RIS Parent Newsletter - November 2011

NOVEMBER 2011

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1

RIS November Newsletter

RAINBOW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

For A Bright Future!

Greetings from the Principal Dear Parents, Thank you to those parents who attended Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 21st and 22nd. Please continue to communicate with your child’s teacher throughout the school year. The teachers are best able to speak about the specific academic, social and emotional needs of your child.

PT conferences are a very important time for parents and teachers to work together to continue the great academic growth that students are making this year. If you were unable to attend your conference, please contact your child’s teacher to set up another time.

Parents are a vital component in student success in school and it is very important that parents and teachers are working together to help enhance student learning. We appreciate your efforts!

We have been working hard this year to provide students with an understanding of the challenges and difficulties other people around the world may face. Students have expanded their understanding of situations such as drought, famine, civil war and natural disaster.

RIS staff, students and families came together to raise awareness and funds to donate to the African people of Somalia, who are suffering from a major drought and Turkey when an earthquake devastated the country.

Teachers have been able to educate our students on the importance of helping others in need and students have responded positively. We look forward to continuing the development of our compassionate community participants throughout this school year.

Emin Huseynov EARCOS (www.earcos.org) On Thursday October 13th Rainbow International School welcomed EARCOS member Dr K. for a visit to evaluate our school. EARCOS, the East Asia Regional Council of Schools, is an organization of 120 member schools in East Asia.

Membership in EARCOS is open to elementary and secondary schools in East Asia which offer an educational program using English as the primary language of instruction. EARCOS inspires student learning through its leadership and service and fosters intercultural understanding, global citizenship and exceptional educational practices within the learning community.

Dr. K spent the whole day observing and talking with school staff, teachers and students. Upon the completion of his visit, Dr. K had many positive points to report about RIS. We are happy to report that RIS has been accepted as a member of EARCOS and we look forward to the professional development this success will bring our school. Great work everyone!

“Bitter are the roots of study, but how sweet their fruit.”

Cato “The highest result of education is tolerance.”

Helen Keller

Telephone +82(0)2-571-2917 Facsimile +82(0)2-572-2916 2-32 Yangjae 1-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 137-886 WWW.RISCHOOL.ORG

Rainbow International School

Lends a Hand!

MY TEACHER

At RIS our teachers are committed to educating our students academically in all subject areas such as Mathematics, Social Studies, English, Korean, Turkish and science. However, we are also dedicated to developing compassionate community members. We have been working hard this year to provide students with an understanding of the challenges and difficulties other people around the world may face. Students have expanded their understanding of situations such as drought, famine, civil war and natural disaster.

On October 21st & 22nd, RIS students and families came together to raise awareness and funds to donate to the African people of Somalia, who are suffering from a major drought. Students and Teachers from all grades worked together as one to organize a fantastic bake sale. Everyone lent a hand one way or another to make the event a success. RIS families not only donated baked goods, but also their time and effort to help others in need. In just two days our school was able to raise 1 million won to assist those in Somalia.

RIS did not stop at helping Somalia. On October 23 rd a major natural disaster struck Turkey when an earthquake devastated the country. Many people were killed and many more have now been left homeless due to the destruction of the quake. Our students expressed their concerns for the people of Turkey and decided that we must help. In an effort to raise funds, we decided to combine our Fall Festival with a fundraiser for Turkey. We are proud to announce that RIS students raised 1 million won that will be donated to the help the people of Turkey affected by the quake.

 What a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased.  The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.  A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.  Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions.

Don't Waste Food.

Save food, Save Life.

25,000 people are dying because of hunger every day. We are lucky that we are not one of them. But are we sensible enough to understand their pain of dying because of hunger? We have to focus only how every one of us can solve the problem or at least could be part of the solution. So let's promise that we would never waste food because it is like raising the problem of "World Hunger".

A candle loses none of its light by lighting another candle.

NOVEMBER 2011

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1

CARING

Character Word for November:

Caring How do you show that you care for others?  A caring person is kind---remembering to give others a chance to change.  A caring person is grateful for what they have.  A caring person can forgive others when a mistake is made.  A caring person helps people who are in need of help.

CARING kids say things like this...  I brought food to school to donate to needy families in our area.  I know my friend was upset so I sat beside her at lunch today.  I made my own bed because I care about how I keep my room.  I helped my parents without being asked, they smiled and were so proud of me.  I said thank you to a classmate for loaning me a pencil when they noticed I did not have one yesterday. I will remember to help someone else.

.

Human Body Organ Systems

Our body is really incredible.  The face contains more than 50 muscles, which give us our huge range of facial expressions.  Your heart beats with enough strength to shoot blood a distance of 30 feet.  An individual blood cell takes about 60 seconds to make a complete circuit of the body.  2 million red blood cells die every second.  Bones are 4 times stronger than concrete.  The kidneys filter over 400 gallons of blood each day.  70% of the dust in your home consists of shed human skin.  On average, the stomach produces 2 liters of Hydrochloric Acid daily.  About 1 liter of blood flows through the brain every minute.  There are approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.

"All organisms are cellular societies joined by networks of energy and information"

 The most selfish one-letter word…  The most satisfying two-letter word…

“I” “WE”

 The most poisonous three-letter word… “EGO”  The most used four-letter word…

“LOVE”

 The most pleasing five-letter word… “SMILE”

AVOID IT USE IT OVERCOME IT VALUE IT KEEP IT

RIS COMPETITION

SPELLING BEE FUN! On October26th, representatives from Grades 1-5 competed in RIS’s first Spelling Bee ever! It was an exciting time for all, as classmates cheered for their representatives to rise to the top. Although the race was very close, Monica Jeon(Grade 3) came out on top as the Spelling Bee Champ.

Coming in at second place was Nasar Chaudhry(Grade 1) and third place, Hadiqa Chaudhry(Grade4).

We hope everyone enjoyed our Spelling Bee! They are one of the most exciting ways for elementary school students to compete in a friendly, educational environment. There are many benefits to spelling bees, with the obvious being that it will improve spelling—but it also boosts selfconfidence and literary skills. Thus, we hope to see you at our next spelling bee!! Buzz bzzzz!!

However, our teachers are so proud of all of the students who participated in the competition by studying their words daily. The students’ hard work and dedication was clearly evident at the bee. Many were impressed at the difficult words our students could spell correctly!

BULLYING Although, there have not been any incidences of student bullying and harassment reported in both the elementary and middle schools over the years, students still need to understand that they don't have to be physically beaten up or hurt to be a victim of bullying.

Persistent teasing, being threatened, and name calling can all be classed as forms of bullying.

There are lots of reasons why people are bullied. Some students are picked on because of their culture or race, while others are chosen because of their weight, the clothes they wear, or because they're clever - things that no-one should be ashamed of.

Students are encouraged to report any and all forms of bullying and harassment to RIS faculty, staff, and administration.

 No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers.

Unknown  The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

Ram Dass  Writing is good, thinking is better. Cleverness is good, patience is better.

Hermann Hesse

Grade Two Are you feeling a bit blue?

“Books fall open, you fall in” On Monday October 17th Rainbow International School started participating in the D.E.A.R. program.

D.E.A.R. stands for Drop Everything And Read. D.E.A.R. is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage students, teachers, administrators, and families to make reading together on a daily basis a priority. The D.E.A.R. program is endorsed by major associations and companies across the world, such as The National Education Association (NEA), Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Walden Media, HarperCollins Children’s Books, and many more!

Now, the majority of the population celebrates D.E.A.R. on April 12 th, which is National D.E.A.R. day in the United States. The D.E.A.R. program is celebrated on Beverly Cleary’s birthday, author of the Ramona Quimby series. Ramona Quimby, the programs official spokesperson, is responsible for spreading the word and the love of reading.

Literacy and Comprehension are an integral part of learning and to help facilitate our student’s academic growth in those areas Rainbow International will incorporate 15 minutes into every school day where the entire building drops what they are doing, picks up a book, and reads. By participating in this program we hope to interest more students in reading and expand their vocabulary and general knowledge.

The D.E.A.R. Challenge will challenge the students to read outside of the building. At the end of the challenge the person who has read the most will receive a prize and the class with the best cumulative total will also receive a prize. We will be judging the students on the number of minutes they have read for, not the number of pages or books. The students who read outside the building should have you sign their reading log, verifying they did read for the written time. At the completion of their books they should fill out the “What Did You Read?” form that is in their reading log. With your help we hope to develop the student’s vocabulary, knowledge and literary skills and who knows, maybe you’ll start your own D.E.A.R. challenge at home!

Please check out the D.E.A.R. picture video on the library website https://sites.google.com/site/rislibrarywebsite/

Well, we have the best medicine for you! Come on a trip with us to Peru!

If this place doesn't make you smile, then perhaps you can come to England on our next stop, too!

Every country that we look at the students is introduced to the population, currency, languages, capital city, location, food, important historical sites, how people make a living and more!

If Peru doesn't sound good, maybe Science is for you! We are wrapping up our unit on animals and moving on to life cycles. We will have a lot of fun creating skits on the different stages. After we will video tape and post them on our blog!

In Mathematics for the month of November we will be starting Unit 3. Inside this unit are plane shapes, solid shapes, and fractions. Can you tell me where the vertices and edges are on that shape? Well you will be able to ask the Grade 2 students to give you a hand!

This is going to be a very fun and interesting month! Parents, if you would ever like to come and help out in our class for a half-day or day, please email me. We would love to have you!

RIS Soccer Team Eighteen RIS Elementary and Middle School students from 4rd to 8th Grade signed up for the RIS soccer team 2011, and look striking in their whitered-blue uniforms. They practice every Wednesdays, and participated in the 2011 International Youth Football Championship organized by Europe-Korea Foundation (EKF). The "DOLPHINS" have played six hard-fought games in October against international schools and won three games with nice scores. Congratulations! GO DOLPHINSSSSS!!

“Stop looking at the distance and get started!"

FUN WEEK

FALL FESTIVAL! This year our philanthropy committee, headed by Ms. Davis and Ms. Sawlor, put on a school-wide Fall Festival to celebrate the new season and to raise money and awareness for our ongoing philanthropic efforts.

The festival was held on Friday, October 28th, and the students and classes spent the week before making fall and Halloween-themed crafts in their art and homeroom classes. The halls, auditorium, cafeteria, and gym were transformed into a festive house of horrors with bats, pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, and the spooky silhouettes of trees adorning their passageways.

The decorating began early in the morning, and each middle school class went to their assigned room to set up Ms. Sawlor’s Bowling, Ms. Maher’s Duckie Grab, Ms. Jones’ Go Fish, Ms. R’s Basketball, Ms. Suhyun’s Face-painting, and Ms. Rukiye’s Pin the Nose on the Clown station areas.

Areas on the third floor were also designated for Mr. Muhammed Ali’s Photobooth and Ms. Ross’ Popcorn/Halloween Movie station, so the students had their pick of exciting activities throughout the afternoon.

All students were allowed to eat a pizza lunch in their classrooms beforehand and were then separated into groups to make the festival rotations run smoothly. Each station contained bags of prizes that the children were given after completion of each game or competition. The games were interactive yet simple and allowed for a welcome break after such a productive first quarter of school. All throughout the day, one could hear laughing and the playful chatter of the RIS family coming together for a fun and philanthropic-minded event.

Students and teachers were allowed to dress up in costumes on the big day, provided they donate to the relief fund, which allocated aid for the recent earthquake that devastated parts of Turkey. The school raised almost 400,000 KRW, with Ms. Esther’s 1st grade class taking first place in overall donations. There was also a competition for the most creative costume. The RIS student council had a tough time choosing the finalists because so many of our students and teachers came out in full costumed force. In the end, the winner was Nahan Rehman for her sweet angel costume. Runners-up included Maan Altayyar’s funny mummy and Sofia Brantes’ patriotic Betsy Ross costume.

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.

November Events

November 2 – Field Trip November 15 – Birthday Party November 15 – First Volume of RIS Student Newspaper November 21 – Professional Development Day November 25 – 2nd Quarter Progress Report Card November 30 – PTA Meeting

TECHNOLOGY

How Has Steve Jobs & Apple Changed Our Lives?

Millions of people from all over the world have shared their memories, thoughts, and feelings about Apple icon Steve Jobs, including RIS’ Grade 5 Class. In social Studies class Grade 5 students looked

Apple change my live by helping my with my school homework.

In school I don’t have to write the home work in my book. Also, the Ipad can give me fun games to play at home and on the bus. I think the Ipad inventions are fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

back at Steve Jobs’ life and the influence he has had on our world. All students expressed how they’ve been touched by his passion and creativity. Here is what some students had to say…

When I got my Ipad I was so excited. The Ipad had made my life so much easier!

On the Ipad I like to listen to music and read books. Sometimes I download jokes to make myself or someone else laugh and be happy.

Thank you Steve Jobs for inventing the Ipad!!! It is so fun  -Written by Amina

-Written By: Jeny Kim Steve Jobs changed my life in many ways. I can play games on the Ipad. My mom can look at cooking apps for recipes.

I can

go on skype and see my friends.

I can

I can listen to music.

even go to brainpop in science class.

I like my Ipad because I

can take pictures, videos and I can even zoom in. I like Ipads because they to make my life easier!!!

-Written By: Joshua Steve Jobs make the iphone4, Ipad, IPod, MacBook and he made the apple company he also made the Pixar name. Mr.Jobs updated the apple company and his first computer was made in his garage.Mr.jobs let me hear music that I like in Ipad. He also let me see my best movies that like in Ipad. Finally he let me talk

with

anybody

in

the

world

on

the

iPhone.

-Written By: Mohammed

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Steve Jobs

MIDDLE SCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL KNOWLEDGE COMPETITION KNOWLEDGE COMPETITION “If you have knowledge, let other light their candles in it.”

Margaret Fuller Students bustled noisily into the auditorium on the 3rd floor at Rainbow International School. They quickly took their named tags, headed to their assigned tables and settled in to list to the rules. Soon enough a hush came over the room, the lights went out, and all of the students turned towards the video screen. The first pulsing beats of techno music blasted from the speakers and the students locked their eyes on the simulation prepared for this occasion. The teams were ready to battle it out in this year’s first knowledge competition.

The four teams were: red, blue, green and orange. Each team had representatives from grades 6, 7, and 8 in order to promote teamwork, cooperation, and school unity. As the beat continued the students excitement grew visibly as the simulation unveiled what subjects they would be test on. History, Language Arts, Science, Art, Foreign Language, and Math, to which a collective group of moans followed.

"Ding-ding" went the bell and round 1 of 3 began. The students chattered and worked together as a team worked to beat the clock, which stood at 45 seconds, in order to uncover the best possible answer. They were faced with video clips, audio clips, paintings, equations, and pronunciations.

As the music ticked on the atmosphere and tension in the room grew, each team striving to beat the other 3. When the buzzer sounded at the end of each question there was excitement from those who knew they got it right and encouragement from teammates regardless of the outcome. As round 2 faded into round 3 you could see every middle school student working with their team and these teams began to work as a unit that could have been partnered together for weeks let alone for 15 minutes. It was an amazing site and it exemplified the strength and character that R.I.S. students have inside of them.

Knowledge  Knowing is not enough; we must apply.

Willing is not enough; we must do.

Goethe  If you never try, you will never know.

Unknown  Knowledge is antidote to fear Ralph Waldo Emerson

When the final buzzer sounded the end of round 3 the tension mounted. At the end of round 2 there had been a three-way tie between the red, blue and green teams. The students buzzed with excitement while they waited for their teachers to unveil the results.

Finally, the results were tallied and a sudden hush fell across the room. The standings were as follows: Red Team in third place with 19 points, Green and Orange team tied for second with 20 points, and Blue team came in first with 21 points! It was a close race and the score exemplifies how well the students at R.I.S. learn, retain, and apply the information they had learned.

Congratulations to the Blue Team and I hope that as the year goes on the students at R.I.S. continue to exceed the expectations and obstacles set before them.

GRADE FOUR

On Wednesday, November 2nd RIS students were rewarded for their hard work, dedication to learning, and strong academic performance by going on a field trip to Lotte World.

It was a picture-perfect autumn day in Seoul. The

The grade fours quickly found out what would happen if they misbehaved!

Fasten your seatbelts everyone..!

weather was warm and sunny, and the trees were aglow with shades of red, orange, and gold. RIS students were buzzing with excitement from the moment they arrived at school. I got to tag along with the Grade Fours on this textbook day!

I would like to thank the grade fours for their excellent behavior, enthusiasm, and navigational

Grade Four Boys enjoy some slushies!

Grade Four Girls strike a pose!

skills. It my first trip to Lotte World and they were fantastic tour guides! It was a fun-filled day, packed

with

merriment

and

long-lasting

memories…  “Glorius Grade Fours!!”

Lama and Miju in line for the scariest ride of the day…

The Jiro Swing!!

Dear Parents, It is starting to get cold. Please send students with cold-weather outdoor clothing every day: jackets, boots, hats, gloves/mittens.

RAINBOW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Super Baby Was Born

Tall Tales In English Language Arts class Grade 5 have been reading and learning about Tall Tales. Students were able to apply the tall tale elements of humor, exaggeration and impossible situations to their own story writing.

Great Job Grade 5!! 

The GIANT GRANDMOTHER Written by: Juliana & Jeny Once upon a time there was a giant grandmother. She was so strong, but very old. When she wanted new clothes she asked the village people and the village had to make them. They worked on making the grandmother’s clothes for one year, but they couldn’t finish. The giant grandmother was so big, fat and old that in one step she could squash Hawaii. One day the village people couldn’t make her clothes because there was no material left for the clothes to be made from. She was so sad that she went home and cried and she cried until there was an ocean, which later became known as the Pacific Ocean. The grandmother was so sad she decided to move. So she moved to China and carried her house with her. On her way she went through Alaska, then Indonesia, then in one giant step she was in China. While she was there she wanted to be alone because of her sadness, so she created a large wall to hide herself from others. In china this wall eventually became known as the Great Wall of China. THE END.

Written by Amina & Yura Once upon a time, there was a small town. In the town, there was a woman who had 10 babies. One of the babies had super strong powers and he could break one planet at once! His name was Nick Murray.

One day, Nick got hungry, he saw the solar system. He jumped to the sky and caught Mars! Then he started to eat Mars! After he ate all of Mars he was still hungry. He started to pick up coconuts. When he collected all the coconuts, he ate them all at once, but it did not make Nick full. So he tried to eat the coconut trees too! Later he became full.

Another day, Pluto and some rocks fell down. He caught Pluto and the rocks and he ate them, but he ate half of Pluto and let it go. When he ate, he could see the clouds. When he walked, he hurt his leg and tried to sit down.

On the ground there were many screaming voices and crying voices. He was sitting on the houses! He ran and ran away. He was so scared. After he ran, he rested. Then he ran one more time!

Eventually Nick Murray was an adult. He didn’t wanted to be an adult because he wanted to eat a lot of baby food. But he thought when he was a baby everybody liked him and they give him treats. Now he is an adult, but he doesn’t get treats. But, now he was happy because he is going to think about his adult life.

When he started to live in the Town, he saw beautiful women. He wanted to marry her, so he sent a message to her. When she saw Nick Murray she wanted to marry him too! So they married together. The women’s name was Alia Basra. Alia made over 1 billion tiny babies and that is how the world’s population began. *This story teaches us how the first population of people was on earth!!!!!

MATHEMATICS COMPETITION NUMBERS IN PICTURES COMPETITION IS STARTING...

PURPOSE: TO SHOW STUDENTS MATH AND ART RELATIONSHIP. BEGINING DATE: 11/01/2011 FINISHING DATE:11/15/2011 RULES: JUST DRAW A PICTURE WHATEVER YOU WANT BUT YOU MUST USE NUMBERS IN YOUR PICTURE.AND YOU WILL GET A SCORE. ALSO I AM GOING TO CHOOSE THREE WINNER.SURPRISE PRESENTS ARE WATING YOU...(Rukiye Karakurt)

HERE SOME EXAMPLES FOR YOU:

THINK, TALK & WRITE!

RIS is very proud of presenting a Journalism Club. The Middle School Head Teacher Ms.Jaclyn Jones and RIS students started to publish a Student Newspaper. The journalism club members have been working really hard to make great articles! The first issue of the new RIS student newspaper will be published on Tuesday, November 15.

RAINBOW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Education is all a matter of building bridges.

RAINBOW

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 2-32 Yangjae 1-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 137-886 Phone: +82-2-571-2917 Fax : +82-2-572-2916

FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE!

WWW.RISCHOOL.ORG

Ralph Ellison