The Weekly Bulletin of

Stonehill International School Volume 6, Issue 73

24 August 2017

FEATURED STORIES

First Week Back to School in P6

We’re All Connected

The first week back has been a real blast in P6. The focus for the week was getting to know each other, reflecting on how we learn best and identifying behaviours to create a safe learning environment that fosters honesty, respect and responsibility.

IMPORTANT DATES: AUGUST

25th SCHOOL CLOSED FOR GANESH CHATURTHI HOLIDAY

SEPTEMBER 1st – 2nd P6 – P8 SPORTS CAMP 1st – 2nd ABSA CONFERENCE HOSTED AT STONEHILL

1st – 3rd DP LEADERSHIP CAMP 9th SECONDARY BACK-TO-SCHOOL INFORMATION MORNING (9:30am – 12:15pm) 9th PTA BACK-TO-SCHOOL BBQ (12:30 – 3:00pm)

CONTENTS 01/ FEATURED STORIES 04/ MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF THE SCHOOL 04/ WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS 07/ PRIMARY NEWS 10/ SECONDARY NEWS 11/ PTA NEWS

HIGHLIGHTS First Week Back to School in P6 After School Activities Private Music Programme Sun Safety Secondary Back-to-School Information Morning PTA Back-to-School BBQ

THE TIGER

We started the week off with some fun ‘icebreakers’. The first was ‘Quiz Me, Quiz Me, Trade Me’, whereby the children were each given a sentence with a question that they were asked to answer, which provided them with an opportunity to know each other's likes and dislikes then vice versa; after which they traded their questions and went around quizzing and get to know as many peers as possible.

Quiz Me, Quiz Me, Trade Me.

The second activity was ‘How we are connected?’; Ms Debs held the ball of string and told the students that she had once been on a holiday to Japan, which connected to our Japanese student, Yusei, who said, “I am Japanese and took the ball of string”. Yusei then told the students that he loved football. Many students also like football, so he then passed the string onto another student who loved football. As this activity unfolded, the string connected the group and by the end of the activity, it looked like a giant spider web. This activity demonstrated how we are all connected in many ways. Afterwards, we went outside for a team building activity called, ‘cross the river’. This activity involved children working together as a team to cross over their imaginary river using 2 PE mats without falling off or stepping in the water.

Cross the River Safely

Should a team member come off the mat, the team had to start again. As teachers we observed some excellent teamwork and cooperation skills. Students demonstrated good communication skills, speaking politely to each other as how best to get their team safely across the river.

Demonstrating Teamwork

Ms. Deborah Tellis & Ms. Hafsa Quadri P6 Class Teachers

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Friends, The school year is now 7 days old, and we are settling into a rhythm for the year. Here are some of the upcoming events.

After School Activities (ASAs)

Students and parents will have the opportunity to sign up for ASAs very soon; with the first round scheduled from September 18 through December 7. There are many great activities to choose from, including aero modelling, football, MineCraft, gardening, horse riding, cooking, badminton, Community Art Studio, Bollywood dancing, Super Science Club, Coding and Robotics Club, swimming, basketball, service opportunities, and many, many more. .ASAs will run four days a week, Monday through Thursday.

Governing Council

On August 30th, the Governing Council will be spending the annual August retreat assessing progress on Stonehill’s strategic plan, which was newly developed last academic year and covers four years from 2016 — 2020. The strategic plan is structured around six Focus Areas: Learning and Teaching; Human Resources; Infrastructure, School Growth and Development; Identity; Financial Sustainability; and Governance.

Back-to-School Barbecue

The annual PTA back-to-school barbecue will be held September 9 from about noon, following the Secondary back-to-school orientation. This is always a great whole-school event, and I look forward to seeing you there! I hope all of you enjoy the long weekend – Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! With best regards, Dr. Beverly Sortland Head of School

WHOLE SCHOOL NEWS

After School Activities (ASAs)

Dear Parents, Welcome to another year of After School Activities! We are thrilled to offer some new exciting activities this year - Aeromodelling, Community Art studio, Student Tech Support & Arduino based electronics, to name a few. The signup forms will be sent out on 31st August at 4pm. ASAs will begin on Tuesday, 18th September and finish on Thursday, 7th December. For further information write to asa@stonehill.in Mr. Melvin Kumar ASA Coordinator

Private Music Programme

The Arts faculty extends a warm welcome to each and every member of our community. Several students have stopped by the Arts area of the senior section and have given us news about their summer endeavours in the arts which range from taking short term courses, to working with artists, visiting museums and attending performances. The teachers have planned some exciting lessons as well as some events both locally and internationally. Here’s some information for those of who are new to our school. Stonehill International School has an instrument Tuition Program. Students and parents can sign up for 30 minute lessons being delivered by one or more of three teachers. A team of highly accomplished and specialised part time musicians/teachers include Mr. Uday Zachariah, Mr. James Stephenus and Mr. Siby Manuel.

Mr. Uday Zachariah

Mr. Zachariah teaches the Piano and Keyboard. He’s currently in his 5th year at Stonehill. After completing 4 grades of Piano at ABRSM in Oman, Uday went on for advanced studies in Music Technology at SAE Institute (School of Audio Engineering) under the affiliation of Middlesex University. He also went on to be a freelance music producer and his job comprised of skills such as song writing, music scoring for TV & Radio commercials, sound editing, sound designing, and advance training in music technology. His musical influences are Romantic, 20th & 21st Century, Classic Rock, Easy Jazz, Pop, Blues, Broadway Musicals, and Themes from Movies and TV. He enjoys working with children not only in terms of teaching piano and key boards but also with technology related activities such as movie scoring. uday.zachariah@stonehill.com

Mr. James Stephenus

Mr. James Stephenus has been teaching music for over ten years. He has been a member of many bands and is currently playing for the metalcore band - Final Surrender. He’s also a session guitarist for studios having played on multiple albums and artists with diverse styles. He’s passionate about music and is always looking to impart the knowledge that he has accumulated over the years. He teachers Guitar, Voice and Drums. james.stephenus@stonehill.in

Mr. Siby Manuel

Mr. Siby Manuel teaches Violin, Viola and Cello. He started learning music at the age of 12. Later he joined Ms. Giselle Voigts on a musical journey and has been taught and mentored by her.

He has been teaching music for over ten years. Apart from teaching, he performs with Grammy award winners Rickey Kej and Manoj George for both live shows and as well as studio recordings. He also plays with The BSM Chamber Orchestra. siby.manuel@stonehill.in If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me, Ms. Ranmali Hapugalle, HoD Creative Arts ranmali.hapugalle@stonehill.in Ms. Ranmali Hapugalle HoD Creative Arts

PRIMARY NEWS

Sun Safe

Over the next few weeks in the Primary School we will be reinforcing the importance of Sun Safety with the children. We have a ‘No Hat No Play’ policy at school and we ask children to bring water bottles to school that can be refilled throughout the day. We also encourage children to bring sunscreen into school so that they can reapply throughout the day. Teachers for younger students will keep the sunscreen in class and remind children to reapply at appropriate times. Children may also bring sunglasses to school to wear at break times if they wish. UV protective swimming tops (rash tops) are also recommended for swimming lessons and during swimming ECA's We would be grateful if you could reinforce this message at home and make sure that hats, water bottles and sunscreen are labelled with your child’s name

Water Bottle

Sun Hat

UV Swimming Top

Sunscreen

Sunglasses

Important Upcoming Primary Dates

• Friday 1st September - PYP Sports Camp • Saturday 9th September - PTA Welcome Back BBQ at 12:00pm • Thursday 14th September - Inter-House Basketball Tournament. • Friday 15th September - Parent Teacher Student Conferences (PTSC’s) • Monday 18th September - After School Activities (ASAs) begin • Thursday 21st September - World Peace Day Best Regards, Simon McCloskey Primary Principal

Fidget Spinners in P7

Love them or loathe them, fidget spinners are here to stay! P7 have been researching the history and phenomenon of fidget spinners. Did you know they were invented in the 1990’s? P7 have also been learning different tricks to perform with a fidget spinner. Can you perform an ‘on the nose super spin’ or a ‘round the back’? Come to the P7 noticeboard to learn more about these fun tricks.

P7 students have been perfecting their spinning techniques and calculating their average spin times. The current P7 record is over five minutes with just one tap! Ms. Amanda McCloskey & Ms. Moushumi Gupta P7 Class Teachers

SECONDARY NEWS The Secondary School is off to a great start with a relatively busy week, and students are settling into the demands and challenges of a new academic year. Most students appear to have settled in well. However, I am aware that a few new students are still adjusting. If your son/daughter is in such a position, please contact their Homeroom Teacher and we will endeavour to provide them with some extra support and encouragement. It is our hope that everyone will soon feel a part of our community.

IB Diploma Breakout Leadership Camp – D1 & D2 Students The IB Diploma Breakout Leadership Camp will be held from Friday, 1st September to Sunday, 3rd September for both D1 and D2 students. Please contact Ms. Manpreet Kaur, DP Coordinator (manpreet.kaur@stonehill.in), if you any queries or have not received information regarding this.

Back-to-School Information Morning

I would like to warmly invite parents to attend our Back-to-School Information Morning on Saturday, 9th September from 9:45am to 12:15pm at the school campus. Please mark these dates in your calendars. This is an opportunity for parents to meet all Secondary teachers, and get an overview of the curriculum for each grade. This will be followed by the annual PTA Welcome Barbeque. More information on this will be sent via email next week. I hope to see you all there.

School Uniform & Punctuality

In order to make the most of the year ahead, we ask parents to support us in ensuring that students settle quickly into a positive learning routine at school. This includes wearing the correct school uniform and being punctual. There are some students who are still not wearing the correct uniform, while other students are arriving at school late despite using their private transport. If your child falls in to one of these categories, please do guide them towards the right practices. I thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Secondary Educational Team Information

On 19th August I had emailed details of the Secondary Educational Team, along with their names and email addresses to all Secondary parents. The email included links to important documents like the Parent-Student Handbook, MYP/DP Uniform, Good Standing Guidelines and the Student Behaviour Expectations and Summary of the Report Card Process. If you have not received this important email, please contact the Secondary Secretary at secondary.secretary@stonehill.in as soon as possible.

If Your Child is Absent or Running Late

If your son/daughter is absent or late, please send an email to the Secondary Secretary with a copy to the Homeroom Teacher by 7:30am. (secondary.secretary@stonehill.in) or call 080-4341-8300 (Extension 8555)

Ganesh Chaturthi

Please note that Friday, 25th August is a holiday on account of the Indian festival, Ganesh Chaturthi. Wishing you a pleasant long weekend, Narendra Mehrotra Secondary Principal narendra.mehrotra@stonehill.in

PTA NEWS

Important PTA Dates

• August 30th - Teachers & Admin Staff Appreciation Breakfast • September 9th - Back to School BBQ

Questions or Comments for the PTA?

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback for the Stonehill PTA, please drop us an email at: pta@stonehill.in We look forward to hearing from you

Stonehill International School

Tarahunise Post Jala Hobli Contacting the School: Bangalore North 562157 India Admissions Ms. Rishika Ganapathy T + 91 8043418300 Primary School Ms. Nijika Bhardwaj + 91 8043418318 Secondary School Ms. Saathi Vinay M + 91 9008307684 Transport Mr. Rahul. I E info@stonehill.in Head Nurse Ms Charlette Macdonald