CDS Middle School
Weekly Newsletter
September 21st, 2018

From the Director
Dear Parents,
We've made it to Chuseok Break! I'm sure that students and teachers alike are looking forward to taking a long rest. We've had such an active school year so far.
This week students worked very hard sitting for MAP tests. It was clear that they were committed to doing their best work on these exams. We're proud of their perseverance and sincere desire to do well. Students who were not able to finish an exam this week will have the chance to do so once we're back from the holiday.
Coming up following the break, we can look forward to the CDS Book Fair, MS Book Week, Hispanic Culture Day, and We Run Cheongna. I'm happy to announce that our middle school will join FP and HS in supporting a charitable cause with our fun run this year.
You can find more details about all of these events within the Newsletter. You will also find many great learning moments captured this week by our wonderful teachers.
Have a safe, restful, and well deserved Chuseok break!
Best regards,
Benjamin Scoville
Director of Middle School
CDS MS Book Week Overview

Bryn Barnard Author Visit - After School Event for Students & Parents
Collaborative Writing & Illustration Activity
As part of this year's Middle School Book Week, we are excited to host Bryn Barnard, an author, illustrator, artist, and international school teacher.
On Monday, October 8, 2018 from 4:10-5:00 p.m., he will offer a special presentation for parents, students, and teachers in which he will lead participants through a collaborative writing and illustration activity. Participants will do a creativity exercise based on the image-making process of the artist Barron Storey. They will work in teams of two to draw a picture and write a story, which will be passed around to other teams who will add more elements to the original piece.
Participation in this event is limited due to space and availability of materials. Registration is first-come, first-served, and will be capped once the maximum number of participants has been reached. Thank you for your understanding, and if you are interested in this event, we hope you can join it!
-Ms. Choo




We Run Cheongna Fundraiser - Run for Literacy
Middle school students have voted to support Worldreader, a charity that promotes digital reading in developing countries. They will be collecting pledges (or donations) for their participation in We Run Cheongna. Individual students and the House with the most sponsors (or donors) will be recognized. We hope students will be motivated to run for health and a good cause!
-Ms. Choo


Other Upcoming Events


Canadian Open Math Competition 2018
- Date: November 9th, 2018
- Location: Math Training Center; At COEX Conference Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- Deadline: Registrations must be made before Fri. October 12th, 2018. First come first served.
- Fee: 50,000 won per student.
The contest lasts for 2 hours and 30 minutes, has 12 free response questions and does not feature calculus. The problem difficulty ranges from AMC level problems to even AMO level problems.
International Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention awards are available to students who do exceptionally well on the exam. However, there are many more awards given out and every student will receive a certificate of participation.
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact mathtrainingcenter@gmail.com or
call at 02-529-8808(Korean), 010-4369-1360(English).
<This week, Around CDS MS>
2018 Chinese Moon Festival
CDS has been celebrating the Moon Festival! One of the most important traditional festivals in Chinese culture, Moon Festival (aka Mid-autumn Festival) is celebrated on the 15th day of the eight month in the Chinese lunar calendar (Monday 24th September this year) during the full moon.
In our Chinese lessons this week, we have learned the traditions, stories, rhymes and songs related to the Moon Festival in our differentiated classes.
The delightful legend of Chang’e and Houyi captivated our young learners in the Beginner class. They designed the moon cake patterns on their own, and also created a fancy lap book of the Moon Festival.


The Intermediate class took centre stage with a wonderful presentations about Moon Festival in China & Chuseok in Korea.


The Advanced class has been captivated by beautiful Chinese songs of moon, and enjoyed making lanterns, paper cutting and other handcrafts.


Students have also had an exciting opportunity to taste the special food for the festival – moon cakes! We learned that the round shape of the moon cakes resembles the full moon and we really enjoyed their taste. Many of us are already looking forward to the next Moon Festival when we can taste them again!
-Ms. Gong

Cheongna Beauty Festival
-Mr. Scoville

5A Long House with Ms. Montelibano & Mr. Biarje
- Ms. Montelibano

6B Long House with Mrs. Hinds & Mr. Kim
The first lesson was about realizing that the changes are happening to all of them. Realizing something is happening is the first step in learning how to deal with issues. They discussed with each other the importance of the following topics: knowing how their brains are working and how to handle their thoughts and emotions, getting along with others, and solving problems that arise in their lives.
- Mrs. Hinds

7B Long House with Mr. Monette & Ms. Van Liew
This week, 7B had a team building activity, in which the students had to show communication and patience in order to be successful. They started with 2 people and 1 exercise ball and go up and down the basketball court and then added on an additional person each time. If they dropped any of their balls, then they must have restarted back at the beginning.
The students seemed to like it and Ms. Van Liew and I thought that it might be a good activity for some of the other houses to try with their kids as well.
- Mr. Monette
Student Council Bake Sale
-Sophia Seo
Student Council President


S.T.A.M.P

G6 Music Class

<This week, Co-Curriculars>
Chess Club


Coloring Club



Art & Culture Club









Upcoming Events
9/24 - 9/28 - Chuseok Break
10/6 - Badminton @CI
10/6 - Boys Soccer @ CI
10/8 - 10/12 - MS Book Week
10/8 - Author Visit (Bryn Barnard)
10/9 - 6B Music Traditional Korean Music Performances
10/10 - Hispanic Culture Day
10/12 - We Run Cheongna (½ Day)
10/17 - Term 1 Ends