IhoNewsletter2025Term1
Thisyear,IhoBoardingcelebratedthefullmoonfestivalsandnamedthis specialeventtheMoonParty.Theeveningbroughttogetherstudentsandstaff tohonourChuseokandtheMid-AutumnFestivalacherishedtimeofgratitude, harvest,andtogethernessacrossAsiaandaroundtheworld.Thisnewsletter featuresthiseventalongwithaselectionofotherboardingrelated opportunities.
Thefullmoonholdsdeepmeaninginmanycultures.InKorea,itmarks Chuseok,whenfamiliescometogethertosharefoodandgivethanksforthe year’sblessings.InChinaandVietnam,theMid-AutumnFestivaliscelebrated withlanterns,mooncakes,andgatheringsunderthebrightharvestmoon. Acrosscontinentsandtraditions,thefullmoonremainsasymbolofunityand connection,areminderthatnomatterwhereweare,weallsharethesame light.
WewillsharetheHalloweenandtherunuptotheChirstmasholidaysonsocial mediaandinanendofTermnewsletter.
Thankyouareallyourkindessandsupporttodate.
ThisphotoshowsLioubeingthefirstsuccessfullanternmaker!
a, IhoGrads Rebecca
PleasemeetMissSara,MissRebeccaandMissCharlotte.TheGraduate AssistantsofIhoBoardingHome.
GraduateAssistantsareanessentialpartofourboardingcommunity. TheyliveonsiteduringtermtimeandworkcloselywiththeBoarding MasterorMistresstohelpensurethateachhomeisasafe,supportiveand happyplacetolive.
They:
Buildpositiverelationshipswithstudents,offeringdailypastoraland academicsupport
Helpmanageroutines,superviseeveningsandweekends,andkeep thehomerunningsmoothly
Bringenergyandideastoactivities,tripsandhouseevents making lifeinboardingfunandenriching
SupportbreakouttimeacrosskeyareassuchasSport,Art,Drama andMusic
Safeguardingandwellbeingareatthecentreoftheirrole.Theylisten, notice,andmakesurestudentsfeelcaredforandcomfortabletobe themselves.
GraduateAssistantsplayabigpartincreatingthehomelyatmosphere andstrongsenseofbelongingthatmakeboardinginIhosuchaspecial experience.
Hi!MynameisRebecca.Thisismy 2 yearasanNLCSgraduate assistantintheEnglishdepartment. AlthoughI’mfarawayfrommy homeinIreland,Ifeelpartofa familyinIhothankstotheamazing Ihostudentsandstaff.IloveJejuso farandcan’twaittoexploreitmore thisyear!-Rebecca
nd
MissSara. MissRebecca (Iholeadgrad) MissCharlotte
TheMoonParty
AlthoughmyfamilyandIjoinedIhoonlyamonthago,Ihavealreadybeen deeplytouchedbythewarmth,inclusiveness,andrichculturaldiversityof thiscommunity.Oneday,Ms.Randersonaskedmewithcuriositywhypeople inmanypartsofAsiaaresofascinatedbythefullmoon.Thatsimplequestion inspiredmetoorganizea“MoonParty”—acelebrationofhowteachersand studentsfromdifferentculturalbackgroundshonorthemoonintheirown traditions.Throughouttheplanningprocess,countlesseffortswere contributedbyourstaffandstudentleadersfromallyearlevels:searching departmentsforculturalprops,sourcingauthenticfestivefoods,preparing speeches,handcraftingddakji,practicinghandmadeactivitiesinadvance, doingphotographyrehearsals,andpatientlyguidingyoungerstudents throughthegames.ButifyouaskmewhatIenjoyedthemost,itwas undoubtedlythelaughterthatfilledtheIhohouseonthenightoftheparty— andthewarmsenseoftogethernessthatlingeredafterward.Astheancient Chinesepoemsays,“thoughfarapart,weareneighborsatheart.”Ihopethat, throughthiscelebration,wehavetrulybecomecloserneighborsunderthe samebrightmoon.
MoonParty
AsaYear10leader,andasarepresentativeofKoreanstudents,itwas mygreatpleasuretoparticipateinMoonPartyorganizationandto giveanopeningpresentation.Atfirst,whenChuseokholidaywas mentionedinthestudentcommittee,themagnitudeofthe celebrationwasasmalleventintheboarding.Butasnumerousideas weregathered,IfoundusholdingthebiggestpartyI’veever experiencedinIho-multipleguestswereinvited,varioustraditional foodsweredelivered,andevenphotospotwaspreparedwiththe professionalcamera!Personally,Iwoulddescribethiseventhighly successfulsinceIobservedthesinceresmile,laughter,andthesense offamilyamongtheboardingcommunity,whicharethecorevalues ofChuseok.
Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmydeepgratitudetowardeveryonewho spenttheirenormousenergyandtimetoenablethiswholeevent.It couldn’tbebetterthanthis!
MoonParty
IintroducedthebasicbackgroundknowledgeoftheMid AutumnFestivalandhowwasisitoriginated.Ibriefly talkedabouthowdoespeoplecelebratethisfestivaland thecelebrationactivitiesofit.Formypart, itwasn’tjust preparedforthelanternriddles,butit’sameaningful waytosharetheculturaltraditionsandhelpothers understandthespiritofreunionbehindtheMidAutumn Festival.
ItoldthestoryofChang’e,andeveryonereallyenjoyed it!Inthefollowingriddlegame,allparticipants answeredthequestionscorrectly！ Wehadawonderful timeenjoyingtastymooncakesandricecakestogether.
Ruby
Ruby and Melody
MoonParty
ItwasourfirsttimecelebratingChuseokandtheMidAutumnFestivalintheboardinghouse,anditturned outtobeanenjoyableexperience!Iwasinchargeof Jegichagi,atraditionalKoreangamewhereplayers trytokeepashuttlecock-likeobjectcalledajegiin theairusingtheirfeet.Everyonegaveittheirbest shot,andtherewasalotoflaughter.Itwastruly meaningfultoseestudentsfromeveryyeargroup takingpartinvariousactivities,sharingsnacks, learningmoreaboutKoreanculture,andcelebrating together.
MoonParty
Beingabletoparticipateinthemoonpartywasa trulyheartwarmingandmemorableexperience.I hadtheopportunitytoleadtheGongi, whichisa traditionalKoreangameplayedwithsmallpebbles orplasticstones.Itrequiresalotoffocusandquick reflexes.TeachingothersthroughtherulesofGongi allowedmetoshareandcelebrateKoreanculture, whilealsoconnectingwithpeople.Watchingthem trulyenjoythegamemadetheexperienceboth meaningfulandengaging.Itremindedmehow enjoyableteachingothersandcreatingmomentsof smallhappinesscanbe.
MoonParty
MoonParty
MoonParty
MoonPartyphoto..moreoninstagram
NintendoSwitch
Ms.Kim
Aswebeganthisnewterm,oneofthebiggesttopicsamongtheboardingstaff was: “How can we make the boarding house feel more comfortable and enjoyableforeveryone?”Whenitcametothe“enjoyable”part,Idecidedtobring my professionalism into play — quite literally! With the full support of Ms Randerson, we made a big purchase for IHO: �� Brand-new Nintendo Switch 2 consolesandaselectionofthelatestgames!
The excitement was immediate. As soon as the new devices arrived, students gathered around eagerly to play. I even had the chance to interview two of our most enthusiastic Nintendo fans Kaylin from Year 11 and Elin from Year 8 whosharedtheirjoyandfavouritemomentswiththeIhoteam.
“It really helps me blow off some school stress and feel refreshed!” — Kaylin
“I love playing games with my friends — it’s such a fun way to spend time together!” — Elin
Watching students from different year groups come together in the Atrium, laughingandplayingsidebyside,hastrulybeenheartwarmingforallIHOstaff.I feel proud and fulfilled to have helped create a space that brings genuine happinesstoourboarders.
Lookingahead,weplantokeepaddingmorefun fromnewgamestoother excitingactivities sothatourboardinghousecontinuestobeaplacefilledwith laughter,connection,andjoy.
HamdeokBeachAdventure
VisitingHamdeokbeachwasoneofthemostmemorable experiencesoftheyearsinceitprovidedachancetocreate bondswithintheyeargroupsandithelpedstudentstorefresh theirbrainsandmindsfromthestressfulpressuresofthestart ofyear.Thetripcreatednewinteractionswithdifferentpeople, makingnewfriendshipsandunforgetablememories.Italso openedupachanceforstudentstotakeamomentto appreciatethebeautifulsceneryofJejuislandwhichweoften undermined.Thephotocompetitionallowedstudentsto improvetheirteamworkandthecommunicationskillswhich areessentialstepping-stones toendeavourforfurthergoals beyondtheboardingcommunity.OverallmembersoftheIho communityadvantagedimmenslyfromtheweekendtripto thebeautifulHamdeokbeach.
Hamdeok
BoardingCommunityDay
BoardingCommunityDaywasheldforallboardingstudents fromYear5toYear11.Theeventfeaturedvariousoutdoor activitiesthatencouragedteamworkandcommunityspirit. Onehighlightwasthelargewaterslideinthemiddleofthe field,wherestudentsenjoyedcoolingoffunderthewarm sun.
Laterintheday,studentsjoinedtheColorRunontheroad behindthedormitorybuildings,runningthroughcolored powderspreadbyteachers.Theactivitycreatedalivelyand energeticatmosphereasdifferentyeargroupscametogether. Itwasasuccessfuleventthatallowedboarderstoenjoytime outdoors,strengthenconnections,andcelebratethe boardingcommunitywhilerefreshingthemselvesforanew termandacademicyear.
BoardingCommunityDay
Dancecompetition
IhoandPyoseonyear7~9boardersarecurrently gettingreadyforthedancecompetition!We practicedinourowntime,chosethesongsby ourselves, learnedallofthedancesandformations independently whichhelpedustodeveloptime managementandindependence.Mygroup(Iho year6,7)isreallyenjoyingitandwearelooking forwardforthecompetitionnotonlytowinbutto haveagreattime.Weareevenhavingpizzaswhich arealsoveryexciting!
Dancecompetitionphotos
Baking
Joiningtheteamthisyear,Ihoped Icouldcontributetotheenjoyment hadinIHO.Hostingabrownie bakingsessionwiththegirls allowedstudentsandstafftocome togethertobakedelicioustreats andbondasahouse.Thegirls workedtogethertoproducetasty results,enjoyingsomephone-free timeandfindinganewwaytorelax andspendtimewithfriendsaftera busyweekofschool.
Miss Charlotte
HouseCaptain
AsanIhoHouseCaptainfor2025-2026,Ihavefoundthe roletobebothveryrewardingandeye-opening.The rolehasallowedmetoconnectmoredeeplytothe boardinghouseasawholewithindividuals.Italso showedhowcollaborationcanreallybringthe communitytogether.DuringourSundayCommittee,I couldreallyfeelalltheopinionsgatheringtomake boardingamoresupportivecommunity.Although balancingleadershipresponsibilitieswithschoolwork canbechallenging,ithashelpedmegrowin communicationandorganisation.Ihaveenjoyedbeing partofplanningeventsandmotivatingother,andalso fulfillingtoseeoureffortsmakearealimpact!
Halloween....next
We are starting to get ready for the Halloween weekend.
This involves lots of groups of girls baking, doing arts and craft prop making, tech set up, games planning alongside student leaders. Ms Cai has been very instrumental in coordinating our next event after the success of Iho’s Moon Party. We will have lots to share on instagram.
