Post on 28-Mar-2016
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News Letter Vol : 0801
S C H O O L Q U A R T E R L Y R E P O R T
Dear Parents,
We have finished 3 months at Fountainhead!
It doesn’t feel that long – and yet it seems that
we have come a long way. Things have now
settled in quite well on all fronts.
Transportation service is reasonably settled
with almost everyone happy with the same.
Some small wrinkles need to be sorted out
both ways – you will need to cooperate so as
to help us ensure that the transportation ser-
vice is efficient yet effective. And as far as food
is concerned, I understand that most parents
are reasonably happy with the same (else I
would be getting some complaints)!
In fact, I take this opportunity to thank all of
you for your cooperation and patience during
the first few weeks when we were facing some
issues. We hope to continue getting your
support.
All the indoor facilities are now ready as most
of you would already have seen when you
visited the school on August 15
The library is fully ready with more than 5000
books (and we are adding another 8000 books
in the next 3 months). I take this opportunity
to encourage all of you to take the maximum
advantage of the library by helping your
children issue as many books as possible.
Please remember that while at a time they can
issue only 2 books, but they there’s no limit of
how many times they can issue the books in
a week (for the primary kids). So encourage
your child to take advantage of the same.
The dance and music rooms are fully
equipped with hi-end sound systems and
facilities that we hope will help our children
blossom. The computer lab is internet ready
for the children – for their research work,
presentations and other work.
The outdoor facilities – namely basketball
court & multipurpose field will be ready as per
schedule – by December. Work will start on
the same in another 10-15 days time, once the
rains are over.
On the academic front, I think we are quite
happy with the progress that we have made
and the progress that the children have made
as well. Teachers & children alike seem to be
enjoying the process and more importantly
are also learning quite a bit. Let me also take
this opportunity to clarify that Fountainhead
School is not just a place to enjoy for the
children. In fact if the children are just enjoy-
ing and not learning, then we would have
failed because enjoyment without learning
is just like watching a good movie. The more
difficult challenge before all of us is to ensure
that children learn and yet enjoy themselves.
And the PYP program is certainly challenging
– it makes the children think for themselves -
which is what we want!
Your role in your child’s education is critical –please make sure that
you are very regular in attending the academic orientations. Unless
you attend the same, you will find it difficult to keep track of what’s
happening in school. If you have doubts in what your role in your
child’s education should be, get in touch with the school counselors
through phone/email or with the classteacher through the commu-
nication diary.
You are aware that we have had the first official visit from the IBO on
August 19 and the IBO seems to share our assessment of ourselves.
Ankita has shared more details about the same in her report.
You must already have got the note regarding workshops for next year’s
admissions. I request you to encourage prospective parents for the
next academic session to attend this meeting which may be a deciding
criterion in those cases where the demand of seats is greater than the
available seats.
Lastly, it’s been an exhilarating experience till now for the whole Fountain-
head team and we hope that we are able to continue giving your children
a similar experience.
Yours truly,
Vardan Kabra
I N D E P E N D E N C E D A Y
Independence Day
“I remember there used to be flag hoisting
in my school. I always used to feel great and
proud watching the flag hoist. After all these
years watching these young Fountainhead
kids celebrating Independence day was
indeed great fun.
Fountainhead School celebration of Inde-
pendence Day started with a flag-raising
ceremony.
--Falguni Jariwala.
Student experience on 15th August
Hi…………. My name is Khushman. I will tell
you about the Independence Day at our Foun-
tain Head School. First it was started with the
flag hoisting. With the flag hoisting, we sang
the national anthem. Then it went on with the
speeches. Then the students of std. 3, 4, and5
sang the song “nanna muna rahi ho’’. Then the
students of std. 3, 4, and 5 did a dance per-
formance which ended with a loud applause.
Also the article that std. 5th had written on
migration was inaugurated by the parents of
std. 5th students. After that the parents were
allowed to see the premises of the school. It
was the most enjoyable moment of my life.
--Khushman Adnani Class- V
My overall experience at Fountainhead School
is fantastic. The way the teachers manage
to teach without book is superb. The school
campus is going to be huge.
The Independence Day event was a huge
success because our dance was a hit, the audi-
ence appreciated us and we had fun. We even
learned something, how to do loads of things
in a short time. I liked the way the school
provided everything. In my previous school,
we were given chocolates and shooed of. I
won’t say that the event was perfect; it also
had some bad points like when we painted
our hands, the paint didn’t come off easily,
we had to sit for a lot of time before our turn
came without touching a thing because of
the paint. I am glad it wasn’t perfect, because
then I would have expected the other to also
be perfect.
Pahini Kapadia Class - V
The day featured a special programme pre-
sented by young generation of class 1-5. The
programme featured Indian dance and music
performed by students. The programme also
included release of book written by Class -5
students, small gesture of thanks by Fountain-
head Team to Vardan Sir, Ankita Maam and
Parag Sir for Oasis workshop. Even parents
attended this function truly appreciated these
young generation and efforts taken by FS
team.
It was indeed a moment of joy for Fountain-
head School to celebrate its first event and see
its students live in action.
--Sonam Vachhani
INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH (abridged version) Vardan Kabra (Head of School )
Dear Parents,
Today we are celebrating Independence
day! What is the relevance of the Indepen-
dence day to today’s generations. Most of us
have not even been directly involved in the
Independence struggle – our only exposure is
through stories and movies and songs. How
is the Independence day now relevant for us?
How is it relevant to the parents and children
sitting here today?
I am going to touch upon the independence
of spirit that each one of us needs here, and
especially all the children here.
The independence that I am talking about is
what we need to instill in our children through
education at school and at home:
Independence from our fear,
independence from mindsets decades old,
independence in making choices,
independence in making decisions!
Independence in learning,
independence in teaching,
independence in thinking,
independence in imagining.
Independence in exploring,
independence in discovering,
independence in inventing,
independence in creating!
That is the independence that each one of
needs to achieve and that is independence
that will help the children here to blossom
into self-confident individuals that we all want
them to be! And that independence is what
we have in our hands to give to the children
sitting here today! Together we can do that.
And if we are able to give to our children this
independence, then they will make India and
the society around them, the truly indepen-
dent nation that our forefathers dreamt of.
In this context, let us look at some famous
lines written by Rabindranath Tagore:
Where the mind is without fear and the head
is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into
fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of
truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms
towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost
its way into the dreary desert sand of dead
habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into
ever-widening thought and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
country awake.
Happy Independence Day!
Class - V Potrait
Jayani Mehta Class - V
Class - V Board Painting
Upcoming Events • In October: Sale of children’s books
• Oct 10-11: All Fountainhead Staff Trek to GIRA
Falls in the Dangs Forest (arranged by Prayas)
• Oct 24: “Once Upon A Tiger” a play by Work-
ing Title theatre group of Mumbai or all Fountain-
head children & parents (details to come to you
soon)
Updates & News• Our library which already has 5000+ books
has already procured 8000 more books, which
will be added to the library over a period of 3
months.
• An updated version of the School web site
www.fountainheadschools.org will be available
by 30 September. Login and send your feedback.
• We are implementing an interactive school
management software called I-School over the
next 4 months which will bring the school closer
to you.
Coming up … in the next edition:• Highlights of the Comprehensive Parents
Feedback Survey
• Snippets of Actions taken by Children at
home/school prompted by the Unit of Inquiry in
school
• Report of interesting events / anecdotes dur-
ing the Inquiry process across classes
WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Sincere, committed individuals
• As Preschool teachers at Fountainhead Pre-
school
• Physical Educators for the new campus –
o Strong passion for sports, fitness and physical
education in general
o Preferably with Martial Arts (Taekwando)
o Freshers or Individuals with no teaching back-
ground are also welcome.
If you know someone who fits the description
above, please ask him/her to e-mail surat@foun-
tainheadschools.org or call 0261-3103441/2.
T E A C H E R S & C H I L D R E N E X P E R I E N C E
Teacher Experience
Students like you.
With students like you, teaching is easy
I look forward to each day;
Your wondering minds keep me on my toes;
You make teaching more like play.
Students like you make teaching rewarding;
When I go home, I’m content;
You pay attention, you learn—giving me
A sense of accomplishment.
Thank you for being the way you are,
For making my job so much fun.
I’ll remember how good you made me feel,
Even when my teaching is done.
--Zahabiyah Shaikhmahmood. Class I
Teachers are loving,
Teachers are caring,
Teachers are understanding,
That’s why I’m teaching.
My experience at Fountainhead is really amaz-
ing. I have been teaching for the past eight
years. Teaching in other school is much differ-
ent from teaching in Fountainhead School. In
this school we all work collaborately for the
planning of the Unit Of Inquiry. This brings us
all very close together. We (17 teachers) Who
have undergone the training together, feel
that we know each other more than 10 years
but we have all just met each other from the
1st of April. We have been grouped up accord-
ing to our classes, even so we feel like sisters
working in the institute. I really feel like being
in a home and working together. This is my
deepest thoughts and feeling for the institute.
--Daksha Kharwar. Class II
Dedicated, Sincere, Hardworking
Is how I would describe myself
Understanding, Loving, Impulsive
Is how my dear ones think about me.
The first months at Fountainhead School
It has been an overwhelming experience, for me at the school. The ini-
tial days were spent in getting to know my children better and the kids
spent their days exploring the school to their heart’s content.
Then we (my class 3 with me) gradually started with our unit of inquiry
with a bit of apprehension, but the kids had the time of their lives. One
step at a time we moved on from exploration, field trips, movies and
towards self learning. All through the time the kids and me learning
from our experiences.
I can confidently say that it has been an enriching time for us. We are all
looking forward to discovering new ways of learning by trying to make
the right connections.
--Mariyam Baxamusa. Class III
EDUCATION WHERE SHARING IS NOT CALLED CHEAT-ING
When I grew up at that time learning was a collective activity .But
when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students
it was considered as cheating .The curriculum at that time sent a clear
message that learning was highly individualistic and almost secretive
endeavor, but now the scenario of learning has changed with the com-
ing of Primary years programme (PYP).
PYP is such a programme which believes in enduring understanding
.It aims at giving knowledge in depth rather than in width. The pro-
gramme covers conceptual knowledge and not the factual knowledge.
It clearly follows the words of one of the great educationalist Confucius
who said :
“ Every truth has four corners , as a teacher I can give you one corner
and it is for you to find the other three.”
In PYP teacher just gives a spark to the students , with the help of
which they explore concepts. It makes the student curious to learn
and when someone learns with curiosity the learning takes place to it’s
fullest.
Great Philosopher John Dewey said “Since there is no single set of abili-
ties running throughout human nature ,there is no single curriculum
which all should undergo. Rather the school should teach everything
that anyone is interested in learning.”
PYP also follow his words .It teaches the things which do not just go
away with the classes but remain with the student throughout his life
.It teaches things which are Engaging, Significant, Challenging and very
important Relevant with life.
Today when I’m working in such an institute which fulfills all the above
said expectations ,I find myself to be very lucky and I can say that those
who are receiving such an education are more lucky because when
they will share their learning they will not be blamed for cheating.
The education in PYP is indeed an education with difference which will
surely bring revolution in Indian education system and produce much
more efficient citizens than produced earlier. Thanks to Fountainhead
for giving such an opportunity to Suraties.
--Priyanka Tiwari Class IV
Student Experiences
2.5 Months at FountainheadClass - IIIFountainhead school is so nice
It is a great hit
The first unit was “Who we are”
Where we learnt to be fit
We also learnt about the food pyramid
No not the ones in Egypt
A special one with food groups and color
schemes
We learnt the body systems too circulatory, respi-
ratory and digestive
All about you.
Now we are on to our next one
There are six units all together
Wait and watch the fun we are going to have.
--Ruhi Shah
The Fountainhead school is the place where we
get education for a better world
-- Dhruv Shah
Now that I study at Fountainhead school
I like to learn as I went for field trips too
I like Janaki madam and Mariyam Madam
Nishtha, Ruhi, Harshee and Subha are the new
friends which I made.
-- Ayushi Shah
My first day at school I was not feeling too good
But now I am very happy
With so many activities to do
I want to tell all to come to my school
As it has all that my old school did not have---
Jash Kirat Singh Virdi
The first day at school I thought it to be a play-
ground
Where we would be playing all the time
We had nature walks and field trips
And learnt about learner profile
I love my school
--Jugal Kachiwala
Class - II Making Fan
At Fountainhead school we have no exams
But we had fun making posters of our lesson
And we wrote poems and played healthy games
Oh what fun!
-- Zeal Shah
I learnt many new things from this school
I love it
The activities are fun
We made mind maps,
Played Healthy Island game,
Made a chart for nouns
Talked to a nutrition expert
We made a cook book
And went for a field trip to Reliance Fresh
I am loving it.
--Nishtha Jain
At first we played many games
Then we started our U.O.I
Health and well being
No we do not have any books
--Subha Agarwal
We played games like
Automobile, Healthy Island and Girls vs Boys
I made new friends and got more knowledge
The classroom is decorated very nicely
We learnt about food pyramid and nutrition
facts.
--Harshee Adnani
We made mind maps and played games too
The school is good and I love it too
--Noopur Patel
Writing poems
Making mind maps
No bell for periods to change
And clocks in each class for time to tell
That is Fountainhead school
For you and for me to have fun and learn well
--Chirag Sawlani
Class - II Wind Socks
Fountainhead school is a different school
Where we play games and learn too
Automobile and Healthy Island to name a few
Our section name is Skills
Which we all have displayed well.
--Smit Chauhan.
Class - IVIt is different from other schools
--Asiya Razvi
In IB board there are ten learners profile like car-
ing, Principles, Thinkers, Enquirer, well-balanced,
open-minded, risk taker, communicator, Knowl-
edge and reflectiv --Shaurya & Jayani
All the assignments are done by students only, so
we get confidence to do our work on our own
--Jigyasha Gothi.
Our attitude is more positive now
--Khushi Shah
Good values are also taught here
--Snehil Raizada
Teachers are very good, they encourage us to do
good things and to be a responsible person
--Vivek Bachhawat.
We are always very happy as we have freedom to
study and to do different activites. --Naomi Gajjar
Studies are different from other school
--Manan Shah.
Teaching style is different, which makes it more
exicting
--Parantap Sinha.
Class VWhen I first joined Fountainhead my experience
was not that good because I had left my old
school and friends. Now I can proudly say that
Fountainhead is the best school
--Khushman Adani.
Sneh Chauhan Class - V
A R T
: ART ARTICLE :
Always among the highest expression of every
culture, the arts teach us much about every
historical period through its literature, visual
arts, music, dance, and drama. Today it is
recognized that to be truly well educated one
must not only learn to appreciate
Samradhi Jain Class - I
the arts, but must have rich opportunities to
actively participate in creative work. The arts
are languages that most people speak, cutting
through individual differences
Class - III Board Painting
in culture, educational background, and abil-
ity. They can bring every subject to life and
turn abstractions into concrete reality. Learn-
ing through the arts often results in greater
academic achievement and higher test scores.
The most expansive areas where the arts pay
off are these: first, in basic reading skills, lan-
guage development, and writing skills.
Jugal Kachiwala Class - III
Increases in general academic skills also show
up and would appear to reinforce these spe-
cific literacy-related developments. Here we
refer to focus and concentration, skills in
Class - II Board Painting
expression, persistence, imagination, creativ-
ity, and inclinations to tackle problems with
zeal. In addition, a wide range of social skills
accompanies learning in the arts and engage-
ment in arts activities. These are the sorts of
skills and behaviors that, in their absence, par-
ents and teachers have been seen to tear their
hair out: positive social behavior, social com-
pliance, and collaboration with others, ability
to express emotions, courtesy, tolerance,
Sneh Chauhan Class - V
conflict resolution skills, and attention to
moral development.
Class - IV
Class - II Art room Display
Class - II Class room Painting
Class - IV Board Painting
IB-PYP PRELIMINARY VISIT REPORT
Fountainhead School had its IBO Preliminary
visit on 19th August 2008. With this visit, we
kicked off our IBO affiliation process. The steps
of PYP affiliation can be seen in figure : 1.1.
Kathy Derrick (ex-PYP Co-ordinator, Interna-
tional School of Singapore, a PYP workshop
trainer and now associate regional manager
for IB Asia Pacific) visited Fountainhead School
for the IBO Preliminary visit. She spent one full
working day in the school. Her first impression
about the school was that she loved the fact
that the school was in the countryside, away
from the city and surrounded by fields.
She spent a lot of time interacting with the
school leadership team- Vardan Kabra, Ankita
Diwekar-Kabra and Parag Shah discussing
school leadership, curriculum, teacher train-
ing, parent involvement, facilities planned etc
She was impressed with the school’s focus on
professional development of teachers and the
time built in their daily schedule for planning
and class preparation. Kathy was also happy
about the kind of parent communication the
school focuses on so that all parents are in
touch with the school.
I B O
V I S I T
R E P O R T
Phase Comments Timelines
Consider-
ation Phase
School inves-
tigates the
programme
and feasibil-
ity of its
implementa-
tion. The pre-
liminary visit
is a part of
this phase
6 months
from the
starting of
the school
Candidate
Phase
School
imple-
ments the
programme
as guided by
the regional
office.
At least one
academic
year. We
expect that
in the 2009-
10 session,
Fountain-
head will be
in candidate
phase.
Application
Phase
School
continues to
implement
and applies
for authori-
zation
This will hap-
pen in later
part of 2009-
10 session.
Authoriza-
tion
School is au-
thorized to
deliver the
programme.
By end of
2010-11
session, we
expect to
be an PYP
authorized
school.
Fig : 1.1
She toured the school and visited the class-
rooms and special rooms. She was impressed
with the school infrastructure and facilities
and recommended that classroom size be
limited to 20 students and that we use more
manipulatives for Mathematics and Language
for better conceptual understanding of
students.
I must mention here that she was particularly
happy with the seat belts installed in buses.
On the same note, I must also state that we
are not able to follow wearing seat belts at all
times.
Kathy also spent time interacting with the
PYP teachers. She was impressed with their
understanding about PYP and answered their
queries on how to lead an inquiry based class-
room. She also emphasized on working more
to make the learner profile alive and authen-
tic. She also suggested that the PYP training
for teachers should be a year long activity
so that we keep revisiting our PYP concepts
again and again.
Overall, the visit went off very well. One com-
ment that we received again and again from
Kathy was that for a school which is barely 2
months old, we have managed to achieve a
lot. We are happy to know and to inform you
that we are on track to successfully implement
the PYP. Looking forward, we will be an IB
candidate school latest by 1st April 2009. The
affiliation process will be another 2 years from
then. We look forward to your enthusiastic
support towards our journey in becoming a
PYP school.
An excerpt from the official report from IBO:
“It was indeed a privilege to visit Fountain-
head School to discuss the vision and plans
of the executive committee and the leader-
ship team, to hear the enthusiasm of the
staff and to see structures and practices
already in place in the school, which will
greatly support the implementation of the
programme. The school has begun
implementing units of inquiry, with knowl-
edgeable and positive guidance from the
Principal and the PYP Coordinator. The leader-
ship team were eager to discuss future
professional development opportunities both
in school and regional.
The school community is committed and
enthusiastic and truly believe in the
programme, making links between it and
good teaching practice and past
experiences. The school is growing and devel-
oping, and staff are adapting to needs
as they occur. The school is also realistic in
their outlook for the future as enrolment
increases, and the new site develops, they
recognize that structures will need to be
consistently re-examined.
As a result of the visit to Fountainhead School
and the discussions which occurred
with the leadership team and staff, it is quite
apparent that Fountainhead School has
set themselves up for successful implementa-
tion of the PYP. I look forward with great
interest to hear about the ongoing develop-
ment of the programme and the school. I
wish Fountainhead School every success with
the implementation of the Primary
Years Programme.”
--Ankita Kabra Academic Head
Interaction With Teachers
Visiting Dining Hall
Visiting The Classes
P A R E N T I N G
The Case Against Gold Stars By Alfie Kohn
www.alfiekohn.org/articles.htm
Call it the “gold-star syndrome.” Sometimes we paste stars on a chart. At
other times we offer toys or extra TV, candy or cash, pizza or special privi-
leges. We reward kids for doing what we want instead of punishing them
for disobeying.
Pull out a child-care book at random -- or just watch a typical parent at
home -- and you’ll notice that the emphasis is on “positive reinforcement.” It
is so pervasive that few of us pause to question its effects.
The bad news, according to a growing body of research, is that bribery
-- which is what rewards amount to -- is not much of an improvement over
punishing children. In fact, I strongly believe that rewards and punishments
really aren’t opposites at all. They are two sides of the same coin, and the
coin doesn’t buy very much.
“Rewards work!” many parents insist. But work to do what? And at what
cost? The answer to the first question is that rewards, like punishments, are
extremely effective at getting us one thing and one thing only: temporary
obedience. What they can never do, however, is help children become
responsible, ethical, decent people.
Studies conclude that rewards are ineffective. In the process of writing a
book on the subject, I’ve found hundreds of studies showing that rewards
are strikingly ineffective at producing lasting change in attitudes or behav-
iors. Once the rewards run out, people go right back to acting the way they
did. And no wonder. Rewards don’t create an enduring commitment to any
value or action; they merely change what we do.
Consider the questions that children may ask themselves. Threaten a pun-
ishment and a child will come to ask, “What am I supposed to do, and what
will happen to me if I don’t do it?” Bribe him by dangling a reward and he’ll
wonder, “What am I supposed to do, and what will I get for doing it?” Notice
how similar these two questions are, and how different from what we want
children to ask: “What kind of person do I want to be?” Good values have to
be grown from the inside out; bribes and threats at best change children’s
behavior only for a while.
But isn’t temporary compliance sometimes good enough? Clearly it is
tempting to use any means at our disposal to stop a four-year old from
making a fuss at the store, to get an eight year-old out the door on time, or
to get a ten-year-old to settle down and finish her homework. In the short
term, a sufficiently appealing carrot will usually work. But the long-term
costs are considerable.
Rewards simply control through seduction rather than force, according to
University of Rochester psychologists Edward Deci, Ph.D., and Richard Ryan,
Ph.D., and all techniques that rely on control ultimately undermine what
children need in order to make good decisions and take responsibility for
their actions. At least two studies have shown, for example, that kids whose
parents reward them frequently are less generous than their peers.
Surprising? It shouldn’t be. A child promised a treat or praised extravagantly
for helping people has learned that the only reason to act that way is that
he’ll get something for it. No reward, no reason to care.
Other research shows that the more students are led to focus on getting
good grades, the less interested they will be in what they are studying, the
less creative their thinking will be, and the more they will try to take the
easy way out. Again, it makes sense: The more children see the “A” as the
goal, the more they will come to see the learning itself as something to be
gotten over with. The practice of paying kids for top grades -- offering, in
effect, a reward for a reward -- doubles the damage.
At the University of Illinois, researchers introduced some preschoolers to a
beverage called kefir. Some were just asked to drink it; others were praised
lavishly or promised treats for drinking. Did the rewarded kids slurp down
more kefir? You bet. But a week later they wanted nothing to do with the
stuff, whereas the children offered no reward liked it just as much as, if not
more than, before.
Substitute reading, doing math, or acting responsibly for drinking kefir,
and you begin to glimpse the destructive power of rewards. In fact, a good
general rule is that the more we want our children to want to do somethins,
the more counterproductive it will be to reward them for doing it.
It’s not the reward itself that’s objectionable -- it’s the practice of using
something as a reward that causes the problem: “Do this and you’ll get that.”
This feels controlling, causes dependence, and may spoil our relationship
with our children. We risk coming to be seen as goody dispensers who have
to be pleased rather than as loving and caring allies.
What’s the alternative? Even praise, if the emphasis is on doing what
we want and what makes us happy, can be counterproductive. There is,
however, nothing wrong with positive comments that acknowledge and
encourage what children have done -- and leave them feeling proud of
themselves. Such comments are nice but if our long-term goal is more
ambitious than getting kids to obey mindlessly, then we’ll have to take the
extra step of bringing them in on the process of making decisions.
You might say to your seven year-old, “I’ve noticed that lately it’s taking
you a long time to get dressed in the morning, honey. What do you think
we can do to solve that?” And we have to reconsider some of our requests
instead of just forcing compliance. For example, rather than fall back on
bribes to get a four-year-old to sit through a long dinner, we might reflect
on whether that expectation is age-appropriate.
Giving up anything that we’re used to is a challenge. But the evidence is
clear: Rewards may be effective at training a pet, but raising good kids
means working with them rather than doing things to them.