April & May-2018, (Vol: 2, Issue: 7)

~~Academics~~ ~~Primary~~

Staggered Meeting: Staggered meetings for the Final Term Examination were held from Sunday, 8th to Thursday, 12th April, 2018, in the Junior School Campus. The concerned parents from grade- 1 to 4 attended the meetings. All the subject teachers of the Primary Section shared their feedback with the concerned parents aiming towards the improvement of their wards in certain areas. The parents also shared their feedback to ensure a fruitful communication.

International Day of Human Space Flight: The students of Junior School

joined together to celebrate the International Day of Human Space Flight in a

special assembly, held on Wednesday, 11th and Thursday, 12th April, 2018. It is the

anniversary of the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin which was proclaimed

at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly on April 7, 2011. The

students were given an insight of the history and significance of this day through a

short documentary. The students watched the entire programme with a lot of

enthusiasm. This was followed by the certificate distribution ceremony for the

talented winners of the Science Quiz Competition by our Honourable Head of Junior

School, Ms. Sumona Karim. The Science teachers of Junior School under the

supervision of the HOD, Ms. Ferdoushi Rahman worked really hard to make this

event a successful one.

Teaching Literacy: The students of grade-4 have recently completed

reading the book The BFG written by Roald Dahl. To enhance their literacy,

the English Teachers of grade-4 arranged a movie day for them where they

were shown the movie based on the book. Even though reading is more

emphasized than watching movies, this definitely helped them to imagine

and visualize what they have learned in the class. The Movie Day was

organised on 17th April, 2018, in the Junior School Main Hall and all the

students of grade-4 watched the movie together and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Special Assembly for Prize Distribution: The Primary Section of DPS STS School

Dhaka arranged special assemblies for the Certificate Distribution Ceremony for

Poetry Recitation Competition, English Quiz Competition and Inter House Math Quiz

Competition on Tuesday 10th & Thursday, 12th April, 2018 in the Junior School

Auditorium. The Head of Junior School Ms. Sumona Karim, the Head of Primary

Section, Ms. Juliet Gomes and the Head of Pre Primary Section, Ms. Dushani

Rajaratnam were the chief guests of the event. Certificates were distributed among

the winners of the competitions and the names of the winners were announced.

Final Term Report Card Day: The Final Term Report Card Day was

held on Monday, 14th May, 2018, in the DPS STS Junior School Dhaka. The

meeting was scheduled from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The report cards of the

students of grades-1-4 were distributed to the parents by the class teachers

in their respective classrooms. The certificates of the recent events and

activities were also handed over with the report cards. The certificates and

books of the British Council Book Reading Programme were also handed

over to the parents. The parents were happy to receive comprehensive

reports and verbal feedback by the class teachers. They also shared their

satisfaction and gratitude towards all the teachers for all their support and

guidance throughout the academic year-2017-18.

~~Academics~~ ~~Pre Primary~~

Staggered Meeting: The Staggered PTM of Pre Primary Section was held between Sunday, 1st April, 2018 to Thursday, 5th April, 2018. It was held after school, in their respective classrooms. The parents were briefed on their wards’ academic performance and various issues were also discussed.

On 5th of April, 2018, the Pre-KG students did a project work on “Occupation”. The students learnt about the different types of occupations. They coloured images of people of different occupations and also shared their favourite professions too.

The students of KG were introduced to the time concept of ‘O’clock’ on the 8th of April, 2018. The teachers used the wall clock to demonstrate the time. Later, they were divided into groups and each group had to point

different times on the clock, made by chart paper. They truly enjoyed this fun activity!

In English, our KG children did a group project called the ‘Power Flower Chart’ on 11th of April, 2018. They compiled different words related to pl, cl, fl, and gl sounds. As the students were divided into small groups, it was a team effort by them. They also drew pictures related to the words. Certainly, such activities are great ways to enrich their vocabulary.

Fractions were introduced to the KG students on 15th of April, 2018. Our teachers had brought apples and slices of bread to demonstrate to them that equal divisions of a whole is called fraction. For example if we take an apple and cut it equally for 4 people then each person will get 1 piece out of 4 pieces. This can be represented in fractions by writing it as ¼; or in other words, one quarter of an apple. Our students loved this new concept and learnt it well.

On 23rd of April, the students of Nursery did a craft work related to the Letter ‘W’. They made a whale with the help of their teachers. Once again, they were quite thrilled while learning something in such a fun manner.

The students of Pre-KG played the roles of different community helpers such as, doctor, policeman, firefighter, nurse, postman, teacher etc. on 18th of April, 2018. They had a lesson on “community helpers” under the subject EVS. Through this role play students got to know how community helpers help us by giving us different services.

The students of KG did an experiment on ‘Air’ in EVS on 17th of April, 2018. Through the experiment, they learnt about some of the properties of air. They discovered that air has weight, it takes up space and fire needs air to burn, etc. The students were very thrilled to watch the amazing experiments.

The Pre-KG students did a project work on “Transportation”. The students learnt the names of different transports, how they operate and the difference between road, air and water transportation. This project was done on 29th of April, 2018.

The students of Pre-KG enjoyed their

IT class in the IT lab on 3rd of May,

2018. They learnt how to use Ms Word.

An English handwriting Competition was held for the KG

students on 6th May, 2018. All the students wrote from

each section, the best 3 students were selected and were

given the certificates. These types of events create a

healthy competition between students, in order to focus

and achieve goals better.

Making crafts is always a fun work! The PG children had fun by colouring, pasting and collage work on 3rd of May, 2018. Crafts are a great way to reinforce learning, develop and refine fine motor skills, and connect with others.

Students of KG did an activity in EVS on ‘Sun Safety’ and the methods to protect themselves

from the bad effects of the rays of the sun in Environmental Science on 8th of May, 2018. They

were asked to bring umbrellas, sunglasses, sun protection lotion and powder to carry out an

activity in the rooftop, and they also made a summer drink i.e. Lemon Mojito using lemon,

sugar, fresh mint leaves, pinch of salt and soda water . Lemonade is one of the most popular

beverages in the world. It’s cheap and easy to make, tastes great, and hydrates the body.

The Final Term Report Card Day for Pre-Primary was held on 14th of May, 2018 in the Junior

campus. All the parents gladly received their wards’ Report Cards. As the KG students will be

stepping into the Primary section, they are all very excited about it. In fact, all the parents of different

sections collected the Report cards and they were very satisfied. The left over Report cards of the

absent students were submitted to the front desk. Overall, the Report Card Day went smoothly.

On 9th of May, 2018, our Nursery children

did an activity related to the Letter ‘Z’ for

English subject. They made a craft work of a

zoo-cage, which was guided by their

teachers.

Under ‘Life skill Activity’ PG children, did an outdoor

play on 8th of May, 2018. These type of activities enable

young children to learn lot of things about the nature.

They brought their own umbrella for an outdoor

activity at school. This activity encouraged them to use

umbrella to protect against rain and sunlight.

A ‘Linkage Meeting’ for the Year-ending was held on 9th of May, 2018 between the Pre-KG and the KG teachers. The sole purpose of this meetup was to

discuss about the students’ overall performance in terms of their academic and behavioural aspects. This will guide the KG teachers to design their

curriculumn better and handle the students appropriately, in the new-upcoming session.

BKSP Talent Identification Gymnastics Competition-2018: DPS STS INTER-SCHOOL SWIMMING MEET (DISM)-2018:

~~Co-Curricular Activities~~ ~~Primary~~

BKSP Talent Identification Gymnastic Competition 2018 was held on 3rd April, 2018. 6 Teams and 75 participants took part in the competition. Under the guidance of the Sports Teachers of Junior Section, the students flaunted their skills in gymnastics and aerobics.

DPS STS Inter-School Swimming Meet 2018 was held on 7th April, 2018, in the Senior School Campus. 11 Schools from all over Dhaka city participated in the meet. The students of grades-1 to 4 from the Junior School participated in the event. Senior and Junior School together earned 49 medals (9 Gold Medals, 22 Silver Medals & 18 Bronze Medals) in the event.

Yearbook Photo Session: The yearbook photosession for all

the teachers of the Junior School

was held on 14th May, 2018, in the

Junior School Indoor Gym Area. All

the teachers of Primary, Pre

Primary, Support Staff and

Administrative Staff took

photographs with the Principal,

Vice Principal and the Heads of the

Junior School and celebrated the

end of yet another successful

academic year.

Special Visit to the Senior Campus: The students of

grade-4 were taken for a tour to the Senior School Campus

on 7th May, 2018, to get them accustomed with all the

amenities of state of the art Senior School. The students

visited the classrooms, auditorium, music, dance rooms,

art lab, chemistry, biology, physics labs, library, cafetaria,

swimming pool and basketball court. The Head of Middle

School, Ms. Kumkum Habiba welcomed the students with

a thoughful speech, Senior Music Teacher, Mr. T. A. Sonnet

greeted the students with songs with the tune of his guitar,

all the teachers of grade-5 embraced the Juniors with open

arms and had them visit the whole school. They were also

provided with snacks in the cafeteria and supervised by

the present class teachers all along. The students had a

taste of being a Senior on their last day of exams in the

Junior School.

Pohela Boishakh Programme: Pohela Boishakh is the day of festivities in the lives of the people of Bangladesh. To celebrate the essence of Boishakh, the students of grade-3 & 4 arranged a vibrant flamboyant Boishakhi Programme on 7th April, 2018 in the Senior School Auditorium. The Principal and the Vice Principal of DPS STS School Dhaka, Mr. Harsh Wal and Ms. Madhu Wal along with the Head of Junior School Ms. Sumona Karim, the Head of Primary Section, Ms. Juliet Gomes and the Head of Pre Primary Section, Ms. Dushani Rajaratnam were the chief guests of the event. The day was celebrated with beautifully choreographed dance and melodious musical performances by the students, orchestrated by the teachers of the Primary Section. The traditional fashion show and the poetry recitations definitely reminded us all of the significance of the Bangla New Year in our lives. The parents were also invited to enjoy the event.

Boishakhi Fun Fair: On the 17th of April, Boishakh Fun Fair was held for Grade 1 to Grade 4 students in the Junior School Indoor Play Area. The school was colorfully decorated .The students came in red and white attire to celebrate this fun fair. There were many food, games and toy stalls. The students enjoyed themselves at the game stalls and bought many toys from the toy shops. They also enjoyed the yummy food. After dispersal, the parents also came and took part in the festivities with their children. Overall it was a very successful and enjoyable event.

Movie Day: The students of grade- 1 &2 watched movies in their

respective classrooms to celebrate the last day of school on

13th May, 2018, before the summer vacation started. The

students of grade-1 watched the famous movie The Sound of

Music and the students of grade-2 enjoyed the fun movie Free

Willy-2. The students enjoyed the movie thoroughly and spent

a wonderful time with their dear teachers.

Summer Swimming Camp: DPS STS School Dhaka organized a Summer Swimming Camp

for the students of grade-1 to 4 in the Senior School Campus.

The camp was held from 4th May to 16th May where all the

students could participate and spend the summer vacation

learning how to swim. It was a great opportunity for the

students to learn swimming under the guidance of our

trainers that too free of cost. The students made the best of

this camp and enjoyed their summer vacation.

Karate Belt Exam: The Karate Belt Exam of students

from 1 to 4 was held on 10th May, 2018, in the Junior School

Campus. 37 Students from the Junior School took part in the

exam to achieve their respective belts. After the exam,

certificates and belts were distributed by the Sensei to

encourage the little karate masters.

Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali calendar, is indeed a significant occasion for each and every Bengali individual. This festival was celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and fervor

in the school premises. Our PG children were excited to make traditional hand fans to decorate the school and their classrooms on 12th of April, 2018.

~~Co-Curricular Activities~~ ~~Pre Primary~~

Jello making is a fun activity which the PG students were thrilled to do on 18th of April, 2018. The children love this jiggly, fluffy and sweet dessert which is a perfect treat for summer. They made it with a little help from their teachers.

On 25th of April, the KG students made flowers as part of their art activity. They used cotton buds, tea leaves to paste these in their craft books. It turned out very beautiful, once they pasted it using their teachers help. It is wonderful to watch our children develop creative skills.

A ‘Pet Show’ was held on 5th of April, 2018 in the Greenfield area, Junior campus for the Pre-Primary department. The students brought their pets for display. The teachers helped the students to exhibit their pets like cats, love-birds, rabbits, fish and so on. Everyone enjoyed visiting it, including the students’ parents.

Bangla handwriting Competition was held for the KG students on 26th April, 2018. All the students wrote from the same passage on ‘Picnic in Bangladesh.’ From each section, the best 3 students were selected and were given the certificates.

A Farewell Programme for the students of KG

was held on 10th of May 2018 in the auditorium

of Junior school. This occasion was to celebrate

their completion of Pre-Primary level and they

were also awarded certificates by the Head of

Junior School, Ms. Sumona Karim and by the

Head of Pre-Primary, Ms. Dushani Rajaratnam.

Overall, the programme was entertaining and

the students enjoyed a lot.

The students of KG also celebrated ‘Mothers’ Day’ on 13th of May, 2018. They had made a lovely card for their loving

mothers, as it is quite vital for us to show love and respect for our parents.

The Class party of Pre-Primary was held on 13th of May, 2018.

Children did a lot of activities which included dance, games, photo-sessions; along with snacks. They all enjoyed the party thoroughly. Surely, they will remember this day forever.

We are very proud to announce that Arneesha Affaan Chaklader, Grade-3, Delta, has performed brilliantly in the British Council Book Reading Competition and acquired 1st Runners

Up position with flying colours. Among hundreds of participants from schools all around Bangladesh, she secured 98% marks in the examination which reflected her passion for reading. To acknowledge her hard work , the British Council awarded her with a trophy and a certificate. The Head of Junior School, Ms. Sumona Karim handed over the certificate to her in presence of the Head of Primary Section, Ms. Juliet Gomes, Head of Pre Primary Section, Ms. Dushani Rajaratnam, all the teachers and students of grades- 3 and 4 in a special assembly on 10th of April, 2018. The Principal and the Vice Principal of DPS STS School Dhaka, Mr. Harsh Wal and Ms. Madhu Wal also congratulated her on her achievement.

Our very own grand master, Marzouq Chowdhrandury of Grade-4, Newton scored 3 points out of 7 in Asian Youth Chess Championship, which is amazing!! This was the first time that

he participated in an international competition. We are so proud of your achievement, Marzouq. Adrita Anan Disha , Dance teacher of Junior Section, has recently completed MBA (Finance & Banking) with First Class. We congratulate her on her achievement.

Ms. Rezwana Haque from the Pre-Primary Department has completed her MSc (Master of Science) and PGD (Postgraduate Diploma) in Early Childhood Development from BRAC

University.

Mr Mahmudul Hasan Shawn , Sports teacher of Junior section, achieved 2nd runners up position in the “KWIKS Basketball League 2018” tournament held in Nepal. He was the first Bangladeshi player to have participated in an international match. We are very proud of his accomplishment.

Our heartiest Congratulations go to Ms. Mahfuza Rahman, for tying the nuptial knot on 7th May 2018.

Zuhayr Akshaan from KG-Earth has achieved the following:

1) Black Belt Academy

Summer Tournament 2018

1st Jump Kick

Gold Belt children

No-53

2) Black Belt Academy

Summer Tournament 2018

2nd Kata

Gold Belt children

No-50

The Head of Pre-Primary, Ms. Dushani Rajaratnam conducted a workshop on ‘Montessori Approach’ with the PG and Nursery teachers on 5th of April, 2018. Basically, this

new methodology has been introduced so that the children are able to make creative choices in their learning using age-appropriate activities with the guidance of their teachers.

A professional Development Training session was conducted in the Junior campus of DPS STS School, Dhaka on Saturday 21st April 2018 by eminent educationist Ms. Munira

Quader. The session was divided into two parts.

~~Special Achievements~~

~~Workshops & Trainings~~

Ms. Quader discussed the following topics: 1. Proper Lesson Planning strategy and Lesson delivery through Power Point 2. Common errors teachers make while delivering a lesson

Ms. Quader emphasized on the fact that students focus more if lessons are visual. If lessons are delivered through power point presentations this visual learning becomes imprinted in the students’ brains. However, she mentioned that the duration of the presentation should not be more than seven minutes. She advised that the annual syllabus should be broken down into 3 terms and at least 3-4 days should be left empty in each term to cover up for any lost classes. She explained the importance of weekly lesson plans and how they can be more productive.

Teachers’ Training Workshop: A teacher’s training workshop was conducted on ‘Assessment Techniques’ by our in house trainer Ms. Mehjabeen Rashid on 3rd May 2018 in the Junior School Campus. All the teachers of the Primary Section participated in the session. The trainer discussed effective ways of assessing students and had an interactive session with the teachers. She discussed how many lessons should be conducted on a topic before a formal assessment and also mentioned types of assessments in the session to clarify misconceptions. The session was an eye opener for teachers to guiding them towards strategic evaluation.

Once again, a fruitful workshop of ‘Spoken English’ was conducted on 11th of May by Ms. Mehjabeen Rashid with the Pre-Primary teachers. She had briefed the teachers on some of the important phrases we use with our students in the classroom. She also took a written assessment of all the teachers, just to refresh their grammar skills. Overall, teachers had an impactful workshop, which they can certainly implement in their classrooms for creating a better learning environment.

Three day long workshops & training sessions were held between 15th of May till 17th of May, 2018 for the Junior School Teachers in the Senior Campus. The key topics were

as follows:

1. Montessori Trainining session by Ms. Dushani Rajaratnam, the Head of Pre-Primary on 15th of May, 2018.

2. The Art of Teaching by Ms. Dushani Rajaratnam, the Head of Pre-Primary on 15th of May, 2018.

3. Talk on Future of Skills & Innovation by Mr. Saif Kamal, Founder of Toru Institute of Inclusive Innovation on 16th of May, 2018.

4. Teachers as Facilitators of Knowledge by Mr. Saif Kamal, Founder of Toru Institute of Inclusive Innovation on 16th of May, 2018.

5. Circle time by Ms. Madhu Wal, Vice Principal of DPS-STS Dhaka School.

6. Dealing with Challenging Children by Pastoral Counsellor Ms. Misti on 16th of May, 2018.

7. Time Management/Lesson Planning by Ms. Dushani Rajaratnam, the Head of Pre-Primary on 17th of May, 2018.

8. Teacher Etiquettes by Ms. Sumona Karim, the Head of Juniour School on 17th of May, 2018.

9. Teachers' Handbook and Rules by Ms. Juliet Gomes, the Head of Primary on 17th of May, 2018.

10. Film Screened for teachers’ (To Sir with Love) on 17th of May, 2018.

The effective training and workshop sessions were conducted solely to improve the quality of educational system, in order to serve our students better. Our teachers were

completely over-whelmed by attending these workshops. Very important topics were covered here, which is quite vital in implementing the lesson plans within the classrooms.

As the famous author’ Smiley Blanton’ had stated: “A sense of curiosity is nature’s original school of education.”

Obituary:

Our heartfelt condolences were conveyed to the Junior School Librarian Mr Wahiduzzaman for the sad demise of his mother on 20th of May 2018.