In Focus
In Focus: May Edition-2012May means the end of the year and while we’re happy that school is finally over, we will have to say goodbye to so many of our friends for over the summer. However, some people will come back to have another great year next year, but others will be saying goodbye and won’t be returning. Even though we have to say goodbye to our great friends, we can reflect and remember all the great times together. Whether it’s the first or fifth year at CoIS, everyone is sure to make lasting friends and eternal memories.
One person who we will be saying goodbye to this year is our School Scoop editor and eighth grader, Caroline. She has completed her seventh year at CoIS, and she’s been here since the very start of our school. This year she will be graduating and heading to high school, and while we wish her luck in the future, we will miss her. ********* Q. How long have you been at CoIS? A. My first year at CoIS I was in 2nd grade, and it’s been seven years since then. Continued on other side... |
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Q. What’s changed since then? What’s the same? A. We’ve changed location and furthered the approach to learning, plus I’ve seen so many friends come and go. But other than that, everything is the same. The great education, the fun traditions and the amazing people. Q. What’s your favorite thing about CoIS? A. The classes. I learned so much, everything in the curriculum and anything that interests me. I have friends in other schools, and I am so much farther ahead than them because of my amazing education. Every single class is interesting and makes me want to learn even more. I have learned more than I could have hoped for thanks to CoIS. Q. What will you miss the most? A. I will miss everything. I will miss the math tests, the shows, the homework and, most of all, the people. CoIS has this amazing atmosphere thanks to all the wonderful people that are part of the big family. Parents, staff, students, everyone makes CoIS an amazing place. I will miss this school so much, but I am so happy that I have been blessed to be a part of the family for so long. Q. What would you say to everyone at CoIS? A. Thank you. I would say thank you to every single person. I learn something new every day and have so much fun in every single way. I love school so much, and it’s mainly because of the people who make it amazing. I would love it if you guys would continue all of the traditions that we’ve been improving over the years. Thank you so much! |
In Focus: April Edition-2012Although the month of April is full of many exciting journeys, including a road trip to New Mexico and even an exciting tour of France, Greece and Italy. Those trips take place later in the month (and the next issue will focus on them!), but the entire school went on a journey all the way across the continents, headed for South Korea.
How? On April 3rd, we had our second to last and monthly Tea Party, and with the help of the honorary consul of South Korea, we leapt over to the country itself. We learned about everything from its industry to the meaning of its flag. We even got to eat some of its food: delicious seaweed and juicy Asian pears. To learn more about our special guest, keep reading! ****** The honorary consul of South Korea, James McGibney, was kind enough to let us interview him after the wonderful tea party! We’re glad to share the exclusive interview with all of our School Scoop readers! ****** Q. How did you become the Honorary Consul of South Korea? A. I was appointed last year by the general consul. Q. Why were you appointed? A. I was appointed probably because I have a close relationship with South Korea, I have worked there and my children are from there. Continued on other side... |
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Q. What are your duties as Honorary Consul? A. Primarily to represent the consul general in the community. If there are any questions about South Korea or people interested in learning about South Korea, I take care of it. I basically represent the South Korean people in Colorado and represent Colorado to the South Koreans. Q. How many times have you been to South Korea? And what do you like best? A. I’ve only been there for ten days, but as the consul I will go back twice a year. My favorite thing is probably the people, because they are so kind and unique. Q. How are schools organized in South Korea? A. They are very much like the U.S. However, the Korean government made an agreement to do away with textbooks, making everything technology. Q. If you had to describe the contributions of the Republic of Korea in 3 words, what would they be? A. Human Energy, technology and resolve. Q. Which parts of South Korea would you recommend that our students visit if they ever go to Korea? A. After the capital, Seoul, probably Jeju, which is an island in the south. That’s actually where most of the world’s green tea is made. Q. What are some things that define the Korean culture? A. I think the history and probably the language, which was created so that everybody could read and write. Thank you so much! |
In Focus: March Edition-2012We all know that on March 17th little green men hide pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. That’s actually not how St. Patrick’s Day started out. Legend tells us that a young British boy was kidnapped by Irish marauders and taken to Ireland. He lived there as a shepherd until he had a “vision” that told him to go back to Great Britain. Once there, he had another “vision” telling him to help the Irish people. He changed his name to Patrick and headed back to Ireland. St. Patrick supposedly banished snakes from Ireland, and saved the Irish people from sickness, hunger and homelessness.
****************************** An old friend, Larry, stopped by a little early, instead of his usual visit on St. Patrick’s Day. However, we still managed to get him to do his annual interview! Larry the Leprechaun is an old friend. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2009, he visited one of our classrooms, left little green footprints on the tables, and signed a note on the whiteboard. Since then, he’s come by every year for an exclusive interview around St. Patrick’s Day. Q: What do you do during the year? A: I spend all my time preparing for St. Patrick’s Day. Though, sometimes, I spend some time with other leprechauns, singing, dancing and just having a good time. Q: What do you do on St. Patrick’s Day?A: I play tricks on children and adults alike. I leave little notes, footprints, and sometimes a gold coin or two. I also spend time pinching people who aren't wearing green. Continued on other side... |
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Q: Why is St. Patrick’s Day important to you? A: St. Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint, and St. Patrick’s day is his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death. He was very important to me, because he did so much for my country, Ireland. We are his supporters, friends and helpers, carrying on his wishes. Q: What is the significance of the color green? A: Well, there is actually no significance to the color green. St. Patrick’s color was blue. People got the idea of green because St. Patrick sometimes held a shamrock, or clover, which is green. Since then, people have always been wearing green. It’s grown on us leprechauns too! Q: What is so special about leprechauns? A: I like to think of us leprechauns as St. Patrick’s little helpers, but it turns out we are more like little mischief makers, which I don’t mind at all. We are Irish pixies, or fairies from folktales. Someone got the idea to link us to St. Patrick, and here we are. Since then, we have become extremely compassionate about St. Patrick. Q: What is your favorite part of St. Patrick’s Day? A: I love seeing all the people in green, honoring St. Patrick, even if they don’t know it. I also like playing pranks on people and avoiding being robbed of my gold. Starting a few years ago, my favorite part is now coming here to CoIS to see the kids (though they can’t see me!) and doing an interview for the awesome people at the School Scoop. Thank you so much! |
In Focus: February Edition-2012On January 23rd, there was much to see and do at the CoIS Chinese New Year annual celebration, held this year at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
There was a ribbon dance, sword dance, songs, martial arts and more to ring in the new year. This year is the year of the Water Dragon, so be sure to check our special Chinese Zodiac horoscopes to find out if this is your year! 新年快乐! After the fantastic performance to celebrate Chinese New Year, we pulled Mr. Jun, younger elementary Mandarin teacher, aside for a special interview. Q. What are the Chinese New Year celebrations like in China? A. We set off fireworks at midnight and hang calligraphy that say for a happy, wealthy, long year. We eat with our families and talk about the past year and the coming year. The young kids get the red envelopes from their parents, grandparents and relatives. We visit all our relatives in different places. And we watch a show that comes only once year. Continued on other side... |
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Q. What were the differences between our celebration and the ones in China? A. I think we just missed the big show and the fireworks. We also eat different foods than what we ate at our celebration. In China, we usually have fish. Fish means that you will be wealthy that year. Q. What did you think of our celebration? A. I thought it was great! I liked everything. Q. Were you excited to celebrate in a different way than you usually do? A. I was very excited because I knew it was going to be great even if it wasn’t the same. I was also excited to celebrate with different people. Q. What do you think of Colorado so far? A. I really like it, the weather is very nice. It’s not too loud and the people here are very nice. But, everything is much farther apart then in China, where everything is close together. Q. Are you enjoying teaching here at CoIS? What do you like the most? A. Yes, very much. I like the kids here the most, and also how the parents support so much. Thank you so much! |
In Focus: December Edition-2011 Winter is fast approaching, and with it a whirl of events! The last week of school, December 12th to December 16th, everyone is busy doing all sorts of things. Like on Wednesday, December 14th, there is a school field trip where we’ll be caroling at many different places, including the Denver Christkindl market and the fire station. Then throughout the week there will be presentations on all the different holidays and traditions people celebrate in December.
To start off the first month of winter, we interviewed Juha Mäkikalli, the Honorary Consul of Finland. He was kind enough to come to our school for our December Tea Party, on December 6th which was also Finland’s Independence Day. **************** Q. Where are you from? A. I grew up in Salo, Finland. Q. What is it like there? Is it very different from here? A. It is different, but at the same time, it’s not very different. Q. What are some traditional Finnish foods? A. Finns eat a lot of potatoes, prepared in different ways. We eat a lot of fish, like salmon, we eat a lot of different meats. Lots of hardy bread, healthier breads. Lots of berries, wild berries that grow in the forest. Q. What kinds of animals live in Finland? A. We have reindeer, elk, deer, moose, brown bears, gray wolves, artic foxes, lynxes, and of course rabbits and squirrels. Those are wild ones, but domestic animals include cows, pigs, chicken, dogs, and cats. Continued on the other side... |
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Q. What languages do you speak? A. Finnish, Swedish, some German, Spanish, English and a little bit of Japanese. Q. Which language do you wish you knew? A. I wish that I was fluent in all the languages that I know and I also wish I knew French and Chinese. Q. Is Finnish similar to any other languages? If so, which ones? A. Finnish is similar to Estonian and also it is related to Hungarian. Q. How long have you lived in Denver? A. I’ve lived in Denver almost twelve years now. Q. Why did you want to be the Consulate of Finland? A. Well, I was actually asked to become the Honorary Consulate and it is an opportunity for me to serve the country of Finland and help the people of Finland here in Colorado. Q. What do you do as the consulate? A. First of all, I have a regular day job, so the being consulate is kin d of a side job. What I do is if any Finland citizen has an accident or has some trouble, I can direct them to help. I also educate Americans about Finland. I also help Finnish companies. I do so many different things. As the consulate, I am the official representative of Finland in Colorado. Q. If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be and why? A. I’d love to be dean of a big university, but currently I am doing what I love. |
In Focus November Edition-2011In the lovely month of November, the weather gets colder and the days grow shorter. But still there is always something to do, whether there is snow on the ground or the sun is shining. November 14th to November 18th is actually International French Week, and here at CoIS the French program puts on a special presentation. Everyone got to learn about “des pays francophones” or French speaking countries. The French program also got to show of their French speaking skills. Afterwards, we ate baguette that the French program made and also enjoyed some éclairs, also made by the French program. We interviewed Mr. Paul, our new French Pre-K/K teacher, to tell us more about himself. Continued on other side... |
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Q. Where are you originally from? A. Casamance, Senegal. It’s in the southern region. Q. What was it like where you are from? A. It’s very green, because it rains a lot. It’s very natural and nice. Q. Where did you learn French and why? A. I learned French at school, when I was six because French is one of the official languages of Senegal. Senegal was once a French colony. Q. If you have been to France, is it any different than where you are from? A. I have never been to France, so I don’t know what it is like. Q. What countries have you been to before? A. I have been to Gambia, Guinea and Mali before. Of course I’ve also been to the U.S. Q. Is there somewhere you want to go to go, why? A. I would like to go to France, because I am still in contact with my French teachers. And maybe Canada, because I also had a French teacher from Canada. Q. Do you like about being a teacher at CoIS? What do you like about it? A. I like teaching here a lot. I chose to be a teacher because when I was six, not all the children of my age got to go to school. There weren’t many schools or teachers, so I wanted to be a teacher so I could help. Thank you so much! |
In Focus October Edition-2011Although most people associate October with Halloween, much more happens in this autumn month….
For example, the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is sometimes celebrated in October, although the wall really fell on November 9th. Here at CoIS, the German Program gave the entire school an amazing presentation on the Berlin Wall. On October 4th, coinciding with the Armenia Tea Party*, the German program explained all about the Berlin Wall. We interviewed Ms. Laura, German elementary teacher, to give us a little insight on the presentation and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Q. What was your class’ presentation about? A. The fall of the Berlin Wall. Q. Who tore down the Berlin Wall? A. The people of Germany. Q. How long did it take to build the wall? A. They built it almost overnight. People went to bed and the next day it was there. Continued on other side.... *To see a beautiful Powerpoint on Armenia, visit the Language Loop section of our website! |
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Q. When did they build it? A. They built it in 1961. Q. How long was it standing? A. 28 years. Q. Why did they destroy it? A. Because it was a symbol of division between East Germany and West Germany. It kept the East Germans from passing into West Germany. It was destroyed in 1989. Q. Which side of Germany did you live in? A. I lived in West Germany. Q. How old were you when the wall was torn down? A. I was 14 years old. Q. What did you think about the presentation? A. I think they got nervous, but they did a good job. Q. Do you enjoy working as a teacher? What do you enjoy most about it? A. I enjoy seeing when children are having fun learning. The best time is when they think learning is fun. Q. What languages do you speak? A. I speak English, German and Romanian fluently, but I can understand about 10 other languages. Q. Since you began working at CoIS, do you want to learn any other languages? Which ones? A. I would like to learn Spanish. I can understand Spanish, but I can’t speak it. Thank you so much! |
In Focus September Edition-2011At the end of September, some of the upper school students will be off on an excursion, to China! Leaving Sunday, September 25th, they will journey to Beijing, with a few stops along the way, and will then meet their host families when they arrive! As well as visiting the beautiful sites, our students will be observing classes at a typical Chinese-English school! From the Great Wall to the Shaolin Temple, they are sure to have a grand time! Read more about this amazing trip with an exclusive interview with Ms. Jie, who’s leading the trip! After months of planning, thanks to Mandarin program lead teacher, the group trip to China will commence this coming Sunday! From the 25th to October 8th, they will travel around China and will hopefully bring back lots of photos and memories! To prepare for the upcoming trip, we’ve interviewed Ms. Jie, the Mandarin program lead teacher and coordinator of the trip. Continued on other side.... |
Continued from other side.... Q: What cities will you visit when you go to China? A: We are going to visit Beijing, Louyang, Xi’An and Shanghai. Q: What type of clothes do they wear in China? A: They wear the same types of clothes as people do here. Q: How long will it take you to get to China? A: It will take 17 hours to get to China. Q: What types of foods are you going to eat? A: We are going to eat many different types of Chinese foods, including dumplings and fish eyes. Q: How are you going to travel while in China? A: We will travel by planes, high-speed trains, buses and cars. Q: Where are you going to stay while in China? A: We are going to stay with very kind host families while in Beijing, but everywhere else we will stay in hotels. Q: Which schools will you visit? A: We will visit Star Elementary School and Swallow Mountain Middle School. Thank you! We hope you enjoy your trip to China! |
In Focus from March-2011:This March, we’ll have a whirl of events. On March 8th,
CoIS celebrated Mardi Gras with mask-making, crêpes, a parade and a beautiful
dance performed by the upper school students.
******* Then, on March 9th, the upper school students took a trip to the U.S. Mint and took a tour of the architecture downtown. They learned a lot about the process of making coins and even more about the architecture of downtown Denver! ******* Next week is ERB (Educational Records Bureau) testing week for the upper school students, so we’d like to take the time and wish all of them good luck on their tests!! ******* Next Wednesday, the Pre-K/K students are taking a trip to Washington Park to look for signs of spring! ******* And, next Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day. We all know that on March 17th little green men hide pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. However, that’s actually not how St. Patrick’s Day started out. Legend tells us that a young British boy was kidnapped by Irish marauders and taken to Ireland. He lived there as a shepherd until he had a “vision” that told him to go back to Great Britain. Once there, he had another “vision” telling him to help the Irish people. He changed his name to Patrick and headed back to Ireland. St. Patrick supposedly banished snakes from Ireland, and saved the Irish people from sickness, hunger and homelessness. Continued on other side.... Below, view student photos of Denver architecture, from our March 9 field trip. |
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This is Larry the Leprechaun’s third year visiting CoIS. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2009, he visited one of our classrooms, left little green footprints on the tables, and signed a note on the whiteboard. In 2010, only the Middle School students were at school, everyone else was on a field trip. This year, he stopped by early to make sure that everyone would be here this St. Patrick’s Day, and we were glad to say yes to the little leprechaun. Q: What do you do during the year? A: I spend all my time preparing for St. Patrick’s Day. Though, sometimes, I spend some time with other leprechauns. Q: What do you do on St. Patrick’s Day? A: I play tricks on children and adults alike. I leave little notes, footprints, and sometimes a gold coin or two. My favorite thing to do is to pinch people who aren’t wearing green. Q: Why is St. Patrick’s Day important to you? A: St. Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint, and St. Patrick’s day is his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death. He was very important to me, because he did so much for my country, Ireland. Q: What is the significance of the color green? A: Well, there is actually no significance to the color green. St. Patrick’s color was blue. People got the idea of green because St. Patrick sometimes held a shamrock, or clover, which is green. Q: What is so special about leprechauns? A: I like to think of us leprechauns as St. Patrick’s little helpers, but it turns out we are more like little mischief makers, which I don’t mind at all. We are Irish pixies, or fairies from folktales. Someone got the idea to link us to St. Patrick, and here we are. Q: What is your favorite part of St. Patrick’s Day? A: I love seeing all the people in green, honoring St. Patrick, even if they don’t know it. I also like playing pranks on people and avoiding being robbed of my gold. |
In Focus from January-February:Last February, CoIS celebrated the coming Year of the Rabbit
with much hoopla! We had special guest performers and artists, plus many
different forms of entertainment by the entire school!
CoIS was a Host School under a special program with the Confucius Institute of the Community College of Denver (CCD). In cooperation with Hanban, the overseas educational arm of the Chinese government, a delegation of thirty performers and artists from China joined CoIS to celebrate Chinese new year on February 3rd at 10 a.m. Let’s help welcome the Year of the Rabbit with a special interview with CoIS’ Mandarin program teachers Ms. Jie Ding. Q. What did you do to prepare for the Year of the Rabbit? Ms. Jie: First, we prepared our school’s Chinese New Year celebration, our school’s annual festival, which we’ve done every year for six years. Our school students then began to practice, and perform, songs, dances, a play, and even a skit. We also did some art; we made a double spring banner and lanterns. We also learned about Chinese culture, how Chinese New Year is traditionally celebrated. We made dumplings and rice cakes. We had two events: Chinese New Year, and the Riddle Festival, also known as the Lantern Festival, which took place five days after Chinese New Year. Continued on other side... |
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Q. What was special about this year’s performance? Ms. Jie: This year’s most special performance was our play. The play was made by students and teachers who worked together. The skit was also made by students and teachers. Also, we had the pleasure of hosting the Harbin Normal University performing troupe from China. They showed us some Martial Arts. They also showed us Gong-fu, Calligraphy, and a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Q. What did you most look forward to in this year’s performance? Ms. Jie: I couldn’t wait to see our school’s Mandarin program students perform. I was sure they’d do a great job. I was looking forward to seeing them. I also looked forward to seeing the Chinese exhibition presented by Harbin Normal University. Q. What is the significance of the rabbit in the Chinese calendar? Ms. Jie: The rabbit is the fourth zodiac sign. People who are born in the Year of the Rabbit are friendly and calm. Thank you! We were lucky enough to experience the magic of the Chinese new year celebration ourselves on February 3rd, 2011. |
In Focus from November-December:For those of you, who haven’t had the experience of reading the School Scoop, enjoy our student newspaper written by upper school students! We should have updated sooner, but as you’ll soon discover, we’ve been super busy at CoIS!
Some of the most recent events in November have included an amazing field trip to NCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which took our upper school students to Boulder, CO and a surprise visit to the Celestial Seasonings tea factory on the way to NCAR. ***** November 2nd was Election Day at CoIS, and all the students voted. Here’s a little briefing on it: “Because adults in America vote in local and national elections for new leaders today, CoIS students took the opportunity to hold an election, too. Students from pre-kindergarten through seventh grade voted for colors: yellow, purple, and orange; animals: dog, cat, and lion; and foods: pizza, chicken, and hot dogs.” Continued on other side… |
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The results will be posted on the student bulletin board (in the main hallway) on Friday, November 12. ***** November 11th, Veterans Day, the upper school students got the opportunity to speak to and hear the stories five World War II veterans: Art and Joy Meyers, Tito Chaverri, Paul Nikitovich and Herbert Homan. Plus, on November 5th, upper school students also got the chance to speak and hear the story of a World War II veteran who also served in the Vietnamese war: John David Lewis. The upper school students recorded these amazing stories and will be submitting the memoirs to the Library of Congress as part of the Veterans History Project. CoIS is honored that these veterans could come and speak to the older students and wishes to thank all of them for coming to our school. |