CDS Phoenix Rising
Cheongna Dalton High School's Weekly Newsletter
February 2nd, 2020
From The Assistant Director
Dear CDS Community,
As you know, our return from lunar break was marked by news of the coronavirus, and it has been at the center of most conversations. The school administration is in communication with other international schools and continues to monitor the situation to ensure the safety and health of our community. Earlier this week, a letter was sent out to our community concerning the school’s approach.
We hope all members of our society take the necessary precautions. As immune strength is positively correlated with stress levels, we highly encourage students to use the time provided in school wisely in order to get enough sleep at night. This year the schedule was significantly altered in order to give students more time throughout the day for students to complete work (each student has up to 6 additional hours of structured study time each school week). I highly encourage students to take advantage of their labs, study halls and Phoenix Times wisely. We have also encouraged our teachers to provide time in class for major projects. We hope that parents encourage their students to take care of themselves and help them to work on their time management skills. Working together we can maintain student health while maximizing student achievement.
This week saw the basketball season come to an early and anticlimactic conclusion. Due to the coronavirus, the end-of-season tournaments for both boys’ and girls’ teams were canceled. As a result, Coaches Monette, Spangler, and Carley had a team dinner on Wednesday to celebrate two conference championships! The boys went undefeated, and the girls went 7-1, clear evidence of their discipline and growth throughout the season. I’m very proud of both teams and look forward to seeing them compete next season! This coming week, our third and final athletic season will begin with badminton and soccer tryouts.
On Wednesday, CDS was lucky enough to host a prestigious guest speaker. Voted Best Teacher at Korea University, Mrs. Leighanne Yuh’s resume extends to 15 pages! Her talk centered on the importance of studying history from multiple perspectives, as well as revealing how the past has greatly influenced the current Japanese-Korean relations. Teachers and students learned a great deal side-by-side in Dalton Hall. A huge thank you to Minju Kim (Class of 2020) and Ms. Joohyun Park for making this opportunity available for our student body.'
That is all for now! Have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to seeing you next week!
All the best,
Jason Musselman
Assistant High School Director
Dalton Rising Weekly Roundup
Graphic Organizers, Key to Deepen your Research
As part of developing graphic organizers, the World History II class had to research famous spies and propagandists of the 20th century. One of the students decided to do the Picture Frame project on Hanoi Hannah from the conflict in Vietnam (above). As seen in the picture, the student had to list several aspects of her life. Then, to take it to the next level, the student had to reflect on her actions and pose a question regarding further learning opportunities on the left side of the picture. By putting a face to information, it creates a type of connection and personalizes the subject.
The students were allowed to select their subjects from several different people and organizations. The objective was to look at propagandists and revolutionary groups from a historian point of view. They also were given the picture frame with certain guidelines as to what needed to be placed in the frame. The rest was their inquisitive nature taking over. I was really pleased with the efforts and end products the students made.
- Mr. Christopher Williams, World History II Teacher
Guest Speaker Lecture: Our Past Lives on In the Present
On Wednesday, 1/29 our school invited a special guest from Korea University, Mrs. Leighanne Yuh. At first, Mrs. Yuh visited one of our Korean History classes and met the seniors. She told the story about Modern History of Korea; The History of Resistance and Liberation. Students looked into the history of Korea by putting Korea inside various international relations and situations at that time.We spent over an hour approaching to the past with a new and objective perspective, viewing and analyzing it within an international context.
After that, we had an assembly during SOT where we invited the entire High School to Dalton hall. Mrs. Yuh introduced Korea's colonial history and war crimes during those days within a different perspective and provided insights to students as to how it connects to modern-day issues today. Students were able to gain a wider perspective on the modern-day relations between Korea, Japan and the neighboring countries. At the end of the lecture we had a Q&A session where Mrs. Yuh and our students could share each others' thoughts regarding the topic. Many of the students came up with questions while listening to her lecture and asked them in front of large audiences afterwards. This Q&A session lasted for over 30 minutes till the point where we had to cut it for the sake of time. There was an impression that the lecture we had was not just a one-way lecture, instead a rich forum of conversation that led Mrs. Yuh and our students interact lively.
I believe it was a meaningful experience for both our students and teachers. I hope there are more chances in the future where students can meet experts from various fields so that they can tell our students the passion and mission of their lives.
A special thank you to Mr. Jason Mussleman (Assistant High School Director) and Minju Kim (12) for helping to bring this opportunity to our school. Thank you!
-Ms.Park, Joohyun, Korean History Teacher
-Minju Kim (Class of 2020)
Progress In Biology
This week 9th grade Biology students learned how genes provide the instructions for making a protein via transcription and translation and how genes influence characteristics such as albinism and sickle cell anemia. Students used simple models to simulate the molecular processes of transcription and translation. Through this activity, students were able to construct an explanation for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out essential functions of life.
In AP Biology students think about how they developed from a single-celled zygote to an organism with trillions of cells. Students modeled the process of mitosis and reviewed chromosome duplication and movement. They examined mitosis occuring in onion root cells and asked questions and explored answers about the transmission of genetic information through mitosis. Students also formulated hypotheses about how chromosomes of cancer cells, such as HeLa cells, might appear in comparison to normal cells, and how these differences are related to the mitotic behavior of the cancer cells.
-Mr.Christopher Martin, Biology Teacher
Parents Impact Students In AP Literature
Lies, deceit, murder, and a wedding! In AP Lit we are continuing to read and discuss our text for the term, Hamlet. Students are reading the play aloud in class and watching pieces of the 1948, 1996, and 2009 movie versions. Students then compare and discuss the interpretations each director took, and if the differences changed their understanding of the plot or characters. This week students also received letters of advice from their parents after we read a scene where a parent imparts wisdom upon his son before a long trip. I want to say a quick thank you to the AP Lit parents who wrote a letter to their child, as it was a really special moment to have during class. There were many exclamations of appreciation, and even a few tears! Hopefully within the next few months, they will remember the advice you have given them as a lot of change is coming their way as June approaches rapidly! Thanks again!
-Mrs.Rebecca Laders, AP Literature and Composition Teacher
Inquiry through Investigation
In AP Chemistry, students were investigating the topic of oxidation-reduction reaction through a titration lab experiment. Prior to students conducting this lab, they had to first hand calculate the concentration of hydrogen peroxide that would typically come in a bottle purchased at a grocery store. Afterwards, students were to conduct the experiment by titrating the hydrogen peroxide with the known concentration of potassium permanganate which had a deep purple color. Only after analyzing their results, were students met with an unexpected surprise. This left them to wonder what may have caused the error? Did the high percent error occurred from their lab methods? Did they accidentally spill chemicals prior to the experiment or have added too much leading to the error? Through inquiry and questioning skills would the class realize that hydrogen peroxide decomposes over time and the longer it has been sitting on the shelf the less concentrated it would be leading to a high percent error in their calculation.
Through this investigation students were able to test their knowledge of redox reaction and help reinforce their understanding of this topic.
-Mr. Hyon Park, AP Chemistry Teacher
Updates & General Information
Introducing Behavior Flip
Starting Monday we will go live with BehaviorFlip. We call on all parents to get logged in and to understand its use. On January 17th, parents from the Middle and High Schools were invited to join us in the Small Theater to hear about the schools shift in how it deals with positive and negative behaviors. The presentation is included below.
Were you unable to attend the session?
Are you completely set up on Behavior Flip?
- If you can not locate the set up email that was sent again on Friday, please fill out this form and a new email will be sent.
KSO will be postponed due to Coronavirus
The Korean Science Olympiad Committee at Yongsan International School, has decided to postpone the competition that was supposed to be held on February 8th. The potential new dates of the competition include February 22nd and March 21st. Each school's KSO Student Leaders and Teachers will be surveyed in the coming weeks to determine the exact event date. Once the data has been collected, participants will be notified of the new event date.
The Goodwill Challenge! (Donate what you no longer use)
Hello! I’m Hannah Kwon from 12th grade. I am hosting the Goodwill Challenge for my Senior Project. I observed that CDS students and teachers have some items that they don’t use anymore and want to give it away. I thought that it would be meaningful for us if those items can be donated to the Goodwill Store. Goodwill Store provides jobs for North Korean defectors and disabled people to help them have a sustainable life in Korea. We can also save the environment by reusing the goods.
For the Goodwill Challenge, houses will compete with each other by the amount of donations (e.g., clothing, household supply, book, and stationery). House council members are asked to collect donations during the house every Monday and Tuesday. Each donation will be scored. The donation criteria is stated in the red Goodwill Challenge poster so please check it out. Donated items that do not match the criteria will be thrown away and won’t be counted, so students and teachers are asked to bring reusable and cleaned items. I would like to ask the CDS community to bring donations. Thank you so much for your attention to the Goodwill Challenge.
-Hanna Kwon (Class of 2020)
Upcoming High School Events
Cheongna Dalton School
Email: jmusselman@daltonschool.kr
Website: www.cdshighschool.kr
Location: Cheongna Dalton Foreign School, Gyeongseo-dong, Incheon
Phone: 82 32-563-0563
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheongnadaltonhighschool/