Mia, would like to welcome everyone to GSIS...she is pictured at the ELC...join us for a tour of her school.
Gyeonggi Suwon International School, aka. GSIS, has been the workplace for Rosanne and Kevin and the school for Justine, Kyara, Matteya, Ariel and Mia. However, what it is like to be a member of this community? What are the facilities like? Do the students have what they need to learn? What are the gym, classrooms and playground like? In this blog it hoped that all of these questions will be answered. (Pictured above is a picture of the Athletic complex at dusk on a January day.)
The classrooms at GSIS are very large. Pictured above is Kevin's Math classroom which could easily seat 30 students, but would need to only to sit 24 students as there is a cap on the number of students per class. In fact, many of the class are less than that, some classes are even smaller than 10 students - a great opportunity for students to learn and teachers to teach.
In each classroom, teachers have a desk, computer with printer, filing cabinet, shelving and a really comfortable chair. Although it is not Kevin's principal office, it still is great place to work. Notice as well there are no blackboards - but rather, whiteboards. However, not pictured is the LCD projector that teachers can use to put up worksheets, homework, DVD's, or other types of media to help
The picture above shows a typical hallway at GSIS, in this case the fourth floor hallway and the distance between Rosanne and Kevin's classrooms. Note how clean the hallway is - no marks on the floor, graffiti on the walls. This is typical of our 3 year old school - the cleaning staff spend a lot of time and care making sure that the hallways, classrooms, and school are maintained.
Pictured above is Rosanne's Middle School, (Grade 6, 7, 8) science classroom/lab. The picture above is the teaching side of the room , while the picture below is the lab portion. The lab has an incredible amount of resources that any teacher from Grade 6 - 12 could use in Canada. In fact, many of the items still have to be taken out of the box.
The door at the back of this picture leads to a science storage room which is also quite big. Yet, the most amazing thing is the money that is used to help keep the equipment current for the students - in fact the budget for middle school science is over $40 000. That is more than any budget Kevin has ever had a principal of a school.
Pictured above is a typical elementary classroom - in this class the Grade 1 class. At GSIS there is one class for each elementary class - JK - Grade 5. It should be noted that each school - Elementary, Middle and High School all have their own office area, secretary and principal as well as curriculum coordinate whose job is to support teachers with their classroom work. As you can see International Schools are definitely a different world.
Pictured above is the elementary hallway. Like any school it has bulletin board with student work and small lockers or cubbie holes for students to put their personal belongings in. It is refreshing to know that schools are still very much schools no matter where you live in the world.
Pictured above is the Elementary Library. This part of the library was opened three years ago and contains many, many books. How much? In the first three years the library has spent $100 000 per year. However, the shelves are not full - they never will be as books are very expensive but an important part of any school.
The Middle School/High School library, pictured above, was open this past year and has place for students to work. The elementary and MS/HS libraries are connected but currently are divided so that each can operate on its own. Between the library is rooms for teacher resources and textbooks - a true treasure trove.
Pictured above is the GSIS cafeteria. The cafeteria provides meals for the 70 dorm students and lunch to all of the day students. As well, staff and their families can have lunch here as well. Although the Wendling's are getting use to Korean food they are still very lucky due to the International/Western menu at the school. This menu allows for the Wendling's to have foods which they are a little more familiar with.
As was mentioned in a previous blog, Mia hangs out in the Early Childhood Center, ELC, pictured below is her classroom complete with toys, books, TV - 50' Flat screen, and DVD. The ELC has two classrooms like this and it is staffed by 2 full time and 2 part time staff.
Just outside of the ELC is the playground equipment. All of the Wendling children, except maybe Justine, have spent many hours playing here during recess time, after school and on the weekend. This playground is typical of structures at International Schools and often when the Wendling family goes to another school for a tournament or sports event the girls will look for the playground.
Picture below is the soccer field and Athletic Complex which are found in the GSIS school yard. During recess time students are able to play on the playground or on the soccer field. Soccer is probably the most popular sport in Korea and many students enjoy the time on this field.
Hopefully this short tour of GSIS helps you understand the school which the Wendling's work at.
