Saturday, January 29, 2011
GREEN RANGERS
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Dhruv Sawhney 11-B |
We had a great event on 28th January 2011. We unveiled the logo of our new initiative, called Green Rangers, a mission with a vision, to lead the fight against Air Pollution. We were honored and wished all the best by our Chief Guest, Mr. M.S. Sundarajan, an eminent banker, and guests of Honor Mr. Shankaran, Director and Mr. S. Aravamuthan, Director Corporate Advisory Pvt. Ltd.
The mission of our project is to make a difference- a small difference in the global situation but a large difference in the city of Hyderabad. We began in a humble manner with recycling of paper and E-waste, hoping to spread awareness among our students and gradually spreading the message of Going Green to the residents of our city. We’ve now decided to expand our mission and reach out to a greater number of people, hoping to inspire and create awareness on the importance of Going Green. Our first step in this venture is to reduce Air Pollution in our city.
62nd Republic Day
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| Dhruv Sawhney, Grade- XI |
On 26th of January, we enthusiastically celebrated 62nd Republic Day at Oakridge. There were patriotic songs & dances performed by students. We were thrilled to have actor Mr.Naga Chaitanya , as our Chief Guest, for the celebrations.
Sadbhavana Visit
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Mr.Venkat Reddy.P CAS In Charge |
As part of Indian Army-Sadbhavana Project for integrating the people especially from the remote and underdeveloped areas of Jammu and Kashmir into the nation's mainstream, an educational- motivational tour for a group of 34 children in the age-group of 12-17 years (17 boys and 17 girls) accompanied by two teachers from Anantnag and Kulgam districts of South Kashmir was conducted by 36 Rashtriya rifles under the aegis of 2 Sector Rashtriya Rifles.They visited Oakridge,Newton Campus .
The objective of the tour was to give an opportunity to the children from Kashmir Valley to visit other states and to inculcate a sense of oneness among the residents to promote national integration.
Catch Them Young
On 19th Jan, 2011, Infosys has organized a Selection Test “Catch Them Young” at their campus. Five students of Grade VIII have represented our school and appeared for the Selection test.
We reached the venue at 1.00 p.m. got ourselves registered. From the main entrance we walked to building no 12 were the test was conducted students were escorted to their respective rooms.
All the Teachers/Parents who have accompanied the students were taken to a classroom where Mr. Bhanu Prasad T V who is in charge for the event “Catch Them Young” test and “Spark”, has shown a video on Infosys and its journey. He has also emphasized on the selection criteria for securing a job in Infosys and he has asked the teachers and parents to train the student at this age itself so that they will be tuned to the future competitive generation.
Mr. Bhanu Prasad then explained about “Spark” which is about bringing awareness amongst students regarding Information Technology and its importance in the present scenario. This is a complete full day programme, the school can fix up prior appointment on any Saturday, Grade VIII, IX & X students have the opportunity to visit the Infosys campus. A panel of Infosys people will clarify all the quires of the students based on Information Technology and the Live projects.
Students expressed that the test was based on Mathematics, reasoning and aptitude and they have fared it well. Anticipating with fingers crossed that our students clear the preliminary selection round, and work along with Infosys on Live projects in the month of May for two weeks.
T. VANI SHANKER,
TEACHER IN - CHARGE
Monday, January 24, 2011
FOOTBALL LEAGUE GRADE 2
Dear Parents,
We had a wonderful kick-off to the football league on Saturday 22nd Jan. It was great to see the children have fun while learning the basics of football thanks to the excellent coaching provided by the parent volunteers.
You can follow the league at
You can follow the league at
http://sites.google.com/site/oakridgesoccer2011
(there is a Photo Gallery section and Weekly reports section that we will update weekly).
(there is a Photo Gallery section and Weekly reports section that we will update weekly).
Thank you all for your support and looking forward to your continued participation in the coming weeks. Also, please join me in thanking Capt. Bajaj, Ms. Hema Sanjay and Ms. Anu Sawhney for their help and support in making this league a reality.
See you all on Saturday.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Adventure Camp - to Karjat near Mumbai
The adventure camp for grade IX CBSE AND IGCSE to Karjat near Mumbai was organised by Holiday Camps from 4th Jan.to 9th Jan.2011.Thirty five students accompanied by three teachers boarded the train from secunderabad station on 4th Jan. and reached Kalyan the next day at 6-30 am.From there we boarded a bus and reached our campsite,Karjat at 8.30 am.Our stay was at a beautiful resort.We refreshed ourselves and the first activity -Trekking to Kondana caves began.It was a wonderful 5-6 km trek followed by rapelling.It was fun and the students enjoyed all the activities,especially flying fox(zip line)and river crossing.The most exciting activity was the free fall.And apart from these activities,there were speeches on First Aid Safety Measures.On the last day there were some team building activities and games.The highlight of the camp was the "Star Gazing"on a wintry night,where we could see the planet Jupiter with its rings.
Every good thing comes to an end and finally we bid goodbye and boarded the bus to Kalyan .As a finishing touch we could also do some shopping at a Mall in Kalyan after which we boarded the train and reached Hyderabad on 9th Jan.It was indeed a memorable trip and we thank the Principal for providing us this opportunity.
Ms.V.Anuradha,
English Faculty
Grade2 - Food Fiesta -Parent Reflection
I haven’t seen such a spread for kids, 34 items under one umbrella. Next time anyone planning for a birthday can just pick from this menu. The bread, pasta, was cooked in olive oil. The mom who cooked should be very happy to know that each of the kids had a spoonful of the pasta.
The vegetables were carrot ,grated carrot, tomatoes , sprouts, cucumber and aloo patties . Commendable mom who took the pain to make the patties in the morning. Then came cheese , butter , mayonnaise . About 13 slices of cheese were finished, good that the kids were taking in the calcium. They were all cheesy babies , don’t know if they really liked it or took it because Navita was with the checklist as to who took what .
The fruits were pomegranate, apples, grapes, oranges bananas. Kids did really eat fruits . Then came the nut section which had peanuts , peas , almonds, channa . That was huge , only eggs were missing . Good that eggs were not there . I was scared that the kids in their jest to impress their teacher would spoil their tummies.
The last section was the junk and that was the funny part . The fanta and chips and the chocolates which they were not supposed to take , had to be replenished . But that was nice to see , that kids were behaving like kids.
It was a visual treat to see the kids taking the plates filling it up and then sitting in their places to eat. They were so well mannered and there was no chaos or confusion of any kind . They were super excited but there was no noise about it . Really felt happy when the kids were at their best .The kids behaved so well , they were very mature for their young age. Navita was so much in control of the class.
Understood one thing good plan and good implementation, one week is enough to get the things done . The efforts of all the people involved , were clearly visible . Anu , it must have been a painstaking job arranging everything in week’s time. Vasudha , who had taken the time to prepare the menu . Of course all the moms who had took the pain to make all the stuff. It was great teamwork and a very concerted effort . I can very proudly say that my child is in the best hands , Thank u Navita.
Ms.Shanthi (Sudhiksha’s mom )
Class II D
On the 29th of December, the food fiesta was organized for the students of grade 2. It was a very good experience for the kids as the parents sent a wide range of food and the students were told to pick up food keeping in mind the healthy and unhealthy varieties. The food was separated according to the food pyramid; the class teachers kept track of the kids’ hygeine and selection of foods. The kids were also very excited about the task and were pleased to share the different foods they brought in. First, the kids chose the healthy food ,then, tried out a little junk as well. It was surprising to see some of the kids pick apple juice over coke. We would like to acknowledge Anuradha Sawhney, the co-ordinator, and Vasudha of 2D, for all the effort they have put in to conduct this event. The incredible response of the parents is also appreciated. We thank the school for involving the parents in these educative activities that are conducted.
Prathibha Kunda (2A)
Food Fiesta for Grade 2’s - An Assessment
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Ms.Anuradha Sawhney Coordinator Grade 1 & 2 |
It's important for children to be exposed & explained about a healthy lifestyle at a young age. In the recent unit of inquiry “Wellness Wonder” students of Grade 2 learnt about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
In continuation of our experiential learning mode, we assessed the children’s learning’s on this unit by arranging an exercise. In this exercise, the children were invited and allowed to make their own choices from the buffet spread of snacks. The spread of food & beverages comprised of 34 items included variety of foods from the Five-Food-Group foods and also some not so healthy foods.
The class teachers recorded the preferences of food made by each child and also monitor their habits of hygiene and table etiquettes.
A variety of behaviors were observed amongst the children.
a) Some children were careful in deciding what they put into their plates.
b) Some were eager to choose things that they had never tried before.
c) There were some children who were getting influenced by their peers in the choices they make.
It was amusing to see a lot of children taking portions of chips, chocolates & fizzy drinks too.
This exercise, observations and one on one discussion with each child by the teacher provided opportunities for children to reflect on what they know, understand and can do next time about the choices of foods. This unit has enhanced students learning and helped them in leading a healthier lifestyle.
All this was made possible due to the untiring efforts of parent volunteers who stood strong support to each class teacher on this day of assessment. Arranging this buffet was effortlessly managed by the Class Moms/Dad due to their strong networking with parents of their section.
All in all students enjoyed this assessment at school!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
SPOORTHI - Session III
In line with the new initiation taken up by Oakridge international School, Spoorthi, a group of six students had come to school on a second Saturday to teach the children of our bus drivers and ayammas. On the 11th of December we helped teach them some basic IT skills and English words. The students were split into two groups. While one group got an introduction to Microsoft word in the junior computer lab from the IT teacher, the other students were learning simple pronunciation and English dialogues. After an hour and a half session of IT we guided the students to their next classroom where their next lesson was taking place.
Even though we didn’t really do any teaching, just assisting the students made us realize how enthusiastic they were about the entire program. They all came ready with books and pencils to take down as many notes as they could. Eager to learn, they raised their hands and asked questions at every opportunity. This experience had made me appreciate the things that I take for granted in my life. It allowed me to see how fortunate I am, and encouraged me to hold out a helping hand .
Ramya Baddam
IBDP XI A
IBDP XI A
Monday, January 10, 2011
Professional Development and Technology Orientation Workshop
IIT Mumbai conducted a CEP(Continuing Education Programme) workshop on Professional Development and Technology Orientation for the secondary and senior secondary teachers, on the 27th, 28th and 29th of December 2010, at Kennedy High, the global school, Hyderabad.
The workshop was conceived with two maingoals
· Strengthening conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts and
· Technology orientation and training
As part of the second component that involved intensive hands-on training on the use of technology to facilitate the process of mathematics teaching and learning, I conducted sessions on usage of the CAASIO Graphic Display calculator as a classroom tool.
The workshop was attended by around 40 math teachers from all over India.
Ms.Vani .V,
IBDP Math Faculty
English Exhibition
From a small acorn grows the great oak and so does a seed of an idea blossoms into something beyond ones expectation. The English exhibition had a slow start but once things got going there was no stopping, ideas poured in from all sides. This time we took up a genre which is generally overlooked; this was very aptly put by the testimony of one of the visitors to the English exhibition, Mr. Jayanth Vardineni ‘ It was an exquisite exhibition. The horror genre of novel is often overlooked but thanks to the wonderful presentation of the students, I will pick up a book’.
The moment students came to know the theme, ‘Gothic Horror’ there was plenty of excitement in the air. Ms. Prashanti came up with the idea that the entire atmosphere should reek of ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and witches casting their spells to lure unsuspecting victims. Students were given free rein and they have surpassed all expectations with their imaginative and creative ideas.
Meanwhile word got around and we had students making a beeline wanting to sign up for the English exhibition. We did wonder at this sudden fascination until we realized that English had nothing do with it and it was about ‘Gothic horror’ --with some kids it was horror all the way without the gothic. So now we know why the ‘twilight series’ were and still is so popular with the youngsters.
The gothic atmosphere was created by bats and cauldron made by Sanjana who was helped by Meghana. Akhilesh, Rahath and Mujeeb decide to dress up as ghosts, Dracula and Frankenstein. To this visualize a dead tree with bones hanging from its branches and the cauldron brewing under the tree, truly gave a sinister setting. Since gothic horror is all about atmosphere the students had great fun preparing it. Grade seven students prepared readers theatre to present the poem ‘Listeners’ by Walter De La Mare. A role play by grade ten based on the scene between Hamlet and his father’s spirit.
Students made a genre tree helped by Ms. Anuradha and Ms. Sunita guided the students to write paranormal poetry which was displayed and duly appreciated by many. Ms. Padmaja and her team of students prepared a crossword puzzle.
Ms. Suchusmita suggested that horror genre can be written as a recipe and when this was put across to the students Jhanvi and her friend Poornima came with a recipe on ‘how to make a paranormal pie’. Jhanvi and friends followed the exact instructions of the three witches in Macbeth and brewed an excellent concoction.
Sunhith and Ritwik put up a game called ‘gruesome game’ which as the name suggests was gruesome and gory and undoubtedly the biggest attraction. Girish, Vidhu, Vibhu and Saheb prepared the timeline of Gothic literature and put up displays of the famous writers of gothic Literature. Abhijeet traced the Booker prize winners since its inception to 2010 and this was displayed on one wall.
All in all, the English exhibition was a great success with both the students and the parents.
Those of you who have missed out on visiting the English exhibition here’s the recipe for ‘paranormal pie’.
Recipe to make the perfect paranormal pie!
Ingredients-
· 12 ghostly shadows
· I kg of high pitched screams
· A drop of everlasting torture
· 5 plates of eyeballs
· 7 tapestries made of spider web
· A bottle of liquid terror
· A few hundred seeds of guilt
· hair of werewolves
· A flask of the cold blood of a vampire
· 3 scoops of Witches’ laughter
· 1 bloodstained soul
PROCEDURE-
1. Pour the liquid terror into the empty coffin.
2. Squeeze the eyeballs with the dead human hand and mix carefully with the terror.
Tip: make sure that the pupils are scooped out
3. Dip the hair into the mixture until tiny explosions occur. Do this repeatedly. This gives your pie the perfect mysterious tang.
4. Pour the cold vampire blood into the coffin and wait for blue fumes to come. Caution: do not inhale. Very deadly!
5. Bake 6 ghostly shadows with the seeds of guilt and then leave them to cool.
6. Carefully, apply the screams to the cool baked shadow and seeds. Drop the torture in also to make the screams more shrill and loud.
7. Weave the spider’s web, the remaining shadows and the witches’ laughter together. Cautiously stretch it over the baked preparation on the human body.
8. Pour the mixture on to the baked preparation and deep fry.
9. Put the newly prepared pie back in the coffin, warily
10. However the pie needs 1 element of spook to make it truly horrifying. Wrap it with the bloodstained soul, make its tight.
You now have your perfect paranormal pie, well seasoned and richly flavored.
Ms.Nagamani,
IGCSE English Faculty
Social Studies Exhibition: BOUNDLESS BLUE BEAUTY
Crepe paper, Charts, Colour pens, Cellophene paper, fevicol, paints were being indented heavily to the school stores from the beginning of November as the planning for the 10th Founders Exhibition began. The Social Sciences Department planned on the theme ‘OCEANS’ to showcase their area of study. We chose Oceans since as mankind learns more of this seemingly endless resource, the more it is revealed we realize how little is actually known. The students decided to showcase the geographical features in the ocean, the marine life, the environment impact on the Ocean and the Myths associated with the Oceans.
With a lot of excitement the preparations started, the initial hiccups were experienced – we had indented too little; or students decided that the model they had planned required a lot of time etc. However with continuous motivation and persuasion from the subject teachers the students started planning and working. Akhila, Anaisha, Sahil and Pranav along with Akarsh decided to make model of the Continental Shelf. Ram Narayan, Dharmateja along with Nihal and Raghav spent days with their hands smeared with POP constructing the model showing the effect of Sedimentation in the Ocean. Surya, Viraj, Arun and Akshay –‘the four musketeer’ of IG Grade 7 painted huge cardboard boxes to bring their Ocean floor to life. They were working on showcasing the marine life found at various levels in the Ocean. Their information backup was incredible. Sirisha, Bharati, Anjalika, Ruhita and Tamanna worked meticulously to recreate the Coral Reef. They used the papier-mâché technique and put up a delicate and beautiful work of craft based on research. Shaza, Anushka, Amulya, Kanshika, Simran, Munnawarha and Deeksha started to work on creating a model showcasing a city near a sea-side and the effect of pollution and oil-spill in the ocean. Samhita and Adishree created a colossal ruined boat on which they displayed intensive research on Ocean myths about Poseidon, mermaids, Samudra-manthan etc. Immad, Charit, Viraj, Ravi and Brijbhushan created almost real model of a satellite using the Bibo water bottle and flippers of a diver, which they used to create an assemblage - a beach in the Classroom!!! Not to do without mentioning the incredible contribution of Jai Solanki who kept running around between groups. Besides making models, some were also busy researching about their presentation.
Ms.Anubhuti, Ms.Jyoti and Ms.Valentina were the teacher’s helping the students. One could see Ms.Suparana running around getting pictures Xeroxed and giving ideas to students about presentation. She was motivating teachers as well as the students. The end result was really BLUE….. the social sciences department was able to evoke images of boundless beauty and fierce majesty, the vast bodies of water – OCEANS. The entire room had a blue hue like the ocean; marine animals (drawn by students) were seen all around the room and on the door.
One visitor said that she could actually feel how her goldfish feels in the glass bowl!!!! Many parents and the Chief Guest too, felt that the student had worked beyond their imagination and produced incredible results.
Ms.Geti Naqvi,Social Studies Faculty.
