NEWSWEEK
North London Collegiate School Jeju
WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
12 March 2021
MATHS ENRICHMENT WEEK MEET THE TEACHERS STUDENTS JUNIOR SCHOOL ARTS
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A Letter From The Principal Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of NLCS Jeju Subject enrichment weeks are a much loved tradition at NLCS Jeju as they allow students and teachers to experience new ideas and activities around their favoured subjects. The relevant academic society and the subject department work together and plan an exciting and thought provoking programme. This provides many students with further opportunities and experiences as you will see from the focus on Mathematics this week. As we come together as school and are able to participate once more as a community it is important to stress how important it is that we think of others and support each other. It is very clear that for some of our community this past year has proved very difficult as they have been separated from loved ones, have experienced isolation and are finding it difficult to respond to the needs of others and the responsibilities we have for those around us. Being part of a community has responsibilities as we need to live together and to be aware of the feelings of each other. I remind all our students to think of those around them: to show pride in being part of North London Collegiate School Jeju, to be inclusive to everyone in our community, caring and supportive and to live the values that we believe in. I am delighted that we have our Spring Concert tonight with many students performing from across the school. I encourage you to watch our inspiring students perform this evening and to celebrate their successes. The concert is being streamed so all can enjoy it! Yours sincerely, Lynne Oldfield Principal
North London Collegiate School Jeju
FOCUS ON MATHS!
North London Collegiate School Jeju
As we come to the end of an incredibly successful Maths Enrichment Week, we are delighted to focus on what makes Maths so successful in our School. Many of our students go on to study Maths and related fields after being inspired here at NLCS Jeju. We talk to teachers and students about why they are passionate about Maths. Read on and tell us what you think.
A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF MATHS MS. DUYGU BULUT
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Welcome to the NLCS Jeju Mathematics department’s newsletter! It has been a privilege for me to participate in the amazing opportunities our ambitious Maths department provides for our students inside and outside of the classroom. The Maths faculty ensure that each of our students matters and reaches their fullest potential, embracing challenges and exploring Mathematics to their own joy and satisfaction. As the Head of Maths, I delight in the successes of our students and faculty. Our students participate in international and national competitions and achieve outstanding results. They enrich our intellectual environment by giving lectures and introducing other students to Mathematics’ radiant beauty. They write mathematical papers and publish maths journals, organise and lead events such as maths enrichment week and mathematics exhibitions. They work hard, prepare for, apply and then study at the top universities which is a testament to their commitment. Our dedicated Maths faculty delivers outstanding lessons but also provides a wide range of Maths activities as part of our school’s extracurricular activities program such as exploring maths CCA, writing mathematical papers CCA, Competitions CCA and KS3 UKMT CCA which prepare our students for their future education and empower them to become independent learners. The Mathematics department will continue to work hard to maintain very high-quality educational standards and we are grateful for all the support our school community provides. Ms. Bulut shares with us the reasons why she decided to become a Maths teacher - and why she loves being at NLCS Jeju. “I have grown up with the ideals of my father who is the most dedicated teacher I have ever seen. He worked with students, who were not as lucky as ours, for many years, under difficult conditions. With his dedication and endless passion, he changed many of his students’ lives. I witnessed first hand how a teacher can turn miserable lives into bright futures.
North London Collegiate School Jeju
I saw the children of very poor and uneducated families’ become doctors, teachers, musicians and then share the same passion with their people. That fascinating experience made me see education as the strongest tool in a person’s life. I decided to be a teacher there and then. I was taught by very dedicated teachers and I will never forget them...Actually one of them will lecture NLCS Jeju students during Maths Enrichment Week. The beauty of teaching, its knock on effects on people, the network it creates, how it unites and brings people together who would never know each other if that passion was not there, is just incredible. I have always loved numbers and playing with them which made me study Mathematics and Computer Science at Cankaya University with a full scholarship. After completing my Bachelor’s degree I started my Master’s degree in Bilkent University again, with a full scholarship. I was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and sent to the States to continue my education at Iowa State University. I also visited and observed schools in Iowa, Washington DC and Chicago for a short time. After working in Turkey for 8 years I moved to South Korea with my family. I have been teaching in NLCS for the last 6 years and it has been a true pleasure to teach students who are so passionate about teaching and learning. It is very rewarding to be here together with a very ambitious and stimulating group of Maths faculty and students.”
MS. DUYGU BULUT
MATHS TEACHERS
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Our Maths teachers have to keep up with some of the most diligent and capable students in the world! So we are very proud to have such a talented Maths Faculty. As one of our largest departments we don’t have space to mention them all but we talked to a selection in both Senior School and Junior School.
Hayeon Park - Senior School Maths Teacher “I’ve always known I wanted to become a Maths teacher (since I was in Year 9 myself!), but the passion was driven from questioning why humans had to learn Maths in their youth and the reasons what they’ve learned will be beneficial for them in the future. To do so, I studied Economics at the Warwick University, and then jumped into the field of Management Consulting in Deals in the Big 4 based in London. I even worked as a part time waitress in a super fancy Cantonese Restaurant in London (I’ve served Gordon Ramsey’s family there!) to see whether what I’ve learned in IGCSE and IB Maths are of any use. After 6 years of wandering around in diverse subjects and fields, I was convinced that Senior School Maths is crucial. No matter what kind of job you do, you will be crunching numbers and handling data. For young adults, it is very difficult to see many years ahead of their lives, and some tend to want to give up on Maths as early as possible. So I want to bring this Maths evangelism into education and try to support those who lack interest to ensure all the essential needs are met for their future career.”
MEET THE TEACHERS
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Tom Pettifor - Senior School Maths Teacher Head of Year 12 “I read Mathematics at the University of Oxford for 4 years, gaining my degree as a Master of Mathematics. My areas of specialism were Complex Analysis, Mathematical Biology & Physiology and Numerical Methods. As part of my Master’s, I wrote my dissertation on discrete and continuum models for in vitro tissue growth under the supervision of three world leaders in the field. I realised that my favourite aspect of Mathematics was being able to use my own knowledge to help others to understand a concept in an intuitive way, which led me to go directly into teaching after I graduated. I have now been teaching at NLCS Jeju for almost 5 years and I love how much I am able to directly use my experience of Mathematics at a high level. We have so many students who have a passion for the subject and are not shy about challenging their teachers intellectually.
I particularly enjoy being able to prepare some of our students for further study in Mathematics as this enables me to work with some incredible mathematicians. I still keep in touch with some of our alumni who are continuing to study Mathematics and it is wonderful to see the foundation of knowledge that we help them to build being used to accomplish incredible things.
Minsoo Cha
North London Collegiate School Jeju
I completed a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research and Statistics at the University of Auckland. I am currently working towards a Master’s degree in Educational Studies at the University of Queensland where I also completed my Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education specialising in Mathematics. I joined NLCS Jeju in August 2014. Prior to this I taught in Brisbane, Australia. A passion of mine is Mathematics beyond the curriculum. During my teaching career, I have organised numerous maths trips all over the world and also coordinated many Mathematics competitions within and outside of school. For the last few years, I have worked as the Representative of Korea for the International Mathematics Modeling Competition, involving a number of top high schools in Korea including NLCS Jeju. I love preparing and guiding students for Mathematics competitions, I particularly cherish the ‘now I get it’ moments. I specialise in Statistics and Data Analysis and it is truly fulfilling to be able to pass this knowledge on to my students, especially as it can help them in multiple subjects beyond Mathematics! The best part of working at NLCS Jeju has been the appreciation I get from the students, parents and colleagues. I value all of the special visits from students that I have taught in the past as it truly feels like my hard work is valued. I also thoroughly enjoy my name appearing in the school’s newsletter!
MEET THE TEACHERS
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Mr. Will Hebbron I read Pure and Applied Mathematics, with Philosophy at Sheffield University and have taught Mathematics in the UK, China and South Korea. I have been at NLCS Jeju since 2018, and feel a strong connection with the School because my mother was an NLCS London student in the 1960s. I love the variety and range of classes of a large school like NLCS. It is a fun and motivating challenge to move between lively activities and silly humour in a Year 7 class, and high level conversation (and perhaps still some silly humour) with IBDP students. I feel very fortunate to be part of an incredibly talented team of Maths teachers, and I am constantly learning and improving my teaching practice with them as we work towards our common goal of inspiring NLCS Jeju students with the beauty and power of Mathematics.
MATHS SOCIETY AND ENRICHMENT WEEK
North London Collegiate School Jeju
The Maths Society is a group of exceptional and active mathematicians. They share a deep love of Maths and want to pursue their interest outside the classroom. Our current Maths Society are Chair - Sean Yoon Publicity Officer - Jisoo Shin (12) Secretary - Ji Woo Shin (11) Members - Eileen Kwak (12) Daniel Seungwon Yoo (11), William Yejune Kim (11), Elin Yoonseo Cha (11),Yuree Oh (11), Sarah Seoyoon Park (11), Eddie Kyubin Min (10), Dongho Joey Yang (10), James Daewoong Kang (10), Aaren Junseok Kang (10), Sehun Jeong (10) The Maths Society has really pulled out all of the stops for Maths Enrichment Week! They have shared all the activities that have been on offer this week!
MATHS SOCIETY AND ENRICHMENT WEEK
North London Collegiate School Jeju
PAC Exhibition The Maths Society hosted an art exhibition in the PAC foyer. Each of the projects that students created are related to mathematics, such as using projective geometry or trigonometry. There was a beautiful video exhibition in the Ticket booth, where students observed new media art, created using mathematical concepts such as Bezier curves. Also, during the week, Students could touch a cone that rolls uphill, see how probability can be tricky, and how a cup could be transformed into a donut.
North London Collegiate School Jeju
MATHS SOCIETY AND ENRICHMENT WEEK
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Maths Activities Throughout the week, there were many interactive games and activities related to mathematics in front of the library! These included • Lights out game • Poker • Chaos There were lots more related to matrices, probability, and Iterative Function Systems. Sweets were given out as prizes for an added incentive!
Maths Concert Night The Maths Society Concert workshop event was designed for Year 11 and 12 students.The evening featured a competition and guest lectures. Professor Salomon from France and Professor Sermutlu from Turkey delivered lectures on error-correcting codes and Monte Carlo simulations! After the lectures, a short musical performance provided by Sonitas rounded off the evening. The workshop ended with an IA help session led by Mr. Julien Munier.
MATHS SOCIETY AND ENRICHMENT WEEK
NorthLondon London North Collegiate School Collegiate School Jeju Jeju
Fundraising Postcards designed by Sean Yoon were on sale in the week. Each of the postcards represents a mathematical concept or theory. If you purchased the postcards, you also received a Guide that points out the smallest details on the postcards.The profit of 303,000 KRW will be donated entirely to a local orphanage and a North Korean defector’s school. The postcards are beautiful and may become a collector’s item! Take a look at a range here -
Maths Journal
North London Collegiate School Jeju
This publication is incredibly professional and has been a real highlight of the week. Maths Society members have also worked relentlessly to produce the very first NLCS Mathematics Journal.The Maths Society, Maths Publication CCA, and the Statistics and Modelling enterprise joined forces to write and edit articles from August 2020 till now. The result is a very professional journal which can be seen HERE. If you didn’t manage to get hold of a copy then please see Sean Yoon.
Student Lectures
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Year 12 students delivered lectures to Year 10 and 11s. Sean Yoon addressed Year 11 on mathematical modeling and potential IA topics in modeling. For the Year 10s, Jisoo Shin and Eileen Kwak spoke on optical illusion. This lecture was very interactive and students made their own kaleidoscope and discovered the wonders of optical illusion.
Jisoo Shin
MATHS STUDENTS
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Joongi Joon Park - Year 13 Joongi Park will read Mathematics at University next year. We interviewed him here a few weeks back about his acceptance by the University of Cambridge. He tells us about his choice and why it’s important to be flexible - you might start out with one idea in mind but your passions can and will change and develop! “There are various aspects when it comes to selecting a major. For me, I think that the fundamental objective is to balance what you love and what you excel at. Not to boast, I did not dream of becoming a mathematician while I did build a strong career in Mathematics. It was a great honour to represent my school in every Maths competition and winning outstanding prizes. However, I did this to write my award in my university application, not merely because I love mathematics. The moment when I started to love mathematics was when I worked with the NLCS Mathematics department. Primarily, I wanted to study Biology in the future and selected Biology as my Extended Essay subject, with a topic of understanding the function of DNA. Conducting research, I was attracted to the 3D structure of DNA. My Maths teacher, Ms. Bulut supported me massively although I changed my subject right before the first draft deadline. Understanding the mathematical logics in other areas was a joy for me. As a would-be mathematician, I want my work to be used, rather than be tucked away in some obscure library storage room. This is why I want to expand further and understand the issues encountered by those in the other fields, to bring a mathematical light to those grey areas. The Maths department in our school supported me in creating a milestone that I can start on with.”
Sean Seonghyun Yoon, Year 12
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Sean Yoon is one of the most passionate mathematicians in the School. As Chair of the Maths Society he has really helped drive this Maths Enrichment Week. His love for Maths really shines through in every conversation. He tells us “Does a straw have only one hole, or two holes--after all, how do we define a “hole”? Can one infinity be larger than another? What is “volume” in the 7th dimension?
MATHS STUDENTS Sean Seonghyun Yoon, Year 12 Mathematics allows our imaginations to soar high, let free from any physical limitations as human beings. What do I mean by this? By defining a hole in the most mathematically rigorous way, we are able to determine the number of holes on any geometric structure, without having to physically look around it and count the number of holes on it. By defining “countable infinity” and “uncountable infinity,” we are able to use our abstract thinking to get a shocking result that some infinities might be larger than others. The same goes for multidimensional structures; we extend our imagination to higher dimensions without having to physically visit it, and the equations will do the rest. Eventually, mathematics is all about imagination and creativity. Since there are no limits to human imagination, there are no limits to mathematics. Through imagination, creativity, and abstract thinking, we are able to do almost anything in mathematics. (with the exception of some “impossible” things stated by Godel’s incompleteness theorem) I think that this limitless ability of mathematics is what made me fall in love with mathematics. Ms. Cha, Mr. Pettifor, and Mr. Munier have all inspired me in different ways. Ms. Cha encouraged me to participate in Maths research competitions such as HiMCM or the IMMC, which provided me with firsthand experience in Maths research. Mr. Pettifor guided me through the beauty of Maths, with his love for bifurcation theory, logistic maps, and various other fields. Mr. Munier has taught me so many interesting concepts in mathematical analysis, such as Lagrange interpolation or the Epsilon-delta definition of limits.
Thanks to these people, I really gravitated towards mathematics when I began thinking about my intended major. I want to study Mathematics or statistics at university for both my undergraduate and graduate degree, without any question. After then, I want to pursue my doctorate degree, however, physics and computer science are also areas that never cease to intrigue me. So, I want to pursue a doctorate degree in order to go deeper into these fields. I may change my mind then, but after receiving my degrees, I wish to establish my own tech startup. My piece of advice for young mathematicians would be to “try everything.” Granted, almost any competition or course can seem daunting; I know this because it was the same for me. When I first tried the HiMCM, a mathematical modelling competition, in Year 10, I could barely write a math report, let alone write 25 pages. When I look back and read the first 5-page report I produced for the HiMCM, I am always shocked about how bad it is. But as I participated in more and more research competitions through 3 years; I became much used to using report writing software such as Overleaf, developed a greater understanding of mathematical concepts, and gained firsthand experience of applying math to address real world questions - now, mathematical writing is even one of my favourite hobbies! So, I want to tell younger students to try everything and never give up. Some good olympiads to start with might be the AMC, UKMT, ARML local, or NEAMC. The website “Art of problem-solving” could also be very helpful. For Maths research, HiMCM, IMMC, or M3C might be good places to start. I would also suggest joining the Maths Society or Maths circles in Korea from an early age, so that you not only learn math from your peers but also gain some firsthand experience of how these organisations operate. “
MATHS STUDENTS Yejune (WIlliam) Kim, Year 11 All my life I have been an avid mathematician. At first, I was solely enthralled by the numbers involved in everyday activities – I read car license plates, felt satisfaction when I arranged books in numerical order and memorized ways to read large numbers that fulfilled my desire. As I grew up, I began to love true mathematics - learning new mathematical concepts and solving problems. Here in NLCS Jeju, I have many opportunities to pursue my mathematical interests. The NLCS Jeju Maths department significantly contributes to my mathematical growth with entries into UKMT, BMO, NEAMC, and WMC. All the teachers from the NLCS Jeju Maths department are pivotal in my mathematical chase. But just to mention a few, Mr. Robbins has inspired me by assisting me whenever I faced a challenging problem, Mr. Pettifor has motivated me by introducing novel methods or perspectives on mathematical problems, and Mr. Munier has spurred me to explore the astonishing properties of mathematical concepts. One such example was Pascal’s Triangle that I had written an article about.
NLCS also furnishes mathematical experience outside of the curriculum. I am involved in Exploring Mathematics CCA and Math Publication CCA. Both CCAs substantially motivates me: I learn new mathematical concepts every week in Exploring Mathematics CCA (thanks to Sean) such as Groups and ascertain obscure properties of renowned mathematical theory or concept – such as Pascal’s Triangle – in Math Publication CCA (thanks to Mr Munier). Maths Society is another place where I learn more profoundly. It is a place where I exercise my passion, by encountering various mathematical concepts each week. With all these opportunities, I am certain that I’ll be able to follow my dream of mathematics.
James Kang, Year 10 My view about mathematics is that it is a problem solving subject. Maths often involves critical thinking and handles tangible evidence with rational, unbiased judgements. I enjoy Maths because of its certainty and objective approaches, and this is what differentiates Maths from any other subjects. The moment of solving a question that seemed to be contradictory and impossible to solve is satisfactory and it inspires one’s curiosity and desire for a harder challenge. Furthermore, learning mathematics is a process of building up one’s knowledge. For instance, you can’t learn calculus without the prior knowledge of algebra. In maths, a skill that has been taught before is used to learn a new concept, and this makes the basics of mathematics important. Mathematics is a subject that constantly brings one challenges. However, I think that it is nothing to be afraid of, but something to be excited about. Everything about Mathematics is a fresh, brand new challenge, and this should be something that anyone could look forward to.
Jiwoo Shin, Year 11 I first fell in love with Maths when I realised that Maths is not just a collection of complicated calculations and problems, but a philosophy that acknowledges the aesthetics of nature and science that shows us how to communicate with the world. NLCS Jeju provides great experiences for me to expand my interest in Maths, such as being involved in the Maths society and organising exciting events like the Maths Enrichment Week, and participating in amazing competitions like the World Mathematics Championship. I have many equally passionate friends who can share their mathematical knowledge with me and teachers who are always keen to answer my questions and teach inspirational approaches to Maths. I am really looking forward to my mathematical journey here at NLCS Jeju.
MATHS IN THE JUNIOR SCHOOL
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Mr. Simon Downes - Head of Maths We are very lucky to have Mr Simon Downes and Ms Vivienne Brooks guiding our Junior mathematicians. Mr Simon Downes is Head of Maths. He tells us what brought him here and who inspired him. His appreciation of and respect for our children shines through in all that he says. “So, one sunny afternoon, not long before I finished my first degree and not a clue what I was going to do next, I happened to be sitting watching Blue Peter (literally the one time had watched it since I was in Year 7) and they had a feature on teaching. At that moment, a switch flicked in my head, and I knew that was my destiny. I also knew it had to be Maths.
Picture taken last year.
North London
Looking back, I can see that I had one or two very serendipitous events in my early teaching Collegiate School Jeju career, which definitely shaped my philosophy for the better. On my PGCE I was mentored by a lady called Sue Pope, who is very active within the ATM (www.atm.org.uk), and the pedagogy that I was exposed to from the very infancy of my career was amazing. In fact, the mathematical origami project currently underway in The Junior School, I first learned at an ATM Easter Conference and what we produced during one evening is what I aimed to emulate here, this week. Secondly, I met the most inspirational person I have ever had the pleasure to meet – Richard Dunne whilst studying for a Masters module at Exeter University, whilst in my fourth year of teaching. He opened my eyes to how essential it is that mathematical concepts begin in a concrete and visual sense, before entering the world of abstraction. In hindsight, I can see that what he ultimately formalised was pretty much what a certain Dr Fong was also formalising in Singapore. An amazingly influential person to have met at the beginning of my career. After 20 something years of working in the UK it was the perfect time to come to NLCS Jeju Junior School. Here I have time to plan the activities that the students deserve. And working in a Junior School for the first time in my career just feels right. It is difficult to overstate just how fabulous it is to work with the students here at NLCS Jeju, and difficult for me to articulate just how much I enjoy it. Seeing our Year 6’s venture to all parts of both The First and Junior School, instructing them on how to do mathematical origami, and watching our students tear around the site solving mathematical problems has been a real pleasure to experience this week.
Students
North London Collegiate School Jeju
It’s very hard to single out amazing Junior School mathematicians as every class we see and every child we talk to is completely enthused about Maths in all its forms. Two Year 6 students - Lena Ko and Ella Jo tell us why Maths at NLCS Jeju is just great! Ella Jo has been at NLCS Jeju since Year 4. She joined with a love of learning Maths already in her psyche and this has only grown in the last three year! “Learning Pi and Squares and roots really helped me and made me really understand Maths. I love problem solving and doing investigations in Maths. My sisters love Maths and I want to be like them. I am very competitive, too - so when they win competitions I want to!! I love being taught by Ms. Brooks as she tests our knowledge a lot and it makes me really want to be the best!”
Students
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Lena Ko joined us in Year 1. “Maths is a really creative subject and it helps you use your imagination. Ms. Brooks is a wonderful teacher - she really challenges us - and the other students really challenge me! We mainly do individual work but we did some team activities for Maths Enrichment Week this week - and we were running around school for a Maths Treasure Hunt. It was fun!” Lena is a great example of balance - as well as her talents in Maths she loves English and takes pride in having already been in the newsletter with her work on The Titanic!
Maths Origami Project
North London Collegiate School Jeju
The main Maths Enrichment Week event in the Junior School has been an ongoing Maths Origami Project with Year 6 classes coaching and leading the younger students. Mr. Simon Downes ran a starter assembly on Monday with all Year 6 students on Monday morning. Year 6 students then joined Maths classes in all years, showing their younger peers how to make a mathematical origami unit. All Junior School students made personalised units during the week and were collated in Mr. Downes’ room on Friday morning. The final result was an NLCS Jeju Junior School giant polyhedra! Thank you to our Year 6 teachers. We are very impressed with your skills!
Maths Activities
North London Collegiate School Jeju
There were lots of other exciting activities around the Junior School this week. Most classes went out on a Maths Trail! In other words, a mathematical treasure hunt, which sent them around campus looking for Maths questions to solve Mr. Downes and many of the Junior School teachers and their classes were out and about teaching, learning and getting fresh air. A final challenge was a song for all students containing many, many numbers throughout. Students worked together and calculated what the total of all the numbers mentioned throughout the song is. THEY ONLY HEARD IT ONCE, and answers were brought to the teacher at the end of the lesson. There were prizes for the winners! Thank you to Mr. Downes, Ms. Vivienne Brooks and all the Maths teachers in the Junior School.
North London Collegiate School Jeju
UGC
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Where Next With Maths? Sean Hong, a Year 13 student will be going to the University of Cambridge in the Autumn to study Economics. His HL subjects of Maths (Applications and Analysis), Economics and History have all played their part in his choice. Sean decided on Economics with help and input from the UGC and his Economics teacher, Mr Raymond Maher. “He helped enormously - arranging bi-weekly meetings and seminars where we could discuss issues. We would read pieces and then debate them. It helped us all really learn how to debate and challenge economic fact and opinion. “ Sean also took the role of Secretary in the Economics and Business Management Society. He encourages all KS3, 4 and 5 students to consider this society.The sooner you get involved the longer you have to absorb and learn and broaden your thoughts. Sean and his family visited Cambridge in the Summer of his Year 11. “ I loved Cambridge immediately as a city. I loved the culture and the environment. The architecture is beautiful. I was very taken with the look and feel of St Johns. I determined there and then to apply there - and I did! It’s a bigger college - the second largest, in fact. There will be a great scope for friendships and activity there.” Cambridge is famous for its rowing prowess - Sean thinks he might try out for the team or at least row for leisure. We can’t wait to hear about Sean’s journey as he becomes an NLCS Jeju alumni. Listen to him talk more HERE
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Monday March 8 saw International Women’s Day celebrated at NLCS Jeju. As a school we are absolutely committed to equality across genders and our Cultural Awareness Committee helped drive many events around School. A reminder of some of these activities! • • • • • • •
Tutor Group Quiz Presentation Fundraising for Women’s Equality Initiatives (660,000 KRW) SEC display of the new copy of La Musawah HERE 100 posters of great women all around the school A collection of interviews from Staff around the school Student Movie Showing - Hidden Figures
Our Cultural Awareness Committee have created an amazing video celebrating amazing women around school and around the world. Take another look HERE The Junior School - not to be outdone - also created their own video where they asked teachers and students their views on strong and successful female figures. Well done! Watch it HERE In addition, the Sports Council got on board and organised a Girls’ Netball tournament. Thank you to Sunny Choi (Year 12) and Ms. Gemma Stevens for driving this. Nick Oh and Alex Chung created videos of the Girls’ Netball Tournament. You can watch them HERE.
Please take a look at the latest Sports Council issue which focuses on women in sport! HERE Finally we are very happy to share two wonderful poems about women read by Elysia Bae (Year 12) and Leo Pei ( Year 11.)
COMPETITIONS AND AWARDS
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Computer Science and Computing Awards Mr. Tajvir Singh, Head of Computer Science in the Senior School has shared details of great performances by some of our Senior School students.
Canadian Coding Challenge The Canadian Computing Competition (CCC) is a fun challenge for secondary school students with an interest in programming. It is an opportunity for students to test their ability in designing, understanding and implementing algorithms. It was organised by the University of Waterloo, Canada. This took place at NLCS Jeju on Feb 18 2021, online due to COVID-19 restrictions. A total of 10 students participated in the contest from Year 7 to Year 12. All performed exceptionally well including one student who achieved a 100% score. The contest was three hours long, testing programming skills at Junior and Senior levels. Year 10 students performed particularly well with an average score of 78+ %.
ACSL Second Round This was the second round of the American Computer Science contest - ACSL. Our students performed exceptionally well once more. The Intermediate team is one of the top teams in the world with a 100% score. The next round is on 13 March 2021 and we can’t wait to hear how our students perform against the very best in the world!
JUNIOR SCHOOL ART
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Ms. Krista Merrill has shared the new Library artwork in Junior School. It’s due to go on display in the next week and will be up for a year. We think all our students are amazing readers and artists but there had to be some winners - and here they are! Thank you to the judge - Mr Stewart Smith - who had a very hard task. Congratulations to -
Jaeyun Park 6EF, Ryan Ko 3B, Elin Lee 5GH, Irene Yoon 5GH, Ainn Jeong 5GH, Jianna Lee 6CD, Jiho Lee 4GH, Hyunjun Choi 6AB, Louie Kim 6GH, Song Shin 6EF Siyonne Hahm 3JV, Erin Kim 6EF, Flynn Jung 6AB, Minseo Kwak 5CD, Chloe Lee 6AB Dana Moon 6CD, Anna Ryu 4JR, Jeremy 3AR, Aiden Jaeback Lee 6GH, Austin 4MEJ Anthony Kim 5CD, Alice Yihyo Gwak 5CD
Why not share your artwork with us?
JUNIOR SCHOOL ART
North London Collegiate School Jeju
North London Collegiate School Jeju
North London Collegiate School Jeju
JEJU MASSACRE COMMEMORATION CEREMONY
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Students, Chris Park and Zion Kang accompanied Principal, Lynne Oldfield to a special commemoration of the tragedy of the Jeju Massacre last week. The students spoke passionately about the historical implications of these events. Chris Park has shared his speech to give you an idea of what the event entailed.
JEJU MASSACRE COMMEMORATION CEREMONY
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Hello, I’m Park Chan-hyuk, director of the law club in the 12th grade of NLCS JEJU. Our society members are students who go to international schools in Jeju Island and we have thought that we should never forget the sad history of Jeju. This regardful thought of our society members served as the motivation to start writing articles on the official website of the law society after investigating the Jeju 4.3 incident by encompassing the lens of the enacted special law. The club’s official article on the 4.3 incident helped pupils in our school to understand the 4.3 incident and to look at it in various aspects such as legal, ethical, and history at the same time. In addition to the article-writing activities, when the impact of COVID-19 had intensified, the law society and student community voluntarily provided a chance to donate handwritten letters and masks to the bereaved families of the 4.3 incident. Our activities above provided us with a meaningful opportunity to listen to 4.3’s deep history after meeting the chairman of the bereaved family. The 4.3 incident, which was dealt with in-depth in the society, reminded not only club members but also school pupils about the value of free democracy, and also reminded them about the human rights of victims of the 4.3 incident. Above all, it seems that our students have been greatly influenced by the full support of Principal Oldfield and the school’s Ethos, “Let’s Go to the World with International Thoughts.” Furthermore, I hope to recall the correct fact-finding of the Jeju 4.3 incident and the values of democracy that the 4.3 incident conveys in various international schools, including NLCS JEJU.
STUDENT COUNCIL MEET WITH THE PRINCIPAL
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Our Student Council regularly meet with the Principal, Ms Lynne Oldfield. This week they got together in our Drummond Boardroom and Ms Oldfield answered some of the students most pressing concerns including the following questions. Ask any of our Student Council about the responses! • As the Principal, what is the most concerning issue in our School? • How can we bridge the gap between day and boarding students? • Are there any plans to reinvigorate our drive to improve spoken English around the school? • Covid has had a big impact on our fixtures, we don’t get to play them and squad training doesn’t feel meaningful. Are there any plans to arrange any fixtures soon? • We are concerned about the amount of cars that are dropping off students.There is a lot of congestion. What can we do about this? • Are there any plans to develop the outdoor spaces for students? • Students who come early stand outside the gates until 7:50AM. On rainy/snowy days too. Could there be a roof of some sort to protect student from the weather? • How will Founder’s Day be held? • Are there any other initiatives that have already been started that you want the school to focus on a little more? • Do you feel that the communication between staff and students has improved? If so, in what ways? If not, what could we do?
PERFORMANCES
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Today sees the Spring Concert in the PAC at 6.30. Next week we have two amazing shows of Alice in Wonderland. All of these performances showcase some of the finest talent in School. Watch on Livestream or sign up to watch in the theatre if you are staff or students. We’d love to see you there!
MUSIC CORNER
North London Collegiate School Jeju
On Thursday, March 4, we had the chance to listen to some of our School’s most talented musicians. At a small, socially distanced Recital we heard from 6 of our IBDP Music students. They were truly a joy to hear. Well done to Na Young Song, Jun Keun Choi, Cherin Kim, Joowon Lee (Feat Lawrence Bae) YoungJae Song, HyunJun Bae Please watch and listen HERE
North NorthLondon London Collegiate Collegiate School School Jeju Jeju
“Every laugh and every tear in everyday school life are what bring out my magic! Welcome to NLCS Jeju.”
Eunice Yewon Lee Student Welfare Ambassador
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NLCS Jeju is ranked a Top 25 IB School in the world - Class of 2020. NLCS Jeju is a British International boarding school for girls and boys aged 4-18. We welcome Korean passport holders and all foreign passport holders. We offer the IGCSE and IB curriculums - recognised at all universities around the world. Don’t forget that you canFor follow on social: www.nlcsjeju.co.kr media for daily updates! more us Information : 064-793-8004 : admissions@nlcsjeju.kr