INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

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Latest news and events

Latest news and events

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(Cover photo: Faye Yang)

YOUR SOURCE FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS AT BRANKSOME HALL ASIA

THE WEEK

2019.4.19 28

Empowering Women

PG:2 PRINCIPAL’S LETTER

PG:6 JUNIOR SCHOOL

PG:9 MIDDLE & SENIOR SCHOOL

PG:3 AT A GLANCE

THE WEEK WELCOME FROM THE PRINCIPAL

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Dear Branksome Hall Asia Community,

Thank you to all parents who completed the survey about communication that was sent out earlier this week.  After the April break, we look forward to sharing information with you regarding our 3rd tier communication channel for parents and the PTA election process.

The month of May is all about love.  What a wonderful time to remind ourselves about what we love and the pride we have in Branksome.  During the month of May, we will be launching an “I love BHA” campaign so that we can all share our stories and celebrate our successes together.

To start off our campaign, I asked some parents what they love about our wonderful school.  This is a sample of what I heard:

“I love how Branksome focuses on collaboration rather than competition and how well my daughter is doing academically because of this focus”

“I chose Branksome because I love the parents and our community.  We are more service minded and focus on a well-balanced education for our children”

“I love the IB program and how it is about inquiry and is good for my child and her learning”

“I love how Branksome helps my daughter to be more open minded”

“I chose Branksome because of the IB learner profile and how it is taught in every grade. If my daughter has these traits in her body and her mind, she will become a better global citizen and lead a meaningful life.”

As for me, I love the community we have built here at Branksome and am so inspired by the passion that our parents have for the well being of their children.  I also truly love our students - they inspire me daily.

We are excited to be opening another section of Grade 2 and Grade 3 classes next year, as we continue to grow and flourish as a world-class IB international school for girls.  Thank you for sharing all that you love about Branksome with your friends and family.

Thank you for helping to spread the good word.

See you at School,

Dr. Cinde Lock Principal Branksome Hall Asia

PRINCIPAL’S LETTER

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JUNIOR SCHOOL EVENTS

19 AprilRATS! Grade 3 -5 Production 19 AprilSchool finishes at 3:00 p.m.No CASEPick-up at 3:00 p.m.Buses at 3:10 p.m. 29 AprilCoffee with Head of Junior School for Grade 4 parents 2:15 - 3:00 p.m. 1 MayCoffee with Head of Junior School for JK parents 9:00 - 9:45 a.m. 8 MayCoffee with Head of Junior School for SK parents 9:00 - 9:45 a.m.

MIDDLE & SENIOR SCHOOL EVENTS

19 AprilParent Teacher Meetings  8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.No MSSS Case

19 AprilMSSS students depart from Residence 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

20 AprilSchool Break Begins

28 AprilBoarding Students Return 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

29 AprilMSSS Classes Resume

29 April-May 2Grade 12 Study Days

29 April-4 MayDP Design Exhibition

3 May IB DP Exams Begin

THE WEEK AT A GLANCE

WHOLESCHOOL EVENTS

20-26 AprilApril Break

2 May PTA School Shop reopens and will operate from 3-5pm every Thursday.

18 MayMaker Faire @ BHA1:30 - 4:30 p.m.

25 May Graduation

IB DIPLOMA SUBJECT DATES

GRADE 12

12 Apr Visual Art - final portfolio3 - 24 May IB Diploma Exams

Grade 11

12 Apr Geography IA field trip, with Biology IA students13-14 Apr ESS Biodiversity field study; Biology ecology field trip15 Apr Korean A LL HL - Written Task #216-19 Apr English A LL SL - IOCs16 Apr Visual Art Comparative Study - formal qualities

UNIVERSITY VISITS AND APPLICATIONS

29 April Washington University in St Louis 4:00 p.m., Hypatia Theater30 April University of Hawaii 12:10 p.m., PAC 4D7 May University of Queensland Health & Behavioral Sciences15 May Pohang University of Science and Technology Presentation for the GEC school community. Presentation will be in Korean. NLCS Jeju, 5:20 p.m.

ATHLETICS

30 Apr - May 1 SS Badminton KISAC at KIS2 May MS SS Golf KISAC3-4 May SS Soccer at ISB4 May MS SS KISAC Track and Field at NLCS

FINDING BELONGING THROUGH STORIES by Victoria Robins and Ahlya Fountain, Teacher Librarians

For the past two weeks, students from JKP to grade 10 engaged in a series of book loving activities organized through the library. From the Book Character parade to writing workshops with author Rob Lloyd Jones, students honed their creative writing skills. The library lead workshops on poetry with middle school students while the Junior School had a full day of book related activities to explore. The annual Book Character parade included not only junior school students and teachers, but also, middle school and parent library volunteers. One highlight of the activities was a JS school-wide reading of Cao Wenxuan’s, ‘Feather,’ a story that explores finding acceptance and belonging. From that reading, every student contributed to an art installation reflecting how each of us belongs at Branksome Hall Asia.       

THE WEEK WHOLESCHOOL

PTA UPDATE

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PTA BULLETIN

As the end of this academic year approaches the PTA is putting all of its efforts into finalizing the various events it coordinates.

The submission deadline for the 2018-19 PTA Fund Program kick off has been extended to Monday, April 29. Funds will be allocated to projects that will benefit students and local and international communities.

So far a total of 12 projects have been submitted. Six are from faculty and six are from students.

Those who have submitted the PTA Fund Program Proposal Form may request to hold a presentation session to promote their projects to the BHA community. The following are the selection criteria that are used. 1) Beneficial to larger student body. 2) Longterm benefits.

3) Increase pride and loyalty to the BHA community. Decisions will be communicated through THE WEEK.

The school shop will reopen from Thursday, May 2nd 2019 and will be in operation from 3 to 5 p.m. every Thursday.  

CAFETERIA IMPROVEMENTS   Based upon feedback from the student cafeteria surveys, the below improvements will be trialed until the end of the school year at lunch in the JS and MS/SS cafeteria starting Monday, May 6th. 1. JS Cafeteria In order to give more varied choices to Junior School students, the two identical food stations that JS cafeteria has will be separated into three food stations which will include a Korean, Grill and International choice. Students will be asked to line up at the serving station based on the menu they choose. Additionally a Pizza&Pasta station will be open every Friday as a special meal that students can fully enjoy.2. MS/SS Cafeteria- The Pasta station will be changed

to 'Noodle station' so the cafeteria can offer more variety of noodle dishes such as Japanese Ramen, Vietnamese Pho and pasta dishes.

- ’Vegetarian station' will be added right next to the International station so everyone who wishes to eat healthier can enjoy delicious vegetarian dishes such as Falafel Wrap, and Soy Cutlet.

3. Boarding Dinner at MS/SS Cafeteria - A new grill station has opened on

April 1st. This station is being offered instead of the International station in order to offer a greater variety of dishes. (*Korean station is operating as normal.)

- The cafeteria has opened a self-serve and dessert bar which has been operating once a week. The facility has been opened to offer more variety to our students at dinner time.

THE WEEK WHOLESCHOOL

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THE WEEK JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES

STORIES AND CELEBRATIONS - BOOK CHARACTER PARADE 2019

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THE WEEK JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES

STORIES AND CELEBRATIONS

JKMM MYESTERY READER By: Emily Kim, Teacher Intern Every Thursday, we have a special event happening in our class. We invite a mystery reader to come in and read a book or two to our students. We have been very fortunate to have a mystery reader every week. Our mystery readers are parents of JK students, older siblings, grandparents, and BHA teachers and staff. Before the mystery reader enters our classroom, we give students three clues to guess who the mystery reader is. Our mystery readers have been exposed to picture books of different languages in English, Korean and Spanish. It is lovely to see students so engaged with different books and the reader each week.

SUMMER UNIFORMAs the weather is warming up. It may soon be time to change to the summer uniform. We will do this gradually from 1st May, your child may continue to wear Winter uniform or can change to Summer uniform. After the Spring break I will check the long-range weather forecast and let you know the date that everyone should be wearing Summer uniform. Girls may continue to wear trousers

as this is both Winter and Summer uniform. Please be reminded that skorts or kilts should be no shorter than 4 inches above the knee.

CODE OF CONDUCTPlease remember to collect your Junior School Code of Conduct (one copy per family) from the Junior School Office. We hope you will find it informative and useful.

SPRING BREAKEnjoy the week ahead and time spent with family and friends relaxing and recharging ready the new term commencing on Monday 29th April.

BULLETINS

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THE WEEK JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS & UPDATES

STORIES AND CELEBRATIONS

BOOK WEEK CELEBRATION!by Molia Moresi, JK teacherOn 8 April, JKMM attended the boogie with the books dance party. They enjoyed dancing and singing in the library. On 12 April, JKMM students took part in a book character parade. To celebrate, they dressed up as their favorite book character. During their morning meeting, JK discussed their storybook character with the class. They were excited to be involved in the parade and to share the event with the rest of the Junior school. After the parade, JK participated in an activity with their buddy class 2HR and JKMS. They created a feather based on the book ‘Feather’ by Cao Wenxuan and made a colorful bookmark. It was wonderful to see our parents come and celebrate our love for reading and join in on the fun!

THE WEEK MIDDLE SCHOOL & SENIOR SCHOOL

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IMAGES OF THE WEEK

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01 Grade 7 students have just completed a unit on Geometry and were using their knowledge of area, perimeter, and volume to calculate the cost of real-life scenarios around the school while also enjoying some of the Spring weather.

02 A Teacher Don in Seondeok provides one-to-one tutoring and support.

03 Boarding students from all four Houses use a community study room to work together in Seondeok.

04 Congratulations to those Chinese students here at Branksome Hall Asia who will soon be graduating.

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THE WEEK MIDDLE SCHOOL & SENIOR SCHOOL

STORIES AND CELEBRATIONS

TRACK and FIELD ACADEMY By Terry McAdams, Director of Learning Technologies & Supervisor for Track and Field Academy

Track and field season is upon us and our academy members have competed in two mini competitions at Korea International School.

The beauty of track and field is in its simplicity. Since humans first became self-aware they have had an innate drive to enact the Olympic motto of “faster, stronger, higher”. The competition is in the rawest and most fundamental form. Can I run faster? Can I run for longer? Can I jump higher or longer? Can I throw further? There is something for all body types and something for all abilities. Although it is a competition against others, the person who comes last but sets a new personal best is also a winner.

In many ways, Track and Field prepares our girls for life by teaching them to overcome many challenges. Competition creates nervous anticipation and, the butterflies in our stomachs, that have to be managed. Knowing that running in an 800m race will be painful but still standing on the starting line takes immense courage.

The coaches, Melissa de Sole and myself, are extremely proud of all of the girls but it would be remiss not to mention the standout performances of our students. Yunji Choi set a new Branksome Hall record with 2 minutes 54 seconds in the 800m.

Huizhen Li impressed winning the long jump competition, while Yubin Kim and Seoyoon Paik have traded victories in the 100m this year.

Branksome Hall Asia has won the KISAC Track and Field Girls competition for the past two years. This year's competition will take place at Korea International School on Saturday, May 04. It would be great to see the parents supporting their daughters as they strive to improve their personal records.

BUILDING RESILIENCE WORKSHOP — With Social Counselors By Yoona Kim, MS·SS Social CounselorMs. Yoona Kim,  the MS SS Social Counselor has offered Building Resilience workshop for G11 and 12 for the last 3 weeks. As we approach important exams, it is important to re-evaluate their coping strategies and how they look after themselves particularly in stressful situations. Ms. Kim’s session was designed to explore their own Resilient zone, to teach different sensations, to gain tracking and grounding techniques and to explores personal resources. She has invited every student per advisory to her counseling office to introduce a safe and warm place in school so students can always seek for help when they need it.

Each time, experiential workshops such as Mindful Meditation and Body Scan were provided followed by related concepts and theories.  Ms. Kim will extend this program to G10 students as more than 75% of participants were interested in learning more about this.

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THE WEEK MIDDLE SCHOOL & SENIOR SCHOOL

STORIES AND CELEBRATIONS

POETRY MONTH in the Library By Ahlya Fountain MS & SS Librarian

April has been a time to celebrate all things written starting with author Rob Lloyd Jones’ visit, Book Week following after, and the What the Book Fair this week.  We have also been celebrating poetry of all kinds in the library throughout the month. Middle School assemblies have had teachers share favourite poems. While classes in the library have had students create Ekphrasis poetry, Visual poems, and BlackOut poetry. We’ll end Poetry Month with Poem In Your Pocket Day on April 30th.  

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THE WEEK MIDDLE SCHOOL & SENIOR SCHOOL

UPCOMING EVENTS

RISEBy La Mor

13 BHA students from grades 9-11 will arrive in New York next Monday ready to present songs from 'Rise - The Story of a Woman’. The RISE Tour will go to Connecticut University, the Korean American Society of Connecticut, The Nightingale-Bamford School, The United Nations International School in Manhattan,

Marymount School, the Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York and the Earth Arts Centre in Brooklyn. Students will also visit museums, galleries and have a guided tour of Yale University. The RISE Tour is proudly sponsored by BHA’s own PTA.  Thank you for helping us make this experience possible for our girls.

MAKER FAIRE@ Branksome Hall Asia

Making is so basic and fundamental to who we are that all of us are makers. A Maker Faire is ‘the place’ for makers to meet and share their inspiring projects and it’s your chance to see the intersection of art, technology, and culture. Through the GEC Schools Maker Faire, you can share any form of art and design from any of these categories: visual arts, crafts, music/dance, technology, engineering, sustainability, science, food, health or a category we haven't thought of! This year we are inviting all schools from the GEC to participate or just come along to see the Fair.

Date: May 18, 2019Time: 1:30 - 4:30 pm Venue: Branksome Hall AsiaThis year's theme is Sustainability - we encourage all makers to create a design inspired by this idea and sustainably designed projects will be eligible for prizes!Website: bit.ly/gecmakerfaireContact: makerfaire@branksome.asia

SCHOOL ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Branksome Hall Asia 234 Global Edu-ro, Daejeoung-eup, Seogwipo City, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Korea. 63644

Telephone: +82.64.902.5000 Fax: +82.64.902.5481

Connect with us

www.branksome.asia