A Message from the Director A Message from the learning throughout the school. As always, we we always, As school. the improve throughout to learning resources curriculum improved and in size, faculty increased grown facilities, expanded have We has BFS years, ways.substantial few past future. the the in Over informative growth for very potential be our regarding to report this of preparing process the found have We better. even school the make to plan strategic a of development the and growth, and strength of effectiveness, areas our of educational identification involves our report into This WASC introspection April. a in from visit committee a visiting have will and self- report WASC study our completed recently also have We full-time a and elementary Spanish teacher. teacher, mathematics school high support faculty ELL another specialist, media and technology new a additional specialist, an four school: the adding at be positions materials. will we instructional Moreover, and facilities, furniture, technology, in including school, investments the of significant aspects various make to plan We year. following the for process planning our with underway the begin we As School, Foreign of Friends and Students Parents, Dear BFS Monthly MARCH’1 ISSUE 8 fourth quarter, we are already well already are we quarter, fourth

BUSAN FOREIGN SCHOOL Embracing Diversity,Embracing for Excellence Striving Wave

5 BFS Elementary Choir at KIMEA - Foreign School Elementary BFS “ Building DreamsBuilding Bold Moves through otne o tie o te et educational best the students. our for experience for strive to continue With kindest regards, With kindest Socrates the seeing without - capable.” is body old his which of strength grow and beauty to man a for shame a is It training. physical of matter the in amateur an I be to right the has citizen “No so activities. physical in development, child’s participating break spring spend to all a you encourage of parts very a important is spring Fitness outdoors. the the of enjoy advantage and take weather all you that hope I activities. recreational outdoor for opportunities more come weather changing Along the arrived! with finally has spring note, lighter a On

Calendar 17 16Classifieds PTSO 15 MS&HS 11 7 EC & Elementary wide eventsSchool 3 Dir Message 2 Curriculum 2 News Principal from Vice Address 1 Director’s

Newsletter Content Newsletter ”

News From Vice-Principal Saunders

Hello Folks

It's that time of year when most of our university acceptance letters are finally arriving. The last week in March is usually the final time for admission news! So far we have heard from 30 different colleges and universities and earned over 40 acceptances. This year's group of 19 seniors has also earned significant merit based scholarships. The class of 2015 has earned over $300K USD in merit scholarships over a four year period. Great job everyone! Here's a partial list of our acceptances so far. A complete listing will be on the website soon.

★ Indiana University (4) ★ Yonsei University (3) ★ University of Minnesota ★ University of Iowa ★ Hong Kong University ★ University of Illinois (3) High school juniors ★ Penn State University please remember the ★ University of Toronto ACT exam is in April ★ University of British Columbia and the next SAT ★ University of Waseda exams are in May and ★ University of Washington (3) June. Please see Mr. ★ UC Davis (3) Saunders if you need ★ UC Los Angeles assistance in ★ UC San Diego registering for these ★ UC Santa Cruz (2) exams. ★ UC Santa Barbara

Curriculum and Instruction (Jon Lund)

Do you ever wonder about how teachers figure out what to do each day with your children at BFS? What kind of planning takes place - if any? If you are reading this, then you are most likely aware of how lessons and tests are delivered by checking RenWeb or speaking with your child or e-mailing your child's teachers. You understand that your child's performance is being evaluated. But, did you know that our teachers are creating and documenting their teaching units using a thoughtful process called Understanding by Design? This intentional instructional framework provides your child with content, skills, and dispositions that help them not only succeed in learning, but targets all tests and evaluations to specific national and international school standards. All teachers at BFS are asked to align what they do in class with national American standards - standards that are internationally recognized as well. Our work in administration is to make sure that our teachers have the necessary skills and tools to deliver these planned lessons in the most effective manner possible. With this kind of attention to instruction, what's learned in our classrooms PreK 3 - 12 will be transferrable to new situations your child will face as they grow and develop. We believe that through this kind of planning, your child receives a world class educational experience. Page 2 SCHOOL WIDE EVENTS

Valentine’s at

Busan Foreign School started getting ready for Valentine’s Day at least a month before the event. Candy Grams for everyone!!! The Student Council allowed students to purchase them and ensured they would be delivered to friends and teachers on the 13th. The PTSO also organised the Elementary Valentine’s bingo, which this year also included early childhood students. With over 100 students the PTSO was extremely glad so many parents and teachers volunteered and help the children with their bingo cards. THANK YOU for making this day so special!

Page 3 SCHOOL WIDE EVENTS

Student of the Month (ELC&ELE) - Quarter (MS&HS)

PHYSICAL ESLR (Dec-Jan) SOCIAL ESLR (Feb-Mar) INTELLECTUAL ESLR Pk3 : Edward Kim Pk3 : Justin Dalope 6th :Anastasia Kim K4 : Shiou-bin Wang K4 : Mohannad Zaylaee, Tiana 7th : Jena Lee K5 : Amber Slootweg, Sean Bae Körner, Sandra Park 8th : Ruth Chung 1st : Mark Menshov, Yusei Kawana K5 : Shaurya Sharma, Kristina 9th : Jee Hyun park 2nd : Ethan Poppe Kuryndina 10th : Ashley Chuung 3rd : David Park, Nashita Alam 1st :Eugene Chun, Abdullah Alotaibi 11th : Jeong Min Park 4th : Nikita Lysenko, Stanley Cho 2nd : Kylen Elliot, Beongsoo Kim 12th : Sunny Cho 5th : Sharin Kim, Danil Galkin 3rd : Jacob St.Peter, Sona Park 4th : Michael Choi, Gahyun Kim, Erika Kim 5th : Jasmin Slootweg, Patrick Kim

Page 4 US Consul general Visit

On Thursday March 12th, U.S. Consul General Roberto Powers (head of the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul) came to Busan Foreign School and shared information about the processes in place regarding American citizen services, evacuation procedures, and security support for US citizens. The Consul reminded U.S. citizens to register with STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) and welcomed feedback on improving the consular services in Busan. We thank Consul general Roberto Powers for spending the time to meet with us.

3rd-12th Grade Track and Field

After a very successful inaugural season last year, BFS again will be offering Track and Field starting in April. Sprints, distance races, relays, shot put, and running long jump are just a few of the events athletes may choose from. The annual meet at Sajik Auxillary Stadium In Busan will be on Tuesday, May 19.

Page 5 Upcoming birthdays April & May

April 15th May 14th Choi, SungMin (Michael) (G4H) Jeong, Jihun (G8) Jung, Su In (Amy) (G6) April 17th Jung, DaHyun (Claire) (G2) Kim, Jin (G6) May 16th Poppe, Benjamin Spencer (GK5) April 21st Kim, Jangkun (G8) Lossiah, Aaron William (G7) May 18th April 22nd Galkin, Danil (G5) Cho, Stanley A (G4B) May 19th April 24th Carmona, Christian Marco (GK5) April 1st Yang, Brian K (G7) Park, Jee Hyun (G9) Moon, Michelle Chewon (G5) Park, Jane (G7) Galkin, Maksim (G6) April 26th Cho, Mina (G8) May 23th April 4th Chun, David Sanghyun (G1) Lee, Jae Won (G12) April 27th Kang, Dain (G11) Park, Jinsoo (G3) April 6th Lee, Chaejeong (Jena) (G7) May 24th Lee, Seongyeon (G11) Lee, Jian(Diana) (G5) April 28th April 7th Lee, Yunji (GPK3) May 25th Shin, John (G3) Yoshihara, Noriaki (G5) May 6th April 8th St.Peter, Jacob William (G3) May 27th Poppe, Ethan Andrew (G2) Sharma, Shaurya Rohit (GK5) May 9th April 9th Jugenheimer, Lei (G12) May 29th Jang, Michelle (G11) Ha, Jong Woo (Tony) (G9) Wang, Yun-Ting(Tina) (G10)

April 10th May 10th Lossiah, Adam James (G11) Kim, Byeong-Soo (G2)

April 13th May 11th Park, SiEon (Sean) (G5) Jung, Su Jin (Rachel) (G6)

Congratulations to Amy Jung (Grade 6) -right on the picture- for winning the Republic of Korea Scripps National Spelling Bee competition. We are so proud of you Amy! And we wish you the best of luck as you go to the World Championship in Washington DC representing all of Korea. In order to make it to the top spot Amy had to beat out 57 other competitors, including grade seven and grade eight students.

Page 6 EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ELEMENTARY

Early Childhood (EC)

100th Day of school Pre-K 3 and K-4 students are 100 days smarter! We celebrated the 100th day of school on February 11. We started the day by sharing our family homework, where students made posters with 100 of an object. Our students had some great, creative posters, including ones with 100 tea bags, 100 marbles, 100 pom pom balls, 100 pieces of taffy, and 100 stickers! They look great on our bulletin board. Then, we continued the celebration by making treat bags with 100 treats inside, making a 100 day crown, making 100 hand prints, and finding 100 cubes on the playground! School Buddies The next day, we celebrated the 101st day of school with our book buddies in Mr. Z’s class. Since it was the 101st day of school, of course we learned about the book 101 Dalmatians! We made 101 dots on a dog, and watched a little bit of the movie. It was lots of fun! The students also exchanged Valentine’s Day cards. We love getting together with our third grade friends! On February 13th, we celebrated Valentine’s Day at school. We exchanged Valentine cards, read books about Valentine’s Day, and focused on the shape heart. Pre-K 3 students made picture frames for their parents, and K-4 students made large heart posters for their parents.

Page 7 Elementary

2nd Grade Field Trip Second grade has had a very busy winter! In January, each student created their own magnetic stage with puppets. Some chose traditional stories such as the Three Bears or the Three Little Pigs, and others wrote their own story. They presented them to other second graders in class, then to their reading buddy, and finally to the first graders. What an awesome job! In February, we culminated our literacy theme on "Making a Difference" by picking up trash along the walking path that leads to Jangsan Park. They were amazed at what they found and learned how to make the community look more beautiful.

YEARBOOKS Yearbooks are still for sale! The cost is 60,000 krw. There will be 40 beautiful additional pages added to this year's yearbooks! Your advisor or homeroom teacher will be giving you an order form!

Page 8 BFS Elementary Choir at KIMEA - Seoul

The BFS Elementary Choir club made its second appearance this weekend at the KIMEA Elementary Chorus Festival hosted at Seoul Foreign School. The festival is a joint effort led by the music directors from over six different international schools in Korea.

We were the first and only ones represented from the great city of Busan!

Our students spent the day rehearsing choral repertoire and making friends with over two hundred other international school students. It was an incredible experience for our students.

Page 9 Elementary Sports

SKAC Basketball Elementary Tournament A very special thanks to all the HS students who volunteered to work at this year’s SKAC Elementary girls basketball tournament hosted at BFS. Several coaches commented on how well they did. Oh, and by the way, Ms. Rooney's girls basketball team placed 3rd out of 8 with a 3-1 record.

The boys teams, coached by Mr. Basketball Mr. Gates and Mr. Z played at BIFS and didn't fare as well in the win column but the boys had a blast, which is always a great thing in itself.

ELE BASKETBALL ELE Good job all around. GO SHARKS!! (Great whites, not nurse sharks, because... uhh, they're not very mean.)

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY SOCCER AND SWIMMING ARE NOW AVAILABLE!

SEE CLASSIFIED FOR MORE INFORMATION

Page 10 MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL

MS Science Check out what the MS science class has been up to lately… Its been an exciting and fast paced few weeks in Middle School Science!. In 6th grade we have been covering the atmosphere, and moving on to weather. The 7th graders in Life Science have been looking at the anatomy of various sea creatures with dissections of a squid and fish, and then using that information, as well as field guides they built on a field trip to the Busan Aquarium, where they identified and classified many of the undersea creatures. In 8th grade Physical Science we have been going over the basics of motion and Newton's Laws, including using Kerbal Space Program to examine orbits and rockets.

HS Student Council… Congratulations to the Model United Hello fellow BFS family. The High School Student Council held a movie night with delicious food, warm environment, and Nations team for an awesome day of an exciting movie on February 6th. PTSO was gracious debate and discussion on how to solve enough to make snacks. We watched Maze Runner, a recently released movie, and ate pizza all snuggled up in our blankets the world's largest problems! These kids in the school auditorium! This was an opportunity for High School students to gather could rule the world. Harry Cho and hang out together on a Friday. received a best delegate award in his committee, and SooBin Bae and Ricky Ahn received honorable mention awards. JJ Kang did an excellent job chairing the Human Rights committee, and the other 11 delegates did a great job supporting their research and hard work! Another shark success! :)

Page 11 Celebrating Pi day with Mr. Mijares Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, Pi’s infinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize, and to computationally calculate more and more digits.

History Bee & Bowl success!! The History Bowl team did well at competition in Seoul on the weekend of March 7th. One of our middle school teams won 2nd place, and our JV team (largely made up of middle school students) blew away the competition with a 6-0 record. They were the champions of the JV division at the tournament. Many of our students also qualified for the Asian Championships to be held later this year in Thailand! Students will be fundraising in order to be able to participate in this event. They will be needing everyone’s support. Reminder BFS policy requires all students to wear uniforms Mondays - Thursdays and follow the basic dress code on Fridays. Starting Monday, February 23rd, MS and HS students out of uniform will serve in-school suspension until a parent delivers their missing uniform pieces. No assignments, quizzes, or tests missed during their absence from class will qualify for make up.

Page 12 Music technology Class with Mr. Chapa This is the first year that the class “Music Technology” has existed at BFS. It’s been an exciting opportunity to offer this class to our high school students. Using the computer lab and a few microphones students are able to create some amazing compositions. Projects range from creating music that accompanies commercials to mixing existing songs together. It has been amazing to see the creativity and originality our students possess.

Lei Jugenheimer, a senior, was asked about his impressions of the class.

Q: What do typically do in class? A: We have fun creating music for the projects Mr. Chapa gives us. We do our own research to figure out how to solve our own problems. I like the challenges.

Q: What do you like the most? A: I like that our class has its own inside jokes. It feels sort of like a family.

Q: How has this class impacted you? A: I can better record things I want for my own personal products. I also know what makes things high quality and how to do it on my own.

Daniel Kim, a freshman, was also asked about his impressions of the class.

Q: What do you typically do in class? A: I learn about cool music programs and how to use them.

Q: What do you like the most? A: I like “Freestyle Fridays” the most. That’s when Mr. Chapa lets us bring our own instruments and we can play, jam, rap, or sing together. It’s so much fun.

Q: How has this class impacted you? A: I learned to have more fun with music. I play the violin in an orchestra but this allows me to experiment and create in an entirely new way. Interview

Page 13 MS & HS Sports

Both the girls and boys teams had good introductory seasons in this, their inaugural season. The season ended in February with a big tournament at BIFS. The future of BFS volleyball looks very promising with a lot of interest being shown. This year’s teams were coached by Mr. Parada and Mrs. Lossiah. MS Volleyball

The season is well underway with a tournament coming up very soon. The middle school boys team has 11 players and is coached by the Mr. Basketball of BFS, Mr. Gates. The girls team has 10 players and is coached by Ms. Rooney. Both teams have their tournament on Tuesday, April 14. BFS will host the girls tournament while BIFS will host the boys. MS Basketball

Both the girls March 19 in . The finals and boys tournament is at BIFS on teams are Saturday, April 25. The girls in full swing. team has 17 girls and is BIFS boys and girls soccer are coached by Mr. Lee and Ms. coming to BFS on Monday, Leland. The boys team has 14 March 9 for what has become players and is coached by Mr. a very exciting rivalry. The Bergner. first of two SKAC tournaments

HS Soccer is coming up very soon on

MS SKAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT WILL TAKE PLACE APRIL 14TH!

BOYS WILL PLAY AT BFS AND GIRLS AT BIFS

Page 14 PTSO Update

Happy spring from the PTSO!

Thanks to all the parents and teachers who helped with Valentine's Bingo and all the students who attended! It was our biggest Valentine's Bingo yet and we all had a blast! In February, the PTSO also supported High School Pizza Night and the NHS's Elementary Sock Hop with chips and dessert donations.

We have several upcoming events this spring and would greatly appreciate parent support:

- 31 March, Tuesday Morning - All Egg Hunt Donations should be delivered to the office. * Please donate small, individually wrapped candy and small spring themed items, such as bunny stickers, to stuff the eggs. We need enough for all of Kinder and Elementary! *

- 31 March, Tuesday - 1:30 to 3:30 pm - Egg Stuffing * All are welcome to join us in the PTSO room to stuff eggs (and maybe enjoy a chocolate egg or two)! *

- 3 April, Friday - 10:00 am to 12:00 noon - Egg Hunt for the Kinder and Elementary Students - Futsol field * Please help the Easter bunny hide all those eggs before recess--there will be three separate hunts! *

- 3 April, Friday - 12:00 noon (or once the last egg is found!) PTSO meeting, Auditorium (B1)

- 14 April, Tuesday - Basketball concession stand at BFS, all day * Parent volunteers needed. *

Looking forward to seeing you at our next meeting on April 3rd. For more information on the PTSO and upcoming activities please visit our webpage at http://www.busanforeignschool.org/ bfs-community/ptso/.

Thank you for supporting PTSO activities--we couldn't do it without you!

Elizabeth Poppe -PTSO President

Page 15 Classifieds

WANT TO PURCHASE HIGH QUALITY ART AT BARGAIN PRICES? All student art work exhibited at the school is available for purchase. Proceedings from the sales will directly benefit the Arts department. Please contact the main office if interested.

New After School Inspiring Activities

As a result of recent feedback and following the success of the FCBarcelona soccer camp held at Busan Foreign School, we have decided to extend our after school offerings by partnering with two professional entities:

• Haeundae Grand Hotel Swimming Academy Swimming lessons are open to BFS students at the Grand Hotel Swimming pool on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00am.

• Rising Star Soccer Academy Professional soccer coaching for our Elementary Students on Saturdays at 9:30am at the school and for our Middle School students on Saturdays at 10:40am.

Please contact the main office for more information and to sign up for the above activities.

Page 16 Calendar of Events

Main school events are summarized below. Print the calendar and keep it for future reference!

Date Event Location

April 4th 4th Quarter starts BFS

April 10th Report Cards Sent Home BFS

April 14th SKAC MS Basketball Tournament Boys @ BFS gym Girls @ BIFS

April 20th Teacher Development Day - No School BFS

April 24th Fine Arts Showcase (after school) BFS

April 25th SKAC HS Futsal Tournament BIFS

May 5th Children Day - No School BFS

May 15th Elementary Invention Convention BFS Gym Ice Cream Social

May 22nd Talent Show - evening BFS Gym

May 25th Buddha Day - No School BFS

My 30th Family Day & Garage Sale BFS

BIFS Parent Organization has extended an invitation to attend their International Day, which will take place at BIFS campus on Saturday April 11th from 10.00am to 02:00pm There will be 26 country booths with an opportunity to buy their local foods, participate in a raffles and play games.

Please note this is the BIFS International day. BFS will host its International Day as customary in June.

Special thanks to Mr. Chapa, Mr. Dysart, Ms. Goldman, Mr. Haddon, Ms. Hwang, Mrs. this Newsletter Lund, Ms. Lund, Mr. Lund, Mr. Mijares, Ms. Rooney, Mrs. Rowls- Popppe, Mr. Saunders, Mrs. Slootweg Allepuz, Mrs. Smith-Lossiah, contributors Mrs. St.Peter, Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Thorson, Mr. Wojcik.

Our next Newsletter will be issued June 2015 and will cover end of April and May updates

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