Students sing a repertoire of songs to display confidence, expression and an awareness of musical elements such as pitch and rhythm. Singing lies at the heart of the music curriculum as the voice is the most immediately available instrument for all students regardless of their age or ability. In playing instruments, students play musical pieces using a range of instruments to demonstrate style, expression, and an understanding of melodic direction, tempo and dynamics..

On February 18th 2012, the GMIS Auditorium was filled with the strains of music with our young budding musicians belting out soulful music that truly brought music into our hearts thus beginning Season 6 – Music from Our Hearts by our PYP students. In the words of Plato….. “ Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to imagination and life to everything ….”

Music as a discipline includes the development of creative skills, non-verbal expression and aesthetic appreciation. Music enables students, to communicate in powerful ways that go beyond their spoken language ability. Through music, students can begin to construct an understanding of their environment, to recognize patterns and structure, and to develop their cultural awareness The students not only showed their talents but also proved that the power of a touch, a smile , a kind word, a listening ear , an honest compliment can turn lives around through the smallest act of caring.

Our PYP CAS invited the children of the Yayasan Nurul Fallah an instituton adopted by our school and interacted with them. Self-esteem, communication, calmer attitudes, working in groups, creative thinking, discipline, imagination and study skills are discovered and improved by studying music and by knowing the truth that children are very receptive to rhythm and pitch. Music is actually one of the best ways for children to learn how to communicate. Music is very important to all.

Barbara Gonsalves

With state funding slashed by more than half in the last three years University officials decided to pull back on admissions offers to Washington residents , and increase theme to students overseas. That has rankled some local politicians and parents, a few of whom have even asked Michael KYoung , the University’s president, whether their children could get in if they paid nonresident tuition. “it does appeal to me a little” he said.

There is a widespread belief in Washington that internationalization is the key to the future, and young said he was not at all bothered that there were now more students from other countries than from other states.(out of states students pay the same tuition as international students.) Is there any advantage to our taking a kid from California versus a kid from china ?” he said.

“You’d have to convince me, because the world isn’t divided the way it used to be.”
If the University’s reliance on full-freight Chinese students to balance the budget echoes the nation’s dependence on china as the largest holder of American debt, well, said the dean of the admissions, Philip A. Ballinger, “this is way of getting some of getting some of that money back.” Indeed, by the reckoning of the institute of international education, foreign students in the united states contribute about $21 billion a year to the national economy, including $463 million here in Washington state. But the influx affects more then just the bottom line-campus culture, too, is changing. While the University of Washington’s demographic shifts have been shaper and faster –international students were 2 percent of he freshmen in 2006 – similar changes are underway at flagship public universities across the nation: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and the University of California campuses in Berkeley and Los Angles all had at least 10 percent foreign freshmen this academic year more than twice that of five years ago. And at top private schools including Colombia University, Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania at least 15 percent of this year’s freshmen are from other countries.

“we are in something akin to the gold rush, a frontier-style environment where colleges and universities, like prospectors in the 1800s, realize that there is gold out there,” said David Hawk-ins, the director of public policy at the national Association for college Admission Counseling. “while it’s the admissions offices butting up against the issues most right now, every department after theme, every faculty member who comes into contract with international students, is going to have to recalibrate as institutions become more international. I see cascading list of challenges.” Indeed, they have already begun here at Washington’ flagship university, where orientation leaders last fall had to explain, repeatedly, the rigorous campus recycling practices, reinforce no smoking rules and at the make your own sundae bar, help people get the hang of the whipped-cream cans.

But there are deeper issues, like how much latitude professors should give in written assignments nationwide higher education financing has undergone a pro found shift in recent years with many public institutions that used to get most of their financing from states governments now relying on tuition for more than half their budget.

Some in state students said they had trouble knowing what to make of the fact that international students, on the board hand, help underwrite financial aid, and on the other, take up seats that might have gone to their high school classmates.

“morally, I feel the university should accept in state students first, then other American students, then international students.” Said farheen siddiqui a freshmen from Washington.

I hope this email finds you well.

It is our great pleasure to introduce our undergraduate and graduate degree courses taught in English to prospective students living all around the world. Tohoku University has a long tradition of welcoming students from other countries. Currently we have around 1,500 international students from many different countries on campus.

Please find from the following website that we currently provide 3 undergraduate and 11 graduate courses taught in English. Especially, regarding the undergraduate courses, we warmly welcome students whose interests are in the field of Mechanical Engineering, Applied Molecular Science, or Applied Marine Biology.

The application is currently available: the first recruitment is coming to a deadline on January 31, but the 2nd recruitment will start from February 1 until May 31.

Tohoku University offers a special financial aid package, the President Fellowship for International Undergraduate Students, to cover entrance and tuition fees for the undergraduate courses. Excellent students will be separately awarded a living expenses stipend for one year.

Should you have any enquiries please feel free to contact us. Website: Tohoku University FGL Program: http://www.fgl.tohoku.ac.jp/
Updated application information is also available here.

Email Address:
Enquiries about the Examination: fgl-exam@bureau.tohoku.ac.jp
Enquiries about Programs: tohoku-fgl@bureau.tohoku.ac.jp

Best regards,
Global 30 Promotion Center
Tohoku University

石井　祐子
東北大学教育・学生支援部留学生課
グローバル30推進室総務係広報担当
〒980－8576　仙台市青葉区川内41
tel: 022-795-3243
fax: 022-795-7826
ishii@bureau.tohoku.ac.jp

Yuko Ishii
Global 30 Promotion Center
Student Exchange Division
Education and Student Support Department
Tohoku University
41 Kawauchi, Aoba-ku
Sendai, Miyagi 980-8576 JAPAN
tel: 022-795-3243
fax: 022-795-7826
ishii@bureau.tohoku.ac.jp

Two months ago, the three HoDs, who are now with Rise, informed the management at Resonance of their intention to start their own coaching institution after the current academic session got over in February as they didn’t want students to suffer from the split. Suddenly, at a meeting on Saturday, faculty at Resonance was informed that these three HoDs were no longer with the institution. “We were all really shocked by the move. All seven of us (three HODs and four teachers) quit and formed Rise the very next day,” said Amay Pandey, a former chemistry teacher at Resonance, who is now with Rise. According to Pandey, the moment students got to know of this, there was an uproar at Resonance, with 1000 students making the switch from Resonance to Rise within a few hours. “We closed admission to Rise on Monday night,” said Pandey.

Manoj Sharma, Vice President, Operations and Business Development at Resonance, has a completely different version of the events that unfolded over the Christmas weekend. For starters, he disputes the figures. Only 100-150 students have left us for the new class. We have seen a mere 2-3 % drop in attendance,” said Sharma. As for sacking the faculty mid-session, Sharma said this was because they were openly recruiting both students and staff from Resonance for the new coaching class while on the rolls of Resonancea claim the Rise team has vehemently denied. “They are at liberty to start their own class, but they should not do this at our expense. There was no need to discuss their plans with students and teachers,” said Sharma.

G D Agrawal, who started tutoring children in maths at his Matunga home, is today in his eighth decade, with none of his heirs ready to carry on with his dream of teaching science. “We are no longer taking students. We have decided to shut down the class. It’s the final decision that the owner has taken,” the woman at the admissions counter said on Wednesday.

So, many of its alumni, including Nadir B Godrej (1969) of Godrej Industries, Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani (1975), Mahendra Choksi (1960) and Ashwin Dani (1961) of Asian Paints and Phaneesh Murthy (1980) of IGate Global Solutions, will, while passing through Dadar, be greeted by the blank facade of Harganga Mahalthe building they once went to every morning to learn the fundamentals of science.

After the initial eight years, Agrawal moved out of his home to a place in Dadar TT, then the heart of Bombay, and soon expanded his menu of courses to include physics, chemistry and English.

In 1962, its first year of coaching students preparing to get into the IITs, V D Hattangadi bagged the all India rank 1, the news making Agrawal Classes the top destination for engineering aspirants in the country. The tagline, ‘Ideal for scholars’ said it all — the class admitted only top rankers and promised to make them even better. “Go-getters would come to the city just to be coached at Agrawal. If you made it to Agrawal, you knew you had made it,” said an old student.

While the number of students it admitted went up every year, the values that Agrawal started will never change. ( The Times of India )

Guangzhou businessman Xiao Baiyu, 47, has written That’s Why They Go To Peking University, which echoes Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother by Chinese American mother Amy Chua.

Ms Chua ignited controversy in the US and elsewhere with the publication of her book in January describing her strict approach to raising her two daughters, to the point where she made one of them practise a piano piece right through dinner without any breaks.

Mr Xiao writes about his use of a ‘feather duster and cane’ on his children – three of whom were admitted to the prestigious Chinese institution in 2009 and last year.

“before they were adolescents, they were trapped in their ‘animal nature’ and had no judgment about what’s right and wrong in a human world, so I taught theme in an autocratic way,” the self-proclaimed Wolf Dad writes.

Mr. Xiao, who deals in luxury products and has a fourth child still in high school, remains oblivious to all criticism of him as an opportunistic copycat, and has appeared on television frequently in recent weeks to promote his book.

Dear International Education Friends,

We hope you will take some time this holiday season to relax. Reflect and recuperate after a semester of advising, recommendation-writing, transcript-uploading and student/parent reassuring. We want to thank you for all you do to enable students to follow their dreams and continue their life-long learning.

The university of Denver is experiencing yet another record-breaking number of applications from overseas, up 38% over this time last year. So while the scanning machines are humming and our FedEx and DHL deliveries pile up, we want to take a moment to tell you about a few exciting things happening here at DU.

First, if you have not heard, we will be hosting the July 2012 conference of the overseas Association for College Admission Counseling (OACAC). The website will be going up this month and will be updated regularly (www.du.edu/oacac2012). It promises to be wonderful conference with great sessions, a diner hosted at CU-Boulder and our closing celebration at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. We hope to see you here in July !

Second, we launched a new scholarship for international first-year students last fall called the International Diversity Award. Students from countries that are under-represented on campus will be considered for this $7500 scholarship, which includes a $2500 on-campus work award. These scholarships will be awarded in addition to our merit awards, meaning that our best applicants will be eligible for up to $26,500 in renewable scholarships each year.

Third, our goal for 2012 is to demonstrate the value of a DU education to prospective students, parents and counselors like you. For example, as a mid-size university, DU offers the benefits of close faculty relationship in a liberal arts setting as well as the breadth of programs resources and opportunities of large research-based university. Students cultivate their passions by conducting their own research and working side-by-side with professors on projects with real-world applications through our partners in scholars program or by impacting diverse communities both in Denver and around the world through meaningful service learning experiences. If you would like to learn more about the DU experience, we would like to send deadlines, new initiatives, student testimonies and much more. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, just send us a note at INTLADM@du.edu.

Wishing you the very best for 2012 and beyond.

The International Student Admission Staff
University of Denver

It is the wonders of childhood that keeps the world alive, therefore GMIS once again organized an inter-school drawing and painting competition with the theme “seeing the world through young eyes”. This competition was a venture to provide a platform to young talents from various schools to explore their thoughts and express aesthetic ideas in the form of drawing and painting.

The event was organized by principal Mr. A.p Singh who himself ardently supports spontaneity, imagination and artistic talent in students.

Around 23 schools and 171 students participated in the competition which was open to students from nursery to high school the winners were awarded certificates, medals and also a cash prize. The response was over whelming (Ms.Jaya iyall, Ms. Rahayu)

‘Othello’ was not the effort of an individual, but a joint production of the Class of 2012, backed by the ardent theatre loving GMIS community. It was a challenge that we had to overcome hand in hand, as it would write a new page in the history of GMIS, etch an indelible memory into our minds and souls – a precious experience that we will cherish all our lives.

Grade 12 is a phase in a student’s life when there is not a moment to waste, a period of vigorous activity characterized by the ongoing struggle to meet deadlines of IB internal assessments, and to cope with the pressure of college applications, SATs and TOEFLs. There were numerous times when we felt the limits, desperate that we would not be able to manage and balance the tight schedule of play practices and school work. But every time we fell into such canyon of hopelessness, we persevered with unwavering determination and tenacity, reluctant to give up a challenge which, although instigated by an initial curiosity, had unknowingly transformed into a common vital responsibility.
This play was intended to inspire and provide the Grade 11s with some enlightening idea about ‘Othello’, which they have as a text for the Part 2 of their IB English requirement.

However, most importantly, this show was to be held for the purpose of a good cause – to provide donations for Community and Service (CAS), an integral part of the curriculum.
Our mentor, the Principal of our school, Mr. A. P. Singh, and our esteemed directors boosted the morale of the cast and the production team with motivation and encouragement. Thus, the cast rose to meet the demands of the histrionics, and the production crew delivered the professional technicalities called for. And finally, the long-awaited premiere night arrived, and a sense of tranquility and silence dominated the auditorium, ‘the calm before the storm.’

The crimson curtains parted to disclose the fruits of our labour – three months of hard work squeezed compact into a hundred minute play. The actors performed brilliantly, and the overall effect of their acting was magnified by the stage effects of the vibrant lights, the reverberating sounds, the period properties, and the dramatic settings. Till the very last moment of the play, everyone put in their sweat and blood, in eager hope that the audience will warmly receive a super performance.

At the end of it all, the overwhelming applause and standing ovation from the audience greeted the crew, and they rejoiced in their newly achieved victory by shouting, “We did it!”

‘Othello’ has been, is, and will be, a priceless experience to all of us involved. Not only has it enabled us to make valuable connections with peers from different cultural backgrounds, but has also given us opportunities to grow and look back with pride at what we have achieved together. It was indeed a time when we were able to realize our strengths and weaknesses, and learn that we can overcome whatever obstacles may be hurled in our way.
Our spirits are indomitable! We have arrived. Life, here we come!
Sung Hoon Park – Gr. 12

With the narrator, Salil of grade 10A speaking the meaningful line above, the long-awaited annual play of Grade 10, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” adapted by Noah Smith from the Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, unveiled itself in the auditorium of ‘The Gandhi Memorial International School’ on the evening of 12th, November 2011. The auditorium was filled with parents, peers and plethora of Theatre enthusiasts who witnessed the wonders the grade 10 students achieved. The play, with an absolute darkness and gloomy music prevailing in the auditorium, soon commenced with a shadowy mood.

The play explores the life of Dr. Henry Jekyll- a biologist of London hugely acclaimed for his myriad of scientific achievements and perfectly gentle decorum. One day, he finally succeeds in fabricating a serum which can temporarily transform him into an avatar of his restrained inner darkness and bestiality- Mr. Hyde. Slowly being addicted to the forbidden pleasure of being evil and violent by becoming Hyde, Dr. Jekyll gradually finds himself turned into a murderer of his friends and a Satan of the town.

It was enacted by a cast of multicultural students, from various nationalities, namely Italian, Philippines, Korean, Spanish, Indonesian, Chinese and Indian. The play was an immense success- a theatrical extravaganza quenching the thirst of the theatre lovers. Incredible acting by the student actors, when intermingled with aesthetic stage and appropriate music, came out to be a mesmerizing piece of art. Also, it wasn’t a mere play but a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience for the students who have learnt lessons of teamwork, cooperation and creativity through the play. It has undoubtedly shaped the students into better students for the global society and will be an unforgettable memory for them as well. The proceeds from the play will be donated to ‘Yayasan Griya Asih’, which looks after orphan children. We will be working together in helping them improve their infrastructural facilities, besides helping them learn English and Computers. (Kim Yong Sik / GMIS)