NLCS Jeju Newsletter 23 September 2022

PRINCIPAL’S LETTER

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of NLCS Jeju

At NLCS Jeju, as a British international school, our values are closely aligned with those of NLCS in the UK and the values for which the United Kingdom is renowned across the globe. The UK has a long history of democracy as seen in our parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. Across the world following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II there was recognition of her role as a constitutional monarch and world leader for over seventy years. This lifelong commitment to service was acknowledged and as a mark of respect, world leaders, including President Yoon, attended the state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London. We too as a British school reflected on this commitment to service, unparalleled in the modern times. It is the passing of an era and one unlikely to be repeated in all our lifetimes.

Service, selfless ambition and compassion aligned with responsible leadership are all values we cherish as we want all to commit to creating a better world as responsible global citizens. Many students embrace this, as seen in their participation in the CCAs and activities for Bryant. However there are some who still need to expand their horizons and take up new activities and think about their contribution to the school community, the local environment and the world at large. As a school we embrace the ideas that each contribution we make will go towards improving our world through acting responsibly .

Our community at NLCS Jeju is also growing in its internationalism with students from more countries choosing to join us as well as attracting some of the best teachers from across the world. We have many, many shared interests and of course are joined by our shared values as part of NLCS jeju. We also all share one language and that is English and so we remind our community that as well as celebrating the identity of each and everyone of us we should ensure that our language is English so that we do not exclude others from participation. This is important too for developing further the levels of English required to achieve at the highest level academically. We have also received reports of and indeed some of our community has experienced some anti- foreigner behaviours both here on Jeju and on the mainland. We wish to monitor and respond to this bigotry and ignorance which is viewed as unacceptable within our community. We welcome all nationalities, celebrating this diversity and we endeavour to ensure that they are all included and valued in our community.

Your sincerely, Lynne

The UK and the world joined together in mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022. Our thoughts have been with the Royal Family throughout this difficult time. The death of the Queen is a significant event in history and marks a new era for the UK with King Charles III accepting the throne.

Mr. Dylan Löser (Head of History) shares his thoughts - “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s passing has left a void in our world. Serving as monarch for over 70 years, she ranks as one of the most significant historical figures of the modern era. During her lifetime, Queen Elizabeth served as the head of state for 32 different countries, visited over 120 countries and gave authority to 15 different Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. Whilst royalists and anti-monarchists may disagree over the legitimacy of the monarchy, both agree that her unmatched efforts to raise the profile of the United Kingdom, promote various charities, and to foster constructive partnerships between states are deserving of the highest praise.

As a person born into privilege, her integrity and lifelong service should serve as an example to North Londoners past and present, as she epitomised the French phrase Noblesse Oblige which urges those of privilege to serve humanity.”

The Main Event

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

ISAwards 2023

We are absolutely delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for an International Schools Awards 2023, within the Safeguarding category. Mr Dan Coll (Designated Safeguarding Lead) said “It is a real honour to have the important work at NLCS Jeju recognised. We have put a significant amount of time, effort and training into safeguarding, ensuring that it is at the forefront of everyone’s mind.”

Our submission looked at Safeguarding as a whole, but with a focus on ‘Suicide safe talk and applied suicide intervention skills training’. Mr. James Caudle (Head of Emotional Counselling and Safeguarding Officer) said “Suicidal ideation and suicidal action is a major issue facing young people across the world (especially 16-25 year olds). At NLCS Jeju we have discussed suicidal ideation with student leaders and co-plan assemblies aimed at destigmatising the discussion around the topic, we promote safe suicide talk with teachers through professional development opportunities and we provide LivingWorks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) to members of the community.”

We have gone further and two members of staff are now qualified to deliver LivingWorks training - this will further benefit our community. They are the first two trainers in Korea to be trained to deliver the training in English - which means we can also extend our support to other international schools in Jeju and beyond.

The winner of each category will be announced on 24 January 2023.

SUPPORT Would you like to talk to someone regarding this topic or any other concern?

Students - Speak to your tutor, teachers, boarding team, Emotional Guidance Counsellors or members of the Safeguarding Team.

Parents - Contact your Parent Liaison Manager, Mr. Caudle (jcaudle@nlcsjeju.kr) or Mr. Coll (dcoll@nlcsjeju.kr)

Staff - Contact Mr. Coll (dcoll@nlcsjeju.kr)

Mr. Philip Morton

Mr. Carl Lewis

MUSIC ENRICHMENT WEEK Our Music Enrichment week, despite being cut short by a Typhoon, was enjoyed by many. Our Year 8 students received a lecture by Mr. Antony Paye titled ‘Music in Life / Life in Music’, there were showings of the film ‘4 Seasons’ by Eunseo Lee and an extraordinary exhibition - ‘Reborn of the Broken.’

REBORN OF THE BROKEN

Take a look at the photos of this wonderful exhibition. What a treat for us all! Well done to Jinyoung Kil (Y10), Stella kim (Y10), Jian Ann Han (Y10), Angelina Kim (Y9), Angela Lee (Y8), Emily Jeong (Y12), Charlotte Bae (Y9), Eunice Kim (Y11), Bomi Park (Y12), Erin Kang (Y8), Siwoo Yang (Y8), John Shin (Y8) for their contribution and thank you to Jessica Zheng (Y13) for providing the perfect background music. The exhibition was created as part of our CPP Society. Click for more Photos Main

The Main Event

BULLYING AWARENESS WEEK

A message from the members of SWAG:

“Another school year has started in earnest and Bullying Awareness Week provides all community members an important reminder that we are all in this together. Widely publicised incidents of bullying in any community are generally just the tip of the iceberg and it’s important that our community strives to develop a broader understanding of what goes on beneath the surface. One student’s visible distress may belie wide-ranging suffering from a larger friendship group. The intricate impact of conflict on networks of relationships are often only able to be addressed with thorough communication. Conversely, when left unaddressed, the impacts of bullying can fester and become toxic.

Although each and every one of us have traits that set us apart from others (differences that may be either innate or chosen), being at school means yielding to some sense of conformity. Every day we wear the same uniforms and the same lanyards. Every day we walk into a building with the same words plastered on it. Perhaps what we need to realise now, is that despite any of our reservations, this shared experience is exceptional. No matter how much you believe someone is your polar-opposite, you will still share more likeness than countless other people you will meet in your lifetime. Revel in that belonging. Show compassion through your actions. We’re all in this together (and no, I’m not just quoting High School Musical!).

As members of SWAG, we hope this week is yet another small step towards a considerable change; a future where in the face of conflict, the students have the courage to lead the school community with the principles of inclusion, empathy and love.”

ODD SOCKS

Our Junior School students wore odd socks today - symbolising that we are all different and unique, and that this should be celebrated! Let’s all accept ourselves and others - we are perfect, just the way we are!

The Main Event

BIOLOGY ENRICHMENT NEXT WEEK

Next week is our Biology Enrichment Week. We will update you on the exciting activities via our social media accounts and share photos with you in the next newsletter. Wishing our Biology Department and our budding biologists all the best for a busy week ahead.

ANTI BULLYING CHAIN

Watching our Junior School children linking hands with each other to form one massive chain was an inspiration to us all. Together they stood strong, tall and proud with a simple and clear message - we are united against bullying - don’t be afraid to reach out or be an upstander - we are with you! Photos will be shared soon’.

Recent photos

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

National History Day 2022

Year 9 Hyoungtak (Alvin) Cha, Sunjae Choi and Luna Hu entered the 2022 National History Day competition in the junior performance category with the help of Mr. Löser. Their performance was titled ‘The Change a Word Makes : A Diplomatic Victory over a Military Force in 993 CE’. They won 1st place at the Korean competition and were selected to represent Korea at the global competition where they were positioned 3rd. This is a remarkable achievement and testament to their creativity and diligence.

Hyoungtak (Alvin) Cha

Sunjae Choi

Congratulations to all our recent award winners! Click here!

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

TRINITY COLLEGE - ESSAY WINNER

Each year, Trinity College Cambridge and Cambridge University’s Department of Politics and International Studies jointly organises a prestigious essay writing competition: the R.A. Butler Prize. Sixth Form students are invited to enter by submitting an essay on a topic chosen from a list of general questions announced by the Trinity College.

We are incredibly proud to announce that this year’s first prize winner of the R.A. Butler Prize in Politics and International Studies is our very own Eunju Seo (Y13). To add to this incredible achievement, Eunju is the first winner from outside of Europe. The prompt of her essay is ‘Are international organisations biassed towards the interests of wealthy countries?’

Eunju joined NLCS Jeju in Year 10 and has always had a keen interest in international affairs. She supplements her studies by actively taking part in the leadership of a number of related School activities including: Model United Nations (MUN), the Cultural Awareness Committee (CAC), Equilibrium Magazine, and International Relations Society. Eunju is also a member of our Big 8, where she has responsibility as the Cultural Awareness Ambassador, promoting diverse cultures at School and in our community.Eunju

hopes to study Human, Social, and Political Sciences at Cambridge - we know this is the perfect fit for her and we are delighted that Cambridge has also recognised her talent!

Congratulations, Eunju! We wish you all the best for your final year at NLCS Jeju.

More information about the competition.

ART IN SWING

Jeong Gyoun Song (Luke) - Y13 - has completed a CAS Project ‘Art in Swing’ which has been approved by the Special Olympics Youth Innovation programme. ‘Art in Swing’ brought together golfers with and without disabilities for golf competitions. The group (including other GEC schools) raised money by hosting online concerts and by selling cookies and bubble tea. Luke said “by spending time together and supporting each other we were able to understand our differences, learn to exercise together, take part in tournaments and simply share the joy of being together - I hope Art in Swing will continue” - Well done, Luke - a wonderful project.

Other

THAILAND GOLF TRIP

A group of students travelled to Thailand and took part in the NLCS Jeju ‘Road to Chiang Mai’ golf trip over the Chuseok break. Ably Accompanied by Mr. Sangduk Park and Ms. Yeonha Kim, Mr Park said “This was the best ever trip. We had five rounds in three of the best courses in Chiang Mai.” 8 SESSION

Year 8 Parents are invited to join us on Friday 30 September for our Year 8 Information Day, a great opportunity to see the School in action, to meet key members of staff, to visit classrooms and watch lessons taking place, have a tour and enjoy lunch together.

IBDP INFORMATION SESSION

If you weren’t able to join us in person or if you want to know more about the IB Diploma Programme in Year 12 and 13, watch the recording of our presentation here.

CHUSEOK HOUSE COMPETITION

A special House Competition in honour of Chuseok took place on 2 September, our Junior School students played traditional Korean games and reflected on the meaning of Chuseok. Reception to Year 2 students played Tuho, aka Pitch Pot - attempting to land arrows into a pot. Whilst our Year 3 to Year 6 students played a paper folding game called Ddakji. You can see from the photos just how much fun everyone had! Click here for more photos.

BCCK GARDEN PARTY

Four NLCS Jeju students are performing at the British Embassy on 29 September. A real treat for the attendees of the event. If you wish to attend the event, tickets are available from BCCK. Thank you to JooAn Kwon, Seok Hyeon Moon, Jinyeong Oh and Doyeon Ryoo (Y12)for performing on behalf of NLCS Jeju.

Other news

DofE NEWS -

Have a look at some great photos from our recent DofE trip! Even a typhoon could not stop our intrepid explorers! We have been posting updates on our Facebook and Instagram accounts but if you want to receive more news and photos - follow our DofE Instagram page today! https://www.instagram.com/nlcsdofe_gold/

APPLICATIONS OPEN

Applications for Year 3 and above, for August 2023 entry, are open - we have already received a large number of applications and are assessing applicants each week - we encourage an early application to avoid disappointment.

There are also a small number of places available to start in November 2022, January 2023 and April 2023 in the Senior School (Year 7 to 9), 2022/23 academic year.

Visit the Admissions section of our website to find out more or email admissions@nlcsjeju. kr.

More Pictures

ADMISSIONS SCHOOL TOURS

The Admissions Team are delighted to resume private tours for prospective students and their family. More information about the tours and other in person events can be found here. To book a tour please email admissions@nlcsjeju.kr. We are looking forward to meeting you.

JEJU INFORMATION SESSIONS

Prospective parents are invited to attend one of our upcoming information sessions, visit our website to find out more and to register your attendance. We look forward to welcoming you to our School.

EDUCATION INVESTOR AWARDS 2022

Congratulations to the NLCS family for being finalists in four categories in the ‘Education Investor Awards 2022’

The founder of NLCS London was a pioneer of female education - so it is quite fitting that two of our very own women have been recognised as ‘Women to Watch (Business Women in Education)’

Lynne Oldfield - NLCS Jeju Principal Gwen Byrom - Director of Education Strategy - NLCS International

NLCS International brings together all the NLCS Schools (London, Dubai, Singapore, Ho Chi Min City and Jeju) and is a finalist in two categories: Education Provider Exporting Excellence

Other

SPEAR’S TOP 100 PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD

NLCS Jeju has been placed in the top 100 schools in the world according to the Spear’s Magazine, and is the only School in South Korea to be included. What an honour to be included.

LOST AND FOUND

A number of valuable personal items have been left in the Sports Centre, including watches. If your child has misplaced an item, please email Mr. Pua (masykur@ nlcsjeju.kr). The items will be held safely until 17 June 2023, after which they will be donated to the Garage Sale and sold to raise money for charity.

CALLING ALL INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

As the world is opening up and travel is becoming easier again, we are attracting lots of applications from students from all over the world. If you are a current international student and you want to create a student profile (like Luna has done) to help prospective students know what it is like to study at NLCS Jeju - please get in touch with marketing@nlcsjeju.kr. We look forward to hearing from you.

International Student Profile - Luna, Hong Kong - Year 9

When selecting a school, Luna was impressed with NLCS Jeju’s ‘ginormous library’, its other facilities and the general layout of the campus, as well as everyone being so welcoming when she visited. Her fondest memory so far is the Year 5 trip to the East of Jeju.

“I think I have achieved a lot of things during my school life, thanks to NLCS Jeju - I was a member of the Little 8 in Year 6, I was part of a netball team that competed in Beijing and I took part in FOBISIA sport in Year 4 - representing NLCS Jeju.”

GARAGE SALE

The Garage Sale earnings have been counted and we are delighted to announce that this summer it raised a staggering 1,798,950 KRW! The Junior School Eco Ambassadors will meet to select a local charity to receive the money. We will update you soon! Well done Ms. Vivienne Brooks and all her helpers!

STAFF BEACH CLEAN

Well done to Mr. Paul Smith, Ms. Julia Smith, Ms. Kym Prichard, Ms. Dee Patterson, Zachy Alajmi and Mr. Jacob Sarao who got together on the weekend to clean a Jeju beach! Great work!

UGC PARENT

If you missed our recent UGC Parent Seminar, you can watch the recording here.

Thank you to Brandeis University, the University of Rochester and Trinity College who visited us on 19 September and were available to meet with our Year 12 students. Speaking directly to the university provides students with a greater insight into what the university is like and what it has to offer. We encourage all our Year 12s to take full advantage of these visits.

Cultural Awareness Committee news

Thank you to the CAC for highlighting two important dates:

International day of sign languages

International day of sign languages (23 September). The UN designated day of sign languages is a celebration of all the sign languages that exist around the world Learn more from Deaf Ambassador Nyle DiMarco. Learning a sign language supports the inclusion of deaf members within our communities but also benefits our spatial awareness, peripheral vision and reaction time. Have a go using one of the links below.

• About Korean Sign language

•

•

Useful signs in British sign language

Useful signs in American sign language

Shana Tova! To those within our community celebrating the upcoming Rosh Hashanah (25-27 September). Rosh Hashanah is considered the ‘birthday of the universe’ and is one of the new year festivals within the Jewish faith. Learn how to say ‘happy new year’ in Hebrew here. Learn more about Rosh Hashanah here.

Share your special dates with us!

BOOK OF CONDOLENCES

Thank you to Jae Hyun Cho (class of 2019) who informed us that when signing the book of condolences for Queen Elizabeth II he also signed on behalf of the ONLJ community.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Our Alumni and Development Manager, Ms. Shin, is busy planning ONLJ events - if you have an idea or want to be involved in the planning stages, please email Ms. Shin today, she would be delighted to hear from youalumnioffice@nlcsjeju.kr

UNIVERSITY TALKS

We would be delighted to welcome back alumni students to provide talks on their university experience to our Year 12 students - talk about your course, university, the campus, workload, social life, accommodation and more. If you would like to get involved please email alumnioffice@nlcsjeju.kr!

NLCS JEJU WEDDING

Congratulations to Sooyeon Byun (Bursar’s PA) who married Gyuseok on Saturday 17 September. We wish them a lifetime of happiness.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

Congratulations to Ms. Melissa Woo (Reception Teacher) and Mr. Suho Woo (Junior School Administration Officer) who welcomed their beautiful daughter Alaina on 13 September. Her Korean name will be decided soon.

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