I would like to begin by thanking
all those of you who wrote or expressed your appreciation of our very
successful Founders Day. The sharing of their learning through the exhibition
and the vibrant programme showcased the wonderful talent of our students. If in
the lead up to Founders, they learnt that hard work and attention to detail can
be fun, all the applause they got on the day showed them a taste of success.
Through every event, we look for the bigger learnings which go well beyond
simply putting up a show. And true to the spirit of internationalism students
share their responses with you in different languages later in this blog.
Diwali
Focussing on Diwali, students from Form 10 presented a thoughtful and unusual take on the festival. It included a television-style discussion group on today’s practices, the production of fireworks, commercialization, the rise in adulteration of sweets etc. Looking for contemporary relevance, a new way of finding meaning in a traditional tale came through a student-made film which transposed the story of Ayodhya and vanvaas to the contemporary world of teenagers and a boarding school. In this very modern story, the central ideas of the triumph of good over evil, of brotherhood and jealousy came through in a different way. It was an excellent demonstration of how our students apply established ideas to new situations, cleverly using technology to do so.
Focussing on Diwali, students from Form 10 presented a thoughtful and unusual take on the festival. It included a television-style discussion group on today’s practices, the production of fireworks, commercialization, the rise in adulteration of sweets etc. Looking for contemporary relevance, a new way of finding meaning in a traditional tale came through a student-made film which transposed the story of Ayodhya and vanvaas to the contemporary world of teenagers and a boarding school. In this very modern story, the central ideas of the triumph of good over evil, of brotherhood and jealousy came through in a different way. It was an excellent demonstration of how our students apply established ideas to new situations, cleverly using technology to do so.
Linked to Diwali celebration,
Friday was National Dress Day. At the primary school assembly children wearing
traditional clothes from areas as varied as China, Japan, the US, Germany
talked about their dress in a spontaneous display. The fabulous range of
clothes from India including Punjab, Rajasthan, Bengal etc created awareness of the relationship between
dress and culture
Professional
Development
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Teachers from the Primary school
attended a two day workshop conducted by the IBO. Workshop leader Jason Graham
who flew in from Indonesia, focused on Teaching and Learning practices in
interactive and stimulating sessions. This is what he had to say about the
experience: "I was just in India running a PYP workshop with the great teachers
at Pathways NOIDA in New Delhi. What a fantastic experience. Every time I run a
workshop I always take away so much. I
learn so much. This one was
special." The workshop was part of our
ongoing journey towards full PYP
authorization, a process which takes a minimum of three years. Next month we will welcome Khushnuma Ferazndi from the American School in Mumbai
who is the IB appointed consultant to the school. Meanwhile our teachers led by
the PYP Coordinator Dr Swati Sawant and Mrs Lamba are hard at work putting
together the documentation required for the process.
School System Issues
Please do remember to let the
Form tutor know if your child is absent from school. This communication network
helps ensure safety and will assist teachers in supporting work which has been
missed.
Some of you will have found that
in the uniform shop jackets or sweaters are not available in all sizes. We have
been constantly pursuing this with our supplier who assures us that they will
be in stock by next week.
Upcoming Events
Please do remember to drop in to
the Kahani festival hosted at the school on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th. The
events are particularly attractive for primary school but will be of interest
to all those who enjoy storytelling, puppetry and performance.
The first inter-school tennis
tournament is on this Friday and Saturday. Schools from Noida, Delhi and
Gurgaon are participating.
The Gati dance group are
conducting a special 3 day workshop on dance for students from Form 8. This
will run from Thursday to Saturday.
The Australian illustrator and
writer Frane Lessac who is in India for Bookaroo, the children’s literary
festival, will visit school to talk to students from Form 5 – 7. You can find
out more about her at http://www.franelessac.com/. Many thanks to our parent Jaya
Bhattacharya Rose for setting this up.
Finally, middle school inter-house
matches for soccer begin in the last week of the month.
Shalini Advani
School Director
