SCIS-HIS Communitas magazine First Quarter 2015

Shanghai Community International School & Hangzhou International School

First Quarter 2015

Chloe, Grade 9 Gifted Dancer

Alissa, Grade 12 Devoted Individual

Kevin, Grade 11 Committed Athlete

Neela, Grade 11 Expressive Performer Nemo, Grade 8 Creative Musician

Nurturing Achievers

TABLE OF CONTENTS Features

P. 32-33 // Theme Feature

Nurturing Achievers

P. 16 // Director’s Letter

Welcome letter Katherine Brewer P. 17 // Art Gallery

The wonderful creative world of art at HIS P. 18-19 // Host Culture

How has English Influenced Chinese People?

P. 4 // Superintendent’s Letter P. 5 // Editor’s Letter P. 6-7 & P. 10-13 // Curriculum:

What is Science?

Social Studies Call of Duty: Promoting Academic Achievement 2

P. 34-37 // Hongqiao

Campus Highlights

Student Ambassadors SCIS Middle School students helping other students Validity Testing through Investigative Learning

P. 20-25 // Hangzhou

The International Primary Curriculum at HIS Teaching Science Effectively with the IPC

P. 42-43 // Hongqiao ECE

Busy as Popcorn on a Skillet!

Nurturing Young Readers, Writers and Inquirers

P. 26-29 // Pudong

SCIS-Pudong A “New” Campus Experience Inquiry as a Frame of Mind P. 8-11 // Educational Insights

Mobile Apps and Online Tools for Student Success Social and Emotional Competence in Young Children —The Foundation for School Readiness and Achievement

P. 46-47 // Coach Corner

Meet Timothy Wee

P. 48-49 // Student Spotlight

Chloe Huang Passion, Gratitude and the road to great achievements

An Afternoon with Heart to Heart P. 56-57 // The Librarian Corner

P. 59-62 // Partner

What Texting Can Do To Your Spine

P. 38-41 // Community Feature

P. 50-51 // Alumni Interview

Emma Merritt Steadfast and Aspired for Greatness

P. 44-45 // Technology

Technology’s Impact on Academic Achievement at SCIS

P. 54-55 // PAFA

Dine in at one of Hangzhou’s Laid-back Café Joint.

Steven Stankiewicz Adventure Teaching the Ride of Your Life

VOLLEYBALL DRAGON CUP 2015

Golden Dragons: Meet the Kaptzan Family

P. 58 // Favourite Spot in the City

P.30-31// Teacher Spotlight

United Nations International Day of Peace

P. 52-53 // Family Spotlight

Community

De Oranje Draak How to take care of the environment …wearing a school uniform?

College Application Tip: How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activities 3

SUPERINTENDENT ‘S LETTER

Dear SCIS-HIS Community and Friends, It is remarkable to note this is our 20th year of schooling in China, beginning with just a handful of students and even fewer teachers at our SCIS-Changning campus in 1996. Shanghai Community International School and Hangzhou International School (SCIS-HIS), now serve over 2200 students from over 60 nationalities on 4 campuses at 3 schools in 2 cities with the same single mission that has served us so well since our first days in Changning.

Our mission is to provide all of our students with opportunities to pursue academic and personal excellence in nurturing, international community environments. Providing meaningful and challenging opportunities that address the intelligences, learning styles, skills, interests, passions, needs, hopes and dreams of over 2200 individual students requires support from home and the dedication and expertise of a truly professional and experienced team of educators. In this edition of the Communitas magazine, we share “Academic Achievement” at SCIS-HIS schools.

Several years ago, we asked SCIS-HIS faculty to describe what learning looks and feels like. This exercise contributed to the development of our vision for learning. At SCIS-HIS schools, our vision for learning sees students that are actively engaged, included, motivated, committed, inspired, excited, challenged and… successful. Our learning program is rigorous, which we define as the goal of helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex, ambiguous, provocative and personally or emotionally challenging. And our learning program is successful, as evidenced by the outstanding NWEA scores, which average well above the international school norm reference, and a continuing legacy of citywide and global excellence on IB Diploma results. No other international school in China can claim to have 100% participation in IB Diploma Program coursework, 88% pass rate and 34 average points.

An important highlight of academic achievement within SCIS-HIS schools is that we develop opportunities that are ‘just right’ for each student, fitting the program to the student rather than forcing the student into the program.

This takes an incredible amount of planning, expertise and commitment, but for two decades we have consistently demonstrated the ability to match opportunity with excellence. We know that students have many different talents and aptitudes, and reaching levels of excellence requires high levels of support from the community, especially to remind our learners that mistakes and failures are prerequisites to the pathway of success. Our professional educators are carefully selected because of their demonstrated knowledge and skill at effectively reaching students with a wide range of learning abilities and language proficiencies. They are experts at guiding students in their learning choices and channeling student efforts to their strengths and interests. They are the best… and our community deserves them.

At SCIS-HIS schools, we also include parents and professional educators in the development of our learning community as we recognize that learning is a lifelong need. Parents know that no two children are the same, and we understand that each child has different learning styles and unique needs. At SCIS-HIS schools, we understand that education is a uniquely human enterprise, and we understand that our business is learning. On the following pages, you will be able to read more about academic achievement at SCIS-HIS schools, but I hope you also gain a sense through the images of what learning looks and feels like within our very unique network of schools. Enjoy!

Jeffry R. Stubbs Superintendent of Schools 4

EDITOR’S LETTER

First Quarter 2015 Editor Mikael Masson Perez Art Director Mun Yee Choo ...............................................

The Communitas Magazine is published four times per year catered primarily for the SCIS-HIS community and our friends, but also the larger Shanghai-Hangzhou community in general.

Everyone involved in the making of the Communitas magazine work diligently to bring enlightening and interesting content to our readers, however we are always open to opinions and suggestions as we are constantly looking for ways in which we can improve.

Moreover, we greatly welcome submissions to our magazine and we will willingly include contributions to future issues.

Should you have any commentary, observations, wish to submit articles or inquire as to ways to collaborate, feel free to send all inquiries/correspondence to the Communitas editor via email at mmasson@scis-his.org.

We are social! Feel free to visit us on the web at www.scis-his.org and follow us

From the Editor In the words of Heraclitus “The only constant in life is change�. This is especially apparent in a city such as Shanghai, where amidst such rapid expansions of all things, the theme is all too familiar. The very same can be said about the beginning of a new school year at SCIS-HIS. It is a transitional period for everyone involved in the community, where students move from one educational environment into another, and educators, staff and families alike prepare for the transformations that lay ahead. For some of us, it is also a time where chapters of our lives are concluded and new ones begin, as we say goodbye to old friendships and the habitual while preparing to forge new ones and explore unfamiliar territory.

But, if there is one thing I have learned to appreciate growing up in Shanghai and attending SCIS-HIS for seven years, is that we should embrace such changes!

Looking back, I am amazed at how much I was able to achieve, not only academically but personally, and much of this growth can be attributed to changes that occurred along the way. As the new editor of the Communitas magazine, I hope to utilize my personal experience as a former student to revitalize the content enclosed in this issue and futures ones to come. To now be able to come back to this amazing community of like-minded individuals is truly a blessing in disguise, and my only wish it to embody the pride and vitality of SCIS-HIS!

As a community we have accomplished so much together, and so we dedicate the first issue of the 2015-2016 school year to celebrating achievements of past and future ones to come. In the subsequent pages, you will find a collection of articles and stories from members of the community highlighting the various types of achievements in academia that we continuously strive to foster as an educational institution.

From all of those involved in the making of this magazine, from the contributors to my colleagues in the marketing department, we wish you a pleasurable reading ahead. I would like to express my gratitude and thanks to all of the teachers, staff, students, and parents who have participated and submitted articles. I have greatly enjoyed reading every single entry and I am confident that you will too.

Sincerely,

Mikael Masson Perez Editor

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What is Science?

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former colleague liked to start the school year off in each of his classes with the question; what is science?

In discussions with students afterwards they informed me that it was a really hard question to answer. A lot of them struggled to come up with an answer as they sat and pondered. Math is numbers, language arts is words, history is a story of the past... but what is science?

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Science is lots of things to tell you the truth. Also in apology to my colleagues who teach math, language arts, and history who may take umbrage with my simplifications earlier; math is more than numbers, language arts is more than words, and history more than a story. My intentions were to show that it’s hard to come up with a single word that connects to science. I would however throw this word into the mix when trying to describe what science is: “discovery”. Along with discovery science is also our explanations for our discoveries. The universe is an amazing place and science is the process we use to discover and explain the world around us.

As with many things it begins with an observation and then a question.

There are often more questions than answers. Most times it seems as teachers we ask the questions. I’ve been trying to move away from doing that more in my science classes lately. To start the year with my 9th grade students I asked them to come up with their own question and then carry out an experiment to answer that question. They didn’t come up with entirely new Earth shattering questions it turns out but chose to do experiments they’d heard about but never tried.

What kind of fruit or vegetable produces the most voltage when connected to copper and zinc electrodes? Does hot water really freeze faster than cold water? What is the best type of soda to use with a package of Mentos to get the biggest reaction? How quickly will aspirin tablets dissolve in different liquids?

On the day of the experiments the science lab is a rather interesting place to be. Walking around the room you can see four completely different experiments happening at the same time. At times a few gentle reminders need to be given that students remember to manage their own lab project and not get to involved watching what another group is doing. Discovery is an enticing enterprise and it seems we’re always interested in what other people are discovering as well. A lot of times there’s also the discovery that what seemed like a good plan on paper doesn’t work 100% in practice.

Some experimenters discovered things they weren’t expecting and some experimenters found that what they thought would happen happened. After the lab and the discoveries, we can move onto the explanations. Why did these things happen? What do our results mean? How could we improve our methods if we were to do it again? What have others found out that did similar experiments and how do our results compare to theirs?

In the end what I’m hoping is that my students find that science is discovery, exploration, and learning. Our discoveries change our understanding of the world around us and allow us to create new explanations and ideas to build on previous knowledge. Science as a whole follows the same pattern as humanity discovers new ideas, creates better explanations, and furthers understanding.

By Jacob Haag HIS Upper School Science Instructor 7

EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS

Mobile Apps and Online Tools for Student Success

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he proliferation of social media and technology has changed the way educators teach, how students learn, and the way teachers and students communicate. Most adolescents cannot imagine spending a day without their mobile devices. A recent study conducted by The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University found that an average user checks his/her mobile device around one hundred and fifty times a day. This number is speculated to be much higher among the adolescent population. Mobile devices are more than a mere distraction.

For many teens, they are the essential ingredient for maintaining a healthy social life. And, when used wisely, they can become an important tool for academic success.

Below is a section of some of the best apps developed to help students interested in utilizing technology to enhance both their studies and their personal wellbeing.

Revision apps These apps are designed to put some fun into an important but often dreaded activity – revision. Among the most popular ones are EverNote Peek (iOS), an app exclusive to the iPad. This app uses revision notes made on EverNote in order to

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quiz users on what they have learned. The iPad2 version utilizes the iPad’s cover to hide and reveal clues for answers to the revision topics, which makes it easier for students to quiz themselves. ExamTime is a web-based revision website, with resources that help students create revision charts, mind maps, flash cards, notes and quizzes in a fun and colorful program.

Another excellent choice is RevisionApp (iOS), which covers all education levels, and Exam Countdown (iOS), which helps students keep track of the time left until an exam or other major assessment. Students who like to learn with flash cards, might like StudyBlue, an app that allows students to browse thousands of flash card collections, or make their own. Gojimo is a free app, which helps students study for upcoming SAT, ACT, AP and IB exams with 150 000 quiz questions and detailed answers.

Student Planner apps All educators agree that organization is key for academic success at virtually all levels. Apps that help students organize their tasks and assignments are very convenient as many of them are able to send reminders and alerts to a student’s mobile device. The most poplar student planner apps include

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Timetable (Android), known for its attractive and user-friendly interface, as well as My Class Schedule (Android), My Study Life and Class Timetable (iOS). Clockwork Tomato is a free app, which offer students a strategy to manage their time while studying. It is based on the idea that frequent breaks help mental agility. The app reminds the student to take a fiveminute break every twenty-five minutes. After four twenty-five minute sessions, a fifteen-minute break is recommended. The app tells students when to break and get back to work.

Bibliography apps EasyBib is an extremely convenient app, which creates an academic reference for any book simply by scanning the book’s barcode. Students can choose between three bibliography styles – MLA, APA and Chicago styles, which is especially useful when working on the Extended Essay!

Personal safety apps As adolescents get older, they become more independent, which means spending more time outside of the house and without direct parental supervision. There are quite a few apps, which have been designed to promote personal safety.

One of the most popular is the Circle of Six app, which works on both Android and iOS. The app is extremely useful in locating lost friends on nights out, and it also allows users to send their circle of six friends an instant call for help at the touch of a button. The GPS tracker indicates the user’s location on friends’ devices, ensuring that they will always be able to find one another. Other safety apps include Watch Over Me, bSafe and React Mobile.

Apps that make staying fit fun One of the more interesting apps that has been developed to help users meet their fitness goals is an app for runners called Zombies, Run! This fun app is a way to get users to push themselves when jogging. The app plays the user’s music playlists alongside an audio recording describing a zombie apocalypse in which the user must run to avoid being infected.

Other excellent fitness apps include Training Club (iOS), Sworkit, Moves, Fitbit (iOS), JeFit, RunKeeper, Strava, 7 Minute Workout and MapMyFitness and, finally, Nudge, an app that collates fitness data from all other apps and puts it in once place.

Sleep and wake-up apps Alarmy: Sleep If You Can is an ingenious app, which prevents students from pressing the snooze button and oversleeping.

The app requires users to complete small tasks, such as taking a photo of something specific, or shaking the phone up and down a number of times before the alarm turns itself off.

Additionally, Alarmy gives weather updates, so students will always know how to dress and what to bring before they leave the house.

Sleep Cycle is an app, which monitors both movement and the time the user goes to sleep, in an attempt to correct sleeping patterns by waking the user during the lightest phase of the sleep cycle. The end result should be waking up feeling less groggy, which leads to a more productive day.

By Maya Kelly SCIS Pudong Campus College Counselor

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EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS

Social and Emotional Competence in Young Children—The Foundation for School Readiness and Achievement

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ocial and emotional competence involves the ability of young children to regulate their emotions, solve social problems, sustain meaningful relationships, and is an important prerequisite for school readiness and academic success. Teachers have long recognized, and numerous research has shown, that ensuring student achievement means addressing and removing any social and emotional barriers to learning.

The early childhood educational setting presents a unique opportunity to foster and shape children’s social and emotional growth and the educators play an important role in promoting the development of prosocial skills. “The teacher-child relationship is an extension of the primary parent-child relationship, and teachers invest in building supportive relationships with families around their common interest, the child”. (Edwards & Raikes) The teachers at the early childhood campus of SCIS are trained to consistently use instructional practices that teach and promote developmentally appropriate skills. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has also emphasized that “preschoolers are capable of engaging in truly cooperative play with their peers and forming real friendships. However, development of these important social skills is not automatic for children. They need coaching and supervision to learn and maintain appropriate behaviors with others”. Thus, the educators at ECE understand the importance of actively teaching, modeling and reinforcing prosocial behaviors in the classrooms.

Further, a love of learning, which is essential for school success, can be only acquired in emotionally supportive environment.

Thus, the early childhood educators put a lot of thought into creating safe, positive and nurturing environment where children learn to identify, share and regulate their feelings. A caring, positive regard for others is actively cultivated and children’s attention is drawn to the feelings and experiences of others. Teachers show respect and appreciation for the children’s cultural and language background and teach the students about the value of acceptance and embracing our differences. This helps the young learners to begin to understand the perspective of their peers and to develop empathy towards others, which is an important skill to acquire and practice at their early age.

The early childhood curriculum is also designed in a way to provide a variety of opportunities for children to work and play together and encourages children to cooperate with their peers.

In addition, the structure and the daily routines of the early childhood setting create a secure environment for social emotional learning and sets consistent expectations for children. This helps children to feel safe and develop trusting relationship with adults and peers while learning and acquiring new skills.

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Navigating through conflict situations is another important skill that helps children to learn how to negotiate and compromise with other children. To support the children with the development of this vital life skill, a conflict resolution program called Kelso’s choices has been implemented in ECE and its language has been used on the campus for the past few years. The essence of this program is that students are taught to differentiate between small problems that they can solve by themselves and big problems that are potentially dangerous and need an intervention from a trusted adult. The students are taught several positive ways to deal with the minor conflicts with peers and are encouraged to try two of the following “choices”: 1. Ignore the problem behavior 2. Tell the person to stop the problem behavior 3. Walk away 4. Share and take turns 5. Talk it over 6. Apologize 7. Wait and cool off 8. Go to another game or activity 9. Make a deal or compromise Using the language of the program, both at home and at school, has already showed results and many of the students have been consistently demonstrating the ability to deal with a conflict in a positive manner and make healthy decisions.

Social and emotional skill development is foundational to all other developmental domains. Socially and emotionally competent children are more prepared and well-equipped for the academic challenges ahead of them, can engage fully in learning and benefit from instruction. They show better academic performance, have a greater motivation to learn and demonstrate better commitment to school. And what can be more important than that?

By Tina Nokova, Hongqiao Campus ECE Student Support Services Specialist

EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS

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Social Studies Call of Duty:

Promoting Academic Achievement

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Portrait of a modern-day kid – better get used to the headphones! taking place. Why then would students ever link wonderful, happy thoughts of achievement with these god-awful places (our classrooms) when they can find mindless panacea immersed in their devices? There is no way that we can compete. We cannot possibly give them the type of instantaneous and stimulating feedback that their iPhone, text messaging, and diabolical video games give them.

“Hey, buddy. What have you achieved today?” No response from son number one because he is locked in a pitched simulated battle with headphones fully attached.

Number two pipes in, “Dad, he watched three movies in a row on his computer, and now he is taking a break with a round of Call of Duty.”

Awesome.

“How about you, pal? What did you get done?”

“Nothing,” which translates into I played on my iPad all day while you were at school creating academic achievement rubrics for an upcoming MYP unit.

Yes. The sweet sound of parenting success.

Our “Call of Duty” as educators (and parents) is to help students recognize, explore, and celebrate logical, rigorous thought and elegant reasoning. To promote this kind of thinking, my most powerful tool is a vibrant trust in the kids – that they are smart, that they will get it, that there is a pleasure to be had in figuring things out. What happens, though, when our students (and children) are driven by and obsessed with the electronic machinations held within the wide and wonderful world of video games? What if intellectualism or academic achievement is the furthest thing from their minds? Could it be possible that our children’s desire to achieve something meaningful is withering under the increasingly hot allure of gaming technologies?

Recently, I was having a conversation about academic assessment with the new high school principal at SCIS Hongqiao, Barclay Lelievre. He said, “Students really just want feedback.” Okay, granted. Positive reinforcement is good and the kids like it.

However, the classroom can be a harrowing place for the insecure teenager. It is here that students fail their quizzes, find out that their wonderful essay was not as wonderful as they had hoped, stumble through attempts to answers questions orally or simply express their ideas, and at times must endure being upstaged by their peers. In other words, not all feedback they get is positive and, if we are doing our jobs as instructors, we should be informing them when academic achievement is not

It is way too easy for modern-day students to resort to the path of least resistance – to routinely shut out those who are encouraging academic achievement and embrace that which makes them feel good. Simply put, academic achievement is too harrowing for many, especially when that device in their hand gives them the warm-and-fuzzies after a few deft finger strokes.

Too many years ago when I was teaching 8th Grade English, I read an article in Harper’s titled “Grand Theft Education: Literacy in the Age of Video Games.” It presented a wonderful discussion about the merits of gaming technologies as teaching devices and, in particular, the teaching of writing.1 During a recent lunch conversation, a colleague of mine in the English Department, Dominic St. Pierre, told me about an assignment he has the kids complete – they must text their parents and use their weekly vocabulary words in conversation. In the process, they must teach their audience the meaning of the words. Clever – using their obsession with devices as a tool for learning. Statistics (and simple observation of SCIS students between classes) show that device usage and gaming are an ever-increasing, time-consuming hobby of teenagers. To play these games, though, one must engage in rote learning. If they are learning, there can be academic achievement taking place say the experts. Much of writing the English language, for example – grammar, spelling, and punctuation – is achieved through the mastery of rote skills. While writing on devices provides a link, teens invariable see games as fun and writing as work. The work of writing and making arguments (and then receiving feedback on their writing) creates pressure that turns off a lot of learners; gaming doesn’t create that pressure.

In both mediums, rules must be learned and skills mastered in order to advance. Use of logic, understanding of cause and effect, and analysis of working problems are intrinsic to gaming, and therefore gaming could play an important role in learning to present arguments in writing. Gaming can also broaden the range of students’ experience from which they can draw when writing. Gaming can trigger imagination and creativity. Along these lines, perhaps gaming can help students to become – ready for a big leap of faith – more self-aware. Perhaps students’ greatest academic achievement, the most important thing that they take away from gaming – oops, I mean schooling – should be developing their sense of self-awareness.

Wait a minute. Stop the press. All I do is teach social studies to the next generation of adults that are attempting to find their place in this world. What do I know about academic achievement and self-awareness? On second thought, maybe my profession makes me uniquely qualified to ponder what it means to achieve and to do so with a global perspective. When I reflect back on 13

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what has driven me – the desire to get the most out of my students, both now and into their futures – I think about my aims as a young teacher fifteen years ago teaching Pre-K through 5th grade Science and Physical Education. My goal then was extraordinarily similar to what it is now as an international teacher of high school social studies classes. I wrote the following for a monthly newsletter during my second year of teaching: I try to make my classroom a place where students work with concepts and ideas, rather than the memorization of names and dates, by volleying their yet-formulated impressions of the world in an open arena of respectful peers. I try to associate worldly ideas with concepts that are familiar to them before requiring them to put some of those ideas on paper. I try to make my classroom a place where students can feel free to make mistakes and learn directly from those mistakes as something they have overlooked (for the time being). I want my classroom to be a place where the students learn to trust their own judgments and thoughts, where they are free to try things in their own way as an expression of their creativity and individuality. I want my classroom to be a place where students learn to work independently, where the students, rather than myself, take responsibility and initiative for learning. I want my students to be actively and personally involved during the whole learning process.

more likely concerned with winning the next volleyball game or, worse, surviving the next attack on Clash of Clans, achieving a more favorable kill ratio on Call of Duty, or moving up the leaderboard on Agario. Don’t get me wrong – I am not immune. I am, at times, single-mindedly fixated on fantasy football. Winning that elusive championship would be wonderful – no doubt the crowning accomplishment of the year that would dominate family conversations for years to come. Never mind the true achievements of the past twelve months: the cultural and historic sites explored, the two wonderful boys that are growing-up to be model global citizens, the adult relationships that we build despite the day-today pressures to stay afloat in this difficult world, the successful beginnings of a life in China . . . No – when talk of achievement comes up around the Astrom dinner table during the holiday season, all talk will go toward fantasy football, the latest win-loss records of the kids’ ball clubs, and what wonderful levels of electronic achievement were earned on the flight back to the states from Shanghai.

Our life overseas: NFL-caliber self-awareness in the making?

A low-tech adventure in Yangshuo

Really? Was I that attuned to the field of education and what it was all about that long ago? As we shift our curriculum at SCIS Hongqiao to the I.B. Middle Years Program, the words I used back then to describe my elementary science classroom are just as appropriate now describing my units of modern history. Now, just like then, I am trying to engineer academic achievement based on what the students want to learn and in a manner in which they are best at learning it. Fundamental to it all is a growing sense of self-awareness in the student and their development of personal inquiry questions. However, what happens when our best ideas about achievement do not match the mindsets of our students?

While I am penning this article, my students are frantically hurrying to prepare an end-of-unit summative assessment that they were supposed to have been preparing for the last five weeks. Most have left it to the final week of the unit, despite it counting for roughly one-quarter of their semester grade. Are they really concerned with academic achievement? It seems that most are 14

In my downtime over the past few weeks and in preparation for the upcoming SCIS Dragons basketball season, I have been watching back episodes of “A Football Life,” wondering what makes the greatest athletes and coaches of the NFL tick. What does it mean for them to achieve? For John Riggins, achievement was to get out of his older brother’s shadow and earn the respect of his father, the man he always wanted to be. As for Brandon Marshall, he is most proud of becoming the public face of mental health as a functional and high-performing Borderline Personality Disorder patient. Coach John Coughlin has always wanted to get the best out of everyone he meets, from his players to his grandchildren, but admits that his crowning achievement would probably be marrying his wife, who has gotten the most out of him. Bill Parcels seemed to be fixated on satisfying “the man in the mirror” at any given moment and getting the most out of him no matter the stage. Barry Sanders simply wants to be the best father than he can be, admitting that he will never be the man that his father was. What links these high-achieving men? The easy answer might be fame and fortune, but that would be wrong. Was it simply that they were successful at the highest level of athletic competition? Sure. Could it be that none of them played video games or relied on devices for stimulation as children? Probably, but to a man, each of them by the end of their NFL journeys had developed an acute sense of self-awareness and had achieved a position of serenity within themselves and

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with their place in the world. What more could we want from our students and children when all is said and done? The “Call of Duty,” then, is to figure out how to make it happen.

At the origin of modern progressive education, John Dewey stipulated that the education of youth, if wholly successful, must have at its core personal and real experiences for the student.

These experiences will then trigger a desire for inquiry, the curiosity of which will then lead them to further pursue books and literature, to frequent libraries, or even to enroll in universities.

They will ultimately engage academia in order to figure out the answers to their own questions. Isn’t this self-awareness leading to academic achievement? Or is it the other way around?

Furthermore, Dewey argues that the purpose of any education |is to prepare students to better appreciate, respect, and understand the world in which they live. In order to do this, Gaming without devices, but with plenty of eye contact

they must learn to think and act for themselves. Academic achievement and self-awareness are one in the same.2 As a social studies teacher and historian, I can attest that history courses can promote self-awareness because history is not only the study of the past, but also a study in the human condition.

We do so by looking at individuals and groups within the context of past cultures. We examine how cultures were created, how they interacted with other cultures, and how cultures change and adjust to new circumstances or are destroyed in the process. Names, dates, and places are simply stepping stones to be used by the historian to enter into the deeper discussions of values and belief systems. The ultimate goal of the historian is to make connections between beliefs – theirs and ours – and the resulting actions of historical characters. You cannot understand history without coming to a greater understanding of yourself; you cannot study people in the past without coming to understand how you are similarly juxtaposed between societal forces.

In short, the study of history creates self-awareness. By the end of their time in my class room, the students will have heard me advise them to “live with your eyes wide open,” to see the forces around them at work that most people do not recognize.

This is where I set my bar of achievement. If they can do this, they will see the world from a different perspective. The more they do this, the more they become self-aware. And the more self-aware they are, the more objective they can be. With objectivity will come a growing consciousness of their own prejudices. They will compensate for them, treating others how they would like to be treated. Perhaps most importantly, they will be making a choice and not simply being shaped by forces they do not understand. And the world will be a better place.

This is academic achievement, and in my humble opinion it has very little to do with how many of the enemy they eradicate on the battlefields of Call of Duty.

Conversing with a ‘Magic the Gathering’ artist – no devices necessary

By Mathew Astrom SCIS Hongqiao Campus High School Social Studies Teacher “Grand Theft Education: Literacy in the Age of Video Games” (Harper’s, Sept. 2006) https://elearning.psu.edu/drupal6/content/aed511/file/grand_ theft_education.pdf

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Dewey, John. The School and Society and The Child and the Curriculum. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1990.

2

SCIS China Trips – learning in nature means no tech required

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DIRECTOR’S LETTER

Dear SCIS Community, This year we welcome four new principals to our school. One of my favorite things about working in international schools is the fresh perspective that new leadership brings to a school. Last year when I knew we were opening up the search for a new High School Principal and a new Lower School Principal, I wanted to make sure that we involved a variety of community members in the selection process. Teachers, parents, students, and last year’s principals all played a part in helping me interview and select Kevin Haggith and Barclay Lelievre to join our leadership team.

Kevin Haggith joins us as our new Lower School Principal. Originally from Canada, he is coming most recently from the American International School of Kuwait where he served as the Elementary Principal for three years. Prior to that, he served as an Assistant Principal in both Kuwait and in Ontario for three years and as a Learning Technology Coordinator in Hong Kong. He holds a Masters in Administration and Leadership from Nipissing University, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Communication from the University of Windsor. Kevin is joined by his wife, Janette Haggith, who serves as our new PYP Coordinator, and their daughter Emma, who is in grade nine.

Barclay Lelievre is joining us as our new High School Principal. Originally from Canada, Barclay has held a number of teaching and leadership roles in Hong Kong, Toronto, and most recently Bangkok. He has an Honours B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Toronto and a teaching license from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. Barclay is currently working on his dissertation to complete his MBA Ed. from Keele University in the U.K. He has extensive experience working directly with the International Baccalaureate Organization as a workshop leader, author, editor and resource developer, in particular with the IB Middle Years Programme. He is joined by his wife Jenna, who teaches at our ECE campus, and their three children, Hayden (Grade 9), Evelyn (Grade 7), and Avery (Grade 4).

We also welcome two new Vice Principals to our team, Kristie O’Brien and Amy Bowley. Kristie O’Brien is joining us as the Lower School VP and is coming from Richfield Minnesota, where she spent the last eight years serving as the Districtwide ESL Coordinator for PK-Grade 12. Internationally, she has also taught in Puerto Rico, and she studied in Costa Rica. She holds a Masters in Educational Leadership, a Masters in English as a Second Language, and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. Kristie is joined by her husband Mathias, who teachers LS Physical Education, and their two children, Alana (Grade 7) and Moses (KG).

And our very own Amy Bowley has stepped into the role of Middle School Vice Principal. Amy has been with SCIS since 2012 when she entered as a Middle School Math Teacher. Amy has also worked in international schools in Mexico, Paraguay, and Brazil, so she brings a wealth of international perspective to our leadership team. Amy holds a Certificate of International School Leadership from the Principals’ Training Center, a Masters in Curriculum and Teaching from Michigan State University, and a Bachelors in Elementary Education and Spanish.

Tina Santilli, our Middle School Principal, and Jessie Koenig, our High School Vice Principal, round out our Hongqiao administrative team. I am extremely honored to be working with such a talented, hard working, caring group of educators who truly love what they do. I know our school will grow under their leadership in the years to come.

Sincerely, Katherine Brewer SCIS Hongqiao Head of School 16

ART GALLERY

Andy Wu, Grade 5

Adriano, Grade 4

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Aanya Sharma, Grade 5

Eric Jenner, Grade 3

The wonderful creative world of art at HIS

n art class this semester we have been experimenting with different mediums such as watercolor, oil pastels, colored pencils, pencil, and crayon. Many students have gone above and beyond project guidelines and truly engaging in the artistic process. My students have created so many beautiful pieces of work it was hard to choose just four to feature! Each student has their own unique style of art that we try to encourage and cultivate.

The first artist I choose for the Communitas was Adriano.

He is in 4th grade this year. Adriano created “The Awesome King Monster” using a protractor, pen, and water colors. He interpreted project guidelines to create an abstract version of a Halloween monster. I was very impressed with his use of color and imagination!

5th grade Aanya Sharma created the second piece. She also used a protractor, pen, and water color. She created a colorful work with meaning. She explained that the circles represent the different parts of her personality. When asked about the circles’ detailed borders she replied, “I was experimenting with colors.

I randomly picked a color and put it on”.

The next art piece was created by 3rd grade Eric Jenner, “I

drew it from my imagination. I also got an idea from a song”.

He created his piece using crayon, watercolor, and pencil. The students for his class were instructed to draw six or more lines that touched (no hanging lines) and three shapes. He took the project to the next level with his own style of geometric art.

The last student I choose was Andy Wu. He is a 5th grade student at HIS. I choose the first project he did this year, a name plate. Students were instructed to draw their name out in large letters. Three letters were to represent something about them, what they liked, who they are, or where they are from. Andy drew a detailed image of bamboo because he liked drawing bamboo and, “I tried to create something that represents China.”

The N is the USA flag because that is where he has spent the majority of his life. The last two letters were pictures of things he liked. He said, “I like the beach and drawing dragons”.

This is my first year at HIS and I am blown away by the students’ dedication. I have really enjoyed teaching art and witnessing their creative spirits expressed on paper. I look forward to seeing more masterpieces like these!

By Aryanna Wetteland Art/Science/ESOL/Drama Specialist 17

HOST Culture

How has English Influenced Chinese People?

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still remember my first mandatory English class when I was in the in fifth grade. I sat on the playground alone before class and repeated carefully the small set of English words I knew - “Yes,” “Sir,” “Madam,” “No,” and “Thank You.” A mere six basic words that I had learned from watching Hong Kong television dramas.

Two weeks later, our class completed the first English lesson about fruits. When asked by my English teacher, Miss Zhang, to spell the word “apple,” I failed. I had to correctly write the word ten times on the blackboard but the nervousness and embarrassment of standing in front of the classroom made me forget what I had learned. Although I often still remember that moment, it has not diminished my interest in learning English.

How has English influenced me since then? Twenty years later, English is the primary language I speak every day. From my early days of learning English, to earning a Bachelors of English then a Masters of Education from the United States, I am still learning.

It has even allowed me to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

English has opened the door to an entirely new world for me.

It has helped me learn the latest information and is the tool for communicating with people from all around the world. It is a language that knows no barriers.

Since the rise of English as the defacto world language, many Chinese families and the government have realized how important it is for their children to not just learn English, but also for their children to speak as well as native English speakers.

Instead of children beginning their English studies at age 10 as it

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was twenty years ago, Chinese children are now often learning English before they are even born.

How can this be? Many Chinese parents play English nursery songs and read English stories to their unborn children everyday in an attempt to give their children a head-start at English. When their children reach age two, many are sent to private English classes where they are exposed to native English speakers. They hope that this can help their children master the language as early as possible.

What if a Chinese child is simply not interested in learning English? Can they choose another language? The answer is no.

English language learning in China is mandatory beginning at age six. Children are required to learn the ABCs and to learn to spell many different words. It is not an easy task and it is just the beginning of a long journey toward the university entrance exams. Even after a student is able to pass the exams and enter a university, students must pass the CET 4 national standard English language test before they can graduate.

What is the result of mandatory English education? Whether or not it has been welcomed by the average person, it has surely has helped Chinese people communicate with people around the world and has helped Chinese strive toward competitiveness in the world economy.

By Wenqi Nelson Pudong Campus Mandarin Teacher

HOST Culture

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HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT

The International Primary Curriculum at HIS P

reparing children for the future is more difficult today than ever. A curriculum must meet multiple goals. Rigorous learning of essential transformational knowledge, development of key skills, and deep understanding across a broad range of subjects is essential. It requires high levels of engagement so children enjoy, stick to and continue learning throughout their lives. A curriculum should incorporate opportunities for parent involvement that encourages and supports learning. International, global and intercultural awareness are essential. Many global problems arise from groups not knowing or respecting each other, and require cooperative solutions. Many students’ futures will be in cultures different than their own. Therefore, a curriculum must encourage personal dispositions of adaptability, morality, respect, resilience, enquiry, cooperation, communication and thoughtfulness. Furthermore, the curriculum must also support teachers and schools in delivering good practice to help all children learn.

Feedback from schools, parents, teachers, children, from over 2,000 schools in over 90 countries overwhelmingly shows that the International Primary Curriculum meets such goals.

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The IPC has over 80 thematic units; all child-friendly, modern-day topics. Themes such as Time Detectives, Airports, and Inventions and Machines are “hooks” to engage children and motivate them to explore science, geography, history and more, while making purposeful links and connections to the world around them with opportunities for collaborative, active learning, inside and outside the classroom, role play, and learning from each other. “These approaches are crucial factors affecting engagement,” says Director of the IPC, Steven Mark. “Teamwork with a purpose, where every person plays a vital but different role, enables children to become deeply engaged in their learning, especially when that learning is relevant to their interests and needs. At the same time, there’s a huge flow of knowledge and development of skills. For example, in the Rainforest unit children role play to debate the impact of slash and burn from all perspectives. The themes involve issues relevant for today’s children with opportunities for them to make their own choices in the progress of their learning. As a result, the learning becomes inspiring and fulfilling for them.” Parental involvement is encouraged as inspired children talk to family about

what they’ve done at school and continue learning at home. Parental involvement is also promoted through learning-focused letters, extended learning ideas, and end of unit ‘Exit Point’ events.

Science, history, geography, ICT, Art and PE as well as literacy and numeracy learning opportunities abound, are all incorporated when there is a direct thematic link. Subjects have learning tasks for specific learning goals. For example, in the Chocolate unit history is explored through the motivation and discovery of chocolate and changing attitudes towards it. In geography they examine countries that grow cacao and links between cacao production and chocolate production. In art children look at its advertising and packaging. In science, children look at the energy values in foods and the effects of heating and cooling.

Children develop global awareness and increasing sense of the ‘other’ by looking at themes through local, national and international perspectives. Local experiences can be shared with children in different environments such as when the children of the International School of Iceland shared first-hand experiences of the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano with IPC friends around the world who were learning the Active Planet unit. Participants learned from each other in a real world context.

Positive learning dispositions develop through constant use. Opportunities to experience and practise specific dispositions are in each unit such encouragement of consideration for others’ opinions, shared responsibilities and communicating effectively.

In the Water unit groups make water turbines.

Through research and development, they improve their design, learn about the power of water while developing cooperation, enquiry, communication and adaptability.

Each unit is a structured, yet flexible, teaching framework to achieve goals through creative, meaningful activities for different learning styles and abilities.

These tasks provide plenty of scope for creative teaching while being cross-referenced to UK and Netherlands National Curriculum guidelines.

By Robert van der Eyken HIS Head of School

HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT

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HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT

Teaching Science Effectively with the IPC about the 5 senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. In traditional lesson plans, students would talk and draw about things that they see, smell, taste, touch and hear. The IPC, on the other hand, offers a very hands-on approach that goes beyond basic understanding and delves into deeper, meaningful questions like “where does sound come from?”

In the first science lesson, my kindergarteners learned first-hand about vibrations and sounds waves. By listening to a tuning fork placed on the table, they learned that sound can travel through solid objects. By speaking into a balloon with their partner’s ear on the other side, they learned that our voices create vibrations when we talk. We can feel the vibrations with our lips and hear them with our ears. By creating telephones with yogurt cups and string, they discovered that, by holding the string tightly and whispering into the cup, their partner could hear on the other end because sound waves travel better in a straight line.

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ridging the gap between prior knowledge and new information is often a difficult task for teachers, especially those of us who teach young students. Teaching kindergarten, I am constantly confronted with how little prior knowledge my students have.

It seems that our whole day is spent explaining the meaning and use of every mundane object: scissors, pencils, erasers, glue sticks, etc. Not to mention the time we spend teaching the “simple” routines of lining up, walking quietly in the hallways and getting our own trays for the cafeteria. When all of our students’ “why” questions about the world around them have been answered, we somehow make time to teach phonics, reading, writing, math, and the IPC, a social sciences curriculum that revolves around thematic units of inquiry.

Being a history, art and literacy lover myself, I have enjoyed teaching the IPC units that are filled with history and art lessons.

In pervious years, I often found it most challenging to teach science, as it was not my personal strong suit. Teaching five year olds about liquids, solids and gases when they don’t even have the language abilities to express themselves fully is not an easy task. Through the IPC, however, I have found science to be exciting for both me and my students.

In our current IPC unit, Sensational, kindergartners are learning

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After sharing their learning with many different friends, parents and administrators, I assessed my students’ knowledge by asking each of them to explain vibrations and sounds waves to me. My students referred back to our science lessons and were able to choose the activity that meant most to them in their explanations.

Though they chose different aspects of the sound lessons to recall, they were all able to accurately and vividly describe sound waves and vibrations to me.

While bridging the gap between prior knowledge and new information can be a daunting task at times, I am confident that creating lessons that are hands-on and interactive is the best way to leave a meaningful memory with each and every student.

During the science lessons of our IPC unit, Sensational, there were activities specifically designed to cater to the needs of each learner. The visual learner could see the vibrations in the water when the tuning fork touched the water’s surface. The auditory learner could hear the sound waves through the table and next to their ears. The kinesthetic learner could feel the vibrations on our lips with the balloon and touch the hand-made telephones.

A more introverted learner could explore the sounds of the room and their house on their own, while an extroverted learner could work together with a partner to create the telephone from yogurt cups and string. All in all, these interactive and exciting science lessons not only made teaching science fun, they ensured the academic achievement of each of my students through inquiry.

By Jessie Dearing HIS Kindergarten Teacher

HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT

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HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT

Busy as Popcorn on a Skillet!

Here at HIS, we are cooking up a storm with the IMYC! Designed for the international classroom in mind, the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) for Grades 6-8 is the follow up to the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) for Lower School. Like the IPC, each unit uses a theme, or Big Idea, to connect learning across each subject area. Students are able to make connections between their learning experiences, developing a deeper contextual vocabulary for, and a richer understanding of, the focus concept.

So right now, whether our Grade 8 students are in Science, Social Studies or Language Arts, they are investigating the theme of Leadership: For better or worse, one or more people can use influence so that others aid and support them. In Social Studies, for example, this may lead to a study of government propaganda during World War II or Mao’s China. In Language Arts, this may

lead to the analysis of speech conventions. What made Churchill’s address to war-torn Britain so effective? How does King’s ‘Dream’ speech continue to influence us today?

Our first IMYC units Grade 6 Discovery (thumbnail)

Finding out new things is a human driver and affects things for better and worse.

Grade 7 Relationship (thumbnail)

Every individual thing affects and is affects by other things.

Grade 8

For better or worse, one or more people can use influence so that others aid and support them.

Leadership (thumbnail)

How does the IMYC work?

A unit lasts approximately six weeks, and begins with an Entry Point – an exciting introduction to the focus concept. This year, to kick-start the IMYC, the HIS teachers combined the Grade 24

6-8 Entry Points and sent students off on a Scavenger Hunt exploring the campus and local community, taking photographs to meet specific challenges.

HANGZHOU HIGHLIGHT

For this challenge, students had to seek inner peace beside a pond.

Knowledge Harvest and Reflective Journaling

After the Entry Point, the Knowledge Harvest begins, a more detailed, scaffolded version of a KLW. Then, as the unit unfolds, students use journaling to reflect on their learning experiences.

Journaling is one of the key components of the IMYC philosophy.

After the Scavenger Hunt, for example, students were able to relate their experience to the Big Idea: • Grade 8 students could evaluate the leadership skills they saw being used to drive the group forwards.

For this challenge, students had to find evidence of the Dewey Decimal System in action.

• Grade 7 students could reflect on how individual decisions and group dynamics worked for the benefit and detriment of the group.

• Grade 6 students could reflect on what discoveries they made around the local community, and what they learnt about their strengths and weaknesses.

Onwards and upwards

Each IMYC unit concludes with a media project (or Exit Point), exhibition and final celebration. The media project is not assessed in a traditional fashion with rubric and criteria. In fact, projects are designed entirely by students to reflect their learning experiences over the course of the unit and their personal understanding of the Big Idea.

We are yet to experience our first Exit Point, but we’re certainly simmering with new learning experiences in the meantime!

By Miriama Gemmell HIS Middle School Language Arts and Drama, TOK Teacher

An example of a Grade 8 Knowledge Harvest for Leadership unit

Sources: IMYC website: https://www.greatlearning.com/imyc/why-imyc/ imyc-in-action 25

PUDONG HIGHLIGHT

SCIS-Pudong A “New” Campus Experience

G

reetings and a warm welcome from SCIS-Pudong. What a start to the year it has been! Merely 3 months ago, construction on our campus began. At that time, I promised a campus that—not only would be ready in time—but would offer the types of opportunities few other schools could match. To be honest, there were a few times I was worried if we would be ready in time! But here we are with a brand new, state-of-the-art campus serving students Nursery through 12th grade. We are thrilled with the new look as each division—Early Childhood, Lower School, Middle School, and High School—has their own separate floors, classrooms, and unique areas. The entire SCISPudong indoor environment is 100% air purified. Major highlights include access to these unparalleled facilities: • 650 seat auditorium • 500 square meter black box theatre • Two gymnasiums • Six lane swimming pool

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• Full sized football pitch • Sprint track • Two outdoor playground areas • Huge indoor, three-story play area • Contemporary art gallery • Fitness center • Rock climbing gym • World-class science labs • Dance studio These areas are now available to all of our students, and the effects are profound. But, don’t just take my word for it. I went around this past week to get a few students’ perspectives on what they like about the new campus: Gillian (G11): “It’s cool to see the little kids again, the campus has a more youthful feel. I also like that high school has our own floor.”

PUDONG HIGHLIGHT

Emily (G11): “The campus is united again, but each section still has their own areas.”

Marie (G10): “The new science labs allow opportunity for more experiments and working with classmates.”

Thalia (G8): “I like that my sister now goes here as well!”

Maria (G8): “The middle school lounge is a fun place to hang out, we have our own space.”

Sebastiano (G8): “We are all one, all one family!”

Dylan (G7): “I like how you can see the little kids around, so you can remember what you were like as a kid.”

I couldn’t agree more! The strong community feeling that SCISPudong has always enjoyed is only strengthened by our move to one campus.

Adding on to the excitement of our new campus was news of some recent academic achievements. Over the summer we learned that our graduating IB students were our highest performing yet, with students achieving a 92% total pass rate and scoring above world averages. We continue to hear from our 2015 graduating class, who are just beginning their freshman year of university. Their achievements included 62 university acceptances across 6 different countries and numerous scholarship offers.

Alyssa (G4): “I love the new playground! The slide is really fun.”

Our unique combination of internationalism, strong academics, varied activities and arts, warm atmosphere, and personalized approach is what has always made us special, and what continues to propel us to the forefront of education in Shanghai. I look forward to a year where old traditions continue and new traditions begin, in what is sure to be a banner year at SCIS-Pudong!

Ali (G4): I like the new classrooms, the wood floors, and more space for doing activities.”

By Daniel Jubert Pudong Campus Head of School

Katy (G4): Swimming! Now we only have to walk downstairs and we are at the pool.”

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PUDONG HIGHLIGHT

Inquiry as a Frame of Mind I

t is not only our own species that have had to suffer or enjoy the answer to the question, “What will happen if I do ___________________?” As I consider what it means to teach with an inquiry approach, I find myself recognizing that inquiry is more a frame of mind rather than a new teaching practice.

At the heart of such an education, which aims to take one’s natural intrigue and curiosity and build connections from it, we find the most essential question of “So, what?” being asked and answered.

Recently I went to a professional development workshop with the world-renowned inquiry guru, Kath Murdoch, and came face to face with the mixed emotions students of inquiry encounter.

I felt myself both excited and terrified to be asking such openended questions and having them ultimately lead to more and more questions. Although these days inquiry can feel like a buzzword within the current educational circuit, true inquisition is as old as time immemorial. We have been inquirers all our lives, just as our cavemen and Paleolithic ancestors have.

During my most recent encounter with inquiry as a learner, I began to see the merit of this style of teaching in large part because of its potential for authenticity. For example, when we

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need to fix a problem with our outdated software or figure out how to transfer music from one iTunes account to another, we are inquiring into a process that we genuinely want to find an answer to. The same can be true of cooking vegetarian lasagna or whether or not I should start taking vitamin D. As adults, we are frequently inquiring into the ins and outs of our profession, families, and general daily needs that we too often forget that children naturally do this as well. To consider inquiry as part of the educational system, then, we have to remember that our students are already questioning on a daily basis what is going on with their favorite things, in the world, or within themselves. During my training, it was refreshing to be given permission to engage students in their questions, rather than feel that we don’t have time for them, and instead consider ways to spur their enthusiasm or feelings for one thing towards another.

As we embark on bringing PYP to SCIS Pudong, we are at a moment in the school’s history to truly integrate inquiry into our classrooms. The success of this depends on wrapping our minds around inquiry being a frame of mind, not just a process or method. There are many misconceptions that inquiry is too open-ended as to be unfocused and can, on the outside, seem

PUDONG HIGHLIGHT

less rigorous or serious than paper and pencil tests. When well done, though, good teaching, no matter what we call it, is based on the same foundation of making learning meaningful to students.

Inquiry takes it a step further and allows students ownership in the classroom and pushes kids to make new connections to the things about which they are already curious. You, the teacher, have got to make it personal and relevant so that in the end they care about whatever it is we are supposed to teach them based on the school’s standards and benchmarks.

Authentic inquiry as a frame of mind is therefore a stance that the teacher act more as a guide than a “know it all.” For many, adapting their teaching to a PYP or inquiry approach will feel strange and, just as it does for me, disconcerting at times.

This is because we are asking educators and parents to trust that, although the learning is guided by the teacher, that ultimately it’s the students who must build their own web of connections between what they already know and what they are learning. It takes a leap of faith to give up on the idea that only one answer fits all or that the limits of students’ learning should only be what I had expected of them.

The trick, it seems, is to encounter students’ questions with an equally pondering mind so that I, myself, am just as drawn into the process of our collective learning.

As we guide students to develop and find their own links between what they already know and the new learning that we want them to encounter, we can be impressively surprised. Also, by encouraging students to make the learning personal, the question of “So, what?” is answered because the desire to know, discover, compare, examine, and analyze is compelled by one’s own curiosity. As I try to wrap my head around inquiry for myself as a teacher, I am excited because I’m reminded that every day I will also learn something new because I am no longer limiting the contributions of my students’ knowledge and can equally enjoy the process of our learning together.

By Cleo Peterson Pudong Campus Grade 5 Teacher 29

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT

Steven Stankiewicz

Adventure Teaching

the Ride of Your Life environment. Teaching is a dynamic profession, and I consider myself lucky to be a teacher.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in the Pocono Mountains, in northeast Pennsylvania, at a time when it was still a small, rural community, about 125 miles east of New York City. I grew up in the country surrounded by acres and acres of forest and plenty of small family farms. My family were not farmers, but there was ample opportunity to milk cows, ride horses, gather chicken eggs, and lots of other chores. Of course, my favorite hobby was taking my banana seat--spider bike for extra long rides down the country roads. My friends and I would ride for hours at a time, never checking in with parents—no cell phones in the 1960s. My best friend lived about ten miles from my home and we would ride bikes and/or walk back and forth, quite often. We had to walk because the rocky, hard packed dirt roads were the cause of frequent flat tires.

What motivated you to become a teacher? Did you always know you wanted to teach?

All those adventures and challenges, inspired me to become a teacher. I always knew that the best way to explore new places and different ideas was to learn about them and then share that knowledge with friends. Teaching came naturally enough. I still travel quite a bit. But not by spider bike.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I’ve heard you have been teaching for 20 years, now that is some dedication to the profession!

Yes, that’s correct, I have been teaching for a little over twenty years now! I have taught in rural north Florida and urban south Florida and suburban east Florida. I also spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer as a teacher trainer in Uganda, east Africa. Then I taught at schools in Guangzhou, China and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, respectively before coming to Hangzhou.

And how long have you been teaching at HIS? This August, I began my ninth year at H.I.S. Perhaps I have found my niche. I am proud of the success of the students at H.I.S., their determination to meet challenges and solve problems keeps me as interested as ever in working in a classroom 30

How has your experience as an ESOL teacher been so far? Is this your favorite subject to teach?

I guess I first became interested in ESOL when I was teaching at “Clifford Experimental School” in south China in the mid ’90s.

All teachers were grouped with partners. One partner spoke Chinese and taught the lesson, in Cantonese, for 35 minutes with the second teacher in the room. Then the English speaking teaching partner, me, would teach exactly the same lesson to the students using English. The students received the lesson content twice, once in each language. This unique practice facilitated a rapid acquisition of all four language skills—namely, listening, speaking, reading and writing. This system was time consuming but quite successful. The language students thrived. Eventually, it could not be sustained and adjustments were made. In the meantime, I had moved on to other schools. I have been on campuses where pull-out programs were used, as well as, on campuses where push-in programs were used. Currently, I am involved in a pull-out program that requires frequent collaboration with all of the Lower School teachers. I thoroughly enjoy all the challenges this program entails. It is an honor to work with fellow professionals.

Where can we find you outside of the classroom?

I still enjoy walking and riding bikes. I hike the Hangzhou Hills to the tea fields and beyond. I take bike rides upriver to a local ferry that crosses to an island and another ferry to the opposite river bank and I ride back downstream. I also visit the gym as often as possible, although weight lifting is not so fun but yoga is a blast! I thoroughly enjoy reading, various titles and any genre. Besides all that, you can find me enjoying good strong coffee and dark beer.

Where do you think your international adventure will take you next?

I am always looking for “greener pastures”—who isn’t, but like I stated previously, I think that I may have found my niche, right here at Hangzhou International School. At least for the foreseeable future. As far as pleasure traveling is concerned, I am making plans for Sabah state on the island of Borneo and also the Visayas, in the Philippines, for my winter break.

That sounds like a fun winter break ahead! Thanks for the interview Steven!

Interview by Mikael Masson Perez Communitas Editor

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT

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THEME FEATURE

Nurturing our Student to Achieve Success A

t SCIS-HIS, our mission is to provide all of our students with opportunities to pursue academic and personal excellence in a nurturing, international-community environment.

We, as a school, provide opportunities. But what does it take for an SCIS student to excel both academically and personally, now and in the future? What makes an SCIS student successful?

One of the prerequisites for success is the ability to respond to challenges with optimism and an open mind. It takes a certain strength of character to face a challenge with a ‘can do’ attitude.

Our job as educators is to teach students how to be resilient, how to overcome their obstacles. This means the opportunities that we provide to students are not always easy. Life is full of challenges, and learning to see the potential in a challenge is an extremely important skill that must be developed for students to excel at any pursuit, be it academic or personal.

Successful SCIS students are principled and caring. We are raising global leaders, and leading in today’s world requires intercultural understanding and global engagement. For example, students in our GIN (Global Issues Network) club are seeking to raise awareness of the social responsibilities of global citizens for both international and local issues. This leads us to the next prerequisite for success: the drive to take action. It is not enough to be empathetic, to recognize need. Students must go further than this to be successful in life. This August a group of grade five students wrote to me regarding a piece of playground equipment that they would like removed. They practiced writing persuasive letters and cited reasons for their request, evidence to support their case, and highlighted ideas for future playground equipment. They took action when they saw a need in the school, and they were successful in bringing about real change that affects them and their peers. In September middle school students worked to find ways to reduce our waste at the upcoming International Food Fair. They worked with our Parent and Friends Association to plan an event that not only celebrates the diversity of our community, but also values the home in which our international community exists by taking care of our planet. Principled, caring SCIS students take action.

Successful SCIS students are also creative, critical, reflective thinkers. In a time where access to information is taken for granted, we must teach students what to do with all of the information that is literally at their fingertips. Creative thinkers create new meaning out of prior knowledge. Critical thinkers evaluate information presented, not just for factual accuracy, but

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Inquirers

GIN Club

THEME FEATURE

for relevance. And through the process of reflection, true, long-lasting learning takes place.

In today’s world, students will not be successful without the ability to collaborate and work together with their peers. The ability to work with others efficiently is not always a skill that comes easily to students. Effective communication is a skill that is taught, and one that is necessary in life beyond the classroom.

When students work together in the classroom, on the stage, or on the court, they must learn how to communicate under pressure, how to communicate with students of a different culture, and how to communicate to different audiences. SCIS students are effective communicators.

The most important prerequisite for both academic and personal success is to embody an attitude of inquiry, to be a seeker of knowledge. Students who embody this characteristic ask why, and they ask it a lot. They do not want to know just how something works, or what the right answer is. They want to know why it works, or why the answer is right.

It is this trait that predicts whether students continue to learn and grow on into adulthood. And shouldn’t this be the real indicator of student success: whether or not a student becomes a life-long learner?

Library

We do not want any of our graduates to have simply learned how to master a test, get high marks on a test, or check off all the right boxes for graduation. At SCIS, we are striving to teach students not only how learn, but we are striving to instill within them a love of learning.

When students grow into adults who enthusiastically continue to grow as learners, who empathize with others, and who feel a sense of purpose in their endeavors, then we as a school have been successful.

By Katherine Brewer Hongqiao Campus Head of School Photos were taken by the students from Desktop Publishing Class 33

Teamwork-Collaboration

HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT

Student Ambassadors

SCIS Middle School students helping other students I

magine landing in Shanghai as a 12-year old; perhaps flying in from across the world and the very next day, while still jet-lagged, you participate in a half-day training workshop followed by a second day of volunteering.

Other students your age are enjoying the remaining days of summer vacation, but you have volunteered to assist new students and their families during orientation.

Forty-two SCIS Middle School students, in grade six to eight, made this contribution to our school community. SCIS is proud of our Student Ambassadors and wishes to thank them for their contributions and to recognize the professionalism with which they have fulfilled this important role. At the start of the 2015-16 academic year, Hongqiao SCIS Middle School welcomed 52 new students from 16 different countries. To support our newest community members, and their families during this transition process, each new student was introduced to a Student Ambassador mentor. This year marks the first time that SCIS Middle School has offered this program at the start of the school year.

Nominated by a teacher, Student Ambassadors participated in a half-day training workshop before orientation. As the school year commenced, they prioritized the well-being of a new student while trying to adjust to their own class 34

schedules, new teachers, transitioning from lower school to middle school, and/or adjusting to the absence of close friends who departed the prior year. During the workshop, community and skill-building exercises challenged student leaders to evaluate the behaviors they model on a daily basis. Comprising nearly 10 percent of our student population, Student Ambassadors reflected on the tremendous opportunity to positively influence SCIS culture while identifying behaviors they wish to personally strengthen. Of the expected behaviors reviewed, being “positive and enthusiastic” and “willing to admit mistakes and laugh at myself,” were selected the most as personal growth areas; reflecting the turbulence of adolescence. This is just one way in which serving as a Student Ambassador is helping SCIS students strengthen their resiliency, or the ability to bounce back after a setback/disappointment, and develop their leadership skills.

Student Ambassadors examined the challenges and benefits of being an internationally mobile student, or a Third Culture Kid, and the stages of cultural adjustment to build empathy and to better identify students who may be having difficulty transitioning. During the ‘entry’ phase of cultural adjustment, new students are present-focused as they set out to

establish their new social status but are also deeply rooted in the past; reminiscing about what was left behind. Relating through their own personal experiences, Student Ambassadors appreciate the need to engage new students in discussions about their former friends, home and what they miss to help them process their feelings and emotions. During this adjustment phase, Student Ambassadors also offer valuable perspective to balance exaggerated problems or dislikes about their new environment.

Theorists suggest that one friend is required before a student feels safe. SCIS realizes that gaining a sense of belonging and security are critical to help students reach their fullest potential; both in and outside the classroom. As third-year Student Ambassadors Shin-Hyung (Lily) Yoo (Grade 8) suggests, Student Ambassadors help new students by raising awareness. “Our responsibilities are not only welcoming the new students,” emphasizes Lily, “but also being an example and helping other students in our community welcome other people and care more for any student who looks like they need help.” Student Ambassadors realize that new students may feel insecure and are likely to misinterpret nonverbal signs and cultural habits. They may also feel marginalized, vulnerable, ambivalent, fearful and be easily offended.

To level the playing field, Student Ambassadors attempt to minimize the stress associated with making connections and way-finding. Our “most important responsibility,” explains veteran Student Ambassador Sevillana Ettinger (Grade 7), “is to make sure all new students are comfortable, happy, and are not excluded or alone. Our school is a community, and it is our job to make them feel like they’re in it.” This is particularly important during break and lunch periods when new students may have a greater tendency to feel uncomfortable and overwhelmed.

HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT

Student Ambassadors were also reminded that new parents are coping with the same uncertainty and adjustment, and as a result, may be less emotionally available for their child. Advice for parents is to first and foremost listen to their child.

Creating opportunities for informal discussions to emerge regarding friends left behind and lifestyle changes are also critical. Although SCIS Student Ambassadors go out of their way to provide support, new students and their families need to step outside their own comfort zone and take risks to engage with others and explore their new community. Parents can assist this process by supporting their child in scheduling social gatherings with new friends outside of school and joining after-school activities.

To aid the transition process, 42 Student Ambassadors volunteered during new student orientation by leading campus tours, providing an overview of school schedules and processes, introducing teachers to our new students and their parents, and responding to other questions and concerns.

Not surprisingly, many of the students who met that day and during the initial days of school, remain close friends.

Pontus Sundelin, a new 6th grade student from Sweden, still hangs out with two students and the Student Ambassador who helped him get to his classes and asked him what he wanted to do during break periods. “We know what it is like to be a new kid in a community,” explains Lily, “I love helping the new students and also getting to know them. Throughout last year and this year, I not only contributed to making our community a real community but also made amazing new friends that I would have never known without reaching out to them.”

watching out for new students who seem sad or lonely, and who may be experiencing difficulty making friends by sharing these concerns with counselors, teachers and school leaders. In this manner, conversations with Student Ambassadors serve as extra eyes and ears to closely and proactively monitor the adjustment process of new students so that we can act quickly to provide additional support when needed.

While Student Ambassadors realize that making friends takes time, they play a pivotal role in helping new students make initial connections. “I try to help by introducing new students to my friends,” describes Student Ambassador Nate Astrom (Grade 6), “and talking to them about different clubs where they could meet new friends.” Manon Bretnacher, a new 6th grade student from France, describes feeling “happy” when she first arrived because “other students were helping me and asking me questions.”

“I don’t force any friendships,” explains Sevillana, who joined Student Ambassadors last year when she was in 6th grade, “I wouldn’t want that new student to feel uncomfortable. I help them on their first few days but eventually I let them go to make their own decisions, stepping in again if there are difficulties.”

SCIS, as with any international school, welcomes and looses students year-round, as families are required to relocate. As the year progresses, Student Ambassadors will continue to play an important leadership role in supporting exiting students and others who must say goodbye to departing friends. Students Ambassadors will also

assist with the planning and delivery of guidance and transition programs to help students in 5th grade prepare for middle school and 8th grade students ready themselves for high school. Student Ambassadors also volunteered to guide parents during our Back-to-School event, after which, Hilda Meijer (Grade 8), requested to join Student Ambassadors.

“I’ve been thinking about being a Student Ambassador, but after tonight, I just feel like it would be such an awesome feeling to help other students, new and returning, like others helped me when I was new.”

Although nominated by a teacher, Sevillana suggests that Student Ambassadors “need to be accepting, comforting, helpful, and most of all, just a good friend.” In addition to the satisfaction of helping others, student leaders meet wonderful people from around the world and develop their aleadership skills. As Nate described, “It’s really fun to come and out and make students feel welcome and you gain the confidence to interact with new people.”

In the end, it comes down to caring for others. “To make new students feel welcomed,” suggests Lily, “I simply smile and say hello because positive energy is a powerful thing.” The fact that so many students wish to serve as Student Ambassadors, speaks volumes about the character of SCIS students and is part of what makes SCIS Middle School so special.

By Catherine Geisen-Kisch SCIS- Hongqiao MS Counselor and Student Ambassador Program Coordinator

While adjusting to their own schedules, the transition from lower school to middle school, and in many cases, adjusting to the absence of close friends who departed the year prior, Student Ambassadors prioritized the well-being of their adopted new student. Helping new students get to and from their classes, across multiple buildings and over five floors, is challenging but also a lot of fun. Student Ambassadors provided this valuable service for a minimum of three days, leaving early and arriving late for their own classes to meet each new student and lead them to their next class or join them for break and lunch.

Demonstrating impressive empathy skills, Student Ambassadors have also been 35

HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT

Validity Testing through Investigative Learning B

y studying the world scientifically, we are learning to be critical thinkers and learning how to use our observations to reach valid conclusions. We cannot make progress if we do not dispel false notions about how the universe works, and build on our knowledge. In Mr. Heim’s Science class this quarter, we are studying the universe.

Astronomy is the science of studying celestial objects, space, and the physical universe. On the other hand, Astrology is not a science, it is a pseudoscience. It alleges that movement of celestial bodies has an impact on human behavior and fortune. In class, some of our projects have been completed with the help of a software called Stellarium, which simulates the sky we see. During our first project, we had examined our so-called “astrological signs” using real astronomy. We were able to prove that the ‘sun sign’ from astrology were actually wrong and did not correspond to the real sky at all! And, during our second project, our class had to work on a two-page essay on constellations, and how they are named. We learned not only about the sky, but we were also provided with a colorful aspect to the historical foundations of space science. Our latest project was a lab that simulates the rays from the sun that strike the Earth. In that experiment, we had to use a torch (flashlight), which acted as the sun, and point it on a sheet of graphed paper, to then see how much of the paper was lit. We had to build parts of the equipment ourselves. We continued this process among different angles, then compared them and witnessed how the the angle of the sun relates to the intensity of light on the surface. In this way, we have modelled why the seasons are different. When we finished, Mr. Heim asked us to explore the new fire-powered model steam engine that just arrived. It has an electrical generator, which we will use in the next unit on electricity! In all, my grade 9 science class is challenging, extremely fun and we are all looking forward to our next project!

By Marcus Tan and Ahan Malli Hongqiao Campus 9th Grader

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HONGQIAO HIGHLIGHT

In science class this year, we learned about Chemistry in Ms. Shea’s class. From the beginning of the year, it has been an interesting and also fun class. We did all sorts of different kinds of lab and learned what atoms are composed. We learned about mixtures, and pure substances. One of the labs were especially fun, which is the lab that we tested the combustibility - the ability of a substance to react with oxygen, because we got to use fire and test combustibility with different substances. For example: hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), lime water (CaCO3) et cetera.

Also the times when we were not doing labs, we learned about the structure of atoms and all of the student’s knowledge expanded. So I think that this year’s chemistry will be a great class.

By Charlie Nishimura Hongqiao Campus 9th Grader

Indeed, the knowledge we are learning in science class are complex and intriguing. However, how can such information apply to our future career? Well, according to Mr. Heim, by studying astronomy we learn about “how we know what we know.” That is, the technique to deduce facts from observations; just like the great Ancient Greek astronomer Eratosthenes of Cyrene who discovered that the Earth is spherical by observing the movement of shadows.

In addition, we learn that we should never accept anything on face value. We should always investigate claims to check their validity.

On the other hand, as stated by Ms. Shea, studying chemistry helps us develop the quality of critical thinking, inquiring, analyzing, exploring, and critiquing of our past mistakes. In conclusion, learning science is not just a matter of attaining grades, rather it paves the way for our future career.

By Marcus Tan Hongqiao Campus 9th Grader

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COMMUNITY FEATURE

United Nations International Day of Peace

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COMMUNITY FEATURE

O

n September 25th the students and staff at SCIS celebrated the United Nations International Day of Peace. This year, rather than just celebrating for one day, the Pudong lower school campus embraced what it means to be globally minded for the entire month of September. Projects were developed to help students be aware of what it means to be internationally minded - embracing all cultures while actively seeking to understand perspectives, values and differences so we are able to appreciate, understand and care about the complexities of what makes us human in order to make a more peaceful world. “International-mindedness isn’t something that can be taught in discrete lessons on the odd Friday afternoon, it’s a ‘frame of mind’ and as such needs time to develop”, says Steven Mark, Educational Director of the International Primary Curriculum.

To a six-year-old, it may be knowing that the children in his or her classroom have different home countries, and being able to work with each other and being able to respect one

another’s independence and individuality. For older students, international learning outcomes might include knowing about the ways in which the lives of people in the countries they have studied affect each other, or being able to identify ways in which people work together for mutual benefit. Each grade level from EC through grade 5 displayed their learning projects in a Peace Walk that allowed them to view each others work and share what they had learned through the projects with friends and family members in attendance. Projects ranged from personalized globes with a heart indicating the students’ native country, posters about different cultures around the world, a “community of flags” building blocks, mobiles displaying cultural facts, books and poems about peace, and the allegory of the “long spoon” which focuses on helping others so that everyone’s needs can be met.

On the day of the event students, teachers, and members of the school community were encouraged to come in traditional dress from their home countries. An incredible display of country pride and colors during the Parade of Nations, opened the event with students from each country greeting the audience in their native tongue. The celebration continued with a song of peace performed by the middle school choir and grades 2-5.

Our Lower School campus celebrated this day by paying tribute to our international and multicultural school community made up of an estimated 30 different nationalities.

The event concluded with an International Food Fair offering special cultural dishes from around the world, prepared and cooked by the parent community. The Food Fair was considered the favorite event for many! The celebration was a true display of the qualities that make SCIS a unique international community, showcasing our diversity, community spirit, and continued quest for excellence. It is one example of how we seek out opportunities to educate a globally minded

student body. We would like to extend a big thank you to our entire community for supporting this great event.

The importance of this event is highlighted in SCIS’s mission, which aims to provide all students with opportunities to pursue academic and personal excellence in nurturing, international community environments. By honoring our cultural differences and recognizing the shared values of peace, cooperation, and global citizenship, the celebration provided the perfect opportunity to reach these lofty goals.

By The UNIDOP Committee: Mark Leatherman, Amy Lee, Jane Macmillan, Jessi Miller, Aleksa Moss, Molly Myers, and Alex Patos 39

COMMUNITY FEATURE

VOLLEYBALL DRAGON CUP 2 0 1 5 T

his year’s high school volleyball “Dragon Cup” was played at our Hongqiao campus on Saturday August 29th. Approximately 130 high school boys and girls from SCIS Hangzhou, Pudong and Hongqiao took part in this one-day tournament.

The Dragon Cup is intended to be an opportunity for early season practice in preparation for our league season. The goal was not wins and losses, but teamwork, team spirit, and sportsmanship. For volleyball, the Dragon Cup trophy is awarded to the school that best exemplified these team characteristics during the tournament as voted on by their opponents. This year Dragon Cup was awarded to the SCIS Pudong Dragons.

The Dragon Cup Tournament not only brought each school’s team together, but also brought our entire SCIS-HIS community together. As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” This day was a SCIS-HIS success.

I want to congratulate all of the players and coaches in this year’s Volleyball Dragon Cup. It was good competition played with a true spirit of teamwork and fun. Thank you also to all the parents, teachers and students who came out to support our teams. It was a great day to be a Dragon!

By Kevin Reimer Athletics Coordinator 40

COMMUNITY FEATURE

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HONGQIAO ECE HIGHLIGHT

Nurturing Young Readers, Writers and Inquirers

A

t the SCIS Hongqiao Early Childhood Education (ECE) campus we subscribe to a balanced literacy approach. This approach incorporates a wide variety of literacy practices including Readers’ and Writer’s workshop. This framework is based on the research and publications of Lucy Calkins and her work with The Reading and Writing Project ( http://readingandwritingproject.com/ ) at the University of Columbia. With a focus on explicit instruction in the skills and strategies that make for proficient readers and writers, students experience both individual and collaborative experiences. The ultimate goal of the approach is to develop life-long readers and writers.

The basic philosophy behind Writers’ Workshop is that students write every day for real purposes about topics that interest them as they are introduced to different genres of writing. Students learn the craft of writing through practice, conferring, and studying mentor texts. Writers’ Workshop has a structured order of events that occur daily within a block of time. The structure of Writers’ Workshop follows a predictable pattern and set format which builds structure, expectation, and opportunity for students to write. The model always starts with a mini-lesson with the whole class in which the teacher explicitly teaches one skill,

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HONGQIAO ECE HIGHLIGHT

strategy, or quality of writing. Once introduced, the teaching point becomes an option for students to use in their writing. Students then move on to independent writing time while the teacher confers with students individually or in small groups about their writing. Through ongoing mini-lessons and conferences with students, the teacher is able to attend to individual student needs, support students in setting writing goals for themselves, and reinforce previous lessons. The Writer’s Workshop time often concludes with the whole class reconvening for a brief teaching share where the teacher may identify a student whose work has effectively utilized a strategy or the day’s teaching point.

The structure of Reader’s Workshop, is similar to that of Writer’s Workshop in that it also includes a whole class mini-lesson where the teacher teaches concepts, strategies, and techniques for reading and comprehension while encouraging students to read and interact with high quality, authentic literature. Independent reading is the time when students practice strategies modeled in the mini-lesson. Students are taught how to choose books of interest in which they can read most of the words, these are called “just right” books. These “just right” books allow students to practice reading strategies introduced with texts that are appropriate to each individual child’s level of reading development.

One on one reading conferences with students allow the teacher to see how a student is working on a particular reading strategy in their own reading. Teachers can also do various assessments such as retellings, running records, or by keeping anecdotal notes on each student’s reading progress. Guided reading and strategy groups are forms of small group instruction where the teacher works with flexible small groups of students during independent reading time to reinforce certain reading areas such as phonemic awareness, fluency, and reading comprehension strategies. The final element is once again the teaching share when the class comes together to allow students to share how they practiced their reading strategies. They are able to share things that worked for them and problems they have solved with their classmates.

In both Writer’s and Readers’ Workshop, students are explicitly taught how effective partnerships work to share ideas and to support the revision of writing and thinking. Teachers model how to listen to others, share writing and thoughts, as well as how to respond with questions, comments, suggestions or compliments based on what they have heard. These collaborative conversations allow students opportunities to revise their writing or further develop their understanding of what they have read in a safe environment.

It is through these strategies and the workshop framework that teachers at the ECE create a learning environment that encourages independence, gives writers a high degree of choice, all while encouraging readers and writers to take risks and learn their craft. Students are able to build a support system and have consistency in both materials and process. Perhaps one of the greatest elements of the framework that is highlighted by Lucy Calkins herself is that teachers unmask their expertise and think aloud in front of students, providing them with an opportunity to observe and learn firsthand how good readers and writers think about texts.

By Daniel Eschtruth Hongqiao ECE Campus Head o f School

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TECHNOLOGY

Technology’s Impact on Academic Achievement at SCIS of designing, building and programing a robot, our students learn how to research, analyze, create processes and evaluate their work, all whilst having fun with robots! In Graphic design classes students are using architectural design software to create 3D models of their “dream home”, usually consisting of multiple swimming pools, helipads and basketball courts! Students learn how to use accurate measurements, create structures and select appropriate building materials. In French class, students no longer memorize laborious scripts for speaking assessments, they now produce cooking shows using video cameras and iMovie. They write a script, act it out, edit the film and post the finished production on the internet where they can share it with their friends and family.

W

ithin a community of tech savvy individuals, the importance of capitalizing on technology is huge.

Whether it be for communication, accessibility, or productivity, technology plays such an important role in our day-to-day lives.

As 21st century educators, we realize the importance of taking full advantage of technology wherever and whenever possible.

With the aid of our grade 6-12 one-to-one laptop program, laptop carts in our lower school, audio visual equipment and state of the art WIFI network, we certainly have the resources available to provide technology options to meet all of our student’s academic needs.

Everyday at SCIS new technologies are being used to help further our student’s academic growth and nurture their need for limitless access to mind expanding resources. Our high school students use systems such as Manageback to communicate with teachers, discuss assignments in secure online forums and submit assignments in real time. Our middle school students create online portfolios of work that can be shared with family all over the world. And our lower school students use fun interactive online games to help them learn Mathematics and Language skills.

As a Technology Coordinator, one of the things I love most is to see students having fun and learning at the same time. Our Robotics course is a fine example of this. Through the process

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However, our success with technology does not rely solely on the resources themselves, but more in the way that we use them. At SCIS we know that technology impacts motivation, engagement and interaction and has many benefits for cognitive learning. Take our NWEA Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) testing for example. MAP is a web-based, individual testing system for students in grades 2 to 9. It offers personalized tests in Reading, Language Acquisition and Mathematics. Unlike the standardized 30 question tests of the past, MAP software chooses questions for students based on the the accuracy of their answers and constantly adjusts the level of questioning to suit their ability. After the testing process, students examine their results, identify areas of growth, areas in need of improvement and set goals that enable further academic growth. This is an example of technology doing far more than “modernizing” an old method of testing. This is technology offering students a new way of measuring their academic achievement and taking ownership over how they move forward.

For me, technology’s impact on academic achievement is so much more than its direct use in the classroom. The opportunity it gives for students to find different ways of learning that suits them is huge. The improvement in understanding through the use of digital communication is noticeably beneficial, as is the access to unlimited resources online. All of this adds ups to a technology rich learning environment, that gives our students the best opportunity to achieve academic excellence.

By Ross Orchard Hongqiao Campus Technology Coordinator

TECHNOLOGY

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COACHES CORNER

Meet

Timothy Wee “The Ms. C Big Three: Be a good person.

Be a good student.

Be a good athlete.

In that order. Always.”

All of my players know the Big Three.

They know they will be held to that standard, both on and off the court.

Always.

So when a student-athlete comes to me with the Big Three already ingrained, it is a true privilege.

Meet Timothy Wee, Grade 12, whose commitment to character makes him an exceptional human being.

Currently, Tim plays right side for the Varsity Boys’ Volleyball team, on which I have had the pleasure of coaching him for two years. Prior to coming to SCIS HQ in January 2013, Tim played a great deal of volleyball in his home country of Singapore, and it shows in the quality of his skills, and his obvious understanding of the game. But Tim’s contributions go far beyond the technical aspects of the game.

Incredibly hard-working, Tim never settles for anything less than his best effort. He accepts responsibility for an error on the floor – even when it has nothing to do with him. Yet his positive attitude makes him champion the idea that in sport, what’s behind us doesn’t matter; we must move on to the next point. Because of these traits, Tim has earned the respect of his teammates and become an integral member of our team.

Furthermore, Tim’s influence extends to his community at large. When I asked Tim’s 46

teammates and teachers to describe him, a few central themes emerged. A role model for others in international understanding and compassion, Tim’s humanity is one of his most endearing qualities. He has the ability to work not only with anyone, but for anyone if support is needed.

“Tim volunteers to help others all the time, not just inside the school community, but outside with the less privileged Chinese community. When he went to the Shinning Star Blind Orphanage, he impressed the ayis and the staff there because he naturally connected with the kids. They called me right after his visit to let me know how wonderful of a job he did. He knew how to talk to them, treat them and encourage

them to participate in activities. No question why the people who get to know him like him, respect him and admire his enthusiasm, positive attitude and perseverance.”

- Ms. Andrea (IB Visual Art) “I’ve only known Tim for about one month, but in that time he has proven himself to be a model student. Every class period, regardless of what’s in store (in-class essays, practice orals, discussions about Shakespeare, so nothing fun!), Tim is prepared, enthusiastic, and willing to learn. He has a positive attitude and a

COACHES CORNER

friendly, cooperative demeanor that make it easy for both his peers and me to work with him. I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the year with Tim — and his Nutella sandwiches!”

- Ms. Uhlenhop (IB Literature) “Tim is hands down the most well-rounded senior. He is a member of Interact, plays volleyball, and helps any of his friends after school with their studying. He’s encouraging, humble, kind and super polite. You just won’t find anyone better.”

- Remy Hammes (Grade 11 Student & Teammate)

As Babe Ruth said, “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” Tim is the first to hide a volleyball in the gym so that he can keep practicing long after the team has left, the first to request extra work because he’s interested in a particular topic, and the first to stop on the stairs to wait for you just so that you have someone to walk with. Not many of us are talented and dedicated enough to challenge an IB exam after only one year, but Tim did it with a smile on his face and a giddiness about the personal challenge. He exudes happiness, kindness, consideration, and a true love for learning. He truly and

naturally makes a difference in the day of everyone he encounters.

How to be a good athlete and a good student can be learned more readily than how to be a good person. For Timothy Wee, though, all of the Big Three are an innate part of his being, and they all come from the impressive size of his heart.

By Kathryn Clouthier & Karin Uhlenhop Hongqiao Campus Varsity Boys Volleyball Coach & IB Languages Teacher 47

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Chloe Huang

Passion, Gratitude and the Road to Great Achievements A

recent academic scholarship recipient and a multi-talented student, Chloe Huang took some time out of her busy schedule to sit down for an interview and discuss her many involvements in and around school.

Tell me a little bit about yourself: I am 14 years old and in ninth grade this year. On my free time I love to dance, watch TV shows, and especially bake: I love to decorate cupcakes, invent my own flavors and create my own recipes. My favorite color is teal, I have a 10 years old poodle and no siblings.

How long have you been studying in SCIS? What brought you to SCIS? I have been in SCIS for 9 years now. When my mom was looking at schools, she really liked how close everyone was, plus my parents really didn’t like the local school system.

SCIS felt like the right place for me to be, and now it just kind of became a home to me, so I stayed!

Since when did you start learning Ballet?

I started ballet when I was 3. I remember watching the Barbie version of The Nutcracker and falling in love with the tiny ballet dancing fairies!

Is there any one person who has inspired/encouraged your passion to study dance?

In grade 6, I remember the first audition I attended for the dance production: I was excited, but also nervous in fear of only able to get a small role due to me only knowing ballet. The list came out and I got the role of Bill the Lizard in Alice in Wonderland, and, having only watched the movie version, I feared I had indeed gotten a small role.

However, after learning the routine, I quickly realized that I was the only non-Alice role with a solo performance! This gave me the opportunity to work with Mrs. Bailey, the previous lower school dance teacher, and I quickly gained a lot of confidence in my dancing capabilities. In grade 8, I was given a main solo role in the production Lipgloss and, middle school dance teacher, Ms. Fiona asked me to choreograph and dance the piece myself, I was truly flattered! Performance day came, and after the show, family and friends came to congratulate me, but also complete strangers, which meant so much to me. My teachers also congratulated me, and even told me I was good enough to compete in “So You Think You Can Dance” (a competitive TV show were all types of dancers compete). To have all those adults believe that much in me is unexplainable, I would like to thank my teachers, parents and friends for always being there when I need them to be!

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

How do you balance your time between study and all other activities?

I make sure that I do all of my homework when I get it and not waste time on things I don’t need to do. School work always comes first. I always try to make sure I have enough time for homework, and if I don’t I will change the time spent on my activity if I can. But remember that if you make a commitment to something you have to stick to it.

You recently received the “Grab that Gratitude” Literary Contest award, can you tell us a little more about it?

At first I didn’t want to compete but I then read some quotes by famous people and it reminded me of how important gratitude is. I was part of the committee that started this, and when not a lot of people handed in a piece of work I got a little upset as I thought people didn’t take it seriously. However, I read the some of the quotes and they inspired me to write something about how important it is to share our gratitude.

What is your favorite class? What about your favorite teacher?

Dance class is my favorite because when I dance I get lost in the moment and time just stops around me. Nothing seems to matter anymore except for that one moment.

Plus, dance class is fun and there are so many different types of dancing possible! My favorite teacher left SCIS already, MR. Kohler, he taught social studies. He was the one teacher who interested me in a subject which I did not like at first all while pushing me to my limit and work my best; I was able to create amazing projects in his class through the way he made us think and interpret things.

How has High School been for you so far? Was it a smooth transition?

The transition has been really school and High School feels like Middle School but only a little different. I was a little bit of a procrastinator in middle school is it was hard to change that at first, but now I know how important it is to stay on track. High School is just more work and responsibility, and also being hungry every third block because lunch starts at 1PM! Do you have any advice to your fellow students about getting involved in so many activities on top of school?

You have to know your abilities. Don’t rush into high school with the thought of “I can’t do anything” or “I can do everything”, try out things first then decide.

SCIS provides so many after school opportunities, take advantage of them and try some out to see your likes and dislikes. On the other hand, if you sign up for everything and anything, you might weigh yourself down with too much on your plate and end up with not enough time to manage other work.

Interview by Mun Yee Choo Marketing Manager

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ALUMNI INTERVIEW

Emma

Merritt

Steadfast and Aspired for Greatness

Tell us a little about yourself (where are you from, where did you grow up, etc.)

I’m an American passport holder, but was born and Singapore and moved around a lot in the U.S as a kid, so I don’t have much loyalty to a particular state. I moved to Shanghai in January 2009 and lived there until just this last August. Shanghai is, without a doubt, my home.

How long did you study at SCIS? I studied my entire time in Shanghai at SCIS, barring the first semester in 2013 when I studied abroad in Spain.

You are about to start your university career at Umass Amherst, how well prepared do you feel coming from SCIS? My first meeting with my academic advisor, in which I had to choose my classes, he was concerned that I would be overwhelmed with taking 18 credits in my first semester.

Then I told him I was an IB student, and he stopped trying to talk me out of it. I’m already a semester ahead of my peers thanks to the credits I received for my HL courses, plus a lot of what I learned in high school has already proven useful in my courses. I was automatically accepted to the Honor’s College along with my acceptance to UMass (most students enter it in sophomore or even junior year), and I’m taking two 300+ level courses. All in all, I’d say SCIS did a pretty awesome job!

You mentioned intending to major in linguistics, excited?

I’m pumped! My first linguistics class of the year had me geeking out so hard; it was tough not to be constantly raising my hand and instead give other people a chance to speak. I’m probably going to tack on a Chinese Language & Literature major as well, because I have most of the prerequisites already filled.

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ALUMNI INTERVIEW

Favorite part about going to SCIS? Knowing everybody.

I have friends here that keep running into people from their high school and they’re like, “Oh, I didn’t know you were going here!” That is definitely not the case for my senior class; I know where everyone is right now, and have a story about every one of them. We really were a (perhaps dysfunctional) little family. I definitely miss that, and I miss being able to greet anybody I saw walking down the hallway.

Can you tell us a little about your decision to pursue this major (Linguistics)?

Anyone who knows me understands just how much I love learning languages; right now, three out of my five classes are language courses (Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese), and I’m learning a fourth online in my spare time. For a while, I thought about psychology, sociology, etc., but then I saw a character on a TV show who was a linguist, and I was like, “Hey, what even is that?” I looked it up and instantly realized what I wanted to study. None of my friends were surprised, and I don’t think my parents were either.

Any advice to high schoolers who are currently preparing to go to uni?

Research which universities are good for the major you want to pursue. Even if you aren’t positive yet, choose your top three or four subjects and just google “best university for ____.” Also come to terms now with the fact that rejection is going to happen, and it is just a part of life. You may be dead-set on going to a certain university, and then you get rejected, and it seems like the end of the world. I promise you that it isn’t. Just regroup and figure out a new way to get to where you want to be. Determination goes a long way.

Most memorable moment/story?

I have to pick one out of the entire seven years I attended?!

Our senior trip to Hainan was pretty awesome. I think the most memorable activity was volunteering at the foster home for disabled children; I remember looking around at my classmates and watching them transform from just these people I partied with into compassionate, caring individuals with a sense of responsibility to something beyond themselves. It was really a wonderful experience that I’ll treasure for my entire life.

I did a bit of digging around and I’ve seen about your involvement in student council, interact club, (am I missing some?). I find it pretty awesome that you were involved in so many things during high school, do you think you’ll continue this level of involvement in university?

You forgot my favorite, theatre! I hope to remain involved here at university, and I think it will be easy, considering how diverse my school is. I’ve already auditioned for the first show of the semester, and reached out to a local theatre group that does monthly productions of The Rocky Horror Show. Come winter, I’ll be able to snowboard a lot more often than I could back in Shanghai, which I’m also really excited about! Honestly, I have barely even skimmed the surface of all the activities that are available here, so I know I’ll have plenty to do.

Cheeky question to finish it off: Where do you see yourself in 5yrs?

Back in Asia, or maybe Europe, either working full-time as a translator or pursuing a master’s degree. I’ll have an apartment with my bird Andri, and hopefully a poodle named Steve. I don’t really intend to stay in America; there are way too many interesting places to see. I also want to be fluent in at least one more language by then, preferably two.

Interview by Mikael Masson Perez Communitas Editor

The Alumni Association Alumni Mission: The SCIS-HIS Alumni Association has been established in order to foster the continued cordial relations of the SCIS-HIS community. It’s goal was, and continues to be, to link alumni with the School and with each other, and to support and maintain such forged relationships. It strives to provide ample avenues and opportunities to encourage alumni to participate actively in the SCIS-HIS community.

Alumni Contact: Mikael Masson Perez mmasson@scis-his.org Alumni Requirements: 1. Graduated from a SCIS-HIS school OR

Social Media facebook site: http://www.facebook. com/SCISandHIS-alumni Linkedin site: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/ SCISHIS-Alumni-4757677

2. Went to school here for at least one year AND be over 18 51

FAMILY SPOTLIGHT

Golden Dragons

Kaptzan Family Meet the

proposed moving to HK for a two-year contract. the two became four and then HK was being returned to the Chinese by the British. The global question was “what city or country would be the next gateway to Asia - Shanghai or Singapore”?

Based on his entrepreneurial instincts and advice from respected HK business people, Jim thought Shanghai would be a great place to move to for a short time for business opportunities. I agreed with the understanding that the next stop would be the USA, and that has not come yet... The transition was challenging.

China was quite different 18 years ago.

Tall buildings and the Yan’an Highway were just being built, there were no neon lights, western food was available on a limited basis and foreign food restaurants were just as scarce. The foreign community was rather small so we knew almost everyone.

Photo was taken in 2007

R

obin and Jim Kaptzan, along with their son, David, and daughter, Mikayla, first moved to Shanghai over 18 years ago.

Today, David has already graduated and is already in his sophomore year at university while Mikayla has started 11th grade at SCIS. Together, they are the Kaptzan family and are our oldest Golden Dragons; an honour attained, and reserved, to our community members in their 8th year or more at SCIS-HIS schools! I was able to get in touch with each member and take the opportunity to ask them to share their story about the wonderful adventure that has been life in China and SCIS over all these years.

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Before Shanghai, where did the Kaptzan family call home?

I was born in Hong Kong but I’ve always lived in Shanghai. – MIKAYLA KAPTZAN ROBIN/JIM- Before Shanghai, we lived in Hong Kong, where we had been for almost 4 years. Before that, we lived in the New York City area, which is where we grew up. Jim was originally born in Tokyo but moved to NYC at about 5 years old.

What/Who made the decision to make the move to China?

ROBIN/JIM - It was mostly Jim’s thought but we made the decision together. It was an adventure. Jim was born in Japan and had some connection to the region. he

As an expat child myself I know it wasn’t the smoothest of transitions coming from abroad to live here, how was the transition process for everyone?

MIKAYLA - I didn’t have a transition; I was born in Hong Kong but have always lived here, in Shanghai.

ROBIN/JIM - When we moved to Hong Kong, it wasn’t too bad a transition. We have been there before and both liked it, also it was a lot like NYC so it was easy.

The only challenge was for Robin - leaving behind a decade long career as trial lawyer in NYC to be a “TaiTai’. David was 13 months old and was just glad to be with Mom and Dad.

FAMILY SPOTLIGHT

Photo was taken in 2002 Mom and Dad, why did you choose to enroll your kids at SCIS? ROBIN/JIM - David was 3 years old and very bored in Shanghai. SCIS was 5 minutes from our home and had a diverse group of families. We both come from the New York City area, and were in communities that were and still are diverse in many aspects. We wanted our children to have the same open minded attitude and SCIS offered this. The school was also small and provided a community feeling, which we felt was best for young children.

David, you graduated SCIS last year after spending 15 years here (correct me if I’m wrong), making you the longest attending student, that’s incredible! How would you sum up your experience growing up here?

Any defining moment/unforgettable memory while attending SCIS? Attending SCIS starting at the young age of 3, I was fortunate to be introduced to many different cultures. Throughout the 15 years, as the school and community changed and grew, SCIS’s internationally diverse student body remained a constant.

Learning about and celebrating different cultures together with my friends and classmates was normal. The diversity in cultures and nationalities of SCIS students has provided me with a keen sense of cultural awareness, far beyond that of the “average Joe” in today’s world.

How about you Mikayla, how long have you been at SCIS? Favorite SCIS moment thus far? You still have two more years before graduation, how do you plan to spend them?

I’ve been at SCIS since pre-school, now I’m in 11th grade starting IB. I’m not sure of my favorite memory but in my two remaining years I plan to spend as much time with my friends, having fun and enjoying the perks of being in Shanghai and in such an international community.

What will you miss most about SCIS? MIKAYLA - Being around people from all over the world.

With 18 years of experience living here,

Recent pictures of David and Mikayla any advice to expats who are new to the city and to the international community?

MIKAYLA - Come with an open mind and just take things as they come. Be adventurous, try new things and have fun with it, enjoy the opportunities available here that you can’t get anywhere else in the world.

ROBIN - Always remember where you come from and celebrate all the holidays you celebrated back home as though you were there. Too many people forget this and think, I will celebrate, for example, Thanksgiving to American or SinterKlaus to the Dutch, when I return to my home country. When you return however, 10+ years later, and these very important holidays are strange to the children. Share with them the cultural and religious holidays! Teach them where they come from!

As third culture kids, this will help them minimize any identity issues when they are older as well as be more grounded

and aid in making a seamless transition to another place to call home. Also, when celebrating, invite your new friends from around the world so they too can enjoy your holiday.

If you could go back in time to when you first arrived here, would you do anything differently?

ROBIN - Not really, we would not do much differently. The only thing David commented he regretted when graduating is that we had not yet been to the southern hemisphere. We promised him that we will all go before everyone in the family is living in the USA. It has been an amazing experience and adventure as a family as well as personally and professionally.

Interview by Mikael Masson Perez Communitas Editor 53

PAFA

An Afternoon with Heart to Heart O

n a warm September Sunday afternoon I accompanied Jeffrey Ginter, Cristina Pelaez, and Stephanie Keller from SCIS Hongqiao’s ECE Campus on a visit to Yodak Hospital.

We wanted to see Ran Haochen, the ECE’s most recent heart patient whom they supported through funds raised in May’s Art Auction and Student Art Sale at the ECE Campus.

We arrived at the hospital and took the back stairs to the third floor to meet with Heart to Heart’s Manager of Assembly DJ Wizniak. He was in their Assembly Room, readying supplies for an upcoming trip to Jiangsu province to supply household goods and clothing to the students of four schools. Former patients and their families in the area also will receive supplies. The jumbo rip-stop bags were piled to the ceiling. SCIS parent and Heart to Heart’s Director of Finance Bertha Sambolin would be accompanying him.

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Together we climbed the stairs to the rooms reserved for babies recovering from surgery. Here we found Ran Haochen sleeping in the arms of his mother, a slim woman in a navy striped shirt.

A few weeks after his birth, Ran Haochen had surgery for an intestinal obstruction, indebting the family, and they were subsequently unable to afford an operation to repair his heart condition known as a Ventricular Septal Defect.

Ran Haochen’s heart operation was successful, although a post-operative lung infection has slowed his recovery. He has been been in the hospital for a month already, and will have celebrated his first birthday during his hospital stay.

The family is from a village in Shandong province; his parents left their four-year old daughter at home with her grandparents while they are here for a month with Ran Haochen. He is a cute little guy, long and a bit too thin with big ears and four teeth

PAFA

each on the top and bottom gums. Like all babies, he managed to shed one of his socks during our visit, but did not seem bothered.

As we returned to the Assembly Room, DJ proudly told us that Heart to Heart to date has funded heart operations for 916 children in China and supplied 76 libraries with books.

We were also able to see Heart to Heart’s Playroom, which is open two hours daily to all children in the hospital, whether they are patients or visitors. The Playroom’s shelves are packed with blocks and dollhouses, while play cars, mini kitchens and construction vehicles, and a wide play table take up the floor space. A mural with an undersea theme enlivens one wall, a happy swordfish and whale shark greeting the youngsters. Heart to Heart is hoping for other artist volunteers to complete a planned rainforest mural.

During our tour of the Playroom, a lively Tibetan boy with bright blue sneakers zipped around on a mini tractor, nimbly avoiding plowing over our feet. He is the final patient in a group of nine who arrived in July for heart operations. According to DJ, many of the Tibetan parents who accompanied their children wore their traditional dress, brightening the hospital’s halls. This boy’s

level of activity is even more remarkable considering that he could hardly move when he arrived in July. Later that day, he and his family were able to start their two-week journey back to Tibet.

As we left the hospital that afternoon for the busy roads of Xuhui, we all felt grateful for the chance to see how these children’s lives have improved after surgery. Thank you, Heart to Heart.

By Kristianna Foye Hongqiao Campus PAFA Secretary/Public Relations

PAFA NEWS SCIS-HIS has parent organizations called the Parents and Friends Association (PAFA) on each campus. PAFA serves as a way that parents can communicate ideas for the betterment of the school to the administration and Board. SCIS and HIS are proud of the high level of parents participation in their schools and value their partnership with the parent community. PAFA conducts various activities, from community events to charity fundraisers to volunteer support for teachers and students. Each campus has a PAFA board who works closely with each campus’ administrations to plan events that help to make SCIS-HIS schools a unique experience for families, faculty, and students alike. We are always welcoming new members!

For more information about PAFA, please contact us at:

Hangzhou International School

Hongqiao Main & ECE Campuses

President Gretchen Montey gretchen1124@yahoo.com

President/Treasurer: Rhonda Mahs pafapresident.scispafahq@gmail.com treasurer.scispafahq@hotmail.com

Vice President Carmen Freissmuth carmenfreissmuth@hotmail.com

Event Coordinator: Nicole Newcomb pafaevents.scispafahq@gmail.com

Secretary Crystal Wu jameswanshi@yahoo.com

Early Childhood Education (ECE): Ramya Rajagopal, ecevp.scispafahq@hotmail.com.com Yvonne Yeung, ecevp2.scispafahq@yahoo.com

Treasurer Ting Jin jin_reader@hotmail.com Social Chairperson Cristina Chen ruaichen@hotmail.com Events Chairperson Anu Metha anu7720@gmail.com

Lower School (LS) Nina Han, ninah0095@gmail.com Ellen Ho, ellen_ho81@yahoo.com.tw Middle School (MS) Catrin Gustafsson, catrintell@gmail.com Marga van Tiggelen, tiggelsinvn@yahoo.com High School (HS) Carol Clark, hsvp.scispafahq@hotmail.com Heidi Casey, hsvp2.scispafahq@gmail.com Secretary/Public Relations Kristianna Foye, pr.scispafahq@gmail.com

Pudong Campus Lower School President Jennifer Davy pdpafals.president@scis-his.org Secretary Lourdes Hernandez pdpafals.secretary@scis-his.org Treasurer Katie Berkaw pdpafals.treasurer@scis-his.org Event Coordinator Qing Gao, gaoqing_gq@126.com Star Chu, starchu5159@gmail.com Upper School President Weili Vlas, vlasliu@yahoo.com Treasurer (Main) Heike Walther, heike.walther@gmail.com Treasurer Nancy Yen, 26lvmom@gmail.com Event Coordinator Sandra Machan, sandramachan@yahoo.com

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THE LIBRARIAN CORNER

Book Recommendations for All Ages Book Title: Sam & Dave Dig a Hole Author: Mac Barnett Illustrator: Jon Klassen Awards: 2015 Caldecott Honor Book Age Range: 4 – 8 years

(preschool to 3rd grade) Summary: Sam and Dave are on a mission. A mission to find something spectacular. So they dig a hole. And they keep digging. And they find . . . nothing. Yet the day turns out to be pretty spectacular after all. Attentive readers will be rewarded with a rare treasure in this witty story of looking for the extraordinary — and finding it in a manner you’d never expect.

Mr. Wong’s take: In this humorous tale, Sam and Dave, accompanied by their dog companion set out to dig a hole and begin to tunnel deep into the soil, but they just can’t seem to find anything. The book progresses with clever text, mostly the dialogue between the practical but unlucky explorers. The readers are in on the joke to which the characters are oblivious, what works spectacularly well is the clever play between the words and pictures.

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Book Title: Eye to Eye: How animals

see the world

Author-Illustrator: Steve Jenkins Age Range: 6 – 9 years (Grade 1 to 4) Summary: In his latest eye-popping work of picture book nonfiction, the Caldecott Honor–winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins explains how for most animals, eyes are the most important source of information about the world in a biological sense. The simplest eyes—clusters of light-sensitive cells— appeared more than one billion years ago, and provided a big survival advantage to the first creatures that had them. Since then, animals have evolved an amazing variety of eyes, along with often surprising ways to use them.

Mr. Wong’s take: This attractive, colourful book introduces various eyes in the animal kingdom. The book explores how eyes not only allow animals to find food and avoid predators but can also assist in swallowing food and aid in attracting a mate. Jenkins’s outstanding torn and cut-paper illustrations offer a fascinating look at these important organs, and will draw in many young children, some will find the vocabulary and concepts challenging. Animal facts, a bibliography, and a glossary are found in the back of the book, also teachers might find this a useful visual resource for showing a wide variety of animal light-sensors and eyes.

THE LIBRARIAN CORNER

Book Title: Lockwood & Co:

The Screaming Staircase Author: Jonathan Stroud Age Range: Grade 6 to 9

Summary: A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters are appearing throughout the city, and they aren’t exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see-and eradicate-these supernatural foes. Many different Psychic Detection Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work, and they are in fierce competition for business.

In The Screaming Staircase, the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood & Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the Hall’s legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day?

Mr. Wong’s take: Readers will enjoy following the three young ghost trappers, none of whom are particularly good at careful planning and preparation. A story filled with action, suspense, humor and creepy scares along the way. The trio take on deadly ghosts in a minor haunting that turns into a major murder case that leads Lockwood & Co. to a gloomy mansion, one which has already claimed the lives of more experienced ghost hunters. This thrilling and chilling story will keep you reading late into the night.

Book Title: Undertow Author: Michael Buckley Age Range: Grade 8 & Up Summary: First, we feared them. Then we fought them.

Now they might be our only hope.

Sixteen-year-old Lyric Walker’s life is forever changed when she witnesses the arrival of 30,000 Alpha, a five-nation race of ocean-dwelling warriors, on her beach in Coney Island.

The world’s initial wonder and awe over the Alpha quickly turns ugly and paranoid and violent, and Lyric’s small town transforms into a military zone with humans on one side and Alpha on the other. When Lyric is recruited to help the crown prince, a boy named Fathom, assimilate, she begins to fall for him. But their love is a dangerous one, and there are forces on both sides working to keep them apart. Only, what if the Alpha are not actually the enemy? What if they are in fact humanity’s best chance for survival? Because the real enemy is coming. And it’s more terrifying than anything the world has ever seen.

Mr. Wong’s take: This is an entertaining adventure with good amount of romance and danger, with themes touching on the treatment of minorities. The main character witnesses the arrival of the Alpha, but also learns of a terrible secret her family has been keeping from her. Fans of Suzanne Collins’s “The Hunger Games” will enjoy this book too.

By PAUL WONG HIS Library Media Specialist

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Favourite Spot in the City

Dine in at one of Hangzhou’s Laid-back Café Joint.

L

A Café is located in Bin Jiang, on Dongxin Avenue directly across from Hangzhou International School. Luna and Bamboo are the owners and the establishment has been open for a few years. They are kind and easy to talk too, and have even taken food suggestions from customers.

For those of you who are in my age bracket which shall not be named, it is kind of like the Peach Pit from the original Beverly Hills 90210 series, with Luna and Bamboo being our Nat. The customer base includes staff, students of all ages, parents from Hangzhou International School, along with students from Hang Er Zhong, and well, any person from the multitude of apartment complex’s nearby.

LA Café offers a comfortable and family friendly atmosphere, with art pictures on the wall drawn by H.I.S. students, and some fun board games to play while you sit and wait. The food is mostly Western style with some Asian dishes, and includes favorites such as: laffa salad, quesadilla’s, American breakfast, coffee, and fried rice with bbq chicken. Many customers love to indulge on their tasty brownie’s and milkshakes as well. LA Café also offers delivery

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to local apartments and companies if you are too busy or lazy to walk over. So, if you are in the Bin Jiang area, swing by LA café, say hello to Luna and Bamboo while trying some great café dishes!

English Address: 250 Dongxin Avenue, Binjiang District, Hangzhou Chinese Address: 东信大道250号 Telephone: 137 5719 3559

By LAURA SIROTTI WONG HIS Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

PARTNER

What Texting Can Do To Your Spine O

n a daily basis, I am amazed to see how people here in Shanghai are hooked on to their phones and tablets all the time. From subway to street, people keep staring at their devices like something horrible would happen if they didn’t check their mobile devices for a second. There is an interesting study I want to share here.

The United Chiropractic Association (UCA) claims that poor posture is as big a health risk as obesity. Studies suggest a link between forward-leaning posture in older people and hyper kyphosis, which is associated with pulmonary disease and cardiovascular problems.

Elderly people with even a small degree of hyperkyphosis have a 1.44 times greater risk of mortality than those without.

This is a similar figure to increased risk of death presented by a body mass index greater than 30, according to the UCA. Well in simple words, Texting and using mobile devices for long periods of time could lead to lower life expectancy.

Does it sound untrue to you? Does your physician say it is not scientifically proven? In the following figure, I break down how bad posture might affect your health.

Dangers of Forward Head Posture The Domino Effect 1. The head moves forward shifting the Center of Gravity 2. To compensate, the upper body drifts backward.

3. To compensate for the upper body shift, the hips tilt forward.

So, the forward head position can be the cause of not only head/neck problems, but also mid-back and low back problems.

Normal Forward Head Posture

As bad as the above picture looks, if you have bad posture, especially forwarded head, it will throw off balance your whole body and it can cause abnormal stress to your joints and muscles. Just imagine carrying a bowling ball in your hands, in a forwarded position, for 14 hours a day. Degenerative changes on your spinal joints would happen much faster than if you had a good posture. Furthermore, the degenerated spinal joints will put greater amounts of pressure to nerves that are connected to the heart, stomach, muscle and hormonal glands. So, you get the idea? Bad posture = degeneration of spine = neural degeneration = affected organs = early death.

In daily practice, I see kids and young adults with joints that might be seen on someone of 40years old of age. You or your kids might be one of those cases. Am I telling everyone to stop using his mobile devices? Not really. Come to visit me at St. Michael Hospital, I will teach you how to maintain good posture and stay in good health!

By Dr. Jaeson Lee, Shanghai St. Michael Hospital 59

PARTNER

De Oranje Draak

School voor Nederlandse taal en cultuur We proudly would like to present The Orange Dragon, a school for Dutch language and cultural education.

The Orange Dragon teaches Dutch at all SCIS locations in Shanghai. They offer integrated and after school classes. This school year we welcomed our new director Mirjam van der Geijs, as she takes over the position of Laura ten Doeschate. Together with the same teachers as last year, she welcomed all Dutch and Belgian families at the Sunday Welcome drink on Sunday the 30st of august. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and all parents had the opportunity to meet our new director, the team and other new parents.

With this year a head, we look forward to a new vibrant year. We have quite some events coming up. To name a few; the Dutch school inspection is coming and Our King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima will visit Shanghai this October.

Also, following the Golden week, The Orange Dragon will have the famous Dutch book week, with the theme: Nature, Science and Technology. All Dutch Libraries will get a new set of books with this theme.

You are always become to have a look at our Dutch classrooms (002 and 003) or have a chat with the director or one of the team members.

For more information, check out our page on the SCIS official website under language schools: https://www.scis-his.org/community/language-schools or the Dutch website: http://www.deoranjedraak.com.

Should you have any questions please email: directeur@deoranjedraak.com or phone 150-0211-4117.

Mirjam van der Geijs Principal

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PARTNER

How to take care of the environment …wearing a school uniform?

W

earing a uniform is an important part of school life, but it does not have to be ordinary. Did you know, that your child’s school uniform could actually save oceans inhabitants from plastic pollution? Yes, it can help them learn more about the environmental protection and take better care of our planet. If you take a look at the labels you will notice that some of the SCIS uniforms have a special Waste2Wear label, highlighting the fact they are made from recycled plastic bottles!

Why is it important?

Plastic bottles are a problem for the environment because they do not biodegrade. Unlike, an orange peel that decomposes once you throw it away. Scientists say it takes hundreds of years for a plastic bottle to break down. Just imagine, for a second, how much plastic all 7 billion of us throw away every year.

There is so much plastic everywhere and a lot of it ends up in the rivers and oceans. Transported by the ocean’s currents, few places around the globe have not been polluted by it. When plastic gets into the ocean, fish and birds can eat it thinking that it is food and die. Apart from the concern that plastic can find it’s way back to our dinner plates and our reluctance to spend the vacation on the seaside awash in plastic, there is a bigger point here. We all want a sustainable future and a better environment for our children and it all starts with our kids learning about the environment and the responsible things to do.

What can we do about it?

First of all, we need to reduce our use of plastic as much as possible. Small things can actually make a huge difference for our environment. Try carrying your water in a reusable canteen instead of buying it in a plastic bottle, or bring your own reusable bag to the grocery shop—simple steps can make a good change.

Another important step is recycling. It’s great if you already have the habit to put the bottles in a recycling bin. But the only way to keep these plastic bottles out of our environment is by making sure they have a second life in products we use. The list of things you can make with recycled materials is endless but one of the most amazing ones is fabrics.

How can a plastic bottle become clothing?

We don’t always make best choices when it comes to the environment. Fortunately, technology advancement has allowed us to use plastic resources to make high-quality, safe products, instead of sending them to waste.

Clothing and plastic bottles are not as unrelated as one might think. Actually, popular textiles like fleece and polyester are made of the same material that goes into a plastic bottle. That’s how fabric manufacturers figured out a way to put discarded

bottles to good use. Sportswear companies, for instance have been making garments with recycled fabrics since the 90’s.

However, it takes a lot of effort and research to create a better performing fabric made of recovered material. For instance, soft Waste2Wear recycled textile is mixed with cotton and other natural fibers to become SCIS uniform.

Making bottles into fabrics is a fascinating process. It all starts by separating, cleaning the bottles and shredding them. After that they are cut into pieces that look like small flakes and sent into a washing machine. Because this kind of plastic is inert and does not react with other chemical substances, after it is thoroughly washed it will practically go back to the same state as virgin new plastic.

After cutting and washing the pieces of plastic, they are heated to 270ºC (520ºF) until they melt into a liquid the consistency of syrup.

The molten plastic is then put in a metallic container and pushed through really tiny holes as small as 0.001mm. Each hole ejects a strand of plastic that becomes solid again right away forming filaments that later will be spun to become yarn and eventually fabrics, clothes and uniforms.

Making bottles into fabrics is an appealing process, but it’s also a very important way to take good care of our environment.

Recycling plastic bottles helps keep them out of the nature and seeing the result of it in products we use just feels great. ___________________________________________________ Did you know that: • Polyester fabrics and plastic bottles are made with exactly the same materials.

• Recycled polyester is an inert substance which makes it completely hypoallergenic.

• Certifications from organizations help recycling companies to supervise safety and quality to make sure everything is super clean and healthy.

• If you have any questions about the environment, recycling or about your uniforms you can ask: info@waste2wear.com. __________________________________________________ If you want to learn more check out this cool video or go to http://www.waste2wear.com.

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PARTNER

College Application Tip:

How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activities

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he last few years of high school are a stressful time for our community. Parents have to worry about how to ferret their children through an increasingly complicated application process, which includes standardized testing, online application forms, early decisions, and even school visits. Students are busy preparing for tests, writing admissions essays, and completing their school requirements. On top of all this, many colleges, certainly colleges in my own country, the USA, expect students to participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities in order to show that they are “well rounded”. As an admissions consultant at Prep Zone who has helped many students successfully get accepted by their dream schools, I would like to share with you a wrong way and a right way for students to show colleges that they are engaged in abundant extracurricular activities.

First, the wrong way. When I was in high school, my dream was to get into Columbia University. Since I knew that in order to get into an Ivy League school like Columbia, I would have to have a strong application filled with references to clubs and activities, I went to the extreme. I started a club to promote diversity, signed up to direct plays, joined a choir, and volunteered to organize a state-wide student conference. Balancing all of these activities with each other, as well as academics and the college application process, proved challenging, and sometimes things just didn’t work out. For instance, one of the plays I directed flopped. There is nothing more dispiriting than facing the criticisms of a hostile student audience, except maybe being rebuked by disappointed actors.

I did get into a good college, in the end, though not my dream school, and I think partly as a result of that busy senior year, I went to the opposite extreme. Instead of over-committing, I undercommitted, spending most of my time studying for classes. I did well in school, but sometimes I was lonely and bored. Looking back, I wonder what opportunities for friendship and personal as well as professional development I missed by spending college in the library.

The moral is that engagement is good – but don’t make the mistake I made of pursuing engagement for engagement’s sake.

When students come to Prep Zone, my goal, as well as Prep Zone’s ultimate goal, is to help them discover their own passions – passions that will last beyond the college admissions process to carry them through college itself – and beyond. When we try to pad our application with after-school activities just to impress schools, we risk both over-extending ourselves and selling 62

ourselves short. Look for things to do outside of school, definitely, but make sure that these engagements are reasonable and, more importantly, valuable.

When deciding on extra-curricular activities, avoid going to clubs just so you can put your name on the sign-in sheet. Instead, think of what you want to do after college, after the “rat race”.

Do you hope to become a journalist or a writer? See if you can join a writing group or work for a local news organization.

If you like art, try to organize your own exhibition. If you’re interested in the sciences, see what opportunities there are to attend lectures and pursue research that interests you. Find one project or maybe two that you would want to pursue even if you weren’t applying for college, and use these projects as an opportunity to escape from the pressures of the application year and to renew the enthusiasm that college is supposed to help you nurture in the first place. Then tell the schools about what you learned and why it is important. And usually, those are the things successful students presented in their essays and the universities are keen to read.

The most impressive and interesting thing for a college is a student who has discovered his or her own motivation, who knows what he or she wants from a school, and not just that he or she should, for some reason or other, try to get into it.

Using extra-curricular activities to build this sense of self kills two birds with one stone: not only will you get into college, but you’ll discover yourself along the way.

Prep Zone is your best choice for SAT/ACT preparation & Ivy League admission because: • 10 years of experience in SAT & ACT preparation and Ivy League admission consulting • Trainers from the top 25 US Universities (99th percentile scores) • Proven track record with an improvement of 400+ points in SAT & 7+ in ACT 400 820 3861 www.prep-zone.cn Room 1604, Tower 2, Hua Yi Plaza, 2020 Zhongshan (W) Road, Shanghai 200235, P. R. China

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Save the Date!

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0 7 4 8 4 8 3 1 5 7 9 2 6 4 6 All LS and US 2 N 10 U F 0 families!

4 0 3 2 6 3 7 4 D O O F p rize b 2 1 ask Friday, November 20, 2015 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm

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SCIS Pudong Bingo games are fun for all ages!

Enjoy an evening with family and friends!

For more information or if you would like to volunteer for Bingo Night, please contact: Nancy Yen at 26lvmom@gmail.com or Qing Gao at gaoqing_gq@126.com 63

Attending University of Southern California

Majoring in Occupational Therapy.

Minoring in International Relations President of Alpha Gamma Delta

High School IB Score

42

VIce President of the High School Student Council High School Model United Nations Vice President of National Honor Service Varsity Basketball and Volleyball Team

I am SCIS “Now that I am a Junior at the University of Southern California (USC), I can reflect upon my time at SCIS and see how the small class sizes, hands-on learning, and committed teachers helped me succeed. SCIS not only helped me develop my writing, communication, critical thinking, and analytical skills, but it also taught me time management, study habits and organizational skills which are still helping me succeed as a student today. Maybe more importantly, SCIS taught me how to be a well-rounded person, as I was encouraged to join various clubs at SCIS, such as Model United Nations (MUN), Varsity Volleyball, and Student Council.

This experience has motivated me to pursue similar interests at USC, and so I continue to gain leadership experience which I hope will help me become a true citizen of the world.”

– Carnie Lewis SCIS Class of 2013 – attended SCIS for seven years

SCIS is a truly international school. Our rigorous IB curriculum and excellent co-curricular opportunities promote high achievement. Our diverse community of over 60 nationalities and our caring environment promote future success. Visit us to discover for yourself the amazing SCIS community. No school does it better.

Tour our campuses by calling 86-21-6261-4338 ext.1

www.scis-his.org 64

The art and science of education since 1996

HONGQIAO • PUDONG NURSERY – GRADE 12