The Weekly Bulletin of

Stonehill International School

Volume 8, Issue 156

22nd November 2019

FEATURED STORY

D1 Economics and Business Management students at Xavage ’19, held at The International School Bangalore

CONTENTS -FEATURED STORY -WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS -MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL -MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF PRIMARY - PRIMARY LEARNING FOCUS -MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SECONDARY -SECONDARY LEARNING FOCUS -MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF BOARDING -INTRODUCING -NEWS FROM THE PTA -NOVEMBER MENU

THE TIGER

IMPORTANT DATES NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 20th-24th BISP Soccer 7s, Phuket 21st -23rd ISACI M4 - D2 Girls Basketball, TBS, New Delhi 21st -23rd ISACI M4 - D2 ISACI Boys Football, IS, Hyderabad 28th M4-M5 Art and Design Field Trip & Workshops 29th Boarding Excursion 29th Professional Development Day (School Holiday) 29th -1st Exeat weekend 2nd-6th P1-M5 Hour of Code Week 3rd PTA Winter Bake Sale

Fifteen D1 students attended Xavage ‘19, a Business and Economic Fest, hosted by The International School Bangalore (TISB). They participated in a wide variety of activities, that included crisis management and marketing, where they expressed their creativity, intelligence, and wit. After working hard and competing against other schools including Deans Academy, TISB, Presidency School, and National Public School (NPS), several Stonehill students won awards in three of the eight events.

Abdul, Vanshika, and Siddhant were awarded first place in the Wall Street event. The three students were immersed in a simulated stock market and used their bargaining skills to persuade potential buyers to sell or buy at a favourable price. Molly and Neil were placed second in the Moot Court event. They took part in two rounds of unpacking and presenting corporate law cases given to them, and were able to fight these cases to earn second place.

Siddhant, Vanshika and Abdul Aarzoo was awarded first place for delivering an engaging and thoughtful speech on ‘How to Kickstart an Economy Beyond Reforms’ in the Open EconoMIC event. The participants of this event were given a selection of business and economic related topics and were asked to prepare a speech expressing their thoughts, opinions, and perspectives on the matter. “It was a really fun and innovative way of using what we learn in class and applying it to real life situations.” Vanshika, D1. “I did the marketing event with two other students and it was really amazing to see different approaches to advertising. Overall, the event really pushed me out of my comfort zone and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.” Trisha, D1. Siddhant Aarzoo Rahul Menon and Sathish MG DP Economics and Business

WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS

The Student Council visits Liza's Home

The Student Council visited “Liza's Home” on the 21st of November. It was a great experience and they are eager to share their experience with the rest of the Stonehill Community. In keeping with the season's spirit, the Student Council organised a student-led initiative where we visited “Liza's Home” in Bangalore. It is a home for differently-abled women from ages sixteen to sixty. Nine of us spent time with them and asked them what holiday gifts they would like to receive, in the hope that we could encourage our school community to sponsor some of these gifts. We listened to some wonderful performances by Hazel (one of the women), sang a song of our own, and danced to holiday-themed music and Bollywood songs with them. It was a great learning experience and a wonderful way to spread joy. I was amazed by the art, knitting, music and joy that they were so happy to share with us. All of us left feeling touched by the kindness of Dr. Molly, Founder of Liza's Home, and grateful for the time we spent there. We are eager to go back with presents as soon as possible!

Maya, D1

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Greetings Stonehill Community, This week we have close to ninety students away for various athletic tournaments- football teams in Phuket, the girls ISACI basketball team in Delhi and the boys ISACI football team at IS, Hyderabad . I want to wish all the teams safe travels and enjoyable tournaments ahead this weekend. In the Primary School this morning, I was able to watch “community time” in the Primary Hall, where different classes presented wonderful productions to teachers and parents, of their understanding of big conceptual ideas. The students did a fabulous job in presenting understandings of their “Unit of Inquiry” in fun and creative ways. The topic was explorers and exploration, which included space travel, navigation by sea and much more. Brian Brumsickle Towards the end of community time, teachers awarded well-deserved words of praise for student learning and achievement. It was a wonderful way to celebrate learning, and our student community in the Primary School. On Thursday, 21st November, the Governing Council, Administrators and Coordinators held their annual retreat to review the current state of the School and our goals for the academic year. The day included discussions, presentations, and strategic planning for the development of Stonehill International School, as well as discussing growing curricular and market trends for international schools globally. I feel honoured to be working with a strong administrative team as well as a talented, committed, and enthusiastic Governing Council. Stonehill International School remains committed to improving and offering a top quality education for our students that is in line with our mission and vision statements. Vision Statement: We are an internationally-minded community of spirited learners, dedicated to the development of knowledgeable, caring, confident and responsible global citizens. Mission Statement: Our mission is to provide stimulating, engaging academics integrated with enhanced opportunities for technological innovation, sports and the arts. Have a nice weekend,

Brian Brumsickle Head of School

FROM THE HEAD OF PRIMARY

International Primary School Principals Meeting I went to the American Embassy School in Delhi this week for a Principal’s meeting. The agenda was full. We discussed response actions for pollution, flexible learning spaces, mathematics learning, transgender and non-binary students and trouble-shot challenges for each other. This was an excellent use of my time -I now have a professional network in India that I can utilise. Pollution I have been reading and working on school solutions to our growing pollution for a while. In the meantime, I have found out that a group of parents is doing the same, which is brilliant. Moving forward, we have joined forces to share Karen Crooke information and to set in place a plan for Stonehill. It is great to work with like-minded people! The Arts Centre We are nearly there…final snag list to be checked...Hopefully we will move in this coming week. A Reminder Friday, 29th November is a school holiday as it’s Professional Learning Day. During this time teachers will be focussing on writing. They will explore the concept of voice in written pieces, build a rubric assessment for a writing genre, investigate First Steps Literacy programmes and plan forward from feedback about writing. All good fun and this work will make your child’s learning more significant, relevant and engaging! Have a lovely weekend, Best Regards, Karen Crooke Primary School Principal Play Therapy Last week I was privileged to attend a three day workshop about how to use “Play Therapy” skills to support the children in our care. The first two days focused on basic skills while the third day explored more advanced techniques. The training was facilitated by Dr. Suzi Kagan and was one of the best workshops I have attended. There was a good balance of theoretical knowledge combined with practical application to enable the best possible understanding of the learning being shared. These are the key takeaways: 1. ACT: A limit setting strategy to prevent undesirable behaviours 2. C- C+: A limit setting strategy to focus on decisions and choices for undesirable behaviour 3. Reflective listening skills during play that respect the child's choices and gives permission to the child to express their ideas and feelings 4. Recognising selective mutism and understanding ways to effectively support children in their learning. I have learned some invaluable skills that will help me provide the best learning environment I can for the young learners in my care.HonorDargan,P1/P2 Homeroom Teacher

PRIMARY LEARNING FOCUS

Exploration Leads to Changes and New Understandings P5 students moved into the next unit of inquiry, “Where we are in Place and Time” and looked at exploring and discovering new things.

Using a “See-Think-Wonder” visible thinking routine, the students delved into provocations placed around the room- bowls of spices, a piece of expensive silk, a treasure box with jewellery, binoculars, a microscope, a globe, pictures of ancient and modern explorers, scientists, astronauts, and the solar system. In each case, they had to draw and label what they saw, make connections with the object and question its presence.

This led to rich discussions and reflections as they talked about the reasons for and the consequences of exploration- how ancient explorers went in search of treasure and spices, to find new worlds, to spread their religion and culture and to discover and explore new places and ideas.

Elizabeth Fernandes, P5 Homeroom Teacher

PRIMARY LEARNING FOCUS

How do we measure? Why do we measure? What does it look like?

P7 learners took their inquiry into the “relationship between measurement and decimals” onto the sports field. They recorded their jumps in the long jump pit in meters and centimetres. When asked what mathematicians could do with the data they collected, the learners created graphs to represent data visually. They also created tables showing conversion of the data between metric units of measurement and the relationship between measurement and decimals. The learners were engaged in a “sort-connect-elaborate” thinking routine. Some of them were engaged in practicing the metric conversions. Taking ownership allowed them to help their friends in understanding the concept. This led to a deeper understanding of the relationship between units of measurement in length.

Padma Sekar, Purva Sharma, and Adriaan Elias P7 Homeroom Teachers

FROM THE HEAD OF SECONDARY Parent-Teacher-Learner Conferences It was very pleasing to see so many parents attending our Parent-Teacher-Learner Conferences on the 14th November last week. Although it is always difficult to accommodate a growing population of parents within the limited time that we have, feedback from parents on the day suggested that the Conferences were a valuable opportunity for them to meet the teachers and talk about goals and next steps for their child(ren). One of the most powerful motivational strategies that we have is for parents to set high but realistic expectations and goals for their children, not just in terms of numerical grades, but also with the IB approaches to learning skills.Joe Lumsden Hopefully, the Conferences were an opportunity for parents and students to have those discussions. Immediately following the conferences, our D1 and D2 ESS and Geography students headed off with Mr. Srinivasan Kandaswamy, Mr. Rahul Menon and Ms. Huixian He on a five day trip to the North-East of Karnataka. Despite the long journey, the trip proved to be a good success and the students had the opportunity to engage in memorable learning activities throughout their stay. As you read this week’s Tiger, almost sixty of our students and eight members of our staff will be in Phuket competing in the BISP Soccer 7’s, a tournament for various age groups. At the same time, our ISACI boys will be playing football in Hyderabad and our ISACI girls basketball team will be in New Delhi. I hope to hear some wonderful stories from the students when they return over the weekend. Please remember that next week students will not be in school on Friday, as our teachers will be involved in a Professional Development Day improving their understanding and implementation of ‘Communication’-related IB Approaches to Learning. Have a good weekend, Joe Lumsden Secondary School Principal

SECONDARY LEARNING FOCUS

Individuals and Societies

M3 Individuals and Societies students explored making documentaries as a fun way to demonstrate their understanding of the concept of different forms of governance. They chose an example of Monarchy as a system of governance in different parts of the world and created a short documentary style film. Background information about the monarchy was explained in the documentary. Researching, writing the script and storyboard before starting the production are all important skills that the students learnt during the process.

Satish MG and Anita Ranbhise, M3 Individuals & Societies

D1/D2 Geography students Tackling Stream Systems at Sharavati, Western Ghats

The Western Ghats of Southern India is one among thirty one biodiversity hotspots in the world that is home to many perennial river systems. The five day field trip for D1 and D2 Geography students offered a platform to examine one such stream. Studying the stream system involved measuring the channel shape, speed of flow, load size and shape along with the meandering shape of the channel. The cross section over the stream showed how a stream behaves under normal flow as well during the peak monsoons. The students collected a set of ten rocks from the stream bed and examined both, the size and shape. They were challenged to inferring whether the stream belonged to an upper or middle course, from the size and shape of the load, as well as from its meandering features. The students collected random water samples and tested for basic parameters such as pH and salinity. Comprehensive studies of river systems in its natural ecology is essentially an important learning factor in understanding the larger human impacts of water systems.It was a great learning experience!

Srinivasan Kandaswamy Geography, ESS & D2B Homeroom Teacher

INTRODUCING Each week we feature a Stonehill Teacher in our weekly bulletin. This week we interviewed MYP and DP English Teacher, Jeremy Jensen. Qualification and certifications B.Ed., University of Calgary and Alberta Teacher’s Certification. What do you teach at Stonehill? I teach MYP and DP English. Where are you from and where else have you lived? I have lived in Canada, where I was born and raised. I have also lived and taught in Guatemala, Germany, Malawi, Vietnam, Norway and China. What inspired you to become a teacher? Jeremy Jensen I had some great teachers in middle and high school who initiated the spark. I have always loved the environment of schools. I love people; schools are filled with people who value bettering and empowering themselves and each other. I wanted to choose a career that I would feel proud of doing, something that is important and influential, something that could change the world one person at a time. What better profession is there than teaching? What is your educational philosophy? Each student, along with the teacher, is an individual learner with distinctive needs, experiences and interests. I believe students and teachers should learn and discover together. A teacher should not be a “holder of knowledge”. Rather, a teacher should inspire, guide and support students while learning with them. What made you choose Stonehill? The PYP, MYP and DP programmes are important to me. I have taught a number of systems, but I enjoy being part of the IB system best, for myself as a professional, and I want my children educated with the mentality and spirit created through the IB style of learning. Also, I have wanted to live in India for a very long time. When choosing where in India, I was constantly told that Bangalore is “the best city in India!” So, here I am! What is the best part of your job? Helping children grow and improve. Inspiring students and learning new things every day. What are your hobbies and interests? I have an incurable case of wanderlust. I love film. I am passionate about music, particularly the blues, rock, and reggae. Nothing sounds better than an exquisitely played guitar, regardless of the genre. Just hearing a few notes from guitarists such Paco de Lucia, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Slash, David Gilmour or Robert Johnson can make my day. What is your favourite book? I enjoy a number of books. There are too many great books to choose just one. However, I can state that George Orwell’s “1984”, changed my life in high school and had a huge impact on the choice to become an English teacher. However, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, “New York Trilogies” by Paul Auster, “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver, “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac, “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and a number of others have a significant place in my literary heart. What is your favourite music? Various styles, particularly blues, rock and reggae. I also enjoy metal, flamenco, folk, alternative and some country.

PTA NEWS Dear Stonehill Community, The PTA’s Winter Bake Sale is on Tuesday, December 3rd and we cannot have a bake sale without your support. Feel free to donate cookies, cupcakes, brownies, gingerbread or anything else you love to bake or eat. In other words, anything that is delicious andNUT-FREE! Couldn’t be bothered with baking? No worries (we don’t judge). You can donate store bought goodies as well. Baked goods can be dropped off by 9 am outside Ms. Nijika Bhardwaj’s (Primary Secretary) office or feel free to send in your delicious donation with your children that morning. Please clearly label ingredients and mark if your donation is vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free. Please sign up to send a donation by clicking this linkwww.PerfectPotluck.com/FWEN2945 Warm Regards Your PTA

STONEHILL CAFETERIA MENU FOR NOVEMBER 2019

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

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