Student Reflection on a Visit to HDFC Bank

On the 28^th of November, Sections F, G, H & J of Grade 6 went to HDFC bank in relation to our current POI topic ‘Currency Systems’. We got all our queries cleared by the staff of the bank who explained to us about the functions of the bank. The field trip to HDFC Bank was very interesting and informative. We all came back with knowledge prior to our topic…

Manya 6F

Fractions for Fourth Graders

The topic “Fractions” for the month of December started wonderfully  among the students where everyone enjoyed doing the math lab activity with the colourful magnetic discs.

The best part was that they got to arrange the discs in different ways and these learning materials provoked a lot of questions and inquiry in the classrooms which lead to like fractions, unlike fractions and equivalent fractions.

Over all with a good start, this topic is going to enhance the students’ knowledge about fractions.

A Trip to Gandhi Museum (CBSE – IX)

On Friday, i.e. on 29^th of November, the Ninth graders of Oakridge International School went on a trip to Gandhi Museum in Bapu Ghat. It was a great experience for all of us who went to see the museum. This museum conveys the Mahatma’s message to the youth of the world.

We saw a documentary film on Mahatma Gandhi which showcases the fight against British and the Independence we achieved, along with the partition. It was a presentation about Gandhi’s life — the facts and images that would mean something different to each viewer and allow them to explore the principles of Gandhi more. One of Mahatma Gandhi’s strongest strategies was to bring into play the conscience of opponent. In today’s world, does the opponent have a conscience?

In another film, they showed the leopard killing the baboon, as it’s a sworn enemy and a major food source in the wild.  But then something changes when it realises that the baboon has an infant with it. The predator transforms into a protector protecting the newborn against a pack of hyenas. This film was very touching. This is how Gandhian principle of being morally right would still hold true as long as the animal world exists on this planet.

Gandhi’s call for the boycott of foreign clothes and yet being cheered during his visit by the workers of the British cloth mills shows the power to communicate in a simple but effective manner with a reason.

Apart from the knowledge we gained, we enjoyed playing some games, had a look at Harley Davidson Bike. In fact, the bikers association abroad has taken up a good cause in the name of Gandhi and toured for animal rights.   We took some pictures and yes, we had a good lunch too. Thanks to our School and the organizers who made our day very memorable.                

             

Aditya Enters the 2nd Round of All India Tennis Association Talent Series Tournament

Oakridge International School Newton Campus student, Aditya Kallepalli of Grade 9C, entered the second round of the All India Tennis Association Talent Series Tournament U-14 boys held at Pallavi Model School Playground, Bowenpally in Hyderabad.

Aditya defeated Ronith Jain by 9-1.

Congratulations!!

Photo Courtesy: The Deccan Chronicle

Imparting Values through School Cinema

After a month wait, we finally got to see a superb documentary during ‘School Cinema.’ This documentary was called Dedh Footiya. Dedh Footiya is a Hindi word which means 1 ½. It was all about a short boy. He faces a lot of difficulties. The people in his school tease him a lot. The story tells us about all the problems a short person faces and how he overcomes his problems. The moral of the story is to make your weaknesses your strengths. Value education is a very nice way of teaching children good values.

Trisha Ailneni  6F

“Insight”— IBDP Camp for the Batch of 2016 at Mt. Opera

To provide a glimpse of the wonderful IBDP Program, the students of the batch of 2016 were provided with 2 days, 1 night Camp called “Insight” at Mt. Opera. This was primarily to give them an experience into the pedagogy and assessments in the DP through fun-filled activities. 

The two events which 24 students attended culminated with a brief presentation on the IBDP to the parents by Mr. Biju Baby, VP-IC and Mr. Samuel Osmond, DPC.

IBDP Orientation Camp — A Student’s Reflection

On 23^rd November, 2013, 24 students from the 10^th grade, accompanied by several teachers, set out towards Mount Opera for an IBDP Orientation Camp, our excitement still blazing despite the off-putting damp weather.

Through the course of two days, we got a good look into IBDP, understanding all of its aspects, requirements and the incredible amount of calibre that we would require to excel at it. Once we had been sorted into groups and had christened ourselves with names (i.e. The Rebels, The Simpsons, The Care Bears and The Mango People), we began our orientation.

One of the first things we were introduced to was the Learner’s Profiles, including, but not limited to Principled, Knowledgeable, Risk Taker, Reflective, Inquirers, Communicators, Open Minded and not to forget, Collaborative. Though the latter is not an IB profile, it is very important in today’s world, as well as in IB.

We became familiar with all of these profiles through various activities like making charts and penning our thoughts down, as well as creating posters, doing presentations and most of all, learning in the process. We had a treasure hunt, where we collected information on IB and then presented it. Every activity was graded and winners were awarded chocolates!

When the weather seemed like it was clearing up, we went outside to play some Monster Volleyball (volleyball with a beach ball larger than us). The objective was obviously to develop some teamwork skills, but regardless of who emerged a winner, we all had a great time. We also did rope walking, and that activity was a success only because nearly everyone had participated.

The first day ended with a warm bonfire and finally, skits from the four groups around the fireplace. We were shown our rooms and along with a fellow roommate, we settled in for the night.

We had an early start the next morning as we had planned to go up for a trek, but weather complications made us change plans. We did another team building activity called A-Formation, which required a lot of precision and of course, communication between our teammates.

We had more sessions throughout the day, and during one, we made a catapult using tape, rubber bands, pencils, scissors, bottle caps and marbles. We even got to use them and seeing them launch marbles into the air was at the least, very satisfying.

On the second day, we also had to create a product for a food company and advertise it. This is where our creative skills came in, and finally, we had to present it and make it appealing to our friends and teachers, who sat as the audience. 

Throughout the camp, Cyril Sir kept up the positive vibe as he walked around with a portable speaker playing music, and Samuel Sir and the other accompanying teachers guided us through all our tasks. The second day ended with an orientation for the parents by Biju Sir and Samuel Sir, after which we packed our bags and headed back to Hyderabad. 

The IBDP Camp was a very helpful experience. I think we’ve all made some good friendships along the way. And judging from the little preview of how our next two years would be, the Diploma Programme will definitely challenge us every step of the way.

But I think we all are still looking forward to it anyway. 

Apoorva Polisetty 10 CBSE

Group 4 Brainstorming

One of the most important, interesting and research-based group activities for the students in Group 4 (Sciences) in the IBDP Curriculum is the G-4 Project.

This is the time where all the students collaboratively think, plan, execute and present their work. The culmination of the project is a grand Exhibition which is showcased during the Founders’ Day.

The group has already commenced the process of brainstorming and planning under the supervision of Ms. Molly Biju, Group Head for Sciences (G4). Under one umbrella topic, all the students of Group 4 (Sciences) will research and present the exhibits.

Outstanding Educators — Congratulations to Dr. Sudeshna and Mr. Sai Krishna Pammi!!

It is an honour always to be recognised for your work and the impact that you have created in the lives of the students you teach…the lasting impression that you carve in their hearts and minds.

The IBDP fraternity is proud to share that two of our facilitators, Dr. Sudeshna Bhattacharya (Extended Essay Coordinator) and Mr. Sai Krishna Pammi (Head of Faculty – Mathematics) have been awarded with the Outstanding Educators by the University of Chicago ‘for excellence in teaching and mentorship’ (as mentioned in the certificate). This award is given to the educators who are nominated by the students they taught in school and who are now pursuing their tertiary education in these Universities.

We are proud of you!!

Monash Prize 2013 Winner Speaks!!!

 The Monash Prize 2013 was an essay competition that took place all over the country, organized by the Monash University in Australia. There were about 65 schools that participated. In the essay, we basically had to be really creative and talk about what we thought would be the next greatest scientific discovery that would greatly influence the world as we know it, and so I wrote about space travel.

I addressed some of the various issues that would undoubtedly arise with this venture, and how exactly it would assist the human civilization in terms of sustainable development and technological advancements. I wrote about the ways this could be accomplished, how governments could raise funds, and simply why I found the idea so appealing and so viable.

I also talked about how certain aspects of chemical engineering could be incorporated into this undertaking. I tried to make it both creative and grounded to reality, which is why I attempted not to make any sort of unfeasible and impractical suggestions. 

Overall, it was a very fun experience, and it allowed everyone to be incredibly creative with their ideas, some of which were absolutely brilliant. I'm really glad I got this opportunity to show my writing skills, and if I ever come across anything like this competition in the future, I'll be sure to do it!

Rachana Gollapudi

(IBDP Grade XI)

Delegates in Action…the PCMUN Experience!!

The PCMUN was organized at Oakridge Einstein, Bachupally Campus on the 30^th and 1^st of December. There were 28 students from the Newton campus who took part in the conference. The planning, preparation, research and the debate that ensued were good learning experiences for the students. The group came back jubilant having won awards in their respective committees. The list of students who were awarded is:

                         PCMUN – 2013 Awards

S.No	Name	Committee	Award Won
1	Divyansh	SC	Distinguished Delegate
2	Vidip	UNODC	Best Position Paper
3	Praveen Bandla	UNESCO	Outstanding Delegate
4	Anurag Shah	UNODC	Distinguished Delegate
5	Sarad Pasarri	HRC	Distinguished Delegate
6	Naimish	HRC	Outstanding Delegate
7	Pranith	UNODC	Outstanding Delegate
8	Abhinav	UNESCO	Distinguished Delegate
9	Tarun Vallabhneni	DISEC	Outstanding Delegate
10	Suhas Peela	DISEC	Distinguished Delegate
11	Aishwarya Krishnan	UNHRC	Honorable Mention

Oakridgers Attend a Session Chaired by Mr. Ratan Tata

 On 29th November 2013, 20 students from Oakridge International School, between grades 8-11 attended the launch of the Indian Impact, an initiative by the Wharton Business School Alumni at a city hotel, Trident.

Our country has 42% of its child population malnourished. That is nearly half of our future leaders. Clearly, malnutrition is a pressing issue that unfortunately no one has attended to till now.

The Indian Impact basically aims at spreading awareness and providing an easy way to help. It is a website where you do your bit in combating malnutrition by either of the following ways:

1. You can adopt an Anganwadi Center. Anganwadis are the main tools that the government uses to combat malnutrition and lack of education. The website helps you locate the nearest centre and gives you a list of essentials that you can provide to the Anganwadi. 

2. You can support an NGO project. These projects are instrumental in reducing malnutrition, especially in high risk areas. Indian Impact basically aims at magnifying already existing NGO projects.

The Indian Impact is also officially tied to the Akshaya Patra and the Government of India to make this endeavour as successful as possible. The Indian Impact is all about easy involvement, instant impact and significant outreach, mainly in four states: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra to unlock India's potential. 

After Ridhima Parvataneni introduced this idea to us, we had an interactive question-answer session with the honourable, Mr Ratan Tata and Mr GM Rao.

Ms Parvataneni asked them various questions, which led to inspiring answers before students and the media got their turn. 

Mr Tata and Mr Rao believe that malnutrition is a real emergency that has been ignored for years. Because of this, children have been neglected; our future has been neglected. They say that the media never caught this problem, but hopefully after this, malnutrition will have a larger spotlight.

They also believe that corporates can do their bit by visiting malnourished villages and providing infrastructural and educational support. Corporates should work with the government, not duplicate their efforts. 

And finally, they had some extremely valuable advice for the students: Be responsible, create awareness, and collect funds. Create images that will touch society, take responsibility for your country, to be accountable to your actions. Go see malnutrition in its raw form and get inspired. As privileged students, we must be aware of how lucky we are, and with every fibre of our being, strive to help society. 

The event ended with all of us feeling renewed sense of determination. The Indian Impact is an easy way to make a difference and we truly hope we can make our efforts count.  We the students of Oakridge were extremely delighted to attend the session and also honoured to witness Mr Ratan Tata.

By Apoorva Polishetty X C and Meghna Gundluru XI E

Our Student Sanjana (class X) asking question to Mr Tata

The group went for the Session