Student Weekly

December 4 to 8, 2023

Schedule

Dec. 4 to Dec. 8

Monday "B-Day"
Tuesday "A-Day"
Wednesday "B-Day"
Thursday "A-Day"
Friday "B -Day" - G7 Field trip

Upcoming Dates to Remember

Announcements

Message from Mr. Carroll, MS Principal

DRAGONS-

We are heading into December and getting ready for the long Winter Break. Over the next few weeks, it is easy to let our excitement get the best of us and to get a little lazy with our studying and allow our behavior to slip a little. Let’s take a minute to recenter ourselves. What goals did you set for this quarter? Did you meet them? What do you need to do over the next three weeks to make sure you do meet them? Are there any relationships you need to repair? Think on these questions and let’s do what needs to be done to finish 2023 strong!

Message from Mr. Boland, MS Associate Principal

DRAGONS,

This is a great week to bring your best self to school. Pretty soon there will be lots of events that will take our attention in a million ways. Stay focused, work hard, and be respectful of each other. You never know when someone is having a bad day, so don’t make it worse for them, try to make someone’s day a little better.

Lost and Found: There is a massive pile of clothing and other belongings sitting outside the ES/MS Gym. Please look through it to see what belongs to you. On Wednesday of this week, this pile will be removed and most things put in the trash. If you have misplaced a hoodie, coat, PE clothes, name tag, water bottle, or anything, please check there before Wednesday. The photo is posted in the Lost and Found section.
Rise in Behavior Issues: This past week, I have had to speak with students from all grades regarding respect, bullying, intentionally embarrassing their peers, and highly inappropriate language. Students are responsible for the choices they make. We need to be making better choices.

Jeju Furey Gift Wrapping: We are looking at having December 15 as a possible day where each grade will get some time to help the Jeju Furey Charity Drive wrap some of the gifts that our 21+million KRW purchased for people in need on Jeju. Mr. Vento has also asked us to flag December 16 as a possible date for opening up the school for parents and students to have a gift-wrapping event. Circle these dates if you are looking to help out. More details to follow.

Grade Level Announcements

Grade 6

Can you believe it is already December? This is going to be an exciting few weeks as we approach the winter holiday. This week we will continue to work on your Passion Project Plan so that you have a clear idea of the great work you will be doing during exploration. Remember to be the best version of yourself and make KISJ a better place!

Grade 7

This week we will continue to work on communicating through conflict in advisory. We also will celebrate the end of your research unit on courageous and compassionate people and launch new units in Science and English on our field trip on Friday. Remember to dress appropriately for the weather, as the botanical garden only has parts that are indoors.

Grade 8

We will be meeting some high school students and learning a bit about coding in advisory on Monday. Please make sure that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. We have less than 3 weeks until winter break. Don’t start making bad choices now. Get your passion projects planned in detail.

Technology Announcement

Computer Science Education Week is coming ( Dec. 4-8) and to celebrate, the Educational I.T. department has prepared a special selection of resources for you.

Check out the library for Computer Science (CS) related books during the first 2 weeks of December
Review this Student Activity Resources which is full of fun online activities you can join to learn several aspects about computer science, including coding.
Google is also promoting Computer Science Education Week Livestream sessions with their Software Engineer, Head of Civil Rights, Senior Computer Science Major (Howard University), UX Design Manager, Head of Research Strategy, and others. as well as sharing resources. Sessions require registration, but it is a free event. Register here to get access Sessions will be recorded and they will be accessible later.

Clash of DRAGONS

We have several events coming up during Exploration, but we are also looking to squeeze something in with STUCO near the end of Semester 1. Stay tuned.

Here is the slideshow with name lists, game rules, and the standings. (If your name is missing please contact Mr. Boland right away and let him know.)

MS Clubs and Activities

Q2 clubs began on Tuesday, October 17. All students should attend each club session from 330 to 400pm each and every Tuesday and Thursday.

STUCO: STUCO is excited to announce our upcoming Christmas events! On Thursday December 21st, we will have some fun activities, followed by a movie (The Polar Express) in the MS PAC. Students are encouraged to wear Christmas clothes! Check out these slides for more information about Christmas dress! Want to speak to a Grade-level STUCO representative, or do you have some suggestions for us? Check out our Linktree! Shout out to Yujin for creating it! https://linktr.ee/kisjmsstuco

Broadcast Club: Our NOVEMBER Broadcast is out!

Is your birthday coming up soon? We would love to do a birthday shoutout for you in our next broadcast!!! Please complete this form.

!!!VIRAL DRAGON!!!

Go VIRAL and have your video shown in our broadcasts. Submit a 30-second video where you show us your talent. Read the instructions on the form.

MS Athletics

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday 12/5: MS & HS Swim - Girls @BHA, Boys @KISJ

Early Dismissal on Tuesday 12/5

Please allow for the following MS swimmers to be dismissed from school at 3:40 on Tuesday (12/5). Boys can report to the HS Pool, girls to the KIS sign near gate 1.

Now that teams have been formed:

No late registrations will be accepted even if a coach agrees to it.
If you want to drop yourself from a roster, please complete this form ASAP.

Final Call to fill out the uniform number form to report your current number or request a new one. Stay tuned for uniform ordering instructions!

MS Theatre

LEGALLY BLONDE JR:

CAST & CREW! All rehearsals from here on are all mandatory. Please make sure that you check your rehearsal schedules and be on time for all rehearsals. Please make sure that you communicate your schedules clearly to your parents, coaches, and anyone else who needs to know.
CAST ONLY! Please memorize your lines. They should be memorized already.
CAST ONLY! Please tell your parents that costumes need to be sent to school TOMORROW, Monday, December 4, 2023.

PLAYWRITING FESTIVAL: Playwrights! If you haven’t contacted your mentor teacher yet, please do that ASAP. Remember that you can’t start your second draft until you have met with your mentor teachers. Second drafts are due immediately after Winter Break, and if your second drafts are not completed on time, then your play will not be part of the Playwriting Festival. You may always contact Ms. Anderson or Mr. Dingle if you have any questions or need a little help. The date for your second draft will be immediately following winter break (Monday, January 15, 2024).

MS Vex Robotics

This was a very exciting day for our students and I'm sure they'll sleep well tonight! 66 total teams were present and the day was full of ups and downs! This tournament, while also much larger, gave our students a new environment that included many competitive academies and teams traveling from Hong Kong.

As a summary, teamwork challenge is when 2 robots (randomly assigned alliances) work together to play the 1 minute game. The 20 ranking teams competed in a finals showdown and was very exciting! Skills challenge is 1 robot playing the 1 minute game on their own by driving or with code only.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Teamwork challenge rankings:

30597A-34th

30597B-6th

30597C-39th

30597D-49th

30597E-21st

30597F-22nd

Skills challenge rankings

30597A-30th

30597B-16th

30597C-27th

30597D-37th

30597E-19th

30597F-45th

FLL Robotics

Our MS First Lego League Team, KISJ Dragons has been invited to attend the Korea National First Lego League Challenge on Feb 3, 2024 in Suwon. Congratulations to the team!

MS Baseball

We had a wet and windy day on Friday. We still managed to play 2 innings of the very first GEC Baseball game between SJA and KISJ. We look for warmer spring days for a rematch!

MS Art

In the Art room Grade 7 are creating linocut prints and are showing great skill and resilience. Well done to all the grade 7 students on such talented work.

Grade 8 are creating amazing ceramic masks and building 3-dimensional creative pieces. It takes bravery and creativity to tackle such a challenging task. Great work grade 8 Art students.

MS Exploration

Changing Your Project:

The Passion Project Survey is now closed. If you want to change your topic, please talk to Ms. Anderson or Ms. Cooper and they will change it for you.

Music Passion Projects:

Due to space limitations and interest, we are only accepting a limited number of students for MUSIC. We will be reviewing your plans. If it is not clear enough or your plan is not possible with the materials we have at school, we will send you a message and ask you to change it.

Approval for Cooking/Baking, Sports, and Video Games UPDATED:

If you met with Mr. Carroll and Mr. Boland and your plan was approved, congratulations! If your plan was not approved, please revise your plan. Then talk with Ms. Anderson or Ms. Cooper to change your plan.

If you are in Cooking/Baking, Sports, or Video games and are not approved yet, you must first talk to Ms. Cooper (Video Games), , Mr. Mejicanos (Sports), Mr. Barnum (Cooking/Baking), or Ms. Anderson (any) to get help on your plan. Then you need to make a meeting with Mr. Carroll and Mr. Boland. They are available every day 4:00-4:30 and Wednesday 3:30-4:30. You must be approved by December 14th. If you do not get approved by this time, you will need to choose a new topic.

MS Library

We hope that you were able to get some quality reading time in over the Fall Break. Please make sure to return all books on time.

School and Dorm Life Guide

Each week for Semester 1, there will be a short Google Form asking questions about our school’s guiding document, The School and Dorm Life Guide. Students are expected to read and understand this document. If you complete the quiz, and get all the questions right, there might be a small reward for you! Here is Quiz # 14.

MS Lost & Found

Make sure to check out the MS Office for items that have been misplaced. We often have an overload of hoodies and PE shirts. Please remember to label your belongings.

At the end of each month, we remove all items.

REMINDERS

Middle School Uniforms

Please continue to follow our uniform policy. Students are expected to be in the proper uniform at all times and to wear their uniforms properly. Non-uniform clothing should not be worn on campus during the school day.

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