Friday, 27 March 2009

Weishan Road,
Shuanggang, Jinan District
Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
Tel: 86 22 28592001
Fax: 86 22 28592007
Email: info@istianjin.net
www.istianjin.org

Dear Parents and Students, THIS WEEK IN BLAZE

Director’s Note.
Today marks the end of the third quarter and with it the scheduling of
Sec Parent—Teacher conferences
parent-teacher conferences. Secondary parents and students will meet
with teachers on Monday and Tuesday afternoons i.e. 30th and 31st Making the Most of the Student-
March and Elementary parents and students will meet on Wednesday and Led Conference
Thursday afternoons i.e. 8th and 9th April. Parent-Teacher conferences Chinese Songs Competition
are a wonderful opportunity to learn more about your child’s school ESD Green Tip
experience and learning and to celebrate their successes and set goals for Grade 5 Exhibition Updates
the remainder of the year. Your support of this important process is much
Art on the Go!
appreciated and we look forward to seeing you all at school next week.
Library—Panda voting results
Secondary students will have brought home their 3rd quarter report early Sports Brief
this week. Please be sure to spend some time with your child reflecting on PFO News.
his or her progress over the last quarter so that you come to parent- Thursday Night Live Pics.
teacher conferences next week informed and prepared with your own ob-
Dairy Dates.
servations and questions.
Weekly Menu.

(Continued on page 7)

Earth Hour! Last year 50 million people switched off their lights for one hour to make a
strong statement about our unity in the fight against global warming. This year the target is 1
billion people! Switch off your lights from 8:30pm-9:30pm this Saturday 28 March to vote for
earth. The results will be presented at the Global Warming conference in Copenhagen. Want
more information? Check out the Earth Hour website (http://www.earthhour.org)

Parents Please Join Us

IST Today Talks
Wednesday, April 8th
10:15 to 11:15 am
Location: To be determined.
Guiding Question
How can I help my child to be safe, legal, and responsible online?
In this session we will look at the actions we can take as parents to help our children understand the issues related to
technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Our first action will focus on joining Digi Parent, an online net-
work for parents who want to learn about today's social landscape, discover the pressing need for digital citizenship,
and act to become better digital citizens.
IST Today Talks is a discussion group for parents. We discuss issues that affect our school community.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF
1 TIANJIN is accredited by: Council of
International Schools and Western
Association of Schools and Colleges
International school of Tianjin newsletter FRIDAY, 27 March 2009

Dear Parents,
The Secondary School at the International School of Tianjin will hold its Parent-Teacher Conferences on Monday 30 March and
Tuesday 31 March. Parents can sign up for conferences on either session.
The format for the Secondary Parent-Teacher conferences is as follows:
Teachers have scheduled ten-minute (10) blocks to see individual student’s parents.
Parents can choose a two-hour time slot in which they would prefer to have their conference time (where possible, we will
try to place the interviews within the preferred time).
Students will bring the booking sheet back to school and take it to each of their subject teachers to book a time for a confer-
ence.
Secondary students are required to attend conferences.
You may wish to bring your translator, but there will be some secondary students available to help with the translation.
In some cases, the teachers will have to prioritize the parents they see. Likewise, parents may wish to prioritize the teachers
they want to meet.
The homeroom teachers have already spoken to students regarding their responsibility to ensure they schedule conferences with
teachers. Please check with your children each night to make sure they have scheduled the conferences you want.
For both conference days, hourly school bus transport to and from Ao Cheng will be available as follows:
From Ao Cheng To Ao Cheng
1500 1600
1600 1700
1700 1800
1800 1915
In addition to the above conference details, the schedules for student classes will be slightly different during that shortened week.
Monday, March 30 will be treated like a ‘Day 5’ (Friday) schedule, while Tuesday, March 31 will be treated like a ‘Day
10’ (Friday) schedule. There will not be after school activities on either of these days. When classes resume after the holiday,
April 6 will be treated as day 1 in our 10-day schedule rotation.
We look forward to seeing you all next week.
Yours sincerely,

Bill Elman, Secondary School Principal.

2008~2009 Chinese Song’s Singing Competition ­ KD ~ Grade 2 ­ April 13th~ 17th 
Rebecca Jiang, Eva Fu, Windy Wen
Dear Parents and Students,
The elementary Chinese teachers are pleased to announce our Fourth Chinese Language Competition! This school year
there will be a singing Chinese songs competition. The competition will be held for Grades K-2, with Grades 3-5 compet-
ing next year. Students in the beginner’s Chinese classes will not compete against students in the intermediate or advanced
Chinese classes, so all Grades K-2 students are strongly encouraged to participate in singing 2 songs, one that you choose
from the given list and the other song can be your favorite Chinese song, even it is not on the list. Or you may choose
both from the given list.
The competition week is April 13th to 17th. There will be one medal for 1st, two for 2nd and three for 3rd place winners
and participants will also receive a certificate. Some winning contestant will have a chance to perform their song at the
assembly on April 24, 2009. Names of winners will be announced during the assembly and also be published in the weekly
‘BLAZE’ newsletter. Please encourage your child to join in this wonderful opportunity!
Thank you for your continuous support of your child’s Chinese.
March 25th- April 10th, 2009 : All kindergarten- Grade2 students have about 3 weeks for preparation in their spare time.
April 14, 15, 16 2009 : Kindergarten competition in Chinese class (Place: Tang 1)
April 13, 14, 15 2009 : Grade1 competition in Chinese class (Place: Tang 2)
April 13, 14, 15, 16 2009 : Grade2 competition in Chinese class (Place: Tang 2)
April 24, 2009 : Chinese Competition Winners’ Announcement Assembly

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, 27 March 2009

Making the Most of the Student-Led Conference

by Josianne Fitzgerald, PYP coordinator

Student-Led Conferences for grades Nursery to 4 will be held on 8 and 9 April, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Our elementary principal,
Ms. Alba Carollo, posted an article in last week’s issue of Blaze that explains the Student-Led Conferences format. You can download
last week’s newsletter from our website, www.istianjin.org.

Today, I would like to give you three simple tips to make the most of the Student-Led Conference with your child.

Focus on your child. Your child has been preparing for this opportunity to show you his or her accomplishments at the Stu-
dent-Led Conference for quite a while now. Please turn off your cell phone, place your other children under supervision by
our TAs, and focus on your child. There will be time later for talking to the teacher. Most parents report that after the Stu-
dent-Led Conference they feel so comfortable about their child’s progress and they understand the classroom program so
well, they do not need a follow up meeting with the teacher. If you do need one, please schedule a different time on a differ-
ent day so you can stay focused on your child the day of the Student-Led Conference.

Connect, do not correct. Praise your child for the effort he or she has put into sharing her or his accomplishments. See the
positive sides to the things he or she does. They have all made great progress this year. If you do find something that you
would like to see an improvement in, coach it in a positive manner. Do not say, “This is such sloppy handwriting!” Instead
say, “I would like you to be more careful when you are writing.” Both of you will feel better after connecting, not correct-
ing.

Set specific goals. At the end of the conference, you will be setting goals with your child. Be prepared. Make the most of the
pre-conference materials you receive from your child’s teacher and have a general idea of what you would like your child
to focus on for the final months of the year. You can change those goals you have in mind from seeing the work your child
presents. Also, be specific. Do not let your child say, “Get better in English.” Instead guide him or her to say, “I will play
with English-speaking friends at recess every day and invite an English speaking friend over to play once a week.” Do not
say, “Be better at math.” Instead say, “Improve math facts recall by practicing the times tables of 6, 7, and 8 every day for
10 minutes until I can recall them all perfectly in less than 3 minutes.”

Keep these three tips in mind and you will be assured of a wonderful, invigorating Student-Led Conference with your child.
If you have any questions, please be sure to contact your child’s teacher, Ms. Carollo, or me. I can be found at the library and through
my email, josianne_fitzgerald@istianjin.net.

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 decorat-
ing, 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. We will soon need help with
framing some of the student work that will go up for silent auction. We are starting
to compile 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 .
The Teda Club (TGI Friday's building) has given us permission to practice the
Roaring Twenties parent performance dance in their dance room. Rehearsals
will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11:15 to 12:15. Parents are practicing
to perform a dance number called "Nowadays (Hot Honey Rag) from the movie
"Chicago." You can view the original performance from the movie at: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHiUwgdXIj8 . All parents are welcome to come join
in the fun every Tuesday or Friday morning!
(Continued on page 4)

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 newsletter FRIDAY, 27 March 2009

This Week at the Library

The first ever Panda Book Awards voting was carried out on Monday, 23 March 2009. See winners above.
The Panda Book Awards reading program aims to encourage international students in China to read quality books and to
promote cross-cultural ties. For a list of books see www.librarything.com/catalog/PandaAwards
Readers also participated through www.pandabooks.ning.com/ and readville.wikispaces.com/
Panda Book nominees and the winners are available for checkout at the IST library. Visit the IST library’s flickr page to
see photos from Monday’s voting. Click here for www.flickr.com/photos/istlibrary and look on the right for the Panda
Book Awards set.

Thanks to everyone for voting!

(Continued from page 3) - PFO NEWS

To make "The Roaring Twenties" a success, we need your help to procure donations for silent auction. Some items
that have sold well in previous years include gift baskets, wine, children's items, food items, gift certificates, electronic
equipment, artwork, jewelry and accessories, books, and tickets for entertainment events.

We also accept cash donations to help us cover the cost of the event. If you have a favorite business in mind that you
would like to approach to ask for donations, please see Frances Tschoepel or Susan Johnston or e-mail us at
IST_PFO@istianjin.net . We have procurement letters and donations forms that explain the silent auction to the busi-
nesses. We have English, Korean, and Chinese copies of this letter and form.

The next PFO Parent Meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. in the cafeteria on Wednesday, April 8th. Bus transporta-
tion will be provided from Ao Cheng at 8:00 a.m. to transfer parents to the school. In addition, a bus will leave the
school at approximately 10:30 a.m. to transport parents back to Ao Cheng. We hope to see you there!

4
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, 27 March 2009

Grade 5 Exhibition Update 6

Greetings, last week some groups went on field trips that would lead to good in-
formation being gathered for their presentations of inquiry point #2. On Tuesday
we did our second inquiry point presentations. In these presentations we had to
focus on the question which groups address our specific issue.

Many groups were rushed and in our debrief-

ing of our efforts the teachers emphasized that
we must learn from our mistakes. Every group
graded every other group’s performance in a
peer assessment, and commented on the good points and on areas we thought
improvements could be made. Our presentations were videoed and were used to
help us see our strengths and weaknesses in presenting. So we will be looking
over our work and be making changes so that at the end of the year the final
presentations of all our work will look good. We all wish to send out a big thank you
to all the mentors that have helped us with our presentations and planning for the
Exhibition.

We are now ready to begin inquiring into our third and fourth inquiry points about
the actions that groups and individuals take to address our various issues, and the ac-
tions that we ourselves can take to make a difference. The momentum is building for
our final weeks as we head toward the presentation of our Exhibition on May 5th to
May 8th.

Art on the Go! - and IST students

Dear Member of the IST community, below this is a web address that takes you to the Art on the Go! web
site. http://web.me.com/wernerhickey/Site_4/Art_on_the_Go%21.html - If you go there you will see work of all
ages from students belonging to ACAMIS schools. Please go to the site and make some comments on the work to
support the students represented there - they will be really pleased if you do.
The following students are on the site from IST

Young Jin IST Tianjin
Dong Bum IST Tianjin
William Humphreys IST Tianjin
Si Eun Song IST Tianjin
Amy Kang IST Tianjin
Seo Jung Kwak IST Tianjin
Junh Hyun IST Tianjin
Hye Yeon Roh IST Tianjin
Megan Hall IST Tianjin
Ho Jung Won IST Tianjin
Jeong Il IST Tianjin
Jon Hsieh IST Tianjin
Sin Ae Kang IST Tianjin
Jordon Moody IST Tianjin
Samantha Coates IST Tianjin
Tracy Zeng IST Tianjin
Samantha Coates IST Tianjin
Ji Yoon IST Tianjin
Hebe Cong IST Tianjin
Min Jin Kim IST Tianjin
Helen Hu IST Tianjin
Bernice Desesquelles IST Tianjin
Tracy Zeng IST Tianjin

If you want the PDF file for the book we made you can get that here:
http://web.me.com/wernerhickey/filechute/art%20on%20the%20go%201.2.zip

Steve Hickey

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
Sports Brief
Scott Fitzgerald, Athletic Director, IST
Notes from the Annual General Meetings (AGM) for
ISAC-Beijing/Tianjin and ACAMIS:
Last week the ACAMIS AGM (March 13/14) and ISAC
-Beijing/Tianjin AGM (March 18/19) were both held in
Beijing to set the divisions and dates for school year
2009-2010 and other business.
Please see the notes below regarding decisions impact-
ing the sports program for the students at IST:
ACAMIS Division I will remain unchanged with
the following teams participating: IST, NIS, SSIS,
YCIS-Puxi, AISHK, ISB
IST will travel to the following tournaments in
2009-2010: Volleyball at SSIS hosted by YCIS-
Puxi; Basketball at ISB; Soccer at AISHK
ISAC- Beijing/Tianjin high school divisions were
re-aligned to better suit the IST varsity and JV
teams. IST varsity girls and boys teams will play
against ISB Blue, WAB JV, DSP, DCB, TEDA,
and TIS. ISTJV girls and boys teams will play
against BSB, BCIS, CISB, IAB, and TISJV
ISAC-Beijing/Tianjin middle school teams will
now play in divisions for U14 play to allow for
manageable tournament sizes. IST U14 teams will
play against ISB, WAB, DCB, DSP, HISB, BSB,
TIS and TEDA for ISAC tournaments next year.
Elementary events were scheduled for cross-
country running, handball, soccer, badminton,
table tennis, and track & field
Listed below are the Mission and Purpose statements
for both ACAMIS and ISAC-Beijing/Tianjin.
It is a pleasure to work with the representatives from the
ACAMIS and ISAC-Beijing/Tianjin schools to provide
opportunities to the students of IST and all involved
schools.
ACAMIS Purpose: The ACAMIS Sports League is
designed to provide a forum for ACAMIS member
school athletic directors, coaches, and other interested
parties to better meet the aims and purposes of
ACAMIS in regard to sport education. The aims and
objectives of the ACAMIS Sports League shall be to:
• Give students the opportunity to experience new en-
deavors as scholar-athletes.
6
Weishan Road, Shuanggang Jinan District, Tianjin 300350 P.R.China
newsletter FRIDAY, 27 March 2009
• Allow students to participate in sports.
• Allow students a safe environment in which to experi-
ence winning and losing.
• Allow students to experience the thrill of being a part
of a team.
• Give students the opportunity to travel.
• Foster interaction with students from other schools,
and develop bonds of friendship.
ISAC-Beijing/Tianjin Mission:
The mission of the International Schools Athletic Con-
ference (ISAC) is to provide regular quality athletic com-
petition in a well-structured environment for the stu-
dents of the ISAC member schools in Beijing and Tian-
jin.
Go ACAMIS, GO ISAC-Beijing/Tianjin, GO IST!
————————————————————
The Varsity soccer team played two games this week.
Last Friday they had an away game in Beijing. We played
against DCB and the game was very competitive. From
start to finish. Although the match ended up as a draw
(1:1), there is no doubt that all the players tried their best.
Amazingly, one of our best defenders Seok Gyun scored
a fantastic goal. He was just like Torres in the Liverpool
team, if you know what I mean. Thanks to all the players
for trying so hard, and special thanks to Mr.McMulkin
and Li Jie for coaching us.
by Seok Gyun Choi
On Monday they played TIS and lost 2-0. The game was
very even until a couple of mistakes in the final 15 min-
utes gifted TIS their goals. The boys go to Beijing this
Friday in search of their first of the season, where they
will play Harrow International School.
Sports Dates
Wed. April 8 HS Soccer: TEDA @ IST JV boys 3:30 p.m.
Friday 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
Thur.- Sun. April 23-26 ACAMIS Division 1 Soccer:
Tournament at NIS
Go Blaze!!
Tel: 86 22 28592001 Fax: 86 22 285920
Email: info@istianjion.net www.istianjin.org
International school of Tianjin newsletter FRIDAY, 27 March 2009

(Continued from page 1) ESD Green Tips

As next week has only two school
days there will be no issue of Blaze.
I wish you all the very best for an
enjoyable and relaxing Spring
Break.
Warm regards
Interested in tree planting? Contact Teresa to join a planning group for tree planting on
Earth Day!
Healthy Eating Tip Avoid Sugary Drinks Just because a soda is sugar-free doesn’t make
it healthy. Recent studies have shown that the artificial sugar substitutes used in soft drinks
may interfere with your body's natural regulation system and result in your overindulging in
other sweet foods and beverages. Try water with a squeeze of lemon or water with a splash
of 100% fruit juice. - from Sye Lin Choi* *for works cited, please contact Teresa Tung
THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE—26 MARCH 2009
….the rehearsals and the show….

Steve Moody
Director.

Diary Dates
Friday 27—28 March
24 Hour Famine and Sleepover
Friday 27 March
End of 3rd Quarter—40 Days
Mon 30, Tue 31 March
Sec Student-led Conferences
1, 2, 3 April
Spring Break
Tues 7, April
Sec Progress Awards Assembly
Wed 8, April
PFO Parents Meeting
Wed 8, Thurs 9 April
Elem Student-led Conferences
Friday 17, April
Teens Act for AIDS Youth
23, 24, 25, 26 April
ACAMIS MID School Cult’l Conv’n
Tue 28, April
Sec Students Council Elections
Wed 29, April
PFO Committee Meeting
Thurs 30, April
Sports Day
Thursday Night Live

Refer the Sports Brief Section,

pg 6, 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

30/3/2009 31/3/2009 1/4/2009 2/4/2009 3/4/2009

Fruit Salad Garden Salad

(pineapple,apple,orange) (lettuce,tomato,cucumber,carrot)

French Onion Soup Cream Cauliflower Soup

* * * * * *
Fish Fillet Spaghetti
(cod,tartar sauce) (beef sauce,veg sauce)

Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break

Grilled Chicken Chicken Curry
(chicken,BBQ sauce) (chicken, curry sauce)

Mixed Veg Steamed Carrots&Broccoli

French Fries Baked Potato

* * * * * *
Fruit Jelly Ice Cream
 ●Protein ●Cooked Fruit or Vegetables
●Milk product(Calcium) ●Soup
●Starch

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

6/4/2009 7/4/2009 8/4/2009 9/4/2009 10/4/2009

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 Pork Sticks Chilli Macaroni Beef Steak Chicken leg
(Salami,Cheese) (pork,pepper sauce) (Beef mince,tomato) (beef,gravy sauce) (Chicken,teriyaki sauce)

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

Ratatouille Grilled Vegetable Baked Beans Korean Vegetable Carrot and Broccoli

Potato Sticks French Fries Sauteed Potato Mashed Potato Fried Rice

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fruit Mousse Carrot Cake Ice Cream Banana Bread Swiss Roll