April 2015

From the Principal’s Desk

“Activity is not success. It stems from a dream, a plan and a belief in one’s self.” 

Dear Parents,

Tapping potential and achieving success has become a way of life as we encourage our

students to become what they intend to become. As we are almost at the end of this

Academic year, April saw us through showers of engagement across all three

programmes.

It is a month which was well balanced with academic rigour, monthly tests, unit tests

and co-curricular activities especially for Grades 6 upward. Grade 10 started with their

Set 2 Examinations. The Internal Assessment and the practical examination for the June

series IGCSE were held.

Fare well-As always Grade 9 bid farewell to the Grade 10 with a farewell party. A

fun filled event with games, rendezvous and cultural event it ended with a sumptuous

lunch.

The Principal’s Tea on 20th April for the graduating Grade 12 students was a colourful

and entertaining evening with team games on the DP lawns. Enjoyable moments spent

with childhood friends and teachers will certainly be moments that will be cherished.

Grade 12 Graduation - Two days thereafter was Graduating Day. Lt. Gen Arjun Ray,

CEO Indus Trust in his message stressed the need for a gap year that will sensitize

students to become more humane. He spoke about an initiative to develop an IB Plus

course which will be structured to train students. He laid emphasis on the need for the

IB and the Universities to encourage this initiative that will make students engaged

citizens with the right values. As our students move from a sheltered school

environment we wish that this transition in their journey is smooth and they realize the

goals that they have set. As Principal my address centered on International Mindedness

that underscored what it really means. It cannot be brought out through clothes or food

or events. It is deep rooted in our rich culture and values. If we can respect this then we

can respect the culture and values of others. The evening ended with a colourful fire

cracker display and dinner on the DP lawns.

DP Review - April also saw the Diploma Programme through the ten year DP Review.

The two member visiting team spent two days on campus, on 16th and 17th April, going

through documents and meeting teachers, parents and the Programme Coordinator. It

was a period of satisfaction and elation to hear of our successful implementation of the

DP and make it truly meaningful.

Inauguration of The Mahatma Gandhi Center for Leadership is an integral part of the

school’s philosophy. As we continue our journey to bring in transformation, the need

for a Leadership Resource Centre was realized with the inauguration of the Mahatma

Gandhi Leadership Resource Centre that will through its resources enable all who

spend time within its portals gain an understanding and insight into the minds of

leaders who have made a difference.

25th April marked the opening when Mr. Sushil Mantri, the Chairman of the Indus Trust

cut the ribbon. As the Chief Guest, Mr. Mantri pointed to the life of Gandhi that is a

tribute to pure and higher living. Gandhi, he said exemplified truth as a way of life.

With his courage he risked his life for the betterment of humanity. It is therefore a

proud moment that this center bears the name of the Father of the nation who lived the

values of love, empathy, discipline and respect. The Gandhi that exits in each one of us

is certain to emerge so that we make a difference to society and the world at large. In his

address Gen Arjun Ray, the CEO of the Indus Trust expressed the need to

institutionalize leadership by setting up a leadership center that will uphold the values

that we can learn from the great leaders of the world be they adults or children. This is

necessary for both students and teachers so that they inculcate these values that we hold

dear.

Ambassador Nazareth, a Gandhian Scholar and the winner of the U Thant Peace Prize

delivered the key note address. He congratulated the school for all its initiatives and for

promoting the Gandhian values of Truth and Non Violence. This he said was necessary

in a world where greed and hunger for power persists. As Principal my speech clarified

that all our initiatives that are seen through the House Visions and projects stem from

our belief in Gandhian values. This has and will continue to sensitize our students to

emulate leaders who with their dauntless nature stood for values that have contributed

to the well-being of society. Our leadership journey through such a hallmark will

continue to mould and bring forth young minds who will step out from the portals of

this school as individuals who will bring the change required to ensure that peace,

brotherhood and harmony prevail.

Art Carnival - A Unique two day Art Carnival was hosted by the school on Saturday

the 25th and Monday the 27th of April 2015. It was two days ‘of art, for art and buy art’.

We were fortunate to have two eminent artists with us namely Mrs Rekha Rao and Mrs

Saroj Ray. The Art Exhibition on 25th April, was opened by Mrs. Rekha Rao the

daughter of the renowned artist Mr. Hebbar and a lady who through her many

initiatives has empowered underprivileged women. We were honoured by her presence

and were happy that she was able to release the 365 page desk calendar that comprises

the works of our students across all three programmes. That was not all. Mrs Saroj Ray,

an artist with an eye for detail released the art magazine. The paintings in this magazine

were influenced by a study of two eminent artists, Pablo Picasso and Vincent Vangogh.

The Aim of this exclusive event was to nurture Art Appreciation, to spread art

awareness and foster artistic and creative thinking in children and adults. This event

showcased the artwork of students through a gallery walk. The highlights of the

carnival were understanding art through thought provoking art games; sale of art and

artefacts etc. The proceeds of this event were donated to the Indus International

Community School.

The Gallery walk had on display, over 300 student artworks ranging from the diverse

age group of 3 to 18 years. Students had put together short audio visual presentations to

help understand the context of the artists’ Picasso and Vangogh. Apart from sales of

drawings and paintings the art carnival had on sale the exclusive desktop calendar, art

collectibles such as unique mugs, greeting cards, fridge magnets and paperweights all

of which had student art work printed on them.

House Initiatives - Our social initiatives were also brought to the forefront on 25th. The

Orion House initiative at the Kalahalli Village is an off shoot of a successful RO project

that was initiated by the Sustainability Captains in the present graduating class that

provides safe drinking water at a nominal cost. Orion House has dealt with saving the

rejected water by laying a pipe line to a syntax tank that collects the rejected water

which is freely made use of by the villagers.

Students form the Phoenix House with a will to enhance wellness and Women

Empowerment launched the low cost sanitary machine when Mr. Sushil Mantri

unveiled the machine. Health and hygiene if taken care will create more confidence in

the inhibited underprivileged women. Selected students from the main school along

with some students from the Community school will be involved in the manufacturing

process along with a trained specialist. The napkins will be sold at a nominal cost to our

girls in the Community School, our helpers and will be sold through the Primary Health

Centre.

Thanks to the suggestion of Mr. Mohammed Iqbal father of Zahaan Iqbal, Grade 12 and

the support and execution with Col Sathya Rao’s expertise, we were able to inaugurate

the Mobile Medical Clinic. With a waiting bay, examination space and facility,

equipment and medicines, a toilet, a doctor and nurse on board, this initiative will reach

out to the community around. We also have secured a tie up with Narayana

Hrudyalaya to enrich the initiative and make medical care available to the needy.

25th April also marked the laying of the Foundation Stone by Mr. Sushil Mantri for the

new ITARI Block. With growing courses in ITARI and also growing numbers in the

school the need for a separate block is a must. This will be ready in the next six months.

Data Analytics has made its mark and we at Indus see how important it is. Data

analytics helps to create innovative models to assess student performance as well as

measure teacher effectiveness. In addition to assessing student performance, data

analytics will be used to create predictive models that will help to predict and monitor

student performance to improve learning. As such Mr. Sushil Mantri and the senior

Management Team were given a presentation that clarified the Why and How of the

process.

Sports (Chess Tournament) - While all this was happening close to a hundred students

from across all three programmes were engaged in a Chess Tournament for the Indus

chess cup 2014-15. This is an annually conducted chess event to spot and encourage

new talent. The tournament is conducted in two phases. Phase-1 is only for PYP

students and Phase-2 is for invited PYP players and MSP and DP students combined.

Through this procedure players in all the age groups which starts from Under-8 till

Under-18 are recognized so that we have a proper Indus chess team which is ready for

any chess event that happens in and out of Bangalore. With such meaningful

initiatives, the week ended on a positive note.

Public Speaking - When we returned on Monday, we celebrated Public Speaking

through an Intra School Event. 8 students from each of the Indus schools competed in

four categories – Debate, Opinion Matters, Complete the Story and Elocution. This four

hour session emphasized the need for persuasive communication. Our judges Ms

Rebecca Spurgeon and Mr Ranji David, both engaged in training for the stage

commended the participants and gave us some valuable suggestions. The Eagle Trophy

for Public Speaking for the best school was awarded to the host school. The results:

Debate – Ami Mehta - Grade 11 IISB

Opinion Matters – Prakhyat Chouta - Grade 11

Complete the Story – Yohann - Grade 8 IISB

Sanjana Mitesh Kulkarni - Grade 8 IISH

Elocution - Prathiba Pradeep – Grade 5 – IISB

Yun Hui Lee - Grade 4 – IISP

This first attempt is a mere prelude to the one that will happen in October where more

schools in and around Bangalore are expected to participate.

The Placement Cell has been busy with last minute applications. They also hosted

university representatives from UK and France. With the Pre IB classes they have been

able to reach out to the students on college admissions.

Community, Action and Service – CAS in the Middle School has shown the completion

of the grade wise projects. The students of Grade 6 have completed the World Map

Mural at IICS. Grade 7 have completed their sturdy designed cloth bags to help

everyone to go for green. They were able to sell most of these on the 25th. .The students

of Grade VIII have completed the Anti-bullying wall which is ready to be framed.

The students of the Pegasus House have worked on the Women Empowerment Project

at Handenahalli, Bengaluru district. They have hired space and 6 women are doing the

beautician course following registrations done at the village panchayat’s office of Mrs.

Uma Devi, President, village panchayat. The inauguration of the beautician course was

on 22 April 2015

Hercules House has been involved in cleaning the main road opposite to school leading

to Mayura bakery. This task helped the students address a global issue of efficient

garbage/ waste management. The students were given masks, gloves, garbage disposal

bags and brooms to clean and dispose the waste efficiently. They also went on a

Cleanliness Campaigning in the MSP and IG classes along with a street play that urged

the fellow students’ cooperation in helping to keep the school clean.

Primary Years Programme - While senior School had all the above mentioned

happening the PYP had their agenda. On 13th April, Grade 4 and 5 students visited

Grameen Camp; a novel project started by Kavitha Lankesh, a National Award winning

film maker. They were exposed to the traditional way of sowing in the fields, churning

butter milk, drawing water from a well, pottery and toy making using wood and

natural dyes. It was an enriching experience for the students where they learnt about

rural lifestyles and the simple ways to a healthy living.

International Earth Day was celebrated on April 22nd 2015, with great zeal and

enthusiasm. Our PYP Action Representatives planted 10 trees on the school campus,

and 5 groups of students performed short street plays depicting various challenges

facing the Earth today, including deforestation, air pollution, littering and the water

crisis.

This month’s Mufti Day theme was ‘Earth Day’. Students came to school wearing

clothes in hues of blue and green, some bringing (and wearing!) items made from

recycled materials.

The students of Grade 5 visited the PYP Exhibition at Stonehill International School on

April 17th 2015. The exhibition is the culmination of students’ learning in the PYP and

gives them an opportunity to design and complete their own inquiry into an area that

interests them. Stonehill students shared their journey related to various aspects that

affect them and their school community directly, like gender bias, bullying, addiction to

computer games, etc. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to witness a PYP

Exhibition first-hand, and to learn from their peer group, as they prepare to stage their

own exhibition next month.

Our PYP students appeared for the Australian Council for Educational Research tests

(ACER) in English and Mathematics, in February 2015. Our students have performed

very well and have achieved levels higher than the Indian and International averages.

We will send the student analysis sheet home, once we receive them.

Inspiring and informed teachers influence student achievement, so it is critical to pay

close attention to how we train and support both new and experienced educators. Indus

is committed to teacher development and organized an in school workshop conducted

by IB educators Glen Charmichael (from Bangkok) and Fifi Anggraini (from Indonesia)

on 25th and 26th April. About 50 teachers from IISB and the 3 IELC ‘s attended the

Making the PYP Happen workshop to strengthen their understanding of the IB

philosophy and the curricular framework.

The IGCSE Set 2 is in progress. May will see our Grade 12 appear for their Final

Examination while the rest of the Senior School prepares for theirs. The PYP will also

showcase end of term events. So we move with determination as we achieve the targets

that we have set.

Warm regards,

Mrs. Sarojini Rao

Principal

Indus International School, Bangalore