Hello Friends
Summer break is coming to an end! I hope you enjoyed the break from schools, colleges and work! Many of you may have taken a vacation and travelled to places! Would you like to share some of those memories with COMA? If so, please send pictures and notes and we will publish in newsletter in the coming months.
Seven months have already gone in this year, and we are about to get to ‘ponnin chinga masam’ and Onam Celebrations!. More information and registration link will be coming out soon! Hope to see every one of you there! As usual, there will be delicious Ona Sadya and wonderful cultural events! Please reach out to EC if you would like to participate in the stage programs or would like to volunteer for the event.
India’s 71st Independence Day is coming up and FIA will lead the celebrations in Columbus.
COMA Events planned for the rest of the year:
9-Sep: Cultural Event (Onam)
14-Oct: Professional Development (Kids or Business focused)
2-Dec: Cultural Event (Christmas)
Marc the Dowl
Designed & Written by Anjali Janardhanan (1st grade, Columbus Prep Academy)
Sculpted by Adam Henry and Kate Groot (Axis Glass, Columbus)
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When I was walking, I saw an owl with deer antlers! I’m so excited right now! A voice said – “I’m Dowl, I’m right here”, and I saw him. “I’m very special”, said the Dowl. “My name is Marc. I’m an owl with deer antlers. Do you want to walk around”? I said “Yes”! I saw more and more Dowls. At the end of the walking, I saw a big blue thing – we went through it. Everything was blue. We were going to enter a big ocean – it is very bright green with a star in the middle. We went to the middle of the star and drowned it. It is like a laboratory down there. We are going to do something on a computer – we are going to search.
About the Dowl, he is a little bit like a bat – it can fly. They eat bugs and it can change colors. It lives in the forest. Their predators are tigers. I better keep the Dowls safe. I know where I can keep them – in my attic, that is a safe place. “Let’s get out of here”, Marc tells the other Dowls to come with me. We are in my neighborhood. “Let me and Marc get stuff done, and you and the other Dowls can come in my attic”. I will treat the Dowls like my kids. It is lunch time. “What are we having today”, I asked. “Bread crumbs and water”, said Marc. I love you Marc! |
The End
My Trip to Washington D.C.
Designed & Written by Adit J Anup
In mid-May of this year, over three hundred Eighth Grade students along with forty teachers from Olentangy Orange Middle School went on a weeklong trip to Washington D.C. While we were there, we saw many of the meaningful and influential places only found in the nation’s capital including the White House, the National Cathedral and several Memorials devoted to those who led our country with distinction and those who paid the ultimate price in the nation’s wars.
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Monday, we spent most of the time in the bus driving to D.C. We stopped at numerous stops on the way but the one notable place we stopped was at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (otherwise known as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s location in Virginia). It was here where we saw many planes important to the aviation history of America. We were able to see the SR-71 Blackbird, a reconnaissance aircraft, which although no longer in use, holds the title of world’s fastest aircraft. Discovery, one of the five space shuttles created by NASA, is also located in this museum. There were several other smaller stunt and flight planes suspended from the ceiling and all over the floor. Before we left, we rode a flight simulator and quickly learned that we were terrible at flying planes! After we left the museum we drove for two hours and reached D.C. at about seven in the evening.Over the next couple of days our group got up early in the morning knowing we had long days of sightseeing ahead of us. The first thing that we saw in D.C. was the National Cathedral, a building that took over eighty-three years to complete. When I first saw it, I was amazed by its tall towers and beautiful stained glass windows. On the inside it was just as beautiful with its high ceilings and tall arches. While we were there we got a tour of the whole building which was truly breathtaking. We also learned that the building was the final resting place of President Woodrow Wilson and the revolutionary Helen Keller. After visiting the Cathedral, we stopped at the Newseum, a museum totally devoted to journalism. Here, we saw segments of the Berlin Wall. After that we started our tour of the many monuments and memorials of D.C. My favorite monument was the Lincoln Memorial. It is a Greek revival styled building with a large (over twenty-nine feet tall) marble statue of Abraham Lincoln. This location had a significant role in the African-American Civil Rights Movement because it was here that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. |
Other memorials we saw were the Washington Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and World War II Memorial. The other Smithsonian Museum I went to was the Holocaust Museum. When I was there, I was able to learn about the cruel treatment of Jews by the Nazis. Some of the other sites that we visited in Washington D.C. were the White House, The Pentagon, and Mount Vernon – the home of President George Washington.
After a full week of touring the nation’s capital it was finally time to leave for home. My friends and I had a great time together and this is a trip that I will never forget. I was able to see many of the country’s historic buildings, appreciate the rich history of our country and learn from the vastly informative museums.
Adit J. Anup graduated from Orange Middle School and will be entering Orange High School in August 2017. He lives with his brother Adwin, parents Smitha and Anup Janardhanan in Lewis Center, Ohio.
Malayalam Class
Please join us in congratulating all the students who graduated the Malayalam class recently.
COMA has been organizing weekly Malayalam Classes with the help of a few dedicated volunteers who are well versed in Malayalam and have been successfully teaching the students for the past several years. The Malayalam Class has 2 semesters per year – Fall and Spring. For 2017-18, the Fall semester will start on Sunday, August 20th and registrations are starting. This year we will have two sections – Beginner and Intermediate (12 children per class). Students can register for one of the above sections depending on their proficiency. The curriculum will include class room lecture, selected home works, recommended reading, and proficiency testing. Classes will be held on Sundays from 11AM-12 Noon at Lazelle Woods Community Center, 8140 Sancus Blvd, Westerville, OH.
Fee Schedule: The classes are open to all current COMA Members. Annual fee for one child: $125; $60 for additional siblings is payable at enrollment. No pro-rated fees are planned in case of partial attendance.
Parents who are interested to register their child/children, please email name, age of the child, and contact details for parents to coma.officials@gmail.com
FIA Forum
FIA will host their premier event – “India Festival” on August 26th. They are looking for volunteers to help out with the planning and organizing of this prestigious event. If you are interested in helping out, please register using this link: India Festival 2017 volunteer registration form
Sunday Morning Soccer
Every Sunday morning, few of us get together and play soccer from 7:30AM to 9:30AM. Currently the location is Avery Park in Dublin. If you are interested in playing feel free to stop by during those hours.