Dear Readers

Welcome to the October 2008 issue of the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values UK email newsletter.

This month:

BISSE “Living the Values” Day
Values in Action
A Human Values Tree for Abbey Community Primary School Leicester
Story
Training Update

If you have any feedback, or would like to share your experiences of SSEHV, please write to us.

Kind Regards,
The Editor

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BISSE “Living the Values” Day – October 4th 2008

Coupled with Abbey School, BISSE hosted the highly successful ‘Living the Values’ Day on Saturday 4th October 2008 at Abbey Primary School, Leicester.

The morning was primarily a meeting for all BISSE Members and Friends. The afternoon programme was open to all, and consisted of illuminating and fun filled entertainment which showcased the children who attend SSEHV classes at Abbey School, the Leicester Sathya Sai School and the Wembley Sathya Sai Weekend School, London.

With Jiten Patel beginning the morning with a welcome speech, Mrs. Kiran Kumar Fakey kindly lit the candles to formally open the event.

As the morning unfolded, Members and Friends firstly experienced a dynamic speech from Tim Foster (Head Teacher, Abbey Primary School) with his ‘Ten top tips for influencing a school to get involved in SSEHV’. Amongst other guidelines, he encouraged us to raise awareness of SSEHV to other schools through ‘creating a family not a school’ and ‘embedding SSEHV into the everyday practise in the school through PSHE.’ A musical interlude and change in tempo was then provided by SSEHV songs from ‘Anahata’ (Zita Starkie and Richard Braithwaite). This was followed by the Director’s talk and then short talks from each of the 6 new BISSE Heads of Department, Jiten Patel, Subita Mahtani, Professor K. Niranjan, Carole Alderman, Bob Alderman and Ganesh Yoganathan. Ishver Patel presented an encouraging speech describing amongst other themes ‘How many Institutes of Sathya Sai Education prevailed around the world’.

The programme continued to be upbeat and uplifting owing to its sheer diversity, in line with the SSEHV lesson plan ethos. Members and friends were welcomed in to the SSEHV classes to see the children ‘at work’ and learning about SSEHV which was delightful, followed by tea and refreshments kindly provided by the Region 4 SSSSO team.

Zita Starkie shared encouraging news of SSEHV in Wales, and the morning culminated on a high note with a deeply touching speech by the Mayor of Leicester (Manjula Sood), detailing her experiences with Sathya Sai Education, and her aspirations for SSEHV for the future. The Lord Mayor of Leicester then officially declared the newly decorated SSEHV classroom open for Abbey School students by unveiling a brass plaque. Mr. Dipak Kumar Fakey’s role has been of paramount importance in the introduction of SSEHV to Abbey. It was evident how respected and loved he is at Abbey. Known as ‘Mr Smiley’ his enthusiasm reigns supreme as the most popular and amiable SSEHV Teacher!

The afternoon proved a great platform of varied entertainment including dance and drama by children from Abbey School, The Sathya Sai School and other community members,. With the energetic and charming compering of the Head Teacher, Tim Foster, all who attended felt welcome and included. It was apparent that through SSEHV the children emanated an air of confidence, inner poise and distinction.

All in all, the SSEHV National Day: “Living the Values” was filled with great energy and enthusiasm, for all who attended to be inspired for a ‘value-full’ future.

Jyothi Bharwani

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Values in Action

"Give it one, Give it two, Give it one, two, three! We are the children of Abbey School. We take pride in the things we do. Learning together and having fun. Who’s for a good day?.... Everyone!!"

Why is it that several days after the National SSEHV Day at Abbey Primary School, the chorus of the 'schools song' resounds deeply in my head? Is it because of a catchy tune, the unique lyrics or something else? As I offer these humble impressions of a spectacular day, I realise it’s not the tune, the words or the song itself that resonates within me; it’s the passion and excitement with which the song is sung. It’s not the harmony of voices that filled the room; it’s the harmony of hearts. In short, this song is a true indication of SSEHV in action.”

The stimulating National SSEHV Day was aptly called ‘Living the Values’ and was situated at the Abbey Primary School in Leicester- a wonderful example of SSEHV undertaken by an entire school. Though all the morning sessions were informative and interesting for the members, friends and supporters of BISSE who were present, the most stimulating presentation of the day was that of Mr.Tim Foster, head teacher of Abbey Primary. Like a parent full of pride, Mr. Foster exuded genuine delight as he shared the remarkable story of his school, and the transformation it has gone through over the last two years, since adopting the SSEHV programme. He cited examples of the increasing excellent results that the students were achieving, and more importantly, the shifts in behaviour and character that were occurring.

Mr. Foster’s sincere belief in and commitment to the universal philosophy of Sathya Sai Education in Human Values was more than evident. The Abbey Primary school is a shining example of ‘living the values’, but this would not be possible without the dedication and support of its head teacher, who is an admirable model of values in action. This is apparent to anyone who watches Mr. Foster interact with his students, remember each of their names (and their sibling’s names) and gush about their individual achievements!

After such an inspirational experience, it’s no surprise that one attendee remarked, “I wish all schools would adopt SSEHV.” Indeed, this comment is probably a deep seated yearning of most people who have come into contact with the SSEHV programme. Those who experience the truly amazing effects of SSEHV on the human character and bear witness to this transformation of the human heart, are very keen to see the programme flourish and spread. With Abbey Primary as an exemplar, this is an excellent opportunity for members of BISSE to go out and ‘show the world’ what SSEHV is all about. As we were reminded by some of the speakers, SSEHV can only go as far as its supporters take it; it’s definitely a great time for us to spring into action and bring these values into action!

“Learning together and having fun. Who’s for a good day?... Everyone!!”

As I continue to hum this song, I most certainly feel like having a good day, and with a school like Abbey Primary leading the way, I am confident that more and more good days are to come!

Shilpa Sharma

 

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A Human Values Tree for Abbey Community Primary, Leicester

The idea to make a tree came from Jiten Patel at a meeting of the BMG, and everyone agreed it would be a friendly gesture from BISSE to present it to the school on the ‘Living the Values’ day in recognition of the very great achievements they have made in integrating the values into their whole school curriculum and school ethos. Allan and Lark Beecham took on the task of designing and constructing the tree.

It came about as a ‘flat-pack’ construction for ease of transport and assembly. The trunk was made from old and heavy boards, found on a firewood pile. The first task was to gather them in out of the rain and de-nail them. Allan planed and cut them and they slotted together in the form of a cross. This reminded us of the Christian symbol of sacrifice, and the need to give up our ego driven thoughts and desires. The trunk had to be strong and sturdy and not fall over. We added pieces at the bottom and shaped them to suggest roots, and at the top more pieces were shaped into branches to slot in and support the plywood cut-outs that formed the shape of the tree.

Nine circular holes were cut out of the plywood. The holes were designed to hang two circles of plastic tubing through. They served as a rail to hang the human values fruits from; strawberries for Love, apples for Truth, pears for Peace, cherries for Right Conduct and grapes for Non Violence. The fruits were made from brightly coloured shiny card to reflect the light as they move, and there was enough room for two hundred leaves.

On the day all the children, parents, teachers and BISSE members and friends assembled were invited to write on a leaf and hang it on the Human Values Tree to make their own personal pledge for the values.

At the top of the tree, in the middle of the crossed pieces of plywood sits a wooden sphere, turned by Allan. This seemed to us to make a pleasing finishing touch, and it reminded us of the world and also how important it is for everyone in the world to never ever give up our human values. Some ideas for the tree can be found here.

Lark Beecham

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Story

Peaceful Sleeping Baby by Manivasagn Moodley (Story for age 7)

“They won’t worry about you anymore. All their love and attention will be given to the new born baby. You’ll be forgotten”.

Seven-year-old David could hear these depressing words loudly in his mind. They were the words of his friend, Charlie, when David had told him about how unhappy he was getting at home now that his mum was pregnant and no longer spend a lot of time with him. He was beginning to feel neglected by both his parents because everything that they did and everything they talked about was centred round the unborn baby.

David felt neglected. He was no longer the centre of attention. He didn’t feel loved any more. He could not concentrate at school, or in the playground, or even when playing football. He became more frustrated and angry and often felt he did not want a baby brother or sister. His mum had now stopped work as it was getting closer to the baby being born. She was tired in the afternoons and spent more time resting. After school and at the weekends, she now spent less time playing with David. This made him feel miserable. David knew that he had to do something, or else he really would be forgotten!

First, to get his parent’s attention, he started falling over on purpose and cried pretending he had hurt his leg. Then his parents would rush to him and comfort him. His mum used to rub his ‘imaginary’ hurt leg to make it better.

He also decided that he would pretend to be sick. He got up one morning and told his mum that he did not feel well. He told her his head and tummy ached and that he could not go to school. His mum told him to stay home and rest. If he wasn’t better by the next day, she would take him to the doctor.

Whilst he was at home, David noticed things about his mum that he had not seen before. He noticed how quickly she got tired, how much bigger she was and also at times the discomfort she was in. He also noticed that she had difficulty when she stood up from a chair and that she walked more slowly. He saw that, although his mum was having these difficulties, she did not complain, but was extremely happy and looked very peaceful!

David started to feel a little ashamed about his behaviour. So he decided to pour his mum a glass of milk and gave her some biscuits to eat. She was very happy with his kind gesture. They both sat down on the sofa and his mum showed him some old photographs of her when she was pregnant with him. David looked at his mum in the old photo. She looked younger and was very beautiful and just as big as she was now. He also saw in the photo that she looked extremely happy and peaceful, just as she was now. David’s mum also showed him some photo’s of her and his father holding a tiny new-born baby. “That is you,” she said. “We were so happy when you were born”.

As he looked at all these photos, one thing stood out for him and that was the beautiful smiles on the faces of both his mum and his dad. They looked so happy!

David now realised that his mum and dad did love him, just as they loved this unborn baby. He now felt sorry about his behaviour. He wanted to tell his mum all about the fake falls and fake sickness and his frustrations, but he had a strange feeling that she already knew about them. So he closed his eyes and thought for a moment about what would be the best thing to tell her.

When he opened his eyes he said, “Mum, I love you. I love dad too and I love with all my heart my new baby brother or sister”. As he said it, David felt all his anger, frustration and sadness melt away like ice cream on a hot day. He felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from him and there was a warm feeling of peace in his mind and in his heart.

On hearing these sweet, honey-like words, his mum cried and smiled and gave him a big hug.

Questions:

1) How did you feel when you heard the story?
2) Why could David not concentrate at school or when playing football?
3) Why was David angry at his mum and dad?
4) What did David do to get his parent’s attention?
5) When Davis was at home, what did he notice about his mum?
6) How did his mum help David to realise how special he was?
7) What did David do to say sorry to his mum?
8) Did the story remind you of anything in your own life?

ACTIVITY: ART

1) Discuss with the children what would help them feel peaceful, e.g.

• Sitting on a beach (on the warm sand), looking at a sunset or sunrise with family
• Sitting in a beautiful garden on a summer’s day and looking at the colourful flowers
• Getting a warm, big hug from their mum or dad.
• Listening to different types of music (e.g. classical, spiritual music)
• Reading an interesting book

2) Ask the children to draw as best as they can the experience that will make them peaceful (using crayons, felt and colour pens and glitter pens)

3) Children then will write a caption in bold print under the drawing: ‘Jake’s (their name) Peace of Mind’

4) Ask the children to stick this up in their room and whenever they feel sad, look at their art work and remember what makes them peaceful and try to attain some peace of mind!

 

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Training Update

All SSEHV courses are free to attend, although a refundable deposit of £10 may be required at registration (this is to cover photocopying costs of the extensive handouts provided at the course for you to keep). Details of all our training courses, together with contact information and dates can be found on our website at www.bisse.org.uk, in the Training section.

Location	Date	Module	Contact
Cheam, Sutton - 2008/09 SSEHV Introductory Course 1: Sat 1st Nov - Sat 10th Jan	1st Nov	1	Sriradha Sithsabesan
	8th Nov	2
	15th Nov	3
	29th Nov	4
	6th Dec	5
	13th Dec	6
	3rd Jan	7
	10th Jan	8
	TBA	Presentation

Pinner, Middlesex - 2009 Easter SSEHV Introductory Course 1: Fri 11th Apr - Sun 19th Apr	10th Apr	1	Carole Alderman
	11th Apr	2
	12th Apr	3
	13th Apr	4
	14th Apr	5
	15th Apr	6
	16th Apr	7
	17th Apr	8
	19th Apr	Presentation

Pinner, Middlesex - 2009 August SSEHV Introductory Course 1: Fri 1st Aug - Sat 9th Aug	1st Aug	1	Carole Alderman
	2nd Aug	2
	3rd Aug	3
	4th Aug	4
	5th Aug	5
	6th Aug	6
	7th Aug	7
	8th Aug	8
	TBA	Presentation

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