2014-15 BIFS Annual Report

2014-2015 AT BIFS

A YEAR IN REVIEW

50 Gijang-daero, Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, 46081, Korea

Ph : +82 51 742 3332 Fax : +82 51 742 3375

E-mail : [email protected] Website : www.bifskorea.org

Busan InternatIonal ForeIgn schoolunited in our Diversity, thriving in our Individuality

2014-2015 AT BIFSA YEAR IN REVIEW

Busan International Foreign School

Guiding Statements

Vision

Our students will develop and pursuetheir passions, be successful and contributeto a positive global future.

Mission

We are a diverse, supportive and dynamicinternational school that inspires and challengesstudents to explore, discover and thrive in theglobal community to which we belong.

We Believe

• Students are to be at the center of all that we do.

• Education is the shared responsibility of our entire community.

• In being an independent non-denominational international family school.

• In being unified and respectful in our diversity.

• In providing the very best inquiry-based, relevant, and experiential education for each student.

• Students are to give back through community service.

table of contents

4 Letter from the Board Chair

5 Letter from the Head of School

6 BIFS History & Key Facts

8 Number of Students by Country and Grade Level

10 Standardized Test Results

12 Student Acceptances 2013-15

13 Financial Results 2014-15

14 Parent Teacher Association

16 Early Learning Center

19 Elementary School

22 Middle and High School

25 EAL

26 Learning Support

28 Library

30 Sports

32 Student Life

33 Overseas Trips

36 Community Service

38 2014-15 Highlights

40 The Graduating Class of 2015

5Busan International Foreign school2014-2015 AT BIFS a Year In reVIeW4

BIFs is a school committed to its mission and we are passionate about inspiring our students to

explore, discover, thrive and belong in our global context. the purpose of this annual report is

to capture and communicate all of the accomplishments and challenges of the past year at our

exceptional school. We are proud to gather into this single publication our results, stories and

statistics that are the outcomes of all the hard work and collaboration of our faculty, staff,

students and parents. at BIFs, educating each of our students is a community effort and we all

share in the celebration of each accomplishment.

an annual report can only begin to tell the story of the dynamic and exciting learning experiences

of our community. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire community for their

support and for making 2014-15, my first as head of school at BIFs, an incredible year in our

school’s rich 30 plus year history. We have much to be proud of and many more

accomplishments to achieve in the future!

It was a year of change and improvement :

• the school celebrated receiving its MYP final authorization. this accomplishment makes BIFs

an IB world school with the entire continuum of IB programs!

• We also celebrated successfully completing the re-accreditation process with both cIs and

Wasc accreditation agencies.

• We were excited to secure the operational contract for the school with the Busan Metropolitan

city for another five years.

• We planned the implementation of a new school structure, separating the Middle school and

high school programs to better meet the developmental needs of our students, and

successfully recruited experienced principals for these new roles.

• academically, it was exciting to see the successful launch of our robotics program, the creation

of BIFs art Week, and an innovative interdisciplinary film unit that resulted in the first annual

BIFs student short film gala!

It was a year of building community and planning for the future. We were very excited about

the successful launch of our new Pta program which led to record levels of parent involvement

in our school! the Pta supported efforts to foster community through the planning and hosting

of our Fall Family Festival and International Day events, both which were hugely successful as

our entire BIFs community came together to celebrate our unity and diversity. additionally, the

Pta sponsored an incredible teacher appreciation week at the end of the school year!

our community also came together for the important work of revising our guiding statements. the

outcome of revised mission, vision and tag line statements reflected the voices of our entire

community and provides us an exciting vision for our future as a school. Finally, the entire

community participated in school wide data gathering to provide us input to guide the development

of our school improvement teams for future years.

last year was not without its challenges. the shifting tide of the global economy led to declining

enrollment in the second half of the year and a slight income shortfall against our budget

projections.

all of our improvement initiatives flow from our guiding statements. these statements serve as our

compass as we chart our course for the future. We rely on strategic input from all of our

stakeholders so future plans for all of our students represent the voice of our entire community. as

I said when I first arrived, “the future is bright at BIFs! go Bears!”

Kevin Bakerhead of school

[email protected]

Jim Korenkiewiczchairman, BIFs Board of governors, 2014-2015

It’s a distinct privilege to once again write to you

and report on the state of the school. BIFs has

completed our first 5-year contract with the city

of Busan and we are pleased to have been

awarded yet another 5-year contract by the city.

We are excited at this new opportunity and

believe that the coming years will be the best for

the BIFs community.

the past school year has been challenging from

a financial perspective. Falling oil prices and ever-

changing exchange rates made budget

management very difficult. however, I am happy

to report that Mr. Baker and his administrative

team have been successful in navigating through some pretty difficult financial times and we

will once again complete the fiscal year in very good shape. the Board greatly appreciates the

work done by Mr. Baker and the ability of his financial team to respond to ever changing markets.

they have always had the financial welfare of the parents and the school as their highest priority

and once again did a splendid job.

Mr. Kevin Baker joined the BIFs community as its first ever head of school. Mr. Baker made an

immediate impact on the climate at BIFs, bringing a level of energy and commitment never seen

on the BIFs campus. Mr. Baker began the task of restructuring his leadership team to better

reflect the needs of our community, and the rewards have been readily apparent. Both Mr. Baker

and his wife Dee have brought with them a renewed community spirit and a leadership

philosophy that has made a significant difference at every level of BIFs.

the Board decided to postpone the initiation of the 5-year strategic plan until Mr. Baker’s new

leadership team and staff joined the BIFs community for the 2015-2016 school year. Mr. Baker

and the Board have been discussing various approaches to the strategic plan with Mr. John

littleford, an internationally respected consultant for schools such as ours. Mr. littleford will once

again visit BIFs in september for an exciting week of activities that will strengthen the core of

our school.

the Board is extremely proud of the accomplishments of the Pta this year. this is the inaugural

year for the Pta and they exceeded all expectations. the Pta leadership approached the Board

at the last meeting of the 2013-2014 school year with a very aggressive plan for this school year.

the entire leadership had only been recently elected, yet they had confidence that they could

make a contribution to the school. the Board was pleased to be able to support the Pta and its

preliminary charter. like everyone else in the community, the Board watched in amazement and

pride as the Pta exceeded every goal they set. During the last Board meeting of the 2014-2015

school year the recently elected Pta leadership team presented their report and their revised

charter. the charter was unanimously approved by the Board and we could not be more proud

of this highly motivated group of parents. there is no limit to what they will accomplish in the

coming year.

International schools are transient at best, and as the school year ends we must say farewell to

three outstanding governors. Ms. sally Kim shim, Mr. Y.P. Kim and Mr. axel stang-lund will be

leaving the area to pursue new and exciting challenges as they advance in their respective

careers. the contributions made by these governors have been significant, and vital to the

success of the school. as a community we wish them well in their new endeavors.

Your Board of governors remains honored and proud to be able to serve you. our goal as always

is to provide the school with the tools it needs to give our children the education that every

parent in the community desires.

letter from the Board chair letter from the head of school

2014-2015 AT BIFS a Year In reVIeW6

established in 1983 by a group of international families and companies, BIFs

has grown to support the continued development of foreign investment in

the Busan area. BIFs was the first school in Korea to begin authorization

towards the IBPYP, the first school to use the International school assessment

tests from the australian council for educational research, the first to

introduce a design technology program, the first to offer the qualifications

from the associated Board of the royal schools of Music and the first to

achieve dual accreditation from two independent organizations: the council

of International schools and the Western association of schools and colleges.

Its rich history of successful progressive academic accomplishments, together

with strong and strategic financial and business management, are hallmarks

of BIFs’s rich non-profit history.

BIFs history & Key Facts

Students International Students

NationalitiesEurope

Africa

Oceania

Middle East Asia

North America

South America

476

43

319

Families

86.1%

947Electronic Learning Devices

Number of faculty

81100%Graduates accepted

to college

Years in existence 32

272Co-curricular

o!erings

29,909mCampus area

7Busan International Foreign school


Nationalities

australIa 36

Belarus 1

BraZIl 4

BulgarIa 2

canaDa 6

chIna 3

croatIa 5

cYPrus 1

DenMarK 15

France 20

gerManY 12

greece 9

hong Kong 2

InDIa 8

InDonesIa 2

Iran 2

ItalY 2

JaPan 10

Korea 53

MalaYsIa 12

MYanMar 1

lIBYa 15

nePal 1

netherlanDs 3

neW ZealanD 5

norWaY 54

PhIlIPPInes 5

PolanD 2

Portugal 2

russIa 22

sIngaPore 3

sPaIn 4

sWeDen 12

sWItZerlanD 2

taIWan 3

thaIlanD 4

turKeY 1

uK 32

uKraIne 1

usa 57

VeneZuela 2

VIetnaM 1

Total 476

Enrollment

Pl 6

Pr 15

KD 14

rec 10

g1 30

g2 20

g3 36

g4 37

g5 38

g6 46

g7 45

g8 41

g9 52

g10 35

g11 31

g12 20

grade no. student grade no. studentnationality no. student nationality no. student nationality no. student

Total 476

Top 15 Nationalities

USA12%

Norway11%

Korea11%

Australia8%

UK7%

Russia5%

France4%

Denmark3%

Malaysia3%

Sweden3%

Germany3%

Libya3% Japan

2%Greece

2% India2%

elc 44

elementary 161

Middle 132

high 138

Division number

Total 476

2014-2015 AT BIFS a Year In reVIeW10 11Busan International Foreign school

International Baccalaureate

International Baccalaureate (IB) subjects, taken at both standard level (sl) and higher level (hl), are part of a two-year course of

study for students in grades 11 and 12. the IB the IB program is recognized by universities worldwide. subjects are assessed both

internally (practical work, written work, presentations, etc.) and externally through a series of examinations taken at the end of the

program. IB subjects are assessed on a scale of 1 to 7. Full IB Diploma students must take 6 courses plus complete theory of

Knowledge, the extended essay, and a creativity, action, and service requirement and score a minimum of 24 points to be awarded

the prestigious diploma.

Math literacy 361 334 346 308 350 330

reading 286 255 278 266 303 291

Writing task a 397 364 393 378 380 378

Writing task B 422 395 438 409 422 413

Grade 3

2013 2014 2015

BIFs World BIFs World BIFs World

Math literacy 395 374 437 375 385 394

reading 337 307 369 319 312 336

Writing task a 440 400 435 414 403 413

Writing task B 454 427 462 445 450 445

Grade 4

2013 2014 2015


Math literacy 454 424 473 432 492 443

reading 384 357 375 362 419 396

Writing task a 457 451 473 461 459 460

Writing task B 485 467 480 487 507 482

Grade 5

2013 2014 2015


Math literacy 503 504 564 521 543 512

reading 445 447 472 452 476 448

Writing task a 526 511 538 525 543 526

Writing task B 545 523 561 539 542 533

Grade 7

2013 2014 2015


total number of students 10 14 20 28 20 18.4

Full IB Diplma and 6 7 8 20 14 11

retake students

Percentage of 60% 50% 40% 71% 70% 58.3%

Full IB Diploma students

number of 66 81 108 204 127 117.2

subject entries in the session

Percentage of 100% 85% 75% 80% 78% 83.6%

students who Passed the Diploma

average BIFs IB Diploma score 33 31 31 32 28 31

World average Diploma score 29.7 29.9 30 31 29.88 30.10

highest Diploma score 38 38 39 40 33 37.6

average grade obtained at the school by 5.19 4.82 4.78 5.14 4.48 4.88

candidates who Passed the Diploma

2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15BIFs aVerage

(5 Years)

Math literacy 559 523 580 547 576 534

reading 518 478 494 475 491 473

Writing task a 552 533 558 549 553 549

Writing task B 571 546 574 565 564 557

Grade 8

2013 2014 2015


Math literacy na na 629 572 592 570

reading na na 586 531 515 507

Writing task a na na 584 570 587 576

Writing task B na na 610 585 566 585

Grade 9

2013 2014 2015


Math literacy 495 459 519 472 521 480

reading 434 397 450 402 459 417

Writing task a 512 473 507 485 500 489

Writing task B 531 489 533 507 512 502

Grade 6

2013 2014 2015


critical reading 565 498 448 495

Math 614 514 566 511

Writing 580 489 459 484

BIFs historical average class of 2014-2015

BIFs World BIFs World

students at BIFs take, or have the opportunity to take, a number of internationally-recognized standardized and

externally administered examinations that are used to determine their current level of academic achievement, and

university readiness. these examinations include the International schools’ assessment (Isa), which is administered

by the australian council for educational research, the sat, and International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations.

standardized test results

International Schools’ Assessment (ISA)the Isa assessment program is designed for international

schools in which the language of instruction is english. the

examination assesses internationally endorsed reading,

mathematical literacy, and writing frameworks; it is taken by

students in international schools in grades 3-10. BIFs Isa result

means from 2012-2014 relative to global result means are as

follows.

SAT

the sat, administered by college Board in the united states, is the world’s most popular university admissions test and is taken

by more than 1,500,000 students around the world each year. the sat assesses high school students in critical reading,

Mathematics and Writing and is generally taken by high school students in grades 11-12 to gauge their university readiness and

the admissibility to post-secondary education. overall, sat scores are reported on a scale from 200-800. BIFs sat result means

relative to global result means are as follows. not all BIFs students participate in this assessment.


BIFs is proud of the excellent achievements of our graduates and the wonderful universities to which they have been

accepted. since 2010, BIFs students have been accepted to nearly 100 universities around the world.

european universities 26.32%

elsewhere 26.32%

us universities 26.32%

uK universities 21.05%

European Universities

26.32%

Elsewhere26.32%

US Universities26.32%

UK Universities21.05%

The matriculations for the Classes of 2010-2014

Asia : Korea university / Waseda university

Austrailia / New Zealand : challenger Institute of technology, curtin college, notre Dame university

Europe : aarhus university, BI norwegian school of Management, Delft university of technology, Ipag Business school, les roches

International school of hotel Management, lillebaelt academy of Professional higher education, tilburg university,

universita Bocconi, university of Bordeaux, university of Paris- sorbonne, university of szeged

North America : Berklee college of Music, Boston university, california state Polytechnic university, colorado state university,

cornell university, Florida atlantic university, Illinois Institute of technology, lawrence university, long Beach

state, Memorial university of newfoundland, Mount allison university, northeastern university, Parsons the

new school of Design, Pennsylvania state university - erie, Pennsylvania state university - university Park,

Portland state university, Pratt Institute, Purdue university, Queen’s university, rutgers university-new Brunswick,

savannah college of art & Design, school of the art Institute of chicago, texas a&M university, university of

california - san Diego, university of cincinnati, university of Illinois - urbana-champaign, university of

Massachusetts, university of Minnesota - Pomona, university of oregon, university of Wisconsin - lacrosse

United Kingdom : Brunel university, glasgow caledonian university, university of Bath, university of essex, university of exeter,

university of glasgow, university of london, university of York

The latest matriculations for the Classes of 2015

Australia : Murdoch university

France : Ipag Business school

Italy : universita Bocconi

New Zealand : auckland university

Norway : BI norwegian school of Management

Switzerland : les roches school of hotel Management

USA : university of Illinois at chicago, university of colorado Denver, Florida atlantic university, Pace university, san Francisco

state university, school of the art Institute of chicago, Washington state university, Florida atlantic university

Canada : Memorial university of newfoundland

UK : glasgow caledonian university, goldsmiths university of london, university of essex, university of glasgow

Income

We are pleased to provide you with a financial overview for the past fiscal year, from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. Financial results

for the 2014-15 school year compare favorably to prior years, especially considering some of the economic challenges experienced

in the second half of the year.

We began the year with a strong enrollment in the fall that topped a record enrollment of 502. however the economic downturn

due to declining oil prices resulted in enrollment decline in the second half of the school year.

the breakdown of revenue sources is very much in line with previous years. as can be seen, the school, as a non-profit, is

completely dependent upon income from tuition and fees. total enrollment-related revenue comprised 99% of income.

Expenditures

expenditures were in line with expectations and, by category, are normal for international schools around the world. With the

enrollment at the end of the year being lower than predicted, the school operated close to a break-even budget.

student acceptances 2013-15 Financial results 2014-15

BIFS Graduate Destinations

Tuition & Registration Fee79%

Enrollment Fee1%

TechnologyDevelopment Fee

2%

Capital Development Fee5%

Lunch Fee4%

Bus Fee7% Other

2%

2014-15

School Operation Fees11%

Instructional Resources4%

Other Assets2%

School Lunch3%

Salaries & Benefits70%Recruitment

1%

Professional Development1%

Technology1%

School Bus7%

2014-15

2014-2015 AT BIFS a Year In reVIeW14 15

We held two main events this past year. In the fall, we held our first ever Fall Family Festival. We had

many families attend the event and they were able to enjoy the tractor rides, bounce house, cake walk,

jewelry making, cookie decorating, pumpkin decorating and many other fun activities. It was a gorgeous

day and the success of the event helped to set the tone for future events! the spring was all about

International Day. We had over 24 countries participate in this event! each country proudly represented

their home country with authentic foods, dress and educational activities. We finished the day with a

parade of countries, complete with flags and music!

lastly, your Pta was busy working with the Bears club to support athletic events at BIFs, increasing

communication between each community (geoje/ulsan/Busan) and school administration and hosting

other events such as teacher appreciation. thank you all for your support throughout the year and we

look forward to your individual support to make the coming year a success.

Parent teacher association

the BIFs Pta had a fantastic first year! We are definitely on our way to

achieving our mission, which is to advance the interests of BIFs and to

promote the well-being of the students, parents and teachers through social

events, fundraising and volunteer opportunities. It was a very busy year for

all involved.

Busan International Foreign school


Education is the shared responsibility of our entirecommunity

We strengthened our ties with families and the school community

through the parent-teacher coffee morning meetings. Blogs, class letters

and other forms of communication were utilized to ensure that

communication is clear between home and school. the block schedule

in the morning provided enough time for uninterrupted inquiry and, at

the same time, accommodated the parents' need need for child-care to

allow them to attend information sessions and parent-teacher

conferences.

the student-led information sessions in Preschool, Kindy and reception

were well attended. this was an opportunity to increase awareness about

our program so parents could support their children at home. the

Playgroup also had a visit day for parents to experience what their child’s

typical day is like. In addition, parent-child interaction day was introduced

this year to foster closer collaboration between home and school.

classes from the Middle and high school also partnered with us. a day

of science explorations with grade 11 students inspired the Kindy and

reception classes to investigate scientific concepts.

there were also additions to the after-school activities offered to Kindy

and reception students; parents with expertise in art and music offered

after-school programs for the young children.

Students are to be at the center of all that we do

the staff engaged in a series of comprehensive training and workshops

on research-based best practices to strengthen learning in the

classrooms. the reggio emilia approach continues to be integrated into

the PYP framework. More resource books were added to the teacher’s

resource area in the library. the team also worked to build our

professional learning community. through teaching demonstrations and

reflection, the staff gained better understanding of facilitating inquiry

through intentional teaching. our Behavior Management approach was

further developed to continue teaching children the skills to be

responsible, mature and self-confident. Further support of the Balanced

literacy Program was provided with the expansion of the library. new

titles were added and more space was provided. a variety of books that

would cater to children’s interest and family and cultural background

were added to our library collection.

the BIFs early learning center continues to provide a quality program

for young children to support them through developmentally

appropriate practices. Following the inquiry-based approach of the

International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, and inspired by

the reggio emilia approach, we cater to the interests, cultural orientation

and personal experiences of each student to make education meaningful

and purposeful. here are some of our highlights from 2014-15, and how

they reflect the school's mission and vision:

early learning center


We are unified and respectful in our diversity

throughout the year, the elc held events that recognized the cultures, beliefs

and practices of the families in the elc community. some of the young children

danced during the chuseok cultural presentation. Book week was celebrated in

partnership with families who came to read stories from their home countries.

children, even some families, dressed in their favorite story characters during

halloween. Families came to help decorate our hallways for halloween and

christmas. In December, santa lucia parade, Father christmas’ gift-giving and

the winter concert were celebrated. art week showcased the children’s creativity

and artistic abilities. spring was welcomed with the easter egg hunt to support

the Fairtrade Project of Middle school social studies students. on children’s Day,

play was highlighted as a way of respecting their rights. the strawberry Picking

and sports Day events were well attended by the elc families, whose presence

presence certainly made a difference in helping our children see the connections

between their homes and school.

We provide the very best inquiry-based, relevant andexperiential education for each student

Measures were taken to ensure that every individual child’s needs were identified

and addressed this past year. the learning environment was constantly assessed,

providing safe and appropriate materials for play and inquiry. More play

equipment was added. children’s learning was demonstrated during the class

assembly. Presentations were enhanced by the new built-in sound system at the

elc hall.

throughout the 2014-2015 school year, the elementary division continued to work collaboratively to offer our students

a top-notch education in a supportive, family-oriented environment. We empowered our students by engaging them

in self-reflective activities and providing them opportunities to enhance their own and their community’s growth.

elementary school

Home-School Connection

this year we hosted numerous events to strengthen the

exchange of information between home and school. these

events included:

•Back to school night

•Parent-teacher conferences

•student-led conferences

•school assemblies

•class Presentations

•PYP exhibition

•Parent-coffee Mornings


Digital Portfolios and Student-Led Conferences

We launched digital portfolio blogs in grades 2-5. the portfolios are student-driven and support the PYP’s

emphasis on developing self-reflective learners and presenting a complete picture of each child’s growth. the

children reflected on four categories of work: creative, challenging, interesting, and quality work samples. these

blogs, along with the print-based grade 1 portfolios, became a central focus for the spring student-led

conferences. During the conferences, students took their parents on a “learning walk” through their portfolios

and other activities that represented a typical day at school. What a fun way for our children to take ownership

of their learning, challenges, and progress over the year!

External Assessments

every year in February, students from grades 3 to 9 take the International schools assessment. Isa provides an

external measure of students’ performance in the following: reading, mathematical literacy and writing (narrative

and argumentative).

ES Literacy Development

the elementary school continued to enhance literacy instruction through the 7 Keys to comprehension, Word

study, and the 6+1 Writing traits. the teachers collaboratively planned lessons and worked in teams to look at

student performance on writing tasks. to support daily reading, we purchased classroom libraries for all

homeroom classes. the division started using a common running record to assess and track our students’

reading progress.

PYP Exhibition

the PYP exhibition is a requirement for students who are in their last year of the

PYP. at BIFs, grade 5 students are required “to engage in an in-depth, collaborative

inquiry process that involves them in identifying, investigating and offering

solutions to real life issues or problems”.

this year’s exhibition provided multiple opportunities for grade 5 students to

demonstrate independence and responsibility for their own learning in their inquiry.

they used and applied research, self-management, social, communication and

thinking skills, culminating in the exhibition presentation. In addition to their

homeroom and single subject teachers, students are assisted by mentors and

experts during the inquiry.

this year’s issues in exhibition included: animal rights, traffic safety, personal health,

environmental health, sustainability and social relationships.

Professional Development

In response to school-wide curriculum goals and individualized professional development goals, our teaching staff have

participated in various workshops, job-alikes and conferences. topics ranged from robotics, technology Integration, assessment

in the PYP, Differentiation, IB standards and Practices and reading and Writing Workshop to Faculty Book club.

Electives

the elementary Division continues to offer a range of electives to students in grades 1-5. We run electives over three seasons: fall,

winter, and spring. electives are an excellent way for students to mix with children from different grades and classes, expand their

horizons and take part in activities that inspire their curiosity and engage their talents.

Weekly Assemblies

In the fall, a committee worked to define the philosophy and

purpose of weekly elementary assemblies. they determined that

our assemblies are to promote the arts and the sharing of student

learning, to give students practice in presenting, and to be an

opportunity opportunity to learn about our host country and the

many nationalities represented in our school. Finally, the assemblies

are an opportunity for students to develop relationships with

students and faculty across the division, and thus provide a

platform through which to strengthen our sense of community.

Student Council and Community OutreachEvents

our student council engaged us in three exciting school

community events. two of these events were fundraisers to

support our global community.

Book Character Day

Elementary Movie Night to benefit the Aikwangwon School for

Mentally and Physically Disabled (Geoje)

Elementary Bake Sale and Dodgeball Tournament to fundraise

for The Lincoln School Kathmandu Earthquake Relief Fund

(Nepal)

the student council also created elementary Playtime essential

agreements in order to boost our students’ ability to cooperate

and self-regulate on the playgrounds, and to ensure our daily

interactions reflect the qualities of the IB learner Profile:

Be respectful of others, their games, and equipment.

Stay on the Elementary side of the field.

Welcome others to play with you.

Be principled by playing friendly, fair and safe games with other

people.

Make sure you put your rubbish in the bin.

Always be sure a teacher can see you.


our most significant accomplishment this past year was receiving final authorization for our MYP

Programme in april. this milestone marks an important achievement for our school. We are now a fully

authorized three program IB World school. With this authorization grade 10 will participate fully in the

MYP next year and we will no longer be offering Igcse examinations. Instead, students will participate

in a Personal Project, which they have already started.

the acer International school assessment results showed consolidation of the gains made by many

students last year. For students in grades 6 to 9 this provides an external benchmark which indicates

how well students at BIFs compare with their peers in International schools across the world. the results

provide confidence in the quality of education that is being delivered. It also provides us with the

opportunity to reflect on what we are doing and how we can work on improvements. additionally, this

past year we adopted policies on language, academic honesty and assessment. these policies help

guide the development of the curriculum, and its implementation across the school.

In the Middle Years Programme, there has been a lot of collaboration across departments and staff

continue to develop the Inter-disciplinary units (IDus) that students experience. each grade level

participates in a minimum of one IDu per year. this past year the World of Wearable art, Dragons Den

Project, and Film Project provided excellent learning opportunities. additionally the Personal Project,

which is a major assessment piece of the MYP, was also started by students in grade 9, and will conclude

in grade 10.

the Middle and high school saw further growth with an enrollment of more than

280 students at the start of the year. the year began with team building camps for

all Middle and high school students. these camps provided an excellent

opportunity to develop teamwork, social and resilience skills as well as friendships.

Middle and high school


eal teachers assist students to develop a level of english language proficiency that enables them to be independent

learners and socially engaged members of the BIFs community. research has shown that exposure to, and

engagement with, language in authentic settings is the most effective method of acquiring language. as such, at

BIFs we try to offer eal students in-class support in language intensive subjects such english, social studies, Math

and science rather than pulling them from lessons. By remaining in the learning environment, they will learn both

content and language contextually from the specialist teacher.

collaborative relationships between specialist subject teachers and

specialist eal teachers ensure that even those students with limited

english can access and demonstrate understanding of key learning

objectives. this might be, for example, by modifying the language of

assessment tasks, devising alternative assessment tasks or allowing

students to research in their home language but demonstrate their

learning in english.

english language specific classes are held during language B time. In

the elementary school, the students will follow up on themes or topics

being studied in class. In Middle and high school tutorial style support

is provided where points of grammar, vocabulary, techniques in writing

or oral expression are taught/reinforced in authentic situations.

student progress is tracked throughout the year using the Mcgraw hill

suite of language assessment system (las) tests. students will remain

in eal until such time as they are confident communicators and able to

work independently in all subject areas. they are exited from the

program when they achieve a level 4 or 5 on the las B test.

our records indicate that, on average, students who enter the program

with minimal or no english generally stay with us for two years. Most

students with beginning las level 2/3 tend to be exited at level 4 after

a period of 12 – 18 months.

this table represents the number of students involved in pull-out eal classes. teachers continue to monitor and

assist previously enrolled eal students while supporting current eal students in standard classes. eal teachers are

also responsible for supporting those students whose las scores indicate “proficiency” but whom their teachers feel

still face challenges in one or more of the skills groups.

eal english as an additional languageco-curriculars continue to be an important part of the Middle

and high school programs. Middle school students

performed the one act plays, “selfie” and “Facebook ruins

everything”. We also hosted a visiting story teller, tony Wilson.

several Middle school students also participated in the Ms

International school theatre arts Festival in thailand.

the Music Department provided wonderful music concerts as

well as new individual performances throughout the year in

both Middle and high school assemblies. a growing number

of students attended the International schools choral and

Music society (IscMs) event in shanghai.

the Model united nations club continues to flourish. at the

sKac—Mun event rachel tustin chaired the conference, and

three out of the four best delegates in the conference were

from BIFs. students also participated in several other Mun

conferences throughout the year.

active community service continued to be at the heart of the

Middle and high school. From the poignant remembrance

ceremony for the sewol Disaster through to raising funds for

those affected by the earthquakes in nepal, students were

able to show their care both locally and globally. the service

trip to cambodia went well and 56 bags of rice were donated

to the orphanage connected with the trip.

house competitions and activities continued to expand the

levels of participation of all students at school. the friendly

nature of the competition, and the house spirit fostered, have

been a credit to staff and students alike.

august no. of students 5 8 7 11 4 5 4 7 6 3

June no. of students 4 4 9 3 3 1 5 4 0

exited Program 1 1 6 3 3 1 3 3 3

no. of students

exited BIFs 4 3 2 1 2 3 2 2 0no. of students

grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


students explored and discovered the learning styles or strategies that work well for

them. they also discovered their new strengths as well as some areas on which they

would like to improve on. the students applied those strategies or used their

strengths to solidify the skills that they were working improve. they then used the

skills that they mastered to take it up to the next level and continue to challenge

themselves. this year, the students particularly thrived on taking initiative in their own

learning. they not only worked on the skill areas that they felt comfortable with or

confident at, but they also worked on the areas at which they felt less confident, and

took initiative in working on those skill areas.

this is our third year since the launch of the learning support Department at BIFs.

last year, the department established two learning support classrooms (one in elc

and elementary school and one in Middle and high school). this establishment has

been positive and we have been able to provide higher quality support to our

students. this year, the learning support Department focused on achieving two

goals: utilizing effective technologies and collaborating with the community. the use

of technology, iPads in particular, has made a huge difference in many students’

learning this year. the students have shown shown great interest great interest and

motivation when the appropriate technology was applied to their learning.

the learning support Department also continued to collaborate and build stronger

rapport with the community. this is one of the areas that we value very much as the

work we do cannot be successful without the support from our community.

the learning support Department fosters, nurtures, and expands

the unlimited potential of our students from early learning center

through high school. We promote a community in which everyone

is included and where similarities and differences are valued and

celebrated. We believe that everyone, regardless of one’s

background, ability, or differences, can learn from each other. In

the learning support classroom; individual differences are highly

acknowledged, respected, and cherished. the students and the

teachers promote a safe and caring environment that is conducive

to learning, where students explore and discover who they are, find

meaning and happiness in their life, and continue expanding their

unlimited potential.

learning support


the three BIFs libraries, with a total of approximately 28,000 quality physical resources, continued to provide a high

level of service to our students and staff this year. the library was nominated as one of the top ten current strengths

of BIFs by staff in a recent sWot (strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities, threats) survey.

loan rates from all three libraries (elc, elementary and Middle/high) continue to grow to grow, as indicated in the

graph on this page. however, loan statistics are only one indicator of the success of a library. another is the student

enthusiasm for using the spaces for study and leisure reading, and the pictures on this page show that our library

spaces continue to be well utilized.

this year our dedicated library team have collaborated on developing a mission statement

for the libraries that reflects our focus on individualized service. our mission is to inspire

students to love stories in any format, to spark imagination and to be empowered to learn

anything they choose so that their life story makes a positive contribution. secondly, we

aim to provide teachers with ample resources to help motivate their students to engage

with their subject area. We also strive to offer the best possible service to all members of

the BIFs learning community to help each person to locate materials that assist teaching

and learning. We value interpersonal connections and aim to help students feel that they

are welcome and important. We promote an atmosphere of mutual respect for students

and staff alike. We aim to partner with classroom teachers to provide the best possible

learning environment for our students.

this year, in the elc and elementary libraries, we provided a library lesson to each class

elc-grade 5 every week. During the lessons we read and discussed a wide variety of

books and then often watched a short video clip or completed an activity that reinforced

the concepts of the story. through library lessons, the children learn the joy of reading,

learning about different genres of literature and develop their vocabulary in context. With

classroom teachers we incorporate what is learned across the curriculum, reading

comprehension strategies and the PYP attitudes. each week, the topics covered in library

lessons are included in the library blog so that families can discuss these stories at home.

Mr. Ivan loste, our qualified Middle/high librarian, assists our upper-school students with

academic research for all MYP and DP subjects, co-teaches with classroom teachers about

academic honesty and citation and promotes leisure reading with various activities and

book talks. With our increasing upper school population and limited space in the Mh

library it can be difficult at times to maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect in an

academic environment. however, during the MYP authorization visit we were

congratulated on our efforts to maintain a high standard of service. to find out more

about the service we offer in the libraries please visit the library blog at

http://bifskorealibrary.weebly.com.

the library team has worked diligently this year to continue to expand our resources and

services to create a world-class library service for our students, teachers and parents.

library

All libraries

ELC

ES

MH0 10000 20000 30000 40000

2011/122012/132013/142014/15

Loans School Year to Date (Apr 30)


We believe that competitive sports teach our students how to work together and support each other in their pursuit

of excellence.

BIFs offers a competitive sports program where practices take place after

school and competitions are both local and Korea wide. soccer and

Basketball are offered beginning with grade three with teams being

selected for local competitions. at the Middle and high school level

there is soccer, Volleyball and Basketball with tournaments in seoul and

on Jeju Island. We are members of the southern Korea activities

conference (sKac) that includes 8 smaller schools within the lower part

of Korea and Korea International school activities conference (KIsac)

which has two divisions. the red division has competitions in Jeju, Busan

and seoul and the Blue division competitions are held in the greater

seoul area.

In school year 2014-2015 our teams excelled, winning sKac and KIsac

championships in Middle and high school Volleyball, Basketball and

soccer. We had tremendous interest in playing competitive sports, and,

therefore joined both the KIsac red and Blue divisions so none of our

players would miss an opportunity to compete in a major tournament.

sports


the student life program at BIFs has continued to mature since its introduction two years ago. Its purpose is to

provide students at BIFs with opportunities to flourish outside the classroom, and have ownership over their co-

curricular experiences. the program supports the cas in the IB Diploma Programme and the service as action

program in the MYP. there are several layers to the student life program, with a strong student government at the

center. along with our other student-led clubs, BIFs students are able to take on leadership roles as well as have a

voice in the school. this year students at BIFs supported organizations such as habitat for humanity and the local

soup Kitchen. they produced and designed the winter drama production and organized the grade 12 prom. they

formed ccas (co-curricular activities) after school, including a student led tutoring program, and organized both

an elementary soccer and basketball camp. these are just a few of the many accomplishments our student body has

achieved. the student life program supports also supports action Week, providing the entire student body with

experiential learning opportunities, and workshops that concentrate on both leadership and teamwork, and has also

made connections with internationally recognized programs: BIFs has a charter in the national honor society, sent

volunteers to work with habitat for humanity, competed in the Fll robotics competition, and took part in Mun

conferences in asia.

student life

CAS Service Trip

During spring holiday, a group of 16 students spent 10 days in laos on a World challenge expedition. this trip was primarily

organized by the grade 11 students, allowing them to fulfil IB cas requirements. the ethos of World challenge and the trip in

general was to give students a level of autonomy while in real life challenges. the students were engaged in community service,

as well as embarking in a three day trek in through the jungle. Fundraisers that took place prior to the trip were used to support

the cambodian community in which they worked. the experience proved to be rewarding for everyone, and will be carried with

these students for years to come.

overseas trips


International Schools Theater Association Festival 2014BIFS students shine in English theater

the International schools theater association (Ista) is an international

community of young people, teachers and practitioners who come together

to collaboratively explore theater through real-world issues and concepts,

and provide opportunities for enhancing international schools’ drama

programs. this year we had five BIFs students attend a middle school Ista

festival in chennai, India from May 7-10, 2015. the host school, regents

International school Pattaya, provided the location for the 3-day theater

workshop. students were assigned to ensembles made up of students from

different international schools working together over the course of the

festival to devise a piece of theater with professional actors, directors and

theater technicians in charge. the final performance at the end of the festival

included all ensembles performing their parts, which were seamlessly

integrated into a whole piece focused on the theme of “gods vs. Monsters.”

Annual Overseas Music Trip

For the past three years, we have been participating in the International

schools choral Music society Festival that is held in a different city each year.

In February 2015, BIFs students travelled to shanghai for the IscMs Music

Festival; their 4 days spent in shanghai were occupied by day long choir and

orchestra rehearsals, some sightseeing, and socializing with 300 plus students

from 20 different school across asia, the Middle east and the u.s.a. to end the

four day festival, the gala concert was held at the shanghai oriental arts

theater, which provided a truly priceless performance experience for all of the

participating students.

the festival allows our students to become collaborators, and develop their

creativity and passion on personal and musicianship level. this festival brings

together students from many cultures and diverse backgrounds, giving them

a truly global music experience.

MUN Conferences

Model united nations, also known as Model un or Mun, is an extra-curricular activity in which students typically role-play

delegates to the united nations and simulate un committees. this activity takes place at Mun conferences. at the end of these

conferences, outstanding delegates in each committee are recognized and given an award certificate. Model united nations

involves substantial researching, public speaking, debating, and writing skills, as well as critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership

abilities. the BIFs Model united nations (Mun) club had another successful year, attending three conferences in 2015/2016. In

november members competed In the sKac (south Korean activities conference) as well as seoMun XVI in seoul. a team then

took part in at the taIMun XII conference in taichung, taiwan. this was the second consecutive year BIFs was represented in

taiwan, and the small cohort of members once again found it a tremendous learning experience.


some of this year’s highlights of our student lead community service projects were: high school students organized

a memorial event to commemorate the sewol Ferry disaster. they also designed a memorial bench which they plan

to have built and installed at school. our students served lunch at the haeundae soup Kitchen and, with the generous

donation from the norwegian exchange students from Kornberg, norway, our students arranged for the purchase

of new chairs and other items which were badly needed by the soup kitchen. the ninth graders in the Music club

put on a birthday party for little kids at one of the children’s homes. two of our students and one of our teachers

teamed up to teach conversational english to some of the staff and also did english play activities for little kids at

one of the children’s homes. students also volunteered at aikwangwon home for the physically and mentally

challenged in geoje.

our elementary school students are very active participants in community service: bake sale raised money for BaPs

(Busan abandoned Pet sancuary), the Fifth grade held an annual fund raiser donating the proceeds to aikwangwon,

and a trash did a trash clean up on the stream behind our school.

It was wonderful to have our parents involved in service as well. Many of our mothers volunteered to help take a

group of young children from one of the children’s’ homes to the Busan aquarium.

our larger annual whole school projects included: the fall food collection for Issac house where students from

elementary through high school joined with the BIFs Pta to raise money and collect food, our angel tree holiday

gift project for children living in children’s homes, and holiday wish gifts for 131 children from four Busan children’s

homes. BIFs students also volunteered to help with the Pta Fall Family Festival and International Day, the Busan

global gathering, and Busan International Women’s association (BIWa) christmas Bazaar.

Finally, at the end of this school year, our BIFs community of students, parents, faculty, administration and the Pta

came together in a joint effort to raise 4,098,041 won which was donated to the nepal earthquake relief effort.

through our community service projects BIFs, as an international community, recognizes

the importance of being aware of the larger community in which we love and and the

need to acknowledge social issues in our community and abroad. We encourage and

provide opportunities for all of our students, faculty and parents to develop projects to

address needs, build awareness, and serve. We link the concepts that students are learning

in their classroom with those of service activities so students can apply what they are

learning to real life situations.

BIFs is committed to supporting student lead projects because this is where authentic

learning takes place. In this way our students also become active members in our

community.

each year we look for new ways to strengthen and further develop our community service

program. this year we added some new components which enabled teachers to more

fully access and integrate community service with classroom learning. For example, as

part of the 8th grade global events unit and the 9th grade unit on Bio Diversity, students

were able to access local community and international groups to raise awareness about a

wide variety of community and social issues. the 8th grade students raised nearly a million

won to donate to various groups. our Design technology class designed and made jewelry

which they sold at the BIWa christmas Bazaar with the proceeds from the sale being used

to buy a play set for the young children at one of the Busan children’s homes.

community service


2014-15 highlightsAugust 2014

opening Day

elc and es Back to school night

Mhs camps*

grade 11-12 IB retreat

September 2014

chuseok celebration*

Mhs Back to school night

Busan Biennale

Ice Bucket challenge

October 2014

elc reggio emilia on-site training

Pta Fall Family Festival*

BIFs Fall open house

Mhs Drama night

spirit Day

November 2014

es Book character Day*

cross cultural Day

Ice Bucket challenge

December 2014

Fll lego robotics championship

elc Winter concert

Whole school Winer concert

Winter holiday assembly*

January 2015

BIFs new Parent coffee*

Winter MaP testing

February 2015

elc open house

IBDP art exhibition*

BIFs spring open house

March 2015

arts Week

WoW Fashion show*

March of the Bands

April 2015

Pta International Day*

Parent-teacher conferences

grade 5 exhibition

es student-led conferences

May 2015

summer concert

Inter house track & Field carnival

Inter school track & Field carnival

grade 12 graduation*

June 2015

Mhs house Day

es cross cultural Day

grade 9 Film gala

action Week

grade 5 graduation*

the graduating class of 2015

40 2014-2015 AT BIFS a Year In reVIeW

2014-15 BIFS Annual Report

Documents

dynamicinternational

ourexceptional school

entire community

new school structure

year history

bifsa year

bifsan ib world school

past year