PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

April 2018

Dear Parents,

Greetings from IIS Pune

Primary Years Programme (PYP):

Earth Day celebrations:

Prep2 As part of our ongoing unit: How we express ourselves (Celebrations) our learners celebrated Earth Day with enthusiasm. They were introduced to the concept of the 3Rs –Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. Learners took a pledge to save their planet Earth in their own little ways. A teacher guided action towards Earth day was taken by using recycled cotton paper with basil seeds. The “Save the Earth ‘badge and a reflection task sheet was made with this paper. Scavenger hunt was also arranged, to find all things green with a few interesting clues. Winners were surprised with recycled paper pencils with flower/ vegetable seeds. All in all a very informative and productive Earth Day for our young learners of Prep-2.

Reception & Grade 1

Our planet's survival is threatened every day with poisoning and injuring marine life, from littering our beaches and landscapes to clogging our streams and landfills. Awareness of this threat is essential to each and every one. With a vision to empower our little ones to make a difference and bring in a change, this Earth day; the EYP engaged themselves in a ‘Water contamination’ activity. This led each child to understand, on how difficult it is to undo the harm and disruption that we cause to the water bodies. The students reflected and discussed on the ways and measures which they could adapt to bring in a change and be part of the change to make this world a better place for everyone. We hope our students can spread the message of change while becoming citizens of the world with a mission to keep Earth clean and Green.

Grade 2-5

The PYP learner agency is about thinking, planning and creating an enduring

understanding through various learning engagements. At Indus International School- Pune

building learner agency is about action and making connections between classroom

experiences to real world situations. The students and teachers of PYP celebrated Earth

Day in April. To commemorate this day, on 13th April, 2018 the students and teachers of

IISP took part in a plogging drive. Plogging is a concept that originated in Sweden. The

term is a mash-up of jogging and the Swedish “plocka upp,” meaning pick up. Our children

understood the importance of how we need to keep our planet Earth clean. The children

from Grades 2- 5 picked up 47.5 Kgs of plastic in 30 minutes. We are proud of this clean up

drive and want to congratulate the entire PYP team on this wonderful effort.

PYP science week April 24- April 27

As part of the PYP science festival, students from Reception to Grade 5 conducted various

experiments ranging from the effect of force and motion to cause and effect of water

pollution, how light refracts, physical and chemical changes of matter etc. This opportunity

generated curiosity and passion in children creating more awareness on Science and its

related concepts. Our little scientists were excited to share their knowledge and findings to

the PYP students and teachers.

Field Trips in the PYP

Grade 1

As a part of the unit of inquiry, ‘How the world works’, the learners of grade 1 visited the

Angrewadi village to explore the different sources of water. They found out how the entire

village sustains on a single source of underground water pumped from a bore well. This

made them reflect on the significance of water as a finite resource.

The learners were very intrigued at the network of pipes that distributed the water to every

household of the village from a big water tank. They enjoyed pumping out water from the

hand pump which took quite an effort to fill up, just half a bucket.

This unit of inquiry will make our young learners more responsible towards this very

important resource of the earth and we hope to see them grow into responsible citizens.

Grade 2

At Indus we endeavor to seamlessly integrate various disciplines and provide an enriching

learning experience for our students. Grade 2 learners conducted a survey at Manas Lake

under the transdisciplinary theme – ‘Sharing the planet’. The young inquirers used their

research skills to collect, organise, represent and interpret the data collected on waste at

Manas lake. Students later transferred the data collected onto a tally mark table and a bar

graph. Finally they classified the waste under the categories of reduce, recycle and reuse.

Middle Years Programme (MYP):

WORLD SCHOLARS CUP

Team MYP would like to congratulate three students Abhay Gupta (Grade 7), Anirudh

Swaminathan (grade 7) and Krish Desai (grade 8) who participated in the World

Scholars Cup at Chandigarh and won numerous awards. This has been a self-initiated

venture on part of the three boys and our greatest pride has been to watch them prepare

for the competition with a single minded focus and determination. While each of the

students brought home many individual medals, the three special team awards are as

follows:

First place Debate team Junior Division

Second Place Overall Team Junior Division

Second Place-Challenge Team Junior Division

The world scholar’s cup is a competition that is held annually all around the globe.

Different schools send students in teams of three to participate if they wish. Any school can

participate and can have an indefinite number of teams. Students are sent a new syllabus

each year well in advance, containing six different subjects. The subjects stay the same

throughout the years, but the sub-topics often change in relation to current affairs.

These topics are tested through 4 very fun and exciting events: Team Debate, Collaborative

Writing, Scholars Challenge, and Scholar’s Bowl:

There are three different stages to this competition:

1. Regional rounds: The regional rounds are held in various countries. 2. Global rounds: The three global rounds held each year are arranged in 3 different

locations around the world. Students that qualify from their respective regional rounds are invited to these global rounds.

3. Tournament Of Champions: This is the ultimate round, the final stage of this competition held in the coveted Yale university in New York, USA.

The three students are now preparing for the global round in Kuala Lumpur and we wish

them the very best for the same!

Gr.7 Field Trip to Parag Milk Foods

Gr.7 had the opportunity to visit the Gowardhan Cheese factory which is located in

Manchar- a two hour drive from Pune where cheese and other dairy products such as

butter, ghee, curd and paneer are manufactured. Their unit which explored scientific and

technical innovation centered around the understanding of how humans have harnessed

the power of technology in various filed of production. At Parag Milk Foods, all the

products are made of cows’ milk. It was indeed fascinating to see 3000 cows and the

mechanized milking, pasteurizing and packaging process, untouched by human hands!

Students had an opportunity to be taken into the cheese manufacturing unit. It was

interesting to see the different stages of manufacturing - right up to packaging and getting

the products ready for delivery. Students were also taken to the cheese ageing section and

the three-storey tall storage sections where temperatures ranged from a shivering -8 degree

Celsius to a freezing -26 degrees Celsius!

The tour guide Ms. Madhuri provided students with valuable information and handled

their queries with a lot of patience. Students also explored the excellent waste management

system which involved composting valuable manure which is later sold in easy to handle

packets for farmers and horticulturists. Our students had the opportunity to interact with

the team that handled the composting unit and gained valuable insights into this

fascinating process.

This field trip was extremely educative as well as enjoyable. Children were treated to

sumptuous breakfast and lunch. They got to taste different flavours cheese drank delicious

and refreshing flavoured milk.

This trip also connected well with their current unit in History- the Industrial Revolution.

It was an excellent opportunity to get students to connect the past to the present while

looking for similarities and differences.

GRADES 6 AND 7 LEADERSHIP CAMPS AT INDUS SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP-

KANAKPURRA:

Grade 6 and 7 boarded the 7.20 am flight to Bangalore with great excitement. On their

arrival they were served with refreshment and then were divided in four groups. Students

proudly accepted their team bibs which is what identified for the next few days at camp.

During their time spent there, they engaged in a variety of outdoor activities focused on

building 21st century competencies that were planned for students. They were definitely

pushed out of their comfort zone as to stay away from family was a novel experience for a

lot of the children. They became more independent and responsible, taking care of

themselves and their team mates through the time spent at camp. Students worked

collaboratively, thought creatively and were strategic planners as they egged each other on

to the completion of their group tasks under the guidance of able trainers. Students were

reflectors as they debriefed after each activity and pondered upon the skills used, mistakes

made and planned for their next course of action.

Activities such as wall climbing taught them the value of grit and single-minded focus. The

leadership Disposition Course (LDC) which focused on the competencies of creativity and

innovation was greatly enjoyed by all as students passed through various stages to build a

raft using the limited material given to cross a pond. Activities such as chicken cricket and

the centipede were focused on creating a sense of community. Here they mainly focused

on helping each other to attain the same goal. The mass pass and mine field engaged them

in competencies of team building followed by reflection sessions. Students enjoyed an

evening trek, where they rappelled with the help of their instructors. All of this was

followed by delicious dinner and a beautiful balmy night spent in cosy tents under the

starry night sky.

Students returned with a wealth of experience and a host of memories of an adventurous

leadership camp.

IB Diploma Programme (IBDP):

IBDP CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service):

“Every day I’m more amazed by what God can do through willing hearts serving his kingdom.” Paty Villanueva

Our CAS Project: A Magnificent Success CRAFT MELA

As students wishing to help people, we used our CAS project-an exhibition of the hand-

made craft items by DP1 students as a way to begin our journey. We got together to

make a change in our society by educating people about proper sanitation practices.

We came up with a simple idea that might help the members of our immediate

community to great levels: teaching the Angrewadi villagers basic first aid. We realized

that many members of the village that we pass everyday while coming and going back

from school lack the knowledge of giving first aid when another person is hurt. This

unintentional ignorance might lead to serious negative health circumstances. In order

to prevent this, we drew up a plan to conduct a workshop by ourselves for the members

of the village to explain them the importance of first aid and how to give first aid to

someone with limited resources.

Along with this, we also thought of initiating the habit of first aid by giving each family

that is unable to afford supplies a first aid kit, and to promote the importance of

hygiene. This kit would be a small box containing the basic medical supplements: a

package of Band-Aids, ointment, a bottle of disinfectant and a roll of cotton. These

materials are relatively cheap to buy and can be replaced by the people once the supplies

run out.

Next, we were looking for ways to raise money to be able to buy these supplies. As

members of the craft club we decided to sell the craft pieces made by us and other club

members. We sold these handmade pieces on the 16th of April during the Parent-

Teacher Meeting. Many parents helped our cause by buying the craft items and

contributing for our CAS project. It was an eye-opening experience and we learned a lot

regarding how to sell our products. This activity helped us to come out our comfort

zone and increase our confidence. At the end of the day, we had collected Rs. 10,000/-

in total, a great sum for our first experience.

This project has helped fuel our credence and individuality. We will use this money to

the maximum of potential to help those in need as much as we can.

We would like to thank the parents who were very supportive in this project, and

without whom we couldn’t have reached our target. We would also like to thank Ms.

Anupriya Dhooli and Ms. Madhuri Bathula for their immense help and tireless support.

Finally, we would like to thank the members of the craft club who made the brilliant

pieces that brought those in need, their medical necessities.

MAHISHA MARKANDAN & SOUNDARYA DEVALLA

My First CAS Experience SWASTI MADAN (GRADE 11)

In the beginning of the year I was asked whether I was interested in teaching English to our

bus attendants of our school. Having no prior experience of teaching English to adults or

knowing the local language I decided to take up this challenge. I started by letting the bus

attendants pick me as their teacher followed by framing their lesson plans for the year and

teaching them things which are of utmost importance to their day to day life- including

instructions for smaller children on the bus.

I followed a creative outlook to these classes, made sure they are open and not unitary and

only classroom based. Being an art HL student I managed to involve art in this learning

process. They successfully learnt the names of colours and basic surroundings by drawing

them first with designated colours. I encouraged walks around school to learn about school

surroundings. We all made it a habit to write down new words and make sentences with

them as we walk. One of my favourite sessions by far was the one to learn numbers, I wrote

down numbers from 1- 20 on the stairs and then walked with them up and down. Thus

making the experience effective as well as fun-filled.

Currently we are following two sessions- on Tuesday, I encourage reading, listing down

new vocabulary and then going home and writing new sentences. On Thursday- I make

them solve exercises carefully picked out related to current topic.

I feel blessed to be a part of this program.

CAS PRE-IBDP COURSE BEGINS

With full enthusiasm and vigour the CAS Pre IBDP course started on 10 April. The students

were given a small presentation on CAS and its components. They were also introduced to

the CAS Pre IBDP PLAN- which is to be followed in the next two months.

The students were given Sports orientation by Mr Sudip Monday, PE Staff and the choice

of activities was discussed.

Sports Arena:

The second Inter-house Box Cricket Championship for the PYP was organized on 5th,7th

and 12th of March 2018 for students and was played between 4 houses . The finalists for the

tournament were Orion and Pegasus House where as the third place match was played

between Phoenix and Hercules House .Winner of the tournament was Pegasus house, and

Orion house being the Runners up. Arya Baviskar bagged the award for Man of the Series,

Aaryav Grover for Man of the match and Yuval Agarwal for the Best Bowler.

Taekwondo:

A Taekwondo belt examination (Yellow, Green and Blue) was held on 16th and 18th April

2018, which is affiliated with Horangee Taekwondo academy. The format of exam was to

check student's Strength, Endurance, Combination of blocks, Punches, Static and Dynamic

blocking, Static and Dynamic striking, Static and dynamic kicking, Static and dynamic

stances and Stepping techniques, Offense and Defence strategy as well as Self-defense

skills. Students highly enjoyed the exam and performed extremely well.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS AT IISP:

PYP Numeracy week begins – 7th May 2018

MYP-End of Unit (4) Celebration – 11th May 2018

PYP Numeracy week ends

MYP-Orientation for Grade 5 students – 18th May 2018

IBDP Exams End

PAC Meeting (IISP Team)

PYP Exhibition Grade 5 – 25th May 2018

MYP-Orientation for Grade 5 Parents

IBDP GRADUATION CEREMONY – 26th May 2018

Mufti Day (PYP) – 31st May 2018

SANDEEP CHHABRA

PRINCIPAL

April 2018