lkjh

BULLETIN To Your Good Health!

November 2012

Issue 3

photo by Jim Fidler

www.isb.bj.edu.cn/news

Events

Terry Fox Run

photos by Hazel Sellar and Jim Fidler

This year's Terry Fox run was another fantastic success! Special thanks to Dr Sarah Taylor, Deputy Head of Mission at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, for opening the event here at ISB.

2

•

NOVEMBER 2012

Jedi Jugglers - It's a Toss–Up!

story and photos by Hazel Sellar

Each year the fabulous ES Jedi Jugglers present a matchless, unique, and unforgettable spectacle of skill. Invented, organized, and sustained by ES PE teacher Tim Callahan, the program has been teaching students to keep things up in the air for almost 30 years.

fire, but also to embrace an impossible challenge, master it, and astonish themselves (and their parents) with their accomplishments. The Jedi Juggling Council members must meet a tough test of juggling skill, commitment and personal character.

Mr. Callahan says that all you need to be an outstanding juggler is “a big heart and the courage to keep trying when you feel it’s impossible.” Hundreds of ISB students have learned from him—not just to toss rings, clubs, fruit, and

This year the show was spiced up with the House Colour Challenge and the fabulous Hula Girls Jugglers. Thanks again to all those who were determined to learn—and to Mr. Callahan for organizing this amazing show of talent.

Events 3

Community

iPink iCan It was One of Those Wonderful Women Wednesdays

by Mary Wenstrom, PE Teacher photo by Jim Fidler

by Alice Taylor (Grade 3SS) It was one of those wonderful women Wednesdays The room was filled with pink all different but beautiful It was one of those wonderful women Wednesdays We were happy for women all around the world It was one of those wonderful women Wednesdays We were hoping that scientist would find a cure for cancer It was one of those wonderful women Wednesdays We had been talking....

But stopped for a moment and thought ….

October is all about the color pink, which represents educating, empowering and engaging those in our community on women's health issues. ISB students, staff and community show support for the women in our lives by participating in several events this month. Our fearless pink leaders, Tarek Razik and Rhonda Norris, didn’t paint the town red. Instead, they painted ISB in pink lights and banners for the month of October! The purpose being to start conversation and show support for women's health initiatives.

Several of the events this month raised money and awareness for a great cause. All money raised (including profits from t-shirts, shoelaces and wristband sales) is donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Check out this reputable and outstanding foundation online at http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/AboutUs.html.

You can also read about breast cancer prevention and treatment on this site.

WellCo appreciates all women at ISB! Thank you for everything you do at our school! Hooray to all the wonder women who have been proactive and scheduled their annual health check-up!

4

•

NOVEMBER 2012

photos by Hazel Sellar photo by Hazel Sellar

iCare “iCare Week” is an ISB program created by WellCo, the Chinese Department and the Green Team. It encourages overall wellness and engagement with students and staff. It also promotes healthy choices in our community. Based on the choices we make, we show that “iCare” for myself, “iCare” for others, and “iCare” for the environment.

In homerooms and mentoring classes, students and staff completed an online chart that showed characteristics and behaviors that epitomize “iCare.” This year’s “iCare Challenge Winners” were:

by Mary Wenstrom, PE Teacher

Our Terry Fox Run was held at three separate times to accommodate our K-12 students and staff. Together, everyone involved showed that we care for others and ourselves by raising money for the Terry Fox Foundation.

And we ran to create awareness in finding a cure for cancer.

All money raised goes directly to cancer research centers determined by ISB and The Terry Fox Foundation.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in iCare Week and the Terry Fox Run at ISB!

ES: Mrs. Johanson’s Homeroom MS: Mr. Bueschlen and Mrs. Brown’s Mentoring Class HS: Ms. Farrell’s Mentoring Class For the finale of our iCare Week, we had our 19th Annual Terry Fox Run. We were very fortunate to have Dr. Sarah Taylor, who is the Deputy Head of Mission at the Canadian Embassy, speak to our MS and HS students and staff. Dr. Taylor eloquently spoke of Terry Fox and what he means to Canada and the world. photos by Hazel Sellar

Walk for Change For the last eight years, the ISB community has come together to help children in need by supporting and participating in the GuluWalk. This year, we carried on this annual event, but given the tremendous progress made in Uganda from projects like ours, we decided to shift our focus to a need a little closer to home: local children in Beijing. We became the Walk for Change and directed our efforts to raising awareness and funds to sponsor students

by Angela Fournier, HS Science Teacher

right here at the Love and Hope Center.

5

Community

Despite the inclement weather, we had a strong turnout on October 21, when about 100 walkers from the ISB community and three other schools headed up to the Great Wall at Mutianyu.

It’s always fun to see the walkers in their trademark orange T-shirts as they clamber over the centuries-old brickwork, and as always the effort was marked by equal parts camaraderie and good humor. When the rain finally did arrive, all the walkers were safely down off the Wall and warming up with some local eats. Altogether, we raised enough funds to sponsor the education and job training of nine students at the Love and Hope Center. Our goal was ten and we are almost there! Thank you to everyone who had a hand in the success of the Walk. We’ll see you again next year!

Community

Up! The funny thing about the amazingly large ISB sports domes that were inflated last month is that, from most places on campus, you can’t even see them.

They are all but hidden by the façade of the new fitness center, which is a story in itself and promises to provide terrific opportunities for the whole community.

Each dome is an impressive space, even if invisible. At the peak each is 19.1 meters high; the enclosed area is 4,265.75 square meters.

by Josephine Lee

Answers on a Postcard.....

What is the total volume of air inside one Dome?

Prizes for the first 3 best answers from each division received by the Publications Office.

Although not all details are firm, the general plan for the new facility is as follows: • Construction is being completed in phases; the fitness center and multipurpose dome should be ready for action in early November. At this time, ISB will begin to use these new spaces.

• At the end of November or early December, the tennis dome will be completed and available for use

by ISB students and staff.

And That’s Not All The domes and fitness center may be the biggest changes to the school but they are by no means our only upgrades. The new cafeteria continues to improve as Eurest and students alike adjust to the new system. The rooftop patio has been furnished, and new cozy seating at the rear window, complete with sofas and armchairs, has proven popular throughout the day with students, parents, and even teachers.

Outside in the stadium, the dull steel-colored wall looking onto the rugby pitch and track has been brought to life by the addition of some oversized sports figures. These figures have all been decked out in pink ribbons this month, in a nod to Women’s Health Month.

photos by Hazel Sellar

A New Opportunity in the Domes: Tennis and Fitness for the Community

By Gerrick Monroe, CFO To enable ISB to make the best and fullest use of our new sports facilities, we have partnered with a sports management company, which will support us in managing the facility after school hours and on weekends. By offering access to the facilities via a membership program, we will be able to offer programs that enrich community life and help to ensure that ISB remains a warm and vibrant center of activity for our families and our neighbors.

photo by Christie Cheng

6

•

NOVEMBER 2012

Under the program, ISB students and employees will receive a complimentary membership to this facility and reduced rates on special programs offered at the facility. The membership program will be launched to the ISB community in January, and during the first six months we will focus on communicating the opportunities provided by this new facility and the many programs offered.

After this campaign, ISB will assess the possibility to extending membership opportunities to individuals and families outside of the ISB community.

Happy 2,563rd Birthday to Confucius!

China Link celebrated Mid-autumn Festival on Sept. 21st with various learning activities in and outside of classrooms, including an outing to the Confucius Temple for interested persons led by our wonderful ES librarian Karen Gockley. The festival celebration culminated in the well participated lunch time session of Mid-autumn Festival knowledge bowl and hands on Moon Cake Making and Tasting events. The week of Sept 24 to 28 was a busy week for Chinese program: we celebrated the birth of the great Sage Confucius and honor his teachings with a week long Live a Week in Confucian Way challenge (great idea from Grace Zeng and Theresa Chao) that was combined with the iCare challenge. 12 students from Christy Henson's Chinese NN3 class participated in the Confucius Temple's Grand Ceremony of Honoring Confucius on September 28th, Confucius birthday. The learning and celebration culminated in a China Link hosted Soiree when colleagues exchanged learning of Confucius teachings over tasty treats and wonderful wine donated by our very own Jill Du. Chinese Program also hosted the very first Chinese Administrators Symposium which 14 administrators from Singapore to Hong Kong gathered to discuss issues of administrating an effective Chinese program. We thank every one for the hard work, enthusiasm and participation.

We proudly share a write up and pictures of students' Confucius Temple Grand Ceremony experience:

by Phillipa Yu (Gr 10)

seats for the entire ceremony. They played the music and watched intently as trained students from another school carried out gracefully coordinated dance called liuyiwu, a traditional formal dance performed by 36 dancers, was presented at the beginning of the ceremony. The students gazed with wonder as the other participants put on a performance that swept them back to the past.

After a grueling 90 minutes standing on stage with their instruments, the students rushed to reach the benches lined up along the trees. Despite the pain and soreness that the students felt in their legs and backs, each and every student wore a bright smile on their face, for an authentic learning opportunity like this comes once in a life time, and no matter how tiring it might be, it was all worth it.

Here in China, along with countless other regions in the world, the name Confucius is one that is known throughout every household and one that is respected by numerous scholars in all areas. To the Chinese, Confucius is the founding father of Confucianism and his philosophy has had a profound impact on the Chinese people and society through the history.

Confucius’ father died while Confucius was only 3 years old, leaving his mother with his older brother, a number of sisters and him. His mother struggled to provide her children with food, shelter and other basic necessities, and she managed to raise all her children, but as Confucius turned the tender age of 17, his mother also passed away. One can only imagine the number of hardships that Confucius had to face while growing up, and yet somehow Confucius became the man that he is now remembered as, one the ten greatest thinkers in the entire human history.

On Friday, September 28th, 2012 a group of twelve ISB High School Chinese Neo-Native III students all piled onto a bus at 6:15 in the morning and headed downtown to Confucius Temple to participate in the celebration of Confucius’ 2,563th birthday.

Community

Upon arriving at the sight of the celebration, the students were quickly rushed off to get their costumes take on the character of instrumentalists. As the students lined up along the edge of the front area of the temple’s main building, they were each handed a traditional Chinese instrument to “play”. While the participation of ISB students was limited to the playing of traditional Chinese instruments, they had best

7

Elementary School

Exciting Experiments in the ES Science Lab

by George Wu, Alex Eichelmann, Eunice Choi and Reena Ye (Gr 5 Students)

There is a new science lab located in room 2417 this year for the elementary students to enjoy and to test their experiments in a safe environment. Mr. Shane Watson arranges all of the experiments for the students to test.

Each grade has been working on different things.

Students are learning how to take data, research, plan out an experiment, and are studying the scientific method. Students enjoy experimenting in the science lab. "There is more space to do experiments,” Oliver said.

So far in the year, the science lab has been really fun for the students in 5th grade. Especially when we did the dry ice and regular ice experiment. We had to find out which cooled water faster, dry ice or the regular ice (frozen water). First, Mr. Watson told us to make a hypothesis.

After, we dumped the ices into the two cups of hot water, and started the experiment. Every 30 seconds, we would record the temperature of both cups of water. We would keep doing this for 10 minutes and then we would compare the two temperatures. We found out the dry ice cooled the water faster.

Meeting Joe Craig He’s an assassin. He’s a target. He wants revenge. He’s been sabotaged. He needs survival. He wants power.

Who’s that? It’s Jimmy Coates, the main character of the Jimmy Coates series, written by UK author Joe Craig. Joe

“It was interesting to see when you put the dry ice in the boiling water, how much it started to steam.” –Benjamin. There was a big difference in the weight of the dry ice and regular ice. The dry ice weighed about 123 grams, and the regular ice weighed 80 grams. We got to touch the dry ice, but only for about a split second, photo by Hazel Sellar since it would freeze your hand if you kept it there for too long. There were many challenges that day like getting the ice back to your station quick enough without letting it melt, and looking at the thermometer through the steam of the dry ice and water. Most students were surprised to find that their hypotheses were different than the actual results.

by Joshua Guo (5JP)

Craig visited ISB from October 15 to 19, coming all the way from London. During his visit, generously sponsored by the PTA, he conducted lessons with Grade 4 to 5 classes. He told stories, taught students about good beginnings and problems with different activities, and also made a lot of jokes. Some lucky students even got a free book from him.

But growing up, it didn’t seem as if Joe Craig would become an author. Sure, he was interested in a few books, such as those

by Dick King-Smith. He finished these and then went on to the sports page of the newspaper and film magazines. But he wasn’t like his sisters, who just about read every book available.

A few years later, his aunt gave him a notebook. He realized that he could plan books in it. Quickly, he wrote his first book, Jimmy Coates: Killer in 2005 about Jimmy Coates, a kid assassin who is 38 percent regular human and 62 percent programmed government assassin. Over a span of the next three years, five more books from the Jimmy Coates series were released. Joe Craig is also slowly gaining name recognition as his books grow in popularity. There’s even talk of a Jimmy Coates movie!

Throughout this short 5-day visit, Joe Craig really inspired many students. With a story he told some classes, he also gave writing advice: tell a story. Many students are now getting better and better at writing after his visit. He taught us about the three types of problems: world, personal, and inner conflict with yourself. Joe Craig also taught us to find a problem and magnify it, and how to create more problems upon problems and think about all the possible reactions. Thanks a lot, Joe!

photo by Hazel Sellar

8

•

NOVEMBER 2012

Stand back, Super Mario! Watch out, Batman! Hold your horses, Captain America! Here comes Joe Craig and his boy assassin, Jimmy Coates!

African Marimba

by Sarah Bohner and Sally Kim (4KM)

Last month Grade 4 showed their parents what they had been learning in Performing Arts class. We started learning a new song called Balafon, based on music from Zimbabwe. It has three different melodies to be played on xylophones. Each of us looked at the melodies and figured how out to play them. Then we turned to another person and showed them. The goal was to be sure everyone in the room could play all 3 parts. After we learned how to play the song as a class we split into small groups. Each group worked on making our own arrangement of the melodies.

photos by Hazel Sellar

The next class we invited our parents and other teachers to come and play with us. First we played the whole song for the adults. Then the adults came and sat next to one of the children and the child would teach their melody of the song. Then the adults tried to play it. The adults moved from station to station until they also learned all three melodies.

After that our parents moved back to where they started.

We then taught them about the form of the music, how to hold the mallets, when they should play, correct technique and how the song ends. The students would lead the parents through as they played the song for the first time. Then the parents had to play it all by themselves. The parents were better than we thought, even though they had some bumps. It was a fun, beautiful day.

Celebrating the Middle East

by Ashley Liu (5TP)

This unit of Visual Art class, fifth grade students have celebrated Middle Eastern culture. The students created two different types of designs that are based on designs of the Middle East.

Students choose what they were going to carve and then carved those designs into a rubber block. Some of the designs are organic, which means they resemble things in nature or figures.

Elementary School

Meanwhile, in Performing Art class, we learned several songs that were from different areas in the Middle East. We also learned the Hijaz scale, one of many different modes from the Middle East. The goal of the students was to create a movement piece based on a Middle Eastern art pattern that the class chose.

Then, we divided ourselves into two groups. One group created the dance, and the other group made the music–of course, the notes were from the Hijaz scale. The hardest part was when the students had to make the music match the dance moves!

The student then presented their show to parents at the end of October, in the Middle Dragon Theater. The parents were able to see what a traditional Middle Eastern tent looked like!

Many thanks to Cynthia Campbell and Jenny Winkleman, the directors of the performances, without whom none of this would have happened!

photos by Hazel Sellar

9

Middle School

City in the Sea

by Karen Ahnemann, MS Learning Support, and Stephen Brown, MS Math/Science Teacher

The year is 2040. The polar ice caps have melted. The world’s oceans have risen. Habitable land area has decreased while population has increased. Society has to find new areas on which to build cities. This is the hypothetical scenario in 7th grade known as the “City in the Sea,” a yearlong project incorporating 21st century skills such as global thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. This authentic learning in many ways embodies some of the goals articulated in our new Strategic Plan.

While parents were having conferences with their child’s teacher, Grade 7 students were busy building their future city. They weren’t just playing around. The process of designing, building and governing the city integrates into numerous areas of the curriculum, including math, science, English and social studies. The issues connected to the city are as varied as the children’s imaginations. These issues that have a direct connection to the standards and benchmarks of their grade level form the basis for much of their

classroom instruction.

Today, the students built a physical manifestation of their city, but in the coming months they will grapple with managing their city, tackling the same issues that we deal in modern societies: What kind of government do we want?

How can we eliminate poverty? How will we generate sufficient and renewable energy supplies?

How can our economy support us? George Richmond, creator of Micro society Schools, said it best, “If we want the kids to run the world, we have to give them a world to run.”

"Walking the Word" with Grade 6 “How do we decode the meaning of words? How can we use the lens of our cameras to help us understand meaning?”

These were a couple of questions that went through our minds in the “Walk the Word” field trip. The trip was designed to help us understand vocabulary words from the novel, Seedfolks.

The old village behind ISB was the location for the mini field trip. We used cameras to take pictures of the fascinating words we had found in the Seedfolks novel. We looked for photos that would represent the meaning of the words.

Looking through the lens of a camera helped us build a deeper understanding of the different meanings a word photo by Aaron Lawrence Jared

A photo reveals the meaning of "broken down"

could have. The main reading strategy that we used for our thinking was “code breaker”. We also used etymology and morphology, to break down the words and find their origin.

“I am a visual person; walking the word helped have a better understanding about what the words actually meant, ” shared Joy. Stanley added, “ I thought walking the word was really helpful because it helped me understand the vocabulary better. You could look at the pictures, and they helped you visualize the words. “ Kingston said, “Learning the words helped me understand the broken-down village when we were walking through. It was a cool experience, I think next year they should do this again.”

This was a very helpful experience for all the students taking part. Through real-world engagement, students gained a better understanding about the vocabulary, setting and theme in Seedfolks. In addition, this also help us with our writing. For example, when writing descriptive paragraphs, “Walking the Word” helps us use the vocabulary in a more authentic way. Who knows, perhaps one day, one of us can become the next Paul Fleischman or maybe even a famous photographer.

Student Council Elections The Middle School Student Council is all set for another great year as everybody’s roles fall in place. A few weeks ago, the elected STUCO Homeroom representatives came together and voted on the candidates for the Executive Council. Everyone had one vote and after some really intense speeches from the candidates, the results were in!

The MS STUCO Executives for the 2012-2013 school year are: 10 NOVEMBER 2012

•

by India Soranson and Stone Tao (Gr 6)

by Masayuki Yanagiba (Gr 8) President:

William Hsiao Vice President:

Michael Man

Secretary:

Joyce Tan

Treasurer:

Masayuki Yanagiba (l to r) William Hsiao, Masa Yanagiba, Joyce Tan, Michael Man

Author Alan Gibbons Visits Middle School

by Nadine Rosevear, MS Librarian

During the week of October 8, the middle school had the pleasure of welcoming Alan Gibbons, a UK bestselling children’s author. He took ISB by storm and proved to be a perfect choice to teach our students about writing and creative thinking.

Gibbons, who is a former English teacher, produced a very amusing and animated author talk and he had his audience in stitches on numerous occasions. He followed each of his talks up with a writer’s workshop during which he showed students how to captivate their audience and keep their writing interesting and believable.

Gibbons’ book Caught in the Crossfire, in which culture is a major theme.

In all of his sessions with the students, Gibbons covered how to get started with writing, the importance of small details, how to ‘show’ action rather than simply ‘tell’ it, and how to think laterally to find the type of writing that best suits the subject.

Alan Gibbons’ visit was made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of the PTA.

Mr Gibbons taught Grade 6 classes how to write their own autobiography, writing on his laptop alongside them. With Grade 7 students he worked on the start of a story about war, conflict and tension, similar to Suzanne Collins’ book, The Hunger Games. He guided students to think about the purpose of writing, their audience, the setting, and how to use language to conjure up powerful images. In the sessions with Grade 8 students he focused on the theme of culture and what happens when two cultures meet or clash. As part of the humanities curriculum, many Grade 8 students read

photos by Hazel Sellar

Middle School Parent Workshops Over the past month, the Middle School counselor s have joined forces with the Middle School Educational Technology Facilitator to develop and present a four session program for our MS parents titled “Parenting In the Digital Age’.

With the implementation of the 1:1 laptop program, students have embraced the technology as part of their day to day routine at school, and their teachers have been really creative in integrating the technology into the learning process. Seeing some of the work our students have been creating is truly inspiring.

We have completed two of the four planned sessions, and over 30 parents have joined in these interactive sessions.

Rob Cormack, our tech savvy Educational Technology Facilitator has opened our eyes to a huge range of programs and applications that our students access on a daily basis, while the counselors have been exploring how we, as educators and parents, can help our young people find

the right balance and be responsible digital citizens. The sessions have been ‘tech-infused’ with time planned for parents to go on-line and look at some of the sites, use some of the programs, and consider how they can use what is available – e.g., Studywiz, iProcrastinate, to assist and support their adolescent. It has also been a chance to de-mystify some of the technology and make it more accessible.

There are two more sessions in the current program and we are planning to run this program each year to support our new MS parents in this important role. During the year, parents are always welcome to talk with their child’s teachers about how the technology is being used in the learning process and how their child is managing this technology. The counselors are always happy to talk with parents about their concerns - as the saying goes “It takes a village to raise a child”, and in this technological age, the ‘village’ continues to work together to support the young ones in its care.

Middle School

Our students are, in a sense, ‘digital natives’. They have grown up with technology and it is a standard way of working and communicating for them. For their parents and teachers, we are more likely to be ‘digital immigrants’ so we are learning how to use and make the most of the technology. So, providing the opportunity for our parents to find out more about what our students are doing on-line and the opportunities available to them for communicating and creating, to talk about parenting in this digital age, and to consider where we are headed educationally with these technological tools, seemed really important as a way of supporting and empowering our parents.

by Justin West, MS Counselor

photos by Hazel Sellar

11

Performing Arts

MS Showcase Concert

by Cindi Bulteel, Performing Arts Coordinator; photos by Jim Fidler

The MS performing arts classes start each school year with showcase events that highlight the work done at the beginning of the year. The focus is for students to have an authentic experience to perform different pieces worked on during the class, and to present their work to their families and friends. The first concert this year was for the MS Girls Choir and the auditioned Honor Choir, along with performances from the Dance and Musical Theatre enrichments. The second concert was for the instrumental program in the MS; there were four orchestral groups, from Novice to Advanced, along with the MS Learner and Experienced Band. There will be many opportunities during the year to hear and see all these groups perform again!

12 

•

NOVEMBER 2012

HS Showcase Concert

photos by Chris Ma

On September 25, the theater came alive with musical performances by the High School performing arts groups: orchestra, band, choir, and Impromptune. Thanks to all the talented teachers and students for putting together a memorable evening.

Performing Arts 13

High School

BEAD Mathematics and You I’m here to tell you Math gets a bad rap at times. Sure it can be challenging, frustrating, and confusing, but looked at in the right light it can also be illuminating, empowering and yes even beautiful. Math truly is everywhere in the real world, and great artists and designers are some of its greatest exponents. This year, ten brave students have taken on a new course to explore the impact of Math in the areas of Business, Engineering, Art and Design, or B.E.A.D. Mathematics. Our objective is to utilize and develop the mathematical skills we currently possess and challenge the perceptions of what Math can be--to take it beyond the classroom. The class set to work immediately on the art aspect of the course by investigating the role of order and transformation patterns in tessellations, animations and static pieces through the use of Geometer’s Sketchpad. They were inspired by the early struggles of digital pioneers like Pixar to produce unique works of their own; they presented these to

by Andrew Armstrong, HS Maths Teacher

the group as part of a final portfolio.

The group is now in the early stages of the design section of the course; the objective goes far beyond the classroom. They will produce a useful wooden object that they can market and develop a business plan around. To facilitate the building, a local carpenter will help guide the students in their designs and the building process.

This course is a learning curve for all of us. It demands initiative, curiosity, perseverance and creativity. If these are attributes you possess or wish to develop please consider B.E.A.D. Mathematics in your class schedule next year.

Podcasting: A Medium for Reflection In today’s fast and flying 21st century we’re all plugged in.

Daily we read email messages, news stories, sport scores and standings. We post photos for friends and family on social-networking sites and tweet about the latest trend.

One student in English 10 said she uses Tumblr to post jokes and funny moments to share with her friends. We no longer trek to the local music or bookstore (how uncivilized); no, no, now we download. While some have jumped head-first into the digital age, others of us (myself included) cherish the days of book binds and CD cases. The change is inevitably here though, especially in our classrooms. Although I am still becoming familiar with one-to-one laptop classroom, the technology does offer unique opportunities for students to publish work. As we’re all plugged in, we, too, all have a voice, ready to be heard. Podcasting offers our students a medium to publish their ideas, writing, and voice.

This year, English 10 has begun to explore recording tools to showcase learning and understanding. Our unit study started with the following two Essential Questions: How do we form and shape our identity? And, Is identity more about how we see ourselves or how others see us? Students read autobiographical excerpts from prominent figures like Amy Tan, Barack Obama, and Malika Oufkir, listened to stories, watched clips from Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and Disney’s Pocahontas, shared with their peers, and then wrote about a significant time in their life when they realized their race. As our school is so widely diverse, they had a grand array of experiences and emotions surrounding the issue of race, color, and heritage. “This was a good activity because it allowed us to focus and reflect on our own past,” Kevin said. After peer-editing their writing, students recorded their stories using Garage Band. Once finished with the recording, the file was exported to iTunes, and then uploaded to Soundcloud, a website that offers users an easy forum to

14

•

NOVEMBER 2012

by Brad Philen, HS English Teacher

record and share. You can listen to the podcast here: http://soundcloud.com/mrphilenatisb/does-race-matterenglish-10 (note: the content is appropriate for grade 9 and higher). “This was a unique way to publish work because sometimes just reading can be misinterpreted,” Kaiwen said.

Michael also noted that the recording tools “were easy to use, although the quality wasn’t the best.”

This was the first recording assignment for the class, and although it’s far from perfect, I’m really proud of the honesty and empathy they demonstrated with sharing their stories. “This was a good start for one of our first assignments,” Yusho said. Kevin added he liked the recording aspect because the audio added emotion to each story. Moreover, this recorded podcast allows the class to revisit the production at a later date, to offer continued critical feedback on the mechanics of the work, and to even share with schools around the world to encourage further discourse. Stephanie said, “the recording was a good idea because we were able to get to know everyone through their story.” Michael added that publishing was useful because you can get more feedback. Technology will always have its flaws, but any medium that encourages students to reflect upon their learning is a tool well worth utilizing in the classroom.

Behind Closed Doors: A Different Kind of College Presentation

by Josephine Lee

On a rainy Sunday afternoon in late October, the ISB Theater was filled to overflowing with students and parents who had come to hear a unique presentation

by Daniel Grayson, Associate Director of Admission for Tufts University. Like many popular selective universities Tufts' Associate Director in the US, Tufts is faced with a of Admissions Daniel tsunami of applications from Grayson well-qualified students, and Grayson took ISB parents the admissions office must and students into the make difficult choices. Last heart of the college year, the school received more admissions process. than 16,300 applications.

The admissions office was able to accept about 21%, to create a freshman class of 1,309 students (including three ISB applicants) from 46 states in the US and 37 foreign countries.

Mr. Grayson led the audience through the intricacies and the challenges of the admissions process from the vantage point of the university. The process that Tufts uses is very similar to that used by most of the selective colleges and universities in the United States.

Candidates for Success The university’s first responsibility is to ensure that the students who attend will be ready for the academic challenge at Tufts. This is not a light responsibility; college students who are in over their heads often suffer. Therefore the first ground rule is to admit only students with a strong chance of success.

Applicants to Tufts are sorted on academic criteria into four categories: Outstanding, Competitive, Viable, and Needs Context. Most applicants are placed in the second category, and the majority of admitted students are from this category; the highest percentage of admittances comes from the smaller pool of “outstanding” applicants. The smallest group are those who “need context”; they are usually students who have overcome significant adversity or who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What Is Merit?

The Audience Decides To understand how this works, the audience in the ISB theater evaluated six actual candidates from the 2012 pool, and through a process of discussion, negotiation, and voting finally chose two of the six. All had been placed in the “Competitive” category by their GPAs and SAT scores, but there was a wide range. The weakest student academically, Connor, had about a 3.06 GPA (on a 4-point scale) with SATs in the mid-600s; the top student, Ying, had a 4.0, with scores of 800 in two SATs and mid-700s in critical reading.

On the first vote, the audience went strongly in favor of the students with the strongest data. Connor got only about 5 votes from the audience.

Then we learned that Connor was the founder of the philosophy club, a member of the debate team, and a runner on the cross-country team. His slightly less than stellar grades were suddenly less important. On the second round of voting, he garnered about 150 votes.

In the third round, we learned more about all the students; Ying and another student, Giselle, had received lukewarm praise from their counselors, and their essays were described as not very self-reflective—making it hard for the admissions officers to get to know them. One of the students in the middle academically, Ethan, was described by a teacher as having keen, wide-ranging intellectual interests. Another student, Lisette, was revealed to speak three languages fluently; since English was not her native language, her less-than-perfect score in critical reasoning became less significant.

In the end, the audience was surprised to learn that Ethan and Lisette were the two applicants from this group who had actually been offered a place at Tufts, while Connor had been waitlisted. Ying, in spite of her perfect academics, had been denied. The ones accepted were very strong students with demonstrated engagement in school and community life. It was felt that they would contribute to Tufts, both within the classroom and outside of it; and it is this promise of engagement that US colleges are seeking, within enormous pools of very bright and accomplished students.

High School

Merit in an applicant has several components: the data (grades and scores), talent and interests (shown through extracurricular activities); and personal qualities, as revealed in the interview, essay, and recommendations. Across all of these areas, admissions officers are looking for the quality of a student’s involvement. Colleges look for proof of intellectual curiosity, political or philosophical passions, interpersonal skills, leadership, kindness, and even charisma. These elements indicate the type of contribution that a student will make to the school. Students with the lowest chances of being admitted are those who are seen to be uninvolved in the life of the school or the community around them. In assessing merit, Tufts admissions officers look at students through all of these lenses, in a nuanced, layered process of

discussion and negotiation that is applied to every single applicant.

Daniel Grayson's presentation made believers of ISB parents: the test scores tell only a tiny part of the story.

15

High School

NMSP Recognizes ISB Seniors Congratulations to Grade 12 students Ben Chang, Andrew Henrichsen, Chrystal Li, and Amanda Song, named last month as semifinalists in the 2013 National Merit® Scholarship Program. The NMSP, an American not-for-profit organization, was established in 1955 to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Each year, high school juniors across the US and in many international locations take the PSAT. Among these, the highest-scoring students who are US nationals or permanent residents are named as semifinalists in a competition for scholarships awarded by the NMSP. Globally, semifinalists represent the top-scoring 1% of the juniors who took the PSAT.

college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.

Additionally, ten ISB seniors were distinguished as “Commended Students” by the NMSP. They are: Alek Anichowski, David Barbalas, Michael Gao, Edward Huh, Kimberly Liu, Ben Plafker, Stephanie Wang, Rachel Zhang, Kevin Zhao, and Emily Zhou.

About 15,000 semifinalists worldwide are expected to advance to finalist standing; more than half of them will be awarded a National Merit Scholarship, worth about US$2500.

Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous

ISB's semifinalists: (l to r) Amanda, Andrew, Ben, and Chrystal

Dia de la Hispanidad 2012 As is now a yearly tradition, students taking Spanish at ISB participated in a celebratory assembly to observe what is known in the English-speaking world as “Columbus Day.” This year the assembly focused on featuring student talent that included cooking demonstrations, singing, and musical performances. Once again, our students rose to the occasion and offered their peers wonderful presentations of their unique abilities. After tasting the delicious “Alfajores de dulce de leche,” a traditional and delicious Argentinian pastry, prepared by the Baistrocchi siblings and the musical performances by Benjamin Plafker and Isabel Liao, all students took part in a dance “ fiesta” in which they learned and enjoyed the “ SALSA”. The assembly was once again a

16

•

by Larry Steele, HS Counselor

by Juan Carlos Lopez, HS Spanish Teacher

unique and enjoyable cultural event that showcased student talent and an opportunity to explore very important aspects of the Hispanic world outside the classroom setting. ¡Viva la Hispanidad en el Colegio Internacional de Pekín!

photos by Hazel Sellar NOVEMBER 2012

ISB Golf Team at the Fore!

by Louis Liu (Gr 11), Team Captain

On a crisp, cool and clear Saturday morning, international school students from six international schools in China gathered at the clubhouse of Pine Valley Golf Club to prepare for the grueling 27-hole Beijing International Schools Golf League Invitational team tournament first day. In the first 9 holes of the tournament, players from HKIS, SAS, WAB, Dulwich and ISB were scrambled then paired up into teams of four to play a 4 ball, best ball (4BBB) format. The winners of the 4BBB came in at 5 underpar, an impressive score achieved in only 9 holes.

The second component of the first day was an 18-hole stroke play, where each individual earned points for their respective schools.

ISB finished the first day comfortable leaders with 74 overall points, well ahead of all the other schools. Leo Lee (Grade 10), an ISB golfer, placed first, finishing with 80 strokes, an awesome score considering the howling winds and hard, fast greens all day.

The second day of the tournament consisted of 18-hole match play, with the first seed, second seed, third seed (and so on) of each school matched against a player of another school. On the cloudless day, ISB once again maintained its lead over all other schools and came in first, winning 5 out of its 6 match play competitions. Overall, ISB finished comprehensive victors showing great strength across our team of six players. The closest school was 48 points behind!

A special thank you to the organizing committee, Pine Valley Golf Club and the other schools for making it such a great weekend. We now look forward to next year.

photos by Jim Fidler

APAC and API Cross Country: Running Hot

by Ed Hillmann, HS Math Teacher

17

Sports

This year's 9th Asia-Pacific Invitational Cross-Country Championship brought together 28 teams from across the region. The 5K races were held on Friday, with nearly 200 boys and girls entered for each event.

The course was tough and the weather, despite the 6:30 am start time, was hot and humid. Casey Sullivan took 3rd overall for the girls (2nd in APAC with nine APAC schools competing); teammate Malekai Mischke took 7th overall for the boys (4th in APAC). ISB boys finished 4th overall (1st for APAC) and the girls 6th (2nd for APAC). ISB finished 4th for the entire API meet (combined score of girls, boys, and the relay race).

Sports

APAC Rugby: All for One, One for All

by Hannah Hamilton

photo by Julie Upton-Wang

who came second to Hong Kong, but first in the hearts of the Beijing crowd. Thanks to coaches McManus, Jarman, Oldfield, and Small for their efforts on behalf of the ISB boys’ team. photo by Hannah Hamilton

After two straight seasons as the Number 1 APAC team, the ISB men had a tough tournament. With a depleted roster (minus two seniors, thanks to the disastrous scheduling of the ACT test), our lion-hearted boys faced huge competition from every side, particularly the deeply talented and experienced players from Hong Kong. In spite of losing three key players to injury, the ISB boys finished fifth, in a beautifully played victory over TCIS. If that game is anything to judge by, there is a great deal of promise for the ISB boys next year.

One exciting development of the boys’ season was the emergence of WAB as a mature, skillful, and unified side—a worthy opponent that will challenge us again and again. The yellow and black came into their own, vying for first in a hard-fought match against HKIS. All of ISB—boys, girls, and parents—joined in the cheering for WAB,

Our girls went to APAC strong, after a gratifying undefeated regular season and a China Cup victory in September. The team was determined to win—not just for the sake of the season, but also on behalf of senior teammate Lana O’Reilly, who had been sidelined by illness. The girls carried her in their hearts through undefeated pool play, and into a nail-biting final victory over SAS Pudong. The final game was won in the last seconds, when ISB stole the ball from a Pudong scrum and Syndi Walton whisked it over the try line. The 12-10 final score revealed the importance of that golden conversion on the first try by girls’ captain Idalina Lehtonen.

Coach Michael Sheridan said he could not name the stand-out players of the tournament. “There were 14 of them,” he explained. “Across the three days of the tournament, ten of our 14 scored points. The four who did not score worked tirelessly in the middle of the field to set up the tries. Rugby is a game that requires a total team effort. Our ISB girls won APAC because our whole team was committed and every girl gave the very best she had to our common purpose.”

Thanks to coaches Wayne King, Michael Sheridan, and Brittany Tam for leading our Dragon girls through an unforgettable season.

APAC Girls' Volleyball: Dominant Spirit

by Simon Parker, Assistant Director of Student Activities

It couldn’t have been any more dramatic for the Varsity Girls as they sealed an APAC victory to remember in Manila last weekend. The Lions’ Den at Brent has long been regarded as one of the toughest of venues in which to win, and with the sellout crowd going “Philippine crazy” it seemed like an impossible task to come back in the final, as the girls fell behind by two sets to zero. But come back they did, in dramatic fashion. Three sets in a row to

18

•

NOVEMBER 2012

claim a 3-2 victory and send the travelling support from Beijing into a state of mad excitement.

Going into the final the girls had a 6-0 record, particularly impressive as most of this went down without captain and powerhouse player Jenny Chang, who suffered a tragic knee injury at the end of the first game. Amazingly, Jenny cast aside her obvious disappointment at missing out on her final APAC Volleyball tournament, and was a tower of strength and encouragement from the bench, a factor which most definitely contributed to the overall team dynamic. Co-captains Isabella Bambagioni and Sophia Lin (APAC All Star) impressively led the team both on and off the court from game two; APAC All Stars Lindy Chang and Gabby Hernandez were just huge in every match. Kudos to freshman Maddie Hernandez, who “bombed” two serves down at the end of the final to secure the victory, and to Becky Yin our libero, who covered every inch of both gyms over the three days. To Tracy Hu, who stepped into Jenny’s shoes and played so well throughout, and to Megan Schoeman, Lia Yu and Angeline Pan who provided such solid backup throughout from the bench. A brilliant weekend, a brilliant team effort, and a brilliant bunch of Dragons!

APAC Baseball: A Stellar Outing

photos by Lorina Barbalas

Of the many ISB Dragon's walking with their heads held high after the APAC weekend, you will notice the baseball team among them. All the preseason time, long practices, and work after practices helped prepare the boys for this past weekend.

Add to that, minds and hearts that would not quit, and an unwavering bond among teammates, and you have a recipe for success along memories that will carry on forever. Your Dragon baseball team left everything that they had out on the HKIS turf and came home with a second place trophy. More importantly, they all experienced undoubtedly some of the finer moments of their lives to this point. "Thatta Kyadd!" shall resonate all around the world for years to come! Well done boys. Well done…

APAC Tennis: Serving Up Excitement APAC tennis headed to Shanghai via the high-speed train. Firstly the round robin format was played; here the 6 teams play each other to gain points for the APAC championship. Our boys’ team, consisting of Jeffrey Kang, Richard Hou, Daniel Wu, Michael Gao and Michael Cao, performed extremely well. It was a tight struggle, with three schools vying for the ultimate prize. After some extremely close and well-fought matches our boys finished half a point from first.

In the girls’ competition it played out to be a tussle between two schools, ISB being one of those. Coming into the final game of the round robin our girl's had dominated the other school but now needed to play the other top team! Our girls (Judy Kam, Hannah Locher, Christy Chiang, Joyce Chen and Stephanie Shen) handled the pressure well and played some inspirational tennis to claim the tie and the girl's APAC championship.

by Riley DuBois, Grade 4 Teacher

by Nick Keam, HS Learning Support

Chen) won their finals and therefore claimed All APAC tennis honours.

Finally, to top off a great tournament for ISB, the girls’ team took home the sportsmanship trophy, as voted by all players and coaches. ISB can feel very proud of all our tennis players who represented the school, both on and off the court.

It was an impressive effort!

Following on from the round robin was a knockout championship for singles, doubles and mixed doubles. This produced some great matches to determine the All APAC tennis team. All our players acquitted themselves very well with standout performances from Judy Kam finishing 2nd in the girls, singles and Hannah Locher finishing third out of 12. Both our boys’ doubles (Daniel Wu and Michael Gao) as well as our girls’ doubles (Christy Chiang and Joyce

APAC Boys' Volleyball: Great Team Effort

by Bulletin Staff

Sports

The boys’ Varsity Volleyball team came fourth out of six teams in the APAC competition last week. In the knock-out stages of the competition the boys had a great run, winning the first four of their round-robin games and ending up in second place. In the semi-finals however they were beaten 3-0 by Shanghai Puxi, and went on to come fourth in the overall competition, losing out to Brent for third place. Varsity Boys coach Bruce Weir said, “It was a good team effort; unfortunately we came up a little short.” Congratulations for a great team effort!

19

November 2012

at a Glance

Sunday

Monday

28

Tuesday

29

Wednesday

30

Thursday

31

Friday

1

Day 1 • Book Fair

4

Day 3

5

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • Chinese Book Fair • HS Tea with Chinese Program Principal • ASA Session 2 Registration

11

Day 2

12

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • Booster Club Meeting • ASA Session 1 Final Week

18 • APAC Choir, Dance and Orchestra • Thimun Singapore

25

Day 6

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • MS Spirit Week • Thimun Singapore • JV Blue Girls Basketball v DSP (ISB)

Day 5

•

26

• ASA Session 2 Week 1 • HoS Parent Coffee • JV White Girls Basketball v BISS

Printed on 100% certified recycled paper.

20

19

NOVEMBER 2012

Day 4

6

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • Chinese Book Fair • PTA Guest Speaker Series • Great Works Dress Rehearsal • ASA Session 2 Registration

Day 3

13

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • ASA Session 1 Final Week

Day 1

20

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • MS Spirit Week • Thimun Singapore • MS Boys v DCB (ISB) • MS Girls Volleyball v DCB (DCB)

Day 6 • ASA Session 2 Week 1 • ES Parent Coffee

27

7

Day 5

• Nightingale Chrity Toy Drive • ASA Session 2 Registration

Day 4

14

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • ASA Session 1 Final Week • APAC Choir, Dance and Orchestra • ACAMIS Golf @ Shenzhen • ES Math Night

Day 2

21

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • MS Spirit Week • Great Wall Shootout @ ISB • Grade 8 Probability Night • Thimun Singapore • JV Blue Girls Basketball v WAB (WAB)

Day 1

28

• ASA Session 2 Week 1 • MS Parent Coffee • Tea with Chinese Program Principal

Day 6

8

15

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • ASA Session 1 Final Week • APAC Choir, Dance and Orchestra • ACAMIS Golf @ Shenzhen • MS Boys Volleyball v WAB (ISB) • MS Girls Volleyball v WAB (WAB)

Day 3

22

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • MS Spirit Week • Great Wall Shootout @ ISB • Thimun Singapore

Day 2

2

Day 2 • Book Fair • ASA Session 2 Registration • Swimvitational @ SAS • Book Fair

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • ASA Session 2 Registration • PTA Executive Committee Meeting • Great Works Concert

Day 5

Saturday

29

• ASA Session 2 Week 1 • HS Parent Coffee • HS Pantomime • U12 Boys/Girls Volleyball v HISB (ISB) • U13 Boys/Girls Volleyball v HISB (HISB)

Day 1

9

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • HS Tea with Chinese Program Principal • Season 1 Sports Award Ceremony (ISB Theatre) • ASA Session 2 Registration

School Development Day

16

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • No School for Students • APAC Choir, Dance and Orchestra • ACAMIS Golf @ Shenzhen

Day 4

23

• Nightingale Charity Toy Drive • MS Spirit Week • ES Spinning, Dunking Dragons • LMC Concert • Great Wall Shootout @ ISB • MS STUCO Function • Thimun Singapore • Night of Jazz • ES Grade 1 Assembly

Day 3

30

• ASA Session 2 Week 1 • Grade 8 Star Gazing Night • HS Pantomime • TAS Invitational Swim @ Taipei • JV White Boys Basketball v HISB (HISB) • JV White Girls Basketball v HISB (ISB)

3 • Book Fair • An Evening with Jane Goodall Gala Dinner • SAT • Swimvitational @ SAS • ISAC Championships@HISB (MS/HS) • ISAC ES Soccer @ DCB

10 • High School Winter Formal

17 • APAC Choir, Dance and Orchestra • ISAC MS/HS XC @ HISB • ISAC MS/HS Table Tennis @YCIS • JV Blue Girls Basketball v TIS (ISB) • JV Blue Girls v IST (ISB)

24 • Great Wall Shootout @ ISB • Thimun Singapore • MS Volleyball Exchanges

1

Nov 29, 30 & Dec 1 Please check the Community Calendar on the Dragons’ Gate for the most updated information: https://g.isb.bj.edu.cn