16 October, 2020 News from NLCS Jeju WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of NLCS Jeju We have some good news in that the precautionary levels put in place by the Government of the Republic of Korea in relation to Coronavirus have been reduced. This means that we are able to begin slowly opening up some further activities and in a limited way to allow some visitors including parents onto our campus.. We will be sending out to the community an update on this. Please rest assured that there are still restrictions in place and so they are measured changes which will be very welcome to the community. We know that this will enable all to benefit even more from the NLCS Jeju educational experience.
This week I am delighted to see that our students are engaged and challenging themselves in a wide variety of ways: competitions, debates, participating in societies and taking advantage of the programmes in enrichment weeks. Recently EAL and Biology ran entertaining and thought provoking weeks for the students and faculty staff. The Geography department has continued with field work this week and it has proven rewarding and enjoyable. The Environmental Awareness Society continues to inform us all how we each can help and so I hope that you will consider their actions. I am also very excited that Diversity Week is looming and the team has spent considerable time preparing for this and we are hoping we will now have some visitors into School. This weekend we have a number of students taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh (International) Award Scheme at both Bronze and Silver levels. May I remind you all to keep the travel and contact surveys up to date as we are all wishing to stay safe and healthy. Yours sincerely, Lynne Oldfield Principal
STUDENTS Little Eight and House Captains
North London Collegiate School Jeju
The Junior School has been busy electing their new student leaders for the rest of the academic year. Year 6 students have put themselves forward to serve as the Little Eight or as House Captains for Baek-Ho, Ju-Jak, Hyeon-Mu, Cheong-Nyong. Vice Principal - Head of Juniors, Mr. Jeremy Freeman says “As our Junior School has grown, our student leaders have taken on important leadership roles. Our values based education relies on all teachers and students placing a huge emphasis on positive behaviour and setting an outstanding example to their colleagues and peers. With such a strong Year group, it was a difficult selection process to select Little 8 members and House Captains. Students were asked to write a letter to Ms. Hardy and to me, all staff then discussed and selected candidates they felt could meet the criteria placed against the qualities and values of our Learning Habits. We wanted student leaders who were resilient; respectful; open minded; courageous; creative; empathetic and could think critically. Eventually we interviewed the final candidates along with a number of teachers and Heads of Houses. The eventual selection of the Little 8 and the House Captains gives NLCS Jeju Junior School a wonderful mixture of personalities and characters who will give great service to the School. Congratulations to the following students -
Little Eight Chloe Lee, Emily Hwang, Ellie Fowler, Minjae Park Jianna Lee, Jaden Lee, Lucy Lee, Max Ma
STUDENTS Baek-Ho Lena Ko Ella Jo Hyunjun Choi Oscar Long
North London Collegiate School Jeju
I am pleased to say there are still leadership positions available, Student Council and Subject Ambassadors. I am also very sure we have more leaders amongst our Junior School student body. I am proud of our School and our young leaders.�
Hyeon-Mu Annabelle Fernandes Terry Kim Se-Eun Park HoYeon Kim
STUDENTS
Cheong-Nyong Jinny Kim Sam Lee Derek Lee Andy Kim
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Ju-Jak Claire Kim David Kim Jennifer Lee Jasmine Lee
Debate - Staff and Year 11
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Lots of fun and competitive spirit as our Year 11 Debate team took on Mr. Neil Tamlyn, Mr. Toby Waterson and Mr. Matthew Brown on Monday. The motion was This House, as the government of a Second-world country, would refuse to cure COVID-19 patients over the age of 65. The Debating Society Chairs - Sean Yoon and Angelina Lee ran an exciting and impassioned contest with lots of input from the student audience. Ms. Louise Symonds told us “NLCS Jeju’s Debating Society ‘Inpodium’ are excited to work with every year group in the Senior School by providing monthly debates in the PAC where students get to take on members of staff on motions they have selected as a cohort. Year 11 were the first year group and we look forward to more!” And if you weren’t there - the students won in a very tight contest! Well done to Jeremy (Yongjae) Kim, Alex (Yuree) Oh, Eunju Seo… A great, strong student team! Looking forward to the next one.
Biology Enrichment Week Last week saw Biology Enrichment week with lots of engaging activities, lectures and further thinking. There were three staff led lectures and three student led lectures covering such diverse topics as Altered thalamocortical connectivity in patients with schizophrenia and Mutations of COVID19. The Biology Society, the whole Biology Faculty team and many students played a part. A highlight was a wonderful collaboration with the Junior School - Classification. A group of Year 9 students showing and guiding Year 5 students through the classification of a range of organisms. Thank you to Ms. Kym Prichard and her team for all the work planning this. Many of our students are passionate about the sciences and go on to study them at university and these enrichment weeks serve to ignite sparks in many of them. To learn more about Biology Week click HERE Follow the Biology Dept on Twitter or ask a teacher!
EAL Enrichment Week This week saw the turn of EAL Enrichment Week. It really made us think about the history of the language we all speak and the endless possibilities. Ms. Michelle Hamilton Scott shared a lecture on Wednesday entitled “What’s the Point”and the team also devised a quiz for Tutor Time. Check out this video HERE before you attempt the quiz that our Senior School students have been tackling this week HERE
ENGLISH
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Tips To Improve Your English By Mr Alex Sommerville - EAL Teacher - Senior School If you’re an EAL student - or just want to get better and keep learning then try these tips - whatever your age and stage! 1. Read! 2. Read!! Read a challenging text every day. 3. Read!!! Read everything you can get your hands on - Classic literature, paperbacks, newspapers, websites, emails, your social media feed, cereal boxes: if it’s in English, read it. Recap on vocab you know and learn new words. 4. Note down new vocabulary in a notebook or on your phone. 5. Find a real, live, native speaker and speak to them as often as possible - bother them! If you can’t find a real, live person, talk to a teacher! 6. Subscribe to podcasts or Youtube channels (in English). Listen when you have a moment free. Persist even if you find the accents challenging. You’ll soon start to understand and pick up new vocab. 7. Go overseas (OK - this is maybe for next year!) 8. Use your friends. Scan items they share and commit to exploring one or two each day. They might be news or magazine articles, videos, talks, blog posts, songs, or anything else - if it’s in English and the topic interests you, it’s going to be helpful. 9. Ask a lot of questions. Don’t sit on your doubts – be curious and resolve them! 10. Use the stars! Pick a native English-speaking actor or singer you like. Go online, find a bunch of interviews they’ve given – and watch them! 11. Make a plan. Focus on what you really need. You don’t need to learn everything now! 12. Develop a growth mindset...When you start to feel like you’re not making ground – which will happen – don’t say, “I don’t get this.” Say. “I don’t get this YET!” Remind yourself of the bigger picture.
Meet The Teacher
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Alex Sommerville
Mr. Alex Sommerville and his wife, Ms. Kate Sommerville - AVP - Pastoral arrived in Jeju in August after long teaching careers, taking in the UK, Italy and Hong Kong. Mr. Sommerville was attracted by the beauty and culture of Korea and the reputation of NLCS Jeju. He says “I love the light and the warmth of our campus. There’s a great atmosphere and of course the students are polite, industrious and dedicated to learning, which is a joy for teachers.” Mr. Sommerville thinks that confidence is key to accessing EAL support. He reminds all his students that they are brilliant - they just have one missing piece of the puzzle and our EAL department is here to help. He urges them to follow the advice above - and to remember that they are in these classes not because they aren't good yet - more that they aren’t as good yet as they are going to be! He KNOWS that all our students are brilliant and tries to find ways to help them show it. Classes should be fun! As a Year 7 Football Coach, Mr. Sommerville has loved his impromptu chats with the teams. His favourite Jeju memory is when it was so windy last week that the kids fell over in football and the balls blew away! His final word? “Buy a Kindle and READ. You’ll never regret it.”
Geography Field Trips
North London Collegiate School Jeju
We never take for granted our amazing island of Jeju. It makes field trips much more exciting as our Year 9 Geographers found out this week. Here, the boys are exploring the local coastline. They visited a sandy beach near Songaksan to measure vegetation diversity and visited Oedolgae Stack Rock near Seogwipo to look at cliff features and coastal erosion. Wonderful weather! Thank you to Ms. Kate Fowler for the pics and to Ms. Alison Tuck and all her department for the organisation and enthusiasm to make this week happen!
MUSIC Instrumental Music - Taster Trial Lessons!
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Did you miss out on the instrument of your choice?! We would like to give you/your son/daughter the chance to sign up for a short block of lessons (either 30 minute or 1 hour) starting on November 9 and lasting for 4 weeks. We are able to open this opportunity up due to the restructuring of our school calendar. Perhaps you missed the sign up deadline in August or your son/daughter would like to try studying a new instrument or take up an old hobby. Now is the perfect chance. Sign up by Wednesday 28 October. All info is HERE
STUDENT CAMPAIGNS The Plight of Birds in the School Area Not all projects in school are big - sometimes it’s about noticing the little details. Well done to Anica Hwang in Year 12 who is passionate about protecting animal life here on Jeju. She has noticed that glass windows within the GEC can be harmful to birds who fly into them. This week she met with the Bursar to discuss how we can protect the birds. Her project will involve research and planning and potential solutions to this problem.
Diversity Week
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Catherine Wu and the Cultural Awareness Committee are busy planning an incredible Diversity Week. The aim is to raise awareness of many nations outside Korea and many different issues of race, culture and heritage. Many of the Embassies in Korea are contributing - along with members of our own community. We hope to bring samples of food, music, costumes, literature and more from each country. We’ll keep you posted! Catherine says - “I have been planning for the Diversity week with my committee for a few months now. We wanted it to be an event that will include exhibitions and an assembly as well as activities and cultural foods which will actively engage all students and staff in this school. Huge efforts have been put in for this event by different groups ranging from members in my committee, teachers who are keen to participate, and the marketing department which has supported and guided the whole process. With this hard work in place, I am looking forward to everyone having lots of fun and learning more about different cultures.� Put November 16 in your diary.
E-Waste Day
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Environmental Awareness Society - E-Waste Disposal Wednesday was E-waste Disposal Day around the world and our enterprising Environmental Awareness Society have organised the safe disposal of any unwanted electronics and batteries. Well done to the team - this is an enormous problem and one small gesture makes you part of the solution not the problem. Our initiative has got us in the news! Jeju Weekly has published a story about NLCS Jeju and our efforts. See it HERE
NEW STUDENTS Online Information Sessions
North London Collegiate School Jeju
We have been running our usual Information Sessions for the many interested potential parents enquiring about NLCS Jeju. It’s not been advisable to do these in person so we have been presenting from here in Jeju to families as far afield as Seoul, Busan, Hong Kong and New York. Please keep your friends updated and if anyone would like to talk about joining NLCS Jeju they can contact admissions@ nlcsjeju.kr In the meantime we are running a Boarding Online Information Session on Friday October 23.
STUDENT SPORTS
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Our Sports Council are now creating a weekly newsletter direct to you every Monday morning. Find out about School sports fixtures and personalities. Who’s playing what and why? There are opinion pieces on global sports, too and loads of great visuals. Don’t forget to take a look! SPORTS COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
STUDENT WORK Teachers at NLCS Jeju see a lot of great work as we are an academic school and our students work exceptionally hard. Sometimes teachers think the work is so good it just MUST be shared. Ms. Gillian Hawkins shared some exceptional project work from her Year 4 students from their studies on The Greeks and Rainforests.
North London Collegiate School Jeju
North London Collegiate School Jeju
BOARDING Darangswi Campfires Our Junior boarders have a wonderful time on weekends. AHMS, Ms.Vivienne Brookes and Mr. Seungmo Chung organise so many great activities - sports, arts, academic and more. Last weekend they planned a campfire with marshmallows, hot chocolate and music. We’ll keep you updated about planned taster sessions - Mr. Freeman and the team will be inviting all of you for taster sleepovers! The first one is for Year 5 on Fri 23 October - Sunday 25 October. Come and join us!
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Taster Sessions All our Houses run taster sessions throughout the year. We understand that our parents - and our students - want to know what it’s like before they decide to board. We advise • • • • • • •
Try a taster Ask a friend Read the newsletter and social media for fun stories Check out the Geomun video below Talk to your HM/AHM during House time Contact AVP - Head of Houses - Mr. Peter Scargill or VP - Pastoral - Mr. Toby Waterson Attend the Online Information Session - All About Boarding on October 23. It’s designed for new parents and existing day parents of Years 4-13 to ask all they need to know!
A Geomun Weekend HM, Ms. Stella Taylor of Geomun has shared a film made by the Geomun students. We love this fun guide to life in their House. Contact Ms. Taylor with any questions.
FILM COMPETITION
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Make a film and have some fun! Have a look at the poster for details. A great opportunity to get planning, writing, directing and producing your own film in this GEC student film competition. Pop into Marketing for tips from Mr Tuffs and Mr Kim. Let’s show the other GEC schools how it’s done!
ENGLISH IS FUN
Pictures of the week
Picture by Glenn Roberts (Senior School Director of Sport)
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Pictures of the week
Picture by Sharon Kennington (Senior School Head of Art DP Visual Arts)
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Pictures of the week
North London Collegiate School Jeju
Picture by Sandra Coll (Senior School Latin)
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