Phoenix Flyer

Korea International School

In This Issue:• KIS Today• KIS & MIT• Seoul Campus• Elementary School• Middle School• High School• Athletics• Summer Program

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KIS TodayKIS is now finished with its first month of the new school year, and it is the best start of a year I have seen. One reason, I think, is our School-Wide Goal to: Develop Applied Learning educational systems which include design thinking, project based learn-ing, and experiential learning to encourage the nec-essary 21st Century skills and abilities. From Pre-Kindergarten through to 12th grade, students are taking their learning to new, applied levels. That in-cludes: more hands-on activities to make concepts meaningful; more student responsibility and initia-tive regarding their work; more learning activities to

encourage creativity and problem-solving; and more collaborative team activities. Exciting things are hap-

pening in the Elementary School Ko-LAB, the Middle School design-thinking classes, the High School autonomous time and spaces, Experiential Education activities at all levels, and design projects in many classrooms as well.

This is important because our students need those 21st Century skills more than ever to be successful. Top universities have repeatedly told us that these skills are needed, and that their admissions offices look for evidence of them. Surveys of top corporations identify these skills as necessary and in short supply for their key employees. I believe we all know that the world is changing and developing rapidly, and these skills will allow our students to adapt to that change in order to be leaders and innovators while others are struggling to keep up.

I encourage everyone to learn about, and celebrate, these exciting initiatives. Our students are benefitting from them, and they will be better prepared for their futures because of them. We are committed to our students’ success!

Steve CathersSchool Director

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School SpotlightFor the last few years, we have offered the MIT Program at KIS. In January, MIT upperclassmen have been coming to our school to work with our students. We are now planning for this year’s program, and I believe it will be better than ever. As before, we will have eight MIT students come to campus for four weeks. They will lead all-day workshops in specialized subjects during the last week of Winter Break, and students can attend for free. We will have an application process later this fall, since there is limited space.

When school resumes in January, MIT students will work in some Middle and High School classes to provide some innovative, hands-on activities, as well as teach some advanced concepts. In the past, this has been a good opportunity for students to get to know the MIT students and find out about their college life.

As always, we do not know what students will come yet, or what their special interests are. Because of that, we will not decide what workshops to offer until we discuss this with them in October. However, all sessions will have a core of engineering with hands-on applications, as they have been every year. Middle and High School students who are interested in the winter workshops should keep the last week of vacation (January 4th to 8th) free, and they should apply early when the application is announced. We expect fuller sessions and better workshops than ever before.

KIS & MIT

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Seoul CampusElementary School

The excitement of the first day of school could be felt in the halls at Seoul Campus as teachers waited for the first bus to arrive. As the children got off the bus with smiling faces and an eagerness to learn, we all knew it was going to be another great year. Old friends had a chance to catch up, and new friendships were formed as the

day progressed. At the end of the day, we had a chance to meet as House Teams, and to create our own, unique chants. Philbert the Phoenix was there to join us for our assembly too. He encour-aged our chant competition, and he took pictures with all of the House Teams. Our first day was a joyful time, and it was a great start to our new school year!

Remember your First Day

This August, we have already begun designing and engineering in the Seoul Campus Design Center. Pre-Kindergarten to 5th grade students are learning about the design cycle and the amenities in the Design Center. During Design Time, students creatively problem solve for differ-ent design challenges appropriate to their age and abilities. Here are a few of the activities that we have embarked upon so far.

The preschool students constructed bridges to move a character across water.

Kindergarten students designed toys--using limited materials--that were able to complete a certain action. Afterwards, they recreated their same designs using LEGO WEDO kits.

First graders designed containers that move, and toys that fly.

In second grade, students have begun designing 3D objects (in Tinkercad) that represent things that are important to themselves. We will use our 3D printer to print these designs.

Third graders are in the process of designing tools to measure the weather. Fourth graders have created marshmallow and spaghetti structures based on the information they learned from interviewing others.

The fifth graders have already had their first competition this school year. Each team strived

to design and construct the tallest tower that can hold a cupcake for the longest time.

In the Design Center, we lay the foundation for so many disciplines, while having lots of laughs along the way too. We look forward to a fun and educational year with all of our students.

Brianna BedessemDesign Teacher

Seoul Campus Design Center

Highlights

Justin O’ConnorSeoul CampusPrincipal

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The youngest students of KIS-Seoul Campus are busy with hands-on learning in Pre-Kindergarten (PK). Every day, they have the opportu-nity to work at our classroom’s sensory table. This past month, it was teeming with noodles, water, play dough, and rice puffs. Students bring their own ideas to the table, often adding animals, funnels, tubes, and more. Then, they manipulate and move the materials with ice cream scoops, tongs, cups, and other found objects. Throughout the year, our PK students will be presented with many more table fillings, such as cotton balls, shaving cream, rice, bubble wrap, wrap-ping paper, and sand! It’s a blast for them to dive into the sensory table’s materials and activate their senses!

If you have odd materials that you are not using, we would love for you to donate them to our sen-sory table; please pass them along! These ador-able PK students use their wonderful imagination, and show off their growing creativity, no matter what materials they are presented with!

Anna SnellerPre-K Teacher

Sensory Exploration in Pre-Kindergarten

Seoul Campus students in grades 3 to 5 are investing in more than their education this year, as they partici-pate in our new Classroom Economy system: a tool for teaching both personal and financial responsibility.

Using classroom “currency,” students earn mon-ey for jobs, and pay rent for their desks. They can earn bonus cash by participating in school activi-ties, helping others, earning a commended score on an assessment, and more. On the other hand, students who don’t meet classroom expectations will be fined some of their classroom dollars. That could happen, for example, when being dishon-est or off task, or losing work, or for other reasons.

This system helps children to learn valuable life skills such as organization, the value of saving, and delayed

gratification. Rather than being told about the importance of these skills, they actually ex-perience them. In addition, the system fits in well with the other parts of our curriculum. We’ll also have a little fun with it. Af-ter paying rent, students can spend their saved money at an auction each trimes-ter where they get to bid on popular, desired items.

So, don’t be surprised if your child comes home one day with questions about paying rent, or buy-er’s-remorse about overbidding for an auction item. As a parent, you might also find it a great op-portunity to have a thoughtful discussion about responsibility in finances and other areas of life.

Megan GreeneGrade 4 Teacher

Classroom Economy: Our Stock is Rising!

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Pangyo CampusElementary School

KIS Elementary School (ES) is very pleased and excited to welcome a wonderful new group of caring edu-cators to our team. These great folks have already made their presence felt with their infectious enthusiasm and remarkable expertise. Over the next few issues of The Phoenix Flyer, we’ll feature each of them, so that you can get to know them a little better. First up is our newest Dynamic Duo: the Bycraft Family

Welcome to KIS!

Mr. Bycraft is teaching science to our ES students this year. He is a Michigander by birth, and an un-repentant, self-described nerd. If it’s goofy, then he loves it--from comic books to (of course) Star Wars. Before coming to KIS, Mr. B. taught for eight years at the high school level. He and his wife, Marsha, (see below) have a delightful Kin-dergartener named Ruby. “Ruby’s taught me a lot of things,” says Mr. Bycraft, “...mostly the names of the characters on My Little Pony.”

If, when you see Mr. Bycraft, he asks you to pinch him, please don’t be alarmed. He’s just trying to make sure that he isn’t still dreaming. “I get to teach what I love, to students who are really ex-cited to learn, in a fully stocked workshop, with an awesome and supportive team of teachers,” he exclaims. “Never even in my wildest thoughts did I imagine a situation like this. ...It’s pretty sweet.”

Mike Bycraft Science

Highlights

The BycraftFamily

Mrs. Bycraft is a talented and multifaceted artist and teacher who enjoys moulding young minds as much as she does clay. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Fine Arts, and says, “After graduating, I tried my hand as a starving artist for a few years and found that you do, actually, starve!”

She, along with her husband Mike (see above), was teaching in Las Vegas for the last nine years. After spending nearly a decade of baking in the unforgiving Nevada sun, Mrs. Bycraft is enthusi-astically enjoying some of the things that many of us commonly complain about--namely, the high humidity and torrential downpours. “Bring it on!” she cheers.

It’s funny how moving halfway around the world can bring a family closer together. For the By-crafts, that is literally the case. Mike and Marsha have classrooms right across from each other, and their daughter Ruby is in a Kindergarten class just down the hall. The second floor of KIS ES is the Bycrafts’ world, and we’re all just learn-ing in it....Please stay tuned for more profiles of our new ES teaching team!

Marsha Bycraft Art

Travis PetersonElementary SchoolAssociate Principal

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The mission of the KoLAB Program is to instill in our students a passion for STEM learning, with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, art/de-sign, and Mathematics. STEM learning cultivates student competence, self-assurance, initiative, and creativity in theses crucial and contemporary areas. The KoLAB program is committed to providing students with a learning environment where they can rigorously apply their knowledge to solve meaningful problems and answer real-world questions. Our integrated cur-riculum and high expectations helps students success-fully transition into middle school--as competent, con-fident, and innovative individuals. Our KoLAB spaces are modern learning environments in which elementary students design, create, prototype, and manufacture their own products while using modern technologies.

A key aim of the program is for students to clearly identify connections and interdependent relationships between disciplines; and then students use these con-cepts to competently apply their skills within authentic contexts. We strive for each student to engage in rele-vant, inquiry-based learning experiences based on re-al-world problems and intriguing questions. Students will develop and confidently apply 21st century skills (creativity, innovation, problem-solving, critical think-ing, collaboration, communication, grit, global stew-ardship, and initiative) to produce creative solutions and products which address complex problems and challenges. Thus, our program provides KIS students with early exposure to STEM careers and fields, and thereby fuels their limitless interest in the world of STEM.

What is the KoLAB?

David LeeElementary SchoolSTEM Coordinator

For more information or to speak to a Rustic Pathways representative, please contact Britt Herron at bherron@rusticpathways.com.

Rustic Pathways ™

KOREA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Travel with Rustic Pathways!CHINAGiant Panda Conservation Service Excursion

Dates: March 26 - April 2, 2015 Cost: $1,995 + airfare

Embark on the adventure of a lifetime as you spend a week getting to know one of the world’s most peaceful creatures - the endangered giant panda. Help staff at the Bi Feng Xia Panda Conservation Center in Ya’an, Sichuan. Care for the pandas’ diet, clean and maintain their living spaces, and contribute to ongoing research. Get the most out of your spring break and expand your horizons through adventure, service, and cultural immersion in China!

Program Website: bit.ly/kischina

FIJI Marine Conservation Service Excursion

Dates: March 26 - April 2, 2015Cost: $1,695 + airfare

Discover and explore Fiji as you learn about marine issues, volunteer with reef monitoring and recovery efforts, and immerse yourself in the local culture of the Yasawa Islands. Learn about Fiji’s marine ecosystem and how local communities are working to protect it. When not working in the water, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy island life and participate in engaging service initiatives in nearby villages. Get the most out of your spring break and expand your horizons through adventure, service, and cultural immersion in Fiji!

Program Website: bit.ly/kisfiji

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Pangyo CampusMiddle School Highlights

Back-to-School NightThe KIS Middle School would like to thank all parents who attended our Back to School Night last week. Many of you were given the opportunity to meet our amazing teaching staff, see our facilities, meet other parents, sign up for the PTO… and to walk a day in your student’s shoes up and down the stairs! We would also like to thank Ms. Duncan and all the mini-ensembles, as they provided wonderful entertainment during each of the passing times. Again, we appreciate your continued support of our students, staff, and programs; and we look forward to having a great year!

Dr. David LovelinMiddle SchoolPrincipal

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The KIS Middle School, in conjunction with Rustic Pathways, has developed three service learning op-portunities for our students during this coming 2016 Spring Break. We continually look for amazing global experiences to broaden the knowledge and understanding of our students.

During the 2016 Spring Break, the 8th Grade Celebration Trip will be in Thailand. We will support the local community, while having plenty of time to play and experience the beauty of Thailand. This 8th grade trip is available to--and organized to support--the entire class of 120 students.

The other two trips for 6th and 7th grade students will have an enrollment limit of only 24 students per trip. One of the trips will focus on marine biology and conservation in Fiji. The other trip is centered on the con-servation of the panda in China.

All three trips are optional, and the price-point ranges from Won 1,500,000 - 2,000,000. Please see the at-tached information sheets, and I hope you will join us for the parent informational meeting on Friday, Sep-tember 4th at 11:00 am in the PAC.

Experiential and Service Education

8TH GRADE CELEBRATION TRIP | RICEFIELDS BASE

For more information or to speak to a Rustic Pathways representative, please contact Britt Herron at bherron@rusticpathways.com.

THAI

LAN

D

Korea International School

Rustic Pathways ™

Dates: March 26 - April 1, 2015

Cost: $995 USD + airfare

About the ProgramGet excited to spend a week celebrating your (almost) middle school graduation and the future class of 2020! Expand your horizons through adventure, service, and cultural immersion on an 8th grade trip like no other! Located in the heart of a rural farming village in northeast Thailand, the Ricefields Base is a modern oasis amidst traditional Thai life. Surrounded by expansive rice fields with the village temple only steps outside of our gates, you’ll have the opportunity to witness life the way it has been for generations. Because of our long-standing relationship with our host family, the Sanboons, and the local community, we are able to offer our guests a truly immersive experience! You will feel a strong sense of community here as you bond with your schoolmates and your new Thai friends through team building activities, deep conversations, immersive community service, and of course, lots of fun and games!

Program Website: bit.ly/kisthailand

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Pangyo CampusHigh School

It is my honor to extend to you a warm welcome to the High School division of Korea International School. I am thrilled to be your new High School Principal, and so far I have thoroughly en-joyed being here.

As part of an introduction, I would like to share that I have been a High School Principal for the last seven years in Oregon, and I have been a school administrator for the last 22 years. Due to the high caliber of education at KIS, and because KIS is among the most elite high schools serving the international school commu-nity, I am thrilled about this opportunity.

I am looking forward to our new school year; and I am very honored to support your child with a learning experience that will drive their academic and social development, while ultimately preparing them for a suc-cessful higher education.

Over the last three weeks at KIS, I have learned that our students are an incredible group of talented, bright and creative, young adults. They are extremely polite and respectful; and they have welcomed me in a very positive manner.

As Principal, I live by the pivotal values of accessibility, visibility, and building strong relationships with stu-dents, parents, and staff. I will be working diligently with all stakeholders to continually look ahead at new and exciting opportunities to ensure that our students are exceptionally prepared to be high-quality adults--adults who can apply their learning, make good decisions, and be highly successful role models in global citizenship.

Lastly, my staff and I take pride in being part of the KIS family. I would like to personally welcome all stu-dents, parents, and guardians to this exciting school year, and I sincerely thank you for your support and dedication to our school.

From the Desk of Lou Bailey, PrincipalHighlights

With the new 8-block schedule for high school, and the autonomous block in mind, Mr. Bryant and Ms. Paul-son have designed a student-centered space: complete with bean bag chairs and painted walls!

“The learning lounge was designed with the KIS student population in mind. This space offers students a comfortable environment to work on their academics. Students will have the opportunity to discuss meth-ods to better organize their work, prioritize assignments, or simply work in a welcoming setting. This space can also be used for student collaboration with peer groups and teachers. Students should feel safe, com-fortable and empowered to seek out and receive the support they need to be successful.”

The Learning Lounge

Emily PailsonSecondary StudentSupport Teacher

Do you want to experience edu-cation outside the four walls of a classroom? Do you want a chal-lenge that combines physical and mental acuity? Do you want to collaborate with a group, and in a way that shows immediate success or failure?

From September 9th to 11th, the entire Seniors’ class will be embarking on an Experiential Education trip to Seoraksan National Park.

As part of a school-wide KIS initiative to integrate Experiential Education into its curriculum, this trip will be a three-day wilderness excursion. Designed to create unity within the Seniors’ class, it will chal-lenge students to test their limits and perform activi-ties outside of their comfort zones.

Students will gain individual understanding as they complete an eight-kilometer hike on Wednesday, September 9th. On Thursday, September 10th, stu-dents will collaborate on teams as they navigate a five- to ten-kilometer stretch of whitewater rafting on the Naerincheon River. Students will also be able to assess their comfort with heights: with the opportu-nity to free fall from a tower, or climb the face of a mountain in an ascent to the top. Lastly, Seniors will come together at the beach before heading back to their KIS classrooms on Friday, September 11th.

Senior class advisors will accompany the Seniors during this journey of unity and self-discovery. Advisors will be with their advisories every leg of the trip, as they too will hike, raft, free fall and climb.

Regardless of age, anyone who goes on an Experiential Education trip like this is guaranteed to learn some-thing new about themselves and about others whom they see on a daily basis at KIS.

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David QuirinEnglish Teacher

Experiential Education

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Phoenix AthleticsThis Fall’s Sports Season is now on its way! Tennis is smashing, vol-leyball is spiking, and cross-country is off and running.

After a very competitive session of tryouts for tennis, the teams have been set and the demanding work has begun. The recently-formed tennis teams have already been practising a lot at the Suji Tennis Center, with many new members added to every team. Both the girls and boys teams are excited to be hosting the AISA Tennis Tournament this October, and we are all look forwarding to playing other schools onour home turf / courts. “We live here.”

Volleyball selections also had a very high standard of ability this year. We had more students try out for the four volleyball teams than we have ever had before. Understandably, our KIS coaches had to make some very fair and objective choices when choosing players for each team. Notably, quite a few varsity volleyball players graduated last year, so you will see many new faces this season on each team. All KIS players and coaches are going to give their best efforts to defend our title as KAIAC champions, and hopefully hold that trophy once again. “Bump, set, spike!”

Cross Country had a very large turnout this year as well. Most of us at KIS see this large community gathering right after classes, in front of the Middle School, in healthy spirit for the good run ahead. Actually, the club began running the first day that they met. Even though the tem-peratures in August were hot and humid, the team pushed beyond the weather and had great, first-season runs. With our first meet at YISS approaching quickly on September 12th, all runners are focussing on achieving their personal bests--with the encourage-ment of their dedicated coaches. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

To all, please come out and support your KIS athletes this school year. If we have ever heard applause and cheering for ourselves, we know the power it has. GO PHOENIX!!!

Bevo LaRueAthletics/ActivitiesDirector

Fall Sports

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Bevo LaRueAthletics/ActivitiesDirector

Summer ProgramThe first KIS Summer Program was a huge success this year! The students enjoyed getting outside, working on projects with their friends, and learning a lot about STEM concepts. We want to thank all of the people and organizations that helped support this amazing learning opportunity for our students during the summer of 2015.

The KIS business staff worked tirelessly to make sure that our facilities, and the resources we needed to run the program, were available and ready to go.

Our KIS Summer Program Design Team and Summer Program Staff put in an enormous amount of hours. Each team member worked very hard all spring and summer to make sure that every and all students had an awesome and educational time. A big thank you to:

Ms. Ahn, Ms. Brohme, Mrs. Brule, Mrs. Callahan, Mr. Farley, Mrs. Farley, Ms. Godek, Mrs. Green, Mr. Her-nandez, Mr. McLean, Mr. Majors, Mr. Reschke, Mr. Shaw, Ms. Thomas, Ms. Williams, Ms. Wright, Ms Yang, Ms. Yao, Mr. Zhou

You made this the best summer ever!

We also had the support of two amazing organizations:DSP Relocation provided us with hundreds of cardboard boxes that were used for a vari-ety of engineering and art projects. Bosch Korea donated powertools for our Design Center and KoLabs. Without the support of both of these organizations, the KIS Summer Program would not have been possible. Bosch and DSP Relocation, your support and commitment to the education of tomorrow’s leaders is greatly appreciated.

Our First KIS Summer Program: Thank You!

Justin O’ConnorSeoul CampusPrincipal

Korea International School

Korea International School27, Daewangpangyo-ro 385beon-gil, Bundang-gu

Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-doKorea 463-420

www.kis.kr