WRITING

Just upload everything to this page once you've written it. But name its status ex) Girl's Varsity Bball Feature (Rough): Title goes here and update it every time there is a new draft.
 * Writing Team of Yearbook 2011-2012 **
 * don't forget to put who wrote the piece!!!!!

By the Codes for Dividers
 * Spring sports - 4 (Jay Jeong)
 * 80 minute games
 * 1 cleansheet
 * 3 1st place awards (swimming)
 * Average 2.5 hour practices
 * Clubs - 2
 * 75 clubs
 * 23 community service clubs
 * Winter sports - 4 (Diana)
 * 3 overtimes
 * 11 weeks
 * 13 games
 * 33 cheerleaders
 * Student life -2
 * 2 new events (KIS Got Talent, Jazz Night)
 * Average 2 hours leisure time a day
 * Academics - 2
 * 0.7 kg Average weight of a textbook (core only)
 * 91 classes offered in KIS in 11-12
 * Fall sports - 4
 * 12,896 km ran in total
 * 62 players
 * 30 inches: average circumference of the balls
 * 64 minutes: average length of a game/race
 * General sports - 4
 * Number of sports: 7
 * Number of total athletes: 275
 * Average season length: 70 days
 * Average hours of practice a season: 80 hours
 * Events - 2
 * 14 different events
 * Average length of an event: 3 hours
 * Individuals - 2
 * 440 Students enrolled in HS
 * 17 average absences per semester

2. Grade Dividers (around 100 words! i know i said 66 before.. sorry) drafts || March 16 Friday (DONE) || 2. Departing Teachers drafts 3. __Patio on Fire, SEOMUN,__ Jazz Night, Spring Concert drafts || March 24 Saturday (DONE) || 2. Grade Features done (all pics) 3. Departing Teachers done (all pics) 4. By the Codes for ACADEMICS (3 each) || March 31 Saturday || 2. NHS (2): Jae Lee/Brandon Koo 3. Dance Club: Jay Jeong 4. Radical Ace Crew: Diana 5. Key Club: Brandon Koo 6. Amnesty International: Rachel Lee (1~6 DRAFTS) 7. Habitat (2) - FINAL: Jae Lee/Brandon Koo || April 6 Friday || 2. By the Code for 2 page clubs (habitat, NHS, SC) 3. By the Code for dividers *Academics, Winter Sports... etc. 4. Quote for PE, IT, Theatre 5. Drama BY THE CODE 6. New PE By the Code 7. QUOTES FROM DEPARTING TEACHERS -_- || April 13 Friday || 2. Teacher Features 3. Brandon needs to rewrite the senior features & trends piece; Jay Jeong needs to rewrite SEOMUN || April 20th ||
 * ~ Assignment ||~ Due date ||
 * 1. Superlatives for ALL GRADES drafts
 * 1. Grade Features drafts
 * 1. Superlatives done (all pics)
 * 1. Student Council (1): Rachel Lee
 * 1. Year in Review (around 10 would be good... or we can talk later)
 * 1. Rough Drafts of ALL SPRING SPORTS
 * 1. Year in review - Diana & Rachel || April 21st ||
 * 1. By the code for dividers (listed above) || April 24th (due by beginning of class) ||
 * Upload on this wikipage by 9 PM on the deadline date... failure to do so will result in a 50% decrease in your points
 * Upload on this wikipage by 9 PM on the deadline date... failure to do so will result in a 50% decrease in your points

=Purchase Page Message=

**Purchase Page Message ** Dear Parents of the Class of 2012,

Twilight, daybreak, reddish horizons, and a new start: your son or daughter is about to leap into another chapter of his/her life. This chapter is an epilogue and a prologue mashed into one: it's an end and a beginning, a moment when you're done and a moment when you start back up again. But as much as it is a fresh start into something more special than any high school recollection, we want to cherish the past – the things that make this milestone possible. We want to cherish the people who have put their noses to the grindstone, working, paying money, cooking, working, ironing clothes - and most importantly, working. We want to cherish the heroes of our childhood, our ever-present supporters from the sidelines, and the people who make everything possible for every student in this school. Thank you so much, parents.

The pages that follow are the Purchase Pages of the Class of 2012, our little way of cherishing the past of every student. And among the collages of antiquated photographs lie your short messages, your little way of celebrating your son's or daughter's leap into the real world. We earnestly thank you for your contributions to this class, this school, and this yearbook. Daybreak has come and gone, but more are fast approaching – so we want to make this one all the more memorable.

Sincerely, The Yearbook Team of 2011-12

=Year in Review=

>>
 * ** Royal Wedding (April 29, 2011) **
 * Catherine Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, enters the Westminster Abbey, elegantly dressed in white sashes and laces. Prince William takes the beautiful bride’s hand, gliding down the aisle as the world watches the regal couple in awe. This classy wedding is all the more significant because Prince William is next in line for the crown!
 * **Pyeongchang Olympics (July 6, 2011)**
 * Trying out for the 3rd time to host the Olympics, South Korea was more than ready to receive the final notice for the 2018 Winter Olympics results. Wholeheartedly praying to achieve the lasting goal, everyone stared at the television when it was ready for the IOC to present the ultimate result. And finally, the white paper turned to show the name we wanted to see for the last 8 years: Pyeongchang.
 * **Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (July 15, 2011)**
 * Owls, wizards, broomsticks, and wands – J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has given its fans a taste of magic for a glorious 14 years. The series comes to a grand finale, where the stakes have never been so high, and the battle between the good and evil forces of the magic world escalates into an all-out war. As the fans bid farewell to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they watch Harry engaging in a climatic showdown with Lord Voldemort all the more anxiously.
 * ** Death of Steve Jobs (October 5, 2011) **
 * MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, and iPods – Apple products, known for their user-friendly settings, are adored just about everywhere. With the death of the visionary in the black turtleneck, Steve Jobs, over a million people have offered their sincere condolences to the man who dedicated his life to the technology revolution. To this day, his legacy lives on.
 * ** Death of Kim Jong Il (December 17, 2011) **
 * Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s dictator, died reportedly from a heart attack after 17 years of ruling an authoritarian regime. News of his death set off speculation around the world about the country’s stability and future direction. So close, yet so different – South Korea and North Korea have been divided for a good 50 years. How will this event determine the relationship between the two Koreas?
 * ** Stop Online Piracy Act (January 20, 2012) **
 * Imagine a world without free information. As students whose eyes are glued to the MacBook screen for most parts of the day, our hands are accustomed to typing up keywords on Google or Wikipedia. The one-day blackout demonstration, in an attempt to fight online trafficking, seemed to last much longer than a day for us students.
 * ** KONY 2012 (March 5, 2012) **
 * Attracting 87,769,685 likes on YouTube, 1200 members on Facebook, 465 followers on Twitter, the KONY 2012 video has shown us the power of media as the news spread around the world in a matter of days. With its famous slogan, "Make Kony famous", the campaign aims to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking, specifically Joseph Kony's Invisible Children.
 * ** Facebook timeline (March 30, 2012) **
 * It’ll be there before you know it, and it’ll be there even if you don’t want it: the Facebook timeline. Organizing all the events, photos, wall posts, and likes in chronological order, this new look will replace your Facebook page sooner or later. But it’s not all that bad; once you get used to it, you’ll feel more organized and structured. You’ll just have to spend a few more hours choosing your cover photo.

toc =Individuals=

Seniors FINAL
It’s finally here. The year when the Class of 2012 will graduate from this school - only to enter a new world, sadly, as freshmen once again. This year’s seniors are like a song – and each member of this class represents an individual note. Some of these notes can be playful, beautiful, strange, part of the support, or part of the melody. Individual notes can come together to create a beautiful solo when played alone occasionally, but can also create amazing sounds when played together in the end. The Class of 2012 has all of these individual parts, and when these people come together, they create a unique song that belongs only to them.

Grade 11, in a sense, is like military service: it causes tiredness, sickness, and hair loss. Sophomores dread the junior year, juniors themselves barely live through it, and seniors (or what remained of them) have successfully completed it. But there is no denying that once it is over, you are stronger than ever and ready to take on anything. It is the year during which you grow the most: both academically and socially. It is when you will find your true friends, your true strengths, your true inspirations. It is when you research colleges and realize that the time for college is not too far away. But as they say, junior year goes by in a breeze.
 * Juniors FINAL**

They are just like the flavors of our all-time favorite sweets Starbursts: cherry, orange, strawberry, and lemon. The students of the Class of 2014 are as diverse and adored as these flavors. The fruit chews greet us with their distinct, yet collectively delicious flavors. And with future athletes, scholars, and performers, the sophomore class also greets us with its package of gifted ,students plus an added-on bag of multiple talents. Even though junior year looms just overhead, the sophomore class is already pumped up to begin. (Caution: junior year may include sour bits, bitter chunks, salty snaps – keep children out of reach.) But fear not, this class will cruise by strong and colorful.
 * Sophomores FINAL**

Command + N. Every year, one class opens a new empty document of life and enters the realm of high school: the freshmen. This document is loaded with pages on end of fun events and occasional suffering throughout their four years of high school. As always, some might like it and some might not (too bad we can’t Command + Z in real life). But just like the annual re-imaging fiesta, it's just another phase of high school, right? The newbie Class of 2015 is motivated and excited, ready to fill the blank document throughout the great four years that lie ahead. Get pumped!
 * Freshmen FINAL**

Ah, teachers – we can’t fully rejoice in your presence, we can’t benefit from your absence. Some of you may be remembered for being intense Manchester United fans, others for your scary fluency in Korean. From a student’s point of view, the life of a teacher may seem boundlessly easier than our own: assigning homework, writing tests, grading, and then vacationing. Yet, this view simply does not do justice to the efforts of our mentors, who meticulously formulate those ant farm diaries, financial consulting projects, and multi-genre projects to awaken our textbook-glazed brains. From the freshmen who are just beginning to plan their schedules around the teachers they hope to get, to the seniors who may be suffering from separation anxiety – we once again thank you, teachers, for another eventful year.
 * Faculty FINAL**

1. Get a clue: You are no longer the innocent freshman, the forgivable youngster, the nervous first-timer. Wake up and take responsibility – no one will spoon-feed you! 2. Join an activity*: What’s high school without any fun? Do something you’re passionate about and //stick to it until you graduate//. 3. Join a club: Broaden your horizon and try different things out while you have the time. Who knows? You may become the next club leader. 4. Befriend caffeine: Learn to drink coffee/energy drinks. 5. Sleep: Don’t take your time for granted! Time management is key – just take a look at the half-asleep zombies (cough, juniors) lurking in the hallways. 6. Mark your territory: Choose a suitable hangout spot – the student lounge, library, cafeteria – where you can chat with friends, eat, and finish up last-minute work during lunch. 7. Discover the art of power-napping: Believe it or not, power naps work when done correctly. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the boost of energy (only valid before dinnertime). 8. Empty your shelves: Say hello to prep books and fat textbooks! Don’t think of piling them up on your desk – trust me, you will need shelves for them. 9. Enjoy your last year before high school gets REALLY hectic: The years up to twelfth grade can be a long harsh ride, so buckle up!
 * Freshman Features**
 * 9 Things to do Before Sophomore Year (EDIT ONE DONE BY JAE)**
 * Yearbook.

by Diana Lee

The KIS High School Student Council was happy to welcome aboard the youngest bunch of ambitious leaders: ** Jeongmin Cho (9), Ara Cho (9) **, and ** Peter Kim (9) **. In a discussion-heavy club where much interaction is needed, being the youngest can be tough. “I imagined scary upperclassmen trying to take advantage of the age difference and giving us all the physical labor and hard work,” Jeongmin admitted, “but it turned out that our officers, upperclassmen reps, and advisors never pressured us into doing extra work!” Though timid at first, the three musketeers did not let their young age pose as an obstacle: each and every freshman representative boldly took part in providing feedback and opinions during each and every meeting.
 * The Three Musketeers **

Aside from the meetings, even the high school events were at a new level for these explorers. Planning for a school-wide event did not mean staying after school for a mere two hours to decorate a room. A successful event was only possible with endless preparations: prior weeks of fundraising and advertising, requesting facilities and volunteers, shopping for snacks, and staying after school until as late as 11:00 in the evening. With such action-packed yet cheerful moments, the freshman representatives have learned to operate with a larger and older group as new additions to the family.


 * by Diana Lee **

by Diana Lee

__Frantic Freshmen__ (Jae Lee) Trying something for the first time can get a bit rough. Take cooking. The first time you cook a meal for yourself, you might be in for a shock. Sitting before you may be some unknown dish (definitely nothing like the picture in the cookbook or anything you could have possibly imagined) that could potentially harm someone. Yes, some people have even failed at making ramen. The point is, trying something out for the first time may not work as smoothly as you plan. Transitioning to high school is one of these potentially life-threatening experiences. Here are some things that shocked the freshmen about coming to high school.

Sally Lee (9) When I moved to high school, I was shocked by the fact that final exams were worth 15% of the overall grade. Also the amount of homework and tests was shocking too.

John Park (9) The biggest shock of moving into high school was adjusting to the extracurricular activities. In middle school there were events scheduled fairly far apart from each other, but in high school, several activities and events popped out frequently. At first it was hard to manage, but as time passed, I got used to it.

__Siblings__ (Brandon) siblings on campus: the ups and downs

"Are you (insert name here)'s sister/brother?" Sharing common blood with someone else in the same school must feel a bit different. For one thing you have a permanent bus partner and possibly someone to go to when all your favorite shirts are in the laundry. Perhaps worse cases include comparing of siblings, like when your brother did a better job on a project, or your sister had a better essay. And this is a rather rare case, even in KIS. Only a few get to have the honor of having a mini-me somewhere in the same school. So it was probably a good idea to go ahead and ask some of these lucky souls what it felt like to have a younger or older sibling walking around campus somewhere. Eric & Erica Kim

Good when... “it’s convenient when i dont have lunch money”

Bad when... “it sucks when she doesn’t have any lunch money” -**Eric Kim (12)**-

Eric & Jane Jho

Good when... “she's good for funding... mostly. Buys me stuff.”

Bad when... “im getting questioned on school stuff or academics. I wouldn’t know it anyway” -**Eric Jho (11)**-

Jenny & Linda Park

Good when... “i can use her locker!”

Bad when... “it’s quite awkward seeing her in school” -**Jenny Park (12)**-

A sibling is someone you have to know how to rely on, help, and occasionally scold or encourage throughout life. They are massive support, and would hate to see you go bust, even more so than your closest friends. So if you happened to have a sibling, try going to them and maybe for once be nice to them. Buy them ice-cream or say nice things. Instead of like taking their money or stealing their homework. Thats academic dishonesty.

Sophomore Features
__Sophomore Hall of Fame FINAL__ Famous, talented, diverse – the Class of 2014 has them all. With superstars in sports, music, dance, and even humanitarian issues, the sophomore class proves its bright future as one of the most talented classes of the high school. Let me introduce to you some of the many prodigies of the Class of 2014.

Colin Shin (10), the Yiruma of KIS, is known as a skillful pianist as well as a singer of various genres of melodies. With his very own Youtube channel, he proves to be the number one musician of KIS.

Andres Kim (10), the Cristiano Ronaldo of KIS, became the co-captain of our 2012 Boys Varsity Soccer team despite his young age. As a center-mid in the team, he led the boys into several victories and spotlights throughout the season.

Chanel Kim (10), KIS’s very own Beyoncé, shows up on stage in numerous talent shows, social events, and fundraisers to amaze us with her dance moves.

Jeongmin Park (10), the Mother Teresa of this class, is the leading promoter of the Change Your Chocolate campaign from NHS, and also an active member of the Amnesty International club.

The Class of 2014 is not defined just by these individuals, but they certainly are key figures in describing the diverse talents of this class.

By Rachel Lee


 * Tall Tales (FINAL)**

The Class of 2014 is known for having some of the tallest people in our school. Two boys, **Jaemin Shin (10)** and **James Chae (10)**, and two girls, **Subin Ahn (10)** and **Chloe Song (10)**, are among the tallest –the girls are nearly 180 centimeters tall; the guys, over 185. "Some people dream of becoming taller, but being tall definitely has its downsides," said Subin. "It's hard to find boys who are taller than I am." Chloe, who is also just as tall, said "I don't really care about how tall or short someone may be... it's his personality that matters."

It's funny how both of them automatically began to talk about romantic relationships, even when I hadn't specified it. The boys had different responses.

Jaemin and James are well-known for being the two male giants of their grade (and they look just like each other as well). Jaemin said that his height "has been the key to [his] success in basketball and volleyball," and James remarked, "being tall is great... but it's overrated."

The Korean standard says that boys must be over 180 cm tall and girls over 170 cm tall to be considered "winners." Jaemin disagreed with this standard: "We are all winners... only when you start taking the standard seriously are you no longer a winner."

By Jay Jeong

**10 Things to do BEFORE Junior Year (FINAL)**

1. Learn to appreciate sleeping in “yesterday”: It will be a while before you ever get to sleep before midnight again. 2. Train your immune system: You will need some special strength for your body to endure the countless all-nighters, and to handle the stress of junior year. 3. Scout out your prom partner: You know what they say - the early bird gets the worm! 4. Say “Hi!” and smile when you see the college counselors: With a few years of college prep left, it’s a good idea to start getting to know Mr. Modica and Mrs. Boyce. 5. Whatever you do, NEVER, ever go to 9gag: Do not let yourself start looking through the insanely interesting memes - especially before projects or tests. Install SelfControl if you need to. 6. Find your secondary home: Find a cafe, library, or study hall where you can go to and work for a few hours. Preferably near your own house. 7. Find out who the picky graders are: And while you’re at it, you should also learn how to deal with them. 8.Create a sensible e-mail address: __Jetcop1104@gmail.com__ is not going to impress most colleges. 9. Get to know your upperclassmen: Good for immediate school-related advice that your parents won’t give you. 10. Discover your true potential*: Got talent but no way to express it? Why not engage in an extra-curricular activity that interests you?

*Yearbook

by Brandon Koo

Junior Features

 * The Prom Committee’s Checklist FINAL**
 * 1) Set the date: Preferably on a day not too cold. Some time when its warm and mildly breezy: the ingredients for a romantic night. CHECK (April 20th, 2012)
 * 2) Find a venue: Located in a big city, perhaps Gangnam, with luxurious facilities. CHECK (Amoris Convention in Yeoksam Station)
 * 3) Choose the menu: Steak, croquette, bread, and dessert with a cherry on top are enough to make one’s mouth water! CHECK (Catering buffet)
 * 4) Look for a performer: Someone famous. Someone ready to rock a party! CHECK (DJ Limzi)
 * 5) Decorations: Liven up the ball room with a touch of mystique. CHECK (Roses, candles, banners, lights)
 * 6) Put up posters: Advertise, advertise, advertise! Let the whole school know! CHECK (Posters at the cafeteria, stairs, bathrooms)
 * 7) Make an advertisement video: A visual always helps. CHECK (Featuring Ian, Natalie, and Seo Hyun from the Junior class)
 * 8) Sell tickets: No students equals no prom! CHECK (Over 130 tickets sold)
 * 9) Make a last call to the venue: Confirmation is absolutely necessary! CHECK
 * 10) Formal attire: No jeans, no flip-flops! For once, look posh and elegant. CHECK (Dress or tuxedo)
 * 11) A hot date: Still working on it?

by Rachel Lee

The juniors are ready to rule the world. With many founders and officers of various clubs and organizations, the Class of 2013 possesses great strength in leadership. From donation kings and queens to math geeks and talented musicians, the leaders of the Junior class manage to take charge of fundraising events, concerts, competitions, and even conferences held around the world with over hundreds of other students from different schools. Despite the many all-nighters and tight schedules that Junior year presents us with (oh joy), these young visionaries sure know how to use their time wisely. The following is a list of 11-word quotes collected from a few of the many leaders scattered throughout the 11th grade: Claire An (11) of Tri-M Society: “We strive to civilize the indigenous tribe of the musically challenged.”
 * Leadership FINAL**

Rachel Lee (11) of Amnesty International:“Our Amnesty club will continue until everyone can enjoy human rights.”

Peter Park (11) of Math Competition: “As mathletes, we strive to have fun and try our best.”

Nicole Kim (11) of Key Club:”Our Key club seeks to build character and leadership through service.”

Jenny Jang (11) of MUN: “MUN fosters understanding and insight about the world beyond our community.”

Jerica Yoon (11) and Susie Kang (11) of Junior Civitan:“We cooperate, organize, and fundraise for unfortunate children around the world.”

by Rachel Lee


 * What would __ do? FINAL**

We each have our own way of dealing with a situation. Many people may disagree with our ideologies, but as is the case with all multifaceted situations, there will always be a conservative, moderate, or radical solution. Here are several scenarios and dilemmas, along with the ways in which some of the Juniors would deal with them:

1. A friend's birthday party vs. a date with your girlfriend/boyfriend or a girl/boy with whom you hope to start a relationship.

What would you do, Ian Chang (11)? "I would go to a friend's birthday party because all high school relationships are pointless. Naive high schoolers start relationship as if they are in love, but they don't know what true love is.

2. Guessing on multiple-choice questions: Guessing the same letter every time vs. varying it up.

What would you do, Freddy Shim (11)? "I would vary it up a bit, so it at least looks like I studied. It's all about the impressions, baby." Note: Guessing the same letter every time gets you more correct answers, statistically, than varying it up.

3. Telling someone “I love your new hairdo” vs. “I don't really like it”.

What would you do, Sally Yu (11)? "White lies are what help society function, and telling the truth all the time would only diminish another's self-esteem. Especially if it's something they can't do anything about, such as an already-done hair-do. If they were wearing something really ugly then I'd tell them, since they can go home and take it off and never wear it again."

by Jay Jeong


 * 11 Things You Should do Before Senior Year FINAL**

1. Know your underclassmen: When you become one of the oldest students in the high school, you’ll feel the need to bond with the younger students in the building - whether it be through classes, clubs, or sports.

2. Read the Counselor’s Corner: With college applications looming, it can never hurt to refer to Mr. Modica’s information about various college fairs and scholarship opportunities.

3. Pull an all-nighter: That is, if you never have before. Drink some Red Bull and try pulling an all-nighter to finish a project – you’ll find yourself hyper by morning.

4. Get to know your teachers on a personal level: When you start missing your alma mater in college (it actually happens), you are bound to return to the KIS halls, this time as an alumnus. There's nothing like a warm welcome from your favorite teachers – start bonding with your teachers instead of associating them with vicious homework assignments.

5. Get used to being watched: Lined right across from the HS Principal’s Office, the senior lockers will always be under strict surveillance – better watch out!

6. Join an activity*: What’s high school without any fun? Do something you’re passionate about, and stick to it until you graduate.

7. Enjoy the PSAT: What? Virtually impossible, I know. But with the traditional senior brunch day at Butterfingers coming up, might as well enjoy your last PSAT.

8. Go on an overseas trip: Music, sports, MUN, Habitat for Humanity – you should go on a trip abroad at least once before you run out of time for these trips during your senior year.

9. Change your MacBook: Believe it or not, some people still use the plastic MacBooks. You’ll probably want a fast Mac in good condition for the college app season.

10. Go to prom: Take off those glasses, do your hair, put on a nice suit or dress, and //ask someone out//! Even if it’s wedged between AP exams, prom is the one exceptional night that you //cannot// miss out on.

11. Support a sports team: “Let’s go Phoenix!” Head up to the Phoenix Gym to show some KIS spirit and support our sports teams once in a while.

by Diana Lee
 * Yearbook.

Senior Features


 * 12 things to do before college **

1. Figure life out: High school is over, you have to move on.

2. Get a summer job/internship: Experience is key. Think of it as a cheat code for future jobs.

3. Get fit: You’re going to put some weight on soon enough (cough, freshman 15). 4. Clear out your shelves: Pass down your used artifacts – Barrons, Princeton Review, WordSmart, and that one English paper you aced.

5. Eat as much homemade food as possible: Mom's food is the best you will ever get in the next 4 years, unless you're going to france or something.

6. At the same time, get used to instant/frozen food: Closets full of ramen will be a common sight.

7. Learn how to clean your room up so that it doesn’t look like a pig pen: Laundry and dish-washing are now your friends.

8. Spend time with your friends: Chances are, you won’t see them for a while.

9. Pick up a spectator sport and a team: Football is a pretty good place to start (preferably that of your local area, unless you enjoy being mobbed).

10. Get a drivers license: And maybe try not to roll your first car – it’s definitely easier than it sounds.

11. STOCK UP ON EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR AND PENNY: YOU WILL NEED THIS LATER.

12. Reminisce about high school*: I know, I said earlier to move on. But that doesn’t mean you should forget about all the great experiences of high-school, the final clueless stage of your life.


 * While looking through the yearbook.

by Brandon Koo

How Did YOU Change Just 3 years ago, we were freshmen, trying to find our place. 2 years ago, we were sophomores, somewhat more comfortable with high school and dealing with our first AP classes. Last year we were juniors, stressing over everything and wondering how we were ever going to make it to the final senior year – wait, what? We’re seniors already? Before we knew it, senior year brought its joys of college applications, then came the second semester of senior year, college results, prom, and finally graduation. No longer are we the naive, young freshmen we were four years ago. We are now, well, how exactly have we changed? Here are some of the ways KIS has changed the lives of a few of the members of this year’s graduating class during the years they have been at KIS.


 * Justin Lee (12): ** “KIS made me into a little working monster.”
 * Jennifer Nam (12) ** : “KIS helped me to manage my time. I also got more leg muscles from climbing up all the stairs.”
 * Billy Park (12): ** “I learned to be more responsible for my actions, I guess. I always think twice before doing something stupid now, and always think about whether or not the pros outweigh the cons.”
 * Se June Han (12): ** “KIS turned me into a bear.”
 * Lynn Moon (12): ** “KIS made me more Asian and helped me to appreciate my Korean culture. I guess it also helped me to become a more outgoing student, since I joined cheer and dance club.”
 * Jaehyun An (12): ** “KIS taught me that even if I shrivel in flames, I will always be reborn as a chick.”
 * Harin Lee (12): ** “KIS has made me far more aware of the amount of resources that are available to even students; encouraging me to appreciate indie projects, and perhaps think of my own.”
 * Nick Yun (12): ** “Being at KIS for six years has forever changed my perspective on friendship. This is a tough school, and I couldn't have struggled through without my buddies who made every effort to succeed with me. It's been an adventure that we've all made it out of; and so, I can cherish the moments that we've toiled through and overcome.”
 * Terry Kim (12): ** “I became more Korean and learned to twist the meaning of what everything someone says.”
 * Sujin Lee (12): " ** I met a real American friend and learned Detroit spirit!"
 * Dennis Han (12): ** “KIS exposed me to a lot of things that I wouldn't have known about. For example, I got to travel to India through HFH. I also got to learn about the media through Yearbook and PTV, and learned to deal with lighting through drama.”
 * Elise Turin (12): ** "I became aware of the Korean culture and I learned a lot about studying habits and...how to be awesome."

Feature 1 cooking ppl Hell/college Kitchen College is a place of further education, greater socialization, and terrible, monotonous food, with the exception of Thanksgiving or Christmas. Some seniors, wise enough to have noticed this deadly flaw, decided to learn how to //cook//. Cooking turned out to be a life-threatening task, as **Mikaella Han (12)** said “We did learn a lot of things, but mostly it was about keeping all of your fingers. It's harder than it seems.” But once all the knives and blenders were put away, things got so much better. **Sangwoo Song (12)**, another brave participant of this treacherous mission, stated that, in fact, “dangerous foods, in both production and appearance, are better!”. They were not alone in this fight for higher quality edibles as **Hyun Kim (12)** and **Brian Moon (12)** entered the kitchen (one common consensus seemed to be a newfound respect for their mothers). At least we know these four students will not be haunted by the "overcalorified" school food day after day. Essentially they will become the TMNT of college, fighting the dreadful and painful edibles of tomorrow, armed with spatulas. And those pokey things.

- Brandon Koo

__Plans over the summer__ Congratulations! You have successfully completed high school. As a gift from above, everyone from the class of 2012 gets a full 3 months of nothingness... unless your school assigned summer work. All work aside, it’s the last full summer ever to spend some quality time with high school friends who may or may not cut contact and disappear forever. What is there to do? Here are some summer plans by our seniors.
 * Steve Kim (12)** - “I was planning on a trip to Jeju with my family, sort of as a last family trip since we won’t be able to do one in a while. It should be somewhat relaxing and I can think about college and stuff. I’m looking forward to the things there too like GOOD FOOD maybe.”
 * Andrew Kim (12)** - "It would be awesome if I got the chance to travel on foot somewhere, anywhere. It would be the first and maybe last backpacking trip I go on, so it should be exciting."
 * Hanbaik Kim (12)** -"I'm going to be flying over to Ko Samui with some of my old/new friends both from HKIS and stuff. We haven't seen each other in a while so that should be really fun."
 * Soojin Kim (12) -** "I was actually planning to get my drivers license over the summer! And after I get my license, I was planning to fly to guam with a bunch of my friends to spend some quality bonding time."
 * Lynn Moon (12) -**"I really want to work as a T.A. or something like that to maybe earn some money and have experience. And I better lose weight; as people say, got to watch out for that Freshmen 15."

After all, it might be the last summer to fully enjoy life as it is without any stress. So fellow seniors, why don't you go sit down and think about things to do over the summer? Pack a bag and take off to someplace, maybe grab some friends or family members and have a nice time before you’re stuck in a dorm for the near foreseeable future.

by Brandon Koo

=Student Life= =Which 1 are you? (Rachel) (Final)= **Student Life** **Which 1 are you? (Rachel) (Final)** People You See in the Hallways

The Sleepwalkers: fail to open their eyes in the morning as they drowsily head to class.

The Roosters: always eager to start class, seem happy to be at school, and have their hands up all the time and perkily greet everyone they know.

The Sprinters: run for their lives and step in the classroom just before the bell rings.

The Hall-smarts: use the back stairs to avoid the human traffic jam in the G building.

In Class ID Card Hunters: Often chimes, “Who has an ID card? Can I borrow it to print?” repeatedly until a poor soul sacrifices his/her card.

Slow with Spaces: not quick enough with moving to another space on their MacBook. Oops!

iChatters: never get caught with the occasional pop sounds of iChat bubbles – the green light is covered by innocent stickers, and their sound is always on mute.

The Vulnerables: underestimate the power of their classmates. Once they walk out the door, clever Facebook statuses from their accounts immediately dominate the newsfeed.

The Clock Checkers: Nothing could be more torturous than class to them. These people simply cannot control their eyeballs from rolling up to the clock, especially around 11:25 and 2:45.

Arguably everyone’s favorite time of the day at school: lunch time. The lunch room is not only a place to eat – it is a place of excitement. Even those who are more dead than alive in class act differently in the lively atmosphere of the lunchroom. There are jazz band concerts, flash mob appearances, drama performances, a cappella christmas carol performances, gram deliveries, and much more to revive any dead spirit. There are many qualities of lunch that are unique to KIS. You have probably have, at one point, said, “Buy me [lunch]” or asked, “Do you have a card?” to one of your friends. You probably have walked up to the JJ catering staff and said “manyijoosaeyo (give me a lot please)”. You probably have rushed your friends, saying, “There’s only 10 minutes left” after one of the administrators came up to your table and told you to get to class. You have probably watched some of the other tables laugh (or howl in misery) after a game of rock paper scissors - or even participated in a round yourself - to decide who would put the trays away. But aside from all of these energizing activities and traditions, it really does help to have something satisfy our growling stomachs that attack us during class. By Jae Lee
 * Lunch (FINAL)**

Trends (Brandon Koo) 9gag: Word on the street says that 9gag is the most effective waste of time... whatever that means. One can tell a fellow 9gagger by typing “9” on their browser. If the full URL pops up, you know that this person has spent countless hours scrolling down. Mindlessly.

Mac whites: The ones with the rubber bottoms. The ones with the really round edges. The white things, yeah those. They may be old and now obsolete for all the big video projects and editing business due to whatever fault they developed over the past couple of years, but they will always stay in our hearts as one of our first MacBooks... unless you’re a new student.

Tetris: In certain classes, one may have hear a rather rhythmic clicking of space bars. Chances are, they are playing Tetris Battle on Facebook. It is quite amusing to see the expressions of max level players as they attempt to NOT punch in the faces of lower level players who slowly put down their pieces.

Shuffling: If LMFAO did one thing that was relatively school appropriate, it is that they deeply inserted the art of shuffling into KIS. Well, at least the basic sense of it. Random breakouts of the Party Rock Anthem around campus are not hard to come across, and with that comes the mostly embarrassing, but sometimes impressive, shuffling of students.

What do students listen to? by Jay Jeong

Music is a form of art, and within it are a number of genres, and within those is an incredible number of artists, and within that is a number of songs too large to count. Therefore, with so many choices, we all have, and are entitled to, our own opinions on what is considered good music, and what is not.
 * ** Eric Park (11) **
 * Favorite genre(s): Hip hop, Electro
 * Two favorite artists: Dynamic Duo, Feed Me
 * Most played song on iTunes: The Answer to a Guy like Me is You (나란놈은 답은 너다) by LeeSsang (리쌍)
 * ** Jerin Lee (11) **
 * Favorite genre(s): RnB
 * Two favorite artists: Adele, U2
 * Most played song on iTunes: Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift
 * ** Lizzie Jeon (9) **
 * Favorite genre(s): Pop
 * Two favorite artists: Katy Perry, LMFAO
 * Most played song on iTunes: Don't Cry by Park Bom (박봄)
 * ** Colin Shin (10) **
 * Favorite genre(s): RnB, Hip hop
 * Two favorite artists: Kim Yeun Woo (김연우), Brian McKnight
 * Most played song on iTunes: Officially Missing You by Jayesslee
 * ** Jae Ook Lee (12) **
 * Favorite genre(s): Rock
 * Two favorite artsits: Nemesis, Buzz
 * Most played song on iTunes: The Rose of Versailles (베르사유의 장미) by Nemesis

Defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “time free from work or duties,” leisure time is “the hardest thing to obtain” according to **D.K. Lee (12)**. **Jack Kim (11)** remarked, “If plotted on a graph, leisure time would look like a cosine graph” (level of math required to understand what was just said: Pre-calculus). Leisure time definitely comes in small amounts, and since it does, what are some of the favorite ways students spend it?
 * Leisure time (FINAL)**
 * Yoonshin Lee (11):** "I like to listen to music, video chat, and hang out with friends."
 * Terry Kim (12):** “I like to lie down.”
 * Namjoon Park (9):** “I take a nap or mess around with my phone.”
 * Claire An (11)**: "Play soccer! It refreshes the body and soul."
 * Nick Yun (12):** "I adhere to the cliché, ‘Study hard, play hard.’”
 * Shelley Shim (10):** “I like to take my dog out for a walk and get some fresh air!”

There are many ways to spend your free time, but all of the interviewees agree on one point – that during leisure time is when they feel the happiest, free from all of school’s and society’s pressures. True leisure, however, is scarce, especially in an environment like the one in which we live. We must constantly worry about test grades, homework, and projects. The good news is, most of this worry disappears once you are accepted into college – so do your best until then, and have fun afterwards! By Jay Jeong

There are some things we take for granted – but the skybridge is definitely not one of them anymore for the middle and high school students. These students learned to appreciate the value of the skybridge that connects the middle school and high school buildings with the G building after it was closed off for a few weeks. Class after class, students from the high school and middle school went through a routine hassle for three long weeks: students walked down to the first floor and cross the road, just to join a mob of students painfully climbing up the flights of stairs. “I hated that period of time,” said a furious **Sumin Lee (11)**. “The students merged into one single organism on the stairs....literally.” Some students, of course, knew how to respond to the G building disaster in their own creative ways. Some clever ones took the stairs at the far end of the G building to avoid human traffic, and other risk-takers dared to take the elevator. Thankfully, the disaster did not last for long – after spring break, the students had never appeared to be happier to walk on the skybridge once again.
 * G building Disaster (edit 1)**

by Diana Lee

- Joopardy: Everyone loves Mr. Joo’s intense trivia tournament! Small skirmishes that start within a class end up becoming bigger battles between grades, and even faculty.
 * KIS Events: Old and New FINAL**
 * Old**

- Battle of the Books: How many of the books did you actually read? These rigorous readers //study// the books over the winter break through mind maps, annotations, notecards, and discussions.

- Re-imaging: Ah, MacBooks – both a pain and a blessing. On the second week back at school, the students (once again) backed up their materials and turned in their MacBooks to the IT office.

- KIS Got Talent: Given the fairly long history and gifted profile of students, it was no surprise that a number of outstanding performers stole the spotlight on February 14, 2012.
 * New**

- Jazz Night: The works of Miles Davis, Stan Getz, and Herbie Hancock transformed into a blessed reality as fingers danced upon trumpets, flutes, guitars, and saxophones on Jazz Night, organized by the Tri-M Society.

- Student Senate: With the growing student population at KIS, more opportunities to voice opinions and become involved in the school’s official affairs were given to the students through the Student Senate. The students themselves have taken small steps to take action, such as lengthening passing times and eliminating KIS Reads.

by Diana Lee

=Superlatives=

Sophomores
Superlatives Red = need photos** 1. most likely to break into song during the middle of a conversation/class ⁃ Philip Jeong ⁃ Rachel Kim 2. most likely to be related to ⁃ Hyuckjae Park (Simon D)  ⁃ Shelley Shim (Wondergirls Sohee) 3. most likely to still be playing Tetris battle after college ⁃ Sujin Cho ⁃ Ryan Chung 4. most likely to fall asleep anywhere…anytime ⁃ Sungjoon Moon ⁃ Chloe Song 5. craziest laugh ⁃ HyukJoo Kwon ⁃ Jenny You 6. most likely to be mistaken for a middle schooler ⁃ Scott Cho ⁃ Daniella Cha 7. most likely to be long lost brothers/sisters/cousins ⁃ Andres Kim ⁃ Elliot Chung 8. most likely to be "party rocking" ⁃Kevin Chung ⁃ Sarah Oh 9. best "shuffler" (best at "shuffling") ⁃ Elena Park ⁃ Ted Park 10. most likely to be seen eating (food-obsessed) ⁃ Eric Shim ⁃ Angela Kwon
 * By the Code

Freshmen
Superlatives 1. Most Athletic: Yena Kim & Joonki Jin 2. Distinct Accents: Amy Han & Jaehyun Park 3. Biggest eater: Sally Han & Jeongsoo Park 4. Fashionista (biggest wardrobe): Philip Bae & Jeeyoon Lee 5. Biggest makeover (from middle school): Emma Yang & Jinhong Jung 6. Suffering from Freshphobia: Jihea Chang & William Jeong 7. Bookworm: Max Chung & Cindy Lim 8. Cutest: Joonyon Park & Gloria Lee 9. Never changes: Annie Na & Junwon Park 10. Always on iChat: Seungi Kim & Jessica Oh 11. Tallest: Michelle Hahm & Patrick Kwon
 * By the Code
 * Juniors**
 * 1) Kid at Heart
 * 2) Boy: Benjamin Byeon
 * 3) Girl: Janice Kwon
 * 4) Red carpet material
 * 5) Boy: Peter Lee
 * 6) Girl: Sara Ha
 * 7) Openly Opinionated
 * 8) Boy: Jay Jeong
 * 9) Girl: Claire An
 * 10) Most Gullible
 * 11) Boy: Kangwoon Kim
 * 12) Girl: Michelle Park
 * 13) Best Smile
 * 14) Girl: Kyla Page
 * 15) Boy: Kevin Kim
 * 16) Safest Driver
 * 17) Boy: Sam Han
 * 18) Girl: Hyeunjin Jin
 * 19) Most dangerous driver
 * 20) Boy: James Park
 * 21) Girl: Connie Hur
 * 22) Most likely not to buy a senior purchase
 * 23) Boy: Brian Ki Youl Kim
 * 24) Girl: Yeayoung Koh
 * 25) Most likely to go through the most MacBooks
 * 26) Boy: Ian Chang
 * 27) Girl: Sumin Lee
 * 28) Most likely to have an alter ego
 * 29) Boy: Justin Ko
 * 30) Girl: Carol Choo
 * 31) Most likely to end up at the wrong reunion
 * 32) Girl: Jina Kim
 * 33) Boy: Albert Park
 * 34) Most likely to leave cap and gown at graduation
 * 35) Girl: Jane Chyun
 * 36) Boy: Kyu Park
 * 37) “I’m never wrong”
 * 38) Girl: Christine Kim
 * 39) Boy: Michael Cho
 * 40) Most sarcastic
 * 41) Boy: Bobby Choi
 * 42) Girl: Insun Choi

Teachers
Grade Divider message Features Superlatives

=Academics=

Needs 2 Features
__English__ > Do you argue a lot with your family and/or friends? If your answer is yes, then your arguments should always be air-tight and fallacy-free. > The logical fallacy unit of the AP English Language and Composition class kicked off with Mr. Longbotham’s favorite question, “Did you stop beating your mother?” This is an example of a false dilemma, because there are more than the two choices of “yes” or “no” but the question is phrased as if only the two exist. (Both answers indicate that you beat your mother.) > Here is another example: you tell your friend that the Earth is in the shape of a triangle, and your friend replies “Well, you’re crazy, and you always come up with these stupid theories.” At first, your friend’s reply may seem true to some point (and it probably is), but analyzed more closely, your friend has made use of a common logical fallacy: ad hominem. Ad hominem is an attempt at countering an argument by not addressing the issue, a triangle Earth, and attacking the person, you, instead. > After a long day of dealing with your friend’s fallacious arguments, you return home to find your dad waiting in front of your room, and he does not look too happy. > “Son, I heard you skipped hagwon.” > “Yeah, but my friends were all doing it!” > “Oh, so if your friends started jumping off buildings, you would do that too? > Your father has also just made use of a logical fallacy: reductio ad absurdum, or “reduction to the absurd.” He has stretched the logic of what you had done to absurd proportions, and then attacked the newly-stretched logic. > These are just some of the logical fallacies that we learn in AP English Language and Composition class. With these new logical fallacies equipped, you should never lose an argument (with a rational person) ever again! > by Jay Jeong > > All throughout high school, we are assigned books to read. Some students love reading them; other students hate reading (or don't read them at all). Whichever category you fit in, it is clear that the least favorite book among high school students is, unfortunately, Beowulf.* > Mr. Stephens believes that this is so because of the "complex language, historical culture, and narrative structure" of the book. He believes that being exposed to such a "beautiful work of art" at a young age is good, and that one day we will come to appreciate Beowulf. > On the other hand, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley received the most votes for favorite assigned book. Insun Choi (11), an advocate of this book, said, "I really enjoyed this book because I could completely relate to it, as it reflected on many of the issues in our society, such as consumerism and identity." At least you have this to look forward to, rising sophomores! > by Jay Jeong
 * 1) English Feature: Logically fallacious
 * 1) English Feature 1: 75% of Voters' Least Favorite Book
 * By the Code

Avg. number of grammatical errors made by Mr. Stephens: 0

Avg. number of hours spent on MGP: 16

Number of posters up on Ms. Dunning's wall: ?

__Math (one long feature)__ "Math is one of those classes where you're learning to no end – not necessarily fun, but meaningful and useful." - Sung-Woo Cho (11) > Formal attire – check. Panel of judges – check. Client – check. > > With all calculators, textbooks, pencils, and looseleaf papers out of sight, this class would look like any other class but math to the unassuming student or teacher. Students enrolled in Precalculus classes accepted perhaps the biggest challenge of the year: investing a client’s $200, 000 in a requested area to maximize profit. Integrating simple variables – principle, the natural number e, rate, time – the students were responsible for formally presenting three options within the 8-minute time limit. > $200, 000 is a large sum of money; a few students can already find themselves fantasizing over what they could use it for. But matters get serious when it comes to business. In fact (or as expected), many groups ended up pulling the traditional day-before-due-date-all-nighter. “We were so lost and sat around for hours, plan-less,” admitted Eric Park (11). For students who have yet to face this assignment, consider the following words of wisdom and avoid some of the top common mistakes. > 1. Talk to your client. > > Communication is crucial. You want to know the desired area of investment, time span, risks he/she is willing to take, and target return. Keep your client updated whenever you can! After all, he/she will be the one deciding whether the suggested option is satisfactory. > 2. Discuss, discuss, discuss! > > Don’t know where to start? Discuss the direction your client is aiming for. Is your client a risk taker or risk averter? Are there specific categories within the topic to allocate the, funds to? Make sure all of your group members know exactly what to calculate. Assign specific roles and make a to-do list of things to complete before the next group meeting. > 3. Back it up with numbers. > > Now comes the math part of the project. Remember that you cannot make up numbers. Show how you reached the numbers through clear steps and equations. Whether it is the interest rate, value of stocks, certificate of deposit rate, or tax rate, always have a credible source and make sure the data is recent. > 4. Keep your Keynote simple. > > Bullet points, charts, graphs, pictures – use anything but a full sentence. Don’t make your audience read from the Keynote. You should be the person under the spotlight. Effects are nice, but don’t overdo them (especially the typing effect...remember that the clock is ticking!). Make sure that your color is visible (pastel tone over neon) and bear in mind that the colors shown on the projector may be different from those you see on your MacBook screen. Try to avoid red, dark blue/purple, and bright yellow. > 5. Look professional. > > Believe it or not, a presenter’s appearance is one of the most important aspects of a presentation. It’s what your client notices first – you don’t want to look like someone who just got out of bed or someone who is ready to throw a party. Put away all tennis shoes, jeans, and hoodies. Gentlemen, take out your ties and belts, pull on your dress shirts and black trousers, along with a pair of black or brown dress shoes. Ladies, wear your blouses and either a skirt or dress pants, along with matching flats or heels. In order to win your client’s heart, you have to make a good impression by looking neat and business-like. > Always keep in mind that preparation is key (especially for this project – don’t even think about cramming!). Remember to print your Roles and Citations sheet, be fully dressed before class starts, and have your Keynote open and ready to run. These criterion may be the most basic and obvious ones, but they are also the hardest to keep. Once you’ve mastered these 5 tips, go ahead and spellbind your audience. > by Diana Lee
 * 1) Feature: What Would You Do With $200,000?
 * By the Code
 * Average number of minutes for tests: 60
 * Minimum number of students: 8
 * Maximum number of students: 23

__Science (one long)__

> At some point, every high school student enters a science classroom – whether it be Chemistry, Biology, or Physics. Despite its apparent popularity, several things go unnoticed. Bet you haven’t noticed Mr. Joo’s pack of seemingly unlimited incense, or Mrs. Christenbury’s little orangutan doll in the corner that sheds around 2 tons of hair every hour. Goggles, test tubes, microscopes, periodic tables (or even Rolling Stone posters for Mr. Joo’s case) are interesting, perhaps enough to steal your attention away from appreciating the basics. But the next time you walk into a science classroom, try giving the following some thought. > 1. The swivel chairs: No one cares about the chairs, yet they are the most interesting and accessible objects in the whole classroom. The flexible backrest adds to its “multifunctionality”. It is not uncommon to see students comfortably spinning around in circles during the lecture. Pro-tip: There’s a lever on the side that makes it go up and down. Just try not to be too distracting to the rest of the class as you display your human top skills. > 2. Power plug: Ever complained about having to move all the way to the other end of a classroom, miserably plugging in an extension cord, and dragging it all the way back to your desk? Fear not, the power plugs in the science classrooms are at your fingertips! Given, some of them don’t quite work, especially those in the H building. But the ones that do work are there to prevent wires from running across the lab floor, tripping people over and causing general chaos, madness, and humiliation. > 3. Double doors: Enter like kings (and leave in a stampede). Let the double doors open before you as you walk into the kingdom of science! In reality, one of the two doors is always locked, but if it isn’t, you might as well use both of them. Why not give yourself some more room? As far as function is concerned – to your dismay – a truer purpose lies behind these double doors. Have you ever asked yourself, How did that cart in the corner of the room end up in here? Well, the double doors are your answer. An unnecessary luxury for inanimate objects indeed. > 4. The sink and shower combo: What do you do when you spill a chemical on your hands? It would be preferable if you didn’t get it on your hands in the first place, but assume you did. Well you’re in luck (not really)! Go run to your nearest sink, wash it off, and hopefully you’ll be fine... > > BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! > > They also have showers in store for bigger spills, god forbid, that may happen amidst an intense experiment. Walk in the room, pull down the lever, and voila. That’s assuming that the shower room isn’t full of clutter and unused stuff already. Potential to be the most public and embarrassing shower you can possibly ever have. Good senior prank, I suppose. > 5. Storage rooms > > Everyone probably knows what the intersection of a Venn diagram looks like. Well the storage rooms are sort of the same deal. Two teachers from their respective rooms pile all their cool but unused supplies in these rooms, making them potentially some of the most interesting areas on campus. Usually they’re full of chemicals, equipment, or late quiz/test takers. Sadly, students are not supposed to be in these rooms unsupervised. What a bummer. Science by the code Science classes available: 8 Number of doors in all science rooms: 15 length of a lab table: 1.4m __Social Studies__
 * 1) Science Feature: The 5 Things You Take for Granted in Science Classes
 * By the Code

> Here I am in this gloomy humid weather, with my fellow students yawning and rubbing their eyes. Waiting for the Korean War veterans to arrive, some of us just hope for the day to end as soon as possible while others feel nervous about meeting the veterans. Truthfully, I am scared to talk to a foreign, elderly group of people about such a sensitive topic: The Korean War. I straighten my clothes and tidy my hair. When the buses finally arrive, we are each assigned to a specific veteran couple. The veterans immediately welcome me with a big, long hug and a “How are you, darling? Such a beautiful day, isn’t it?” As expected, wartime stories began to fill the air with unease and tears. “We didn’t know why we were killing those men out there,” one veteran says, “we didn’t know why those people had to die.” Before I knew it, our conversation drifted to hobbies, future dreams, school life, and even secret crushes. “It felt like talking to my own grandparents,” expressed Michelle Park (11), “the wall between us gradually faded away to eventually form a cozy atmosphere”. After arriving at the buffet for lunch, I offer the couple sandwiches, kimbaps, and desserts. We continue our conversation over lunch and laugh together, when suddenly Mr. Wood calls the day to an end. With disappointment and despair, the veterans look at me for the very last time before they go off to enjoy their remaining visit in Korea; I, to my ordinary life of school and home. To them it was never the “Forgotten War” – perhaps it was never meant to be forgotten. > By Rachel Lee > > 1. What do Kisians do in their leisure times? (David Kim 11) > > -->boys: play games (28%) > > -->girls: study (27.41%) > 2. What activity do Kisians vs. Americans spend the most time on? (Wooyon Shim 12) > > -->Americans: playing sports (4-6 hrs) > > -->Kisians: studying (6-8 hrs daily) > 3.How many students vs. teachers pick up trash? (Minae Kwon 11) > > -->Students: 0.07% picked up trash > > -->Teachers: 0% picked up trash > By Rachel Lee
 * 1) DMZ Trip
 * 1) "Sociology for KIS"
 * By the Code
 * Average number of US presidents known by KISians: 11
 * % of KISians (HS) who know about the Korean War: 67%
 * Number one state talked about in class: Wisconsin

__Drama__ > At first glance, pantomimes and mimes appear to be mute clowns who just wave about and give occasional laughs. It seems as if they only appear in streets of bustling cities with gloomy faces and depressing clothes, tugging on invisible ropes and being trapped in invisible boxes. Well some decided to prove this wrong. Last October, Theater 1 students practiced said waving about and giving occasional laughs to express emotion and non-verbal communication. > > “I think everyone's performances were outstanding. We all did our best and tried to exaggerate every movement.” – Rachel Kim (10) > > The grand performance took place in the couch section of the cafeteria during lunch, and many students donated precious lunchtime to watch this hilarious performance put forth by fellow classmates. Acts included A typical day of a modern ninja, when the clock strikes 12, and some more. Creativity was the word to describe all these performances as senior Hyunwoo Kim was attacked with a toothbrush, ninja stars, and many home appliances while junior Eric Yoon had a Pygmalion-like crush on a mannequin. > > “I was amazed how everyone understood the storyline with lots of giggles, even when the performers did not say out a single word.” – Hyeunjin Jin (11) > > Overall, the “speechless” performances presented by the Theater class gave students a pleasant lunch once again. > > Number of classes: 6 > Number of performances in 11-12 : 3 > Number of animal harmed during the production: 0 > > > "I think theater really helps as one of the key non-academic skills you should know. It's like a stress reliever and a small break in the day. It's a really enjoyable class." -dm-
 * 1) Silent Ten
 * 1) **MISSING**
 * By The Code
 * Theater quote:

__Music__ "A true musician knows how to appreciate silence." - Arnold Hwang (11) > > The song came to a tranquil finish, the entire auditorium silent. Nobody applauded, at least for a while. > > This "silent applause" is, to Mr. Londgren, the best kind. It means that the song was so beautiful and so flawlessly executed that the audience members lost themselves in the music. It goes without saying that soon after, the audience erupted into wild ovation. Look up the song, O Magnum Mysterium (band version), and you'll see why. > > That was the first of two songs we played at the SIS-hosted KAIAC Band competition. The next one was a completely different song, entitled Armenian Dances, a 10-minute masterpiece divided into 5 movements. > > The 3 judges took their time, and later, we found out that we had scored only 1 short of platinum, the highest possible rank. Nonetheless, we did better than the rest of the schools! Hopefully, next year, we'll achieve that coveted platinum rank.
 * 1) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__1 Short of Platinum by Jay Jeong__


 * By the Code

Number of minutes per rehearsal during which percussionists play: 10

Decibel level of a cymbal crash: 112

Number of "bad jokes" made by Mr. Londgren: ?

__I.T.__ > Ever wondered what it’s like to make your own website and fill it with your own content? On second thought, no one probably ever wonders about that, but nonetheless, students of the Web Design class went through weeks of hard work to throw together a personalized web site full of bits and pieces of their lives. Yeunseok Lee (12) said that“It was interesting to sit down and organize the details of my life through my own web-pages.” Most students also included stories from their childhood, fancy background photos, and a very organized bunch of HTML codes that gave their pages life and layout. “I finally learned how to compile different elements to make something that actually looks like a typical website,” said Eric Kim (12). Most of these took quite a long time to design because it turns out HTML codes involve many trial-and-error adjustments, and planning to the pixel degree. However at the end of the year, what Mr. Ross ended up with were a couple dozen well-crafted web sites that show off individual taste and spirit. And then, of course, he grades them (sigh). > > IT by the code Students taking IT classes: 42 Number of codes one has to memorize: over 9000 Number of webpages students complete over the course: 17
 * 1) **IT: 01001001 01010100**
 * 1) MISSING
 * By the code

__PE__

> Did you know that we have Spartans-in-the-making in Korea? No really, we do. > The new Athletic Conditioning class pushes you through hardcore training to make you the ultimate juggernauts of sports - this is Sparta. A typical day of Spartan training includes working out with two 10-kg free weights and a 14-lb medicine ball, 2 circuits of bridges, reverse crunches, squat jumps, and knee touches, and if that’s not enough, running 3 miles around the soccer field. > > If you’re like me (a normal person), then you probably would have stopped after the work with weights. Would you rather run 15-18 laps around the field, 9 laps around the field running for half and walking for half, or run up and down the hill 12 times? The Spartans-to-be of this class have this choice (or really, lack of choice) every day at the end of class. These numbers aren’t even set in stone, and increase over the semester. Whether they choose endurance running, interval training, or the hill, surrendering to Ms. Osbourne’s shouts of “Faster, faster!” guarantees the best quality athletes you can expect from such a rigorous training course. “At first, the exercises we did in Athletic Conditioning felt like it killed every cell in my body,” testifies Eric Kim (12), “But now, 18 laps around the field feels like a walk to the bathroom.” > Maximum number of miles run in a day: 3 miles (18-19 laps) Record long jump = 2.3 meters Average number of reps per class: 3
 * 1) 18 Laps to 3 Miles
 * By the Code

Needs 1 Feature
__Art__

> This year, the school's Art Department underwent a reconstruction. The result? A total of eight different classes: Digital Photography, Art I 2D/3D survey, 2D/3D Studio Art II, 2D/3D Studio Art III, and finally, AP Studio Art 2D. With so many different classes, only a certain number of students can distinguish between them. Survey? Studio? 2D? 3D? > > In the most easily recognizable-by-title, Digital Photography, students use DSLR cameras and experiment with its manual settings. **Jackie Lee (10)** said, “by critiquing photos taken by fellow students, I learned how to receive criticism and give constructive criticism.” > > Let’s take a look at the survey classes and studio classes. Survey classes are the ones in which students hone their basic skills to move up to a studio class the following year. > > The Studio classes are further divided into 2D and 3D courses. In 2D courses, students work with pence, charcoal, pastel, colored pencil, oil pastel, and paint in the areas of Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Collage, and Design. As long as it's flat on paper, it's in a 2D class (hence its name). In 3D courses, students work with clay, paper, and other various media, in areas such as Ceramics, Additive, Relief, and Design. While most students take either one of 2D or 3D, **Kevin Kim (11)** enjoyed double the merit of taking both: “ In 2D, **Ms. Arno** helped me see what I draw, because I lacked observation skills. In 3D class, **Ms. Mullenax** helped me become an even more creative artist and broaden my mind.” > by Jay Jeong
 * 1) __Art Feature: Department Revamp__

Art:

Avg. number of hours spent on research workbook: 35

Number of photos submitted in Digital Photography: 20

Number of colors perceivable by humans: 10,000,000

__Chinese__ > Do NOT leave your Macbook’s sound on during school (Beware of the unexpected iChat video call invitations – they happen at the worst times). Do NOT shuffle to “Party Rock” in the middle of class (self-explanatory). And most importantly, do NOT leave your Macbook open when you go to the bathroom, (or at least log out of Facebook). These are a few of the many unspoken rules that help you get by. No one really says them out loud or posts it around the school. You just know them. In Foreign Language classes, there are more unspoken rules than you may think. Here are 5 Unspoken Rules that will help you get by in a Chinese classroom. > 1. Speak Chinese in the classroom. Seriously. It seems hard, but this is the best way to get better at Chinese. All it takes is a little bit of effort. Next time you ask someone for a pencil in Chinese class, just try it out. Your friend might be confused, but I guarantee you that your Chinese teacher will be impressed. > > 2. Know the tones. Don’t be monotonous when you’re speaking Chinese. It may be a pain to learn, but the tones are more important than you think. Who knows – the next time you go to China you might end up selling instead of buying something just because you happened to use the wrong tone for “mai”. > > 3. Always have your textbook. You will always need your textbook. They are fairly light compared to your other textbooks, so just carry it around every day if you can. Make it your new best friend, eat lunch with it, hug it in your sleep – it doesn’t matter. Just make sure you always have it. > > 4. Always have a Chinese notebook on hand. The paper’s different. You can’t write Chinese on a sheet of A4 loose leaf. It’s just not right. Make sure you have one of these in hand. In fact, have two. That way, even if you have to turn in one of the notebooks, you will always have another one. > > 5. Learn the phrase “老师我可以去厕所吗 (Laoshi, wo keyi qu cesuo ma)?” Knowing this phrase could save your life. Many students have been unable to go to the bathroom just because they did not know how to ask in Chinese. Your teacher will not let you out if you can’t. Learn the phrase, have it memorized, never forget it. Trust me, you’ll thank me one day. By the Code Average number of new words per packet: 20 Average number of sections per chapter: 4 Total number of Chinese teachers in High School: 3
 * 1) **5 Unspoken Rules of the Chinese Classroom**

__French__

> "Bonjour, tous les mondes!" (Hello, students!) is what a student will hear when he/she enters Madame Moline’s class. But Monsieur Plamondon is a little bit different -- he greets them with a DOR (Date Objective Review): a preview of that day’s class. Monsieur Plamondon's zeal does not end here; his interview gives us insight into his one-of-a-kind background. > Q: Bonjour, Monsieur! > A: Bonjour, Mademoiselle. > > Q: Where were you born and raised? > A: I was born in the small town of Plamondon (Oui! Same as my last name!) located in Alberta, Canada. > > Q: A town called Plamondon? > A: Believe it or not, my great-great-grandfather founded the town of Plamondon. I went to school in that town for 12 years, and taught my first year in the very same school. > > Q: So you lived in a town founded by your family! Do you have any other experiences teaching abroad? > A: After teaching for 2 years in Canada, I taught 2 years in Egypt. Afterwards, I taught at IIS (Indianhead International School) for 9 years as well. Last year, I taught at DIS (Daegu International School), and now, here I am! > > Q: As a French teacher, what does the French language mean to your life? > A: French is my family’s language; it’s a huge part of my family history. I also believe that French, of course, is a beautifully-spoken language. In fact, they say it’s the language of love. Une belle langue! (What a beautiful language!). > > by Rachel Lee
 * 1) **The Rescuer: Monsieur Plamondon**
 * By the code
 * Number of french words: about 43,000
 * Number of french-speaking countries (Francophone): 29
 * Average number of AP French students: 3

Korean > > > ** Jasmine McCarthy (10) ** has been living in Korea for nine years. According to her classmates, Jasmine is the best at speaking Korean and picking up new vocabulary. She is also known for her project based solely on bananas. “When the class had to work on writing sentences, I based my sentences entirely on bananas,” she said, “When the sentences became more difficult, I really had to use my creativity!” > > ** Cindy Lee (10) ** is generally well-rounded in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Her accent is a distinctive feature; the “Busan saturi”, although amusing to listen to, can sometimes pose as an obstacle in her speech. > > ** Bobby Choi (11) ** is a brand new addition to the bunch. “Writing and reading are my strengths,” said the newbie, “but it takes me a long time to learn new vocabulary.” This is his first year learning Korean, but he has shown dramatic improvement. >
 * 1) How many of you actually knew about the existence of a Korean class in our curriculum? A group of 3 students started out as the invisible class, and has only begun to unmask itself this year as Korean II. In this classroom, no one competes for the spotlight. Aside from learning the culture and language of their current country, the students also learn to establish something deeper: a connection to their Korean side. “All of us somehow have roots in the Korean heritage,” said Jasmine. “For me, I like learning Korean because it helps me communicate with my mother.” Wherever these individuals are from, whatever their motivations may be, their passion for the Korean language and culture is without number.
 * By the code
 * Students enrolled: 3
 * Number of classes: 2
 * Average number of vocabulary per section: 12

__Spanish__ > KIS is a school known for small classes which average about 15-20 people in a room, but there is one class that pushes the outer limit: Mrs. Longbotham's AP Spanish class. This class contains not 10, not 5, but only 3 students – who happened to be all seniors. These lucky people get the full attention of everything going on in class (not that it would be hard to spot ⅓ of the class sleeping). On one hand, this can mean they have no breathing space. It can be stressful knowing that the teacher is watching you throughout the whole class. But on the other hand, this means that they can receive undivided attention, as testified by Jaeook Lee (12): “No one gets left out. It’s a really tight community, and we can concentrate on what we are supposed to do in class.” > You can call them the elite 3, or be all fancy and call them “los tres mosqueteros” (the three musketeers) but either way, it is perhaps one of the distinctive classes on campus. Under the careful eyes of Mrs. Longbotham, this trio of students managed to plow through the rough lands of AP Spanish. At least they do not need to call out “here” every class for attendance, need massive review sessions, or worry about getting a bad seating chart. > Floating Quotes: > > “I think it can be compared to sort of a family. It isn’t as intimidating as other classes” Sangwoo Song (12). > “I really like it because we get more time with our teacher.” Dongmyung Lee (12)
 * 1) **3-Strong**

Spanish by the code Different number of ways to say “the”: 8 Number of Spanish classrooms in high school: 1 Percent of the time where Google translate is correct: 20~25%

=Sports=

Boys Varsity Basketball: AISA
And then there were 8.

KIS, SIS, KISS, YIS, SOIS. Of these 5 team s, only 1 can place first in the annual AISA tournament. On February 2nd, the Boys Varsity Basketball team travelled to Yokohama, Japan, to compete against 4 other teams. From the start, its path to first was a rocky one. Only 10 of the original 12 members of the team flew to Yokohama to compete, and of those 10, 4 were injured. During their first game against SOIS, the boys lost ** Terry Kim (12) ** **,** their point guard, due to a wrist injury. “It was difficult to deal with, having lost our point guard,” said ** Hoon Ho Chung (12) **. The boys lost its first game by 7 points, but this did not stop them from aiming for the best. They defeated YIS by 12 points in their second game, and defeated SIS in overtime in their third. However, despite their victories, the team had to face more challenges. **David Han (10)** was quarantined after the first day because of a flu (that kept him in Japan for several days after the tournament as well), **Sung-Woo Cho (11)** suffered a knee injury, and **Kevin Chung (10)** suffered a pelvis injury. By the end of the first day, the team had lost 2 of its players, and had to compete with a team of 8. Despite their situation, the boys clashed with KISS and SOIS the next day, defeating KISS 40 to 25 – and extracting revenge on OIS in the semifinals, trouncing them with a score of 49 to 41. In the finals, KIS faced off against SIS for first place, with a score of 41 to 23. “For all the missing players, we played with everything we had,” said Sungwoo. “I don’t think others will understand what it took to get here, but we will.”

by Jae Lee

5, 4, 3 – then a swish. With exactly 2.6 seconds left in the game, star player **Brian Kwon (12)** sunk in a buzzer beater that would win them the game. On January 14, the Boys Varsity Basketball team played against SIS in the Phoenix Gym. The game was an intense one: by halftime, the two teams tied at 19-19, and consistently kept up the pressure. In the overtime sessions, the boys continuously caught up with SIS, consistently scoring 3-point shots to stay in the game. Just when SIS was beating KIS 42-45 in the first overtime, **Sung-Woo Cho (11)** shot a 3 pointer, bringing the score to 45-45. In the second overtime, Brian shot a 3-pointer bringing the score to 48-48. And finally, in the third overtime, SIS scored 2 points to pull ahead at 47-45. With only a few seconds left in the game, Coach Ball called a timeout for the team to call the play. With 10 seconds left on the clock, and a fired up crowd counting down, **Eric Jho (11)** and Sungwoo set up a double screen for Brian. Brian pulled up to the 3 point line, pumped fakes, and shot a clean 3 pointer, leaving SIS with only 2.6 seconds. As the Phoenix crowd jumped up and screamed, the buzzer went off, signaling the end of the game. “As a kid, I always imagined myself making a buzzer-beater. For it to become a reality was simply amazing,” said Brian, “It felt so unreal, and it was so much better because my parents were there as well as a lot of my friends. Probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”
 * Buzzer Beater **

by Jae Lee


 * By the Code

Longest basketball game: SIS 44 minutes

Total points scored at AISA: 277

Average number of points scored per game: 40

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bustles of spectators and the sounds of whistles, cheers, and groans echo throughout the Phoenix Gym. Even the unassuming bystander snacking outside the gym would know if a shot was made. But in particular, you can hear some cues – cues that may tell you that it is the Varsity Girls Basketball team playing. Here a few of those cues:
 * Girls Varsity Basketball (Edit 2)**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“3...2...1... Phoenix!” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Standard issue for all teams, all events, and all sports. This one is not an exception. Every time the girls play, they say it multiple times throughout the game. Good for team spirit – or at least, that’s what the student handbook says.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Aigo….” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Undoubtedly little freshman Annie Na’s (9) signature utterance. Every time she makes a move – regardless of context and quality – she automatically blurts out “aigo” with a yelp.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“MOHHHH!” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Oh (11) even has her own cheer – a privilege and honor not many players have a chance to enjoy. Variations include “MYOO”, which is for Michelle Yoo (9).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“RUN!” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cecilia Kim’s (9) high-pitched cry in itself is a crowd pleaser. “I am always surprised to see such a loud sound come from such a tiny girl!” said Sara Ha (10). This “RUN!” is accompanied by all sorts of other incomprehensible shrieks and squeals to motivate the girls to push hard until the quarter is over.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Brandon Koo

Double team! How many siblings compete in the same sport, as part of the same team, in the same high school? Not many. Such is the case with Lisa Kim (12) and her little sister, Rachel Kim (10).
 * Feature 2: Double Team (edit 2) **

As if seeing each other every single day was not enough, they also had to share their highs and lows, thirsty and sweaty moments as well. Rachel, after her debut in Varsity Basketball, said, “We got even closer by playing basketball together. It was so much fun, and it was special for us because this is the last year we can be on the same team.”

Both sisters have also been essential members of the team with starting positions. Even though it may not happen often, we can sometimes spot some team play between them on the court, proving that being stuck with each other for around 16 years indeed does have a large effect on cooperation.

by Brandon Koo

Average number of throats lost in games : 3
 * by the code** girls ball

Inspirational speech durations: 40 seconds

Number of plays that go bust: NONE

JV Girl's > 2 sophomores versus 10 freshmen. The season starts out with a heavy burden on Captain ** Yaerin Song ** ’s ** (10) ** shoulders: to lead a team of aspiring basketball players. Even though the freshmen know how to play basketball to a certain extent, high school basketball is different from middle school basketball (disclaimer: no mockery intended against middle school basketball). Competition among team members and against other schools is more intense – it is not a jamboree anymore. “I didn’t know basketball was this competitive of a sport,” remarked **Lizzie Jeon (9)**. Among all this confusion, the first practice kicks off:stairs, push-ups, sit-ups, laps, lay-ups, stairs, push-ups, sit-ups, laps, lay-ups, and finally,a water break. “The freshies were complaining in the hallway, but the funny thing is that they never complained in front of me or our coach,” Captain Yaerin proudly mentioned, “they were already high school basketball players at their core.” With all the sweat and injuries, of course, comes a reward to relish: the girls, regardless of grade level, came together as a team. After all, it’s not 2 sophomores versus 10 freshmen anymore; it’s 2 sophomores and 10 freshmen. > By Rachel Lee Boy's Bball <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Next year after the departure of the seniors, there will be at least three available spots on the KIS Varsity Boys Basketball team. The top candidates to fill these spots are, undoubtedly, members from the Junior Varsity team.
 * 1) ** Girls Junior Varsity Basketball: **** Freshmore **
 * Boys JV Bball (Edit 2)**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> "It is not the record that matters -- it is the experience we've had and the things we've learned that do," said Captain Pilwon Jeong (10) who has the number "1", as well as the word "Captain," on the back of his hoodie. The Co-captain, Reece Kim (10), is #5, and the back of his hoodie reads "Captain Villain."

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> In addition, on the front of every member's hoodie are the words "We are great men." At first glance, the words may seem slightly cocky. However, they are words that the coach, Mr. Hamilton, chose, and he had a deeper and more profound idea in mind. "Being a talented basketball player is great, and we strive for that, but it is a temporary pursuit. I would be much more proud of my players if they learned to be great men, for this is a lifelong pursuit and a more impact-ful aim."

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Furthermore, each member of the JV team has his own unique nickname on his hoodie as well. Some notable examples include:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Philip Bae (9), #11; "Houdini": Houdini is a world-renowned magician – whenever Philip plays, he leaves the crowd in awe.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Min Gu Kim (9), #23; "We are all witnesses" : This is a slogan on a Nike poster of Lebron James; thus, those who watch Min Gu play are "witnesses" to his skills.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Katie Kim (9), #0, Christine Lee (9), #0: "Water shuttle," and "4-Dimensions" : The two managers are the only two females on the team. 4 dimensions, in Korean, is “sa-cha-won”, which refers to somebody who is so weird that they don't exist in this dimension, the 3-D realm; “water shuttle” refers to somebody who delivers water to the players.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Let us once more congratulate the members of the JV basketball team for their effort, and hope that they will do even better next year! By Jay Jeong

Cheerleading > > They’re always there, powerfully stomping to their chants at the sidelines as they cheer on the basketball players fighting for the ball. We see them cheer and dance – but what we don’t see is their intensity. Camaraderie. Competitiveness. > For the 2012 Phoenix Varsity cheerleaders, this season was simply remarkable – nothing like they’ve ever experienced before. With a team of 18 cheerleaders, comprised of boys and girls ranging from grades 9 through 12, operating as a single squad was difficult at the beginning. “Our routines were rusty and our stunts were very shaky at first,” said Sara Ha (11). After winter break, however, the athletes endured perhaps the most high-tempo affair in preparation for competition: first-timers absorbed cheers and dances in record time, while veterans digested sophisticated routines and stunts. Practice after practice, new motions to the KAIAC routines were added, flyers fell, formations changed. But countless falls and mistakes only toughened the cheerleaders – on competition day, they wowed the audience with their perfectly timed jumps, tumbling, resounding voices, and a beautiful scorpion finale. > The season zapped to a quick close, but there are things to be recognized for their touch that dawdled in the athletes’ minds even after the season’s end: showing off sparkly spankies that sparked much attention during home games, asking each other for extra socks, hair ties, shirts, studying on the bus to Daegu right before finals week, and luxuriating in the bottomless pits of snacks. All the bits and pieces of the are, in the end, what made the season all the more special and memorable to the cheerleaders. > > > For years, the Varsity Phoenix Cheerleading squad had been trying to recruit boys. And finally, this year, this long-lived dream came true. David Chin (10), Scott Cho (10), Jin Kim (10) were the brave revolutionaries from the Radical Ace Crew who hopped on aboard to join the girls. With the addition of the new athletes, the Phoenix Varisty Cheer squad would never be the same. People saw immediate changes in the quality and stability of stunts. The level of stunts advanced within weeks; halfway through the season, the cheerleaders were already putting up extended scorpions, ground-up liberties, and ceiling-high basket tosses – with the addition of three boys. > With the incorporation of b-boy moves, the halftime routines could not compare with those of any other squad. Digesting new cheers, dances, and routines, they showed their own color zeal and enthusiasm. “Cheer was a new thing for me,” said David, “but I loved the new experience and look forward to the next season!” Girls JV Cheer **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">JV Cheerleading: A Cheery Bunch (Edit 2) ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Basket tosses, round-off smoosh stunt sequences, extensions, and ground-up liberties – this year’s JV squad emerged as a force to be reckoned with. This year’s JV cheerleading team was mostly comprised of freshmen and sophomores who were new to cheerleading. “It was difficult handling all the responsibilities,” confessed Captains Jane Han (10), “but I enjoyed being in a leading position, and had fun with the other JV members. I felt proud to see them improve.” The girls definitely set a new standard for JV squads as they were capable of advanced tumbling and stunts by the end of the season. At the annual KAIAC Competition, the girls impressed the judges as well as the other schools by performing a flawless routine. They were able to show off what they accomplished all season without leaving behind any regrets. With endless practice, the JV members were ready to take steps forward and take over.by Diana Lee
 * 1) Varsity Cheerleading: Cheer For the Win
 * 1) Bring the Boys Out
 * By the Codes

Spring
I asked the boys "What is your favorite thing about soccer?," and all of them replied with the same thing: working with the team members on and off the field. Considering the composition of the team – 9 freshmen, 6 juniors, 5 sophomores, 2 seniors, 11 returning players, 11 new faces – "working with the team members" seemed like it was going to be a challenge. However, either that problem never existed, or disappeared extremely quickly.
 * Boys Varsity Soccer: The New Eleven EDIT ONE BY JAE**

A wave of newcomers, a fresh breath of air. In goal, Hyunseok Kim (9): "To be a freshman in a varsity team may be daunting, but I had so many of my friends in the team, and all the upperclassmen were so kind." In defense, centrebacks Peter Han (9) and David Han (9). Peter, as cliched as it may sound, said "Soccer is not just about winning, it's about having fun." In midfield, Jeongmin Cho (9), Phillip An (9), Kevin Hong (9), Elliot Chung (10) and Gene Lee (10). Jeongmin, the profound boy that he is, said "Although there are many teams in our league that play soccer better than we do, there isn't a single team like ours that can walk away smiling after every game."And finally, in forward, Jeongsoo Park (9) and Ryan Lee (9). Ryan, our top goalscorer, remarked, "I have learned that teamwork, not personal flair, is the way to score goals."

The amount of sheer effort and dedication they have put in is not reflected in their season record. Next year, the team will look more or less the same, as there are only two seniors in the team. Luckily, this means that next year the players will be familiar with each other as well as each other's plays. Let's hope they all remain!

by Jay Jeong

Soccer is always played the same way year after year. This year, however, the coaches Mr. Evans and Mr. Page have implemented several new components. All of them are related to technology: an iPad, a team video, a team website, and even a Twitter account.
 * Boys Varsity Soccer: Social Soccer EDIT ONE BY JAE**

First, the iPad. In order to take statistics more efficiently, the coaches have decided to record the players' stats on an app named "Soccer Dad." The managers Jay Jeong (11) and Lizzie Jeon (9) alternate taking all the stats, such as shots, assists, saves, defends, and clears. Even better, Mr. Page has set up a Twitter account for KIS Soccer, and every time a player scores a goal, the program tweets it onto the internet. "With a focus on implementing technology this season, we are hoping to improve athlete motivation. Keeping statistics throughout the season enables athletes to compare and contrast their performance” claimed Mr. Page.

While stat taking existed last year, the team video is completely new to soccer. At every game and practice, the managers film and take photos of everything and compile all the good footage into a team video.

Finally, the team also has its own website. Schedules, statistics, and much more are posted here. There is also a link to the separate photo/video database where anybody can watch, share, and download the content. "It's a great addition," said Joshua Kim (12). "Soccer is now more interactive with the community, and everyone can enjoy the (mostly embarrassing) photos we put up on Facebook."

In all, KIS Soccer has gone through a technological revolution. How they play, however, is still full of creativity, and has not been "mechanized" in any sort of way. Mr. Evans does, however, emphasize the need to "look like a machine" prior to, during, and after a game.

by Jay Jeong

Top goalscorer: Ryan Lee (9): 6 goals, 4 assists Top number of shots: Dongmyung Lee (12): 47 shots
 * By the Code:**

"Through soccer, I've learned communication skills more than anything else." - Elliot Kim (10).
 * Quotes:**

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Girls Varsity Soccer Team Feature: 22 Plus 2 EDIT ONE DONE ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Soccer is not all about kicking, passing, and shooting. The KIS Girls Soccer team of 2012 definitely showed us that there is also a fun part to it. Compared to other teams, the bond between the two coaches, **Ms. Early** and **Ms. Villeneuve**, and the 22 players has something special - more than just a coach-player relationship. How many of you have been to your coach’s house? I’m sure that most, if not all of you, have never been near their door. This special opportunity was awarded to the girls soccer team this year - not to listen to an inspirational speech, not to practice any soccer related skills, but to watch a movie. “Being a part of the KIS Varsity Girls Soccer team is special because while we care about our on-field success, we also recognize that a lot of our success comes from the effort we put in off the field - diet, fitness, sleep, organization, communication, and also entertainment,” remarked Coach V. What more can we say about the friendship between the coaches and the players? And this close bond doesn’t end with just the movie. The two awesome coaches try their best to make the season special, unlike any other sports seasons. “The coaches prepare a lot for events, such as the Soccer olympics, once a year to build our soccer skills in a fun way with several games and stations. They really put a tremendous amount of their time into our season and the players, in return, give that much back,” remarked **Susie Kang (11)**. We all love our coaches, but no one can deny that this year’s soccer coaches have something special.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By Rachel Lee

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1 field, but 2 teams. Every team gets its own gym or court for practice, but the soccer team is an exception. Sharing a single field with the Boys Varsity Soccer team, the Girls team’s practice is more than extraordinary. Having to rotate on the late practice schedule with the boys every other day, the girls often don’t play soccer for the first hour - they run. And once the actual practice starts, they run again. After running a minimum of 5km each practice, real practice finally starts with drills, games, and scrimmages. All of this sounds more like a cross country practice, but of course there’s more to it. After running, running, and running, the coaches give a proud smile, and often a reward to the team: scavenger hunts. “Our coaches have fun activities like scavenger hunts which make us run around the school campus, but it’s actually for filling in our cardiovascular workouts,” explained **Jerica Yoon (11)**. Even the rewards weren’t just rewards; they were for fun and a workout. Nothing seems ordinary for the Girls Varsity Soccer team. From running miles and miles to workout-disguised rewards, each practice has something special.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Girls Varsity Soccer Team Feature 2 EDIT 1 by Jae **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By Rachel Lee

Number of Saves by Claire An: 176 (for 4.19.2012) Number of Goals by Rachel Kim: 9 (for 4.19.2012) Number of km ran: about 160km
 * Girls Varsity Soccer Team By the CODE**


 * Girls Varsity Soccer Team Quotes**
 * Rachel Yedam Kim (10)**: "Every goal was made by our whole team, not only me."
 * Jerica Yoon (11):** "This season was an experience-packed one."


 * SWIMMING**

They’re sexy and they know it. For the girls swim team, 11 strong, this season was defined by dramatic progress. With hardcore training under Coach **Jenkin**, the girls swim team emerged as a force to be reckoned with at both the AISA tournament and the KAIAC league, coming in first or second in the majority of the meets, and cutting time as if it were overgrown grass. Captain **Connie Hur (11)** proudly remarked, “Our girls are trying super hard to cut more time. And it’s somewhat working: everyone sets PBs (personal bests) all the time.” It’s not just the records – it’s also about the team. Through the hours of underwater team bonding and kilometers of daily swims, the girls grew accommodated to each other. And as they shared their tough moments of loss along with great joys of victory, more people were pushed into the pools, (sometimes without pocket checks), and even more were pushed into the close-knit swimming family.
 * Girls**
 * 11 Upstream FINAL**

by Brandon Koo

Have you ever sat through a swim meet? Swimming can be hard to spectate for a long period of time - partly because the swimming pools tend to be a little stuffy and the viewing decks, foggy, but mostly because there are only four strokes that a swimmer can do in the water: Butterfly, Freestyle, Backstroke, or Breaststroke. But for our girls, as the creative individuals they are, they managed to make up some more. Perhaps these would be more entertaining to watch at a meet.
 * Invent-a-Stroke FINAL**

The Jack-of-all-strokes, invented by **Hyeunjin Jin (11)**: “You basically do all the strokes at once. Your arms do freestyle and/or butterfly and your legs do breaststroke. The ultimate stamina test!”

The Corkscrew, invented by **Jane Ryu (11)**: “So after you dive, you start spiraling in a preferred direction...for 50 meters! But then the last time I tried, my legs cramped.”

The Brandon stroke, invented by **Jessie Kang (11)**: “To do this stroke, simply fail. Horribly. And drown. To death.”

The Jellyfish, invented by **Jennifer Choi (9)**: “It’s really easy! You swim backstroke but with breaststroke kicks and stuff. Good for cool-downs.”

Maybe in a parallel universe, these strokes already exist. Maybe there are races like 100 meter corkscrews or 200 meter jellyfishes, and they would be cheering for people doing the Brandon. But for now, swimmers are stuck with the four classics. And that’s just the beauty of swimming: it’s not what you swim that matters, it’s how you swim.

by Brandon Koo

Bananas consumed at AISA : 14 Average dive-streamline distance (all strokes): 8m Record time for a girl to get changed: 7minutes = =
 * By the codes girls swimming**

__**An Invaluable Gift FINAL**__ Day 2: Finals. After a day of intense swimming to pass the preliminaries, April 14th marked the day of the AISA swimming finals. With at least 1 swimmer in the finals for every single event, this shiver of sharks had a swimmer place in the top 3 for almost every single event. “After placing behind SIS for 3 consecutive years, this year we pulled off something great: not only did we break school records, we ultimately claimed first place in AISA. The baffled expressions of those who were doubtful were priceless; the smiles and cries of joy from our boys, unforgettable” claimed **Albert Park (11)**. The boys managed to defeat SIS in both the Medley and Freestyle relays for the first time – and even managed to break the KIS school record of the latter by 4 seconds. Defeating SIS by almost 200 points, the boys were ecstatic with their success and proud of their accomplishments over the season. Needless to say, they came to realize that all of their hard work (like swimming over 3000 meters a day) paid off in the end. Interestingly enough, whether it was by fate or random chance, this victorious day happened to fall on the birthday of the captain (and the very writer of this piece), **Jae Lee (12)**. He reflects: “I couldn’t have been happier. When we heard that our team came in first, I found that no other gift I had received before on my birthday could compare to this.” With some newly broken records, a brand new reputation, a countless number of ribbons, and some cake, the boys took home first place with an expression on each of their faces that could only be described as pure joy.

by Jae Lee

2 Fresh Minnows FINAL Word of these two kids has probably spread around the school by now. Shocking the members of the swim team from the very first day of tryouts, and often referred to, lovingly, as “the god kids” by some of the members, **Joonki Jin (9)**, whose main strokes are freestyle and backstroke, and **Joonyon Park (9)**, whose main strokes are butterfly and IM (individual medley)*, amazed everyone with their impressive swimming abilities. These boys began breaking KIS records from their very first meet, and only continued to advance forward. But there’s more to them than just their overall “hydrodynamicness” and insane records. The rush of new blood into the team has brought along bright, playful, helpful, and oftentimes strange personalities. These freshmen can be seen singing along at full volume to a song they’re listening to on their IPod, playfully pulling pranks on other members of the team, even giving some points on strokes, and in general, giving a good laugh. Yet, when it comes time to compete, they give it their all, never letting the team down. These two fresh minnows do bring a heap of points to the team - but more importantly, they bring along unique colors that makes the team what it is: a family.

by Jae Lee


 * IM is an event that consists of every stroke (Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle)

By the Code Maximum distance swam in a single practice: 5000m Number of meets in a season: 7 Number of school records broken: = = =Clubs=


 * NHS**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">National Honor Society members are virtually ubiquitous: they sell bagels for Morning Refresh as early as 7:30 in the morning, sell special chocolates free of child labor (which sold out in 2 days) during lunch, dole out t-shirts for Project Green, and collect second-hand objects to donate to the Beautiful Store project. They claim themselves to be agents of service – which rings especially true at KIS, where yearly traditions like tutoring, ushering for orientations and school plays, and accompanying a swarm of toddlers to the greenhouse on Earth Day are always overflowing with a team of behind-the-scene workers. “All of the members are eager to participate, even during the regular NHS club block,” said David Kim (11). “They’re productive during debates and discussions about activities.” Every club block starts with a keynote presentation by President Se June Han (12) (which explains why his desktop is always cluttered with numerous files titled “nhs meeting #”) to sum up the week’s agenda. The students then divide into groups to discuss new projects, plan events, and fill out official forms. As a token of gratitude for its devoted members, the big NHS family recognizes its members with strong work ethic by awarding “Member of the Month” awards. Inspiring the same enthusiasm in fellow KISians may not always be easy, but the faithful members somehow manage to exhibit a light brush of humor, brimmed with liveliness, even as they serve.

by Diana Lee

By the Code

- Number of projects: 16

- Number of members: 66

- Total number of hours: 1446

Wherever we go, it is in our nature to detect flaws in the system and attack them. With the growing size of the student body, facing bitter criticism and opposition from the masses is unavoidable. The top complaints of the student body are as follows: ...And the list goes on forever.
 * Student Council** __**The Senate to Save Us All FINAL**__
 * 1) How do the teachers expect us to get to some of our classes in only 5 minutes?
 * 2) Why are we expected to read during the sleepiest time of the day when we have tests/quizzes coming up in just a few hours?
 * 3) How do we take 3 tests and 1 quiz every day?
 * 4) How is there a fundraiser for every club, with similar purposes?

No worries – the newly established Student Senate will solve these problems for us. This year, the Senate has made many changes to deal with a few of the problems that KISians experience. For instance, next year the passing time will be extended (getting around the school in 5 minutes is simply impossible), there will no longer be a KIS Reads (my apologies to the bookworm minority), there will be a master calendar for teachers to set up exam dates (no more 3 tests-in-1-day phenomena), and fundraising activities are already being examined by the Senate at every meeting //(//donate for 1 cause at a time//)//. Fellow KISians, do not underestimate the Senate: it will provide you with the best school possible for the students, by the students.

by Rachel Lee

-Number of Senators to change KIS: 38 -Highest number of spirit points: SENIOR: 220 pts -Average % of spirit week attendance: 62.3 %
 * By the Code


 * National Honor Society (2)**
 * By the Code

How many clubs on campus does every single student know. Definately not many. Lucky for its members and presidents, Key Club can be considered one of the few. Well, Key Club here in KIS is technically one of the latest branches of a huge central organization from the US. They work hard day and night (figuratively) to gather as many students as possible to make what they do possible; helping the community and making KIS and its surroundings a generally better place.
 * Key Club**

Their activities range from community service, day care and tutor programs, all the way to guest speakers. And its achievements are remarkable as **John Kim (11)** stated that “It is difficult to believe that Key Club has been founded in KIS a few years ago because of how big it has grown and what it has done since its first establishment.” And with their head moving smoothly, made clear by **Jane Ryu (11)** who said “All the members are hardworking students and the officers are diligent”, It is hard to imagine Key Club dying out any time soon.

So in conclusion, here we have a new, young club pushing its way into the established system. But habitat did it, and so did NHS, so why not? Maybe later they might hold Key Fairs or something of that manner. Or maybe not. But the important fact is that Key Club is doing its thing, and it’s doing it well.


 * by Brandon Koo**

Among the clusters of posters around our school that advertise upcoming NHS projects, Student Council’s socials, and Phoenix Theater’s plays are posters that speak in pictures of innocent faces held at gunpoint, with the common symbol of a yellow candle in barbed wires at the bottom. Symbolizing a gleam of hope encircled by injustices and corruption, the candle holds a deep meaning: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” This emblem is the single unifying factor that ties the posters together, each and every one manually created by the Amnesty International Club to promote petitions. Founded by ** Rachel Lee (11) **, Amnesty International is the first club in KIS to recognize the grave abuses of human rights. The basic rights – to us, they are as obvious and clear as they are stated in every history textbook – are denied by numerous governments across the globe. “It is just one candle, one signature, one poster that can grant real lives to these people. It doesn’t take much: just a signature next to the candle will do,” explained Vice President **Natalie Ha (11)**. Indeed, it does not take much, but it certainly gives a lot. The next time you see the yellow candle, sign your name and enter your e-mail address to show support for their efforts. By Rachel Lee
 * Amnesty International**

Dance Club

Dance and music go hand-in-hand (since dancing to no music would definitely be awkward). Since music is such a vital component of dance, it is up to the members of the Dance Club to select the most exciting and popular songs, and choreograph accordingly.

What are some of your favorite dance songs?

“It really depends on what I find. Finding dance choreo is quite difficult because you need to find the right style for the right skill level. Usually I search on YouTube for inspiration and I get lucky.”
 * Susie Kang (11):**

How long do you practice for a particular song, and do you meet outside of school to practice?

"It depends on how difficult the dance is, but I usually take about three days to learn a dance for a particular song. I practice often with my friends during lunch and after school, but not outside of school."
 * Michelle Bae (11):**

What has been the group's greatest success this year?

"I feel that our club's greatest success this year has been the amount of organized performances we were able to have! In the past, we would sign up to perform but wouldn't be able to get ready in time, and either gave up or performed a rough, rushed routine. But this year, I think at every performance, we rocked it."
 * Lynn Moon (12):**

The dancers have given spectacular performances at the pep rallies and other events. They lift spirits and "break the ice," and let's hope they do next year as well!

by Jay Jeong

Radical Ace Crew is back – but this time, with a brand new set of members. The group was first formed by a few graduates of the Class of 2011: Daniel Kim, Albert Joo, Paul Choi, Jay Park, and Kenny Kim. Before his graduation, Albert introduced **David Chin (10)**, **Scott Cho (10)**, **Ted Park (10)**, and ** David Kim (11) ** to the art of breakdancing. Although the second generation of the Radical Ace Crew is still young and inexperienced, it has gained widespread recognition from school events. “We received second place in KIS Got Talent, and also performed during our school pep rallies,” said David. “I hope we have more chances to show our talent so we can perform in greater events outside of school!” In addition to the b-boy club, the boys have taken initiative to meet every Monday, and sometimes even during weekends, up to five hours at a time. This devoted group of boys show what unlimited change and growth is like, and hope to see more involvement and interest from other students.
 * Radical Ace Crew **


 * by Diana Lee **

Habitat for Humanity (2) Break out from school and go out to do some good ol’ manual labor! This is exactly what the Habitat crew did as a part of their bi-annual trip. This time, the promised land was Krabi, Thailand.
 * HABITAT**
 * The 18-man journey**

Many things happened, to say the least. There was a deceiving abundance of American fast food chains in the airports, which completely fooled them as they only had shrimp (and even more shrimp) piled on their dishes during the days thereafter. They had to dig holes, mix cement, move sand, build walls, move bricks... and mix cement (was that already mentioned?). They also had to endure swarms of mosquitos at night, only surviving off of spray and in some cases, Axe. But it also has to be said that the memories created and the bonds formed far outweighed the suffering. There were story times and game sessions that featured rounds of mafia and pairs. Secrets were shared, (what was said in Thailand stays in Thailand. Right, peeps?) and laughter lasted for hours throughout the night, as students and advisors alike gathered and shared cheesy jokes and awkward moments. Despite all the work and fatigue, almost everyone pushed on to about 3 in the morning everyday to construct an even greater structure than a house: the ties of friendship.

And as all trips have an end, this one did too. With a quieter return trip than a freight train (so not that quiet) and the lingering of all the great times of the past week, the 18 volunteers of Habitat landed at the Incheon International Airport – only to figure out that they had school in, like, 10 hours. Tough luck, students.

by Brandon Koo

Unexpected Paradise On a hot sunny day, we cruised across the cool Thai ocean to a nearby tropical island. Talk about paradise. The day started out with just a simple painting activity (well, not for the F table), and soon after, we were traveling on two boats towards Chicken island. With the salty air and bright sun, we couldn’t help but be hyper. After arriving at an island, walking around it for a while, discovering it was the wrong one, riding the boats again to the right island, and watching the pro navigator park his boat in an impossibly small space, we charged on to the beach and enjoyed just being out under the sun. Soon after, we were back on boats and literally diving in with the fish. Eric Kim (12) was the first to dive, yelling “They’re attacking me!” as he was swarmed by fish. One by one, we all jumped in and had a chance to get mobbed by a beautiful (and admittedly freaky) swarm of fish. All too soon, we were cruising back to shore. Occasionally, the boys on the trip would nominate someone to stand up and flex their muscles for the girls on the other boat, but aside from that, we just enjoyed the view of the beautiful “floating” islands around us. The day came to a close with rounds of epic card games back at the hotel, and hours on end of laughter. For all of us, the action-packed day was an amazing paradise in a completely unexpected place. By Jae Lee

Average number of bricks moved at a time: 200 Tubs of cement produced: 30 Number of shrimp consumed on the trip: countless
 * By the Code

=Events=

__**Musical (Jay) - FINAL**__ Students have been gifted with numerous first-ever performances this year. Jazz Night was a huge success, and so was KIS’ Got Talent. On April 26th, 27th, and 28th, the first-ever Phoenix Theater musical, //Little Shop of Horrors,// continued the winning streak.

The PAC was packed with students, parents, and teachers, as eager singers, actors, musicians, and coordinators gave it their all in 3 spectacular performances. The lights went off, and the musicians, including **Mr. Londgren** on bass, started to play. Interestingly enough, the musical was originally a low-budget black comedy horror rock musical. But musicians **Arnold Hwang (11)**, **Steve Kim (11)**, and **Eunice Choi (11)** played around with the music and added their own jazzy touches.

The curtains were drawn and the stage was revealed: a small flower shop on Skid Row. The story began with Seymour (**Chris Kim (11)**), Audrey (**Yoonshin Lee, (11)**), and Mr. Mushnik (**Samuel Han (11)**) managing a moribund flower shop until one day, Seymour puts a strange plant (played by **Jacob Lee (10)** and voiced by **Eric Kim (12)**) on display, and business takes a turn for the better – or does it? The rest of the plot mustn't be spoiled; if you haven't watched it, get a hold of the DVD!

Yoonshin reflected, "Although I was nervous, as soon as I got on stage it felt like just another rehearsal. Seeing the audience clap for us made me so happy!” Indeed, this successful event was a great reflection of the Phoenix Theater’s 4 months of preparation.

__Patio on Fire (Diana) -FINAL__ The weather may have been chilly, but the spirits of the musicians and concert-goers remained crisp and warm at Student Council’s annual Patio on Fire. Candle-lit tables and a stage outlined by the sunset completed the conference hall’s romantic transformation. With performers representing each grade, as well as bits of the faculty, the evening was a treasury of creative collaborations ranging from indie favorites (The Beach Boys’ //Graduation Day// performed by **Mr. Plamondon**) to acoustic renditions of pop hits ( Lady Gaga’s //Born This Way// by **Jina Kim (11)** and **Seung Ah Lee (11)**), and Korean ballads (10 cm’s //Americano// by **Yeon Ho Kang (9)**). Although there were problems with the audio setup, it did not hinder the musicians from producing quality music. //"//This was my first performance in high school,” said **Jeongmin Cho (9)**. “It was a great opportunity for people to socialize and for performers to express their love for music.” As concerts go, this was certainly an event many students will wish to re-experience and some will sorely regret having missed (but fear not, the video yearbook crew has captured scenes of the night!).

By Diana Lee

Pep Rally - FINAL

Once a quarter, the entire KIS High School population bustles into the Phoenix Gym to revitalize spirits dampened by stifling workloads and sleepless nights. The KIS pep rallies fire up school spirit with performances, introductions, activities, and of course – cheering competitions. Performances by the Radical Ace Crew, the Phoenix cheerleaders, and the Blackouts dance crew ignite an immediate outburst of celebration from the stands. Following the performances are formal introductions of each season’s varsity athletes to encourage support for the sports teams and briefly discuss the progression of their respective seasons. When the student body divides into its respective classes, the Phoenix Gym erupts into quite a scene. “It’s always exciting to watch my friends fight against students from other grades!” exclaimed **Jina Kim (11)**. A series of activities planned by the Student Council (including tug-o’-war, obstacle relays, dodgeball, wingless Phoenix chicken fights) triggers friendly competition among the grades for an ice cream sundae party. And of course, the brand new faculty supreme team, comprised of teachers in quirky outfits, is an unmissable sight for everyone. For both students and faculty, KIS pep rallies are valuable treats that successfully rekindle energy into the school.

By Diana Lee

__SEOMUN (Jay J) FINAL__

On November 3rd, hundreds of future leaders of the world flooded the COEX Conference Hall to participate in the SEOMUN conference. SEOMUN day one was held at KIS, where, even before the conference began, students were treated to an excellent guest lecture by Dr. Minh A. Luong, Assistant Director of International Security Studies at Yale University. Once Hee Jae Choi (12), the Secretary General of the conference, struck the gavel down with full force against the sound block, SEOMUN XIV officially commenced. Student delegates met with other delegates to discuss world issues and form solutions. First-timer Hae Bin Kim (10) remarked, "Being in MUN has helped me grasp a better understanding of the world and all the issues that exist within it." Most, if not all, MUNers will agree with what she said, as they too have spent countless hours researching, writing, and debating about issues such as nuclear proliferation, bioenergy, human rights, cyber crime, and more – all of which are relevant to our society. The next two days of the SEOMUN conference were held at the COEX Conference Hall. Intense debate ensued, resolutions were scrapped, and sharp POIs were exchanged. In the end, the practical and expedient resolutions were passed. With the same gavel that kicked off SEOMUN XIV, Hee Jae Choi (12) struck the sound board one final time to officially put an end to the memorable conference. By Jay Jeong

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__KIStival feature: Santa's Gift on 12.2.2011 edit 2 done__ ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The NHS KIStival is the one and only Christmas festival available at KIS for <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__all__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> grades. Amidst the excitement, one particular item steals the spotlight: Beats by Dr. Dre. This luxurious pair of headphones is enough to motivate students and teachers to buy raffle tickets. The more ticket stubs you have, the more likely you are to win the Beats. "It's the Beats that sells most of the tickets. I think it's the best campaign anyone can ever think of," says Eric Park (11).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s finally time. After a talent show starring the high school teachers and students, NHS President Se June Han (12) appears on the stage with a box of raffle tickets. Everyone in the conference hall finds a table or chair to neatly align their tickets on and check for any matching numbers. 431, 289, 2340, 189, 146, the list goes on. Multiple numbers were called until 5 people finally held up their tickets in wild celebration. Half disappointed and half curious, the rest of the audience waits for the lucky individuals to be announced. Those who are called onto the stage are then asked to stand next to a box – any of which could contain the Beats. One by one, the gifts are unwrapped: a Starbucks gift card, a pair of socks and blankets, a tumbler along with some chocolate, a USB stick, and These come from trees stickers. The Beats, in the end, goes to the lucky star of the night: Ms. Dunning. But to everyone's surprise, Ms. Duninng revealed a shocking secret: “I don’t have the Beats. In fact, I gave it to Mr. Randall because the winning ticket was actually from him!”

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Rachel Lee

Socials

__**Halloween Social (Jae)**__ Desks topple over, screams echo down the halls, and the G building is pitch black with eerie lights shining through the windows. Welcome to the halloween social. As always, the highlight of every halloween social is the haunted house the Student Council manages to organize every year. This year went beyond any expectation. Perhaps the most terrifying thus far, the Haunted House managed to push many of the students to their limits. From 7 P.M. to 9 P.M., everyone was in for one of the most terrifying nights of their lives – just for some glow sticks. It sounded simple enough: follow the course of the haunted house and find the glow stick in each room. You will //not be allowed to leave// a room until you find it. Little did we know what each room had in store for us. “Oh my god” seemed to be the most frequently spoken phrase, as students entered each room and saw what was in store for them. Who wouldn’t freak out and run for the nearest door after walking into a room full of girls with long hair sitting behind desks, pulling a glow stick out of a girl’s hand, and having 10 of these girls scream and chase you around the room? And then there were those rooms where you just couldn’t find the glow stick. Creepy figures would just stand in one place and watch you silently as you went about searching. And then there was **Mr. Hamilton** with his bag of Mychews. By the time Mr. Hamilton, dressed in his bear costume, popped out from the bathroom and asked if you wanted a Mychew, you were so scared already that you couldn’t help but scream. One thing is clear: no one walked into the haunted house and walked out the same. Everywhere you looked, there was a reincarnation of some of the most horrible scenes anyone could imagine (and yes, even the sight of Mr. Hamilton in a bear costume offering Mychew).

__**Jazz Night (Jay)**__ The conference hall was packed, the Tri-M members were busy, and last but not least -- the performers were amazing. Through a joint effort between the teachers, students, and parents, Jazz Night was an elegant success.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">The moment the Este Jazz band came up on stage, the crowd was on fire. The members stylishly kicked off the night with their renditions of "Coming Home" by Michael Bublé and Take the A Train by Billy Strayorhn, while the Tri-M members scurried to serve the audience members their food. "Jazz is not just a collection of notes,” remarked **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Arnold Hwang (11) **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"> (or Mr. Magic, as he would better be known after the night), “It is the upbringing of the soul into another dimension, one where art is the dominant element." After Este was done, Eep and the League of Merry Gentlemen came up and surprised the crowd when one of its members, **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bobby Choi (11) **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">, provided vocals, instead of trumpet as he usually would have.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">The combined “jazzicians” gave it their all in a final performance, and the parents, teachers, and students in the audience alike clapped endlessly. And the performers, just like they were cheered on, were cheered off the stage, signifying the end to a successful night.

by Jay Jeong

Winter Concert

It’s a rare occasion where students and parents get to see the PAC stage full of people – full as in packed with students until there is no more room, not to mention all the instruments that normally clog the halls. The first week of December marked the high school’s combined winter concert, which is held annually around Christmas time, to showcase the season’s carols and spread holiday spirit to everyone (ho, ho, ho). This year, due to the largest concert band class in KIS history, the concert involved around 200 instrumentalists alone, along with another 50+ singers. The holiday atmosphere wafted into the audience even before the concert through occasional musicians with fancy santa-or-tree hats and ties, wielding decorated instruments. The Concert Band’s tuba player ** Sean Kim (10) **, who wore a noticeable hat, commented, “It was quite new to see the PAC that full. Performances took long as well, and the stage was crowded, but the music was good. And my hat was heavy.” The concert numbers were lively as every part of the music department took turns amusing the audience with holiday tunes, that most were able to hum along with, mixed with other ear-freshening pieces. The highlight of the show was when the whole high school music department, literally, showed up to present everyone with a medley of familiar carols (that means all 250 students had to stand in that little tiny stage). Eventually, music flowed through the aisles and halls as they had to use every inch of the PAC to hold all the performers. This concert, packed with spirit, effort, and of course, students, gave laughter and joy to many to start off the last season of the year.

__Spring Concert__

“I can feel your halo, halo, halo” rings the PAC as the a capella group from the Phoenix Chamber Singers opens the concert. The spring choral concert featured 4 a capella groups that sang a variety of songs ranging from classics to current hits, under only 2 conditions: no group could use any song used by last year’s groups, and each group had to create a unique rendition. “Our dance movements were much less than something to be admired, but I had a completely new experience on stage,” exclaimed **Christina Chin (12)**, “All of the performances were charming, creative and spectacular!” The second group performed choreography with a beautiful medley of Somebody to Love by Queen, and Rhythm of Love by Plain White T that left the crowd cheering and applauding. The third group performed only one song, Rolling in the Deep by Adele, but was able to stage a powerful performance, including some beatboxing. The final group staged a rendition of Train’s Hey Soul Sister along with a rendition of Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean (**Freddy Shim**’s **(11)** pelvis thrusts were definitely one of the night’s highlights). The a capella performances not only impressed the audience, but also had them having fun with the performers and clapping for more.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Fall Play Feature: The Servant of Two Masters (edit 2)__ ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A tall, skinny boy confidently enters the stage. The audience falls silent in anticipation of this legendary main character. As his first soliloquy comes to an end, everyone in the audience claps after a moment of awe. After his inspirational introduction, the whole crowd waits for him to appear on stage once again. Despite having to recite thousands of lines, including Italian food names like bagna, zuppa, scaloppine al limone, he does not show even a glimpse of unease. But perfection cannot be reached without effort: he admitted, “I repeated the same passages over and over again until they were glued to my mouth!” Playing the role of Truffaldino, this boy has a talent for winning the hearts of the audience until the end. He is only a freshman, but he does not seem to be timid at all – in fact, he stands out as the quirkiest, most cheerful actor of the bunch. “When I first heard about the play, I hurriedly looked it up on Wikipedia and found out that it was the perfect chance for me to finally step up on stage,” he said. “Quite contrary to my seemingly scholarly and serious character, I’m actually very loud and jocular!” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> As eyewitnesses of perhaps, one of the greatest plays in the history of the Phoenix Theater, we all give our special thanks to this “skinny freshman”, “Chinese master”, “spotlight of the year” – and of course, the servant of two masters: **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jae Hyun Park (9) **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Droid Serif'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By Rachel Lee Spring Play

April Anarchy by Diana Lee

Give them a week, and the students will unleash their delightful madness. During the annual April Anarchy, the entire high school was on a five-day pep rally streak. What are some interesting ways the students presented themselves on each day?


 * Pajama Day + Crazy Hair Day : Striding down the hall in an oversized t-shirt, a pair of sweats, and bed hair to complete the picture, **Terry Kim (12)** said, “I just walked out the door straight from my bed – what a perfect day.”


 * Character Day: Dressed as Dorothy, **Seohyun Kim (11)** appeared in a cute blue dress, white stockings, and red shoes. She, however, remarked: “No one recognized my character...they just thought I had a weird taste for fashion.”


 * KIS Wear : Among the people who wore blue jackets, sweats, and PE shirts, stood out one figure: **Ms. Yang**, who wore a rare red KIS t-shirt. “People thought I custom-ordered a red shirt for the occasion!”


 * Hat Day : Many students took advantage of this day to wear hats in class (possibly to get away with dozing off!). **Jaemin Shin (10)** commented, “It was fun breaking rules for a day!”


 * Class T-Shirt Day: Every student divided into their classes according to their t-shirt colors: purple, black, blue, and red. The junior class had a pair of sunglasses on the class t-shirt – some adorned the symbol with jewels, and some, like **Sumin Lee (11)**, **Sarah Bock (11)**, and **Insun Choi (11)** wore shades to match.

==

Teachers
"I've had 3 wonderful years at KIS and will never forget the students I have taught (English and History), coached (volleyball), judged (speech and debate), chaperoned (MUN), buzzed (Battle of the Books), and studied (homework surveys)! It's been fun watching you grow over the years, and I'll miss you all!" - Ms. Boyle

“I have been here for the past four years as the High School Principal. In that time, I have had the pleasure of working with the best teachers in the world and the best students that anyone could ask for. We love KIS, and my life is certainly richer from my experience here. It will be very hard to say goodbye to so many wonderful people. My wife and I will return to North Carolina where we will retire to a beautiful mountain community and I will spend time playing golf and working in the vegetable garden. Everyone is invited and expected to visit us in the near future.” - Mr. Christenbury

“It has been a wonderful 4 years at KIS for me. The staff and students were so very amazing. It is bittersweet to be leaving, but I am excited to be moving on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and continuing to teach Theatre and Drama in a tropical venue at M'KIS! I thank all the students here for the creative energy they generated in the classroom, onstage and backstage. You are all stars in my eyes and I will miss your talent and commitment to being //"Fan//**//cast//**//ic"// and //"In//**//crew//**//dible"// deeply. Keep breaking legs!!! - Mr. Johnson

“Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.” - Mr. Kvam

“Though I will most certainly leave a part of my heart here in Korea, I am also excited to be heading home. I want to wish all of my students the very best, and to say to each and every one of them 'Keep Singing!'"” - Ms. Stephens

"<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">I feel lucky to have worked with such intelligent, fun, caring kids. I hope that our legacy will continue with PTV and the Phoenix Plume. Gisella and I will miss you in Jakarta! Come visit!" <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">-Mr.Longbotham

(still waiting for Mrs. Longbotham, Ms. Webster, Mr. Stephens)