Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Math Olympiad




Math Olympiad will be conducted on  2nd  December

Health Month Week 4 -- Day 2

Dr.Nazia







Health Camp for our sub staff was a satisfying and a worthy idea which went very well.The camp was conducted in the infirmary by our school medical team.Worth mentioning is the interest taken by couple of students and staff who volunteered to bring in medications for distribution to our sub staff.I would like to thank our students and their parents in making this a success.

Kudos to 
Vaishnavi – 10 E
Charu – 12 B
Ronak – 12 B
Mr.Sharat Chandra (OIS Event Manager)

Tomorrow is another interesting day ahead we have the thyroid and diabetic camp(ABBOTT) and FLU vaccination(SANFOI PASTEUR) for the Parents ,Students and Staff.

Trip to Ajanta-Ellora

On 24th of November, the students of IBDP visited Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra. We all gathered at Secunderabad station at 5 o’clock and travelled almost 13 hours in the train, playing cards, talking to each other and even shivering while sleeping.
Next morning, we reached Aurangabad station. After breakfast at the resort, we headed towards a village called Ginar Thanda where most of the people had isolated and traditional style of life. After trekking around the beautiful water lake, we visited the Zilla Parishad government school where they encourage all the children of village people to be educated for a better life. We all had spent time with them, singing together and playing games. However, it was sad to know that this school is facing a lot of challenges from absenteeism and lack of fund. With the promise of return, we visited a Farm house, where we could taste the typical Maharashtra  meal. Since all the ingredients used for the meal were cultivated in natural way, it tasted amazing. After healthy lunch, we visited the school for destitute children, however, it was unfortunate that all the students were left for their holidays and didn’t return to school. The last activity of the first day was Dance party that teachers prepared for us as a surprise. We all enjoyed dancing together.
On the second day, with an excited mind of exploring, we headed towards Ajanta where magnificent caves that were hidden for 1000 years were waiting for us. Although the travel in the bus was quite long, however, when we reached the caves, we were breathless not only because of the steps that we had to climb but also because of the great shape and historical gist of the Ajanta caves. Whenever we entered into different caves, we learned and explored a lot of things about ancient Buddhist culture and ancient art forms that told us a lot of stories in 1500 years ago. When we found the handwriting of John Smith who discovered these caves on the wall, we could feel the history of these caves. Next, we visited BiBi Ka Macbara, which is the replica of Taj Mahal and which Aurangzeb’s son built for his mother. Although it was not the real Taj Mahal, however, we could learn more about Aurangzeb as a person and his stories. After we came back to our resort, since it was Min and Akshat’s birthday, we had a surprise birthday party.
On the last day, we checked out from the resort and headed towards Ellora which is known as one of the most historical cities in India along with Ajanta. First we visited Daulathabad fort, which showed us how the defensive system worked in past. The way the people in that era thought of their defensive system was truly intelligent and shocking. Next, we visited the Shiva temple - personally, it was a good experience for me to understand the Hindu culture and their rituals. Then, we went to Hiranya resort where we had lunch and enjoyed river crossing and paintball that we had always longed for.For the dinner, we arrived at Manor hotel. The dinner at this hotel was yummy: especially the pineapple lassi that everyone liked.After one hour of waiting due to the delay, we started our way back to Hyderabad. In the train, we celebrated Shruti’s birthday and next morning, we reached Hyderabad and our unforgettable journey was finally over.
Through this trip to Ajanta and Ellora, we got to learn a lot of things about Indian history, especially about the era of Aurangzeb, and the art forms that the people in that era created and practiced.

Lucy

IB DP










Bon travail VI grade for a Wonderful PYP Exhibition

The 6th grade PYP Exhibition which was held on 26th and 27th of November, had each student  demonstrating the five essential elements of the IB PYP Programme(knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action) .
 The exhibition was very well displayed. Each of the issues chosen by the students were  well exhibited. The students were confident and  good communicators.
Kudos to Shalini Ma’am and her entire team for an impressive and wonderful PYP exhibition

Ms.Farah
Class Teacher 4E

Library Week -results

Creative Writing1st - Lalit, Apoorv, Rohan - XI IB
2nd - Preeti, Atriya, Jeevika - X


Book Review
1st - Prathyusha - XII
2nd - Veda Sri -IX


Slogan Writing
1st - Venkat - XI
2nd - Pooja - XII


Charu Gupta
Head Girl

SPOORTHI - STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

Students at Oakridge, experience the joy of learning everyday through diverse classes and subjects. As part of C A S activity our student volunteers had the opportunity to embrace the role of teachers through the platform of Spoorthi and they did a great job as can be seen in their reflections.
 Akshat, Anisha, Min, Harshita, Alvert, Joseph, Malakapalli, Nirmal, Ted and Pranathi attended the first session on 13th November 2010.
Harshita Reddy's reflection  “For the first time I was going to teach instead of being taught to. 10 of us went to school with this thrilling prospect in mind. And the satisfaction, happiness and enjoyment which the day consisted of far surpassed what we expected out of it. Teaching them was no easy job but the satisfaction it gave us was nothing small either. The kids’ curiosity about everything they saw and eagerness to learn was heart-touching. It reminded us of how fortunate we all are and inspired us to put in our best efforts in teaching them what little we could. Today is one day which we will all always cherish”. 
Joseph a Korean student was seen interacting with the students in Telugu.     
On 28th Nov 2010,  Paavani Putta, Siddardh Chennupaty, Pavan Kottapalli, and Naren Pakalapati participated in Spoorthi.
Paavani P's reflection “As a volunteer and a student, it was surprising to see how the lavish surroundings in my school that I use without any inhibition everyday are innovative and even difficult for other students to use. As I spoke to different young children, it was evident that not only were they having tremendous fun, they were grateful, respectful, and overjoyed with the amount of education they could receive in just one day at Oakridge. We left promising them that we would all meet again next session and have fun together”.

The English program aims to not only outline the basic rules of spoken English, but encourage the children to be confident and robust in their speech and content. As many of the children understand Telugu more fluently than English, the activities such as role-playing, word-formation, and worksheets allowed them to stray from their comfort zone and try something new.
In the technology course, students were taught the basics of applications in Windows software such as creating a file, sub-file, and saving documents. They also had a chance to express their creativity through the painting exercise which utilized standard tools: pencil, paintbrush, airbrush, bucket, and eraser.

Ms.Rubina
SPOORTHI Coordinator




Monday, November 29, 2010

HEALTH MONTH WEEK 4-HEALTH CAMPS

Dr.Nazia







 Health camps began today with full participation,eagerness  and awareness about the health status.Today we had camps for students,staff and parents.

KSR EYE WEAR-EYE CAMP-Screening program
MICRO LABS-BMI(Body mass  index),BMR( Basal metbolic rate),Body fat percentage.
SMILINE DENTAL CENTRE-Brushing techniques demonstration.

Everyone was glad to know  their fitness levels,way to a brighter smile and yes they also got to know why things were  a little blurry.....
Looking forward to the health check up for our substaff tomorrow.
Please do find time  for  your health.

CBSE Grade 7 & 8 - PTM

CBSE Grade 7 & 8 had their second PTM of the academic year 2010-11.
It was a very productive PTM - both for the teachers and Parents.

My message to my team of teachers is

“Children are like water: bottle them up and they stagnate. Let them run wild and they make a mess; Guide them and they bring life to all they touch. We as teachers are the ones who can guide them.”

Thanks for the support  I get from you .



Ms.Rama
Coordinator CBSE Grade 7& 8

Hyderabad 10K Run - 2010

70 Oakridgers ,  all the PE Staff and few teachers participated on Sunday the 28th November in the Hyderabad 10K Run for good health around Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city.



Sunday, November 28, 2010

OIS PYP Exhibition - Our reflections

 As the parents of two children who have passed through the final PYP phase at Oakridge, watching the event this year with our youngest participating, gave us the benefit of comparing the past and the watching the PYP exhibition develop and evolve, for the better.   Certainly the PYP exhibition this year was something to behold.   The overall experience was scintillating.  Several parents whose children did not participate in the morning events before the exhibition opened might have missed a remarkable performance by the children.  Hopefully the school will show the video as a backdrop during the “Founders” – it truly deserves a larger audience.

Looking at our daughter’s enthusiasm and effort in the preparations this year should largely be credited to the faculty who modified the program from the previous years and empowered the children to innovate and create.  We have never seen our daughter so engrossed, as she was in developing and preparing for this exhibition. While the pride, the effort and the commitment were solely hers, but the collaborative effort, communication and sharing of thoughts and ideas with her team mates was incredible, and what made the entire experience unique.

From gathering Plaster of Paris (POP), collecting recyclable waste for a project, to making a doll from re-cycled materials, working on the dance, working on the logo for Water Scarcity, gathering inputs for including in the charts and props for the presentations, the entire effort was commendable and had both of us, pleasantly surprised and proud, witnessing this transformation in our child.

 The effort put in by the students and teachers, this year was extraordinary.   Unlike the previous years, the groups working on a particular topic were collected from various sections, making the process more inclusive and participative.   Collaboration, team work and individual pride were evident throughout the entire preparatory phase of the program.  The number of phone calls and meetings between the children on their own time, discussing the preparations, improving upon their ideas, was unbelievable.  This new approach, of having a single issue discussed in a classroom, under the holistic concept of “Saving The Planet”, should be commended and made all the difference. 

The dance enacted by the children, although without words, communicated such a clear picture of how we are destroying the planet. The play showcased how death will befall the planet unless it is saved by our actions.  Both these presentations were wonderful and showed the creativity and expressiveness of a young, growing and intelligent generation.  Great work, kids.
The choice of issues selected by the students towards addressing the central theme of Saving The Planet were remarkable, the presentations and information gathering encouraged by their teachers was very well organized and there was a flow of thought that impressed.  The model adopted this year enabled the concepts to be presented in a holistic manner.

Keep it up kids, keep it up teachers and management keep encouraging innovation.  As at any institution striving to make its own mark, the final result will always be how these students perform on the stage of life.  As these children grow, it is these seeds that will make their education whole, not just the degrees they earn, that will make the world a better place.  This generation holds in its hands the future of the planet. If this exhibition is a window, then I am sure they will, Save our Planet.


Mr. & Mrs. Choudhary,
Parents of Salena VI-B


Oakridge in the Print Media

Sakshi 27 November 2010                            Andhra Jyothi 27 November 2010
                                                              Eenadu 27 November -2010  

KESHA


Kesha Rose Sebert better known as Ke$ha made history in the pop world with her No.1 hit “Tik Tok” in 2009. Born on March 1st 1987 she has sold over a million copies of her hit album Animal. She grew up extremely poor as her mom was an unsuccessful singer and song writer. Her mom and two brothers often had to go to bed without food. They lived off welfare payments and food stamps to get by. Her mother Pebe was who taught Kesha to write songs and they would often write songs together.
At the age of sixteen she dropped out of school and signed her first contract. She sang in the background and wrote the lyrics for many popular artists but did not get her big break yet. She got media exposure in early 2009 when she appeared in Flo Rida’s hit single “Right Round”. She finally got her big break when RCA records signed her up for “Tik Tok”. This made her an internationally acclaimed popstar.
Her songs are ridiculously non-sensical but the fact that they are extremely catchy is what makes them so popular. The videos for the songs are a look of downtown Los Angeles and shows hardcore party life. Kasha opts for a very grungy look that makes her stand out but it also looks dirty sometimes and makes her look like she smells. She opts for messy hair, smudged makeup and a wardrobe that comprises of “garbage-chic”. She uses a lot of body glitter and carries it off pretty well.
Her vocals are distorted and not clear at all but the music is what makes the song so good. Her style of singing is very different and is probably the first female white rapper in the history of pop music. She plays the piano and the guitar and excels in the genre of electro-pop and dance-pop. Her music is played all over the world and usually in clubs and in all parties.

She has won several awards, a few of them being MTV Europe music awards, People’s Choice awards, Teen Choice awards and World Music Award. She continues to release a lot of hit songs such as Cannibal and We R who We R and collaborates with a lot of top ranking artists who are more than willing to work with her. All in all Kesha has proven herself as an amazing artist in the pop genre and her music has continued to make people all over the world love her.

Rishika Reddy

Awareness program on Effective Parenting

“My son is so hyper”, “My daughter doesn’t listen to me”, “My kids just snack and don’t eat properly” these were the concerns raised by parents who attended an interactive session with Dr.Shakila Naidu, our school psychologist on 24th of Nov 2010.


As part of emotional health week, OIS planned an “Awareness program on Effective parenting for developmental needs.” Tackling physical and behavioural issues through emotional intelligence was the theme of the session. Dr.Shakila Naidu elaborately discussed the relevant issues such as cognitive stimulation, recreational choices, food refusal, temper tantrums, speech and writing difficulties etc.  Parents actively participated in the interaction session.  They discussed about their difficulties while tackling the children.
Dr.Shakila gave a lot of useful tips like “making time for family activites”, “talk with and listen to your child”, “teach your child right from wrong” etc., to them.  Parents were given handouts at the end of the session.Parents went enlightened and satisfied that their concerns were solved.

Ganga
Class Teacher,PP2 E





Friday, November 26, 2010

PYP Exhibition -Parent feedback

Ms.Ratna SahuParent of Simran Sahu (VI C)



Deep thinkers and problem solvers of tomorrow…..As I entered the hallways of the
PYP exhibition, I was greeted by a bunch of

enthused six graders and dedicated teachers. I saw a common thread across all
the exhibits:
    * Identifying a Global Topic/Issue
    * Investigating
    * Finding solutions.
Lots of happy hours were spent by the children in Research and Collaborative
work. I was impressed by the simple solution provided by the students on global
issues like Environment, Deforestation, Pollution, Cyber Crime, Child labor to
name a few. The exhibition has empowered the children with Creative thinking,
Time Management, Social, Communication and Research skills, All of which the
students, will take forward with them, even after their school years and into
Adulthood. Oakridge has educated, the next generation, to develop sensitivity
and good problem solving skills.
I also got to take home a goody bag … “A beautiful Plant” !! 
Kudos to the entire Oakridge team. Keep Up the good work!!

My observation of the PYP exhibition - Mrs.Ranjita Rao.K

 
 
The PYP exhibition today was an amazing presentation. The knowledge acquired, the facts produced after a lot of research was exuberating.
 
The presentation skills and the confidence shown by these 11 - 12 year old's was an eye opener for all of us !
Kudos to the Oakridgers !

Mrs. Ranjita Rao. K

Sharing the Planet -PYP Exhibition Banner

Did you like the Grade VI PYP Exhibition banner?
Do you want to know how the images were formed?
Our Grade VI students collaboratively did a wonder?
Together they came as a team to form –Sharing the Planet.
Yes. Indeed together we can Share and Care for the Planet.
T- Together.
E- Everyone.
A- Achieves.
M- More.

PYP Exhibition

Ms.Shalini Samuel
Coordinator -Grade-V,VI



The PYP Exhibition is an integral part of the Grade 6 students. It is summative assessment, which is done in Grade 6, a culmination of the Primary Years Programme. This year the theme was ‘Sharing the Planet.’ The journey for the same started from the month of June where a period in the time table was exclusively laid aside for the exhibition. The students were led rung by rung by through the process of Identifying the theme, then the key ideas  and finally coming up with global issues out of which they have chosen the one in which they were interested in.
The students  were busy in an exciting inquiry journey to make this planet a better place to live in. It engaged students to take action and reflect .They reflected on their actions throughout the PYP Exhibition journey by self assessment, peer assessment and  formative assessment by the mentors. This year I could see my students very well understanding the PYP Concept – Perception - they learnt Perceptions vary from person to person. Different people perceive different things about the same situation. They learnt to work as a team  with their peers who had different perceptions  about the  same issue.

Stay healthy stay fit

As a part of  ‘Health Month’ a variety of activities were planned and done at the Pre-primary level. This week had the focus on ‘Emotional Well Being’. We know a fit  mind resides in a fit  body .So each day this week kick started with the PP1 assembling in the central courtyard along with their teachers. The morning sun basked them with energy and enthusiasm when the little ones started to spot jog in their places. Following the jogging was the mass drill along with some free hand exercises. The children rhythmically followed the drum beat to do the exercises. The morning session of warm up exercises pass the message that a ‘ healthy mind leads to a healthy body’ .

Kasturi Dutta
(Teacher-PP1C)




Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Students from ETTI

Ms.Sweta Verma
PP Cordinator




Today we had a group of 30 exuberant students from ETTI ( Euro Kids Teacher Training Institute)   visiting our school. They attended the morning assembly and went into different classes from nursery to PP2 and  oriented themselves to pyp methodology of teaching  conducted by our teachers.They accompanied the classes  for their outdoor mass drill and yoga sessions ,these activities being part of the ‘Health Month’ and participated too.
They also presented a musical drama ‘ plant a tree,plant a hope’ . This was an entertaining performance with a message. Children enjoyed the show and watched it with rapt attention.They also toured the school and enjoyed themselves exploring the activity block. They had a wonderful experience with our enthusiastic kids and vivacious teachers and expressed their wish to visit us again.






Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Review



VIBHAWARI JAMMI
VIII F


 

MY FAVOURITE SERIES? WELL – THAT’S OBVIOUS! HARRY POTTER! SERIOUSLY, J.K. ROWLING HAS DONE A FABULOUS JOB WITH THIS.     

               

I MEAN A SCHOOL FOR MAGIC AND CREATURES BORN OF FANTASY, EVIL AND GOOD, ADVENTURE, AND ROMANCE… YOU NAME IT, IT’S IN HERE…

WELL, AFTER SEEING THE MOVIE- FIRST DAY SHOW (Obviously) YOU COULD SAY I QUITE WENT CRAZY WITH THE DIRECTION- YOU’RE THINKING IT WASN’T GOOD? WRONG YOU THOUGHT-WRONG! SERIOUSLY THE MOVIE HAD GOT MATTER. LITERALLY, THE BOOK IS A HUGE THING YOU KNOW, 607 PAGES IS NOT WHAT YOU EXACTLY CALL TINY, EVEN IF FANATICS LIKE ME CAN FINISH IT IN A DAY.
THE DEATHLY HALLOWS HAS BEEN DECIEDED TO BE RELEASED IN TWO PARTS- PART 1- 2010, PART 2-2011. HOWEVER MILLIONS OF US FANS WERE CURIOUS, EVEN APPREHENSIVE, HOW WILL THEY SPLIT UP THE HUGE BOOK IN WHICH SUSPENSE, THRILL AND ACTION ARE SO TIGHTLY KNIT, MAKING US EAGER TO KNOW WHAT COMES NEXT. I EVEN REMEMBER ME AND MY FRIEND IMAGINING AND PREDICTING AFTER WHICH CHAPTER THEY MIGHT END PART 1.
               
THE MOVIE OVERALL WAS VERY WELL DIRECTED. IF YOU HAVE TO MAKE  SOMETHING  LOOK MAGICAL, IT IS HIGHLY ESSENTIAL TO BE CAREFUL WITH GRAPHICS. SOMETIMES, WHEN IT IS A NIGHT SHOOTING, IT IS SEEN THAT THE LIGHT IS IMPROPERLY HANDLED AND THE CHARACTERS ARE NOT VISIBLE… ALSO, SOMETIMES EXCESS OF LIGHT IN THE SHOOTINGS IS SEEN. THE SCREENPLAY DIRECTION COMES IN HERE, AND RAPIDSHARE HOTFILE HAS DONE A GREAT JOB. ALSO, THE EMOTIONAL SCENES WERE WONDERFUL. WHEN DOBBY THE ELF DIES; AFTER SAVING HARRY POTTER’S LIFE FROM THE MALFOY MANOR, I LITERALLY CRIED IN THE THEATRE. I ALSO FEEL THAT THE TALE OF THE THREE BROTHERS WAS EXPRESSED IN A FABULOUS MANNER USING SHADOW PLAY.
     THE CHOICE OF SETTINGS AND ENHANCED IDEAS FOR THE MOVIE WERE REALLY NICE AND I LIKE THE DIRECTION BIT WHEN IT WAS THE GODRIC HOLLOW SCENE. NAGINI IS QUITE SCARY IN THE BOOK ITSELF, YOU KNOW, I CAN SEE  THE MOVIE WHILE I READ THE BOOK, I THINK THE SCENE WAS FABULOUS. NOT A SINGLE BIT WAS DRAGGING OR BORING, AND IT HAD ALREADY GOT $205 BILLION ON DAY 1! I GUESS THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN IT YET ARE WASTING THEIR TIME SITTING AT HOME- HURRY BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! IT’S NOT THE SAME WAITING FOR IT TO COME ON TO TV AND WATCHING IT IN A THEATRE!