Monthly Archives: March 2016

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Junior Mathematics Competition in Zoetemeer

IMG_0287Six students from grades 9 and 10 participated in the ISMTF Junior Mathematics Competition in Zoetemeer, the Netherlands, this past weekend. Although we were not among the winning schools, we were happy with our results, particularly those of Ishani Dasgupta, who achieved our school’s highest score. There was a lot of tough competition from the 42 participating international schools and more than 200 students from Europe, Egypt, Dubai and one school from China. The value of this event is much more than our placement in the standings. According to our students they were able to: 

IMG_0278Gain experience working under pressure in a gymnasium full of desks.

Meet and interact with students from other schools.

Tour the beautiful city of Den Haag.

Have a fun evening of bowling and ice cream.

Play the piano in the hostel lobby.

And of course do fun mathematics! 

photos & text: JVG

 

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Der Osterhase war da!

Yesterday in German EP students hunted for Easter Bunnies outside. It was a great day for an Easter Egg Hunt and all students found their “Osterhase”, sometimes with little hints from other students. 

DSC02696But before that they had to make their own little Easterbunny basket and decorate it. Students did a great job and some got really creative!

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Frohe Ostern!

photos & text: SST

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Grade 5 Discovers Historic Heidelberg

Strong Teeth Would Have Helped You Become The Owner of The Heidelberg Castle

Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 10.40.51Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 10.41.17Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 10.23.52It was a fun trip all around Heidelberg. We went to the castle, Marktplatz and the Neckarwiese. We went on the trip after snack time and took the bus. The whole trips purpose was because of our .U.O.I. which is ancient history .Therefore we went out to learn about Heidelberg’s history. The most interesting thing was a Bretzel that was marked on the wall .It was there to check if the Bretzel was the size of the mark on the wall or else you would die or throw up. The trip was German and I understood quite a lot.

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photos & text: Grade 5

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Yun-Chia’s Visit to H.I.S.

Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 09.42.18Dear Heidelberg International School, Thank you for having me for a week as a visitor to share my life experiences with you. Two years ago I had a chance to spend an afternoon here with Grade 5. This is when I first noticed the openness of this school and I was really impressed. I felt like getting to know it some more. Thanks to the organizing work of Mr. Nick Parkes, I was able to visit Heidelberg International School again, and to work with so many classes this time! DSCN5039At first I was a little overwhelmed by the range of age groups that I had to work with—from EP to Grade 10, from age 5 to the 16 year-olds! But the teachers were surprisingly encouraging and supportive and I appreciated being able to discuss my ideas with them beforehand. This process was really helpful as it enabled me to construct my presentations or activities according to the learning units and interests of each class. This was probably the first time that I have experienced what cooperation means in education. I also liked the way the teachers of different grades supported me in their own way in each class, whether it was maintaining order, asking questions, or adding personal knowledge to the issues I shared. DSCN5043I hope my visit to H.I.S. has helped the students to understand more about Taiwan, and about what we should do for our shared global environment. One of my motivations for visiting a school in Germany was to spread the word about environmental protection from the perspective of a Taiwanese. What I did not expect, but was actually rewarded with, was that, during this week of interacting with students, I got the chance to review what has happened in my life, and to therefore rethink why I thought some things were more important than others. It helped me to know myself better. On this account, I would like to thank the students who raised inspiring questions or commented on my presentations. I saw it as a bilateral experience where both of us learned something new to go forward with into the future. I wish all of you the best, and please keep up the good work of being open to the world in order to make a difference.

Yours sincerely,

Yun-Chia from Taiwan

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Upcoming Local Sporting Events

After the success of the TV Edingen 125th Anniversary Run in Edingen-Neckarhausen it was decided to establish an annual summer running event. A number of the H.I.S. Community took part last year and we hope to have even more participation this year. I am one of the organisers of the race and recently met with the mayors and sports teams of Edingen, Ladenburg and Ilvesheim to plan a 3 race cup to link all the events. Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 09.24.05The Inaugural ‘Unterer Neckar Laufcup’ including three 10km races will take place over the spring and summer and entry in two of three of the 10km events will mean automatic entry in to the Laufcup. The races promise to be exciting events and the support of the local mayors and the sports clubs have brought some extra interest from the local communities (see Mannheimer Morgen article below) http://www.morgenweb.de/region/mannheimer-morgen/ladenburg/metz-und-michler-wollen-selbst-an-den-start-gehen-1.2659983

Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 09.20.45There are events for young to old and distances from 600m up to 10km as well as a relay race for teams. Have a look at the flyer below or pick one up in the school foyer. The first event in the 3-race series is fast approaching (09. April in Ladenburg) so get your running shoes out and start your training. If April is too short notice then there is plenty of time to prepare for the events in Ilvesheim (25. June) and Edingen (2. July). As well as prizes for the individual races there are also prizes for all age groups for the 10km Laufcup. Younger runners will receive a certificate and prize for their participation.

So what are you waiting for?

If you would like any more information about the individual events please follow the links below or come and ask me personally.

Allyn Raw

Laufcup Unterer Neckar Flyer (attachment)

Ladenburg Waldparklauf – Saturday 9th April

http://www.lsv1864.de/abteilungen/leichtathletik-triathlon/waldparklauf

Ilvesheimer Insellauf – Saturday 25th June

http://coderesearch.com/sts/services/10021/752

TV Edingen Sommerlauf – Saturday 2nd July

http://www.turnverein-edingen.de

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Chain Reaction Project

National Express Yourself Conference

20160315_091621The students  of Grade 9 and 10 took part in the National Express Yourself Conference at the Pädagogische Hochschule in Heidelberg last week. The students all represented the school with pride and we are very proud of their achievements.  Watch the students on national TV: http://www.rnf.de/mediathek/video/schueler-forscher-aus-der-region/

The day started by a brisk walk over the bridge to the PH, they registered themselves and then listened to the welcome note from the head of the PH, Prof. Dr. Hans-Werner Huneke followed by an brief introduction by  Prof. Dr. Manuela Weizel-Breuer and Prof.  apl. Nicole Marmé.  There was a short musical interlude and then the students split into two groups and went off to watch the presentations.  Grade 9 were in one strand and Grade 10 in another.  They watched the other schools presentations. At 11:20 the students of HIS presented to the jury and other schools.

 The Grade 9 group (Mica, Hannah, Paige, Leo, Ella & Pavel) presented their project on the growth of cress seeds in different fertilisers.  The group did a great presentation in German and all hands go to Mica who answered the jury’s questions with confidence and constantly acknowledging the others in the group!IMG_1769

The Grade 10 students (Karol, Benita, Jakub & Surya) presented their project on harvesting energy from sound.  Their presentation went smoothly and they showed great group work skills and delivered a thorough presentation.  The jury also asked questions at the end which the whole group answered confidently.20160315_111824Following a buffet lunch, the students were treated to a Role Model scientist presentation.  Grade 9 had a lecture on “OpenStreetMap in der Geoinformatik” and Grade 10 on “Nebeloasen in der Atacam-Wüste, Chile”

 Following this the two best presentations from each strand were selected.  The Heisenburg-Gymnasium, Bruschsal won in both strands with both teams going head to head for the final.

 Our students were encouraged to speak to the jury and get feedback, which they took with great respect and pride. In fact, both groups were second in their strands!20160315_093525There was tea and coffee, more musical interludes and after that the posters were awarded prizes.  The Grade 10 group (Aaisha, Cameron, Giulia, Jan & Rebecca) were awarded second prize for their poster on Buddleia for achieving a fine balance between aesthetics and scientific method.

 20160315_093500All in all it was a very good day and we believe that this has been a very valuable experience for all the students.  They have developed skills throughout the process not only in scientific inquiry & literacy but also in working as part of a team and communicating in German.

Those students who presented should be very proud of their achievements, as both groups came second and were very close to winning their group rounds.  For both classes, the jury gave positive feedback and said they deliberated between H.I.S. and the eventual winners.

Within the poster presentations, congratulations go to the Grade 10 group whose work on Buddleia achieved second place as the poster that achieved a balance between aesthetics and scientific method and the students were presented with a small prize.Within science, we believe that this has been a very valuable experience for the students.  They have developed skills throughout the process not only in scientific inquiry & literacy but also in working as part of a team, communicating in German.Screen Shot 2016-03-21 at 08.55.15

“I wanted to thank you a lot for this activity. I liked a lot the idea and execution as well. You did a lot for our kids by exposing them to this kind of competition. The outcome is good but from my perspective  the whole “route” to get there was super developmental for all participants. The language element, presentation and stress handling are equally important/valuable for the students as the scientific content.” (Ivana K.)

text: SAB photos: H.I.S.

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Personal Project Presentation

Congratulations to Aisha, Benita, Cameron, Giulia, Jakub, Jan, Karol, Leah, Rebecca, Rasmus, Robert, Surya and Yann for presenting their Personal Projects on Thursday and Friday last week. The atmosphere at the Presentation Evening was filled with excitement and all guests were impressed by the range of topics, the in-depth knowledge and the presentation skills of the Grade 10 students. The positive feedback was a fantastic reward for the students who can be proud of their achievements. Here are some comments made at the Presentation Evening and at the Presentation to PYP students the next morning:

“I was very impressed by the presentation skills of the students, they really had a lot to say about their topics.”

“All projects were so different and specific, really interesting and presented very well.”

“If all young people were like these, we would not have to worry about our future”!

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What are the benefits of “Organic Food”?

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How can a “Nutrition Guide” help “Young Athletes”?

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What are the latest concepts of the Automotive Industry?

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What do “Facial Expressions” say about us?

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What negative effects do drugs have on our body and mind?

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What do “Third Culture Kids” associate with the term “home”?

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How can “Peer to Peer Learning” be facilitated?

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How can Heidelberg be seen in a new and artistic light?

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What are the positive effects of “Gaming”?

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How can we help to protect endangered animals?

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What is the world’s view on the situation of refugees coming to Europe?

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How do refugees in Germany feel about their current situation?

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What is a “Passive House”?

Many thanks to all those that supported the students throughout this school year. Special thanks to the Personal Project Supervisors, Grade 10 parents and volunteers from Grade 9.

 

 

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Risk-Taking and Appreciation through Dance

As part of our Unit of Inquiry: On the Move and in collaboration with classroom and specialist teachers, Grade 4 has begun a dance unit during P.E. that focuses on dances around the world. One of the many goals of this unit is to expose students to different forms of expression through dance and to consider similarities and differences between how we express ourselves. IMG_2440Based on our belief that this learning experience will be more authentic and engaging if teachers and parents worked together to lend their own cultural experiences, we have been able to provide students with opportunities to learn dances from Israel, India, the US, Scotland and Morocco. Watch the students dancing on our Facebook Page! https://www.facebook.com/heidelberginternationalschool/

text & photos FW

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Kinderrechte – Recherche auf zwei Spielplätzen

Am Montag, 14.03.16, gingen die Schüler der 3. Klasse während des Deutschunterrichts zu zwei Spielplätzen in der Altstadt in Heidelberg. Dort haben die Schüler Leute interviewt und Informationen über die Spielplätze gesammelt. Sie lernen über Kinderrechte. Deshalb wollten sie herausfinden, ob diese Spielplätze sauber sind, sicher sind, für alle Kinder sind und gut sind zum Lernen und Spaß haben.

DSCF2849DSCF2867  Die Schüler stellten fest, dass beide Spielplätze sicher sind, viele unterschiedliche Geräte haben, man viel lernen und Spaß haben kann, kleine und größere Kinder spielen können und sie einigermaßen sauber sind.

DSCF2866 Manche Geräte sind aber nicht für behinderte Kinder. Bei einem Spielplatz gab es zu wenige Bäume als Schattenspender und keine Toilette. Alle Schüler der 3. Klasse hatten Spaß an der Recherche und haben einiges gelernt.

Leo, Alexis, Logan, Julian, Deniz, Jenna, Natasza, May, Joanne, Ella

Following the Grade 3 visit to the playgrounds, 4 students wrote a letter to the mayor:

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photos & text SH and Grade 3

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And The Winners Are….

World Read-Aloud Day Costume Contest Winners

At long last, the results of the costume contest held in conjunction with World Read-Aloud Day!PYP Winners:  Tatsuki, grade 3, as Pinocchio

PinocchioWRAD16 copy

Katherine, grade 4, as Gangsta Granny

gangstagrannyWRAD16 copy

MYP Winners:

Remus, Hannah, Fin, and Estela. (Unfortunately, we seem not to have taken photos of these kids in costume!)

A special prize to Josef, grade 7, for rallying the entire seventh grade to dress up as characters from the Percy Jackson books!  What leadership!  The grade 7 class will do something special with me in the library to celebrate their creativity and teamwork.

The winners of the contest each received €15,00 to spend on either a Baker Book Club or Scholastic Book Club order.  Many thanks to our PTG for providing the funding for these gift certificates!

Thanks to all who participated.  Your creativity and willingness to be risk-takers makes our events fun!

text & photos PC