A typical Super Saturday at the Academy Junior School

Our first Super Saturday for 2017-18 took place on 19^th August and was very eventful with parent orientations, PYP network events and plenty of fun activities for students!

Academy Junior School students enjoyed games such as tug of war, charades, dodgeball, salt and pepper, parachute and shoe tower – all designed to foster a sense of community, team spirit, and motivation. The activities were also geared towards improving their communication, social and thinking skills. At the end of the day, it was evident from the smiles on their faces that students had a good time during their first Super Saturday.

Parents as partners in education  

Over 100 parents attended this year’s Super Saturday event. Ms. Chloe, our IB PYP (Primary Years Program) Coordinator, explained to new parents the unique features of an IB education, including the PYP curriculum. Ms. Latha, Academy Junior School Principal, familiarised returning parents with the upcoming three-programme IB evaluation taking place in February 2018 and guardians’ role in the process. Parents were encouraged to share suggestions and feedback during this time. Afterwards, parents met their children’s form tutors, who provided a thorough overview of the grade level expectations and of our inquiry-based curriculum.

Hyderabad PYP network collaboration

On August 19^th, the Academy hosted the Hyderabad PYP (Primary Years Program) network and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sessions, led by Mita Mohapatra. 11 teachers from eight schools in both Hyderabad and Guntur attended. After some interactive icebreakers, teachers discussed the ICT essential agreement and the importance of implementing technology in the classroom through the SAMR model.

In addition, they debated the pros and cons of various apps and web tools, stressed the importance of coding, and compared the merits of Google and Microsoft classroom products. Ultimately, they decided that as ICT teachers, they needed to strike a balance between incorporating the best technological tools in the classrooms and adapting to the needs of their students.

The icing on the cake was the Green Screen app by Doink – teachers were as excited as kids as they created fun videos of their own invention. As the session came to a close, everyone connected through social media, allowing them to keep in touch and continue to share teaching strategies. All in all, it was a great opportunity to come together and to learn from each other.

Library professionals get together!

Nine library professionals from seven Hyderabad PYP schools, including the Glendale Academy and Sreenidhi International School, attended a sharing session on library science and skills. The session helped them understand how library skills as well as IB learner profiles and attitudes could be developed by using library resources. Veena, our Junior School Librarian, found the discussion of how library professionals can collaborate with the school community and inculcate academic honesty to be especially insightful.

Contributors – Mita Mohapatra, Veena Bhat, Laila Narsingani, Sreelatha Kumar