Young Adventurers

Nilshi Adventure Camp was a five day trip. It was fun filled, full of adventure, experiences and learning which created memories for lifetime.

Day 1: The young adventurers started for their destination, Pune, from Hyderabad by flight. After landing at the Pune airport they all boarded the bus, heading towards the camp site, Nilshi Lakeside Camp. The journey was comfortable. They were surrounded by the nature from all sides. The views around and the beauty of the nature were soothing.

It took them 4.5 hours to reach to the camp site. After reaching the campsite at 12 noon, they all relaxed. At 1:00 pm they were served the lunch. After which they were given some time to rest. The day was followed by few adventurous activities, like ‘Rock Climbing’ and ‘Burma Bridge Crossing’. After the fun filled and tiring activities they were served tea/milk and snacks, followed by the exciting ‘Team Game’ named ‘Maze’ which was a memory based team game which required focus. It was equally exciting for the viewers to watch the participants play.

Day 2: The day started with the ‘Nature Trail’ where the children were taken for a walk through woods , beside the lake. It was a refreshing experience. Following the activities scheduled for the day, ‘Rappling’, ‘Shooting’ and the most exciting was the ‘Raft Building’ and ‘Swimming’.

Children were divided into two teams; each group was given props to built their own rafts. Both the teams did really well, successfully building the rafts in the given span of 45 minutes. They did rafting after that, followed by swimming in the lake. After freshening up, another Team game was lined up for the day, wherein they learned more about team work. The day was tiring but adventurous.

Day 3: Post breakfast they started for the next camp, ‘Camp Water’s Edge’, a beautiful place, with scenic beauty all around, soothing environment. ‘Zip Lining’, ‘River Crossing’ and Obstacle Course’ were the scheduled activities for the day. Followed by ‘Kayaking’ and ‘Swimming’. Students played another team game.The day ended with learning few steps of ‘Garba’. All the students participated and enjoyed doing garba with Gujarati dancers.

Day 4: Children were excited as the day was planned for the thrilling activities at ‘ADLABS IMAGICA THEME PARK’. Children enjoyed each and every single ride and game there. The day ended perfectly with ‘Camp Fire’ and dance.

Day 5: The day started with early breakfast and they drove to the ‘Lohagad Fort’ for trek. It was a two hour trek up, to the fort, the way was full of greenery and scenic beauty.

Tech Talk!

Ms Aarthi and Ms Preeti, from our ICT Department attended the Apple Leadership Event, held at The Trident, Hyderabad. Teachers and Vice Principals from around 130 schools across India also participated in the cyber conference.

The seminar began with exploring how technology has changed the way we live and its immense empowering potential in making every learner a creator. The ABC’s of technology, ‘Access’, ‘Basic skills’, & ‘Creativity’ were discussed at length. With technology in the classroom, listening becomes discovering, interest becomes wonder, and passive learning becomes active exploration. Lessons come to life with touch, motion and sound. Teacher resources, insights from fellow educators and personalised support can further help facilitators teach every subject, from reading to coding, in ways that kids really understand. Participants at the conference shared their experiences of using apps such as the Classroom App, Book Creator, I-movie, i-nigma, Tellagami, chatter pix which make teaching and learning more interesting, creative and innovative. The new Classroom App and Apple TV helps teachers independently transform their classrooms into dynamic and interactive learning environments. With them teachers can give instant feedback to students. Further, the merits iTunes I, Swift Playgrounds, Keynote, i Cloud as well as the endless possibilities in the App Store were explored in the educational context was discussed at length. The conference helped our facilitators gain new insight and perspective into using ICT as a tool in the classroom and how technology can facilitate the inquiry process for students of all ages.

The Adventure Begins!

An orientation program was held today at DRSIS for all the parents of the students who are participating in the Nilshi Adventure Trip to Nilshi, Maharashtra (outskirts of Mumbai and Pune) during the Dussehra break from 28th September to 2nd October 2017. The session was organized by the tour operators, Wandering Bee Holidays and really built up the students’ eagerness to get going deep into the heart of nature!

Apart from making their Dusshera vacations a memorable one, the primary objective of this trip is to develop a sense of adventure, love for nature, building team-spirit, etc.

The chief guide of the Nilshi Adventure trip Mr Raghavendra Prasad began the session with an introduction to his organization, followed by the objectives of conducting such trips, besides sharing pictures of the adventure & camping sites of Karjat Valley, Lonavala, Kandala, Panchgani, Imagica, Waters Hedge, Lohagarh Fort etc in his presentation to help everyone gear up for the adventure awaiting them.

The participants were excited to learn more about their place of stay right in the midst of nature and were thrilled at the prospect of enjoying its peaceful and serene surroundings by living in glass houses, mini-dorms and tents with clay-tiled canopies on top away from this bustling city.

The string of adventure activities planned for our campers from day break till dusk, include mountaineering, sight-seeing, rapelling, trekking, river-crossing, zip-lining, bamboo-rafting, archery and activities like spider-web, magical waves, etc which are all designed to boost our students’ stamina, endurance and self-management skills.

Important instructions for the campers and guidelines for the parents including the tour itinerary, flight details of both the onward and return journeys, what to pack, do’s and don’t’s etc were also discussed at length. The safety and security aspects of the students were also ensured to their beloved ones. Parents and students welcomed the opportunity to clarify their doubts and prepare themselves well.

Speak up!

The IB PYP Wing conducted Inter-House Poetry-Recitation Competition for Grades I & II and Just A Minute (JAM) Session for Grades III to V. Both competition revolved around themes relating to how we Share our Planet, and had our budding eco-warriors speak up for conservation and more!

The students of Grades I & II inspired the audience to take action by reciting poems such ‘Conserve Water Every Day’, ‘I will Save the Earth’, ‘Water, Water Everywhere’, ‘Earth is Our Home’, ‘Drops of Water’, etc. They chose topics that reflected their Unit of Inquiry on ‘Environment’. The participants were judged on the basis of their preparation, organization, presence of mind, eye contact, content and voice modulation.

On the other hand, the JAM session had students compete in ‘a minute to win it’. Students from across Grades III to V spoke on the spot on themes such as ‘Unity in Diversity’, ‘Save the Environment’, ‘Ethnic Expressions’, ‘Effects of Pollution’, ‘Continents’, ‘Endangered Animals’, ‘Religion’, etc. The students were able to think on their feet and spontaneously articulate their thoughts in a very clear and persuasive way, by connecting the themes to their real-world experiences through field trips as well as the inquiries they had undertaken.

The Wonders of Weather

Students of IB PYP Grade V visited the Meteorological Centre, Begumpet to inquire and learn about factors affecting climate and how the weather forecast is recorded.

The prime responsibility of the Indian Weather Department is observing the meteorological movements. Mr. Sudhir Kumar, one of the staff present, interacted with our students and explained the process of recording the temperatures. He even showed them the equipment used to record the temperature.

Fine-Dining!

Our IK-I students visited ‘Thinespo’, a restaurant in Kompally, Hyderabad as part of their Inquiry on ‘Manners and Etiquettes’.The children were eager for the opportunity to translate their inquiry into action.

It fascinating to see our children demonstrating impressive self management skills and social skills at such a tender age. The trip saw them actively make make links to ‘healthy’ food and habits. Our little learners made sure they used hand-sanitizers and wore their apron before sitting down for an unforgettable meal and experience. They rapidly made connections to the table etiquettes and manners they had explored and applied the same.

This experience will indeed help our tiny tots go further with their learning in the ongoing inquiry.

A Day of Love!

Grandparents play a vital role in the life of every child. DRSIS took time to felicitate and honour the grandparents of our students and celebrate these bonds that transcend generations in a fun way!

It was a special day for all those who attended the programme and witnessed the several heart warming moments that students of Grades IK to V strove hard through practise to perfect.

The event started with the felicitation of the guest for the day, Ms Shashikala Ji and Ms Sunitha Agarwal, with a token of the school’s gratitude and love. This was followed by the recitation of a poem by one of our students, on ‘Grandpa & Grandma-Hold Me a Little Longer’ which expressed the bond grand children share with their grandparents.

Later, our tiny tots from International Kindergarten dressed in colorful attire and danced for their doting grandmas and grandpas to the song ‘I Like to Move it’.While the Grade I students danced to the tune of ‘Nani teri morni’, Grade 2 students sang a melodious song about how grand children are always excited to visit their grandparents house. Grade 3 presented a song which paid tribute to grandparents’ love and their importance in our life. Grade IV students presented an energetic rendition of ‘Nukkad Natika’ to show their affection towards Dada-Dadi, Nana-Nani and to cheer them up they also presented some hindi chukuleys. Grade V students performed a flash mob of retro melodies.

The fun games and group activities organized for the grandparents was a wonderful way of increasing overall family and community involvement, encouraging greater understanding across generations, building closer bonds between them, affirming the value of children and older adults, and giving them a platform to spend some quality time together.

Everyone seemed truly happy and the grandparents absolutely adored the idea of celebrating Grandparents’ Day as they were deeply touched by their little ones’ participation and love.