A Cultural Treat

In a great display of the spirit of international mindedness, the IB PYP students of Grade-I made an educational visit to Puri Jagganath Temple in Banjara Hills and Anandha Buddha Vihar in Mahendra Hills as a part of their Unit of Inquiry about ‘Festivals & Celebrations Around the World Reflect Culture’. The students were very excited to see the Puri Jaggannath temple, which is a replica of the original Puri jaggannath Temple at Odisha, in terms of design and architecture. The most attracting aspect of this temple is its "Shikhara" measuring around 70 feet in height. The red color of the temple is due to the usage of sand stone (around 600 tonnes were brought from Orissa which is being used to build this whole architecture) and around 60 stone carvers were blessed to carve this temple. There are shrines dedicated to Lakshmi, along with Shiva, Ganesh, Hanuman and Navagrahas. The sanctum sanctorum houses Lord Jaggannath along with his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Shubadra. The pictorial printings and carvings depicted the story of Lord Krishna and the students interpreted the story independently.

Our enthusiastic thinkers got the opportunity to have a short 40 minute session with Monk of Anandha Buddha Vihar, and were told about some of the beliefs of the religion and got to experience a prayer ceremony by a monk who taught the children meditation techniques for better concentration and memory power. The monk answered the various questions asked by our students . They were overwhelmed with the artistic work, excellent sculpture, colours, greenery, peace and serenity inside the Buddha Vihar. The visit created awareness among students about the similarities and differences between various places of worship, their culture and beliefs which inspired them to inquire even more.

Cool Clubs

The secondary students at DRS International School were once again excited to get together for the ‘Beyond Classroom’ Club Meet by putting their ingenious imaginations to work. The Literary Club students drew diagrams of their likes such as trees, cars etc and wrote ‘Shape Poems’ around them.

The Visual Arts Club experimented with artistic hand -made Tribal Jewellery with clay. The Performing Arts Club students learned to sway to western dance for slow music.

At the Music Club, the students presented their own songs and also planned for upcoming Republic Day Celebrations. They also planned for a showcase of their vocal and instrumental skills in February as well.

Meanwhile, the Eco Sustainability Club, DRS Community & Humane Club students had a reflection on the activities so far.

The Design & Technology Club had an introductory session on ‘Dream Weaver’ software whereas the DRS MUN club engaged themselves in a word search for UN lingo and vocabulary in small groups.

Show of Diversity

A talk show took place for the IB PYP students of Grade IV in which representatives of threee religions interacted with students as guest speakers.



Ms.Jyosthsna spoke about Hinduism, Ms.Mariam spoke about Islam and Mr.Daniel spoke about Christianity. The speakers shared their religious practices and beliefs with them and as part of ‘Taking Action’, the students planned ways to appreciate others’ culture and show unity in diversity by dressing up as people from different religions.

Facing Fears

CAS experiences provide students opportunities for collaboration, self-determination, accomplishment and enjoyment. Our students of the IBDP had one such thrilling CAS experience on their trek at Khajaguda Hills last week.

The four hour trek, that was part of the ‘Activity’ strand, was literally a breath of fresh air. It challenged our students into facing their fears and pushing their endurance and stamina levels.

First students were allowed to climb to a small height. This helped build confidence and trust in each other. Each step ahead generated further energy and zeal. Slipping and falling and then again trying again helped boost confidence in their own abilities and as well as helped them conquer their fear of getting hurt.

The trek cemented students’ confidence in their skills and abilities, and helped them affirm their identification of their strengths as well as areas for growth. A trek to remember, indeed!

Celebration in the Air!

The IB PYP Wing at DRS International School welcomed the harvest festival of India by celebrating Bhogi, Pongal and Sankranti in a special assembly. Our PYP students came dressed in colourful traditional attire and presented various cultural performances to spread the joy of this festival and some students dressed in ‘Haridasulu’ caught the attention of all present there.

The celebrations reflected the festive decorations with a colorful rangoli of flowers and gobbemmalu, Sankranti greetings backdrop and the highlight of the celebrations was the dance-drama presentation on the song ‘Andariki Sankranthi Subakankshalu’, folkloricas of Kolatam dance, garagala dance, and gangiredulla dance and an auspicious speech about the importance of this festival, how it is celebrated in different states of India etc.

The little ones of International Kindergarten enjoyed making kites with colorful paper as their ‘Activity of the Month’ and danced for various songs in different languages as part of the celebrations. They even had a joyful time flying kites with great gusto and enthusiasm.

A Trip Across the Universe!

As part of their Unit of Inquiry-‘Human Actions Have an Impact on the Universe’, the IB PYP students of Grade V at DRS International School went on a field trip to the famous Indian Science museum -Birla Planetarium located in Hyderabad to learn more about the universe.The students interacted with the curator to understand the components of the Universe and its unique features and also enjoyed watching a 3D show about the ‘Universe’.

They even explored the Art Gallery which has a rare collection, breathtaking displays and a unique Natural History Gallery called the ‘Dinosaurium Museum’ with exhibits of the excavated fossils of dinosaurs, marine shells, fossilized tree trunks and eggs etc. This field trip served the purpose of helping the students to comprehend the wonders of universe and watching the galleries helped them to go back to about 160 million years ago and estimate the age of universe and our planet.

Unity in Diversity

As part of the IB PYP Grade IV Unit of Inquiry – ‘Beliefs and Values Enrich Culture’, our students went on a field trip to few religious places in Hyderabad like Jagannath Temple and Calvary Church and explored the places of worship. They had interactions with the committee members and caretakers and learnt about their religious practices.

The visit not only made them observe and appreciate the different architectures of these religious sites and study the similarities and commonalities between religions but also helped them to understand the importance of the concept of ‘Unity in Diversity’.