The Tiger, 4th February, 2022
Head of School Message
Greetings!
I hope this edition of The Tiger finds you well and safe.
This week, the big news was the Government decision to reopen schools.
We are elated to have our P1 through P3 students start school from Thursday. It was apparent our young learners were glad to be back on campus as well. The smiles and energy were indeed noticeable and welcomed.
This week, we welcomed fifty two new students and we will have more joining us in the next couple of months. I’d like to welcome all our new families. I hope you have a smooth transition to our school community. Please don't hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions.
Please know that in the weeks ahead, we will be critically focused on following precautionary and preventive measures to mitigate the spread of COVID infection. It is impossible to safeguard against Covid completely but we can ensure that our community does its part in minimising risk by social distancing, regular handwashing, and wearing masks. As we begin to have our entire school community back together for the first time next Monday, I’d like to ask families and personal drivers to be patient as we check temperatures at the gate. These measures may seem cumbersome but are required to ensure that we safely begin school on campus.
Please discuss school safety protocol for driving on campus with personal drivers. They are required to drive slowly, follow all pick-up and drop-off rules and be patient.
We are very eager and excited to have our entire community back on campus next week. Have a safe and productive week ahead.
Dr.Brian Brumsickle
Head of School
Primary School
Welcome to our School!
The Primary School is welcoming thirty new students onto our campus.
We are excited to have you join us.
We hope you enjoy India, Bangalore and Stonehill as much as we do. We hope you found the grade-level orientation sessions valuable.
To reiterate, if you have questions or need help, please ask.
Welcome back to campus - again!
Our P1, P2 and P3 learners have returned to campus. They have had two days by themselves to get into routines and enjoy being with each other. This coming week we will welcome the rest of the Primary school onto the campus. We look forward to welcoming parents onto the campus again.
Collaboration
What is collaboration?
The Oxford dictionary defines collaboration as “the action of working with someone to produce something”. Collaboration works best when there are protocols to follow, and mutual trust is nurtured through respecting and valuing the experience and ideas of all members.
Why use collaboration?
We have all heard the saying “two heads are better than one”. Well, in the PYP we believe that many heads are better than two. Our grade-level and subject level teams are committed to working together to prepare and produce exceptional lessons and to assess and moderate assessments that are used in “Professional Learning Communities” to set the learning for each child.
Our homeroom teams uniquely include Learning Support and English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers. This ensures all the strength of the team is focussed on doing the best for each learner.
We have extraordinary teams who plan special weeks like the Discovery Week, Litfest and the Artsfest. We have teams who document our Global Citizenship and Intercultural Learning definitions. We have interest related teams that are developed through mutual appreciation and respect. We have colleagues writing a statement of intent about Community Connections and another team leads an evening-related activity called the Fluid Garden where we talk about educational issues. All of these teams drive “excellence” and make our Primary school unique.
As our world moves from the didactic logic driven to the creative, we will need people who can truly collaborate and fewer who rely on authoritarianism. By modelling and overtly teaching the skills of collaboration through the PYP, we are providing our learners with invaluable tools for the future.
Karen Crooke
Primary School Principal
PYP Coordinator
Learner Agency
Stonehill’s understanding of the learner is the foundation of our approach to learning and teaching. Children inquire, question, wonder and theorise about themselves, others and the world around them. They are keen observers and explorers. Through their experiences and interactions, they naturally develop intricate, multi-layered perceptions and understandings. Throughout the PYP, a student is an agent for their own and others’ learning through the concept of learner agency. Learner agency is connected to a student’s belief in their ability to succeed (self-efficacy).
When learners have agency, the role of the teacher and student changes; the relationship between a teacher and a student is viewed as a partnership. Learners take initiative, express interest and wonder. They make choices and are aware of their learning goals. They are actively engaged, and monitor and adjust their learning as needed. Learners offer feedback to others and consult on decisions that affect them. In school, students take responsibility for their learning and collaborate with teachers and other students to plan, present and assess their learning needs. Teachers recognize learners’ capabilities through listening, respecting and responding to their ideas. They make thoughtful considerations and decisions with an emphasis on relationships, dialogue and respect for one another.
Learners demonstrate agency when they:
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influence and direct their own learning
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make choices
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voice opinions
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ask questions and express wonderings
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communicate understandings
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construct new meanings
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participate in and contribute to the learning community
When teachers support student agency, they:
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notice, and reflect on the students’ existing capabilities, needs and interests in order to personalise learning
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actively listen to students’ opinions, wonderings, perspectives and aspirations to extend student thinking and action
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foster authenticity for students to explore their interests by giving them open-ended tasks
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offer opportunities for students to demonstrate creativity and take risks
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reflect on when students need help, and when not, by using assessment evidence to inform learning and teaching
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listen and respond to each student's activities to extend their thinking.
(IB Primary Years Programme, The learner, 2018)
Zita Joyce
PYP Coordinator
PYP Counsellor
Helpful Hints for Supporting Your Child’s Social Health
One of the many repercussions of the pandemic is that a whole lot of students are finding it hard to socialise and make friends. If your child is one of them, you’re not alone. As concerned as you might be about this, here are some ways you can help:
Observe your child
Look closely to see how they interact with their peers. Listen to how they talk about their friends. Does your child struggle to initiate conversation? Do they behave differently when they are at home versus when they are outside? Do they experience anxiety meeting new people or while playing in a group? Depending on your observation, you can decide what skills exactly you need to focus on in providing them support.
Role-play at home
Practice makes perfect. If you notice that your child is nervous to start conversations or does not quite know how to continue a conversation, take the time to practice these skills with your child. Navigate topics they could talk about with their peers, suggest prompts/sentence starters to reel someone into a conversation. Role playing will in fact help them build the confidence they need to socialise.
Model positive behaviour
Children learn by emulating the people around them. Therefore, it is important for your child to see how you interact with people. Everyday life provides ample opportunities for teachable moments.
Provide labelled praise
Look for progress over perfection. When you notice your child making an effort to improve their social skills, reinforce positive behaviours and appreciate them specifically for the effort/progress made.
Provide moral support
Once you’ve identified your child’s interest, make sure you provide moral support. You could get them to school a little early just so they have time to speak with the first couple of students who arrive than with the whole group. If they’re taking a music class have them attend a couple of private lessons before they become a part of a group. Encourage them to first speak and build rapport with their teacher.
Provide opportunities to socialise
In order to build a skill, opportunities to practice it must be provided.
This may look like setting up playdates or having your child invite their friends over for a birthday party.
Given the current times, do not underestimate the value of virtual playdates.
Should you need additional support, please feel free to write to me at neeti.sarkar@stonehill.in
Neeti Sarkar
PYP Counsellor
Primary News
P4 Learners Begin a New Inquiry
Our P4 learners have just begun a new Unit of Inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme ‘How the World Works’. Our tuning in activity involved the children in a variety of different experiences.
Ms Zita had the children join her in reading the book, ‘The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle’. What did they notice about the words in the book? What did they notice about all the insects in the book? Ms Anitha had the children look at and complete Rangoli designs. What did they notice about the Rangoli designs as they created them? Ms Betsy had the children learn Bhangra dances. How did they remember all the moves? Ms Heena had the children create collages using natural materials. What were the children thinking about as they created their designs? Ms Mary had the children find numbers on an empty 100 square. How did the children work out where the numbers should be placed?
Later the learners reflected on all these experiences using the ‘See, Think, Me, We’ visible thinking routine. In groups, they began to make connections between the different experiences. They realised that all these experiences had required them to make careful observations of different patterns and cycles. Once a pattern or cycle had been observed it could be interpreted and allowed learners to make predictions. Gradually the learners unpacked the new central idea of noticing and interpreting patterns and cycles that help make predictions.
As you would have observed, this truly is a transdisciplinary inquiry. Patterns and cycles are an integral part of how our world works whether we investigate numbers, language (and in particular poetry) the arts or the natural world. Many patterns and cycles are interconnected and some are being interrupted by human actions. There are so many questions to provoke our learners to be ‘thinkers’ and we are sure they will become ‘knowledgeable’ about many aspects of ‘How the World Works’.
Mary Richards
P4 Homeroom Teacher
Secondary School
With various logistical and organisational issues the past few years, I haven’t used this column enough to talk about teaching - the core business of what we do on a daily basis. When asked, parents often tell us that our pedagogical approach (teaching style) is one of the main reasons why they send their children here rather than other international schools in the city.
But what exactly is this pedagogical approach? Many schools around the world, I believe, are IB in name but not in nature. They run the programmes and students get the diplomas, but the daily experience of a student in a classroom is not significantly different to that of students in non-IB schools. At Stonehill, however, we strongly believe in the IB approach to teaching and all of our teachers are expected to work in this way. This is what makes learning so engaging for our students and allows us to deliver the programmes in the right spirit.
The IB publishes lengthy documents on education (unbearably lengthy at times!), but I think we can summarise the approach to teaching in six digestible bullet points. This is what you should expect from us when you ask your child about their experience at school.
Departments in the Secondary School are now looking at these six approaches to teaching in order to determine areas for improvement. Obviously, the experience of teaching varies from subject to subject and from grade to grade (e.g. An M1 Art teacher faces significantly different challenges to a D2 Maths teacher), but we believe that the six approaches outlined above give us a common language to talk about teaching and ensures that all students are getting the genuine IB experience that they signed up for.
Joe Lumsden
Secondary School Principal
Secondary Focus
Secondary Maths
Competitions
Three M5 students, Hyunseok, Nevann and Antariksh took part in Infinity 2022, an inter-school mathematics competition organised by Aditya Birla World Academy in association with BITS Pilani. The competition is open for students studying in Grade 9, 10, 11 and 12. We are happy that our students made it to the top 50 in the seniors category. They have shared that the experience helped them connect to Maths in a competitive and fun way. This exposure helped them connect with various Mathematicians from around the world including Dr. James Tanton.
AMC-10/12 results were released on the 26th of January this year. Fourteen students registered for the AMC-8 exam on the 25th of January 2022 at 6:00 p.m. through zoom.
Investigating Brains
The D1 Maths Analysis and Approaches standard level students are learning the Topic 2 Functions of their syllabus. They had a group activity via zoom breakout rooms as a part of the toolkit activity of exploring the Exponential functions using tools like graphical display calculator and desmos. They worked through investigations to unravel properties of various functions. The M4 Enrichment Maths students investigated the effect of parameters of quadratic function on its shape, direction and y intercept and uploaded their response in a video format on flipgrid.
Trundle-Time
The M1 and M2 students measured the perimeter and area of the secondary courtyard with tasks of increasing difficulty. The investigation involved the use of trundle wheels.
The students analysed errors in the process of measuring and approximating.
Hands-on investigations helped understand relationships between areas of rectangles, triangles and parallelograms and their respective formulae.
Discussing Distributions
The D2 AA-HL Students discussed and engaged on the topic of probability distribution by a video simulation.
The length of randomly selected sea shells are being measured.
The students connected it to Normal Distribution and a Normal Bell shaped curve.
Toolkit task masters
The D1 Maths Analysis and Approaches HL students used various tools to complete a given image.
They used Geogebra, Autograph, Desmos and piecewise functions to create engaging images.
The students creatively completed the model of the bicycle.
Technology enhanced learning
The M5 students investigated different circle theorems. They used Geogebra to construct circles, measure different parts, effectively organise information and find patterns.The activity helped them focus on the investigations.
Inter Disciplinary unit in practice
The M4 standard students working in Math and Physics discovered models through experimentation.
Pi Day Alert
The Maths department invites the Stonehill student community to participate in a photo challenge. The details are mentioned here. We are also excited to announce a pi run/walk of 3.14kms! Stay tuned for more details.
Secondary Mathematics Department
M4 English B Public Announcement
Healthy Eating
While studying our current unit: ‘What determines health?’, the M4 English students decided to create an awareness campaign as a Service Project. After watching a TEDTalk video featuring Jamie Oliver, the students decided to create a podcast on advice for the SIS community on eating well, exercising regularly and getting good sleep. The podcast was scripted by each member of the class allowing everyone to voice their opinions on this important matter.
The students were shocked to learn that 30% of children in the U.S.A. are overweight, and that 70% of adults are either overweight or obese! Some are even very, very obese!! Often the reason for this was bad eating habits. With everyone working, people are too tired to prepare healthy meals at night. So, the solution is eating fast foods for convenience.
They also learned that if everyone can prepare just ten healthy, cheap and quick recipes, they will never need to eat fast food again. Sadly, people today just don’t know how to cook. So, to overcome this concern each student researched and created their own recipes. To help educate everyone on how easy it is to eat well. The class made four videos with step-by-step instructions on how to make delicious meals.
The M4 English students encourage you to eat better and to take care of your bodies by visiting the Let’s DO More website today. Leave us a comment, suggestions or even a picture of what you made. Together, we can be the difference that we want in this world!
Kassandra Rieck
MYP & DP English
M4: Personal Narratives
In their last unit, M4 English Language and Literature students inquired into the question of "What Makes a Hero?", considering how ordinary people can act in extraordinary and heroic ways. As a summative assessment, the students were tasked with interviewing their family members over the holiday break, finding out about moments of bravery in their lives. The students used these interviews to create Personal Narratives, from their interviewees' points of view.
Through this task, the students were able to develop ATL skills in Communication, as well as specific writing skills, such as using imagery and voice. The students found it interesting to learn more about the experiences of those close to them. The narratives covered a diverse range of topics such as war, travelling by ship across continents, and mediating labour disputes.
We hope you enjoy the examples below, by Shivani and Geethika.
Life or Death. Heroic Enough?
It was deadly, that is what it was. The whole experience from first being assigned the job, to putting my life on the line, and finally to watching the employees leave with nothing but smiles was one of the deadliest yet adventurous experiences of my life. The task was gruelling and burdensome but I took it on as a real hero and never once felt like looking back on it. 18 years ago, in 2003, I was working as the Human Resources (HR) Manager at Monsanto India Limited. That year our company had decided to rationalise all the factories involved in the production of seeds. The factory in Jalna, Maharashtra was to be taken down because it wasn’t safe to operate it in that district any longer and it also wasn't making any profits as such....Geethika,M4
Climbing and Conquering
Mountains are made up of huge rocks and steep sides, elevated to their highest point to protect us from disasters, may it be natural or not. There are people who trek these mountains for fun, a mere recreational activity. Then there’s the Indian Army, who climb up these rigid pathways in extreme conditions, all because of their sacrifice and will to the country, so that the others are sheltered and protected. This pathway was one which determined our superiority and freedom, it was nothing but Kargil. I knew my life would change, the future unpredictable, but one thing was for sure; my last breath would be for my country, my family. And I began the climb, with people by my side who had nothing but patriotism in their hearts...Shivani,M4
Kailash Mani
MYP & DP English Language and Literature
M1 and M2 English Language and Literature
The M1 students have done a unit on ‘What do we need as a twenty- first century student?’. They have made podcasts on Emotional Intelligence and how to use the 3M’s(mindset, motivation and method) to become limitless learners. Our mission statement - “engaging academics integrated with enhanced opportunities for technological innovation” helped students to engage and explore several apps to use for their podcast.
Students’ reflection on the unit:
“Making the podcast was pretty hard and not something i've ever done before. It was really hard speaking for 10 minutes straight. Even though it was pretty hard, I loved writing and had fun while I was writing.” by Or
“I learned a lot about scriptwriting, making podcasts, how to draw in an audience, what to say in a limited amount of time and how to manage my time in order to complete these podcasts.” by Iha
“Throughout all the classes, I got into emotional intelligence as I listened to many podcasts of the world leaders. Then I started using emotional intelligence in shops and with my friends. I thought it was really cool because I had empathy towards the person. I was a good communicator, I had a good interaction, and I had the ability to handle my emotions.” by Taisuke
The M2 students did a unit on 'Why poetry is good for the soul'. The key concept for this unit was creativity. They made a poetry book with nine poems in it. The students named their books, created digital illustrations and designed the back cover. As mentioned earlier, the mission statement to use technology was integrated while they made an ebook. They recorded some of the poems in the book as read aloud and a sing along.
Aparna Jha
Secondary English
Whole School News
Stonehill International School - Model United Nations (SISMUN)
SISMUN 2022
The third annual SISMUN conference was conducted between 28th and 29th January 2022. This year’s MUN had five committees including DISEC (The Disarmament and International Security Committee), CSW (Commission on the Status of Women), ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council), UNSC (United Nations Security Council), and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
The Secretary-General, Guillaume, D2 and the Director-General, Colby, D2 worked tirelessly to make this year's conference possible. Thanks to the work of the MUN supervisor Ms. Shelley Milstein and Activities Coordinator Mr. John Bertken, the SISMUN 2022 conference was a huge success. In addition, thank you to the incredible work from the SISMUN executive committee which included the chairs and vice-chairs of each committee.
This year, over fifty delegates from eight schools participated. They managed to progress towards resolutions that satisfied their goal agendas through many intense debates during moderated and unmoderated caucuses.
The goal of any MUN is to understand the functioning of the United Nations and learn to work with other people with different interests to solve a relevant global issue. This year, The CSW committee discussed the protection and development of women's rights and personal well-being in Afghanistan, which was discussed by various countries with the goal of preserving women’s rights in Afghanistan under the current government situation. The UNSC was faced with a crisis when Russia invaded Ukraine. With this crisis, the delegates worked to restore peace with the crisis. Many different ideas were proposed, position papers sent and motions made.
Each committee was awarded two awards based on delegates' performance. All the delegates performed incredibly well and all the committees were able to reach at least one complete resolution. The awards presented for each committee were Best Delegate and Honourable Mention. In each committee, the winners were as follows:
- CSW: Delegate of Afghanistan-Samitha Santhosh (Stonehill International School) and Delegate of Saudi Arabia-Sanjay S Menon(Candor International School)
- DISEC: Delegate of The United States-Rajat Pujar(Canadian International School) and Delegate of Afghanistan-Kabir Khithani (Canadian International School)
- ECOSOC: Delegate of Egypt- Samvita Amladi (Stonehill International School) and Delegate of Brazil, Richa Balaji
- UNSC: Delegate of China- Advait Prakash (Canadian International School) and Delegate of the People's Republic of Korea- Aryaan Wadhawan,(Stonehill International School)
- UNODC: Delegate of Dominican Republic- Amal Shaju(Stonehill International School) and Delegate of Columbia- Hansini Anand (Presidency School)
After two days of work, the third annual SISMUN 2022 conference came to a close with successful resolutions formed. As we head into the future, it is important to remember that we can help the world progress by understanding what goes on within it. MUN educates participants about world issues and promotes peace by modelling the work of the United Nations through cooperation and diplomacy. SISMUN 2022 did just that to ensure the success of this conference. We hope to continue this tradition at Stonehill and promote cooperation and understanding amongst all students.
Avni, D2 & Guillaume, D2
Stonehill Hackathon 2022
Stonehill International School is proud to host its third virtual hackathon on Friday, 4th and Saturday, 5th March 2022. In this 24-hour long hackathon, students will engage in coding and creating applications in the form of mobile/desktop applications, websites, web applications or Arduino/Rasberry Pi based projects/CAD models(Product Design). The students will be judged on their creativity, innovation and feasibility of the created products. The themes of the hackathon are as follows:
1.No Poverty
2.Quality Education
3.Responsible Consumption and Production
4.Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (Product Design theme not applicable for coders)
The students will receive prize money in the form of cheque/gift vouchers. The total prize money is worth Rs.50,000. Besides earning rewards, the students will have a thoroughly engaging learning experience and a great introduction to the world of coding and computer science. Please register below at the earliest.
Click here for more information about the Stonehill Hackathon 2022
If you have any clarifications or queries, please feel free to contact Mr Mohammed Nassir at +91 9845870011 or email us at mohammed.nassir@stonehill.in or s23146@stu.stonehill.in
The Stonehill Hackathon Team
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