“Exhibition on Human rights”.

“Exhibition on Human rights”. How does it sound to you? Boring or Exciting? Many of us will obviously say ,“ What can one present in an exhibition on human rights ? Probably only articles which are so boring .”

It’s the usual reaction of the people, but grade four students proved such words wrong, with their presentation on human rights which deserved praises like “ Excellent presentation , Good work, Keep it up , Great job, Hard work, Very well done ,Impressive work. etc .” These were the words of parents and teachers when they visited the exhibition .

The exhibition held on Wednesday 1/10/08 ,was a part of the unit of inquiry “HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES .” In the exhibition the students displayed their learning and hard work done throughout the UOI .

The exhibition was divided into four sections:-
· Human rights

· Our responsibilities

· Significant people

· Human rights abuse

The exhibition followed the sequence – Human right abuse, Significant people, Our responsibility & Human rights. In each of the section students displayed their work done in the class during the UOI ( Posters , banners ,articles ,models ).The best part of the exhibition was the role play of different characters by the students which really entertained the audience & impressed them with their dialogue delivery & knowledge of the concept. Students were constantly repeating their acting & dialogues without getting tired .This showed their dedication & spirit to prove themselves.

HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE
In this section charts showing the human rights abuse & the banners to stop this abuse were displayed. The following students enacted to show the concept.

Naomi Gajjar became a child labor, with her expressions she impressed everyone.

Anay Sanghvi was all tied in chains & ropes as he enacted like a slave who was captured
by his master who behaved very harshly with him.

Jigyasha Gothi enacted like a black person & said about the evils of Racism.

The audience was stumped when Vivek Bachhawat shouted “ I ‘m a Jihadi , my adults gave me AK 47 to practice with, & now I’ m perfect at shooting .I will snatch away Kashmir from India & kill all the Indians.

Naomi ,Jigyasha ,Anay & Vivek handled the Human rights abuse section in an effective manner.

SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE
In this section the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi ,Nelson Mandela & Martin Luther King Jr. was shown .Articles and sketches of these people were displayed and the students added to the presentation by their acting.

Snehil Raizada was dressed up like Martin Luther King Jr. and said about his contribution for Human Rights and his assassination. He was capable enough to impress the audience by his performance.

Manan Shah came dressed up like Nelson Mandela and gave the speech given by Nelson Mandela on discrimination with black people.
He with his white hair could really give the effect of real Nelson Mandela.

Shaurya Mashruwala was dressed up like Mahatma Gandhi and said “ I fought for the right to freedom ,I followed the path of non violence but today everywhere there is only violence , violence & violence.”

Kids of Nursery considered him as real Gandhiji & bent to touch his feet. His dialogue delivery was excellent and gained everyone’s attention .

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
In this section the posters showing the responsibility in claiming and maintaining our’s and others rights were displayed. These posters were an excellent medium to show their responsibility for their own rights and the rights of others. The hidden talent of the students could also come up through this.


HUMAN RIGHTS
This was the main section on which the exhibition was based. This section displayed almost every human right through posters, articles and role plays. The beauty of the section was added by;

Asiya Razvi who enacted like a Muslim girl offering Namaz. She supported the right to religion and said “ I have the right to follow any religion ,all religions are one .”

Yaashi Zaveri smilingly ate an apple and said I have the right to food.

Khushi Shah was reading a book and said “Mujhe padne ka adhikar hai to main
padoongi “.She said such words because she enacted like a village girl ,displaying right to education.

Jayani Mehta supported the right to vote by casting a vote in the ballot box.

Hey!!!!!! Exhibition was not over yet .The important point regarding the protection of rights was still left, so to complete it Parantap Sinha “THE POLICEMAN “ & Nikunj Pansari “ THE LAWYER “ came and said I ‘m a policeman I protect rights & I ‘m a lawyer ,I fight for rights “ respectively.


All the parents & teachers enjoyed the exhibition .Now let me tell you a secret this exhibition was not free. Although students didn’t ask for money but they caught their teachers and parents this time who are always after them for studies .

Guess what did they do ???????

They asked parents and teachers to fill a questionnaire on the basis of their observation in the exhibition..And do you know what happened ?

Most of the audience were wrong in their answers. Anyway,never mind ,there’s always a next time .

The exhibition went over very well. Grade four really proved themselves by their hard work and dedication. All the parents and teachers appreciated students work and performances and said that they really look forward to many more of such events.


By:
Priyanka Tiwari
Class teacher-Grade Four.

FESTIVE SALE - Grade V

FESTIVE SALE

“Come one, Come all”, the banner said! And How they came! How they saw! and How they bought!

Sounds familiar. Well I have taken the liberty of comparing the Indian spirit to the erstwhile Roman Empire. How else can you explain the sudden interest of the world in India. There is a whole new market in this country.

Grade five did exactly what the world is doing- capitalizing on the Indian buying power. But the Indian buyers are very choosy. They want designer pieces and at affordable prices ! The items were ethnic and chic and sold like hot cakes.

Speaking of cakes reminds me of our food stall. However global the Indian gets, desi khana scores above all other things. Our desi food stall proved this right with brisk sale of our evergreen hits, “Nimbu Pani” and “Bhel”. The sale closed within an hour of opening and the frenzied activities drained the students of their energy. But the wide smiles on their happy faces – it was worth the effort !!!!!!!

The sale was part of a learning activity in Math. The students learnt about estimation of items to be prepared, cost of materials, pricing of materials and concept of profit.

The basic concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division were part of the exercise. Apart from these concepts students understood the marketing elements of grouping – making sets, pricing strategies, displays – wonderfully demonstrated by Ms. Priyanka Agashe and packaging – supported by Mrs. Zahabiyah who provided paper bags.

Another learning experience arising out of this activity was group collaboration and co-operation.

Some behind the scenes pictures

Some comments by visitors

Ms. Mariam & Mrs. Priyanka said that the hard work put in by the students really paid off very well. Mrs. Hasina, Mrs. Kavita & Mrs. Vishaka appreciated the talent of the students and Mrs. Daksha and many of the students enjoyed buying things and eating and drinking !

It is said that, “No market can exist without a customer” and that’s why I would like to say that this Festive Sale wouldn’t have been a success without the patronage of you all. A big Thank You to all !!!

Mrs. Gowri Murali Grade 5 Class Teacher - 24th Sept, 2008

Grade 3 started the inquiry on--Who We Are

Grade 3 started the inquiry on--Who We Are
Central Idea was-A balance between factors such as exercise, nutrition and recreation contribute to human health.

The unit was kicked started by the kids undergoing exercises they measured their heartbeats with the help of stethoscope and recorded it. They identified the various changes going on in their bodies like sweating, panting, heart beats increasing, tiredness, and muscles becoming stronger. They also played recreational games like Automobile to understand the changes their body was undergoing in a better way.

These became the basis for their next topic the body systems they learnt about circulatory system to understand the heartbeats and function of heart. Sweating became the base to learn about thermoregulation, strong muscles to learn about muscular and skeletal system, panting to learn about respiratory system and lack of energy to learn about digestive system.

Gradually we came to our next topic that was nutrition which was covered in a very unique and interesting way. Kids talked about their favorite foods and hence inquired about healthy food, and were introduced to the Food Pyramid. They learnt about the 4 food groups and the colors they represent They made their own Food Pyramid as an art activity and learnt to maintain food logs.

They also had a talk with a nutrition expert which helped them to make connections to the central idea, that all 3( exercise, nutrition and recreation )all were necessary to maintain a healthy life style.

They also learnt the Fit kid song to strengthen their learning. They measured their heights to understand that proper height was also a part of growing up healthy.

They made a healthy menu working in groups which included all 4 food groups, they even gave a good presentation on it.

They also had a field trip to Reliance Fresh where apart from understanding junk and healthy food they discovered the nutritional facts printed on the food packets.

Next day they wrote reflection log of their visit and collected food packets to understand more about the nutritional facts. They were introduced to the constituents of food ( carbohydrates, fats, proteins etc.).They also made bar graphs from their findings and were shocked and surprised to find that their favorite food like Kurkure had more fats and less energy and Kelloggs had less fat and more energy.
The healthy island game was played which had all 3 parts of the central idea –exercise, nutrition and recreation the kids played and learnt from it. Comments like- our thermoregulatory system is working overtime made it easy to see that they were making the connections They also made a Class Cook Book with precious help from parents and were very proud to see their work in a book format.

They were given sleep patterns to undergo which they could do with your cooperation and it helped them to understand the importance of sleep in healthy lifestyle. They also had group discussion on Healthy Food vs Junk Food, Watching T.V for too long etc. to understand the healthy life style. They maintained hygiene checklist which became a base to understand personal hygiene and its importance. They were made to exercise to keep them strong and healthy.

They also prepared a drama on healthy lifestyle. Lastly for their summative assessment they made a mind map on the topic and keeping it as a guide made posters to reflect the central idea.

Before the assessment the rubric was discussed with them in detail so that they could prepare for it properly.

The posters and their understanding of it was really superb. Commendable work by 3rd graders even if I say so.

Written by :

Mariyam Baxamusa
Class teacher Grade 3

The Senior KG unit of inquiry- Health and well being

We started with our first UOI Health and Well Being which primarily focused on Balanced Diet & Healthy Lifestyle. It dealt with the following areas:

• daily habits and routines (hygiene, sleep, play and eating)
• Balanced choices
• Consequences of choices

Through the UOI:

The students had a wider idea of the various fruits and vegetables, they came to know about the vegetable map i.e the root and the shoot vegetables as well the leafy vegetables. The class had a quite long lasting discussion on the food pyramid ; through it they came to know about the grain and cereal family, various milk products veg and non veg products, nuts and the junk food family.

The students were taken to RELIANCE FRESH where they practically got a closer look at the different vegetables, fruits, grains ,cereals,pulses, juices, milk products and ofcourse the junk family.

They got a clear idea as to why the grain/cereals/pulses occupy the largest slab and why is the junk food allotted the space at the peak. Getting a fair idea on the food choices through the pyramid the kids had various class discussions , worksheets and home projects for e.g the breakfast , lunch and dinner plates that they had to prepare regarding their respective preferences of food.

Their knowledge about a nutritious and healthy life was very well reflected through the various class worksheets and discussions

As a part of the healthy diet the kids also prepared sprouts right from the soaking part to steaming them in the school pantry.
The kids also had brought to school some vegetables of their choice which also took care of the sorting of vegetables as per color, shape size and other factors such as root , shoot taste.

We also had a nutritionist visiting the school discussing with the kids the imp of a healthy life style.

Covering the hygiene aspect of our UOI ;the kids came up with their daily routine and observed how it differed with the routine of their classmates.

Also with a dentist visiting them they realized the importance of keeping their teeth healthy, they got a fair idea of what cavities are and points to be kept in mind to avoid them .

The in class glitter activity helped the students to know that germs too spread in the similar way ; thus inculcating and enhancing in them the habit of washing hands.

To ensure the same the kids were given a checklist on daily habits as a home project to reinforce the concepts of a healthy and hygienic life style.

As a part of the same the kids also acted as hygiene detectives surveying the various parts of the school and reporting about its hygienic and unhygienic sections.

Approaching towards the end of our UOI we had discussions on a fit lifestyle; the importance of fitness in our lifestyle.

We had sessions of yoga, exercise , discussions on the benefits of laughter in our daily lives , difference between indoor and outdoor games.

The students were taken to a field trip to SURAT CITY GYMKHANA PIPLOD , to get a clear idea of what it takes to have fit lifestyle.

In support to our UOI we also had various books read out to the students, stories on a healthy lifestyle through power point presentations, puppet show wherein a healthy , hygienic and fit lifestyle and its importance was depicted and nature walks explaining the importance of a unpolluted environment.
Sr Kg Teachers

IBO Preliminary Visit on 19th August 2008

Since we have just started this blog and the school is running since more than 2 months, there will be a lot of postdated updates happening first!

So, with that disclaimer, I start off with updating you about the IBO Preliminary visit.

Kathy Derrick (ex-PYP Co-ordinator, Internatioanl School of Sinagpore, a PYP workshop trainer and now associate regional manager for IB Asia Pacific) visited Fountainhead School on 19^th August 2008. The preliminary visit is a part of the consideration phase of the IBO affiliation process

Kathy toured the school and spent a lot of time interacting with Ankita and Vardan discussing school leadership, curriculum, teacher training, parent involvement, facilities planned etc. She also spent time interacting with our PYP teachers.

Kathy was impressed with the school infrastructure and facilities. She was also happy with the kind of training our teachers have undergone and the time built in their schedule for collaborative planning. She said that we are on track to implement the PYP. She gave us some tips on managing the training and planning better.

Some comments from the preliminary visit report which came in last evening:

"It was indeed a privilege to visit Fountainhead School to discuss the vision and plans
of the executive committee and the leadership team, to hear the enthusiasm of the
staff and to see structures and practices already in place in the school, which will
greatly support the implementation of the programme. The school has begun
implementing units of inquiry, with knowledgeable and positive guidance from the
Principal and the PYP Coordinator. The leadership team were eager to discuss future
professional development opportunities both in school and regional.
The school community is committed and enthusiastic and truly believe in the
programme, making links between it and good teaching practice and past
experiences. The school is growing and developing, and staff are adapting to needs
as they occur. The school is also realistic in their outlook for the future as enrolment
increases, and the new site develops, they recognize that structures will need to be
consistently re-examined.
As a result of the visit to Fountainhead School and the discussions which occurred
with the leadership team and staff, it is quite apparent that Fountainhead School has
set themselves up for successful implementation of the PYP. I look forward with great
interest to hear about the ongoing development of the programme and the school. I
wish Fountainhead School every success with the implementation of the Primary
Years Programme."

Welcome to Fountainhead

Hi all!

We have created a blog to post recent happening at Fountainhead School, Surat.

Do keep visiting us virtually for updates.