Korea International School

2015/16 Issue 5 Phoenix FlyerNovember 16, 2015 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 KIS Today Professional Development at KIS: The FishBowl 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 offering 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 Kilback Director of Educational Technology Amalia Kingsbury Art Schultz Daniel Kilback Richard Poth Rick Mallon KIS Spotlight Gaelic Football at KIS: Shanghai Tournament Champions 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 participated 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 authentic 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. Jeff Kordick SC PE Teacher Seoul Campus Elementary School Highlights Cross Country Jamboree: at SC! 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! Pete Hill PE Teacher Grade 2 Showcase 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 personal 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 Koch Grade 2 Teacher Upper Years Showcase 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 participating 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.

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