Alumni Newsletter 2011

January 2011 For Alumni, Retirees, and Friends of Eugene International High School Eugene International High School 7th Annual Alumni Newsletter Educating Global Citizens Celebrating 26 years of Eugene International High School As global citizens at Eugene International High School, we aspire to value diversity, ambiguity, and discovery––and to act with responsibility, integrity, and compassion. Looking Back, Moving Forward: perspective in every endeavor we undertake as a school. And, just as the original proposal recognized the necessity of Eugene IHS Celebrates 25 Years communication in a second language, Eugene IHS remains by Courtney Leonard, Head Teacher the only high school that requires three years of world language study to graduate with our honorary diploma. On July 18, 1984, the Eugene 4J School Board unanimously approved a proposal to implement a new alternative school, Eugene IHS was also meant to be an IB school, a very new Eugene International High School. and different approach to education in the early 1980s. The International Baccalaureate Organization began in 1968; From its inception, Eugene IHS was to be a school in inter- Eugene IHS is one of the original IB World Schools in the national studies with humanities, social science, and world United States. This status was granted to Eugene IHS in language as its focus. In addition, it was to be an International January1987, and IB curriculum was presented to all juniors Baccalaureate World School (IB). These two aspects—inter- during the 1987-88 school year. IB, both the organization national studies and IB—continue to defi ne Eugene IHS. and our school’s program, has grown signifi cantly over the past twenty-six years. In our fi rst graduating class of Philosophy and Mission 1989, out of 76 graduates, 8 students earned the full IB di- The original prospectus for Eugene IHS indicates “the un- ploma. This can be compared to our numbers for the 2010 derlying philosophy of the international school concept is graduating class: of 285 graduates, 82 students were full the emphasis on the blending of the specialization of foreign diploma candidates. IB is recognized as simply the best in language study with the broad perspective of the history of standards-based education, an education we continue to offer cultures of the nations selected for study in order to prepare to every junior and senior in our school, with preparation students for successful living in an international multilin- completed in the freshman and sophomore years. gual community” (1984). The proposal recognized that the (Continued on Page 2) creation of a school in international studies was a logical and natural response to the challenge of an ever-evolving Our website address has changed. Please global system. make a note of it for future communications: This conclusion was based on an examination of the www.ihs.4j.lane.edu Oregon Governor’s Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies, a Carnegie Foundation report entitled ON THE INSIDE: Other Nations, Other Peoples, a survey of families with Eugene IHS Happenings high-school aged students, and a 4J District response to high GAPP Exchange Celebrates 20 Years school reform. The original proposal was brought to the Grade Level Updates IB and More school board by a group of forward-thinking and premier Alumni Corner educators in our community, who held a unique vision and Eugene IHS Staff 2010-2011 ideal for international education. Retiree Notes Alumni Notes Alumni E-Mail Directory The focus on educating global citizens in Eugene IHS has Contact Us remained the same, as has the dedication to infusing a global Insert: Eugene IHS Alumni Volunteer Form Eugene IHS Needs Your Help 1 LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD (Cont’d from Page 1) Curriculum and Model mission statement that “other people, with their differences, In conceiving of an international high school, the original can also be right” (IBO). These assumptions have remained proposal outlined several basic assumptions about the true and valid in our current milieu. curriculum and model: “The humanities should serve as the umbrella for the total curricular structure;” and, “An The proposed organizational structure from 1984 was as interdisciplinary approach should be utilized to deliver the “a school-within-a-school model” that would serve “as a curriculum;” and, “Multicultural and international education magnet school for district schools,” and utilize “the facili- are natural partners” (1984). ties and resources of the host high school” (1984). Thus, a co-location model defines Eugene IHS and still provides In examining the course offerings of the school from 1984 students the opportunity to “specialize in international stud- to the present, these assumptions are clearly reflected with ies,” and “serves as a catalyst to increase the international classes such as Chinese Language and Culture, International dimension of the regular school program” (1984). Careers, International PE, Russian Language and Culture, International Business, International Law and World Values, We celebrate our existence as a unique model of international and Contemporary Issues. education, led by teachers and powered by the remarkable community of students, alumni, and parents who continue As we have evolved as a school, what has remained at the to support our work. heart of all decisions is the value of maintaining a humanities focus in an interdisciplinary setting that embraced an ideal of cultural proficiency. With change, Eugene IHS staff members, ever resourceful, creative and imaginative, continually EUGENE IHS FACTOID #1: reaffirm the commitment to social studies, literature and the arts, taught in an interdisciplinary fashion, blending topics The Eugene IHS Picnic has become a traditional and issues to enhance student understanding. event to start off the beginning of the school year. Every year, about the second week in September, Just as we aspire to today, our original proposal recognizes all Eugene IHS students and their families are that a truly valid multicultural education should incorporate invited to a picnic held in Alton Baker Park to meet a global perspective to ensure a close examination of national teachers, play games, and celebrate. and local diversity issues within a larger context. Today, our mission statement underscores the need to value diversity This year, in support of One Day One Goal, over 40 to improve the human condition, and aligns with the IBO students played soccer on Tuesday, September 21 for International Day of Peace, bringing recognition to a day of global ceasefire (check it out at: http:// www.peaceoneday.org/en/takeaction/football_odog/ 25th Anniversary Celebration about-one-day-one-goal). On April 23, 2010 we celebrated our twenty-fifth anni- We want to encourage alumni to attend this event versary with a gathering at Lane Community College’s as well. Please check the Eugene IHS website in Center for Meeting and Learning. Former teachers and early September for the date. alumna, current teachers and students, and community members all met to be entertained by the Chinese Lion Dancers, the Spanish Immersion dancers, and student musicians. Special thanks go to the Chinese American TRADITIONS IN EUGENE IHS Eugene IHS Picinc Benevolent Association, our Spanish Immersion seniors, Eugene Celebration Parade David Bao, violinist, and Maria Maita-Keppeler, singer- Opening Assembly Art Benefit Sale songwriter, for their performances. We are also grateful International Study Abroad Fair to Dwayne Adcock, our founder, Brian O’Kelley, our Model United Nations (MUN) benefactor, and Halle Shirk, current student and founder Penny War Meeting of Great Artists of Project Our Turn, for their role in reminding us about 9th Grade Africa Celebration the importance of a global education, linked to language Eugene IHS Film Festival Community Service Fair learning and critical thinking. In all, it was a lovely Eurasian Conference evening in celebration of international studies. Gatsby Ball Swansong Farewell Assembly 2 EUGENE IHS HAPPENINGS Project Our Turn Founder, Halle Shirke, Selected for National Conference in my generation plans to do. “I see a world” said Michael Blake, Washington, D.C. advisor to Barack Obama at age 27, “I see a world. But you do not see a world looking down.” So we will keep our heads up, On Wednesday, June 2, 2010 I was fortunate to attend keep moving forward, keep living a dream outside ourselves, the Teach Africa Leadership Conference in Washington and keep trying to make a change. D.C.’s State Department. There, ten students from around the nation joined by 300 students from the metropolitan To learn more about Project Our Turn, please visit our web- area, spoke with students from South Africa, Cameroon, site http://our-turn.wikispaces.com, or find us on facebook and Liberia via video conference and learned what it took under the name: Project Our Turn. If you have any ques- to be a leader. What impressed me most wasn’t the “escort tions about how to get involved, please feel free to ask at required” on my badge or the fact that we were only floors [email protected]. away from names like Clinton, Biden, and Obama, nor was it even the grandeur or fine weather of our nation’s Article by Halle Shirke, Senior Class 2011 capital. What impressed me most was the caliber of people Eugene IHS, South Eugene Campus attending the conference. Each and every student was a bright young individual with plans to make the world a better place. During the conference we were inspired to be the best that we could be. To provide effective and ethical leadership as we joined the global community. We were told that change begins with a dream, a vision, and the confidence that you can make a difference. The Gatsby Ball Three years ago, I started a fundraiser called Project Our A dedicated and playful group of juniors gathered at the Turn that sought to mobilize the actions of teens into a Amazon Community Center for the annual Gatsby Ball on Friday, global effort supporting the education of students world- June 4, 2010.

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