! Korea International Middle School Office of the Principal

Korea International Middle School Office of the Principal
!
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!
!
!
Greetings
KIS MS Parents,!
! October
!
is here and the fall semester is flying by! During this past month, many exciting
September 5, 2014
events have been taking place at Korea International Middle School (KIS MS), as both teachers
!Dearstudents
and
have
beenParents,
very busy. The focus of our school community during September was
KIS Middle
School
Teamwork,
and specific lessons, small group activities, and an assembly all combined to create
! foundation
a strong The
for this
concept.
Each
Fridayhave
Advisory
has contained
specific
school year
is offimportant
and running,
and your
students
been getting
to know each
other and
lessons
outlining
monthly
please ask
children
about into
the activities
our new staff,
and our
working
hard focus,
in theirso
classrooms.
Weyour
are now
one month
the schooland
year,their
and we
overall
experiences
with
them.
The
focus
for
October
is
Balance
and
we
will
have
a
number
of
have much to report to you!
activities designed to educate students on the importance of keeping a healthy balance within
Each month, I will be writing you a letter highlighting KIS Middle School’s latest events and
their lives.!
it isMeasures
my hope to
you informed
of your(MAP)
students’
!news. Through
KIS MSthis
hascommunication,
also finished the
of keep
Academic
Performance
Testdaily
and lives
with at
KIShelp
Middle
School.
As a staff, we arewe
constantly
working tothe
bring
new innovative
experiences
into our
the
of Mrs.
Osterhagen-Brock
have streamlined
process.
The students
were tested
school
and classrooms
order to give your
exceptional,
world-class
in
a natural
classroominenvironment
and students
with the an
use
of their own,
familiar education.
devices. Overall, the
testing went smoothly and the results will be sent to you in the coming days.!
In the first month of school, we encountered some transitional issues with scheduling, but we
!
Within our classrooms we are seeing a number of high-level projects ranging from public
have since corrected these issues and most students were able to straighten out their schedules within a
speaking
presentations
(7th
Social
Studies)
artistic
body manipulation
drawings
couple of days.
As parents,
yougrade
can look
forward
to a to
more
streamlined
registration process
this(Ms.
spring,
Kim’s
throughout
the MS
building.
all classes
we are
witnessing
which classes)
will makeseen
the transitions
between
school
years Further,
go more in
smoothly.
Further,
all students
have started
positive
interactions
our staff
andfirst
your
sons and
creates to
a positive,
their advisory
and clubwith
activities
for the
semester.
Thedaughters,
clubs have which
been designed
give students the
creative,
and
rigorous
learning
environment.
These
classrooms
support
lively
and
interactive
opportunity to build positive relationships with one another in a number of different activities.
These
debates
as
well
as
breaking
down
larger
concepts
to
create
a
deeper
understanding
inRegardless
a
activities range from building and designing stage sets getting exercise through basketball.
specific
area.!all students are forming new positive relationships with other students and staff.
of the activity,
!
Last Friday we had our Experiential Education Trips and overall they were a great
occurredout
thisinfall
regard tostretching
advisory periods
and the overall
success!One
Wenoticeable
had over change
300 students
thewith
community
their boundaries
andstructure
of the program.
The
change
will zones.
keep teachers
working
with students
the same
grade
which they
stepping
outside
their
comfort
The MS
Staff worked
hard toofensure
a day
of for
teamwork,
teach.
For
example,
a
sixth-grade
math
teacher
will
serve
as
an
advisor
for
sixth-grade
students.
At the
perseverance, understanding, reflection, and fun would be had by all! These trips are designed
end
of
the
year,
the
student
will
then
be
assigned
to
a
new
advisory
teacher
in
order
to
build
to take the classroom learning environment outside the walls of a school and into real-world new
relationships with other students and new staff members. Within this structure, the students will receive
situations. Along with this, thank you for the PTO’s support for purchasing the t-shirts (designed
appropriate support for their individual grade level and, along the way, strengthen their positive
by
KIS MS student
Sun Joo
Park).
If you would
like to
see some
theteachers
pictures
from
relationships
in the school
setting.
In addition,
we have
created
a teamofof
who
arethese
developing
experiences
to Instagram
andand
search
theme-specificgoexperiential
lessons
then #KISMS.!
delivering these lessons to our students each Friday during
!the advisory
Otherperiod.
activities
areSeptember
the Fun Run
for Charity,
Kick-Offlessons
Theoccurring
theme for this
the month
month of
is teamwork,
andMS
weTeam
have created
Assembly,
Halloween
Social,
AMC
signup
(see
below
for
more
information),
Choir,
Band,and
andteam
aimed to develop the skills necessary for your students to become positive team members
Orchestra
concerts,
along
with
a
host
of
classroom
cross-over
activities.
Our
teachers
continue
leaders.
to look for ways to enrich the learning environment, all while making KIS MS a fun and exciting
wouldand
alsodevelop.!
like to thank everyone who attended our Back-to-School Night last week. We had a
place to Istudy
parents
in attendance,
and wefrom
hopethe
youprevious
were able
to meet
the KIS
staffI have
and walk in the
!large number
Lastly,ofthere
were
a few questions
PTO
meeting
which
shoes of your
students for a night. Our staff members truly enjoyed meeting everyone and having the
addressed
below:!
to Teaching:
make positive
withteam
all ofteaching
our KIS parents.
That night,
many areas
of you signed up
!opportunity
Team
Weconnections
are currently
in a number
of different
for
the
PTO,
and
we
appreciate
the
help,
support,
and
time
you
give
to
our
school.
We
all
how
throughout our curricula. Team teaching is a model where two teachers co-teach inunderstand
a classroom
busy you are, and your taking the time to participate in our school-wide events is critical to fostering a
in order to enrich the experiences of the students. The teachers co-plan every lesson and will
strong community for our students!
take turns presenting while the other circulates through the room adding to the lecture and
answering
why
don’t
do this
in every
class?about
Creating
a co-teaching
is
In questions.
the coming Now
months,
you
willwe
receive
more
information
the Fall
Experiential model
Education
very
difficult
when
building
the
Master
Schedule
of
courses.
Within
the
model
of
co-teaching
all
Experience for students in all grades. These educational trips are designed for students to develop life
of
the that
staff members
must
haveacommon
prep and
periods
(structured
times where
they
plan
skills
enhance and
support
well-rounded
exceptional
educational
program.
One
of !the key
goals of the KIS curriculum is to instill in students the skills necessary to succeed in a competitive global
society, and these experiences are critical to our educational program. Our experiential education program
!
!
!
!
!
together) which limits flexibility of scheduling. We hope to continue supporting the co-teaching
model approach across all courses as the schedule allows.!
!
STEM/STEAM: The question, “When will it begin?” The foundations of STEM/STEAM do
not entirely occur within new classes, but instead it is a shifting mindset of developing lessons
across the different curricular areas. We are beginning to look at different projects and ways for
blending curricula in order to support an educational system where students must apply their
current knowledge to a number of different situations. Given the other projects we are
developing this year (Experiential Education, MakerSpace), we are continuing to find ways to
implement the STEM/STEAM concept in our everyday curricula but it is not the major focus for
this year. We value the learning that STEM/STEAM provides and over time you will see it
become more and more ingrained in our school curriculum.!
!
Experiential Education: “How does it relate outside of the Oct. 10th trip?” Some of the
major factors determining the overall success of a child directly relates to the skills being taught
through our Experiential Education Program. Within this program we focus on teamwork,
thinking outside the box, goal setting, taking calculated risks, perseverance, creating a balance
in life along with many other key concepts. Every Friday we have either a designed lesson or an
assembly to create opportunities for our students to learn and practice these life-long skills. !
!
MakerSpace Update: The Pre-K to 8th grade teams have been visiting different
MakerSpace type laboratories over this past month and are starting to finalize the plans for
building this classroom space. We plan to develop the space in the coming months and our goal
is to have the MakerSpace up and running next semester as a club. We will continue visits to
see effective student labs to ensure a successful start to the MakerSpace project. It’s a very
exciting time and so be on the look out for an update about this topic!!
!
Announcements: !
!
American Math Competition: !
KIS MS will be offering the American Math Competition Test for middle school students. The
cost of the test is 5,000 won, and it will take place after school at KIS on November 18. If you
wish for your son(s) or daughter(s) to take part in the AMC 8 Test, please have them sign up
with Mr. Forrestal at room M302. Act fast because space is limited!!
!
Schoology training sessions for parents:!
If you would like to attend a 30-minute training session with a focus for parents on the uses of
Schoology please follow this link.!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18IG4AJcbsEstMf64vGn7XhZLjLyuvhwo9dWVmIsCT-8/
viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link!
!
!
KIS MS has had a great month and please follow us on Twitter @KISPRIDE or on
Instagram @KISMSPRIDE #KISMS. Thank you for all of your continued support and I look
forward to seeing you all at the next PTO meeting on October 21st.!
Respectfully,!
!
!
!
!
David Lovelin, Ed.D!
Principal!
Korea International Middle School
373-6 Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-420, KoreaTel:(031)789-0509, Fax:(031)748-0509 www.kis.or.kr
학부모님께,
천고마비의 계절입니다. 그 동안 크고 작은 학교 행사들이 있었고, 선생님들과 학생들 모두 바쁜 시간을 보냈습니
다. 매주 금요일 담임 반에서 월별 키워드에 관한 수업이 진행됩니다. 지난 9월 “팀워크”를 키워드로 했다면, 10
월의 키워드는 “균형”으로, 월말까지 학생들에게 균형 잡힌 삶에 대한 수업이 예정되어 있습니다.
지난 달에는 또한 MAP 테스트가 있었습니다. 커리큘럼 코디네이터 담당이신 오스터헤건-브락 선생님께서 학생들
이 최대한 익숙하고 편안한 환경에서 시험을 치를 수 있도록 신경 써주신 덕분에, 아무 탈 없이 잘 마무리되었습니
다.
7학년 사회 과목에서 학생들은 대중 앞에 서는 발표 기회를 갖거나, 미술 과목에서 온 몸을 사용하는 그림을 그리
는 등 다양한 수업방식이 도입되고 있고, 이는 학생과 교사의 공감대 형성에 긍정적인 효과를 낳고 있습니다.
지난 주 금요일에는 체험학습여행이 성공적으로 이루어졌습니다. 300명 이상의 중학교 전교생이 자연으로 나가 경
직된 심신을 풀어주었습니다. 선생님들께서 철저한 준비를 위해 노고를 아끼지 않았고, 티셔츠를 지원해주신 학부모
회의에도 감사의 말씀을 전합니다. 티셔츠의 그림은 박선주 학생의 작품입니다. 관련 사진은 <Instagram
@KISMSPRIDE #KISMS>을 통해 확인해주시기 바랍니다.
이번 달의 또 다른 주요 행사로는 기부모금의 “펀런”, 킥오프 조례, 할로윈, AMC 신청(세부사항 아래 내용 참
조), 합창-밴드-오케스트라 콘서트 및 크로스오버 수업 등이 있습니다. 교장단과 교사진은 한국외국인학교 학생들
이 보다 즐겁고 활기찬 학교생활을 위해 노력하고 있습니다.
마지막으로 학부모회의 시간에 나온 질문에 대한 답변을 드립니다 :
팀 티칭 –
저희 학교는 팀 티칭 방식을 채택하여 몇몇 과목에 적용하고 있습니다. 두 명 이상의 교사가 함께 수
업을 준비하기 때문에 수업내용이 더욱 깊고 풍부해지며, 교실 내에서 교사가 학생들에게 다가가 세부적인 도움을
줄 수 있습니다. 모든 수업에 적용치 않은 이유는, 한 팀을 이루는 교사들의 시간표를 모두 동일하게 맞춰야 하므로,
교과배정 상에 다소 어려움이 있어서 입니다.
STEM/STEAM - “언제 시작하는가?” STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) 교
육은 차차 실행될 예정입니다. 올해 체험학습 실행과 실험실(메이커 스페이스) 신설을 그 일환으로 볼 수 있고, 아
직은 그 영향이 미미하지만, 본격적인 실행 후 분명 높이 평가되고 있는 이유를 확인하실 수 있을 것입니다.
체험학습 - “수업과 어떤 연관이 있는가?” 체험학습을 통해 학생은 공동체의식과 창의력을 기르고 위기와 장애
를 극복하는 능력을 키우며 몸과 마음의 균형을 유지하게 됩니다. 앞서 말씀 드린 바와 같이, 매주 금요일 담임 반
에서 이러한 인생 전반에 필요하고 중요한 공부내용을 다루고 있습니다.
실험실 신설 –
초등학교와 중학교에 걸쳐 학생들이 신설된 실험실을 방문하게 하여 다음 학기부터는 실험실을 십
분 이용하는 새로운 클럽을 생성하고자 계획하고 있습니다.
알림 :
AMC (미국 수학 경시대회) - 곧 AMC가 있습니다. 참가비는 5,000원으로, 시험 날짜는 11월 18일입니다. 수학부
장 Sean Forrestal 선생님께서 M302 교실에서 신청을 받습니다. 선착순을 원칙으로 합니다.
학부모를 위한 스쿨로지 교육 - 30분 정도 소요되는 스쿨로지 교육을 받고자 하시는 분들께서는 아래 링크를 참조
해주시기 바랍니다.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18IG4AJcbsEstMf64vGn7XhZLjLyuvhwo9dWVmIsCT-8/
viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link!
학교 SNS를 원하시면 <Twitter @KISPRIDE> 혹은 <Instagram @KISMSPRIDE #KISMS> 을 이용해주시기
바랍니다.
학부모님의 아낌 없는 응원과 지원에 감사드리며, 다음주 10월 21일 학부모회의에서 뵙도록 하겠습니다.
한국외국인학교 교장
교육학박사 David Lovelin