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Sunshine School, Vientiane Laos
The biggest news is that in December we have bitten the bullet and will go ahead with the construction of a new senior high school building (simulation photo). Our students, especially in grades 8 & 9, and their parents are so thrilled. This is a step that many have been hoping for years, and this is the year that it will happen.
School Website:
https://www.sunshinelaos.com/
More details about the project can be viewed on our website:
https://www.sunshinelaos.com/dream
This is a video of a group of grade 8 & 9 students explaining why they love our school and want to stay on to study with us.
https://youtu.be/W3yNWmTf2GY?si=gJxhj83pa3JErd4h
Avadhutika Ananda Carushiila Acarya passed away on December 18, 2024 in Bangkok at a young age of 56. She was a Neohumanist teacher and a marvelous artist. She has to her credit innumerable Neohumanist paintings, posters and crafts. She designed the Neohumanist Foundation logo and PCAP logos.
Fifth grade Progressive School teacher, Amal Jacobson, has just won an award for INNOVATION IN EDUCATION for the second year in a row. He is seen presenting his paper titled, “The Ethics of AI,” at the Northeast Sciences Decision Institute.Songs for Children’s Meditation
Eric Jacobson, Director of the Progressive School, continues to write/record/polish recordings of songs for children, presented in audio or video format. You can access the audio here:
Volume 1 https://arunj.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-childrens-meditation-v1
Volume 2 https://arunj.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-childrens-meditation-v2
Volume 3 https://arunj.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-childrens-meditation-v3
The videos are here: arun j – YouTube
School Website: https://progressiveli.org/
Mountain Breeze Preschool Teacher Preparation Course
By Linda Baker, Instructor
A collaboration between the Mountain Breeze Preschool and the Neohumanist College of Asheville (NHCA), near one another in Marshall NC, created a week-long all-day teacher preparation course for new staff of the preschool, in December 2024. This training accommodated the expansion of the preschool into a newly constructed classroom of the Mountain Breeze School in Marshall NC made possible by a North Carolina State grant. This course was developed by Ricky Peterson, President of the NHCA, Rachel Maietta, Director of the Preschool and Linda Baker, Instructor at the NHCA.
Many instructors of the NHCA contributed in-person and online at the college campus with observations at the pre-school. Workshops included “direct observation” by Christy Shaver, Neohumanism and Nature Classroom by Rekha Gregory, The Neurobiology of Preschoolers by Rachel Maietta, Ashtanga Yoga for Preschoolers by MJ Glassman, Inside Out for personal development by Sid Jordan and Linda Baker, Social Context of the Classroom by Linda Baker, Music and Neohumanism by Irina Ishika Gray and Morning Circles by the lead teacher of Mountain Breeze Preschool.
The Schedule included workshops in the afternoon followed by direct observations in the classroom the following mornings at Mountain Breeze Preschool and discussions about what the teachers observed both with the in-person structure and Mountain Breeze teachers. It was a dynamic and jam-packed teacher development experience with some time for fun activities like creating “feeling thermometers” for the classroom and art, singing, yoga, contemplative practices along with nature walks for good informal connecting.
https://mountainbreezeschool.com/
Neohumanist Education Summer Camp – Healthy Me, Happy Me
Bangalore, India
A summer camp based on Neohumanist Education was held April 21-25, and was attended by over 35 children. The organizers were Didi Ananda Anupama, Ritu Didi, Pranav Dada, Margavi Didi and Diiptima Didi. It was held at the Ananda Marga School, KG Halli, Bangalore.
Day 1 Highlights – The concept of “a healthy mind in a healthy body” was introduced to the children, emphasizing the importance of balanced nutrition through activities and audio-visual clips. Proper and meaningful ways of drinking water were discussed enabling them to cultivate a healthy way of drinking water.
Day 2 Highlights – Yoga and Asanas were introduced to children. Fruit-inspired postures like the Orange, Avocado, Pear, and Watermelon were demonstrated. Healthy eating habits were discussed with emphasis on the different tastes of food and their benefits. Also the ideal sequence in which they should be consumed was included. Children engaged in a fireless cooking activity.
Day 3 Highlights – A moral code of conduct emphasizing Ahimsa (non-violence) and Satya (truth) was introduced to the children in a delightful and playful manner. The children enthusiastically participated in the engaging “spider web game,” fostering a deeper understanding of these values through joyous learning.
Day 4 Highlights – Satya and Asteya were explained to the group emphasizing the value of good words and good deeds. A role play scenario demonstrated the ultimate value of Satya and Asteya. As part of the Moral Code of Conduct the concept of “Brahmacharya” was introduced to the children, highlighting its significance. The lesson emphasized the divine creation of this beautiful world. To reinforce the idea, children engaged in a creative craft activity, connecting their understanding to beauty and spirituality.
Day 5 Highlights – The principles of Aparigraha, Shaoca, and Svadhyaya were effectively explained to the children emphasizing the value of being content and of not striving to hoard, keeping to the spirit of Aparigraha followed by the importance of “Svadhyaya” or reading for self-knowledge pertaining to morality.
Storytelling School Teacher Training Foshan, China
By Rutger Tamminga
The Storytelling School program aims to introduce storytelling as the core of the curriculum and school activities. We have been doing this for the past twenty plus years, with the best response with a core group of teachers in China. They have helped us to introduce storytelling in schools all over China. In cooperation with publishers from China, my books have been published and introduced to thousands of institutions.
This time we were invited to visit Foshan, near Guangzhou and train a group of local teachers, mostly foreigners but also Chinese teachers and parents. The latter brought their children, children who are brought up on stories and spoke fluent English, to tell stories in front of everyone.
The program took four days – the first two days focused on storytelling techniques and the second two days introduced story-based lesson planning and curriculum design. In this part we introduced the Values of Love curriculum (Yama and Niyama) and Circle of Love.
The school where the training was conducted has 800 students, and the director of education was highly impressed. Traditional education is very transactional: the student studies and the teachers give a sticker. Storytelling-based education on the other hand inspires self-motivated learning. As part of the training the teachers also learned kids’ yoga practices, quiet time and breathing techniques.
Acarya Pramoditananda Avadhuta, from Russia, also passed away at a very young age. He was ever ready to help the Neohumanist education movement.
IN MEMORY OF SUNDARA
It is with deep sorrow, Gurukula Network announces the passing of Henk de Weijer (Sundara), on 2nd March, 2025 at Amsterdam, Netherlands. Henk was a sincere, dedicated, kind and gentle person who was always ready to help. By profession, he was an architect and served for a famous architectural firm, Hermann Herzberger in Amsterdam, for many years. He was initiated in microvita meditation directly by Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji and was diligently pursuing it until his last breath. Henk was working on microvita research and was exploring the possible relationships between non-local and local forms of consciousness and energy. He was also a regular contributor to Gurukula Network and helped edit the Gurukula Organizational Handbook in 2016. Henk was married to Nellie (Nirguna) in 1977, and together they shared a life of love, faith, and spiritual devotion. He was the proud father of two children, a son and a daughter, who were a testament to the love and guidance he gave to his family. Sundara left this world peacefully, leaving behind a legacy of love, faith, and dedication that will forever be etched in our hearts. His life’s work was dedicated to spreading light and love, touching the lives of countless individuals with his kindness, wisdom, and unwavering faith.