The Sony Creative Science Awards (SCSA) Presentation Ceremony is organized jointly by the Science Centre Singapore and Sony Groups of Companies in Singapore with the support of Ministry of Education and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star). This year more than 4,200 toys from 96 primary schools were submitted for the 16th time since the inception of the competition.

GIIS Queenstown Campus Primary school students competed with 4,500 participants to emerge winners in several categories at The Sony Creative Science Awards (SCSA) Presentation Ceremony 2013.

• 
  Ashutosh Rajeev Menon
  with prize winning toy creation
  -Oscillating rolling Ben
  Ashutosh Rajeev Menon from Class 4, GIIS Queenstown Campus bagged the 1st prize in the Whiz Kid category - with a cash award of S$1000 for his innovative toy ‘Oscillating Rolling Ben’. Ashutosh built a car that moves when a pendulum is swung. In the Whiz Kid category, he had to make something that rocks, rolls or wobbles.
• Four students won Individual Merit awards with a certificate and S$100/- Sony cash Vouchers.
  Manasi Agrawal, Class 4, for the toy - ‘The cute Noddy’
  Srinithi Arunachalam, Class 5, for the toy - ‘Skipping Doll’
  Anirudh R Narendra Nath, Class 2, for the toy - ‘Super Star Gear Shooter’
  Janani Arunachalam, Class 2, for the toy - ‘Bobbing Butterfly’
• GIIS Queenstown Campus has been awarded cash award worth S$ 1500 for producing the First Prize Winner in the Whiz Kid Award Category.
• 
  Ashutosh receives the award
  from Madam Halimah Yacob
  accompanied by the Principal
  Ms Meenakshi Mehta
  GIIS Queenstown Campus has been also awarded cash award of $500 for school with the Most Shortlisted Toys under The ScizKid Toys Category. GIIS Queenstown Campus Primary school Teacher Ms Jayanthi Kumar was awarded the Diamond Award and Ms Anita Tripathi and Ms Bensy Denson were honoured with the Blue Ribbon Award for their contribution towards motivating students and creating a platform to experiment.

It was a proud moment for GIIS Queenstown principal Ms Meenakshi Mehta to receive the awards for the school. The Guest of Honour for the event Mdm Halimah Yacob, Speaker of Parliament praised the SCSA for giving pupils the opportunity to translate ideas into action. "The process of toy making captures a childs imagination, and forms the discovery process which is an important learning tool for our young children" she said.

The bond between a parent and child is unique and sets the stage for healthy development. This bond commonly believed, is based on a biological link between parent and child but research has shown, true bonding comes from emotional and physical intimacy. Keeping this in mind, GIIS in collaboration with the Cancer Society of Singapore had organised a workshop for parents and students on July 27, 2013 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am at GIIS Queenstown Campus.

Parent child bonding workshop

The structured workshop was synchronised with the increase in awareness about the cancer patients and prevention of the same. Through this workshop parents could work closely with their child so as to see things from their point of view. The interactive workshop also encouraged the parents to handle challenges with their children.

The Quiz session encouraged parents to brainstorm, communicate and test their creative solutions with their children. Some parents witnessed their child overcome challenges that they first thought was impossible for their child! Mr Kishore Bhattacharjee, Parent of Rahul Bhattacharjee, Class 8A, shared the view that similar workshops should be held more often in the school.

On July 24, 2013 GIIS Queenstown Campus hosted an enthralling Kite Flying Show during the assembly for Classes 5 to 8. The children witnessed a captivating performance by performers from USA and Malaysia. The initiative was taken in collaboration with NTUC income Kite Festival, Singapore.

Kite flying

Choreographed to a dramatic narrative and melodious music, students were taken on a journey through the tale of a young girl in pursuit of her dreams. The kite flying performances enlivened the production by setting the tone, conveying the mood, as well as providing the backdrop for the 30-minute show. Kites zoomed and fluttered above the students in a whirl of attractive colours, shapes and sizes. There were different types of kites from old fashioned ones to modern ones and even depicting Disney characters.

Professional kite flyers kept all students eyes glued to the show. The students thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The performers manipulated the kites with such proficiency and grace that most of the students were taken by surprise when huge kites dived and hovered over their unsuspecting faces, they felt like reaching for them. Their eyes sparkled with joy when each student received a kite from the organisers and went back home with dreams to be fulfilled.

An interactive parent student teacher bonding activity to promote and enhance communication skills in students called ‘Display of Continental Cuisines’ was showcased on July 31, 2013. The K2 students wowed visitors with presentations of the ingredients and recipes prepared by their parents. The competitive part of the event for all participating parents and visitors had mouth-watering creative dishes which gave the judges a tough time selecting the winners.

 ‘Anyone can steer a ship but it takes a leader to chart the course. On July 25, 2013, deserving young talents of our school were bestowed with the responsibility of leading the school from the front with their commitment, confidence and competence. 66 students were initiated into the school’s prestigious student council.

The investiture ceremony commenced with the meaningful and energetic song "Ashayen" by the school choir. This was followed by the cabinet members marched sprightly and majestically on to the stage for the proceedings. The students enthusiastically cheered on as their friends received recognition for their capabilities. The student council stood upright with their heads held high and their hearts in humility as badges were handed over and sashes pinned to each council member.

Ms Meenakshi Mehta, Principal, GIIS Queenstown Campus, administered the oath of office and the members of the council pledged to adhere to the values and principles upheld by the school.

Image link
https://picasaweb.google.com/GIISQueenstown/SeniorSecondaryInvestitureCeremony#

The 48th National Day of Singapore was celebrated by GIIS Queenstown Campus students on August 7, 2013. The celebration dotted the campus in red and white, the colours of the national flag of Singapore. The activities were a reminder of how a small dot in the map of the world has grown into a trade hub and a powerful nation by the dint of perseverance and unity. The Flag Observance Ceremony was followed by the theme song sung by the budding singers of the secondary school. The theme of this year’s National Day Celebration -‘Many stories, One Singapore’ was beautifully conveyed in the skit presented by the students of Class 4B. They highlighted the fact that this young nation has thrived and flourished because of the spirit of unity in diversity. Madam Teo Lin Lee, PBM, Vice-Chairman of Queenstown Community Centre and CCMC graced the occasion with her presence. Impressed by the skit presented by the students she said, “I had never imagined that students of Global Indian International School would know the history of Singapore so well”. The celebration concluded with the rendition of the national anthem of Singapore sung by the students of Primary and Middle school.

Image link
https://picasaweb.google.com/GIISQueenstown/SingaporeS48thNationalDayCelebrations#

GIIS Queenstown campus organised a special assembly on August 14, 2013 to celebrate the 67th Independence Day of India. To commemorate the Independence Day students performed a skit as well as dances on a medley of patriotic songs. The students dressed up in the tricolours of the national flag of India.

On August 15, 2013 a group of students performed at the Indian High Commission as part of the Independence Day of India celebrations, while a flag hoisting ceremony was organised at GIIS Queenstown Campus. The event was attended by a group of students, teachers, staff members as well as Senior Management team members. Ms Meenakshi Mehta, Principal, GIIS Queenstown Campus unfurled the flag of India as student choir members sang the national anthem along with patriotic songs.

Image link
https://picasaweb.google.com/GIISQueenstown/IndianIndependenceDaySpecialAssembly#

As part of the e-learning initiatives in classrooms through video conferencing, two sessions were conducted for primary and middle school in this academic year at GIIS Queenstown Campus. The broad objective was to help students connect to students of another country for exchange of ideas and information on different projects using internet as a medium and extend their learning beyond traditionally used methods. The topics for the e-learning sessions were selected with a special relevance for the benefit of students, the communities of the nations where they reside.

The different sessions of video conferencing were:

Cultural exchange between India and Singapore
In this project, the students of Class 7 interacted with two different branches of Chennai Public School, Chennai, India. The aim of the interactive sessions was to learn about the historical and geographical aspects of India and Singapore. The medium of video conferencing provided the students with a platform to share their thoughts. The first session on 13th August, 2013 was an ice breaking session with the students from CPS, which included the allotment of buddies to each other. This will be followed up by further interactions and culminate in an inter-school quiz.

Currency matters
The discussion started with an introduction between the teams of GIIS Queenstown Campus and GIIS Bangalore Campus. 18 students from Classes 4 and 5 of GIIS Queenstown campus participated in the video conference. Both schools took turns to conduct presentations. Each team member presented their subtopics which included currency conversions, plastic money and more. Student teams had prepared small placards to highlight and emphasise the sub-topics to the other team. They also carried ez-link cards to highlight the practise of cashless travel in Singapore. Students also created Power Point Presentation on Singapores currency. At the end of both the presentations there was Q & A session and a quiz session where students shared ideas on currency exchange. In addition to GIIS Queenstown and GIIS Bangalore Campuses, three more schools - GIIS Noida, GIIS Indore and GIIS Chinchwad Campuses were also a part of the informative e-learning session.

The Annual Sports Day of GIIS Queenstown Campus, themed on Green Spirit, was held on August 3, 2013. To champion the cause of recycling, the decorations for the event were made out of recycled materials. The Guest of Honour for the event was Dr Rajesh Asurlekar Senior Resident Physician, Alexandra Hospital. The program started with the school choir, singing a self composed number on saving our environment followed by a rousing performance by students of Classes 7 and 8 on recycled drums.

The evening saw 20 track events including an environment- themed race for parents. The most popular prizes for the evening included Champion trophies from among the four houses - Best Disciplined House, March past, Cheer leading and Champion house in sports which were declared at the event.  The Yoga Inter house competition which included a mass display performance by students of Classes 7 and 8 received a round of applause from the audience in the stadium. Among the highlights of the evening were the formation of GIIS and the shape of a tree which emphasised the theme quite well. The Best Athletes of the campus at various levels were presented with Best Athlete trophies.

Image link
https://picasaweb.google.com/GIISQueenstown/GIISSecondarySportsDay#