Office of International Education Newsletter ISSUE 8, OCTOBER 2021
Dear Partner Agents and Friends,
A message from Mariko
We welcomed all students back to school in August with 100% in-person instruction this year! Despite U.S. Embassy closures worldwide and travel restrictions due to COVID-19, about 20 new international students from Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, UAE, and Vietnam joined Kennedy Catholic High School this fall. We are so grateful that they chose Kennedy Catholic and traveled to the U.S. under these difficult conditions. We have been working to diversify our international enrollment in the last three years and thanks to our partner agents, country coordinators, and global Lancer family network, today, Kennedy Catholic’s International Education (IE) Office is supporting IE students from 10 different countries. We are still new to the global market and without your support, we could not continue to appreciate the benefits of diversity. We are all still going through challenging times but trying to be creative and maintain our strength as our economy recovers. Another challenging recruitment year has started, and we are sharing important recruitment activities in this newsletter. We want to work with you to overcome the challenges that we all face today. I personally wish to build our friendship and gain the trust of our many partners. In this newsletter, we would like to spotlight our international students’ engagement in the school events and activities. I can definitely feel the students’ energy and happiness on campus every day. It’s amazing to see how they are actively participating in school life this year. It’s as if they were in a hurry to make up for lost time. Compared to the past three years, more international students are participating in sports and clubs, IE student monthly lunch meetings, monthly field trips (Extraordinary Experiences), and other school
Just arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport!
Burien, WA Farmers Market
events and activities. The Homecoming Dance was held at the popular Museum of Pop Culture in downtown Seattle. About 700 students attended in formal attire and spent an exciting night with friends! View a photo gallery here. This year we have added extra support for new and returning international students whose English proficiency level is below CEFR B2. Both our ESL classroom teacher and the IE student mentor from the Office of International Education are working together to offer support sessions as a part of the student’s class schedule. Introduction to Catholic Theology was also added this year with new international students in mind, especially those who have no background knowledge in Christianity. Our hope is to create a more comfortable academic experience for international students to help them transition well to our school, the U.S., and academic life. To Kennedy Catholic, international students are a vital part of our school identity. Faculty and staff support these students, and value their contribution to school diversity. We want to continue to expand our diversity and services to enrich our student life at Kennedy Catholic. Between now and March, we would like to schedule one-on-one meetings with you to learn about your market, events and activities. We are looking forward to seeing you in person or virtually! Sincerely, Mariko Fujiwara Director, Office of International Education
Homecoming Dance at the Museum of Pop Culture in downtown Seattle
IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR* Fall Holiday Breaks • Thanksgiving break: November 24-28, return to school November 29 at 8am • Christmas break starts: December 17 after school, return to school January 3, 2022 at 8am Second Semester 2022 Dates • Airport arrival for new students (from overseas & out of state): Saturday, January 8 • School-sponsored hotel stay and COVID-19 testing January 8-14 • Upon arrival to the U.S. and prior to housing arrival (approximately one week). All students who signed up for the Kennedy Catholic Housing Program will be covered by the housing fee. • Housing check-in for new & returning students (from overseas & out of state): January 14
President/Principal Matt Mohs greets students Louis and Gigi and their parents.
• Second semester begins: January 24, 2022, 8am • Easter Break starts: April 15 after school, return to school: April 25 at 8am • International Senior Graduation Dinner: June 2, 2022 • Graduation: June 3, 2022 • Year end: June 10, 2022 *Dates are tentative and subject to change.
NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION New international students were welcomed in-person this fall! The Office of International Education enrolled more than 70 students from 10 different countries: China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Italy, and Spain.
ADMINISTERING THE KITE PRACTICE TEST Please copy and paste the following address to ensure you reach the correct page: https://testflight.takekite.com/register/kennedy8547 Students are anonymous users when they take this practice assessment. There’s no record of their results, aside from the screen displayed when the assessment is complete. The student should take a screen shot of the final screen and capture the information in order to share the results.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO APPLY!
Still accepting applications through November 2021 for students to begin school January 2022! APPLY NOW!
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR!
FEB
15
APPLY NOW!
Priority Deadline for Applications February 15, 2022 for August 2022 Admissions Fact Sheet Review fact sheet here for application timeline, deadlines, criteria, and other details. Online application and instructions found here.
Admissions and Placement Test Read here to learn more about our Admissions and English Placement test. When to Give the KITE Practice Test:
2021-2022 & 2022-2023 ANNUAL SCHOOL FEES (cost per school year) Tuition: $35,000 Housing: $12,000 + $300 (one time set up fee) Enrollment Fee: $550 Capital Building Fee: $500 Total: Approximately* $48,350 (including tuition, housing, and fees)
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I f the student does not have a TOEFL/ English score
*Approximate total due to exchange rates and bank fees
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I f the student has a low TOEFL or equivalent test score below 42
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I f you are unsure of the student’s English skills and you want to determine their comprehension level
Note: January students must pre-pay the following spring semester tuition.
VIRTUAL TOUR Take a virtual tour here of our beautiful campus and newly renovated boys’ dormitory!
KEN NE DY CAT HO LIC HIG H SCH OO L
Office of Internatio nal
Education
International Agen t Training Manual
2021-2022 SCHO OL YEAR
AGENT TRAINING GUIDE
Check out our 2021-2022 Agent Training Guide here to learn more about International Education at Kennedy Catholic. Seattle, Washi
ngton
US HIGH SCHOOL PREP COURSE A free promotional event for prospective students and parents. Register here. Contact INT@kennedyhs.org for more information. Session 1: N ovember 6, 2021 Group B 10am | Group A 6pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) Session 2: N ovember 13, 2021 Group B 10am | Group A 5pm PST (Pacific Standard Time) Session 3: N ovember 20, 2021 Group B 10am | Group A 5pm PST (Pacific Standard Time)
COMMUNITY SERVICE WITH GREEN SEATAC PARTNERSHIP Our new international students got out into nature and joined some of our neighbors at Land for Good to help restore nearby North SeaTac Park’s forest. This corner of the park was almost completely overrun with ivy endangering trees until volunteers began to transform it. Now it is almost entirely cleared and close to being ready for fall planting. Students helped by removing ivy, checking the “habitat piles” of forest wood and weeds created during previous work parties to ensure that new weeds aren’t growing into them, and doing some measuring in preparation for fall planting. Healthy forested parks and greenspaces have the power to strengthen neighborhoods, provide safe access to nature, and offer numerous valuable benefits to the environment.
LANCER LIFE
International student Cheer leaders: Yoojin S. from Korea (L) and Tanya L. from Taiwan (R)
EXTRAORDINARY AMERICAN EXPERIENCES! AUGUST TRIP A foggy day at Mount Rainier National Park
SEPTEMBER TRIP Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, WA
Enjoyed a sweet treat at Krispy Kreme!