We've all been busy in August:
Carla
The school I volunteer in, is going from strength to strength and we only opened as a school in August. We went to a show for schools last weekend where lots of schools had stalls. (although most people have chosen their schools so the fair needs to be in the Spring!)
In the photo above are some of the children who are in the year 1 class. They were in the community where the fair was held and they came with their parents. We had taken samples of work activities with us and they all stood doing the work without being asked.
Sindhu and Satish are the owners and one of the teacher's, Riya, are also in the photo.
We got to the venue at 9 and left about 7 at night. The only problem was that the power kept going off, the fans stopped and it got so hot. At least it was cloudy and cool outside. (27oC)
It was very interesting to see how schools promoted their school. Some had pictures of children, looking very serious, with the words - We are the Best- and that was it....
We had pencils to give away, book marks we had made, photos of the children working, samples of work, the whole curriculum. Our stall was very colourful and bright.
The fair was for two days and at the end of the first day we decided that we needed to take everything with us and then set everything up again the next day, as we didn't want anyone to pinch our resources.
Upasana and Yamani are in this photo too
By the gate before we set off (Mahesh , Riya, Sindhu, Me and Satish)
Pencils with the school logo on
Bright things to wrap around the pencils 
Book marks
Here are the ladies making the items in school. The other teacher, Kritikha, is in the photo too.
Some schools just have a general statement like we will teach your children to read but not how they will do it or any way of teaching a progression or having a word list etc.
So teachers here have to do everything themselves. (For the teachers reading this, teachers have a tough time and they don't know about all the schemes and teachers' aids online.)
Then added to this, I was asked if I would like to join the parent's committee at Max and Milo's school. This means trying to send messages via WhatsApp / internet to get school correspondence out, liaising with parents and the school. This is easier said than done because all the children go on buses so you don't get to meet other parents. Bangalore is an enormous city (12.5M) and the children come from all over the place. There are lots of boarders too.
So I went to find out last week at the school what was required. The first thing was eating the school dinners to decide if the quality was good enough as there had been complaints from the children.
Now, I am not good with spicy food and rely on my personal food taster ( Andrew) to tell me if I can attempt the food. Max was in the food hall when I was there, but I was under strict instructions (from Max) not to speak to him, smile at him or do anything to suggest that I was his mother. (Remember Kevin the teenager?) although he did come over when I was stood behind a pillar and asked for money for the tuck shop.
So I carefully chose food that I thought might not be spicy and got my bottle of water ready. By the way, the food looked lovely and there was lots to choose from but all of it was Indian (but it is an Indian 'international' school..) I think the children are trying to get pizza and chips imposed..
I was so surprised, everything was very tasty and only mildly spicy. One of the other mums there though, said that it was nice but very bland.
In Bangalore, the food is so spicy that if I go to a restaurant I can't get past a few mouthfuls before my eyes are streaming. When I say no spice to waiters/ chefs they think it's bad if the food is bland and so always put in too much. For this reason I have given up eating Indian food in restaurants as it causes so much fuss if you say no spice .
So now, as the food is so good at the school, I can go there and pay about £2.50 and get an Indian meal that I can eat. Max disagrees though!
I've also been to meet with some other parents form Milo's year group and that was fun too.
It's also the first time that I've been the same height or taller than other people!Andrew
Andrew has been super busy with his job and he went on a business trip to Goa. We could have gone with him but it's still quite rainy and it's hard work being in a hotel room in the rain with the boys whereas we could be in Palm Meadows with all of the boys' friends, have Arjun and the car etc.
Andrew gave a talk on Micronclean and what they do which apparently went down very well.
He then was invited to go to a university/college nearby as honorary guest to talk to MBA students about running a business, working in the 'real world' outside of their education with the expectations and demands of an international business environment and what skills they need to develop.
He also went down to the beach early one morning but it was so windy, we couldn't hear what he said when he face-timed us. Soon after the heavens opened too so he was lucky that he borrowed a hotel umbrella! So we were pleased we had stayed at home.
The factory is coming on at a fast pace and there have not been too many problems.
Max and Milo
Both boys have settled well back into school, although Milo is not happy that the work has got harder and he can't mess about any more! He's in his final primary year.
With their friends Tomek and Maja waiting for the bus.
We are eagerly watching the news today as Max was interviewed by the Zee News station about the new robots that have been installed in school. He claims he spoke clearly and intelligently. (That would make a change because most of the time I don't understand one word he grunts at me. Although with other people he turns on the charm and speaks like an angel.)
Milo has had lots of playdates and his weekends are packed with meeting his friends. Max goes on his own to the mall down the road or to his friends' houses.
This is Milo's friend Minyuk.
