volume X X X XI
march 2012
issue 8
Tiger Times s e o u l i n t e r nat i o na l s c h o o l sistigertimes.com
Students experience Chinese culture at BEIMUN
School takes measures to ‘cure’ senioritis
By Michelle Kim
By Christine Lee
As “senioritis” continues to affect seniors’ academic performance, the school is experimenting with ways to restore the competitive mindset students held before college applications were due. Students are currently being instructed to stay after school in the administration office to complete unfinished work if they have a grade of 75 or below in a class. Each week is designated to a specific subject, and students are provided with space, time and resources to finish their assignments. “This is detention for students who make unacceptable choices,” said Jarret Lambie, high school principal. “When students make bad choices, it’s up to the adults to make them stop. ‘Senioritis’ is an excuse for choices that reflect a negative attitude.” Though only a minority is failing, the administration believes that “treating school like a game” after the college application process is disrespectful to teachers. The school is worried that if students do not improve their grades, their college offers may be retracted. “There has been a decrease in the number of people whose grades have [dropped, but it] isn’t as [big] as I hope it to be,” said Erin Hogshead, World Literature teacher. “People are scrambling to get passing grades and the attitude of not wanting to do any work still exists. But if this was the real world, they would fail.” However, some seniors find that this solution is not logical. “I know that [the administration] is trying to get rid of ‘senioritis,’ but I don’t understand why they’re trying so hard,” said Sean Kim (12). “[Seniors] have been through four intensive years of school so we consider second semester a time to relax. We know colleges will retract our offers if we fail so I don’t understand why the school is babysitting us.” Despite such measures, teachers think “senioritis” is still prominent. “Students know that if they do their work, they will good grades,” said Mr. Lambie. “Not doing work is not an issue of performance but discipline. If seniors next year continue to show this kind of behavior and think that the school is going to sit and watch, the system will be implemented again.”
Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park
Wearing the clothes borrowed from Chungkang University, Celine Chang (9) and Cynthia Rhee (12) listen to Justin Lee (12) bid for a bracelet. All products, handmade by NAHS members, were sold over 20,000 won.
HFH and NAHS collaborate on fundraiser fashion show event By Helen Song
A
model struts down the runway, walking to the beat of the music. Instead of showcasing the latest designer brand, she is wearing clothes and accessories designed and handmade by students. This was the vision Shelby Kim (11), Habitat for Humanity (HFH) secretary, had when she decided to organize a joint fundraiser fashion show on March 23 with the school’s chapter of the National Arts Honor Society (NAHS). “I wanted to create an event that involved all students and teachers so that HFH could be more widely known among the student body and around the school,” said Shelby. “It has always been my dream to launch a fundraiser brand like Toms shoes, so when I heard from a friend at Korea International School that the fashion club at her school had held a similar event, I thought it would be the perfect for HFH to host at school.” HFH members designed one t-shirt that was available for people to order during the fashion show. In addition, NAHS members produced a large collection of accessories including bracelets, necklaces and canvas bags, which were showcased at the fashion show along with
Versus: Are school trips beneficial to or detracting from learning process? Page 3
clothes that were designed and produced by freshman college students from Chungkang University. These clothes were borrowed solely for the show, and only the accessories were auctioned to individual bidders. Each club will use their earnings toward their future endeavors, which includes repairing housing in impoverished villages in the Bokjeong district. “Originally, NAHS [members were] supposed to make all the clothing by hand, but when we started to plan out the designs, we realized that we would not be able to get the clothes finished on time before the show because we only had a month,” said Tritia Lee (12), NAHS president. “Since they are accessories for the runway, we tried to make them bold and bright, and we think they looked great.” The show, which started at 1 p.m., opened with a performance by the Dance Club to entertain the audience. After all the individual models walked down the runway, they lined up at the front of the auditorium to begin the auction. The bidding began at 10,000 won for every item, and the highest bid of 120,000 won was made by Sam Woo (11) for a bracelet. There were two necklaces, four canvas bags and seven bracelets. “The event was more than successful because the members sold so
many tickets and all of the products were auctioned off at much higher prices than we imagined,” said Yeeun Chun (12), HFH president. “I did not expect anything to be sold at over 15,000 won, but there was a lot of personal competition between some male bidders who were boyfriends of the models who walked in the show, so the price was driven up by them.” Behind the scenes, there were several other clubs that cooperated together to ensure that the fashion show went smoothly. John Rider, drama teacher, helped with the lighting and stage setting. Students such as Jenny Shim (11) and Sangwon Kim (10) helped out backstage as well. Andrew Jeong (11) from the Cinema Club also filmed the fashion show, while Kevin Park (11) served as the DJ. Shelby also borrowed help from her mother’s friend, a professional makeup artist for T-ara, a well-known K-pop girl group. “The DJ and music were all very good, and the Dance Club performed really well,” said Rachel Han (11), HFH member. “We honestly expected to make all the money from selling tickets at 10,000 won, but a large portion of our profits actually came from the auction itself. We tried to get as many clubs involved as possible, and as a result, we reached out to clubs like the Cinema Club.”
MATh: Honor society helps garner student interest in mathematics. Page 4
Hands yielding chopsticks reach for a plate of Peking duck on the revolving table. John Kim (12) and Annette Ahn (11) laugh as they wrap the meat and cooked vegetables in thin pancakes. This took place on the fourth day of the weeklong Beijing International Model United Nations (BEIMUN) trip March 7-13. The annual conference was hosted by the International School of Beijing (ISB) at the Crowne Plaza Sun Palace Hotel in Beijing, China. After a three-day conference, the representatives toured Beijing. This year, they visited Tiananmen Square, the Dirt Market, the Pearl Market and Old Gate Street. The delegates encountered the Chinese culture on these trips, some unexpectedly. “Old Gate Street had been rebuilt so it looks more traditional,” said Alec Griffin, MUN adviser. “It had a lot of old buildings and restaurants. The goal was to walk through that to get to Tiananmen Square, but when we got there, we saw that the communist party was there too. We knew that they have meetings in Tiananmen Square, but we didn’t expect to see them that day.” In addition to sightseeing, the delegates watched an acrobatic show at Chaoyang Theater. The acrobats pulled stunts such as spinning plates and climbing poles many feet higher than themselves. “Last year, we went to the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace,” said Angela Erickson, MUN adviser. “It was really cold. Beijing is even colder than Seoul, so I wanted to do something that was inside, like the acrobatic show.” When the representatives were not sightseeing and participating in BEIMUN conferences, they tasted Chinese cuisine and reunited with old friends. “I had dinner with some of my friends,” said JooHo Yeo (11), former ISB student. “I talked with the advisers and told them where I was going.” Looking back, the delegates enjoyed the trip because of what they learned and experienced. “The people were very kind and welcoming,” said Mr. Griffin. “It was also interesting to see the diversity. When you think of China, you think of one country encompassing China, but each area has its own diversity.”
Legendary: Students come together in online strategy game. Page 9