bifs newsletter, 2015-12-18 (english)

BIFS NEWSLETTERUnited in our Diversity, Thriving in our Individuality

Busan International Foreign Schoolwww.bifskorea.org | [email protected] | T. 82 51 742 3332

ISSUE 38, December 18, 2015

ContentsThis Coming Week at BIFS1. Thu, Jan 14: Grade 4 Field Trip to Ulsan2. Fri, Jan 15: Report Cards Distributed

Whole School1. Happy Holidays! See You in the New Year!2. Final Day Buses & Office Hours, and School Close Schedule3. Adjustments to the School Calendar4. PTA News5. Leaving BIFS?6. 2015-16 Second Semester School Fee Invoice7. PE Uniform Shop8. Image Rights Permission9. BIFS Angel Tree Wish Gifts10. Old Dolls Needed11. What are You Planning to Read During the Winter Vacation?12. Cafeteria Menu: January 11-1513. Turkeys Available from Chef Kim

Elementary School1. Three-Way Conferences2. Field Trips3. ELC Parent Coffee4. Korean Language Acquisition - End of Term Assessment5. Upcoming Elementary Events6. Assessing Foundational Reading Skills @ BIFS

Middle School and High School1. Happy Holidays from the MHS2. Volunteers Needed in Korean Class for Foreigners

For Your Diary

BIFS Annual Calendar 2015-2016

School & Community Links

(Click to jump straight to the article -home icon brings you back to Contents)

http://www.bifskorea.org/

mailto:[email protected]




Welcome to the Winter Holiday Break! Today we celebrated winter traditions and celebrations from around theworld. What a special way to start the winter break! May your holiday be a time of safe travel and manywonderful memories!

I am so amazed at the incredible learning progress our students have made during this first half of the schoolyear! Everyone has earned a well-deserved break! This is also a time of the year we bid a fond farewell to severalfamilies who will be relocating over the holiday. Thank you for being such a special part of the BIFS family. Wewish you all the very best as you move on.

In closing, we wish you the warmest season’s greetings! See you in the New Year!

Kevin BakerHead of School

Whole SchoolHappy Holidays! See You in the New Year!

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A reminder that the whole school will finish at noon on Friday, December 18. All buses will depart soonafterwards and the offices will be closed at 2:00PM. During the holiday, the offices will be open from 9AM to4PM, and the whole school will be closed from December 22 until January 4, 2016, when the business staffreturn. All students will return to the school on Monday, January 11, 2016.

Final Day Buses & Office Hours, and School Close Schedule



https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18uIppM-qAafPS2Dc0g9nmr_wFUYAd09zmTkipGPqWuU/pub?start=true&loop=true&delayms=5000




Adjustments to the School CalendarPlease note a few adjustments to our school calendar for the second half of the year:

Wednesday, February 10 – will now be a regular day of school for students• The teacher professional development day that was originally scheduled for this day has been cancelled. This

will also enable us to make up the instructional day that was missed from the fall parent teacher conferences.

Thursday, Jan 21 – will be a half day of school with a 12 noon dismissal• The Elementary School will have 3-Way Parent Teacher Student Conferences on Thursday, Jan 21 from 12:40-

6:20. They will also continue conferences after school on Friday, Jan 22 3:40-4:20 (as needed).• The High School will be undertaking inservice training and professional development work in the afternoon.

Tuesday, Apr 12 – will be a half day of school with a 12 noon dismissal• The Middle School and High School will have 3-Way Parent Teacher Student Conferences from 12:30 to 8:00

pm.• The Elementary School will be undertaking inservice training and professional development work in the

afternoon.

We apologize for any inconvenience from these minor adjustments.

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PTA NewsLast weekend was the BIFS staff holiday party. PTA donated two turkeys for the event. Wehope everyone had a nice time. We LOVE our teachers and supporting staff. Thank you for allof your hard work in behalf of our children. You are wonderful! Enjoy your well-deservedholiday!

To our BIFS’s families, have a wonderful winter holiday! Be safe and make happy memories with your family andfriends. Look forward working with you in the New Year!

Remember, if you are going home for the winter holidays to bring back items for International Day such asdecorations or small items to give away. The World Wheel of Fortune will be in need of international baskets tobe donated. The small or large baskets can consist of items from your country like food and/or souvenirs.

Sign up for our BIFS PTA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/bifsssg/

Joy PriedemanPTA President



https://www.facebook.com/groups/bifsssg/




Leaving BIFS?If you and your family will be leaving BIFS, parents are obliged to officially inform the Admissions Office througha withdrawal form at least fourteen days prior to your child's last day of school. You may either complete theonline withdrawal form or contact the Admissions office at [email protected] or 051-742-3332 (Ext. 100).Questions regarding fees and refunds should be addressed to [email protected].

2015-16 Second Semester School Fee InvoiceThe 2015-16 second semester school fee invoice will be sent by email and post on November 30th. If you don`treceive the invoice, please contact the Finance Office.

Please refer to the schedule below for the 2015-16 second semester invoice.

Nov 30, 2015: Invoice sent outDec 1-8, 2015: Correction period for invoice Jan 15, 2016: Payment due

For further information, please contact the Finance Office (Tel: 051.743.3332 Email: [email protected]).

PE Uniform ShopTHE PE UNIFORM SHOP is now open Monday thru Thursday! Please check the calendar on the BIFS website foractual shop hours each week. Note: Shop hours are determined by the availability of our volunteers!

The weather is starting to cool off so it is a great time to consider your cool weather PE Uniform options!! Stopby the PE Uniform Shop and let us help you!!Also available: BIFS blankets, coffee mugs and Eco-bags!!Our vendor has indicated that he is changing factories because of quality issues. If you are having difficulty with the quality of youruniform, please be sure to let us know! In most cases, we will not be able to replace it but we can ask the vendor to repair it.

Image Rights PermissionOur assumption is that by joining the school parents give us their permission for any photos, videos, and audiofiles featuring their child or themselves to be published on the school's website, blogs, and in other marketingmaterials belonging to the school. Please notify Miyoung Kim at [email protected] if you do not wishphotos, videos and audio files featuring your child or yourselves to be used.

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https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15Lh3H2IHl_m3EqnimxehN_7dhznUrq4htC8RcqSwCMU/viewform








BIFS Angel Tree Wish GiftsWe would like to thank our parents, students, teachers and staff fortheir generous sponsorship of Angel Tree wish gifts for children fromPark Ae Won, Issac House, and Hee Rak Won children’s homes andalso our Grandmother's project. We made a lot of wishes come truethis year.

What a great way to end the year!

Mary O’NeillCommunity Resource Teacher

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Old Dolls NeededHello, my name is Emma Ling and I am in the Grade 11 IB art class. For my project I am manipulating dolls tocreate new artworks. It would be very helpful for me if people could drop off their dolls that are old, broken, orno longer needed at the ES office if they are in elementary school, or in C4.1 if they are in middle or high school.They can be delivered any time, but preferably the first week after the winter break. I will pick them up by theend of the week if they are in the ES office. Thank you!






BIFS students and parents are welcome to borrow books during the upcoming vacation, but please return orrenew all overdue books before then. We all know it’s important to continue reading during the holidays, notjust because it’s good for our reading practice, but also because it’s just so fun!

A lifelong love of reading is the most important aspect of literacy that we can instill in our children. Here at BIFSwe follow a balanced literacy approach to teaching and promoting reading. We emphasize that it is importantto have a ‘balanced diet’ of story genres so that we get to know the wide variety of books we have available inour three libraries. At BIFS we encourage our students to follow their passions, which also includes givingstudents free choice in what they read. However, following a balanced literacy approach, we also know it issometimes necessary to be courageous and try new genres that may, at first, be out of our comfort zone.

If you are traveling home for the holidays, we highly recommend you become members of your home libraries,or go to the local library with your relatives, if you are staying with them. Most public libraries also provideaccess to downloadable e-books or audiobooks that can be downloaded when you are away from your homecountry.

If you are trying to find ideas for what to read next, you might also find these websites helpful:

A Literature Map that suggests similar authors to any that you input;

A site called "What Should I Read Next?" that provides titles depending on the books or authors you havepreviously enjoyed.

Each year the American Library Association publishes a list of recommended reading for a variety of age groups.This ‘summer’ reading list can also be read during the colder months!

Watch the video below to see what BIFS elementary students like about reading:

Sue TomsHead of Libraries

What are You Planning to Read During the Winter Vacation?

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http://www.literature-map.com/

http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

http://www.ala.org/alsc/2015-summer-reading-list

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJYAEVdhvk






Lunch MenuCafeteria Menu: January 11-15

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We serve brunch buffet or international buffet every 3rd Thursday of a month.

Sandwich Bar






Turkeys Available from Chef KimChef Kim has kindly offered again to make turkeys available to our BIFSfaculty and parents.

Availability: from Oct 28th to Dec 31st

Menu:

• One uncooked whole turkey (5kg) with cranberry sauce: 65,000 won• One whole cooked turkey (5kg) with stuffing, giblet sauce and cranberrysauce: 90,000 won

How to order: contact Chef Kim, either by

• Mobile Phone: 010-2583-6545 (with a text message), or• Email: [email protected]

Delivery: please pick up your order from the cafeteria on an arrangeddate

Payment: at your convenience upon placing the order, or collecting yourorder

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Elementary SchoolThree-Way Conferences

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We invite parents and students to meet with teachers on January 21, between 12:40-6:40. There will be a noondismissal (half day) on the 21st to accommodate conferences. Some conferences will also be held after the fullday of school on January 22 between 3:40-4:40 as needed. Please note that electives will be cancelled on bothJan 21 and 22.

Families will receive the first semester report card on January 15. The conferences allow us to collaborativelyclarify any questions from the report, set goals for the second semester, and celebrate your child’s progress.

Children are welcome to bus home and return with parents for the conference. Alternately children can becollected by parents and supervised until the time of the conference. Children on campus are to be superviseddirectly by a parent, as our faculty will all be occupied in conferences. Thank you for keeping your child safeafter school.

Bus ScheduleJan 21

Regular service after school at 12:00 (noon dismissal)Ulsan and Geoje families only -- buses from BIFS at 5:00 PM on January 21.

Jan 22Regular service departing at 3:40 and 4:40 (no electives for ES).

Please contact the bus coordinator to make arrangements if you (adults) wish to ride the bus, or if your child willnot be riding the bus as usual.

To book your conferences: Please click here for directions in English, and here for Korean. The event code isURFXC. We will keep the sign up form open until January 19 at 3:30.

Please note that you can select meetings with the homeroom teacher as well as all specialist teachers asdesired.



https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9HwMovxNnzpS2tXMnREem4tanc/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9HwMovxNnzpSTBTRnI0TFhsb1k/view?usp=sharing




Field TripsThe Kindergarten class went on a Nature Walk at Dongbaek Island and then played in the playground at theZenith. This field trip related to two of our units of inquiry; in one unit we are inquiring into how the Earthchanges through the seasons, and in the other unit we looked at how being healthy and active promotes overallwellness.

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ELC Parent CoffeeThank you to the parents who attended the Parent Coffee on Thursday. Please check the ELC blog for details:http://bifsearlyyears.weebly.com.

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Korean Language Acquisition - End of Term AssessmentAt the end of every term, selected students in Korean Language Acquisition classes (Gr 2-5) are provided exitassessments. This is to determine which of the students are ready to move from Foundation class to Standardclass. Selection is currently based on teacher’s assessment of their readiness for the next language level.

The exit assessment involves the following areas:• Speaking and Listening: ability to respond classroom instructions; ask and answer simple questions during

conversations; knowledge and use of language in everyday routines, such as greetings• Reading and Writing: knowledge of Korean alphabet; decode texts when reading independently, such as

combining consonants and vowels

Parents will be notified if their child is taking the assessment, and then informed of the outcome prior to January15, 2016.

Date/Time Event Details

Jan 11 School resumesJan 15 Report Cards Semester 1 report cards distributed to familiesJan 15 Elementary Assembly Mr. Lea will be sharing his experiences from

TEDxYouth@BIFS that was held in September. This talkwill feature a special presentation by one of the studentspeakers.

Jan 21 Half day of school(conference)

Noon dismissal for students to attend 3-wayconferences. Parents are to pick their children up andsupervise until conferences begin at 12:40.

Jan 21 Elementary 3-Way Conferences 12:40-6:40

We invite parents and students to conferences in order to discuss student progress and next steps for learning.Additional conferences will be held after school on Jan 22 as needed for larger classes.

Jan 21 and 22 No electives Electives cancelled due to conferences

Upcoming Elementary Events



http://bifsearlyyears.weebly.com/




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Anne SweetElementary School Principal

Leda CedoPYP Coordinator

Happy Holidays, safe travels! See you in the New Year!

Assessing Foundational Reading Skills @ BIFSIn 2000, the National reading Panel (USA) published its findings after evaluating existing research and evidenceto find the best ways of teaching children to read. The analysis made it clear that the best approach to readinginstruction is one that incorporates phonemic awareness.

Phonemic awareness is the knowledge that spoken words can be broken apart into smaller segments of soundknown as phonemes. Specifically, it is the ability to tune into the separate single sounds, to be able to play withthem, blend them together, segment them, swap them around and so on. Identifying the separate soundsprovides the foundation for reading.

Children differ in their phonemic awareness and some will need more instruction than others. The bestapproach is for teachers to assess phonemic awareness and then plan instruction accordingly.

The Learning Support teachers will be conducting Phonological Awareness testing with all students inKindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2 and selectively for some Grade 3 students. We will use the SutherlandPhonological Awareness Test. Each child will be assessed individually for approximately 20 minutes and resultswill be shared with classroom teachers in order to inform teaching.

Please contact Michelle Roland, the Head of Special Educational Needs [email protected] if you would like any further information.

References:National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel:Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and itsimplications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government PrintingOffice.

“Phonological Awareness.” Understanding the Reading Process. Web. June 2011. http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/literacy

Michelle RolandHead of SEN



http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/literacy




Middle School and High SchoolHappy Holidays from the MHS

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It is hard to believe that the first semester is coming to a closeand we are heading into our winter break. Holidays are a timeto be with family, getting together to spend much neededquality time with friends and family. Often, during our busyschedules and hectic work weeks we don’t have the time torelax, reflect and remember what is important. We would liketo take the time to thank you for welcoming us into yourcommunity. Your support, kind words and regularcommunication has made the transition to a new school andcountry an extremely positive experience. We look forward tocontinuing to build relationships and establish positivecommunity connections in the new year.

Have a safe and relaxing break, enjoy time with family and friends and see you in the new year!

Jamie RobbHigh School Principal

Nate SwensonMiddle School Principal

Volunteers Needed in Korean Class for ForeignersThe Korean class needs Korean native speaker’s help. We would like to offer students various experiences inlearning Korean. Our students require opportunities to communicate with native speakers.

If you want to work together and support the students in Mrs. Lee's class please email to [email protected] your available time and day to make a timetable. Your help can make a significant difference to a student'sprogress. Thanks in advance.

Seunghee LeeMYP Language Acquisition Korean & IB Korean B Teacher

https://goo.gl/LoJV6V







For Your Diary

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January 201611th • Start of Term 2

14th • Grade 4 Field Trip to Ulsan (HHI/Whale Museum)

15th • End of Semester 1

• Report Cards Distributed

• ES Assembly

20th • New Parent Coffee

• PTA Meeting

21th • ES-Conferences / MHS-PD

• Noon Dismissal

22th • ES Assembly

• ES-Conferences (as needed)

27th-31st • ISCMS Music Festival Trip

27th • ES Parent Coffee (Exhibition)

28th • KIMEA Middle School Choir Festival

28th-31st • MS Ski Trip 2016

29th • ES Assembly

December 201518th • Winter Holiday Assembly

• End of Term 1 – Noon Dismissal






School & Community Links

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Please contact Miyoung Kim if you wish to inquire about promoting your company in the BIFS Newsletter.

[email protected] | 051-742-3332 (#114)



http://cafe.naver.com/emartapple

http://cafe.naver.com/emartapple


bifs newsletter, 2015-12-18 (english)

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