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NLCS JEJU NEWSLETTER 25 FEBRUARY 2022

UGC UPDATES AND INTERVIEWS AIR NLCS JEJU ARTWORK AWARDS AND DONATIONS

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A Letter From The Principal Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of NLCS Jeju In these difficult times both in Jeju and in most of the Republic of Korea, I am reminded of the responsibility that we all have to be mindful and supportive of each other. This is especially vital as some of our community face health issues both physical and mental.

The whole community is anxious for things to be ‘back to normal’ and so we are committed to providing as full an education as possible, both in terms of our curriculum, co curriculum and underpinning it all, our pastoral care. This does mean that things often have to adapt and change at short notice and so we ask for your understanding regarding this. We are continuing to plan and arrange events for the next term when we hope that we can have members of our community, especially our parents, attending in person - provided the situation allows.

In this newsletter we celebrate the successes of our students which is testament to their efforts and commitment. This time is also a time when students in Years 11 and 13 have to stay on track and focus their efforts towards the IGCSE and IBDP examinations in the summer term - both with coursework and with revision. We encourage the students to discuss and reflect on their progress with our subject teachers who meet their needs on an individual basis Your sincerely, Lynne Oldfield Principal

North London Collegiate School Jeju

UGC UPDATES AND INTERVIEWS Our University updates section was very popular in the last newsletter. We are very excited to be able to give you more information and the stories behind the figures. Lots more to come but this week we have more Early Decision news, another Oxbridge story and some fabulous news of one of our best Music offers ever!

Flora Park

North London Collegiate School Jeju

CAMBRIDGE Flora Park - Human, Political and Social Sciences - Lucy Cavendish College In the last newsletter we shared the wonderful news that we have six acceptances at Oxford and Cambridge. One of these is Flora Park who has been offered a place at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, to read Human, Social and Political Sciences. Lucy Cavendish is known for its diversity and the high number of international students.

Flora came to NLCS Jeju as a boarder at the start of her IBDP years. She previously attended an American school in Bucharest, Romania for 7 years, where she studied entirely in English. “Coming to NLCS Jeju has been a fantastic experience. I’ve felt so welcomed even though I started here relatively late. The girls were so friendly and kind. I immediately felt at home - even though I’d never been in boarding before! “ Flora was attracted to the NLCS Jeju curriculum which offered lots of flexibility in the Humanities. She stresses that the great thing about these subjects is that you can develop critical thinking skills. “It’s about understanding, exploring, and having conversations.

The work I’ve done here I can develop at Cambridge. I feel it’s right for me to go to the UK and to Cambridge as I really want to be specific about my subject. I’m immediately specialising in Human, Social and Political Sciences. I’ll be pushed out of my comfort zone, thinking for myself, lots of one-on-one sessions with Professors. It’s really exciting to think of the challenges!”

Flora cites both Joe Hall (who taught her in Year 12) and Garreth Bradshaw, her English teacher as “inspirational. Mr Bradshaw has a really global view on a wide variety of issues.

And Mr Hall - even though he’s left school - helped me with interview techniques and advice!”

When the thorny topic of hagwons arises, Flora says that she does not use them. Instead she advises “Get outside! Go to the beach! Explore!”

Flora’s advice for new Sixth Formers?

• Get outside and take a break • Boarding makes everything easier and more fun • Get used to having proper conversations about your subjects • Don’t worry so much about the final grade - rather, do you have a proper understanding?

ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC Alice Oh We have many students who make music their passion and their life - and Alice (Seungju) Oh is certainly one of our greatest successes. Alice joined NLCS Jeju six years ago and balanced her musical talents with the academic demands of NLCS Jeju.

She was not sure whether to pursue a more academic path or whether to pursue her dreams of playing and performing the violin. Alice says “ I really wasn’t sure. But as time moved on I started to think that you only get certain chances once and I should give it a go.” She auditioned for the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London, UK and after a rigorous process she not only was awarded a place but she also received a scholarship awarded for potential at audition.

Alice has taken part in orchestras and performed solos through her School life. She was also a real force within Sonitas and was willing to stretch herself across both classical and contemporary pieces.

Alice Oh

EARLY DECISIONS Elysia Bae - Swarthmore College Head Girl, Elysia Bae is often in the pages of the newsletter as she has thrown herself into School life - participating in so many areas from drama productions to societies to student leadership on all levels. Elysia is sure that these opportunities have helped shape her for her next opportunity. She has just been offered a place as an Early Decision - at the highly sought after Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, US.

Elysia Bae

Elysia is likely to major in Psychology, thanks in part to the enthusiasm and encouragement of Ms Jessica Laughton - Head of Psychology. Elysia has loved her classes and explains that Ms Laughton helped her get an article published and really stretch herself.

She chose Swarthmore as it is one of the leading small, liberal arts colleges in the US. It is known as one of the “Little Ivies” and is exceptionally hard to get into. Elysia loves the idea of a small, green campus (it’s about the same size in terms of student population as NLCS Jeju!) Classes are small and the Professors take an interest in each and every student a far cry from the huge lecture theatre style of some colleges. “I can explore concepts and ideas at a highly intellectual level and gain more insight. I can study subjects that interest me - even if I’m not majoring in them. I can design my own curriculum.” Elysia is also a keen writer - and really connected with the Swarthmore pride in the writing skills of all their students.

Many of our students will go on to universities in the North East of the US and in Canada which will enable Elysia to stay in touch with many of her friends from NLCS Jeju. “NLCS Jeju will always be with me even when I leave. I value the friendships I have made. I would not be the person I am today without the experiences, the leadership opportunities, the plays, the productions. Doing all the extra things that NLCS Jeju offers has given me a broader perspective. It has helped with my confidence and given me a sense of belonging. Being on the Big 8 and serving as Head Girl has been an honour.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. If one door closes for you then another one will open somewhere.”

Fred Lee - University of Chicago Another member of our Big 8 is SangYoon (Fred) Lee . Fred has been at NLCS Jeju for 6 years now and is certainly a student who has made the most of every moment. Fred has been offered a place at the University of Chicago and will make Economics his Major. “I’m choosing Economics as I’m interested in the structure of society, in the distribution of resources. And I love Chicago - I have family there - and it’s an amazing school! They create their own programmes with a core curriculum so you have a breath of study as you do with the IBDP. “ Ms Arunima Paliwal is Fred’s Economics teacher. “She’s strict but she truly wants the best for every student.” Ms Paliwal says of Fred “ He will be a great economist. He has the conviction to see things through and he really has the ability to empathise.”

It’s not all about study for Fred. He’s embraced every moment of School life. He speaks passionately about the fun in boarding - he was in Jeoji House for four years before joining Halla. He remembers the many opportunities to make friendships for life, the chance of leadership skills and of watching those leaders in the years above you. Amazingly, a fellow boarder from Jeoji who later left school will be a classmate of Fred’s at Chicago!

Take a look at Fred talking HERE about making the most of every minute at NLCS Jeju.

North London Collegiate School Jeju

Fred Lee

If you have any queries about our UGC and our university programmes then please contact the team. They are here for each and every student! ugc@nlcsjeju.kr

AIR NLCS JEJU Year 12 student, Mingyu (Lawrence ) Bae has come up with a great way to keep us all safe and aware of our environment. He has developed NLCS Jeju Air - a set of kits which check the quality of the air in School - measuring dust levels, temperature and humidity. "There are three kits installed and you can access the results on our website. We will also be installing more - with the aim to have almost 10 devices around School for the most accurate picture. The website is still not optimized for mobile uses and I’m currently working on it." Also, the data will be displayed on a TV in the main entrance.

I wanted to do this to make the School better. I love coding and creating devices. It’s a pleasure to be able to tell parents that the air quality is very good and that this is a good - optimum - learning environment for their children.”

Mingyu (Lawrence ) Bae

Go to our School website

ARTWORK Sharon Kennington has shared an incredible piece of work by Gloria Seyoon Hwang in Year 10. Her work captures a handshake in oil on paper. There is so much talent in the Art department. Stop by and take a look.

North London Collegiate School Jeju

Year 4 Work Head of Junior School Art , Krista Merrill has shared some wonderful Year 4 work in progress with us. She says “ Year 4 students have been working incredibly hard on a project inspired by the Australian artist, Carmen Hui. Carmen Hui completed an inspiring series of coloured pencil drawings depicting Australian bottles with native flowers. Year 4 artists, working in the same medium with local packaging, have used close observational drawings to depict their container of choice. Then images of wild flowers native to Jeju have been added into the drawings.

We’ve shared our work with Carmen Hui, who said, “Oh wow! All the details! They are doing great, I can’t wait to see the end results!”

NEURONOMERS Have you ever wondered what goes on in the brain? Frustrated with neuroscience taking a back seat in the IGCSE and IBDP curriculums. Why not join the Neuronomers for debate, fun, quizzes and expanding your knowledge.

The Neuronomers Society was founded in the Summer by Jiwoo Shin (Chair) and Chloe (Nayun) Kim (Secretary). Their aim is to inform their members and the wider community about all that is interesting about the human brain. Their 20 members meet weekly to learn more and to have fun. Recently they have been using the Human-Human interface - a fun way to observe interactions with each other.

Jiwoo says “We started the society after I joined the Brain Bee Camp and felt I just didn’t know enough! I wanted to explore this fascinating science further and give younger students more opportunities.”

Contact Chloe and Jiwoo if you want to join. Read all about it HERE Our next destination is the brain!

JESLYN PARK - AWARD AND DONATION We are very proud of Jeslyn Park, Year 12, for many reasons and here are just two of them! Jeslyn recently was selected as one of only 50 students chosen for The Korea Talent Award. This is the Deputy Prime Minister’s Award which evaluates achievements and academic achievements over the past five years. Jeslyn was awarded this in recognition of her achievements in the fields of environment, international relations, and diplomacy.

The prize is a not insubstantial 2,000,000 KRW. Jeslyn chose to donate her prize money to the Jenam Orphanage. She presented it last weekend and received a certificate of donation.

Well done, Jeslyn. This is such a wonderful thing to do!

YEAR 9 WRITING English teacher, Sam Wilson has shared an amazing piece of creative writing from one of his Year 9 students. Take a look at this and tell us that you aren’t chilled to the bone!

EunSoo Lee has a bright future ahead of her.

She felt for the lock in the dark. It was open. Startled, she ran her hands frantically against the door once more to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. Living in the dark made her see things from time to time; occasionally, she would spot a white phantom-like figure flowering at the corner of her eyes but as soon as she rotated her head to directly face the imaginary phantom, it shrivel away like a white rose in winter. Cautiously opening the door, she pushed her head inside the room and entered the room slowly very slowly. Waking up her precious baby would mean a sin upon her. Her eyes were adapted to the dark and shadowed underground, allowing her full vision of the room. The room was quite large for a baby to use alone; a small wooden crib was creaking and moaning, alone, at the centre of the room. With a grin on her lips, she walked slowly - very slowly - towards the crib. Her grin was sweet, but would have run a chill down the spine of anybody who saw her - well, that is, if she did exit her underground home at all, which she never did. Next to the crib, she breathed in sharply once, exhaled as if preparing for herself, and looked down at the crib, ready to kiss her baby’s soft forehead, to find ‘Darling, where are you?’ she cried with a screeching voice. Inside the crib, where her sweet child should be asleep peacefully like a little angel was nothing - it was empty! Gasping, out of breath, her knees collapsed onto the hard stone floor. Her baby, gone! Her bit her lips and dug her nails into her wrist until warm black blood oozed out of the black cavity. Tightly closing her eyes, not out of pain in her wounds but the pain in losing her most prized treasure, she brought back the memory of her beautiful child.

She loved her child as any mother would. That was why she kept her baby in the dark, locked from the outside to secure his safety. In the dark empty room, her child would never be in danger of injuring his tiny little fingers. No flames to burn him, no sharp edges to cut him, no shelves or closets for him to bump into. Locked inside his own private room, he would never have to go outside, exit the underground to the hell in the sky, where millions of demons casually roam the streets.

As much as he was restriced from ‘demons’, ‘demons’ were restricted from him as well. ‘Nobody can take you away from your mother’ she would say every time before putting her wailing baby back into the crib and walk, humming, casually like the demons above, and lock her son behind her. Love was the reason, nothing else. She loved her child as any mother would.

Again, the white flowers flowered at the corner of her eyes. With her drooping head and damp eyes, she turned towards it, expecting it to disappear before her gaze this time too. However, it stayed still, burning white and silent flames. At an instant, she realised - the flame was her son. It was his phantom. He was dead. Then she fell on her back,

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT TRUST AWARD - BRONZE Hannah Goddard, who coordinates all professional development in the Junior School tells us about some great news from the Teacher Development Trust, one of our training partners.

“Teacher development is a priority at our school and we endeavour to ensure that our teachers have access to world-class resources. This year, the Junior School has been working with the Teacher Development Trust; the leading organisation for continuing professional development in the UK. As a member school, we are working with our TDT expert coaches to develop the culture and quality of professional learning within our school. At the start of the year, we were awarded a Bronze Award in recognition of our commitment to staff development. This year we are working hard to achieve our Silver Award by identifying, implementing and embedding sustainable steps that put effective teacher development at the heart of school improvement. “ Well done to all the amazing teachers in our Junior School for all their efforts!

VIRTUAL CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD We have had many successes with these events even during recent years where we have found new ways online!

Chemistry teachers Henry Liu and Mahesh Warrier invite you to sign up for March 28 when NLCS Jeju will compete against schools from the GEC and Seoul.

TEACHER WRITING NLCS Jeju teacher, Nick Chaddock talks about Wellbeing in Schools in the latest issue of International Teacher Magazine. He stresses the need to place wellbeing at the heart of what we do. We love our teachers who are always thinking of others and sharing their knowledge for the good of the community. HERE

WHY CHOOSE DRAMA? Why would a student choose Drama? Because they want to be an actor? They like being on stage? Well, there is a lot more to it than that. Drama gives you confidence. It builds your people skills - helping you to be more intuitive, creative, collaborative. Mr Pierson and several of his students explain how. Take a look HERE

STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Genius Magazine Take a look at the latest issue of Genius Magazine. An opportunity to see some lovely History and Science writing from some of our younger students. The writers - from Years 5 - 7 were inspired by a wide variety of subjects from kimchi to brushing your teeth to World War II. Read it HERE NLCS Jeju Latin and Classics Jaehoon (Roy)Song in Year 9 is passionate about all things to do with Classics. He has created a brand new magazine celebrating this fascinating subject. Read all about history, mythology, art and more. Roy offers a huge thank you to Ms Margaret Baird and Ms Sandra Coll and to his first guest writer, Mr Adam Yates. HERE NLCS Jeju Architecture Society NLCS Jeju Architecture Society has published another brilliant magazine! This issue is full of inspiration and shares the inspiration you can get from many different buildings, their form and their design. Learn more about isometry in architecture through this issue.

Jaehoon (Roy)Song

YTN HUFS ENGLISH DEBATING CHAMPIONSHIP We are happy to share another achievement of our students. The nine students below participated in the YTN HUFS English debating Championship held earlier this month and won prizes. At the two-day online competition, they expressed their opinions on a variety of topics,from Criminal Justice to Science and Technology and Morality. Congratulations to all our fabulous NLCS Jeju students!

Year 5

Yeju Lee Year 5 Sophia (Chelim) Kim Year 5 Lily (Jiyun) Song Year 5 Yoonso Kim Year 5

Daeho Kim Year 6

UChan Seo Year 6

General League Exceptional Team Award

General League Excellent Team Award

Erin (Minji) Kim Year 7 UChan Seo Year 6 Yeju Lee Year 5 Sophia (Chelim) Kim Year 5 Lily (Jiyun) Song Year 5 Yoonso Kim Year 5

Dana (Jeongwon) Moon Year 7 Jason (Hansae) Jung Year 7 Daeho Kim Year 6

MUSIC CORNER Battle of the Bands Mr Kenneth Cormack in our Music department would like to thank all the entrants in the FOBISIA Battle of the Bands.

He is pleased to announce the following winners: KS3 - Jazz You

Highly Commended - The Rookies

KS4/5 - Limited Resources “All of the entries were fantastic and showed a lot of skill and personality. Overall highly positive feedback from our judges. A great representation of the musical talent we have here at NLCS Jeju. Well done to all of you and I look forward to hearing you perform again in future.”

Mr Kenneth Cormack

Highly Commended - The Rookies

KS3 - Jazz You

KS4/5 - Limited Resources

INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS We are now accepting applications for Instrumental lessons for the Summer Term 2022.

Please sign up via the link in the letters below.

INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS - SUMMER TERM 2022 (ENGLISH) INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS - SUMMER TERM 2022 (KOREAN) INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS - SUMMER TERM 2022 (CHINESE) ***New Brass Teacher - Mr.Taeju Lee*** ***New Saxophone Teacher - Ms.Soojung Lee***

IMPORTANT MUSIC DATES • Tues 1 March - 18.15 - CONCERT ROOM - Y12 IB Recital • Thurs 10 March - 18.30 - CONCERT ROOM - Y11 ENSEMBLE RECITAL • Thurs 17 March - 19.00 - CONCERT ROOM - Senior School Spring Recital • Wed 23 March - 19.00 - PAC - ORCHESTRAL SPECTACULAR

MUSIC CORNER PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL EVENTS MAY CHANGE DUE TO CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES SO PLEASE CHECK EMAILS, iSAMS AND UPCOMING MESSAGES

SURVEYS Visitors Survey Student Survey Staff Survey Parent Survey

OTHER LINKS AND INFORMATION Senior School Parent Handbook HERE Junior School Parent Handbook HERE IB Options Guide HERE IGCSE Options Guide HERE

DOWNLOAD NEW SCHOOL WALLPAPER FOR YOUR MOBILE!

1. First download from Google Drive 2. Open Settings App on your phone 3. Click on Wallpaper 4. Click > Choose a New Wallpaper 5. Choose the NLCS Jeju Wallpaper from your album 6. Adjust scale to fit your phone 7. Click Se t for Se t Lock Scre e n or Both

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