Friday, 6th March 2009
Weishan Road,
Make-Up Day AOI Festival
Sports Brief PYP Article
Library News PFO News
Dear Students and Parents,
I am pleased to be able to inform you all that
construction has started again on our Phase 2
building expansion project. Assuming that
there are no additional complications we
should be well on track to move into the new
facilities for the start of the new school year in
August. I greatly appreciate the frustration
that many community members have felt
regarding the delays to the project but I am
confident that the wait will end up having
been well worth it. Thank you all for your
patience.
Make-up Day
Last month we needed to cancel school for
one day due to an unannounced power cut
that lasted the entire school day.
Cont...page 7
IST YEAR BOOK ADVERTISING
The work on our this year’s Year Book has al-
ready started !
If you would like to advertise your business or
your Company’s profile in IST’s 08—09 Year
Book, please contact Mr. Steve Moody
(steve_moody@istianjin.net) or Ms. Radha
Kulkarni (radha_kulkarni@istianjin.net) for more
details.
Full page
285mm width x 210 mm height with 3mm bleed
on each edge
Half page
143mm width x 210mm height with 3mm bleed
on each edge
The advert will need to be designed by your
company and submitted to Radha Kulkarni,
Publication Officer.
1 is accredited by:
Shuanggang, Jinan District
Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001
Fax: 86 22 28592007
Email: info@istianjin.net
www.istianjin.org
THIS WEEK IN BLAZE
Grade 5 Exhibition Update Student-Led conference Updates
Soccer Tournament Updates Year Book Advertising Chess Success
Diary Dates Green Tips Weekly Menu
GRADE 5 EXHIBITION UPDATE
Gurkriti Singh & Philip Johnston, Grade 5 Documentation Team
Greetings again. Here is our weekly article on the Grade Five Exhibition.
This week we have worked hard and have been using our time wisely. In the
Exhibition there are four phases based upon our four inquiry points. Our first
inquiry point is ‘Issues in today’s world’, our second inquiry point is
‘Individuals and groups who work to address these issues’, our third inquiry
point is ‘Actions people take to make a difference to the world”, and our last
one involves us taking action to make a difference.
We have different interest and inquiry groups so we can work together and
make this exhibition successful. The group members had to be interested in
the same topic. The research we have done on our first inquiry point will be
presented on Friday. We had to get together to discuss our product wheel and
make a decision about what we thought might be an effective format to
present our research. We have a variety of issues topics being presented on
Friday. These include malnutrition, immunization, sporting communities,
peace and conflict, landfill, coral reefs, poaching, habitat loss, disease,
global warming, and deforestation.
This week we also continued our journal writing and reflection using at least
4 of Debono’s thinking hats to help us. There are six hats in total. The white
hat stands for information, the red hat stands for feelings, the yellow hat
stands for positive points, the black hat stands for negative points, the green
hat stands for new ideas and the blue hat stands for the organization of
thinking. If our teachers are happy with our work, or want to make a
comment about what we wrote, they give you a comment at the back of your
journal where the journal entries are made. Our teachers call this a love
letter. It is not actually about love, but just to make it sound exciting and
funny that’s what they call it. It was an enjoyable and hard working
experience this week. Currently we are in the ‘Sorting Out’ and ‘Going Fur-
ther’ phases, getting ready to present our first inquiry point on our ‘big is-
sue’. This week we were also informed of who our mentor would be. A men-
tor is another teacher from IST (high school or primary) who is sort of like a
guidance person to assist us by being available to help us direct or organize
our thinking. We would like to thank all those teachers prepared to offer up
their valuable spare or preparation time in order to work with an exhibition
group.
That’s about it for this week. We look forward to writing to you all again
next week.
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF TIANJIN
Council of International Schools and
Western Association of Schools and
Colleges
International school of Tianjin newsletter FRIDAY, 6th March 2009

Areas of Interaction—AOI Festival

Nineteen students from IST joined six other schools at Tianjin Experimental High
school this past weekend to explore the theme of Sharing our Humanity. The other
schools involved were WAB, BISS, BCIS, Beijing 55, BWYA, and TEHS. The stu-
dents were divided into six different groups: Knowledge to Action, Village Life, Food
from around the World, Voice of the Festival, Lost Civilizations, and Stretch out
your Hands—Change the World. The following comments are from some of the
participating students.
Picture: A scene from Village Life.
Students created a shared abode out of cardboard.

Sye Lin: For me the AOI festival was a great chance to broaden my knowledge and plan action on the fight against
poverty. Do you know that the issue of poverty links to almost every millennium development goal? To help with poverty,
one action is to join wokai.org online!!
Robert: I think that the AOI festival could have been easier and more fun than it actually was if the length of the festi-
val was extended so that we might have had more time to find information and present in a more organized fashion. The
activity that I worked on was called Lost Civilizations. In our activity, we found a time capsule that had several
“artifacts,” and we had to find different reasons that their civilization failed and how they could have solved their prob-
lems.
Renaud: It was fun because we worked together and we made friends. In my group we did a website and learned about
poverty. It was a great two days.
Chaewon: It was a meaningful time for cooperating with other schools and learning about global issues. I mainly fo-
cused on “education for all.” We shared ideas of how to help developing countries obtain education for all. I learned there
are many different personal views about education.
YuLim: I was in the ‘Stretch your Hand’ group. It was wonderful and interesting because I gained a better understand-
ing of poverty. In addition, I improved my communication skills.
Gurmehar: The AOI festival was really fun and a great experience. I enjoyed meeting new people and making friends.
Ahyun: My group was “Food around the World.” In our group I meet lots of people who were in different schools. In addi-
tion, I learned how to make food while cooperating with other people.
HyeJin: This was the first time that I attended the AOI festival. I enjoyed it because we learned through play.
Emma: When I went to the AOI festival, what I enjoyed the most was communicating with people from other schools. I
also started thinking about poverty and what we could do to help, so I gained a better understanding about poverty.
Kathleen: The festival was really fun, we got to meet many interesting people and think about ways to help humanity.
Hyun Jung: The festival was a good opportunity for me to get to know others. I was reminded about some serious issues
of the world such as poverty and environmental pollution.
Yasuhiro: The festival was really fun because we worked together with students from other schools, and we made
friends. I would like to go to the festival again next year, if I have the chance. It was fun to create a website, and I am
thinking more about poverty issues.
Philip: The AOI festival was much better this year, because it was more formal and there were more activities. The physi-
cal reflection activities made the festival a lot more fun. We all gained a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time.

2
Weishan Road, Shuanggang Jinan District, Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001 Fax: 86 22 285920
Email: info@istianjion.net www.istianjin.org
International school of Tianjin newsletter FRIDAY, 6th March 2009

IST Successfully Defends TIS

Invitational Chess Tournament
Last Saturday, nine grade 3 and 5 students
competed in the annual TIS Invitational Chess
Tournament. An intensely competitive yet
friendly day was had by all students who each
played eight games of chess and enjoyed renew-
ing friendships made in previous tournaments
and making new friends. Aaron Eum, the reign-
ing champion from last year’s tournament was
particularly keen to do well as this was his last
official role as an IST student. With 2 rounds to
go, any one of the top eight players could poten-
tially win the tournament and the atmosphere
was electric. In the end it was Jung Bin Hong
from grade 3 who prevailed, winning 7 out of 8
games, who won the tournament after beating
Aaron in the final game to cement the win.
Ironically, the only game that Jung Bin lost was
an earlier game to Aaron who came second in
the tournament with 6 wins and 1 draw out of 8
games.
Congratulations go to both players for their out-
standing efforts on the chess board but also go
to all players who attended for their amazing
camaraderie and sportsmanship that they
demonstrated throughout the tournament.

Above - Jung Bin and Aaron in Final Match

Green and Healthy Eating Series !

Educate yourselves! Read current events regarding environ‐
mental news so you can stay up‐to‐date on the latest informa‐
tion. Check out this article, for example, about plastic pollution 
in the oceans: Our Oceans Are Turning Into Plastic...Are
We? 
 
Eat water rich foods, such as watermelon (92% water), to‐
mato (95% water), an egg (74% water).  

Above - Jung Bin Winner

3
Weishan Road, Shuanggang Jinan District, Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001 Fax: 86 22 285920
Email: info@istianjion.net www.istianjin.org
International school of Tianjin
Sports Brief
Scott Fitzgerald, Athletic Director
The Varsity and JV teams play this weekend with the
varsity boys traveling to Beijing to play at ISB and
WAB, while the JV boys and the girls play the WABJV
and ISBJV at IST.
The IST middle school basketball teams have started
practicing in a busy gym on Tuesday and Thursday
afternoons. IST will have 4 middle school basketball
teams- U13 boys, U13 girls, U14 boys, and U14 girls.
The MS basketball teams play their first games on
March 12 against TIS and have the season exchange
with the Beijing teams on March 14.
A special thanks to this season’s coaches- Ms. Zhao/Ms
Chu (U14 boys), Ms. Mu/Mr. Han (U14 girls), Mr.Armony
/Ian Armony (U13 boys), and Ms. Li/Ms.Li (U13 girls) as
we wish the MS basketball teams good luck for the sea-
son.
Go Blaze!!
Sports Dates
Sat, March 7: HS Soccer: WABJV @ ISTV girls, WABJV
@ ISTJV boys, ISBJV @ ISTJV boys, ISTV @ ISBV boys,
ISTV @ WABV boys.
Mon, March 9: HS Soccer: TIS @ IST girls, IST @ TIS
boys
Thurs, March 12: MS Basketball: IST vs. TIS
Sat, March 14: MS ISAC basketball exchanges: U13
boys @ IST, U13 girls @ TEDA, U14 boys @ DCB, U14
girls @ ISB
Mon, March 16: HS Soccer: ISTV @ REGO boys, REGO
@ IST girls
Thurs, March 19: MS Basketball: IST vs. TEDA
Fri, March 20: HS Soccer: IST @ HISB boys 6:00 p.m.
Sat, March 21: HS Soccer: ISTV @ DCB1 boys, ISTJV
@ DCB2 boys, ISTV @ DSP boys, IST @ DSP girls
Mon, March 23: HS Soccer: TIS @ IST Varsity boys,
4
newsletter FRIDAY, 6th March 2009
IST @ TIS girls, IST JV @ REGO boys
Wed, April 8: HS Soccer: TEDA @ IST JV boys
3:30 p.m.
Fri, April 10: HS Soccer: ISTV @ REGO girls,
REGO @ ISTV boys
Sat, April 11: HS Soccer: BISS @ IST JV Boys
Mon, April 13: HS Soccer: REGO @ IST JV boys
Sat, April 18: HS Soccer: ISAC HS Soccer
Tournaments: Div. 1 boys @ IST, Div. 1 & 2 girls
@ DCB, Div. 2 boys @ ISB, Div. 3 G @ TEDA, Div.
3 boys @ IAB
Thurs-Sun, April 23-26: ACAMIS Division 1
Soccer Tournament at NIS
Tournament Update—HS Soccer
Jae Ho Lee
Varsity Captain
Last week, the high school soccer season begun.
Many people signed up this year, and since we had
a game in the second week, we used it to figure
out who would play for Varsity and Junior Varsity
(JV) teams. The game was against Tianjin Interna-
tional School on Monday afternoon. TIS is one of
the toughest teams that we play against, but we
didn't feel any pressure towards the game. To test
our Varsity and JV teams' status, we played the
game separately - Varsity in the first half and JV in
the second half, with Varsity playing the first half to
a 1-0 lead.
The game was tough. Sung Lee from the Varsity
team scored one with a sharp sense after the
opponent goalie's mistake. Due to In Kwon's
mistake with handling, we gave a penalty kick to
the opponents, but Ki Tae made a fantastic save to
preserve our lead. After the half-break, the JV
players were on the field. However, even though
Woo Jin could have scored one, the JV team gave
them six goals in the second half. Final score: TIS
6, IST 1. The result was definitely not good but we
could see our potential and we think that we can do
a lot better for the rest of the season. We aim to be
the champions at ISAC and ACAMIS in April.
Weishan Road, Shuanggang Jinan District, Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001 Fax: 86 22 285920
Email: info@istianjion.net www.istianjin.org
International school of Tianjin newsletter FRIDAY, 6th March 2009

LIBRARY NEWS
This Week at the Library AND INFORMATION LITERACY CENTRE
by Beth Gourley, Librarian
Database News 
 
We are excited to announce‐‐A trial has begun for The Columbia Granger's 
World of Poetry at http://www.columbiagrangers.org  
 

It can be accessed by the following user name and password: ist / trial2009   
(Also listed on OPAC home page with other databases—trial at top.) 
 
The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry contains 250,000 poems in full text and 450,000 citations, 
numbers that will continually expand with each update. The poems in full text are the most widely‐read 
in the English language, as well as a number of other languages. In addition there are currently over 
12000 poems in French and nearly 9000  
poems in German. 
 
We have renewed our access to TeachingBooks.net.  Everyone can access TeachingBooks.net from 
school or home. 
** How to Access the International School of Tianjin License to TeachingBooks.net ** 
1) Go to: http://TeachingBooks.net/home 
2) Enter your email address (optional) 
3) Password: istianjin (one word, case‐insensitive) 
     (Posted also on OPAC home page) 
 
Elementary Highlights 
 
In the elementary sessions this week, we have been enjoying read alouds from our new books: 
    Why Epossumondas Has No Hair on His Tale, by Coleen Salley, is the tale of how Papapossum lost his 
fluffy powder‐white puff tail. The illustrations by Janet Stevens perfectly complement this whimsical 
creation story.  
    The Squiggle, by Carole Lexa Shaefer , shows us how a simple red ribbon can inspire our imagina‐
tions.  
    The Straight Line Wonder, by Mem Fox, is a modern fable about the power of individuality.  
 

Grade 3 and 4 students reviewed how to request a book through the online catalog and grade 5          
students practiced using www.easybib.com to create bibliography lists for their exhibition projects.  
 

Reminder to elementary students: If the library has lent you a library bag because you have left yours 
at home, please remember to bring it back. 
 
Secondary Highlights 
 
Grade 8 humanities/science students are exploring presentation techniques—enhancing PowerPoint 
or using other techniques. 
 

Grade 6 science students are investigating biomes using the research process—note taking, research, 
citations, and presentation. 

5
Weishan Road, Shuanggang Jinan District, Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001 Fax: 86 22 285920
Email: info@istianjion.net www.istianjin.org
International school of Tianjin newsletter FRIDAY, 6th March 2009

A Day in the Life of A Coordinator

Josianne Fitzgerald, PYP Coordinator

My daughter, who is in kindergarten, was waiting for me when I got home today.

“Where were you?” she asked. “I looked for you at recess. I looked for you at lunch. I didn’t see you. What do you do all day?”

Well, today was a typical day so this morning, I first had my weekly meeting with our elementary Mandarin Chinese teachers.
Today we started to plan a grade 4 unit on hobbies. The students will inquire into hobbies and particularly traditional Chinese
hobbies. They will be learning to talk about their hobbies and how to share them with others. The Chinese teachers and I got
quite excited thinking about all the ways in which we could turn this unit into a hands-on experience where students would be
excited about speaking in Chinese as they shared their hobbies and learned about each others’. We are particularly excited
about the possibilities the unit will give students to explore Chinese culture through traditional hobbies and games, and the
scope it gives for the different levels of proficiency.

After that meeting I spent some time in the library with grade 5 students who are embarked on their exhibition research. I
helped some students locate books through the library catalog and others find information on the internet. During fourth period
I taught 5M to use the online citation machine, www.easybib.com. Each fifth grader created a personal easybib.com account
where they will cite the sources they use for exhibition.

On my way from the grade 5 class, I stopped in the grade 4 classes. They are inquiring into the theme, ‘How we express our-
selves’. I was immediately struck by the focused energy in the grade 4 suite. Every child was hard at work on his or her artwork –
and what a range of art! Photography, oil painting, action art, cubism, watercolor, acrylics! I was particularly impressed by the
evidence of the process each student went through. It was obvious that each student had given a lot of thought to their piece
and that they were continuously reflecting on their art to improve it. We can all look forward to seeing their completed artwork
soon.

Throughout the day I answered emails and participated in email and face-to-face conversations regarding curriculum, teaching
schedules, and PYP training for teachers. I invited the Beijing PYP schools to visit our exhibition, which will be held in May, and
in the afternoon, I led a parent session for new parents on Student-Led Conferences, which are coming up soon.

This is a typical day in the life of a PYP coordinator. We are involved in the program as teachers, leaders, mentors, resources,
and models. It is a challenging and rewarding job, and the best part of it is that I get to work with the talented and committed
staff at IST.

And, even if my daughter didn’t see me today, I saw her as I went about the school, hard at work on her transportation systems
unit and happy as a lark in PE class.

PFO NEWS
The PFO Spring Fundraiser Dance will be held on Saturday, April 25th at the Hotel Nikko Tianjin. Our theme this
year is "The Roaring Twenties!" Parent volunteers are needed to make this a successful event. If you're talented at
decorating, shopping, music, or any aspect of party planning, we welcome your help. Please contact
Aideen Murphy if you are willing to lend a helping hand. Sign up sheets for various aspects of the ball are
in the parent lounge. In addition, if you know of a local business that would be willing to donate cou-
pons, merchandise, services, etc. to the silent auction please obtain a procurement form (we have copies
in English, Chinese, and Korean) from Frances Tschoepel or Susan Johnston. We are starting to com-
pile our music list for the night, so if you have a favorite song you would like to dance to at the ball,
please email us at IST_PFO@istianjin.net . There is also a song request sign-up sheet in the parent lounge. If
you need ideas for costumes, check out the following links that our Librarian/PFO Teacher Liaison Beth Gourley
discovered: Flappers, Fashion Of The 1920’s, Fashion of the Roaring 20’s, Aaron 1912, Costume Ideas

There are still IST pillow/blankets available for sale. Small pillows are 100 RMB and larger pillows cost 150 RMB. You can
purchase them at the end of the school day in the parent lounge. Please see Aideen Murphy if you are interested in buying
any. If you buy 2 pillows, you get a 20 RMB discount!

A vote was taken on whether the PFO will partly fund a visit from Storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald in February 2010. This
visit will greatly enhance your child's education, regardless of their age. Parents attending March 4th's PFO Parent Meeting voted
overwhelmingly to support this positive educational experience.

6
Weishan Road, Shuanggang Jinan District, Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001 Fax: 86 22 285920
Email: info@istianjion.net www.istianjin.org
International school of Tianjin newsletter FRIDAY, 6th March 2009

Cont...from page 1

The Board of Governors and PFO have approved a half day make-up day on Saturday 23 May to compensate for the lost
instructional time. We have decided to move the scheduled sports day from 30 April to the 23rd of May so that students
spend the make-up Saturday involved in non-academic sporting activities, thereby leaving the previously scheduled
sports day free for academics. Further details will follow in May.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Please note that there is one additional change to the calendar published last year. We have rescheduled the evening
elementary student-led parent-teacher conferences scheduled for 30 and 31 March to the evenings of April 8
and 9 so as to avoid conflicts of time for parents with both elementary and secondary children and also to provide a
little more time after the Spring Break for elementary students to prepare themselves for the conferences. I would also
like to remind parents that it is a school expectation that all parents attend conferences.

Warm Regards,

Steve Moody
Director

Diary Dates

Saturday 7 March Wed 1, Thurs 2, Fri 3 April

ISAC Invitational Swim Meet
Thu 12, Fri 13, Sat 14, Sun 15 March Spring Break
BeiMUN
Thu 12, Fri 13, Sat 14 March
ACAMIS High School Cult’l Convention
Fri 20, Sat 21, Sun 22 March
GIN Conference IS Bangkok
Wednesday 25 March
PFO Meeting
Thursday 26 March
Thursday Night Live
Friday 27 March
End of 3rd Quarter—40 Days
Mon 30, Tue 31 March
Secondary Student-led Conferences
Wed 8, Thurs 9 April
Elem Student-led Conferences

Refer the Sports Brief Section, pg 4, for

Sports Dates.

7
Weishan Road, Shuanggang Jinan District, Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001 Fax: 86 22 285920
Email: info@istianjion.net www.istianjin.org
 ●Protein ●Cooked Fruit or Vegetables
●Milk product(Calcium) ●Soup
●Starch

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

9/3/2009 10/3/2009 11/3/2009 12/3/2009 13/3/2009

Slice Salad mixed salad Fruit Salad Beans Salad Cucumber Salad
(Ham,Pepper,Onion) (lettuce,cucumber,tomato) (apple, pear, banana) (bean,carrot) (carrot,cucumber)

Minestrone Soup Tomato Soup Cream Corn Soup Pasta Soup Beef Soup

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Pizza Roasted Beef Sticks Spaghetti Bolognaise Beef Steak Chicken leg
(Salami,Cheese) (beef,pepper sauce) (Beef mince,tomato) (beef,gravy sauce) (Chicken,teriyaki sauce)

Chicken Stew Chicken Schnitzel Grilled Chicken Kim Bab Pork Stew
(chicken,carrot,pototo) (chicken,tartar sauce) (chicken, spain sauce) (Laver,rice,meat,vegetable) (pork,onion,green pepper,carrot)

Ratatouille Grilled Vegetable Baked Beans Korean Vegetable Mashed Carrot

Baked Potato French Fries Sauteed Potato Mashed Potato Fried Rice

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fruit Mousse Carrot Cake Ice Cream Banana Bread Cheese cake