School Happenings Sports and Arts

Sports Recap

By Paul Rader

Director of Sports

While there have been so many negatives to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been amazing to see our community persevere and do our absolute best to continue providing a worldclass international educational experience. A significant part of our students’ educational experience is participating in activities like Sports and Arts. A running motto the past two years has been to “STAY READY”, so that when the opportunities arise, we are in a position for success. I am proud of our athletes and coaches that have worked hard, despite uncertainty and challenges, and have been ready to play every time we’ve had an opportunity.

High School Sports

This past November, Korea entered the "Living with COVID-19" phase which, despite some stops and starts, has allowed us to resume interschool competitions. This was a welcome change after the fall sports seasons where we were not able to have a single interschool competition due to the COVID-19 regulations.

One caveat to the resumption of competitions was the necessity for COVID-19 testing prior to competitions. This has helped schools to ensure that all their competitors have tested negative and has helped to mitigate any further spread within teams or an infection spreading between schools. High School students that participated (64 boys, 77 girls). We offered Basketball, Cheerleading, Wrestling, Swimming, and Table Tennis.

• Highlights of the High School winter sports season: • Boys Swimming KAIAC Conference and Tournament Champions (Virtual) • Girls Swimming KAIAC Conference and Tournament Runners Up (Virtual) • Boys and Girls Swimming APAC Competition (Virtual) • Wrestling Showcase at SFS (Intersquad) • Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball winning the KAIAC Tournament • JV Boys and JV Girls Basketball Runners Up at the KAIAC Tournament • Varsity and JV Cheer KAIAC Champions (Virtual) • Inaugural Table Tennis team season (Intersquad)

We started the High School spring season in February with 103 students (58 boys, 45 girls) participating in Soccer, Badminton, and Track & Field. We were able to organize interschool competitions for all three sports, and the teams performed very well in their competitions. Go Crusaders!

There are 259 High School students out of approximately 500 that participate in the High School Sports programs!

Total Participant 1 Sport 2 Sports 3 Sports

HS Girls 129 84 34 11

MY (Middle School/Key Stage 3) SELECT Sports

This year we have started multiple teams under the umbrella of the MY SELECT program (Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, and Tennis). The goal was to create competitive groups that will be able to train more frequently and in smaller numbers. We have been able to have a couple of competitions so far, and are looking forward to more.

Highlights of the MY SELECT Sports: • Soccer traveling to play Chadwick in December • Volleyball traveling to YISS in March

British School FOBISIA

This year we have resumed the U-11 and U-15 FOBISIA groups. For each age group, we have had a training team, and then prior to the competition have created a FOBISIA SELECT team (10 boys, 10 girls) for the age group.

The U-11 FOBISIA SELECT team had planned to go to NLCS in Jeju for a competition at the end of March, however due to the rising COVID-19 numbers at that time, the event was cancelled. Instead, we held a two-day in-house competition here at SFS and it was a fantastic event. We were also happy and thankful to be able to invite the athletes’ parents to come to campus and watch.

We are looking forward to the U-15 FOBISIA SELECT competitions at the start of June, and we hope we are able to offer an interschool experience for them at that time.

Early Years Sports

For the Early Years (Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, and Grade 1-5), most of our sporting opportunities are found in the SWEP program. These groups have been able to happen all school year, and it has been great to see so many students participating in sports throughout the week and on Saturdays. We are hopeful that as the COVID-19 conditions improve that we will begin to resume the interschool Elementary School Sports jamborees. 19 12

The Arts at SFS

By John Striffler

Director of Arts

Quintessence. The essence of a thing is its purest form. This is the word that permeates all that has happened throughout our semester in the Arts here at Seoul Foreign School. Whether it be in our classrooms, on our stages, in our practice spaces, online, or any other interstices; the students and teachers of the Arts here at Seoul Foreign School have demonstrated time and time again that they are the quintessence of collaboration, perseverance, artistry, learners and educators.

Just like in our previous four semesters of this pandemic, our theatre students and teachers have demonstrated an indomitable will to bring their artform to the stage in the Lyso Center as well as in our High School Drama Lab and Middle School Drama Classroom.

Entering the second semester, our Middle School and Key Stage 3 students were preparing for their Mainstage show in the Lyso Center, Graffiti, and they did not disappoint. Students told a series of stories which included “How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse”, “Chicken Little Goes Too Far”, and “Look at Me” just to name a few. This was a show that was devised, developed and adapted by Mrs. Moon and the cast of the show. The show delighted its audience of Middle School and Key Stage 3 students with its meaningful script, amazing costumes, wonderful scenic and lighting design, dynamic dances, and wonderful acting. It was truly an ensemble show!

Following our Middle Years performance, our High School students took to the stage for this year’s High School musical Something Rotten!. Overcoming what seemed like insurmountable odds, the student actors, pit band members, and crew members pulled off an incredible performance of the comedy set in the time of Shakespearean England. We are so grateful to Mrs. Moon, Mr. Ford, Mr. Black, Ms. Shin, Mr. Lee, Ms. Johnson, Ms. Yaniw, and Ms. Cha, along with all of our parents for making this such a tremendous learning experience for our students.

To close out the year on our stages, our Key Stage 1 students presented a series of Korean stories on our Robb Hall Stage. Finally in May, our Grade 4 students participated in a week-long Theatre Festival in which they were able to perform, dance, work on stage combat, theatre games, costumes, set and lighting design, and puppetry.

It has been so wonderful to hear the amazing sounds coming out of our music classrooms this spring! Whether it be the singing

(Opposite top) The Middle Years Band in recording for KIMEA (Opposite bottom) Students, teachers and other community members enjoyed visiting The DP Year 2 Visual Arts Exhibition.

coming from our Early Years classes or the beautiful chords coming from our Ensemble classrooms, our music students have sounded absolutely incredible!

The Spring is usually a time when many of our music students are traveling and attending festivals but due to COVID-19 this was not possible. This did not prevent our students and teachers from entering virtual festivals and competitions for KIMEA and AMIS where our students achieved some of the highest ratings and have made the finals of some incredible competitions!

Our choirs and bands took to the Lyso and Rob Hall stages where they were able to perform for their parents for the first time in over two years! It was wonderful to see the emotions of both parents and students together for the first time in these spaces in such a long while. Our students and teachers rose to the occasion with some tremendous performances and brought the Lyso Mainstage and Robb Hall stage to life with their energy and enthusiasm!

As always, our Visual Arts students dazzled us with their creations. From 2-D and 3-D works to digital media, our students’ creativity, skill, and talents in the visual arts classrooms know no bounds. As you walk through the halls of each section of our school the creative talents and growth of our visual arts students are always on full display for everyone to see. And while the final products our students present are always phenomenal, it is also their growth in the classroom that is equally important. Our Visual Arts teachers do an incredible job of guiding students through not only a growth in skills but also reflection, collaboration and knowledge.

One of the highlights of the year in Visual Arts is the opening of our DP Year 2 Exhibition. This year we had twenty-five students display works that were spread out over three floors of the High School in an Exhibition entitled: Interstice. This exhibition was the culmination of a two-year learning journey for our DP Visual Arts students.

Once again, this has been a year of growth, reflection and excellence in the Arts here at Seoul Foreign School. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us this past year and we truly look forward to all of the amazing things that are in store for the 2022/2023 school year!

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Service

Our school has had an ongoing relationship with the humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization World Vision since the 1950s when Bob Pierce, Founder of World Vision, donated to help purchase the land where SFS currently stands. For over 20 years, we have proudly participated in the World Vision 30 Hour Famine as one of many ways that we continue Bob Pierce’s prayer of "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God."

This year, over 70 Middle School, Key Stage 3, and High School students fasted food or alternative sources, such as social media, for 30 hours across February 24 and 25. Over 600 million people face world hunger each day, and by fasting, we can grow in empathy to fight this global ill. Coming together in the UAC building, fasting students learned about this year’s 30 Hour Famine feature child, Marie from the DRC, and participated in activities that exemplify how hunger impacts Marie’s life before breaking their fast. In the preceding weeks, they also initiated fundraising projects through the #raiseyourownfund challenge. In total, the SFS community donated 9.5m KRW donated to fight global hunger.

Parent Association

What would Seoul Foreign School be without its parent community? It has been difficult to not have parents around as much over the past few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the hopes that next school year will see our campus come fully back to life, we reached out to a few of our Parent Ambassadors about their experience volunteering at SFS.

Parent Ambassadors assist the Admissions team with the recruitment and onboarding of new families. They provide campus tours, answer questions, give advice, and are a general resource to those joining our community. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, they have generously taken time to share about SFS over email, phone and video calls, and as speakers at New Parent Coffees. We are very grateful for the support of all of our parent volunteers and look forward to coming back together as a community soon.

Veronica Lee

Current HS Parent

How are you involved at SFS?

I am most involved as a “Drama Mama”, helping with the school’s theater productions. Being a Drama Mama can be a big time commitment but it’s always fun to come to the sewing room and it provides lots of time to talk and connect with other parents.

How has being an active parent volunteer impacted your relationship with the school?

As an expat, I was looking for a community, and the parents at SFS have provided that to me. It has also taught me so much more about the school. I’ve been able to ask lots of questions to other parents as well as school staff and then share my learnings. It’s very beneficial to hear firsthand about how people navigate different classes, activities, events, and so on.

What advice would you give to other parents who want to get more involved?

I’d let parents, especially expat parents, know that SFS can be your home in a foreign country. If you’re involved on campus, your child’s friends can become like your nieces and nephews and your friends can become family. Also, being involved can help narrow the gap with your children’s teachers. The more familiar you are with them, the easier it is to reach out when you need to ask a question or discuss your child’s progress.

Marieke Doherty

Current BS Parent

How are you involved at SFS?

I have been a room parent in the past, but my primary involvement now is as an AQT (Academic Quiz Team) volunteer, as a reader or scorekeeper. I also am a wordof-mouth ambassador for SFS through the American Women’s Club and through my involvement in Facebook groups for expat parents.

How has being an active parent volunteer impacted your relationship with the school?

For our family, the best part about living in Korea has been Seoul Foreign School. I could immediately recognize the sense of community here and thought, if there are parents helping to create opportunities for students, I want to be a part of that. Being an AQT volunteer has been particularly rewarding - seeing the students succeed and being so enthusiastic brings me a lot of joy.

What advice would you give to other parents who want to get more involved?

Most people know their own strengths and passions. I’d recommend people consider how those skills can be of benefit to the school. I’ve always found SFS to be a community-minded school that greatly encourages parental involvement, so if you are interested, just jump right in! It’s a great way to make new friends and once you’re comfortable, you can decide if and how you want to become more involved.

Yvonne Stehle

Former SFS Parent

How are you involved at SFS?

I have held a variety of roles as a parent volunteer - with drama, sports, parties, and social events. But recently I have mainly helped as a Parent Ambassador. My family moved back to Europe for a short time and I continued my role as an SFS ambassador, connecting with many European families who were moving to Seoul.

How has being an active parent volunteer impacted your relationship with the school?

From the first time I visited campus, I was amazed by how cheerful and welcoming everyone was. I knew I wanted my family to be part of this community. By being more involved as a parent ambassador, I have had the opportunity to share this cheerful and welcoming spirit with other newcomers who might be a bit nervous or overwhelmed. It is also nice to mingle with your children’s friends and their parents because you feel safe knowing who they are spending their time with.

What advice would you give to other parents who want to get more involved?

Many people can be apprehensive about having too much responsibility. I’d recommend starting small by helping paint sets for a play or chop vegetables when there is a sport event. And then you will get to see how it all works and decide if you want to get more involved. I’d also recommend encouraging one friend or acquaintance to come along as it can be less intimidating when you have a partner.