Friday 17th April, 2020 Volume 1, Issue 29   

CONTENTS  Featured Story Whole School News From the Head of School From the Elementary Principal  From the Secondary Principal Introducing Laura-Claire Corson From the College Counselor 

  IMPORTANT DATES  Monday 4th May - Board Member Nomination Deadline Tuesday 5th May - Children’s Day (School Closed) Thursday 7th May - PYP Exhibition Tuesday 12th May - MYP Personal Project Thursday 21st May - ISB AGM Monday 15th June - Summer Camp  

  

Featured Story 

 

 We are delighted to announce that an ISB Summer Camp will be taking place this year from 15th to 26th June, 2020. The Summer Camp will be free for all ISB students (existing and new). The school will provide a free bus service for students living in Busan and lunches will be available to purchase from the cafeteria. Please note that the camp will only go ahead if schools in Korea are open and social distancing measures are not too restrictive. Registration details will be shared soon. 

 

 

Whole School News 

 

 This week, 9 of our teachers took some time out to reflect on the changes and challenges associated with virtual learning. The interviews they recorded paint a wonderful picture of a community of dedicated teachers, working hard to ensure that our students are supported, connected and learning. They provide a good insight into what it takes to successfully create meaningful learning experiences for our students while they are at home. The interviews are frank, insightful and well worth watching. Here is the link to the interviews.  

 

 

 

From the Head of School 

 

The ISB Community It is hard to believe that we have now been running a virtual school since Monday 24th February. I know from conversations with parents, students and teachers that we all want to get back to school as soon as possible.   Please be assured that ISB is ready to welcome students back and return to full campus operations, as soon as it becomes safe and viable to do so.   We understand that a virtual learning environment can never replace time in school interacting and collaborating with teachers and friends, but we will continue to make every effort to offer the best education possible in the current circumstances. Our aim is to ensure that children feel connected, safe, supported, and that learning continues.  

 Simon McCloskey 

Our teachers greatly appreciate your continued patience, support and the words of encouragement that you share. We are all in this together and the support we provide each other will make our school community closer and stronger.  The Graduating Class of 2020 We have now taken the decision not to have our traditional Graduation Ceremony in the Gymnasium this year. Consequently, we have been talking with Grade 12 students to find the best way to celebrate this important stage in their lives so that it is a memorable experience for them. We are working with a professional video company to produce a graduation film for this year’s class. Next week on Thursday and Friday, our Grade 12 Students will be visiting the campus throughout the day to have professional graduation photographs taken with their families. They will also be using this time to record messages for the film.  Summer Camp Last week we shared a survey to ascertain the viability of offering a free, two week Summer Camp. Over 100 students have now registered an interest in participating. We have started planning for a summer camp that will provide a balanced programme of sport, arts and academics, with a focus on fitness and fun. I would like to put on record my thanks to all of the ISB teachers who have offered to volunteer their time during the school holiday to help make this happen. Please note that this camp will only go ahead if schools are open and social distancing measures are not too restrictive.   Feedback After the Spring Break, we made some adjustments to our virtual learning environment to ensure that we have a better balance of synchronous and asynchronous learning as well as more opportunities for exercise and time away from the screen. To help us assess the impact of these changes, we would be grateful if you could take a moment to complete this survey. The feedback will be shared with, and reviewed by, our teachers.  

     

 

 

From the Elementary Principal 

 

Grade 2 Who We Are For their “Who We Are: Happy and Healthy Me” unit, Grade 2 students have been creating virtual daily logs to track their daily routines and activities, they then graphed that information to get a big picture of how they manage their time.   Students reflected on their work to see if they were being balanced with their time. They acknowledged where they were doing well and identified areas for improvement.     

Kevin Smith  

 

 

   

 Assembly This week, our virtual assembly had the theme of “ISB Pets”, with students and teachers introducing their pets to the Elementary community. We also enjoyed some hilarious jokes from Grade 2 and were treated to some of the Grade 5 Exhibition groups’ Action items. Many thanks to all involved in this marvelous community event.  

  

  

 

 

 

PYP Learning Focus  

PYP Exhibition Preparation (#ISBHealthyMeal) 

 

We are Addison, Adrian, Anton and Haneul. We are the Health and Diet PYP Exhibition Group. We want you to be healthy. For our exhibition action we would like you to share a photo of a healthy meal you have created. Please post a photo of your healthy meal in Seesaw and use the hashtag #ISBHeathyMeal 

  

We will use the pictures for our PYP Exhibition slide show. Thanks 

 

   

Guacamole #ISBHealthyMeal  Pancakes #ISBHealthyMeal 

   

Blueberry smoothie #ISBHealthyMeal  Watermelon Smoothie #ISBHealthyMeal  

 

 

PYP Learning Focus 

 Cooking with Grade 3 This week, Grade students have been making instructional cooking videos. Delicious recipes for Bircher, Smoothies, Waffles, Korean candy and Mango ice-cream were filmed and shared. Here are a few screenshots of their cooking shows. 

   

   

   

 PYP Artwork Grade 3 students made some fantastic diorama houses with lots of imagination inspired by the artist Hundertwasser.  

     

 

 

 

 

PYP Learning Focus 

 

PYP Artwork Grade 5 students created some lucky spinners with a coin and some crafting materials. This was a fun activity and a good STEM exercise. 

   

Grade 4 students have been crafting animal designs in creative ways to produce some wonderful artwork. 

   

  

Chase the Rainbow The project #Chasetherainbow has inspired children from all grades to create amazing artwork with rainbows. Here are a few outstanding examples.  

 

 

 

 

Olivia is in Portland and made this rainbow. She posted it on a lamp post in the neighborhood where she is staying. She checked to see if it was still there after a few days and it was!  

 

 

 

 

From the Secondary Principal  

Grade 6-11 Parent Conference Reminder If you would like to arrange a Zoom parent conference with any of the teachers in the Secondary School, please follow the directions below. Interviews will continue next week - Monday to Friday.  

● If you would like to request a Zoom conference with teachers, please do this through an email request to the specific teacher.  

● The conferences should be approximately 10-15 minutes in length.  ● Please give teachers at least 24 hours notice if requesting an 

interview.  ● Please organise the interview during normal school working hours - 

8.30 am-4.00 pm.  

Al Roland 

Attendance in the Secondary School  It would be remiss of me not to thank parents and students for working together to ensure students attend all their lessons over the course of the week. While I realise the challenges faced by those in different time zones, it was so pleasing to drop into classes and see students from all over the world attending our classes. I would particularly like to thank those students in Korea for their effort over the course of this week - in particular Thursday. All students were present for the entire day! Thank you and well done.  

 

VLE Movie Please enjoy this short movie which brings together some visual enjoyment from the previous 6 weeks of the VLE as well as a couple of students' opinions about virtual learning at ISB. 

 Secondary VLE movie 

Support Please remember that we are here to support you and your children as we continue to work in the virtual world of schooling. Should you have any issues or concerns about your child’s learning, please do not hesitate to contact me - we are here to help. 

      

  

 

 

Introducing...  

Each week we feature an ISB teacher in our weekly newsletter. This week we interviewed Laura-Claire Corson.  

Qualification and certifications: Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, a Master’s of Arts Degree in Education and Human Development with a focus on Early Literacy, and licensure in K-6 Elementary and K-12 Special Education.   

What do you teach at ISB? Grade 4  

Where are you from and where else have you lived? I’m originally from Boulder, Colorado in the United States. My university years were spent in Vermont, Wisconsin and, later, Colorado. I’ve also lived in Ireland, England, Kenya, Uganda and Jordan. I spent five years teaching English in Seoul from 2009-2014.  

What inspired you to become a teacher? When I first moved to Korea in 2009, I had been on a different career path after finishing my undergraduate degree. Once I started working with children, I fell in love with the career and decided to change my original plan. It’s a job full of creativity, energy and the ability to work with wonderful kids. Two of my grandparents were high school teachers and coaches, and my mom worked in a high school for a long time. It runs in the family! 

 

What is your educational philosophy? Children should feel comfortable, happy and safe at school, and it’s important to create a positive learning environment where students can engage, explore and take risks. I believe in cultivating strong relationships, a growth mindset and lifelong learning.  

What made you choose ISB? I love the community-minded nature of ISB: It’s an internationally-minded neighborhood school. Additionally, I appreciate ISB’s focus on inquiry and how students are encouraged to be curious and creative. I love Korea and was very pleased to come back and live and work in beautiful Busan!  

What is the best part of your job? The best part is working with my amazing and caring students every day! They are curious, passionate and an inspiration to me.   

What are your hobbies and interests? Growing up in the mountains gave me a lifelong love of the outdoors! You can find me trail running, hiking, cycling or exploring new places in Korea. Cooking and reading are other favorite past times. Spending time with my sweet cats, Sumac (from Jordan!) and Dr. Kim (from Seoul!) brings me great joy. Seeing friends and connecting with family and friends back home are also priorities to me.   

What is your favourite book? I can’t pick just one! I have read the “Harry Potter” series six times and also love to re-read “When a Crocodile Eats the Sun” by Peter Godwin. I recently finished “The Boys in the Boat,” a true story about the 1936 American rowing team and “Where the Crawdads Sing,” a mystery and coming-of-age novel. Both are highly recommended.   

What is your favourite music? I appreciate all sorts of music. I have a lot of funk music and 80s songs on my running playlist, so that’s probably what I listen to the most!  

  

 

 

From the College Counselor 

 

ISB College Counseling Updates Virtual parent-teacher-student conferences for college counseling are taking place between April 17 and 23 (here is the booking schedule). ISB is using BridgeU as a main university search and application platform. An additional university searching tool called Cialfo will be available soon for Grade 10 and 11 students and parents to offer more resources and services. The College Board announced that they will not be able to administer the SAT or SAT Subject Tests on June 6, 2020. The College Board is now planning to provide SAT administrations every month through the end of the calendar year, beginning in August. The College Board will contact students directly when they have the exact date. Students can get early access to register for August, September and October if they are already registered for June or in the high school class of 2021 and do not have SAT scores (SAT updates). 

 Dr. GJ Johnson 

Online University Fairs and Webinars ● Califo online university fair recordings (March 20, 23 & 24) ● Virtual UK university showcase by BridgeU (April 23, 11:00 BST / 18:00 HKT)  ● University of Exeter, London Metropolitan University and University College London 

representatives will share information (Register here) ● The Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Engineering and Business Studies Webinars 

(April 21 and 27) - Register here ● Upcoming Califo online university fair (May 22-24, 9am-9pm CST, May 29-30, 9am-9pm EST) - 

Scan the QR code to indicate your interest to Califo directly and be informed of the fair when Califo opens the registration  

  Please do not hesitate to contact College Counselor (gjjohnson@isbusan.org) if you have any questions or concerns.