Global Links Archive: 2014-2015

67th Republic Day in India 

Republic Day is celebrated on the 26th January when a special guest came to raise the national flag. It is also a national holiday. There are parades and marches across the whole of India. It was 1950 when India agreed new rules to govern its country.

There were songs performed by students from our partners : dance and gymnastic performances. One of the dances is called Lezim, and is a local folk dance from Maharashtra. Dancers carry a small musical instrument with jingling cymbals called the Lezim.

The students were all given a packet of biscuits as a treat.

The whole celebration lasted an hour and a half.

Festival of Makar Sankranti

The festival of Makar Sankrantri is a celebration of  harvest. It is also a time when the days begin to be longer than the nights.

Til Laddu is a Maharashtrian  traditional sweet made from sesame seeds, jaggery and ghee.

Navratri Festival 

This festival is celebrated just before Diwali. Nav means nine and  ratri means night so  a nine night celebration in India.

The goddess Durga is worshipped as she destroys evil. 

People perform" puja" (giving flowers, saying prayers, singing or dancing) and at night they perform folk dances known as "Garba."

Marigold flowers are offered to the goddess. The dance is performed either by clapping of hands or with sticks.

International School Award Ceremony at Tyne Cinema Newcastle.

Mrs Molloy, Mrs Armstrong and two pupils received the award for our school on Tuesday 13th October. It was presented to us by Doctor Niall McCann.

We enjoyed an Indian dance demonstration by Payal Ramchandani and later learned about the work of Doctor Niall McCann. He is an explorer, an adventurer and a scientist who is interested in conservation of endangered animals. He told some amazing tales of his exciting life so far! Some of his stories were about the dangers he faced, other stories of how he was able to save endangered landscapes for rare species to live safely. 

He explained that all of us can make a difference to the world around us, if we speak out when we are concerned about our planet.

Congratulations on your Accreditation of the International School Award 2015-2018

We've just heard the good news!

The International School Award assessors commented :

" Congratulations on producing such an impressive range of work."

"Your commitment to international education is clearly evident, and this is reflected in the

high quality work you have delivered."

"Your partnership with your Indian partners is good, and there is a great deal of promise in the future

in terms of building a strong and sustainable relationship.

In fact, your collaboration with them over so many interesting projects

just adds more weight to your Impact Evaluation."

"Your plans for sustaining and even expanding your international ethos are also very encouraging."

Our school is working towards the International School Award over the course of 2014-2015.

In order to achieve this, the school community is working on seven different subject areas, three of which are shared with our international partner school. The subject areas we are sharing information on are Festivals,

All about me and the area I live in, and Eco Awareness including recycling and pollution.

As well as these subject areas we intend to share Berwick 900 activities and visit other schools  with our India visitors, and share our beautiful local heritage.

The other areas we are covering include learning a foreign language, (French), Eco Warriors, Learning about another country (India) and Rainforests.

The purpose of  our involvement in these projects, is to raise awareness of our place within the world and broaden knowledge of other cultures in as "real" and meaningful a way as possible.

Professionally, it allows everyone to meet other educationalists and share ideas both in school and  with the wider community.

Mrs Tanuja Kulkarni and Mrs Priya Pillai , from our partner school, National English School, Virar visited our country and our school for ten days. Here they are learning about and enjoying a variety of cultural experiences.

INDIA 2015

Miss Bowers and Mrs Armstrong went to visit our partner school in India. We watched pupils in class, performing dances, yoga, drama and gymnastics. We took part in teacher training and a question and answer session with the teachers. 

During our visit we ate Indian food which is varied, spicy and quite different from ours.However there are many vegetables and fruits we share, though they are sometimes prepared differently.

We stayed in a house so learned about family life.

During our stay we visited some temples, museums, a planetarium, Mumbai and Pune.

We were looked after exceptionally well by our hosts and look forward to welcoming them to our school in June.

Our school is now partnered with National English School, Virar. Since January 2014 we have been collaborating on various topics including Festivals, Food and learning about India as a country.

This year we have successfully applied for a grant from The British Council called Connecting Classrooms.

Mrs Armstrong and Miss Bowers will be visiting our partner school during February Half Term and they will be taking examples of pupils' work as well as the children's questions for the staff and children in India to answer.

There will be a return visit  between 6th-16th of June , when we will welcome two members of staff from India into our school and local community.

Below are some of the photographs our partners have sent. As a contrast to India's Divali photographs, our firework display for Bonfire Night is on the orange Community balloon under POPS.

Message from India

I am attaching some photos of Diwali celebrations, though at that time we have our Diwali vacations. Diwali signifies the Victory of good over evil. It is celebrated by decorating house, making a variety of sweets, putting rangoli in front of the house, wearing new clothes, seeking God's blessing for the coming year and spending time visiting family and friends.