One of the most powerful beliefs
of an IB education is the focus on developing the whole person. Martin Luther King referred to education as the
combination of intelligence and character, and indeed a long list of wise
educators through the centuries remind us that to educate the mind alone is a
poor preparation for happiness or success in life. It is a challenge to bring
up people to be both free thinking and compassionate, or to develop
self-discipline along with creative problem solving. But amidst the Units of
Inquiry, completing of syllabi and summative assessments, the students have
been busy with participating in this larger development of character and more
is planned in the weeks ahead.
It is in the light of this that
we are very happy and proud to begin this issue by reproducing an interview by
our Grade 2 student Niharika Dwivedi who found the opportunity to conduct an
interesting interview with the Chief Minister of UP, Mr Akhilesh Yadav. She was
able to bring out a personal and child-centered response which makes for a very
interesting read.
Events
Communicating and thinking about
the purpose of education has dominated much of the activity since the school
re-opened.
Primary Back to School
Primary school parents experienced the learning environment through
the well-attended Back to School Day and Grade 6 & 7 parents will do the
same on the 14th. Grade 9 students took their parents through their first
student led conference.
Grade 9 SLC
In the weeks since the new
semester began, the secondary school was involved in the student council
election, bringing with it the demands of communicating, campaigning and
voting. For those who won and those who did not, it is a valuable lesson.
Digital Citizenship
At a time when the entire country
seems focused on elections, it seems a good time to focus on the larger meaning
of citizenship. This week is devoted to a focus on digital citizenship. As the
virtual world has become an increasing presence in all our lives, it is
essential to understand issues of safety, responsibility and health. For the
past two years we have focused on helping young people understand the
importance of retaining privacy and following safe practices. This year the
focus has expanded to issues of health, the importance of moderation, radiation
or lack of sleep. Parents, teachers and students will participate in discussing
this issue. Reminders will go out to
parents too so please do use this as an opportunity to talk about this to your
children.
MYP
In the upcoming week we take our
next step towards MYP authorization with the visit by our IB consultant. She
will be meeting teachers and students, sitting in on classes and reviewing our
standards. Appointed by the IB, our
consultant Ms Aloha Lavina is a highly experienced IB practitioner and we look
forward to our ongoing development as an MYP school with her.
Change of Date
A reminder that the Sports Fiesta
for students upto Grade 2 is on Friday 20th and Sports Day is on Saturday 28th.
I look forward to seeing you at both events.
Dr Shalini Advani
School Director
