top ranked international school - from the principal’s desk · 2018-02-12 · page 1 of 20 from...

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From the Principal’s Desk

November 2017

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The penultimate month of the year has seen a flurry of activity across all grades at

school.

THE PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAMME (Reception to Grade 5): The PYP Indus Day

celebrations was spread over two days, 23rd and 24th November and was based on

the theme of ‘Leadership through Reading’. Students from Reception to Grade 2

performed an adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland while students of

Grades 3 to 5 performed Roald Dahl’s Matilda. Both days, the audience were

treated to impressive performances by our young Eagles who after weeks of

planning, practice and preparation showcased their excellent acting, music,

dancing and communication skills. This opportunity not only gave them the

courage to move out of their comfort zone and a moment to delve into a world of

imagination and magic but also to gain various perspectives of ‘friendship’ and

‘goodness’. We compliment and appreciate each student for their expressions,

confidence, poise, spatial awareness and ardent perseverance on stage through

their performance. I congratulate the PYP team of teachers and specialists for

their tireless effort which ensured that both days were a testament to the process

that excellent results can be achieved when collaboration, planning, passion and

creativity come together. I would also like to thank all the PYP parents for their

support towards making it a memorable day for the students.

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PYP INDUS DAY

The first 3 Way Conference for the academic year on 11th November, saw a great

turn out of enthusiastic parents and students. The progress made by every

student was discussed at length and goals for the next term were set. Our

students showed keen interest in setting new goals and seeking challenges for

themselves. Parents also had the opportunity to review their child’s portfolio

which included various pieces of work in their learning journey thus far.

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The students of Grades 3 to 5 attempted the International Benchmark Test [IBT], a standardised test in Science on 16th November. This assessment in Science is developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), a world leader in educational research, assessment and reporting. It allows schools to compare student performance internationally and between grades. The reports will provide schools with detailed information about a student's strengths and areas for improvement in all subjects and thereby allow students from all countries to be compared fairly.

THE MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAMME AND IGCSE (Grades 6 to 10): The focus for

Grades 6 to 10 has been syllabus completion, revision and preparation for the half

yearly examinations. Students of Grades 6 to 8 were part of the Scholastic

Literacy Programme reading test on 6th and 7th November. Based on the score,

each student will receive a tailor-made list of reading recommendations to

improve over the coming months.

The annual ACER International Benchmark Test [IBT], which is a standardised test

to evaluate student achievement in Science was also conducted on 16th

November for Grades 6 to 8.

We received wonderful news from the Cambridge Assessment board informing us

that two of our Grade 10 students from the batch of May 2017 were high

achievers in two subjects. We congratulate Yohaan Dalal for topping in IGCSE

Enterprise in India and Dharshan Varatharaja for being the national topper in

German as a Foreign Language.

Our Grade 10 students attended three sessions on career counselling and

placements this month. These sessions were conducted by Mr Hector Leon

(Director of Placements and Career Guidance) and introduced students to

Naviance, how to work on their subject selection in Grade 11 and how to be a

solid student in terms of building their portfolio.

The Grade 10 students also began their half yearly exams in the last week of

November.

All grades in the middle school have been focussing on reading and mindfulness

sessions. Students have chosen their books based on a prescribed reading list

(although books outside this list have also been chosen) and they have begun

filling out their reflection journals under the guidance of their teachers. During

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morning assembly, students have also begun practicing mindful silence and

breathing for 5-7 minutes each day. The objective is to help students find their

inner calm and to be aware of one’s thoughts, sensations and surroundings.

THE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME (Grades 11 and 12): The focus for Grade 11 has

been syllabus completion and revision ahead of the half yearly examinations.

After school academic support continued four times a week. Students of this

grade have also begun recording their reading reflections on their chosen book

which expects them to derive the main concepts and reflect on how they can

apply these in their everyday life.

Our Grade 12 students have been extremely busy completing their extended

essays, TOK essays and IA’s along with ensuring their college applications are on

course. We are very happy to share with you that some of our Grade 12 students

who had applied through the Early Decision/Early Application route last month

have begun hearing back from universities/colleges of their choice.

Two batches each from Grade 11 and 12 also participated in their annual

leadership camp at Yellagiri. They each returned with fond memories and it was

an emotional moment for many Grade 12 students, especially those who have

been in school from the middle school, as this was their last camp from school.

REFLECTION AND GOAL SETTING WORKSHOP: A workshop on the importance of

reflection and goal setting was conducted by our CEO, Gen. Ray and myself for

Grade 12 students on 30th November. As they groom themselves for the final leg of

their IBDP programme and higher studies thereafter, it is important that the

students practice goal setting, mindfulness and reflection.

The CEO spoke on how important it is for every individual to set themselves goals

as this is the first step in gaining will power and eventually success as well. He

guided students in finding their signature strengths and how to go about setting

themselves SMART-C goals.

My session focussed on the purpose of reflection and the reflection cycle. It

provided understanding of deep reflection. The reflection cycle helped students

understand how to reflect on an event or experience, be it bad or good, to analyse

the same and how to go about acting on this to bring about a transformation.

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Both sessions used varied resources like case studies, videos based on true events,

real world examples and these helped students gain insight in the purpose and

importance of both exercises.

BOARDING: The boarding too has seen much activity this month. We began our

extra academic support for boarders (Grades 9 to 12) over the weekends in

Math, Biology, English, Physics, Chemistry and Economics.

Students were introduced to Zumba lessons and continued with Yoga as well.

Students of Grade 12 attended a hands on training in first aid which is part of the

life skills training we want to offer. All participants also received a certificate of

participation. The boarders did enjoy the movie Thor Ragnarok during their visit

to a city mall.

Some of our Grade 11 boarders were part of a medical camp organised by our

school for the residents of the neighbouring Kalahalli village and this was in

collaboration with Oxford Medical College. The camp was conducted on the 14th

of November and saw our students work in collaboration with different medical

personnel and over 234 patients in attendance. The students displayed

remarkable empathy and sensitivity and did very well in guiding the patients

during the camp. It also gave them an insight on the conditions in government

aided schools which was the venue for the medical camp.

Further, students thoroughly enjoyed their participation in the Walkathon

organised by NDTV in support for organ donation. This was conducted at Fortis

hospital, Bannerghatta road.

A non-fire based cooking competition was conducted for the PYP to Grade 8

boarders who worked on different sandwich fillings and salads (include dressing).

The highlight of the month for the boarders were the Socials. We began the

evening with a talent show where students from each of the boarding houses

showcased their talent in singing, classical dance, playing an instrument and

recitation. The talent on display was quite impressive and it was heart-warming to

see some of the students overcome their shy nature and perform in front of an

audience with confidence and ease.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Working Saturdays have kept our teachers busy

with various professional development sessions.

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The MYP team conducted a workshop on Design Thinking for its teachers where

the focus was on incorporating this in the classroom and how best to use

different media platforms to strengthen empathy, problem solving and creativity

in the students. Further, the MYP Science, Math and Design teachers attended a

training session on Sketchup software used for 3D printing. This was critical

especially ahead of the implementation of the STEAM [Science, Technology,

Engineering, Arts and Math] curriculum. Teachers across Grades 6 to 12 have also

attended, in batches, training on Managebac. This is the leading planning,

assessment and reporting platform for the IB continuum. Our DP teachers also

had a session on extended essay where the focus was a reiteration of the

changes that have been introduced in respect to this component of the diploma

programme. The PYP team ran a follow up session in LEGO which will be part of

the STEAM Curriculum for its faculty.

COMMUNITY SERVICE INITIATIVES: As you are aware, each of the four houses at

school, Hercules, Orion, Pegasus and Phoenix have two main projects to complete

in the course of the year. The four houses have made good progress in both

project tasks assigned to them.

Hercules house students have been working with the students from IICS on their

science exhibition displays which will showcase their creativity and innovation.

Further, the paper recycling unit run by this house has successfully produced close

to 800 leadership journals as well as other stationery items.

Orion House students have been busy editing the IICS magazine entries. Training

in spoken English for the bus wardens also continued and this is now offered at

two levels. One at the beginners’ level for those who are new to the programme

and an intermediate level which will include a writing component for the others.

There are also plans to introduce basic computer training for which fundraising

(to procure curriculum resources) has begun.

Pegasus house has seen significant production of candles in different designs and

fragrances which they hope to sell in large numbers ahead of the winter break.

On their second project, which is to provide vocational training in tailoring and

beautician services, where participants in both programmes have made good

progress over the last four weeks of training.

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Phoenix House students continued to work with the students of IICS in their

leadership summit preparation where the focus has been on their journals and

ILEAD speeches. Further, on their second project, Phoenix House students have

successfully completed production of the fourth batch of sanitary napkins. These

will, over the next few days, be sent to a BIS laboratory for testing and

certification.

SPORTS: In my last newsletter, I had shared with you the success of Eagle Cup

2017, a Grade 12 student initiative, which saw 21 schools and over 800 students

participate. The two day event showcased excellent team spirits across five

different sports which also saw some close finishes in a few matches. The overall

winners were Delhi Public School-East. The results are attached in Appendix A.

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EAGLE CUP 2017

Indus also participated in the BTR Shield Third Division cricket tournament

(Under 14 Category). This was organised by the Karnataka State Cricket

Association. Our team won all its matches in the league stages and are now

training for next phase of the tournament. Appendix B provides more details.

The Indus Cricket team also participated in the TISB Inter-school senior cricket

team and were overall runners-up. Please refer to Appendix C for a list of

participants.

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At the Ebenezer inter-school open football tournament for girls held on 2nd

November, the Indus team won. The team comprised of students of Grades 9 to

12 and Appendix D provides more details.

Students also participated in the 10th State Level School Olympics athletic meet

organised by Youngsters Sports Club, a club affiliated to the Karnataka State

Athletic Association on 10th and 11th November. A total of 165 schools

participated in the competition in which our students performed extremely well

and brought laurels to the school. Details of the results are in Appendix E.

OTHER EVENTS & COMPETITIONS: We are happy to report that in the Behtar

India Campaign, Indus International School Bangalore has topped in the region

and placed third overall in the country. We would like to congratulate Raju Woolf

of Grade 7 for securing the fourth place in the individual winners’ category. The

awards ceremony is scheduled on 5th December.

The whole school celebrated Children’s Day on 14th November. The teachers let

students know through their own special ways that they are treasured and

cherished. The teachers across different grades came together to perform for

their students. From singing to dancing and to even walking the ramp, the

teachers kept the students entertained and engaged through the programme and

also organised a special lunch for them.

We also participated in the National Law School Junior Debate Championship

held on 18th and 19th November. Mugdha Desai and Satyajit Amin (both students

of Grade 11) along with Rithik Jain (Grade 12) represented the school in this

parliamentary debate format. Despite being new to them, the team did extremely

well winning two rounds out of the four rounds and narrowly missed qualifying to

the final round by a very small margin. I compliment them for their efforts

especially considering they were up against college teams and also received a

special mention during the award ceremony.

We received good news that 27 of our students (out of the 31 who took part)

have been shortlisted for the regional round of the International Finance

Olympiad which will be held next month.

A fire evacuation drill was also conducted for students across all grades this

month. Fire drills are critical in ensuring the safety of students, staff and other

stakeholders and practising scheduled fire drills will help ensure individuals,

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students in particular, have the knowledge to safely escape a fire without injuring

themselves or others. During this drill, our students participated in the

demonstration of different fire extinguishers and safety measures one must take

in case we find ourselves in a fire.

Our middle school students participated in the India International Model United

Nations [IIMUN] which was hosted by KLE School, Rajajinagar between 17th and

19th November. For our Grade 8 students, members of the Junior MUN club, this

was the first time they participated in an MUN of this scale. The Indus team did

extremely well and brought back many individual awards as well as the award for

best delegation. Appendix F provides details of the results of the IIMUN.

Fifteen students participated in the Ivy League MUN Conference held in Gurgaon

between 23rd and 26th of November. A significant number of delegates on the

team were first time participants at a Conference of this stature. The team did

very well considering the fierce competition from students representing different

schools across the country. The results of the MUN are shared in Appendix G.

The next month is going to focus on academics across all programmes at school

which will also include students of Grades 9-11 appearing for their half yearly

examinations.

I thank you for your constant support and feedback. I reassure you that we do all

that we can to educate your children in a creative and nurturing environment. We

are indeed building tomorrow’s future. My team and I work to ensure your child is

prepared for the world of tomorrow.

Warm regards

Mrs. Sarojini Rao Principal

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Dates For Your Diary- DECEMBER 2017 DATE EVENT

November 22 – January 4 Half Yearly Examinations- Grade 10 December 05 – January 4 Half Yearly Examinations- Grades 6-9 & 11

December 09 Working Saturday (Teachers Only) December 16 -January 03 Winter break

December 16 Airport drop for boarders

December 17 - 20 Central Leadership Retreat

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APPENDIX A: EAGLE CUP 2017 RESULTS

Sl No Sports Category Position Name

1 Football Boys – Grade 12 & Below

Winner Indus International School

Runner Up NPS - Indiranagar

Boys – Grade 10 & Below Winner TISB

Runner Up NPS - Indiranagar

2 Basketball

Boys – Grade 12 & Below Winner Christ PU College

Runner Up St. Claret PU College

Boys – Grade 10 & Below Winner Bishop Cotton’s Boys School

Runner Up TISB

Girls – Grade 12 & Below Winner Christ PU College

Runner Up Bishop Cotton’s Girls School

Girls – Grade 10 & Below Winner Greenwood High School

Runner Up Bishop Cotton’s Girls School

3 Badminton

Boys – Grade 12 & Below Winner Delhi Public School - East

Runner Up Indus International School

Boys – Grade 10 & Below Winner NPS - Indiranagar


Girls – Grade 12 & Below Winner Greenwood High School


Girls – Grade 10 & Below Winner NPS - Indiranagar

Runner Up TISB

4 Cricket Boys – Under 15

Winner Ebenezer International School


Boys – Under 13 Winner Ebenezer International School


5 Tennis




Runner Up NPS – Indira nagar

Winner Delhi Public School - East

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INDUS Results

FOOTBALL

Boys – Grade 12 & Below – WINNER

SL NO NAME GRADE

1 Roshan Neel Anand 12

2 Afraz Faizal 10

3 Kirk Dsouza 12

4 Rahul Rawat 12

5 Anurag SA 12

6 Nikhil Chengappa 12

7 Parishith Ramesh Babu 12

8 Arnav Ravi Joshi 12

9 Kevin Babu Chiramel 12

10 Achyutha Ram Menon 12

11 Kevan Keane Lyngdoh 11

12 Adrien Lee 11

13 Gonzague Demoulin 11

14 Sahil Bindal 11

15 Paz Agitok Sangma 11

16 Jai Ashiya 9

17 Evert Robson 9

18 Priyam Sharda 9

Girls – Grade 10 and

Below

Runner Up

TISB

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BADMINTON

Boys – Grade 12 and Below – RUNNER UP

S.NO STUDENTS NAME GRADE

1 Aanjneya Gupta 12

2 Ripudh Mylapur 11

3 Pratham Agarwal 12

4 Justin Rosangpuca Ralte 6

Justin Rosangpuca Ralte of grade 7 was awarded the player of the tournament.


S.NO

STUDENTS NAME

GRADE

1 Abhishek Jain 10

2 Justin Rosangpuca Ralte 6

3 Siddarth.C 10

4 Ayush Thaker 6

Girls – Grade 12 and Below – RUNNER UP

S.NO STUDENTS NAME GRADE

1 Khushi Kalwad 11

2 Nitya Kopparapu 12

3 Prishita Singh 11

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CRICKET

Boys – Under 15 years – RUNNER UP

Sl. No Name Grade

1 Rithvik Elan 7

2 Dev Veer Singh 7

3 Sidhanth Agarwal 8

4 Varun Venkatesh 8

5 Arham Srisrimal 8

6 Krishi Koliwad 9

7 Shivraj Singh 9

8 Rebhanth Amin 9

9 Deep Marwadi 9

10 Luqman Hakim 9

11 Avyaya Anasapurapu 9

12 Neel Palle 9

13 Naveen David 9

14 Manikuluth Ganjikunta 9

15 Vishnu Karthic C 9

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Boys – Under 13 years – RUNNER UP

Sl. No Name Grade

1 Rithvik Elan 7

2 Dev Veer Singh 7


4 Varun Venkatesh 8

5 Arham Srisrimal 8

6 Keenan Katavkar 7

7 Aadiv Reiki 7

8 Vansh Motiani 8

9 Akhand Bindra 7


11 Lakshya Dagar 5

TENNIS


S.NO

STUDENTS NAME

GRADE

1 Nitin Reddy 12

2 Rahul Reddy 12

3 Rahul Metha 11

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APPENDIX B: BTR SHIELD – DIVISION 3 -KARNATAKA STATE CRICKET ASSOCIATION (KSCA) CRICKET TOURNAMENT

Following students took part in the competition.

Sl. No Name Grade

1 Rithvik Elan 7

2 Dev Veer Singh 7


4 Varun Venkatesh 8

5 Arham Srisrimal 8

6 Krishi Koliwad 9

7 Shivraj Singh 9

8 Deep Marwadi 9

9 Luqman Hakim 9


11 Aadiv Reiki 7

12 Keenan Katavkar 7

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APPENDIX C: TISB INTER-SCHOOL SENIOR CRICKET TOURNAMENT

Result: Runner Up

Following students represented the school:

Sl. No Name Grade

1 Varun Venkatesh

8

2 Arham Srisrimal

8

3 Krishi Koliwad

9

4 Shivraj Singh

9

5

Rebhanth Amin

9

6

Deep Marwadi

9

7

Luqman Hakim

9

8

Avyaya Anasapurapu 9

9

Neel Palle

9

10 Sarthak Gupta

11

11

Abhay Khadelwal 11

12 Ashwin Tantia

11

13 Pranav Bykod 11

Krishi Koliwad of Grade 9 was awarded the Best Batsmen of the tournament

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APPENDIX D: EISB INTER-SCHOOL SPORTS FEST 2017

Participated in the Ebenezer Inter School Girls open Football tournament held on 2nd November 2017.

The following are the names of the players who represented the school at the tournament and emerged Winners.

SL NO NAME OF THE STUDENTS GRADE

1 Anoushka Saraf 9

2 Anishka Raghunath 9

3 Annanya Varma 11

4 Drisya Antose 12

5 Bhavisha Naidu 11

6 Snigdha Choudhary 10

7 Nikita Kishan 9

8 Niveth Varatharaja 9

9 Avani Jaiswal 9

10 Shreen Kaur 11

Anoushka Saraf of Grade 9 was awarded the Player of the tournament.

APPENDIX E: 10th State Level School Olympics Athletic Meet

Event Age Group NAME Grade Medal High Jump U-14 Boys Thirumalai (IICS) 6 Gold

Long Jump U-18 Girls Shagun VK 12 Silver

Shot-put U-18 Girls Hrutika Bhasker 11 Bronze

60m U-10 Girls Manavi Varma 4 Bronze

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APPENDIX F: India International Model United Nations

Verbal Mention:

Malavika Garimella who represented Germany at the Legal Committee

Best Delegates:

1. Aman Sharma who represented France at the Disarmament and International Security (First Committee)

2. Sriya Chintalapalli who represented Iran at the Economic and Social Council

3. Siddhant Agarwal who represented Russia at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Outstanding Delegates:

1. Navya Agarwal who represented Russia at the Security Council

2. Shradha Desai who represented BJP at the Lok Sabha

3. Isha Singh who represented Brazil at the World Health Organization

4. Shahit Daglur who represented Russia at the Security Council (Double Delegation)

Best Photographer in the International Press Corps: Mallika Garimella

APPENDIX G: Ivy League Model United Nations

Honorable Mention:

Bhaavika Guptha who represented Mexico at the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime

Best Position Papers:

1. Jibran Cutlerywala who represented France at the Disarmament and International Security (First Committee)

2. Amritaa Basu who represented France at the JCC Spanish Civil War Nacionales.

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