Creative Writing – Poetry

To encourage the students with an affinity for poetry writing, a competition was conducted for students of Class IV and V.

Poetry is a medium of expression of emotions. It helps one to understand how language and vocabulary can be used to express thoughts and ideas. It is a wonderful way to build phonemic awareness in children and enhance vocabulary and writing skills.

Creating poetry makes a person insightful, fills him or her with joy and gives a sense of concrete accomplishment. People who loves writing poetry develops a penchant for understanding larger issues in life and feel more connected with people, places and nature. Writing poetry involves a lot of cognitive skills, and accelerates the emotional and intellectual growth of a child.

Celebrating Science Activity Week

Science is about discovering how this natural world works, its past, present and future. It helps us to refine and expand our knowledge of the Universe simultaneously inspire us to probe deeper for future investigation. Through observation and experimentation it generates knowledge that helps in developing new technologies, treat diseases and solve many other issues. As one way leads to another, each little technological invention give way to push our search further and there is still endless miles to travel.

Science is said to be a global human endeavor and people across the world need to participate in the process of science. For students it is not only a collection of isolated and static facts rather a process of discovery that helps them to connect these facts into a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the natural world.

The Science Activity Week is being conducted at SAI International School for students of Class VI, VII and VIII to create awareness among them on how simple science is, as well as develop an affinity towards learning Science. During this week, students are inspired to learn Science with the help of Triple H Technology – Head, Heart and Hand. Through demonstrations and experimentation, they learn how to apply theoretical knowledge to create interesting things.

Along with SAI Instructors and Teachers, External Resource persons are also invited to help students in their process of learning. Students are encouraged to explore, discover and invent things of their choice. It was inspiring to see the enthusiastic participation from students and their learning outcome. Students actively got engaged in learning concepts and understanding the application and use of various tools, glue gun etc. During the week the students tried out several experiments and modeled various things like Pin-hole camera, Simple telephone, Stethoscope, Kaleidoscope, Periscope, Telescope etc. To show their marvels to their family members, students are asked to take their creations home.

Science has no limits or rigidity which makes it all the more interesting to delve deeper and unravel some of the mysteries or find better ways for the benefit of the earth and its inhabitants.

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Through the Woods

Through the greenery she walked,

Between the flora she was locked.

Tall and short, wide and narrow,

Some dancing with joy and some standing in sorrow.

She stood silent as the roars resonated,

The aromas coming made her delighted.

Colourful petals and freshness around,

Peaceful atmosphere was the best thing she found.

Birds chirping in trees and the tune coming from them,

The joy she felt was more precious than a gem.

Many animals around but non harmful,

They all were friendly and very cheerful.

Big and small, cute and wild,

She didn’t get scared despite being a child.

Then about her new friends she thought,

How from numerous poachers they fought.

Even the trees were endangered,

She only had some hope that they don’t get denatured.

As our friends are in the mouth of death,

Lets keep this in our mind at least for ourselves,

All for one and one for all,

Save diversity or our future may fall.

By: Roli Prakash

Emptiness Between Us

The sky was dark. Rain was falling hard on the ground. And if someone was present and watching, they would’ve seen a girl of 14 standing in the rain and searching.

Every other morning there was not much you would’ve seen even if you would’ve observed me carefully. I am a simple, boring nerd, who is clearly not fun to be around. Every morning i do the same thing, follow the same routine, think about the same thing and be the same girl. But not today. No, i wasn’t studying today in the morning, i wasn’t hunched over my science books or solving mathematics, i wasn’t thinking about my career and i was clearly not the same girl.

No. I was just sitting on the terrace and thinking. I was grief stricken. I was lonely. I was annoyed. I was angry. I was scared. There had been a rush through a life. My mate. My friend. My enemy. My lover. My hater. My love. My heart. My summer. My winter. Had left. A petal from the flower of my life had fallen. Should i be sad? I didn’t know. Should i be angry? I didn’t know. i didn’t know anymore who i was. Who i will be. Presumably not one but two petals had fallen off my flower. My eyes had been crying the whole night. But i wasn’t crying anymore. The tears were frozen and stuck to my face. It had been a clear day in the morning. Maybe i had been sitting there for 18 hours. As the evening descended, it brought wind and rain. And as i was sitting/crying/thinking, something happened. Something had happened to my friend. I wanted to know what. So just like that i ran downstairs and out of the building and towards the field. Barefoot i ran, the wind racing against me and the rain falling on me. Anf as i reached the right place, i started searching. Searching for my faults. Searching for errors. Searching for memories.

By: Shachipriya Patnaik

My Mother

I have a nice mother,
who is a school teacher .

She works very hard in school,

and never tries to make me fool .

She goes to school by scooty,

and does a hard duty .

Sometimes she gives me chocolate ,

and likes to eat fish pamphlet.

My mother shouts on me sometimes,

but never hurts me anytime.

I want to be with my mother,

just to stay away from fear.

By: Nishant Ratha

I Had a Dream

There was this night, when I had a dream,

There was a party, over the biggest scoop of chocolate ice-cream,

There were people from far-far-away-stars,

And some of them even came from Jupiter and Mars,

I went looking for my Mom but couldn’t find her,

But on my way I found the Princess of Jupiter,

I bowed to her and asked how do you do,

She smiled and we went to see where my Mom went to,

On the way we had a bit of the chocolate ice cream,

Believe me, it tasted like the mint candy I once had in a dream,

There were trees showering candies on our way,

And we put handful of them in our pockets and walked away,

Finally I saw some fairies pass by and there was a big decorated chair,

Mommy was sitting on it and looked pretty as ever,

I shouted- “Mommy”, and this woke me up,

I saw Mommy was there and I was in her lap,

I love my Mommy and she loves me a lot,

I am her princess and she is my fairy queen!!!

By: Shreya Rath

Global Immersion Programme to USA

Explore and Experience: The Global Immersion Programme (GIP) to USA was conducted from May 27 to June 8, 2018 for students from Class IX to XII. A group of fourteen students along with two teacher Co-coordinators visited various places in the country as well as interacted with people to foster global dimension in their learning vistas.

The team got an opportunity to meet the Mayor of Cupertino, Mr. Darcy Paul, former Mayors Ms Savita Vaidhyanathan and Mr Gilbert Wong as well as several City Council Members to discuss about future collaborations between SAI International School and the City of Cupertino. They also visited the District Head of Fremont School, Ms Trudy Gross who will coordinate the future visits between the schools in Cupertino and SAI International.

The Griffith Observatory at Los Angles and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California gave them a great gateway to understand the Universe closely. The various exhibits and displays were highly educative and students had a wonderful time amassing valuable information on the celestial bodies and the world around us.

They also visited Educational Institutions of repute like Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley Extension to not only have a close look at the renowned Universities but also to understand the procedure for admission. At Berkeley, they had an interactive meeting with Mr Tim Recey from the department for Undergraduate admission who gave valuable advice on how to conduct themselves during an interview and what a college looks for in a student before enrolling them. The enthusiastic team also went on a guided tour to the Google office nestled in the dynamic Silicon Valley where they learnt many things about the company.

The team had their own share of fun spending an entire day at Disneyland-California Adventure, visiting the magnificent Universal Studios Hollywood, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dolby Theatre. A visit to the Yosemite National Park was a mesmerizing experience for the young students who were amazed to see the giant waterfalls, deep valleys, grand meadows and many more.

A city tour of San Francisco took them to places like the Palace of Fine Arts, the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Car Museum and Maritime Park and a leisurely stroll to the Pier 39, a popular shopping centre. The students also got to see the age old ‘La Brea Tar Pits’ at Los Angles around which the Hancock park was formed.

GIP is conducted every year to various countries to inculcate leadership qualities in SAIoneers through experience-based education. It enables students to gain respect for the cultures and traditions of other countries and people as well as deepen their understanding on the global arena. SAI International School constantly endeavors to prepare its students to become Global citizens and future ready leaders working towards a better tomorrow.

Global Immersion Programme 2018 to Bhutan

Inspiring Minds: The 8-day Global Immersion Programme (GIP) to Bhutan concluded on Thursday June 7, 2018. A team of 12 SAIoneers and a Teacher Co-ordinator got a brilliant opportunity to explore the picturesque and serene Kingdom of Bhutan and gain a deeper understanding on their culture, tradition, spirituality, acts of compassion, deep concern for the environment and the way of living of the ever happy Bhutanese people.

The team learnt a lot from their visit to the National Institute for Zorig Chusum and was highly impressed to witness the skill and dedication of the young Bhutanese students, who were silently creating wonderful pieces of art. They also got to savour the National dish of Bhutan, Ema Datse and the famous Bhutanese tea, Suja as well as get to see their National animal, Takin moving around happily in the Motithang Takin Preserve.

The six hours of adventurous hiking to the renowned Tiger’s Nest Monastery was a dream come true for the SAIoneers. They also got to visit two of the oldest monasteries of the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’, which is a treasure trove of ancient history and Buddhist culture. Students were also enchanted to visit the beautiful Dochula Pass, which reflects the spirituality, bravery, and culture of the people of Bhutan,  Kuensel Phodrang, the gigantic Buddha standing at 169 feet, amidst the ruins of Kuensel Phodrang, Memorial Chorten and many more ornamental monuments reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the land.

They were enamoured to witness the ideals and way of living of the sincere, dedicated and hardworking people and had a wonderful time interacting with the local people. They soaked in the beauty of the pristine land withlush green landscape, dense forest, beautiful mountain peaks and especially the prayer flags that finds a place everywhere to spread blessings around.

GIP enables the students to have a deeper understanding of other countries and cultures, gain an insight into global perspective of education, fine tunes their leadership and communication skills and facilitates a flow of ideas towards becoming a global citizen.

Global Immersion Programme 2018 to UK

Empowering students: The annual Global Immersion Programme (GIP) to United Kingdom (UK) was conducted from June 3 to 11, 2018. A team comprising of students from Class VIII to X along with a teacher coordinator had a joyful learning experience visiting different schools, working collaboratively on several pre-decided projects, understanding the similarities and differences in the learning styles of both the countries and well as exploring historical monuments and indulging in fun-filled rides and games.

The visit started with Norton Hill Secondary School, Bath, where students had a full day learning activity. For the entire day, each of the SAIoneer was paired with a partner student from Norton Hill who went together to attend classes like French, Physics, Geography, English, Maths and Dance. They also visited the Welton Primary School, which is part of the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership. In both the Schools, special assemblies were conducted for SAI students to showcase their school as well as the culture and tradition of India. While at Bath, the team explored the various monuments in the historical City like the famous Roman Bath, Abbey’s Tower etc.

Students had a wonderful opportunity to get a guided tour of the Oxford University. They visited different colleges like the Balliol College, Trinity College and St John’s College. Students also got to see the five famous libraries like Weston, Bodleian, Magdalen, Merton and Codrington and garnered as much information they could from the guide. Visiting the Oxford University was a great learning experience for the students as it helped them to widen their knowledge on Colleges of Higher education and Renowned International Universities.

They started their tour of London with a visit to Madam Tussauds, where students had a wonderful time clicking photographs with their favourite stars, followed by visiting London Eye, which made the students spellbound witnessing the panoramic view of the city from the capsule. They also got to see the British Parliament house, the Victoria Hall, the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and the Westminster Abbey. The City tour of London gave students a highly enriching experience.

A cruise ride on the river Thames was a unique experience for the students as well. There they learnt about several historical facts including the history of the seven bridges from the guide. They also got to witness the Changing the Guard ceremony outside the Buckingham Palace on their last day of their trip. Students loved the colourful spectacle and British pageantry. The GIP team to UK had their own share of fun-filled activity at Shrek’s Adventure, which also gave them a brilliant interactive and immersive walk-through experience.

GIP is one such endeavor that provides a unique learning experience for the students, bringing in a significant impact in their knowledge repository and tuning their mind-set to adapt the universal learning experience. It is an excellent method to instill independent thinking and bestow in them the confidence to build their dreams and reach their goals.

Computer Training

In-house training programmes on SAI Academic Management Systems (SAMS) was conducted in several batches for teachers. At the outset, the trainer spoke on the necessity of SAMS and its importance during students’ assessment, report card preparation and making of MIS. It was also elaborated on Role mapping of Exam Department along with individual Role mapping of class teachers, subject teachers, activity teachers, Vice Principal as well as Principal, for better co-ordination. Participants were briefed on the necessary inputs for making a report card like student’s information and profile, subject pages, co-scholastic page, achievement page, scholastic page, student information page and legend page along with detailing on person responsible to share the data. The trainer also spoke on what are the frequently asked questions like Bucketing, second language and third language change, change in marks, grades and comments and how to address it. Participants also refreshed their memories on how to check MIS as well as how to update information on student achievements.

How to Begin & End a Language Class

An in-house orientation was conducted for English teachers which focused on how make a lesson more interesting. The trainer emphasized on the importance of making the beginning and the end of the lesson more engaging and learner-centric so that learning becomes more personalized.

The trainer briefed the participants to make the lessons more interactive by linking it to some current events or memorable events. It was suggested to use anecdotes frequently as well as make appropriate use of warmers and fillers. The trainer demonstrated and shared with the teachers several activity ideas to motivate them to avoid the traditional teacher-centric approach.

The trainer also asked the participants to share their present way of teaching as well as their classroom experiences. The participants shared some of the innovative methodologies implemented by them to make classroom learning more interesting.

Effective Science Teaching using e-Resources

An in-house orientation was conducted by Senior Vice Principal, Shri Nilakantha Panigrahi for the Science teachers on the topic ‘Effective Science Teaching using e-resources’. He briefed the participants on how to make the classroom teaching more lively through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT).

At the outset, Shri Panigrahi outlined the qualities of different kinds of learner like Kinesthetic, Auditory, Visual and Reading & writing and informed them that each learning type responds best to a different method of teaching.

He advised the teachers on first analysing ‘Who I am teaching’, ‘What I am teaching’, ‘How will I teach’ and ‘Do my students understand’. With the help of Bloom’s Taxonomy, he gave them a detailed briefing on how to prepare a lesson plan and the vital points to consider during the preparation of lesson plan.

He also detailed about different kinds of ICTs like print, audio & video, internet which can be used for presentation and demonstration. However, the effectiveness of each of these technologies varies according to its use. He specified that creativity in classroom depends less on the latest technology than on the teacher’s confidence in using it. He also encouraged the teachers to share their perception on how teaching and learning processes can be enhanced through the use of ICT.

 

Social Science Teaching

An orientation on Social Science teaching was conducted for teachers. The trainer gave an overview on the meaning and nature of Social Science, provided and outlined the seven branches of social science which are anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, sociology, and psychology and its importance for individual and society as well.

The trainer elaborated that the objective of studying Social Science is to understand the processes of economic & social change and development, critically examine social and economic issues and challenges or understand the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic and secular society. It was briefed to the teachers on why students need to study Social Science like to understand the society in which they live and learn about how society is structured, managed, and governed. Students will also learn to appreciate the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution which will help them to grow up as active, responsible, and reflective members of society.

The trainer spoke about the various approaches to teach Social Science to students to make it more interactive and collaborative learning, promote the spirit of inquiry and creativity among teachers and students and develop a democratic culture within the institution, enabling teachers and students to be alert on the social realities. He also suggested teachers for encouraging students to come up with presentations and demonstrations on different topics, debates etc.

 

Creative Teaching in English

An in-house orientation was conducted for teachers on Creative Teaching in English. It focused on various methods that can be incorporated to make teaching-learning process more interesting like use of realia or objects and material from everyday life used as teaching aids, preparing exciting talking points, and thinking out of the box.

The trainer outlined several activities for students that can make English learning more creative like motivating speaking activities for all levels, creating poems using specified words and concepts, retelling a story from the angle of students, solving puzzles to create a story, using comics and comic strips, listening and drawing etc.

The participants were also briefed on how to teach with the help of drama technique like role play, conducting press conference, where in students can be asked to frame questions in a fun way which will help them in enhancing structured speaking practice. The trainer emphasized that exercising one’s creativity and taking time to analyse the output will help in enriching the teaching-learning process and give a creative twist to make English learning more fun.