Tiger Times seoul international school
volume xxxiv
a p r i l 2011
issue ix
w w w
.itigertimes.com
Faculty Friend Experiencing Global Needs: Habitat for Humanity members experience life as refugees, AIDS victims and slum dwellers . Page 3. 8
Art Week combines aesthetic displays with entertainment By Michelle Kim
The auditorium rang with the sound of laughter when Juhohn Lee (11) and Younghwan Sim (11) did a complicated and exaggerated high five as part of the first scene in the Drama II office interview play on April 15. It was one of the many events organized for SIS’s first annual Art Week, hosted by National Art Honor Society (NAHS). It was held from April 11-15. Each day was dedicated to a specific program: the Cinema Club had film screenings, the band performed in the atrium, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) hosted a Teacher Talent Show, the concert choir and Ambassadors performed, NAHS sold handmade goods, Advanced Placement (AP) art had an exhibition and Drama II students performed a play. “This year, the NAHS board members led the idea of having an art week,” said Jennifer Smith, art teacher and NAHS sponsor. “They contacted Dr. Darling, Mr. Rider and Mr. Riley to coordinate the dates. Then they went to the respective groups and asked them if they wanted to join Art Week, and they said yes.” For the art exhibition, 22 students displayed artwork they made with a theme they decided themselves. Giwon Lee (11) exhibited dresses she constructed from re-
Photo by Stephanie Song
At the AP Art Exhibition on April 14, Jessica Han (11), explains her AP Drawing concentration pieces to Sandra Goldsborough. The exhibition featured a variety of pieces created by students of AP Drawing, 2-D and 3-D design. cycled material such as newspaper, plastic bottles and disks. “Each dress took about a week to make,” said Giwon. “It was fun to make the dresses and decide what material to make each of them out of because I could be as creative as I
wanted to.” The event that garnered the most interest was the Teacher Talent Show. It gained the interest of the entire school community. Performances included the teacher band “Hobbyists” and teacher dance
group Bigger Bang, which was publicized with a video trailer. Art Week received positive feedback from both students and faculty. Not only could they learn about the visual and performing arts, but they could also enjoy the art exhibitions
and events. “I went to all the events,” said Matthew Park (12). “I definitely enjoyed them, especially the Teacher Talent Show. I think Art Week really showed that we have a strong arts department that’s unseen.”
GIN invites speaker to raise awareness on Number of HSSC applicants climate change and water-related issues diminishes significantly By Elizabeth Song
By Lydia Kim
Venice, Paris and the Maldives are just a few locations from Newsweek’s list of a “100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear”— disappear because of radical climate changes in the past century. The Global Issues Network (GIN) invited Jinyoung Choi from The Climate Project on April 1. The Climate Project, a non-government organization founded by Al Gore, aims to train a wide range of people to spread awareness about the impacts of climate change. “We really wanted to get a speaker because we had seen learned from so many at the GIN conference past fall,” said Yeeun Chun (11), GIN member. “The Climate Project was one of the few NGOs dedicated to educating students about global issues. It was definitely a first choice.” Ms. Choi spoke about the environmental harms of excessive water use and rising carbon dioxide levels. “The last 10 years [were the warmest 10 years] in the last 200 years,” said Ms. Choi. “From 1914 to 2002, [the] amount of glaciers decreased by half. As they melt, sea levels rise, causing superstorms and floods. [On] dry continents, heat
Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park
Reminding students about the climate change in the world, the GIN keynote speaker ends the presentation on April 1. waves, droughts and wildfires are caused by the higher temperatures from rising carbon dioxide levels.” Students were able to connect statistics of rising carbon dioxide levels to the environmental impacts they witnessed in the world. “There [have] been [many] floods recently like the ones in Pakistan, China and Japan,” said Ally Chung (10). “I never thought this was because of carbon dioxide levels.” Ms. Choi said that this problem could be solved if everyone pitches in to conserve energy. “I want you to make little
changes in life,” she said. “Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘Be the change that you want to be in the world.’ Turn off water when brushing your teeth, use public transportation and turn off lights when you’re not in the room.” While some learned about environmental crises, Yeeun discovered the student body’s dedication to learning about current events. “Our middle school’s deep interest was encouraging,” she said. “I’m so thankful for everyone who came out, and it definitely taught me that we tend to underestimate the dedication and compassion within our own school.”
“If I could, I would make this woman your lunch lady,” claimed Adrian Kim’s (9) presidential poster, referring to Emma Watson. Every April, High School Student Council (HSSC) candidates hang up posters prior to the elections. However this year, candidates for executive president, executive treasurer, executive secretary, junior class president and junior class treasurer ran unopposed. In addition, the senior roles of vice president and secretary were unfilled. On the contrary, all of the ninth and 10th graders’ positions were occupied. “There are fewer demands on their time in terms of academics,” said Gray Macklin, HSSC advisor. “Also, they still believe they can win. There’s a perception [by junior year] that ‘If I haven’t done it before, I’m not going to win.’” Students for uncontested positions did not have to go through the entire process, which involved a speech and a panel interview. “I’m quite disappointed that I can’t get up there and prove certain points,” said David Lim (11), next year’s executive president. “I also won’t have a chance to introduce my
vision of HSSC 2011-2012.” Unlike David, Jinwoo Hong (10) wanted to avoid public speaking, which is why he decided not to run for class president. “I get nervous when I’m in front of a lot of people,” said Jinwoo. “Being in the HSSC requires a lot of speaking [up] in assemblies, so I decided not to try out.” According to Angela Son (9), sophomore treasurer candidate, students also refrained from applying because of the notion that the elections were popularity contests. “Most people think these voting procedures depend on popularity,” said Angela. “Before running, they look at who’s already running and give up, just because they think that someone more popular is running.” Mr. Macklin hopes that one day, the interest level in HSSC will rival that of Tiger Times or Yearbook. “It’s bad [when not many are running] because students have fewer choices in terms of who they have to represent them,” said Mr. Macklin. “But it’s good because people who are not serious about the organization are not coming out. The ideal situation would be to have more people serious about [HSSC participating].”