The School Weekly - 3rd April 2017

MERA BALI
The Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary situated in the southeast portion of the Pratapgarh district in Rajasthan. It is a dense forest, with an area of 422.95 square kilometers, which is about 40% of the total land area of the district. The land is undulating because of the confluence of three different formations — Malwa Plateau, the Vindhyachal Hills and Aravali mountain ranges. 
The thickly wooded Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary sprawls over the Aravali ranges and the Malwa plateau, with the seasonal rivers Jakham, Karmoi, Sitamata, Budhho, and Tankiya flowing through the forest. Jakham is the largest. It is located about 45 km from Pratapgarh and 108 km from the divisional headquarters. Udaipur, the sanctuary, covering 423 km2 of mainly dry deciduous vegetation has exceptionally rich flora and fauna. The Champion and Seth forest type of Sita Mata is "IInd Dry Tropical Forest.
It is the only forest region where more than half of the trees are high building value teak. These include salar, tendu (Diospyros melonoxy Roxb.), bad, peepal, babool, neem, arinja (Acacia leucophaea), siras, churail, kachnar, gulmohar, amaltas, bakayan, ashok, mahua, semal, goondi, khejadi (Prosopis spicigera), kumta (Acacia rupestris), amla, bamboo, sindoor, chironjee, rudraksha and bel trees.
Of the 108 varieties of high value medicinal herbs found here, 17 are endangered. A large number of residential and migratory birds are found in this region, nearly 130 varieties. Two new bird species, white-throated ground thrush and black-necked monarch were discovered in the sanctuary. for more refer the actual link. The flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis) can be seen gliding from one tree to another around sunset in the Arampura forest, 17 km away from Dhariyawad. Its feeding activities are nocturnal and therefore it hides during the day time in its hollow in a Mahua tree. The best time to watch flying squirrels is between February and March, when most of the mahua trees shed their leaves and it is easier to spot the squirrel gliding between branches of leafless trees. The Indian lion, which used to occur in Rajasthan, is now confined to Gujarat. Sita Mata Sanctuary had been considered as a place to relocate some lions, but the availability of prey was deemed to be negligible. Also, the area was prone to human disturbance. 
It houses ancient Valmiki Ashram (the birthplace of Luv and Kush, the twins born to Sita and Lord Rama), the Hanuman and Sitamata temples, and other places of historical and mythological importance. Another place of interest in the sanctuary, 5 km from Tikhi Magri, is Lakhiya Bhata, where drawings of prehistoric animals are engraved on rocks. There is a fair held in the sanctuary at the Sita Mata temple every July.
Sonika Soni
Initiative was taken by the ex-collector & district magistrate of Pratapgarh, in assistance with the local Member of Parliament and forest officials by Hemant Shesh, to get the sanctuary declared as a national park, for which proposals are underway.
ALUMNI
Sonika Soni of Batch 2013-14 is nowadays in Ahmedabad. She is studying at B.K. School of Business Management, Ahmedabad. She is doing MBA. She was the Ex. Head Girl in 2013.She was good in Sports as well as Academics. She remembers the school a lot and all her batch mates. 
STAFF
Interview
[ED: Editor, GJM: Gajendra Mewara]
ED: When did you join the school?
GJM: I joined the school on July 1st 2011.
ED: Who was the Principal at that time?
GJM: Mrs. Parineeta Ranpal.
ED: What type of environment was there?
GJM: The environment was pleasant and cool. It was free and lovely environment for students for their overall growth.
ED: What is your qualification?
GJM: My qualification is M.A. {English} , B.Ed.
ED: Which classes did you teach at first?
GJM: I taught class 4th and above.
ED: Are the students still in contact with you who have left the school?
GJM: Few students are in contact with me.
ED: When did you shift to this school?
GJM: I shifted in this school in 2012.
ED: What development did you see in the past years?
GJM: The working system of the school has improved a lot. Solar plant, R.O.plant, new block and the basketball ground are the development which I had seen.
ED: What message would you like to give to the students?
GJM: Students must work hard in studies and should have moral values in them. Be a good citizen in future.
SKILL
Summer
When the summer days come,
The days make us dumb
The UV rays of sun,
Which take of all our fun
These days make us low,
And the hot winds blow
When the summer days come,
The days make us dumb
When the summer days come,
The days make us dumb
Where we go to play outside,
At home only use websites
It allow us to sit in the room,
The flowers are not going to bloom
When the summer days come,
The days make us dumb
-Dikha Choudhary/ VIII/ GH
STUDY
 School is shut down after exams for twelve days. The teachers were busy doing corrections, making results and tabulation sheets. Results will be announced on 3rd April’17.

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