"Serve the World in the Name of Our Lord!"
CSIS Newsletter
June 26th, 2023
Message from Pastor Lee
It seems like yesterday that the spring wind blew, but the midday sun has already become unbearably hot. This semester, elementary school students practiced "Holy" and "Healthy Language Use," while middle and high school students learned "Almighty Creator, Healing God." I hoped that the harsh words used by friends of the world, hurting others, undermining others, and devastating each other’s mind would gradually disappear from you, whom God called specially. It wasn't as successful as I expected, but thank you for being different from the children in the world. However, I ask you not to stay in the current state, but to continue to grow to a place where you can encourage the power of those who are expected God and use the language of establishment.
Also, I am proud of you who worked hard to get to know God who created all things and people in the universe despite the world's customs of choosing a path without God. I bless you to have the full knowledge of God, the Almighty Creator, to the place where you live with the power of his son and daughter. Taking the gospel of Jesus Christ, which gave us salvation, as yours, I bless you that you will fully heal the wounds you have received in the world and grow into healthy adolescents. Please use the long summer vacation as an opportunity to experience various lives.
School Announcement
Ruth EunJeong Ahn (Academic Dean & College Counselor) and Anna Kim
CSIS Elementary & Secondary Sports Day
On May 12, 2023, our school grounds were abuzz with energy as our young athletes showcased their skills, enthusiasm, and remarkable sportsmanship. The event kicked off early in the morning with a vibrant opening ceremony. Our students, filled with anticipation, gathered on the field, donning their colorful team uniforms. The sight of their beaming faces and eager expressions set the tone for the day ahead. Parents and teachers cheered them on, adding to the contagious excitement in the air. The track and field races were undoubtedly a highlight of the day. From sprinting to long-distance runs, our young athletes displayed exceptional speed, agility, and determination. The cheering from the sidelines was deafening as parents and fellow students encouraged every participant, providing a boost of motivation to give their all. The camaraderie among the students was heartwarming to witness, with high-fives, hugs, and words of encouragement exchanged freely.
Our team is so thankful for the support that we have gotten this year from parent volunteers who led the games, provided snacks, and supported our young athletes!
Bazaar 2023: Beyond the Border
The Bazaar was one of the most awaited school events of the year ever since COVID social distancing restrictions were lifted!
This year, we recruited students from the secondary department to host the event with teachers. After weeks of discussion and research, we came up with the theme “Beyond the Border” with the hope that we could start go out of the school boundary to help our neighbors in need around us and in the other part of the world.
Students from prep school all the way to seniors, teachers and parents have prepared amazing foods, fun games and second-hand items to raise the funds and to enjoy the time together as well.
With the funds raised, we will be supporting the Angel House, a facility for the disabled in a city of Goyang, in addition to the Mission Trip to Cambodia taking place on June 25th. Let us continue to light up the world with all the things God has given us together!
2023 Elementary Spring Concert: Matchless Joy & Love
Festival Week is here, and a festival wouldn't be the same without music!
Throughout this semester, our elementary students have learned about what it means to live a life of holiness as the people of God who is perfect, MATCHLESS! They shared their thoughts and hopes through a variety of musical and dance performances! Not only did the beautiful performance by the parent-teacher ensemble surprise our ears, but also the heartfelt video messages from our teachers made us shed tears of joy and gratitude. If you missed watching the live concert, go to PACXPAT YouTube channel to enjoy the show!
Secondary Spring Concert 2023: The Story of the Unforgotten
PACXPAT that has been trying to provide a venue for students to show off their talents onstage has come back with a new challenge on June 21st! After the dance and band performances at the Christmas Concert last December, a lot of music students expressed desires for theatrical performances. Upon their request,
PACXPAT decided to create a special show with orchestra, puppetry, original songs written by senior music students, and band performance under the title, The Story of the Unforgotten.
The choir students who created puppets and backgrounds for the puppet show as their music project tried to tell the story of the broken, forgotten in the world through a villain medley, and PACXPAT crew created an animation and puppet stage to add more liveliness to the show. The seniors composed and presented their own songs based on their own experiences. This is how we tell different stories that have to be heard and unforgotten. What’s your story to be told?
New CSIS Website Launched
A new website for CSIS has been opened. For the convenience of more users, IT Director John Kim and many other teachers have worked hard to create such a wonderful website. They are planning to update more information during the summer vacation. If you have any good ideas for the website, please feel free to forward them to the school Inquiry Form!
Secondary Programs with Handong University
In the summer of 2023, CSIS conducts programs provided by Handong University:
1. Handong University Creative Coding Camp
From July 3rd to 7th, a coding camp will be held every day from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., led by students majoring in computer science at Handong University. It is a time to have a worship full of passion before the program begins every day, and learn computer basics, coding basics, block coding games, robot operation coding and coding projects. We hope that our students will have a good time through the connection with Christian college student- teachers.
2. Handong University Creative Convergence Project for High School Students
Handong University's VIC elementary and secondary education support conducts "Teenagers Changing the World Projects" to foster the Christian students who lead the era by enhancing students' problem-solving skills and creative convergence skills. Three teams of high school students from our school will be selected for this project and conduct research on the topics they have decided on for a semester, and write papers under the guidance of students and professors at Handong University. Excellent papers will be awarded by the President of Handong University and will be included in Handong University thesis book. Let's support our students' research.
Summer Camps & Programs
There are 3 camps provided for students during the summer of 2023 in CSIS. This includes English Book reading program, Middle School Reading Camp, Summer Math Class to improve student’s math skills, and High School Literary Lab Camp to improve high school reading and writing skills.
1. CSIS Middle School Summer Reading Camp
CSIS provides English Reading Camp for students from 4th grade to 7th grade to experience fun English book reading and improving English skills. From a collection of different difficulties of books, students get to choose which book to read and choose how much they want to read. With their chosen books, they will be doing various reading activities and writings for 14 days from July 20th to August 11th. During the afternoon students will use IXL to learn grammars and Reflection writing.
2. CSIS Middle School Self-directed Math Program
CSIS Middle School Self-directed Math Program is a class to help students from 5th grade to 7th grade review and preview middle school math for the new semester, from July 10th July 19th. Based on IXL individual diagnosis, students will get to check which topics to review over, and when the review is finished, they will be previewing for the next year’s curriculum. With the help from Mr. Nick (CSIS math Teacher), CSIS Alumni teacher Hyeongseok Kim (Currently attending Virginia Tech), and Highschool teacher Assistants, this will be a time where our students will improve their math skills.
3. CSIS High School Literary Lab
This program contains skills such as grammar, writing skills, literature analysis and reading. This intensive class is designed for CSIS 8th and 9th graders for high-level writing and reading skills. We hope that the students’ writing and reading skills will be improved by our two CSIS English and Literature teachers.
Elementary Announcement
Ms Jisoo Kim & Ms Joanna Glenn (Elementary Head Teachers)
Testimony from a senior Andy Yang (12th grade) - April 17, 2023
As Andy Yang’s PBL project for CB, Andy shared his faith in front of our lovely 3rd graders. He shared what he was like to meet God personally as an elementary school student at CSIS and how that has changed his life as a Christian. We all learned that it important for children to hear about God's love and the significance of having faith, especially at a young age. And hearing about this from a fellow CSIS sunbae (‘선배') was a great opportunity! To God be the glory! Thank you for bravely proclaiming your faith and testimony to us, Andy.
4th Grade Creation Enjoyer’s Garden
4th grade was involved in the whole process of gardening this semester, including clearing the garden bed, testing the soil, mixing the soil, planting, growing, and collecting some vegetables. 4th grade did this project as their Science PBL, and the driving question was ‘How can we, as Creation Enjoyers, value the wonders of nature?’ Science was one of the students' favorite lessons because they could experience what they learned in class. Some of the chapters they learned in Science are about God’s creation and soil.
Living Wax Museum
On June 5th, our school was filled with many interesting people with stories to tell of their achievements! It was wonderful to see all the hard work that the elementary students put in to creating a poster, writing a speech in English and Korean, dressing up and then presenting their character!
It was very difficult to choose winners because they all did such an excellent job! However, the following students were awarded for their efforts.
Most Creative Costume: Ethan Song (1 Joy), Jun Beom Kim (2 Love), Vine Kim (3 Joy), Grace Kim (4 Love), Jace Jung (5 Joy)
Best Presentation: Dylan Park (1 Love), David Choo (2 Love), Yena Lee (3 Love), Ain Jeong (4 Love), Rebekah Lee (5 Love)
Best Poster Board: Teo Cho (1 Joy), Hoony Ki (2 Joy), Owen Ma (3 Joy), Minje Kim (4 Joy), Chloe Kim (5 Love)
Secondary Announcement
Mr John Kim (Middle School Head Teacher) & Mr Greg Kim (High School Head Teacher)
Congratulations, Class of 2023!
Congratulations to the 12 students graduating from CSIS in 2023! Now is the time for them to move towards their choice more wonderfully and vigorously as children of God. Like all our seniors, we look forward to seeing you come to CSIS again next year to tell us good news in a bright and wonderful way!
Academic Award Achievement
We send strong encouragement and congratulations to the middle and high school students who did their best in all subjects with sincerity and passion in the second semester of the 2022-23 school year. We know that students' hidden efforts and hard work, numerous conflicts and concerns, and attempts to solve problems through various new methods, which school grades cannot tell, will be rewarded with amazing fruits in students' lives. We want our students to be highly recognized and encouraged at home for all their hidden efforts and achievements.
Students who achieve a GPA of 8.5 or higher by summing up the grades for one semester are awarded the Honor Roll Academic Excellence Award, and the student who achieves a GPA of 4.0 is awarded the Principal Award for Outstanding Performance. We look forward to our students who will grow and achieve more in the future. You worked hard for one semester, awesome work!
Pathways with AP Curriculum and Dual Enrollment for SY 2023-24
We are excited to announce an important enhancement to our high school curriculum at CSIS: Pathways, a new initiative designed to provide students with a focused and personalized educational experience that prepares them for their future endeavors.
Pathways are specialized programs that enable students to concentrate on subjects and fields aligned with their interests and goals. By following a Pathway, students gain a clear roadmap that guides their learning journey, helping them develop the skills and knowledge necessary for success in their chosen paths, whether it be higher education or entering the workforce directly after high school.
We are excited to offer four distinct Pathways at CSIS: Arts & Humanities, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), Social Science & Education, and Business & Communications. Each Pathway provides unique opportunities for students to delve deeper into their areas of interest and gain practical skills that will benefit them in their future careers.
We will also be offering 11 AP® courses next year, adding AP® English Language and Composition and AP® Micro and Macroeconomics to our course offerings.
We are also delighted to offer CSIS high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to participate in our Online Dual Enrollment Program beginning next school year. Through this program, students can apply and enroll in two respected Christian higher education institutions, Dordt University and Liberty University, for dual enrollment. By taking college courses online while still in high school, students can earn college credits, gain a head start on their college education, experience the academic rigor of university-level coursework, and explore a range of subjects. It's an incredible opportunity for students to challenge themselves academically, enhance their college applications, and prepare for their future education and career paths.
Walking Camp
On May 16-19, our grades 6-7 and 9-12 students embarked on an unforgettable adventure at Walking Camp in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. The purpose of this camp was to provide our students with an opportunity to face challenges, develop resilience, and learn the importance of teamwork. The camp kicked off with an exhilarating climb up Bongwol Mountain, where students pushed themselves to conquer new heights and build their physical and mental strength. The following day, we embarked on an exciting rafting expedition, navigating through the refreshing waters of Dong-gang and creating memories that will last a lifetime. One of the highlights of the camp was the chance for students to mingle with peers from different grades, fostering new friendships and promoting a sense of unity within our school community. This Walking Camp was not just a fun-filled adventure, but a valuable learning experience. We thank all parents who supported us through prayer and lovely snacks.
[CSIS Activities] Fencing Competition
Congratulations to the CSIS Fencing Team for their excellent results by participating in the 41st Seoul Mayor Fencing Championships held at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium from June 9th to 11th, 2023.
CSIS Alumni News
Plumbing Engineer at ARUP
Hello, my name is Richard Jeong (Jun Bong Jeong) from class of 2016. I’m currently in my last semester in pursuing bachelor’s degree on Environmental Health and Safety Engineering. I’ve accepted a job offer from Arup, a construction consulting company, and I will be working as a plumbing engineer this coming August.
I’m attending Penn State University. Though the current ranking of the school is low, it used to be ranked as the 47th. The school is great for those who is reluctant to stay at one place for a long time because you will have a variety of experiences each day. To be frank, living in South Korea is certainly better than in Pennsylvania, but it became a lot doable as I began to adapt to the environment here and find happiness from within. University life was quite tough in the beginning but now that I’m in my last semester, I think I’m going to miss it a lot.
Choosing a university based on its ranking is common. I also did that. However, I wouldn’t let myself do the same thing if I could go back to the past because I came to realize that the ranking is not what matters. I missed out on so many things when I got to university because I was prideful, when in reality, university isn’t what’s essential in life. Studying hard to go to a good university shouldn’t become your major goal in life. Instead, you should consider whatyou would like to do within university and what you would like to do once you graduate. Also keep in mind that your health comes first and taking a break is also a process of learning. Guys, I can assume how hard it must be for you all at the moment because I walked a similar path. Keep up the good work! You guys can do it!
School Newsletter Editorial Team 뉴스레터편집팀
Supervised by: Mrs Ruth Eunjeong Ahn and Ms Anna Kim
Written by: Principal Lee, Mrs Ruth Eunjeong Ahn, Ms Amy Lee, Ms Calie-Jo A’Bear, Mrs Jisoo Kim, Ms Joanna Glenn, Mr Greg Kim
Reviewed by: Mrs Ruth Eunjeong Ahn and Ms Anna Kim
Translated by: Danny Seung Hyun Seo (11), Rachel Sooyeon Lee (11), Sally Sooah Na (11), and Eric Joonyoung Ahn (11).
Designed by: Ms Anna Kim
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