Pink Panther:
Drama students prepare slapstick comedy. Page 3
Champions:
Varsity boys basketball team emerge victorious. Page 7
s e o u l i n t e r nat i o na l s c h o o l
Tiger Times volume X X X XV
J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 4
issue 6
UNICEF reaches out to Cambodian communities By Kelly Kim and Yeaji Park
Celebrating the ten-year anniversary of UNICEF’s annual trip to Cambodia, 22 members of the club, along with alumnus Nina Yun, previous UNICEF vice-president, traveled to the country on Dec. 22. For four days, through interactions with Cambodian students at the Preak Toal School and Tteukslai School, UNICEF members worked to understand and alleviate poverty. “Every year we are able to clearly see the changes we have made in the Cambodian communities,” said Shanna Hurt, UNICEF advisor. “Three years ago, there was only one kindergarten class and 16 kids in one of the schools. However, this year, that number increased to 38, meaning that the students’ parents are making enough money to send their children to school. Our mission is to continue to support the growing number of students.” UNICEF has reached out to Cambodian children through direct interaction and financial assistance. During the visits to the schools, the members spent time with the children playing games, teaching basic English skills, singing Christmas carols and creating Christmas cards. Additionally, funds raised by UNICEF through bake sales, the talent show and other events were used primarily to provide supplies such as pencil cases and medicine for the students and their families. “UNICEF collected donated
Representatives of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) will be arriving in March 2015 to evaluate SIS and renew its accreditation. In preparation for the seventh visit, Peter Kahl, Administrator for Instructional Services, will be overseeing the leadership team, comprised of staff, students and parents, that will create the self-study report showcasing SIS’s improvements over the past six years. The report will consist of five sections: school community and profile, progress that SIS has made since the last accreditation, critical areas of improvement, evidence collected by teachers and an action plan for the next six years. Staff members will be divided into home groups, which are organized based on sub-
Administration outlines steps for admissions By Eunie Jang
Photo courtesy of Leo Lee (10)
Folding origami paper, Jane Lee (10) shows Cambodian children how to make snowflakes during a Christmas-themed activity. UNICEF visited two schools over four days, teaching Christmas traditions and songs. clothes and gave them out to the Cambodian students by making sure that each kid liked and fit into what they received,” Jane Lee (10) said. “We had a ton of leftover clothing this year, so we were able to provide some students with more than one article of clothing. Interacting with the Cambodian kids was also more exciting this year because the students knew advanced English as well as many K-Pop songs and Christmas carols.” Recently, UNICEF has expanded its endeavors in Cambodia from just schools to local communities. Last year, the club built a house
called Dream House One for a poor Cambodian family. This year, they built an additional house, Dream House Two, and fixed water pumps UNICEF built for the community. Furthermore, UNICEF members visited individual homes and provided families with supplies such as medicine and rice. According to Eugene Yang (11), UNICEF treasurer, the club has decided to sponsor similar additional projects to further assist the Cambodian families by raising money and sending funds to Neels Kim, UNICEF trip coordinator. They also hope to build a field, provide a
nurse for the students and establish a tighter relationship with the two schools and the community by continuing to visit the schools annually. “My last trip was especially memorable because I knew that I had to make the most out of my last UNICEF experience in Cambodia,” said Yerin Kim (12), UNICEF co-president. “It’s a great feeling to know that these few days are beneficial for the children. And every year, saying goodbye is always the worst part, but it’s really great to see how much our trip has improved over the years and how much we have accomplished.”
ject departments and focus groups, tion of what we have achieved over which are not organized according the past six years.” to any specific criteria. Within the Since WASC representatives’ focus and home groups, teachers last visit, changes such as the new will gather evidence from March un- grading policy have been impletil June from their classroom activi- mented to meet WASC’s expectaties in preparation tions. In line with to write the report. Our reputation has such changes reGroups will then garding academic changed. This year’s policies, the muwrite the report starting from Auaccreditation is a cel- sic department gust. has altered its ebration of what we curriculum to en“Our school has become very have achieved over able more focus different over the on differentiation the past six years,” and variety. past six years,” said Peter Corco“If I wanted Mr. Corcoran said ran, Director to teach my class of Schools. “Our reputation has a difficult rhythm, then students changed. There are a greater num- could be introduced to different ber of students who go to outstand- rhythmic practices to suit differing colleges and universities in the ent learning styles,” said Julia Kim, US, and there is an outstanding dif- strings teacher and curriculum leadference in the quality of instruction. er for the music department. “We This year’s accreditation is a celebra- also tried different kinds of concerts,
such as one where we had separate strings, band and choir concerts, and ones where we have a mass finale at the end, with all of the music groups involved.” In order to ensure student and parent voices are incorporated in the report, WASC will distribute surveys to parents and students by the end of February. The accreditation organization will also select students from the High School Student Council (HSSC) to provide feedback for the report. The Student Improvement Committee (SIC), a subsidiary group within the HSSC, is currently developing a new honor code system. “The SIC will focus increasingly on student morale,” said Julia Jeong (12), SIC representative. “Although WASC has a lot to do with academics, changing the way students think about school work will develop a healthier student body.”
SIS prepares for 2015 WASC accreditation visit By Nagyon Kim and Sarah Y. Kim
ttonl.org
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The admissions office goes through 200 to 250 applications every year, and this process takes two months. The first step for the students is to fill out and submit required forms that consist of transcripts, recommendation letters, report cards with teacher comments and a sample essay with marks from a teacher. Before being allowed to take the required test, Irene De Shazo, Admissions Administrator, looks through every file to decide if a student is eligible to take the test. “I give great importance to the behavior and attitude of a student, so the letter of recommendation and comments from report cards are extremely valuable,” Mrs. De Shazo said. Once the student passes the file-orientated admission process, he or she is invited to take the admissions test that consists of English, math and essay sections and engage in an interview with Mrs. De Shazo. A student has to get a score of 85 percent in English and Math, but it is not unusual to accept a student with a lower score if the student exhibits great potential. After an applicant passes the test, Mrs. De Shazo conducts an interview, where she gets to know the students better. “A test is just a test,” Mrs. De Shazo said. “We look at other things as well. We are looking for students with critical thinking and [public speaking] skills, because he or she needs to be able to communicate effectively in group and class discussions. When all of it is done, I decide which files I will present to the principal.” Mrs. De Shazo then meets with the principal and the counselor to make a final decision. The three of them decide whether a student will be accepted or denied. Students who apply in the middle of the year are special cases that need quick admission decisions, mostly because of their parent’s jobs that require international travel. “On emergency situations where a family has to transfer right away, we speed up the process,” Mrs. De Shazo said. “It is still important to go through each step. SIS takes pride in accepting only the most qualified students. We want to make sure that they have what it takes to be in our classrooms.”