NLCS Jeju Newsletter 5 May 2023

North London Collegiate School Jeju

PRINCIPAL’S LETTER

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of NLCS Jeju

This week as always we have had much to celebrate in our community. We are delighted that so many children are challenging themselves and growing in so many ways. This was so evident in the Opera on Saturday where all of Year 8 were engaged in an opera production working with professional opera singers from Korea. Our students excelled and were ably supported by the IB dance students as well as our wonderful musicians. Congratulations go to all including those who supported both technically and in set management and design. A very special thanks goes to Mr. Ian Pierson and Mr. Harry Thorrington for their leadership and inspiration.

During PE enrichment week we have also been delighted to see the students in our Junior School having such fun in their various sports days . We also have students engaged in outdoor education either participating in the International Award (Duke of Edinburgh Award) expeditions as well as half of Year 8 on their residential adventure trip. These play a key part in developing young people holistically and epitomise the breadth of a NLCS Jeju education. Our thanks go to all our staff who give up their time to provide these opportunities.

International Children’s Day is celebrated on different days across the year in countries around the world. UNICEF, for example, celebrates Children’s Day on 20 November with the theme of inclusion for every child. Children’s Day is a national public holiday in South Korea that is observed every year on 5 May. It reflects the high value that families in Korea place on children and the fact that they are the future leaders of the country. In school on Friday 5 May we will celebrate our children with their families helped by our PRG and events team

As a British school we also have much to celebrate as Saturday 6 May is the coronation of the UK’s Head of State King Charles III. Various parties will be held in our community for our British families as well as for those from countries where King Charles III is also their head of state. We will have special coronation cookies available on Monday in school. As the state event will be broadcast live on the BBC many will also have the opportunity to watch this historic event in our PAC.

Finally we are delighted that we have gained the COBIS Patron accreditation and the report recognises the achievements and worth of our NLCS Jeju community and its exceptional British education.

Yours sincerely

Lynne Oldfield Principal

The Main Event

Here are the biggest stories from around the School this week.

CHILDREN’S DAY

Today is the day we celebrate all the children in our lives. We are lucky to have a school filled with the most wonderful children - we are grateful for you every day but on this special day we give thanks to you all. Each of you as individuals bring a wealth of qualities that make the NLCS Jeju community so special and we all look forward to watching you grow and see where life takes you after graduating from NLCS Jeju.

Thank you to the PRG who helped us celebrate today by arranging ice creams for all our students to enjoy! Thanks also to Quadra for supporting this event.

INTERNATIONAL BOOK WEEK

A very exciting week for the Junior School which included the magical ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ with a book costume parade. During the week the students enjoyed numerous activities.

Our lucky students had the opportunity to purchase books from our huge book fair, listen to stories read by staff and parents at break and lunch time and take part in fun activities such as decorating classroom doors as books and entering the book in a jar competition. More pictures.

The Main Event

Visiting Authors

Two renowned authors took the time to visit the campus and speak to our students about their life as an author. Huge thanks to Carly Anne West who writes spooky stories such as the exciting ‘Hello Neighbor’ and ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ series as well as some spinetingling young adult books and to Ko Hee-Young who wrote the beautiful story about the remarkable sea women of Jeju - ‘Mom is a Haeyneo’.

The Main Event

MYSTERY READER

Five books, five mystery readers. Can you work out who was reading each bedtime story last week?

Bookweek parade video

The Main Event

PE ENRICHMENT WEEK

The Enrichment Weeks are back and what a week it has been! The Sports Department is always busy and it’s hard to keep up with all the sporting events, activities and fixtures that take place, but this week was even more jam packed!

Throughout the week, staff and students have been able to take part in a series of physical challenges to compete against each other but also to test their own physical ability and stamina. Emily Spivey also provided a lecture on women in sport and there were special lessons in Junior School, including archery. Thank you to everyone involved.

The Main Event

The Main Event

HAMMER HOLD

Watch our teachers take on the Hammer Hold challenge! Who has the strength and determination to hold the hammer longest? Well done to everyone for having a go and being good sports!

https://youtu.be/1Uow741xIdU

PSD ENRICHMENT WEEK

Next week is the PSD Enrichment week. With a ‘Human Library’, guest speakers and other activities we are expecting yet another great week.

JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORTS DAYS

The First School Sports Day took place on Wednesday, just before the rain came to Jeju. Sadly, today’s Sports Day has been postponed until 16 May. For now, here are some lovely photos from Wednesday - well done to all the students who took part with such enthusiasm and team spirit! Thank you to the PRG who were on hand to provide drinks to our staff and students. More pictures.

The Main Event

The Main Event

PARENTS’ DAY

On Monday we turn our focus from children to the wonderful parents within our community. We will have a special message to share with you all next week!

Don’t miss our posts!

Follow us on our social media pages to never miss out! Our recent posts include:

• Year 2 - Hallim Park

•Superhero Training

•Mystery Readers

•KISAC

•Biology Olympiad

• Year 4 Sleepover

• Day One - Year 8 Residential

FLICKR

Did you know we add all our photos to Flickr? With no restrictions on the number of photos we can share, you will be able to see every photo from all the events around School. Why not have a look now?

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

Congratulations to all our recent award winners! Click here (https://bit.ly/nlcsstudentachievements )

CREST AWARD

Congratulations to In Wook Hwang, Gangjoon (Ryan) Lee, Juhyeon (Lina) Park and Haeun (Joy) Lee who successfully completed the CREST Award - the award is focussed on STEM and encourages students to become independent and reflective learners. Thank you to Mr. Derek Patenaude for supporting the students.

4.3 INCIDENT

Yeonsoo (Catherine) Kim Y12, explains how her CCA commemorated the 75th anniversary of the 4.3 incident.

“Students taking part in Mr. Peirson’s Jeju Testimonial Theatre CCA engaged in activities to raise awareness of the 4.3. incident throughout the week before the Easter holidays.

The 4.3. lantern project had students display lanterns about the 4.3. incident around the PAC lobby area to pay condolences to victims of the 4.3. massacre.

Furthermore, on 21 March, Yeonjae Shin (Y10) and I (lead students for the event) gave a lecture to KS3 students in their Korean history and language classes on details of the 4.3. incident and the importance of remembering our community’s past.

Following the lecture, KS3 students made origami camellia flowers, which symbolises victims of the 4.3. incident. The flowers were displayed alongside the lanterns in the PAC lobby area.

Although many members of the NLCS Jeju community come from abroad or from areas other than Jeju, we hope that the events on the 4.3. incident clearly demonstrated our collective respect towards regional history.”

COBIS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

COBIS

COBIS schools were invited to nominate students who they felt had gone above and beyond to contribute to the school community. We are very pleased to confirm that after reading our submissions, two students at NLCS Jeju have received awards for ‘Significant contribution to the wider life of the school’. Well done to Stella Han - for the work she has done with the blood donation van and her other service activities such as ‘Crazy Chemists’ and the ‘Chemistry Society’ and to Amy Nam for being a driving force behind the Human Geography society and for empowering others to make positive changes locally and globally.

£400 was also donated by the School to the Cool Earth Fund in support of the COBIS nominated charity.

NEW HOUSE CAPTAINS

Congratulations to the students who have been selected to be House Captains. This is a very important role and we wish you all the best - we know you will be excellent ambassadors and support for our students.

Jeoji - Jane Koo and Jeff Cho

Sarah - Darby Seo and Seojin Chloe Jung

Geomun - Sean Park and Hailey Choi

NEW PREFECTS

The following students have been selected as Senior Prefects, some with specific roles as detailed below. Congratulations and good luck with the new roles:

Noro - Freya Paliwal Nigam and Rex Gwon

Academic English - Injoon So

Beyond the Curriculum - Amy Kim

Enterprise - Hwayoung Shin

Events - Regis Yang

Deputy Chair - Rayne Lee

Arts - Seok Hyeon Moon

Awards and Achievements- Sally Kim

Chair - Seobin Lee

Mulchat - Michaella Jun and Sean Kim

Other News

YEAR 4 SLEEPOVER

There are many residential and overnight trips this term and the most recent was the Year 4 sleepover which took place in the Junior School. The students captured the flag, built rafts in the pool, had a BBQ and ice-cream, went on a nightwalk and learnt how to build a fire - on which they toasted marshmallows!

YEAR 8 RESIDENTIAL TRIP

Thefirstgroupofstudentsareenjoyingtheiractivity-filled residentialtripinPyeongchang. They have been orienteering, climbing, caving, rafting and enjoying camp fires with more to come! We will share updates from their trip and the future trips on social media and some more photos in our future newsletters.

Thank you to the wonderful Beyond the Curriculum team for making these memorable experiences possible.

Other News

DOFE

Here are some great photos from our recent Bronze DofE trip to Gwangju. If you are interested in signing up for DofE get in touch! Mr. Chaddock - “Congratulations to our fabulous Year 10 students who completed their Bronze Assessed Adventurous Journey at the weekend. They hiked and navigated Baegasan and camped out under the stars. Although the weather turned in the middle of the trip, all our students showed real grit and determination to finish. A huge thank you to Mr. Perry, Ms. Baker and Ms. Crabtree for their time and support.”

IN A (IVY) LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

“NLCS Jeju and the Aewol boarding home team have supported Year 11’s Andy Zhang as he spent many of his weekends over the last year in a different time zone. During the week, a normal student participates in life at NLCS Jeju while, at the weekend, representing NLCS as, with his debating partner Jessica Wu, they tear up the US and Canadian debating circuit.

And, my word, their record is impressive (https://www.tabroom.com/index/results/team_ results.mhtml?id1=946297&id2=950515) as they notched up win after win on their journey to the season’s flagship debates at Stanford and Harvard.

True to form at ‘The 49th Harvard National Forensics Tournament’ and ‘The 37th Annual Stanford Invitational in Varsity Public Forum Debate’ they were champions of their divisions. This is an outstanding achievement made even more phenomenal by the fact that Andy and his partner live on different sides of the world.

‘To win Stanford and Harvard is to recognize the culmination of endless preparation to ‘win’ at tournaments that were never meant for us,’ as Ben Hagwood, the team coach explains. ‘But we are here anyway.’

Andy benefits from debating in many ways. It helped him stay in touch with people at home in Canada, it was a point of focus that helped him through the restrictions of Covid and it provides the challenge of competition that he handles with some aplomb.

Even for students who don’t do it competitively, debating is a skill that can lead to improved academic performance, a better chance at getting into top-tier colleges, and, in general, a leg-up in communicating with others and succeeding in life. NLCS Jeju offers debating clubs and forums like the MUN where you can hone these skills.

Congratulations Andy and Jessica!” - Article written by Mr James Tuffs.

SPARKING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

“We can start-up a pitch competition across the NLCS network where we answer a brief that delivers something positive in the community. What if we hold it in the real world and pitch to business leaders? How about we build a network where schools form an alliance with businesses and pitch to them for venture funding from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budgets. We can partner with them to bring about positive change. Think of the other benefits, we could have “fireside chats” with CEOs, work experience, internships, pathways to work...

Year 11’s Terry Kim has a vision, however, as with all big ideas, he realises you have to start small and iterate towards the bigger picture, testing and learning at every stage to see what works and what is not so successful.

And so, Project Ignite was born as the first step of this journey.

This entrepreneurship competition was entirely student-led from the CCA to the booking of judges and catering for the final pitch that was hosted in the “Drummond” board room by NLCS Jeju. Managed by Taehyun Terry Kim (Yr 11), Yoonkyo Kang (Yr 11), Elliott Lee (Yr 10), and James Choi (Yr12) students worked on an innovation brief around, ‘What opportunities can be developed in the process of recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic?.’ They learnt how to formulate innovative thinking and distil this into a pitch presentation with guest presentations and real-world and global student examples.

Come the big day, the competition was judged by Mr.Kang, a partner of Bain & Company Seoul, Dr. Byun, a professor of technology at Jeju National University, and Mr.Godley, Bursar at NLCS Jeju. The judges reported that the quality of the presentations was outstanding and it was a hard decision to choose the eventual winners.” Article written by Mr. James Tuffs.

1st Place - Seir, an online NFT gallery

Changhee Lee and Kyusung Jeong (Y11)

2nd Place - Metropulse, an online application that tracks congestion in subways

Siwoo Yang, Hyoungtak Cha, and Shayla Hwang (Y9)

Congratulations to the winners and special thanks to Mrs.Paliwal and Mr.Tuffs.

KING’S CORONATION

Mr. Dylan Loser explains why the King’s Coronation, on 6 May, is a significant historical event for the UK.

“Saturday 6 May 2023, marks an important chapter in British and global history with the coronation of King Charles III who will be officially proclaimed the sovereign of 15 different states. His predecessor and namesake, King Charles II was restored to his position in 1660 following the brutal English Civil War. King Charles III inherits a similar challenging position to his namesake. Britain is currently a country economically and politically divided, and suffering a surge in the cost of living that has driven many Britons into relative poverty. King Charles III, acknowledging these divisions and the many challenges faced by his people, will style himself “Defender of the Faiths” to ensure all religions are respected. In addition, the King has previously indicated his determination to recognise and reward those Britons who engage in social services and volunteer work.”

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Relax and enjoy the newest edition of the Junior School NL Times, which includes Maths, a recipe for the ‘Best Chocolate Cake’ and movie reviews!

Nl Nl times times

ALL ABOUT FAMILIES, HERITAGE AND GENERATIONS

KOREAN LANGUAGE TRIP

Our Korean Language students enjoyed a trip to Eco Land this week. The purpose of this trip was to participate in a ‘baekiljang’ event.

Mr. Maeng explains further “Baekiljang is a traditional event in Korea that has been passed down since ancient times. During this event, a writing or poem is composed about a theme, and the person with outstanding performance is awarded. In modern times, the state and various organisations have adopted ‘Baekiljang’ to promote literary activities and encourage wider participation.’

GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP

Mr. Dorian Brown - “As part of their Renewable Energy topic, Year 8 students had their first taste of geography fieldwork, learning beyond the classroom, last week. Armed with clipboards and anemometers, students visited 3 key sites on Jeju Island to investigate the impact that energy generation has on the natural and human environments. With Jeju Island aiming to be carbon free by 2030, this was an opportunity for students to see the progress that has been made and assess the potential for the island to meet this ambitious target. The trip included collecting data that would allow students to decide upon the most suitable location for a new wind farm on the coast. A huge thank you to the staff involved in the planning and support of the trip!’

Lana Lee (Year 8) - “The final part of the trip involved walking the full course of the Songaksan travel route, taking photos of each potential wind turbine site, collecting primary wind speed data and completing field sketches. This information was then used to help inform a decision making exercise on the best location for a new wind farm. Unfortunately the boys got very wet on their trip and found that there was no wind to measure, clearly very unusual for Jeju! The girls on the other hand had excellent conditions and were able to collect and record some very useful primary data”

The British Chamber of Commerce in Korea is hosting a celebratory dinner for the King’s Birthday in June. These are always wonderful events and as usual a number of NLCS Jeju students will be performing for the guests. Why not purchase a ticket and join those of us who are attending.

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK

Our Junior School Eco Ambassadors are encouraging us all to walk to School next week! Their letter explains further. Walking has so many benefits - physically and mentally, all of which help with your studies, so get walking!

Walk to school

Read Issue 1 of the fantastic student-led publication, Equilibrium, the official Humanities magazine of NLCS Jeju. Editor-in-chief (Seongjoon (Steven) Yang says “the magazine aims to provide students an opportunity to delve into their passions of various aspects of humanities.” Thank you to Mr. Nick Jones for supervising this publication, Mr. Sannegadu for his support and to all the students who contributed.

Music

ORPHEO AND EURYDICE OPERA

What a spectacular night! Our Year 8 students were joined on stage by phenomenal professional opera singers for a wonderful performance. Accompanied by our School orchestra and with performances from our dance students, this really was a night to remember. Well done and thank you to everyone who took part, on stage or behind the scenes.

ORPHEO AND EURYDICE OPERA

AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY FAIR

We are excited to confirm that our UGC team has arranged for a number of Australian universities to come to NLCS Jeju and meet our students.

US UNIVERSITY RESULTS

Congratulations to all our students who received offers from world class US universities! If you would like to share your news and talk about your NLCS Jeju journey and your future plans in the USA, please email marketing@nlcsjeju.kr, we would love to hear from you.

Sport

KISAC

Well done to all our students who took part in the recent KISAC.

Congratulations to all our teams. The boys team won all four matches making them the boys champions two years in a row. Our girls A team finished top of the group and our girls B team came third.

The teams scored brilliant solo goals as well as whole team effort goals, all students showed great determination and spirit. All the students who take part dedicate so much time to preparing for such events during their CCA/Bryants and in their spare time. The event was a poignant tournament as the last for our Year 13 students - we thank you all for your valuable contributions!

Thanks to all our coaches and the PE Department for their hard work to support and train the teams.

BSA DIPLOMA

Congratulations to our Assistant Vice Principal (Pastoral: Boarding and House Ethos), Mr. Pete Scargill for completing the BSA (Boarding Schools’ Association) Professional Practice Diploma for Leadership. All of our boarding team undertake regular training and many complete similar qualifications to ensure they provide the best support possible for all our boarding students.

Boarding News

BOARDING BBQ

Take a look at the great photos from the recent BBQ for our boarders. Thank you to Quadra for providing delicious food.

RUNNING MAN

Thanks to our boarding teams for arranging a fun day out for our boarders. Here are some photos of them taking on the challenges at Running Man in Jeju.

JUST ANOTHER WEEKEND IN BOARDING

Thanks to Ms. Washington for this great video of all the fun activities that took place during a typical weekend in April for our boarders. Video

Here are some key dates from our CAC.

Buddha’s Day - 5 May

A Buddhist festival that observes the birth, death and enlightenment (when he discovered life’s meaning) of the Buddha. It is a time to reflect on his teachings and what it means to be Buddhist.

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia - 17 May

A day to raise awareness for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide. This Day aims to celebrate sexual and gender diversity, and campaign against the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ+ people around the world.

Ascensions Day - 18 May

This is 40 days following Easter when Christians believe that Jesus ascended to Heaven. Tradition says this holiday is observed by a three-day procession, then a feast, which includes a procession of torches and banners to symbolise Christ’s journey to Mount of Olives and entry to heaven.

Shavuot - 25 May to 27 May

This Jewish holiday celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai and a grain harvest. In biblical times, Shavuot was one of three pilgrimage festivals in which all the Jewish men would go to Jerusalem and bring their first fruits as offerings to God.

Buddha’s Birthday - 26 May

Buddhism is one of the world’s most practised faiths. The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama. The day is celebrated with lanterns, parades, traditional games, mask dances and acrobatic shows. Many temples provide free meals.

….and finally

WEAR A HELMET

We wish to remind all our students, parents, staff and the rest of the NLCS Jeju community to wear a helmet when cycling or riding a scooter to and from school as well as when on campus. This is a mandatory requirement by law and is for your own safety. Wearing a helmet can reduce the severity of a head injury by up to 88%. Children are particularly vulnerable to head injuries due to their thinner skulls and developing brains. Adults should set a good example - together we can make the community safer.

….and finally

EXAMS

We wish all our students taking exams this month all the best. We also ask that everyone ensures they keep noise levels to a minimum when near the exam halls, please note the corridor closure between 9am to 6pm 1 May to 19 May.

NEW CALENDAR

Download the calendar for Term 3 today! HERE