DAV Montessori School & DAV Sanskriti School

hold their Graduation Day

May 17^th, 2008 was a memorable day for the tiny graduates of DAV Montessori School (DAVMS) as they walked across the stage to receive their school graduation certificates. Decked in graduation caps and gowns, the poise and confidence of the first grade and kindergarten students was a sight to behold, suggesting great future success and accomplishments and pointing to the strong foundation that this unique school provides.

DAVMS Graduation Day ceremony was held in the Arya Samaj Greater Houston (ASGH) hall and started off with a traditional Vedic yagya conducted by the ASGH resident priest, Acharya Dr. Prem Chand Shridhar. This was followed by an eloquent recitation of Prarthana Shlokas (prayer verses) by the kindergarten students. It was an impressive display of their memorization and perfect Sanskrit pronunciation.

In her annual school report the school director Arti Khanna highlighted the academic achievements of the students in the ITBS tests and presented a collage of photographs depicting the past year’s school activities. The unique nature of the school was evident seeing the children and teachers celebrate festivals ranging from Halloween to Holi. The school’s Diwali celebration last year was covered in an exclusive article in the Houston Chronicle.

The Chief Guest for the program was Dr. Sushma Mahajan, board member of Pratham USA, Arya Samaj Greater Houston and various other organizations. Dr. Mahajan noted how fortunate the current generation of Indian-American parents is, with the availability of schools such as the DAVMS and organizations like the Arya Samaj in Houston helping them impart Indian culture, heritage and values to their children. In comparison, she noted, was the time when her own children were young and this responsibility was entirely on the parents with no organizations available to support this.

The gathering was also addressed by the DAVMS management committee members, Dev Mahajan and Shekhar Agrawal.

After the speeches, the children were in the spotlight again as they presented the cultural program, consisting of songs and dances about India and its many regions. First up was the ever popular, energetic and vibrant Hindi song, Aao Bachon Tumhe Dikhaye Jhaanki Hindustan Ki, about the proud history of India. This was followed by songs and folk dances of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bengal, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The little children, foot-tapping music, beautiful costumes and excellent choreography made this a memorable show.

The DAV Montessori School is run by the Arya Samaj Greater Houston; for more information please call 281-759 DAVM (3286) or visit davmschool.com.

On Sunday May 18^th, DAV Sanskriti School (“DAVSS”) organized its annual end-of-school graduation event for its graduating seniors. This year’s graduates are Parth Dwivedi, Rohit Nirmal, and Alisha Taneja. During the event, the seniors were honored as they became yajmans. The event was held in the ASGH hall and started off with a havan by our honorable Acharya ji. The graduates took Acharya ji’s blessings, along with everyone else’s, as they now look forward to college and their future. They each spoke eloquently of what they learned from DAVSS about morality and Indian culture, and how they plan to apply what they learnt here in their life in future. Each senior was presented a plaque by Acharya ji.

Arya Youth Mandal (AYM) President Aashish Jain gave an update on past year’s events, as well as those planned for the future as AYM grows. He encouraged other Arya Samaj students to join AYM.

DAVSS graduation ceremony was capped off with two songs and a dance prepared by AYM and DAVSS students. The event was a big success thanks to all the members of Arya Samaj, friends and family of the graduates, and a special thanks to Acharya ji, who gave the graduates an inspiring speech regarding their lives and futures. Parth Dwivedi is graduating from George Bush High School, and will be going to Boston University in the fall to study neuroscience and astrophysics. Parth follows the Vedic way of life, and was not only a student but also a supporting teacher at DAVSS. He is also learning Sanskrit under Acharya Sonerao ji. Rohit Nirmal is graduating from Cyfalls High School and will be attending the University of Houston, where he will study computer science. Rohit is also the AYM Historian at Arya Samaj. Alisha Taneja, graduating from Langham Creek High School, will be starting at the University of Texas at San Antonio in the fall. She is currently a publicist for AYM. Arya Samaj wishes these graduates the best of luck in the future as they go off to college.

The DAV Sanskriti School is run by the Arya Samaj Greater Houston; for more information please call 281-752 0100 or visit aryasamajhouston.com.