Category Archives: We are IB Learners!

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Kangaroo Mathematics Competition

Last week we received the results of the Kangaroo Mathematics Competition, which took place on March 17. Every student who participated received a small prize for the hard work of solving tough mathematical problems under time pressure.

Eight students received an extra prize because their results were in the top 5% of over 670 000 students participating from German schools. This was the highest placement H.I.S. has ever had in the Kangaroo competition to date. Prize winners pictured here: Noah (grade 3), Daniel (grade 4), Ella (grade 6), Martin (grade 8), Adrian and Affan (grade 10). Further prize winners not pictured here: Sywon (grade 7) and Bennet (grade 8). Congratulations go to all participants!

Another mathematics competition first for H.I.S. happened at the end of April in the middle school competition of the International Schools Mathematics Teachers Federation. One of our grade 8 teams ranked in 10th place, the first time any H.I.S. team has made the top 20. Congratulations to Luna, Bennet and Martin for their excellent results.

Pictured here are all the ISMTF competition participants. In the middle school competition, H.I.S. was represented by Dunsin, Maahi, Chee, Oscar, Sywon (not pictured), Thijs, Luna, Bennet (not pictured), Mattia and Martin. The junior team was Zara, Ceren, Luisa and Saadhvi. The senior team was Ethan, Daksh and Jesse. This year’s competitions were online but we are hoping students will be able to travel again next year.

JVG

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Personal Project Planning Session

Grade 9

Grade 9 students have had a first introduction to the Personal Project end of May. The group spent most of the day in the library together.

The aim of the session was to allow students to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the personal project and also help them to develop potential ideas of their own to start the process as well as learn about the process, documentation and presentation of the personal project report.

The morning session as focused on Approaches to Learning. Students were asked to consider which skills they would need and how they would be helpful for the Personal Project.  This was followed by a session on being internationally-minded and being able to see points from different perspectives.

After the break each group of students were given a topic to consider (space, journalism, sport and environment) and asked to model the process, they had to begin with writing a learning goal and working out what product they could make. They then designed success criteria for their  product and considered how the product would be evaluated on the developed success criteria.

It was an enjoyable morning and we hope that students find some inspiration over the next few weeks so that they start the process before the summer holidays.

We look forward to working further with the students next year and holding more sessions to support the students and their supervisors through the process.

SAB

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Jam Festival

Grade 1 students were busy last week as they hosted a Jam Festival at the end of the day on Friday.

We have been learning about Producers and Consumers, and after a trip to the Schlicksupp Gemüsebau Farm, to see where so many fruits and vegetables are produced, we decided to be consumers, buy tubs of locally grown strawberries and create our own home-made jam, which we then sold, along with jam filled cupcakes and cookies.

We also made clay pendants to sell too! It was so much fun getting to be producers AND consumers. There are so many decisions that need to be made when being a thoughtful consumer.

We managed to raise 310 Euro which we are donating to help the Ukrainian Refugees in Heidelberg.

Awesome job Grade 1!

ABr

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Designing Our Own Learning

Grade 5 kicked off the PYP Exhibition by watching an inspiring Ted Talk from a young boy called “Hackschooling Makes Me Happy”.

This video provoked students to discuss how they would design their own learning and how the Exhibition is the perfect opportunity to do just this.

Students shared their excitement about this culminating project through discussion, writing and drawing, resulting in our very own Exhibition mural.

FW

 

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Schüler machen Zeitung

Student articles published in local newspaper

Every year H.I.S. participates in the RNZ newspaper project, which gives our Grade 9 and 10 German Language and Literature class the opportunity not only to read and discuss the paper for six weeks during their German lessons, but also to write articles themselves. The best articles are published in an annual RNZ supplement.

In today‘s edition of the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung,, H.I.S. students are, once again, superbly well represented, with no less than 10 articles! And, for the second year running, H.I.S. have won the second prize – this time not just once, but twice!

The joint second prize goes to Vedikaa Mukherjee for her article on slow fashion, and to the German Language Acquisition class for their article on cultural differences and quirky customs.

The other published H.I.S. journalists are:

Year 10:
– Caera and Ella, with an article on an inspiring paratriathlete
– Luisa, with her interview with the artist Larissa Ermakova
– Ava, with an interview with the artist Anna Baer
– Zara, with an interview with the musician Dominik Baer
– Emily, with an uplifting article on the ‚Ministry of Happiness‘

Year 9:
– Quentin and Raffaele, with a report on their visit to the Tutankhamun-Exhibition in Mannheim
– Marlon and Moritz, with an article on pets during lockdown

The RNZ have also published a selection of the reflections the students wrote at the end of the project.

Considering that dozens of Heidelberg schools and hundreds of students participate in this project, this is a great success for our students, and testament to their commitment.

ASe

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Stem Cell Biology

Grade 6 welcomed Professor Clarke

The first Science lesson after March Break was a big surprise for Grade 6 students.

Before the start of their new research assignment on Stem Cells, the Grade 6 scientists welcomed a distinguished guest speaker:

Associate Director at Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Professor Doctor Michael F. Clarke.

Professor Clarke was impressed with all the questions the students asked after his presentation. The students felt inspired for their new assignment on Stem cell research and its role in cancer treatment.

Thank you, Prof. Clarke, for visiting Grade 6.

 

MM

 

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Digital Citizenship

We are depending more and more on digital media in many parts of society. We explore and create and also learn new ways to connect and communicate with people all over the world.

Students are growing up with the power of this digital media and technology and although it empowers young people and gives them opportunities, it also has its own challenges and dilemmas. Therefore we seek to increase our students’ awareness of online safety, cyberbullying, privacy, hate speech, misinformation, and digital distraction.

By the incorporation of digital citizenship in our curriculum, and its use and support within our local community, we aim to create a positive school culture that helps safeguard our students while they use media and technology. 

SAB

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Der Nikolaus war da!

Last week, students in EP, Grade 1 and Grade 2 were busy making their Nikolaus boots.

Each December 6, children in Germany celebrate ‘St. Nikolaus Day’. Children traditionally clean their boots the night before the 6 of December and put it outside their door. Sankt Nikolaus then fills the cleaned boots with sweets, fruits or small gifts.

The custom originates from the historical Sankt Nikolaus who had a reputation for leaving secret gifts, such as coins, in people’s shoes overnight.

When the students on the ground floor came to school in the morning, they found a sweet little surprise in their boot.

StSt