaf crafts and teaching students how to use the spinning wheel (charkha). Our Upper Elementary students were introduced to traditional drumming which was heard far and wide across the elementary classrooms. One teacher said, “This is an amazing experience. We need to have these drummers back every year.” Our Lower Elementary students were able to learn oyilattam or traditional village dancing. Students also practiced yoga and learned silambam, an ancient martial art from Tamil Nadu.

In addition, faculty and staff also offered experiences such as Indian food and drink cooking classes, block printing, painting diyas, and creating mandala art. Many faculty also participated in bilingual read-aloud sessions, with one teacher reading in English and another in Hindi or Tamil. What a fantastic way to celebrate language and culture. We even had a number of our custodial staff teaching students how to make kolams outside on the playground. Students and parents also had the opportunity to purchase Indian literature at a book fair organized by our librarians. When asked what their favorite part of India month was, a first grader replied, “learning how to make a lassi because I’d never had one before and it was really good.” There was no shortage of fun and educational experiences for students. The month of immersive experiences concluded with a day of students and faculty attired in traditional Indian wear and enjoying a specially prepared Indian lunch.

The success of the event was due to the meticulous planning and organizing efforts of our Indian Studies teacher, Ms. Liza Mathews, in coordination with all of our faculty volunteers. Ms. Liza is already in the process of planning for India Month 2023!