Apis Update 2013 April/May

APIS UPDATE

Address: 57 Wolgye-ro 45ga-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 139-852, Korea Website: www.apis.seoul.kr

Issue 12.

April/May 2013 In this issue

Spring Concerts Publishing Parties Elementary Musicals Culture Fair WASC Accreditation

From Dr. Kim’s Desk The Importance of Character Education I would like all of us to reflect on the meaning of the word “success.” The word “success” is a loaded word in the Asian culture, especially in Korea. In one context, it means that anything can be possible through hard work and by setting one’s aspirations high. The Korean economic miracle is a prime example of how, through grit and the sweat of its people, a nation was able to pull itself out of abject poverty and the devastation of the Korean War. Unfortunately, the very fortune of success in Asia, at the same time, may have fuelled the notion that any means can be justified so long as they lead to a “successful” end.

I think we see this most prevalently in education. We often see students caring only about grades, not so much about learning. We also see, unfortunately, students who would cheat and lie if that would get them into top colleges and universities. Recently, ETS and the College Board cancelled the May SAT test in Korea amidst widespread allegations of cheating. What is even sadder is that, immediately after the cancellation announcement, the SAT cram schools mass advertised how they can still help beat the system by taking the SAT exams abroad. The education has simply become a high stakes game without any rules or values.

Caring only about the results, it is indeed sad to see those students and parents resorting to unethical or illegal ways of achieving those goals. Even if these unethical or illegal means are not used, one has to ask whether this sort of outcome of obsessed education is the best way to ensure our children’s success. In other words, are high grades or high test scores the fundamental determinants of future success?

Despite Korea’s fixation on grades and test scores, I cannot find any evidence that high SAT scores or IQ scores, for example, (or that of any known tests that measures one’s academic performance or intellect) ensure one’s successful future. Even if they are correlated with future success, I would argue that they are at best proximate reasons, not the fundamental reasons. Supported by the latest research, what we believe at APIS to be the key determinant of our children’s future success is developing the right kind of character (see, for example, Paul Tough’s new book, “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character”). As evident in the acronym of our school’s name, APIS education emphasizes 4 character values: Aspire, Persevere, Integrity, and Spiritual Growth. (I am planning another article explaining why these specific values are the key values for the New Pacific Century.) I am not saying good grades or test scores are not important. With the right kind of character, our students will be successful academically as well as in life. If good grades do not result from having the right kind of character my argument is that those good grades alone will not ensure success in life.

ASPIRE PERSEVERE INTEGRITY SPIRITUAL GROWTH 1

APIS is not alone in thinking this way about education. One inspiring example is from KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, the largest network of charter schools in the U.S. KIPP schools focus on the development of character—cultivating traits critical to success in life—as central to the school’s mission as the teaching of rigorous academic schools. According to KIPP’s founder, Mike Feinberg, “a good teacher, at any given moment, is not just teaching that lesson, but teaching about life. Whether it’s a science, history, reading, writing, or math lesson, when a kid starts to give up, that’s when you stop teaching the actual lesson itself and start teaching how to try your best and not give up.” KIPP has been so successful in helping low-income, underprivileged children from the toughest neighborhoods in the U.S. that its philosophy and approach has been adopted by 125 schools in 21 states.

As Feinberg points out, the emphasis on key character values is consistent with what the research says good teaching simply is. In May, APIS hosted a literacy conference at our campus where more than 100 teachers and literacy coaches attended to improve their skills. It was an impressive event organized by our own literacy coach, Mrs. Suanne Forrester. Thanks to her leadership, the conference has placed APIS as the leader in literacy education. I point this event out because it helped me think about how the teaching of our core character values permeates everything we do as educators. For example, I remember distinctly what Mrs. Forrester told aspiring literacy teachers in a discussion session. She said, “the purpose of the literacy workshop model is not to teach writing or reading but to teach the writer and the reader!” She is referring to teaching not just a particular piece of writing or book but to teaching transferable skills and strategies that elevate students as writers and readers in a holistic sense. Though she did not refer specifically to “character” when teaching the writer and the reader, in a deeper sense that is exactly what is implied. How can we produce a great piece of writing without a clear motivation or aspiration to the higher standards? How can we learn to decode a word or decipher a difficult text without the perseverance on the part of the reader? I am reminded about the old adage: “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life.” When we teach to a textbook or to a test, one may get a good grade or a good test score, but it does not advance the student as a learner nor prepare the student for anything beyond that textbook or that test—for example, life. There is a clear tragedy in seeing so many of our youngsters spending all their afternoons at the cram school (starting as early as in MS school) studying just for that single SAT exam.

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How can we then best teach character to our students? First, we need a growth mindset. No one is born, for example, with integrity. No one is born knowing how to aspire or to persevere. It is certainly true with spiritual growth. These are not innate character values but values that must be taught. Second, believing that these values can be taught, we must be purposeful in our intention in teaching these values, as with teaching anything. However, we certainly do not create, for example, an “integrity” class on Tuesdays from 1-2 p.m. Students must learn what “integrity” looks like in the classroom, lunchroom, bathroom, school bus and schoolyards. We must also capitalize on teachable moments, both positive and negative, when our students have an opportunity to display those character values. In short, the teaching of character must happen everywhere, at all times. Here are 7 specific strategies that KIPP uses for implementing character in their school: Here are 7 specific strategies that KIPP uses for implementing character in their school: 1. Believe It and Model It

A woman brings her son to Gandhi and says, “I need your help, my son is eating way too much

sugar.” He says, “Sure. Come back in a week.” She thinks it’s a little bit strange, but she goes all the way back home, waits a week, comes all the way back to see him, and says, “Gandhi, I’ve waited a week. Now will you help my son stop eating so much sugar?” He says, “Sure.” He looks at the boy and says, “Son, please stop eating so much sugar.” “That’s it?” she asks. “Yeah, that’s it.” “Well, if that’s all you were going to do, how come you couldn’t have said that a week ago?” And Gandhi replies, “Because a week ago, I hadn’t given up sugar yet.” What would this mean for our teachers? For our parents?

2. Name It Intangible and unnamed qualities need be clearly identified. Only by labeling and talking about the char acter strengths, can we embark on the journey to develop them.

3. Find It Students should be introduced to real-world or fictional examples of each character trait.

4. Feel It Students need to feel the positive effects of focusing on and developing their own character strengths.

5. Integrate It Create dual-purpose experience and lessons that involve the character strengths.

6. Encourage It Students need specific, growth-mindset praise around character.

7. Track It Regularly record and discuss progress with character traits.

Reference: Kim, John J-H (2013). “Be the Change: An Interview with Mike Feinberg,”

The District Management Journal, (Vol. 13, p. 4-11)

The KIPP model suggests a number of ways in which our own character education can be improved. As a first step, I would like to encourage all of you to look at our student successes not as a mere outcome, but reflecting upon the strength of our character traits that made these successful outcomes possible. These reflections will also help us recognize the character values, which we need to further develop and grow.

Press on!

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Dr. Euysung Kim School Director

From Dr. Kim’s Desk

김의성

이사장

인성 교육의 중요성 “성공”이라는 단어에 대해 한번 곰곰이 생각해보시기 바랍니 다. 아시아, 특히 한국에서의 “성공”은 국민의 땀방울로 일구 어낸 눈부신 경제 발전처럼 노력만 하면 무엇이든지 이룰 수 있 다는 식의 긍정적인 의미를 우리에게 부여합니다. 이러한 우리 의 성공 경험은 또 한편 수단과 방법을 가리지 말고 “성공만 하 면 된다!”라는 식의 사고도 부추기는 것을 볼 수 있습니다. 예 를 들어 지난 5월 문제 유출로 SAT 시험이 전국적으로 취소된 사건이 있었습니다. 좋은 대학을 가기 위해 학생이나, 어른이 거짓말을 일삼는 안타까운 우리나라의 현실입니다. 이런 시점 에서 우리는 과연 수단과 방법을 가리지 않고 시험 성적에만 몰 두하는 행태의 교육이 진정 학생들의 성공을 위한 길인지 자신 에게 물어봐야 합니다. 다시 말해, 성적이나 좋은 대학이 인생 의 성공을 보장합니까? 우리가 흔히 생각하는 바와 달리 높은 SAT 점수 혹은 IQ가 성 공적인 미래를 보장한다는 증거는 어디서도 찾아볼 수 없습니 다. 최근 과학적 연구자료에서 찾은 성공의 비결은 어디에 있는 지 아십니까? 바로 인성에 있습니다. (Paul Tough의 책, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character 참조.) 예를 들어 MIT대학 학자들이 말하는 21 세기의 필수적인 능력/기술(skill set)은 대부분 인성과 관련된 것들입니다. 그런 까닭에 우리 학교에서는 A, P, I, S 네 글자 에서 따와 다음 4개의 인성을 강조합니다: Aspire(포부), Persevere(인내), Integrity(청렴), Spiritual Growth(영적 성장). 이러한 교육철학은 APIS 혼자만의 것이 아닙니다. 미국 Charter 학교들의 대표 네트워크 KIPP(Knowledge is Power Program)의 설립자 Mike Feinberg는 “훌륭한 교사는 교과 내용 가르치는 것에 그치는 것이 아니라 인생을 가르칩니다.

1. 본보기 되기

한 어머니가 어린 자녀와 함께 간디를 찾아갑니다. “선생님,

저를 도와주십시오. 제 아들이 설탕을 너무 많이 먹습니다.” 간디는 “다음 주에 다시 방문 주십시오.”라고 합니다. 일주

수학, 과학 이론을 가르치다가도 학생이 포기하려 할 때면 잠시 교재를 내려놓고 포기하지 않는 법을 가르칩니다.”라고 합니다. 이러한 교육 철학은 저소득층 학생들을 이끄는데 큰 성공을 거 두어 미국 21개 주 125개의 학교에서 KIPP의 교육 철학을 채 택한 바 있습니다.

Feinberg가 지적했듯이, 훌륭한 교육은 곧 인성 교육을 강조 한 교육입니다. 지난 5월 APIS는 국내외의 외국인 교사 100 여 명을 모시고 Literacy Conference를 개최하였는데, 콘퍼 런스를 총괄 지휘한 우리 학교 Literacy Specialist Suanne Forrester 선생님께서 토론 중 “Literacy 워크숍 모델의 진정 한 목적은 글쓰기, 독해력을 가르치는 것이 아닙니다. 학생 자 체를 가르치는 것입니다.”라고 말한 것이 인상에 깊이 남습니 다. 어떻게 명확한 동기나, 높은 기준 없이 좋은 글을 작성할 수 있겠습니까? 인내심 없이 어떻게 어려운 본문을 해석할 수 있겠 습니까? 물고기를 직접 잡아주기보다 잡는 방법을 가르치라는 명언처럼 단지 시험만을 위해 교육을 한다면, 학생은 좋은 성적 을 받을 수 있겠지만, 그보다 더 중요한 것 즉, 인생에는 큰 도움 을 주지 못할 것입니다. 그렇다면 어떻게 인성 교육을 효과적으로 실시할 수 있을까요? 첫째, 우리는 Growth Mindset(성장 마인드셋)이 필요합니다. 청렴, 인내, 포부는 타고난 것이 아닌 훈련을 통해 길러지는 것 이기 때문입니다. 둘째, 인성 교육 설계(목표, 의도)에 신경을 많 이 써야 합니다. 가령, “청렴” 수업을 개설하는 게 아니라 교실, 카페테리아, 화장실, 스쿨버스, 운동장 등 생활 전체에서 청렴 을 배울 수 있도록 해야 합니다. KIPP의 인성 교육을 위한 7가 지 전략을 통해 우리 부모님과 선생님들이 어떻게 인성을 잘 가 르칠 수 있는지 함께 생각해보고자 합니다.

4. 몸소 체험하기

학생들은 인성 교육의 결과 및 긍정적인 효과를 직접 느끼고 체험해야 합니다.

일 후, 다시 찾아온 아이에게 간디는 “설탕을 그만 먹으렴.”

5. 통합시키기

으면 왜 일주일 전에 안 하셨습니까?” 묻습니다. 간디는

수업 및 활동을 구상합니다.

말합니다. 그 어머니는 황당해하며 “그 말씀만 해주실 거였

이에 대해 이렇게 대답합니다. 왜냐하면, 일주일 전에는 저

수업 설계 시, 인성 교육도 함께 이루어질 수 있는 다목적의

자신도 설탕에 대한 집착을 버리지 못했으니까요.”

6. 장려시키기

2. 이름 지어주기

칭찬이 필요합니다.

위해서는 구체적으로 이야기하고 이름을 지어야 합니다.

7. 기록하기

3. 모범 사례 찾기

기록하고 토론해야 합니다.

인성은 무형일지라도 무엇인지 명확하게 알리고, 발전시키기

실제 혹은 가상의 예를 통해 인성에 대해 가르칩니다.

KIPP 모델은 우리의 인성 교육을 어떻게 발전시킬 수 있는지 다양 한 방법을 제안합니다. 첫 발걸음으로 우리 학생들의 성취를 단지 결과적인 측면에서 바라보는 것이 아니라 그러한 결과를 얻을 수

학생들에게 인성 관련해서 구체적이고, Growth Mindset

정기적으로 인성이 어떻게 계발되고 있는지, 향상되는지

있었던 배경, 즉 인성을 집중해서 바라봐주시기 바랍니다. 이러 한 생각은 우리가 더욱더 발전시켜나가야하는 인성을 발굴하는 데 도움을 줄 것입니다.

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Chaplain’s Corner Love is Armor “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus Our Lord.” Romans 8: 39 For Spring 2013, the Christian Life Center’s goal was to give voice to students.

5 seniors shared short testimonies, and we created a music CD titled, “Love is Armor,” which included the voices of students from every age group. The title song shows that love is much more than an emotion similar to joy and happiness or something that makes us feel good. As Pastor Zach shares, “In writing the song I wanted to remind us that love is strong, love is dangerous, love always protects, and love is armor.”

The students who worked most closely with Pastor Zach in creating the CD were the middle school and highschool worship team members. Jay Moon (Grade 12) shared his rapping skills in both English and Korean in the song “Simply Amazing.” Brian Kim (Grade 11) arranged a string piece for “Love is Armor” that features John Kim (Grade 10) on violin and Erin Yoo (Grade 12) on cello. Mrs. Holbrook also helped by composing the final horn section ensemble in “Make Sense.”

A team of elementary students also showcased their joy for worship in the chorus of two songs, “Every Move I Make” and “Jesus You’re My Superhero.” They also took part in the music video versions of both songs, bringing alive the joy that comes from depending on Jesus for every moment and through every trial.

Students also had help from Mr. Robert Sim, who helped with the recording, and Mr. Jeff Woodrow, who provided consulting to Lia Kim (Grade 8) to design the CD artwork. Pastor Zach not only gave voices to the students, but also exposed them to every stage of music production. As we plan for the release of our 2013 album we remember that creating an album was always about the process more than the product. For 2014, we look forward to involving even more students in this educational and spiritually transformative process.

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For chapel, Pastor Sam helped five seniors prepare their testimonies. Through interviewing them, he was able to help them discern what God has been teaching them.

Sean Park shared a reflection on how his mother’s communication style is different from the Holy Spirit’s. Because the Holy Spirit is more subtle, it is difficult sometimes to know God is there. However, Sean realized while his mother’s main goal is to push him toward certain choices, God’s goal is to help him develop a heart of love.

Joshua Yoon shared how the biggest stress of the college application process came in May, after he received his acceptances. He finally had to commit to one of two paths; he could pursue a traditional liberal arts education, or he could go to a conservatory and pursue a career in music. As a child of musicians, he knew well the difficulty of the path, but in his testimony, Joshua shared the process that led him to know that this was the road God was inviting him to travel.

John Park was unique in that instead of sharing what he knew, he shared what he

did not know. “I don’t know how to best relieve stress.” He shared stories about his adventures in boxing and weightlifting, described the effect of playing video games, and shared honestly about going out with friends. His conclusion was that none of these methods satisfied his need for peace in the midst of life’s stressful moments. He concluded that this must be something he could only get as a gift from God.

Jay Moon shared a poignant story about prayer. He was a sophomore when he

learned that his grandmother who helped raised him had passed away; and the news left him reeling in anger and frustration. In the midst of his emotional tsunami, he felt God calling him to pray. He resisted, but God persisted. Finally, he prayed and felt peace and strength. He realized then that God calls us to pray for our benefit.

Joanna Kim shared what it meant for her to learn that her name meant, “God’s

grace.” In 8th grade, her life was so hard that she figured that God was writing “A Series of Unfortunate Events” novel featuring her. This perspective of feeling cursed by God led her to be consumed by anger and sadness. However, through the patient love of friends and mentors, she saw that God was indeed sending her much grace, and this changed her perspective. This change of perspective led to a change in many relationships and was instrumental in her growth.

The common thread in all these student voices was that although our lives can feel like a battlefield full of pain and confusion, we have discovered that God’s love for us is armor.

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1. Where are you going to school now?

I am currently attending UC Berkeley. Although I wasn’t completely happy with my decision to come to Berkeley at first, I have come to love it and would not choose any other school over it. Berkeley is a unique college campus because of its heritage and environment. There actually are homeless people everywhere (most of them are really nice though!), hippies, and people with flamboyant fashion and loud riots--so if you hear anything crazy about Berkeley, it’s probably true. I was a bit overwhelmed at first, transitioning from sheltered APIS to possibly the most liberal school in the world, but I am honestly so happy that I am here at spirit-filled Berzerkeley!

2. What is your daily schedule like?

Because I am in the NROTC program, I wake up at 6 a.m. on most days. APIS Grace Kim (Class of 2012), left, trained me well for that, so that wasn’t much of a change. I didn’t know is a freshman at UC Berkeley what to expect about college life except for harder studies, and much of that majoring in Computer Science. is true. Since everyone lives in the same area, it’s easy to socialize with your friends. Living in the dorms is interesting; getting used to co-ed bathrooms took a while, but it’s all a part of the experience. I find that I have more time than I did in high school, so it’s just a matter of managing my time. There’s a lot more clubs, activities, so I look forward to getting more involved in the future.

3. Tell us about yourself as a student at APIS. What are some of your memorable moments at APIS? Coming to UC Berkeley was a big change because I couldn’t take advantage of all of the little perks I had at APIS’ small community. Many of my classes have over four hundred students, so it’s hard to ask questions, be involved in class, and interact with the teacher. At APIS, I didn’t appreciate being in a small, sheltered, community, but having small classes and being able to know almost everyone in school is a unique culture that can only be found in small schools. The biggest thing I miss about APIS is being able to play volleyball, basketball, and soccer. In college, it’s impossible to get the same experience with competitive sports unless you’re an athlete. I miss APIS dearly and I appreciate it a lot more now that I am in college.

4. What was the most challenging part in preparing for college applications? How did you manage it?

In preparing for college applications, all of the students in my class shared Mr. Maldonado (thank you so much for the time you invested in us!) and bugged him with every little thing in the application process.

Writing essays to fit every school was frustrating and tested my creative juices, but I also found ways to recycle some of my essays and lessen the load. I remember being busy with sports and maintaining my GPA, but I pushed myself to pour out all I could so that I would not have regrets. I tried to finish applications a week or two before the deadline just in case I had things to fix or something went wrong. This helped me to manage stress and allowed me to rest in between deadlines knowing that I did the best I could.

5. What programs or sessions at APIS were helpful in preparing for college applications?

The visits by representatives from different colleges helped me get to know places other than the Ivy Leagues and other popular schools. It broadened the scope of my choices and helped me realize that the world is bigger than what most people think. The writing workshops were useful, too. Getting help from teachers was also extremely helpful since a lot of them were in college not too long ago.

6. Lastly, what advice do you have for our seniors and juniors?

I know that SATs, APs, managing your GPA, playing sports, practicing your instruments, and all the other things you do may seem overwhelming now, but just know that it’ll be over soon. Persevere for now and you won’t regret it later! All of you will go somewhere, and you’ll love where you go if you let yourself be happy there. Enjoy high school while you can because you’ll miss everything about it - yes, even the color green!

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Elementary News What a difference a few months can make! Spring has arrived, the weather is warm, the flowers are in full bloom and the end of the school year is almost upon us. However, there is still a great deal to accomplish in the remaining days until the close of school on June 7.

A Few of the Happenings Since Our Last Newsletter As you will read further in this newsletter, APIS was granted a full six year’s continued accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. This was a result of our year-long self-study and an accreditation visit by WASC. Being granted full accreditation speaks clearly to the commitment of all involved at APIS into making this an exceptional school. We are proud of our teaching faculty for their dedication to students, effectively implementing best teaching practices and providing an advanced curriculum. This has all been supported by a wonderful parent community.

Our first international Literacy Conference has also raised the profile of APIS as a leader in education in Asia. From May 1 to 4 APIS hosted over 100 teachers from across Asia who came to learn about the workshop program we use in our Language Arts classes. These coaches and teachers received training from Ms. Maggie Moon, an expert in this approach, as they worked with our teachers and students learning how to effectively use this program when they return to their schools.

Other events included: twenty elementary students participating in the Seoul City Art Competition, with four of our students being award winners and all of our participating students having their work on display at City Hall; both the Grade 1 and Grade 2 classes presenting wonderful musicals which were great hits; and our “Write Across APIS” event which had every elementary student writing a piece based on picture

by Korean artist “Bisso” (Jong-Hae Jeong) and then having an opportunity to meet with him to share their writing and listen to how he creates his illustrations.

With so much to accomplish in the remaining weeks of school, our goal is to remain focused and finish strong.

Stephen Massiah Elementary School Principal

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Celebrating the Works of Our Great Writers March was a busy month for our student writers in the Elementary School. Grades 1 through 5 all held publishing parties showcasing different styles of writing they had studied and worked on all month.

The 1st graders completed their unit on realistic fiction where they wrote stories about characters similar to themselves. Through this unit, they learned about character traits and focused on ways to show how the characters are feeling through words and actions. The 2nd grade class had the opportunity to learn about non-fiction writing in their unit on informative books. In their writing, they focused on teaching their reader about a particular topic and incorporated their knowledge of non-fiction features such as headings and captions into their writing.

In 3rd grade, students read many mystery books and studied them to enhance their writing of their own mystery stories. Eventually, their books were published as hard cover books and presented at their publishing party. Their stories revealed their knowledge of how to build suspense, include clues throughout their writing, and set up a crime. Developing scenes and balancing dialogue and actions was the focus of the 4th grader’s adventure stories shared during their publishing party. Our 5th grade students rounded out the publishing parties by writing persuasive research based essays. Students chose their own topics and researched them thoroughly. They also completed a Fantasy unit.

Their stories and essays were published and made into digital books where they were displayed on iPads during the publishing party.

Elementary principal Mr. Massiah who attended each of the publishing parties congratulated the students and said, “I’ve been to 13 different schools so far, and I have never seen work produced at this kind of level!”

All of these publishing parties celebrated how hard our students worked on their writing and the many skills they learned through the various units.

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Pacific Pencil Publishing Party The end of the year is a very busy yet rewarding time for everyone, especially when reaping the fruits of our hard work and efforts.

On May 10, the elementary division celebrated the art and literary works of Kindergarten to Grade 5 students at the 3rd Pacific Pencil Publishing Party. Compared to last year, the third edition of the Pacific Pencil had about 20 more pages of student work, reflecting the growth of our elementary art and literacy program. Elementary Art Teacher, Mrs. Anna Sea, who was in charge of publishing the Pacific Pencil said, “We are very excited to share our students’ hard work in the classrooms and the art room. You will find how much our students have developed their writing and art skills.”

Asia Pacific International School’s Art & Literary Magazine (Pacific Pencil) is the result of collaborative efforts by elementary students, teachers, and parents. The cover, which was selected through a cover design competition, is an interpretation of what APIS will look like in Year 9099 by Alina Kim and Helen Kim (Grade 4). All the elementary faculty were involved in the planning of the magazine, and Philip Yoon’s (Grade 5) mom devoted many hours in designing the 100-page magazine.

At Pacific Pencil’s “art gallery,” visitors were invited to appreciate the art works, take pictures, write messages of encouragement, and also enjoy the refreshments prepared by our APIS moms. This year’s Pacific Pencil Publishing Party was all the more special as we invited a New York-based author/illustrator for children’s books, Ms. TaeEun Yoo, to give a presentation on the process of creating her book, “You Are A Lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses.” The book invites children to enjoy yoga by assuming playful animal poses. Students were particularly fascinated by the block printing process, which is how Ms. Yoo created the illustrations for her book. Many hands shot up in the air with “me! me! me!” echoing in the auditorium when Ms. Yoo asked, “Any volunteers?” The event ended with a cake-cutting ceremony and a group picture with Ms. Yoo. The third Pacific Pencil Publishing Party was a huge success!

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Students “Collaborate” with the Professional Illustrator, Bisso

Artworks by Jong-Hae Jeong (Bisso)

During the first couple weeks of April, APIS elementary students celebrated and participated in “Write across APIS.” This time was spent focused on writing and students were given the opportunity to write in a new and creative way. APIS was fortunate to receive original illustrations from the Korean artist, Mr. Jong-Hae Jeong (Bisso). These illustrations were distributed throughout the elementary school and students were asked to write a story inspired by the illustration of their choice.

After every class had the opportunity to write, the students’ writing was displayed around the school along with the original illustrations.

On Thursday, April 11, Mr. Jong-Hae Jeong came to APIS for a special visit. He took time to go to each classroom and tell them about his artwork. Students gasped in amazement when they saw his writing notebook. He keeps this notebook with him at all times and drafts his ideas throughout the day. Students loved seeing this because they have also been learning how to draft their ideas during the writing process. He also showed them how he comes up with new ideas for illustrations, when his mind is blank. He demonstrated how he scribbles on a piece of paper and then stares at the paper until he sees an image made from the scribbled lines. Mr. Jong-Hae Jeong also took time to answer questions and hear some of the stories the students wrote based on his artwork. For each of his drawings, he also had a story in mind so he was able to tell the students how their stories compared to his own. The most exciting part for some of the students was receiving Mr. Jong-Hae Jeong’s autograph and a personal drawing to accompany the autograph.

The “Write across APIS” event was a huge success as students enjoyed being creative, meeting the illustrator, and most importantly were encouraged to continue writing and to be excited about it.

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Elementary Students Receive Art Awards

Several young artists from APIS were recognized for their talents at the 2013 Seoul Friendship Fair. The Friendship Fair, sponsored by the City Mayor of Seoul, took place May 4 and 5 and was a multicultural celebration where many different nationalities were represented through art works, cultural performances and cuisine.

Artworks from 20 of our APIS elementary students were displayed near City Hall in a special exhibition at the fair. The artworks were focused on the theme “How I See Seoul in 2030” and were painted by students from international schools in Seoul. Some of our students received special awards for their paintings. Jiyun Jang (Grade 3B) received the excellence award, Ethan Kwon (Grade 4A) received an award for his art technique, John S.H. Kim (Grade 4B) received an award for composition, and Dae Ho Ha (Grade 5A) received an award for his idea/concept. These winners were also filmed as part of a video that was played during the exhibition. The winning artworks were also displayed in a special exhibition in City Hall from May 6 to May 26. Congratulations to all of our artists!

Angie Sohn Receives Prize from Music Contest

On March 9, Angie Sohn (Grade 2) was awarded the Grand Prize from a nationwide music contest hosted by Yeneung Music News. The contest attracted many elementary students from across the nation, and Angie was among the top 5 in the Orchestral Instruments category to be given an award. Angie said she first learned the violin when she was in first grade and was able to further her interest in second grade through her APIS music class, where all second grade students learn violin. “For three weeks, I practiced the violin for 40 minutes every day. I was so proud of myself when I received the award!” said Angie.

Congratulations to Angie Sohn!

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Grade 1 Musical: Goldilocks and the Three Bears Once upon a time, there was a little girl with long golden hair.

Her name was...

&

GOLDIL AND THE

CKS

THREE BEARS May 15. 2013•1:10 P.M.•AUDITORIUM

Every year the first graders put on a production for the school. This year the first graders chose to integrate the musical with their Reading Workshop Unit called Dramatization of Characters. First graders chose to perform the traditional children’s story called “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” The only difference from the traditional story is that this musical ends with the bears befriending Goldilocks. The children especially loved this ending.

Every week for about a month during the Reading Workshop, first graders learned the lyrics to the songs as well as the actions. Mrs. Park and Ms. Wheat worked with the first graders, teaching them how to project their voices to the audience as well as to speak clearly, fluently, with accuracy and expression.

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The first graders had a wonderful time practicing their parts and working hard to master their lines.

Because so many of the first graders have great singing voices, Mrs. Park and Ms. Wheat directed the play so that there would be several soloists.

The first graders loved their parts and LuLu Timpson said, “I really liked singing for my whole family.

I loved having everyone come to watch us. I was so thankful. I was a little scared so I just pretended that everyone was my family.”

All in all, the musical was a hit! The audience was very responsive and the first graders’ parents showered them with flowers at the end. School Director, Dr. Euysung Kim, said, “The first grade musical was simply awesome! I laughed, I cried! It was better than the musical Cats! Congratulations on a wonderful performance.”

Grade 2 Musical: The Weather Show

The Weather SHow E

QTAUDITORIuM P

pm 4/19 FRI day 2:00

W

PRESENTED BY 2ND GRADE & SERVICE LEARNING CLASS

Every year the second graders put on a musical but this year, they wanted to take it to the next level.

Ms. Stephanie Kwon’s Service Learning class and Ms. Elaine Lee’s second graders decided to put on the musical together! The musical, “The Weather Show,” fit perfectly with second grade’s science unit on weather.

A total of 36 students learned the lyrics to the songs, lines, created costumes and dance moves to their songs. It wasn’t easy finding a common time between the secondary and elementary division, but both classes made it work and the students not only learned a great deal about the content but bonded well with one another. The high school students were given the opportunity to take charge and share responsibilities while the second graders simply loved learning and performing with the older students.

The musical, staged on ??, was a huge success! The

On the day of the performance, April 19, the auditorium was a full house with teachers and students standing in the back. This was truly a memorable experience for all the students. “We now walk down the hallways and see the high schoolers and second graders wave and hug each other. We think we have accomplished our greater goal: creating a sense of community,” says Ms. Kwon and Ms Lee.

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Secondary News In his book, Abba’s Child, Brennan Manning writes, “Hope knows that if great trials are avoided great deeds remain undone and the possibility of growth into greatness of soul is aborted.”

One of the great challenges of educators is to somehow encourage our students toward the path of great trials, to a place of welcome discomfort where their mettle is tested and their mental horizons expanded. It is our challenge to guide students into a place where the risk of failure is mitigated by the reward of growth and deeper understanding. I think sometimes the danger is that we so fear failure, that we continuously intervene, swooping in to save students from their toil and whisk them to premature safety before they have actually had the chance to dust themselves off and try again.

When our children are young, they will try just about anything in school. When a teacher asks a question, every child is ready to give it a go and share their best guess. But slowly, an surely they begin to learn that getting it wrong is not acceptable, and they become more and more hesitant to put themselves out there and hazard a try. This is, perhaps, the greatest tragedy of institutionalized education.

Schools should not be measuring devices serving to categorize students and quantify intelligence or aptitude. Schools should be living laboratories where wonder and creativity and experimentation flourish, where students understand the value of exploration and have permission to take an educated risk.

Albert Einstein wrote, “It’s a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” At APIS we want to strive to create an environment where curiosity not only survives, but flourishes. Faculty and administration are committed to designing a school where students risk the road not taken and move beyond the basics of rote memorization and fact regurgitation, to become intellectual explorers who seek understanding. We envision a school where students and teachers come together as partners in learning and both hold each other accountable and hold each other up as we embark on a journey of growth and discovery.

I encourage parents and students and faculty to answer this call and step out of our comfort zones in pursuit of great deeds. I encourage us to recognize that what we embark on here transcends simply what we get out of it and has the potential to impact the world we come in contact with as we continue to grow and learn. Our first graduating class left the relative comfort of the nest last year to continue their adventure at prestigious universities both near and far from home. Soon a second graduating class will shake the dew from their feathers and fly into the great unknown as well. There will be trials, and tough times ahead, to be sure, but I am confident their time here at APIS has prepared them for whatever lies ahead. I look forward to watching them fly and I am so very grateful to have had the honor of being a part of their journey. Godspeed, seniors, as you grow into a greatness of soul.

Scott Paulin Secondary School Principal

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Message from the Dean of Students As we begin the final quarter of the 2012-2013 school year, I encourage all of us to look forward to the end of a wonderful school year with graduations, dances, AP tests and finals, lock-ins, and concerts. At the same time, let’s also remember the many exciting events and activities that have already taken place (carnival, high school peprallies, spirit weeks, retreats, and dress down days).

I would like to remind all students and families that the summer uniform began on April 1. Students are now free to wear either their summer or winter uniform; however, students should not mix and match the different uniforms. We believe that students wearing a clean, crisp school uniform better represent their school and themselves and will positively contribute to higher academic and social achievement. Also, students should not be wearing non-APIS jackets or hoodies to school. If you have any questions or need clarification of the uniform policy please check the school website or inquire with the school office.

If you have any questions or suggestions of how I can better support you and your family, please do not hesitate to contact me at mjohnson@apis.seoul.kr or stop by my office.

APIS Represented at SciMath Day

Matthew Johnson Dean of Students

The National Science Museum hosted the “SciMath Day” from May 25 to 26.

Booths with many creative hands-on activities were set up and run by students to encourage the learning of math. Among the 20 high schools selected from across the nation, APIS was the only international school and was represented by our high school students: Jeho Hahm, John Choi (Grade 9), Jackie Lee, Esther Kang, Christine Park (all Grade 10), and Joseph Kim (Grade 11). The activity our students prepared was called “땡땡이의 반란” (The Revolt of the Polka Dots). Visitors to the booth were given a 4 x 4 table with green, red, blue, and yellow stickers stuck on already, and the challenge was to figure out a way to stick the remaining stickers without using the same color more than once in each vertical, horizontal, diagonal line. Joseph Kim (Grade 11) said, “The activity we prepared was one of the most popular ones at the event. I really enjoyed working with my teammates and teaching kids how to have fun with math.”

The Second Annual Prom 2013

May 17, the school Prom, was the day the seniors of APIS have been waiting for. When students dressed in beautiful dresses, bows and ties arrived at the Riverside Hotel, they spent the first half hour talking and taking photos at the photo booth. While dinner was served, students cast their votes on the cutest couple, prince and princess, and queen and king. After all the votes were cast, C-Clown, a k-pop boy band and the Asian American pop group, Aziatix, performed their songs. Also, Brian Oh (Grade 10) performed a rap song. After all the performances, the cutest couple (Eric Park and Grace Park, Grade 10), the prince and princess (Chris Kim and Violet Lee, Grade 11), and the queen and king (Minhee Kang and Jason Chang, Grade 12) were announced. The three couples slow danced as the whole crowd awed. When the slow dance was over, people came up to the dance floor as the professional DJ turned the hall into a club. The fun-filled night, however, had to come to an end as the DJ ended his playlist. Students went back home, juniors, anticipating next year’s event, and seniors, filled with hope for their universities.

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Middle and High School Concerts Welcome Spring As singing birds herald the arrival of spring, APIS also welcomed and celebrated spring by hosting the Middle and High School Concerts on March 5 and 7.

The Middle School Chorus opened the concert with “Alleluia from ‘Exultate Jubilate’.” Like the Christmas concert, Mrs. Yoo Joung Chai (Joshua and Sarah Yoon’s mom) volunteered as the accompanist for the chorus. (Thank you!) In the Middle School Orchestra, conducted by Mrs. Jisung Park, a student solo (Chris Ahn, Grade 6, Violin) was featured in “Deep River (AfricanAmerican Spiritual).” While the Middle School Intermediate Band played two pieces based off music from the Renaissance 1400 - 1600, the Middle School Advanced Band played “Ceremony, Chant and Ritual” and “Vortex.” Before playing the music, Mrs. Sophie Holbrook reminisced, “This is the very first song I conducted when I came to APIS. At that time, Sally was in fourth grade. She now joins with us playing the same song as a middle school student.”

The High School Concert on March 7 flung the doors wide open to spring.

ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” opened the concert and the Chorus conductor, Mrs. Hye Kyoung Yoon, also joined in singing with the students. Although the entire three songs of the High School Chorus “Cantate Domino,” “Peze Kafe,” and “The Spinning Song” were sung without an accompanist, students nevertheless showed how a beautiful harmony can be created solely with the human voice. One of the highlights during the High School Chorus was “Peze Kafe,” a Haitian folk song. Mrs. Yoon explained, “This song is about a young boy who was sent to the market to sell coffee. He loses the coffee on the way and wonders what he will say to mom when he goes back home.” High School Orchestra, conducted by Mrs. Jisung Park, played impressionist pieces, “Ravel Suite for Strings” and Symphony No. 3 “Eroica.” The Jazz Band’s performance, conducted by Mrs. Sophie Holbrook, was in many ways “of the students, by the students, and for the students.” The Jazz Band’s “Something’s Gotta Give” featured Lia Kim (Grade 8) as a vocalist. With the famous saying, “People may not know jazz, but they know Take 5,” Jeho Hahm (Grade 9) also introduced “Take 5” which he himself and two other students arranged and rehearsed during last summer vacation.

During the Middle School and High School concerts, the band, chorus, and orchestra teachers all took a special moment to acknowledge the students who were selected to participate in KIMEA’s Middle School Honor Band Festival and the National Honor Festival (High School) back in February, which featured the top students from all international schools in Korea.

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The AMIS Choir Festival in Dubai Last February, some of our talented student musicians travelled to Myanmar to participate in the Asian Middle School Honor Band Festival in Myanmar. In March of this year, for the first time, our vocally talented students flew to Dubai and represented APIS at the AMIS (Association of Music in International Schools) International High School Honor Band and High School Mixed Choir Festival.

To participate in this festival, Chorus students, Joshua Yoon (Grade 12), Brian Park (Grade 11), and Jackie Lee (Grade 10) auditioned last year and diligently practiced 9 songs for two months upon acceptance.

The festival was held at the American School of Dubai from March 14 to 16 and was attended by more than 300 choir students from international schools around the world including Russia, Egypt, and Europe.

Students practiced from morning to evening for three days and the festival culminated in a performance on the last evening featuring songs including Arabian and South American folk songs in native languages.

AMIS, which also means “friend” in French, brings students from all over the world together through music.

What makes the festival a great learning experience is that students are taught by highly experienced conductors and university professors, which is a rare opportunity for students. Through practices, students learn from one another as well.

Mrs. Hye Kyoung Yoon, who accompanied the students said, “No matter how different we may be, our students realized that we can become one through music. And I think that was the most valuable experience for all of us.” To see our students perform at the AMIS Festival, please go to the following llink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2VhPvPYXwo

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KAIAC

Middle School Orchestra Festival

On March 20, seven APIS middle school orchestra students participated in the KAIAC (Korea-American Interscholastic Activities Conference) Middle School Orchestra Festival.

The festival was held at Chadwick International School and featured students from multiple schools in and around Seoul.

Participating students were divided into either Intermediate or Advanced Orchestra for the performances. They performed six different pieces: “Arlington Sketches,” “O Mio Babbino Caro,” “Fantasia on a Theme from Thailand,” “St. Paul’s Suite for String Orchestra,” “Farandole,” and “Arabian Dreams.”

KAIAC hosts many other festivals throughout the year including the Middle School and High School Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Honors High School Festival. The festivals are a great opportunity for our students to collaborate with other student musicians and perform as a large ensemble in front of other students, teachers, and family members.

KIMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival at Asia Pacific International School

On May 11, APIS hosted the inaugural KIMEA Solo & Ensemble festival. KIMEA (Korea International Music Educators Association) plans several music festivals each year, and this was the last one of this school year.

The Solo & Ensemble festival is for small musical ensembles where students perform as a soloist, duet, trio, quartet, or quintet in front of a judge. The judge listens and rates the performance with Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum based on the students’ musical abilities. Students who received Gold or Platinum were given a special medal that students wore proudly around their neck. Brian Kim (Grade 11) of the Clarinet Ensemble stated, “We were actually nervous and scared when we stood before the judge, but after a few minutes of playing, we forgot about our fears and absorbed ourselves into the melodies of Korsakov and Beethoven we played.”

It was a busy day with 180 students from 7 schools performing in 99 ensembles, but everyone had a good experience. Claire Park (Grade 8) said, “My first and only solo experience in the KIMEA Solo & Ensemble festival has given me a new desire and hope for more solo experiences in the future.” Congratulations to the 24 APIS students who received this honor and were awarded a medal!

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Ye Lim Lee Wins Bronze Medal at International Science Olympiad Ye Lim Lee (Grade 11) represented Korea and APIS at I-SWEEEP, the world’s largest science fair which focuses on energy, engineering, and environment, and brought the Bronze medal home!

In January of this year, Ye Lim participated in the K-SWEEEP (The Korea Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, Environment Project Olympiad) hosted by Korea Science Society. Contestants submitted 30 page-long research papers on the following topics: Energy, Engineering, and Environment, and those who were successful gave a 10-minute presentation on their papers.

Only five teams/individuals from the nationwide competition were awarded the first prize, and among them Ye Lim was the only student from a non-science high school (schools specializing in science). The prize-winning research is titled “Positive Stimuli of Weight Stress on Plant Growth,” and she explains that the plants and small flowers on the sidewalks or the road always made her wonder, “how can they grow well when there are pedestrians trampling over them?” The Korean farming practice of gently treading on barley plants also led her to think that there must be some positive correlation between stimuli and plant growth. She further developed these questions and conducted experiments to write-up a research paper, which took about a year.

Winners of the first prize were given the opportunity to advance to the international competition, ISWEEEP (International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering & Environment) Project Olympiad) in Houston, Texas. From May 8 to 13, Ye Lim, representing both Korea and APIS, participated in the competition where more than 50 different countries were represented. During the event, all the participants wore their traditional clothes and set up booths to display their works. The first day was a “public viewing day” where students introduced their research to the local people. The next day was the “judging day” and the judging panel visited each booth to evaluate the students’ research.

Though it was the first time for her to participate in an international competition, Ye Lim did very well and was awarded the Bronze medal in the “Environment” category. Describing the experience as eye-opening, she said, “I was fascinated to learn how many different approaches and ideas students can come up with in solving problems. The research students presented were very in-depth, which made it hard to believe that they were done by high school students!”

Congratulations to Ye Lim! 20

Asia Pacific Times ISSUE 12.

JOON KEE PARK RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

Each year, the Gates Millenium Scholars (GMS) program gives scholarship to 1,000 outstanding students in America. With this scholarship, students can pursue degrees in any undergraduate major at the accredited college or university of their choice.

From this prestigious program, APIS senior, Joon Kee Park, was awarded a 4-year scholarship.

This accomplishment was especially notable in the context of the more than 54,000 students who applied, making this year’s GMS recipients the largest and most competitive group of candidates in the program’s history. Being the only student from an international school in Korea to receive the award, Joon Kee’s story also attracted attention from the media and was featured in Maeil Business Newspaper, the fourth largest daily newspaper in Korea, and Joongang Daily.

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Like any typical high school student, Joon Kee loves soccer, likes to play the guitar, and actively participate in school clubs and activities. With his grandparents being from North Korea, and thus feeling a deep connection to North Korean issues, he founded a student club called Youth for Human Rights in North Korea. Joon Kee says, “APIS is a school that is open to new and different ideas. I think that is why I was able to found student clubs, and organize events like inviting defectors to give talks to students.”

Joon Kee plans to major in management science and engineering, and public policy at Stanford University starting fall 2013. Congratulations to Joon Kee!

Links: http://mengnews.joinsmsn.com/view.aspx?gCat=030&aId=2971378 http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?year=2013&no=370889)

APIS Hosts Literacy Conference with Maggie Moon From May 1 to 4, APIS had the pleasure of hosting a literacy conference called, “The Coaching and Teaching Institute with Maggie Moon.� Organized by our Literacy Specialist, Mrs. Suanne Forrester, this is the first time APIS has hosted a professional development workshop for teachers outside the APIS community. APIS invited Maggie Moon to lead this conference as she was a Senior Staff Developer at The Reading and Writing Project, at Teachers College, Columbia University for six years. Ms. Moon moved to Southeast Asia in 2007 and has since worked with international schools all over Asia, so it was very special to be able to host one of her conferences here at APIS. During the first two days of the conference, 30 Literacy Coaches and Administrators learned about building successful reading and writing programs in their schools. They worked in classrooms and with APIS teachers to model effective instructional strategies and develop leadership skills to take back to their own school. In the last two days, the coaches were joined by teachers from across Asia. Participants joined us from other schools in Korea and also from Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China. The two-day workshop for teachers focused on implementing Reading and Writing Workshop in grades K-8. Teachers watched videos of teachers and students in action, worked in small groups, and practiced new skills.

All in all, the literacy conference attended by 107 educators was a huge success!

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APIS is blessed with many talented students; but we are also blessed to have highly regarded and accomplished faculty. In March, Mrs. Suk Ja Kwon, who teaches Korean language and music, was honored by having her music ‘새봄’ (Early Spring) published in Korean middle school music textbooks. is an award-winning song (The 10th MBC Children’s Song Composition Contest/ ‘Golden Medal’) written and composed by Mrs. Kwon in 1992. This award is actually one of the many awards she has received as an educator, the most noteworthy awards including 국민훈장 목련장 (Order of Civil Merit, Mogryeon Medal) from the Korean President, two awards from the Minister of Education (교육부장관상), numerous composition and best conductor awards. ‘새봄’

“Recently I received a call from a teacher who told me she saw my song in the textbooks. I was elated to know that my song was published again by leading textbook publishers in Korea,” said Mrs. Kwon. To be independent from any type of pressure or influence in the selection of music, the textbook committees do not directly contact songwriters or composers. Thus, it is only after the textbooks are published that songwriters and/or composers get to know whether their works are published or not. With three additional textbooks this year, a total of four textbooks have published the song, ‘새봄.’

The music is beautifully written and composed, reflecting the vibrance of spring; but by exploring lyric by lyric with Mrs. Kwon, a newer and deeper understanding of ‘새봄’ is discovered. Mrs. Kwon explains that she wrote and composed ‘새봄’ when she was separated from her three young children who went abroad to study. “The flowers, ‘진달래’ (Azalea) and ‘개나리’ (Korean golden bell flower), are my two daughters who studied at the Julliard School in New York. ‘산새’ (mountain bird) is my son who studied at John’s Hopkins University,” explains Mrs. Kwon. Just as the gentle warm spring breeze brings good news, ‘새봄,’ is the long-awaited time when her son and daughters, upon completing their studies and achieving their goals, would all come together as one family again.

“Back then, students could obtain fluent English skills only by studying abroad. With excellent international schools like APIS, which offers an educational experience that was not available to students in the past, I think our students are very fortunate as can get quality education without having to be separated from their families. Moreover, APIS provides parents with numerous opportunities to be involved in their children’s education, which is one of the most critical elements for a successful school life,” says Mrs. Kwon.

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Other Accomplishments

Awards ◆ 대통령상 국민훈장 목련장 (1999년)

◆ ‘글샘’ 동인집에 ‘시’ 발표 (1992년 → 1996년)

◆ 교육부 장관상 2회 (1994년, 1997년)

◆ KBS 대구 방송국 어린이 프로 ‘모두 모두 자란다’ 심사 역임 (1981~1986)

◆ 건전 노래부르기 합창 경연대회 최우수 지도자상

◆ MBC 대구 방송국 ‘노래마당 한마음’ 주제곡 작사, 작곡

◆ MBC 대구 방송국 가족동요 ‘노래마당 한마음’ 심사 역임 (1991.12~1993)

(교육감상:7회, 교육장상: 7회)

◆ 대구광역시 어린이 독창 경연대회: 최우수 지도교사상 (시장상: 3회)

◆ KBS 대구 방송국 어린이 프로 ‘모이자 노래하자’ 심사 역임 (1994~1995)

◆ 전국 독창 경연대회: 최우수 지도자상 (4회)

◆ 대구시 교육청 주최 건전노래 부르기 합창 경연대회 다년간 심사 역임

◆ 대구 시내 교사 실기 대회: 독창 1등 (대구 시장상)

◆ 중 1 음악 교과서에 ‘새봄’ 등재:

◆ 제10회 MBC 창작 동요대회 ‘새봄’ 작사, 작곡 ‘금상’

◆ 두산(2004년 → 2009년)

◆ 제11회 MBC 창작 동요대회 ‘즐거운 우리집’ 작사, 작곡 입상

◆ 세광(2010.3 → 현재)

◆ 제12회 MBC 창작 동요대회 ‘동무생각’ 작사, 작곡 입상

◆ 교학사(2013.3 → 현재)

◆ 제1회 KBS 대구 창작 국악 동요대회 ‘우리 언니 시집가네’ 작사, 작곡 ‘대상’

◆ 천재교육(2013.3 → 현재)

◆ 제3회 KBS 부산 창작 동요 대회 작사, 작곡 입상

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Students Show Off Their Korean Language Skills The APIS Korean Department hosted a Korean Speech Contest for all Kindergarten through Grade 8 KAL (Korean as an additional language) students on April 25. The contest started with an opening Korean song, “Three Bears,” performed by the 1st Graders. Then, each student delivered a speech in Korean introducing themselves. Students spoke about their families, why they moved to Korea, what they liked to do for fun, and their favorite foods. Intermediate level students also spoke about the school and their dreams.

Each student prepared their own slides and wrote their English and Korean articles by themselves. These speeches gave the students an opportunity to practice many aspects of the Korean language and become more comfortable speaking Korean in public. APIS families and faculty came to watch the speeches and encourage the students in their efforts to learn Korean. The audience was impressed by how well the students did and how much they have learned in the past year.

Mrs. Emily Kim, APIS Korean Department Chair, remarked on how their “touching stories moved many of us” and how the “students showed great confidence in their ability to overcome challenges in learning unfamiliar languages.” This contest was just the beginning for the APIS language department as APIS continues to build East Asian competencies in our students and help them to acquire proficiency in at least two East Asian languages.

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Middle School Speech Contest For the past two months the APIS middle school worked hard preparing for the Speech Contest. Since the beginning of April, all students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade selected speeches, rehearsed their lines, and polished their performances. Students could choose from four categories including oral interpretation, original oratory, monologue, and duo. The activity required them to work on memorization, articulation, volume, speed, and gestures.

On May 14, groups of volunteer judges gathered in six different rooms to hear the finished products.

Students were separated by category to present to multiple judges. The performances blew the judges away, as the students’ expression and pronunciation exceeded expectations. After day one of the performances, the judges combined their scores to create a list of finalists for day two. On May 15, all of middle school was invited to the auditorium to view the final performances. Students presented a variety of performances from famous historical speeches to Broadway musicals. Each one was unique and wellexecuted.

Sophia Cho (Grade 8) won the Oral Interpretation category performing a collection of poetry from Shel Silverstein. Claire Park (Grade 8) wrote her own speech on boarding schools and won the Original Oratory category. Noah Kim (Grade 7) presented The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and received 1st place for Monologue. Shannon Yi (Grade 8) and Hannah Yoon (Grade 8) beautifully acted a scene from James and the Giant Peach, and took 1st place in Duo. “Due to the success of the Speech Contest, the middle school teachers are hoping to make it an annual event,” said Mr. Chris Stapleton.

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After School Activities: Drama Club

Poe! Poe! Poe!

By Mr. Sean Forrester

In the fall of 2012, the APIS Drama Club began its mission and vision of bringing staged productions to the community. Students learned how to work together while demonstrating the characters of a dramatic literary work, as well as exploring the personal side of theatre in learning how to act and create movement on stage. The club considered many options for their first play and chose to entertain teachers and the students of APIS with a retelling of the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Cast: Edgar Allan Poe was played by Seth Forrester (Grade 7), with supporting actors 1-5, Alvin Jo, Sophia Cho, ShinYoung Lee, Andrew Kim, and Michelle Suh (all Grade 8). Lights and sounds were controlled by Ara Cho (Grade 10) and Jaewon Choi (Grade 8).

Director: Mr. Sean Forrester. Also performing from HS Forensics were Shreya Mitra (Grade 12) and Brian Kim (Grade 11).

“Poe! Poe! Poe!” is a play written by Kathryn Schultz Miller, depicting the tragic moments in Poe’s life and how that impacted his writing. Known for his suspense, and the short stories and poems that framed the Gothic literary works in American literature, Poe is shown through his romance and melancholy in writing such works as “Annabel Lee” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The favorite part of this play for the cast was the retelling of “The Masque of Red Death.”

Special thanks goes to Dr. Kim, Mr. Paulin, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Wenzig, Mr. Cho, and Mr. Sim for their support in bringing this play to APIS.

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Counselor from the Chinese Embassy Visits APIS

On April 3, APIS warmly welcomed the Counselor at the Chinese Embassy, Mr. An, to our school. The visit was made following the 5 million KRW grant APIS received in the form of books and teaching resources from the Chinese government. In appreciation of the generous donation, representatives of our secondary students taking Chinese expressed their gratitude in fluent Chinese, and also shared their wonderful experience in China during the “Chinese Bridge Summer Camp,” which was also made possible thanks to the Embassy’s support. At the end of the ceremony, APIS also presented a plaque of appreciation for the continued support over the years. Counselor An spoke highly of the Chinese language and culture program at APIS and said the Embassy “will continue to give strong support to encourage the efforts of the students to learn the Chinese language so as to promote friendly relations between China and Korea in the future.”

APIS Granted a Continued Six-Year Term of Accreditation from WASC! Shortly after APIS began, it sought out accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), which is one the most prominent school accrediting organizations around the world. Accreditation is given only to schools that meet a high level of organizational and support criteria. WASC carefully examines the school’s history and support systems to ensure it offers a top quality program that can be sustained.

Following the initial visit by WASC in 2009, APIS received a three year accreditation term, the maximum possible from a first visit. During the 2011 – 2012 school year, with input from faculty, parents and students, the school wrote and submitted a one-hundred and eighty page report on the school’s progress over the past three years. This was followed, in October 2012, by a five-day visit by four representatives from WASC who reviewed the progress of the school and submitted their report to the WASC board of governors.

In March 2013, APIS received notification from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges congratulating us on the quality of the school and our plans for continued growth. As a result, APIS was granted the six year maximum term of accreditation from WASC.

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Culture Fair: Around the World in One Day! “Around the World in One Day Culture Fair” on May 22 was a huge success. Organized for the first time, and headed by Mrs. Shelly Maldonado, the goal of this event was to open the hearts and minds of our students to different cultures.

A total of 26 cultures were represented from around the world. Several parents, community members, teachers, and high school students represented a culture and prepared finger food, activities, and games to help elementary and middle school students better understand their culture.

Shinyoung Lee (Grade 8) said, “I didn’t realize there were so many people from different cultures at our school.”

In the beginning, students watched an opening video that welcomed each culture in their respective languages and showed a clip of traditional dances from that culture. Students were then able to “travel around the world” with their toy passports to experience each culture. In addition to the cultural booths, there was a captivating Indian dance performance by professional dancers from the Indian Cultural Center. Some students were invited onto the stage to learn how to do some of the traditional Indian dance moves.

Throughout the day, students and staff enjoyed wearing traditional clothing, food tasting, and playing games. When asked what students thought about the culture fair, Louise Choi-Schattle (Grade 2) said the culture fair was “an inspiring event to learn about cultures from around the world.” First grade student Jean Lee said his favorite part was “going for the food at South Africa and the frog coqui at Puerto Rico.”

In Kindergarten, Johnny Ahn said his favorite was Australia; his friend Jason Kim said “Japan was my favorite”; and Jiwoo Jung said, “South Africa was my favorite because my grandparents live there.” Third grade student David Lee said his favorite was the candy from Kazakhstan. Although students could not agree which culture was their favorite, the culture fair left students with happy memories and connections with cultures from around the world.

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Asia Pacific International School

Class of 2013 ď ¨ College & University Acceptances ď § Art Center College of Design University of the Arts London Babson College Barnard College Binghamton University (4) Boston College (2) Boston University (3) University of British Columbia (3) Brown University Buffalo State College of SUNY University at Buffalo The State University of New York (2) University of California at Berkeley University of California at Davis (3) University of California at Irvine (7) University of California at Los Angeles (3) University of California at Merced University of California at Riverside University of California at San Diego (8) University of California at Santa Barbara University of California at Santa Cruz (2) California College of the Arts California Institute of the Arts Case Western Reserve University Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music University of Colorado at Boulder (2) Colorado State University University of Connecticut Cornell University Drexel University Duke University (3) Emory University George Washington University University of Georgia Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Hult International Business School University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (8) Indiana University at Bloomington (4) Johns Hopkins University Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences Kingston University Lehigh University Maryland Institute College of Art

University of Massachusetts, Amherst (4) University of Miami Michigan State University (3) University of Michigan (3) Middlebury College University of Minnesota, Twin Cities New York University (3) University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Northwestern University (2) University of Notre Dame (2) Ohio State University Parsons The New School for Design (2) Pennsylvania State University, University Park (12) Pepperdine University (2) University of Pittsburgh Pomona College Pratt Institute (2) Purdue University Rhode Island School of Design Rice University Savannah College of Art and Design School of the Art Institute of Chicago (3) School of the Museum of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts (3) University of Southern California (5) Stanford University State University of New York at Albany Stony Brook University (3) SUNY College at Oneonta Swarthmore College Syracuse University (2) Texas A&M University University of Texas, Austin (2) University of Toronto Tufts University Vanderbilt University Vassar College University of Virginia Washington University in St. Louis (3) University of Washington (4) Wellesley College Williams College University of Wisconsin, Madison (6)

Number in parenthesis denotes more than one acceptance

www.apis.seoul.kr

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Editorial Team: Euysung Kim Director / Michelle Chang Art and Design Editor / Keumjo Shim Communications Officer / Ashley Stapleton Writing Staff