BIFS Newsletter, 2015-09-25 (English)

BIFS NEWSLETTERUnited in our Diversity, Thriving in our Individuality

Busan International Foreign Schoolwww.bifskorea.org | [email protected] | T. 82 51 742 3332

ISSUE 27, September 25 2015

ContentsWhole School1. Happy Chuseok! Time for Family Celebrations, Nostalgia and Songpyeon!2. PTA News3. PE Uniform Shop4. Ulsan & Geoje Parent Coffees5. NWEA MAP Testing for Grades 2 - 96. Approaches to Learning with Lance King7. Image Rights Permission8. Substitute Teachers Needed!9. Cafeteria Menu

Elementary School1. Elementary PE Position2. Social Events and Playdates3. NWEA MAP Testing for Grades 2 - 54. Upcoming Events

Middle School and High School1. Parent Communication in the MS/HS2. Lets Talk Assessment3. It Takes a Village to Succeed Grade 10 Personal Projects4. From the Music Department5. Athletics Update6. Counselors Corner7. College Visits

For Your Diary

BIFS Annual Calendar 2015-2016

School & Community Links

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http://www.bifskorea.org/mailto:[email protected]




Welcome to Chuseok! Chuseok, also known as the Harvest Moon Festival, is a time for thanksgiving and forhonoring ones ancestors. It is a family celebration and a time of memories and nostalgia.

Today we held an incredible schoolwide event celebrating Koreas Chuseok! It was fabulous seeing teachers,students, parents and guests on campus to learn about and experience many of the traditions and activities thatare a part of the Chuseok celebration. Special thanks to our Korean language teachers for their leadership andorganization of todays activities and to our extraordinary PTA for their support!

I ran across a meaningful article about Chuseok by Joe McPherson, the author of the ZenKimchi blog. I wouldlike to share a few of his insights about what makes Chuseok so special to our host country What makesfamily holidays special? Besides celebrating a certain event, they are markers for people to reflect on the past,relishing in dusty memories, and delighting in the innocent enthusiasm of children. When families reunite, itreminds them of how much time has passed, which intensifies the desire to pass traditions to the nextgeneration in a cycle where parents and grandparents want their children to share the same memories they hadwhen they were younger.

The foods people eat during these times are the most traditional because they ignite the two most abstract andmost personal of senses, taste and smell. These are intensely influential in our memories. This holds true forChuseok. It is the biggest family holiday in the Korean year. Koreans jam traffic and even fly half-way around theworld to be with their families during this time. Even though there are general dishes that are staples forChuseok, each family has its unique recipes, and each person has that one particular food she is fond of.However, the stars of the show during this time are songpyeon. Generally they are chewy rice dough filledwith sweet fillings. The little packages are then steamed with pine needles.

This is one of those holiday treats that are personal in the sense that people who grew up eating it love it.Outsiders who didnt experience this traditional snack as children sometimes love and sometimes avoid it. Itslike growing up and craving those controversial holiday foods such as fruitcake, mincemeat pies and lutefisk. Inorder to truly understand and enjoy them, you need to have had them as a child. Mediocre songpyeon can turnsomeone off of it for life. Yet when songpyeon is good, its addictive.

As an international school, BIFS believes it is important that we honor and celebrate our host countrys culture.This is an important demonstration of our community being united in our diversity. We wish the entire BIFSfamily a wonderful Chuseok Holiday! Enjoy!

Kevin BakerHead of School

Whole SchoolHappy Chuseok! Time for Family Celebrations, Nostalgia and Songpyeon!

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Thank all the parent volunteers who helped with the Chuseok celebration on Friday morning.What a fun event! It is YOU that helps make this activity possible for your child. Thanks!

Upcoming events:

Board of Governors Annual Meeting Saturday, 3 October at 10:00 am - Come cast yourvote for the board and listen to the plans for our school.

PTA News

PTA General Meeting Wednesday, 7 October at 10:00 11:00 am Learn ten common Korean phrases to helpyou navigate in this society and see how you can help with the Fall Family Festival.

Fall Family Festival Saturday, 24 October 10:00 am 2:00 am at BIFS

We are having fun planning this event. There will be a chili cook-off that will be judged for those of you whomake a mean pot of chili. Again, we will have a jacko-lanterns (carved pumpkins) contest for Elementary, andMiddle/High schoolers. You are never too old to carve a pumpkin. There will also be food, carnival games,activities on the pitch, and entertainment provided by our children. Plan to sign-up for one hour to volunteer foractivities. Sign-up Genius coming soon. We cannot provide a wonderful event for your child and family withoutyou.

For Fall Family Festival, we need a Cake Wheel coordinator. It would involve working at the Festival and gettingvolunteers to make or buy cakes (50 or so) to the cake wheel booth. It would be an easy and great way to helpat the Festival. You would have help. Please let one of the PTA officers know.

THE PE UNIFORM SHOP is now open Monday thru Thursday! Please check the calendar on the BIFS website foractual shop hours each week. Note: Shop hours are determined by the availability of our volunteers!

The weather is starting to cool off so it is a great time to consider your cool weather PE Uniform options!! Stopby the PE Uniform Shop and let us help you!!

Also available: BIFS blankets, coffee mugs and Eco-bags!!

All general information regarding PE Uniforms can be found under the life at BIFS tab on the BIFS website!

PE Uniform Shop




We are going to hold Parent Coffees in Ulsan and Geoje on following dates (places TBD): Ulsan: Tuesday, October 13, 09:30 am - 11:00 am Geoje: Thursday, October 15, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

As you may be aware, the purpose of these meetings is to be able to support communication between parentsand the school, and to be able to positively discuss ways that we can continue to improve our school. We lookforward to meeting you at the meeting!

Ulsan & Geoje Parent Coffees

During October, children in grades 2 - 9 will take tests called Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). We giveMAP tests as a measure of individual student instructional levels, to measure individual academic growth fromyear-to-year, and as a reflective tool on our programs in the areas of mathematics, reading, and languageusage.

MAP tests are unique in that they are computerized and adapt to be appropriate for each childs level oflearning. When taking a MAP test, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all ofthe previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answersincorrectly, the questions become easier. In an optimal test, a student answers approximately half the itemscorrectly and half incorrectly. The final score is an estimate of the students achievement level. As a result, eachstudent has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing.

Over the next few days, your child will spend a total of about three hours completing these tests. Following thetesting period, you will receive a report showing your childs growth. For more information on resources forparents, we encourage you to download the Parent Toolkit here. The toolkit includes information on how theMAP is run and scored, as well as tips for parents to support their child at home.

The following is excerpted from the toolkit.

Ways to help your child prepare for testing: Meet with your childs teacher as often as needed to discuss his or her progress. Ask the teacher to

suggest activities for you and your child to do at home to help prepare for tests and improve yourchilds understanding of schoolwork. Parents and teachers working together benefits students.

Provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home. Make sure that your child is well rested on school days and especially the day of a test. Children who

are tired are less able to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of a test. Give your child a well-rounded diet. A healthy body leads to a healthy, active mind. Provide books and magazines for your child to read at home. By reading new materials, a child learns

new words that might appear on a test.

NWEA MAP Testing for Grades 2 - 9

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http://www.bifskorea.org/mailto:[email protected]://legacysupport.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/ParentToolkit_0.pdf




This year, there is a whole-school focus on the IB Approaches To Learning (ATL). Self Management, Research,Social, Communication and Thinking skills will take center-stage. MYP and DP students will be building digitalportfolios that feature reflections on the ATL's. The initiative will have a dynamic introduction by Lance King, whohas worked with the IB to introduce the ATL's and embed them across the four IB programs. Lance hails fromNew Zealand and has travelled the world, teaching students, teachers and parents about the ATL's.

On October 7th, Lance will work with our Grade Eleven and Twelve students all day and will focus on study skillsand building resilience.

On October 8th, Lance will work with our Grade Six students (half in the morning and the other half in theafternoon) and will focus students' attention on Learning About Learning.

We are happy to invite parents to a special event at 7:00 pm on October 8th in the Middle and High School Hall5F in C building on Learning Skills, Approaches To Academics and Personal Excellence. This event is for parentsof children of all ages. Please RSVP [email protected] if you are interested in attending this event.

October 9th is a professional development day and all teachers will attend an all-day event titled: Teaching,Learning and Assessment with the ATL's in Mind.

Here is Lance King's website if you are interested in finding out more.

Daun YorkeIBDP Coordinator & Curriculum Director(for more information on this event, please contact [email protected])

More details on Lance King on the next page

Approaches to Learning with Lance King

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http://www.bifskorea.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.taolearn.com/mailto:[email protected]




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http://www.bifskorea.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.taolearn.com/http://www.taolearn.com/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9GSMlGni04https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9GSMlGni04




BIFS is accepting applicants for substitute/cover teachers for ELC to High School classes. Substitutes are called inwhen a teacher is absent and are paid hourly rate that are worked. Duties and responsibilities include teachinglessons planned and prepared by the classroom teacher, managing classroom behavior, supervising studentsoutside the classroom, and other duties as required.

Applications are invited from qualified, locally based education professionals who are fluent in English.

Candidates:

Possess an education degree from an accredited university Possess either a teaching license, TESOL certificate, or other teaching qualifications Possess IB training and experience (preferred) Are available to report to BIFS on short notice and on an irregular basis Are available to work between 8:25 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday Will be paid hourly rate: 15,000 KRW per hour

Applicants must be eligible to work in South Korea without sponsorship from BIFS and must reside in the Busanarea. And applicants must be Korean or F2, F4, F5, F6 Visa holder and have no criminal history (including sexualcriminal history).

If you are interested in being included on our substitute teacher list, please send a cover letter and CV (inEnglish) to [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed, and those meeting our criteriawill be contacted for an interview.

Substitute Teachers Needed!

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Our assumption is that by joining the school parents give us their permission for any photos, videos, and audiofiles featuring their child or themselves to be published on the school's website, blogs, and in other marketingmaterials belonging to the school. Please notify Ms. Miyoung Kim at [email protected] if you do notwish photos, videos and audio files featuring your child or yourselves to be used.

Image Rights Permission
http://www.bifskorea.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]




September 30 October 2

Cafeteria Menu

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We serve brunch buffet or international buffet every 3rd Thursday of a month.

Note: For students who bring lunches from home, please make sure to bring your owncutlery!




Elementary SchoolElementary PE Position

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BIFS gives a warm welcome (back!) to Helen Young. Helen was an outstanding PE teacher at BIFS over the pastthree years. We are so thrilled that Helen could rejoin our community, as she brings a wealth of experience toour ELC and ES PE programs, and she has been an excellent contributor to our school community during hertime at BIFS. Helen will be teaching the ELC and ES PE classes for the remainder of the year.

NWEA MAP Testing for Grades 2 - 5Grades 2 -5 will test on the following days:

Grade 2 Oct 6, 8, 13Grade 3 Oct 6, 12, 13Grade 4 Oct 5, 7, 12Grade 5 Oct 5, 7, 8

Test Completion and Make Up Tests for all Grades - Daily and Oct 14

Social Events and PlaydatesSocial experiences for school-age children are important, and we encourage families to arrange opportunitiesfor their kids to socialize in the afternoon and on weekends. We ask that all arrangements for playdates bemade outside of school hours so as to promote an inclusive environment. Distributing invitations topersonal/private parties and social events at school at any time is not allowed, unless all students in a class areincluded in the invitation. Elementary students will not be allowed to use school phones to arrange playdatesduring the school day. Thank you for your help with this.

Upcoming EventsDate/Time Event Details

September 28-29 Chuseok Holiday No School

October 2, 2:35-3:20 Elementary Assembly We will have a special classical trio concert by Gyuri's uncle, aprofessor at PNU, and former conductor of the BusanPhilharmonic. Also performing will be Gyuri's dad, who hasperformed with various orchestras around the world. We willhear the story of their passion for music.




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Date/Time Event Details

October 5, 9:15-3:15 Lower Elementary trip Grades Kindergarten, 1, and 2 take a field trip to farm inUlsan

October 5-19 ES MAP Testing Grades 2-5

October 9 Staff Development Day No School for Students

October 12-23 Electives Registration Registration for term 2 electives

October 14-16 Grade 5 Camp Grade 5 travels to Seoul and the DMZ as a learningcomponent in their unit, Who we are.

October 14, 9:00-10:00 Elementary Parent Coffee The PYP and Inquiry-Based Learning

October 16, 2:35-3:20 Elementary Assembly Handwashing and Flu prevention:Nurse and students will demonstrate proper hand-washing techniques and why it is important. We willalso discuss flu season and ways to prevent spreadinggerms to others.

October 20, 8:30-4:30 Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences

We will meet with parents and students in 3-wayconferences to set goals for the year and look atprogress so far. No regular school for students on thisday, and no electives.

October 23, full day (exact times to be set)

ES Soccer Tournament Grades 4 and 5 soccer electives students only @ DIS.Permission slip to follow.

October 23, 2:35-3:20 Elementary Assembly Music: Grade 1 students will present their mad pad orother videos of their rhymes that they have recorded.

October 29, 30 School Photos School photos will be taken for yearbook and forpurchase on these days. A schedule will be sent hometo parents as the date nears.

October 30, 12:45-3:20 Halloween Celebration The student council is planning a Halloweencelebration. Details to follow. Please note that childrenmust come to school in regular clothing and are invitedto change into costumes after lunch. Parents arewelcome to come help out!

October 30 End of Term 1 Electives

Upcoming Events




Middle School and High SchoolParent Communication in the MS/HS

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This week the MHS Parent Coffee focused on communication. We talked about many ways in which parentscould be informed and reach out to school. When parents and schools work together, it shows by the success instudents academics.

For those of you who weren't able to make the coffee, you are in luck. You can still communicate with school!You can follow this link to the PowerPoint we covered and then read on as I will cover the information here aswell.

As a school, we have been trying to reach out to you. Have we been successful? Teachers have been sendingout progress reports to parents to communicate concerns or celebrations about things that have beenhappening in school based on our ATLs (Approaches to Learning). This form is intended to give you informationbefore Mid-Semester Reports are released. If you haven't gotten one, don't worry. I believe that only about 40of them have gone to middle school parents and 80 or so have gone to high school parents. The Mid-Semesterreports will be coming home later in October.

Mr. Robb and I have been sending home weekly emails. If you haven't gotten them, then send us an email at:[email protected] or [email protected] and we will add you to our parent email list. We are alwayshere to help you!

Mr. Simon Furmston presented on ManageBac so that parents could learn how to access their accounts andwhat the different areas could be used for. Parents were able to access their own child's account to see whatwas happening at school. If you would like the handouts, please follow this link and tell us what you would likeus to send you.

Overall, the time was well spent and I would encourage you to come to these coffee sessions so that we canbecome more connected as a community. Our next event is on October 21, 2015 at 9 am. Please add it to yourcalendar right now!

Nate SwensonMiddle School Principal
http://www.bifskorea.org/mailto:[email protected]://docs.google.com/a/bifskorea.org/presentation/d/1bxGnpAWmYW8Gs9U40SVxv7-X-rdvEop81dOpfTaG6vE/edit?usp=sharinghttps://ibpublishing.ibo.org/server2/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=m_0_mypxx_guu_1409_1_e&part=3&chapter=4mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://docs.google.com/a/bifskorea.org/forms/d/11hAG2x8Y68kknN4VkpxzctNujOZz5nDBnDRsD_8MhKI/viewform




Lets Talk AssessmentAssessment is a continual and ongoing process. It is critical to our everyday teaching and guides us in theteaching and learning process. Why do we assess? We assess to see where students are in their learning and toguide a teachers next steps in his/her teaching. Assessment is also used to measure a students understandingof concepts at the end of a unit of study.

What is Formative Assessment?

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Formative assessment is also referred to as assessment forlearning. It provides feedback during the instructionalprocess. It could be a quiz, in-class assignment or teacherobservation of student work in class. The purpose is to gatherinformation about where students are in their learning.Formative assessments are used to give students feedbackand in most cases grades are not assigned. Students receivecomments to help them improve and identify areas ofstrengths and next steps in their learning. Teachers will oftenuse rubrics to show students specific areas for improvement. Itis important that students always produce their best work sothey can get an accurate picture and set goals forimprovement. Formative assessment also will give teachersnext steps for their teaching. It helps to identify areas thatmight need to be re-taught or concepts that the studentshave grasped. Formative assessment prepares students forsummative assessments.

What is Summative Assessment? Summative assessments are assessments that measureassessment of learning. Summative assessments are assessmentsthat are mostly given at the end of a unit or the end of aparticular part of a unit. Summative assessment takes place afterthe learning is completed. These are grades that are reported outon ManageBac and are used to guide teachers in forming thegrades on report cards.

Ask questions and grow and learn with us in the high school.

Jamie RobbHigh School Principal




It Takes a Village to Succeed Grade 10 Personal ProjectsIn the final year of the Middle Years Programme (MYP), Grade 10 students complete a Personal Project. The goalof the project is for students to demonstrate their skills, attitudes and knowledge through a long term projectthat is meaningful to them, in both content and form. Many students are already off to a great start havingvisited a Personal Project Exhibition last spring and begun research on their topics this summer. Other studentsare still in the deciding phases, which is just fine.

While the project is largely independent, the support, interest and encouragement students receive from homeand school are very important to their success. To this end, all students have been assigned a faculty supervisor.The supervisors role is to help students understand the criteria, keep track of the deadlines, offer guidance andassess the final report. In addition to faculty supervisors, students are encouraged to find experts on their chosentopic or product, both among the faculty and staff of the school and the greater Busan community. Ms. MaryONeill, the community liaison, can assist students in making those connections.

The students will be completing a Process Journal documenting their progress and will showcase their finalproduct or outcome at the Personal Project Exhibition on February 29, 2016. The students will also becompleting a report due on March 9, 2016, which will be submitted to the IB for moderation.

The Personal Project is a challenging but exciting opportunity for students, extending their experiences from thePYP Exhibition and preparing them for the Extended Essay in the IBDP. If you have a Grade 10 student or seeone, ask them about their project!

Jenny MontagueMYP Coordinator

From the Music DepartmentThe Music Department would like to congratulate EmilyMun 7B for winning first place in the Busan Middle Schoolof Arts annual singing competition that was held onSeptember 12th, 2015. Emily performed two pieces for thesinging competition. The first song was an Italian Songtitled Non e ver composed by Tito Mattei and the secondsong was a Korean song titled Cosmosreul Noraeham.

We would also like to congratulate Emily on winningsecond place in the cello competition that was held on thesame day at the Busan Middle School of Arts. Emilyperformed Cello Sonata in E minor Op. 38 No. 1 byRomberg.

Once again congratulation to Emily on this achievement and on representing BIFS at this event.

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Middle School FutsalMiddle School Soccer sent two boys teams and one girls teams to participate in a SKAC divisional FutsalTournament in Daegu on September 19, 2015 . The grade 7 and 8 boys squad finished with 3 Wins and 1 draw.The grade 6,7 and 8 girls finished with 4 wins and 0 losses. Grade 6 and 7 Boys finished the day with 2 wins 1loss and 1 tie game. All the players had a great day playing 4 matches each. Congratulations to the coaches.Thank you to all the parents that came all the way to watch the action.

Marty Wagner Athletic Director

Athletics Update

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Counselors CornerI am excited to announce that BIFS will host the first UK University Fair to be held in our gymnasium on October6, 2015, from 4:00-7:00 PM. This is great opportunity for the BIFS community as well as the greater Busancommunity to visit with some great UK institutions of higher education. Scheduled UK universities that will visitinclude the following:

In addition to the UK University fair, break out sessions are scheduled that will cover topics to includecompleting the UCAS, writing the personal statement, selecting a UK university, and the art focused universitieswill talk about the portfolio as well as be available to offer a review of portfolios.

I look forward to seeing students and parents attend this event.

University of Warwick

Goldsmiths University of London

Cardiff University

University of Sheffield

University for the Creative Arts

Falmouth University

Arts University Bournemouth

Anglia Ruskin University

Edge Hill University (unconfirmed)

University of Liverpool (unconfirmed)

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College Visits

Date College

September 1 Miami University, OxfordUniversity of Minnesota, Twin CitiesUniversity of OregonUniversity of Vermont

September 8 St. Georges University (Caribbean)

September 18 North Carolina State University

September 25 Widener UniversityAugustana CollegeUniversity of California, Santa CruzCreighton UniversityFordham University - Lincoln Center Campus/Rose Hill CampusIowa State University

October 1 University of Wisconsin, Whitewater

October 7 Hampshire CollegeLynchburg CollegeUniversity of Puget SoundSaint Mary's College of California

October 8 University of Connecticut

October 12 Calvin CollegeThe College of Wooster

October 20 University of Missouri ColumbiaUniversity of Colorado at BoulderThe University of Iowa

Each year BIFS receives university recruitment visits from universities from all over the world. The following is thelist of universities that have been scheduled so far to visit BIFS. We anticipate getting many more throughout theschool year.

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For Your DiarySeptember 201528th 29th Chuseok Holiday

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October 201516th ES Assembly

16th MS/HS Mid-Semester Reports

17th Global Gathering

20th MS/HS Skype Interviews

Schoolwide 3-Way Conferences

21st MS Parent Coffee

23rd ES Assembly

HS House Assembly

24th PTA Fall Family Festival

28th HS Parent Coffee

28th 29th One Act Plays

29th 30th Campus Photography International Taking Student Photos

30th End S01 CCA/Elective

ES Halloween

ES Assembly

MS House Assembly

Spirit Day

MS/HS Halloween Dance

October 20152nd ES Assembly

3rd BIFS BOG AGM

5th 14th ES MAP Testing

5th Lower Elementary Ulsan Field Trip

SKAC HS Volleyball @BIFS

6th UK University Fair @ BIFS Gym

7th BIFS Parent Coffee

PTA Meeting

8th Whole School Meeting

9th Staff Professional Development Day - No School for Students

12th 23rd ES Electives Registration

13th Ulsan Parent Coffee

14th ES Parent Coffee

14th 16th Grade 5 Camp

15th Geoje Parent Coffee




School & Community Links

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Please contact Ms. Miyoung Kim if you wish to inquire about promoting your company in the BIFS Newsletter.

[email protected] | 051-742-3332 (#114)
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BIFS Newsletter, 2015-09-25 (English)

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