Community Link May 2011

The Management, Principals and Staff of Lancers International School wish all the very best to the I.G.C.S.E./ AS/A Level students for their Board exams.

Our best wishes to the Senior School students of Grades 6,7,8 &9 for their final examinations.

PAGE ONE

PAGE TWO & THREEŸ Senior School Principal’s message.Ÿ Laurels of senior school studentsŸ MUN & Report on Subashini’s recognition

PAGE FOUR & FIVEŸ World Physical Activity Day

Ÿ Science Fair

Ÿ Junior School Principal’s

messageŸ Library & Art WeekŸ Important Dates (Junior School)

PAGE SIX & SEVENŸ Week Without Walls (Visit to BAAS Foundation, Walkathon, Bio Diversity,Village Life,Sleep- over,Earth Day)

Ÿ Fun On Field Trips

PAGE EIGHTŸ New Computer LabsŸ Trip To Mussoorie (Senior School)Ÿ Trip to Jaipur (Senior School)Ÿ New Members of LIS FamilyŸ Important Dates (Senior School)

My artwork is based on Egypt. I did this during

my CAS art activity. This was the first time I had

an opportunity to paint on wood. It was exciting

to work on a new medium. I realised that it

required a lot of patience and hard work to paint

such a detailed piece. I have a feeling of great

achievement, the credit for which goes to my art

teacher, Ms. Alpana Kataria, for her constant

encouragement.

Donghee Kim

Grade 8

BEST WISHES

CONGRATULATIONS

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL - SENIOR SCHOOL

Authorization Visit from the International th thBaccalaureate Organization 13 to 15 April 2011

August 2010 saw the management and senior school staff members begin work in earnest, preparing for the implementation of the IBDP in LIS. A dream & vision in the hearts & minds of the promoters of LIS for the past several years, it is now well on the way towards fulfillment.A change in IB Diploma Coordinators saw us bid farewell to Ms. Rupa Sen, and under the guidance of our School Advisor, Mrs. Lalage Prabhu, and myself as the newly appointed DPC, LIS surged ahead - history in the making, leaving no stone unturned to realize it's goal-Authorization from the International Baccalaureate Organization!Meetings, workshops, collaborative planning, more meetings, brainstorming, a journey of self discovery and the coming alive of the IB Learner Profile in the hearts of minds of all stakeholders at LIS, saw us gradually draw closer to our goal-the inspection visit.So, it was actually something of a relief when the

th thinspection finally took place, April 13 -15 . The purpose of the visit was to ascertain and ensure that LIS as a Candidate school was genuinely committed to the pursuit of excellence in international education and was

ready to start teaching the IB Diploma Programme, The visiting team comprised of two representatives, long associated with the IBO. Much of their time here was spent interviewing and meticulously examining huge amounts of documentation prepared by our prospective IBDP staff members, as well as talking to the DPC, who will be running the IB programme. They also spent considerable time talking to the school's Board of Management, verifying that the aims & objectives of LIS were harmoniously aligned with that of the IBO. Besides touring and inspecting the campus, which they appreciated greatly, chatting to various key staff members, and leafing through the copious paperwork prepared by our hard working team, they also made time to have a highly enjoyable, interactive session with the students of Grades 9 & 10, whom they praised wholeheartedly for being so very well informed on the beliefs of the IBDP. Likewise, they enjoyed interacting with a team of enthusiastic, parent representatives, whom, they later remarked, were not just strong supporters of the IB programme, but also of the school.Parents, your belief & trust in the Management and staff is heart warming, your contribution-invaluable. For the many times I rang your bell, requested your presence in school for meetings galore, and bombarded you with information to assimilate and believe in, my deepest appreciation & gratitude.God Bless You!To the Management, Staff & Students, the month ahead is a crucial one indeed, as we go about putting the finishing touches to our paperwork.So far the feedback has been positive and the final report will be filed within the next few weeks. Look out for this column. Will keep you posted.

Allison PysterSecondary School PrincipalInternational Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Coordinator

LIS

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Subashini Bala for being shortlisted for Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards

Romina Beentjees for the Distinguished Delegate Award at the M.U.N. at Woodstock.

Subhashini, Romina & Bhanu for being nominated for the G.Y.L.C. to be held in Washington D.C.

!!

MOCK UNITED NATIONS AT WOODSTOCK SCHOOL, MUSSORIE

May 2011

PAGE THREE

he cool wind rushed through the open car windows and tossed our hair around lightly, as our vehicle wove up the Tmountain roads. Shreya, Minhee Hong, Ria, Isha and I,

Romina, were the delegates chosen for the Model United Nations Conference, held in Woodstock School, Mussoorie.We were accompanied by Mrs. Urvashi Sahni, our MUN guide.

As it was only the second conference for our school's M.U.N. team, levels of nervousness were high. However when we arrived at the beautiful and homely school, settled into our own committees, and befriended our fellow delegates our confidence grew.

There were four different committees, ECOSOC (dealing with the global economic situation), HRC (Dealing with Human Rights), UNEP (Dealing with environmental crises), SC (Security Council). Each committee had two agendas to discuss. Much research and time went into these agendas on the part of the delegates.

The three-day conference was a tremendous success for our school as each of us learned a lot about the current global issues, and possible solutions for these problems. Constructive debating and formal, appropriate manners when speaking were also a major part of this conference. Learning to present viewpoints in a constructive and politically correct way was another quality that our delegates incorporated into their contributions to the conference. Our school also bagged the prize for the Human Rights committee. All in all the conference was a wonderful learning experience that we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves..

SUBASHINI RECOGNIZED FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

LIS

LANCERS PAVING WAY FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS

thOn 24 March the Lancer's Science Department held their second annual science fair. The children were very excited about new experiments and investigations to showcase their newly acquired scientific knowledge.The fair took place in the school. Stalls were set up and students displayed their work so that observers could take in each one in a “gallery walk.” Each group had been given a hypothetical question that they had had to solve. On display were their solutions and many of the projects were very elaborate.

Many of the pupils had excelled themselves and it was an eye-opener to observe the hidden talents on display. The judges-who included both primary and secondary school principals, were highly impressed and their task was not an easy one as all the projects were praiseworthy. After a lot of deliberation the judges came to these results:

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Winners Runners-UpA big thank you to all participants and all who supported this event.

Edoardo Grade 6Choi Grade 7Anurag Grade 8Shreya K Grade 9Pragya Grade 9

Suvekchya Grade 6Malaaika Grade 7Karan Grade 8Natalie Grade 9

WORLD PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DAY

thApril 6 was World Physical Activity day, a global event designed to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles around the world, and this year Lancer's International School decided to participate. For that morning, the school's front lawn was turned into a 200 metre athletics track and participants had to complete as many laps as they could in thirty minutes.

The pupils of Lancers set off, accompanied by a number of teachers including secondary school principal Mrs. Allison Pyster. The event was marked by good humour and a sense of camaraderie.

The best achievement was shared by Yousuf from grade 11 and Karan from grade 8 who both managed 4.4 kilometeres. Best amongst the girls was Romina Beentjes of grade 11 who completed 3.9 km, while special mentions go to Young of grade 6 and Choi of grade 8 who both managed 4 km. each.

Thanks to the Physical Education staff Mr. Uday and Mr. Bhatia for organising this event, and thanks to all those who participated.

MAY 2011

Ruchika SachdevPrimary School Principal/PYP Coordinator

They say time flies when you are involved in active learning. The Primary School has been full of hustle and bustle with many activities and learning experiences being organized for the students and teachers. The Week Without Walls provided an opportunity for students and teachers to take learning beyond walls. It involved multifarious activities encompassing creativity, action and service. The water sports day provided relief from the heat and books! With the close of the academic year approaching, we are waiting to showcase the “end of the year” performance of the Primary School students, which will be an exhibition of their learning experience through the year. To quote a much used cliché “learning has been fun”!

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL - PRIMARY SCHOOL

PAGE FIVE

IMPORTANT DATES25th May - Student led conference by Grades 4 & 5.

26th May End of the year performance.

27th May - Last working day for students.

28th May - Parent-Teacher Conference & Report cards.

LIBRARY WEEK

In pursuance of the school's endeavor to instill reading habits in children, the LIS Media Centre observed the Library Week from th th14 February to 18 February 2011. The programme catered to reinforce the children's love for books, which is observed to have

taken a backseat owing to the predominance of cyber space in the children's lives. The children from Nursery to Grade 11 participated with zing in the week long activities centered around books. The students exhibiting exemplary potential parameters were rewarded with books and certificates to further hone, not only their skills but also to stimulate their flair for reading. On the penultimate day students of Grade -3 and 4 presented an exhilarating Power Point Presentation on “Folk tales & Fairy tales” by Grade-3 and “Parts of Books” by Grade-4 in the school assembly. This stupendous effort was lauded by everybody present. The week also witnessed enthusiastic story reading sessions, meeting with some authors and other innovative ideas making the whole week a grand success.

ART WEEK

Sharing ideas and getting a chance to show their work are what children at Lancers International School looked forward to during the Primary Art week held in the school from

st th21 to 25 February 2011. Art is an excellent way of allowing pupils to express themselves creatively. The children worked on different Art movements, mainly cubism and Pointillism. They also drew impressions, caricatures of various other artists like Pablo Picasso, Kandinsky, and Monet etc. Block printing, clay modeling, T-shirt painting, painting of shoes was also done. The events reflected the lively atmosphere of teaching and learning under the guidance of our Art Teacher Ms. Alpana Kataria.The staff and pupils of primary school, along with the enthusiasm of the parents resulted in exhibiting a wide range of work .

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LIS

WEEK WITHOUT WALLS - DAY CAMPThe Day camp was the last day of the week without walls, the children had experienced adventure, the importance of sharing and caring for their environment and the excitement of experiencing something completely new every day. Apart from being thrilled by the outdoors, the day camp in school was also a lot of fun.

Caring for the environment is something we encourage in all of our students. Our young Lancerians did some gardening in the school garden and they learnt the importance of watering plants. Grade 1 planted vegetable seeds and Grades 3 and 5 also planted trees.

Nursery, Pre-Primary and KG had a fun filled day with Rickshaw rides, Face painting, musical chairs, singing rhymes and dancing. Even by the end of the day the children were full of excitement and keen to know what will happen next.

Grade 1 made paper mats, Grade 2 made collages on Healthy and Unhealthy food, and also made vases with glass bottles and colorful wool. Grade 3 participated in various outdoor games and Grade 4 also participated in a brick making activity, where they learnt to make bricks from sand. Grade 5 made drawings of their visit to Baas Foundation School and also did a review of the week without walls.

A VISIT TO BAAS FOUNDATION

The opening event of the Week Without Walls was our visit to the BAAS foundation school.The children of all the grades had interactive activities with the students of the BAAS Foundation, which included jolly phonics, making 2-D shapes with match sticks and ice-cream sticks, making 3-D shapes, language and grammar games and a host of other activities. The little older children went trekking, along with the teachers, to a nearby temple and farm and even saw a 300-year-old banyan tree.It was a memorable experience!

WALKATHON

Marudyan, an NGO started by Mr John and Ms Andrea is doing its best to reach out to the underprivileged segments in the form of philanthropic activities.

thChildren, parents and teachers participated in the walkathon organized by Lancers International School on 8 March 2011. Parents had pledged money and the students had to take rounds of the school ground to collect that money. This money was being collected to be given to “Marudyan” to buy uniforms for the students of that school. The students were very enthusiastic and competed with each other to take the maximum number of rounds. Eventually the teachers had to tell them to stop. That is how caring our Lancerians turned out to be. It was a pleasure to see the children work so hard to help someone else.

BIO-DIVERSITYLower primary students visited the Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park, and Upper Primary students visited the Bio-Diversity Park in Gurgaon.

Grades 1 to 5, explored the concept of diversity, bio cultural conservation and why they are both legitimately vital components of ecology research and science of whole. They took an adventurous walk through the forest to observe the plantation. All the students split up into pairs to explore and discuss the flora and fauna surrounding the mountains. The students discussed various cultural services such as utilizing plants and mosses for medicinal and agricultural uses, as well as other natural resources used previously by inhabitants of the land, for tools, housing materials, and traditional art forms. The trip was a great learning experience for the students and the teachers.

LIVING THE VILLAGE LIFE

Fun On Field Trips.

EARTH DAY

At Lancers, we celebrated the “Earth Day” by bringing awareness about the importance of recycling and an emphasis to embrace this value as a lifestyle. A media filled presentation was given in both the junior & senior schools by Ms. Brown, a primary teacher. Paper Recycling was emphasised, being relevant & a hot topic to us as the consumption of Paper is an integral part of our everyday school life.

Pre-primary students have had an enriching learning experience, linked to their units of inquiry, through their various field trips. In the spring of 2010 the students went for their first field trip to Delhi zoo, where they thoroughly enjoyed watching all kinds of animals. Next trip was to Laksh farm , where they saw farm animals, took a tractor ride and ate local cuisine of makki ki roti and saag .Ela, the owner of the farm organised a treasure hunt for the little ones.In January students went to the train museum in New Delhi. They enjoyed sitting in the toy train which passed through a manmade tunnel. Next trip was to the aero museum, where they saw different models of missiles and aircrafts.The year ended with a trip to a students home (Dong Woo's). Mrs Lee took great pains to welcome us into her house and to show case Korean culture. Her friends were dressed in Korean traditional dresses. They played a Korean instrument. Mrs Lee served us sumptuous Korean snacks.

lot of people get impatient with the pace of change. So nothing bothered anyone when the Primary School at Lancers International ASchool headed to Botanix to experience the village life. The minute

everyone rode the bullock cart to the interiors of this beautiful place, we

knew it was going to be an adventurous day. After being welcomed by a hearty breakfast, everyone tried their skills at the potter's wheel. Then it was time for the camel ride which the children enjoyed thoroughly. When the camel refused to entertain us any further, there was no option but to eat the lavish lunch and bask in the sun. The food was digested when we took a stroll around the property and saw the endless variety of flora. Then the children put behind their fears and brought out the 'risk-taker' quality, when they moved across the very challenging obstacle course. After the heavy workout, it was time to re- energize ourselves with juice. Before we knew it, time had come for us to head back with some beautiful memories of the rural life at Botanix.

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MAY 2011

THE SLEEPOVER

The Last day of the classroom without walls week was in our school. The homeroom teachers and activity teachers had various activities planned for the children. After completing all these activities, children had their lunch. In the evening children had a cricket match where the teachers played with the children. Then it was movie time. They watched Toy story 3 and munched on popcorn. After dinner a bonfire was arranged on the ground. Children danced around it and played antakshari. The upper primary children played pictionary while the younger ones were already in bed. Then it was time for everyone to go to sleep. The boys slept in the senior av room and the girls in the junior av room. It was a whole new experience to spend the night with the students. Someone wanted a good night kiss, someone wanted a story and some wanted to be tucked into bed. It was truly a great feeling. Next morning the children woke up, freshened up and had their milk and cookies. Then it was time for them to go home. The sleepover was a great experience for both the children and the teachers.

NEW LOOK AND NEW LABS

MAY 2011LIS

Sur la route de JaipurJ'achète des bijoux

Et, bonjour Monsieur le RajputComment allez-vous ?

Vous prendrez bien une mousse,Parce qu'il fait doux en ce jour.

Sur la route de Jaipur.Sans doute, mais que faites vous !

Moi, je suis Rajput et marchant de bijoux.C'est beaucoup !n'est –ce pas tout !

Bien le bonjour, sur la route de Jaipur.

The latest research and evaluation studies demonstrate that school improvement programs that employ technology for teaching and learning yield positive results for students and teachers. Given that Lancers International School have installed the latest Apple technology Computers in its Computer Lab and in the entire campus in order to gain access to technology for teaching and learning, the positive outcomes of these studies suggest a future for education that could be quite bright if the nation maintains its commitment to harnessing technology for education.

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BON JOUR JAIPUR (SENIOR SCHOOL)

NEW MEMBERS OF LIS FAMILYWe welcome our new staff members who joined us in the second semester:Patrick BrownNationality : New ZealandPosition : Music TeacherExperience : 8 yearsSchool worked with : Christian English Academy, New Zealand

Judith BrownNationality : IndianPosition : Co Teacher-PrimaryExperience : 8 yearsSchool worked with : Christian English Academy, New Zealand

Honey BhatiaNationality : IndianPosition : P.E. TeacherExperience : 2 yearsSchool worked with : Bangalore International School

Uday KumarNationality : IndianPosition : Head of P.E. department/P.E. Teacher Experience : 7 years.School worked with : Sharad Pawar International School, Pune

IGCSE & A/AS Level Examinations - May 9 to June 3, 2011

Grade 9 Final Examinations - May 11 to May 27, 2011

Grade 6, 7 & 8 Final Examinations - May 16 to May 27, 2011

Academic Session 2010-11 Ends for Students – May 27, 2011

Parents Teachers Meeting (Report Card Day for Grades 6-9) – June 3, 2011

Teacher's INSET Training - July 18- July 22, 2011School Reopens - July 25, 2011

TRIP TO MUSSOORIE(SENIOR SCHOOL)

From March 8 to 10 the students of Grade 8 and 9 went for activities week to the beautiful hill station of Mussoorie. After

thdeparting at 6 am on the 8 everyone laughed and joked about on the bus for the entire day.The second day was when the real trip began. The students went to the village of Bhatta Gaon and met the Sarpanch who told us about the local history. Soon after that we went for farming. There we learnt about terrace farming techniques and the tools involved in it. After farming the students went to the aquarium. We went shopping at the Mall Road in the evening and then finally concluded with a jolly campfire.The final day, we went to the Forest Reservation of India (FRI) in Dehradun. We learnt about many trees and the problems that they face around the world and what we can do to conserve them. All the students and teachers enjoyed this educational yet fun trip to the foothills of mighty Himalayas.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR SENIOR SCHOOL