Monday, November 12, 2007

Food for the Soul

November 13th
Remember that complete surrender alone makes us clear channels for the Supreme.

Since Thou hast given me refuge and taken me into Thy safe-keeping I have lost all fear.
My long night of anxious waking is forever ended.
I sit now with contentment in my heart; I walk with free spirit,
And I sleep with surrender in my soul.

We need Divine guidance from within. There are two wills, God's will and self-will; both are active. The foolish man chooses self-will; the wise man chooses God's will, because he does not feel safe to be separated from God and His guidance. This is wisdom, but this wisdom cannot be imposed. Life has its culmination when we learn to have a true sense of God as supreme Doer. When we acquire spiritual surrender, we rise above all troubles.

I am only an instrument in Thy Hands, O Lord;
Make me an efficient instrument.
Help me never to forget that Thou art behind me in every act.
Take from me all egotism and self-importance;
May I always be a humble instrument, wholly submissive to Thy Will.

[Swami Paramananda, Book of Daily Thoughts & Prayers, p. 352]

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Birthday Wishes From Shania Vala



With so much sadness in my life this year, being such a traumatic week, with the death of two close friends, I felt so blessed to receive tonnes of wonderful birthday messages and Diwali greetings. Thank you ALL for thinking about me. I would like to share the email greetings below sent by my wonderful friend Shania and her Mum, Saras, from Middelburg, SA. Your kind words really touched my heart - and they are deeply cherished. THANK YOU SO MUCH & SAI BLESSINGS to you and the family.


Hi Kree

"It’s Your birthday...and we thinking how glad we arethat You were born.You have given us so much-supported us, encouraged us,cared for us; We didn't even need to ask.We celebrate Your wonderful self!We are in awe of Your boundless generosity,Your infinite kindness-that gentle inner glowthat You so freely use to warm our lives.Your birthday is as much a celebration for usas it is for You, maybe even more…and We wish for You the Best of Birthdays,the Best One Ever.May each birthday be better than the last.Most of all, We hope You will always beAs happy as You have made us.

Lots & Lots of Love
Saras. Shania, Kapesh & Lesshika






Jay Naidoo - Sudden Death

Wednesday, 7th November, was my 41st birthday - a birthday I will never forget.

I left school for two hours to attend the funeral of my late teacher, Jay Balbharan at Manukau Gardens. What a dignified, peaceful but sad day, with his beloved family and so many friends present. Three quarters of the people must have been teachers, as Jay was so well liked and respected. Everyone was overcome with grief for the loss of such a special person who was robbed of life.

But more sad news was to arrive later that same evening. I got a phonecall that our good friend, had had a massive and fatal heart attack while mowing the lawn. His name is Jay Naidoo, he was 50 years old, his wife is a teacher and they belong to the same spiritual group as the late Jai Balbharan - such coincidences. Only minutes before, he and his family were planning his daughter's birthday party. It is shocking news to hear that a fit and happy man, with no signs of illness, could die so suddenly, especially after we had all spoken to him at Jay Balbharan's funeral only hours earlier!

I will always remember Jay since it was because of him and his other friends that we chose to live in Papakura. When we immigrated to New Zealand, in the first week of arriving in Papakura, Jay & Kay visited us every night to see how we were settling in and Jay continued to phone me everyday in that first month. Jay was a caring friend to all who had the pleasure of knowing him, a devoted dad to Keshnee and Rasika and an inseparable doting husband to Kay. The shock of his death and emptiness he leaves behind will be hard to fill.

Jay's funeral will take place tomorrow, Saturday 9th November from the family home in Rushgreen Place, Pahurehure (Papakura, Auckland) from 10:30am - 2:30pm, and then at the Manukau Memorial Gardens from 3pm - 4pm.

My heartfelt sympathies to the family as they come to terms with this sudden and devastating loss. God, grant us understanding, acceptance and faith always. May Jay's soul rest in heaven's peace.

On a brighter note, yesterday/today is Diwali but we are not celebrating due to the passing away of my father-in-law, Charles Vandayar and my Uncle George this year. God's richest blessings to all who celebrated Diwali - wishing you light, love and happiness always.

Kree

"You must be willing to sacrifice human friendship to gain Divine friendship."
[Swami Paramananda, Book of Daily Thoughts & Prayers, p. 348]

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Sad News - Jai Balbharan Passed Away

Monday, 05 November 2007

Those who knew an ex-teacher of Mansell Intermediate School (Auckland), Jai Balbharan, will be sad to know that he passed away today. I got the text message at assembly this morning; fortunately I visited Jai at Auckland hospital yesterday.
Jai was an energetic and wonderful person, very health conscious, a keen golfer and a dedicated teacher.
Jai leaves behind his three children and wife Devi, (who was my form teacher in Std 7).

The funeral will take place this Wednesday 7th November (my birthday) at 11:00 - 12:00 at the Manukau Memorial Gardens.

May Jai's soul rest in heaven’s peace.

OM SHANTI

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Praying for Jai Balbharan

I am sad to inform you that my Afrikaans teacher from Risecliff Secondary, Jai Balbharan, who taught there from 1981 - 1997, is in Auckland Hospital, taking his last few breaths. Jai had an haermorrage on 25th Oct 2007, just 3 days before his 50th birthday. He has not regained consciousness since then and has been taken off oxygen support and drips on Wednesday, 31st Oct.
Last year August Kanthan had successful surgery to repair his mitral valve and three months later Jai underwent the same surgery but his valve was replaced with a metal valve. There was infection in the valve and due to complications with warfarin medication, doctors were unable to operate. I visited Jai in hospital today and it is just a matter of time before he is called to rest. Please keep Jai and his family in your prayers.

If you know of anyone from Risecliff Secondary, please invite them to join my group on Facebook.
Read more about heart valve repair/replacement.

Monday, October 29, 2007

South Africa - Taxi's reign of terror...

"Durban - A white taxi's reign of terror in Hillcrest that claimed a young soccer star's life on Thursday night continued on Friday when a third motorist was shot at, but managed to get away...."

Join the Facebook Group and offer your sympathies to the Boreham family.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Food for the Soul

Thought for the Day ~ October 27th
"We must give up, not because we are dejected or battered. We must give up because there has come a certain ripening within.

The steady-minded by giving up all attachments for the fruits of action, obtains peace, born of steadfastness. The unsteady being attached to fruits through desire, is ever bound by action. (Bhagavad-Gita)

The great secret of life is to learn to maintain an even tenor in the midst of all things. Life as a rule does not run evenly. It has many ups and downs. It has many changes. But those who have found the way of wisdom, have learned how to maintain evenness in spite of all the unnevenesses which circumstances offer. We do not accomplish this by calculation or by any material means. We accomplish it by going within and attaining inner tranquility.

O Thou who art One and All-abiding, I offer up my thoughts , words and actions unto Thee. Grant that each act of the day may be an act of devotion. Thou art the source of my being; I turn to Thee with wholehearted love and trust. In Thee alone do I find rest and satisfaction. From Thee alone can I draw life and strength."

(Swami Paramananda - Book of Daily Thoughts and Prayers)

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Top 5 Most Dangerous Countries in the World

The email from Kas made me do my own google search and this is what I found today from:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/159175/top_5_most_dangerous_countries_in_the.html?page=2



2. South Africa. The rich class in South Africa has moved into gated communities, creating a schism between classes and evidently races, one which was theoretically abolished during the apartheid. It is ranked first in rapes per capita amongst the whole world and has a notorious record for car hijacking. The problem is so severe, that women are allowed to speed through red lights to avoid being car hijacked, or worse. One of its capitals, Johannesburg, is the most dangerous, with almost all middle-class and high-class families carrying weapons merely for protection. Peter Murgatroyd, resident of Cape Town, says "As a 30 year old born in SA spending most of my life here, I have stab wounds in my back, a few times I've had a gun shoved in my face, my car and house broken several times and I purchased another 'security' product this week. Enough said." (BBC.com) South Africa averages 50 murders a day in a nation of 47 million.

Email from Kas - Crime Update in South Africa

See below an email I received from Kas & Lenny this morning regarding the crime stats in South Africa.


Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2007 13:33:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Info on SA
Hi there

Please see attached the latest CRIME stats on SA. We feel the need to share with you that are planning to relocate to or from SA. We are been compared to the countries at war, this is so sad. What future does our kids have here. Well I have been back for less than a week and have had 3 people close to us either mugged or hijacked this week. We have had an attempted break in on sat nite. This is very scary to feel unsafe in your own home. We don't want to scare you but this is the truth about our beautiful country that we love so much. Our families live here.We are so ready to leave for a free and safe life for our precious little girl. Yes we pray for God's protection, but he gives us wisdom to use accordingly. Sorry if we sound negitive but we need to share this with you our loved ones, that you can feel and know what we feel and go thru daily living here in fear and scared for the safety of our children, parents and our own lives.


God Bless

Regards
Kas & Len
Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

Top 5 most dangerous countries in the World

2. South Africa. The rich class in South Africa has moved into gated communities, creating a schism between classes and evidently races, one which was theoretically abolished during the apartheid. It is ranked first in rapes per capita amongst the whole world and has a notorious record for car hijacking. The problem is so severe, that women are allowed to speed through red lights to avoid being car hijacked, or worse. One of its capitals, Johannesburg, is the most dangerous, with almost all middle-class and high-class families carrying weapons merely for protection. Peter Murgatroyd, resident of Cape Town, says "As a 30 year old born in SA spending most of my life here, I have stab wounds in my back, a few times I've had a gun shoved in my face, my car and house broken several times and I purchased another 'security' product this week. Enough said." (BBC.com) South Africa averages 50 murders a day in a nation of 47 million.

Kree's Reflections on Ulearn07 Conference

Sunday 7th October 2007
Hi All,
Hope you have all had a good break and are feeling refreshed for the 4th and final term – only 79 days to Christmas :-)
I spent the first week of my holidays entertaining visitors from South Africa – it was wonderful catching up with two of my neighbours from Durban, who I have known since the age of four. The second week kept me busy with spring-cleaning and the last three days I was fortunate to attend the Ulearn07 conference at Sky City. What a fabulous conference it was with three inspiring keynote-speakers and some amazing NZ teacher/presenters.
I have learned so much and by the last day I was on overload. The biggest message for me was about networking, collaborating and connecting with others in order to prepare our students as lifelong learners of the 21st century.
I have learned that one of the aims of teaching is to develop and extend students' thinking and learning by catering for pupils’ individual learning styles, multiple intelligences and providing meaningful assessment which informs learning. Computers and the Internet has revolutionized the world we live, learn and teach in. There are numerous exciting programmes, tools and software for teachers and students that can make learning fun. ‘Many computer applications have been developed explicitly to engage learners in critical thinking.’ ‘…computers should be used as tools to help learners build knowledge…’ If teachers have an attitude of: ‘Please don’t give me any more information; I already know what I think!’ (Longworth, 2003) then I believe today’s classroom is not the place for them because learning is a lifelong process and it is forever changing. According to Tony Ryan, in this Information Age of the 21st century, computers are rapidly overtaking many of our analytical functions. Occupations for future generations will probably require a strong imaginative and personal component that computers are not capable of doing. It is therefore important to integrate a variety of creative teaching strategies into our classroom practice in order to prepare students for success in their learning as well as in their uncertain future.

Below are some links that you may find useful:


Keynote speakers
http://blog.core-ed.net/derek/


Conference Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ulearn/

Kree’s Ulearn Pics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kreeraman/


Kree’s twitter
http://twitter.com/kree4sai


Kree’s favourites/bookmarks
http://del.icio.us/kree12



Ewan McIntosh’s Blog
http://edu.blogs.com/


http://newzealand.takingitglobal.org/


Tonnes of valuable resources
http://www.tki.org.nz/e/tki/


Evolution of Communication
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/evolution_of_communication.php


http://aucklandregion.takingitglobal.org/connections/stories/story.html?MemberID=25064


Free Books on the Internet
http://users.erols.com/jonwill/freebooks.htm


http://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=tab_h



Kree Raman
Room 12 Teacher
Kelvin Road School

Monday, October 1, 2007

Kas & Regina in NZ



It was really cool having my childhood neighbours visiting in Auckland for a month. Kasturi & Aunty Regina (who is still Amma's neighbour), arrived in Auckland 29th August and returned to Johannesburg/Durban on 1st October. Kas and I have known each other just under 4 decades, and it was wonderful sharing our childhood memories after all these years. Kas had 3 job interviews while she was on holiday as Lenny and her are serious about relocating to New Zealand. Through God's Grace, we shall see them back in Auckland early next year.


Sunday, September 30, 2007

Kree is on School Holiday

So far these holidays have been good compared to the drama we had during the last holidays :(
Remember Kanthan's Dad had a stroke on July 3rd and passed away on the 11th July? It is really sad when you lose someone close and you're miles away. Fortunately Kanthan made it to visit Middelburg and see his dad in hospital.

Now it's week 2 of the school holidays and I'm enjoying spending my sparetime at the computer in between washing curtains and growling at the kids. It's been a wet day since yesterday so no chance of going outdoors today. We had a lovely visit to Kalay and Segie's house in Hamilton yesterday and rushed back to Auckland to say farewell to Kasturi and Aunty Regina who were flying back to SA this morning. I have one more day to rest, then I shall be attending a 3 day ICT conference "Ulearn '07" at Sky Towers, Auckland City from 3rd - 5th October.
School reopens next Monday 8th October for the 4th and final term of 11 weeks.
Looking forward to visiting South Africa after 5 years this Xmas. Hope to catch you then!

http://centre4.interact.ac.nz/spaces/space.php?space_key=12482

What has Kree been up?

I must apologise for not keeping in touch as often as I could this year. It is proving to be quite a challenging year for me - what with studying after 22 years, it's not easy! I am presently doing a Bachelor of Education Degree in Teaching through Victoria University of Wellington. When I first started teaching in NZ five and a half years ago, it felt as if I had dropped the NZ Curriculum puzzle and I have been struggling to grasp the curriculum ever since. This BEd course is helping me put those puzzle pieces together, making teaching & learning an exciting and stimulating challenge. So far I have passed 4 assignments, and just handed in my 5th assignment on Friday - woohoo : )
I have one more assignment to do next term and then I shall compile my teaching portfolio due 2nd December.
If you don't hear from me - you know why!
Keep me in your prayers.

Introduction - Welcome to Kree's Blog


Hi/Kia Ora/Vannakum from Auckland, New Zealand.


My name is Kree Raman Vandayar.
I was born in South Africa and now living in New Zealand since 2002. I am a primary school teacher since 1989. I have a wonderful husband Kanthan (JT) and two great kids Thanusha & Kaveshan.
Welcome to my blog - where you will find news about me, my family, inspirations or anything that touches my heart and moves my soul.
Love, Faith & Hope always. Kree