Om Sri Sai Ram

GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATION COORDINATOR & TEACHERS

Sathya Sai Center of Cleveland, Ohio welcomes you to our celebration of Easwaramma Day! Please review our guidelines before attending the program so that you have a clear understanding of our needs and expectations so that everyone, especially our children, can have a memorable experience.

  1. General:
  2. Review “Guidelines for SSE Students” and “Guidelines for SSE Parents & Other Adults” documents.
  3. Please review all the guidelines (again) together while traveling to Cleveland in your carpool.
  4. SSE coordinators and volunteering SSE Teachers/adults will meet 8:00AM - 8:15AM with the event SSE leadership,Sharmistha Chawla and Raj Prakash. This meeting will be in the Pre-SSE area next to the green room and will start promptly at 8:00AM. The purpose will be to establish common understanding of all things associated with the event and to answer your questions. Please attend, even if you don’t seem to have any questions.
  5. Please carry the program agenda and other relevant information with you always. Please note that the sequence of stage presentations will be published closer to the event.
  6. Please be available for your assigned/volunteered duties promptly (such as managing the children in any capacity).
  7. Please make sure the SSE children take their “bathroom break” prior to the SSE activities (Prayers/Veda, Presentation, Bhajan, etc.) This is a real problem, especially among Group I or II children.
  8. Please give reminders to children about respecting people, property, and Mother Earth.
  9. You are encouraged to make use of the free stage time (7:00-8:20AM) for allowing your children to get a feel for the stage. Run through a scene or something so that the children in your group spend a few minutes on the stage.
  10. Due to the meeting of teachers and meeting for world prayers/veda students, you may want to finish the “stage feel” practice by 8:00 AM. Keep in mind that all children should eat breakfast, unless they had that prior to arriving at the venue.
  11. You are encouraged to arrive at the venue early. You can arrive before 7:00AM and then your children will have enough time to get comfortable with everything.
  12. There will be no entry into the auditorium (orexit) during a presentation. There will be an exactly 10-minute transition time between two consecutive presentations and if there is a need for anyone to use the restroom etc., that transition time can be used for that. No entry to the auditorium will be permitted once the transition time is over and the presentation has begun.
  1. World Prayers and SSE Veda Invocation:
  2. Participating children should meet with Suresh Viswanathan by 8:00 AMin the Auxiliary Gym (located on the left side of the Varsity Gym). The meeting will begin sharp at 8:00 AM. Please be there early.
  3. Make sure that all children (for veda chanting) have the required white clothing and that it meets Parthi modesty standards. Sorry but those who do not meet the “all white & modesty” dress standards will not go on the stage for the first item (world prayers and veda chanting).
  4. The green/dressing room is available until 8:15 AM for those who need to dress their children for veda chanting (completely white dress). Preferably, the children should be dressed in white before arriving at the venue.
  5. At least one SSE teacher from your center should remain with the children to assist them in properly assembling on stage and then quietly returning to the auditorium to enjoy the rest of the morning program. Please plan for a designated teacher who will ensure that only those children go on the stage for world prayers and veda session that are ready and also meet the dress requirements.
  1. Transitions between and after Veda, Guest Speaker, and SSE presentations:
  2. Transition from the morning Veda chanting and invocation needs to be smooth and accomplished with minimum disturbance. To achieve this objective, we have planned the following:
  3. SSE Children will be seated by Sai Center in the front rows in the auditorium.
  4. One or two presentations before your Center’s turn, the green room monitors will request that your group be led by a designated SSE teacher to occupy the green/dressing room area (boys and girls in separate rooms).
  5. The SSE presenters will NOT enter the stage BEFORE the preceding group presentation is complete and all presenters have left the stage.
  6. A door on the stage left, adjacent to the stage, will be used by children to enter the auditorium seating area from backstage area and for getting backstage from auditorium. As mentioned before, such entrance/exit will happen only during designated transition times.
  7. The SSE group that just completed its presentation will be led by their SSE teachers and QUIETLY sit at the front of the auditorium and enjoy the rest of the program. Those children needing a lot of time to remove the costume can wait backstage for the next opportunity to get to the auditorium.
  8. A schedule will be made in advance for each transition period:
  9. Which center(s) will enter the backstage area from auditorium
  10. Which center(s) will enter auditorium seating from backstage area
  11. The entrance and exit of the children will be orderly, in a single-file line, led and guided by an adult holding the sign with the particular center’s name.
  1. Stage Presentations:
  2. The sequence of the presentations (by centers) will be published soon. Please keep a print out handy.
  3. Please work with green room monitors (two designated adults). They are responsible for usage of green room to make sure that priority is given to those who go to stage first and there is not too much of crowding in that area. Please communicate your group’s needs to them.
  4. Your team will wait for the Stage Manager’s prompt before leading the children on the stage for their presentation. Please make sure that all the characters of the play have clear instruction to enter and exit the stage, especially which side they use (stage left vs stage right).
  5. The 1st SSE group of presenters will be in the green room before prayers/veda and will be all set to go on stage promptly at 9:05 AM.
  6. The SSE Teachers (and their assisting team members) will assist in setting up the appropriate props and backdrops on the stage for their group’s presentation.
  7. The SSE Teachers (and their assisting team members) must pick up all the props, backdrops, hardware, furniture, equipment from the stage promptly at the end of their group’s presentation.
  8. There should be a designated teacher from each center to collect name tags of the children before they go on the stage for their presentations. The name tags should be worn again after their show is over and before they return to the auditorium.
  9. After giving their presentation, the particular groupshould be allowed to watch the rest of the presentations from auditorium.
  10. Entry/exit between auditorium seating area and backstage area happens only during transition times and following a pre-determined sequence. Such movement of children will be fully coordinated.
  11. Keep in mind that once the transition time is over, there will be no entry into the auditorium. However, inform the children that they can leave the auditorium in an emergency (using the doors on the back side of the auditorium), if a presentation is in progress. A great nature’s call does constitute as emergency.
  12. Before and after the presentations, the props, backdrops, etc must be stored and retrieved appropriately, keeping the needs of other groups in mind.
  1. Breakout session, Snacks, and “We are the World” rehearsal:
  2. Pre-SSE and Group I will proceed to the Auxiliary Gym(Gym #2) and Group II and III will proceed to the Main Gym (Varsity Gym, Gym #1). All the groups except the group IV will be involved in games and sports.
  3. Group IV will meet in the glass enclosure next to the cafeteria to have a peer to peer session.
  4. We would like all the teachers to be in the parallel session in the auditorium (for the parents, teachers and other adults) which will be conducted by Dr. Sunder Iyer.
  5. There will be a practice session for all children taking part in “We are the World” music ensemble in Aux Gym. For these children, breakout session will be shorter and snacks will be served earlier. For this rehearsal session,they will come to the Aux Gym some 30 minutes before the real start of the music program on the stage.

6. SSE Bhajan Session:

  1. Bhajans will be sung by SSE Boys and Girls groups alternately (details sent earlier).
  2. Instrument players – harmonium, tabla, naal, tambourine, cymbals are pre-assigned. No additions will be made on the spot.
  3. Two boys and two girls (selected from the host center) will have dedicated microphones. All else will have their voices amplified by the omni-directional microphones set up.
  4. For each bhajan, the harmonium player will play one line fully and then the leaders will start. Since these are group bhajans, all boys or girls will lead together (and the other gender will follow together.)
  5. If a particular child hasn’t practiced or is an off-key singer (sorry!), it’s better if that child sings at low volume or does not sing at all.
  6. The unison bhajan is led by all boys & girls together without leading-following.

We are estimating 150 SSE children so please be available for any assistance required. We thank you all for your selfless service and look forward to celebrating Easwaramma Day with our Sai family!

Jai Sai Ram!