Hello OIS community! My Name is Mr. Aaron DeLane and I am the new Deputy Head of Primary. Through our Learning from Home programme, I've been able to introduce myself to many of the students through a read aloud that was shared at the beginning of the school year. I did the read aloud with my oldest son Atticus, who will be in SKG when we arrive in India. The video was viewed more than 300 times! Thanks to the teachers who shared the video with their students. Coincidentally, I joined one of the classes as they were watching the video and was able to answer some student questions.  

​Attached is a presentation I shared with staff at the beginning of the year about myself and my family. I hope it gives you a sense of who I am and my family that will join the OIS community. I look forward to meeting you when we return to school in the near future.

On the weekend we celebrated Gandhi Jayanti, the birthday of Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi. I think my first memory of learning about Gandhi was through the film "Gandhi" from 1982. I remember watching this movie as a kid and learning about the struggle for independence and the non-violent actions Gandhi took to free India from British rule. Coincidentally, this weekend also celebrated German Unification Day, which commemorates the unification of East and West Germany. What connections can we draw from these two significant events?      

One connection that we can make is the power of action and the change that can be brought from action. Action is central to teaching and learning in the International Baccalaureate and in the Primary Years Programme, "action is the core of student agency". Students can see themselves as agents of change when they take meaningful action to make a positive difference. Actions can be large scale or small and can happen in many different ways.

In the last few weeks we've seen students in the Secondary division participate in action with student council elections. Now, students in grade 4 and 5 will begin their process in launching student council in the coming weeks. The process will be slightly different but the outcome will be similar in that students will be empowered to make a constructive difference with issues that are important to them. Members of student council will collaborate together to create goals and take action. 

I will be working with Ms. Ujala Chaudhary and Ms. Sneha Pereira to launch student council and hope to have the nominations process completed by the middle of October. This year students will nominate one representative from each of the homerooms from grade 4 and 5 and will serve on a council from their  grade levels. Students who are nominated do not have to serve on student council if they do not wish to participate. However, we hope that students that are nominated will heed the call to serve and participate. More information will be coming soon for students. 

Finally, I would like to thank the OIS community for their warm welcome. The Pedagogical Leadership Team as well as the rest of the staff have been extremely patient and supportive as I have transitioned to OIS.  When my wife and I decided to join OIS back in January 2020, we had no idea that COVID-19 would have such an impact on the world. I know the past 6 months have been difficult for many people in our community and when we do make it back to school it will take collective action from everyone to work to keep our kids and the rest of our community healthy. In the meantime, if you have questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to contact me at aaron.delane@oberoi-is.org. 

If you have any questions after watching the video, please add them to the Padlet wall linked in the video description and we will answer them as soon as possible.

http://bit.ly/OISparentsQA
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Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

Thank you  
  
Neha Minda 
PYP Coordinator - OGC Campus