The Tiger, March 1st, 2024
Head of School Message
Over the past two weeks, three key events have taken place in our school community.
Firstly, on the 22nd of February, the school hosted a Bhumi Puja ceremony to signify the beginning of construction of our new academic block and auditorium. These are both exciting additions to our facilities and promise to open up more opportunities for our students. The new academic block will have approximately 15 classrooms, which will be used for M4-D2 English, Foreign Languages and Individuals and Societies classes.
On a very different note, the school also hosted approximately a hundred and forty participants for three days of IB workshops from February 23rd to 25th. The IB runs professional development workshops in various schools around the world, and Stonehill is a good location for them due to the school’s good reputation as a genuine IB school in the region. There were eleven different workshops for teachers to participate in over the three days. Hosting such workshops gives our school more visibility in the IB and international school world, which, we hope, will have a positive impact on our ability to continue to attract top-quality IB teachers to our school in the future.
Finally, I hope you have all enjoyed the opportunity to attend our Secondary School Drama Production this week (final performances tomorrow).
This has been a huge undertaking by several of our teachers, most notably Ms. Jenni and Ms. Claire, as they have created an original script for a musical from a combination of Shakespeare’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and 1980’s pop music.
Our students have learned a great deal while participating in such a process and we are very grateful for all of their efforts.
Whole School News
A Midsummer Night's Dream - The Musical
The incredibly talented students of Stonehill International School present, "A Midsummer Night's Dream - The Musical".
In this one-of-a-kind adaptation of Shakespeare's classic, our students will transport you to a world of love and laughter all set to the beat of your favourite '80s hits.
Come prepared to step into a world where the magic of Shakespeare meets the energy of the '80s!
We can't wait to share an evening of theatrical brilliance with you!
Bangalore International Centre
4th Main Road, Stage 2, Domlur, Bengaluru, India
Thursday 29th Feb | Friday 1st March 7pm
Saturday 2nd March 3:30pm | 7pm
Book your tickets HERE!
IBDP Visual Arts Exhibition - Nuances of the Human Experience
Dear Stonehill Community,
We are excited to invite you all to "Nuances of the Human Experience," a vibrant Visual Arts exhibition showcasing the exceptional talent of our DP artists.
We would be honoured if you all could join us for the Reception at 5 pm on Friday, 8th March at Chitrakala Parishath.
Primary School
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Tuesday, the 19th of March
Primary Homeroom Student Led Conferences
Primary Single Subject Teacher Meetings
No regular Primary school - students attend with parents/caregivers
On Tuesday the 19th of March, we will be hosting Primary Student Led Conferences in every homeroom class, and the Single Subject Teachers will be available to meet you.
The Student Led Conferences are an opportunity for your child to explain to you what they have learned, how they have learned, and what targets they might have set as a result of this learning. Kindly remember that this is time for your child to talk with you, rather than you talk with their teacher(s).
I am sure you will find it fascinating to hear your child's perspective on their learning. I have included some questions that you might like to ask your child during the conference.
- Can you tell me about some learning that you enjoyed the most?
- What are some new skills or ways of being that you've learned that you're proud of?
- How do you feel your understanding has improved?
- What task was challenging and how did you work through it?
- What goals did you set and how are you working towards achieving them?
- Are there any areas of your learning where you feel you need more support or practice?
- How can I help you at home to achieve your goals?
- Which Learner Profile Attributes do you think you've developed, or demonstrated well?
- Can you explain to me a group activity you participated in and what role you played?
- What's something new you learned about yourself as a learner ?
- What action will you take to apply what you've learned?
- Can you show me something you're proud of creating or working on in class?
- What's one thing you learned recently that surprised you?
- Can you tell me about a problem you solved on your own and how you did it?
- Can you explain to me where you think you've made progress?
- Can you explain to me something you've taught to a classmate or friend?
- What's your favourite subject or activity in school, and why?
- Can you share a challenge you faced and how you overcame it?
Our Single Subject Teachers will be available to meet you. Your child can talk to you about their learning, alongside their specialist teacher.
As a result of the above, regular school will not happen on Tuesday the 19th of March.
Ms Nijika will send out the sign up forms next week so that you can identify a time slot for when your child will speak to you in their homeroom classroom. A maximum of three children and their parents or caregivers will be in any one class at any given time, so there will be three choices of times given.
On Tuesday the 19th, please bring your child to school and leave with them after you have finished the conference led by your child, and you have met your child's single subject teacher(s).
I will be in contact again soon with further details of the day.
My best wishes.
Peter Spratling
Primary School Principal
Primary News
Powerful Provocations to Launch Our Units
Teachers Get Creative to Provoke Student Curiosity and Interest
When launching a new unit of inquiry (UOI) (there are six), we always start with a provocation. This is a fun and exciting time for teachers during their planning sessions; brainstorming what kind of creative and crazy engagements we can think of to capture our students’ attention right from the very start!
For the P6’s most recent UOI, Where we are in place and time, the P6 teachers launched the unit with, not one, but two provocations! The central idea for this UOI is, ‘Evidence from the past enables us to learn from History and make decisions that shape the future.’
Firstly, What is evidence? What does this word mean? When and where do we use evidence? Why is it important? How do people use evidence properly? We wanted learners to start thinking about these questions through purposeful learning experiences, starting with our provocations. This all connects to our first Line of Inquiry (LOI): ‘Processes and skills involved in collecting, analysing and evaluating evidence.’
Secondly, What areas of history will we delve into? Which ancient civilizations have made an impact? How? What connections are there from past to present? What can we expect to learn from studying them?
This connects to our next two LOIs (there are usually three), ‘Civilizations are defined by a common set of characteristics that are in place in order to succeed.’ and ‘Inquiring into past civilizations allows us to learn from their successes and failures.’ Children needed exposure to a variety of civilizations to open this world up to them, as well as to start making connections as to why it could be important to study them.
Usually, provocations are a single engagement. However, to really hit home with our learners’ understanding of the concept of evidence, we decided to stretch it out over the entire first week of learning. Our PYP Coordinator, Zita Joyce, jumped in to help bring this to life. A mysterious crime occurred in the P6 classrooms… Someone stole Doraemon!
Doraemon is our friendly Japanese mascot doll that joined us on our learning journey from the start of our academic year. Students got to take turns bringing Doraemon home on the weekends, and came back sharing a bit about themselves and the IB Learner Profile (LP) attributes Doraemon and their family share. Every week, photos of Doraemon and the students’ families were added to our display board outside the classroom. This helped build a sense of belonging for students in school, while emphasising that our LP attributes should be in action outside of school too.
DAY 1:
It didn’t take long for students to notice that something was amiss when we all gathered together to start off our week. Doraemon was missing and the culprit left behind some clues: A photo of Doraemon with a magazine-letter-cut-out message that read, ‘I have Doraemon!!!’ attached to a clipboard hanging off our whiteboard by a lanyard.
We examined what we found and had an invigorating discussion to share our suspicions (while jotting everything down for the record, as any good detective would!). One young detective spotted that there was a Stonehill staff ‘15 year anniversary’ lanyard in the mix and suggested foul play by a Stonehill staff member.
Which staff got this 15 year anniversary lanyard? Did the cleaners also get it too? Why wasn’t Ms. Marian wearing her 15 year anniversary lanyard? What about Ms. Devika?
Fingers started pointing in all directions…some students were being falsely accused. It didn’t feel right. It was time to stick to the evidence and work off the facts. What did we know for sure? And what did we need to find out before making any accusations?
DAY 2
Our culprit seemed to be enjoying this. They wrote another message for us, but this time instead of using magazine cut-out letters, they used colourful nail polish! The students noticed quite a few female staff wearing bright and colourful nail polish on this particular day and investigations ferociously ensued!
DAY 3:
Now the culprit must really be getting bored. They decided to leave us their own personal artifacts! Each piece of evidence revealed something new about our culprit, helping us narrow down our list and (literally) cross off illegitimate suspects. A camera strap, an odd-looking doll, a European coin, and a cricket ball made the evidence list to guide us closer to identifying the culprit.
Which staff members are from Central Europe? Who is a photographer? Who likes cricket?
Students examined clues and started to cross off suspects one category at a time. Ms. Zita was becoming our prime suspect. She is the only female staff member who is from Europe and also happens to be a great photographer.
PYP Counsellor
Helpful Hints for Raising Respectful Children
Challenging attitudes and disrespect. It's a scene familiar both at home and in the school setting. Perhaps some parents are taken aback upon discovering their child's lack of respect toward teachers or peers. Is it too late to instill respect in your child? Absolutely not!
Here are some straightforward methods to nurture respectful children.
Lead by example
Although they're young, children emulate the behaviour they witness, including how you speak to them. Demonstrating respect within the household sets a precedent. Children observe how you interact with domestic help or drivers, how you seek their assistance with chores, and more. Maintain eye contact when conversing with your child and give them your undivided attention when they seek it. They'll reciprocate this behaviour with you and others.
Explicit instruction
Expressions like "please," "thank you," and "I'm sorry" remain relevant. Seeking permission and consent remains crucial. Good manners and etiquette are acquired behaviours, sometimes implicitly but often explicitly. Dedicate time to educate children on what respect entails—how it looks, sounds, and feels.
Seize teaching moments
Did your child respond disrespectfully? Interrupt someone? Engage in hurtful behaviour toward a neighbour? Instead of reprimanding them outright, transform these instances into open dialogues. Approach with curiosity rather than judgement. Encourage reflection on their actions without imposing directives.
Foster positive character traits
School emphasises perspective-taking and empathy. Carry this forward within the home environment. The goal isn't merely to address negative behaviour but to cultivate positive attitudes and conduct in children. Explore literature and media featuring characters exemplifying kindness and compassion.
Emotional regulation
Normalise feelings of anger and disappointment for your child. How they react to triggers and manage their emotions is crucial for maintaining respect even amidst emotional turmoil. Disrespect often stems from overt expressions of anger, irritation, sadness, or frustration. Teaching children emotional regulation and respectful disagreement aids in conflict resolution.
As always, if you need additional resources or support, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Neeti Sarkar
PYP Counsellor
DAY 4: IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE DISCOVERED!
Did Ms. Zita take Doraemon, or was it her son, Ben?
It was time to find out.
“I took Doraemon to help Ben with Exams.” Ms. Zita admitted.
“But, why didn’t you just ask?” Omer replied.
Through these extensive experiences, repeated use of new vocabulary, and child-centred action, the students were truly ready for successful learning ahead. They came out well-equipped with some new tools to help them move forward. Every learner better understood the concept of evidence found within our first line of inquiry.
Provocations on Stage
Bring out the Kings & Queens!
The students enjoyed some theatrics, as they were provoked into our second line of inquiry. Each teacher picked an interesting character from a different ancient civilization and brought students into their world via entertaining monologues on stage. Reasons for rises and falls, significant accomplishments, alongside a bit of flare excited learners into wanting to find out more about these people and places from long ago.
Here's the full cast for our provocation performance. Ms. Devika as Cleopatra from Ancient Egypt (second from right), and Ms. Beaural, as the dancing girl from the Indus Valley (middle).
Secondary School
Students - our driving force
Our students are the driving force behind many of the activities conducted at Stonehill. We have always had many of them wanting to lead in their own capacity in and out of the classroom. We try to provide the best opportunities to help them develop their leadership skills.
ASAs have been a cornerstone for many of them to set their leadership skills. Our students have been running ASAs for their peers for many years and this year is no different. Our D1 students have taken up the initiative of conducting a unique ASA on aero-modelling.
Everything from understanding the basics of flight to constructing chuck gliders from balsa wood, progressing to building and flying full-fledged remote-controlled (RC) planes has been covered by the students in their classes. Considering how difficult it is to fly RC planes, they conduct simulations and provide guidance on tuning RC systems for optimal performance.
The students who run the ASA have said, “Aeromodelling isn't just about flying planes. It's creativity, hand-eye coordination, and improving your building skills. Even when things go wrong, like crashes or parts being broken, it's still a valuable experience that teaches you to keep trying and not give up!
We welcome individuals at all levels of expertise, from complete novices to intermediate levels. We encourage widespread participation and support from everyone. And remember, if you see a plane heading your way, duck! Apologies in advance for any close encounters of the airborne kind!”
Moving on from aeroplanes to the world of solving real life challenges for underprivileged communities, Girl Up (our in-house women empowerment club) brings to you the first big event of the year - a thrift store, on the occasion of International Women's Day.
Girl Up has managed to get the school community to donate old (but usable) clothes, accessories, and books. Once enough items have been received, their thrift store will be set-up at school for everyone to purchase second-hand items to spruce up their wardrobes and bookshelves.
Not only will you find comfortable and fashionable items, but all donations and proceeds will help provide HPV vaccines for girls in government schools and help supply menstrual hygiene products to multiple girls and women across villages in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Some students shine bright in their creative initiatives. Grabber is a historical horror novel that is written by Jehan, M3, and his father. It is being promoted by Penguin on the school circuit and they have conducted speaking sessions, book events and even story-writing workshops at schools and book festivals like the Bangalore Literature Festival and the Kukdookoo Children's Book Festival. We are proud of Jehan and can’t wait to see where he will take his writing.
Secondary News
Individuals and Societies
Evolutionary Psychology - Evolving ideas on what makes us human!
The D2 students are examining Evolutionary Psychology. It is very exciting for teenagers to learn that Evolution helps give context to traits like aggression and attraction. The D1s were both shocked by and fascinated with research that involved smelling unwashed T-shirts ( not their own) to answer questions about mate selection.
Moral Choices as Evolutionary adaptations also came as a surprise to many. After all, a moral or an ethical choice should be the result of socio-cultural developments, right? Not entirely, as the D1s will show you through rigorous research and examinations of perspectives.
Even a serious condition like Schizophrenia has evolutionary explanations, making us rethink attitudes and treatments centred around Mental Illness. Adaptive functions can be so diverse and human behaviour will continue to fascinate.
The M1 students have had an exciting time learning all about ancient civilizations by exploring famous archaeological sites. They began by mapping locations.
Each of them selected one location and investigated and presented the W5 (who, what, where, when, why) of their site. The class used each presentation as a starting point to inquire about significant related geographic features, dating systems, and the etymology of related terms.
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