IICS TIMES ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL / JUNE , 2014 ISSUE NO. 4

World Cup Has Finally Arrived!Reporter: Alex Finn Avato, Ido Evyatar, Semih Pence

aavato@stu.iics.k12.tr, ievyatar@stu.iics.k12.tr, spence@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

• • •The world cup is the major event happening in June and July. It started on Thursday, June 12th and will end on the 13th July.

There are 32 teams participating in the world cup games, representing 32 different countries. The country hosting the 2014

World Cup is Brazil.

The world cup tournament has been running since 1950 and is held every 4 years, in different countries each time. The 32

countries have been divided into 8 groups. Each group is composed by 4 teams which will play against each other to

determine a winner of the group. The first and second team in the group table qualify for the knockout stage. Each team

participating will receive 8,000,000 US dollars.The winners will receive 35,000,000 US dollars. Before the world cup there

are pre world cup games.

Despite the World Cup’s popularity and reputation around the world, there has been some controversy regarding the

funding for the tournament. A a lot of money has been invested into this World cup instead of into schools and hospitals.

Furthermore, this is a very big problem because Brazil is still a developing country and the people want the Brazilian

government to spend its money more effectively. There are also huge security problems since people have started riots

against the World Cup.

The 2014 Brazil World Cup will be a great tournaments with a lot of new surprises. Each time will try their best in order to

represent their country. Good luck!

VENEZUELAMr. Perron’s Weekly

FlagReporter: Isabella Blanchard

iblanchard@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

The flag of the month has some interesting history and some

controversial politics involved with it.  Lets take a closer look at

this flag both groups who are rioting in Venezuela claim as their

main symbol.

The first thing you will notice is the colors.  These are known as

the Bolivarian colors of Gran Colombia.  At one time in history

a man by the name of Simon Bolivar fought against the Spanish

colonizers to free in order Venezuela, Columbia (which at that

time included Panama) and Ecuador.  That is why all three

nations use these colors in their flags today.  It was Simon

Bolivar’s dream that they would be one country called gran

Colombia.  Alas the countries separated into the three nations

we have today. The colors stand for the richness (Yellow) of the

land it’s self, the courage (Blue) of those who fought for freedom

and live here today and the blood (Red) shed by those who

fought to win independence from Spain.

Now lets look at those stars.  The original flag had seven stars

to represent the original seven provinces of Venezuela.  Then

Hugo Chavez added an eighth star in 2006 to represent

Venezuela’s claim to Western Guyana, which President Chavez

claims the British illegally took when they still controlled it as a

colony.  The dispute began with a treaty signed in 1899.  Since

then Venezuela has brought the issue to world attention in

1962, 1966, 1967,1969 and 1981.  Venezuela has also blocked

two attempts by Guyana to join the Organization of American

States.  It is also why Guyana plays in the CONCAF region

(North America, Central America and Caribbean) for World

Cup Football instead of the South American Zone.

The last curious thing about those eight stars is that when

President Hugo Chavez added the eighth star in 2006 Venezuela

actually had 21 provinces. Hmm.

Class trips give students the opportunity to learn outside classroom walls. They provide the chance to build new friendships and to create new memories. The majority of the 9th grade, whom travelled to Gallipoli and Troy, definitely proved this to be true. Going onto the bus, the first morning of the trip, nobody knew what to expect. A few hours into the trip, we made a stop at what seemed to be the only shopping mall in Tekirdag, some three hours from Istanbul, for lunch and some free time to walk amongst ourselves. At this point of the trip, everyone was already interacting with people they would not usually speak to in a regular school environment.

As the day progressed, we finally reached our hotel after a about a 5 hour bus ride. Before we even had the chance to unpack, we were already out the door again. Our hotel was located on the Dardanelles, which is a strait that separates the European side of Turkey, from the Asian side. We walked out of our hotel, and straight onto a ferryboat, which would take us to a city on the Asian side called Canakkale. Canakkale is a touristic city, well known for its replica of a Trojan Horse used in the film Troy, starring a reasonably famous actor you might of heard of, Brad Pitt! This Trojan Horse was one of many, but this one was definitely the most grand and beautiful out of them all. As we were there, most of the girls passed their time by walking along the strait, as the guys were playing basketball with some of the Turkish locals. The interaction between the local people and us was amazing to see...sport can indeed bring people together. It was finally time to head back to the hotel, as everyone was hungry and tired after the long day. The ferry ride back was definitely one to remember, as the sun was setting along the Dardanelles. We

arrived back at the hotel and ate dinner, which many seemed to enjoy. After dinner, it was time to watch a humanities documentary, since this was a humanities based trip. Many students fell asleep during the film, not because it was boring, but because we were tired from a long day. I speak for everyone when I say that we slept like rocks that night.

The next morning, we were woken up by the sound of generous teachers un-taping our doors. Yes, you did read this correctly, our doors had sticky tape to ensure that we would stay in our rooms each and every night (a broken seal, meant that we had left the room). It was a warm and exciting day to come. We travelled ancient city of Troy, which was amazing. We got to walk around an outdoor museum, which used to be a Greek city. Our guide was very enthusiastic, going into great depth at each stop on the tour. At the end of the tour, yet another Trojan Horse, however this time we could climb into it. Lunch time soon arrived and found ourselves at turkish kebab restaurant that had another Trojan Horse near the entrance. The replica however, looked more like a lamba than a horse. Thankfully, the food was truly delicious. Following an excellent meal and good conversation we went to the beach, where some went running, some were playing football, and others were just relaxing. We went back to the hotel after this, and ate dinner and watched another humanities documentary. When that finished, we returned to our rooms, were taped in once again by our teachers, and went to bed.

The next morning, we ate breakfast and started off the day early. The 3rd day was definitely a lot to take in. We visited multiple cemeteries, where some student’s found the memorials

of old family members or family friends. We also got to see some of the war trenches. Seeing the gravestones of so many that died in the war was an emotional experience, even more so, knowing that the soldiers that died, were similar to our own age. It is difficult to imagine what it could have been like, going to war in what is such a beautiful and peaceful area. It should remind us all of how lucky we are to be alive and well.

For lunch, we drove back to the hotel and ate there. Afterwards, we drove to a different park/beach. We spent a few hours there as well. After that, we drove to the hotel for dinner. This was our last day, so it was time for the Abizaid Game Show, which was definitely a highlight. We were split up into our homeroom groups, and were asked a series of questions about all of the history we had learned on the trip. The last day, we packed our bags early in the morning and headed home. This was definitely a great experience for everyone, as we started to appreciate each other more. New friendships were definitely built, and new memories created. This was an unforgettable trip and everyone had loads of fun.

Grade 9 Class Trip: GallipoliReporter: Caroline Rou/Mr. Esmail

crou@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

This year for class trips, Grade 8 spent

half a week in the city of Avanos, more

commonly known to tourists as

‘Cappadocia’. Avanos is a city in

Nevşehir, in central Turkey.  The city has

a long and rich history, being a home to

both the Byzantines, and Christian’s in

hiding, among other people’s and

empires. Cappadocia’s tourism is largely

based off the geography of the area, and

the various rock formations called ‘fairy

chimneys’. It is also well known for it’s

hot air balloon rides, however Grade 8

did not venture on these.

Despite this, Grade 8 had a great time

in Cappadocia, and really enjoyed their

trip. The students really enjoyed the

hiking, and their ability to explore the

underground cities and caves all about

them. One student said, ‘It was definitely

the coolest part of our trip, the caves.’

Other students on the trip enjoyed the

pottery workshop that was offered for

all the students this year, amongst other

events, such as the opportunity to swim

or play football. But most students

agreed that the best thing about the

class trip was that students got time to

relax and be with their friends--just

socializing in general.

Grade 8 really enjoyed their stay at the

Saruhan hotel, and all the events and

activities, planned by both teachers and

students together. They cannot wait to

see what next year’s event holds for

them, although skeptical that any school

trip will be better than this one.

CAPPADOCIA

As another year has gone by, the secondary

IICS community has voted for the new

STUCO committee of 2014/2015. The new

committee is as follows: Arda Sozer as the

President, Eren Isvan as the Vice, Yaman Yazici

as the Secretary and Arman Muslu as the

Treasurer.

All four members have provided creative

advertising and powerful speeches in order

to convince 250 students to vote for them.

Throughout the process, the promises made

were definitely the most vital part of

attracting interest and votes. Each member

clearly managed to point out the

communities’ desired goals, which led them

to win their respective positions. However,

are these promises actually going to be

fulfilled?

IICS Times interviewed STUCO president,

Arda Sozer, to gain insight. When asked what

he and his colleagues have been working on

recently, he listed four upcoming events:

The most popular vent is prom, happening on

the 23rd of May at the beautiful Suada.

The second event is the secondary lock-in -

an event that many students previously

attended and appreciated. The next lock-in

will be improved as recommendations have

been collected and are applied.

The third event that they are planning is

spirit week, for which they have to come up

with creative and fun themes for students to

dress up as each day.

The final and new upcoming event is a field

trip on the last week of school. In-depth

information is not yet provided, but it is a

promising closure to the year.

Further details about the events will be

revealed soon. We wish our new STUCO the

best of luck in the realization of these goals

and for the rest of the year.

Reporter: Alara Villaavilla@stu.iics.k12.tr

• • •

Grade 8 Class Trip:

CappadociaReporter: Joseph Hilditch

jhilditch@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

STUCO Plans

As we all know, technology plays a big role in school nowadays. Our school uses technology for everything. From our

projectors to our computers, technology is a huge part of our curriculum. Most schools do not have computers for each

student: an example of this can be found in Mattawan Consolidated School. Our school is fortunate enough to have

computers for everyone. It is very beneficial to the school and its students to have computers because it enables work outside

the campus and much smoother communication. The communication provided by technology allows students to open up to

the rest of the world, thus making people more internationally-minded. While technology has negative effects, it has proven to

be a positive development in education systems.  

This year, for the annual class trips,

Grade 7 went to Dalyan. In Dalyan,

Grade 7 went to a mud bath. It is said

that after the whole experience is over,

you are supposed to appear younger and

you skin is meant to be cleaner. After the

experience, one student said “I didn’t

really like the mud bath because I didn't

like that there were fish inside.” They

also went to Kaunos, an ancient city. In

Kaunos, they went to the amphitheatre

to perform a skit and they also went to

visit a school. At the school they played

with kids and gave them presents. They

went to the beach where loggerhead

turtles and green turtles come during

spring to lay their eggs. One student

said, “I liked the beach the most because

we had free time, we could do whatever

we wanted”. They visited a turtle

reserve and saw a lot of hurt and badly

injured animals. Their trip also consisted

of a visit to a dog shelter where they

went into the cages of different dogs to

pet them. They also went on a treasure

hunt where they had to find certain

places or things in Dalyan. Several

students made general comments about

the trip.

One student said “I really enjoyed the

trip because they had many activities and

it was also a good chance for me meet

new friends. I would love to go again

because I could meet more friends”.

Another student said “I really liked

walking around in Kaunos and the beach

and the dog shelter and playing with the

kids at the school because they were all

fun and I had a great time during the

activities. I didn't really like the morning

exercises because it wasn't very fun

compared to the other things we did. I

really liked the trip because it was really

fun. I would really like to go again.”

Reporter: Cem Tavilogluctaviloglu@stu.iics.k12.tr

• • •

Technology in School

Grade 7 Class Trip

Reporter: Jack Noblejnoble@stu.iics.k12.tr

• • •

This year, Grade 10 students have been very fortunate as they had the opportunity to spend four memorable days in London

for their 2014 class trip.

On Tuesday 1st of April, the group met at the Atatürk Airport at 6:30 in the morning. Everyone was on time so Grade 10

students and the teachers headed over the plane. However, poor weather conditions in London caused the delay of the plane

departure and therefore all the passengers were trapped in the plane for 5 hours. Those hours were long, and by the time the

plane took off, most people wanted to kill each other. Nonetheless, the Grade 10 students found multiple ways to entertain

each other with music, conversations, jokes, card games and a little bit of sleep. Finally, after a long day with unexpected

surprises, Grade 10 arrived at the hotel. Then, while some students stayed at the hotel to watch FC Bayern vs Manchester

United, other students went to Covent Garden in order to see either “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” or “Les Miserables”

in the theatre before returning to the hotel.

Day 2 was a little bit less stressful since everyone had had time to sleep and to relax. After breakfast, the group of students and

teachers met in front of the hotel to head over Westminster Abbey. Some students then visited the Churchill War Rooms while

other students made a little walk around Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews. Then, the group reunited in Hyde Park to

have lunch together and to enjoy the nice British weather (not sarcastic) while playing football, volleyball and Frisbee. Then, at

around 3:00 PM, some students went to visit the Emirates Stadium while some other students headed over to Oxford Street.

Then, the students ate in various restaurants around London, including a Chinese restaurant, a British Pub and a Sushi place.

Day 3 was the last day in London. The students and the teachers woke up at 6:30 in the morning, took their breakfast in the

hotel and immediately took the metro in order to reach the City of London. The entire group of students and teachers walked

past the Bank of England, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the London Stock Exchange, and the Lloyd’s of London. They then visited the

Tower of London and learned about its history and architecture. After lunch, the students and the teachers took a boat in

order to go to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The visit lasted around three hours and then, the students headed back

over the hotel where they had some free time to relax before going out again to go shopping or to go to the cinema.

On Friday the 4th of April, the students and the teachers woke up very early in order to go to the airport and head back to

Istanbul. Luckily, this time there were no delays, and at around 4:30 PM, the plane landed in Istanbul and each student returned

to their own houses.

In conclusion, this 2014 class trip was a wonderful trip in which Grade 10 students had time to relax and still be educated

about the history of all the buildings and monuments in London. Cemal Pence, a Grade 10 student, said: “I really enjoyed the

trip. Everything was well organized and planned in advance. I never could have imagined that in just three days we could have

done so many things. We had a lot of summative assignments the week before and I think that the trip was a very good way to

relax…. though we walked a lot!” Grade 10 is thankful to Mr. Sheard, Mr. Castro, Mr. Pultz, Ms. Holland, Ms. Sitarz and the school

in general for spending so much time on planning this trip and for making it a memorable class trip.                

Grade 10 Class Trip: LondonReporter: Lorenzo d’Eufemia

ldeufemia@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

Nepal TripReporter: Roma Dziembaj

rdziembaj@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

This is the third year of IICS’s

continuation to Project Nepal, a group

project with the goal of developing the

learning curriculum as well as

infrastructure of a rural Nepalese

school. Aside from raising money for a

second floor of the school building

there, we also took a 10-day trip to

Nepal and taught there for a week.

Going to Nepal was one of the most

rewarding experiences for all of us. We

met a lot of interesting people like our

guide, Manoj, who knew everything

there was to know about nature.

Another one of our guides was Bikki,

whom I personally have to thank for

translating in my English class. One of

the best things about Project Nepal

was the huge amount of exposure to

people and culture. We were there

during the time when Dashain, the

Hindu festival celebrating victory of

good over evil, was happening. We saw

the procession of several rituals

traditional to the festival, and learned

about their origins and symbolism.

Our group had a lot of internal

bonding time as well. We had a whole

bunch of activities during our free

time, from making card structures to

chatting to having formal Compliment

Circles. These Circles were almost two

hours of us squished together into one

tent, complimenting one another. It was

a simple activity we had made up

impromptu, but it brought our group a

lot closer than what we had been at

the start. We also did a lot of sports

activities together, like playing football

with the kids from the school, hiking,

and rappelling off waterfalls.

If you’re interested in being part of our

group next year, I strongly recommend

it. Every person is valuable towards

helping this cause. Even if you’re not

able to travel, there will definitely be

some way for you to help this project. I

was a part of the Project Nepal CAS

group in 9th Grade even though I knew

I wasn’t able to travel.  

Project Nepal has still continued all

throughout this school year. On

International Day, Maria was auctioning

prints of the beautiful photographs she

had taken in Nepal. All the funds she

collected will be going to building the

second floor of the school building.

Daniela has been making educational

videos for the Nepali children, who are

able to view them through their newly

acquired netbooks. She mainly does art

in her videos, but includes a lot of

English vocabulary to pick up, like

colors and art supplies. Our team is

also planning to host a Holifest in our

school, which is a traditional spring

celebration to the Nepal/India region. It

is the famous festival known for

throwing dry paint in the air and

making a tremendous display for the

participators and onlookers alike.

We’re going to have a date determined

as soon as we can figure out when the

weather will get reliable—which we

are hoping will be soon!

LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE

World Sports CrosswordReporter: Bilal Sami

bsami@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

MIDDLE SCHOOL

SOFTBALL

CEESA HS Boys BasketballReporter: Ares Zerunyan and Niklas Schmidt

azerunyan@stu.iics.k12.trnschmidt@stu.iics.k12.tr

• • •

From Thursday the 6th of March to Sunday 9th of March, IICS students ranging from ninth to eleventh Grade went on the Junior Varsity CEESA trip held in Prague. CEESA trips are the major sporting events for IICS athletes, as they allow journeys to any and all of the seven CEESA schools. The flight to Prague was scheduled to be at 8:40 AM and the plane departed on time. At the airport, it was realized that Kenny and Timi either forgot or never received their jerseys, and it took brief problem-solving on the coaches’ part to save the situation. Upon arrival, the team went sight-seeing, covering all major touristic sights in Prague. This included the Prague castle, the Charles Bridge, and the traditional Czech food. After the sightseeing tour, the athletes departed for their guest families’ homes. The tournament itself started on friday. Games were scheduled to take place in two different gyms: the ISP gym and the Aritma Gym (about five minutes away from school). IICS played their first game at the Aritma gym against the Falcons from Prague. This game was an impressive defensive performance as only four points were conceded in the first quarter, another one in the second and no points at all during the third and fourth quarters. The Dolphins won 39:5. The Dolphin’s second game was once more at the Aritma gym. This game was played against the Blazers from Budapest. The game was won by the Dolphins with a score of 28:17. After these two games, Istanbul, Warsaw, and Moscow were all tied up for the first place spot. The Dolphin’s last game on Friday was against the Moscow Penguins. After being outplayed by Moscow for the first three quarters, the Dolphins put together a huge run in the last quarter; winning it by 10 points. This however did not change the outcome of the game as the Penguins beat Istanbul with 48:33. The second day of the tournament started with the team prepared to fight till the end. In order to reach the finals, a team needed to win at least four games. As Istanbul won two games the previous day, it was crucial that they won both of their games. The first game was played in the Aritma gym against the Bucharest Vampires. The Dolphins however lost this game 26:37. Arguably, the loss was partially suffered due to the extremely bad sportsmanship demonstrated by the Bucharest team and the officials’ lack of response to this. The second game of the day was against the Warsaw Warriors. Needing to play back-to-back, the Dolphins were tired and therefore were overwhelmed by the Warriors. The game was lost 52:28, and with this defeat, it was clear that Istanbul would play in the game for third place. The opponent was the Bucharest team: this awakened strong lust for revenge in several team members. The game started positively, with the Dolphins winning the first quarter by two points. Halfway through the second quarter, Bucharest took control of the game and this resulted in the Vampires leading by four points at the end of the first half. The Dolphins came back into the game though, and were able win the 3rd quarter with a score of 25:29. During the early moments of the final quarter, Nik and Roberto managed to score a fast break alley-oop. The Dolphins ended as third place, defeating the Vampires 28:44. Budapest came in fifth, beating Prague 32:20. The final, played by Warsaw and Moscow, was intense and exciting. The favourite for this game was Moscow, as they had not lost a single game throughout this entire tournament. Despite this, the game ended 35:41 to the Warriors. Not only was this tournament a great experience for the coaches and the players, but it was also an example of friendship, excitement and sportsmanship.

The Middle school Softball team came

back from the CEESA boy’s Softball

tournament. At the tournament, they

played against Bucharest, Warsaw,

Moscow, and Prague. They won 2 out of 6

games. In Bucharest they took a city tour

and went to a mall to go shopping.

When I asked what the players thought

about the tournament, Charles said, “I

think in a way the CEESA tournament was

really good but it would have been better

to have had an extra day exploring the

city and hanging out with the other

schools. I had a lot of fun because I had

fun playing softball and meeting new

people in Bucharest from other schools.

We did a lot of different things like going

swimming, going to the mall, and hanging

out with friends.”  Efe said, “I really liked it

and had a lot of fun because it was fun to

play a sport that I am into, eat, sleep, go to

the mall, visit an old city, and swim. Yes it

was fun because we got to do things that

wasn't only softball and we got to see the

place.”

IICS offers a wide range of after-school activities for students from Grades 1 to 12 to

participate in. The Spring Season now offers activities such as Softball, Volleyball, MUN,

Drama club, Choir, Graphic Novel Club, Tennis, Maths Lab, and Maths Club. Students have

the option to attend tournaments and sessions both locally, in the Istanbul School

League, and internationally, during CEESA. But what do our students think about the

after school activities at IICS, and what would they do to change them?

Mr Lumsden, during past assemblies, has noted that students who participate in after

school activities generally get higher grades in their academics, and although this is a

positive factor, most students sign up because they simply love doing them. “It’s really

fun,” Charles Bate put simply, “I really enjoy it”

“I really, really enjoy them!” says Pieter Ooms,who participates in 3-5 sporting activities

every year. “For me it is a few hours a week where I can relieve all my stress and not

think of anything else!”

Many students at IICS agree with Pieter, and believe that the sporting activities at IICS

are very enjoyable. Despite this, some students argue that the school is too lenient

towards athletics as opposed to the arts and such activities. Sofia Blanchard said, “I think

that there is way too much focus and support on the athletics side of sports and far too

little focus on the arts. It is disappointing that there is less reputation and less money

spent into this part of the after-school activities .”  Aramis Haggarty also commented

that he thinks that, “Sport related activities here are very good, but I feel like other

activities need more attention too.”

Both teachers and students have also complained that the IICS athletic atmosphere is

too relaxed. “I think some activities could be taken more seriously.” Maria Diavalova

says, “While it is important that we remain accepting to students of all skill levels, I think

it is also important that we become better at our activities.”

Students also complain that there is not enough time for them to participate in

activities. “My house is too far away from the school for me to participate.” said one

student. “It does make it a challenge to complete my homework.”

Students also suggested that a wider variety of activities should be offered at IICS. Some

students want more time for after school activities, some want less. Some want IICS to

be more competitive in their activities, and others believe they should be more relaxed.

But it is very challenging to meet everyones needs and wants at a school; it is sadly not

possible for every student to be happy. For in a school with over 250 secondary

students, it is very hard to please everyone.

After-School Activities

TURKISH WORD OF

THE MONTHReporter: Joseph Hilditch

jhilditch@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •English Word: Government

Turkish Translation: Devlet

English Word: Shopping

Turkish Translation: Alışveriş

English Word: Country

Turkish Translation: ülke

“It’s more fun to be a pirate than

join the navy” - Steve Jobs

“An economist is a man who states

the obvious in terms of the

incomprehensible” - Alfred A. Knopf

“Education is about inspiring one’s

mind, not just filling their head” - Suli

Breaks

QUOTES OF THE MONTH

This year at IICS, a new C&S group was introduced—Refugee Outreach. Our group has mainly focused on refugees who are trying to obtain asylum in the United

States and the long process they endure.

We have enjoyed working together this year, and though

we have not accomplished as much as we planned, we

have faced various thought-provoking challenges with

great gravity. However, the number of obstacles refugees

face every day must be acknowledged. This is a sensitive

process. As such, we are trying to establish a secure and

healthy connection between ourselves and the refugee

community while they go through the system. We decided

to prioritize this because our initial goal was to expand

our school community instead of the aspect of service. It

is our intention to establish a well functioning and

welcoming community.

Luckily, our group works with the International Catholic

Migration Commission (ICMC) here in Istanbul. ICMC is a

small nonprofit, non-governmental organization

contracted by the United States Department of State to

facilitate the processing of refugees who are currently

referred to the US for third country resettlement. ICMC

occupies a nine story building in Zincirlikuyu where they

interview, counsel and educate refugees who are in

various stages of processing their information and

hopefully being accepted to move on. Each year, in their

Turkish offices, they process approximately four to five

thousand individuals.

Their caseload has been largely Iraqi, Irani and Afghani

refugees living under the protection of the Turkish

Government and referred to the program by the United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. On any given

day, ICMC can have up to 300 refugees in the building

being interviewed by their staff, by US Citizenship and

Immigration Service officers, or sitting in classes for

cultural orientation.

Together with Peter D. Vogelaar (Head of Affiliated

Services), Refugee Outreach is trying to improve the most

pressing matters in their system. These include an attempt

at designing more lively, artistic and generally warmer

areas for the refugees to take part of, and other ways to

help ease the process for the refugees.

A part of the program is the Cultural Orientation and

External Relations program where children and Adults

alike are educated on what will be expected of them once

they get to the United States and how to go about life

living in these new environments.

Our group had the opportunity to visit the facility and

discuss our ideas and concerns with Mr. Vogelaar at

ICMC. We brainstormed several ideas such as murals,

toys, and a possible park for the children to play in.

Presently, we are working on making the interview

process more comfortable for parents and children. With

our help, this process can become smoother, more

effective, and more fulfilling than it is now.

ICMC LOCATIONS

Visit to ICMC Reporter: Leah Soeiro and Stanislaus Messner

lsoeiro@stu.iics.k12.tr, smessner@stu.iics.k12.tr

THE ICMC

The Personal Project is an independent venture undertaken

by students during Grade 10, their final year of the MYP. As a

significant piece of work, it allows students to demonstrate

the skills they have developed over the years, such as time

management, planning, reflecting, problem solving and inter-

community collaboration. Students have to hand in a 4000

word report and a process journal along with their created

product or solution for assessment. The project’s grand finale

is the Exhibition, which allows the students to demonstrate

their products to the IICS Community. This year was the first

time that we asked students to consider documenting their

process through poster boards or other technologies. It was

fantastic to see the pride with which the students shared

their experiences, giving the audience an opportunity to

explore both the process and the material.

While the project was conducted independently, a supervisor

was also assigned to each student to act as a guide

throughout the process. In addition, once every A to G cycle,

students attended a Personal Project session led by Ms Zaza

and myself, designed to clarify various points of the process.

For the first time, further assistance was given through a

Personal Project website (found at http://

iicspersonalproject.weebly.com). The website showcases past

projects and exhibitions, and it also provides guidelines for

the assessment and written aspects of the project.

Much like last year, this year’s products were also extremely

varied. This included an animated film on the subject of

bullying by Amelia Gaille  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=gQIZR0ppnzs), a Bill of Rights focusing on the abortion

laws in Texas (Vanda Mayer), and an allegorical picture book

based on the Gezi Park demonstration (Selin Sagiroglu) to

name just a few.

This year’s students should be justifiably proud of their

achievements. Well done Grade 10!

Ash Esmail

Personal Project Coordinator

The following article provides a more in-depth analysis form

a Grade 10 Personal Project student, Christine Young.

The Personal ProjectReporter: Mr. Esmail

aesmail@iics.k12.tr• • •

SELIN SAGIROGLU’S PERSONAL PROJECT

VANDA MAYER’S PERSONAL PROJECT

A Book Based on an Allegory A Senate Bill About Abortion

There are about 16,000,000 people living in Istanbul, and only 2,000 of them are Koreans. To be more exact, all of the 2,000 people are South Koreans, considering the fact that there is no North Korean living in Istanbul that is known of. Even though the number of 2,000 seems a lot at first glance, it is no more than 0.02% of the total population, which makes it normal for the people in Istanbul not to know much about the South Korean culture. I wanted to to introduce our fascinating culture to those who are not aware of it, by showing different behaviors of many Korean people and finding reasons behind them, which are what I believe to be strongly connected to our culture, history and geography. I not only focused on Korean people but also provided further information about Korea in many areas. This project was very personal to me because I am involved in the South Korean Community in Istanbul that I am proud of, and I have always had concerns of any misunderstandings of Koreans that often appear when there is little knowledge about our culture.

The goal of my personal project was to let the 10th graders in IICS know more about Korea and its people so that I could prevent any conflicts that might happen due to misunderstandings. One of my final products was a PowerPoint that focuses on certain behaviors of Koreans and their reasons, and the other product was a 30-page booklet that contains information about Korea in many areas.

In order to make my personal project successful, I found various sources that I could use to gather information. The

sources included websites, articles, surveys, interviews and videos. To find out whether or not those sources are reliable was very important, because as a person who wanted to let the foreigners know more about my home country, I had to make the contents of my presentation as accurate as possible.

I had to conduct two different kinds of research throughout the process of making two products that I decided to make. For the presentation that I gave to 20 students in 10th grade, I needed to focus more on Korean people rather than the country to find out about their specific traits. Therefore, raw materials such as interviews and surveys were very helpful. Meanwhile, the booklet that I made to enhance the understanding of Korean culture, geography and history required me to research on various different topics such as geographic features, economic

growth and traditional food. The internet was the most effective and reliable way to find all the sources I had to include in the booklet.

Personal project was very beneficial to me in many ways. First of all, I decided my career during the process of making my final products. I realized for the first time that I enjoyed working with Photoshop very much, both editing the photos and creating designs. In addition, I learned how to deal with a long-term projects more effectively, which I figured out from my own experience and mistakes. Last but not least, I gained a vast amount of knowledge about South Korea, not only the country but also its people. Considering everything I learned, personal project was a meaningful lesson that taught me many things I would not have learned otherwise.

ABOUT SOUTH KOREAPersonal Project

Analysis: Christine Joung

Reporter: Christine Joungyjoung@stu.iics.k12.tr

• • •

On March 19th, thirty nine grade 10 students presented eight months of hard work during the the The Personal Project Exhibition. The following are interviews with some of the students on their Personal Projects during the exhibition: Q1: What was it that motivated you to choose your particular topic for your Personal Project?

Lasse Vaagt answered family motivations. He had been inspired by his grandfather’s story on how his grandfather had survived the Berlin Wall Crisis. Based on his grandfather’s tales of the Berlin Wall Crisis, this student decided to write a fictional dramatic short story and record an audio book of him reading it. Christine Joung claimed how many foreign students and teachers tend to misinterpret certain behaviors of Koreans, which can possibly lead to conflicts. She decided to provide reasons for such behaviors that are chosen through surveys, by connecting them to Korean culture, history and geography. She made a PowerPoint presentation that deals with Korean people’s characteristics. One other product she also produced was a 30-page booklet containing all the information about Korea in many areas. Lisanne van der Oort had an interest in futuristic architecture and wanted to gain knowledge on the topic.

Q2: What were some difficulties you encountered in the process of making your Personal Project?

Lasse explained how his grandfather told him the story in German. Due to this reason, communication was an obstacle he had to overcome. In addition, in order to get further information on the Berlin Wall Crisis, he also needed to speak to people of all age groups from multiple nationalities. However, the difficulty he spent his time most on overcoming was the translation; as fluent as he is in German, deep words tend to lose their originality in the process of translation. Christine mentioned how she was zealous into creating two separate products for the exhibition. However, with both products summarizing all the generic information on S. Korea, managing her time was an efficiency; her booklet especially required additional personal time in collecting the information for the different cultural categories; food, clothing, music and etc. Lisanne claimed how unlike other students, she did not receiver particular help from professionals or specialists in the subject. This was a major difficulty for her since the information she had collected and analyzed from her research did not help much. In addition at the beginning of the exhibition, her doubts of her project seemed sincere, which later, she felt better from the positive feedback she received during the exhibition. Q3: What were some of the comments you received from peers, teachers, or parents? Lasse originally planned on creating a script instead of a short story. Despite the fact that he had already created the script, he changed it to a short story instead, considering the people with less interests towards the project. Christine explained how some teachers suggested that due to the fact that her project was dealing with an exterior culture with exotic backgrounds, for the assistance in understanding the project more clearly, it would be better for her to include more pictures and video clips in her PowerPoint. Lisanne responded that she received feedback praising the originality and creativity of her final product. She was also told of some of the flaws existing within the final product, which she was not totally able to fix due to the finalization of the product.

Personal Project Exhibition DayReporter: Hyukho Kwon

hkwon@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

Ms Zeynep (Main Office)

Ms Zeynep has worked for ten years at IICS, and she really likes her job. She loves to be with kids and work with strangers.

The most difficult part of her job is when there are a lot of people asking for something, but the best part of her job is to

work with kids. “In one day I work for eight and a half hours a day,” Ms Zeynep said, “I think most people appreciate the work

that I do. Before I came to IICS, I wanted to be in the hotel business, because I wanted to be more social around a lot of

different people. I really enjoy this international school, because you can meet both teachers, and students, from different

countries and different cultures.”

“It’s always different the things that I do in a day of work,” she continued, “i do translating for teachers and students, and go to

the theatre and tell the cleaning staff where everything belongs. If there is a problem at a teachers home, I tell them places

they can go to fix it. If the teacher has to send packages I helps them.” The list goes on, and the work that Ms Zeynep does at

our school is endless. We feel the need to thank Ms Zeynep for all her hard work at our school..

Mr Selami (I.T. department)

Selami really likes his job, because he gets to fix problems, and work with computers and technology. “The hardest part of my

job,” he told me, “is when there is a problem that I can’t solve. We always try and figure it out, but that can take some time.

The best part of my job is to take part a computer and put it back together. I have worked at this school for six years.  In one

day I work for eight hours.” Mr Selami thinks people appreciate his job of fixing computers, and I’m sure we all do.

Interviews With IICS StaffReporter: Cem Taviloglu

ctavologlu@stu.iics.k12.tr• • •

Ms. Figen (Main Office)

Ms Figen loves her job, because she really enjoys working with children and younger people, and she wants to help them. The

hardest part of her job is when she has a lot of work that she has to get done, or a teacher comes and asks for something urgent and she wants to be able to help everyone; she feels very uncomfortable. The best part of her job is when the

students ask for help or need something and she can help them, that is when Ms Figen really enjoys her job. “I have been working here for fifteen years,” she told me, “and I work eight hours a day.” She thinks people appreciate her job, because she gets very nice feedback from teachers.

When she first started working at IICS, her job was Ms Zeynep’s job because saw all the students and teachers and said

thought yes, this is the place. On the average working day, she organizes things for the teaching staff, when they go overseas for example. She books hotels, and organizes transportation when they go for school-related trips. She helps out the Leadership team (a group of seven people including the Headmistress, Primary Principal, Secondary Principal, and the Vice Principal). She

also assists in teacher development programs.

Mr. Cemil (Maintenance)

Mr Cemil likes his job. He likes to interact with students,

teachers, staff and parents, and there is always something to do. He doesn’t get bored!

“I like to make friends with everyone I meet!” He said, “The hardest part of my job is when i have to work with

other people. The best part of my job is that there is always something to do.”

His job is being the head of cleaning and maintenance. He has worked at IICS for four years, in one day he works for

eight hours. Sometimes people appreciate his job, but he does not think people do all of the time.

Chef Chris (The Kitchen)

Chef Chris really likes his job. before he came to our school, he worked at five star hotel. He has been cooking

since he was fourteen years old. The only hard part of his job, he says is waiting for the food to cook, and knowing when to stop the oven while making more food (every

cook’s nightmare). His favorite part of his job is when he gets to cook the meals for the students and teachers of

IICS. He has worked here at IICS for eight years, and he works between eight or nine hours per day.

“Some people like the food I make.” He said, “Some food is liked more than other meals, but I don’t only make

Turkish food, I make food from different countries and cultures.” Chef Chris has wanted to be a chef since he learnt to cook.

MS. FIGEN AND MR.

Murat (Security)

Mr Murat’s job is security. “There is no real reason I like my job, I just like it!” He told me. “My job is basically keeping the

school under control, and keeping things safe. It is also my job to keep students, staff, and teacher safe from outside events.”

The best part of his job is to be with the security department. He has been working here for fifteen years, and the security

department works for twenty-four hours a day. They take shifts every twelve hours. He thinks a lot of teachers and students

appreciate the security of the school. He was a normal security guard before, but in 2005 he became the head of security.

“First students, teachers, and staff come in the morning and we check the cars for security reasons.” He said, “When people

are visiting the school the security will tell them where to go. When other companies come to the school to bring supplies we

check them and let them in. In the afternoon, when the students and teachers leave the school, we go into every class and

check for lost phones or money or something that someone has left behind. At night, we check around the school for

intruders.

Mr Atilla, Ms Eser, and Ms Gonul (Business Office Staff)

The business office’s job is generally to do with accounting. They like their job because they always wanted to be in this

position. Mr Atilla has been doing this job for fifteen years, and he works for eight hours day. He thinks people appreciate his

job because he keeps the money safe and sound.

He said, “When I first came to IICS, I wanted this job, because I worked as an accountant at a bank.”

The hardest part of his job is when the number of people who want help increases. His favorite part of his job is when people

ask him to help them and finish his work.

IICS TIMESGrade 6 French Interviews

Reporters: Ella, Sofia, Lal, Marko, Maya, Iman, Leonardo

Explanation 1:

This month, the Grade Sixes conducted various interviews with members of IICS Staff. Here’s what they learned:

To learn how to ask questions in French you need to learn the basic structure of the question, such as est-ce que (do you/does it) or vous(formal “you” in french) . Those are the two basic structures. In French class we also learned words, such as “pourquoi”, “qui” and “comment”. These words always come at the beginning of the question. After these first words (“pourquoi”, “qui” or “comment”),“est-ce que” usually follows, but not always. There are some exceptions like for example the use of the words “quel” or “quelle”. In that case, a noun is required for the sentence to make sense (e.g. quel sport, quelle nourriture or chanson). Then after your noun, you add “est-ce que vous”. If you are not using “quelle” or “quel”, then you can go straight to “est-ce que”. After that, we learned how to break down the words so that it would be easier to pronounce them. For example, the word “qui” is pronounced like “key”. After we learned the basics we created our own questions.

Some of our questions were:1. Comment ça va?2. Qui est votre idole? 3. Est-ce que vous aimez l’école?  4.Qu’est-ce que vous faites pendant votre temps libre?

After structuring our questions together we had to pick names from a basket,  the name you got was the teacher you would have to interview. Then we had to film the teacher’s answers so we could go back and translate them to English. That’s what we did in French class to learn how to read and write questions.

The best part about unit 5 was asking the questions since communicating in French is very fun. The easiest part in this unit was creating and coming up with the questions. The hard part was the  pronunciation; it was hard because there are feminine and masculine words and you have to pronounce them in different ways and therefore it means that we had to remember how to say one word in two different ways. We had a lot of fun during this unit, and we learned a lot of new words that we didn’t know before. We gained knowledge that can be helpful to us in the future.  

Primary

Explanation 2:

(1) Steps:

1.     We learned about the names of jobs in French.

2.     We learned about masculine and feminine nouns for different jobs. For example, un chef/une chefe, un cuisinier/une

cuisinière .

3.     We learned about the jobs at IICS.

4.     We learned action verbs for different jobs.

5.     We learned how to write questions, and the structure of questions. For example, we used “vous” and “ez” and “est-ce

que” in each sentence.

6.     We wrote questions for the people who work at  IICS in French.

7.     We did the interview.

8.     We looked back at our interview and translated the interview back in English.

(2) Interview Questions

1.     Quells fruits est-ce que vous aimez?

2.     Qu’est-ce que vous aimez la cuisine ?

3.     Est-ce que vous aimez jardiner?

4.     Avec qui est-ce que vous travaillez?

5.     Qu’est-ce que vous aimez manger?

6.     Où est-ce que vous aimez aller pendant votre temps libre?

7.     Est-ce que vous savez comment dansez?

8.     Est-ce que vous aimez chanter?

(3) Easy/Challenge

Easy: Learning the jobs was easy because there were words that were similar to English words. Writing interview questions for

teachers was easy because we learned about the structure of questions for a long time. Learning about “er” verbs was easy as

well, because they always end in “ez ” for vous. Lastly, interviewing the teachers was easy too, because I practiced pronouncing

the words for a long time.

Challenging: Learning masculine and feminine for jobs was challenging because each word had different endings. For example,

“un jardinière” and “une jardinière” or “un électricien” and “une électricienne”.  Thinking of action verbs for jobs was hard

because my French vocabulary wasn’t very good. I used the dictionary to find out about words. Translating the interview was

complicated as well, because, the teachers were talking very fast, and there were words that I didn’t recognize.

Explanation 3:

In French class we learnt about the jobs in IICS. We were taught how

there were different groups for each job according to the endings of the

words. At the same time we also studied the masculine and feminine

changes in names of jobs. For example the word “directeur” is in the -eur

group. When a woman works as a “directeur” the word changes to,

“directrice”. Another example would be, that “cuisinier” [Cook], changes

to cuisinière. After learning about the jobs, we moved on to the actions

that the workers do when working. These actions are called verbs. While

studying verbs, once again we had to pay attention to the word endings.

We usually looked if the word ended with -er. Lastly, after collecting all

this knowledge we learnt how to ask questions and construct them. In

questions the format is that in the question we always had to have -est-

ce que [is it that]. First, in the format  the question starter, for example,  

is “Qui” [who]. In French there are eight different question starters. Then

come -est-ce que. After that it is formed with a combination of verbs, and

nouns that complete the question. We had an assessment to form eight

or more questions for French speakers in the school.  Since they are

older than us, we used the word vous [you] to be formal. We used all our

knowledge on verbs and question forming. That meant verbs that ended

with -er changed to -ez, because we used vous.

Our questions:

Lal’s questions:

• Pourquoi êtes vous une secrétaire?

• Où est-ce que vous habitez?

• Combien de temps est-ce que vous passez au téléphone?

• Qu’est-ce que vous faite dans votre travail?

Marko’s  questions:

• D’où venez-vous en France?

• Quand avez-vous commence à enseigner?

• Quelle est votre plat préféré  ?

• Pourquoi êtes vous un professeur?

The challenging and the easy parts:

The hardest part of this fantastique unité 5 was trying to communicate

with a French speaker and to transcribe the answers for the eight

questions. The easy part was to form the eight questions. It was easy to

learn the verbs. Lastly, learning the difference between masculine and

feminine jobs was challenging.

Interview 1

For our French assignment, we had to write

questions and pronounce them. Then we had to

interview a teacher and ask those questions

that we made.

I interviewed Monsieur Varennes. This is what

he said.

Bonjour Monsieur Varennes                               

“Bonjour Leonardo” “Hello Leonardo”

1-Comment allez-vous?   How are you?

“Je vais bien” “Im fine”

2-Quelle profession faites vous?   What is your

job?

“Je suis un professeur de Francais et

Anglais.” “I am a French and English

teacher”

3-Ou habitez vous?   Where do you live?

“ J’ habite à Taksim ”  “I live in taksim”

4-Quelle couleur est-ce que vous préférez?   

What is your favorite color?

“Ma couleur préféré est l’orange” “My

favorite color is orange”

5 - Aimez vous  IICS ?   Do you like iics?

“Oui, j’aime beaucoup IICS”   “Yes, I like

IICS very much”

Interview 2

I had an interview with Ms. Zeynep. I asked her questions in French and she answered in French. French:Comment est-ce que vous vous appelez?

Je m'appelle Zeynep.

Quelle est votre profession?

Je suis receptionist.

Oú habitez vous?

J'habite à Tarabya.          

Quelle couleur préférez vous?

J’aime le blanc, l’orange et le rouge.

Oú travaillez vous?

Je travaille à IICS.     

Oú parlez vous Francais?

Je parle Français avec mes amis.  

Quelle nourriture préférez vous?  

J’aime beaucoup les spaghettis.

English:

What is your name?

My name is Zeynep.

What do you work with?

I am a receptionist.

Where do you live?

I live in Tarabya.

What colour do you like?

I like white, orange, red.

Where do you work?

I work in IICS.

Where do you speak French?

I speak French with my friends.

What food do you like?

I like spaghettis.

Interview 3

An Interview with Madame Zeynep, in French.

Bonjour! Je m’appelle Iman et j’ai fait une interview avec

Madame Zeynep pour mon devoir de Français.

Question 1: ’Bonjour Madame Zeynep, je m’appelle

Iman. Parlez vous le français?’

Réponse 1: ‘Oui, je parle le Français’

Question 2: ‘Quelle métier faites vous?’

Réponse 2: ‘Je suis réceptionniste’

Question 3: ’Quelle nourriture préférez-vous?’

Réponse 3: ‘Je préfère les spaghettis’

Question 4: ‘Où habitez vous?’

Réponse 4: ‘J’habite à Tarabia’

Question 5 : ’Travaillez-vous à la maison?’

Réponse 5 : ‘Non, je ne travaille pas à la maison. Je

travaille à IICS’.

ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLMarmara Campus

IICS TIMESISSUE n 04

The Newspaper Team Communicators: - Lorenzo d’Eufemia- Isabella Blanchard

Writing Team: - Joseph Hilditch- Niklas Schmidt

- Vanda Mayer- Dana Noble- Bilal Sami

- Selin Sagiroglu - Isabella Blanchard - Christine Joung

- Hugo Torsher- Alara Villa- Arda Sozer- Hyukho Kwon

Video Team: - Lasse Vaagt,

- Alara Villa- Niklas Schmidt - Joseph Hilditch

- Ares Zerunyan

Tech Team: - Jack Noble,

- Ido Evyatar - Roman Melnikova - Cem Taviloglu

- Dana Noble- Enis Gole- Semih Pence

- Alexander Avato

Design Team: - Bilal Sami

- Christine Joung- Jong Ho Chong

Supervisor:- Mr. Esmail

MESSAGE FROM THE NEWSPAPER TEAM As the year comes to a close, we conclude on the first year of the newspaper club. We have come far and accomplished a lot and we are very proud of our members. Not only have we seen a great improvement in the writing style and quality of the articles being produced, but we are also seeing immense improvement in the design of the paper itself. Although we started off slow, we built the foundation of a club which will hopefully last for many years to come. We are concluding the year having 4 issues released and we hope that next year that number will be doubled. In addition to that a great project has started, IICS TV, and we hope it will continue in the future. We have had a great group of people writing and working for the newspaper team and we would like to thank all of them for putting their time and effort into making this club successful. Next year, we hope to see many new faces in our Exploratory sessions so we can continue to succeed and improve.

Thank you, 

Lorenzo and EllaNewspaper Leaders