Bienvenue! Benvenuto! Willkommen!
Forgive me if it might sound like I’m speaking multiple languages my fellow readers, but us educators have spent the last week jumping from country to country on a journey of the culinary sort – to educate our kids on all things gastronomy.
A recap from last week amidst all the foodie chaos, another round of our house competitions were held last Friday to cap off the week – this time with a zig zag race and a chaotic one at that. Earth house emerged victorious after a session of slip and slide on our rain stricken lawn.
Picking up right from where Dilani left off, the culmination of this ongoing project has rapidly crept up on us with the kids spending the majority of their day prepping for their cook off. In the spirit of putting their taste buds and creativity to the test, the kids were tasked with creating a fusion dish – from concept, planning and gathering ingredients to the final execution and plating. It’s been an eager wait for lunch time these past few days as every session has had both educator and student drooling over a picture or video of some mouth watering meal (luckily, I had my breakfast before writing this to avoid any hunger just by thinking about all of it again).
The kids have been through it all. They kicked off this week with a deep dive into full course meals and the process of pairing dishes together. What started off as a matching game eventually turned into a constructive discussion on flavors and techniques of cooking. Once the ideation began, all hell broke loose and the kids’ creativity was flaring! Amidst what might be one of the most creative weeks at Avinya, the kids also studied nutrition and the ins and outs of a balanced diet. It was pleasantly surprising to see the shock on their faces when I mentioned that it’s okay to have a salad for breakfast.
In other news, we have had quite a few familiar faces returning to Avinya as the kids from our last batch visited us over the past few days. The most interesting thing is that even though it’s only been a few months, these kids look so grown up! It’s probably the fact that they’re all either working or moving onto their higher studies, talking about taking leave or attending classes. It’s a bittersweet feeling to see they have come so far. We miss them dearly but in the end it only means our mission is succeeding.
All in all, it’s gearing up to be a fantastic end of the week and we can’t wait to see what these kids have in store for the big cook off!
Till next time!
– Vihan
Thank you, Vihan for the glimpse into the AD front! In other news, at the Dialog Telecommunication Technician training, our IT students have been embracing a more practical and hands-on approach. The highlight for this week was a practical training in mounting and operating satellite dishes which I have been told is a crucial skill in the world of telecommunications. There’s no doubt that they’re making remarkable headway in this course and enjoying the blend of theoretical and practical applications present in the modules.
Simultaneously, the IT students have been actively participating in a Speaking Club which they called for a week ago (to our surprise and delight!), in order to keep honing their English skills while they embark on their IT ventures. This week’s focus was on preparing for potential interviews and facing some common questions while highlighting their personal brand. It’s a safe space for everyone to practise and make mistakes without the fear of judgment and we’re happy to see that the students are thriving independently in this set up!
Behind the scenes, a whirlwind of meetings and brainstorming sessions have taken place to fine-tune every miniscule detail of the upcoming Empower Program for 2024! Navels have been gazed at to ensure we provide the best possible experience for all our future students. On the heels of planning and finalising said plans, we gear up for full-scale student recruitment this December, hoping to meet the new faces that will grace Avinya while our second batch hits the midway point of the Empower Program. I always struggle at this point to reconcile the bittersweet feelings of one batch approaching graduation with the excitement of meeting new potential students. So many changes in such little time!
Here at Avinya, we believe in fully cramming our day with activities and adventures. Amidst everything else that was going on, we also held our community day for November which we also believe was a resounding success, echoing positive feedback from previous and new participants alike! Students of ages about 8-12 engaged in an afternoon filled with activities centred around a dramatic rendition of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” performed by our very own Vidushi. As always, we were delighted by the enthusiasm displayed by students and parents alike and this is an initiative we’re very invested in maintaining.
As Vihan mentioned, amidst all the academic endeavors there is an aromatic anticipation in the air as the students prepare for the upcoming cook-off which I will be heading off in a moment to watch in action! As I write this, tantalising smells are wafting through Avinya but more on this will be shared by our Educator Anuki next week.
Until then, thank you for reading our weekly blogs and stay tuned with the Avinya Scoop!
– Sinalie
