Newsletter_2011-12-31

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l S c h o o l 0 f K r a k o w

M o n t h l y N e w s l e t t e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1 E d i t i o n

I S K VO I C E

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B e R e s p e c t f u lB e R e s p o n s i b l eS t r i v e f o r E x c e l l e n c e

I n t e r n a t i o n a l S c h o o l 0 f K r a k o w

Founded in 1994, ISK is an independent, not-for-profit school that provides a world-class education for children from 3 years old to university entrance. Beautifully situated just outside the Krakow city limits, our spacious campus provides a quiet green setting with fresh air and a studious atmosphere...

Some of you may have heard or read about a man who lives in Krakow named Ryszard Nowak. He recently suf-fered the terrible tragedy of losing his wife in a car accident. He is now the single father of three school-aged chil-dren. To make matters worse, not long after losing his wife, an airplane crashed into his home. Luckily everyone survived, but unfortunately due to issues with insurance, he is unable to collect funds to rebuild his house. His family is now residing in government housing and do not know when they will be able to return home.

After hearing this story and reading information about Mr. Nowak’s situation Ms. Oswald and Coach Zajdel have decided that this would be a wonderful opportunity for our school community to reach out to a local family and help make a positive difference in the lives of those in need.

In the coming weeks, we will introduce a project called BRICK-BY-BRICK. Our goal is to raise enough money to purchase the 2,000 bricks needed to rebuild the Nowak’s home. At 2 zloty per brick, we are hoping to raise ap-proximately 4,000zl through a variety of fund-raising activities.

Our first fund-raiser will be held on a Friday evening in late January or early February. Coach Zajdel, Ms. Oswald, and several high school student volunteers will host an evening of spaghetti, games, popcorn, and a movie so that parents can take advantage of a child-free evening. What a great opportunity to enjoy a romantic evening! More information will be sent home shortly.

Currently some of our students are busy translating a documentary that tells the Nowak’s story. We will introduce BRICK-BY-BRICK to our students during an assembly in December by viewing the short documentary and ask for their ideas, and suggestions on how we can work together to help this family. We would also love to hear from our parents and families who may be interested in assisting in this initiative. Please take a moment to read about the Nowak’s story (the news stories are in Polish) and contact Coach Zajdel or Ms. Oswald if you have any ques-tions or would like to join them in organizing this project.

Contact:Ms.Oswald [email protected] Zajdel [email protected]

Not only will this project continue to develop empathy in our students, but it teaches them the importance of social responsibility and provides opportunities for positive personal growth.

Brick by Brick

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Message from the Director .......................... 4

Winternational Performance

Around the World in 80 Days ......................... 6

Winternational: Rehearsals .......................... 8

Winternational: Adventures and

Country Celebration .................................... 10

Winternational: Student’s Perspective .... 20

Winternational: Interview with

Performance Director ................................. 22

Cinderella Puppet Theatre Visits ISK ......... 24

Winter Festival in Early Years ..................... 26

ISK Helps Animal Shelter in Kraków ......... 28

Field Trip to a T-shirt Factory ..................... 30

Science Rocks in Wieliczka Salt Mine ....... 31

Alfik Math Competition ............................... 32

December 2011, Volume 8, Edition 2

6 Around the World in 80 Days

28 Students Support Animals

32 Math Competition Fun

26 Winter Festival

ISK VOICE

Dear All,As we prepare for winter break, I wanted to send a short up-date with some very important news. These are very exciting times for ISK, and it is with pleasure that I share this news with our community.Implementation of the IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Program): With School Board approval in the Ex-ecutive Session on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011, ISK will move forward with the implementation of the IBDP for grades 11 and 12. The IB Diploma Programme is designed as an academically challenging and balanced programme of education with final examinations that prepares students in grades 11 and 12 for success at university and life beyond. The programme has gained recognition and respect from the world’s leading universities. There are over 2,000 IB World Schools in 124 countries. Please go to the following websites for additional information:· http://www.ibo.org/diploma

· http://www.ibo.org/communications/publications/doc-uments/IBbrochureEng.pd

More detailed information with the timeline for implemen-tation at ISK will be made available in early January. Winternational: For those of you who attended the perfor-mance of the Winternational, “Around the World 80 Days” on Friday night, December 16th, please know that our students enjoyed performing to such a large, supportive audience. It was the first time for the Winternation to be on our campus with more than 300 parents, alumni, and special guests. It was a nice dedication of our new Sports Field House facility. Though built primarily as a sports facility, it certainly proved adaptable for an all school event. Thank you to Sarah Wadiak and Mike Glenn for their expertise in converting this into a performing venue and also for directing the performance. Also a huge thank you goes to our Homeroom Teachers in grades 1-8 for assisting students with the creative grade level scenes and to all of the ISK for pitching in to make this event a huge success. And a special thank you goes to our PTA President, Malin Blomqvist, for organizing our parents to host the Food Festival following the performance. Newly Appointed School Board Member: ISK has a commit-ted group of parents who give time, energy and expertise to our strategic operations. The Board has recently appointed a new Board member, Mr. Max Dudhia. Mr. Dudhia will fill the term of appointed Board member Mr. Jaroslaw Janeczko who resigned due to a change in work commitments mak-ing it increasingly difficult for him to attend all the meetings. Mr. Dudhia has lived in Krakow since 1999. He and his wife Mariola have two daughters; Oliwia is enrolled in Nursery at ISK. Mr. Dudhia has a background as a Financial Analyst,

real estate developer, and is a certified CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Early in the new year the Board will announce further clarification on Board election and appointment pro-cedures. Mid-Quarter Reports (Grades 0-12) and Semester Exams (Grades 6-12): Mid-Quarter Reports went home with stu-dents on Friday, December 16th. Please take some time to review these reports with your child, sign, and return to your child’s homeroom teachers. Should you have any ques-tions or concerns about these reports, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or the school office who can schedule the appointment. Middle and high school students will have semester 1 exams beginning January 16-20. Stu-dents will have one week to review for these exams after they return from Winter Break. Extra-curricular Activities:· After School Activities: School Office has emailed parents information on registration online for the upcom-ing ASA session. Please note that this should be completed online and will begin on January 16, 2011. · Winter Ski Camp: Coach Adam has sent out the in-formation for this years’ winter ski camp. Note the Winter Ski Camp is scheduled for February 17-2, 2011 and will not cause any disruption to the school day.

· CEESA Knowledge Bowl: ISK is pleased to host the CEESA Knowledge Bowl Tournament on February 9 – 12, 2011. ISK will welcome 52 participants. As is the expec-tation in such CEESA events, the hosting school provides housing for participants. Thank you to the parents who have already come forward to host. We are still in need of 10 more families to host and ask once again for parents to come forward to help with housing for these students. If you have questions or concerns regarding any of the above mentioned extracurricular activities, please contact Coach Adam at [email protected]. On behalf of the entire ISK faculty and staff, we wish all a very peaceful and happy holidays, and I look forward to see-ing you on the first day of school following our Winter Break, Monday, January 9, 2012.Warm regards,Mamie Heard

Director

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Message from the Director

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January Events Calendar

January 9Winter Break ends.

January 16-20Middle and high school students semester 1 exams.

January 16Winter term After School Activities begin.

2012 Ski Camp February 17-26

Registration Deadline January 12th

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Around the World in Eighty Days W

i n t e r n a t i o n a l

Phileas Fogg

Passepartout

Detective FixBritish Consul

Gentleman

NewsboyTicket Collector/Ayla the Apprentice

Carlos

Captain PiperJ.P. (Zeppelin Owner from Africa)

M. Cabarot

Daniel DominikScottNataliaWiktoriaPenelopeGabrielPeterWolfEnriqueQuentinMichaelAylaArthurCemJoannaAgnieszkaMagda

CAST

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Around the World in Eighty Days W

i n t e r n a t i o n a l December 16th 2011 was a great day in the In-

ternational School of Kraków as we hosted Winternational 2011-2012 for the first time

on campus grounds. The performance involved children from Grade 1 through Grade 8. The play moved across the globe in three acts and fifteen scenes with Phileas Fogg and Passerpartout embark-ing on a journey around the world in eighty days...

Music DirectorPerformance Director

Script WritersArt Director

Film DirectorsCostume Coordinator

Lights and SoundHomeroom Performances Directors

Sarah WadiakMichael GlennBeth and EmiPaulette LidertCecilia and PeterJohn MorganGabriel, Simon and KaniskSusan Oswald (Grade 1)Bryan Peariso (Grade 1)John Morgan (Grade 2)Samanta Rubik (Grade 3)Lisa Lucas (Grade 4)Brett Elkei (Grade 5)Paul Lucas (Grade 6)Benedicte Rousseaux (Grade 7)Michael Glenn (Grade 8)Lilliana Lutley (Flamenco Dancers)

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United States TurkeyPreparations for Winternational started back in September, when we chose our theme for this year’s production. When creating a production

like this, it’s important to have a final goal in mind. This was especially difficult this year as we really did not know if our new gym facility, otherwise known as ‘‘The Bubble’’, would be completed in time to house our show. With fingers crossed, we decided to go ahead with our plan to make 2011 our first ever Win-ternational performance at home.

One of our main goals this year was to have a student-led production. From script writing to scenery, cos-tumes to choreography, students would be involved in every step of the process. It was their ideas which would provide the driving force behind all aspects of this year’s production of Around the World in Eighty Days.

Script-writers from our High school were chosen, prompting Beth and Emi to spend much of their mid-term break in October crafting the framework around which the performance would be built. Any-one familiar with Jules Vernes’ novel will know what a great job they did, adding humour and excitement, whilst tweaking the original story to suit our creative intentions.

At the same time, home-rooms were selecting the countries they would represent. This was sometimes inspired by students’ own nationalities or by themes being studied in class and directly tied to the curricu-

rehearsals

Around the World in Eighty Days

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United States Turkeylum. The students had a lot of good ideas – sometimes all at the same time – which also provided an excel-lent opportunity for learning to listen and share!

Suddenly, we were in our final weeks before show-time. Rehearsals took place in every corner of the school, songs and dances from all over the world could be heard, and the students were buzzing with excitement. Our main characters were well prepared, thanks to three Saturday sessions and rigorous daily rehearsals. All the pieces of the jigsaw were ready. But our biggest challenge still lay before us: to transform ‘‘The Bubble’’ into a modern childrens’ theatre that would accommodate 100 actors and more than 300 spectators. With assistance from our guards and the `Winternational team’, the floor cover was laid, the heating was connected, and the curtains were hung.

At the last minute, everything came together. With professional equipment borrowed from the Cultural Centre in Mogilany township and two days of intense rehearsals, we were finally ready to say “Lights, Cam-era, Action!” Our students were proud to hit the stage and perform on campus for the first time in ISK’s Winternational history.

Special thanks go to the Mogilany Dom Kultury, for the use of their equipment, and to our PTA, who gen-erously funded the purchase of microphones.

by Sarah Wadiak, Music Director


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adventures


Phileas Fogg, a renown scientist, together with his butler, Passepartout, embarks on the journey around the world in eighty days.

Not an easy task, especially if you have only one euro in your wallet, and British gentlemen, ready for anything, are against you. Phileas leaves Lon-don for Sweden and Finland but he does not know yet that he is being followed by Detective Fix...

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SwedenFinland


6th grade put on a vibrant and colourful dem-onstration of the Scandinavian culture while singing ‘‘it’s raining meatballs, hallelujah!’’. Cell

phones and furniture from Scandinavia couldn’t be forgotten either...

2nd grade class celebrated the United Kingdom’s strong tradition of football, fish and chips and rain with a short play and sang an ironic rendi-

tion of the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun...

country celebration

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adventures

Phileas Fogg and Passepartout are deter-mined to circle the world in eighty days so they travel to Turkey by a train and

then to China by a balloon. The good news is that they are landing immediately, the bad news is that they are crash landing... Of course, Detective Fix keeps following them...


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1st grade classes presented the myth of the Chinese Zodiac which relates years to animals. They also sang a beautiful Chinese verse to share with the audience its diverse musical character...

7th grade class celebrated the Turkish culture by choreographing their very own dance under the guidance of two of our Turkish students! Around the World in Eighty Days

country celebration

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KoreaUnited States Turkey

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adventures

Phileas Foggs knows well that it is so close from China to Korea that you can take a bike to get there, if you have a

visa, but a journey across the Pacific Ocean and facing Detective Fix is another pair of shoes...


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8th graders wrote a piece of music and rapped as well as choreographed

a song of their very own en-titled It’s All in America!...

country celebration

Around the World in Eighty Days4th grade class present-ed a creative Korean song with exquisite

choreography to demon-strate its own rich culture...

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adventures


Phileas Foggs and Passerpartout are looking forward to having Mexican tostadas for lunch. They would be happy to avoid pirates of the Caribbean and Captain

Piper while on their journey to Africa...

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5th grade class performed a play based on the story How the Camel Got Its Hump as they celebrated Africa...

3rd grade class presented a beautiful tale about love between the Sun and the Moon as a cel-ebration of Mexican culture...

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adventures


Phileas Foggs and Passerpartout cross the Mediter-ranean Sea by blimp to find themselves in Spain. Just one more air trip and they will arrive in Lon-

don to win the bet and eternal fame...

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country celebrationAround the World in Eighty Days

Flamenco dancers from different grades cel-ebrated diverse and influential Spanish cul-ture...

Grand Finale was highlighted by all actors sing-ing together a famous song Around the World I Searched for You...

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This year’s theme for Winternational was Around the World in Eighty Days, but it wasn’t the one written by Jules

Verne. It was the one written by our very own Beth and Emi. The theme wasn’t known to the students until the first week of November and the auditions were the very same week. The auditions consisted of the reading of the first scene. Finally, the roles were cast and we all began intense practice from week to week. We spent our recess time reading and deliv-ering lines, learning the staging, and every-thing else in order to make the play a success. We all were complaining as we wanted to go outside. Moreover, our performance direc-tors felt that we also needed to sacrifice our Saturday mornings. I was really tired when I came in on Saturday mornings, and I think everybody else was, too. We all gave our best at those practices even though with an oc-casional yawn. Finally, came the week of the performance. We missed classes on a couple of days before performance so that we could practice on the actual stage, our new Field House. On Friday, the day of the perfor-mance, we were all very nervous, therefore, we went home early. At home we could per-fect our costumes, review our lines, and sip calming tea. And then we went onstage. The

student’s perspective


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Iloved the Winternational; it was so much fun. The combination of stress and ex-citement keep butterflies in my stomach

through the whole presentation. In the play I played the role of the British Consul and it was a very exciting role. It was a great ex-perience to practice my role before the play with Mr. Glenn, our great acting teacher. He taught me how to stand on-stage, how to greatly exaggerate my movements, and how to act like a proper British gentleman. I believe that this experience was very educa-tional, but also a lot of fun!

by Peter Huson, Grade 8

duration of the performance wasn’t that long for parents, but backstage we were stressing. When we went on stage, we left the stress be-hind and created a performance that amazed everyone. My friends would tell me I would do great, and I kept telling myself they were wrong and that I would mess up my lines or laugh when I said them. Fortunately, I did manage to do my part quite well, or at least that’s what friends are telling me :-) I think people really enjoyed our show. by Gabriel Haberberg, Grade 8


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ISK Voice: The annual Winternational show which we enjoyed watching on December 16th turned out to be a great success. You were one of the artistic directors of the show. Was the last performance special for you?Mike Glenn, Performance Director of the Winternational: This was in fact my 5th time directing our annual Winternational per-formance and I have loved working with Mrs. Wadiak on every show we have done while learning so much about performing and writing while doing so. The 2011 show was very special to me for many reasons. The most significant for me was the level of student collaboration that took place. This began with having our original script written by our very own High School students, Beth and Emi! What a treat it was to have a well written and hu-morous play written by two ISK students! From there, the level of collaboration took a giant leap with students writing and cho-reographing their own dances, folk-tales and even the songs they sang! With this type of student involvement, how could I possibly ask for a better show?

ISK Voice: How did you come up with the theme for the show?Mike Glenn: Mrs. Wadiak and I were brainstorming ideas and were really hoping to find a theme that matched the true meaning of what the Winternational performance was really meant to be - a celebration of ISK’s international community during the festive winter holiday season. When we came across the idea of Around the World in Eighty Days, we immediately knew this was perfect for this year’s theme. On stage, we travelled through a mere mi-crocosm of the ISK community by visiting only 8 regions of the 27 countries we represent as a school, however we tried to make a reasonable representation of how ISK families neatly ties our global community together as one community.

ISK Voice: Preparing such a great show takes time. Was it dif-ficult to convince kids to keep rehearsing?Mike Glenn: Not at all. Students in the scripted portion of the show were provided with a schedule of rehearsal times and a dramatic/performance contract which clearly set out the expec-tations for partaking in the performance. If students were busy with other projects such as football practice or other demand-ing activities that would take them away from rehearsals, they were encouraged to reconsider their level of commitment for the show. So decisions had to be made early to avoid any last minute cancellations or hassles with other commitments. We had very productive rehearsals and even three Saturday morning practices leading up to the opening of the show with nearly 100% turn out!

ISK Voice: For the first time we could watch the show in the Field House. How do you find this new venue?Mike Glenn: This was in fact our first time hosting the Winter-

interview with Performance

Director

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national on campus. In years past, we had to rent a space large enough to fit the 300+ families and guests who come to the show. This year we wanted to use our new indoor gym, which of course has its own challenges, but worked out fairly well. Of course we expect to iron out the little details and unexpected nuances for 2012’s performance!

ISK Voice: Students were so well organized during the show. Did they surprise you with their committment to the perfor-mance?Mike Glenn: Students in all grades 1 through 8 did a fantastic job this year! Everyone worked hard and the level of dedication demonstrates just how important it is to work together as a team to create something that is only possible with hard work and ded-ication. Our students are learning this important life-lesson at ISK and their commitment to the show demonstrates how much everyone is in tune with this team work element here at ISK.

ISK Voice: What would you wish yourself for the next show?Mike Glenn: Hmmm, I think I have to say that I wish myself the same thing I wish myself after every Winternational, more time to practice with the whole school, just to make things run a little more smoothly so that it is not absolute manic for me backstage and maybe then, I could have a minute to enjoy watching the final performance for a change.

ISK Voice: Thank you for your time, Mr. Glenn.Mike Glenn: Please, the pleasure was certainly mine! I really love working on the Winternational every year and I am especially proud of our accomplishments in 2011. I hope that in years to come, when this show continues to flourish and grow, we can look back at this year’s performance and remember the accom-plishments, collaboration, student dedication and all the laughs we had together. Also, thanks to Mr. Prouse and Mr. Guzik for their photographs and slide show. To Mrs. Humnicki, Mr. Radek, Mr. Lipinski for staying behind after school and helping us set up for Friday night. Also, to Ashley for her artwork, Sonya for her work on the program and to my three High School stars, Kanisk, Gabriel and Simon for their hard work leading up to the show and illuminating us with their many talents! Thanks to Mrs. Lili-anna Lutley and all the homeroom teachers for their dedication to their own classes performances. Thank you to both Ewa and Lou Panetta and Mrs. Katarzyna Pieszczek-Janas and her hus-band who missed the food to stay behind and help us clean up afterwards, to Ms. Heard for her support of the event, PTA, and of course a special thanks goes out to Mrs. Wadiak who was a real star throughout, and always shined, especially during the many eclipses.

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In England during the festive season, it is traditional for the theatrical art of pan-tomime to fill theatres with comical presentations of stories such as Puss in Boots, Aladdin and, most especially, Cinderella. This year, ISK almost got its very own ‘panto’ experience… with a difference. A local Polish Middle School came to tread the boards at ISK with an English language production of Cinderella, bringing their own boards with them in the shape of a colourful cardboard puppet theatre, and not so much treading the boards as floating their puppets over them. Our young theatre-lovers from Pre-school and Grades 0 and 1 were entranced by this charm-ing puppet version of the fairy tale. No expense was spared in the special effects department when the fairy godmother changed Cinderella’s rags into a beautiful ball gown, and the audience gasped in delight as Cinderella and her prince danced romantically in each other’s arms. Would the lost shoe fit or not? The suspense was unbearable and the audience’s relief almost palpable when Cinderella got her man. As an added treat, members of the audience were allowed to go backstage and meet the puppets after the show. And we all lived happily ever after.

by Ewa Panetta, Early Years.

Cinderellapuppet theatre

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A local Polish Middle School presents Cinderella in English

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W i n t e r F e s t i v a lI n E a r l y Y e a r s

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Dear ISK Families,

First of all, the Early Years team would like to give you a big thank you for coming to our Winter Festival. We had a great time doing crafts, chatting, and eating delicious treats, and we hope that all of you have enjoyed the activities as well. We know the Early Years students enjoyed decorating and eating lots of cookies, making orna-ment chains and snowmen, and especially decorating their reindeer antlers. In fact, we have heard multiple stories about students trying to sleep at night with their antlers on. Once again, we hope that all of you will have a safe break. Enjoy your holidays, and have a Happy New Year.

Early Years Team

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A n i m a l S h e l t e r

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On Wednesday, December 7 and Thursday, December 8, ISK students from Preschool to Grade 5 visited the SCHRONISKO DLA BEZDOMNYCH ZWIERZĄT here in Kra-kow. If your Polish skills leave you wonder-ing just what that is, it’s an animal shelter here in Krakow. As part of a culminating event of a service learning project spearheaded by ISK teacher, Ms. Agata Bednarczyk, the students went to the shelter to deliver food, blankets, toys, money, and other things that they had been collecting since October. While there, the students were given a tour of the facili-ties and got to see the 100’s of dogs, cats, and even pigeons that the shelter cares for. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how these an-imals are cared for, how their donations will be used, and to learn about the importance of the responsibility of pet ownership. The shel-ter was very happy to receive our donations and the students enjoyed seeing all the ani-mals, especially the puppies.

A n i m a l S h e l t e r

S e r v i c e L e a r n i n gISK Students delivered donated items

to the local animal shelter

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Fieldtrip to a T-Shirt Factory.

This past month grades 0 and 1 had the opportunity to go on a field trip to Lenka, a T-shirt factory. As we took a tour of the factory, I could see all students were eager to learn up close about the printing process as well as the different jobs involved in shirt printing. First, we got to see the graphic designers at work. We saw how the logos and designs on a shirt are first created in the computer. Next, we moved on to the ground floor, that’s right! where the big machinery is. The be-ginning part of the process is to dye the white cotton shirts; we were all surprised at the wide variety of colors they use. Then, we saw some busy seamstress at work as they sewed and prepped the colorful t-shirts. But the most exciting section of the tour was where the printing takes place. It was even better for the lucky student who got to use the press machine to print ISK’s logo on a shirt. Finally, we visited the warehouse and the store. We all enjoyed our time at Lenka and the kids were especially excited about the printed t-shirt they got to take home.

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Grade Two has been having a rocking good time in science over the past few weeks as students continue to explore and learn about rocks, mineral and soils. Throughout the unit, students have been learning about how rocks and minerals are different from one another, how to distinguish and identify differ-ent rocks by how they are formed, and whether they are igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic, and how rocks and soil are connected.

To kick off this most recent unit, students visited the Wieliczka salt mine to learn how a mineral, in this case, salt, is formed, then mined and processed. Students were given a private tour with a tour guide who explained how the salt is formed, how it exists in different forms throughout the mine, and how the job of mining the salt has changed and devel-oped from past to present.

When second graders weren’t busy licking the walls, they were given the opportunity to see all the beautiful salt sculptures created by miners throughout the years, to visit the salt lakes that are interspersed throughout the mine, to walk through the wondrous salt-church that Wieliczka is world renowned for, and to operate some replica 18th and19th century mining equipment! Students were unanimous when asked to describe their favor-ite part of the trip - the French fries! - which we enjoyed after our tour had ended and seemed to outshine all else. With extra salt of course!

Thank you to parents and the ISK Community for helping to make this terrific educational opportu-nity a reality.

by John Morgan, Grade 2 teacher

Second Grade Science

Rocks

Alfik Math Competition

On the 23rd of November, 11 ISK students competed in Alfik, a widely known Polish math talent search competition. The representatives of our school competed against many children from all around Poland. Allthe participants studied hard and did their best trying to answer the, challenging questions in a shortamount of time. There were questions from many different areas of math such as geometry,algebra, trigonometry and many more. The test was hard, but students did their best and despite the fact thatit was written in Polish, they managed to answer quite a few challenging questions.

Although Alfik was a challenge given to ISK students, we think everybody had fun writing it. Thetest was taken in a very merry atmosphere and participants laughed from time to time when someone poppedup with a funny question. Most of these hilarious moments of the competition were related to themisunderstanding of some of the math terms in Polish and asking Mr. Lipiński to clarify them. Probably the most notable of these moments was when one of the students asked - what does a line mean? - of course in Pol-ish. Some of the students lacked experience in terms of Polish math vocabulary and so Mr. Lipinski had toclarify a whole bunch of Polish terms. Some of the terms were simple, but to many of the students taking thetest, were relatively foreign!

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The test was written from 12:45 to 14:00 by 11 ISK students from grades 5 to 10. Some studentssacrificed a part of their recess or favorite lessons to write the test, not even speaking about the time taken toprepare. Different tests were written by students of different age groups, and were definitely a challenge foreveryone. Answering questions in the language you do not learn at in school is surely not an easy task, andso we really think that all participants were very brave to represent the school in a way that was not easy forthem. No calculators were allowed, and time was very limited; questions had to be answered quickly andconsistently. We all had fun, but also got a fair grasp of Polish vocabulary in a recognized competition.

The test passed very smoothly, with students finishing up at different times. For the organization ofthis event, we would really like to thank Mr. Lipinski for organizing this competition at ISK and reallyhelping us with performing the best we can. Some laughter, but also intense thinking and striving to answerevery single question in the best way we could marked Alfik 2011 at ISK. The event was a large success andnow we can wait patiently for the results. Congratulations to all the participants of this year’s edition! We arereally looking forward towards taking part in Alfik next year!

By Joanna and Mateusz Mroczka

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Documents

Newsletter_2011-12-31