BIFS Newsletter, 2015-11-27 (English)

BIFS NEWSLETTERUnited in our Diversity, Thriving in our Individuality

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

ISSUE 35, November 27, 2015

ContentsThis Coming Week at BIFS1. Tue, December 1: DP Course Selection Evening2. Wed, December 2: MHS Parent Coffee3. Sat, December 5: BIWA Bazaar

Whole School1. Thanksgiving Reflections and the Power of Gratitude2. PTA News3. 2015-16 Second Semester School Fee Invoice4. School Buses: New Attendance System5. BIFS Angel Tree Wish Gifts6. PE Uniform Shop7. Image Rights Permission8. BIWA Christmas Bazaar9. 2015 National Korea Robot Championship10. Cafeteria Menu: November 30 – December 411. Turkeys Available from Chef Kim

Elementary School1. “Third Culture Kids” and Transitions2. ELC Christmas Celebration3. Upcoming Events

Middle School and High School1. Why are we here?2. Suggested Reading Lists

For Your Diary

BIFS Annual Calendar 2015-2016

School & Community Links

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Welcome to the end of November and for those of us from the United States…American Thanksgiving! Forsome people, this American holiday is about turkey dinners, pumpkin pies, way too much food, Americanfootball, parades, and pilgrims. As someone from the United States, I was reflecting on what I believe makesAmerican Thanksgiving such a special holiday for me personally and I found my thoughts centering aroundfamily, memories of special gatherings with loved ones who are no longer with us and the importance of takingthe time out to reflect and be grateful for the many things we have in our lives. You see, the original intent ofthe Thanksgiving Day celebration throughout American history was to set aside a time for “intentional gratitude”.Why is it important to express gratitude? Because there is power in the attitude of gratitude!

Research has shown that gratitude will improve your life. It magnifies our experiences of the good things in life,thus enabling us to enjoy them more thoroughly. Gratitude also helps us to endure the hard things in life withdignity and resilience. Furthermore, researchers found that people who considered their blessings and expressedgratitude were happier and healthier. They tended to be more active in helping others. They also slept better.Additionally, people suffering from illness experienced a lessening of the negative effects from their illness. Whodoesn’t want to live a happier and healthier life?

I would like to encourage you to try something. I would like to challenge you to express your gratitude to thosepeople in your lives for whom you are grateful and who sometimes, perhaps, might not get to hear of yourgratitude. I believe this is a time to stop what we are doing and say “Thank you” to the people in our lives whodeserve to hear this from us. Such a small gesture can make a big difference in the life of another person! Takethe time to make a positive difference in someone’s life by sharing with them why you are grateful for them!

In closing, please know that I am grateful for BIFS and I am thankful for everyone that is such an important partof this community! THANK YOU for making BIFS such an incredible school!

Kevin BakerHead of School

Whole SchoolThanksgiving Reflections and the Power of Gratitude

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PTA NewsGood luck to the high school basketball teams on Monday, 30 November. They are playing atBusan Foreign School from 4:00 – 6:00pm. Show your support and cheer for the Bears! It isgreat fun to watch!

The BIFS Board of Governors’ Student Progress Communications Policy Workshop will be a part of the PTAmeeting on Wednesday, December 9 at 10:00am. This will be an important meeting to attend. The Board ofGovernors will be creating a policy concerning school communication about your child. Your ideas andfeedback on how the school communicates to you about your child is needed. Mark your calendars.

Remember, if you are going home for the winter holidays to bring back items for International Day such asdecorations or small items to give away. The World Wheel of Fortune will be in need of international baskets tobe donated. The small or large baskets can consist of items from your country like food and/or souvenirs.

Sign up for our BIFS PTA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/bifsssg

Joy PriedemanPTA President

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Thank you for your continued support for our new Bus Attendance System, as students have their ID card readby the reader fitted in the bus, when getting on and off. If a student loses their ID card, a new one can beissued. However, please note that the old card will no longer be valid. If you have any inquiries about this issue,please contact Ms. Noh, Bus Coordinator, by email ([email protected]).

School Buses: New Attendance System

2015-16 Second Semester School Fee InvoiceThe 2015-16 second semester school fee invoice will be sent by email and post on November 30th. If you don`treceive the invoice, please contact the Finance Office.

Please refer to the schedule below for the 2015-16 second semester invoice.

Nov 30, 2015: Invoice sent outDec 1-8, 2015: Correction period for invoice Jan 15, 2016: Payment due

For further information, please contact the Finance Office (Tel: 051.743.3332 Email: [email protected]).



https://www.facebook.com/groups/bifsssg






BIFS Angel Tree Wish GiftsThe BIFS Angel Tree is an annual BIFS event where we collect holidaygifts for children living in various children’s homes. We would like tohelp make these children’s wishes come true.

We would like to invite BIFS students, teachers, staff and families toparticipate in our annual holiday Angel Tree. We will ask children from anumber of Busan children’s homes, which we work with, to give us theirwishes for a holiday gift.

This year the students from each class will choose several children from the Google Angel Tree List and prepare a present for them. The suggested donation amount per child, Grades 1 through 12 is a 10,000 won donation toward the purchase of the gifts.

Also we know that many families, teachers and staff enjoy selecting a gift and making a child’s wish come true. Ifyou would like to participate, you can choose one of the children to give a present to from the Google Doc thatwe will send out next week.

For the Elementary classes, we will ask the Elementary Class Moms to help with the purchasing of the gifts andfor M/H Mary O’Neill will take care of it.

Once the gift has been purchased, please wrap the gift with the child’s name on it and put it under the tree.There will be two holiday trees, one in the Main office for Elementary students and one on the 2nd floor for M/H.

For most of the gifts, we have include information on where you can find the item and other details such ascolor and size to make shopping easier for you.

SPECIAL REQUESTLastly we have a special request from Love Field (a non-profit organization with helps the elderly in Busan). I anda group of other women visited five elderly women with the Social Worker to see what they needed now thatthe weather is turning cold. The other group will take care of their winter heating needs. I would like to ask thatwe help three of these women who are in their late 80’s and live on very little money. Two of these ladies are inneed of a new stove. Their stove is very old and barely works. It is dangerous. The cost of a new stove is around160,000-180,000 won. The other woman is in need of a warm winter quilt.

If you need help or have questions, please let us know. Mary O’Neill ([email protected] or 010-2575-8831)or Miyoung Kim ([email protected]).

Thank you for caring and making a child’s wish come true!

WATCH FOR THE GIANT GREEN ELF!Mary O’Neill, Community Resource Teacher

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PE Uniform ShopTHE 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!!Our vendor has indicated that he is changing factories because of quality issues. If you are having difficulty with the quality of youruniform, please be sure to let us know! In most cases, we will not be able to replace it but we can ask the vendor to repair it.

Image Rights PermissionOur 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 Miyoung Kim at [email protected] if you do not wishphotos, videos and audio files featuring your child or yourselves to be used.

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We hope you and your family can come to the Busan International Wemen’s Association (BIWA) ChristmasBazaar on December 5th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. It will be held at the Grand Hotel's 2nd floor ConventionHall, Leisure Building.

Our school orchestra and choir will be performing, and our students will run fun activities at the kids corner. It isa great place to do a little holiday shopping, and there will be international food and baked goods.

BIWA Christmas Bazaar

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BIFS Prepare for the 2015 National Korea Robot Championship

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This year we will be sending two teams to the NationalKorea Robot Championship in Seoul on the 23rd ofJanuary. Ms. Eksteen is coaching one team from theElementary School, and the second team is being formedfrom the Middle High School and is coached by Mr.Melville and Mr. Furmston.

This will be the second time that BIFS will be competing inthe Korea Robot Championship, but this is the first timethat we are entering multiple teams.

After months of designing, building, and programmingour Robots for Korea Robot Championship we were finallygiven the Mission Pack from the Korean RoboticsChampionship Commission (KRC). This year thecompetition is all based around the Environment, and theCompetition has 3 aspects, which are;

1. Teamwork2. The Robot Games3. The Project

The first thing that they will look at when we come to thechampionship will be how well our teams work and learntogether. They also look at how team members listen toeach other and support each other. Most importantly theywant to see that our team has fun working together.

In terms of the Robot Games we have to design andprogram our robots to try and complete 12 separatemissions within 2 minutes and 30 seconds. These missionsare all based around the environment and details of themissions are shown on the First Lego LeagueWebsite:……………………………………………………………………….http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2015trashtrek

Continued on the next page



http://www.firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2015trashtrek




BIFS Prepare for the 2015 Korean National Robotics Championship

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Finally our teams will have to complete the project which will culminate in our teams having to present anoriginal idea which could help our global environment to a panel of Judges.

If you would like to help support our Robotics teams or learn more about the Robotics Program at BIFS then please contact us as at either [email protected] or [email protected].








Lunch MenuCafeteria Menu: November 30 – December 4

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

Sandwich Bar






Turkeys Available from Chef KimChef Kim has kindly offered again to make turkeys available to our BIFSfaculty and parents.

Availability: from Oct 28th to Dec 31st

Menu:

• One uncooked whole turkey (5kg) with cranberry sauce: 65,000 won• One whole cooked turkey (5kg) with stuffing, giblet sauce and cranberrysauce: 90,000 won

How to order: contact Chef Kim, either by

• Mobile Phone: 010-2583-6545 (with a text message), or• Email: [email protected]

Delivery: please pick up your order from the cafeteria on an arrangeddate

Payment: at your convenience upon placing the order, or collecting yourorder

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Elementary School“Third Culture Kids” and Transitions

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The majority of the students at BIFS could be called “Third Culture Kids”, a term popularly used to describechildren who are being raised to some extent outside of their parents’ home culture. Our children are unique,and gain a great deal of worldly experience by living outside of their home culture. They also face uniquechallenges related to growing up in an unfamiliar culture as well as those posed by transitions and mobility. Asmany of our families begin to plan for moves at the end of 2015, we encourage you to be sensitive to the impactthis will have on your child.

Each child is unique, yet we see some common issues. When children know a move is coming, they sometimeswill begin to disconnect from their friends and the school. In essence, they are protecting themselves fromemotional hurt that can come with leaving. Sometimes children’s self-esteem will take a dip, as they manage thestress of a transition. Your child may begin to act out, get angry, or otherwise surprise you with strong emotionsstemming from loss and grief that are a natural component of any transition.

How can you help? While this varies from family to family, in general children need to be able to seek closureand plan ahead:• Give your child advanced warning about the move so he/she has time to say goodbye to friends and

connections here in Busan; allow time to say goodbye to special places and possessions as well• Hold your child accountable for being “present”, staying connected to school and friends until it’s time to go• Allow your child to be involved in getting ready to leave (for example, let his/her choose which toys will be

shipped and which will be donated to charity)• Talk to your child about his/her emotions and acknowledge these feelings as valid• Give concrete information (pictures and maps, for example) about where you are going after the transition so

your child can begin to visualize; be aware that re-entry to a home country can be difficult for many childrensince they expect what they left to be the same, yet it and their relationships will likely be different.

If you’d like to read more, these tips were taken from Third Culture Kids, Growing Up Among Worlds by Pollockand Van Reken.

ELC Christmas CelebrationThe ELC will have a small Christmas celebration on the 17th of December. Each ELC class will prepare oneChristmas carol to sing to Santa in the piazza. Santa will come to each class to give presents to the children, andthe parents are welcome to join us. The celebration will begin at 9:00 am. More information will be providedonce we are closer to the date.






Date/Time Event Details

December 4, 2:35-3:20 Elementary Assembly Kindergarten and Grade 1 Korean Language Acquisitionstudents will share 'Expressing Ideas' and 'Communicatingwith Signs and Symbols' in conjunction with UOI 'How WeExpress Ourselves'.

December 11, 2:35-3:20 Elementary Assembly Grade 4G will share what they have learned during their'Who We Are' unit of inquiry, and teach the Elementaryabout how to be healthy.

December 18 Schoolwide Assembly and noon dismissal for holiday

Details to follow

Upcoming Events

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Anne SweetElementary School Principal






Middle School and High SchoolWhy are we here?

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Most parents in the world send their children to school. Have you ever asked yourself why? I don’t think youneed to look much further than our school vision statement to understand what we are doing here at BIFS:

Our students will develop and pursue their passions, be successful and contribute to a positive global future.

We are preparing our students for the real world. We want them to leave school and be able to deal with anysituation that may come their way. This is evident when we see students go off to college or when we hear offormer graduates who have done incredible things. Many times we never see “the fruits of our labor” becausewe trust that our students are ready and they don’t need us around to help them.

We do get to see some glimmers of what our students can do when they travel for sporting events, leadassemblies, participate in Model United Nations (MUN), or compete in contests like spelling bees. Our studentsdominate in all of these situations and it is a reflection of the things they learn on a daily basis. Here are a fewexamples of students using their ATL Skills from this past week…

Our middle school girls soccer team won their third 1st placetrophy this past weekend. They used Collaboration as theyeach played their role on the soccer pitch. Our Spelling Beestudents took 4 of the top 5 places as they used their CriticalThinking and Transfer skills. The high school MUN studentsexcelled and one was named the “Best Delegate” at theconference due to his Communication and Collaborationskills.






Jamie RobbHigh School Principal

Nate SwensonMiddle School Principal

Why are we here? - ContinuedWe have heard from other coaches in town that we are the school to beat at any tournament or competition weenter. We start with incredible students (thanks for the “at home” training) and add a little of our own teachingsat school and together we create amazing young adults who are ready to take on the world! That is why we arehere.

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Suggested Reading ListsAs requested by a number of parents, the MHS Language and Literature department have started compilingsuggested reading lists. Here are our favorites thus far:

Middle School

• Suggested Reading for Middle School Students (Grades 6–8)"The following titles are recommended as summer reading both to maintain fluency and reading level and toencourage independent reading.“ www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/reading_list/middle_school.html

• The Sakura Reading List (Middle School)The international school librarians in Japan meet every year to develop a reading list. This year's list can befound here: www.sakuramedal.com/ems.html

• Graphic Novelswww.sakuramedal.com/gn.html

High School

• A Summer Reading List for Those Who Crave the Eclectic"Summer books, like summer movies, are generally widely promoted and easily found. Here are the books notso easily found that provide the pleasures of summer reading and leaven them with more than a frisson of theunusual." ww2.kqed.org/arts/2015/07/08/a-summer-reading-list-for-those-who-crave-the-eclectic/

• The Sakura Reading List (High School)The international school librarians in Japan meet every year to develop a reading list. This year's list can befound here: www.sakuramedal.com/ehs.html



http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/reading_list/middle_school.html

http://www.sakuramedal.com/ems.html

http://www.sakuramedal.com/gn.html

http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2015/07/08/a-summer-reading-list-for-those-who-crave-the-eclectic/

http://www.sakuramedal.com/ehs.html




For Your Diary

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January 201611th • Start of Term 2

15th • End of Semester 1

• Report Cards Distributed

• ES Assembly

20th • New Parent Coffee

• PTA Meeting

22th • ES Assembly

27th-31st • ISCMS Music Festival Trip

27th • ES Parent Coffee (Exhibition)

28th • KIMEA Middle School Choir Festival

29th • MS House Assembly

• ES Assembly

November 201527th • Movember Assembly

• ES Assembly

30th • Homeroom: DP Course Selection Event

December 20151st • Grade 10 DP Course Selection Evening

2nd • MHS Parent Coffee

2nd - 9th • Grade 11/12 End of Semester Examinations

4th • ES Assembly

5th • BIWA Bazaar

9th • BIFS Parent Workshop

• PTA Meeting

11th • HS Assembly

18th • Winter Holiday Assembly

• End of Term 1 – Noon Dismissal






School & Community Links

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

[email protected] | 051-742-3332 (#114)



http://cafe.naver.com/emartapple

http://cafe.naver.com/emartapple


BIFS Newsletter, 2015-11-27 (English)

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