Written by Sofia Polo, TIS Class of 2005, as a college application essay.

Most people don’t look back on their scholarly life and think of elementary school as particularly monumental. I, however, have no doubt that one of the smartest things my parents have ever done for me was send me to The International School. At TIS, I was immersed in the Spanish language and Latin culture.

No doubt it is a valuable asset to be bilingual in today’s world. At The International School, almost all my classes were taught in Spanish. In 3rd or 4th grade, I could carry on a smooth conversation, and read and write in Spanish just as well as in English.

Today, I am so thankful I learned Spanish at an early age for its convenience, and also because it is in my blood. I am half Peruvian, and

much of my family still lives in Peru. At home we generally speak English, but the fact that I can speak to my grandma in Spanish, sing the words to our favorite Peruvian love songs, and read my great-grandfather’s poetry has brought me much closer to my heritage in a more intimate way.

The International School did not just teach me Spanish grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, it also taught me about the culture and traditions of my teachers’ countries. To this day, my friends and I still touch our noses for good luck while singing “Happy Birthday” as our teacher Adela, from Spain, taught us, and we still occasionally dive head-first into the birthday cake as demonstrated by our Mexican teacher, Lola. Today, my iTunes library is 60-70% world music, some of which is from a CD that my Colombian teacher, Constanza, gave me in 5th grade. In my closet, I still have some of the traditional outfits that I danced in for our Festival Latino, and I can tell you just about anything you want to know about Simon Bolivar or La Pinta, La Niña, y La Santa Maria.

In 5th grade my class went on a Capstone trip to Spain where we visited historical sights, attended school, and stayed for a week with host families in La Mancha. This experience taught me how to absorb the culture and language of another country.

Since my Capstone trip, I have traveled to Peru to visit my family,

and have gone on two mission trips to Honduras to provide running water to a rural coffee-growing village. As the only fluent Spanish-speaker on the first mission trip, I quickly became the official translator. This was not only because of my fluency, but also my knowledge of and adaptability to the Latin American culture. I had learned the correct ways to address my superiors from my TIS teachers; I knew about the style of music they listened to from all the Festival Latino performances; and I had some soccer experience under my belt from my vast experience during recess.

However, the most incredible connection I made with the people in the village was the moment I recognized a song that the little girls were singing as one that my preschool teacher taught me during my first year at The International School.

My time in Honduras made me realize how much The International School has shaped me. I now know how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to go there, and gain such a wide perspective of the global community at an early age. Although it was only preschool through 5th grade, my time at The International School strongly influenced my interests today. I have certainly found a passion for learning about the many cultures of the world and drawing from them to create the person I am and the person I want to be.

“One of the smartest things my parents have ever done . . .”

The InTernaTIonal School’S TIS newSAn excerpt from the February 2012 issue of

Graduate Profile: Khali Lanning ’02Khali Lanning graduated from TIS in the Japanese Track in June 2002. She spent her high school junior year in Japan and has just left to attend three university terms in Europe. She plans a career in fashion.

When you think back to your time at TIS, what do you value most about it? The most valuable lesson I took from my time at TIS was to be accepting and respectful towards cultures other than my own. My classes were always very diverse, as was the student body at TIS. There were many children with different cultures and languages that I came into contact with every day, and that led me to become comfortable and open-minded in unfamiliar situations.

You spent your high school junior year in Japan. What made you want to do that? To be honest, being a sophomore in high school I was very young and did not want to leave my friends to go spend a

year in Japan by myself. But my mom really pushed me to do it and today I am so happy that she did, as it is something that has come to really define who I am and how I carry myself. The experience forced me to become fiercely independent, and gave me confidence in myself knowing that I could handle anything

on my own. The most memorable aspect of that year was the people I met and the relationships that were formed. I lived with several different Japanese families who welcomed me into their homes, and also made lasting friendships with girls I met at school. Out of six exchange students, I was the only one that was fluent in the language. I was also the only exchange student who received credit for the classes I took while there.

Already being fluent in Japanese really gave me the ability to assimilate at the all-girls high school I attended. I made a conscious effort to make friends with the Japanese students – I ate lunch with them, joined the dance team, went shopping with them after school. I found that after I

made an effort to get to know the students and teachers, I became part of the regular student body (the exchange students were usually treated very differently than the Japanese students). And while I know the other foreign exchange students had a great experience, it was different than mine; having no prior knowledge of the language limited them.

You’re in college now, about to go abroad again. Do you have any specific objectives for this time abroad?At the end of September I leave for London for a term, and then I will go to Florence, Italy for two terms. I will be gone 8 months. Studying abroad in college was never a question of whether or not I would do it but rather a question of where I would go. My personal opinion is that every student should study abroad at least once before they graduate; the experience teaches you things that only studying abroad can. My only goal for the year is to be like a sponge and to fully immerse myself in the culture of wherever I am at that moment. I simply want to learn as much as possible, and to live the experience to its full extent.

Do you think that having attended TIS influences the way you think today? Attending TIS definitely influences how I think today. Having the ability to speak Japanese will undoubtedly give me greater career options in the fashion industry, and will give me a leg up on the competition when applying for jobs. But what I’m most thankful for about my time at TIS is that the diversity of the school taught me to be accepting of people that are different than me. It gave me the ability to be comfortable in situations where I am the fish out of water, and to learn and be open-minded about the things I am unfamiliar with.

Khali and her mom Tami

“[TIS] gave me the ability to be comfortable in situations where I am the fish out of water.”

The InTernaTIonal School’S TIS newSAn excerpt from the Fall 2011 issue of

An excerpt from the February 2011 issue of TIS NEWS

TIS graduate embodies world citizenship“I expected to be in culture shock when I got to Paraguay, but it really felt very natural and almost a relief to be speaking Spanish again,” said TIS graduate Ruth Campbell of her high school study abroad experience. “Instead, I was completely culture shocked when I came home. I missed speaking Spanish a lot.”

Ruth started at TIS in kindergarten. “I was a small child and never thought about race or ethnicity … I left The International School wanting to make sure that I didn’t lose my connection to other languages and cultures.”

After graduating from TIS in 2003, Ruth went to Beaumont Middle School (Portland Public Schools) and took French because they only offered beginning Spanish. “Knowing Spanish made learning French a lot easier,” she said. Though she did take fourth year Spanish in high school, she found it “pretty easy” and missed having more Spanish in her life. So the summer after her sophomore year, Ruth signed on with AFS Intercultural Programs for an eight week experience in Paraguay.

“It was a basic home-stay program, and I lived with a family in Concepción. I had two host sisters (one close to my age, the other a few

years younger) and a brother (9 years old). It was winter there, so I went to school with my older host sister. I got to know all her classmates and friends, and was also close with a few of my host cousins.

“I chose Paraguay because I wanted to use my Spanish but also experience something a little more foreign to me. Paraguay has two official languages, Spanish and Guarani, so while I was there I learned some of the Guarani slang that was often mixed in with how they usually talked.

“Most people seem to think that going to school in another language is the most daunting prospect of study abroad. But learning in Spanish at school was really the easier part for me because that was the context of Spanish I was most used to. Learning the colloquialisms and slang mixed into conversational Spanish was more challenging, though not really all that intimidating.

“I learned about language and Paraguayan culture, and a lot about the relationship between language and culture. What I liked best, as most study abroad students will tell you, were the people I met, the warmth of my host parents and the laughter of my sisters and cousins.”

Ruth is now a freshman at Vassar College and is learning Arabic. “I’m undecided about my major, though I have been thinking about political science. I did a lot with my high school constitution team, and I ended up being interested in immigration and the rights of non citizens. I’m thinking I may go into the Peace Corps, or be an immigration lawyer.” Ruth feels that although her interests come from who she is, “my time at TIS gave me those ideas in the first place.”

TIS graduate Ruth Campbell ‘03, now at Vassar College

Educating World Citizens since 1990 • International Baccalaureate World School Thriving in other cultures • Fluent in another language

Engaged in math, science, social studies & arts • Confident & capable

025 SW Sherman Street, Portland, OR 97201 • 503-226-2496 • www.intlschool.org

Chinese track graduates continue studying, exploring

“When I need my times tables, I still do them in my head in Chinese,” says TIS Class of 2005 graduate Leah Pons. Leah is now in tenth grade at Riverdale High School, and looks back fondly on her TIS experience. “I like full time immersion. I just like the idea of learning a different language.” Reflecting on TIS, “I think about the Chinese dance troupe – I think I did it every year. It was a lot of pressure, but it was fun. In ninth grade I was reintroduced to performing through my church choir, and it made me think about performing while I was at TIS.”

After fifth grade, Leah attended the Chinese program at Hosford Middle School where she felt she was particularly well prepared in math and far ahead of her peers in Chinese. “Now I’m getting tutored twice a week (instead of doing Chinese in school), so I’m moving ahead with my Chinese.”

Leah went to China with her TIS Capstone trip, and has been back with her adoption group. “I would like to go back

again to tour and to use my Chinese some more. I really want to keep up with the language.”

TIS Class of 2006 graduate Naomi Garland is in ninth grade at Franklin High School. She is the only freshman taking advanced Chinese and is preparing to take AP Chinese next year. “Most of the kids in my class speak some Asian language

at home. I skipped one year of Chinese after TIS, so my reading and writing slipped, but my speaking skills are close to theirs.”

Like Leah, Naomi doesn’t use her Chinese much outside of classes when she’s in the States. “When I’m here in Portland, it’s like my Chinese gets stuck because so few people know it. But when I’m in China, it just comes out – it’s something I have.”

Naomi has been back to China twice since her Capstone trip, including a two week internship at the Wolong Panda Reserve. She and a few other TIS grads worked with the people there, cleaned cages and did whatever needed to be done. “Thanks to TIS, I didn’t just get told about China. I got the experience of it, more than reading and writing, I got to see it and experience it.”

Now Naomi wants to explore more of the country. “I want to go back to China so badly. I want to go around more, not just to where the tourists go. I want to visit my orphanage again. I want to see what else there is, to go into remote areas and talk to people there. . . I wouldn’t be able to do any of this if I didn’t speak Chinese.”

Looking ahead, Leah Pons is thinking about journalism school, possibly at the University of Oregon because of their strong Chinese program. Naomi Garland is interested in psychology, possibly leading to work with orphanages and doing business in or with China.

An excerpt from the February 2010 issue of TIS NEWS

Naomi Garland - TIS ‘06

Leah Pons - TIS ‘05

The International School • 025 SW Sherman Street, Portland, OR 97201 • 503-226-2496 • www.intlschool.org Educating World Citizens • Spanish, Chinese & Japanese true immersion

The International School inspires children to become global citizens by providing a rigorous and comprehensive education within a nurturing, student-centered

environment of full immersion in multiple languages and cultures.

The InTernaTIonal School newSAn excerpt from the fall 2009 issue of

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The International School News is published three times per year to update our extended community on school programs and activities. To subscribe, please contact Linda Bonder,

LBonder@intlschool.org, 503-226-2496 x104. We do not share our mailing lists.

TIS grad thrives in service learning abroad“I lived with a host family in San Carlos, a rural town of 600 people,” explains TIS graduate Riley Stevenson about her summer volunteering in Costa Rica for Amigos de las Americas. “My family had 16 children, and there were other families of similar size. We went to different houses each day for lunch and dinner, so I really got to know the community. I liked being in a rural area; I really like the style of life they have there.

“I was very nervous before I went - to fly down by myself and not know anyone there. But as soon as I met my host family, I was happy. I was in the town with two other Amigos partners, people I didn’t know before. No one there spoke English. My Spanish was a lot better than my partners’, so I was the one who led everything. My partners and I would plan our lessons each day - we were teaching children about environmental health issues like recycling, deforestation and protecting the environment. We taught for two hours each day in a classroom with about 30 kids.

“We also organized a community-based initiative. The project had to be something the community wanted - Amigos didn’t want us going in and saying, ‘you need this’. So our project was to paint the local school which hadn’t been painted in about 30 years. We had to do everything: apply for a grant, figure out where we could get the paint and how to get it transported to our village, and we had to organize volunteers.

“I liked teaching and the project, but the trip was really more of a cultural experience. I learned how people live there, I learned leadership skills and gained confidence meeting new people. I also made great friends - my host Dad cried when I left. I will go back in December to visit.”

Costa Rica was Riley’s second experience volunteering in Latin America. After tenth grade, Riley volunteered for a week in Tijuana, Mexico with Los Embajadores. “That trip really piqued my interest in global affairs. I read newspapers and really care what is happening in different countries.

“For example, there is a lot about immigration issues in the news. In Tijuana I went to an immigrant center, I saw people cross the border, I listened to their stories. I understand what issues they have at home, why they need

jobs, why they want to come here.”Riley feels that if she hadn’t known Spanish, she

wouldn’t have had these experiences. “At TIS not only did I learn Spanish, which really gave me an advantage, but it also prepared me to be more culturally sensitive. I learned about different cultures because my teachers were from so many different countries. That was an issue for some volunteers in Costa Rica - they didn’t know what to think or how to respond when they saw things that were different. But it felt comfortable to me. I even recognized some of the children’s songs because I had sung them myself at TIS.”

Riley Stevenson graduated from TIS in June 2003. She attended The Madeleine School for grades 6-8 and is currently a senior at Central Catholic High School. Riley is applying to colleges for programs in international relations and journalism.

Amigos de las Americas facilitates transformational community service involving more than 20,000 youth volunteers and thousands of communities in Latin America.

Los Embajadores runs service trips to sites in Northern Mexico fostering relationships with host communities, organizing work projects, and coordinating cultural programs.

The InTernaTIonal School newSAn excerpt from the February 2009 issue of

The InTernaTIonal School025 SW Sherman Street, Portland, OR 97201 503-226-2496, www.intlschool.orgEducating World Citizens

The International School News is published three times per year to update our extended community on school programs and activities. To subscribe, please contact Linda Bonder,

LBonder@intlschool.org, 503-226-2496 x104. We do not share our mailing lists.

(The following is from a November 2008 interview. It has been edited for length.)

. . . on their TIS teachersToryn Slater, Class of 2002: I have to say Maria Abad [was my favorite teacher]. I remember my first week of school, I was terrified, I didn’t want to leave my parents. And she just embraced me. I would come into class bawling in tears, and she would take me from my parents’ and cradle me in her arms and carry me around all day. She could tell that I had something more than just a crying little 3-year-old, she was able to look beyond my cries and develop me into a better person.

. . . on doors opened Cory Abbe, Class of 2002: A couple of things my Spanish has done for me. For one, I get to put it on college admissions papers. I did the Spanish AP and got a five, and I got A’s in all my Spanish classes which looks great on a transcript.

[For my high school internship] I was a bilingual receptionist for two lawyers. They had a lot of Spanish speaking families who had moved from Mexico and needed help. As the receptionist

I definitely had to speak Spanish, talk to people on the phone and help them out. That was definitely an interesting experience and I wouldn’t have been able to do it at all if I didn’t have my Spanish.

. . on native-speaking teachersToryn: [Having native-speaking teachers] has made such a huge difference. I’m currently at Jesuit [High School], and I took Spanish AP as a freshman. I was lucky enough to have a native Spanish speaker, but at Jesuit only two out of the seven Spanish speakers are native. I traveled down to Ecuador with a non-native speaking teacher. And it’s not that their comprehension of the language is less, because they have studied their whole lives. But the way they sound, you can definitely tell when a native speaker is teaching you. You learn so much more from someone who is actually from that culture.

. . . on learning English and SATsToryn: I actually think that learning how to read in Spanish before English almost made it easier for me. In high school I won the English award sophomore year – so it definitely wasn’t a problem for me. And I became an accomplished writer at Jesuit. So as long as you put your mind to it and set your goals, the whole late English integration shouldn’t be an issue. It just takes time. You just have to be patient and persistent and trust that The International School knows what it’s doing.

Cory: It’s very true. I had a tough time transitioning into English because English is a much more complicated language to learn how to read versus Spanish. But I really enjoy English now.

The kids [in my high school] who learned two languages in grade school have better grades, better SAT scores. I

think that comes when you’re learning so much more as a kid. Learning a language definitely helped me in every subject.

Parents’ perspectivesLaurie Slater, parent Class of 2002 & 2008: The International School has given my kids amazing opportunities to just experience life in a really fulfilling way. I feel like because of The International School they see life in a more global perspective, I feel like they really are the children of the future. And I feel like it has given them opportunities to feel confident, to feel like they excel in another language and to see the world as a smaller place.

Wendy Manula, parent Class of 2006 & 2007: They see the world in a complete different manner than their peers. It’s quite obvious as they go through their daily activities. They understand the news, they’re aware and really in tune to the world, as opposed to the little block that we live on.

I feel that my boys really have the opportunity to be and do whatever they want because they have really received such a well rounded, grounded education. They learned about culture and love and life at The International School. I really believe that the sky is the limit for them.

Graduates look back

Toryn Slater, Class of 2002

Cory Abbe, Class of 2002

The InTernaTIonal School newSAn excerpt from the fall 2008 issue of

The InTernaTIonal School025 SW Sherman Street, Portland, OR 97201 503-226-2496, www.intlschool.orgEducating World Citizens

The International School News is published three times per year to update our extended community on school programs and activities. To subscribe, please contact Linda Bonder,

LBonder@intlschool.org, 503-226-2496 x104. We do not share our mailing lists.

TIS grad helps Latinos in crisisThe lineups at Portland’s Northeast Emergency Food Program start at 10am even though doors don’t open for another three hours, according to Kia Greene, Class of 2007 graduate from The International School.

The Ecumenical Ministries program meets the urgent food needs of Portland’s North and Northeast residents who are living on the brink of crisis – many of them Latino immigrants. Last summer Kia volunteered for the food program to help people in need and to practice her Spanish. The experience was a great success both for her and for those she helped.

The Northeast Emergency Food Program has two paid staff members and relies heavily on donations and volunteer support. Kia worked with clients who came for food assistance. She had to understand their needs, then bring them through the hallways to select proteins, carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables that met guidelines for each family.

“At first the clients didn’t talk much,” Kia said. “But once they realized I could speak Spanish, they would wait to work with me each time they came in. Then they would talk and talk and talk. You start to know them, you’re talking to them, and you feel bad that you can’t give them more food.”

There were many times when Kia

was the only Spanish-speaking worker. She saw that “other volunteers would get really frustrated when they couldn’t communicate, and that would make the clients frustrated too. I felt good to be able to communicate with the Spanish-speaking families, but I also felt bad because they couldn’t converse with anyone else.”

“Kia is one of the brightest, most confident and fearless young people I have met in years,” said Jennifer A Broussard, Program Assistant at the Northeast Emergency Food Program. “She had no reservations about introducing herself to anyone: young,

old, English speaker or not. It was very helpful to have a fluent Spanish speaker here, not only to help us get the information we needed but also to help the Hispanic community feel more at home. We all loved having Kia with us, and we hope to see her again in the future.”

Now that Kia is back in middle school at NW Academy, she wants to volunteer at the Food Program on weekends. For now, she is using her Spanish mostly at school. After completing high school Spanish as a sixth grader last year, she is now getting school credit for being a teaching assistant in Spanish Level I. “Sometimes it feels weird because I’m younger than students in the class,” she says with a smile. “They try to whisper to me, but I

say, ‘hey, you can’t do that, I’m grading your homework!’”

When Kia looks back at her International School experience, her Capstone Academic trip to Spain stands out as a highlight. “I thought (the class trip) wouldn’t be so good because I had already been to Spain, but we each saw something different when we were there for Capstone. I still talk to the friends I made in Spain every day.”

Kia’s advice to current fourth and fifth graders? “Enjoy your last years at TIS, because when you leave, everything is totally different. I loved TIS because it was a community. I miss it, but I don’t want to leave NW Academy.”

Every summer we ask our prior year’s graduate families for their perspectives on their TIS experience. Here are some thoughts from parents of the Class of 2006:

Thinking back about TIS:“When you drop a child off at TIS, you know they will be loved and cared for.”

“Trish, the art teacher, rocks. She will be one of those teachers my kids remember forever.”

“The solid Chinese language/culture curriculum has given my daughter a strong identity with her culture.”

“The trip to Spain was a very positive, broadening experience.”

“Chinese Dance gave her the opportunity to participate in the community at several levels.”

“I am so grateful for the language base my daughter developed in Chinese.”

The impact that’s visible today:“My daughter went to China this year and did a veterinary internship at the panda preserve!”

“With all her TIS performances and poetry, she is a poised, confident 7th grader.”

“My daughter is interested in organizing ‘International Day’ at her middle school as her 8th grade project. Her personal friends - including teachers - from TIS are still important to her, and I think those friendships will continue.”

“My child takes care of children where only Spanish is spoken, and she has a couple of Spanish-speaking friends she converses with in Spanish.”

Looking toward the future . . . “My child plans to continue to study Spanish. She may attend university in a Spanish-speaking country, at least for a term or a year.”

“Their math skills are very good – I think the language wired that part of their brain too.”

“Both my children (products of TIS) view the world in a global way – they realize and appreciate that the world is bigger than America.”

Class of ‘06, Class of ‘07:Where they went

East/West Sylvan

Public, Spanish magnet

14

Gilkey International Middle School

Private 6

Hosford Public, Spanish & Chinese magnet

4

Beaverton International School

Public 3

Jackson Public 2Mt Tabor Public,

Japanese magnet

2

Oregon Episcopal School

Private 2

DaVinci Public, arts magnet

1

Inza Wood Public 1Madeleine Private 1Metropolitan Learning Center

Public 1

Northwest Academy

Private 1

Riverdale Public 1St. Anthony’s Private 1Sunnyside Environmental

Public, green magnet

1

Trinity Lutheran

Private 1

Winterhaven Public, math/science magnet

1

Unknown 2

Observations from beyond TIS

The InTernaTIonal School (“TIS”) newSAn excerpt from the fall 2007 issue of

The InTernaTIonal School025 SW Sherman Street, Portland, OR 97201 503-226-2496, www.intlschool.orglanguage, DIverSITy, excellence

The International School News is published three times per year to update our extended community on school programs and activities. To subscribe, please contact Linda Bonder,

LBonder@intlschool.org, 503-753-4325. We do not share our mailing lists.