Gateway College Annual Review 2017

Year School No. of Location Foreign training Participants2016 Rajagiriya Summer camp Kandy 144 Heritance Kandalama In keeping with our commitment to CPD, the2017 Negombo 116 Gateway offered 21 teachers the opportunity Dehiwala to attend a summer training camp conducted GGS 90 by the Faculty of Education of the University of Achievers 80 Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). This Total 12 programme gave exposure and training to the teachers on both teaching methodology and Rajagiriya 7 the concept of management. The principals of Kandy 449 all four schools attended a separate conference Negombo for Heads of Schools conducted by UNMC Dehiwala 152 Citrus/Turyaa – Waskaduwa for sharing best practices in education. This GGS 116 programme included visits to two leading Achievers international schools in Malaysia: Epsom Total 89 College and Kollege Tunkur Jaffar, which 84 provided valuable insight into understanding global standards with a view to emulating global 9 best practices. 7 457CPD hours on average per teacher in 2017Colombo Kandy Teacher-led research A unique initiative was undertaken last year 19 16 when the teachers of the four Gateway Colleges presented their research papers at the annualNegombo Dehiwala Joint Staff Meeting (JSM). The JSM, is generally used to discuss and collectively agree on the 20 16 schemes of work and assessment methodology for the year. Teacher-led research equips teachers with the essential knowledge to design their own classroom or school-based research projects. The selected teachers had carried out data gathering and compiled a literature review on a particular area of educational researchContinuous Professional Development (CPD) Annual Review 2017 147

relating to the Gateway Schools. The findings Teacher-led research: Kamini Mendiswere presented at the JSM to the staff. This Research Awardproved to be a very informative, enlighteningexperience for all since the research areas were School Paper Names of Teacherstimely, practical, and relevant to academic life.At Awards Day 2017, the best teacher-led Kandy The effectiveness Deepani Bopitiya,research in each school was recognised with of self-preparation Shashika Bulumulla,the Kamini Mendis Research Award. In honour of study notes by Shashika Ekanayake,of Dr Kamini Mendis, a former international students Anurangani Gunawardena,civil servant, and an internationally-acclaimed Lakshika Wicremasenahealth expert who served in the World Health Colombo An investigationOrganisation, Geneva, who currently functions Dehiwala into the methods A Leslieas an independent consultant. Gateway College of teaching spelling Sohani DayanandaKandy’s, “The effectiveness of self-preparation effectively at Michelle Bonifassof study notes by students”, was judged the best Key Stage 1 Chathurangi Nugawelaamong all four schools and was awarded with an Mangala Rupasingheopportunity for a member of the research Providingteam to attend a foreign professional differentiation in Marianne Koodadevelopment programme. formative written Gayathri Munasinghe assessments Lihini Meegoda Yogya White Negombo An action study Dinusha Perera on understanding Lavanya Kulendran the impacts of Suranji Wijesinghe vocabulary on both comprehension Leomali Perera and creative writing Muditha Perera components of English Language: A preliminary study on 8 to 11 year-old schoolchildren from 2015-2017148 Gateway College Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Rewards and recognitionOne of the key features of a stable school Teachers recognised for 10 yearsenvironment is continuity of staff and staff of serviceretention. We are extremely privileged to havein our midst no less than 30 members of staff Gateway College – Colombowho have completed more than 10 years of Chrishanthi Kumari Dissanayakeservice in the Secondary, and 73 in the Primary, Rance Ferdinandustotalling to an astounding 103 teachers within Aruni Thenuwarathe Organisation. Our students can thereby Malka Delgodabenefit from the wealth of their experience, Fazeena Tariqwhile the Organisation is assured of continuity Sagara Sampathin best practices. Udara WeerakoonGateway Colleges No. of Teachers % Gateway College – Kandy Saadiha HishamOver 10 years 103 21.02 Rachel ThimothyBetween 5 and 10 years 114 23.27 Thisaranie RatnayakeBelow 5 years 273 55.71 P W C D BuwanekabandaraTotal 490 100.00 Umara Ratnayake Jaya SithamparamEvery year, during the Awards Day of all schools, T Rathnarajahteachers completing 10 years of service are Anura Upul Bandararecognised. This year, 27 dedicated teacherswere recognised for their service of competing Gateway College – Negombo10 years with 2 teachers being felicitated for Prakashini Dayaharian astounding 20 years of service in a school Shivonie Amathwhich just celebrated its 21st year. Sumali Ruwanthika Gayathri SenevirathneTeachers recognised for 20 years Merlyn Fernandoof service Samithri PathiratneSunimal Jayasekara Donita PereraIndrani Siriwardena Udari Hettiarachchi Thushari Ekanayake Kanchana Fernando Gateway College – Dehiwala S K S Perera Vidya Raji Kanth Annual Review 2017 149

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In order to blend together tocreate perfect harmony, our students must learn to be in step, in line, and in tune. Annual Review 2017 151

Future Key improvements Civic Education Gateway moulds students who are international in nature but Sri Lankan at heart. With this in mind, Civic Education was introduced in 2017. As an international school in a Sri Lankan environment, the inclusion of Civic Education, taken from the Sri Lankan national curriculum, is a testimony to our commitment to bring up students well grounded in the context that they live in. The subject is structured to encourage active learning and when students work together on project teams, they learn to collaborate, communicate, and resolve conflicts. Cooperative learning and character development supports the social and emotional development of students and prepare them for success in the modern workplace. Continuous assessments Continuous assessments are now based on activities and assessments that emphasise interconnections and coherence among skills, concepts, and procedures, as well as among knowledge, abilities, and dispositions. The major strength of this type of assessments is the amount of information that can be gathered about student understanding. The teachers can use this feedback formatively. Through structured assessments students learn when to explain, describe, and how to support their thinking. The School has strengthened continuous assessments to bring out the best in every student which will prepare them to meet the demands of higher education. It is necessary that all students take part in these alternative assessments, which will contribute to the final result of the end of semester/term examinations.

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Smart ID cards We believe that being mindful can help our students learn to pay close attention, to handleGateway College, along with the Hatton emotions, and to focus in school, sports, orNational Bank, has introduced a new proprietary co-curricular activities. Therefore, Gatewaycard that will completely streamline all forms has incorporated mindfulness into the schoolof school payments and attendance records. agenda, where students are required to engageThrough this new venture, each student at in five-minute mindfulness activities in theGateway College, from Year 5 to Year 13 will be morning before the start of lessons. This uniqueprovided with a Smart card that will be capable secular mindfulness programme will began fromof serving both as a school identity card, for November 2017.recording and monitoring of attendance, and asa key to a cashless payment system within the Microsoft schoolSchool. This will enable students to quicklyand conveniently pay school fees and carry “Microsoft schools are focused on leadingout other transactions at authorised locations and learning”. As a school that has integratedin the School, including the school canteen technology to transform education, Gatewayand bookshop. College has been recognised as a microsoft school. We provide all students with MicrosoftNotably, the cards – which leverage Near-Field licenses for Office 365 for free. Thus, we join anCommunication (NFC) technology for greater exclusive community of more than 1,000 premieruser convenience – will also allow students to schools from around the world. We have over 30make payments at selected partner outlets teachers who are certified Microsoft Innovative(E.g. Hameedias), where students can benefit Educators or MIEs and MIE experts.from the convenience of cashless paymentsfor things such as school uniforms. Gateway, Email communication to parentsthrough its use of an in-house SchoolManagement System, School Online (SOL) was In the drive to make Gateway College aable to rapidly integrate the facilities offered by paperless school, we will use email asthe Smart card. This measure will also support the primary mode of communication withGateway’s goal to convert the colleges into a parents. This will minimise the use of paperpaperless environment. and will provide us with a guarantee that our correspondence reaches them. From theMindfulness programme beginning of 2018, parents will receive all communications through email.Last year, Gateway College initiated amindfulness programme, conducted byprofessionals of the Faculty of Medicine,University of Colombo, to a selected group ofstudents, which yielded very positive responsesfrom both parents and students. This initiativewas further extended this year to includethe staff and prefects of Gateway schools.Mindfulness programmes were carried out withthe help of Sati Pasala.154 Gateway College Key improvements

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Introduction of Statementsof Entry (SoE) for semesterexaminations – Years 7 to 13Gateway introduced a system of issuingStatements of Entry for end of semesterexaminations. Students will be compelled toproduce SoEs for every examination. This willprepare Gateway students to be conscious ofthe usual administrative procedures at publicand international examinations.SoEs will be issued to students of Years 11 to Ferry Service for Gateway13 only if they have a minimum attendance of Students from Diyatha Uyana80% or more and completed the continuous to Schoolassessments of the subject/s during thesemester. SoE’s for seven to ten is issued on Following a request made by Gateway Collegethe completion of the continuous assessment. to assist the students to overcome time lossWe have observed that regular attendance due to traffic congestion down Parliamenthas a positive impact on student performance Road, the Planning & Business Developmentat examinations. Therefore, Gateway has Division of the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation &introduced a mechanism to inform students, Development Corporation (SLLRDC) with thethe percentage of their attendance on a assistance of the Sri Lanka Navy has initiated aweekly basis. ferry service from Diyatha Uyana to the school in Rajagiriya. According to the MoU, SLLRDC andMath labs the SL Navy, will manage and operate the boat service for a fee that can either be paid termlyMathematics laboratory is a place where students or monthly.can learn and explore mathematical concepts andverify mathematical facts and theorems through This unique initiative has been made possiblea variety of activities using different materials. due to the beautiful waterway that is borderingGateway has proposed to set up Math labs in the Gateway College Colombo which connects toPrimary Schools. The introduction of Math labs the Water’s Edge. Gateway, recently investedwill help in enhancing the teaching – learning in a spacious jetty that can be used for bothprocess in the subject from the very beginning berthing of the ferry and for rowing. Speakingof school education. Various engaging activities at the launch, Dr Harsha Alles, Chairman oflike games and puzzles may be carried out by Gateway said that the teachers and students ofthe teacher or the students to explore, to learn, Gateway are excited with the prospect of gettingto stimulate interest, and develop a favourable to school from Diyatha Uyana in less than tenattitude towards mathematics. minutes. He said that the students should consider themselves fortunate to begin and end the day passing through the most salubrious surroundings of Sri Jayawardenapura.156 Gateway College Key improvements

Mr Asela Iddawela, the Chairman of SLLRDC Naviance – Higher education andsaid that the venture will not only provide an career readiness softwareadditional income to the organisation but willalso help to provide a good solution to a national We have harnessed NAVIANCE, the web portal’sproblem of reducing traffic congestion during services for our Higher Education Counsellingthe rush hours. He said that by providing this Unit. It is a web based university and careerservice the SLLRDC can also reduce the canal readiness solution that provides a variety ofmaintenance cost. tools for student achievement through academic planning. The Year-13 students were givenInnovation studios access to Naviance to share information with the school as they develop their post-secondaryPlans are afoot to establish Innovation studios plans. Through self-discovery and collaborationto take STEM learning to the next level, where with parents, teachers and school counsellors, itinterested students will be provided with a safe enables students to find universities and careerenvironment, where they can research and pathways that are right for them. The careerexperiment on new ideas. Innovation studio planning tools in Naviance allow students toprogrammes will take children through the understand how their strengths, goals, skills,design cycle that includes idea generation and and interests can lead to exciting careers.optimisation, dimensioning the model, selecting Using this facility, students can create goalsproper and available material, using the best and track associated tasks and activities, createpossible prototyping process, and finally testing individual plans that can be linked to universitythe models on said parameters. and career readiness and request transcripts and recommendations for university applications.Key improvements Annual Review 2017 157

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Looking to the futureOne of Gateway’s greatest strengths is how Technology is an essential component of lifeenthusiastic we are about the prospect of and at Gateway we place great importance onchange. The whole network of schools is preparing students for technological advancesconstantly on the lookout for ways to become and equipping them with the skills to mastermore current, more relevant, and more useful them. Having successfully introduced STEMto our students. At Gateway, the future holds a and Robotics, we now hope to introduceplethora of exciting prospects and the coming Innovation studios that would foster creativityyear is no exception. among students. The Innovation studios will beA noteworthy advantage of being a network equipped with basic tools to 3D Printers and willof schools is the ability to share ideas and be a breeding ground for young inventors.learn from one another. At Gateway, this is Teaching of mathematics today is confined tosuccessfully achieved due to all schools the textbook and is largely removed from themaintaining similar standards and systems. real world of the child. Endless repetition andFurther, the sharing of a common “Growth meaningless memorisation, often lead to theMindset” by the leadership of all schools, has general lack of interest towards mathematics.contributed much towards our successes in Taking this into consideration, we have takenrecent years. steps to establish Math labs in each of ourThis year, we will focus on maximising learning schools that would enable the teacher tothrough connecting classrooms. We will demonstrate, explain and reinforce abstractbegin this with the graduating batch, where mathematical ideas by using objects, models,lessons of one school can be viewed by the charts, graphs, pictures, posters etc. We expectothers, encouraging schools to share their best the Math labs to stimulate interest and providepractices between them. an impetus to the mastery of mathematics among our students.Strengthening of continuous assessments The professional development of our teachershas ensured success for a greater number will always remain as one of our top mostof students and we hope to develop this system priorities. With this in mind we hope tofurther in the coming year. The introduction of strengthen our in-house teacher training bythe Statement of Entry for internal examinations giving all our teachers the opportunity to attendwas a new step that was certainly an eye the International Forum for Teachers organisedopener for students. The need for completing by the Gateway Graduate School in partnershipall continuous assessments while maintaining with Pearson Edexcel and the University ofa high level of attendance in order to obtain Nottingham. The recently introduced Kaminithe Statement of Entry will make our students Mendis Research Award and the proposedresponsible for their actions and prepare them overseas training for the best researchers willbetter for university, where they have to be foster educational research among staff, whichaccountable for their learning and meet in turn would boost their professionalism.strict deadlines. Annual Review 2017 159

The Colombo school had many exciting Work is well underway for the 50-metredevelopments last year including the opening swimming pool at Gateway College Negombo.of a netball court in Nawala and the setting up Once complete it will be the only such pool inof cricket nets in the school premises. These that region.advances will give rise to further developments Gateway College Dehiwala has begun theas we hope to set up an annual netball fixture construction of a five-storied building which willwith a leading girl’s school in Colombo to add provide additional facilities for students at theto the proposed annual basketball encounter for school. Plans are also underway to expand thethe “Alles Cup” with Royal College, Colombo. sports facilities at the school.The ferry service from Diyatha Uyana was The Gateway Graduate School has workedalso launched last year and we have seen an hard over the past twelve months to forgeincrease in the number of students using this connections with renowned universities fromfacility. The success of this service will see its around the world. As a result, this year they willcontinuance in the new year, with the possibility introduce new courses such as aeronauticsof another route that would originate from and aviation in order to offer students a widerthe Weli Park, Nugegoda. In addition to this, selection of paths that would be in line with theirclearing the canal has paved the way for rowing individual interests and strengths.practices to take place in front of the school. Test Each of the Gateway schools has a personalityruns have been conducted and we look forward of its own, which complements the others. It isto regular practice sessions this year. these varied personalities that come together toGateway College Kandy has seen the make the “Gateway Family” what it is today. Thecompletion of a six-storied building which now differences make us dependent and our sharedhouses the Primary library, a gymnasium and vision unites us in our effort to produce valuablean office for the sports department, innovation citizens of the world, as year after year we workcentre, junior science laboratory, multimedia hard to support the Einsteins, Picassos, androom, rooms for art, music and dance; in Elon Musks who enter through our gates.addition to the state-of-the-art administrativeblock. The new grounds in Kandy, that isexpected to be completed this year, will be usedfor athletics, cricket, netball and football.160 Gateway College Looking to the future

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This Annual Review isCarbon Neutral

Gateway College Colombo 185, Koswatta Road,Via Parliament Road, Off Royal Gardens, Rajagiriya Phone: +94 11 288 8288, +94 11 288 8280 Fax: +94 11 288 8282 email: [email protected] Gateway College Kandy 80, Wariyapola Sri Sumangala Mawatha, Asgiriya, Kandy Phone: +94 81 220 0300, +94 81 220 0206 Fax: +94 81 220 5604 email: [email protected] Gateway College Negombo 62, Negombo Road, Kurana Phone: +94 31 222 7772, +94 31 222 7722 Fax: +94 31 222 7878 email: [email protected] Gateway College Dehiwala 285/1 Galvihara Road, Dehiwala Phone: +94 11 575 7234 Fax: +94 11 271 6901 email: [email protected]