The Weekly Bulletin of Stonehill International School Volume 8, Issue 145

23 August 2019

FEATURED STORY

D2 Student Invited to Google Headquarters as Grand Prize Winner for Google Code-In 2019

D2 Student, Sachin, at Google Headquarters in San Francisco

Each year, Google partners with 25 open source organisations for the Google Code-In competition, and interested students have the opportunity to work with any of those organisations. Students get hands on experience at finding bugs in software, creating new apps, writing documentation and more. At the end of the contest, each organisation selects two Grand Prize Winners based on their contribution to their products.

CONTENTS FEATURED STORIES WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF THE SCHOOL MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF PRIMARY MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SECONDARY BOARDING NEWS INTRODUCING PTA NEWS AUGUST MENU

THE TIGER

IMPORTANT DATES

AUGUST 30th & 31st - PYP Sports Camp Begins 31st - Secondary Back To School Information Morning (9:30am – 12:15pm) 31st - PTA Back To School BBQ (12:30 – 3:30pm) SEPTEMBER 2nd – School Closed for Ganesh Chaturthi Festival 3rd – PYP ASA Sign-ups 4th – Secondary ASA Sign-Ups 7th & 8th – Big Bad Blue Swim Competition in Chennai 12th & 13th – Diploma Leadership Camp 15th – Stonehill Founder’s Day run

Sachin worked with an organisation called the Liquid Galaxy Project, which develops a product called Liquid Galaxy. This product is essentially a cluster of monitors that usually displays Google Earth. It provides an immersive panoramic experience to the user. Read on to see what Sachin has to say about his experience: There were all sorts of cool stuff that I got to work on with the Liquid Galaxy project — including, but not limited to, creating machine learning models that detected monuments from around the world, creating an immersive display of an aquarium, exploring drone paths and helping them recognise areas of burnt forests, and much more. I truly had a great time! After two amazing (and very productive) months, to my surprise, I was declared a Grand Prize Winner of Google Code-In in January of 2019. I got an email from Google inviting me to the Googleplex in San Francisco. It goes without saying that I was on Cloud 9 that day!

I had an amazing week of fun at the Googleplex, met my mentors and other winners. Mostly, I was very excited with all the goodies we got, including a gleaming new Google Pixel 3 XL and a plethora of lip-smacking chocolates and tech goodies! At the end of the week, we were all presented with large trophies by Ms. Stephanie Taylor, the Programme Head. I would like to thank Google for making this programme happen! If you are enthusiastic about programming (even if you don’t actually know how to code), I strongly recommend that you to participate in the Google Code-In. It is a great way for coding enthusiasts to have fun and learn something

new. Happy coding! Sachin, D2 Student

WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS

Private Music Lessons at Stonehill

The benefits of learning an instrument have been the topic of much research over the past three decades. The process of musical decoding enhances cognition and supports language and math literacy. The hand-eye coordination required to execute proper chording, drum beats or instrumental finger patterns carves new neural pathways in the brain, while the repetition required to master these skills builds discipline and tenacity. Instrumental performance is not only a vehicle for personal expression, the sounds of the instruments have been shown to contribute positively to mental and emotional well-being of the performer. Stonehill offers one-on-one instrumental instruction in a variety of genres. Students from the PYP through to the DP may register for lessons in piano/keyboard, guitar, set drumming, vocals and string instruments including violin, viola and cello. Older students with a foundation in piano may also explore the world of digital music production. Lessons are provided by our qualified staff whose extensive performing and teaching experience guides students in mastering new skills whilst sharing them with the wider school audience through in-school performances.

Private lesson times are arranged in consultation with the instructor, the parents and the homeroom teacher. Lesson slots are available before and after school, at noon and during selective times throughout the day. Students wishing to begin string instruments may also take advantage of the Stonehill string bank which makes violins, violas and cellos available to students registered in our program. Interested parents should contact the individual instructor to discuss scheduling and curriculum details. Our Instructors are:

Mr. James Stephanus (drums, guitar and vocals): james.stephenus@stonehill.in Mr. Uday Zachariah (piano, keyboard, vocals and digital music production): j uday.zachariah@stonehill.in Mr. Siby Manual (violin, viola and cello): siby.manuel@stonehill.in

Equestrian Premiere League

The Embassy Riding School warmly invites you to the Equestrian Premiere League (EPL) from 10:00am to 5:30pm on August 24th, 25th, 30th and September 1st. The EPL is a fun family event organised by the Riding School each year. You can come by and cheer the participants whist enjoying Pony/Horse rides with a special 20% discount for all Stonehill Community members, Food and Beverages are available for sale at our restaurant, Ai Cavalli. Lunch will be served from 12:30 to 2:00pm. For further details on the event, please contact Ms. Nandini at - nandini.p@embassyindia.com or call us on 080 – 43418452; 7353779533; 9844065013.

Embassy Pedal for the Planet – 2019

The Embassy Group is proud to announce the 6th edition of ‘Pedal for the Planet’ – our signature cycling event on Sunday, 25th of August 2019 at Embassy Springs. The event aims to promote the preservation of our planet, and all proceeds will be donated to an NGO called 'Colours

of Life' supporting education initiatives in government schools. Please click here to view the community outreach initiatives of the Group in collaboration with Colours of Life. We cordially invite you to join us at this fun-filled family event. All Stonehill students are eligible for a 50% discount and all Stonehill Parents and Staff are eligible for a 20% discount.

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Greetings Stonehill Community, Welcome to Week One of our 2019 - 2020 academic year, and the first edition of The Tiger for this year. We have had a fantastic start with only a few minor glitches. What has been demonstrated this first week of school has been our student’s energy, enthusiasm and optimism for a new forthcoming year. Perhaps the summer months of travel, reflection and family time have generated such excitement to be back in school. Whatever the case may be, we are happy to have students on our campus, in our corridors and in our Boarding Houses once again for a year of learning, growth, fun and achievement. School has begun! With more than 600 students, our learning spaces seem to be a bit smaller than in past. However, at Stonehill we still have ample and comfortable space to generate inquiry, exploration, and optimise learning.

Brian Brumsickle

With continued facility development, our new STEM Block is estimated to be completed by the end of September. Additionally, our new Primary Creative Arts Centre is also estimated to be completed by the end of September. During the summer months, our Multi-Purpose Sports Hall floor was flooded due to heavy rains. Our contracting team is replacing the damaged floor and will be ready for use towards the end of September as well. Despite minor building challenges and delays, our students have demonstrated genuine excitement to be back at Stonehill with their teachers and classmates. When asking a D2 student what he liked best about being back at Stonehill he commented, “I missed my teachers and friends at Stonehill and the caring sense of family at the school.” This is further testament that our school is a unique place, where students are cared for, respected, nurtured and that our mission is alive and well.

We are thankful that you are part of our school community and we are excited about the many opportunities to participate in getting involved with Stonehill. If you haven’t already, please mark your calendars for the PTA Welcome Barbecue that will take place on Saturday, 31st August. This is always a special event with not only excellent food and great music, but also a great venue to meet the Stonehill International School community. I look forward to seeing you there. Please do contact us if you are looking for ways to get involved with our SIS community. You can call us on +91 918043418300 if you have any further enquiries. I look forward to getting to know you and I look forward to a very positive year ahead at Stonehill International School. Wishing you a pleasant weekend. With best regards, Brian Brumsickle Head of School

FROM THE PRIMARY PRINCIPAL Welcome to Our New Learners and Their Families We welcome 82 new learners to the Primary School! We look forward to learning with all of you. We also look forward to your participation and building strong relationships with all families. Please do not hesitate to ask us any questions you might have. New Teacher Orientation Twenty new teachers and teaching assistants have joined us this year, mostly filling growth positions. They have a wealth of experience across Primary schooling and the world. We welcome them to our teaching team, our school and to India. You will get to know them as they fulfil their roles as homeroom and single subject teachers, ssistants to classrooms and individuals. We know they will love Stonehill as much as we do.

Karen Crooke

New teachers have been introduced to our history, our systems and practises. They have seen temples, been on walks and tasted the fare of some of Bangalore’s popular spots.

Teacher Orientation We began the year with a structured inquiry into the philosophers whose work underpins the PYP. We used the protocols from Harvard’s ‘Visible Thinking’ routines to elaborate our current understandings and to challenge our growth. We learned about the 6 Traits of Writing that will be our school-wide focus for the academic year. We wrote a two-week unit of inquiry called ‘Learning to Learn’ that introduces the learners to the routines, expectations and metacognitive elements of learning. We embedded an

introduction of the 6 Traits into these two weeks along with Kelso, a learner-based problem-solving programme that helps learners identify small (I can solve this myself) and big (I need an adult to help me) problems. Ultimately, we readied our learning spaces for learners and set them up with some new pieces of furniture with the adage - less is more. First Day of School Generally, the day went smoothly. We had a few ups and downs but most learners were keen to be on campus and to start the process of making new friends, and setting themselves up for learning. We have focussed on ‘calm and purposeful’ as a way to instill routines and expectations. The Arts Centre Anthony and I visited the new building earlier in the week. There is still some work to do before completion. As I write this, frames are being placed in windows. We hope to keep you updated with more photographs as we go along!

Back to School Evening We made slight changes to the programme this year. Thank you for those who attended. We wanted this session to really focus on your child and what you can tell us about them as an individual. We will reflect upon our presentations and adapt an even more learner-based approach for next year.

P6 - P8 Sports Camp This is a lovely way for our older children to get to know each other in an informal “sporty” manner. They play basketball, soccer and swimming games on Friday afternoon, sleep on campus after games, and a movie, and the next morning play a round-robin soccer tournament before you can collect them at 12:30pm on Saturday. This event will take place on Friday, 30th and Saturday, 31st August. Please keep an eye out for more information from Mr. John Bertken, our new Whole School Sports Coordinator.

The PTA BBQ Our first community event for the school year is coming up on Saturday, 31st August. This is a lovely low-key event where we chat informally, get to know each other and indulge in some excellent food. The barbecue is great and the company delightful - please join us! Karen Crooke Primary Principal

FROM THE SECONDARY PRINCIPAL It’s always a good sign at schools when you see returning students coming back to school before they officially need to. With this in mind, it was delightful to see so many of our students from last year show up at Stonehill on Friday, 16th August to welcome over 70 new Secondary School students this year. Our newcomers had been told that they were joining a welcoming community, and the presence of so many returning students to help them out, as well as getting to know them a little was certainly evidence of this. We opened our Secondary School doors this year with over 320 MYP and DP students. Each grade level has been expanded to three sections, instead of two, and 14 new teachers have joined us from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities. Over the coming weeks, you will be introduced to all of them. They have enjoyed a good few weeks during our orientation time before students arrived at Stonehill, and have enjoyed a fantastic first week working with all of the students here.

Joe Lumsden

Personally, I am very excited to be joining such a vibrant, welcoming community. There is a lot of positive energy around the school, and we are ready to begin work on fulfilling our mission statement this year. I believe and hope that the school is ready to find more ways to expand our sports programme, provide more opportunities for creative and performing arts and to get students out into the community, and get involved in local Service projects. In the coming months, the opening of our STEM building will also provide our students with state-of-the-art science and technology labs.

I’m looking forward this year to finding opportunities to build strong relationships throughout our community, the first of which will come around quickly on Saturday, August 31st. During the morning, we will be running our annual ‘Secondary Back to School Day’, which will allow you all to learn more about the Secondary School and the academic programmes that we run. Full details will be provided next week. From 12:30pm onwards on the same day, the PTA will be hosting their annual Welcome BBQ. We would dearly love to see all of you join us for this educational, social and culinary experience. Late or Absent Please note: If your son/daughter is absent or late, ensure you send an email to the Secondary Secretary with a copy to the homeroom teacher by 7:30am at the latest. You can contact Ms. Tanuja Arora, Secondary Secretary at: E-mail: secondary.secretary@stonehill.in Phone: 080-4341-8300 Extn. 8511 Joe Lumsden Secondary Principal

FROM THE HEAD OF BOARDING Welcome back to a new term and a new school year. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our 24 new Boarders and their families to Stonehill. We also extend a warm welcome to our returning Boarders.

The beginning of the year always holds such excitement and promise. There are new faces, both students and staff, and there is a sense of excitement and renewed energy. It was lovely to see the big smiles and our returning students assisting new students, as they begin their journey at Stonehill. Boarding House Parents have been spending time building relationships and learning more about the students under their care. We look forward to working and supporting our students to enable them to make progress, join in a range of organised activities designed to build their confidence, and widen their experiences.

Glen Johnson

New Staff Each year brings positive change. This includes a few additions to our Boarding Staff. We are delighted to welcome Ms. Malucha Galstaun who has joined as a Boarding Parent. We also welcome Non-Resident Tutors Ms. Shelley, Ms. Samantha and Mr. Srinivas for the 2019 - 2020 academic year. We are fortunate to have Secondary Counsellors Ms. Venmal and Mr. Vishal work with us thrice a week. Stay Connected If you use twitter, follow Stonehill boarding @BoardingSIS. We capture special moments from our Boarding programme and share information related to life at Stonehill Boarding. Upcoming Events Our school community has several exciting events and activities to look forward to over the coming weeks. Please add these important dates to your calendar!

EXEAT WEEKEND - 31st August - 2nd September 31st August - PTA Welcome BBQ and Secondary Back to School Morning 2nd September - Boarding Excursion 4th September - Secondary ASA Sign-Ups 7th - 8th September- Big Bad Blue Swim Tournament, Chennai 13th - 14th September - Diploma Leadership Camp 15th September - Stonehill Founder’s Day Run 17th September - Semester 1 ASA Begins EXEAT WEEKEND - 20th September - 22nd September

Glen Johnson Head of Boarding

INTRODUCING Each week we feature a Stonehill Teacher in our weekly bulletin. This week we interviewed Primary homeroom teacher, Adriaan Elias. Qualification and certifications: Diploma in Education, B.Ed. and Master of Science in Multi-disciplinary Studies in Education. What do you teach at Stonehill? I am a Class Teacher for P7. Where are you from and where else have you lived? I was born in Cape Town, South Africa. I have also lived in Oman, Kuwait and Mozambique, before moving to India.

Adriaan Elias

What inspired you to become a teacher? Learners inspire teachers to find creative ways to help learners, learn. It is wonderful to witness how learners grow academically, socially and emotionally. That is the reward which keeps me inspired. What is your educational philosophy? Learning is so natural. Waking up in the morning and having that, “Yes! I’m going to teach and learn today feeling” is what gets me going. When learners understand how to channel their natural curiosity, and ask thought provoking questions that leads to debate, tension, and inquiry, makes teaching extremely rewarding for me, personally. All learners can learn when they are supported through inquiry, rich questioning and grow in confidence to make learning choices. This allows them to take ownership of their learning. This is the basis of my educational/teaching philosophy. What made you choose Stonehill? Stonehill is unique in its’ setting, where it is surrounded by greenery. It is a school with a Mission to develop Knowledgeable, Caring, Confident, and Responsible Global Citizens. I am honoured to a be part of this wonderful community. What is the best part of your job? When learners understand how to learn, and when they contribute and take ownership of their learning is my favourite part of teaching. I also immensely enjoy when learners’ ideas change as they learn and grow. What are your hobbies and interests? I enjoy talking to people and sharing jokes, laughing together, learning from each other. I also really love long runs! Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I am out on the road, and I like trying new paths. What is your favourite book? ‘Why Are School Busses Always Yellow?’ edited by John F. Barell and 'Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen' by Christopher Mcdougall. What is your favourite music? Reggae music in different languages. Reggae does it for me, as the rhythm is contagious! Many times, I don’t know the words to songs, but I can feel the positive messages. I am a terrible singer, but I sing as if I am a Wailer.

PTA NEWS The PTA wishes to extend a warm welcome to the new and returning Stonehill families! We are really looking forward to seeing you all at the various events we have planned for the 2019 - 2020 school year. We are currently looking for parent volunteers to fill the following 3 positions on our PTA team:

President Treasurer Charities Coordinator

If you would like to get involved or want more information please contact me at caron.blanch@gmail.com We will also be holding an Information Session on these 3 roles on Wednesday, September 4th from 8:15 – 9:00am. Kind regards, Caron Blanche PTA Welcome Coordinator

STONEHILL CAFETERIA MENU FOR AUGUST A detailed monthly menu can now be downloaded from the menu page on the school website. It contains the Continental, Indian and Boarding Menus.

Stonehill International School

259/333/334/335 | Tarahunise Village Post | Jala Hobli (Bangalore North) Bangalore 562157

T +91.80.43418300 | E info@stonehill.in | www.stonehill.in