This Coming Week at BIFS: United in Our Diversity, Thriving in Our Individuality

BIFS NEWSLETTER
United in our Diversity, Thriving in our Individuality
Contents
ISSUE 35, November 27, 2015
(Click to jump straight to the article home icon brings you back to Contents)
This Coming Week at BIFS
1. Tue, December 1: DP Course Selection Evening

2. Wed, December 2: MHS Parent Coffee
3. Sat, December 5: BIWA Bazaar
Whole School
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Thanksgiving Reflections and the Power of Gratitude

PTA News
2015-16 Second Semester School Fee Invoice
School Buses: New Attendance System
BIFS Angel Tree Wish Gifts
PE Uniform Shop
Image Rights Permission
BIWA Christmas Bazaar
2015 National Korea Robot Championship
Cafeteria Menu: November 30 December 4
Turkeys Available from Chef Kim
goo.gl/zt33Hp
Elementary School
1. Third Culture Kids and Transitions

2. ELC Christmas Celebration
3. Upcoming Events
Middle School and High School

1. Why are we here?
2. Suggested Reading Lists
For Your Diary

BIFS Annual Calendar 2015-2016
School & Community Links
www.bifskorea.org | enquiries@bifskorea.org | T. 82 51 742 3332
Busan International Foreign School
BIFS NEWSLETTER
Whole School
Thanksgiving Reflections and the Power of Gratitude

Welcome to the end of November and for those of us from the United StatesAmerican Thanksgiving! For
some people, this American holiday is about turkey dinners, pumpkin pies, way too much food, American
football, parades, and pilgrims. As someone from the United States, I was reflecting on what I believe makes
American Thanksgiving such a special holiday for me personally and I found my thoughts centering around
family, memories of special gatherings with loved ones who are no longer with us and the importance of taking
the time out to reflect and be grateful for the many things we have in our lives. You see, the original intent of
the Thanksgiving Day celebration throughout American history was to set aside a time for intentional gratitude.
Why is it important to express gratitude? Because there is power in the attitude of gratitude!
Research has shown that gratitude will improve your life. It magnifies our experiences of the good things in life,
thus enabling us to enjoy them more thoroughly. Gratitude also helps us to endure the hard things in life with
dignity and resilience. Furthermore, researchers found that people who considered their blessings and expressed
gratitude were happier and healthier. They tended to be more active in helping others. They also slept better.
Additionally, people suffering from illness experienced a lessening of the negative effects from their illness. Who
doesnt want to live a happier and healthier life?
I would like to encourage you to try something. I would like to challenge you to express your gratitude to those
people in your lives for whom you are grateful and who sometimes, perhaps, might not get to hear of your
gratitude. I believe this is a time to stop what we are doing and say Thank you to the people in our lives who
deserve to hear this from us. Such a small gesture can make a big difference in the life of another person! Take
the time to make a positive difference in someones life by sharing with them why you are grateful for them!
In closing, please know that I am grateful for BIFS and I am thankful for everyone that is such an important part
of this community! THANK YOU for making BIFS such an incredible school!
Kevin Baker
Head of School
BIFS NEWSLETTER
PTA News
Good luck to the high school basketball teams on Monday, 30 November. They are playing at
Busan Foreign School from 4:00 6:00pm. Show your support and cheer for the Bears! It is
great fun to watch!
The BIFS Board of Governors Student Progress Communications Policy Workshop will be a part of the PTA
meeting on Wednesday, December 9 at 10:00am. This will be an important meeting to attend. The Board of
Governors will be creating a policy concerning school communication about your child. Your ideas and
feedback on how the school communicates to you about your child is needed. Mark your calendars.
Remember, if you are going home for the winter holidays to bring back items for International Day such as
decorations or small items to give away. The World Wheel of Fortune will be in need of international baskets to
be donated. The small or large baskets can consist of items from your country like food and/or souvenirs.
Sign up for our BIFS PTA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/bifsssg
Joy Priedeman
PTA President
2015-16 Second Semester School Fee Invoice

The 2015-16 second semester school fee invoice will be sent by email and post on November 30th. If you don`t
receive the invoice, please contact the Finance Office.
Please refer to the schedule below for the 2015-16 second semester invoice.
Nov 30, 2015: Invoice sent out
Dec 1-8, 2015: Correction period for invoice
Jan 15, 2016: Payment due
For further information, please contact the Finance Office (Tel: 051.743.3332 Email: finance@bifskorea.org).
School Buses: New Attendance System

Thank you for your continued support for our new Bus Attendance System, as students have their ID card read
by the reader fitted in the bus, when getting on and off. If a student loses their ID card, a new one can be
issued. However, please note that the old card will no longer be valid. If you have any inquiries about this issue,
please contact Ms. Noh, Bus Coordinator, by email (schoolbuses@bifskorea.org).
BIFS NEWSLETTER
BIFS Angel Tree Wish Gifts

The BIFS Angel Tree is an annual BIFS event where we collect holiday
gifts for children living in various childrens homes. We would like to
help make these childrens wishes come true.
We would like to invite BIFS students, teachers, staff and families to
participate in our annual holiday Angel Tree. We will ask children from a
number of Busan childrens homes, which we work with, to give us their
wishes for a holiday gift.
This year the students from each class will choose several children from
the Google Angel Tree List and prepare a present for them. The
suggested donation amount per child, Grades 1 through 12 is a 10,000
won donation toward the purchase of the gifts.
Also we know that many families, teachers and staff enjoy selecting a gift and making a childs wish come true. If
you would like to participate, you can choose one of the children to give a present to from the Google Doc that
we will send out next week.
For the Elementary classes, we will ask the Elementary Class Moms to help with the purchasing of the gifts and
for M/H Mary ONeill will take care of it.
Once the gift has been purchased, please wrap the gift with the childs name on it and put it under the tree.
There will be two holiday trees, one in the Main office for Elementary students and one on the 2nd floor for M/H.
For most of the gifts, we have include information on where you can find the item and other details such as
color and size to make shopping easier for you.
SPECIAL REQUEST
Lastly we have a special request from Love Field (a non-profit organization with helps the elderly in Busan). I and
a group of other women visited five elderly women with the Social Worker to see what they needed now that
the weather is turning cold. The other group will take care of their winter heating needs. I would like to ask that
we help three of these women who are in their late 80s and live on very little money. Two of these ladies are in
need of a new stove. Their stove is very old and barely works. It is dangerous. The cost of a new stove is around
160,000-180,000 won. The other woman is in need of a warm winter quilt.
If you need help or have questions, please let us know. Mary ONeill (moneill@bifskorea.org or 010-2575-8831)
or Miyoung Kim (miyoungkim@bifskorea.org).
Thank you for caring and making a childs wish come true!
WATCH FOR THE GIANT GREEN ELF!
Mary ONeill, Community Resource Teacher

BIFS NEWSLETTER
PE Uniform Shop
THE PE UNIFORM SHOP is now open Monday thru Thursday! Please check the calendar on the BIFS website for
actual shop hours each week. Note: Shop hours are determined by the availability of our volunteers!
The weather is starting to cool off so it is a great time to consider your cool weather PE Uniform options!! Stop
by the PE Uniform Shop and let us help you!!
Also available: BIFS blankets, coffee mugs and Eco-bags!!
Our vendor has indicated that he is changing factories because of quality issues. If you are having difficulty with the quality of your
uniform, please be sure to let us know! In most cases, we will not be able to replace it but we can ask the vendor to repair it.
Image Rights Permission

Our assumption is that by joining the school parents give us their permission for any photos, videos, and audio
files featuring their child or themselves to be published on the school's website, blogs, and in other marketing
materials belonging to the school. Please notify Miyoung Kim at miyoungkim@bifskorea.org if you do not wish
photos, videos and audio files featuring your child or yourselves to be used.
BIFS NEWSLETTER
BIWA Christmas Bazaar

We hope you and your family can come to the Busan International Wemens Association (BIWA) Christmas
Bazaar on December 5th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. It will be held at the Grand Hotel's 2nd floor Convention
Hall, Leisure Building.
Our school orchestra and choir will be performing, and our students will run fun activities at the kids corner. It is
a great place to do a little holiday shopping, and there will be international food and baked goods.
BIFS NEWSLETTER
BIFS Prepare for the 2015 National Korea Robot Championship

This year we will be sending two teams to the National
Korea Robot Championship in Seoul on the 23rd of
January. Ms. Eksteen is coaching one team from the
Elementary School, and the second team is being formed
from the Middle High School and is coached by Mr.
Melville and Mr. Furmston.
This will be the second time that BIFS will be competing in
the Korea Robot Championship, but this is the first time
that we are entering multiple teams.
After months of designing, building, and programming
our Robots for Korea Robot Championship we were finally
given the Mission Pack from the Korean Robotics
Championship Commission (KRC). This year the
competition is all based around the Environment, and the
Competition has 3 aspects, which are;
1. Teamwork
2. The Robot Games
3. The Project
The first thing that they will look at when we come to the
championship will be how well our teams work and learn
together. They also look at how team members listen to
each other and support each other. Most importantly they
want to see that our team has fun working together.
In terms of the Robot Games we have to design and
program our robots to try and complete 12 separate
missions within 2 minutes and 30 seconds. These missions
are all based around the environment and details of the
missions are shown on the First Lego League
Website:.
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2015trashtrek
Continued on the next page
BIFS NEWSLETTER
BIFS Prepare for the 2015 Korean National Robotics Championship

Finally our teams will have to complete the project which will culminate in our teams having to present an
original idea which could help our global environment to a panel of Judges.
If you would like to help support our Robotics teams or learn more about the Robotics Program at BIFS then
please contact us as at either sfurmston@bifskorea.org or meksteen@bifskorea.org.
BIFS NEWSLETTER
Cafeteria Menu: November 30 December 4

Lunch Menu
Sandwich Bar
We serve brunch buffet or international buffet every 3rd Thursday of a month.

BIFS NEWSLETTER
10
Turkeys Available from Chef Kim

Chef Kim has kindly offered again to make turkeys available to our BIFS
faculty and parents.
Availability: from Oct 28th to Dec 31st
Menu:
One uncooked whole turkey (5kg) with cranberry sauce: 65,000 won
One whole cooked turkey (5kg) with stuffing, giblet sauce and cranberry
sauce: 90,000 won
How to order: contact Chef Kim, either by
Mobile Phone: 010-2583-6545 (with a text message), or
Email: khkim6543@hanmail.net
Delivery: please pick up your order from the cafeteria on an arranged
date
Payment: at your convenience upon placing the order, or collecting your
order
BIFS NEWSLETTER
11
Elementary School
Third Culture Kids and Transitions
The majority of the students at BIFS could be called Third Culture Kids, a term popularly used to describe
children who are being raised to some extent outside of their parents home culture. Our children are unique,
and gain a great deal of worldly experience by living outside of their home culture. They also face unique
challenges related to growing up in an unfamiliar culture as well as those posed by transitions and mobility. As
many of our families begin to plan for moves at the end of 2015, we encourage you to be sensitive to the impact
this will have on your child.
Each child is unique, yet we see some common issues. When children know a move is coming, they sometimes
will begin to disconnect from their friends and the school. In essence, they are protecting themselves from
emotional hurt that can come with leaving. Sometimes childrens self-esteem will take a dip, as they manage the
stress of a transition. Your child may begin to act out, get angry, or otherwise surprise you with strong emotions
stemming from loss and grief that are a natural component of any transition.
How can you help? While this varies from family to family, in general children need to be able to seek closure
and plan ahead:
Give your child advanced warning about the move so he/she has time to say goodbye to friends and
connections here in Busan; allow time to say goodbye to special places and possessions as well
Hold your child accountable for being present, staying connected to school and friends until its time to go
Allow your child to be involved in getting ready to leave (for example, let his/her choose which toys will be
shipped and which will be donated to charity)
Talk to your child about his/her emotions and acknowledge these feelings as valid
Give concrete information (pictures and maps, for example) about where you are going after the transition so
your child can begin to visualize; be aware that re-entry to a home country can be difficult for many children
since they expect what they left to be the same, yet it and their relationships will likely be different.
If youd like to read more, these tips were taken from Third Culture Kids, Growing Up Among Worlds by Pollock
and Van Reken.
ELC Christmas Celebration

The ELC will have a small Christmas celebration on the 17th of December. Each ELC class will prepare one
Christmas carol to sing to Santa in the piazza. Santa will come to each class to give presents to the children, and
the parents are welcome to join us. The celebration will begin at 9:00 am. More information will be provided
once we are closer to the date.
12
BIFS NEWSLETTER
Upcoming Events
Date/Time
Event
Details
December 4, 2:35-3:20
Elementary Assembly
Kindergarten and Grade 1 Korean Language Acquisition

students will share 'Expressing Ideas' and 'Communicating
with Signs and Symbols' in conjunction with UOI 'How We
Express Ourselves'.
December 11, 2:35-3:20
Elementary Assembly
Grade 4G will share what they have learned during their

'Who We Are' unit of inquiry, and teach the Elementary
about how to be healthy.
December 18
Schoolwide Assembly and

noon dismissal for holiday
Details to follow
Anne Sweet
Elementary School Principal
13
BIFS NEWSLETTER
Middle School and High School

Why are we here?
Most parents in the world send their children to school. Have you ever asked yourself why? I dont think you
need to look much further than our school vision statement to understand what we are doing here at BIFS:
Our students will develop and pursue their passions,
be successful and contribute to a positive global future.
We are preparing our students for the real world. We want them to leave school and be able to deal with any
situation that may come their way. This is evident when we see students go off to college or when we hear of
former graduates who have done incredible things. Many times we never see the fruits of our labor because
we trust that our students are ready and they dont need us around to help them.
We do get to see some glimmers of what our students can do when they travel for sporting events, lead
assemblies, participate in Model United Nations (MUN), or compete in contests like spelling bees. Our students
dominate in all of these situations and it is a reflection of the things they learn on a daily basis. Here are a few
examples of students using their ATL Skills from this past week
Our middle school girls soccer team won their third 1st place
trophy this past weekend. They used Collaboration as they
each played their role on the soccer pitch. Our Spelling Bee
students took 4 of the top 5 places as they used their Critical
Thinking and Transfer skills. The high school MUN students
excelled and one was named the Best Delegate at the
conference due to his Communication and Collaboration
skills.
BIFS NEWSLETTER
14
Why are we here? - Continued

We have heard from other coaches in town that we are the school to beat at any tournament or competition we
enter. We start with incredible students (thanks for the at home training) and add a little of our own teachings
at school and together we create amazing young adults who are ready to take on the world! That is why we are
here.
Nate Swenson
Middle School Principal
Jamie Robb
High School Principal
Suggested Reading Lists

As requested by a number of parents, the MHS Language and Literature department have started compiling
suggested reading lists. Here are our favorites thus far:
Middle School
Suggested Reading for Middle School Students (Grades 68)
"The following titles are recommended as summer reading both to maintain fluency and reading level and to
encourage independent reading. www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/reading_list/middle_school.html
The Sakura Reading List (Middle School)
The international school librarians in Japan meet every year to develop a reading list. This year's list can be
found here: www.sakuramedal.com/ems.html
Graphic Novels
www.sakuramedal.com/gn.html
High School
A Summer Reading List for Those Who Crave the Eclectic
"Summer books, like summer movies, are generally widely promoted and easily found. Here are the books not
so easily found that provide the pleasures of summer reading and leaven them with more than a frisson of the
unusual." ww2.kqed.org/arts/2015/07/08/a-summer-reading-list-for-those-who-crave-the-eclectic/
The Sakura Reading List (High School)
The international school librarians in Japan meet every year to develop a reading list. This year's list can be
found here: www.sakuramedal.com/ehs.html
15
BIFS NEWSLETTER
For Your Diary

November 2015
January 2016
27th
30th
Movember Assembly
11th
Start of Term 2
ES Assembly
15th
End of Semester 1
Homeroom: DP Course Selection Event
Report Cards Distributed
ES Assembly
New Parent Coffee
PTA Meeting
22th
ES Assembly
27th-31st
ISCMS Music Festival Trip
27th
ES Parent Coffee (Exhibition)
28th
KIMEA Middle School Choir Festival
29th
MS House Assembly
ES Assembly
December 2015
1st
Grade 10 DP Course Selection Evening
2nd
MHS Parent Coffee
2nd - 9th
Grade 11/12 End of Semester Examinations
4th
ES Assembly
5th
BIWA Bazaar
9th
BIFS Parent Workshop
PTA Meeting
11th
HS Assembly
18th
Winter Holiday Assembly
End of Term 1 Noon Dismissal
20th
BIFS NEWSLETTER
17
School & Community Links
Please contact Miyoung Kim if you wish to inquire about

promoting your company in the BIFS Newsletter.
miyoungkim@bifskorea.org | 051-742-3332 (#114)

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BIFS NEWSLETTER

United in our Diversity, Thriving in our Individuality

ISSUE 35, November 27, 2015