Ris newsletter september 2013

2-32, Yangjae 1-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea 137-886 Phone: + 82-2-571-2917 Email: [email protected]

09/18/2013Volume 1, I s sue 1

Introduct ion

Rainbow International School Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On behalf of entire staff of Rainbow International School I would like to welcome you for the new school year with great expectations and resolutions geared toward continued success for all of the students and staff at RIS. I hope everyone had a restful, relaxing summer vacation. I know that all of us are looking forward to a successful and productive school year. We have set high expectations for ourselves and our students this year hoping to achieve a great success. Rainbow International School provides a safe learning environment to gain the knowledge and skills for a successful future.

We have exceptional students, parents, staff, and community members working together to provide meaningful educational opportunities. Rainbow International School has a strong tradition of supportive, hard-working parents. Throughout the year parents have the opportunity to develop that partnership in a wide variety of ways. Parents join the PTA, volunteer in the classroom and library, help at the field trips and family sports day, read and help in many other ways.

In this newsletter, you will find the introduction of RIS`s dedicated teachers.

I hope this year is peaceful and prosperous for you and your family. We appreciate all that you do to help us achieve our goals.

Emin Huseynov Principal

Principal’s Message

Ms. Amanda Allen is from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Consecutively, she completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Language Literatures at the University of Windsor and a Bachelor of Education at Nipissing University. After completing her teaching degree, she became a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. While living in Korea, she has completed Additional Qualifications courses in Special Education and Librarianship. Currently, she is working on her Master of Education Degree in Special Education. In regards to her classroom experiences, she has been teaching for five years in both Canada and Korea. She is very excited to begin a new year at R.I.S. as the Curriculum Coordinator and Librarian. Her philosophy about education is that anyone is able to achieve greatness as long as he or she has an open mind.

Curriculum Coordinator

E!"#$%& I'()*+,(& C-+,./,(& D,0)+/,(&

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. - John Dewey


My name is Ms. Hanson and I went to school at Keene State College in New Hampshire, where I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and Sociology.After graduating college I worked in Boston for a year, then moved to Thailand to work as a teacher in a public middle school. I returned to Boston for the summer of 2012 where I worked as a children’s ESL teacher at Boston School of Modern Languages. I moved to Korea in September 2012 to continue my passion of teaching abroad.

First Grade Homeroom TeacherEC Coordinator

Second Grade Homeroom Teacher

Motivation gets you moving.Determination keeps you going.

Page 2 Newsletter September 2013

I am excited to begin a new school year at Rainbow International School teaching Grade 1.

My name is Grace Myers, and I am delighted to be your child’s teacher this year. A bit about me: I am from Ontario, Canada where I studied Second Language Teaching and am certified in Primary Education. I have been teaching at RIS (both the kindergarten and elementary school) for 2 years. I look forward to getting to know you and your family!

Bokhwa Lee was born in Ansan, a small city in Korea. After high school, she went to Turkey for University degree and she graduated from Political Sciences and International relations at Bogazici University (Bosphorus University). Also, she received her TESOL certificate from Hankuk University of Foregin Studies in Seoul. She has been teaching ESL since 2009. She is pleased to be at Rainbow International School where different cultures in the world can coexist.

Second Grade ESL Teacher

`Education is different from teaching. Most people can teach, but only a very few can educate.`



Greetings! My name is Julia Lee and I am enjoying my third year teaching Grade 3 at RIS. I come from a small suburban town in New Jersey, United States. I received my undergraduate degree in English Literature from Rutgers University, and then went on to complete my Masters of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education at The College of New Jersey. Since graduating in 2008, I have taught in second and third grade classrooms in NJ and grades 3-6 ESL at a public school in Seoul. I love animals, traveling, experiencing new cultures, and of course, teaching! Teaching is my passion and I consider it a great privilege to be your child’s teacher this year.

Third Grade Homeroom TeacherIPC Coordinator

Hello, I’m Mrs. Ahn and I’m so excited to be teaching at Rainbow International School this year. I am from a small town in the state of Minnesota which is the upper Midwest in the United States. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary education from Concordia College and a minor in English literature. I taught in Minnesota for 3 years before moving to Seoul. I have been living and teaching in Seoul for 4 years and I absolutely love it here. When I’m not teaching, I love spending time with my family and friends, reading, and making different craft projects. I look forward to getting to know your child and you throughout the school year.

Third Grade ESL TeacherPTA Secretary

My name is Ms. Ross and I was born in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada. I graduated from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, major in English. I am currently attending the College of New Jersey completing my Education and Master’s Degrees.I have been teaching in South Korea for six and a half years. I became a proud member of the RIS family approximately 3 years ago. I have always had a passion for teaching. My style is energetic, creative and hands-on. At the end of the day, I want my students to take home more than just “homework.” I want to inspire them to fulfill their dreams and have the confidence to reach for the stars!

Fourth Grade Homeroom Teacher

“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

We celebrate and share our diversity everyday!


“Read. Read. Read. Just don't read one type of book. Read different books by various authors so that you develop different style.” - R. L. Stine


Hello, I am Ms Nuri. I was born in Seoul, Korea and went to Seoul International School then spent my university years in Auckland, New Zealand. I graduated in 2009 from The University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in media studies and Chinese. I received TESOL and Trinity for non-native English speakers certificate after graduating university. Currently I am attending Yonsei Education Graduate School. I am majoring in Early English Education. I am now enjoying my third year teaching the ESL classes at Rainbow International School. This year I will be teaching grade four and five ESL! I am very excited about the work we will be doing.

Fourth-Fifth Grades ESL Teacher

My name is Wendy Wester, and I am from Iowa in the United States. I studied English as a Second Language Education at Northwestern College in Minnesota where I received my license in teaching along with a minor in Spanish. After graduating, I taught ESL at a Somali International Elementary School. It is my privilege to be able to teach Grade 5 at R.I.S. for this year.

Fifth Grade Homeroom TeacherAssessment Coordinator

Hello! My name is Karen (Soyoung) Park and I was born in Daegu, Korea.I went to New Zealand when I was a high school student with my family. I graduated from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.I completed my undergraduate degree with double majors in Mathematics and Statistics. This is my second year of teaching Math at RIS and I am so excited to start new year :)

Elementary & Middle School Math Teacher

Self Confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.



Hello! My name is Ms. Walters and I am the Middle Social Studies teacher and assistant Librarian for Grade 1-5 during this academic year. I graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Secondary Social Studies Teaching. I love stories and books, and feel that history is one giant tale waiting to be told. Geography can help explain how the environment affects people and why a group may act as they do. Both history and geography are a lot of fun and interesting, especially when able to recognize how it can still impact us today!

Middle School Social Studies Teacher

Adem Naimoglu was born in Gaziantep, a big city in Turkey. He graduated from Faculty of Education at Cukurova University. He is pleased to be at Rainbow International School where he will be teaching Science to Grades 5- 8. He enjoys environments where different cultures in the world can coexist. To be able to experience this, in his spare time he loves to travel.

Middle School Science Teacher

Ms. Alison Veneziano is from Pennsylvania in the U.S. There, she attended the Pennsylvania State University, studying and teaching English in Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. She graduated as Student Marshal with her Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Spanish.This will be her fifth year teaching full-time, and her first year teaching at Rainbow International School. She has been teaching in Seoul since 2012 and is really excited to now be a part of the RIS family. She looks forward to helping students learn and grow as they share and make inquiries about each other’s backgrounds and cultures, too.In her free time, she enjoys traveling, nature, music, the arts, and cooking.

Middle School Language Arts TeacherIMYC Coordinator

My name is Ami Kim. I will be teaching ESL students from grade 1 to 5 in intensive English class for about a month. After a month, I will be teaching and supporting ESL students from grade 6 to 8 and instructing and helping students with special needs. I was born in Kingston, Canada and spent my early childhood in Boston, USA. Then I came to Korea with my family and went back to the United States for attending high school. After high school, I majored in Psychology and minored in Educational Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I have my master degree in Education and my teaching certificate to teach students at international schools. Before coming to teach at Rainbow International School, I’ve taught at various international schools in Korea. I am pleased to work at Rainbow International School where excellent teachers, staffs and supportive parents work hard together to meet the needs of our amazing students at Rainbow International School.

Middle School ESL Teacher



Hello R.I.S. students and parents, my name is Bahattin Kuuck, but you can call me “Mr. Kucuk”. I was born and raised in Turkey. After my undergraduate work, I completed a degree from the Mathematics Teaching Department. I have been working as a mathematics teacher since 2009, first teaching two years in Turkey and then two years in Hong Kong.This year I am enjoying my position of teaching math to Grades Five, Six, Seven, and Eight. It is a pleasure to be the homeroom teacher of Grade Eight at Rainbow International School.

Middle School Math Teacher

Korean Teacher for Natives Korean Teacher for Non-Natives

안 녕 하 세 요 !(Anyonghasaeyo)! My name is So Young Kim and I am the Korean t eacher f or Native Korean s tudent s . My hometown is An-dong which is located on the Southeast side of Korea. If you want to experience the flavor of traditional Korea, make sure to go for a visit. In my spare time, I like to read detective stories and walk around Nam San. I also really enjoy to taste diverse foods from other countries.My major was in Korean language and literature, and I received a master’s degree in Korean education. Before I came to RIS, I taught Korean in a public high school for four years. After that wonderful experience, I moved to Sung Shin Women’s University because I had always been interested in teaching Korean to foreigner for years. I had a great time with my students while teaching there for two and a half years. This is my second year in RIS and I’m very happy to be working here. It’s such a great privilege and joy to be able to work with such bright students. I hope to help my students enjoy studying Korean and achieve their full potential.

Hi everyone! My name is Sohee Lee. I am currently the Korean teacher a t RIS . I doub l e majored in Educat i on and Korean at Konkuk University, and I finished my Master’s degree focusing on Korean Language and Literature at Yonsei University. This degree is about teaching Korean language for “Foreigners”, not native Koreans. It will help students who have difficulty in Korean language from coming back to Korea after spending a long period of time abroad I was born in Daejeon, Korea and grew up in Seoul. My father and Grandfather are teachers. This motivated me to be a teacher when I was young. I’m so happy to have achieved my dream. I am very excited about working with the faculty members and the students at Rainbow International School. I hope that all the students will make happy memories at RIS with their friends and especially in the classroom.안녕하세요 ^^ 한국어 교사 이소희입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다. 저는 RIS에서 외국인 학생들에게 한국어를 가르치고 있습니다. 저는 대학에서 국어 교육과 교육학을 전공했습니다. 대학원에서는 외국어로서 한국어 교육을 전공했습니다. 저는 대전에서 태어났습니다. 저희 아버지와 할아버지께서는 선생님이십니다. 저도 어렸을 때부터 선생님이 되는 것이 꿈이었습니다. 저는 지금 꿈을 이루게 되어서 매우 행복합니다! 이곳 RIS에서 함께 일하게 되어서 매우 기쁩니다.

Rainbow International School enables students to use and enjoy their learning experiences



My name i s Tugba Yilmaz. I am f rom Izmir , one of the largest cities in Turkey. I will be teaching Turkish this year and am very glad

to meet you and your lovely children. A joyful and efficient school year is awaiting us. During this year it would be wonderful to see you with your children while participating in activities and during our Turkish classes. A famous Turkish proverb states: “The person, who speaks one language, is worth one person. The person, who speaks two languages, is worth two people.”

Turkish Teacher for Natives

Hello! My name is Abdullah Söker. I am from the c i ty o f Hatay .I graduated f rom pr imary and h igh school in Hatay and completed my graduate

work from Ondokuz Mayıs University in Samsun. I participated in a seminar about Teaching Turkish to foreigners. Before coming to R.I.S., I worked for other international schools in Russia and Africa. I am very glad because this school is different than others. Shortly I am very excited to teach the Non Native students Turkish. This year that we are together, will be filled with many excellent opportunities, let’s teach and learn from each other.

Turkish Teacher for Non-Natives

Hello, this is Ms.Cho R.I.S.‘s Music teacher. I studied Music and Engl i sh educat ion in University and Early Childhood education in Graduate school for my Master ’s degree. I have teacher certificates for Music, English and as a Kindermusik

maestro educator . I have more than 10 years teaching experiences for students, ages 1 to adult. I love music and kids and love to see how music will influence the students in a positive way at our school. This is my first year of teaching at R.I.S. I can’t wait to meet your children and to have a special musical journey during this year. Please feel free to ask me, if you have any questions.

Music Teacher

I am Eun-sun Ji (Korean). I w i l l be t e a c h i ng Art for all grades this y ear . I

graduated from the University of Hong-Ik in Seoul Korea and I received a certificate of TESOL from the WTC College in Canada. I have five years of experience in teaching art at the Koreans school, and this will be my second year at RIS.

Art Teacher

Let me introduce myself. I am Muhammed Ali and I will be your child’s Physical Education and Health teacher for the 2013- 2014 school year. I am beginning my 4th year at Rainbow International School and I look forward to teaching your child.We have excellent facilities in our Health and Physical Education Department and my hope is that these facilities will meet the needs of each student. Our goal in the Health and Physical Education Department is to encourage each child to develop a positive attitude toward physical activity and a healthy lifestyle.

PE & Health Teacher

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Ris newsletter september 2013