Volume 2: Issue 2 March 2009

Actinomycetes and antibiotics

Abhinaya's project brings out the antibiotic property in marine actinomycetes
Reported by J. Anirudh, Student Reporter
B. Abhinaya of class 12 of Sri biotech teachers Lakshmi
Sankara Senior Sec. School, Adyar Prabhu and Sunanda
won the Bio Asia Young Minds encouraged and helped
award at Bio Asia 2009 held at Abhinaya in the project.
Hyderabad from Feb. 2 to 4.
Her project of marine
actinomycetes won her a cash prize
of Rs. 50000 besides laurels for her
findings which will help in
formulating new drugs for fighting
specific infections.
INSIDE
Bio Asia Global Business forum
(http://www.bioasia.in) holds this
contest every year to promote
Stay safe
on the Net 3
investigative spirit in young school
children particularly in the field of
Biotechnology and Life sciences.
Abhinaya first isolated marine
Hangout
of the month 5
actinomycetes from the sea bed.
She studied them carefully and said
the study about them was
Become
a student reporter 6
fascinating because they are
transient - show both the characteristics of bacteria and fungi. Having isolated
one species from the lot she characterised them.
Finally it was identified that they have an antibiotic property, especially against
Who
is the hero this time!7
the bacteria 'stephalococcus' which causes skin diseases / infection. She did all the
experiments and further study at the school's biotech laboratory for a month.
The principal Subala Ananthanarayanan, vice principal B. Meenakshi and the
Google's
Internet Bus 8
 No honking please! Reported by Saniya Surana, Student Reporter
A five day, anti-honking campaign was conducted during the
month of January in Chennai. It was a successful launch by the
Interactors of Bala Vidya Mandir, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar. On Jan.
21, during the morning peak hours from 8.20 am to 9.15 am.
The participants held placards and distributed pamphlets to
create awareness about the benefits of anti-honking. The same
exercise continued in the afternoon between 3 and 4 pm. This
campaign, on the same lines continued through to 28th January.
This is what Mr. Shibu, the managing director of Force1
Guarding Services and the one who has initiated this anti-honking
campaign in the city has to say, about the campaign:
On day 2, the campaign was even more visible and
effective in terms of the considerable reduction in the
discriminative of horn. It was nice to see the students
encouraging themselves and getting excited when they
realised that they were part of the change that society
required.
On day 3 and 4, It is indeed very exciting to see these
students respond to the Anti- Honking campaign, having their
novel slogans and there has been a significant reduction in the
use of indiscriminate horning and thus giving a lot of peace to
the surroundings of Bala Vidya Mandir School , Gandhi
Nagar, Adyar.
On the last day of the campaign, it was nice to see that
Interactors wanted to continue with this, but their exams cut short
the joy of their involvement in such a novel exercise. As the first
phase of this Campaign ends, we found that on the first day, there
was some resistance from the Honkers, and by day 5, the children
who travelled in those vehicles were the catalysts, who ensured
the drivers don’t honk at all.
< Do you think that our roads are too noisy to travel? What
would you like to do if you were a driver? Tell us your opinion.
Mail to editor@yocee.in >

2
 Are you on FaceBook or MySpace?
Do you think you surf the Net safe?
Is your email safe?
Stay safe on the Net
Do you give out information about yourself to
online pals?
Well, chatting with your friends online can be loads of
fun, but make sure you stay safe on the web.
Technologies help you study and give all new exciting
ways to socialise with others. And you are always faster to
use the Internet or the mobile devices than your parents.
So you need to know more on using the devises better
and safer.
Countries across the world as well as many social
networking websites have pledged to beat Cyber bullying,
a menace for the kids who surf the Net. This bullying
continues offline too, in your classroom or in your colony.
Be aware that all the information you type are read
online go through many servers, Net spies and they are
saved and circulated by the bullies many times.
If your parents have a watch on your surfing, feel
happy that someone will be at help in case of any trouble
online.
You should also be aware of copyright rules when you
download information for your school projects or use in
your presentations. You may be watched for 'online
3
copying' too!
On the occasion of the safer Internet day 2009,
http://www.saferinternet.org is organising events and
competitions for kids and companies to bring about
awareness of what is happening online.
Now a few tips for now to be safe on the Net.
- Never give out any personal details online.
- Never arrange to meet people that you only know
online.
- Always let somebody know where you are going - tell
your parents, guardians, friends.
- Block and report any abuse online.
- If someone is making your life a misery by bullying
you or just being annoying, tell your parents. No one can
help you unless you let them know what is going on.
Check out
TACKLE BULLYING! How!
http://www.bbclic.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/help/safesurfing/
http://www.ccmostwanted.com/kids/index.htm
 Ci T y
Boating in the Velachery Lake
scan
Chennai Corporation will be launching boating facility
in the Velachery lake and at the lake inside My Lady’s
Park, Park Town. The proposal is part of the initiatives
planned by the civic body to beautify and popularise the
two waterbodies, announced Mayor M. Subramanian
recently.
He said that the Velachery lake, on 65 acres, to which
rainwater from Alandur, Adambakkam and Guindy areas
flow, would be an ideal location for boating. Also 50 new
parks would be developed across the city, he said.
The Chennai Corporation turns 320
September 29th of every year would be celebrated as
Corporation Day to mark the foundation day of the
Chennai Corporation, which was founded in 1688, the city
Mayor said in the recently held council meeting.
Competitions would be conducted for students,
Corporation Councillors and officials.
A museum to commemorate 320 years of the Chennai
Corporation would come up in the Ripon Building
complex. The Victoria Public Hall would be renovated at
the cost of Rs.9.75 crore and emphasis put on preserving
its architectural elements.
Corporation schools will have
English medium sections soon
English medium sections will be started at all primary
schools run by the Chennai Corporation.
Corporation feels that the students who enrolled
themselves in kindergarten sections seek admission in
private schools because of the need to take English as the
medium of instruction.
The decision to have English medium sections in
Corporation schools would solve this issue, the
corporation believes.
An English -Tamil dictionary would be distributed free
of cost to all Corporation school students of classes 6 to 8.
Not just this! Soon all Corporation higher secondary
schools would get broadband Internet connectivity and
students would receive training on computers.
Hop - on - hop - off buses to
Mamallapuram
The Department of Tourism, Tamil Nadu has launched
the ‘hop-on-hop-off-tour’ luxury coaches in the city. Four
air-conditioned 18-seater coaches will be operated to
Mamallapuram. The coaches would take the East Coast
Road and have 13 stops at various places of tourist’s
interest en route.
4
Try
Turtle tr
urtle trails! By staff reporter
When do the turtles arrive at the Chennai beaches?
Do the sea turtles bite?
Do all the turtles survive after hatching?
Hey... find the answers
to all your questions. Take
the Turtle Trail organised by
Students Sea Turtle
Conservation Network
(SSTCN) during this
breeding season now - the turtles nest mainly for three
months– Jan, Feb and March, on the coast of Tamil Nadu.
A dedicated group has been helping the Sea Turtles to
have a safe breeding session on our shores from 1971! And the
walks for public has been on from 1980.
SSTCN conducts walks on weekends throughout the
nesting season (from December through March) for anyone
who is interested.
The walks, which are open to the public, begin with a
briefing on conservation at 11 p.m. and may go on till 4 am or
5am depending on the number of nests the group finds on way.
These volunteers cover a distance along the coast between
Neelangarai beach and Elliot’s beach.
Wouldn't it be a great stress buster between or after the
exams?
To participate in the walks call Adhith on mobile no. 98414
03203, Akila on 99403 00200 or Arun on 2490 1019.
To know more about sea turtles, the efforts of these
volunteers, visit the website - http://sstcn.org/
By the way, Nandini, a student reporter of YOCee visited an
exhibition on turtles at the Govt. museum recently and shared
her experienes on www.yocee.in. If you have missed it, here is
the link to the story - http://yocee.in/show.php?table=city&id=55
Ticket for the coaches is priced at Rs.250 each.
The tourists travelling by these coaches would also get
a discount of 25 per cent on the tariff at many of the 13
tourist attractions.
The first coach will start from the Tamil Nadu Tourism
Complex on Wallajah Road at 9 a.m. every day.
More details on - http://www.tamilnadutourism.org/
pdf/hop.pdf
HANGOUTof the month... By Saniya Surana, Student Reporter

Where is the park :

It is landmark itself. On G.N.Chetty Road,
T. Nagar, adjacent to the Panasonic showroom.
What's the best time to be in:
Between 4.30 pm and 6.30pm
How many kids visit the park at this time :
around 50 - 75 children
Is parking space available?
Yes. Near both the entrances and also around
the park.
Is it well lit after sunset?
It is lit but not brightly lit.
What are the play accessories available?
Swings, see-saw, a zig-zag slide and a normal
straight one.
Anything special about the above accessories?
They are safe for kids, no nails sticking out.
What's there for parents?
A walking / jogging track, a few benches to sit
Jeeva Park, T. Nagar and relax. There is also a Ganesh Temple inside the park
and is kept clean and green.

SUMMER CAMPS
YOCee Summer Camp section will be launched
on
March 15. 2009
Are you looking for a summer camp?
www.yocee.in will feature all the major summer camps in
the city on its web site

Organisers of camps can contact by email - editor@yocee.in

5
From the
editorial desk
Hi young friends!
It is good to be busy. And the annual exam time is the
busiest time of the year.
But the student reporters of YOCee take a short break
to lookaround and mail reports. And this energises them to
get back to the books with more concentration, says one of
them.
Some are inspiring stories, some informative, a few are
news for you and some others are just about cool places to
check.
Tell me how did you like the variety of the stories by
the reporters- mail to editor@yocee.in
But, remember, this print edition just helps you browse
the sections of www.yocee.in, which is updated daily and
as and when something interesting for kids happens in the
city! And most of the inputs are by kids like you!
You too can become a YOCee Reporter. Click on
www.yocee.in/studentreporters.php to know how you can
sign up. It is an interesting assignment!
Do share this newsletter with your friends. They too
would love to read as you do!
Revathi
Editor
YOCee
Sir Sivaswamy
Kalalaya celebrates
National Science Day
Reported by P. S. Nandini, Student Reporter
February is for Science. Events were lined up for the
National Science Day celebrated for a whole month at Sir
Sivaswamy Kalalaya. Many competitions were also held.
The primary class children viewed cartoon shows,
related to Science. Guest lectures were arranged for the
students of Class 8 and above.
A skit competition was held for Classes 7 and 8. One
group from each section of these two classes participated
in the contest. Though there were two topics to choose
from - ‘Expedition on a time machine’ and ‘No A/Cs to
prevent global warming’, all six participating groups
chose the former one!
Each used different object as a time machine, like
rings, cardboard boxes, etc. One team had even made a
large remote to operate their time machine!
Many teams went to the past and enacted history
scenes. Lighting effects were provided by the school and
each group brought its own keyboard player for
background effects and music. Some of the participants
came in full-fledged costumes for the role of kings, queens
and even sages! The judges were former students of the
school. The winning teams were classes 8 ‘A’, 8 ‘B’ and 7
‘C’.
A music competition was held for students of classes 9

- www.yocee.in and 11 in which the participants had to compose their own

song with music on the topic ‘The Rhythm of Nature’.
To reach YOC

- editor@yocee.in The culmination show was held on Feb. 25 and the

chief guests were the Vice-principal and the school
- 4205 4377 / 98405 44629 Secretary. The students of Classes 7 and 11 were the
audience. The winners of the music competition performed
- YOCee atthis event.
There was also a video show about Albert Einstein and
New No.15B, a short slide-show on the different kinds of war planes.
Karpagam Garden The Vice-principal said that it was the best culmination
First Main Road, show the school ever had in appreciation of the students
Adyar, Chennai - 600 020. who had presented the show.

For the third consecutive year www. yocee.in , the only one of its
kind website for Chennai kids is launching the Student Reporter
Programme for the year 2009 - 2010.
Become a Student Reporter
Students studying in class 6 to 12 in any school in Chennai city from their school campuses and from their residential locality, interview
are eligible to apply. The website is selecting 20 reporters across the authors / storytellers / artists and achiever kids.
city schools for the academic year. Last date to apply - April 10, 2009
The student reporters will get an opportunity to report events More details on www.yocee.in/studentreporters.php

6
Who is the Hero this time!
time?
By Sruti S, Student Reporter

Guess who was the main hero on Feb.

23 this year?
Don't take much of your time by
guessing, it's not a cricketer or superman,
but Lord Shiva!
There were a lot of festivities at the
two major temples in the southern part of
Chennai on the Shivaratri day - the
Kapaleeshwarar temple, Mylapore and the
Maruntheeshwarar temple,
Thiruvanmiyur. Abhishekams were
performed to Lord Shiva in the morning.
Many devotees gathered in the temples for
the darshan of the Lord. Music kutcheris
and dances took place in the evening and
went on the whole of the night.
Many tourists were seen at the
Kapaleeshwarar temple in the afternoon itself to watch the
grandeur of Lord Shiva during Shivratri. temple that day. Pujas were performed. A few state
ministers too visited the temple for getting the glimpse of
"It's a great experience for us to come over to chennai the Lord or that day.
and explore temples here. It's really a blend of style and The temple tank was illuminated with lamps. The sight
achitecture revived," a Korean tourist who was busy of fishes swimming around the tank glowing in the
clicking photos of the temple in the afternoon said. It is an brightly lit background was lovely and eye-catching.
enriching experience for the researchers.
It is nice to note that the tourists from abroad are Vilvam, the special leaf offered to Lord Shiva was
taking interest in our culture.We must feel proud of our found aplenty in shops and the shopkeepers were busy
country, said a priest at the temple. selling the bunches of the leaves.
Annadanams were offered to the poor. Pendants and Lot of devotees visited the temple this year. There was
Keychains carrying the image of Lord Shiva were being a tight security inside the temple.
sold outside the temple. Publishing houses have included new books of Lord
In Maruntheeshwar Temple, thousands of lamps were Shiva for the special day.
lit in many different shapes. Photos of Lord Shiva were Prasadams were distributed in the temple.
distributed by group of devotees to the visitors of the The lord was the real hero indeed on that day!

YOCee

News beyond Chennai!

Links to online articles for kids!

Fun ideas and suggestions
from the world of kids!

Visit - www.yocee.in/blog
7
 For Private Circulation

Google's Internet
Bus in Tamil Nadu...
The Internet major, Google India initiated its
'Internet Bus' concept on Feb. 3.
A mobile Internet kiosk will travel across 15 tier II
and tier III cities in Tamil Nadu demonstrating the
content and usage of the internet in the local
language to the section of the population still averse
to the same.
The Internet Bus will demonstrate content under
four topics - information, communication,
entertainment and education. It will also introduce its very useful, they will find ways and means to get
visitors to Google SMS search and channels. back to it. The primary need is to sensitise the masses
"Increased awareness about, and access to about the large content available in the local
Internet, especially in the local language will language," Dr.Prasad Ram, head, R&D, Google India
empower users with information and greater access said during the launch of the bus.
to information. Even in people experience the The bus has already visited 12 towns in Tamil
Internet for a brief period of time and find it to be nadu so far. In March, it will be going to
Pudukkottai. Trichy, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam,
Neyveli, Cuddalore and Tiruvannamalai.

If you have
friends in these
towns tell them to
check the bus out!

More info and the

route of the bus on http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/
landing/internetbus/
Photos : www.google.co.in