August 2021

Message from the Principal’s Desk:

“Innovation is seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”

– Dr. Albert, Szent- Györgyi– Dear Parent, The mission and the purpose of education at IISH is not only to deliver academic excellence but to aspire our children to be prepared for the challenges and uncertainties of the future. The esence to stay ahead in a world that is facing major system-atic challenges require new innovative ideas and this can only be attained by fostering a culture of innovation and building an entrepreneurial mindset. The need of the hour is to think outside the building, The innovation curriculum is our endeavour to very logically transition from leadership to innovative leadership. To learn to identify unsolved problems, determine weak links and gaps so that with an innovative mindset all these could be effectively solved, strengthened and repaired. We can no longer protect or keep our childeren in safety bubbles, we need to make them socially aware and have themselves challenged with the the issues that stare right at us but are ignored due to various reasons. The world is changing; accelerat-ing beyond our imagination. Innovation is also not the use of technology but to use technology to research and empower and uncover something completely new and unique. To remain relevant and effective innovation is the solution to our con-stantly evolving society. “We must always strive to try new things but while doing so must also be prepaired to fail and move forward because sus-tainability is one of the key to innovation. It is not going to be easy and it may take a while to bring the change but it will lead towards making the world better. Let us begin with some events in the month of August.

1) Indus Colloquium: School 21 Century:

The first of the three Colloquiums (Indus, National & International) was scheduled on 28 August 2021 from 10:00 a.m.

to 5:00 p.m. Managing Director and CEO of Indus Trust, Lt Gen. Arjun Ray, started this event with his Keynote Address.

The aim of the Colloquiums is:

Redefining the purpose of school education – to be life-ready.

Re-inventing the student – from passivity to agency.

Re-rolling teachers to teach the child and not the subject alone.

How exponential technologies will enable teachers to personalize learning and upskill and re-skill themselves

During his keynote address, General Ray spoke in length about the Characteristics of the 4th Industrial Age, which

includes 'permanent state of VUCA', 'The rising of exponential technologies', 'Arrival of the digital nomads', and

'Phenomenal increase in obsolescence in knowledge, jobs and technology' among others. He also gave insights and

probabilities in future education. He emphasized that the students will be the game-changers, not the teachers and

that student agency will be the way ahead.

General Ray also elaborated on the critical aspects of teachers of the future. They are:

Teach the child and not the subject alone

Mastery + Interdisciplinary Knowledge

Design thinking, how to think & how to learn – key competencies

Change management skills

Data literacy

Learning designers

He also explained how we could make our children 'Life Ready'.

General Ray then shared his views on the competencies that our children need in the future world. These include

'Higher Purpose', 'Lifelong learning', 'Coping with complexity', 'Self-control', and 'Techno-socio-emotional

competencies to balance the right and left brain’.

General Ray concluded his keynote address by sharing the challenges before the colloquium. As usual, it was an

inspiring and informative address by General Ray.

Panel Discussion – Ms Aparna Achanta, Principal, IISH:

The second session of the colloquium was a panel discussion led by

Ms Aparna Achanta. One student from each Indus school (Amy

Rachal Clement from IISH, Anaya Jethnandani from IISB & Aryan

Choudhary from IISP) participated in this session. The scope of the

talk was 'Promoting the culture of independent learning among

students'. Ms Aparna opened the session with her introductory

remarks, which were enlightening. She later engaged all the

students by posing thought-provoking questions, which our

students answered with aplomb. It was refreshing to hear their

views on the challenges the students face to take ownership of their

learning and what support they need from the school to ensure that

the students become independent learners.

In conversation with Ms Preeti Prabhu, Chief Philosophy Officer, Indus Trust:

Ms Preeti Prabhu led a discussion on ‘Re-skilling teachers’, and ‘Moving from a marks-driven to a competency-based

culture in education’. It was attended by three parents (Mr Sudip Singh from IISB and Mr Sanket Dharod & Ms Madhuri

Duggirala from IISH) and Dr Mala Palani, Director ITARI.

It was enriching to hear the views shared by the parents on how schools can move towards competency-based

education and the challenges that lie ahead in this journey. They stressed the need to develop resilience in our students

by celebrating failures. Ms Madhuri also spoke about three C's – Context, Content & Communication and she

elaborated it efficiently by quoting Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech 'I have a dream'.

In conversation with Mrs Sarojini Rao, Principal, IISB:

During General Ray’s keynote address, a short video on collaborative learning model (CLM) and the role Eagle Robots

(indigenous robots created by Indus Team) play in CLM. Teachers are usually inundated with mundane tasks like

preparing lesson plans and planning assessments, leaving them less time to spend with their students. Subsequently,

they cannot teach the child' and end up only 'teaching the subject', which will not prepare our students to be 'life-

ready'. This is where the CLM helps the teachers.

Mrs Rao and three teachers from Indus schools (Mr Karthik Mangu from IISH, Ms Sowjanya Dayanand from IISB & Ms

Dhanashree Perumal from IISP) discussed the new role of teachers in the CLM. It was an engaging discussion with each

faculty member sharing their views on the challenges faced by the teachers and the way ahead if we need to

implement CLM in letter and spirit.

Keynote Address – Professor Dishan Kamdar, Vice-Chancellor, Flame University:

The first session post-lunch was the keynote address by Professor Kamdar. He spoke about the decade (2020-30) of

challenges, opportunities & uncertainty in length. He quoted research that stated that 1.6 million people would lose

their jobs to the digital-based economy by 2030, and 18 million will switch their careers due to Covid-19. He also shared

the unconventional careers that we can expect in the future, including 'Genetic Counselor', 'Respiratory Therapist',

and 'Logistician'. He emphasized why it is essential to focus on Intelligence Quotient, Emotional Quotient, Moral

Quotient, Environmentally Consciousness (climate change) & Social and Cultural inclusivity (cultural intelligence). He

elaborated on each one of these in detail during his keynote address. He also listed down the skills employers are

seeking for the 21st century in their employees. Overall, it was an interesting and informative session.

Panel Discussion – Mr Sandeep Chhabra, Principal, IISP:

Mr Sandeep Chhabra led a panel discussion attended by students from each Indus school (Agustya Singh from IISB,

Palle Hemanth Sai Reddy from IISH & Ananya Nanda from IISP). They discussed 'Future of Education' and 'Moving

students from passive to competency-based, active learning'.

Unfortunately, it is known that the students are passive participants in the teaching-learning process while the need

of the hour is student agency. We want them to take charge of their learning to prepare themselves for a VUCA+

world. It was quite heartening to hear the candid views shared by our students on what the schools and students

could do to enable competency-based learning.

In conversation with Lt Gen. Arjun Ray:

For this session, Lt Gen. Arjun Ray was joined by Professor Raghunathan, an ex-IIM Faculty & an Industry Expert and

Professor Dwarika Prasad Uniyal, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of RV University. It was enlightening to hear them discuss how

to design the future of children in a VUCA world. While General Ray firmly stated that the students are the game

changers, Professor Raghunathan felt that we could not discount the teachers' role if we want our students to be

prepared for life. Professor Uniyal mentioned the critical role that an Industry-School partnership will provide in terms

of experiential learning opportunities that will help make students future-ready.

Open Forum & Closing Remarks:

The colloquium ended with an open forum and closing remarks by General Ray & Mrs Sarojini Rao. They summarized

the learning of the colloquium and elaborated on specific critical points that were raised during the event.

Overall, it was a great learning experience for 1000+ participants who attended this virtual colloquium.

2) Library on Wheels:

At Indus, deep reading has always been an integral part of our Innovation Curriculum. The purpose of deep reading is

to ensure that our students become empathetic, critical thinkers, reflective, introspective and situationally aware. We

also want our students to develop a 'bi-literate brain', i.e., a brain suited for digital and analogue reading. In an

endeavor towards developing these competencies in our children, we are delighted to inform you that we have set up

a mobile library (Library on Wheels).“Library on wheels” is be the first-ever mobile library in the city. We have

embarked on this journey for students from Reception to Grade 2, by ensuring that all the covid protocols are in place.

Our students are getting an opportunity to borrow and read books from the Mobile library that was visiting

communities every Wednesdays but from the month of September it will be functioning 3 days a week.

3) Innovation Council PYP/MYP & DP:

Last year we embarked on the journey of preparing our students to face uncertainties by fostering a culture of

innovation and building their entrepreneurial mindset. The innovation curriculum was an outcome of this endeavour,

and our innovation curriculum was the focus for an entire day of the week, i.e., Wednesday. Therefore, it was a very

logical transition from PYP Grade 4 to Grade 11 to shift from leadership to innovative leadership and gauge the

progress of students in this area. Innovation council members were selected through the process of house wise

election followed by interview qualification round. This year onwards, we are phasing out the student council and

introducing the Innovation Council. . The main purpose of the Innovation Council is to cultivate a legacy of innovation

by recognising student leaders with an innovative mindset.

Many congratulations to the members of the Innovation Council for the year 2021 – 22:

Grade Name of Students Grade Name of Students

Grade 4

Amaira Kapoor

Ananya Chaudary

Akshainie Patlolla

Prayag Tummala

Grade 9

Urvi Gupta

Torita chakravarty

Kirti Yashaswi Vemuri

Arya Tiwari

Ahana Kripalani

Saanvi sai Manduva

Sheik Nashitah Hussain

Sharanya Reddy Janumpally

Srivalli Konakanchi

Pranav Morisetty

Grade 5

Grushnesh Dhyanadeep

Isha Reddy

Sahasrika Bomma

Shaina Kapoor

Grade 6 Aadya Desai

Manasvi Reddy Thatikonda

AP Triparna

Grade 10

Adhira Sannidhi Thyvalap

Ashria Yalamanchali

Harshini Reddy Gandhi

Meghna Munamarti

Aditya Srinivasan

Anisha Sulthana

Diya Madhusoodan

Sanjana Iyer

Anusha Agrawal

Megna Yadlapalli

Palle Hemanth Sai Reddy

Pranith Bollampally

Raaina Kumar

Anwisha Reddy

Grade 7

Ayan Dharod

Akul Khare

Saisha Bagga

Aagam Jain

Nirvan Duggirala

Bhavya Agarwal

Medha Koppula

Rahul Iyer

Grade 8

Amogh Reddy Badikol

Nitya Kashyap

Naysha Kapre

Saanvi Maguluri

Nirupa Yalavarthi

Shreyas Nallavelly

Anjali Reddy Ranga

Sanyogita Bobba

Grade 11

Aakash Kothari

Aaria Chandwani

Esha Sai Saxena

Mehek Shreyas Sanghavi

Periyanian Shree Shradha Nambiar

Prathulya Vadlamudi

Ritvik Reddy Sudi

Sheen Gupta

4) MYP Grade 10 results:

Our Grade 10 Eagles made us proud yet again by passing their IBMYP year 5 exams with flying colors. May they soar

high and touch the sky as they embark further in their journey.

Our high achievers for the year 2020 – 21 are:

Sheen Gupta – 56/56

Mehek Sanghvi – 55/56

Esha Sai Saxena – 54/55

Amatra Ivaturi – 51/56

Arya Dharod Sanket – 51/56

Divya Choudhury – 50/56

Pass Percentage: 90%

No. of students who scored 7’s in Personal Project – 12

Average grade obtained in Personal Project – 5.6

5) Student Council 2021 – 22:

Student Council virtual Investiture Ceremony was scheduled on 14 August 2021 at 4:30 p.m. Chief Guest for the event

was Lt. Gen Arjun Ray (Retd.) PVSM, VSM. The gathering was addressed by Md & Ceo: Lt Gen Arjun Ray (Retd) special

address by IISB Principal Mrs Sarojini Rao with welcome address by IISH Principal Mrs Aparna Achanta. Handing over of

the baton followed by presentation of school flag and oath taking by the elected student council

member was witnessed by the CEO, Principals, parents, leadership team members and teachers. The elected student

council members have excelled in both academics and cocurricular activities and will be leading the way forward for

their juniors by role modelling the Indus values and living the Indus vision in thoughts and actions.

6) Events in DP:

a) Goal Setting Session:

Sessions on Academic Goal setting, Tikkum olam and Design Thinking process were conducted for Grade 11 stu-

dents by DPC as part of the innovation curriculum classes. Students are provided with an opportunity of receiv-

ing 360-degree feedback from their teacher advisors.

b) Commencement of the RCA examination:

From 30th August to 8th September 2021, grade 11 students will be writing their first online summative assess-

ment. The online RCA examination is being held on the platform of Exam.net. Orientation and training session

for Teachers and students on using exam.net was conducted by IBDP facilitators Ms Drishila, Ms Diana and Ms Vi-

shaka (ADPC).

7) Events in MYP:

a) ePortfolio session for Parents:

MYP design requires the use of the design cycle as a tool, which provides the methodology used to structure the

inquiry and analysis of problems, the development of feasible solutions, the creation of solutions, and the testing

and evaluation of the solution. In MYP design, a solution can be defined as a model, prototype, product or system

that students have developed and created independently. A session was conducted for the parents on the nu-

ances of ePortfolio. This session has helped them to understand the time frame, support, and guidance that is

provided to the student in preparation for the ePortfolio submission.

b) Tikkun Olam session for students:

Tikkun Olam roughly translated in Hebrew means repair the world.

Learners had an introductory session on Tikkun Olam where they were made situationally aware about natural

disasters, pollution, pandemic deaths, natural disasters, land refills, malnutrition, lack of education and child la-

bour problems prevailing today to create cognitive dissonance and reflect on why it hasn’t disturbed them so far

why they have not acted upon it, why are we so insensitive to what’s happening around us and where has our

empathy gone?

Divine dissatisfaction, purpose and higher purpose were discussed in great detail.

8) Glimpses from PYP & EYP:

a) Independence Day Celebration:

Independence Day - one of the important days where everyone remembers the sacrifices made by our freedom

fighters to attain independence. The PYP Eagles at Indus celebrated the virtual Indian Independence Day on the

13th of August 2021. The students paid tribute to the freedom fighters of India and displayed commitment towards

the nation by participating in the celebration. The celebration started by learning about the significance of 15th

August, followed by a poster-making competition. In the end, the students sang the National Anthem.

b) Book week:

We are committed to spreading the joy of reading, fostering children’s growth as deep readers and promote a

lifelong love of literature. PYP IISH celebrated book week from 16 to 20th August 2021. The week witnessed enthu-

siastic book lovers making adorable and perfect reading books in their home space which was created with pillows,

chairs and floating bookshelves. The week came to a close when our avid readers, inspired by characters of books,

dressed up as their favourite characters on ‘Book Character Dress-up Day’.

c) Guest Sessions:

Grade 5 students had a Guest Lecture session on the 6th of August, 2021. Mr. Krishna Jakkinapalli, Business Con-

sultant handling Perception Management, spoke to the students about different aspects of Media .He talked about

understanding media - print, electronic, internet, meaning of message according to each media, various forms of

communication and how media is used for communication. It was a very interactive session where the learners

added value to their knowledge on Media and Communication.

Grade 3 had a Guest Session by Ms. Anusha Kashyap who is a Biophilic Designer. She gave a deep insight about

different biophilic designs to the students and she also discussed how it can be used with natural materials in an

innovative approach that emphasizes the necessity of maintaining, enhancing, and restoring the beneficial experi-

ence of nature in the built environment. Our students also learned how it can become a part of their lifestyles.

Grade 2 students had a guest session by Ms. Kalpana Ramesh who is a Water Conservationist and an Environmen-

talist, promoting Action driven awareness in the society. Ms Kalpana spoke about the increasing need for saving

animals, birds that are living around the water bodies. She explained the history of water consumption for the

past 20 years in Hyderabad. The session successfully ended with a pledge to save water, save living things and save

the world

d) Pop Corn Party – Grade 2:

To bring a ray of sunshine for our students of Grade 2 the students and teacherse come up with an idea to provide

an opportunity for our students to interact with each other freely without any topic in hand. The teachers of Grade

2 planned popcorn and a juice party after the school hours where the students were free to discuss anything with

each other, share ideas and experiences just like how they would in a classroom. Students had a great time playing

games of their choice, quizzes and shared a heartfelt laughter throughout the party.

e) As the EYP entered the last month of term 1, the students displayed their acquired the skills in the most expressiove

and colorfull manner through various creative forms. The students eagerly participated in Independence day cele-

brations and Dear week. They spoke about National symbols, did tricolor activities, sang National Anthem and

patriotic songs. In Dear week, they enjoyed guest lectures, parent volunteer, character dress up day, puppet mak-

ing, storytelling time and enjoyed granny’s corner.

9) CAS Updates:

PEGASUS HOUSE By- Mehek Sanghavi, Grade 11:

a) Kongpak Soonthornwan : Creativity / Service - Kongpak took up an initiative

of making 250 hand-assembled head-band face- shields in order to donate them

to a provincial Public Health Office in Suphanburi Province, Central Re-gion of

Thailand, and a public hospital in Chumphon province, Southern Region of Thai-

land.

b) Phalya Gudipudi: Creativity/Activity: Phalya presented her Arangetram in the month

of August. It was the first time she performed on stage and showcased her talent. She

presented the Kuchipudi dance form on stage to an audience. She put in days of hard-

work and intense training for the preparation to be able to achieve a gracious 4-hour

performance on the final day.

c) Panipak Kitjumroen: Activity/Service: Panipak taught boxing to the working

women in her community. This helped them boost their self-confidence and ena-

bled them to feel secure and strong. She also aimed at building their fitness and

taught them techniques to protect themselves.

Pegasus House Project and Clubs: The Pegasus house took its first steps towards this initiative by finalising 3 clubs

for fundraising for the Climate Action Project to be undertaken. The skills would be taught by Grade 11 students to

Indus students across Grades 6-12.

i. Dance Club

ii. Economics & Finance Club

iii. Coding Club

The objectives behind operating the clubs is skill development and competency building in students ensuring that

they are active, think creatively and critically and enjoy the learning process.

Through clubs, every student-teacher would utilise this opportunity to showcase skills and help the school and com-

munity grow in the process. Grade 11 Pegasus students are thrilled to undertake this initiative, and are ready to put

their best foot forward!

ORION HOUSE By- Sheen Gupta, Grade 11:

After a through brainstorming session the Orion House narrowed down to 3 main clubs:

i. Financial Literacy Club

ii. Design Club,

iii. Creative Writing Club

Not only were these the most popular choices, but also the ones that, in their opinion, would be most effective and

impactful. All the members of the Orion House are truly looking forward to further working towards CAS. They are

excited to organise the clubs and work with the school community to benefit themselves, as well as others.

HERCULES HOUSE By- Tanvi Raju, Rishika Reddy, Vaishant Reddy, Sohan Yedulla, Venya Reddy Yerredla, Grade 1 1:

Personal CAS activities:

a) Service and Creativity: Tanvi Raju of grade 11 took part in a two day charity tour-

nament on 14th and 15th of August organised by an NGO called Serving. She vol-

unteered in collecting donations as well as in helping out on the field with equip-

ment and organisation. Donations included cash, clothes, shoes and equipment

to provide an opportunity for underprivileged children to participate in sports.

She collected these from a number of people living in her community, and also

took part in the tournament along with her team, the Petra Sports academy.

b) Creativity: In the month of August, Rishika focused on creating a painting. She

created a cartoon landscape painting of the evening sky and snowy mountains.

c) Activity - Volleyball has been part of Vaishant Reddy’s life everyday since the last

year. He plays games everyday. In the recent few months his community hosted

a tournament for all residents of the community in which about 64 residents

signed up and were all divided into 8 teams with 8 people on each team with

league formatted matches. Vaishanth has a great time being part of the matches.

d) Activity: Over the past month Sohan Yedulla has developed an interest in volleyball.

He plays with people from his community, it always feels great to take a break from

studying and go out to play a few games. Apart from this, he hasn’t been able to be

as active as he used to be before quarantine and picking up volleyball helped him

keep up with his physical activity.

e) Creativity: Venya Reddy Yerredla has been writing a fantasy novel called, “My Dis-

tant Dream.” She is a very imaginative person, and tends to daydream a lot.

Therefore, for her CAS for the month of August, she’s decided to start a novel and

bring her imagination to life. Writing allowed her to escape the reality she was in

and travel to another dimension, which she has full control over. It helped en-

hance her creativity and cognitive skills.

The Hercules House Project and Clubs: The house has planned several clubs out of which they shortlisted the ones

that could help them achieve their objectives.

i. Sports/Fitness Club

ii. Photography Club

iii. fashion club

iv. Food Club

PHOENIX HOUSE By Amatra Ivaturi, Grade 11:

The students were so full so full of enthusiasm during the brainstorming sessions. The filter used to collect suitable

ideas was deciding what the majority of the school would like and benefit from. After a grueling discussion, they

decided on 2 clubs:

i. Art Club

ii. Gaming Club

From the get go, these ideas were strongly supported by the students and we wanted to give the participants a

breath of fresh air from academically oriented activities.

10) Updates from the College Placements Office:

A Profile Building session was conducted for Grade 6 to Grade 11: The top universities worldwide look for a holistic

student profile with a balanced mix of '5Ps' - Performance, Passion, Program, Preparation, and Presentation. In

this session, the students were explained what makes a good profile and how parents, teacher advisors, and the

Placement office can help children make the portfolio more competitive. A detailed walkthrough on the entire

process was done to make the students aware, confident, and ready for profile-building.

11) Updates from the Sports Department:

a) The students participated in the Merutsav 2021 organized by Meru International School from 9th to 18th August.

All the events were conducted online in three different slots between 2 pm to 6 pm. 2000+ students participated

in this event from various schools in six different age categories.

60 students from our school participated in this event. The results are as follows:

The students who reached up to finals in various categories were:

Reina Ruhin - (3A) in category 3 & 4 in Amazing Inventions & Nritya

Vihana Agarwal - (3A) in category 3 & 4 in Nritya

Ananya Choudary - (4A) in category 3 & 4 in Mystic Yoga

Hruday Neerukonda - (8A) in category 7 & 8 in Student Reporter

The students who secured positions in the finals in various categories:

Kshetra Rao - 8B - 2nd

Nirupa - 8B - 3rd

Aarohi Kini - 4A - 3rd

Amaira Kapoor - 4A - 3rd

Hridhaan RR - 3A - 2nd

Tvisha Tibrevala - 3rd

Ayansh Gadhraju - 1C - 3rd

b) National Sports Day - Parth M from grade 7C won the bronze medal in the event held at Gachibowli Stadium on

29th August in the U-14 100mts event on the account of National Sports Day.

12) Upcoming Events:

September 2021

2nd - 17th September RC A - Summative Assessments for Gr 12

3rd September RC A - Summative Assessments for Gr 6 to 10 end

6th - 9th September Gr 9 Leadership Camp

8th September RC A - Summative Assessments for Gr 11 end

10th September Ganesh Chaturthi Holiday

13th – 16th September Gr 11 Leadership Camp

Warm regards,

Ms Aparna Achanta

Principal, IISH

17th September 1st PAC Meeting

20th – 22nd September 20th September Monday PTM for Gr 6 to 8

23rd – 25th September PTM for Gr 9 to 11

29th September PYP Student-led Conference