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.

IB PYP Coffee Morning

Coffee Mornings are fun at DRSIS. The IB PYP Coffee Morning held on this Saturday was an excellent opportunity for parents to come along and hear all about the exciting things that are happening at DRSIS as well as learn ways in which to help and encourage learning at home. It was a good opportunity to meet school staff, chat with other parents and learn about a range of different things over a cup of tea and biscuits.

The children presented to the parents what they did in the whole of this inquiry through charts, PPT’s, explained slides on summative assessment and did group activity work on which they were assessed. They described to the parents the stages of Inquiry, how the inquiry goes about, what they have learnt and how did they do the inquiry. The UOI were based on themes like ‘Homes’, ‘Rights and Responsiblities’, Human Body, Tribes etc. They performed skits on cutting trees, traffic rules, maintaining cleanliness, public rights & rules and wrote points under ‘Tea Charts’. Role plays were also done with the help of model presentations, puppet shows, Songs, poems and dances on Gond tribes, Native America and Zulu tribes, Human Body, about cells, tissues, organs and organ systems as part of their Inquiry.

The parents were all happy to see their kids performance and appreciated the Coffee Morning concept. A rubric was made for the parents to grade the children. They were given chance to ask questions during the presentations to know more about the UOI. They also shared experiences and gave suggestions including ways to help the children with their learning and support on a wide range of matters.

DRSMUN 2K17 Newsletter

DRSMUN 2K17: “Its Your World!”

The DRSMUN, after having hosted four successful Conferences, is back with another edition of DRSMUN 2K17 which is now officially open! The first day of the conference began with the opening ceremony which took place at DRS International School attended by 400 delegates- from different places and schools.

Among the chief guests were IPS Officer Dr. Soumya Mishra, Mr Sanjay Agarwal (Director), Ms Pinky Agarwal (Director) and CEO of MDN Edify, Ms Kavitha Jain.

The welcome speech given by Vice Principal Mr Noronha, encouraged the students to participate in the conference with his lines “You hold the promise for tomorrow and it’s your world.”Our Principal, Dr Gaurav Muradia, along with other dignitaries released the DRSMUN2K17 Delegate Hand Book . The Chief Guest, Dr. Soumya Mishra (IPS), the first ever female officer from Odisha, through her motivational speech, shared that the rosary or rudraksh mantra to success is hardwork and knowledge.

Ms Janet Fanaian briefed the students about the next three days and congratulated all the participants that are going to attend one of the most successful student conferences.

Besides a moving invocation dance, the school choir sang for “Unity & Togetherness- to save the world for a better tomorrow”. The School Band struck a chord with some great Instrumental music that set the ambience. A symbolic contemporary dance performance by our senior students conveyed the symbolic message of a world that could only be healed with understanding. The end of the ceremony saw everyone come together for a snapshot to preserve the memory of the conference and Secretary General, Manas hoisting the United Nations flag and declaring the DRSMUN Conference open!

DRSMUN is a great opportunity for students to discuss global issues, develop a culture of collaboration, prepare for their role as global citizens besides acting as a platform to develop their leadership and social skills. Although formal, thankfully, the atmosphere was very cordial as students enjoyed themselves talking to each other, meeting new people and it was evident that the delegates were not only knowledgeable and well-informed but also very keen in analysing and resolving the problems debated through discussion before the session came to ajourn. Overall, the delegates and other dignitaries enjoyed the first day at the conference.

Each of the six committees of DRSMUN, Indian Parliament- LOKSABHA, United Nations Economics & Social Council (ECOSOC), UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), UN Security Council (UNSC), United Nations General Assembly-Cyberwarfare (UNGA), Futuristic Continuous Crisis Committee (FCCC), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Union of European Associations (UEFA), has one main agenda to be discussed for the 3 days. The topic chosen for each committee is highly relevant to current global concerns and can have direct impact.

CULTURE SHOCK!

Is it possible to really completely understand a culture different from one’s own? Our Grade IX students of the residential wing wrestled with this and questions of prejudice in a session held for them yesterday.

Our students chose props of their choice to enact a tribal ritual assigned to them with specified prompts, while the other group of students were tasked with understanding and reporting the event as ‘National Geographic’ reporters making a mock documentary. With djembe rhythms and improvisation, the exercise helped students understand that cultures different from our own or unfamiliar to us are not ‘inferior’ or ‘under-developed’ in any way and operate with their own norms and codes.