Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2017

The Amazing PYP Faschingsfeier!

The Grade 5 students organised this year`s Fasching – Celebration for our PYP students. They prepared amazing, brilliant, out-of-this-world games to make the students have fun. Everyone dressed up according to his or her class mottos shown here:

EP 1,2: winter and summer

Grade 1: Everything Yellow

Grade 2: Back in Time

Grade 3: What you would like to be when you are a grown-up

Grade 4: Extra-terrestrial Creatures Everyone had amazing, extraordinary costumes. Everyone had fun and enjoyed the Faschingsfeier. “It was perfect!”, said Ziad in Grade 2. Some other students` comments were: The best was the parade! I liked it. But I didn’t understand why didn’t you give something to the teachers? We liked the games! My favourite part was everything! I was wondering who long it took you (the Grade 5 students) to plan this!

Written by Giulietta and Jano

Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2017

“Look Again” Grade 7 Visual Art

Here’s a glimpse at the most recent artwork “Glass Half Full” that Grade 7 students are working on. Inspired by Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate” in Chicago the students were highly concentrated today, creating intricate drawings of glasses with reflections using charcoal, chalk, erasers, ink, oil pastels and pencils.

text & photos AS

Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Waldpiraten Donation

“I know what it’s like to be ill for a long time. I want the children to have some fun. I had fun with the clinic clowns that visited me in hospital.” The memory of the time when Sophie was ill made her think of helping others. Along with her sister Liz and their friends Anna and Blanca she donated her birthday money to the Waldpiraten Camp in Heidelberg. The four girls say that they were inspired by their friend Fletcher who donated his birthday money to the Camp last year. Chris Maier (Deutsche Kinderkrebsstiftung Waldpiraten-Camp) visited Anna, Blanca, Sophie and Liz at H.I.S. who were dressed up for the PYP Faschingsfeier today. Sophie proudly handed over an envelope decorated with pink and red hearts to Frau Maier. When she asked the girls about their motivation to do this, Sophie explained to Frau Maier that she would like the children at Waldpiraten-Camp https://www.waldpiraten.de/waldpiraten-camp.html to use the money to do something fun.

text & photo AS

Posted on Monday, February 20, 2017

Celebrating the Love of Literature

Grade 4 students spent this Valentine’s Day celebrating another book read by the class. This school year, Grade 4 has already finished reading 6 novels. After falling in love with the book, The Tale of Despereaux, it just felt so right to enjoy this day of love with activities based on the events and characters in the book. We finished our next class book, “The Tale of Despereaux”!

“I loved this book so much being the author used so much detail. She helped me to paint a picture in my head.” – May (Grade 4)

“This book is so good! There’s so much suspense. You never know what is going to happen next.” – Isaac (Grade 4)

“I liked how the author speaks to the reader. I started doing that when I write.” – Ryan (Grade 4)Students analyze the characters of the characters in the book. How does Roscuro feel? What are some of Miggery Sow’s character traits? What is Despereaux’s motivation? …That last one’s easy…it’s definitely LOVE! What evidence can we find from the book to support our claims? Grade 4 enjoyed the story so much, we decided to warm our hearts, souls and stomachs with a Despereaux themed recipes! Incorporating reading and math skills, students enjoyed making soup. Groups were given recipes for Princess Pea Soup, Mouse Blood Soup and Clout Eared Soup. They then had to decide how they could make enough soup to feed the entire class. This required students to double, triple and quadruple whole numbers and fractions.

Ending our day with full hearts, and full stomachs!

text & photos FW

Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2017

UTSAV Indian Evening

भारत में आपका स्वागत है

How high is your IQ (Indian Quotient)? Thanks to Subhamoy (brilliant!) this and other questions were being answered at the Indian Evening on Friday. A feast of colours, fragrances and tastes awaited the guests who had made a fantastic effort to follow the dress code. The Multi-Purpose Room was bathed in colours, flowers and candle light.

Guests were challenged to share their knowledge about India: Do Indian people ride their elephants to work? How many vegetarians are there in India? How many languages are spoken by how many people? The audience enjoyed the dance performances presented as well as Subhamoy’s entertaining facts about India. Never forget: “Curry is not a spice!”To start the evening a welcoming light was lit by Kathleen Macdonald.

“Advertise the part of India you come from and convince the audience, that the northern/ southern/ eastern/ western region of the country is the most beautiful and special place to visit: you have got 1 minute!”The dancers performed traditional as well as Bollywood style dances.The exquisite dishes served and the colourful and warm ambience of the room made the event a very special cultural night. Many thanks to the organising team, to the PTG, to student and parent helpers, H.I.S. staff, entertainers, dancers, chefs, technicians and photographers! आप एक अविस्मरणीय शाम के लिए बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद!

text & photos AS

Posted on Friday, February 17, 2017

World Read Aloud Day

"My dad used to read this book to me..."

The grade six students had a library session to learn about reading aloud with younger students this week. Each of them chose a book, practiced reading it aloud, and read it with PYP students in celebration of World Read Aloud Day.

If you have any doubt about the power of reading aloud with your children, you should know that several students choose books they remember from their own childhood. “My dad used to read this book to me” was a comment made at least two times as the students chose their books.Yesterday, Grade 6 students chose books, practiced, and then had a great time reading aloud with the Early Primary and Grade 1 students to celebrate World Read Aloud Day.

text & photos PC

World Read Aloud Day

As we celebrate World Read Aloud Day on Thursday (16 February) with activities in our classrooms, we want to remind you of the importance of reading aloud at home. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be read aloud to for at least 15 minutes every day. A national campaign is underway in the United States to make “reading aloud every day for at least 15 minutes the new standard in child care.” (http://readaloud.org/index.html for lots of great tips!)Your school library has great books for all ages, and your friendly librarian can recommend excellent read-alouds appropriate for the age of your children! It’s not too late to start the read aloud habit at your house, regardless of the age of your children. (It’s never too early, either; many moms and dads read to babies even before they are born!)

Want help? Great books? Come on upstairs to the library!

Happy reading aloud,

Pam Clower

Teacher-Librarian

Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Destination Imagination

DI Teams Take to the Tech Room!Three of our six Destination Imagination teams began building their solutions this week, with instruction from Mr. Clarke in the Tech Room. He taught the kids how to use the clamps and vise to secure a piece of wood while cutting and how to use the drill and drill driver to screw pieces of wood together. Mrs. Clower then taught them how to build frames and cover then with fabric. These “flats” will be painted to create backdrops, which the teams hope will give an illusion of place for their solution performances.

In DI, the teams (up to 7 students) must do all the work and make all the decisions themselves, so in these photos you see the kids using saws and drills while the adults monitor their safety. Teams also often learn to sew and use hot glue while building their solutions, and one team this year is building their own radio equipment!

Our teams will present their solutions at a mini-tournament at the school on Saturday, 18 March. The public is welcome to attend and watch these creative kids shine. We are still looking for volunteer appraisers; if you are interested please contact Mrs. Clower in the library (training will be provided!)

DI is an international creative problem-solving competition and has been active at H.I.S. for five years.

text & photos PC

Posted on Sunday, February 12, 2017

Personal Projects 2017

Last week Grade 10 students presented their Personal Projects to parents, students and staff at the annual Personal Project Presentation Evening.

After enjoying a life performance by Remus, presenting one of his Jazz compositions, the guests took the chance to wonder through the Foyer and MPR to look at the projects on display and to interview the students about their work.
On the morning after Presentation Evening the students presented their projects to PYP students who were eager to find out all about the ideas and projects on display.

Congratulations to Abbigaile, Aykut, Ayon, Daniel, Ella, Hannah, Illya, Ishani, Izzy, Jystina, Mica, Nina, Paige, Pavel, Remus, Ruben and Xander for giving us inspiring ideas, for showing your many talents and for being risk-takers and communicators.

text & photos AS

Posted on Monday, February 6, 2017

Scientists Committed to Saving Our Planet

Our Scientists in Grade 4 have been working hard to uncover the root of the energy crisis of year 3000. Through research, conducting experiments, and data analysts, these students are taking their role as scientists very seriously. Every morning, Grade 4 students use their ID badges and ‘handprints’ to enter this top-secret research facility. From the time they step foot in the lab, they are focused on their mission: Save Plant Earth.In hopes of preventing the energy disasters that lead to the irreparable damage done to the planet in the year 3000, these scientists try to learn from the “past”, by researching inventions that have allowed humans to generate energy, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Students have also been learning how to conduct experiments; focusing on the role of variables, record results and choose appropriate graphs to represent data. With these scientists so deeply committed to their mission, there might be hope for our planet yet.