NLCS Jeju Newsletter 7 October 2022

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of NLCS Jeju

It has been delightful to see some of our academic societies so engaged in the planning and of enrichment weeks in music, biology and dance. The quality of student lectures and activities available for students at lunchtimes and before school has been amazing. They have talked about research they have become involved in during school holidays, their engagement with other academics as well as the internships and performances they have been involved in. This week dance enrichment has inspired us all to recognise the value of dance not only for our creative development but in how this is regarded by elite universities for our health and future career choices such as in medicine. I am always reminded of alumni and their successes at Ivy league universities such as Stamford who have chosen Dance for their IB diploma and yet major in the sciences. The Junior School too is actively involved in these experiences and the Year 2 performance to Senior School Students this lunchtime in the Green Gallery had the students cheering and very impressed.

I have also seen some developing student leadership this week as the Houses prepare for one of the most eagerly anticipated and fought over house events: house singing, glee and ensemble competition! It has been wonderful to see groups practising all around the school at lunchtimes, breaks and even after school. We are all eagerly anticipating the final event on Wednesday 26 October.

We also have some students in training for school sports teams and it is encouraging to see the competitions going well now. We have some great footage of students involved in this including cross country which used to be a favourite of mine.

An NLCS education encourages students to discover their passions and to widen their horizons and so I encourage you all to get involved and to participate.

Your sincerely,

Lynne Oldfield Principal

The Main Event

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

BIOLOGY ENRICHMENT WEEK

Congratulations to everyone involved - you all created a fun, interesting, informative and memorable event. So much time and effort went into arranging each of the activities and the corridors were a hive of activity. Ms. Prichard gave high praise “A genuine effort from everyone involved! You should be very proud of yourselves and each other.” And we couldn’t agree more - Thank you everyone - particularly our speakers and the LSBT, Medical, Botany, Neuronomers, Eco and Biology societies, Lucidity Stem Magazine and the Archipelago! See more pictures

The Main Event

DANCE ENRICHMENT

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The Main Event

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

SAMSUNG JUNIOR SOFTWARE CUP

Congratulations to Soohwan Jun (Benjamin) Y9 who won the Samsung Junior Software Cup - Sustainability Award. The theme was ‘A solution to ESG problems for a better future’. His entry ‘So cool carbon life’ compares products to encourage consumers to select the low carbon certified products. He will lecture at the Samsung Developer Forum in midOctober.

recent

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

NLCS INTER-SCHOOLS ECONOMICS BOOK REVIEW COMPETITION

The inter-school competition sees students from all NLCS Schools competing against each other to review an economics book of their choice as well as providing a short justification for the book. Well done to everyone who entered and congratulations to three NLCS Jeju winners!! Thank you to Mr. Raymond Maher (Head of Economics and Philosophy) for his support.

Senior Category

Third Place - Hyeonah Joh (Y13)

Hyeonah wrote a review of ‘What’s wrong with Economics, A primer for the perplexed’ and said it was a great opportunity to extend herself beyond the classroom, she selected the book as it criticises mainstream neoclassical economics and she wanted to learn more about the opposing argument.

Junior Category

Second Place - Yeonsoo Kim (Catherine) (Y12)

Yeonsoo chose ‘Open Borders’ as her book to review. With a keen interest in human related subjects the book focuses on immigration and economics and was recommended to her by Mr. Maher.

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

Junior Category Third place - Seok Hyeon Moon (Y12)

Seok Hyeon read and reviewed ‘The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the next era’ by Hubert Joly. He selected the book as it was a book recommended by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. He also won the Korea Economic Daily economics essay competition where he wrote about Henry Ford and discussed if his techniques could continue in the modern world. “This achievement convinced me of my IB choice - economics”

FOBISIA SOCIAL STUDIES ESSAY COMPETITION

Congratulations to Minji Koo (Ashley) Y11, who is this year’s GCSE level winner. Minji was one of 74 students who submitted an essay within the Social Sciences category with the following question posed: ‘Is globalisation, or globalisation as we have known it, coming to an end?’ - “The competition was an excellent opportunity for me to research and gain knowledge about how globalisation has changed by adapting and shifting its economic trend using advanced technology and another universe known as the metaverse.”

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

NATIONAL TEENAGER SERVICE AWARD

At NLCS Jeju, various fundraising activities and direct or indirect service activities take place every day. These activities, which students initiate and lead themselves, are not just a single event, but also inspire others. Three NLCS Jeju teams won awards at the National Junior and High School Volunteer Competition this year and the winners share their experience here.

Year 12 Hyung Jun (Daniel) Lee - Silver award

“The National Mid& High School Community Service Competition is the largest volunteer competition in Korea, co-hosted by the Korea Association of Middle School Principals and the Prudential Social Contribution Foundation. This year was the 24th competition, and I was awarded the silver prize winner and participated in the ceremony camp for 2 days from September 19th to 20th, held at the K Hotel in Yangjae-dong.

To briefly introduce my service activities, I have been interested in supporting visually impaired people and therefore, I am currently leading the Bryant LightHouse. I have noticed that visually impaired people want to be recognised as a member of society, rather than always being sympathized with.

0.5% of Koreans are blind, and 93% of them become visually impaired due to diseases and accidents. Because of the limited visual information, the opportunity to get a job and attend school has been restricted. To solve this problem, I participated in a social venture enterprise to verify my business ideas that would be useful to protect visually impaired people’s right to study.

Within this competition, I met different students from various regions and shared their experiences and knowledge of service. It further motivated me to put my best effort into services, that could help countless people’s lives.

I would like to thank the school teachers and the school for helping me to sustain my service activities.”

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

Year 12 Sejin (Luna) Park, Yujin (Eugene) Lee - Bronze award

“The Penguin Village Bryant was first founded in 2018, with the aim of rejuvenating the local community with colourful murals and art. It was inspired by the “Penguin Village” in Gwangju.

Living in Jeju, our members realised that while famous tourist attractions were filled with bright lights and vibrance, the local communities were mostly lacking colour, consisting of white or grey walls. On top of that, we also wanted to address the increasing concern in regards to the amount of litter found in all corners of the island, seeking ways to divert the problem using art. So we aimed to reproduce the same positive impact the Penguin Village in Gwangju had to their local community- using art to revive and refresh the community. Our previous activities include painting the buildings and walls in the local elder’s community in Boseong-ri, collecting litter around the school area to integrate them into art, creating various “junk art” pieces and a giant christmas tree project, and we are currently working on walls of the warehouse in Gueok-ri, with more locations and activities yet to come.

This summer, we were fortunate enough to receive a 3rd award, along with 500,000won scholarship, in the National Service Activity Competition, where hundreds of students present their service clubs. To support the aim of our activity, we decided to donate all of our scholarship money to Save Jeju Bada, an organisation that endeavours to bring back the pristine state of beaches in Jeju. To us, this award is a massive source of motivation to propel forwards and further contribute to helping the local community. We have exciting projects and opportunities ahead of us, and we are thrilled to continue making a change in the area around us.”

NLCS Jeju Awards and Achievements

Year 13 Jeong Gyoun (Luke) Song - Encouragement award

“I participated in the National Middle and High School Volunteer Competition and won the Encouragement Award last spring. The competition is a program to discover and award youth volunteers who strive to make our society a better place to live, and more than 140,000 teenagers have participated for 23 years since the first competition in 1999.

I have participated in golf competitions for people with developmental disabilities as a volunteer since middle school, and I usually practiced together in the golf club in November 2021, I bought a windbreaker and donated to the golfer with developmental disabilities attending the Special Olympics Golf Competition in Jeju. I submitted it using my experience of volunteering as my CAS project, art in swing integrated golf competition, which I planned with my golfer friends with disabilities and I was embarrassed to receive this award. I hope that our future society, where we all live together, will be a unified society, not an important issue whether with disabilities or not.”

Other news

SERVICE AT NLCS JEJU

We are very proud that so many of our students opt to take part in a service CCA or Bryantthis shows just how caring and thoughtful our students are. There are many opportunities for students to get involved, including: Blue Cross, Car Washing, Crazy Chemists, Cultural Awareness Committee, Hello Museum Team, Jeju Dolphins, National Teenage Service, The Sound of Silence and White Cane Enterprise. If you want to give back to the community, to Jeju and beyond you can find out more here.

PARENTS AS PARTNERS

Thank you to all our parents who joined us for an informative and interactive session on 29 September. The focus on the event was ‘The Art of Communication: How to connect with your child and school community as a parent’. Thank you to our presenters and workshop leaders - Mr. James Caudle (Head of Emotional Guidance Counsellors), Mr. Crispian Waterman (VP Pastoral), Mr. Jason Sannegadu (AVP Pastoral) and Mr. Thomas Carter-Stead (Head of PSD), and to Ms. Miri Kang for coordinating the day. We hope more parents will join us for future Parents as Partners events.

Other news

CROSSCOUNTRY

A massive thank you to Mr. Pua for arranging the GEC cross country race on the weekend. The event took place on the Pathway of Learning which connects all four schools. There were three courses (U11: 1.5km, Middle School: 3.2km and High School: 5km) and we are delighted to share that some of our very own students were on the podium! Well done to you all. Watch the video. See more pictures

U11 Boys

1st place - Euan Chaddock

3rd place - Jay Choi

1st place - David Jo

Middle School Boys

1st place - David Jo

2nd place - Andrew Kim

1st place - Euan Chaddock

3rd place - Jay Choi

2nd place - Andrew Kim

Other news

YEAR 9 LATIN TRIP

Thank you to Ms. Baird, Ms. Coll and Mr. Munday who took a group of Year 9 Latin students to the Greek Mythology Museum last week. The spacious museum contains replicas of well known works of art and covers many topics, including gods and goddesses, the Muses, the signs of the zodiac, the stories of the Iliad and Odyssey and displays about many other myths, some well-known and others less well-known. Teachers were very impressed by the knowledge of many students and those who were less familiar with Greek mythology now have a good overview of it. We hope they are inspired to find out more.

After the hard work of collecting information students enjoyed some time in the Trick Eye museum.

This statue of King Midas’ hairdresser is very well placed among the Jeju grasses. In the story, he whispers a secret into the ground about Midas having donkey ears. Then the grasses grow and whisper the secret to everyone!

KOREAN B TRIP

Thank you to Ms. Hyehyang Kim and Ms. Jae Shin Kim who took a group of students to the Jeju Folk Village in September. The trip gave the students the opportunity to see Jeju from a different perspective and learn more about Korean and specifically Jeju culture through first hand experience by playing Korean folk games and eating traditional food.

The money raised at the Junior School Casual Clothes day (1,318,050 KRW), along with the PRG second hand uniform sale money (609,000 KRW) has been donated to help the victims of flooding caused by recent typhoons, particularly in Seoul and Pohang.

Other news

MEET YOUR EMOTIONAL GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS

We have a team of counsellors who provide support for our students, in Korean and English. We support students with a multitude of concerns including but not limited to behavioural, emotional and social needs.

We also provide extensive support with issues such as homesickness, anxiety, stress and depression. Students can self-refer or be referred to the department by their friends, teachers or parents.

Due to its nature, emotional counselling is always voluntary and something the student must be willing to try.

Counsellors are available to students for drop-in counselling every lunchtime from Monday to Friday. No appointment is needed. We have a great team of counsellors who do an excellent job of supporting all our students.

Students can email Mr. James Caudle, Head of Emotional Guidance Counselling - jcaudle@ nlcsjeju.kr for more information. Parents can contact their Parent Liaison Manager if they prefer.

Warren Neiland / Claire Washington / James Caudle Kyungsoo Park / Eunji Song / Louise Jarvis

Other news

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY COMPETITION

Registration to enter is now open. Contact Mr. Löser for more information.

Other news

ECO AMBASSADORS - BIKE TAGS

Each year a number of bikes are left on campus and not used. These bikes are donated to charity at the end of the academic year. Students and staff who cycle to school should collect a bike tag from either Ms. Brooks, an Eco-Ambassador or from the Senior Security hut - the tag should be attached to their bike. This shows that the bike is being used and who it belongs to, making it easier for our Eco-Ambassadors to identify bikes for charity.

Boarding News

CULTURAL FOOD EXCHANGE

Last weekend,a group of Halla East boarding students made Spam Musubi (a JapaneseHawaiian style rice sandwich), whilst enjoying a delicious cup of Kenyan Chai - made and served by Hera Olweny (Y12). A lovely and tasty way to learn about different cultures. Thank you to Ms. Miri Kang who arranged this event and to the students for their contribution.

Cultural

Committee news

UPCOMING GLOBAL HOLIDAYS

Yom Kippur (Sunset 4 November to nightfall 5 November)

The meaning is the ‘Day of Atonement’ and is an important Jewish holiday. During this time people may; atone by fasting, wear white, avoid bathing, not wear leather footwear, pray at a synagogue or not conduct any work. Learn more here.

Hangul Day (9 October)

A national holiday commemorating the Korean alphabet. Before the invention of Hangul, Koreans wrote using Classical Chinese characters with native phonetic writing systems; only privileged male aristocrats (yangban) could afford the time and education to learn to read and write fluently. As a result, the vast majority of Koreans were left effectively illiterate. Hangul, on the other hand, was designed by the outstanding efforts of Great King Sejong, so that even a commoner with little education could learn to read and write: “A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; a stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days,” said Great King Sejong. The invention of Hangul was a great attempt to reach an equal world where everyone’s rights to read and write were respected.

Canadian Thanksgiving (10 October)

This holiday started in 1859 when Protestant leaders requested a day of celebrating and giving thanks for harvest and other blessings of the year. It is celebrated with:

• large family meals (roasted turkey and all the trimmings)

• watching Thanksgiving Day American Football and Ice Hockey games

The annual Thanksgiving Day Classic double header, wherein four teams from the CFL (Canadian Football League) play for Thanksgiving glory, is nationally broadcasted.

….and finally

2022 UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO - OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR

There are many exceptional teachers at NLCS Jeju, teachers who awaken a joy in learning, creativity and knowledge in our students. We are delighted when this talent and dedication is recognised beyond our own community.

Congratulations to Ms. Arunima Paliwal (teacher of Economics), who has been selected as a 2022 University of Chicago Outstanding Educator.

It’s particularly special when a student nominates the teacher, we agree wholeheartedly with former NLCS Jeju student - Sang Yoon Lee’s - recommendation. “You are an educator of genuine zeal for teaching economics and nurturing students to achieve something greater than themselves. I hope that this award can serve as a small token of my (and all of your students) appreciation for the hard work and dedication you put into your work. As a student of yours, it is impossible to not recognize the warm heart you keep for all of your students. Although you may not carry such soft hearted love for your students in plain view, I saw it in the past years I had with you.”