From the Principal’s Desk

September 2019

At Indus seeds of love, empathy, respect and discipline are constantly being sown and we

hope that some of these seeds will reach realization. It is only September, yet we are

already charging full steam into the academic year. A lot has transpired in the last one

month and the school is abuzz with the rigour of academics and purposeful action.

‘Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the

first two loves together.’

–Scott Hayden

Our Teacher’s Day celebration at Indus underscores this notion. As per tradition, Grade 12

students got an opportunity to show off their teaching skills. The day saw some really well

dressed young men and women taking the role of a teacher for a day. Later in the day, the

Highlights of the month:

• Teachers’ Day celebration

• ISSO National games (Phase 2) Achievements

• Mountaineering Expedition

• Mid-term tests

students gathered in the Sports Complex to witness an inter-house dance competition

along with a stupendous show put by the Grade 12 students for their teachers.

The inter-house folk dance competition with their foot tapping numbers had the audience

enthralled. It was a sight to behold, young boys and girls dancing away to cheering from the

crowd. We got to watch folk dances from many different regions of the country bringing to

light our diverse yet united culture. Dance from Haryana and Punjab, the Koli dance from

Maharashtra were just some of the dances displayed.

A big thank you to the PAC, for meticulously planning a very ‘floral’ tribute to the teachers.

The cake was not only delicious and a visual delight, but the way it represented the ethos of

Indus was very heart warming. The considerate gift was a charming idea, which also

underscored our connect with nature and the need to recycle and reuse. The flowers from

the temple reused for essence was truly an innovative idea. I truly appreciate the thought

that must have gone behind picking such interesting and thoughtful gifts. The flowers in the

clothes, cake and gifts spread cheer and the message that where flowers bloom so does

love and laughter.

Mountaineering Expedition:

It is with great pride that I announce the success of mountaineering expedition to Mt

Kinabalu (4,095m), Peak to Lead - VI, conducted by Indus School of Leadership.

The expedition team pushed their own limits and those imposed by nature, while

negotiating dark clouds, chilly winds, high altitude and torturous terrain, to summit the

highest peak of Malaysia on 3rd September. It is one more step in nurturing leadership

among students through experiential learning at Indus. All the participants have been

certified by:

1. Govt. of Malaysia and

2. Expedition Leader, as per the summit or height gained.

Expedition Team:

• 18 students (13-Indus International School, Bangalore, 01-Indus International School,

Hyderabad & 04-Indus International School, Pune)

• 01 parent (Mr. Etienne Vincent Jacques Huret)

• 02 ISL trainers (Capt. Mohit Tomar & Ms. Madhumita Chandra)

• 01 Expedition Leader (Capt. Bijoy Bose)

The list of students who went for the expedition are attached in Appendix 1.

PYP:

PYP students from Prep 2 to Grade 5 have concluded their first Unit of Inquiry and have

presented their learning and understanding through the Design Thinking Process on the

20th of September. Their eyes gleamed as they excitedly shared their journey through the

unit with parents. They shared the process in which they empathized with different people

and their near environment through field trips, observation, surveys and gathered insight

from the same. This helped them arrive at defining the problems which ranged from self-

discipline, making wellbeing choices and sustainable environmental choices. They are

commended for their effort in commencing the journey of the design thinking process. I

thank parents who came to the school to encourage our students during this process.

Students from Reception visited “Kidztopia Children Museum” based on the

Transdisciplinary theme ‘Who we are’. The field trip was fueled by children’s natural desire

to create, explore and collaborate.

Grade 1 visited Billapura Village in September, where they looked into the routines and

systems of children at the primary school. They met with the President of the Gram

Panchayat, inquiring about how she helps the villagers and the ways in which the

Panchayat Office functions.

We thank Ms. Manami Lepeu who presented an interactive session to the Grade 2 students

regarding the food pyramid and well-being plan followed in the Japanese culture.

Students from Grade 4 visited Navadarshanam, a community that has put into practice

various ideas of using appropriate technology, permaculture principles and traditional

knowledge systems to underscore sustainability. It is situated in rural Tamil Nadu adjoining

a reserve forest about 50 kilometers from Bangalore. At Navadarshanam, students were

briefed about eco-restoration and wilderness preservation, alternative energy, sustainable

organic farming etc. Students came back inspired and ready to implement and apply their

understanding to some of the problems they identified in their immediate surroundings.

MYP:

Grade 6 to 10 students geared up to take their MTT1 test from 20th Sep to 27th September.

Limited invigilation continued this year as well in our endeavor to make students more

responsible and accountable. Personal project supervisors had an orientation on sourcing

and referencing on 21st September. This was followed by a workshop on “Conceptual clarity

on Design Thinking Process” conducted by Lt. Gen.Ray. The workshop provided deeper

insights on DTP as the master pedagogy.

DP:

Grade 11 students gave their entry level tests in all the subjects. Goal setting workshops

have been conducted for students to help them set their academic goal and come up with a

detailed plan to overcome their academic concerns based on their entry level marks.

Workshops were conducted to explain importance of maintaining an e-portfolio and of

logging their achievements and reflections of the book they read.

Students also took part in IBSO games and won many medals and brought laurels to the

school. Another event which brought a lot of enthusiasm in Grade 11 students was the End-

of-the-Unit exhibitions which allowed them to come out of their comfort zones and find the

relevance in what was being taught. The students geared up to find problems through the

design thinking process which helps them understand the concept being taught in the class.

The Grade 12 students are now gearing up for their college admissions and working hard

for the predicted grades, which are to be released on 10th October. The focus of the month

was meeting the counsellor, completing the college essays and preparing for their midterm

tests.

Before the midterm tests, the students were part of intensive revision which focused on

the high stake topics identified by the teachers based on IB data analysis of the last few

years. Also, the syllabus completed in Grade 11 was simultaneously revised through Webex

classes.

Placements:

September has been a very hectic month with over 40 universities visit our school, among

which were prestigious schools such as Pitzer, Davidson, UC Berkeley, The University of

Southern California from the US, Erasmus and Sciences Po from Europe and Ashoka from

India. Students had the opportunity to interact with university representatives and engage

in question and answer sessions. Alums who got into Cambridge and medical schools

devoted time to guide and help seniors prepare a strong application. Professor Heyman,

faculty of Engineering from TelAviv conducted a seminar for students intending to pursue

Electrical Engineering.

PSAT testing materials have arrived and study and preparation material have been shared

with students from Grade 9 - 11. Counsellors have met their cohort of students and

students have received feedback for the second draft of their common app essay and have

been asked to submit the supplement essays. Counsellors have finalized the complete list

of colleges including the destination for Early Action and Early Decision. Counselling

Orientation has been done for Grade 11 students to ensure that required tasks are

completed.

Sports:

It gives me immense pride to announce that Indus International School, Bangalore has

produced the best results in the second ISSO National Games 2019-20 held at Balewadi

Sports Complex, Pune, Maharashtra organized by International School's Sports

Organisation (ISSO).

Fifty four international schools across India participated in the national games. Our

students were enthusiastic sportsmen and displayed great zeal and ambition to give their

best performance and were able clinch as many as medals possible.

Selected students from the ISSO National Games will represent all India international

schools in the upcoming 65th National School Games organised by Sports Games Federation

of India (SGFI). The list of students who participated are attached in Appendix 2.

Congratulations to the students for their brilliant performance and also to our coaches for

their coaching skills and time investment that pushed the students to successfully reach

their potential.

Our students also participated in the 12th TISB inter-school swimming meet held on 13th

September. They did well in the competition. The results are attached in Appendix 3.

CAS:

Students of the four houses planned and executed several fundraisers towards the

purchase of the new sanitary pad machine. Bake sale, Teacher's Day greeting cards,

flowers and food sale, are few initiatives undertaken up until now. Art gallery, movie night

and ethnic day contests are few planned for the upcoming months.

Students of all four houses have completed one cycle of participating in the community

kitchen initiative where they assist in making and delivering food to the children and wives

of the migrant laborers. Their participation in cooking and food distribution is

commendable.

Students of the four houses sold the crops such as tomatoes, carrots, onion and okra that

they grew as part of the Organic Farming project and the money collected will go towards

the purchase of the new sanitary pad machine. Students of the four houses have sown

beans, coriander and bitter gourd and are maintaining the crops. Attached in Appendix 4

are a few photographs.

Boarding:

The month of September has flown by at an incredible speed. We are happy to share that

the boarders have settled well into the boarding routines and system. The core boarding

team is spending meaningful time on ensuring children are happy and comfortable in the

boarding.

Boarders were engaged actively in the deep reading of the book “The Boy Who Harnessed

the Wind”, gardening, bed making workshop, visit to Handenahalli Govt. School for

community service, Yoga, Zumba, blind tie eating competition and Ganesh Chaturthi

celebrations.

Students who signed up for the golf programme started their classes from this month. They

are enjoying learning the techniques of the game. Cycle polo matches were conducted

between the boarders and other teams. The best journals (deep reading) and the best bed

(make your bed) are getting special mentions in the Space Basic app for the parents and

administration.

We had quite a number of boarders representing the school team in IBSO Nationals at Pune

in various sports – badminton, tennis, athletics, karate, football, basketball and cricket. The

sporting talents got a national level sports exposure. They performed extremely well in the

competition and brought laurels to the school.

Along with fun and recreations, students were seriously engaged preparing for the midterm

tests and monthly tests. Grade 10 and Graded 12 boarders were found studying rigorously

for their upcoming tests.

Blood Donation Camp: Blood donation camp was successfully conducted on the 21st of

September for teachers and staff members with the help of 'Sagar Hospital blood bank'.

The support staff, transport staff, dining hall staff and the housekeeping staff also came in

large numbers to donate blood. Student volunteers were involved in the registration

process, issuing donation certificates, providing snacks and encouraging the participants. A

few Grade 12 students also donated blood with parent consent.

This month has really flown by. All the new members of our school community have settled

in well and are truly adding to the atmosphere in a positive way. As evident Indus is a

kaleidoscope of ideas and a riot of activities. With the festive season around the corner, I

wish you all a peaceful break with your families. If you are going away, travel safely and

may we all return to school fully recharged for the final half of the first term.

Regards,

Sarojini Rao

Principal

Dates For Your Diary: October 2019

DATE EVENT

2nd October Gandhi Jayanti - Holiday

7th - 8th October Dussehra - Holidays

11th October Student Leadership Retreat for Grade 12

12th October Working Saturday ; PTM for Grades 6-12

16th October PSAT for Grades 8 - 11

17th – 21st October Grade 11 Group 2 camp

18th October MYP Teachers’ Retreat; Holiday for students of Grades 6 - 8

22nd – 24th October Eagle Cup

25th October PYP Agora & Colloquium

26th October Diwali break commences; Boarders airport drop

3rd November Boarders airport pickup

4th November School reopens after Diwali break

Appendix 1: Expedition team from Indus International School, Bangalore who went for 'Peak to Lead- VI'

Mountaineering Expedition to Mt Kinabalu

Sl.No. Name of Student Grade

1 Zorion Zarathusht Ragaby VIII

2 Sumer Roy Singh Dang VIII

3 Rishov Srabon Zaman VIII

4 Ruposh Sami Zaman IX

5 Kanishk Guptha IX

6 Sahaat Poddar IX

7 Agustya Singh IX

8 Cesar Afonso Huret IX

9 Himank Bhalla IX

10 Jayan Balyatanda Machaiah IX

11 Varsha Reddy IX

12 Radha Ann Nambisan VIII

13 Jashwant Jayaram Govardhan Ramyaa X

Appendix 2: Results of the 2nd ISSO NATIONAL GAMES 2018-19

Individual Event

NO. SPORT/GAME GOLD SILVER BRONZE

1 SWIMMING 9 10 2

2 KARATE 8 7 2

3 ATHLETICS 6 4 1

4 BADMINTON - 3 1

Team Event

NO. SPORT/GAME CATEGORY POSITION

1 BADMINTON Boys U-14 Winner

2 BADMINTON Boys U-17 Second Runner

Up

3 BADMINTON Boys U-19 Runner Up

4 TENNIS Girls U-19 Runner Up

5 TENNIS Boys U-19 Runner Up

SWIMMING

No. Name Grade Event Category Medal

1 Shristuti Srirapu 8

800 m Freestyle

400 m Freestyle

400 m Individual Medley

4x100 m Freestyle Relay

4x100 m Medley Relay

U-19

Gold

Gold

Gold

Gold

Gold

2 Maanya Singh 8

200 m Butterfly

100 m Butterfly

50 m Freestyle

4x100 m Freestyle Relay

4x100 m Medley Relay

U-19

Gold

Gold

Bronze

Gold

Gold

3 Yashwini Yogananthan 10

100 m Butterfly

50 m Butterfly

4x100 m Freestyle Relay

4x100 m Medley Relay

U-19

Silver

Silver

Gold

Gold

4 Shaila Dinesh Malkani 9

400 m Individual Medley

4x100 m Freestyle Relay

4x100 m Medley Relay

U-19

Silver

Gold

Gold

5 Saagarika P Gowda 11 800 m Freestyle U-19 Silver

KARATE

NO. NAME OF THE

STUDENT GRADE CATEGORY EVENT

KATA KUMITE

1 Fardeen Hans 12 +82KG - Silver

2 Aryan Saigal 12 -82KG Bronze Silver

3 Yogeshwar Guntur 12 -82KG Gold Gold

4 Karan Ranga 12 -62KG Silver Silver

5 Adhip Arora 11 -82KG Gold Silver

6 Sonali Mk 11 -52KG - Gold

7 Beena Vaidya 11 +68KG - Gold

8 Nikitha S 11 -56KG Bronze Silver

9 Ariana L 10 -44KG Silver -

10 Tanya Keralia 10 -44KG - Gold

11 Thanushree Reddy 10 -56KG Gold Gold

400 m Freestyle Bronze

6 Vishrut Mehrotra 7

200 m Freestyle

100 m Freestyle

50 m Freestyle

U-14

Gold

Gold

Silver

7 Rohan Rajan 8

200 m Breaststroke

100 m Breaststroke

50 m Breaststroke

U-14

Silver

Silver

Silver

8 Aman Sharma 10 50 m Back stroke

50 m Butterfly U-19

Silver

Silver

BADMINTON

NO. NAME CATEGORY EVENT MEDAL

1 Aarav Khicha Under -14 Team Gold

2 Lakshya Dagar Under -14 Team Gold

3 Tarang Vankar Under -14 Team Gold

4 Kazi Sahakwat Islam Under -19 Team Silver

5 Arhaan Parikh Under -19 Team Silver

6 Ayush Thaker Under -19 Team Silver

7 Anish Patel Under -19 Team Silver

8 Justin Rosangpuia Under -19 Team Silver

9 Ayush Thaker Under -17 Team Bronze

10 Justin Rosangpuia Under -17 Team Bronze

11 Anish Patel Under -17 Team Bronze

12 Aarav Khicha Under -14 Individuals Silver

13 Kazi Sahakwat Islam Under -19 Individuals Silver

14 Arhaan Parikh Under -19 Individuals Bronze

ATHLETICS

NO. NAME EVENT CATEGORY POSITION

1 Desh Kartik Dasgupta 100m Boys U-14 Gold

2 Desh Kartik Dasgupta 200m Boys U-14 Gold

3 Desh Kartik Dasgupta Long Jump Boys U-14 Silver

4 Zaina Nida Imam 400m Girls U-17 Bronze

5 Zaina Nida Imam 800m Girls U-17 Silver

6 Saniya Ashish Patel 800m Girls U-19 Gold

7 Saniya Ashish Patel 1500m Girls U-19 Gold

8 Saniya Ashish Patel 3000m Girls U-19 Gold

9 Ria Michelle Goveas Long Jump Girls U-17 Silver

10 Saagarika P Gowda Discus Girls U-19 Gold

11 Saagarika P Gowda Shotput Girls U-19 Silver

TENNIS

NO. NAME CATEGORY EVENT MEDAL

1 Aryan Gupta Under -19 BOYS Team Silver

2 Shivam Udani Under -19 BOYS Team Silver

3 Kanishk Guptha Under -19 BOYS Team Silver

4 Abhinav Avala Under -19 BOYS Team Silver

5 Bhavesh D Mugadur Under -19 BOYS Team Silver

6 Anjali Arun Under -19 GIRLS Team Silver

7 Dhriti Babel Under -19 GIRLS Team Silver

8 Aalya Agarwal Under -19 GIRLS Team Silver

Appendix 3: Results of 12th TISB Inter School Swimming Meet held on 13 September 2019

No. Name

Grade Division Event Medal

1 Arad Vora 4 Boys D Division 25 m Butterfly 25 m Back stroke 4 x 25 m Freestyle Relay 4 x 25 m Medley Relay

Silver Bronze Silver Silver

2 Krishna Bodugu 4 Boys D Division 25 m Butterfly

Bronze

3 Aanya Kholay 5 Girls D Division 25 m Breaststroke 50 m Freestyle 25 m Butterfly

Gold Bronze Bronze

4 Kayelvilli Yogananthan

5 Girls D Division 100 m Individual medley Bronze

5 Kanishk Adeha Singh

6 Boys D Division 100 m Individual medley 25 m Breaststroke 4 x 25 m Freestyle Relay 4 x 25 m Medley Relay

Silver Bronze Silver Silver

6 Vir Mehta

11 Boys A Division 50 m Butterfly 100 m Individual medley 50 m Freestyle 4 x 25 m Freestyle Relay 4 x 25 m Medley Relay

Silver Bronze Bronze Silver Silver

7 Vansh Jogani

11 Boys A Division 50 m Breaststroke 4 x 25 m Freestyle Relay 4 x 25 m Medley Relay

Silver Silver Silver

8 Abhiram Attaluri

11 Boys A Division 50 m Breaststroke 50 m Back stroke

Bronze Bronze

Appendix 4: Students at the Community Kitchen initiative