The Tiger Tale Newsletter

February 2016

Greetings! Living and working in the field of education there is never a dull moment and things are constantly

changing. In schools, those changes include such things as the development of new teaching and learning frameworks and technologies, changes in priorities or standards for learning to meet the needs of a new generation, changes in student enrolment or demographics, and the discovery of new knowledge on how people learn. At GIFS, all these and others are constantly

happening to keep us on our toes.

One way that our teachers stay on top of current thinking and practices in education is through the funding that GIFS provides for professional development. For example, this month, Sandria Wilson and Ji Hye Joo will be attending an IB Conference in Kobe, Japan to learn even more about their subjects in Math and Art; Charles Campbell and Peter Lynch will travel to Singapore to find out about best practices in counseling for University entrance for our graduates; and later in March, several teachers will spend a day at BFS, our sister (...continued on page 5)

A Message from the Principal

All the News that’s Fit to Press at GIFS

February 2016

The Tiger Tale

The last two weeks, the 7th grade has worked very hard researching Japanese theater and culture to

put on a show for the elementary school students. Pia Plaza researched the meaning behind kabuki makeup. The white and red represents a samurai character who is brave and/or aggressive. Pia practiced her makeup artistry on Joel Kim and did a fantastic job. Mr. Anderson would like to single out her (and the whole class) for special recognition this month!

Recognizing Excellence: Pia Plaza and the 7th Grade

Are you getting ready for Spring yet?

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Upcoming Events

• Friday, March 11th: Profes-sional Day for Teachers/ No School for Students

• Thursday, March 17th: High School Futsal at HIS

• Friday, March 18th: GIFS Off Broadway

• Monday through Friday, March 28-April 1: Spring Break

• Thursday, April 7th: 3rd Quarter Ends

• PLAN AHEAD - Tuesday, August 16th: First Day of School 2016-2017

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Cajoling her students to act out The Crucible in class is one of Ms. Thomas’ many talents.

Meet Jillian Thomas! Ms. Thomas was born in the fantastic state of Massachusetts, where she spent her days riding her bike, listening to N’Sync on cassette, and dreaming of the day she would become the next Spice Girl. She was a girl of many passions, and took to writing and reading as the outlet. Regularly, her younger sister and her Beanie Babies would perform the short stories she’d fabricate. She began her promising first novel at 12, but the literary world was crushed when her book was lost due to an accident involving a computer virus and a game of Frogger, At 13, Ms. Thomas traded the snowy winters of the Northeast for the red dirt roads of Norman, Oklahoma. She deeply regrets that her parents moved her away before she could properly master the Boston accent.

In Oklahoma, Ms. Thomas continued writing in the popular niche of Harry Potter fan fiction, while financially supporting herself via a lucrative seafood-selling career at a local restaurant. To this day, she sells herself as the residential GIFS Tilapia

and Salmon expert. She completed her post-secondary education at the University of Oklahoma where she finally succeeded in publishing her poetry for the first time. The evangelical zeal she feels for language is echoed in her choice of career as she now dedicates her life to the lifelong literacy of students. “America was not enough for me,” she mentions, discussing her transition to GIFS.

Ms. Thomas spends her days reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with her cat, Books.

As part of our endeavours to better meet students university needs, we have started working on career choices college life, as part of our PSHE classes in Grades 9 and 10. I am also meeting with 11th and 12th Grade students each morning to look at their scores and SMART goals related to ‘Approaches to Learning’ (AtLs). The IB created the AtLs after a 2007 survey of hiring executives from top US institutions; linked to their top requirements of new recruits. The identified skills were: communication, research, thinking, social and self-management. This is why we take these skills so seriously and why they tie in with the IB philosophy of ‘learning how to learn’.

Currently, top universities look beyond academics and value extra-curricular activities like community service, clubs as well as recognition for leading others or volunteering their services within a school. Another plan we have is to provide more opportunities for recognition (academic or other) so that students can add to their portfolios whilst at GIFS, making their university application process stronger. Having recently done a number of university applications, what was significant is the shift in (...continued on page 6)

News in the IBDPby Charles Campbell, IB Coordinator and Vice Principal

Teacher Feature: Ms. Jillian Thomas

How would your best friend describe you?

I just asked her. She responded: “You are more beautiful than Cinderella! You smell like pine needles, and have a face like sunshine!”

What’s your spirit animal?

Chocolate.

If you were a bicycle, what part would you be?

The reflectors - I shine light onto every situation with my beaming positivity and overbearing enthusiasm.

What is your favorite palindrome?

Definitely TACO CAT.

How do you motivate your students? I use Taylor Swift lyrics in classroom instruction any time I can.

The Interview

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Gyeongnam International Foreign School

What’s happening up in Secondary?

Portia De Leon created this Vision Board for Mr. Lynch’s PSHE class. It represents her values, and her vision of her future.

What’s up in Elementary?In Mr. Dean’s 1st & 2nd grade class, students recently finished identifying their personal goals for the remainder of the year. They focused on applying an action step for each one. They also started writing pen-pal letters to students from GIKA (Geoje International Kids Academy). As February comes to an end, we say good-bye to our friends Jaewon and Woo Hyeok. We will miss them both greatly.

In Mr. Rodriguez’s class, PreK and Kindergarten have been learning about sound. They made kazoos out of cardboard and rubber bands, and have been conducting experiments using different types of materials to produce different sounds. For example, they used various classroom materials, such as wood blocks, plastic containers, metal, and dry beans. It has been a noisy few weeks! They have also been working on using their manners during Social Studies. Say please!

In 4th and 5th grade this February, Ms. K’s class is learning about bodies. They have studied everything from cells to tissues to organs to body systems. They researched human babies in the womb and saw photos of babies growing! They even saw pictures of a human heart and the nervous system. If anyone gets a chance to take these young minds to a Body Worlds exhibit, they are ready!

In Mr. Kumar’s tech class, Grade 8 are doing research on E-commerce, Malicious software, Health and Safety, Downloads and Streaming, Telework-ing. They are making presentations through Prezi.

In Mr. Anderson’s 7th grade, students are finishing their unit on Ancient Japan. They’ve studied culture and his-tory, made screens of Japanese stories, and drawn motivational posters of the samurai code Bushido. Their final activi-ty will be a small play they’ll put on next week for some elementary students.

Meanwhile, the 11th/12th graders in IB History have finally finished their MAS-SIVE unit on South Africa from 1948-1994. They’ve successfully mapped out the possible causes for the end of Apartheid on our back board, making us look like we’re getting to the heart of some Hollywood conspiracy. Next week, they’ll be using their expertise to interview our resident South African staff members: Mr. Campbell and Mr. Lynch.

As usual, Mr Kuntz’s students are working hard. 6th graders are working on strategies which will make them

better readers of informational text. In addition to reading, they also discov-ered the necessity and joy of transition words. They demonstrated this through inserting examples of transition words into a previous story they had written. They all agreed that their new versions had a better flow.

Poetry has concluded in IB Language and Literature as the students are putting bows on their last few poetry analysis assignments. Life is about to become a little bit spooky though as we will delve into the mind and stories of Edgar Allan Poe. I’d love to tell you more, but I must go, for I hear a gentle rapping at my chamber door.

In Grades 5, 6, 9 and 10 PSHE, taught by Mr. Lynch, students have worked on personal Vision/Story boards. Each stu-dent was tasked with creating their own Vision Board on an A3 document using images, quotes and text, showing their vision of themselves and their future. All students really put a great deal of effort into their work and Mr. Lynch is very impressed by the stories produced.

There is a lot going on in music this month. In K-3, students have focused on singing rhythms (Kodaly rhythms) and counting note values in numbers related to the clock system. With regards to their own class learning, students have played various musical instruments (mostly percussion and a few melodic instruments) according to the concepts of sound.In 4-5, students have practiced theoretical matters, especially drills on visual and aural dictations. They are about to start rehearsing the elementary band on the stage this week. Students in 7th and 8th grade have worked on writing basic chords on the staff and played on the keyboard. With the completion of a great deal of practice on theoretical knowledge i.e., reading notes and rhythm skills, they just have started the class band.

After School Music Programs-GIFS Young Orchestra: Students have worked on new pieces and focused on the programs for upcoming performances for this month. Both Tues. and Thurs. rehearsals are combination of soli (solo group) and tutti (whole orchestra) sections. Special thanks to Myung

Musical Notes

Ina Torvestad and Julian Lee practice guitar in music class. Students engage in peer tutoring to help each other play.

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Hu Heely in Grade 10 for being a Teacher Asistant and supporting rehearsal time as a whole. Having him as an assistant makes Ms. Lee’s rehearsal very efficient, and helps the young players have a better learning environment.

-GIFS Band: The GIFS band has started two new songs with confirmed members from the newly auditioned members. The beginning has been started smoothly and each member is working on his/her part and solo section as well. Although there have been only two rehearsals so far, their 1st song is on its way. Mr. Anderson and Ms. Lee are looking forward to hearing their improvised solo line contest next week!

* Upcoming Musical Events-WASC FAF ( Fine Arts Festival ) : Fri. April 29th @ Jeonju University-Spring Concert/ International Festival : Fri. May 20th @ GIFS-Graduation, last day of school : Fri. June 10th @ GIFS

(continued from page 1)school, to learn from Richard

Cash, an acknowledged expert in the field of differentiation to meet the needs of diverse

student learners.

One very big change you will notice when you return to school

in August, GIFS will be doing some significant remodeling

of our library (elementary and secondary), and adding on

classrooms to accommodate anticipated growth in enrolment.

As some of you know, due to new contracts in the Sacheon

area in the aeronautics industry, we will be welcoming students

from Airbus (French), Boeing, and Lockheed Martin (both US)

companies over the next several years. In addition, we are seeing

growth from families in the Geoje area who are choosing

the education and programming that we can provide. If you have any expertise or thoughts about

what to include or look out for in the new libraries, please send us

your thoughts. We would love to hear from you.

As I said at the top of this note, education is never about

standing still. Working with children is always an exercise

in hope, faith, and positive thinking. We are excited

about all the challenges and opportunities that are coming

our way.

All the best,Marjie Carroll

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Tell me a little about yourselves.

We are a French family. Franck works for Airbus Helicopters.He is fond of motorbikes and he traveled across the USA last year on a Harley Davidson! I work for an insurance company and I teach the piano in a music school. These two jobs are very different but they are my bal-ance. I like to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest!

Tell me a little about your children.

Clémentine is 13 years old. She is a great daughter and she loves to live in Sacheon and to study at GIFS! She ran 10km at the last marathon because she likes to complete her dreams.Alexis is 9 - he is fond of sports. He also ran 10km and he likes to ride his bicycle! He has really grown up with this nice adven-ture in Korea and he got a new team spirit thanks to the GIFS Tigers!

When did you become a GIFS family?

We just became a GIFS family in September, 2015. Not a long

time ago, but just enough to know how happy we are.

What do you like to do in your free time as a family?

We like to discover Korea: its temples, dinosaurs sites, beach-es, and we also like to spend time with our friends from all over the world.

What’s your favorite lesson that you learned from school as kids?

Franck liked physical sciences and I liked language lessons (En-glish and Spanish).

What’s something you wish your parents had told you?

Enjoy your life, be happy and do your best for your future!!

What are your dreams for your children? Yourselves?

We wish that they are happy and that all their dreams come true.To be expatriated in Korea is wonderful for us and we will never forget it.

Family Feature: The Jaquinets

Gyeongnam International Foreign School

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Jokes from Ms. K’s ClassBy Sean Moon and Luca Moras

Q) What did the deer say before he was run over?A) Oh, dear.

Q) What does the bear call his wife?A) Ah, honey!

Q) What type of coffee do eggs drink?A) Egg-spresso.

Q) Why did the cow go to space?A) To go to the Milky Way!

Monthly Newsletter

(continued from page 2) focus the ‘well-rounded’ student. From the UC Berkley Freshman Admissions Page:

“What we look for in Berkeley students here at UC Berkeley we conduct what is known as holistic review. That means, we review each application in its entirety, word by word, page by page. We literally hug your application!While grades and test scores are important and our applicant pool is highly competitive, we read each application individually—looking beyond the numbers—for students who can add to the extraordinary educational atmosphere at Berkeley.” *

*Based on Office of Undergraduate Admissions freshman data as of 08/01/15.

Whilst we provide opportunities for students to gain these opportunities, this is not sufficient if your child is looking to a top university. Look towards local and international volunteer opportunities, as these go a long way to bolstering university applications, especiallyif the student has initiated the extra-curricular opportunities outside of what the school provides.

Don’t forget to follow and like us on Facebook and Twitter. We have a website, too. There’s always something new to see!

Facebook: https://www.face-book.com/GyeongnamInterna-tionalForeignSchool/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GIF-STigerTalk

Website: gifs.or.kr

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Gyeongnam International Foreign School

Advice from Mr. Wise

How do you stop some-one from bullying you?

Well, if you ask me, I’ll say that you should walk away. If that doesn’t work, you should go right to their face and say that you don’t like what they are doing to you. Say that you are going to get help. Don’t ever let anybody bul-ly you. If someone else gets bullied, stand up for them. Just do it!

For more advice, send letters to Mr. Wise. Drop off letters in Ms. Anderson’s office!

House Games: Record SettersDo you ever wish that you could break a world record? How about a GIFS record? That is the challenge that the four houses faced for the 3rd Quarter House Games!

With over 15 different challenges laid out around the school, each house attempted to set, or break, records. For example, how fast can you do the shuttle run? If you ask Joel of BongHwang, he can do it in 9.43 seconds - the fastest in his age group, and the whole school! Or maybe you think you are the expert hula hooper in town? Think again! Aina from BongHwang spent a re-cord 52 minutes playing on her phone while hula hoop-ing! How many push ups can you do? Dokkaebi’s Tobias can do 51 in a minute - that’s almost 1 push up every second. Strength and speed!

The team with the most records in their age groups was declared the winner, and this time we pass the points to BongHwang, whose members set 16 different records! That’s a stellar performance from Kindergarten all the way up to 12th grade. Well done! See you for the final games in 4th quarter...

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We Open Tomorrow Night?!

Design by Pia Plaza

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