Phoenix Flyer

Korea International School

In This Issue:• Professional Development at KIS• Gaelic Football• Seoul Campus Showcase• Pangyo Trunk or Treat• Middle School Let the Music Begin• High School NHS• Phoenix Athletics - Cross Country• Phoenix Activities - Speech & Debate

November 16, 20152015/16 Issue 5

Professional Development at KIS: The FishBowlKIS Today

Korea International School has a rich history of investing in the professional development of its teachers. The desire to create a culture of learning that focuses on improving teacher practice has led to ongoing and relevant professional development opportunities for faculty. The KIS EdTech Team is proud to be a part of this tradition by providing technology-based training as a seamless part of teachers’ everyday routines.

This training is supported by the FishBowl: a purpose-built training center for teachers that is located on the third floor of the G-Building. With its glass walls and adaptable furniture, this customizable space is ideal for of-fering technology-based professional development. Over the past four years, FishBowl sessions have provided a weekly concept which is delivered four times per day, 20 times per week, all during school hours. This unique access to daily professional development has built the technological capacity of teachers immeasurably.

Over the next four weeks, the EdTech Team will be piloting the newest iteration of its innovative FishBowl model. Each member of the five-member EdTech team will be offering two sessions that draw on their individual skill sets. These ten sessions, ranging from using virtual reality in the classroom to using video in teaching, will allow for deeper exploration with technology and an opportunity for broader dialogue between teachers. The EdTech team is excited and confident that this latest evolution of the FishBowl will continue the outstanding tradition of professional development at KIS.

Daniel KilbackDirector of Educational Technology

Daniel Kilback Richard Poth Rick MallonArt SchultzAmalia Kingsbury

KIS-Seoul Campus embarked on a new adventure and took the first ever group of elementary students abroad for a global competition and cultural exchange. Fourth and fifth grade students from KIS-Seoul Campus partici-pated in the widely successful trip of a lifetime when they travelled to Shanghai, China for the Fexco 2015 Asian Gaelic Games. Our young group of KIS ambassadors experienced friendly competition at the tournament, while sweeping the opposition and bringing home a gold medal as the Gaelic Football tournament champions. Good sportsmanship and teamwork were staples of their championship run, coupled with strong skills and strategic play. Our tournament hosts, the Shanghai Gaelic Football Club, were warm and welcoming every step of the way and ensured that our visit was most enjoyable. Everyone was excited when the president of the Gaelic Games Association presented our medals, along with the 4th in command for the People’s Republic of China. Big thank you to them, as well as the parents and organizers from the Shanghai Gaelic Football Club that went above and beyond to make us feel welcome.

Students and staff alike also had the amazing opportunity to visit historical sites around the city and experience Chinese culture firsthand. Many students who study Mandarin at KIS found themselves presented with an au-thentic opportunity to demonstrate their learning and practice what they have learned in class. One of the clear cultural highlights included a trip to the Korean Government in Exile museum, which many students had learned about in Korean class. Actually seeing where the government was housed and worked almost 100 years ago left many feeling moved by the experience, and an incredible sense of pride radiated from our group. We also had time to navigate to the Pearl Tower in Shanghai, which students had studied in social studies class. Standing close to 500 meters tall, students enjoyed dancing on the clear glass floor as they looked down to the ground below.

This is a great example of the authentic learning experiences we are creating for our students here at KIS. Push-ing back the walls of our classrooms and giving our students opportunities to not only learn about topics in school, but experience them as well will help create a learning environment where students feel confident taking safe risks with their learning. Creating that critical thinking and problem solving mindset through real life applica-tions will in turn lead to self driven lifelong learners as they graduate to middle school, high school, and beyond. We are very excited for the future years to come as we see more and more opportunities for our students to apply their learning in authentic ways.

Gaelic Football at KIS: Shanghai Tournament Champions

Jeff KordickSC PE Teacher

KIS Spotlight

Cross Country Jamboree: at SC!

Seoul CampusElementary School Highlights

Pete HillPE Teacher

Grade 2 Showcase

On Saturday October 17th, KIS Seoul Campus hosted their 2nd annual Elementary Cross-Country Jamboree race. Over the last eight weeks, cross-country runners from Grades Three, Four, and Five prepared for this event by training twice a week on the hiking trail, school soccer field, and elementary school rooftop, to ensure that they were ready to run!

On the day of the big race, eight different schools were in attendance, bringing the total numbers of runners close to 130! Both male and female students from Grades Three, Four and Five participated by running a challenging course with steep hills and long turns. The Third Grade students ran a 1km road race, while the Fourth and Fifth graders ran an extended course of 1.6km.

KIS runners demonstrated excellent spirit, sportsmanship and athletic ability. After the races, the athletes were given ribbons for their efforts and had a chance to discuss their experiences with parents and other competitors. It was clear that they were already looking forward to competing in the event next year. The proceedings were a huge success thanks to all of the participating athletes, volunteers, parents, and coaches. A big thanks to KIS Seoul for putting together an excellent event. Go Phoenix!

Second Grade students at Seoul Campus celebrated the end of our first trimester with a presentation showcasing their iBox project. This project pulled together skills learned in Social Studies, Writing, Design, Art and IT classes. Stu-dents brought in a variety of objects that represented their likes, hopes, dreams, personal experiences and family life. Using the Tinkercad program, they created a 3D object representing themselves, had it printed with a 3D printer and added it to their collection. Next, they designed and built a container meant to specifically showcase their per-sonal items. A great time was had learning how to use the tools in the design lab to build their iBox! Along with their iBox, students wrote a Small Moment Story surrounding one of the objects in their box. In addition, they learned how to create an eBook on iPad and made a short book explaining the symbolism behind each item. The final touch was attaching a personal flag that was made in Art class. The Second Graders would like to thank all of the parents, teachers and students who showed up to view their work and make it a really special event for them. They enjoyed sharing about themselves and showing off all of their hard work. Way to go, Second Grade!

Jamie KochGrade 2 Teacher

Upper Years Showcase

Jennifer WrightMegan Greene

Grades 3, 4, 5 Teachers

Seoul Campus has been buzzing as Grades 3-5 students have been working hard, putting final touches on their culminating projects from the trimester 1 transdisciplinary units. Recently, school and community members were invited to view projects and listen to students present their new understandings. Each event was a prime example of how hard work pays off!

Students in Grade 3 were able to display their new understandings from their “World Around Us” themed unit. Besides making connections to the world and others around them through reading and writing-based activities, students were challenged to demonstrate their understanding of how communities around the world can find and use solutions to reduce the impact of weather related hazards. By using research of weather and weather related hazards from a chosen country, students put their science and engineering design knowledge to work in creating a prototype, or model, of a solution to the hazard.

Grade 4 students were able to gain appreciation of how communities use art, engineering, science, and storytell-ing to share about important people in history. Through novel-based activities, students’ interests in the American Revolution and Civil War were sparked, with each choosing a historical figure from these time periods to research. 4th Graders then designed and engineered a statue of their individual figures that could withstand weathering and erosion, in addition to writing a realistic fiction narrative based on their character.

In Grade 5, students got a taste of what it truly means to protect the Earth’s resources and environment. After par-ticipating in their own “long walk to water” inspired by their reading of the novel, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, 5th Graders were able to design and test a prototype for a gravity fed water system that would improve our school’s rooftop garden. Students even tested out their own writing skills by creating a missing chapter for their novel, as well as studying the availability of water and other natural resources in the world and how pollution and other factors affect their existence.

Students and parents also enjoyed an hour of “Tea Time Math” in which parents had the opportunity to enjoy tea and cookies while participating in math activities with their children. Grade 4 students presented their “Function Machines” and everyone took part in activities such as Tile Math, Everyday Math Games, 24 Game, and various multiplication activity centers. It was fun to see parents utilize problem solving strategies along with their children in order to find solutions to their various tasks. Much fun was had by all!

Cultural Exchange: From Thailand to KoreaAs part of the Thailand - Korea Cultural Exchange Programme, a group of Thai dancers, whose ages ranged from 8-17 years old, came to visit Seoul Campus! We were pleased to welcome these young girls from the Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University’s Arts and Culture Centre in Bangkok, Thailand to our school. Ms. Koong, the Director at Absolutely Thai, spoke to our students about the cultural dress, various regional dances, language, and traditions in Thailand. Absolutely Thai is a company that specializes in Thai and Southeast Asian traditional performing arts.

Before the dancers began, we wanted to share some of our student’s cultures with our guests. Our students from Libya sang their national anthem and two other students shared information about Chinese traditions and holidays.

Between graceful dances, Ms. Koong taught the audience how to say “hello” and “thank you” in the Thai lan-guage. She also mentioned that the original name for Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, is the longest name of all capi-tal cities in the world! A Thai girl impressively said the entire name. It was a name none of us could easily repeat, but Charlotte, a first grade student at KIS, tried her best! Truly a difficult task! (See below for the full name).

Just after, Ms. YoonHee Kim, our Korean and Library teacher, as well as several of our students were called up to the front to try on Thai pants. These resemble harem pants, or baggy pants pulled in on the bottom. Ms. Koong showed us how Thai people have the option of wearing these pants at different lengths. Surprisingly, these pants are just a large piece of fabric tied around an individual.

The Thai girls were dressed in breathtakingly beautiful garments. The movements in the dances were fluid and precise. We were so happy to experience the Thai dancing culture and look forward to more cultural exchange programs in the near future!

{Bangkok’s original name: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsa-nukam Prast}

Jeff KordichPE Teacher

KIS-Seoul Campus has done a great job demonstrating their sportsmanship, teamwork, and competitiveness this fall through-out their soccer jamboree schedule. Students have had amazing opportunities to demonstrate the skills they have learned in PE class through friendly competition amongst international schools. Attending the Gyeonggi Suwon International School (GSIS) Soc-cer Jamboree on October 24th and the Chadwick Soccer Jam-boree on October 31st, students were given an authentic stage to demonstrate the skills they have learned and practiced in PE class, as well as in after school clubs. Ball control, strategic movement, and field awareness are just some of the many areas in which we have noticed great improvement at all levels from last year. Students enjoyed getting out and participating with their peers from the KIS-Pangyo campus, as well as meeting new friends from the various international schools that attended. Spe-cial thanks to all the parents that have continued to support our Saturday Sports schedule, as well as all those that have attended the jamborees with their child and helped out with transitions and cheering our teams on. We are very lucky to have such a wonder-ful Seoul Campus family. The weather has been beautiful this fall, and we look forward to wrapping up our fall sports season with the Songdo 7 Soccer Tournament in Incheon on November 14th-15th, as well as our end of the year hike and BBQ on November 21st. See you there!

Miller Zhou, YoonHee Kim, Laura Sterner

SC Teachers

Soccer Jamboree: at SC!

Pangyo CampusElementary School Highlights

Trunk or Treat!

Travis PetersonES Associate Principal

For international students and families, living in Korea can be hard to beat. You can find anything you need, peo-ple are patient and kind, the public transportation system is second-to-none, there are a multitude of wonderful attractions…the list goes on and on.

Still, there are things we miss a lot. Certain traditions and customs that, when woven together, make up the tap-estry of our lives, but are next to non-existent here in the ROK. So, if we want to have those special memories for our children here, we have to use a little ingenuity and create them ourselves. Halloween is a great example. For many children in the USA, it is their favorite day of the year- and why wouldn’t it be? They get to dress up in delightful costumes and go door-to-door getting candy from everyone they meet! Can you imagine what would happen if your children went trick-or-treating in your apartment complex? Talk about Halloween horrors!

It was with this thought in mind that our ES PTO put on our first ever Trunk or Treat event. More than 30 cars pulled into the lower parking lot of the school on Halloween night, transforming it into a trick-or-treating fantasy land. Every car was decked out in wild and wonderful decorations- from the land of Oz to the world of Minecraft- and each had a cornucopia of candy confections to share. People had a frightfully good time at the event, which we hope will become an annual tradition at KIS. “It’s like we’ve been magically transported to a neighborhood in California!” exclaimed one parent,who perhaps not coincidentally, was dressed in a Star Trek costume. Others explained that the KIS Trunk or Treat was their first real Halloween experience. Of all the comments, however, perhaps the best and most succinct came from Kindergartener Liberty D. who said, “It was real Halloweeny.” Thanks, Liberty. That’s exactly what we were going for!

Eye on India: Diwali Event at KIS!Diwali, the ancient Hindu festival of lights, has been celebrated in India for well over 2000 years. Here at KIS, the tradition doesn’t go back quite that far (just TWO years!), but has already become a much loved event. We all look forward to the raucous dancing and vibrant colors that make this holiday so special, and this year did not disappoint!

Two of our fabulous KIS parents kicked off the celebration by transforming one corner of the ES lobby into a delicate and gorgeous piece of Ringoli (sand art). The students all learned just how delicate it really was when a wayward broom brushed by it, marring one edge of the gorgeous piece with its bristly tines. At first blush, this unfortunate accident appeared to have ruined the Ringoli, but it actually served to enhance it. One could really see how much attention to detail was paid to it, and just how complex the pro-cess was. It also served as an even more powerful symbol for what Diwali is all about: the triumph of light over darkness. None of us are without flaws. Time and circumstance sometimes leave a scar. But, just like the Ringoli, we can persevere and shine on!

Then, to close out our assembly on gratitude, the whole school was treated to a delightful show put on by our students of Indian descent that gave us a taste of Diwali. There was a raucous Bollywood routine, a solemn Hindi prayer, a Punjabi folk dance, and a very cute attempt to tell the tale of Diwali by a 2nd grader! All together, the performers provided us with a window to peer into this special festival and into Indian culture in general.

For many of us, November is a time of reflection. It is a time for us to take stock of our blessings and to show gratitude for those people and things that enrich our lives. So it is with this in mind that we wish to say thanks to all the families from the far flung corners of the earth who have come to call KIS their home away from home. Like vanilla in a cake, adding that extra bit of flavor takes us from good to great! Travis Peterson

Elementary Associate Principal

GSIS: Soccer JamboreeWhat have your kids been doing after school? They have been having a great time training for the Soccer Jam-boree hosted by GSIS (Gyeongi Suwon International School). We had 24 ES athletes participate in the Soccer Jamboree on October 24th: two boys teams and one girls team. Every team had four games to play, which made for a very fun and eventful Saturday. It was so great to see the kids working together on and off the field. We had a few wins, a loss, and a tie, but the kids played so well in every game. They showed great sportsmanship and leadership on and off the field. Our coaches are happy to have had the opportunity to coach these amazing kids over the past eight weeks. A big shout out goes to all of the amazing parents for waking up early and supporting all the kids at GSIS. All of you have been awesome! We all appreciate your support and encouragement during the soccer practices and Jamboree. Thank You! Natasha Yanuszeski

Elementary PE

Grade 5 Field Trip Drives Student Learning!Grade Five went on their second field trip of the year to the Seongnam Eco Park and Wastewater Treatment Plant. Teachers planned the trip as an entry event into their second unit of the year: Innovation and Design. Dur-ing the first part of the field trip students toured the control room and facility to learn how waste is converted into drinkable water, fertilizer for farming, and concrete for building projects. During the second half, they took water samples from the stream and tested them for such things as pH, turbidity, temperature, and conductivity. Stu-dents will be learning about the spheres of the Earth during KoLab. In social studies they will study trade routes and economics. Writer’s Workshop will focus on creative narratives, as well as some persuasive techniques to prepare students for their Trade Show in January. Finally, the culminating task for unit two will be to design, build, and market a product to rehabilitate or preserve an element of the environment. David Archer

Grade 5 Teacher

Pangyo CampusMiddle School Highlights

Connecting Better: Beware of White Noise

Dr. Billy BowieMS Associate Principal

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines white noise as a constant noise that is a mixture of many different sound waves. However, informally the term “white noise” is often used to represent conversation that is meaningless or distracting. How often in our busy lives do we find ourselves conversing with our friends and family in ways that are not meaningful. Quality conversations with your child is their first exposure to demonstrate what it means to develop a meaningful relationship.

This month is honesty month in the middle school. As parents, we hope that our children are born with integrity and understand the importance of honesty. However, integrity is not something we’re born with. It is a character trait that we develop over time by watching how others respond to experiences that happen in life. Parents are able to provide students an opportunity to foster this trait by talking purposefully with their kids on a daily basis. A great place to hold these daily conversations would be during family dinner or even breakfast if time allows.

It is important to remember that our children model their behavior from us, the parents. How do you interact with your children in a way that builds trust? One important approach is to allow your child to share their truth without fault or consequence. The other important part of this process is to create an opportunity for them to do so by regularly asking questions about their thoughts and things that happen in their everyday lives. This can be difficult to do with middle or high school students as they are often reluctant to engage in extended conversations which is why it’s so important to start at a young age developing a conversational bond with your child.

The challenge for this edition of Connecting Better is to identify places in your life where you have more white noise conversation rather than meaningful ones. Be “honest” with yourself whether it’s at work, at home, or with friends. Next, you must devise a way to start changing these relationships by making the dialogue more meaning-ful. Connecting with your child: the second part to this challenge involves establishing a set of questions that you ask your child on a daily basis about their day. Some examples include: What was the happiest part of your day today and why? If you could sit by anyone in class who would it be and why? If you could only go to one teacher all day which one would that be and why? The idea is to ask questions that require a more specific response other than yes or no. Have fun with this challenge and I hope you and your student keep Connecting Better.

On October 16th, the entire Sixth Grade visited Amsa-dong Prehistoric settlement where our KIS (Korea International School) students experienced life as an early Korean settler. The trip was broken into two parts - a museum and recon-structed stone age village tour and crafts projects. Students who have been studying prehistoric humans, adaptability, and migration had the unique opportunity to explore prehistoric housing while gaining a better understanding of everyday vil-lage life through a hands on play with reproductions of ancient tools. The trip also gave the students a chance to conduct pri-mary and secondary research for their human migration and resettlement presentations. The second half of the visit allowed students the chance to use their imaginations and creativity as the Amsa-dong staff helped the Sixth Graders create their own prehistoric housing models and pottery. Overall, this trip was a success and infused the Grade Six students with the feeling that, “I can’t wait for next year!” Amsa-dong Prehistoric set-tlement is a great celebratory ending to our our thematic unit on Adaptability and a valuable introduction for our new unit on Civilization. Josef Gerbase

MS Social Studies

Grade 6: Prehistoric Field Trip

8th Grade Fall Experiential Education Trip: Think Beyond Yourself

The 8th grade students at KIS literally pushed themselves to new heights last month at the Yongin Recreational Forest. On October 8th, the eighth grade class successfully completed 1,238 meters of zipline on the Dynamic Ecotainment Zipline Course. Comfort zones were pushed to the maximum; students supported one another as each person made their first jump, while screaming at the top of their lungs. The level of difficulty increased from line to line, and students made the most difficult jump at the sixth and final zipline which was 330m long. As each student zipped along, they had an amazing view of the surrounding forest area.

On this trip, students were able to experience a classroom without walls. Real world applications of knowledge learned from their teachers were put into place. Students were able to go on hikes, explore the forest area, design their own wooden medallion, engage in team building activities, and enjoy the company of their friends. Teachers and students grew as individuals that day, and the entire 8th grade created stronger bonds by challenging them-selves and having new experiences together. All the teachers are so proud of the students because they took the ziplining challenge head on, and showed no fear.

7th Grade Fall Experiential Education Trip: Challenge Yourself

Thanks to the fall Experiential Education Trip, every 7th grader has now kayaked the Hongcheon River, and get-ting wet was only part of the fun. Some students even challenged themselves to learn how to climb back into a kayak after capsizing, a skill Dr. Lovelin didn’t quite master. Additionally, we explored the riverside finding and collecting aquatic specimens for scientific observation. We also skipped stones to our hearts’ content. Memories were made and bonds strengthened among teachers and students that will last through the year and beyond.

6th Grade Fall Experiential Education Trip: Forging Friendships

Students in grade 6 overcame challenges both individually and in teams during the fall Experiential Education trip to the Outdoor Challenge Course near Hanwha Resort in Yangpyeong. Students, and a few brave teachers, had the chance to climb nearly ten meters to balance on a log, walk a tightrope, or jump off the platform and trust in your rope. It sounds, and even looks, easy until you try it yourself. Although your team is shouting encouragement from the safety of the ground it is ultimately your mind that must be overcome and trust that you can step out of your comfort zone and be alright, however scary it might be. Josh Curtis

MS Social Studies

Experiential Education: In The Middle School

Last week all Grade 8 Social Studies students showcased their debate skills in their US History Classes with Mr. Evans and Mr. Hernandez. Students debated topics ranging from the unification of North and South Korea to school topics like school uniforms and whether or not anti-bullying cam-paigns are effective in schools. The QR Code is a link to one of the most engaging, and earliest debates, on whether or not North and South Korea should unify. Here you can see the students passion for the topic come out in their argu-ments. It was too bad we ran out of time in the classroom! Although, the audience and the debaters were able to con-tinue their question and answering portion of the debate on-line through a Schoology discussion.

The students prepared for weeks in researching their topics and practicing their debate and argumentation skills. We utilized the vast resources available in the MS Library to be-gin the research and we held mock debates in class to work on skills. Their practice debate was especially interesting as it was deciding the type of phone Mr. Hernandez would be purchasing. After much deliberation, it was a resound-ing YES for Mr. Hernandez to buy the new Samsung smart phone, which he did! Brad Evans

MS Social Studies

Middle School Students Debate: Global Issues

For the past few months, the Middle School Student Council’s (MS StuCo) 18 leaders have done an amazing job by creating original ideas that have surprised the Middle School students and faculty members. These 18 stu-dents, who have proven themselves to be responsible and creative students, have taken great strides forward—without fearing mistakes and failure.

The MS StuCo is in charge of planning and implementing many activities and events, including: assemblies, so-cials, and promotions. However, another important job of the Student Council is in promoting school rules, includ-ing: computer privacy, cheating, language, and appropriate behavior. In August’s Behavior Assembly, students watched creative videos that amused and informed the students regarding the seriousness of these problems. In September, the MS StuCo went on a trip to the Hongcheon River. We did team building exercises, and we planned for future events like socials and assemblies. Another goal for this trip was for the members to get to know each other better in order to promote more open discussions. The trip was a success. The MS StuCo mem-bers returned to their classes full of ideas and better connections.

On October 30th, the MS StuCo hosted their first social: the Halloween Social... also known as the Terror Fiesta. It was a very successful event and more students were able to attend than in previous years because it was hosted during school hours. The main attraction was the Haunted House! In the Haunted House, students had to go with a guide as they ventured through stairways to a mysterious room at the end. The first part of the house featured ghosts and creepy dolls that frightened many students. The second part included holograms that made students fall through the door, literally. Overall, the Haunted House was a fresh idea that made the Terror Fiesta extra terrifying.

For more diversity at the social, there were various booths like the Pin-the-Skeleton Booth and the Haunted Ball Toss Booth. Also, the Food Booth and the Mocktail Booth were popular with the food and drinks offered. ...And, we can certainly not forget the amazing performances, including: Jazz Combo; and Eugene and his exhilarating DJ performance. The Seventh Grade girl’s beautiful singing performance added even more excitement for MS students and teachers!

The Terror Fiesta was a success for the hardworking MS StuCo team! We will continue to do our best to provide a fun and interesting year with creative events. We aim to be the true leaders and innovators of Middle School at KIS!

Trevor CoryMS Student Leadership

Middle School Student Council: Innovators at KIS

AndrewMS Student Council

Pangyo CampusHigh School Highlights

The College Admissions Process and the SAT

Christine Collings & Valerie ScatesCollege Counselors

The SAT Test is a rite-of-passage that many students and parents are familiar with. Most colleges use SAT scores as just one piece of information, of many, in a holistic admissions review. While different colleges have varying admissions policies, and differing selectivity, the majority of American colleges and universities look first and foremost at the student’s transcript: Which classes has the student taken in high school? How did the student challenge himself or herself?

The best time to take the SAT I test for the first time is during spring of the student’s Junior year. Students planning to apply to college early will want their testing completed before their Senior year. Many students will see an improved score the second time taking the SAT, but it is less common to see an increase beyond that.

Very few colleges use SAT Subject Tests as part of their admissions decision. Most colleges allow students to choose two from the 20 offered by College Board. Math, Science, or Engineering majors may be asked to take specific Subject Tests.

Score Choice allows students to choose which score reports to send to colleges. KIS does not send test scores. Colleges do not have access to students’ test scores unless the student orders them to be sent directly from College Board. This allows students to do their best on test day, and decrease stress. Re-member, SAT scores are just one piece of information that colleges and universities will be reviewing when making an admissions decision.

Mr. Plamondon’s Middle School Intro French students became famous Francophones on Tuesday, October 6th and Wednesday, October 7th. Guests from the Elementary School, from Grade 2 to Grade 5, came to visit the museum in rooms G507 and G508. There, they discovered statues which came to life when they pressed the start button.

For about one or two minutes, the French speaker would give basic personal information about his/her life in French, such as name, nation-ality, city of origin, and age. This was then followed by an explanation in English of why he/she is famous, and two or three interesting facts about his/her life. For two days, the museum was open for about 30 minutes in the afternoon, and the entrance fee was free for everyone. Guests could also listen to as many presentations as they wanted to in that time.

The Elementary students, teachers and administrators left the muse-um having learned a little something about people such as: Napoléon Bonaparte - the emperor, Jeanne d’Arc - the heroine, André le géant - the wrestler, Zinédine Zidane - the soccer player, Gustave Eiffel - the architect, Céline Dion - the singer, and Coco Chanel - the fashion de-signer. Some of Mr. Plamondon’s students were even famous fictional characters such as the Pink Panther, Tintin, le Petit Prince, and Idéfix (the dog from the popular comic book “Astérix le gaulois”).

Mr. Plamondon and his students would like to share their appreciation to the attentive audience.

Famous Francophone Museum

Kim PlamondonMS/HS French Teacher

Ted TaylorHS Environmental Science

Tancheon River Project: Assessing Local River Water QualityPossibly the most important natural resource on Earth, freshwater is something that must be used and protected wisely in the face of growing populations and urban development. Students of the Environmental Science class have taken field trips to three different locations along the nearby Tancheon River to investi-gate our own local fresh water source. Prior to the trips, the students learned about storm-water runoff and its impacts on rivers in urban settings. While at the river, the students used sensors and probes to test the water for chemicals, physical properties, and micro-invertebrates. They have been tasked with answering the question: “What is the ecological health of the river?”

Specific testing parameters were selected on their ability to help answer this question. These parameters in-clude: temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, turbidity, ammonium, nitrates, phos-phates, and conductivity.

Using the test results and a standard “Water Quality Indicator (WQI)” formula used by many U.S. states and governmental agencies, the river water was ranked with a WQI score. Students then evaluated which pa-rameters had the most adverse impact on water quality, possible sources, and potential remedies.

In addition to chemical and physical parameters, students sampled a biological component of the river by dragging a plankton net to collect micro-invertebrates. Using microscopes, students set out to identify the most common species present in the water, photograph them with their cell phones, and prepare a digital library of the most abundant species. Similar to chemicals, plankton species can be used to evaluate the health of a river.

For their assessment, students will be presenting their data and findings in a “poster session.” Poster ses-sions are a very common way for professional scientists to communicate their research on new topics. The Environmental Science students will display and present their posters in a single location, and students from other classes at KIS will visit the posters and presenters to ask questions about their findings. The entire 5th Grade class at KIS, who is also doing a significant learning unit on water, will be visiting the poster present-ers.

This project has global interest and participation. Storm-water runoff is becoming an increasingly important topic as cities expand, and increased agricultural demands add nutrients to waterways. The Tancheon River project is being coordinated with a storm-water research grant run through the University of Maine and fund-ed by the National Science Foundation. Our data are being shared with students from across Maine, and collaboration on ways to control and reduce impacts on freshwater will soon be coordinated. This project exemplifies how project-based learning can be used by students to develop 21st century skills to explore real-world problems.

In addition, some 11th Grade students will be continuing the work in the Tancheon River as an independent research project to present at the next Korea Water Forum conference.

On Tuesday, November 3rd, the Phoenix Wind Ensemble and Phoenix Orchestra competed in the KAIAC/KIMEA Large Ensemble Festival hosted at KIS. (KAIAC stands for the Korean-American Interscholastic Ac-tivities Conference; and KIMEA stands for the Korea International Music Educators Association.)

Each group gave an adjudicated performance for a panel of three judges, rated on a range of musical as-pects. Both ensembles performed outstandingly; each were awarded Platinum ratings—the highest ranking possible. Our Middle School Phoenix Band and Phoenix Strings programs also received Platinum ratings, marking the second consecutive year of straight Platinum ratings from all four KIS ensembles.

This week, we also learned that nine of our High School Band students and 11 High School Orchestra stu-dents were selected for the Association of Music in International Schools (AMIS) Honor Festival to be held at the American School of Doha in March. An additional seven KIS instrumentalists have been named alter-nates to the event. These 27 students have been selected by rigorous blind audition from a global pool of the finest international musicians, making this one of the highest honors that a high school musician can attain.

We are excited to have such a plethora of our students representing KIS so prominently on the world stage. Please take a moment today to congratulate our outstanding student musicians!

Straight Platinum: International Music Education

Eric L. MajorsHigh School Band Director

Audrey DuncanMS/HS Orchestra Director

KIMEA Orchestra Division Chair

Way to go, singers! This year, KIS choirs set a new record for the most KIS students passing the audition for an honor festival hosted by the Association for Music in International Schools (AMIS). Twenty-three students auditioned. Eleven were accepted, and three more were listed as alternates. A total of ten students will rep-resent KIS at the festival, to be held March 2nd to 6th at International School of Luxembourg.

The students and Mr. Brown will also spend two days in Brussels before the event, doing musical tourism and recovering from jet lag. They will take the express train to Luxembourg, then spend three days in exten-sive rehearsals before the Gala Concert Saturday night, March 5th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg.

The AMIS international high school honor choir festival is held once yearly, with students from international schools all over the world attempting the very demanding audition. There is a women’s choir, a men’s choir, and a mixed choir (women and men). Last year, all KIS students who participated were members of either the men’s or women’s choir. This year, all students will be in the mixed choir, directed by internationally ac-claimed choir director Doreen Rao.

The acceptance rate for KIS students was one of the highest of all the international schools in the world! So, a big Phoenix shout-out of congratulations to: Suahn, Stacy, Christy, David, Chris, Danny, Eddie, Harry, Andrew, Andy, Hyun Jae, Daniel, Jin Ho, and Matthew!

KIS Choir Students: International Honor Choir

Jack BrownMS/HS Choir Director

Soon to be known as the third branch of KIS Public Speaking Clubs, along with Forensics and the Model United Nations, Mock Trial demonstrates a different atmosphere. Slightly foreign to many, Mock Trial takes a unique approach to different categories, styles of questions, and issues. It combines all elements of public speaking into a creative sphere where members conjure up styles and characters to their liking, including: assertive, passive aggressive, emotional, humorous… as you like it.

On November 5th, 2015, KIS Mock Trial Club hosted their first ever In-Club Competition (ICC), pitting four teams competing randomly amongst club members. As these first-time, competing rookies—and some experienced members—only had half the usual preparation time (about a month) to prepare, many were skeptical of what the teams would bring forth. I was nervous about placing authority in the hands of inexpe-rienced members; and about a month in, I became genuinely worried that no one would return to club next semester. However, what I saw at the ICC on Thursday was way beyond my expectations. From blank-faced expressions on the first day of our club, all the members returned from their one-month, self-led bootcamp as bright-eyed, reborn mock trialers.

Throughout the whole tournament, I was captivated by the eloquent speeches, twists and turns, and en-tertaining witnesses. One mock trialer, in an Indian accent, memorably said, “Karmia Kahn... if you’re lis-tening... I still love you, and I want you back (sobs).” As if they had lived the lives of the characters, as if they were real attorneys fighting against domestic violence (or against false accusation of abuse), the trials engrossed me, the other student judges, and teachers who came to observe. Mr. Kennedy, who dropped by to see the championship round, lauded everyone for the drama-rich, two hours.

With the one-month progress that everyone managed to make, I am excited to witness what the future of KIS Mock Trial holds. In addition to the high-quality performances, there were some outstanding demonstra-tions of leadership and sacrifice, which can’t make me feel any prouder of our members. The sky’s the limit for the members of KIS Mock Trial 2015!

KIS: Mock Trial Club

Carmen LaRueSocial Studeis Teacher

Yu-JeongGrade 11 Student

Thursday, November 26th8:30 - 10:00in the PAC

Featuring: singers, dancers, musi-cians, and much more!

2015 KIS TALENT SHOWGrades 3-5

Korea International School

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

Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-doKorea 463-420

www.kis.kr