Newsletter

From our Principal

Creating Leaders of Tomorrow
Issue 65, July 2008

PEACE IS IN THE HANDS OF OUR CHILDREN  

Peace is in the hands Of our children

Teach the children

About tolerance

Teach the children

About patience

Teach the children

About self worth

 - Aldo Kraas

Dear Parents,

Warm greetings from Indus School and welcome to another edition of the newsletter. This year has come to a close and as I sit in school writing this edition, I already miss the happy sounds of our students on the campus. As I reflect back on this year, it has been one of immense growth for Indus. Our students have all grown as individuals and you as parents have had a large part to play in this growth as well.

Even though we had just 13 days of school this month, before we closed for the summer vacation, each day was action packed. The IGCSE and AS Level exams concluded on the 12th of June. Grades 6 – 11 were in examination mode, as the final exams commenced on the 2nd of June. I would like to thank the examination department for conducting all the exams very smoothly and successfully.

The last two weeks in school, in the PYP was not any less hectic. Apart from all the end of unit celebrations that the grades had, we celebrated the proud moment of our students graduating from Prep II to Grade 1 and from Grade 5 to MYP. Both these ceremonies were filled with mixed emotions of pride that our Eagles are doing us proud, touched with a hint of regret that they grow up so fast. To see our Prep II Eagles walk up in their graduation hats, to receive their scrolls was indeed a heart warming sight.

The Student Led Conference (SLC) was the culminating point for all our students in the PYP and this was held on the 12th of June. During the SLC the student is empowered to take their parents through their achievements in the year. They discuss their portfolio as well as their achievements in co-curricular areas. This is their moment of glory and each and every one grabbed this moment with aplomb.

As always, the term ended with all the PYP students being awarded with certificates recognizing them for the traits that they have imbibed from the IB Learner profile.

The term ending Food Drive was a resounding success. I would like to extend my heart felt thanks to the PAC, who went all out in helping us in this project. We are still collecting extra stationery, which will also be distributed to the Government schools in the coming week.

Behind the scenes, the activity has also been very hectic. The 4th Principals’ Conference was successfully held on the 7th of June, 2008. This conference is a good opportunity for the Principals of all the Indus Trust schools to meet, exchange ideas and learn from each others experiences. Two important outcomes of this conference was the introduction of the Balance Score Card and the Pipeline Model of Leadership in our school in the coming year. The other schools in the Indus family will be following suit as soon as they become operational.

The Balance Score Card is a performance evaluation software that is used by several leading organizations worldwide. The school version of this is known as the Independent School Review. The aim of this software is to monitor, in an objective and tangible manner, the Key Result Areas across the different departments in the school. A pilot program was conducted with a few departments for the past 3 months and this has been a huge success. It will be implemented school wide from the next session.

The Pipeline Model is a process to develop leaders at all levels and also ensure that they are using the right skills, values and time application. This model of Leadership combined with the other strategies such as Personalizing Learning, Balance Score Card, Parents’ Advisory Committee, regular Feedback and Self Governance will be the making of a very effective leadership process at Indus School.

Before the session ended, we had sent a feedback form to the parents. I am glad to say that the feedback from all the parents has been positive. The areas of concern will be worked on and put into effect in the next session. I would like to thank all the parents who spent the time in giving us this valuable feedback.

On the 18th of June, the auditing team for the ISO 9001 – 2000 revisited our school. For the 2nd year running, this visit went off without a hitch as all the documentation and processes were in place and operating efficiently. Their recommendations of last year had been incorporated during this year and the same will be done over the next session with their current recommendations.

On behalf of all my teachers, I can safely say that we all are already looking forward to the return of our students in August. Have a safe and happy vacation and enjoy this time with your children.

With warm regards,

Mrs. Sarojini Rao
Principal,
Indus International School,
Bangalore

Indus International School Billapura Cross, Sarjapur, Bangalore 562125. Tel: +91-80-22895900 Fax No: +91-80-7823850