FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK
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FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK
January 2020 Newsletter
“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show
compassion and the will to help others.”
- Albert Schweitzer
Dear Parents and Guardians,
The students and staff returned to school after a long and restful winter break
this session. However, the new term began on a disappointing note of sorts
with the high absenteeism across all three Programmes in the first week of
school. I say disappointing since the winter break was extended this year and
also the fact that it did not allow for teachers to implement their academic
rigour implementation plan as desired. I request for the parent body to
support us in this regard and ensure your children come to school on a regular
basis and thus adhering to the attendance policy of a minimum of 85%. We
cannot improve academic standards without your support and understanding
and certainly not if students don’t show up at school.
The Primary Years Programme (Reception to Grade 5): The highlight of this
month in the PYP were the leadership camps for students of Grades 1 to 5.
Leadership curriculum at Indus focuses on experiential learning and prepares
students for life. Learners from Grade 1 to 3 participated in our annual
leadership camp at Kamshet.
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Grade 4 and Grade 5 students experienced an exciting overnight leadership
camp at Panchgani. They demonstrated their will power and grit while
exploring activities like rappelling, caving, zip lining and trekking in the hills.
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At all the camps, the students developed key leadership competencies like
critical thinking, collaboration, endurance and risk taking. We are proud of our
young Eagles who are on their way to become leaders of tomorrow.
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The PYP staff and students also celebrated 100 days of school in this academic
session. This was through a MUFTI Day where we students sport crazy
hairstyles that made everyone smile. The tiny tots from the EYP came dressed
as 100 year olds while Grade 1 sketched a self-portrait of how they would look
when they turn 100. Students of Grade 1 and 2 also participated in a fun
Rubik’s cube challenge that aimed at improving their dexterity and mental
agility. While our Grade 1 students are still learning to solve this popular 3D
puzzle, we are very happy to note that a few of our Grade 2 students
successfully completed the puzzle in under 3 minutes. It is indeed a fantastic
achievement for such young learners. Grade 3 and 4 explored 100 acts of
kindness and 100 ways to repair the world, while Grade 5 demonstrated 100
ways to make a hundred.
The PYP elocution challenge was held on 13th January 2020. Students from
Grades 1 to 5 participated enthusiastically in the same. They met the criteria of
being confident and effective speakers and were mindful of their voice
modulation and fluency of language.
Prep 2 visited a farm in the Angrewadi village as part of their inquiry into the
transdisciplinary theme, 'How we organize ourselves'. They met the farmer
(community helper) and understood the importance of farming. They were
introduced to different kinds of tools used by the farmer and took a ride in the
tractor which was a very exciting experience for our young learners.
They also visited restaurant JZ in Bhugaon where they met the head chef
(community helper) of the restaurant. Children made pizzas and were made
familiar with the role of a chef in the restaurant which saw a flurry of questions
from our inquisitive and curious learners. It was a day fun-filled day for our
young Eagles.
As part of their inquiry on how homes reflect our personal identity and culture
Grade 1 visited the family home of our parents the Shirole’s. The
Maharashtran culture was on display and students witnessed the influence of
the same in their clothing, home décor and food. They even took part in a
traditional Sankranti celebration with involved drawing rangoli, exchanging
haldi-kumkum and making kites.
Grade 1 had an interactive session on 13th January 2020, as they received first
hand information about the process involved in building a house by architect
Ms. Rutuja Patankar and Ms. Poonam Gokhale. The details included – planning,
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design, approvals and blueprint. The students were excited to work in groups
and present their structure using Jenga blocks.
The One Nation Reading Together Programme is an annual event organized by
Scholastic India, where students from all schools across the country spend time
reading for at least twenty minutes. At IISP one of our leadership goals is to
develop the habit of reading (and deep reading) as we strongly believe this
paves the way for everyone to become lifelong learners. On 24th January, our
educators and students took a pledge to read many books and stay on the
edge. They spent time together quietly reading for twenty minutes. May I
please take this opportunity to request our parents to continue encouraging
your children to read every day?
Sports Day on January 31st was a fantastic morning of collaboration,
competition, integrity and sportsmanship. The Sports Department ensured the
Sports Heats as well as the Sports Meet was conducted brilliantly and this was
echoed in the feedback we have received from parents and students.
Photographs, more details and final results will be shared in next month’s
newsletter.
The Middle Years Programme (MYP Years 1 to MYP Year 5-Grades 6 to 10):
With the fast approaching e-Assessments for MYP Year 5, which is our first
batch of students appearing for these examinations, the faculty and leadership
team have leaving no stone unturned in their preparation, planning and its
implementation. Parents of our Grade 10 learners were invited to a workshop
on e-Portfolio on January 17th
It was a moment of pride for us when we won the Best Enterprising School
Award at the Innoventure Challenge 2019-2020. Aparajita Singh [MYP Yr 4]
was judged the second runners-up from her category of participants. Ranveer
Gulati [MYP Yr 1] won a gold 02nd invitational swimming state meet 2020 held
at Champion Aquatic Club on January 25th and 26th. My heartfelt
congratulations to all our winners who have made us extremely proud of their
efforts and achievement.
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Our MYP Yr 3 parents were invited for an orientation session on MYP Yr 4 and
5 where subject electives, the transition plan and timeline was shared.
Some of our Grade 10 students attended a workshop which was a platform
where strategies of setting SMART-C goals and how to manage ones time and
stress levels was discussed. The WOOP Method of goal setting was also
discussed here.
We are very proud of Upamanyu Mukherjee, a student of MYP Year 1.
Upamanyu is a published author! His book, “Chasing Snowfalls chronicles his
experience during different visits to the Himalayas and is all about following
one’s dreams and making them come true through deliberate practice,
resilience, goal mindedness, positivity and self-belief.
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Our compliments and heartiest congratulations to Rayna Arora, a student of
MYP Year 4. Rayna’s book; “Secrets in the City” is a non-fiction, that sees a plot
filled with plenty of twists and turns as well as secrets that bring mayhem in
the lives of the Roberts family. Rayna is currently working on her second book
titled “The Royal Blood.”
The Diploma Programme (Grades 11 and 12): Our Grade 12 students began
their pre-mock examination. The aim is to scaffold and not overwhelm
students directly with the volume they will be required for the mocks and
thereafter their final board examinations.
After the pre-mock examinations, the Grade 12 students worked towards their
final EE submissions.
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At the same time, post the half yearly examinations, the Grade 11 PTM was
conducted which provided parents and guardians an opportunity to meet with
the faculty to understand what the areas of focus post these assessments will
be for their child and how this improvement will be tracked and assessed. The
after school support classes have commenced for our Grade 11 students and it
has been mandatory for all boarders and day scholars who have scored below
a 4 to attend these.
The DP students also attended a workshop on Kognity that was conducted by
Mr Nick Harrinos. Kognity is a great online resource tool which not only has
fantastic learning and revision material but also allows for teachers to set tasks
and assignments and provide feedback on these online.
The Grade 11 students attended a student retreat on Tikkun Olam. We also
had one session during this retreat kept aside for representatives from
“Fridays for Future” who are actively working on implementing the laws
passed on Climate Change across the globe. We want to thank our Grade 11
parent, Ms Anuja Karthikeyan for helping us in this regard. The young activists,
Shruti Shingvi, Aman Varma and Azeem Attar shared details about their work
and why they are so incredibly passionate about this cause.
Placements and Career Guidance Cell: January saw our colleagues from the
Placements team begin their sessions with our MYP Year 5 students. An
orientation on the Diploma Programme followed by what the Placements team
will help students with over the next two years as well as what things our
learners need to ensure in order to build a strong portfolio and overall
application. These weekly sessions will continue for another five weeks.
Further, we saw a Professor from the Art University of Bournemouth visit and
he spent time with our Visual Arts students.
Boarding Programme: The boarders continued following their well-designed
and vibrant weekend activity schedule. Further, the week day routine has
ensured students are eating healthy, exercising in the evenings and also
learning to manage their time better so as to meet academic deadlines. We
will shortly resume the morning activity schedule. Our new counsellor, Ms
Manvi Sharma, who came on-board our team before the winter break is
Page 10 of 15available to meet kids in groups or on an individual basis six times a week. On
week days, she is available until dinner time. Ms Sharma has also conducted a
group session on conflict management and respecting differences, earlier this
month for our Grade 9 students. Weekends also has extra academic support
classes organised for the upper MYP and DP students.
The PYP to Grade 9 boarders went on a Heritage Walk to Shaniwarwada. This
gave the kids an opportunity to learn about the culture of the city in which
they reside. The feedback from the students is that they thoroughly enjoyed
this experience and would like this to be a regular part of the schedule.
Page 11 of 15Pottery, volunteering at RESQ and Warli Art classes continue every weekend
and post the art workshop, the students are now looking at collaborating on a
mural in the boarding based on this folk art.
Page 12 of 15Makar Sankranti celebrations too saw multiple sports competitions organised
for the boarders as well as a kite flying one. The kids enjoyed a musical evening
as well as a special menu was in place for both lunch and dinner.
Over the next few weeks, boarders who might be interested have been given
access to free horse riding sessions over the weekends. Another achievement
this month is that the boarders have taken the initiative of running the
Community Kitchen over the weekends and they have done incredibly well
thus far. They are also spending more time in the Community Garden and
working on setting up a vertical garden as well as an herb garden outside the
dining hall.
Page 13 of 15Again, I wish you and your loved ones a Happy 2020 and may this year bring
the very best that life has to offer each of you.
Page 14 of 15As I always mention, we rely on your support and feedback as this allows us to
strive to do better. Everything we do has the students’ at the centre. And you
and us are on the same team-which is that of your child! So please feel free to
reach out to me if you have feedback or any recommendations that will help
the kids in their academic and whole education pursuit at IISP.
I wish you a wonderful month ahead and I am most excited since it gives me an
opportunity to work closely with the children every single day on Indus Day.
The best way to tackle a challenging day for me is to spend time with the
wonderful kids who come to learn here.
Thanks and warm regards
Preeti G. Prabhu
Principal
Indus International School Pune
principal@indusschoolpune.com
preeti.prabhu@indusschoolpune.com
+91 8390905891
www.indusschoolpune.com
Dates For Your Diary:
February 2020
Date Event
February 07th Senior School Aquatic Meet
February 08th New Parent Induction (PYP)
Parent Teacher Meeting (Grade 12)
IBDP Orientation of MYP Y5 (Grade 10)
February 13th, 14th IBDP Visual Art Exhibition
February 14th Personal Project Exhibition - MYP Y5 (Grade 10)
February 19th Shivaji Jayanti [Holiday]
February 29th SENIOR SCHOOL INDUS DAY
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