Phoenix Flyer

Korea International School

In This Issue:

School-Wide Goals
Seoul Campus Design Center
Pangyo KoLAB
Middle School Applied Learning
High School Spring Trips
Varsity Boys Tennis

KIS Today
KIS: School-Wide Goals
As a leading international school in Korea, and throughout Asia, KIS staff maintain a laser-like focus on
planning, preparing and delivering educational excellence to all students. This commitment is achieved in
many ways: strong curricular programs; student-centered classrooms and learning environments; creating
opportunities for students to take risks and challenge the status quo; hiring practices; a commitment to
professional development; and annual goal setting.
One way to measure educational excellence is by evaluating methods used to build on identified strengths
and how a school identifies areas for needed continuous improvement. Much of this is done, at KIS, through
the accreditation process provided by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). WASC
teams visit the school and review documents that we prepare as a self evaluation of procedures, systems,
and long- range planning. This year, we are eagerly awaiting their visit which is expected in the spring of
2016.
Another way that KIS prepares for educational excellence is through annual goal setting. Each spring, KIS
stakeholders review previous school-wide goals and evaluate their effectiveness. After review and evaluation, new goals are written by KIS faculty. Goals are then published and shared with staff during orientation
prior to the start of each school year. We are proud of the work that has already been done in support of our
school-wide goals, and we are committed to the continued development and achievement of these goals.
Goal #1 - Improve instructional practice through implementing our Learning Principles, targeted feedback,
teacher leadership, and purposeful professional development strategies to enhance student learning.
Goal #2 - Develop Applied Learning educational systems which include design thinking, project based
learning, and experiential learning to encourage the necessary 21st Century skills and abilities.
Patrick Rich
KIS
Assistant Director

Goal #3 - Continue to develop a guaranteed and viable curriculum, common assessments, and reporting practices school-wide.
Goal #4 - Continue to improve school climate, culture, professionalism,
global perspective, and retention of quality faculty.

Seoul Campus
Elementary School

Highlights

SC: Off To A Great Start!

Seoul Campus first PTO meeting of the year was a huge success, as we had our largest parent turnout in two
years! The meeting began with a variety of student presentations. Our Grade Three to Five students performed a
song they had been working on in music class with Ms. Sterner. A few of our Grade Five boys then presented a
math game called 24, and two Grade Three students, Chloe and Yuha, concluded with presentations on current
events happening around the world. It was wonderful to see the presentation skills these students displayed,
along with how confident they appeared in front of a large group of adults and peers!
Once the presentations had finished, the parents and teachers came together to talk about our upcoming school
wide events. The major topics of discussion were International Day on October 8th, and our fast approaching
Halloween celebration. We were able to establish a Halloween subcommittee, comprised of three members who
will help plan the festivities and assemble student teams to help run the game booths. More information will be
released soon outlining how to get involved as a volunteer during these special Halloween festivities!
From one parent to anotherplease consider attending future PTO meetings, as your presence will help us
build a better community for our KIS families. Our next meeting will be of particular importance because we will
discuss committee roles related to the positions of
President, Secretary, and Treasurer. We will also
spend time going over the structure of how meetings will be run in the future, as well as how decisions can be made in order to achieve the goals
and expectations of the organization.
I hope to see you next month. Ill be sure to bring
some kimbap!
Irish Farley
Support Teacher

PK & JK: Friendship Day

On September 24th, a little yellow bus paraded down the streets winding from Pangyo to Seoul. Aboard its seats
were nine tiny and smiling faces, accompanied by many excited squeals. All were exhilarated that today was the
day they had been waiting for. The day they would meet their new friends at Seoul Campus!
Much of the year in PK and JK is spent discussing exactly what it is that makes a good friend. Good friends are
kind. Good friends listen. And good friends share. In a day full of fun, PK
and JK students from both KIS campuses were able to practice these along
with other social skills they have learned. Seoul students enjoyed hosting
the Pangyo students in their classrooms and inviting them to participate in
various activities throughout the day.
The event began with the students listening to a book about friendship, coread by their teachers. Afterwards, during free choice time, they created a
friendship wreath made out of student handprints. The day finished with PK
and JK students enjoying a picnic followed by water games on the field. The
students loved the festive atmosphere, and turn-taking became a breeze.
After a long day of fun and revelry, the Pangyo students re-boarded the bus,
ready for nap time. The tired hands waved out the bus windows: Thank
you Seoul Campus students! This isnt a goodbye but, instead, a see you
later!
Kailyn McLean
PK Teacher

Engaged Students In the Design Center

Last year we set out to modify our schools units of learning by making meaningful connections between the
content within our curriculum and applicable real world
problems. One of our goals with these changes was to
increase applied learning opportunities for our students.

The first step to achieving this goal was through

cross curricular unit development, and is being
done in conjunction with the creation of our new Design Center. The focus of all this work was centered
around creating engaging units of study that are supported by our science, technology and design time
classes. We are already seeing positive impacts from
this initiative, as our students are starting to view
themselves as creators, designers and engineers.
During Robotech Club prior to Chuseok break, I touched
base with Grade One student, Surin, and asked her
about what she was working on, and she responded, I
am an engineer. I followed up with the question, What
does an engineer
do? and Surins reJustin OConnor sponse was perfect:
Seoul Campus
I see a problem and
Principal
I find a way to fix it.

Color Days In PK
Pre-kindergarten enjoyed a colorful time these past two weeks at school in celebration of our Color Days event,
where the students focused their learning on a different color each day from September 7th - 18th. During this
time we read stories about color, sorted colorful objects, searched for colors, and made colorful arts and crafts.
Our students particularly enjoyed mixing different combinations of primary colors to make green, orange, and
purple. We did this by stirring around paint, shaking up color tubes, and also kneading together two different
colors of Playdough until the complimentary color appeared.
The PK students further demonstrated their commitment to the event by faithfully wearing their daily colors, with
parents showing theirs as well by considering color when preparing their childrens snacks! Suffice to say, other
students and staff in the building could guess exactly what our chosen color of the day was!
These thematically rich weeks at school were a resounding success thanks to the
support of all staff, parents, and specialist teachers involved, as well as the unwavering enthusiasm of our three to four year old students. Everyone had a great time
taking part and developing their appreciation for the colors in the world around
them.

Anna Sneller
PK Teacher

Pangyo Campus
Elementary School

Highlights

Teacher Feature: Karen Luu

Of the many changes occurring at KIS Elementary this year, few have
been as refreshing as the introduction of French to our World Language
program by its committed teacher, Ms. Karen Luu. Ms. Luu brings to her
students a longstanding passion for the French language: I grew up in
Western Canada and attended a French speaking school, she says, so
its always been a big part of who I am.
In Ms. Luus class, learning French is not only challenging but, importantly, fun, engaging, and real. Ms. Luus natural style of teaching language is apparent the moment you walk into her classroom. Students
are playing learning games, singing songs, conversing, and generally
having an active and productive timeall in French, of course.
When asked if it was difficult having to speak French all the time in Ms.
Luus class, Fourth Grader Zach Ziegler attested that, sometimes it is,
but Im usually too busy to think about it. Were always singing songs,
or acting out stuff, or whatever, so you just do it. You dont even really
think about the fact that you are saying stuff in French.
Travis Peterson
Elementary School
Associate Principal

Chuseok Fun!

When we learn by doing, we remember, connect, and apply our understanding. In Ms. Luus dynamic classroom, that might look like the plucking of feathers from a jaunty, virtual bird, in order to build new vocabulary or even ordering a meal entirely in French!
Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) is one of the biggest traditional festivals
in Korea. Families get together to share food with loved ones, and to
thank their ancestors for the good harvest. Elementary students at KIS
celebrated the autumn festival in their Korean language classes. Learning about Chuseok enabled our students to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of Korean culture, while increasing their motivation
to learn the Korean language.
As part of the Chuseok festivities at KIS, Upper grade level students
made folding screen posters communicating information regarding important activities associated with Chuseok, as well as places to visit
during this special time. They also tested their knowledge on what they
have learned by playing Kahoot, an online quiz tool. In the meantime,
Lower grade level students learned about the unique customs and traditions in Korea by creating their own paper dolls using their knowledge of
Hanbok, a traditional Korean costume.
But what is a festival without food? All elementary students were thrilled
to take part in making traditional Korean desserts, sweet rice puffs. They
mixed rice puffs, sugar, corn syrup, and
dates to create these yummy treats to
share with family and friends! The students loved making and eating special
Chuseok treats, while learning and practicing plenty of of vocabulary along the Karen Jung & Junghee Hyun
way.
Elementary School

KoLAB Corner

Over the past few months, students in KIS Elementary have been
busy designing and engineering in the KoLABs!

Alice Ahn
Elementary School

Kindergarten students have been learning about different forces,

experimenting with different types of pushes and pulls by creating
their own stomp rockets and a pulley. They also began to design
their own mini golf course, which they will soon test out!
First graders have been learning about the external features of different animals and plants. Using what they have discovered during
their investigations, the students began to design a device that will
help solve a problem for their family.
The excitement continues In second grade, where the students
have been learning about the properties of matter. During design
time, these students dug into the KoLAB resources to create a variety of objects using interactive LEGO WEDO construction kits.
Meanwhile, the learners in third grade have been exploring weather
and climates in different regions of the world. The students were
challenged to use the KoLABs resources to design a solution that
can reduce the damage of their specific regions weather hazards.
The fourth grade students are in the process of creating a device
that uses renewable energy resources, putting their minds togetherjust like the Snap Circuit kits theyve been buildingto figure
out how energy travels through a circuit.
In fifth grade, the students are keeping things creative using the
interactive tool Scratch Programming, and are currently in the process of using this tool to program an animation that can display and
describe a scientific model of an ecosystem!
We are all looking forward to starting even more unique and exciting
projects where our students can put their creativity to use, so stay
tuned to the great things happening in the KIS Elementary KoLABS!

What a colorful time weve been having in PK! For the past two weeks, the
students have been learning about colors and celebrating a different one
each day. We started by dressing in a new color each school day, and had
fun reading books and singing songs about the unique features associated
with a color.
The PK students also took part in many colorful art and craft projects where
we mixed primary colors to make secondary colors using both paint and
playdough. During this time, we brightened our day
by creating red ladybugs, painting yellow suns with our hands, making blue
necklaces and pink balloon pigs, painting purple footprints, and creating
black dice.
We also found some interesting ways to experiment with colors all around us
by making cookies with orange frosting and baking chocolate brownies, as
well as when we played with multicoloured rice and white snow in our class
sensory areas. Along with this, the students were able to spend some time
exploring out of the classroom, using iPads to take photos of specific colors
around the school.
By the end of this thematic adventure, the PK students had become very
good at naming and working with different colors. We all enjoyed adding
a splash of color to PK at KIS, and we found that fun and learning come in
many different shades!

Color Days In PK
Nalisha Keyshaw
Pre-Kindergarten

Pangyo Campus

Sharing Love

Middle School

Highlights

On Saturday, September 19th, four KIS students in Miss Naughtons

Animal Advocates Club did something remarkable. Sixth graders Yeoni, Hannah, Erick, and Jenna raised 138,000 won from operating a flea
market in Jamsil. They started at 1:00 pm and ended around 5:00 pm.
They sold almost everything that they brought, including: books, board
games, toys, and dolls. The students will be donating this great amount
of money to a non-profit dog rescue organization called Sharing Love.
The purpose of their flea market fundraising was to raise money to help
send rescued dogs to the United States to find their forever homes. After
knowing the amount of money raised for dogs, the
students are proud of what they did and excited to
Yeoni
contribute more in the future.
Grade 6 Student

Win, Lose, or Draw: Having Fun in PE No Matter The Outcome.

The Middle School PE program is off to a great start this
year! The department has made two big changes that students can look forward to. Seventh Grade PE is no longer
a semester course; now, students in Grade Seven will take
PE for a full year! The second big change is that our department has a new addition, Sixth Grade PE teacher Mr. Matt
Quade. Mr. Quade is joining us from China, and is originally
from Minnesota. His favorite sports include basketball and
Ultimate Frisbee. Hes excited to join the PE team, and is
looking forward to the rest of the year!
Middle School students have been extremely active since
the year started, but fitness is not their only focus. Students
have been working on improving their sportsmanship skills. The KIS PE department is putting a strong emphasis on teamwork and sportsmanship within each unitand the students are doing a great
job! The PE department has been emphasizing that no matter what the outcome of the game, Aly Kelley
we need to be positive and support each other.
MS PE

MS Art Wheel: 3D Pen Sculpture

Candice Kim
MS Art

Sixth Graders had a chance to use 3D pens for the first time in the Art Room! As part of their
STEM drawing unit, they were to create a sculpture focusing on Line, Shape, and Form. Although there were challenges of figuring out how to use the pen and how to draw in the third
dimension, the students had an awesome attitude all throughout the process. The 3D Pen
Sculptures can be found along the windows of the MS Office.

Maths Applied Learning!

This first semester, Miss Naughtons Grade Seven Math Accelerated classes learned about scale drawings
and scale factors. Students then connected this concept to forced perspective, and applied their learning
by taking their own forced-perspective pictures throughout the KIS campus. Students then computed the
scale factor of their pictures by measuring the distance from the
camera to the foreground and the background in the photo.
Algebra class covered proportions in class. The
students then applied these skills to create their
own building that was proportionate. Students
had to measure the basketball court and create a
unique building that fit the court measurements.
Students had restrictions on the height and area
of the building. Students worked together applying
the skills learned in Algebra to a real world application by applying the concepts to architecture.
Sean Forrestal & Jen Naughton
Middle School Math

Connecting Better
Holidays are celebrated all over the world. It is a time when
families can observe traditions, honor ancestors, and simply
enjoy time with each other. The idea of family is also a part
of our role as educators to support our students and parents; and to do everything we can to create a bridge between
school and home. This bridge is a way of fostering that
family feeling in our school community.
As educators, we often share quick tips for parents to use
to support their childs academic success. However, evidence shows that one of the main keys to student
success is the influence of a childs home life. A recent study led by Dr. Lee Raby (2014), postdoctoral researcher at University of Delaware, found that the emotional support a child receives during the first three
years of life has an effect on their educational, social, and romantic relationships even 20 and 30 years later.
While we have students of all ages at KIS, its never too late to give support, love, and attention to your child.
Its clear that even our MS students are still developing major parts of their brain, and everyday they are
experiencing things that are helping to mold who they will become as adults. The upcoming EE trips are a
great example of how KIS is working to provide children with a well-rounded educational experience. These
trips promote safe risk-taking, collaboration, and fostering friendships. We also have a self-reflection portion
of our trips that encourages students to think about their experience, how they felt, and other ways they can
apply their experience to help them in other aspects of their lives.
With that in mind, I would like to challenge parents. Your challenge for this month is to talk to your child
about their future. In reality, this is less about you talking, and more about listening to your child. Talk to them
about their dreams, what/who they want to become, and things that they feel they need to best achieve their
goals.
The second part of this challenge involves reflecting as a parent(s) on the conversation. Think about how
you can best support your child. However, also think of things you want to personally work on that help you
reach your own goals, while also strengthening your relationship with your child (e.g.,
overcoming a fear of something that normally makes you feel shy or embarrassed like
dancing in public or public speaking; or identifying ways to relieve stress; or trying to
take a more optimistic approach during frustrating moments).
Dr. Billy Bowie
I am proud to say that our students are a reflection of good parenting. I hope you enjoy
Middle School
the challenge, and be sure to look for new challenges in future editions under the MSKIS
Associate
Principal
section.

Pangyo Campus
High School

Highlights

Pura Vida Immersion and Adventure: Spring 2016 Spanish Trip

Get ready for a spring break adventure like no other in beautiful
Costa Rica! Contact Ms. Yousey if interested.
There is no better way to grow your Spanish language skills than
by immersing yourself in a Spanish-speaking country. Youll be
having so much fun adventuring with your friends and classmates,
building relationships with your welcoming tico host family, engaging in meaningful community service, and exploring Costa Ricas natural wonders... that you probably wont even realize how
much youre learning and growing in the process!
Not only will you be able to truly take your Spanish skills to the
next level, youll also gain invaluable insights and experiences
to guide you moving forward, as well as motivate your language
learning 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 immersed in it! Learn
what it means to be #sorustic this spring break!

Annie Yousey
HS Spanish

Costa Rica | Mar 27th to Apr 2nd | $1,775 + Airfare

| 15 Service Hours| 24 Students

Moroccan Wanderer: Spring 2016 French Trip

Experience bustling cities, the great Moroccan outdoors, and rural life in the Atlas Mountains on this French
language and cultural adventure program. Visit the largest mosque in Africa in Casablanca and in Marrakech. 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 ostrich
eggs 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 the
time of your lifeall while fine-tuning your French skills!
As a former French colony, Morocco holds a rich French heritage. French is still the main language spoken in government, commerce, education, and medicine. More than 50% of the
population fluently communicates in both French and Darija (Moroccan) Arabic. Experience
the wonders of this breathtaking country, while absorbing the French language. This is sure
to be the French immersion experience of a lifetime!

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

Counsellors Corner

Our four high school College Counselors were very pleased to be able
to attend the first annual EARCOS/
CIS (East Asia Regional Counsel
of Schools/Council of International Schools) conference for college
counselors and university representatives, in Bangkok, Thailand, during the Chuseok break. Our four KIS
high school College Counselors are:
Christine Collings, Valerie Scates,
John Steinbach, and Sandra Toms.
In attendance were 180 counselors
from international schools in East
Asia, and 115 university representatives from both the U.S. and international colleges and universities.
A number of timely and impactful informational sessions and discussions took place on such topics as: U.S. admissions trends, writing effective
letters of recommendation, using student strengths to reframe the college process, university challenges for
TCKs (third-culture kids), ethical considerations for multi-system applications, senior year stress, expanding
the college lists, the use and misuse of rankings, tips and tools for better college essays,
and global citizenship.
We found the two-day-conference sessions both a confirmation of what we are doing here
at KIS, as well as a challenge to continue to improve how we help our students achieve
their goals both in high school and beyond.

Sandra Toms
HS College Counsellor

Phoenix Athletics

Boys Varsity Tennis: September

This season, the Boys Varsity Tennis Team began their season with a visit to SFS (Seoul Foreign School) on September
4th. Although our team did not win that meeting, we dedicated ourselves to practicing hard for our upcoming home
game against SFS two weeks later.
Due to heavy rain, our same-day game on the 4th was cancelled with SIS (Seoul International School). We used that
extra time to bond as a team and refine our skills such as
serving.
On the 9th of September, our Boys Team met TCIS (Taejon
Christian International School). The team was a bit nervous
and felt some pressure. because some of our veteran players were on the Senior Retreat, including Terry, Morgan, and
James. But, we regained our strength when Brian won the
first singles match against TCIS. Wonil and Moa also won
their game, leading to another victory.
On the 12th of September, we had a home game against
SAHS (Seoul American High School). Although it rained a little before the game, our team was ready to play. The match
started at 1pm, and ended faster than normal. Brian once
again won first singles, Wonil and Sihun also won their first
doubles game against SAHS. Moa won his singles game,
while Chanha and James won their second doubles game.
Once again, KIS won another meet.
On the 18th of September, SFS visited KIS at the outdoor
courts at Suji Athletic Park, where we normally play. Our boys
won, changing the tide since wed last met two weeks ago.
On the 19th of September, our KIS boys visited SIS, and unfortunately lost there. However, on the 23rd of September,
YISS (Yongsan International School of Seoul) visited us, and
once again our team tasted victory.
Our team is currently 4-2 going into two matches against
TCIS and SIS this week. We are also working hard to prepare
for our AISA tournament hosted in Sunae October 15-18.
This year, our Boys Varsity Tennis Team is lead by coach Mr.
McKelvie. Grade 12 student manager, Nicole, is helping out;
along with me. We are all looking forward to a successful final
month of our season!
Jenny
Grade 11 Student
Boys Varsity Tennis
Co-Manager

Korea International School

Korea International School

27, Daewangpangyo-ro 385beon-gil, Bundang-gu

Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do
Korea 463-420
www.kis.kr