Spanish Club Feedback: Que Padre! 5/15/2014
On a previous article that I wrote in quarter 2, I
interviewed a lot of students and teachers about their opinions upon after
school activities and their preferences in adding new ones. More than 6
students have suggested that they would be interested in learning Spanish;
therefore, I talked to Mr. King and we now have a Spanish club every Monday
afternoon. Is it as satisfying as expected or not? I got some feedbacks from
the students and the teachers, myself is in the club as well.
Contents & Highlights
Generally speaking, the part that student like the most in Spanish club is the series of activities we have. They listen to the descriptions from Mr. King, and then draw different figures on whiteboards even though our drawing skills are seriously no good. Humorously, a lot of students said that “white board” was the best part – Mr. King responded in a confusing way since he did not understand why everyone is so addicted to white boards. Learning new words gradually was also a part that is mentioned frequently, because this way is simple, interesting, and can help us develop Spanish.
Challenges & Problems
Surprisingly, while I was expecting “pretty well” and “I love it” from the participants of Spanish club, I received mostly “oh my god” and “that was challenging”. One student told me that the lessons are quite interesting, but little difficult to memorize the vocabularies and grammar structures. Another student gave an acceptable reason, “because we only have it once a week and it is only for one hour… I like it anyway.” According to Mr. King, “Well, when we only meet a time a week, if you only think about that for one hour, it is going to be hard to retain much knowledge, however, hopefully, it is interesting enough and we have enough fun that it will spark a interest.”
As a part of the Spanish club, I also think that memorizing vocabularies is the most difficult part. I can memorize most words in class clearly, but forget them easily since I don’t see Spanish anywhere else out of this club. Maybe I will try to do make and read more sentences to ensure that I’m not wasting my time.
Hablas español? Do you speak Spanish?
Ver para creer Seeing is believing.
Al que madruga, Dios lo ayuda. God helps those who wake up early.
Querer es poder. To want something is to be able to do it.
A buen principio, buen final If you act in a principled manner, you'll have a good result.
By Maggie Xie
Contents & Highlights
Generally speaking, the part that student like the most in Spanish club is the series of activities we have. They listen to the descriptions from Mr. King, and then draw different figures on whiteboards even though our drawing skills are seriously no good. Humorously, a lot of students said that “white board” was the best part – Mr. King responded in a confusing way since he did not understand why everyone is so addicted to white boards. Learning new words gradually was also a part that is mentioned frequently, because this way is simple, interesting, and can help us develop Spanish.
Challenges & Problems
Surprisingly, while I was expecting “pretty well” and “I love it” from the participants of Spanish club, I received mostly “oh my god” and “that was challenging”. One student told me that the lessons are quite interesting, but little difficult to memorize the vocabularies and grammar structures. Another student gave an acceptable reason, “because we only have it once a week and it is only for one hour… I like it anyway.” According to Mr. King, “Well, when we only meet a time a week, if you only think about that for one hour, it is going to be hard to retain much knowledge, however, hopefully, it is interesting enough and we have enough fun that it will spark a interest.”
As a part of the Spanish club, I also think that memorizing vocabularies is the most difficult part. I can memorize most words in class clearly, but forget them easily since I don’t see Spanish anywhere else out of this club. Maybe I will try to do make and read more sentences to ensure that I’m not wasting my time.
Hablas español? Do you speak Spanish?
Ver para creer Seeing is believing.
Al que madruga, Dios lo ayuda. God helps those who wake up early.
Querer es poder. To want something is to be able to do it.
A buen principio, buen final If you act in a principled manner, you'll have a good result.
By Maggie Xie
Seniors!
College preparations for seniors
The school year of 2013-14 is reaching its end, the 12th graders are going to graduate soon and their next step is the universities. As we know, the seniors are all Koreans. Most of them are planning to go to universities in Korea. Before they hand their applications to the colleges, they have to take different tests, include SATs, TOEFLs and other tests. The Korean universities would like their applicant to take AP tests and the score will be a good reference.
Seniors of 2014
This year we have 11 seniors. Some of them already decided which college will be his or her goal. They have handed the application forms in, they are awaiting replies from universities. I have few seniors’ information here and I would like to share them with all the students in QISS.
Martin is one of the Lim brothers and he is decided to go to college in Korea for sure and still hoping for the best. Alex, the other one of the Lims. He is planning to go to the Korea University and he will take the SAT test on May and June. Jun Hyung the always cool guy submitted several applications to different universities both in the USA and Korea, he has taken the SAT tests before, and so far his best is 1870. Leo the president of our student council. He handed applications to Yeonsei, Koryo, Kaist, Han yang universities in Korea. His best score for SAT test is 1980 and that is very impressive. I believe our president will receive acceptances from at least two of those universities. On the other hand, Leo has decided the major course he is going to take in his college life, which is medical. He is going to be a doctor!
Graduation
The graduation is on May the 31st. all the seniors are going to end their high school careers. Middle school band and high school band are going to play the pump and circumstances during the graduation. Students in other grades are permitted to come to the graduation and cheer for the seniors. After the graduation day, seniors are allowed to come to school if they wanted to.
The school year of 2013-14 is reaching its end, the 12th graders are going to graduate soon and their next step is the universities. As we know, the seniors are all Koreans. Most of them are planning to go to universities in Korea. Before they hand their applications to the colleges, they have to take different tests, include SATs, TOEFLs and other tests. The Korean universities would like their applicant to take AP tests and the score will be a good reference.
Seniors of 2014
This year we have 11 seniors. Some of them already decided which college will be his or her goal. They have handed the application forms in, they are awaiting replies from universities. I have few seniors’ information here and I would like to share them with all the students in QISS.
Martin is one of the Lim brothers and he is decided to go to college in Korea for sure and still hoping for the best. Alex, the other one of the Lims. He is planning to go to the Korea University and he will take the SAT test on May and June. Jun Hyung the always cool guy submitted several applications to different universities both in the USA and Korea, he has taken the SAT tests before, and so far his best is 1870. Leo the president of our student council. He handed applications to Yeonsei, Koryo, Kaist, Han yang universities in Korea. His best score for SAT test is 1980 and that is very impressive. I believe our president will receive acceptances from at least two of those universities. On the other hand, Leo has decided the major course he is going to take in his college life, which is medical. He is going to be a doctor!
Graduation
The graduation is on May the 31st. all the seniors are going to end their high school careers. Middle school band and high school band are going to play the pump and circumstances during the graduation. Students in other grades are permitted to come to the graduation and cheer for the seniors. After the graduation day, seniors are allowed to come to school if they wanted to.
Winner!
On April 19th, YCIS (Yew Chung International School of Qingdao) with Redstar hosted an Art Gallery competition called Young Artists of the Year. Our upper school art teacher Ms.Nicklas submitted some art works to the competition. One of 9th grade students Subin Jee got the 1st place in her age group!! As the winner she got a basket of art materials and yummy foods. I wanted to know more so I asked the artist some questions. The art work is called “The Fish Bowl.” “I got inspiration from my fish, I kept them few years ago and they died, which made me feel so sad,” Subin sighed. Then, she explained the whole process. She used a combination of paints to mix three colors plus using the white of the paper as negative space. Since the printing-making process is very sensitive, it’s hard to print out a perfect work. Subin always used the studio time wisely, and did the carving and printing carefully. “We need to be patience while we do the print-making.” she concluded. As Subin’s cleverness and good understanding of print-making, the judges were willing to choose her art work for champion-ship.
On April 19th, YCIS (Yew Chung International School of Qingdao) with Redstar hosted an Art Gallery competition called Young Artists of the Year. Our upper school art teacher Ms.Nicklas submitted some art works to the competition. One of 9th grade students Subin Jee got the 1st place in her age group!! As the winner she got a basket of art materials and yummy foods. I wanted to know more so I asked the artist some questions. The art work is called “The Fish Bowl.” “I got inspiration from my fish, I kept them few years ago and they died, which made me feel so sad,” Subin sighed. Then, she explained the whole process. She used a combination of paints to mix three colors plus using the white of the paper as negative space. Since the printing-making process is very sensitive, it’s hard to print out a perfect work. Subin always used the studio time wisely, and did the carving and printing carefully. “We need to be patience while we do the print-making.” she concluded. As Subin’s cleverness and good understanding of print-making, the judges were willing to choose her art work for champion-ship.
Stage for Art Lovers 5/20/2014
QISS is a school that has a variety of art classes including printmaking, ceramics, painting and AP studio art. Along with all of the students who take art classes from lower school to upper school, the art department will arrange an art show which will last from May 24th to May 26th.
Date: 5.24 - 5.26
Location: 138 Warehouse Gallery (Near Dong Hai Rd. and Hai Long Rd)
Participants: Any art students.
Prices: Students 50 RMB Adults 80 RMB; 5 and under free
According to our upper school art teacher Ms. Nicklas, the purpose of this art show is to give the students an opportunity to experience how real artists display their artworks, and to understand that there are different places people can experience art other than classrooms. Each one of the art students will have an artwork on display, selected by either teachers or themselves.
Free foods would also be provided. Additionally, refreshments will be provided for any visitors, there will also be different activities for the children. The High School Band will also play a few songs as entertainments. I personally think this art show would be quite interesting and enjoyable, and is worth appreciating.
(By Maggie Xie)
Date: 5.24 - 5.26
Location: 138 Warehouse Gallery (Near Dong Hai Rd. and Hai Long Rd)
Participants: Any art students.
Prices: Students 50 RMB Adults 80 RMB; 5 and under free
According to our upper school art teacher Ms. Nicklas, the purpose of this art show is to give the students an opportunity to experience how real artists display their artworks, and to understand that there are different places people can experience art other than classrooms. Each one of the art students will have an artwork on display, selected by either teachers or themselves.
Free foods would also be provided. Additionally, refreshments will be provided for any visitors, there will also be different activities for the children. The High School Band will also play a few songs as entertainments. I personally think this art show would be quite interesting and enjoyable, and is worth appreciating.
(By Maggie Xie)
Fighting with the Phone
3/20/2014
A new trend in teenagers -using cell phones every second is becoming a typical behavior amongst QISS students. Everywhere in the campus there are students who are holding their cell phones, kakaotalking people, playing online games or watching videos. What would a person be without his or her cell phone? My hypothesis that if somebody’s phone is taken away for more than 2 days, then they will be scratching the walls and begging for their phone to come back. Can humans get over this challenge? To verify my hypothesis, I did an experiment on myself and see the result – well, I was right.
Why would it be addictive?
I’ve done some researches on cell phone addiction before the experiment, and I found that there is a term for these people which are “Smart phone addicts”. Two children, 12 and 13 years old, were sent to a mental hospital for their serious addiction to their phones. Scholars suggested that the reason for people’s addiction to cell phones is due to people’s dislike for being alone. Cell phones provide easy access for them to connect to others so they do not feel “abandoned”.
Why would it be addictive?
I’ve done some researches on cell phone addiction before the experiment, and I found that there is a term for these people which are “Smart phone addicts”. Two children, 12 and 13 years old, were sent to a mental hospital for their serious addiction to their phones. Scholars suggested that the reason for people’s addiction to cell phones is due to people’s dislike for being alone. Cell phones provide easy access for them to connect to others so they do not feel “abandoned”.
Experiment: Fighting against the phone
Day 1
The first day I left my phone at home and came to school without any music during the bus drive. It was such torturing and also very difficult to fall asleep on the bus without my earphones and cell phone. During the classes it was okay since our school’s cell phone policy restricts student from using their phones; however, in lunch time it didn’t go very well. Every single person at my table was texting or playing Flappy Bird while I was sitting there doing nothing. 20 minutes, felt like 20 years to me. By the end of the school day I realized how serious my phone addiction is since I was quite depressed without my phone. When I finished my academy and got home, I turned on my lap top, checked all the messages and I was sighing for my cell phone. I slept quite early that day since without a cell phone; I wouldn’t waste that much time on bed before sleeping.
Day 2
Since I had to contact my academy teacher, I took a risk and brought my phone to school that day. It is so joyful when you are on the bus, in such noisy environment with music in your earphones. For its greatness, I decided to take a chance and use it again. Unfortunately I was discovered when I was having a good time with it during lunch time. It was taken again and I knew that my experiment failed. I cannot live without a phone; I react exactly same as my hypothesis when it is taken away. However, I decided to finish this experiment to see if I can persist for another day without my phone at all. When I got home I didn’t charge my phone, and also slept early for the same reason I had on Day 1.
Day3
I still brought my phone for the music on the bus, and wanted to see if I could live without it for the rest of the day. However, something mysterious happened: my phone was gone in advisory period. Later on I knew it was Mr. Chernock who took it, but it worked well, in my point of view. I was not as frustrated as I was on Day 1 not because my stamina has improved, but because I knew it was the last day of this torturing experiment. I successfully got over it that day, and when I got home I charged my cell phone and enjoyed the great time with it the entire weekend. Technology has made everything better, says me.
Conclusion
Can you live without your cell phone? Can you fight against it? Well maybe you can, but I can’t. After all these time suffering the pain without my phone, the time with it became especially precious and joyful. Getting up early is good for my health, though I think this can't make me to decide to not use my phone. As a conclusion, living with a cell phone is extraordinary, since it made my quality of life much higher and enjoyable through the conveniences and the entertaining functions it has. My suggestion is that everyone should strike the balance, enjoy the benefits of technology while not abusing them.
Cell Phone Policies in Qingdao
After this research, I interviewed people from different international schools in Qingdao to ask about their cell phone policies. Most of the schools, such as QAIS and KISQ, have similar policies with QISS: students are allowed to bring and use their cell phones, but not during class time. ISQ officially does not allow students to bring their phones to school, but according to one student at ISQ, he does use his phone at school, secretly. Lastly, I interviewed one local school in Qingdao which is only open to Chinese students, and the principal said this. “Students are never allowed to bring their phones to school. Not for a second. Once it is seen, we take it away.”
(By Maggie Xie)
Day 1
The first day I left my phone at home and came to school without any music during the bus drive. It was such torturing and also very difficult to fall asleep on the bus without my earphones and cell phone. During the classes it was okay since our school’s cell phone policy restricts student from using their phones; however, in lunch time it didn’t go very well. Every single person at my table was texting or playing Flappy Bird while I was sitting there doing nothing. 20 minutes, felt like 20 years to me. By the end of the school day I realized how serious my phone addiction is since I was quite depressed without my phone. When I finished my academy and got home, I turned on my lap top, checked all the messages and I was sighing for my cell phone. I slept quite early that day since without a cell phone; I wouldn’t waste that much time on bed before sleeping.
Day 2
Since I had to contact my academy teacher, I took a risk and brought my phone to school that day. It is so joyful when you are on the bus, in such noisy environment with music in your earphones. For its greatness, I decided to take a chance and use it again. Unfortunately I was discovered when I was having a good time with it during lunch time. It was taken again and I knew that my experiment failed. I cannot live without a phone; I react exactly same as my hypothesis when it is taken away. However, I decided to finish this experiment to see if I can persist for another day without my phone at all. When I got home I didn’t charge my phone, and also slept early for the same reason I had on Day 1.
Day3
I still brought my phone for the music on the bus, and wanted to see if I could live without it for the rest of the day. However, something mysterious happened: my phone was gone in advisory period. Later on I knew it was Mr. Chernock who took it, but it worked well, in my point of view. I was not as frustrated as I was on Day 1 not because my stamina has improved, but because I knew it was the last day of this torturing experiment. I successfully got over it that day, and when I got home I charged my cell phone and enjoyed the great time with it the entire weekend. Technology has made everything better, says me.
Conclusion
Can you live without your cell phone? Can you fight against it? Well maybe you can, but I can’t. After all these time suffering the pain without my phone, the time with it became especially precious and joyful. Getting up early is good for my health, though I think this can't make me to decide to not use my phone. As a conclusion, living with a cell phone is extraordinary, since it made my quality of life much higher and enjoyable through the conveniences and the entertaining functions it has. My suggestion is that everyone should strike the balance, enjoy the benefits of technology while not abusing them.
Cell Phone Policies in Qingdao
After this research, I interviewed people from different international schools in Qingdao to ask about their cell phone policies. Most of the schools, such as QAIS and KISQ, have similar policies with QISS: students are allowed to bring and use their cell phones, but not during class time. ISQ officially does not allow students to bring their phones to school, but according to one student at ISQ, he does use his phone at school, secretly. Lastly, I interviewed one local school in Qingdao which is only open to Chinese students, and the principal said this. “Students are never allowed to bring their phones to school. Not for a second. Once it is seen, we take it away.”
(By Maggie Xie)
From A Student’s Perspective
As an international school, the norm should be speaking English at all times when attending school. Currently, most of the students are not willing to converse with one another by using this language either because of frustration or fear of making mistakes. Thus, countless students prefer to take the easy road and speak in their mother tongue when talking with others. The upside of this decision would be free flowing conversation, but the downside should not be ignored. We, students, are required to be very proficient in English due to the fact that most of the important standardized tests are for English proficiency and we are taking part in an international, cross cultural curriculum. I was also a participant in this unacceptable behavior until recently, but after accepting the truth that my English isn’t up to par, I’ve decided to change for the better and utilize English as much as possible. I strongly encourage other students try to do this as well in order to fully take advantage of attending an international school where English is promoted and accepted.
In all schools, teachers must be respected, for better or worse, and their instructions should be followed. I’ve also become aware of the low level of participation and the lack of enthusiasm that exist among our student body. Our teachers are currently investing their own time and energy to create effective lesson plans that will assist our comprehension of various fields of study. The least we, the students, could do to reciprocate would be participate in class with a high level or energy and motivation. After all, when students are tired, exhausted, and about to fall asleep in class, teachers naturally lose the desire to educate and also become apathetic.
This is a vicious cycle that we must avoid all costs. In my mind, QISS is arguably the best internationally school that students can attend which means the study atmosphere must be conductive to studying. Although doing homework assignments and taking notes during class can feel tedious or arduous at times, we must strap our shoe laces and partake in all classes with passion. All in all, I would like to once again encourage the students to match the level of energy that our teachers have on a daily basis. We are a team and our goal is to get accepted to prestigious universities. Teachers don’t hand out good grades if students don’t deserve them. Students must first appear to be deserving of high scores by being diligent, hardworking, and preserving even in the face of challenges.
There is no I in TEAM, let’s all act in concert and make this school become a place that all students in Qingdao want to attend.
As an international school, the norm should be speaking English at all times when attending school. Currently, most of the students are not willing to converse with one another by using this language either because of frustration or fear of making mistakes. Thus, countless students prefer to take the easy road and speak in their mother tongue when talking with others. The upside of this decision would be free flowing conversation, but the downside should not be ignored. We, students, are required to be very proficient in English due to the fact that most of the important standardized tests are for English proficiency and we are taking part in an international, cross cultural curriculum. I was also a participant in this unacceptable behavior until recently, but after accepting the truth that my English isn’t up to par, I’ve decided to change for the better and utilize English as much as possible. I strongly encourage other students try to do this as well in order to fully take advantage of attending an international school where English is promoted and accepted.
In all schools, teachers must be respected, for better or worse, and their instructions should be followed. I’ve also become aware of the low level of participation and the lack of enthusiasm that exist among our student body. Our teachers are currently investing their own time and energy to create effective lesson plans that will assist our comprehension of various fields of study. The least we, the students, could do to reciprocate would be participate in class with a high level or energy and motivation. After all, when students are tired, exhausted, and about to fall asleep in class, teachers naturally lose the desire to educate and also become apathetic.
This is a vicious cycle that we must avoid all costs. In my mind, QISS is arguably the best internationally school that students can attend which means the study atmosphere must be conductive to studying. Although doing homework assignments and taking notes during class can feel tedious or arduous at times, we must strap our shoe laces and partake in all classes with passion. All in all, I would like to once again encourage the students to match the level of energy that our teachers have on a daily basis. We are a team and our goal is to get accepted to prestigious universities. Teachers don’t hand out good grades if students don’t deserve them. Students must first appear to be deserving of high scores by being diligent, hardworking, and preserving even in the face of challenges.
There is no I in TEAM, let’s all act in concert and make this school become a place that all students in Qingdao want to attend.
Money Talk
with MaYa Sato
As a member of the school newsletter I inquired about how the QISS students get their allowances and their spending habits. I interviewed three upper school students to hear what they had to say.
Chika Nakahara, who is a 15-year old Japanese girl, often uses her money while she hangs out with friends and typically does not spend too much. Therefore, as a good banker she usually saves her money. Since she is the only original native Japanese, I asked her that “Do the parents like giving their children an allowance or make them more independent in Japanese culture?” She responded Japanese parents are willing to give money to their children, but they have to be independent when they grown up. Chika also said she will do the same in the future.
Our second subject is Jeong Woo Cho, a 14 year old boy from Korea. There are three children in his family and his father is the only one who gives the money to his children. Because he is part of a big family Jeong Woo doesn’t beg his father to buy expensive things. But when Jeong Woo has plenty of pocket money, he always goes to the market to buy food since he likes eating. He has no habits to save his money for, so I suggested he save his money for his future. He told me he will try his best. At last, I asked about how the children get their budget in Korea. “Children get limited budgets from their parents. When they want extra, they do some house works to make their parents happy.”
The last subject is Maggie Xie, a 15 year old Chinese girl. She’s the only child in her family, so she usually gets a large budget from her parents. She spends her money while she plays with friends and pays for things that she really wants. Sometimes, she buys some expensive gifts for her parents to make them happy. As a good banker, she saves her rest of her money in the bank. Like Chika and Jeong Woo she will continue to get an allowance and earn her own money when she grows up.
From 14~15 years old students, most of them get their allowances from their parents. Since their parents get money from their work and the students only have to get the money from their parents, most of them don’t really worry about how to save and spend their money. However, the students said they don’t spend as much money as their older siblings. From the interview, most of students use money while they hang out with their friends. They know that they cannot always depend on their parents after they grown up; therefore, some of the students trying to save some money for their future in case their parents don’t give them the allowances to spend.
with MaYa Sato
As a member of the school newsletter I inquired about how the QISS students get their allowances and their spending habits. I interviewed three upper school students to hear what they had to say.
Chika Nakahara, who is a 15-year old Japanese girl, often uses her money while she hangs out with friends and typically does not spend too much. Therefore, as a good banker she usually saves her money. Since she is the only original native Japanese, I asked her that “Do the parents like giving their children an allowance or make them more independent in Japanese culture?” She responded Japanese parents are willing to give money to their children, but they have to be independent when they grown up. Chika also said she will do the same in the future.
Our second subject is Jeong Woo Cho, a 14 year old boy from Korea. There are three children in his family and his father is the only one who gives the money to his children. Because he is part of a big family Jeong Woo doesn’t beg his father to buy expensive things. But when Jeong Woo has plenty of pocket money, he always goes to the market to buy food since he likes eating. He has no habits to save his money for, so I suggested he save his money for his future. He told me he will try his best. At last, I asked about how the children get their budget in Korea. “Children get limited budgets from their parents. When they want extra, they do some house works to make their parents happy.”
The last subject is Maggie Xie, a 15 year old Chinese girl. She’s the only child in her family, so she usually gets a large budget from her parents. She spends her money while she plays with friends and pays for things that she really wants. Sometimes, she buys some expensive gifts for her parents to make them happy. As a good banker, she saves her rest of her money in the bank. Like Chika and Jeong Woo she will continue to get an allowance and earn her own money when she grows up.
From 14~15 years old students, most of them get their allowances from their parents. Since their parents get money from their work and the students only have to get the money from their parents, most of them don’t really worry about how to save and spend their money. However, the students said they don’t spend as much money as their older siblings. From the interview, most of students use money while they hang out with their friends. They know that they cannot always depend on their parents after they grown up; therefore, some of the students trying to save some money for their future in case their parents don’t give them the allowances to spend.
Basketball Journal
Feb 13 2014, both boys and girls basketball team went to Zeng Cheng, China to attend ACAMIS. Players went straight to the court after they got off the airplane. The weather was not warm and actually it was cold and rainy. When players arrived at the school they were surprised and a little disappointed to find the courts were outdoors. They had to wear shorts and jerseys while playing all the games. After the first 2 games both teams went to the hotel to warm up and get some rest before a busy weekend. In contrast to the basketball courts the hotel was brand new and very comfortable. Both teams played hard and tried their best. Players from the other schools were bigger and stronger. The Sharks could not win and against them. The last day of the tournament was the championship games for girls and boys. ISU girls’ team and HISB boys’ team won the finals. After all the games were finished, the hosts had a ceremony for all the players who attended ACAMIS. There was a prize presentation during the ceremony. All the teams from different areas agreed once again that QISS deserved the sportsmanship awards. The host had prizes for the most valuable players from each team. Michael Li and Soomin Kwak from QISS went up to the stage to join the rest of the all-star team. There was a dance party after the ceremony, everyone was surprised and enjoyed the festivities. All an all the boys and girls from QISS had a good time.
After Sharks came back from ACAMIS, they had another tournament which was the Qingdao Cup. The Sharks were tired but they gave good effort on the court. Although players had some conflicts with the Confucius (CIS), the Sharks still showed their sportsmanship. Both QISS boys’ and girls’ placed second and they got those awesome trophies. The boys from CIS displayed a low level of sportsmanship by being too aggressive to the point of trying to start fights but in the end they won the tournament. The girls from Yan Tai International School made the long journey worthwhile and won the championship. Read Full Article
By: Andy Yang
After Sharks came back from ACAMIS, they had another tournament which was the Qingdao Cup. The Sharks were tired but they gave good effort on the court. Although players had some conflicts with the Confucius (CIS), the Sharks still showed their sportsmanship. Both QISS boys’ and girls’ placed second and they got those awesome trophies. The boys from CIS displayed a low level of sportsmanship by being too aggressive to the point of trying to start fights but in the end they won the tournament. The girls from Yan Tai International School made the long journey worthwhile and won the championship. Read Full Article
By: Andy Yang
Pleasing Your Teacher and Your Mom
3/4/2014
The student-led conferences are coming up soon in April where students will get to meet with their parents and teachers to present what they have done so far. Do you think student-led conferences are better than the teacher-led ones? How do you think you can improve your grades? I will briefly introduce the structure of these conferences and interview some students and teachers in the community to help you to become a master of student-led conferences.
Key words in student-led conferences
1. Portfolios
Unlike the past few years where we use binders to organize all of our papers and projects, we started using little flash drives as electronic portfolios. In advisory classes, students take pictures and write reflections on different projects they have done and upload them into flash drives. During the conferences, they will open the folders in the flash drives, and show their parents & teachers their achievements in the past semester.
2. Communication
Good communications are absolutely necessary in student-led conferences. In some situations teachers do not speak the same language as the parents do; they still can communicate through translators (students). It is not only important to parents and teachers, but also the students think that clear communications can eliminate some biases and misunderstandings of their parents that may cause confusion.
3. Star-tests
As an old tradition, all of the students do star-math and star-reading tests at QISS. Their scores will be seen by their parents in conferences, and students are required to explain their improvements, or perhaps not –reasons for a declined score.
4. Confidence
Confidence is also a significant factor of students that many teachers mentioned in student-led conferences. Students should be able to speak loud and clearly with logic in order to get high marks on their conferences that are graded in their grade books.
Conferences from teachers’ views
Mr. Shulist, High school language arts teacher
1. Why do you think you’re so popular among the students in student-led conferences?
Because I am a language arts teacher and a lot of parents want to meet with English teachers or core subject teachers.
2. Do you prefer teacher led or student led conferences? Why?
I prefer student led conferences because students get a chance to show off their skills and i think is more fun and more enjoyable for the kids because they can speak better about their own work than i do.
3. What are some common mistakes you've seen that students make in student led conferences?
Many students forget to often just to the formal stuff like introducing their parents to their teacher, because they are not used to that sort of thing; sometimes they don't cover all of the subjects they have studied this year.
4. What do you suggest students to pay the most attention to in student led conferences?
I think students need to be just completely honest and reflect well upon their abilities. They should talk about their bad sides but focus on instead more on what they can do to improve those bad things. Don't try to just cover them up just by talking about the subjects they are good at. Prepare well in advance, and speak confidently about both your good qualities and your negative habits.
Mr. King, Upper school communication skills & language arts teacher
1. Do you prefer teacher-led or student-led conferences? Why?
I think there are advantages to both..? Personally I think at the high school level, what students think about what they have learned and their abilities to communicate with their parents is a pretty valuable thing; particularly because most of the parents are not English speakers.
2. Do you think language difficulties between parents and teachers are a problem during the process of student-led conferences?
Well, I guess I would say during student conferences, hopefully not as much; the students can help resolve some of those language difficulties. If not of course we always have staffs or students available to help to translate.
3. What are some common mistakes that student made in student-led conferences?
The biggest one is: not being prepared, and I guess I would say not so much in terms of like having work done or things to show their parents but having thoughts about what they have learned, in what ways they have improved and in what ways they need to do better as students.
4. How do you evaluate students for their student-led conferences?
Do the students have specific either projects or units that they have learned throughout the year that were important for them, as if they have some specific things that they need to change or need to do better would be the primary things that I would be looking for.
Conferences from students’ views
I also interviewed some students from upper school about student-led conferences. First, I asked them their preferences in student-led or teacher-led conferences, and they all have different opinions. One student said he prefers teacher-led ones because he get to rest during this process, but also some students prefer the student-led ones since they get to practice their English abilities. Some are okay with both. Then I asked them what they think is the most important in student-led conferences. Students consistently suggested that “confidence” is a very crucial thing in student-led conferences. Lastly I asked for their suggestions to other students for student-led conferences, and I got some interesting answers. For example, one student suggested to flatter the teacher for better grades, and another student suggested to hypnotize your parents to make them think you are extraordinary. One student said the best. “Study well and stay diligent so your parents and your teacher will always be pleased."
(By Maggie Xie)
Key words in student-led conferences
1. Portfolios
Unlike the past few years where we use binders to organize all of our papers and projects, we started using little flash drives as electronic portfolios. In advisory classes, students take pictures and write reflections on different projects they have done and upload them into flash drives. During the conferences, they will open the folders in the flash drives, and show their parents & teachers their achievements in the past semester.
2. Communication
Good communications are absolutely necessary in student-led conferences. In some situations teachers do not speak the same language as the parents do; they still can communicate through translators (students). It is not only important to parents and teachers, but also the students think that clear communications can eliminate some biases and misunderstandings of their parents that may cause confusion.
3. Star-tests
As an old tradition, all of the students do star-math and star-reading tests at QISS. Their scores will be seen by their parents in conferences, and students are required to explain their improvements, or perhaps not –reasons for a declined score.
4. Confidence
Confidence is also a significant factor of students that many teachers mentioned in student-led conferences. Students should be able to speak loud and clearly with logic in order to get high marks on their conferences that are graded in their grade books.
Conferences from teachers’ views
Mr. Shulist, High school language arts teacher
1. Why do you think you’re so popular among the students in student-led conferences?
Because I am a language arts teacher and a lot of parents want to meet with English teachers or core subject teachers.
2. Do you prefer teacher led or student led conferences? Why?
I prefer student led conferences because students get a chance to show off their skills and i think is more fun and more enjoyable for the kids because they can speak better about their own work than i do.
3. What are some common mistakes you've seen that students make in student led conferences?
Many students forget to often just to the formal stuff like introducing their parents to their teacher, because they are not used to that sort of thing; sometimes they don't cover all of the subjects they have studied this year.
4. What do you suggest students to pay the most attention to in student led conferences?
I think students need to be just completely honest and reflect well upon their abilities. They should talk about their bad sides but focus on instead more on what they can do to improve those bad things. Don't try to just cover them up just by talking about the subjects they are good at. Prepare well in advance, and speak confidently about both your good qualities and your negative habits.
Mr. King, Upper school communication skills & language arts teacher
1. Do you prefer teacher-led or student-led conferences? Why?
I think there are advantages to both..? Personally I think at the high school level, what students think about what they have learned and their abilities to communicate with their parents is a pretty valuable thing; particularly because most of the parents are not English speakers.
2. Do you think language difficulties between parents and teachers are a problem during the process of student-led conferences?
Well, I guess I would say during student conferences, hopefully not as much; the students can help resolve some of those language difficulties. If not of course we always have staffs or students available to help to translate.
3. What are some common mistakes that student made in student-led conferences?
The biggest one is: not being prepared, and I guess I would say not so much in terms of like having work done or things to show their parents but having thoughts about what they have learned, in what ways they have improved and in what ways they need to do better as students.
4. How do you evaluate students for their student-led conferences?
Do the students have specific either projects or units that they have learned throughout the year that were important for them, as if they have some specific things that they need to change or need to do better would be the primary things that I would be looking for.
Conferences from students’ views
I also interviewed some students from upper school about student-led conferences. First, I asked them their preferences in student-led or teacher-led conferences, and they all have different opinions. One student said he prefers teacher-led ones because he get to rest during this process, but also some students prefer the student-led ones since they get to practice their English abilities. Some are okay with both. Then I asked them what they think is the most important in student-led conferences. Students consistently suggested that “confidence” is a very crucial thing in student-led conferences. Lastly I asked for their suggestions to other students for student-led conferences, and I got some interesting answers. For example, one student suggested to flatter the teacher for better grades, and another student suggested to hypnotize your parents to make them think you are extraordinary. One student said the best. “Study well and stay diligent so your parents and your teacher will always be pleased."
(By Maggie Xie)
Academy— Studying During Relaxing Time
4/10/2014 (By Maya Sato)
Presently many students sleeping during the class time, do you know why? Because they have to study even after school! If your friend does not reply to your texts immediately, do not be angry because they are probably in academy. Your friend may have just finished his/her academy when you’re fast asleep at home.
Academy is a study place to enhance students’ academic knowledge of one or more subjects which they have to improve. Many of you might not understand why people have to study after school. But many Korean and Chinese students prefer to go to academy to gain and academic advantage. Most parents place great importance on academy and that is why so many students attend. I found some of our students who go to the academy and asked about what are they doing at the academy and their feeling about it.
There are many subjects in academies. Most of the students are learning Math, Toefl (Foreigner English Test), SAT, Korean and HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test). They believe that these subjects are necessary for university. Juniors take approximately 2~ 3 academies classes, and spend 6~12 hours per week. Since seniors will graduate, they have more pressure to study giving them 3~6 academy classes and 8~20 hours per week; therefore, seniors need more self study time to organize their notes, so they prefer to have study hall in the school.
Why would the students sacrifice their time to study in academy? Well, 80% responded same answers—for university. We already knew that most of students are rushing for Toefl, SAT, and Chinese. Students explained these subjects have tests where certification shows his or her ability to study at an institution of high education. Two 10th grade students told us even though academy is sort of tough; the academy teachers teach them some other life skills and knowledge such as how to study well, how to enjoy learning a language, how to overcome the troubles in our life, etc. Since academy is place for study, students could release the worries about their time wasting and difficulty of arranging their study schedule.
7 out of 8 students are tired due to their academies. Academy is quite different from school even though it doesn’t have grades; they know their parents are spending thousand RMB for academies to make up their weakness at their studying subjects. Hence, they have to concentrate more and more on their academic knowledge. However, those students are not robots, some of them described, “Imagine you go to academy right after school and back home at twelve. You’ll slump on the bed, I promise because I do that every day.” 90 % of students say that academy detracts from their life while they lost their time to work on their school tasks. Those students’ minds are pressed by the studies and homework; they wish they could relax more.
As the academy includes students from various schools, they can have more contacts. While students have break time, they try to communicate each other for relax. This allows students to make friends outside of school.
From the survey targets they told us their study life during after school. Despite these students are sacrificing their time to have a rest and having homework, they are learning a lot of knowledge in academy for what they need in future.
Academy is a study place to enhance students’ academic knowledge of one or more subjects which they have to improve. Many of you might not understand why people have to study after school. But many Korean and Chinese students prefer to go to academy to gain and academic advantage. Most parents place great importance on academy and that is why so many students attend. I found some of our students who go to the academy and asked about what are they doing at the academy and their feeling about it.
There are many subjects in academies. Most of the students are learning Math, Toefl (Foreigner English Test), SAT, Korean and HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test). They believe that these subjects are necessary for university. Juniors take approximately 2~ 3 academies classes, and spend 6~12 hours per week. Since seniors will graduate, they have more pressure to study giving them 3~6 academy classes and 8~20 hours per week; therefore, seniors need more self study time to organize their notes, so they prefer to have study hall in the school.
Why would the students sacrifice their time to study in academy? Well, 80% responded same answers—for university. We already knew that most of students are rushing for Toefl, SAT, and Chinese. Students explained these subjects have tests where certification shows his or her ability to study at an institution of high education. Two 10th grade students told us even though academy is sort of tough; the academy teachers teach them some other life skills and knowledge such as how to study well, how to enjoy learning a language, how to overcome the troubles in our life, etc. Since academy is place for study, students could release the worries about their time wasting and difficulty of arranging their study schedule.
7 out of 8 students are tired due to their academies. Academy is quite different from school even though it doesn’t have grades; they know their parents are spending thousand RMB for academies to make up their weakness at their studying subjects. Hence, they have to concentrate more and more on their academic knowledge. However, those students are not robots, some of them described, “Imagine you go to academy right after school and back home at twelve. You’ll slump on the bed, I promise because I do that every day.” 90 % of students say that academy detracts from their life while they lost their time to work on their school tasks. Those students’ minds are pressed by the studies and homework; they wish they could relax more.
As the academy includes students from various schools, they can have more contacts. While students have break time, they try to communicate each other for relax. This allows students to make friends outside of school.
From the survey targets they told us their study life during after school. Despite these students are sacrificing their time to have a rest and having homework, they are learning a lot of knowledge in academy for what they need in future.
MUN Conferences
3/25/2014
At the beginning of the school year, everyone had their new schedule for the electives. MUN class was a big one; there were approximately 20 people in the class. Their goals were to attend the conferences in 2014, one is MUNiSC and the other one is BeiMUN. The purpose of attending these conferences is to gain a better understanding of how the world's politicians address international policies.
Every delegate has his or her own country to represent and research individually. They devote their attention to an issue they are most interested in, which will allow them to speak with confidence to impress the chair and other delegates. Group work is also necessary in the conference, everyone will be assigned to different groups. Delegates in the groups need to contribute and to discuss about current issues taking place around the world. Each group needs to come up with a resolution to the issue that they focus on. During the meeting, delegates will give points of information to the representative on the stage. Delegates can also give amendments to the chair to strike, change or add to specific clauses in the resolution. MUN is really a good opportunity for everyone who is interested in it. It is difficult in the beginning but you will like it after you have experienced it, also it is a great practice for public speaking.
Schools sent students from all over China to attend the MUNiSC conference in Qingdao. A student from QISS attended the conference and became known as the invisible man. This nick name was given by Mr. Mills the QISS advisor of all the MUN student. I had to discover who this guy is and I finally succeeded, he is Ace. I asked him what did he think about MUNiSC before he went. The answer was similar to what I predicted. He thought that he would fail and get embarrassed in front of approximately 100 people. A big part of these conferences is to socialize with student from other international schools and became friends with them. Was that the case for the "invisible man?" He told me that he met some Korean buddies and they were very nice and kind. He has not done much work to prepare for MUNiSC and tried to quit, but Mr. Mills encouraged him to stick with it and did not agree to his "amendment" . Then I questioned him about how was it going during the conference, his answer actually surprised me. He said, the first day he was thinking about his opening speech for about 4 hours and very nervous. The second day he was not as stressed as the first day. He relaxed even enjoyed it. On the last day he finally decided to raise his card to stand up to speak in front of everyone. He tried several times, but the chair ignored him. He made friends in the conference and gave a speech in front of a large group of people for the first time. So what did he think of the experience after it was all over? "It was a good opportunity and I would like to attend it again next year!" His answer impressed me, his attitude was positive toward the conference, I can tell that he was happy to attend it.
(By Andy Yang)
Every delegate has his or her own country to represent and research individually. They devote their attention to an issue they are most interested in, which will allow them to speak with confidence to impress the chair and other delegates. Group work is also necessary in the conference, everyone will be assigned to different groups. Delegates in the groups need to contribute and to discuss about current issues taking place around the world. Each group needs to come up with a resolution to the issue that they focus on. During the meeting, delegates will give points of information to the representative on the stage. Delegates can also give amendments to the chair to strike, change or add to specific clauses in the resolution. MUN is really a good opportunity for everyone who is interested in it. It is difficult in the beginning but you will like it after you have experienced it, also it is a great practice for public speaking.
Schools sent students from all over China to attend the MUNiSC conference in Qingdao. A student from QISS attended the conference and became known as the invisible man. This nick name was given by Mr. Mills the QISS advisor of all the MUN student. I had to discover who this guy is and I finally succeeded, he is Ace. I asked him what did he think about MUNiSC before he went. The answer was similar to what I predicted. He thought that he would fail and get embarrassed in front of approximately 100 people. A big part of these conferences is to socialize with student from other international schools and became friends with them. Was that the case for the "invisible man?" He told me that he met some Korean buddies and they were very nice and kind. He has not done much work to prepare for MUNiSC and tried to quit, but Mr. Mills encouraged him to stick with it and did not agree to his "amendment" . Then I questioned him about how was it going during the conference, his answer actually surprised me. He said, the first day he was thinking about his opening speech for about 4 hours and very nervous. The second day he was not as stressed as the first day. He relaxed even enjoyed it. On the last day he finally decided to raise his card to stand up to speak in front of everyone. He tried several times, but the chair ignored him. He made friends in the conference and gave a speech in front of a large group of people for the first time. So what did he think of the experience after it was all over? "It was a good opportunity and I would like to attend it again next year!" His answer impressed me, his attitude was positive toward the conference, I can tell that he was happy to attend it.
(By Andy Yang)
Into your PJ's December 13th 12/3/2013 By: Maggie Xie
As it is written on the calendar, December 13th is the last day before the winter holiday, 12 days from Christmas. On that Friday, a special event will be held at QISS which is Pajamas Day. Students are asked either to bring them or come dressed in your favorite pajamas (has to be school appropriate, of course). This is a school wide event and partnership with the PTA. For high school students, since there are semester exams going on that day, it might be a better idea to bring your pajamas with you instead of wearing them to school in the morning.
By the end of the day (3rd to 4th period, to be determined), all lower school students and hopefully most high school students who are done with their exams are going to go down to the first floor theatre with their pajamas on. Ms. Alejandra, the lower school principle will provide a Christmas movie to be played there. The PTA will provide students with hot chocolate and popcorns. The main purpose of this event is to celebrate a joyful Christmas with everyone at QISS, and we hope you can enjoy it.
As it is written on the calendar, December 13th is the last day before the winter holiday, 12 days from Christmas. On that Friday, a special event will be held at QISS which is Pajamas Day. Students are asked either to bring them or come dressed in your favorite pajamas (has to be school appropriate, of course). This is a school wide event and partnership with the PTA. For high school students, since there are semester exams going on that day, it might be a better idea to bring your pajamas with you instead of wearing them to school in the morning.
By the end of the day (3rd to 4th period, to be determined), all lower school students and hopefully most high school students who are done with their exams are going to go down to the first floor theatre with their pajamas on. Ms. Alejandra, the lower school principle will provide a Christmas movie to be played there. The PTA will provide students with hot chocolate and popcorns. The main purpose of this event is to celebrate a joyful Christmas with everyone at QISS, and we hope you can enjoy it.
QISS Sponsors: A Different Christmas
11/29/2013 By Maggie Xie.
Christmas is coming soon in December, and this year there is a special program going on at QISS. While we are preparing for the upcoming Christmas, there are a great number of kids in Laixi who are still suffering poverty, coldness and cannot receive the happiness from Christmas like we do. To solve this situation, QISS staffs and students are now arranging a program which is to sponsors the children in under privileged schools by donating essential goods to them.
The students that we are going to sponsor are from different elementary schools located in Laixi, a place right beside Qingdao. They are all facing different difficulties in their lives: parents in sickness, physical disability, single-parent, or extreme poverty. The main purpose of this program is to donate things they want so that they can enjoy a joyful Christmas. Each grade’s homeroom has a list of students’ names and what they want for Christmas, and these gifts usually don’t cost very much, such as pencil cases, erasers, and new school bags. Every student at QISS should have signed up for someone they want to sponsor and start preparing already. After all the donations are collected, The QISS Student Council, together with the staffs, will put them in different packages with the sponsor and the receiver’s name labeled on them, and then deliver the gifts to the local schools.
If you are interested in volunteering and or providing donations, please contact Ms. Jessy Yin (High School AP Chinese teacher) or Ms. Cynthia Xin (HSK & Middle School Advanced Chinese Teacher).
11/29/2013 By Maggie Xie.
Christmas is coming soon in December, and this year there is a special program going on at QISS. While we are preparing for the upcoming Christmas, there are a great number of kids in Laixi who are still suffering poverty, coldness and cannot receive the happiness from Christmas like we do. To solve this situation, QISS staffs and students are now arranging a program which is to sponsors the children in under privileged schools by donating essential goods to them.
The students that we are going to sponsor are from different elementary schools located in Laixi, a place right beside Qingdao. They are all facing different difficulties in their lives: parents in sickness, physical disability, single-parent, or extreme poverty. The main purpose of this program is to donate things they want so that they can enjoy a joyful Christmas. Each grade’s homeroom has a list of students’ names and what they want for Christmas, and these gifts usually don’t cost very much, such as pencil cases, erasers, and new school bags. Every student at QISS should have signed up for someone they want to sponsor and start preparing already. After all the donations are collected, The QISS Student Council, together with the staffs, will put them in different packages with the sponsor and the receiver’s name labeled on them, and then deliver the gifts to the local schools.
If you are interested in volunteering and or providing donations, please contact Ms. Jessy Yin (High School AP Chinese teacher) or Ms. Cynthia Xin (HSK & Middle School Advanced Chinese Teacher).
After School Inactivity
11/25/2014 by Maggie Xie
As we all know, after school activities became another important part of QISS students’ school life; however, the number of upper school students participating in different activities is decreasing. Why do students participate in these activities no longer? What activities would you want to do if you had a chance to establish them? Here is an introduction to the current state of afterschool activities, and we will be interviewing participants both students and teachers.
At first I asked some upper school students a question which is “Have you ever participate any after school activity since you joined QISS?” And most students simply said “No.” From the answers being collected I can see that almost all interviewed students have not participated in any kind of after school activities; the rest of them had, but when they were in youth such as third to fifth grade, not recently.
Compare to lower school students, upper school students are kind of “inactive” in participating in these activities. Why are they not participating in them? I asked the same students on this question and most students said the reason they are no longer participating in afterschool activities is that there are not enough choices. For example, last term of afterschool activities ended in October and only had one activity available for high school students which were Jazz Band. “I’m interested but there are limited choices.” said the students. Another reason is that some students, especially Asians, have academies after school frequently so that they are not able to participate.
Since “limited choices” seems to be the main reason of why they are inactive in participating, I asked another question to interviewed students. “What after school activities would you like to see if possible?” Most students said that they would like to see more language teaching courses including both English and foreign languages (such as TOEFL, SAT, IELTS, or languages like French-teaching courses). Clubs that can give opportunities to get community service hours are also wanted (mostly by juniors or seniors). High school students also expressed interests in participating in the Rubik’s cube club.
So, will the wishes of students come true?
According to the results of the survey we did, after school foreign language program (teaching a foreign language as an after school activity once a week) is wanted by many students; therefore, I talked to some of the bilingual or even trilingual teachers at QISS about their interests in teaching French, German and Spanish. Most teachers said that they would do it if there were enough students signed up. One Spanish afterschool activity might be set up in 2014 from February to March if there were enough students signed up (at least five). So if you are interested in Spanish, talk to Mr. King (US 406) about it.
If you would like any other languages to be set up, you have to ensure that there are enough students signing up for it and correspondently, at least one teacher that is able to speak that language and has shown interest, and then contact with the lower school principal Ms. Alejandra.
Current Afterschool Activities: Here are the brief introductions of afterschool activities starting from November 1st, and some quotes from the teachers arranging them or have arranged them before.
Monday:
What’s Up Lower School Newsletter? Grade3-5
Teachers: Ms. Nadine Bouliane and Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Location: LS Computer Lab
“It is written only by lower school students for lower school students. It covers events, field trips, activities, and some graphic fictions or comics.” – Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Tennis Time Grade 1-5
Teacher: Mr. Mike Dorchak (used to be Ms. Kelly Pinyan)
Location: Tennis Court
Quote: “We warm up by hitting in small groups; usually have competitions racing with bouncing balls. We will then play doubles, and hang out at the court.” – Ms. Kelly Pinyan
Musical Instruments Workshop Grade 3-5
Teacher: Ms. Victoria Kholodkova
Location: LS504
Quotes: “In my after school activities students are going to make their own instruments using recycled papers as materials”. – Ms. Victoria Kholodkova
Science Art Extravaganza!
Teacher: Ms. Alejandra Chavez
Location: LS Room 502
Quotes: “So my after school activity is about science, or it is science-related… And we do art projects that have some kind of relationship with science. We do things that are ‘sciencethy’ and ‘artistic’. “ – Ms. Alejandra Chavez
Tuesday:
Science Exploration Fun!
Teacher: Ms. Tammy Wang
Location: LS-Science Lab-upper school building room 204
Afterschool at the Movies (* available for high school)
Teacher: Ms. Kelly Pinyan
Location: US Room 308 (Ms. Pinyan’s classroom)
Quote: “We watch movies after school, and also students get to improve their English abilities here. All movies are with English subtitles to help students to understand better.” – Ms. Kelly Pinyan
Rock/Jazz/Vocal Combo Grade 6-12
Teacher: Mr. Peter Thorpe
Location: US204
Stop Motion Animate Time!
Teacher: Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Location: Art room / Computer Lab
Quote: “In this ‘stop motion animate time’ class, students learn how to make a still-image, and try to make it move.” – Ms. Nadine Bouliane
(No afterschool activities on Wednesday)
Thursday:
Rubik’s Cube Challenge Grade 4-8
Teacher: Mr. Erik Dunham
Location: US405
Quote: “First we practiced the ones that everybody knows how to solve, and then we try to speed up... We time ourselves while playing around with cubes, and we participate in different competitions.” – Mr. Erik Dunham
QISS Spirit Club (For Upper School Students *available for highschool)
Teacher: Ms. Nicklas
Location: Art Room 404
Chinese Games and Songs Club Grade1-3
Teachers: Ms. April Fan & Ms. Joy Liu
Location: LS402
Quote “We play Chinese traditional children games that are entertaining, meanwhile to make them experience the culture of China. We want them to try what native Chinese kids did in their childhood.” – Ms. April Fan
Art Club (Upper School *available for high school)
Teacher: Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Location: LS405
Quote: “The upper school art club is mainly about mix media and making sketchbooks. They use paintings, transfer photos and use texts to create their own sketchbooks and express their ideas.” – Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Friday:
Origami Club
Teachers: Sun-a Hwang, Heddy Gong, Maggie Xie (Student ambassadors from Grade 9~10)
Location: LS Library
Quote: “We make real simple paper folding. We use paper folding to build our imaginary world, and help kids to develop their skills and sensitivity.” – Ms. Sun-a Hwang (Student)
ESL Homework Club
Teacher: Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Location: LS Room 405
Quote: “This is for the lower school kids; support them in any subject especially for ELL students. We help them to understand their assignments and tell them what to do.” – Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Math Olympiads Grade 4-6
Teacher: Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Location: LS301
“It is a formal organization where students participate in worldwide math contests five times a year. It is opened for 4-6 graders. And there will be a math and Rubik’s cube competition at QISS in February; many schools are going to attend that.” – Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Land to water Yoga
Teacher: Ms. Stefnee McMullin
Location: Dance Room
Quote: “At here we learn how to relax and be more flexible… You will be slowed down in your life, and find calm here.” – Ms. Stefnee Mcmullin
Above are all the after school activities for this term, leave us a comment if you are interested in any other activities or suggestions to school staff about them. Language programs are likely going to be set up next year in the spring, if anyone is interested you can contact Ms. Alejandra or us.
11/25/2014 by Maggie Xie
As we all know, after school activities became another important part of QISS students’ school life; however, the number of upper school students participating in different activities is decreasing. Why do students participate in these activities no longer? What activities would you want to do if you had a chance to establish them? Here is an introduction to the current state of afterschool activities, and we will be interviewing participants both students and teachers.
At first I asked some upper school students a question which is “Have you ever participate any after school activity since you joined QISS?” And most students simply said “No.” From the answers being collected I can see that almost all interviewed students have not participated in any kind of after school activities; the rest of them had, but when they were in youth such as third to fifth grade, not recently.
Compare to lower school students, upper school students are kind of “inactive” in participating in these activities. Why are they not participating in them? I asked the same students on this question and most students said the reason they are no longer participating in afterschool activities is that there are not enough choices. For example, last term of afterschool activities ended in October and only had one activity available for high school students which were Jazz Band. “I’m interested but there are limited choices.” said the students. Another reason is that some students, especially Asians, have academies after school frequently so that they are not able to participate.
Since “limited choices” seems to be the main reason of why they are inactive in participating, I asked another question to interviewed students. “What after school activities would you like to see if possible?” Most students said that they would like to see more language teaching courses including both English and foreign languages (such as TOEFL, SAT, IELTS, or languages like French-teaching courses). Clubs that can give opportunities to get community service hours are also wanted (mostly by juniors or seniors). High school students also expressed interests in participating in the Rubik’s cube club.
So, will the wishes of students come true?
According to the results of the survey we did, after school foreign language program (teaching a foreign language as an after school activity once a week) is wanted by many students; therefore, I talked to some of the bilingual or even trilingual teachers at QISS about their interests in teaching French, German and Spanish. Most teachers said that they would do it if there were enough students signed up. One Spanish afterschool activity might be set up in 2014 from February to March if there were enough students signed up (at least five). So if you are interested in Spanish, talk to Mr. King (US 406) about it.
If you would like any other languages to be set up, you have to ensure that there are enough students signing up for it and correspondently, at least one teacher that is able to speak that language and has shown interest, and then contact with the lower school principal Ms. Alejandra.
Current Afterschool Activities: Here are the brief introductions of afterschool activities starting from November 1st, and some quotes from the teachers arranging them or have arranged them before.
Monday:
What’s Up Lower School Newsletter? Grade3-5
Teachers: Ms. Nadine Bouliane and Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Location: LS Computer Lab
“It is written only by lower school students for lower school students. It covers events, field trips, activities, and some graphic fictions or comics.” – Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Tennis Time Grade 1-5
Teacher: Mr. Mike Dorchak (used to be Ms. Kelly Pinyan)
Location: Tennis Court
Quote: “We warm up by hitting in small groups; usually have competitions racing with bouncing balls. We will then play doubles, and hang out at the court.” – Ms. Kelly Pinyan
Musical Instruments Workshop Grade 3-5
Teacher: Ms. Victoria Kholodkova
Location: LS504
Quotes: “In my after school activities students are going to make their own instruments using recycled papers as materials”. – Ms. Victoria Kholodkova
Science Art Extravaganza!
Teacher: Ms. Alejandra Chavez
Location: LS Room 502
Quotes: “So my after school activity is about science, or it is science-related… And we do art projects that have some kind of relationship with science. We do things that are ‘sciencethy’ and ‘artistic’. “ – Ms. Alejandra Chavez
Tuesday:
Science Exploration Fun!
Teacher: Ms. Tammy Wang
Location: LS-Science Lab-upper school building room 204
Afterschool at the Movies (* available for high school)
Teacher: Ms. Kelly Pinyan
Location: US Room 308 (Ms. Pinyan’s classroom)
Quote: “We watch movies after school, and also students get to improve their English abilities here. All movies are with English subtitles to help students to understand better.” – Ms. Kelly Pinyan
Rock/Jazz/Vocal Combo Grade 6-12
Teacher: Mr. Peter Thorpe
Location: US204
Stop Motion Animate Time!
Teacher: Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Location: Art room / Computer Lab
Quote: “In this ‘stop motion animate time’ class, students learn how to make a still-image, and try to make it move.” – Ms. Nadine Bouliane
(No afterschool activities on Wednesday)
Thursday:
Rubik’s Cube Challenge Grade 4-8
Teacher: Mr. Erik Dunham
Location: US405
Quote: “First we practiced the ones that everybody knows how to solve, and then we try to speed up... We time ourselves while playing around with cubes, and we participate in different competitions.” – Mr. Erik Dunham
QISS Spirit Club (For Upper School Students *available for highschool)
Teacher: Ms. Nicklas
Location: Art Room 404
Chinese Games and Songs Club Grade1-3
Teachers: Ms. April Fan & Ms. Joy Liu
Location: LS402
Quote “We play Chinese traditional children games that are entertaining, meanwhile to make them experience the culture of China. We want them to try what native Chinese kids did in their childhood.” – Ms. April Fan
Art Club (Upper School *available for high school)
Teacher: Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Location: LS405
Quote: “The upper school art club is mainly about mix media and making sketchbooks. They use paintings, transfer photos and use texts to create their own sketchbooks and express their ideas.” – Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Friday:
Origami Club
Teachers: Sun-a Hwang, Heddy Gong, Maggie Xie (Student ambassadors from Grade 9~10)
Location: LS Library
Quote: “We make real simple paper folding. We use paper folding to build our imaginary world, and help kids to develop their skills and sensitivity.” – Ms. Sun-a Hwang (Student)
ESL Homework Club
Teacher: Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Location: LS Room 405
Quote: “This is for the lower school kids; support them in any subject especially for ELL students. We help them to understand their assignments and tell them what to do.” – Ms. Nadine Bouliane
Math Olympiads Grade 4-6
Teacher: Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Location: LS301
“It is a formal organization where students participate in worldwide math contests five times a year. It is opened for 4-6 graders. And there will be a math and Rubik’s cube competition at QISS in February; many schools are going to attend that.” – Mr. Brooke Bertholet
Land to water Yoga
Teacher: Ms. Stefnee McMullin
Location: Dance Room
Quote: “At here we learn how to relax and be more flexible… You will be slowed down in your life, and find calm here.” – Ms. Stefnee Mcmullin
Above are all the after school activities for this term, leave us a comment if you are interested in any other activities or suggestions to school staff about them. Language programs are likely going to be set up next year in the spring, if anyone is interested you can contact Ms. Alejandra or us.