April 2021 Message from the Principal’s Desk: “We have so far to go to realize our human potential for compassion, altruism, and love.” – Jane Goodall Dear Parent, Very often we are told to appreciate the life that we have and what we receive. To be grateful for everything good that surrounds us – and we do. But there reaches a point when we begin to ask ourselves – What is a good life? What does it mean to be happy? The answer to be happy is not simply to live for oneself and the people whom we are responsible for, but the little deeds that we do for another person with no expectation while practicing gratitude for all that we have. In the trying times that we are living now, it's good to spread some cheer, look at the brighter side of life and reach out to fellow humans who require help. Our children are closely watching the values we are role modeling during adversity. After all discipline and values are what is exhibited when nobody is watching and in tougher times. The small act of kindness will go a long way in helping them conduct their lives in the future with benevolence. I recall instances and realize that I was at my best when I was serving and helping others. That smile on someone's face stayed with me longer than the most picturesque scene. It is those act of my kindness and gratitude that gives meaning to my work and keeps me rooted to the ground. Together, even in the most difficult times altruism- innate desire to help others and empathy will make the world a place worth living in, despite the inevitable challenges that accompany life. Let us join hands and reach out, not because of who they are or what they will do in return, but because of who we are. With the hope that our survival instinct and altruism prevail and help us to overcome this period, Let us begin with some news of what happened since our New Principal Ms Aparna Achanta took over in April. 1. Meeting of the Principal with students of all grades- Our Principal visited all the classes across programmes in the online scenario and met all the students. It was heartening to see many students from PYP had beautiful poems and placards to welcome her. 2. Townhall meetings were conducted for all the parents. These meetings have helped to interact and get a deeper understanding of the perspectives of the parent community. During the meeting, the vision for the coming years was shared, which was well taken. A lot of emphasis was laid on innovation curriculum, personalized learning and academic rigor. Keeping the uncertainty aspect in mind our Principal assured the parents that the coming academic year may be online, blended or offlline learning based on the scenario and there will be upscaling of the online learning to make it more engaging. 3. IBDP: a) Grade 11 – Innovation Day Presentation - In the process of actively creating the change they wish to see in the world, Indus students often find themselves coming up with ideas on the grandest scales - and who better to mentor the large-minded youth of Indus Hyderabad than the very man whose vision drives the institution: Gen. Arjun Ray. On the 24th of April, students from grades 11 gathered in the company of their teacher mentors to present their inno- vative ideas on Tikkun Olam and Design Thinking . Gen Arjun Ray, Ms Aparna Achanta, leadership team and teachers of MYP and DP witnessed the talented young minds put forth their creative and innovative ideas which had taken shape over the year during their innovation curriculum classes. With multiple innovative presentations, and a great deal of constructive feedback from Gen Ray, Ms Aparna Achanta Teacher advisors, ideas were not only presented, but developed during the session, and without doubt, the attendees of the Innovation Day left enriched and enlight- ened, ready to continue even further down the path to a better world. 4. MYP: a) Innovation Day: “Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the status quo and develop anew where few have dared to go.“ Steven Jeffes Innovation Curriculum at Indus is all about building leadership, innovation, business and climate change leadership competencies to prepare students for a uncertain tomorrow/ VUCA world and help them unlock their potential and identify their purpose. MYP had a virtual innovation day on April24,2021 where all the learners presented their work which ranged from designing and writing the code for a health seating alert device, simplifying UV sanitization, finding a solution for the Delhi smog problem or finding solutions to effective learning online or creating equal opportunities for education and creating games like flappy bird and much more. The learners exhibited varied ways of identifying a problem through the design thinking process and arriving at creative solutions. This is one step towards developing a design- ers mind. b) Grade 12 – IBDP Exams got cancelled – This year too as informed after much delibration and appraising the IBO of the rising COVID -19 cases, IBO allowed the IISH and rest of India to take the non- exam route. We must reflect and realize that only preparedness against all odds will help us sail through these ever-changing and challenging times. 5. PYP: a) Creative Arts Extravaganza Indus Hyderabad believes in nurturing students development through creating, performing and presenting arts in ways that engage and convey feelings, experiences and ideas. The 2nd virtual PYP Creative Arts Extravaganza show- cased the artistic talent of our young eagles while promoting creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving skills and social interactions. This journey ignited a spark in every child from Grade 1 through to Grade 5 that reflected in every performance of dance, drama and music, bringing out the uniqueness of each individual and promoting attitudes such as synchronised teamwork, empathy and appreciation. 6. Counseling & Placement: Career and Placement department conducted sessions for grade 8, 9 and 10. a) An individual counselling meeting with students and parents was conducted to guide the students with a selection of subject combination while aligning it with their career interest and ways to build the profile. The students and parents become aware of the required skillsets for various career options according to the test reports. This enabled a deeper understanding of their strong and weak areas. Along with this test result, students could also follow the tips and recommendations to improve their intelligence. b) The Grade 11 students individual counselling has successfully concluded. Students are working on their college shortlisting sent by the placement office. Students will be having the session for essay writing and SOP writing. 7. CAS at Indus: a) Sindhuja Muppaneni, Grade 11 – Blood Donation Drive Blood Donation Drive –As a part of The HEAL Project was led by Sindhuja and her sister. They aim to work towards human health development. Sindhuja realized that children with diseases like Sickle Cell Anaemia were being af- fected to a large extent. They need something which was not easily available and this condition worsened due to Covid-19. Sidhuja was motivated to tie up with a blood bank that offers blood to young children suffering from Sickle Cell Anaemia and Thalassemia. She reached out to the blood bank for medical supervision and assistance. The camp was successful as they received blood from over 100 donors. b) Prabhath Puli, Grade 11– Donation Camp Prabhath went all the way to fulfil his contribution by donating masks and sanitisers to children from low-income com- munities who live in rural areas to enable them to protect themselves against the Corona Virus. He has made donations to nearly 200 children from backwards villages and slums. Many children who did not know about the crisis that the world at large is facing we made aware of the global crisis and the seriousness of this pandemic. The initiative has educated more than 200 children. c) CARECorona.net – Much needed Website The CARECorona.net website has come a long way from its humble beginnings back in March 2020. The team, a group of Grade 12 students led by Harsh Pranay, started the project to help people around the globe by providing genuine information about the Covid-19 virus amidst the sea of fake news they faced. As they progressed, the functionality of the website increased exponentially and they now have a coronavirus tracker, risk scanner, safety guidelines, travel ban information, visual art page, blogs (English, Spanish and French), poems, post- ers and videos in addition to the news articles. 8. IISH Start-up School Update: April 2021 was a low-key affair for our Start-up Schools students as Gr 9 students are appearing for RC D examinations from 29 April 2021, and Gr 10 students will be taking their IB MYP examinations in Mid-May. a) Design Your Life – Session by Lt Gen Arjun Ray on 27 April 2021 Lt Gen Arjun Ray, CEO & Managing Director of Indus Trust, conducted an interactive and informative session on De- sign Your Life for select students & teachers on 27 April 2021. This is the first of three sessions that he has planned for the students & teachers to help them design their future using the Design Thinking Process. He spoke about how we are victims of Dysfunctional Beliefs, which are myths that prevent us from designing our future. He encouraged all the participants to identify their dysfunctional beliefs. Contrary to the belief that passion is a good start point to begin anything, he mentioned that passion would be output. We must do something to identify our passion.