Volume 1, Issue 1

Rainbow International School2-32, Yangjae 1-dong Seocho-gu

Seoul, Republic of Korea 137-886

December 2014

RIS EchoVolume 1, Issue 1

Back to School: NewE.C. Activities

Staff Writers:

Arva Bulut and Humaira Sharipova

This year, we have someawesome new E.C.s!

For example, the knitting,global baking, newspaper,French and story telling E.C.sare all new!

We had some interviews as thenewspaer crew and preparedsome articles about the newE.Cs this year.

Let's start with the knittingE.C!

Knitting E.C.This year there are lots of newE.C.’s! One of them is theKnitting E.C.

We had an interview withMs.Walters, the head of the

Knitting E.C.

Ms. Walters said that lots ofgood things happen in RISeven though it’s always busy.She also said that she chose tobe the head of the knitting E.C.because she really likescrocheting & knitting.

“I wanted to share my

knowledge,” she said.

Right now, most of the studentsin the Knitting E.C. areknitting scarves.

“I think I’ll let the studentspick what to do after theyfinish their scarves,” saidMs.Walters.

We asked Ms.Walters if shehad struggles in the Knitting

E.C.

She said thatsometimes therewas lots ofmistakes and itwas hard toexplain and fixthem.

“I would changethe fact that Ihave both

crocheting & knitting. I shouldhave kept it strictly knittinginstead of both,” Ms.Waltersexplained.

Although there are someproblems, there are fun thingsin the Knitting E.C!

“Everyday is fun in theKnitting E.C.!” says Ms.Walters.

Newspaper E.C.This year, Ms.Alison chose tobe the head of the newNewspaper E.C.

Echo JokesStaff Writer: Mine

Q: Why didn’t the skeleton go to

the dance?

A: Because it had no-body to

go with.

Rainbow International School

Seoul, South Korea

Inside this Edition:School Life

Pages 1-3 ............ Back to School

Page 3 ................... New Teachers

Student Life

Page 4 ................................. Sports

Pages 4-5 .................... Study Tips

Page 6 ............... Student Council

School News

Pages 7-8 ...... New School Programs

Facts, Opinions, and Advice

Page 9 ................... Ask The Echo

Page 9 ................. School Surveys

Page 10 ........................ Fun Facts

Page 10 ....... Letter to the Editor

December 2014

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She told us that she wanted tohave a Newspaper E.C. becauseshe also worked as a staffwriter for a local newspaper inher home state, Pennsylvania.

“I have a real passion for newsmedia,” says Ms.Alison."Thisyear I really hoped to sharethat passion and use it toinspire the students at RIS.Also, because our E.C.activities are also supposed tohighlight the talents of ourteachers, I decided to begin anewspaper E.C. at our school.”

Students of the NewspaperE.C. will create a fully studentgenerated newspaper!

They will manage all aspectsof newspaper productionincluding reporting, editing,circulation, and businessoperations throughout the year.

Their goal is to publish at leasttwo large editions of thenewspaper during the firstsemester.

“As an added challenge to ourE.C. group, we will worktowards planning and, in thefuture, producing a student-run Friday morning newsbroadcast reporting onnoteworthy RIS events of theweek,”said Ms.Alison.

“We will be going outside on afew different occasions toreport on local news happeningaround our school, too, whichwill be exciting to bring to thefaculty and students of RIS.!”says Ms.Alison!

Time is really important forthe journalists. Although theymeet once or twice a week,they try to get as much work aspossible!

Cooking E.C.One of the new E.Cs this yearis the Global Baking E.C.

The head of the Global Baking

E.C. is Mrs. Holmes.

“I chose to create and teach theGlobal Cooking E.C. because Ilove cooking healthy food fromall over the world and sharing

it with others. I also love tohelp others learn how to eatmore vegetables, fruits, andwhole grains!” says Mrs.Holmes.

She and her students bake and

taste from all over the world!

They already baked Mexican,Italian, American, andVietnamese foods.

Mrs. Holmes said that theymostly used onions, garlic andspinach for most of the dishes.

She said that she was veryhappy to bake with the RISstudents, even sometimes if itwas hard to find internationalingredients.

“Cooking. Cooking some more.

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SCHOOL LIFE

"Cooking. Cookingsome more. Eating.Eating some more!Trying new food issomething I thinkeveryone should havethe opportunity to do,so we will do that alot!” ~ Mrs. Holmes

Echo JokesStaff Writer: Mine

Q: What is the difference between a school teacher and a train?

A: The teacher says to spit out your gum. But the train says, "Chew Chew Chew!"

SCHOOL LIFE

New TeachersStaff Writer: Semanur Saglam

As you know, there are somenew teachers at RainbowInternational School this year.Specifically, the grade 1, grade 2,ELL, Art, Science, Math, IT, aswell as Turkish and Koreanteachers. It was our job tointerview the teachers. Allteachers are excited to be withus at RIS.

To learn more about eachteacher, check out the highlightsat the bottom of the pages!

Hi, my name isMr. Soner. I am theScience teacher. I amfrom Turkey. I am asilent, self-diciplined,friendly person.

Hi, my name is Ms.Thompson. I am the grade 1teacher. I am from the U.S.A. Iam a caring, friendly,energetic, nice, fun person.

Nice to meet you! New RIS teachers pose for a group picture,looking forward to being togetehr troughout the 2014-15 school year.

Storytelling E.C.Last, but not least, there is thestorytelling E.C. withMs.Keeney!

Ms.Keeney told us that shechose to be the head of theStorytelling E.C. because it’s afun and different way to teachstudents how to use their

imagination andtell differentstories abouttheir ideas.

In theStorytelling E.C.,students dodifferent artprojects andshow different ways to tellstories through art. It is a verycreative extra curricular activityfor students at RIS!

“Sometimes it’s a struggle tohelp students think of storyideas,” said Ms.Keeney.” And itwould be great to have morethan 6 students.” She still lovesto work with her students and

share the great pieces that theymake together!

The storytelling E.C. is a goodway to express your feelingsthrough art and look atdifferent art works, tellingstories from them.

The students create storiesthrough painting, collage anddrawing.

Echo JokesStaff Writer: Mine

Q: When is the best day to go to

the beach?

A: Sunday!

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STUDENT LIFE

Study TipsStaff Writer: Bilgesu Balci

Are you bored and tiredof studying? You can’t focus onyour work? Well, I am prettysure that most of the studentsand teachers have the sameproblem. As a student, I hadthe same problem, and I washaving a really hard timefocusing on my work. But doyou know what? I overcame it.Do you know how? I do thesesix steps while I am workingon homework assignments, andalso while I am studying for a

test. And these six steps workedon me, but don’t forgetEverybody’s learning style canbe far different.

The first thing I did waslistening to some kind of musicthat will not distract me, likeclassical music. Music helpedme to open my mind, and alsofocus on my work. I shouldagree that sometimes it mademe a little sleepy though. Thesecond thing I did was taking abreak while I work. I mostly dothis when I have a lot ofhomework. When you areworking, your brain is having a

lot of information at once. So itis better to go slowly and give itsome time. In the breaks, yourbrain has enough time to putthe knowledge into pieces.

The third thing I do isdrinking something cold whileI am working. It helps me torefresh my brain and also havesomething to drink when I amworking, and this step helps mea lot. The fourth thing I do isto start from hardest homeworkto easiest. If it doesn’t work foryou, you can start fromeasiest homework tohardest one. When I

SportsStaff Writer: Aleena Faisal

Do you guys want to be betterat the sport you have learned?This article then is for youbecause it will give you tips onthe sportsyou haverecentlylearned.So, letsstart withsoccer.

Thefirst step tobeing a better player at socceris to remember that you areplaying as a team, so don’t justgo out there and play byyourself. Next step is to try tomove the ball more thanyourself, which will help you tosave your energy. Third step isto use the element of surprise,which is important because ifyou don’t change your move,the other team can guess

confidently about your nextmove. The fourth step is toremain focused until the lastsecond of your match becauseyou never know if somethingcan happen. Remember topractice!

Now I will give you a fewtips to improve yourself inbadminton. The first step is toremember to always hit thecenter of the shuttlecock. Thenext step is to remember topractice your footwork, whichwill help you in having morecontrol of your game. The thirdstep is to remember to makeyour opponent move because ifyou do that, then youropponent won’t know whereyou aregoing toaim next.The fourthstep is tohit yourshuttlecockin a

different direction if youropponent shoots it back at youeasily. The fifth step is that youshouldn’t smash every time -only smash when it's necessary.

Lastly, let's talk abouthow to improve your game insoftball. The first step is that ifyou are pitching. Don’t swingyour arm like crazy. The nextstep is to have a good stancewhen you are batting because itwill help with swinging yourbat and hitting runs! The nextstep is always to have your eyeson the ball when you arehitting it. The following step isto stay confident because if youare all scared and thinking youcan’t do it well, then you justsimply can’t do it. So justremember to stay confident andpractice!

There is one really importanttip for all these sports - it is toremember to NEVER GIVEUP!

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start from the hardesthomework, my brain starts towork faster and harder. By thetime I get to the easiesthomework, my brain starts towork more slowly and easily.

Now you are wondering,isn’t it better to start from theeasiest homework because yourbrain starts to work slower andthen become faster? Well, yes itis true, but it doesn’t work wellfor me. The fifth thing I do isto have a snack. That way I getenergy from the snack, and also

I get hungrywhen I study.I mostly liketo eat fruits,chocolate, orcandy. I willgive you ahint: I

washed my face in the breaksso I kind of wake myself upmore, and I could be morehyperactive to focus on mywork more.

So as we said, not onlystudents have this problem.Also teachers have the sameproblem. So I interviewed twoteachers (Ms. Walters and Ms.Alison) to see what they didwhen they were students like

us, and when they couldn’tfocus on their work.

Ms. Walters said that sheplayed solitaire (any of variouscard games played by oneperson, the object of which is touse up all one's cards byforming particulararrangements and sequences),and that would help herdevelop her mind. The secondthing that she did was to take ashower so that she could wakeherself up (like I do when Iwash my face).

Ms. Alison said that shewould stop and listen to music,and also dance sometimes torelax herself. The second thingthat she did was to walk herdog and get some fresh air. Thethird thing she did was whenshe was stressed, she would goand cook some cookies, andthat way, she could relax andcalm herself. The fourth thingshe did was to study with afriend. The fifth thing she didwas to have a tea. The sixththing that she did was to go onthe computer and search songlyrics. Then she would make apoem out of it.

So as you see, you are not theonly one who is having a hardtime focusing on your work!

What I Did

1.Listening music that will notdistract me.

2.Having breaks while you work.

3.Drinking something cold.

4.Hardest homework to easiest.

5.Have a snack.

What Teachers Did

Ms. Walters

1. Play solitaire while working.

2. Take a shower.

Ms. Alsion

1. Stop and listen to music, andalso dance sometimes.

2. Walk with her dog to get freshair.

3.Bake cookies when stressed.

4.Study with a friend.

5.Have a tea.

6.Go search song lyrics, andmake a poem out of it.

STUDENT LIFE

Hi, my name isMs.Seyoung! I am the Koreanteacher. I am from Korea. I aman active,lovely,a bitmessy,energetic,hungry typeof person.

Hi, my nameMr.Gazi! I am the nativeTurkish teacher. I amfrom Turkey. I am apatient,helpful,warmhearted,decisive person.

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Student CouncilStaff Writer: Miju Rahman

Student council hasstarted again, and there wereelections going on this year.The candidates were Aleena,Umaid, Juel, Joshua Choiand Joshua Seo.

Ms.Keeney is the

supervisor of Student Council.She says that she has neverbeen the supervisor of studentcouncil, nor has she hadexperience being it, but shereally supporrts and believes init. When she was in school shewas not in student council too.

Her plans for later is that shewants Student Council to thinkof new ideas for every month.Eventually, she wants to do afundraiser.

Student Council has newstudents, full of new ideas!

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STUDENT LIFE

Student Council Members 2014-2015

Hi, my name is Ms.Keeney! I am the ELLteacher. I am from the U.S.Atoo! I am a thoughtful, silly,motivated, energetic, busyperson.

Student Council Supervisor:Ms. Keeney

Secretary -

Juel Park

Grade 6 Representative -

Joshua Choi

President -

Joshua Seo

Grade 7 Representative -

Aleena Faisal

Elementary Representative -

S.M. Umaid

Be heard!Have your say!

Make a differencein our school!

Hi, my name isMs. Saretsky. I am thePerforming Arts andArt teacher. I am

from Canada.

Hi, my name isMr. Bulut. I am the ITteacher. I am fromTurkey! I am acommitted, organized,persistent, flexible,adventurous person.

SCHOOL NEWS

Echo JokesStaff Writer: Mine

Q: Why is 6 afraid of 7?

A: 'Cause 7 8 (ate) 9!!

New SchoolProgramsStaff Writer: Arva Bulut

Reader's and Writer'sWorkshop

Shelves here, shelves there,shelves everywhere!

The books are falling from theshelves! The students aregetting a new book each day!This year RIS has added aspecial classroom library foreach classroom! The books arearranged by their levels andgenres so that the students canfind the perfect book forthemselves easily. Isn’t thatcool?

But, they can also go to thedownstairs library, which is

much bigger andhas more bookscompared to theclassroomlibraries, at anytime.

There are newbooks added tothe classroomand schoollibrary. It’s goodthat we havebookworms at RIS. Theteachers are happy about this,too!

We even have bookcompetitions each month! Yourgoal is to read the most books,written by a specific author!The students are very happy!

This is a very good opportunityfor our RIS students this year,and I hope RIS will continuemanaging the classroom

libraries well!

The RIS school library also hasan online catalog. Students areable to search for a book onlineand check if it’s available ornot, without bothering to walkto the library.

It’s a great online tool for theRIS students and even theteachers!

Check out by entering thislink: http://www.rislibrary.org

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Hi, my name is Mrs.Holmes. I am the grade 2teacher. I am from the U.S.A.I am a passionate, curious,upbeat, loving person.

New SchoolPrograms (cont...)Staff Writer: Arva Bulut

The RIS Echo

Do you know what else is newthis year?

The new newspaper, of course!

This year Ms.Alison had thisbrilliant idea to open anewspaper E.C. and manage anew newspaper!

It’s exciting to have anewspaper running by the RISstudents!

The Newspaper E.C. will try toinclude everything that thestudents and teachers mightfind interesting or would wantto know about in the

newspaper, the RIS Echo!

There are a lot of fun things ineach edition!

If you have a suggestion, youcan contact the members of theNewspaper E.C. at any time.

They would be glad to hearyour ideas, too!

They are planning to have atleast two editions during thefirst semester - the second onecoming out the first week ofquarter 3. They hope they’ll getbetter and improve after awhile so that they can releasemore editions in less time.

Take a look some of the articlesthat will appear in our nextedition:

- Winter Concert Reflection

- Student Council Plans

- Riddles and jokes

- Advice

- Student and Teacher Surveys

-- Awesome Artwork

- Movie/Book Reviews

- Field Trips

- Student problems

Breaking news and currentevents

- Other upcoming events atRIS!

Remember, if you have anynews that you think should bereported, e-mail us atecho@rischool.org!

SCHOOL NEWS

Google Classroom

Google classroom is this year'snew online learningmanagement system that bothteachers and students use thisyear.

The teachers can postassignments or announcementsfor their students. They can

collect the assignments andkeep track of their students.There is also a separate spacefor each subject for every grade!

RIS is lucky to have so manyopportunities!

Google Classroom is also acommunication platform forstudents and their teachers.Students can ask anything theywonder or need to their teacherprivately or publicly. They canshare information with theirclass as well.

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Hi, my name isMr.Oralbek. I am theMath teacher. I am fromKazakhstan. I am akind, careful, smart,multilingual person.

FACTS, OPINIONS, AND ADVICE

Ask The EchoStaff Writer: Roanne Banks

Any time that you're feelingstressed, confused, or troubled,ask The Echo! With our "DearEcho" section, you'll get greatadvice in each edition from ourwonderful staff writers!

Having a Hard TimeCleaning My Room

Dear Echo: I’m having ahard time cleaning my room.What should I do?

- Messy in Seoul

Dear Messy: Well, if you havetrouble cleaning, what’s thesource of making you have

trouble cleaning your room?

Everyday I have to clean myroom, and I have trouble, too.So what I do is try to makecleaning fun. For example,listen to music while you clean.

But if that doesn’t work, atleast try to clean the messiestpart of the room first. Thatshould be a good place to start!

Not Knowing What to Eat atOur School Lunch

Dear Echo: How how can Ihave a healthy lunch at school?

- Hungry at RIS

Dear Hungry: If you're havingtrouble eating a healthy lunchat school, then try to eat a littlebit of the healther foods ourschool serves, like vegetablesand fruits.

Make aplan: Ifyou do eathealthyfoods, youcan have a little of the not-so-healthy foods that you want. Ifthat doesn’t work, try a newfood craving.

School SurveysThe RIS Echo wanted to see how RIS students' opinions differ about certain issues, like

coming back to school, books, etc., so we conducted some surveys to get everyone's opinion!

How do you feel about the 2014-2015 school year?

Staff Writer: Waad Al-Noaim

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FACTS, OPINIONS, AND ADVICE

Extra, Extra! Read all about it!All RIS journalists gather to celebrate thecompletion of edition one. Enjoy the news!

Invitation toSubmit Lettersto the EditorAre there problems thatyou're having? Are youpassionate about making achange in ourcommunity and theworld? Would you liketo share your opinionand gather support?

It sounds like youshould write a letter tothe editor! What does"Letter to the Editor"mean exactly? For eachedition, The RIS Echowill collect letters fromRIS community members-- students, parents,teachers, and staff -- asour journalists work to

finish the edition. Whenour edition is ready to bepublished, a very well-written, impressionableletter will be selected byour RIS Echo Editors.

That letter will bepublished in the

upcoming

edition of thepaper and will be on thenewspaper's back cover forall RIS ommunitymembers to read andconsider deeply.

We look forward tohearding from you all!

~ RIS Echo Staff

Did you know....? Staff Writer: Arva Bulut

For hundred of years,‘Computer’ was a job title fora person who did mathproblems all day long!

’Strengths’ at 9 letters long, is thelongest word in the Englishlanguage with only one vowel!

A man once held up androbbed a bank for $1, then satdown and waited for thepolice to arrest him so hecould receive health care inprison!

In 2007, a customer gave a$10,000 tip to a waitress afterhearing she had financial troubleswhich had forced her to drop out ofcollege!

Anatidaephobia is the fearthat somewhere, somehow aduck is watching you!

If you have any other fun orinteresting facts that you'dlike to share with us, you cancontact us. Send them to usat echo@rsichool.org!

Check out

our logo!

Staff Writers

Waad Alnoaim

Bilgesu Balci

Roanne Banks

Arva Bulut

Aleena Faisal

Mine Park

Semanur Saglam

Humaira Sharipova

Photographers

Humaira Sharipova

Semanur Saglam

Mine Park

Faculty Advisor

Ms. Alison

A special thanks to all RIS students, faculty, and staff who helpedus gather all of this great information through interviews andsurveys! Echo readers, keep an eye out for our next issue!

Coming in January 2015!

RIS Echo Staff