Newsletter - April 2012

VOL 3

Newsletter

An Embassy Group Education Initiative

CONTENTS MYP Authorisation.....................................1 PYP Spotlight: P2 Learns Storytelling.....2 Defining Learning at Stonehill.................2 Go Go Go Joseph!..................................3-6 Arts Week at Stonehill..........................7-9 From China, With Love............................10 PYP World Maths & Science Day.........10 D2 : Stonehill’s First Graduating Class..11 While They Were Away..........................11 Community & Service: Interactions......12

APRIL 2012

ISSUE 7

Stonehill’s Middle Years Programme Receives IBO Authorization On March 23rd 2012 Stonehill International School was officially authorized as an IB MYP school. Being authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization for three programmes in the span of less than four years is an incredible achievement for any school.

The Middle Years Programme is a complex curriculum framework providing wonderful opportunities for students between 11 and 16 years to learn both subject content and make connections between these and their “real life” experiences.

Our MYP journey began with a total school population of 24 students in August 2008 – with a staff to student ratio of approximately 1 to 1 – a unique teaching and learning experience for all! Added to this uniqueness, our first MYP classes were held in the adjoining Embassy International Riding Academy stables, while the school buildings were completed, taking “experiential learning” to a new level.

Over the past 3+ years Stonehill has been blessed with excellent teaching personnel, recruited from all over the world and each one of them has contributed to the development of our MYP programme. The professionalism,

energy and flexibility of the teaching staff of Stonehill from 2008-2012 has to be admired and as a Coordinator, it has been my pleasure and privilege to work with them.

During the verification visit our teachers were asked to demonstrate evidence for each of the fundamental concepts of the MYP: Holistic Learning, Intercultural Awareness and Communication, within their written and taught curriculum documentation. This was done through examination of our MYP Unit plans, and documentary evidence for fieldtrips and extension activities such as Model United Nations, Destination Imagination and the EU/India Summit. The school's resources both print [books] and electronic [computer programmes/software/databases] were also examined for their suitability in supporting our MYP subject content areas and extension programmes.

Whilst subject concepts are central to the MYP, students are encouraged to view their individual subjects as interconnected and strongly connected to their “real world” experiences.

The visiting team therefore also required demonstration of our interdisciplinary planning,

both in terms of documentation and teaching practice.

The mission of Stonehill International School encapsulates that of the IBO. We are constantly reviewing, promoting and communicating our curriculum to provide engaging and challenging learning experiences that will equip our students to be truly holistic and life-long learners. Utilizing the MYP fundamental concepts and unique features of the MYP, Stonehill is working towards encouraging its students to become global citizens capable of making decisions and problem-solving the difficult issues that confront us as we enter the 21st century.

A huge vote of thanks to the Stonehill Community for supporting MYP development.

As with all educational experiences we should view our authorization/verification not as an end, but as a beginning.

Peter Dunoon MYP Coordinator April 2012

In the Spotlight : Storytelling with P2 In the unit on 'Stories' the students have learnt about different types and styles of stories. They have learned how to retell stories in their own words and how they can change parts of a story to suit their ideas. They know what it takes to make a story. Students were very engaged in this unit and showed their knowledge and understanding by acting out stories such as 'Three Little Pigs' and 'Red riding Hood'. They made puppets and acted out 'The Gingerbread Man'. They are in the process of 'writing' their own stories, at this age it is important to let them use their imagination and figure out what is real and what is pretend. In keeping with the IB learner profile they have learned to be communicators and thinkers as well as learning to organize data and present it correctly building up their self confidence.

They have been open-minded by listening and asking questions about different stories from around the world.

Deborah MacKenzie, P2 Teacher

Defining Learning at Stonehill In our diverse roles within the Stonehill community there is one thing that unites us all and helps develop our sense of belonging. This notion is framed within our mission statement which says that our shared responsibility is “to provide international education for children of the multicultural community, in order to prepare them for life in the 21st century”. This is by no means a small statement and looking at it closely raises a number of questions.

Stonehill Definition of learning • Learning is the acquisition of new behaviours, understandings, skills and values.

• Learning occurs through both a personal and a social process where we continuously reflect upon our existing understandings while maintaining an open mind allowing ideas of others to extend our own thinking. Learning becomes relevant and engaging as individuals make connections between previous experiences and newly acquired knowledge.

• These processes take place when learners participate constructively in individual and collaborative efforts by being efficient problem solvers and skilled communicators. Through these efforts learners adjust to different roles in changing situations and gain confidence while maintaining critical self-awareness.

One question that has been closely examined by the Stonehill faculty is; What is

• Learning empowers us to make responsible

“Learning for the 21st Century”? Our world has changed substantially from when

choices fostering positive participants who

we were young and continues to change at a rapid pace. Our job as educators

contribute to the wellbeing of the individual, the

is to prepare students for a future we cannot fully predict due to all the

local and the global community.

technological and scientific advancement. Accepting rapid change in society, requires us to look at learning as a process rather than a transfer of set facts and a

• We recognize a learner in someone who displays

finite body of knowledge.

responsible and ethical behaviour; seeks new

With this in mind we adopted the perspective of our students to develop a shared

discovering; applies a range of skills to solve

understandings by exploring, experimenting and problems in a variety of situations; and develops

definition of learning for the 21st century.

respect for diversity and empathy for others.

Gunilla Bengtsson PYP Coordinator

Go Go Go Jo! Production Director’s Note The combination of school children and a musical is a recipe for fun. It is also a platform for hidden talent to blossom into confident performances and artistic excellence. From the first tentative auditions in October, Joseph has been a roller coaster ride that had gathered momentum till the final performances with over one hundred and fifty students, teachers, parents and support staff directly involved.

Rehearsals and artistic direction are a tiny part of the whole and the work that went on behind the scenes for months is the real test of endurance, imagination, ingenuity and plain hard work. I have watched goals being set and accomplished, stagecraft become second

nature and backstage responsibilities ably shouldered. Teachers and parents have become singers, choreographers, art directors, costume designers and stage-hands while older students have taught the younger ones.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to every single person who has been a part of Joseph, whether it's students coping with long rehearsal hours, parents dealing with tired children or staff giving up their Saturdays...thank you everyone.

Judi Roby Bidapa Drama Teacher / Director

Go Go Go Jo! From The Cast : Joseph At first I was supposed to be one of the brothers but I was chosen as Joseph because I was one of the more confident people in the brothers' group and was comfortable doing solo performances in front of a large audience.

Though I've been part of other productions when I was in elementary school, I haven't done a production of this scale and this has been a very stressful yet fun experience.

You become a part of this community that enjoys doing theatre, enjoys musicals and music and it becomes a teaching and learning experience all at the same time. The best part of being in Joseph was the feeling of being part of this community, of belonging somewhere, which is why a lot of people join theatre in

the first place. Also, you really get to express yourself in many ways and showcase your talent. The worst part was the Saturday rehearsals. Also, it was frustrating when you know that you were working hard but then there were a couple of people who slacked off and ruined the day for everyone. But that's why it's a team effort and all members of the team need to be onboard. One tip for future: if Ms Judi gets mad, don't defend yourself, don't talk back or else she'll just get madder‌be quiet, listen and work harder next time!

Mats Menhardt M5, 'Joseph'

Go Go Go Jo! Director’s Note Since Stonehill was founded, there has been a desire from the founders to make the School a centre for the arts, both performing and practical. An IB school believes that learning happens best when students get hands on, practical experience, building on what they already know, and doing it in an environment where excellence is encouraged. For several years we have been frustrated because we have not had an adequate space to put on a major production. As the school grew over the first three years, our ability to stage drama was limited by the multipurpose hall, where lighting and acoustics dampened our ambitions. We did have major success putting on a series of Arts Weeks, where students mixed with artists, potters, and sculptors to jointly produce a plethora of work of very high quality. So this year when discussing options for Arts Week, we put out the idea that

getting students involved in a major production, where the theatre, the direction, the sound and lighting would be of professional standard would give them an experience that would stay with them for a lifetime. When Judi Bidapa, our experienced and newly hired drama teacher, heard about the idea, Joseph was born. Casting began early to see if enough voices could be found in our small school for such an ambitious project. Budgets were produced and rehearsals schedules set.

The months have gone by and the hard work and organization have been considerable.

We have put everything into the show, including teachers and parents on stage and in support.

We hope you enjoy the performance as much as we have enjoyed learning how to do this....

John Sperandio Director

Arts Week Production : Joseph and The Technicoloured Dreamcoat

Go Go Go Jo! A Word from the Pharaoh One of Joseph's great strengths as a group endeavour is that it promotes teamwork; the brothers, the choir, the dancers have all bonded together to tell the story and support one another.

The final achievement is that Jacob's family is reunited and welcomes their long-lost (and very successful) brother back to the fold. Our students have shown great collaborative efforts in linking their performances with one another to produce outstanding results.

Of course, a show as complex as this does not just happen. The cast members are in some ways just the tip of the

iceberg. Below the sight line, a veritable army of supporters have continued to devote their time and skill to many creative and constructive tasks required including clothing our actors (in many colours!) We are most appreciative of all, but especially those parents who have given their time so generously to these activities. Hats off to the whole production team, students, staff, parents and friends, for putting in so many hours to make it all possible and to our director Judi, for showing us the way.

David Banham Secondary Principal

Go Go Go Jo! From the Cast : The Choir We love singing and we love performing,

because we had to stay back till 5pm,

so when they told us they were doing

which meant that we didn't get home

Joseph, it was natural for us to want

until 7pm, living in Whitefield. The worst

to be a part of it. I was introduced to

part about Joseph was all the standing

Joseph at a very early age by my friends

up! By the end of it my feet were killing

so I already knew the music and loved

me! And it was annoying to do one or two

the songs. While we like to be in big

songs over and over again like a million

roles, sometimes it's also nice to be

times!

in the background as part of the choir.

And while we enjoyed singing for

Kat Bohner & Amelia Doran, P8M Choir Members

Joseph and it was also fun to hang out with our friends, it was also difficult

Go Go Go Jo!

From The Cast : Mrs Potiphar’s Aide

What better way to capture the essence of Theatre than to give the students exposure to the “real deal”. The Joseph performance took students from the production's conceptual stage to auditions, rehearsals and then performing in a fully equipped theatre to an audience of known and unknown guests .

The whole experience allowed students to be “risk-takers” and “communicators”, when they took to the stage on the Wednesday and Thursday to thrill their audience. The preparations allowed them to also be “Principled”, in committing to the production and attending rehearsals, “ reflective”, by thinking about how they could improve

their performance and “caring”, helping out their fellow actors and singers when they needed some encouragement. Many also demonstrated a more “balanced” approach to life, by taking part in an Arts based extracurricular activity that they had never chosen before.

Team work and collaboration were visible throughout, including the support of Malya Aditi , who kindly allowed Ms Evie Kelton, their Head of Performing Arts, to lend her expertise as a musical director to make the Stonehill Joseph production such a huge success. Many thanks Aditi and Ms Evie!

Helen Sharrock Head of Primary/Deputy Director

Arts Week at Stonehill Stonehill students and staff were buzzing with excitement and creative-based activities for Arts Week this year.

Held during March 19th to March 22nd, 2012, Arts Week this year was a very busy and dynamic week and included our school-wide Joseph production (off-campus at Chowdiah Memorial Hall) as well as a variety of PYP/MYP arts-based activities on-campus.

Students and teachers involved in the Joseph production were primarily at the theater while those not involved in Joseph participated in a variety of workshops and sessions on-campus.

The school had a variety of activities on offer like mural making, modern art, drawing, martial arts, photography, creative writing and the art of storytelling, Maori Ti Rakau (stick game), Miroinspired painting, weaving, exploring ITC and Art links, learning about Indian music.

Though the Arts week focus this year was primarily on supporting our Joseph production, our on-campus offerings made sure students and teachers celebrated Arts and diversity through the variety of activities present.

Our multicultural school consists of staff and students from a variety of countries who speak many languages and represent many different cultural backgrounds. Thus the focus of Arts Week activities this year was to celebrate diversity by exploring the arts from a variety of cultural perspectives. We also emphasized art as a form of expression that unites and transcends national borders and language barriers.

To support students inquiring into art as a universal language we would like to emphasize the two art strands: responding and creating.

This central idea of Art and Diversity lends itself to explorations of various art forms, ranging from music, writing, drama, design, movement, visual arts and/or dance.

Students showcased their accomplishments in the week of March 26th, 2012.

Lia Cohen, Susannah Martin & Gunilla Bengtsson

Arts Week at Stonehill Weaving : Weaving is a well-liked activity on the Asian continent and quilt making has been very popular in America. Led by Ms.Geetha, students were encouraged to view samples of quilts and woven blankets seeing connections that can be made with the pictures, and discussing the meaning behind them. The children then discussed what they would like to see in a quilt of their own.

They worked on independent designs on paper creating a story board and weaved their ideas into their own quilt/mat using newspaper. The younger students were guided in creating a personal square which were combined to form a class quilt.

Visual arts collage, inspired by Miró : This workshop was led by Ms.Gunilla and involved using imagination. Thepower of imagination is something we all share regardless of nationality and cultural background. Our imagination helps us to see, hear, feel and even travel to amazing and wondrous places. Imagination also allows us to create a whole new world full of interesting characters and events.

TeRakau (short stick) : Ms. Sue helped students explore musical instruments around the world and compare the sounds they make. We focused on the art of TeRakau from the Maori culture of New Zeeland intertwining the koru pattern to the painting on the drumming sticks.

Soap carving : With Ms.Geetha, students had the opportunity to explore wood carving as a method/medium of expression in art. Students brain-stormed the various means of expression in Art. Using all their creativity students created a blueprint of their design on paper (understanding that the end result would be a 'carving').

Rangoli : With Ms.Aarti students learnt how a round the world people spend time and effort decorating their homes, especially during a festival or celebration. In India we createRangoli patterns in front of our houses to welcome guests, bring good luck or ward off evil spirits.

Papiermacherobots : Papiermache is an art form used in several cultures around the world. With Ms. Brooke and Mr. Patrick, Stonehill students had the opportunity to try out this fun and sticky art form by making creative robots.

Murals : Students from M1-M5, with Ms.Lia's guidance, worked collaboratively on murals that focused on the themes of diversity and art as a universal language. The end result was 3 distinctly different, yet thematically linked works that are now a part of the permanent display around the Stonehill campus.

Modern Art : Mr. Andrea worked with stretched canvas and emotion in symbolic ways to explore the fundamentals of what modern art is. His workshop was hugely successful resulting in many finished, high quality works. David Meier (M3) proved to be a very talented modern art painter and his works impressed all.

Creative Writing : Ms. Yasmine worked with students on creative writing skills. Students explored story telling and book making through this workshop. They completed finished works that were bound and presented. This intensive experience gave our young writers a change to work in depth on their writing and have lots of individual feedback.

Drawing : Ms. Claire worked with M1-M3 students on their drawing skills. They explored a variety of drawing media and skills. Each student was able to spend quality time on the individual projects which resulted in a variety of completed works that showcased the student talent.

Photography : Jodi Jones was our fearless leader for this amazing workshop. Students learned the basics of photography and also incorporated cultural immersion into their busy workshop. Ms. Jones took students to temples, a market, the stables and CUPA. Students also used their family as subject matter for their photos. Each participant grew as an artist, as a resident of Bangalore, and was able to leave the workshop with an impressive portfolio.

Martial Arts : Mr. Ravi had a strong group of M1-M3 students for his Martial Arts workshop. He made the students use their physical energy in a concentrated, controlled way. Students got to spar, learn a variety of moves, watch the masters, as well as explore the film industry’s love of Kung-fu. Each participant understood the culture and the sport that is interwoven in the variety of Martial Arts techniques explored.

Henna Tattoos : Ms. Saathi led a very organized and informative workshop on Henna techniques.

Students learned a variety of traditional methods of making the henna mixture from scratch and had many opportunities to practice their skills in recreating these motifs. The result of this workshop was a deeper understanding of the role Henna arts play in Indian and Arabic cultures as well as a hands-on learning experience for recreating the beautiful art form.

From China, With Love...MUN Trip to Beijing Each year Stonehill participates in Model United Nations or MUN. MUN is an authentic simulation of the U.N. General Assembly and other multilateral bodies. Previously MUN students have traveled to Chennai, Colombo, and within Bangalore for MUN conferences. This year a group of eight students and two teachers took part in Harvard Model united Nations which was held in Beijing, China over the course of 4 days. Harvard MUN is organized and directed by Harvard university students and faculty. The HMUN conference, gave us insight into the workings of the United Nations and the dynamics of international relations by assuming the roles of UN representatives and members of other international bodies and national cabinets. HMUN was an exciting opportunity for us to debate issues that confront world leaders as well as allowing us to draft resolutions in response to these global issues. We developed our abilities to work with others who were

equally motivated and passionate about the topics of debate and to respond to global concerns. In addition we got to experience all that the city of Beijing had to offer such as visiting the art district 798, the games village, the temple of heaven, and the shopping area Sanlitun.

We also had the chance to meet other students from various countries around the world, some came from even as far as Venezuela and Italy.

We had a fantastic time, and strongly encourage other students to join MUN for next years conference. Thank you to all the participants who worked hard in resolving conflicts during committee session and were a lot of fun to be with! Thank you to our teacher supervisors Ms. Aston and Ms. Lippincott, we know we were a handful. And a special thank you to Mr. Peter for his hard work in organizing the trip.

Antonia Dunoon & Laura Schonherr, D1

PYP World Math and Science Day For two days in March, the PYP had fun

experiments were designed by the older

with math and science. Actually, it started

students with support from their teachers.

before that with practice math challenges

Both sets of students enjoyed working

in which students were able to interact

together and we hope it will be the start of

with other students from all over the

a more regular collaboration from the

world, ready for the big day. During

youngest to the oldest scientists in the

ICT sessions on the day, all our PYP

school.

students had the chance to compete against students from all over the world in quick-fire math challenges. During the breaks, they were challenged with fiendish math puzzles to solve – many students were seen in the playground with pencil and paper, talking math!

The finale to the two days was an egg-drop competition. PYP students, with help from Ms Aarti and their Homeroom teachers, designed and made contraptions to protect their eggs so they didn't break when dropped from a height. They had to think about what materials would provide the best protection and had time to test out

For world science day, Biology and

their designs before the final day– some

Physics students from M1, M2A, M3

worked better than others, but they all had

and D1 became science teachers for

a SMASHING time!

the day. They guided PYP students from all year groups through the process of doing their own experiments Including making an indicator for acids from red cabbage, testing what materials made the best roof for a house and floating and sinking. They even got to see lightning indoors, thanks to the D1s. Many of the

Congratulations to winners of the Math Puzzles: And thanks to the MYP and DP students who tried their hands at science teaching for the day and their teachers.

Jennifer Martindale Blessina Cryil and Nicola Doran

While They Were Away....

While most of the secondary students were on adventurous trips exploring India and deepening their friendships with their peersin February, Dr. Crouse attended the American Association of Physics teacher's (AAPT) Winter Meeting in Ontario, California. AAPT has more than 10,000 members in 30 countries, and has a goal of enhancing the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching. Dr. Crouse is chairman of the Committee on International Physics Education for AAPT. This winter, his committee sponsored several sessions of direct relevance to Stonehill's international community. Among those were sessions comparing secondary school physics teaching and the preparation of secondary school physics teachers in different countries around the world. One particular session highlighted the Canadian, German, and Mexican systems. Understanding the variety of educational perspectives represented by the systems from which our students come and to which our students go, enhances our ability to educate each child at Stonehill to the fullest extent possible. Sessions on recent developments in physics education research also highlighted better ways to address difficulties that Stonehill students may experience in learning physics.

In addition, informal discussions started at the meeting have implications for instruction at Stonehill and are opening up potential collaborations for our school.

Discussions with faculty from the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr institute who have carefully reformed programs using assessment data as a guide have relevance for how we can make systematic improvement in Stonehill's science program. Members of Arizona State University's Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation are interested in collaborating with Stonehill on Middle school science curriculum development and assessment. Discussions with individuals involved in science teacher preparation at the University of Maine and Dublin City University continue to offer valuable perspectives on secondary school education that inform our Science department. Finally, faculty members at the University of Washington are pursuing the possibility of Dr. Crouse offering teacher professional development workshops at Stonehill for which teachers could get credit through the University. Such an effort would push forward Stonehill's vision of becoming a regional center of educational excellence.

Dr. Andrew Crouse MYP Science / DP Physics Teacher

D2 Class of 2012 Stonehill’s First Graduating Class

The D2 students are approaching the final milestone on the road to graduation, the end of their classes. During May they will only attend school to sit the Diploma examinations and for some, to complete their CAS requirement. These exams will mark the end of a rigorous two-year programme which has led them through many diverse activities, ranging from trekking in the Nilgiris to writing essays on classics of World literature and pondering the ways their knowledge has been acquired.

During the first semester of this year the 8 graduands completed formal internal assessment tasks in all their subjects and these have now been sent off to external moderators for grading.

The students will sit their examinations throughout May in the Stonehill Administration building. Each subject has at least 2 separate papers. Students will complete their exams on May 22nd and graduate on 1st June. This group of students will always be especially remembered as Stonehill's first graduating class and should be congratulated on their role as pioneers.

Helen Banham IB Diploma coordinator

Community and Service- Interactions Stonehill students worked in groups to create a number of valuable experiences for a range of groups in the last quarter. While many groups have chosen advocacy or non-interactive programs, the most challenging and in turn most rewarding are often those of interaction with others. Students in M3, M4 and M5 have created some marvelous experiences for their chosen communities and themselves which we would like to highlight.

A group of M3 students who chose to work with the Association of People with disabilities decided to make use of the Stonehill pool facilities. They arranged to have a group of students visit and make use of the wading pool as a form of exercise. They organized activities and even swimwear for the boys who would participate. The result was truly inspiring. The students from APD had never been in a pool before. The students in M3 had never worked with disabled people before. It's hard to say who learned more or had more fun. Another visit is coming up soon.

The M4 class wanted to work with their chosen partner, Indira Ghandi School to enhance the students' IT skills. When their initial plan of raising funds for laptops proved too complicated and unfeasible, they decided to work with the students here. Interaction had not been their initial choice, yet twice this semester they have welcomed students and trained them in our IT lab. Under the supervision of their Technology teacher Mr. Nassir they have trained them in Internet search engines, Photoshop and Google Maps. The students in M4 have come to realize how much they have to offer and the value of interaction with people of their same age and such different backgrounds.

Two students in M5, Rose Walsh and Jaqueline Klein have embraced interaction at a more challenging level. Working with the NGO 40K, they are helping to develop a program of English and mathematics skills for children of quarry miners and other underprivileged children which will eventually be incorporated around the country. This has included their working together in a small building on a quarry site with 20 children. Rose and Jacky are thrilled with the experience and looking to bring others into the program in the near future.

Interaction is the most impressive form of service learning but not necessarily the right one for everyone. Certainly the most popular C&S event at Stonehill this year has been Throw a Sponge at the Teacher!

Patrick Holmes Community & Service Coordinator