In This Edition Vol 3, Issue 1 2016-17
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BULLETIN Vol 3, Issue 1 In this Edition 2016-17 Mindfulness at ISB TOK and Critical Thinking #1Day Chinese New Year 1 STEAM Genius Hour Olympian Camille Cheng Q&A The Bulletin 4 Real-World Learning with Robots 48 IB Art Students Visit 798 Vol 3, Issue 1 8 Illustrating Inspiration with Bryn Barnard 50 Experts Discuss Mao with IB History Stu- 2016-17 dents 12 Making Time for Mindfulness 54 ISB Alumnus Inspires IB Film Students Joanna Cole 16 Grade 5 Dazzles with Sword Dance Communications& 56 HS Students Pursue Passions at Club and Marketing Manager 18 Behind the Scenes of MS Play Service Fair 'Once Upon a Hutong' Tom Fearon 60 HFH Students Build Hope in Sichuan Bulletin Writer/Editor 22 Self-Driving Cars Excite at MS Science Café 64 Logging off Social Media (and on to sEason Wu Service in Costa Rica) Graphic Designer 24 MS Science Café Explores Cuckoo Migration 68 Chinese New Year Celebrations 26 Futures Academy Space Race Lifts Off 70 Charity Fashion Show 28 Middle School Innovation for #1Day (see 72 Over 200 Attend ISB Alumni Reunions folder for pics) 74 ISB Swimming Coach Awarded NIFISA 30 MS Student Demystifies Physics Scholarship on YouTube 76 Double Dragon Success at Great Wall 32 MS Students Find ‘Inner Warrior’ Shoot-Out at Drama Yoga Festival 80 Tutoring Center Promotes Personalized 34 Genius Hour Powered by STEAM Learning 38 Students Go for Gold at MS Olympics 84 High Spirits for 2016 International Day 40 How TOK Nurtures Critical Thinking 86 ISB Unites for 2016 Terry Fox Run 42 One Act Festival Directors Q&A 90 Alumni Offer College Tips to Seniors 46 Student’s Website Promotes 94 ISB-RIS Diaper Drive Helps Families in ISB Groups, Services Need 96 ISB Students Earn Outstanding IB Results 98 Camille Cheng Q&A 2 3 Real-World Learning with Robots Grade 4 students explored the fascinating world of artificial intelligence (AI) on Feb- ruary 10 in an educational demonstration featuring seven robots. The robots visited the International School of Beijing (ISB) on behalf of three local companies: Beijing In- terjoy Technology, Beijing Evolver Robotic Company, and CloudMinds. Among the autonomous androids was Pep- per, a humanoid robot capable of reading people’s emotions; XIaopang (Little Fatty), an air-purifying robot that can respond to questions; and a robotic rabbit that can identify users based on facial character- istics. Students enjoyed interacting with ro- bots, taking turns to ask questions, shake hands, and even dance with their new friends. Dr. June Feng, chief scientist at China Mobile, spoke to students ahead of the demonstrations. She noted that creativity and innovation are just as important in ro- botics as more conventional skills, such as math and computer programming. 4 5 “The new technologies of AI are making With more than 30 US and international Asked what she enjoys most about her But will they ever replace teachers? The robots smarter than ever. Their learn- patents to her credit, Dr. Feng has au- work, Dr. Feng pinpointed its collaboration possibilities are limitless, said Dr. Feng. ing capabilities are greatly improving thored more than 50 publications cover- and global-mindedness. year by year. In the past, children grew ing speech recognition, data mining, and “Even today they are being used as faster than the world. Now, technology many other topics. “Working each day in AI, everything teaching assistants. They are not a is growing faster than our children,” is new. You feel you can change the thing of the future, they are an excit- she said. “When our children grow up, they will world in a positive way. Contributing ing current reality,” she said. live alongside robots. It’s great for to a better, smarter world is great, es- Dr. Feng has led research and development them to be exposed to robotics from a pecially when you can apply problem on AI and big data at China Mobile since young age,” she said. solving and math,” she said. September 2013. Previously, she was prin- cipal researcher at AT&T Labs Research for There are many opportunities for students Not long ago, robots were figments of sci- more than a decade. to explore their passion for robotics at fi fantasies. Now, they play an ever-grow- ISB, from kindergarten robot battles to the ing role in daily life of the 21st century. high school Robotics Club. 6 7 Illustrating Inspiration with Bryn Barnard Which disease causes dizziness, red spots, a black tongue, and a rapid heartbeat? The answer is “Chickaloo,” according to the creative young minds in 4RB. The inventive diagnosis was inspired by a discussion about the book Outbreak: Plagues that Changed History by Inter- national School of Beijing (ISB) Author in Residence Bryn Barnard. Leading a class group in the Elementary School Library on October 25, the Ameri- can author and illustrator asked students to suggest a range of symptoms. After they were all written down, he sketched a spotty, balding, dizzy, black-tongued man suffering the unusual ailment. The only thing missing was the name of the newly created disease. After a vote, “Chickaloo” was decided as most appro- priate. 8 9 Mr. Barnard has illustrated more than 20 “I had no idea how to do it. The only children’s books, but his passion for story- real example I had seen was my art telling goes beyond his vivid artistic crea- teacher,” he recalled. tions. He has also written books that ex- plore natural disasters, innovation in Islam, Inspiration knocked, however, when a and the fate of our oceans. magazine art director visited Mr. Barnard’s high school. In addition to his forays in art and liter- ature, Mr. Barnard is also an experienced “He showed us what he did and told international educator; he is currently an us we could make a living out of be- International Baccalaureate art teacher ing artists. Part of my hope is that I at Busan International Foreign School in can share the same message to stu- South Korea, and has previously studied, dents who are passionate about writ- taught, and spoken at schools and colleg- ing or drawing. Anything is possible, es in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. and you can have a very enjoyable life if you have a job that doesn’t feel like His message to ISB’s elementary school ‘work,’” he explained. students this week has been simple: crea- tivity takes a little bit of sweat. In addition to his presentation to parents on October 26, Mr. Barnard will also teach “Thomas Edison said genius is 99 per- middle school students in early November cent perspiration and 1 percent inspi- as part of his PTA-sponsored visit to ISB. ration, and I believe in that. In this ex- ercise where I get students to come up with a dinosaur or a disease, I en- courage them to go whatever direction they want. I want them to see what happens when you collaboratively com- bine lots of different things into some- thing new,” he said. It was during his junior year at high school that Mr. Barnard knew he wanted to be an artist. However, navigating that path quickly emerged as a challenge. 10 11 A few chairs squeak as students plant their feet on the ground. Some close their eyes, while others focus on their clasped hands. Making Time It is the beginning of a daily routine for International School of Beijing (ISB) fourth-graders preparing to give their racing minds for Mindfulness a well-earned rest. For the next three minutes, a calm voice lulls the students into a soothing place of mental tranquility. “Imagine you are holding a warm bowl of soup,” coos the voice from Mind Yeti, a guided audio mindfulness app. “Breathe in slowly through your nose and out through your mouth. Smell the soup as you find your ‘yeti’ body.” Mind Over Matter Mindfulness meditation is the practice of quietening the mind to bring awareness and attention to the present moment. It is increasingly being used in schools around the world as a tool to improve student well-being and enhance academic performance. The benefits of mindfulness in education have been well-doc- umented in research for years. For teachers, these include in- creased responsiveness to students’ needs and better manage- ment of stress. For students, mindfulness is linked to reduced anxiety before testing, increased classroom participation, and improved social-emotional learning. “Being around peers with your eyes closed can be scary. For our kids to be able to do that now is a great skill. They feel comfortable, safe, and cared for,” said ISB guidance coun- selor Kevin Kooienga. Together with Catie Spears, Mr. Kooienga facilitates mindfulness activities for elementary school students at ISB. Both counselors also support homeroom teachers by providing training as part of their professional development (PD). 12 13 “It’s nice to give young minds time The latter is especially important for mind- to pause and reflect. There isn’t a lot fulness to flourish. of ‘me time’ for kids. We expect a lot of them and they are surrounded by “Psychological safety and trust among people and things competing for their students, parents, teachers, and ad- attention, so giving them opportuni- ministrators needs to be at the foun- ties to take time out is important,” Mr. dation. A caring, collaborative, and vi- Kooienga said. sion-driven community is built upon psychological safety and trust,” she Investing in Peace of Mind said. In 2015-16, ISB approved a research and From Mind Yeti exercises in elementa- development proposal to promote mind- ry school classes to guided meditation in fulness among students of all grades.