Pioneer May 2017

May 2017 The Monthly Newsletter Volume - 06 Issue - 02

WHAT TO EXPECT IN JUNE 2017 Curricular 01st – Written Assessment-2 (G1 to G4 – English) 03rd – Open House (KG to G9 & G11) 08th – Written Assessment-2 (G1 to G4 – Hindi) 15th – Written Assessment-2 (G1 to G4 – Maths) 17th – Open House (G10 & G12) 18th – Written Assessment-2 (G1 to G4 – Ev.S) 21st – Written Assessment-2 (G3 & G4 – Social Studies) CO-CURRICULAR / EXTRA-CURRICULAR 05th – World Environment Day Bhavan’s Fest (Art Competition) 06th – Bhavan’s Fest ((Essay Writing – G3 & G4) 07th – Bhavan’s Fest (Poetry Writing- G5 to G12) 08th – Felicitation of CBSE Toppers 11th – Science Expo 14th – ICT Expo LAST WORKING DAY OF THE FIRST QUARTER – 22nd JUNE ‘17PIONEER - May 2017

RESULTS-GRADE 12 Our very rst batch of Grade-12 (2016-2017) appeared for the All India Senior Secondary Certi cate Examination (AISSCE). The students who appeared for the Science and Commerce streams scored an aggregate of 84%. The students of Senior Secondary achieved exemplary scores in English with 50 percent of the batch scoring above 90. In Computer Science and Business Studies our students performed well with the class average above distinction level. Our ngers are crossed when we eagerly await the results of Grade-10, who form the rst batch of PIES to appear for the All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE).02 PIONEER - May 2017

ABIDING BY ADECThe Senior Leaders of PIES attend workshops and sessions conducted by TheAbu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) on the implementation of StudentCompetence Framework (SCF). Such sessions are then cascaded to the Middle-level Leaders of PIES.The School Implementation Group, specifically formed for the purpose, preparesAction Plans. Curriculum Mapping was formed based on Action plans prepared,which comprises of the following elements:1. School Map2. Summary Map3. Unit Plan4. Lesson Plan5. Extra-curricular activitiesOur teachers diligently include the aspects of Curriculum Mapping in their dailyteaching, which is closely monitored by the leaders.This process has also been communicated to the stake-holders, for transparent andsmooth functioning.PIONEER - May 2017 03

Module 1: Introduction to the SCFGuidance material 1.8 Parent newsletterWhat is the purpose of this To inform parents of the SCFmaterial?When to use this material? At the appropriate point in your school’s action planWith whom to use this Parents and staff of the schoolmaterial?How to use this material? To be distributed with the usual school newsletter. The text in this parent newsletter can be edited andWhat next? re-crafted to meet your schools needs If parents have further questions then refer to - 1.7 SCF Frequently asked questions04 PIONEER - May 2017

1.8 Parents NewsletterA Salaam AlaikumThis newsletter is to inform our parent community that our school is introducing the AbuDhabi Student Competence Framework for Private Schools. This framework is beingimplemented in private schools in the Abu Dhabi Emirate during 2016.The Abu Dhabi Student Competence Framework (SCF) is a model that defines a set ofvalues and competences which can be applied to a wide range of real life roles andsituations. Values define a person’s character and competences are a uniquecombination of skills, attributes and dispositions which provide us with the mechanismswith which we engage with the world around us. A common understanding of thesevalues and competences forms a benchmark against which we can evaluate the progessof our students. The SCF has been developed for the private school sector of Abu Dhabiand is being closely aligned to the academic curricular and extra-curricular programmesin our school.An important reason why the Abu Dhabi Education Council has developed a StudentCompetence Framework is to align educational outcomes with the requirements of AbuDhabi’s Economic Vision 2030. The 2030 Vision for education is to have all of our youngpeople educated to the best international standards with the skills to become productiveworkers who can contribute to making the economy internationally competitive. The SCFwill ensure that students are equipped with the soft skills and behaviors required for the21st Century and Abu Dhabi’s evolving economy, regardless of their chosen school orcurriculum.The Abu Dhabi SCF has proposed seven core values. These values are: respect,integrity, empathy, resilience, honesty, care, and tolerance. These values will promote apositive attitude in our students and provide a foundation for the development of theframework competences. Values help define a person’s character. The recognition andpromotion of core values (also described as ethics and morals) are crucial to thesuccessful development of generic competences in students. They are at the heart of thecompetence framework and provide the relevant background that gives this frameworkits uniqueness.The Student Competence Framework has identified 13 competences which begin atvarious Grade levels and continue through to Grade 12. These 13 competences arefurther grouped into three themes:PIONEER - May 2017 05

Learning and innovation skills Critical thinking CreativityThose skills which enable students to be become Problem solvingcreative, innovative, flexible life-long learners Independent learningwho are able to be effective, multi-skilled Digital competenceproductive workersPersonal and social skills Leadership and responsibility Collaboration/teamworkThose skills which enable students to become a Communicationcohesive, productive and tolerant member of Self-confidencesociety who is well prepared for the next stage of Initiative/self-directiontheir education. EntrepreneurshipNational and Global citizenship skills Global and environmental awarenessThose skills which enable students to becomeconcerned and responsible citizens who are Cultural awareness/ citizenshipactive participants in the local community and theglobal, multi-cultural, technologically advancedworld.The development of the Abu Dhabi SCF involved extensive consultation withstakeholders across the Emirate including: Schools (principals, senior staff, teachers, students and parents) Higher education institutions Industry Government and the public sector and Internal ADEC consultation.In addition international research and the benchmarking of best practice includingexamples from the United States (Partnership for 21st Century Learning), Singapore,Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines was undertaken. The frameworkwas developed and written by Pearsons Education Limited (United Kingdom) and thepilot phase of the project was contracted to Cognition Education Limited (New Zealand).06 PIONEER - May 2017

ANOTHER TEAM OF LEADERSSchool elections emphasis on leadership skills and efficient decision-making. The schoolcouncil promotes an attitude of accommodation, to respect the views of others anddevelop a harmonious atmosphere in the school premises. Hence, we, at Bhavansinculcate democratic values from the grass root level. All the applicants were diligentlyinterviewed by the members of my department. The other procedures towards the smoothconduct of the Student Council election involved:Declaration of Election, Filing Nomination (duly filled by 37 candidates that weresubmitted to our Principal Ms. Girija Baiju on 24th April), Selection and Scrutiny ofCandidates (done by a team of teachers), Election Notice Board (that showcased a briefintroduction to the nominees), Election Campaign (vigorously carried out by thenominees), Introducing the Candidate (at the Junior and the Senior Level was held on26th April), the Election on 01st May ’17 under the vigilant team of Polling Officers fromthe Department of Social Science and the Counting of Votes where the entire processwas skillfully handled by Team ICT.PIONEER - May 2017 07

PIES proudly witnessed the moments of Electronic Voting.The much awaited election results were announced on 2nd MAY 2017 in thepresence of Mr. Ramachandran Menon (Chairman-Bhavans Middle East), Mr SoorajRamachandran (Director-Bhavans Middle East) and Ms. Girija Baiju (Principal-PIES). Itwas a nail-biting experience for the candidates as well as their supporters. Smitha Balan (Dept. of Social Science) 08 PIONEER - May 2017

Celebrating Leadership“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other”- J. F KennedyThe morning of May 8, 2017 witnessed our deserving young leaders bestowed with theresponsibilities to lead with commitment, confidence and competence.Investiture Ceremony marks a significant beginning of an academic year. It stands asolemn occasion when the young leaders prepare to don the mantle of leadership anddischarge the responsibilities entrusted upon.Mr. Sooraj Ramachandran (Director- Bhavans Middle East) was the Chief Guest of theoccasion that commenced with the prayer song by the school choir. This was followed bythe lighting of lamp by our Chief Guest, Ms. Girija Baiju (Principal), Mr. Nandakumar (VicePrincipal) and Mr. Krishna Kumar Das (Manager-Administration).House Mistresses of the four Houses (Sanskriti, Sathya, Seva and Yagna) conferredbadges to the nominated members. Principal administered the Oath of Office and themembers of the newly elected School Council pledged to abide by the values andresponsibilities. The oath taking ceremony was followed by a speech by Mr. SoorajRamachandran wherein he congratulated the leaders and inspired them with hismotivational words. The newly elected Head Boy, Jeremy John George delivered hisofficial speech pledging his support. The Head Girl, Pragatha Kannan rendered the Voteof Thanks.PIONEER - May 2017 09

The following members form the Student Council, for the academic year 2017-2018 Senior Head Boy- Jeremy John George Senior Head Girl- Pragatha Kannan Assistant Head Boy- Adithya Santhosh Assistant Head Girl- Ishitha Sabarwal Junior Head Boy- Sreeram Sooraj Junior Head Girl – Jahnavi Menon Ajay Sports Captain (Boys)- Adarsh Menon Sports Captain (Girls)- Vishwa Pranav Dave Assistant Sports Captain (Boys)- Arsh Ajmal Jamal Assistant Sports Captain (Girls)- Ayna Belz Ani10 PIONEER - May 2017

Ms. Vanitha, the House Mistress of Sathya House, conferred Deepansha.C and AryanGupta (House Captains –Grade 11) with responsibilities.Ms. Shafeena, the House Mistress of Seva House, conferred Sachith Kottari and SaloniRhakholiya (House Captains – Grade 11) with responsibilities.Ms. Soumya, the House Mistress of Sanskriti House, conferred Kani Prajith and ShreeyaR S (House Captains – Grade 11) with responsibilities.Ms. Praseedha, the House Mistress of Yagna House, conferred Hrithik Anand Menon andZeba Zafar (House Captains – Grade 11) with responsibilities.We congratulate the Student Council and wish them the very best.PIONEER - May 2017 11

Clubs 2017-2018School clubs provide opportunities for youth to participate in activities, interact with peersand focus on a specific area, thus allowing members to develop their skills and interests.Many of the activities offered by clubs help students extend their knowledge. The Clubsthat stand proud at PIES are:1. Department of Commerce - ‘DYNAMIC’2. Department of Computer Science - ‘CS FIRST CLUB’3. Department of English - ‘HAPPY BOOKERS CLUB’4. Department of Fine Arts - ‘SHRISHTI’5. Department of French - ‘LE CLUB FRANCAIS’6. Department of Hindi (Primary) - ‘HINDI SUNG’7. Department of Hindi (Secondary) - ‘ THULSIDAS HINDI PARISHATH’8. Department of Mathematics - ‘MATRIX’9. Department of Science - ‘SCIENTIA’ and10. Department of Social Science - ‘GENIUS’The Investiture Ceremony was followed by the presentation of activities by different Clubsattached to various Departments. Deepthi.K (Dept. of English-Secondary)12 PIONEER - May 2017

The Spell of SpellingsThe Middle-East wing of Bhavans takes-up many challenges for the benefit of itsStudents and Staff. PIES motivates learners to hone various skills that they possess.Bhavans GCC Spell Bee is one such attempt to reach out to the students across theMiddle East. This venture aims at promoting not just the interest to spell words, butfoster curiosity to hit the books to attain mastery over words, their meanings, theirorigin and their transcription which in turn paves way to gradually and steadily masterthe language.The competition is designed in a pyramid structure enabling every student toparticipate. On registration, every participant will be provided with a booklet ofspellings, to facilitate effective learning and participation. The very first round, ‘SpellCheck’, is scheduled to be held on 23 September 2017. Participants who qualify thefirst round stand eligible to take up the next level, that comprises of oral and spellcheck, which is scheduled for the 28th of October 2017. The ‘Knock Out’ round willthen be held in November ’17 followed by the Grand Finale in January 2018.A team of teachers have been entrusted with the responsibility to train theparticipants to face the challenges with confidence.To sustain the hunger to widen the vocabulary skill in children, a host of excitingprizes and rewarding recognitions await the winners! Aneesh Nair Coordinator (Bhavans GCC Spell Bee 2017-2018)PIONEER - May 2017 13

A FORUM TO FOLLOWThe Department of Mathematics was privileged to conduct The Mathematics Forum of Abu Dhabi Schoolson 25 May ‘17 at ‘Ram Manch’ which was attended by teachers from 12 schools across the city.The event commenced with an Padmaja Menon, HoD -Mathematics (Secondary) began the sessioninvocation to the Almighty, by the with a presentation on Best Practices followed at PIES. TeachersChoir of PIES, followed by the from the other schools too shared their best practices followed.Welcome Address by our VicePrincipal Mr Nandakumar. The ‘Demo Class’ conducted by one of our senior teachers Ms .T.A. Jolly, was well appreciated. Mr.Manoj Prabhakaran, HoD-Mathematics (Primary) presented an outline of Student Competence Framework (SCF) and its effective implementation in classrooms.14 PIONEER - May 2017

The session came to a close with the Vote of Thanks rendered by Ms. Anusha Rajesh.The entire team of teachers from the Department of Mathematics enthusiastically andenergetically contributed to the successful conduct of the programme.PIONEER - May 2017 Padmaja Menon HoD-Mathematics (Secondary) 15

HEART TO HARVEST GOLDWith life zipping past in the ‘fast food’ era, the Gen-Next knows very little on cropsand farming. In an attempt to teach the value of agriculture and create a global envi-ronmental awareness, Bhavan’s Natura, the eco-club undertook the mission ‘GrowYour Food’. The project aims at making students learn the cultivation process, rightfrom sowing seeds to planting, watering and harvesting. The team of Bhavan’sNatura, along with the in-charge teacher Usha Kumari and the support staff Mr. Sasi,spent nearly three months to make the harvest possible and the rest is history!16 PIONEER - May 2017

Transforming a barren land into a paddy field is never a child’s play. The campus ofPIES stands as the only campus in the UAE to flaunt a paddy field!During the time of harvest, students dressed like farmers of India, literally harvestedwhat they sowed some five months ago. Despite the 40-degree heat, our studentswere eager to experience the art of reaping. As the harvesting progressed, the ethnicattires, accessories, tools and the folk song (the naddan Kurava) played at the back-ground, added flavour to the festive ambiance.PIONEER - May 2017 Ushakumari V Coordinator-SSI & Eco Club 17

WORLD EARTH DAY @ PIESBhavan’s Natura conducted “The Earth Day Awareness Program” in the third week ofApril 2017. It was conducted separately for both boys and girls of Primary, Junior andSecondary levels during the assembly.At the Primary level, George Antony and his friends Naseef Nowshad, Sooraj SureshKumar and Abhishek Rajkumar of Grade 5E took-up the initiative of conducting theprogram.In the Secondary Section, Gauri Vinona Rajeev of Grade 10 B and Sachit Kothari ofGrade 11 B were the featured speakers.Students of all Grades pledged to play their role well in protecting the environmentand to help keep it clean. Ushakumari V Coordinator-SSI & Eco Club 18 PIONEER - May 2017

SALUTING THE MOTHERTo mark the importance of Earth Day, the Primary Wing of Science department con-ducted ECOFRIENDLY INTERIOR DESIGN CONTEST for students of Grade 3 to 5where children took part in designing and drawing, using only ecofriendly items todecorate their respective classrooms. The drawings and designs were judged andthe following winners were chosen based on the neatness, selection of items used todesign, and its appropriateness.1. AISHWARYA SHYJITH – GRADE 3F2. CRYSSAL ANGEL LOBO – GRADE 5C3. BHAVIKA – GRADE 5APIONEER - May 2017 Geesha Nair (Dept. of Science – Primary) 19

Children and FastingRamadan is fast approaching and fasting is one aspect of the month that is mostvisible. Being good, refraining from bad, helping those in need, remembering theAlmighty and seeking forgiveness are the essence. The objectives are to feel hungeras many underprivileged would, and to develop good character as well as pietythereby enabling individuals to practice these qualities for the remaining months inthe year.Fasting can have many benefits including promoting discipline, self-sacrifice, spiritualawareness and sense of accomplishment. However, it is considered essential onlyafter a child attains puberty, as only then they would be able to understand thenecessities and also have the endurance to successfully complete the fasting.Nevertheless, some younger children do start earlier when they are provided with theopportunity to fast though it should not be forced upon.Parents may note the following when facilitating their children to fast:1. Fasting should be discussed with children and tried for brief periods to preparethem mentally and physically even before the beginning of Ramadan.2. This year Ramadan coincides with the longer days of the year, and as such it mightbe difficult for children fasting for the first time. 20 PIONEER - May 2017

Children and FastingParent Corner 3. Younger children can be at risk with issues related to fasting - like dehydration, exhaustion and low blood sugar levels because of their smaller size, larger- surface-area to body-weight-ratio, increased metabolic needs, and sometimes the inability to help themselves to obtain food and/or fluid. 4. Fasting is not considered essential if the child is ill, is travelling or is having special situations. 5. Children should be readied properly each day – by getting up on time for ‘suhoor’ (early morning meal) and to ensure adequate intake of food & water. 6. The food should neither be in excess nor less and should contain portions of all nutrients. Importantly, one should avoid junk & processed food, salt & spice mixes as these contain more sodium which can increase thirst. 7. Children should be advised to stay away from physically exhausting tasks like running & playing during break time, participating in active sports and exposure to heat. 8. Young children who find difficulty in continuing the fast on any day, should be allowed to break the fast if it becomes unbearable. They should not be made to feel guilty for doing so. 9. Breaking the fast in the evening should be with plenty of liquids (water/ juice) and fruits. Excessive oily food and sweets should be avoided. A healthy dinner could ideally be scheduled later. 10. Parents should encourage children to sleep adequately every day (although it may not be continuous) and to continue with their regular studies and other daily activities which are not physically demanding. Wishing all children a happy Ramadan and Eid.PIONEER - May 2017 Dr. Moideen Jeilani (Parent of Saajid Meeran & Fawaz Ahmed) 21

LITERATI (2017-2018)The Happy Bookers Club, an initiative of the Department of English, organized‘Literati’ for the students of Grade 10 to 12 at ‘Ram Manch’ on 26th May ‘17. Thesecond year too had innovative rounds to make the show more interesting. Thestudent organisers from Grade 11 wholeheartedly collaborated with their mentors topresent an enjoyably successful event.It was a fun-filled afternoon where the students discovered a platform forself-expression and creativity through rounds like Teleshopping, Just a Minute, UrbanDictionary, Personality Round, Listening Round and Rapid-fire Quizzing. Out of theeight teams that participated, the ‘Fandom’ Team were declared the winners and therunners-up were the ‘Quizzards of Oz’ team Asha Jain (Department of English-Secondary)22 PIONEER - May 2017

APART WITH ART Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Helen Keller It gives me immense contentment to declare the grand achievement of Afreen(Grade 10B) in the field of Art. Afreen’s art work has been designated and exhibitedfor Proud Expression – an art exhibition inaugurated by Sheikh Khalifa Bin TahnounBin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Director of the Martyrs’ Family Affairs of the Abu DhabiCrown Prince Court, on 27th April 2017 at Yas Mall, Pearl Court. 26 Students fromGrade 7 to Grade 11 from our school had participated for this Award that was widelyrecognized. Among the 73 Awardees whose works were chosen for display at theExhibition, included eminent Emirati artists Abdul Quader Al Rais, Dr. Najat Makki,Jalal Loqman Azza Al Qubaisi, Obaid Suroor, Abdulrahim Salem and internationalartists Ludmila Panenkova, Jack Lee and Charlie Villagracis, The most proud part isthat only two students from school level have been chosen for the final exhibit, onebeing PIES Abu Dhabi.My heartfelt thanks reach out to the Proud Expression Team, and the Director of theMartyrs’ Family Affairs of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court Sheikh Khalifa BinTahnoun Bin Mohammed Al Nahyan for organizing such a meaningful and successfulevent.PIONEER - May 2017 David Ebenezer Art Instructor 23

MOS CHAMPIONSHIP FINALISTThe Department of ICT proudly announces that ARIVUMUKILAN MUGUNDAN ofGrade 9 C is the selected finalist of Microsoft Office Specialist World Championshipconducted by Financial Accounting and Management Education (FAME) Institute,Dubai.The MOS World Championship is a global competition that tests students’ skills onMicrosoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint (2013 or 2016), for which around 60students registered from PIES.Out of 100 students who competed against each other to qualify for the Finals on 13thMay 2017, 40 made their way to the Finals that was held on 20th May 2017 at DubaiWorld Trade Centre.Champions of UAE are eligible to represent the respective country at the WorldChampionship in USA. Praseedha Menon (Dept. of Computer) 24 PIONEER - May 2017

PREPARING THE MINDS TO MEET MORE CHALLENGESThe Pearson Group organized a professional development session for Principals inthe UAE on 13th May 2017 at Crown Plaza Dubai. The topic was ‘21st CenturyTeaching And Learning’ conducted by Ms. Varsha Singh.The objective of the workshop was to help the leaders enable their team of teachersto become competent with the 21st century teaching and learning. The emphasis wason preparing students for multiple careers. With the help of video presentations anddiscussion, the participants explored the characteristics of the world that our childrenhave to face.PIONEER - May 2017 Girija Baiju Principal 25

Workshop - HINDI िहदं ी भाषा का िवकास सं पादन से सं बं िधत यह काय म डॉ.कृ िबहारी ि पाठी ारा िदनाकँ 02/05/2017 आयोिजत िकया गया था I तथा िहदं ी भाषा इकाई की वा िवकता से पिरचया क एवं समालोचना क अ यन पूण प से दशाया गया I यह काय म िविभ िव ालयों के अ ापकों ारा चािलत िकया गया तथा सभी िव ानों के मतानुसार यह िनदश िलए गए जो इस कार कटीकरण िकए गए है I Ø क ा IX/X अकं तािलका एवं समय सारणी आिद के ऊपर पिरचचा क प से ीकरण िकया गया I Ø क ा IX/X पा म िकस आधार पर अ ापन कराया जाए I Ø िन रीय क ा के िव ा थयों का िकस कार िवकास िकया जाए I Ø िविभ ि या यन ारा िहदं ी भाषा का िवकास सुचा प से सं पादं न िकया जाए I Ø िविभ ि याकलापों के ारा (लेखन, वण,पठन,भाषण)आिद का िवकास िकस कार िकया जाए I Purushottam Sharma HoD- Dept. of Hindi (Secondary)26 PIONEER - May 2017

GROWING WITH SCIENCEThe Department of Science received the opportunity to attend Science Teachers’Forum conducted in Model school on 08-05-2017.Mr. Thejus Thomas (HoD -Science, Secondary) and Ms. Suma Pramod ( HoD-Science, Primary) attended the event which witnessed the participation of teachers ofScience from various schools in Abu Dhabi.The session commenced with a welcome speech by Dr. Abdul Kader (Principal,Model School) followed by the participants introducing themselves. A Power Pointpresentation on best practices was made by Mr. Abdul Rasheed, HoD-Science-Mod-el school. Teachers from the other participating schools also presented sessions thatfocused on modern classroom teaching and learning techniques.Follow-up discussions were also conducted for everybody to share their views aboutclass observation, its strengths and areas to improve. To conclude the workshop,Mr. A. M Shareef (Vice Principal, Model School) delivered the Vote of Thanks.PIONEER - May 2017 27

Suma Pramod HoD-Science (Primary)28 PIONEER - May 2017

SOCIALISE TO LEARNSocial Studies Forum was held in St. Joseph‘s School, Abu Dhabi, on 23rd May2017. Twelve schools participated and our school was represented by Mr. Johnsonand Ms. Vanitha Walter. The forum highlighted the best practices followed in allschools where we proudly presented around fifteen of our best practices. It served asa platform to interact with teachers from various schools and discuss many academicobjectives.PIONEER - May 2017 Asha Varughese (Dept. of Social Studies) 29

RECONNOITER – 2017-2018 Following the quote of Francis Bacon - ‘Knowledge is Power’, and with an ardent effort to make knowledge more powerful, the Department of Science (Secondary) proudly takes up a new venture ‘Reconnoiter’. The word ‘reconnoiter’ means to inspect, to explore and to recognize. The SCIENCE CLUB will help foster a desire for knowledge and boost confidence among children, who will be taught to generously use the wide range of resources in the library as well as to make the right use of Internet. It will also provide a platform for students to participate in inter-school quiz competitions. It will popularize quizzing activities among students and utilize the knowledge revolution by associating with other quiz clubs and organizations. An open-ended question will be on the class bulletin boards every Monday morning. Students to write the answer neatly on a piece of paper with their name, class and division mentioned. These papers would then be dropped in a box, labelled Recon- noiter 2017 – 2018 kept in all the three blocks (‘Munshi’, ‘Gandhi’ and ‘Netaji’) of our campus.30 PIONEER - May 2017

The boxes would be retrieved at 12 noon the same day. The winners would bechosen based on the right answers and if need be a lucky draw would be conducted.The name(s) and photo of the winner(s) would be displayed on the science bulletinboard with the caption 'TRAIBLAZER OF THE WEEK'.The competition will be conducted at two levels:Reconnoiter Junior – Grade 6 to 9Reconnoiter Senior – Grade 10 to 12The activity commenced from 22 May ’17, and we are expecting more participation inthe weeks to come. Firdaus Fatma (Dept. of Science- Secondary)PIONEER - May 2017 31

FESTIVAL AT BHAVANSDue to the incredible number of entries received, over 800 to set it clear, we conduct-ed ‘Bhavans Fest’ on 14th, 15th, 23rd and 24th May 2017.‘Ram Manch’ brimmed with excitement when it held a massive audience who enjoyedvariety of performances.We thank all parents and students for their sincere effort in making “Bhavans Fest2017” a grand success, this year too. Janarajani Malalagama HoD-Fine Arts32 PIONEER - May 2017

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION WITH BETTA two-day LEADERSHIP SUMMIT & EXPO organized by BETT in Partnership withAbu Dhabi Education Council and Microsoft as the world-wide partner was conductedat Dusit Thani Hotel. Ms. Dhivya T.S of Computer Science Department representedPIES, where, over 1,600 policy-makers, strategists, decision-makers and innovatorsfrom over 35 countries across the Middle East and Africa got together to discusseducational transformation.The main core of the summit was “Transforming Education: Igniting excitementthrough innovation in learning”.There were more than 20 sessions in two streams on various topics by the expertsand leaders from ADEC, UNESCO etc. Some of the interesting topics were BuildingHappiness in School, Quality Education By UNESCO, Embedding innovation inplanning & execution of assessment, LANSCHOOL- a LENOVO application, LIM- ALeader in ME, Nayif- UAE’s First Nano satellite project, etc.There was a session on ‘learning through gaming’ which helps to make theclassroom more interesting for the students through which the young minds caneasily understand the topic. Another session was on the advantages of authenticlearning in preparing students for success in the 21st Century integrating real worldlearning experiences into teaching to help students connect with communities, andrealising the benefits for future employability. The sessions on Entrepreneurshiphelps to guide the students to mould a new entrepreneur from the school and ADECled session on Encouraging moral education within the classroom helps to emphasison character, ethics and values.PIONEER - May 2017 33

Such summits will help teachers and leaders to improve the teaching-learning ambianceby providing an environment beyond classroom-teaching. Praseedha Menon (Dept. of Computer Science)34 PIONEER - May 2017

The Monthly Newsletter Copyright @ Private International English School - Abu Dhabi www.bhavansabudhabi.comAPRIL 2017 Volume - 06 Issue - 02