Friday, December 31, 2010

Action – how do we want students to act?

Ms.Anuradha Sawhney
Grade 1 & 2 Coordinator





In PYP, it is believed that education must extend beyond the intellectual to include not only socially responsible attitudes but also thoughtful and appropriate action. Opportunities are created for learners to understand and choose to act; to decide on their actions; and to reflect on these actions in order to make a difference in this world. In the primary years ACTION begins at the most immediate and basic level; with the self; within the family; within the classroom, the corridors & the playgrounds.
On 6th of December Grade 1 teachers, were motivated to come up with an initiative for the learner’s to take responsible actions based on their classroom inquiries. We put up an ‘Action Tree’ with just a trunk and 8 dry branches on our corridor soft board. The students were explained and encouraged to use their learning’s at school and at home and comeback to report it. When students reported any such action taken by them, class teacher would affix a leaf with student’s name on the branch of the action tree.
This encouraged students to take and report actions. No sooner than a day we saw the foliage beginning to cover the branches of the action tree. We had a grade 1 child asking his sister to use the backside of paper for drawings and not waste resources rather reuse them. Another 1st grader stopped his mom from having junk food and helped her to make the right choice. One child explained to his mother not to buy leather purse as it is made of animal skin and many more such actions are continuing to take place.  
I feel proud to state that it’s just been a few days and the tree is nearly half filled with foliage. We’ll be celebrating action of our young learners and will be glad to see your participation as well.



Monday, December 27, 2010

Believe in India sports activity

Mr.Venkat Reddy
CAS In Charge




Oakridge International School organised a Believe in India sports activity for the students of Khajaguda Government School.

 150 Government school students from Class V to Class X took part in the programme with student volunteers of Oakridge from IBXI and also CBSE Grade XI. The children took part with great enthusiasm. Events for the day included a 70 meters running race and a relay for both boys and girls.Prizes  were  given at the end of the event.

Mr. P.Vishnu Erudite Adventure sponsored 30 first prizes, Ms. Rama CBSE Coordinator sponsored 30 second prizes and Mr. Biju Baby IBDP Coordinator sponsored 30 Third
prizes. Mr.Martin and his team organized the sports events. The event team arranged for snacks and lunch for the children. It was an eventful day for the Khajaguda Govt school children. All the CAS Advisors were actively involved in the day's program and the Administration department was a great support in helping the day run smoothly without any hitches.








A Healthy Mind leads to Healthy life

We "burn with anger,” or "tremble" with fear or feel "choked up" with sadness. Everyone experiences such horrible feelings but such emotions make us feel physically and emotionally disturbed and weak.
This is because our body and mind are closely interconnected to each other and emotions play a big part in shaping one's health. And hence, any negative effect on mind causes major challenge to good health.
At times you may have experience stomach ache or headache before an important exam. This is nothing but a sign of stress and fear of failure. If before the same exam, you replace feeling of fear with confidence and start thinking positively, chances of success will increase.
In Hindu mythology, Ravana was a very learned and intelligent man. However, he was filled with negative thoughts of jealousy, anger and hatred which led to his defeat by Lord Rama who was symbol of love and care.
Finally you should know that your mental state is what you think and as a result you feel what you want. So make up your mind with positive thoughts for - A healthy mind is what leads to a healthy body and a much happier life.
Saloni Mathur
Class 3 – E

All India Short Story Competition 2010

Anirudh Cholasamudram of VI A has won 2nd prize in All India Short Story Competition 2010.The story is entitled ‘A Welcoming Change’

 The coveted prize will be given by Mr. Ruskin Bond.
 The copy of the story will be available in the library.

Anirudh Cholasamudram 

PAT SESSION III - 29TH SEPTEMBER 2010- A REPORT

                                              To get a right word in the right place is a great achievement, by Mark Twain, which is why our children revel in solving real brainstorming puzzles and brain teasing activities. Our motive is to make children think out of the box and improve their vocabulary.
The third session of PAT was conducted on 29th September. The theme for the day was Word challenges. It started with a mind game followed by word puzzles to push their verbal skills, with a host of puzzles to improve their reasoning and lateral thinking.
Students stretched their minds to solve the mind boggling puzzles; they found the activities to be very challenging and interesting. It was an enjoyable session for both students and teachers.
We were happy to see our students engrossed and captivated to think laterally and learn various techniques to enhance their skills.
To summarize “it was an awesome session “as said by one of the students (VISHNU SAKOTAI-GR -V

Activities  for Grade 5
FREAKY MIND GAME-must try!!!!
Think of a number from 1 to 10
             Multiply that number by 9
             If the number is a 2-digit number, add the digits together
            Now subtract 5
                    Determine which letter in the alphabet corresponds to  the number
                   you ended up with (example: 1=a, 2=b, 3=c,etc.)
             Think of a country that starts with that letter.
       Remember the last letter of the name of that country.
               Think of the name of an animal that starts with that letter.
               Remember the last letter in the name of that animal.
                       Think of the name of a fruit that starts with that letter.
SEQUENTIAL MEMORY GAME:
       Say the days of the week back­wards, then in alphabetical order.
       Say the months of the year in alphabetical order. Easy? well, why don’t you try doing so back­wards, in reverse alphabetical order.
       Find the sum of your date of birth, mm/dd/yyyy. Want more exercise? Do the same with friends’ and rel Name two objects for every letter in your complete name. Work up to five objects, trying to use different items each time.
           Wherever you are, look around and within two minutes, try to find 5 red things that will fit in your pocket, and 5 blue objects that are too big to fit.
PROOF READING:
Check your spelling and punctuation skills with the proof reading exercise packed full of literal errors and commonly misspelled words.
Word Morph:
CHANGE one letter from each word to make a new word.
       For eg: TART TO DISH
       TART
       CART
       CAST
       CASH
       DASH
       DISH
       Now change from:
       1. PALE TO DARK
       2. BALL TO FOOT
MUSICAL GAME Confused countries: 
Dance with the music, when the music stops each one of you have to stand on the circles spread on the floor.
The person who unscrambles the name of the country is thet winner and the game continues.


Widen your Imaginations:
Look at the shapes and see how you would describe them differently in writing .You can be as imaginative as you can. There’s no right or wrong answer to it. Shapes were given as a handout separately.
Activities for Grade 6:
SMART THINKING:   Answer it: If half of nine is four and half of twelve is seven what is half of thirteen?
Combine the chunks to get a word:
10 nine letter words have been broken into chunks of three letters. These chunks have been mixed up, no Chunk is used twice and all chunks are used. Can you dDetermine what the 10 words are?
MIND’S EYE:  Without lifting the pencil draws 4 lines so that each dot is intersected by a line. you cannot retrace any line
.     .    .
                        .     .    .
                        .     .     .
       LOGOGRAMS:  The test with logograms is to find a key word by answering clues to smaller words, within the key word. Each clue tells you which sequence of letters in the keyword makes up the answer, for example in the key word ANOTHER, the word NOT is letters two to four .The clue to the keyword itself is always in the last line.
       one to four is audacious cheek,-GALL
              Two to four everything you seek-__ ___ ___
               Five to seven this insect works hard,-ANT
               Seven to nine an attempt to regard-__ ___ ___
               Two to six finds Poe’s second name-ALLAN,
               Courage and chivalry may win the game.
       GALLAN__ __ ___
Reasoning Skills-
Try the exer­cise below to test your attention focus.  How many times is the word SUN shown?
How many times is the word BUS shown?
How many times is the word NONE shown?
Worksheets were given to students.
Team Building skills-ALL ABOARD: This is another physical game. Depending on the size of your team, place a 1-foot to 3-foot square of cardboard on the floor, or mark off a square with masking or duct tape. Draw numbers, one for each team member. In order of the numbers drawn, team members must stand in the square. As the number of people in the square increases, members will have to work together and get creative to get everyone aboard. This exercise practices cooperation, problem-solving and leadership.

Through this program the students develop the following skills
Reading (Speed and comprehension)
Reasoning
Creative thinking
 Problem solving abilities
Team building

TEAM   PAT
NANDINI ,STUTI and VERONICA









7th National Masters Swimming Federation of India

We are proud to announce that Mr. N. Ramakrishna NIS swimming coach has
participated in 7th National Masters Swimming Federation of India held at GHMC
 Secunderabad on 5th Dec, 2010. He secured 3rd Place in 50 Mts Backstroke out of 1400
 participants (approximately) from 19 states of India.





My experience at the CBSE Roller Skating Nationals

Hello everyone,
My name is Gamana Yalavarthy and I would like to relate my experience at the CBSE Roller Skating Nationals , held at Kolhapur.
After an encouraging performance at CBSE South Zone Roller Skating Championship , I really looked forward to the nationals, starting the 27th of October.
The first day was exhilarating, with non-stop practice. Though I was tired I couldn't help but feel excited and eager for the next day.
The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we headed to the rink (which was a pleasure to be on), to practice.
The day was timed with a little disappointment, as I lost the rink III (300 m) by a very small time margin (4 sec) .  Nevertheless, I kept my hopes up, and looked forward to the events ahead.
The next day, The outlook improved, as I was selected for the rink IV (1000 m) finals, to be held the day after.And the finals didn't disappoint. I won the Bronze, and couldn't help but feel happy. We left for Hyderabad that evening, and sad though I was for leaving the friends I had made, I was glad to be returning home!
This entire experience has been highly enriching!!
I would like to thank the principal, Capt.Rohit Bajaj ; The vice principal, Ms.Jyothi and DOA Mr.Martin for encouraging and pushing me through-out.
I would also like to thank Ms.Vani for accompanying me to Kolhapur, and being a support for me during the races.

glee


Glee: some know it as a synonym of happiness, but most recognize it as the new TV show that has taken the world by surprise with its outspoken views, musical-like setting, and lessons about teamwork and harmony. Although the second season was not greeted with much fan-fare, Glee has slowly worked its way back to the top.
Glee is about a group of high school students who have formed a ‘Glee’ club, more widely known as a show choir. While the show does focus on issues teenagers deal with on a day-to-day basis, it also puts across important messages such as teamwork, working towards a goal, and accepting different people as individuals. As a new group in the school, the Glee club has to work hard to prove themselves to the other students and staff members.
What is most noticeable about this show is its integration of song and dance: each episode contains around four or five songs, quite reminiscent of Broadway productions.  Some of their covers are truly spectacular, including Teenage Dream (Katy Perry), The Time (Black Eyed Peas), and Marry You (Bruno Mars).
Shruti Koti
IBDP XI B

School Song

Paavani
IBDP




We have a name. We have a logo. We have a uniform. Up until now, these three features used to be the sole factors that defined the physical identity of our school. Now, we welcome a refreshing addition to this mix. Our school song!  Written and composed by the Dean of Performing Arts, Mr. Geeve Matthew, our school song reflects the vision that drives and versatility offered at Oakridge.  The lyrics explain themselves, offering a sense of belongingness, fun, familiarity, acknowledgement of faults, respect, appreciation, and the encompassing motto we all gain knowledge by at Oakridge, learning the treasure within. I’d like to elaborate on my personal reaction when I first heard the complete song during morning assembly on Monday December 6th, 2010. The arrangement was set up for all Founder’s Day choir members to sing, followed by a reading of the lyrics by our Principal, Capt. Rohit Bajaj, and another rendition of our proud song. The choir had enormous range, voicing the lyrics with clarity and consistency. The words themselves made me feel proud to be an Oakridger, since the song was so easy to relate to and after one performance, I found myself joining in the chorus to sing “Oakridge International, Oakridge my school.”  By lunchtime that day, the simple yet substantive lyrics had etched themselves in my memory. I couldn’t stop singing, or at least humming the tune, during all my classes. Although it was an unexpected surprise, our school song is one of the greatest gifts bestowed by the creativity promoted here at Oakridge. A facet of the legacy I wish to leave when I leave Oakridge at the end of this year, I hope to sing the school song with perfection.


TOK Debate

On 4th of December, the students of IBDP 11 and 12 attended the TOK debate session. The topic for the debate was “Art is a lie, but it brings us closer to the truth” which is the quote by great artist Pablo Picasso. Since all the speakers were selected on the spot after 20 minutes of preparation time, some were in a great fluster to be ready for the debate and some hoped so desperately not to be selected, and I was one of them. Probably as a punishment of evading the problem, I was selected with my classmate, Ansh as the speakers for the topic. On the other side, Paavani and Julian were selected to speak against the topic.. Since they were our seniors, we were extremely scared as they are famous for their oratory and debating skills.. Moreover, since it was the first TOK debate, I was extremely nervous, therefore, when I was speaking, I could feel that I was blushing!!!

Being the speaker on the pro-side, I was the first one to express my opinion. Frankly speaking, it was hard to prove that all the art forms are lie that do not demonstrate the truth and reality, although the main debate had to be on whether the art brings us closer to the reality. I tried my best to explain my opinion even by showing Min’s paintings as an example of art work, and the sculptures of King Ravana that I observed during the trip to Ajanta Ellora. We deliberated that the God cannot exist in the same form as the sculpture demonstrates, thus the sculptures which are also accounted as art, are lies. However, sculptures bring us much closer to God by understanding the real meaning that the sculptor tried to convey.
Paavani and Julian claimed that all the forms of art is not definitely lie, giving the examples of the art forms that are near to us that we cannot consider as complete lie. Indeed, it was an intense debate that I ever had. As the conclusion, we all claimed that not all the forms are not false or lie; however, it is right that the art forms bring us closer to the truth when we analyze the different aspects of interpretation simultaneously.

After the debate was over, all the tension within me was completely removed and I felt extremely relieved. Maybe because of that, and since I was so paranoid about debating with the seniors, right after the debate, I started crying. Now when I look back at that moment, I feel embarrassed a lot. However, because of this debate, I have learnt a lot of things, indeed. first of all, I could improve my speaking skills, how to express my opinion with appropriate examples, and furthermore, how to analyze one concept or thesis at different levels. Finally, as a TOK student, I felt participating in the debate made me understand the concepts that we dealt with during the classes in much detail, and utilize them in relating with another topics.

Lucy Shin Hyun Jung
IBDP 11 B

First-Aid camp held by the GVK (108) EMRI

        Akshay Gulati
               IB 11 (A)



On Friday, 3rd Dec, we went to OIS Einstein campus, in Bachupally for the First-Aid camp designed to increase awareness among students. It was held by the GVK (108) EMRI, and was a great opportunity. I learnt a lot about dealing with emergencies that we come across in our everyday life and about the principles in providing first aid. At the center we were introduced to various medical related problems and how we can help as an onlooker at the time of an emergency. We had a few practical sessions and had a chance to practice “CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR)”. In the end, we were provided with a handbook followed by a test based on what we learnt. I felt that this experience has helped me better understand the impact of first aid in an emergency. It is vital that citizens in society remain alert and ready to respond and act quickly in the crucial hour of need. I have learnt that we must be prepared for these eventualities as they always come unexpected. As we say “destiny is not the matter of chance but the matter of choice, and together we can make a difference”.