KIS Phoenix Flyer 2015-2016 Issue 2

8/20/2019 KIS Phoenix Flyer 2015-2016 Issue 2

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Phoenix Flyer

Korea International School

In This Issue:• KIS Today with The Center

• Student trips to Costa Rica & Morocco

• Seoul Campus

• Elementary School

• Middle School• High School

• Athletics

• Admissions


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Last month, on August 22nd and 23rd, KIS hosted and EARCOS Weekend Workshop (EARCOS stands for

the East Asia Regional Council Of Schools). Both founders of the Creative Language Class, Kara Parker andMegan Smith, lead the conference. It was very inspiring to hear from teachers from ve other countries, as

well as six international schools in Korea, all working together in ve languages!

The rst day included a session on reworking traditional unit topics. We focused on culture as a means of

providing purpose for language-usage and exploring global perspectives. Teachers learned to break downbig, full-course goals into daily “Can Do” objectives. Later on that day, teachers discussed performance-based assessments. The aim here: allowing students to show their prociency-growth in real-life situations.

Our second day started with the topic of improving cultural units. Using authentic resources, students can:acquire necessary vocabulary; improve interpretive skills; and gain another perspective on the world. For

our nale session, teachers collaborated on eective assignments and projects. We focused on combininglanguage production with cultural experiences. We infused this topic with the critical incorporation of 21stCentury skills, including: voice and choice; technology; and problem solving for authentic practice.

One attendee enthused, after the workshop concluded, “This workshop is one of the best I have ever at-tended! The presenters taught us in a way that they want us to teach our students. Outstanding demonstra-tion!”

Another teacher shared, “Their workshop was practical, relevant, and interesting. My colleagues and I areexcited to move forward in transforming our teaching and student learning!”

We believe our weekend was a great success for all involved. Our thanks also extend to EARCOS: for sup-

porting us in making this workshop possible at KIS.

International Language Teachers Unite: EARCOS at KIS

Traci Osterhagen

Director of

Teaching and Learning

KIS Today


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School Spotlight Get ready for a spring break adventure like no other in beautiful

Costa Rica! Deadline for sign ups is Wednesday, September 30.Contact Ms. Yousey if interested.

There is no better way to grow your Spanish language skills thanby immersing yourself in a Spanish-speaking country. You’ll behaving so much fun adventuring with your friends and classmates,building relationships with your welcoming tico host family, en-gaging in meaningful community service, and exploring Costa Ri-ca’s natural wonders... that you probably won’t even realize howmuch you’re learning and growing in the process!

Not only will you be able to truly take your Spanish skills to thenext level, you’ll also gain invaluable insights and experiencesto guide you moving forward, as well as motivate your languagelearning back at school. You will certainly set yourself apart from

the many students who learn a foreign language,yet never have the opportunity to be fully immersedin it! Learn what it means to be #sorustic this spring

break!

Costa Rica | Mar 27th to Apr 2nd | $1,775 + Airfare| 15 Service Hours| 24 Students

Experience bustling cities, the great Moroccan outdoors, and rural life in the Atlas Mountains on this Frenchlanguage and cultural adventure program. Visit the largest mosque in Africa in Casablanca and in Marrake-ch. Wander the UNESCO-acclaimed, 1,000-year-old market where you can watch snake charmers entrance

their cobras and vendors hawk their wares. See everything from whale vertebrae and acrobats, to ostricheggs and orange juice stands! Make new Moroccan friends while engaging in community service, bond with

your classmates, wander and wonder in the great Sahara desert. You can sandboard, hike, scavenger-hunt,bargain in the souks, eat delicious authentic cuisine, dive into Moroccan culture and history, and have thetime of your life—all while ne-tuning your French skills!

As a former French colony, Morocco holds a rich French heritage. French is still the main lan-guage spoken in government, commerce, education, and medicine. More than 50% of thepopulation uently communicates in both French and Darija (Moroccan) Arabic. Experience

the wonders of this breathtaking country, while absorbing the French language. This is sureto be the French immersion experience of a lifetime!

Morocco | Mar 26th to Apr 2nd | $1,795 + Airfare | 24 Students | Contact Mr. Tebti to register.

Pura Vida Immersion and Adventure: Spring 2016 Spanish Trip

Moroccan Wanderer: Spring 2016 French Trip

Annie Yousey

HS Spanish

Nordine Tebti

HS French


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Kindergarten Goes to the Dairy Farm

To kick o September, Seoul Campus (SC) was

able to reap the benets of its rooftop garden,

which was planted last spring. All of the SC stu-dents were involved in planting their own class-room boxes. Second, 3rd and 4th graders wateredthe plants before school let out; and the cleaningladies were generous enough to maintain our gar-

den boxes throughout the hot summer-vacationmonths.

Our goal was simple. We wanted to have a SalsaParty with what we grew. Each year, the rooftopgarden has blossomed better than the year before.

Teachers and students—especially 2nd and 3rdgraders—helped to prepare the vegetables, andmake the salsa from a recipe in their respectivestations. Putting our nal product into containers

for all grades, our tasty treat was also given to ourSC specialists, business sta, and cleaning crew.

This type of event excites us: for what we can plantnext spring in our garden; and for what we canhopefully produce and enjoy next September atKIS. In addition to deciding on what types of veg-etables we want to grow next spring, our SC De-sign Center has already begun thinking of improve-ments. The Center is considering ways to providemore shade, and better uses for distributing water,to all of our plants in the heat that Korea typically

has during its summers.

Tune in next fall to nd out what delicious food the

rooftop garden has produced for KIS Seoul Cam-pus.

Fresh Made Salsa Right from the TOP!

Seoul Campus Elementary School Highlights

All of the Kindergarten friends from the Pangyo and Seoul Campus-es ventured out to Yongin to Nongodwon Dairy Farm and attendedMilk School! We learned that the dairy products we all enjoy, such

as ice cream and cheese, come from milk——which comes fromwonderful cows! We even learned how to milk a cow, and learned

that the milk comes from its udders. We had a great adventure, ex-periencing rst-hand what it takes to be a dairy farmer, by: milking a

cow named Elsa, bottle-feeding calves, and feeding hay to severalpregnant cows. Thank you, cows and dairy farmers, for providingus with such delicious dairy products and wonderful memories too!

Mark Yu

Kindergarten

Jamie Koch

Grade 3 Teacher


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It started out as a simple way to say, “Thank you.” Lastweek, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders created posters,letters, and thank-you cards for the Yongsan Base sol-diers. We planned to have our student artwork deliveredto the base before Friday, September 11th. However, Sergeant Mike Lasoya decided to do some-thing even better: he rounded-up a few soldiers to sur-prise KIS Seoul Campus with an impromptu visit. Only afew faculty and sta on campus knew about their plans

beforehand.

A Grade-2-through-to-5th-Grade assembly was creat-ed. Soldiers surprised us with their presence, then readto the students about the many heroes of 9/11. Afterwards, students asked a variety of interesting questions tothe soldiers, before presenting the soldiers with the colourful and youthful artwork made especially for them.

Sharing more time together, soldiers went into many classrooms to take part in lessons, such as reading story-books to classes. Recess and lunch continued the amiable atmosphere with some soldiers joining the sta or

children to eat and play. One 2nd-Grader even asked Sergeant Lasoya to attend his birthday party that day!

It was an all-round wonderful experience for us at KIS Seoul Campus. But, possibly, it was an even more reward-

ing and memorable experience for the soldiers who visited. We hope that they felt, and will remember, our ap-preciation for the jobs that they do each day—the original intent of our gifts, before the surprise of their thoughtfuland enjoyable visit. We do want to say, “Thank you soldiers for your hard work!”

Josh Greene

Grade 3 Teacher

Yongsan Soldiers Surprise KIS on 9/11

Fourth and Fifth Graders had a whale of a timethis past Saturday, September 12th, playingGaelic Football at the 2015 North-Asian Games.

On Saturday morning, students traveled to MoonhakStadium in Incheon, where they later competed with

international schools from around the globe. Both ofour Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade teams did a tre-mendous job, winning rst place in both divisions

at the tournament! Our KIS teamwork was amazing,

and each player demonstrated great sportsmanshipas we made our way to the championship games.

At the end of the day, the ambassador of Ireland—Mr. O’Donoghue—presented each student witha medal of participation. Mr. O’Donoghue alsoawarded the Tournament MVP award to our very-own Sean Kang from Grade Four! Congratulations

to Sean, and all our KIS football players and family.This was a memorable event for everyone involved,and we look forward to doing it again next year!

Jeff Kordich

PE Teacher

Gaelic Gold At the 2015 North-Asian Games


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On the afternoon of Friday, September 11th, an array of sightsand sounds lled the KIS Pangyo cafeteria. The 4th and 5th Grade

girls had gathered as one—and in teams—to kick-o this year’s

Elementary Girl’s Retreat!

This annual retreat is a fun-lled, overnight event to give Grade

Four and Five girls a way to: foster relationships with other stu-dents; build condence; and challenge themselves to step out of

their comfort zones. The girls participated in a number of commu-nity-building activities. Each activity was thoughtfully designed tohighlight positive character traits, as well as social and emotionalskills for immediate and long-term wellbeing.

There were many memorable moments and happy activities. The“Amazing Race” required students to split into similar-clothingteams who then had to complete fun tasks before racing to thenish line. We also had: a glow-stick dance party; a night-time

noraebang / singing-room; a photo booth; and a beauty station forthose so inclined.

Many of the female Elementary School teachers and sta, of both

Seoul and Pangyo Campuses, deserve our thanks. They volun-teered and dedicated themselves: oering a diversity of talents,

passions, and abilities in the shared goal of inspiring our girls tobe their best. Thank you, for making this year’sretreat an empowering way to come together. Itwas an important evening of enthusiasm, humor,and heart. We connected with one another, grow-ing as individuals and as a more-inclusive com-munity. May next year’s Elementary Girl’s Retreatbe as fun and successful!

Girl Power: A Night of Empowerment!

Pangyo Campus Elementary School Highlights

Molly Ball

Grade 4 Teacher

Moo. Quack. Baa. Neigh. Perhaps you have read in the Seoul Campus section of this Phoenix Flyer aboutthe KIS Kindergarten trip to a dairy farm. If not, or you would like some more information, please read on.

Our Kindergarten students have been learning about farms this autumn. They have listened to many storiesabout farms, including: Farmer Duck; Barnyard Banter; The Year At Maple Hill Farm; and The Cow ThatClucked. They also played in a pretend farm during Centre Time, and they have sung the ever-popular song,Old McDonald, during their morning meeting.

To provide our students with a hands-on experience, we took a trip toNongdowon Dairy Farm. We had a lot of fun: going on a wagon ride

around the farm; helping feed pregnant cows; milking a cow named Elsa;and petting a shy, ve-day-old calf. We also made string cheese, as well

as yummy strawberry and chocolate ice cream! It was a beautiful day, and

so much fun to see our Kindergarten students enjoying real-life, hands-on, new experiences.

Kindergarten: A Day at the Dairy Farm!

Paul Duffy

Kindergarten Teacher


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It is a period of new beginnings...

Fourth and Fifth Grade boys, striking out from theirclassrooms, took over the lower oors of KIS Elementa-ry School on a Friday night earlier this September, 2015.

Students from both Pangyo and Seoul Campuses cametogether to form new alliances with names like Droids,Jedi, Wookies, and The Sith. These newly formedgroups did not steal the plans for the DEATH STAR, butthey did compete valiantly and with great sportsman-ship in matches of kickball, soccer, and spike ball.

Pursued by great hunger, the boys devoured massquantities of pizza before carrying on with their frivolitywith epic games like “Jedi Master.” As the Dark (Side)descended upon the school, the young warriors nally

settled into their sleeping pods to view and enjoy someLego Star Wars movies…

In other words, the annual Boys Retreat was a hugesuccess! The theme this year was “Star Wars,” as you

might have already guessed. Our KIS Elementary Schoolboys had a terric time as they played hard, laughed a

lot, and made some lasting connections that could onlybe made in this LightSide. It was a happynight that they won’tsoon forget!

Boys Retreat EPISODE V

Travis Peterson

Elementary School

Associate Principal


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Pangyo Campus Middle School Highlights

KIS Middle School will be embarking on an amazing Experiential Education (EE) event on Thursday, October

8th.

As with all EE learning at KIS, students will experience goal-oriented activities in a very carefully researched,safe environment. All of the activities that the students engage in were pretested by KIS teachers them-selves, on a previous day before the students participate. Our success with Middle School EE last school-year, and already this autumn with KIS High School, motivates us to provide the best EE for our students,teachers, and sta. In small, predesignated groups, each student will be accompanied and monitored by an

advisory teacher, as well as a site-specic specialist-instructor, who will cooperatively facilitate the activities

of a very-well-planned EE day.

“…But,” you might be asking, “why should students do EE? Can’t this be done in the classroom?”

Good question.

Outside the four walls of a classroom, there is a lot to learn too. Both settings of learning can be comple-mentary and mutually enhancing. It has been proven again and again that during EE, students improve their real-world, practical skills andabilities. These skills and abilities include: inclusive leadership, eective team-building, appropriate commu-nication, calm and rational problem-solving, and the fullling attainment of new-experience success. These

benets greatly improve students’ academic success at KIS. They provide personable, applicable connec-tions to cross-curricular learning on our Seoul and Pangyo campuses. But, and perhaps more importantly,each of these skill and abilities will benet each student for the rest of their lives.

EE has consistently proven to improve academic improvement and outcomes at KIS. It also improves ourstudents for the rest of their adult lives. EE, in short, is a doorway to greater experience, potential, and success in life.

EE permission slips are due before (or on the day of) Thursday, September 24th.

Experiential Education


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Donalyn Miller’s professional-development book, Reading In theWild, is inspiring this year’s Middle School English Department. All of our department’s teachers read this academic book overthe summer. Once KIS began our new 2015-2016 school year,

we were ready to clear the path and lead students into becomingKIS’s rst WILD Readers.

Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Graders began their journey by visitingwith our KIS MS/HS Librarian, Mrs. Green, during the rst weeks

of school. Browsing the stacks, students self-selected books oftheir choice. John Green, Jordan Sonnenblick, Gary Paulsen, andJames Dashner, are just some of the authors Middle School stu-dents are currently reading. In addition to increased independentreading time in English classrooms, students have been spottedreading in the cafeteria, in the hallways, in advisories, on buses,and in the courtyard under blue, autumn skies. By presetting gen-re goals and committing to reading for at least 20 to 30 minutes a

day, results are already apparent. Just ve weeks into the school

year, our Wild Readers are showing increased motivation and in-terest in reading for pleasure. Students also have a monitored listof self-chosen books that they want to read in the future. Recom-mendations from classmates are often overheard by teachers andsta, as students nd more and more books that they’ll love.

Wild Readers talk about the books they’ve read at our new Book Talk Cafe. This cafe kicked-o on Sep-tember 11th, with a variety of snacks and drinks, in Ms. Ramsey’s room and with other MS English classes joining in. This month’s feature was Realistic Fiction. With Keira Knightly softly singing in the background,

students sat at polk-a-dotted covered cafe tables; and for a full forty minutes, theychatted about the books they had just nished reading. All of the students said that

they really enjoyed the cafe time: listening to their friends talk about books in a relaxingatmosphere. Next month’s Book Talk Cafe is on Friday, October 16th. Be on the lookout all year forWild Readers at KIS!

Wild Readers (+) Cafe Conversation = Middle School Literati

Tammie Ramsey

MS English

Most children like routine. Adjusting to a new school, new child care, new friends, or a change in the familycan be dicult. All children, like all adults, react dierently to change. How your child adapts to change will

depend on his/her temperament, personality, and your family’s circumstances. During times of change yourchild may be clingy, moody or irritable, angry, sad, anxious, afraid, or less sociable than usual.When discussing change with children, discuss both the pros and cons. Certainly focus on the pros, butdon’t deny the cons. Otherwise you’ll lose children’s trust, something they desperately need to cling to dur-ing change.

Acknowledge the child’s feelings. This gives the child the permission to say she’s not comfortable with thechange. Gradually they learn that change is not something to be avoided, but a challenge to be responded

to with thoughtfulness and understanding.Change can make us all feel insecure and helpless. During change, let children make asmany of their own decisions as possible. Autonomy osets anxious feelings. It gives life

balance, and it reminds kids that they have control over some things in life... just not allthings.

Change in life is inevitable. It happens to all of us in our lives. Understanding how todeal with and cope with change can be challenging. But, keeping a positive outlook,and having the support of friends and family, can help make transitions in life go moresmoothly.

Dr. Elethia Rhoden

MS Counsellor

Easing Transitions


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At 9:00 am, the museum is quiet. The silence of the ages... drifts through the bones of the T-Rex, up and

over the model of a Grey Whale, and into the corridors where Homo Erectus stands frozen, entrapped in hisglass case.

An hour later, students of 11th-Grade American Literature English classes have descended on the museum.Now, the oors reverberate with the hum and thrill of learning outside of the four walls of a classroom.

The students are on a quest. Over the past summer, they’ve read J.D. Salinger’s American classic and high-ly-inuential novel, The Catcher In The Rye. Today, they have been given clues for their monitored search of

connections to that novel.

They move about in small teams. Furtively discovering clues, they protect their coveted secrets from theother, insatiable scavenger hunt teams. The prize, the prize, the prize... is a picnic lunch which can be enjoyed with their peers. The Museum of Natural History was a favorite location of this novel’s protagonist and narrator: Holden Caul-eld. Holden caustically and dogmatically expounds, in his halting and self-conscious way:

The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything

always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move […] Nobody’d

be diferent. The only thing that would be diferent would be you.

As students searched, and experienced new-found items, in the museum, they were given personal-nar-rative writing-prompts. These prompts increased further understanding of this complex novel, as studentsreected individually on childhood and adulthood, and the life-changes between these

overlapping stages.

For the conclusion of the eld trip, with a dierent setting and tone... students were al -lowed to hit the town and explore Seoul with their Grade 11, English-class friends. Withinreason, and with accountability, they were encouraged to be reective, to be urban, and

to be “Holden for a day.”

To Be Holden: English 11 Visits Seodaemun Natural History Museum

Pangyo Campus High School Highlights

John Miller

HS English


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September 9th, 10th and 11th was this year’s Senior Retreat. Unlike the quick trips of

the past, the class of 2016 got to embark upon three days of Experiential Education

(or EE). EE focuses on pushing personal boundaries, working as a team, and learningto meet a variety of challenges in a variety of circumstances. It’s life, and life alwaysincludes the unexpected.

The rst day of the trip started with a grueling 7.6 km hike up Seoraksan’s Ulsan-Bawi. It was steep, with lots of stairs and big boulders, but the view at the top was

worth it. Seniors learned the value of pushing individual limits, encouraging each other, and oering a help-ing hand.On Thursday, our second day, we began with white water rafting. The water was cold, but the smiles werewarm. Boats of eight learned to work together while navigating level-appropriate rapids and obstacles.There was also time to swim, jump o of rocks, and splash other boats. What a beautiful fall morning on the

water!

Thursday afternoon brought a variety of adventures to choose from: a thrilling rock climb up a cli face; a

death-defying sky drop; or a heart-thumping skywalk around a Plexiglas walkway in the clouds. Students

overcame fears to conquer these challenges with gusto! Strong teamwork was also demonstrated as groupschallenged one another at laser tag.

The fun didn’t stop when the sun set. Tired from a long day of escapades, the seniors came together arounda warm campre to bond further. Sausages and marshmallows were roasted over the hot coals as the

class of 2016 strengthened their sense of community. After these delicious treats, it was time to relax with

friends—both new and old. Outdoor seating areas lled-up, with students star-gazing, sharing stories, and

laughing freely.

Friday was our third and nal day. We played some games on the beach, before having some time for indi -vidual reection. We had conquered mountains, rivers, and personal fears; and now the beach was a calm

and quiet setting for the class of 2016 to ponder the future. Seniors wrote thoughtful letters to themselves

for their 2016 graduation. Indeed, many of the skills learned on this trip will help students conquer the chal-lenges ahead as they prepare for college. What a perfect way to wrap up a memorable trip full of laughter,friends, and adventure!

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Tamara Turnbeaugh

Senior Advisor

Senior Retreat: Experiential Education


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Phoenix Athletics Boys Varsity Volleyball: Setting To Three-Peat As KAIAC Champs

Head Coach Karen Callahan returns for her second season to lead the Boys Varsity Volleyball team in de-fending their twice-won title as the KAIAC Conference and Tournament Championships. (KAIAC stands forThe Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference.)

Our 2015-2016 team will have to ll a void that was created by the departure of three notable graduates.

These three, outstanding players raked-in four of the ve top KAIAC individual awards last season! We con-gratulate: Hojune Kwak, Best Hitter … Philip An, Best Passer … and Je Kim, Best Setter and KAIAC MVP!

Excellent job and congratulations!

We remain strong with seven members of last year’s championship team returning; bringing their gold-

medal experience and leadership.

Here is a closer look at our Boys Varsity Volleyball Team this school year:Captains Taeshin Lee (12) and Harry Song (12) will lead the front row attack, along with middle blocker ChrisChung (11).

Second-year varsity members Kevin Han (11) and Jordan Jang (11)— along with newcomers Jason Kwon(12) and Ryan Choi (10) —will be lling out the rest of the rotation.

Libero Logan Cha (11) will be taking care of all the dirty work in the backcourt as the defensive specialist...while Willy Yun (12) and John Gee (10) will be splitting the duties of setting up the attacks with their numer-

ous options.

Solid back-ups Derek Min (11) and Danny Choi (10) round-out the remainder of our 12-man roster this sea-son.

The boys were o to a great start: winning this month’s league-opener in straight sets against their eternal

rivals SIS.

Taeshin Lee led the way with 17 kills; with Chris Chung and Kevin Han contributing 13 more between them.Logan Cha did a solid job taking care of the backcourt, adding-in 40% of the team’s passes.

Willy Yun, John Gee, and Chris Chung combined for 29 assists… with Kevin Han throwing in two blocks in

our KIS domination from start to nish.

For their second league match, the boys travel to APIS with intentions of victory. Go Phoenix!!!

Boys Varsity Volleyball: Setting to Three-Peat as KAIAC Champs


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Korea International School

Korea International School27, Daewangpangyo-ro 385beon-gil, Bundang-gu

Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-doK 463 420

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KIS Phoenix Flyer 2015-2016 Issue 2

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