SYNOPSIS OF THE ORIENTATION PROGRAMME (JULY 2010)

WELCOME ADDRESS BY DR.P.C.THOMAS, PRINCIPAL

SESSION BY MRS. SHEILA ALEXANDER, VICE PRINCIPAL – ACADEMICS

A presentation of the Vice Principal, Mrs. Sheila Alexander was interspersed with interesting clippings from the movie The Three Idiots. The session highlighted the need, the ways and means to improve our attitude towards every person and incident that we encounter in our lives. We all have a tendency to react to situations and people without stopping to think, which leads to unhappy circumstances. This requires a change, starting from a change of focus. One must pause before reacting as life has more to do with management of emotions than with optimization of intelligence. One must never give up as with a bad attitude, one can never have a good day and with a positive attitude one can never have a bad day.

SESSION BY MR. T SURESH, COORDINATOR - HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL.

Mr. T. Suresh, the Higher Secondary School Coordinator, provided the teachers with tips regarding the use of the SMART Board - four of which are installed in various academic blocks. The SMART Board may be used like a computer itself, a computer with a big screen. Lessons can be taught using by the SMART pens and duster. The lesson may be stored/saved for future use. The session proved to be an eye-opener as many on the uses of the SMART Board examples related to algebra and trigonometry in particular, were shown to the teachers.

SESSION BY MRS. VIMALA RANI, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT – FRENCH

The new teachers experienced a sense of belonging when the resource person, Mrs.J.Vimala Rani stated exactly what they must be feeling and provided tips regarding the unique situation they were going through. The new-comers were reminded that being teachers they were the ones to touch the future. Good Shepherd International School provides plenty of opportunities for professional growth but this entails a lot of positive input by the individual. The various duties of a teacher in this residential set up were explained in detail under the following heads:

a. Class teacher/Buddy teacher

b. Subject teacher

c. House teacher

d. Personal tutor

e. Games duty teacher

f. Day duty teacher

g. Table head

The unique characteristics of the Shepherdians were pointed out, particularly, their varying cultural and social backgrounds. The teacher should be their role model and parent-figure and be extremely patient with them. Being subject to immense peer pressure the students require to be understood and trusted. The teacher must help them by being flexible and firm and by talking a great deal to them.

The session came to a conclusion by the new teachers being promised a great deal of support from the older members of staff.

TRINITY GUILDHALL MUSIC THEORY EXAM RESULTS

We are pleased to announce the results of the Trinity Guildhall Music Theory Examinations held in May, 2010. We registered 446 students – an all-time record high in the history of the school.

The summary is given below:

Distinction - 269 students

Merit - 100 students

Pass - 49 students

We encourage all our students to be closely involved in the music programme of the school.

Congratulations to the Teachers and students!

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD

Good Shepherd International School has been ardently offering the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme for over two decades now. This programme is otherwise known as International Award for Young People, India.

Nitesh Dhull of the 2010 graduating batch brought additional laurel to the school, when he was presented the Gold Award by the Vice President of India, Hon’ble Shri.Hamid Ansari on June 24, 2010 at his residence in New Delhi.

We also take pride in seeing to it that greater number of our students went through this leadership and confidence building adventure programme. The summary of the 2009-2010 academic year’s Awardees is given below:

Std X, XI & XII:

Bronze - 143

Silver - 31

Gold - 9

Congratulations!!!

NASA SPACE CAMP 2010

For the third consecutive year our students participated in the six-day NASA Space Camp programme at the United States Space and Rocket Centre, Hunstville, Alabama. This was from June 6 to June 11, 2010 soon after the school closed for the Summer vacation. The group comprised 32 boys and 22 girls from Class VI to Class XII, besides three chaperones.

The GSIS NASA Space Camp 2010 group left for the US on May 28 and returned on June 12, 2010 reaching India in the early hours of June 14. Prior to Space Camp, the group had a great time in Orlando visiting the following parks: Busch Gardens, Sea World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Epcot Centre. For the first time, the school group visited Kennedy Space Centre in Florida and had the rare opportunity to witness a live rocket launch on June 04, 2010.

Space Camp at Hunstville was a thrilling educational experience for all its participants. Experiencing the simulation exercises in Space Missions, launching model rockets, watching 3D IMAX movies, being involved in varied hands-on activities, listening to talks delivered by astronauts, shopping in the gift shops and interacting with people of other nationalities, affirmed the fact that this trip was worth the mission. Space Camp simply makes you fly beyond imagination!