Tiger Times Volume 38 Issue 4

Page 1

volume X X XVIII

november 2011

issue 4

Tiger Times s e o u l i n t e r nat i o na l s c h o o l itigertimes.com

CCC hosts street performance at Rodeo

Administration plans to revise test format

By Helen Song

By Stephanie Yi

A rumor spread among high school students in November that the administration was planning to enforce a “no multiple choice questions” policy due to cheating instances in the freshman class. Yet this was only a rumor. Rather, the administration set a long-term goal ever since the visit by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges three years ago: to improve the quality of assessments by cutting back the number of textbook-generated multiple choice questions. “[By implementing this goal] we’re not fixing a problem but [rather] we’re trying to make assessments better,” said Jarret Lambie, high school principal. “Hopefully [through this goal] we’ll have more assessments that [generate] deep thinking and writing.” In response to the changes, Chan Jun Park (12) said he preferred free response questions, but for reasons different from those of the administration. “[If] you write anything relevant to the topic [in free response questions], you can get more points [as opposed] to multiple choice questions,” said Chan Jun. While every educational department has a different schedule as to when they plan to make changes to the assessments, the science department has already changed the format of assessments. “For Introduction to Chemistry class, I try to ask more free-response questions and concept- based questions that are more open-ended,” said Raymond Slapikas, chemistry teacher. “But one of the pitfalls is that students are [simply memorizing the format and wording of the questions instead of understanding the concepts].” The administration hopes that this goal, which they plan to be fully implemented by 2014, will encourage students to change the way they think. “[The reform] is not just a fad or something new that the school is trying out,” said Peter Corcoran, director of schools. “This comes out of research that has been around for 10-15 years and is a part of every school’s vocabulary now. There are statistics that show that the benefits are just too significant for us not to be doing this.”

Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park

Scooping up spoonfuls of handmade ice cream, Anna Joo (11) and Nadya Kim (11) enjoy the Science Week event. Students made ice cream out of salt, sugar, milk, ice and vanilla extract on Oct. 15.

Science Week requirements revised to encourage honest attendance By Michelle Kim

S

eniors Suhyun Kim, Alice Lee and Minji Kim vigorously shake a plastic bag containing ice, salt and a Ziploc bag of milk, vanilla extract and sugar. After ten minutes, the milk solidifies and becomes ice cream. This event, ice cream making, was one of five events held during Science Week from Nov. 14- 18. The other events were the bottle scavenger hunt, jeopardy and two guest speakers, one of whom did not get to talk due to schedule conflicts with the High School Student Council (HSSC) Scavenger Hunt. Each event was hosted by Scientia, Science Club or Green Club. Major changes were made to Science Week this year, particularly in the participation requirements. Students last year received extra credit for their science classes by collecting stamps from all the events. This year, they were offered participation points for attending at least one event, proven by writing their names on an attendance list. Venue doors were also locked at 1 p.m. to discourage students from taking advantage of the system as

Libya liberated: Does Qaddafi’s death necessarily signal a promising future? Page 2

they did last year. “The science teachers didn’t agree on using extra credit as an incentive,” said James Horn, Science Club adviser. “There had also been students who cheated by copying other students’ cards and handing them in. Attending Science Week should not be an incentive for a grade.” As the week progressed, students thought the new system was more effective than last year’s stamp system because they did not have to worry about losing their cards. “Last year, I remember some people losing their stamp cards and by doing so, they lost their chance of receiving credits,” said Kevin Park (11). “This year’s signing system did not require us to keep track of our stamp cards, so I thought it was way better.” The events also underwent change from last year’s Science Week. There were more educational events. For example, speaker Art De Filippo, elementary school principal, educated students about green schools. Jeopardy tested students on their scientific knowledge. On the flipside, students recycled bottles during Green Club’s bottle scavenger hunt, during which they

Caffeine overload: Popular energy drinks can have adverse effects. Page 8

searched for hidden bottles in the science wing and placed them in a recycling bin. In total, 314 students participated in Science Week. Jeopardy was in the lead with 161 participants. Although there was a high overall turnout, some students did not believe that issues from last year’s Science Week have been completely solved. “I think cheating incidents may have decreased, but the new system might not be able to stop it completely, since people seem to find ways around it,” said Mintaek Lee (12), Green Club treasurer. After Science Week ended, students agreed that although there were some improvements from last year, it still could have been improved, as a schedule conflict led to the cancellation of the second speaker event. “There had been a lot of last minute conflicts last year because it was around Earth Day, and then there were AP exams,” said Mr. Horn. “That’s why we had Science Week earlier this year. But we still had schedule conflicts, so we can make sure that there is no conflict next year by looking at the school calendar more carefully.”

On the streets of Rodeo, China Care Club (CCC) members encouraged pedestrians to watch Joon Kwon’s (9) magic tricks and the Dance Club’s performance. Although many ignored them, they were not discouraged and continued to collect donations. CCC worked with the Dance Club on Nov. 6 at Apgujeong-dong to attract donations for Chinese children with birth defects. Despite bad weather and technical difficulties, with the help of various performers, the fundraiser amassed around 200,000 won. “We’re trying to prove that, as a non-school sponsored club, we can succeed with fundraisers outside of school,” said Linda Park (11), CCC founder. “Our goal currently is to earn 600 dollars to save a young Chinese orphan with birth defects.” As president, Linda worked to organize the performance by securing equipment and earning permission to perform in front of stores on Rodeo street. Joon, along with the Dance Club and Augustine Kim (11) were recruited to garner interest. “There weren’t many people on the streets because of the rain, but I did my best to interest people by involving them in magic tricks,” said Joon. “I was able to attract their attention enough for them to listen to club members explain the fundraiser and persuade them to donate.” The Dance Club, responsible for the main performance, also experienced setbacks due to the audio speakers malfunctioning. The group improvised by using car speakers. “It was awkward at first because there weren’t many people and the music wasn’t loud, but it was cool to dance to just express yourself on the street,” said Nicole Chun (10), Dance Club president. “It was a fulfilling experience, and I was happy to see strangers watch us perform.” After the performances, CCC members went around Rodeo street selling bracelets and collecting donations to raise more money. “Soliciting donations from individuals worked the best as we got their attention through performances and then asked for donations,” said Ally Chung (11), CCC vice president. “Our first fundraiser went well, even though it was rainy and cold because everyone was enthusiastic and worked hard.”

Varsity soccer: Preseason boosters focus on improving overall fitness. Page 11


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.