University of British Columbia at DRSIS

Our Career Counseling team at DRSIS, organized a university visit seminar for the students of Grade XI, XII, DP 1 & 2 to assist the students in taking more informed career decisions, help them to identify their professional goals, enable them in making important career related decisions such as; determining their educational options, deciding their next career move, resolving career challenges or maximizing success in job search, find solutions best suited to one’s profile and choose the best career path leading to greater fulfillment and success.

With the personal guidance of Mr Sven Clarke, a representative from the University of British Columbia, Canada, the students gained information in great detail through his presentation and Campus Tour videos that gave comprehensive and objective information about the university rankings of Canada, various study options at UBC and ways to match their career interests against the real world possibilities at University of British Columbia.

At the end, he even guided the students through a maze of questions on how to apply to UBC, its admission process, entrance tests, its various programs and courses, student references etc.

Discover, Decide, Determine

A presentation by Mr Deepak, a representative of Aakash Institute, was organized for the students of Grade X to provide career guidance with regard to opting for the careers they wish to pursue and also to enable students to discover their potential and aptitude at this stage, before pressure starts building up to zero in on a definite career and to set goals accordingly.

Speaking in detail about the factors which help students to determine the right career path– aptitude, interest and personality, he explained to them about Introspection or Assessment which facilitates the process of career selection.

With confusion possibly arising in making career choices, he stressed on the need for self-reflection and introspection. He highlighted the importance of making these choices objectively and independently, eliminating both internal and external factors that may unduly influence or sway them.

Keeping in mind that some students might also have preconceived beliefs about certain fields, he elaborated about various alternative career paths and advised the students to not restrict themselves solely to the two popular options of medical and engineering, but encouraged them to start exploring other fields according to their talents and interests in alternate domains. The career insights and statistics in his presentation gave students a clear picture of what they can expect from various educational courses.

The presentation also highlighted that it is crucial to understand the professional requirements and the kind of personality traits that each field demands, besides academic excellence, and it was suggested that these be identified and mapped through Psychometric Assessment.

To help determine a student’s true potential, he insisted upon the importance of the various workshops, programs, counseling seminars, entrance exams and aptitude tests conducted at Aakash Institute like ANTHE, talent search exams, All India online tests etc. as these aptitude cum entrance tests can help students identify the right career stream that interests them. On the basis on their results, they could further make the right choices regarding what course they want to enroll in, in order to pursue their career objectives.

The crux and main take-away of the career counseling seminar by Aakash Institute for our students was the importance of letting our passion drive our career choices and paths to ensure lasting success.

Innovative Ideas!

The secondary Club Meet was held at DRSIS and our creative clubs got another opportunity to explore their talents. In the Visual Arts Club, the students created colourful Batik cloth patterns by using Tie and Dye method of painting. They used this creative technique with fabric paint to achieve remarkable results. The members of the Eco Sustainability Club displayed their creativity by making Eco-Friendly Ganeshas with clay and dough. Humane Club members made Paper Flowers with crepe paper and gift wrappers. In the Cuisine Club, the children learned how to make delicious sandwiches with wheat bread, mayonnaise, tomatoes, cucumber and cheese spread.

DRSMUN Club students came forward and shared their reflections of DRSMUN 2K17 Conference and performed a mini-mock MUN Conference by forming communities, passing motions, speaking about the countries mentioned in the General Speakers List.

The Performing Arts Club students practiced the hip-hop whereas the students of Music Club wrote their reflections on the songs learned and performed by them so far for various school events and celebrations. The Literary Club members wrote essays on a topic of their choice and presented it before the other members. The Design and Technology Club members edited the audio clips through further exploring the various features of the software ‘Audacity’.

Dairy Diaries

“Animal Husbandry” is the major area/source of food to humans. To have hands on experience on cattle farming and processing of milk practically, Grade 9 students visited Masqati Dairy Farm, Hyderabad’. Masqati Dairy Farm is one of the most trusted and reputed brand names for milk and various milk products like cream, Ghee, Khowa, Butter, Ice Cream, Paneer etc.

Students saw different sections in processing of milk like butter section, ghee section, ice cream section; flavoured milk section etc. “Pasteurization” of milk, an important processes in preservation of milk was shown to students. In this section, they saw machinery used to produce steam to raise temperature of milk and the cold room for chilling of milk.

They got a chance to see how milk and curd packets, Ghee and flavoured bottles are packed. Sterilizer, a machine used to sterilize milk products also was shown to them. They enquired about different details of the machinery such as the temperature maintained, steps involved etc. from the employees of the dairy farm.

They observed the working of different machinery like Milk receiving and separating units, cheese press, pasteurizer, cold storage room, sterilizer etc.

After observing the machinery, students were taken to the cattle farm, a topic which is directly related to their unit of study. They tried to recollect and relate their knowledge on different types of cattle, shed maintenance conditions, tagging of animals etc.

On the whole, this field trip to dairy farm exposed to students to real life applications relating their academic knowledge. This trip truly motivated and enriched their subject knowledge. Last but the not the least, students really enjoyed tasting ice creams and flavoured milk.

Pow-Wow at DRSIS!

There’s nothing like a debate to spice things up!

At DRS International School, the Inter-House Debate Competition held today saw our students of Grades 6th to 8th debate on the topic ‘Men and Women Should Be Paid Equal Wages’ and Grades 9th and 10th debate on ‘Whether Censorship in Indian Cinema Today is Justified.’ The students of the four houses- Tesla, Galileo, Da Vinci and Newton- were divided into teams that were for and against the motion. The students put forward their points strongly and expressed their views that had been backed up by thorough research.

The judges judged the debaters on the basis of their confidence, diction, body language, time management, rebuttal ability and content. At the end, an audience poll was taken as to who supported the motion and against the motion, and the results were unsurprisingly inconclusive as both sides were equally well-spoken.

A Day Of Pride

On 15 August 2017, DRSIS, celebrated Independence day and Proclamation Day together with the spirit befitting the occasion. Various patriotic performances, poems, pratigyas, the distribution of awards and the unfurling of the tri-color made the day special.

Our Principal, Dr Gaurav Muradia, welcomed the directors and other dignitiaries, our parent community and student body for gracing the occasion and stressed the importance of taking stock of our values and ethics, and our legacy on this day, through sharing the inspiring and thought-provoking story of Dr Alfred Nobel.

Our students set the tone for the program with the recital of the patriotic poems such as”Ye Tiranga, Janani Janma Bhoomi” etc which described the valour of our freedom fighters and also paid homage to the efforts of the numerous freedom fighters of India.

The highlight of the program was the cultural extravaganza by our students to show devotion towards our country, in which the students performed for songs such as “Jai Ho, Maa Tujhe Salaam, Bhavam Bhagyam purchuko, Sagarame Tira Chuttukoni, Ye jo desh hai mera, Wo chali kwahishon ke jahan mein..choone aasma ko jaha roshan zindagi hai..” etc. The patriotic song and dance performances received much deserved applause from the audience present.

Students from across the school were honoured and felicitated for their excellence in various fields. From their extraordinary proficiency in english, to their genius at math and their achievements in sports or in character, the Proclamation Day was a true celebration of the best qualities our students possess. Students made their parents and teachers equally proud through their achievements, with many students bagging multiple awards and recognitions.

Bring on Festivities!

A special assembly was conducted to mark the Janmashtami and Independence Day Celebrations at DRS International School.

The tiny-tots of the IK, came dressed in as ‘Krishna’ and ‘Gopikas’ and other colorful outfits wearing peacock feathered head-gear and flaunting decorated flutes. They celebrated the occasion by singing and dancing with great joy. The IK-1 and IK-2 students danced for the songs of “Kanha Makan Chor” and “Pyara Kanhaya” respectively, whereas, the IK-2 children wore tri-color outfits and danced to the tune of “Jai Ho” song as a tribute to Independence Day.

Later, a “Matki Phod” event was also organized to mark the naughty nature of “Little Krishna” and the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Of Patriotism and Peace

Our PYP students celebrated ‘Country of the Week’ India at the morning assembly today. Quit India Movement was highlighted in today’s assembly which happened 75 years ago on 8th August 1945. Students explored why it is considered the most important Indian Freedom Movement and the many great leaders that took part in this movement and made the demand for complete independence for our country possible.

The children also observed the importance of the day – “Hiroshima and Nagasaki” Day which took place on 6th & 9th August 1945 respectively and reflected on its facts, causes, effects and long-term impact with the help of posters and speeches.

The Creative Clans

Our students broadened their learning horizons as each club provided enrichment activities in their own way.

Our Literary Club students made Bookmarks on ‘literacy’ to promote the awareness for the need of literacy. The Visual Arts Club made attractive Tribal masks that captured their exotic nature well. The Performing Arts Club students practiced in preparation for the Independence Day while the Music Club got involved in the composition of music for the Sports Meet/Independence Day. The Design And Technology Club students were introduced to making of medleys and explored a range of different genres of music using the software, “Audacity”.

The Eco-Sustainability Club worked on a campus-survey on Green Tax and learned more about its importance and implementation.The Community & Humane Club created pen stands and designed hand-made greeting cards for the Annual Fiesta display sale, doing their bit towards the community.The Cuisine Club enjoyed making a ‘Spicy Corn Salad’. The DRSMUN Club, meanwhile, discussed and reflected on their participation in the DRSMUN 2K17 held recently, with the the first-timers sharing their experience of the event.

Career Cafe

Ms. Monica from ELS International Education Counseling & Career Services conducted a career guidance seminar organized by The Hindu in our school. Being an internationally educated counselor, she shared information about education system and universities that are available for building a successful global career for the students planning to study abroad.

Through audio-visual presentation made by the Government of US, she spoke about campus life and culture in abroad and guided the students to choose right path suitable for their dream university, selecting the right universities for their careers, guidance for essay writing, hand holding through the application process, VISA guidance and make the students familiar with abroad atmosphere and culture.

Taking on the World!

DRS International School hosted its 5th Model United Nations Conference, the DRSMUN2K17 from the 4th to the 6th of August, 2017, at the school’s campus. A highly anticipated event in the student community of Hyderabad, the conference saw nearly 400 participants from across 30 schools in attendance. The school has associated previously with the United Nations Information Center for India & Bhutan (UNIC) to make the conference as realistic a simulation as possible of actual proceedings. The three-day student-event began with an opening ceremony, inaugurated by Dr Soumya Mishra (IPS), the Inspector General of Police (Welfare) and the Directors of the school, who also released the delegate Hand-book of the conference.

The eight committees and panels at the conference had agenda that ranged from current global concerns such as Information Security, the situation in the Middle-East, to the rights of humanitarian workers in conflict areas. The committees saw intense and stimulating discussions over the three days that gave students hands-on experience of discussing, caucusing, drafting, deliberating and voting on resolutions. DRSMUN2K17 was also a call to action, with the DRSMUN2K17 President, Ms Janet Fanian urging the students to make the choice to be active peace-makers”.

DRSMUN2K17 drew to a close on the evening of the 6th with a bang! Day Three of the conference was an exciting one, with seven of the eight committees coming to consensus about their resolutions. Ms Neelima Dwivedi, Vice President of Public Policy, Government Affairs & Sustainablity, PepsciCo India, the Chief Guest, along with the school’s Director, Mr A K Agarwal, and the other dignitaries present, gave away the awards to the participants at the closing ceremony on the evening of the 6th. Besides awarding the best delegates from each committee, the best photo-journalist and the best reporter, the school also recognized delegates for High Commendation, Special Mention & Verbal Mention in the conference. Committee Chairpersons and Vice-chairpersons were also applauded for their expertise and for steering the committees ably.

The Secretary-General, Manas Varalwar captured the spirit of the conference when he quipped that he equates the success of the event with the participants’ ability to “…answer one simple question at the end of the MUN- ‘What makes you who you are?’'

The school’s Principal Dr Gaurav Muradia encouraged the participants to translate their passion into action when he said that ‘the real work begins when the conference has ended…’

With DRSMUN2K17 grabbing the limelight in MUN circles this year, the school’s MUN next year promises to be bigger and better.

Play of Words

Our residential students made the most of the holiday, in a session conducted for them at DRS International School. The group of students, who were of mixed ages, enjoyed trying their hand at group challenges that not only put their vocabulary and creativity to the test, put also kept them guessing as their peers acted out audience-driven prompts.

The word game ‘Secret Word’, had students sustaining a conversation in a given setting, and trying to decipher the secret word stuck to their back with the help of nothing but conversation clues. Their spontaneity was put to the test through the challenge ‘Lies’ in which the students had to have a conversation with a partner, while weaving in ‘lies’ through the conversation which their friends had generated. A fun way to kick-start the week!

Celebrating Siblings!

Here at DRS International School, we understand that the bond between brothers and sisters are not only between those related by blood. To celebrate this special bond, the Residential Wing celebrated Rakshabandhan Day by organizing a rakhee-making event, followed by our students exchanging rakhees, sweets and promises of protection.