Also in this issueBettering the world through art classJulie Jansen enriches the TIS art program with her Japanese Fulbright experience.

Learning from CubaNorma Torres-Alonso makes a tough journey from Cuba - and brings those lessons to the classroom.

Graduate embraces her Chinese cultureKnowing Chinese broadens the horizons for Yzmari Duran ‘06.

Where they wentMiddle schools attended by recent TIS grads

TIS News Fall 2012

TIS to acquire land for permanent homeThe International School is now under contract to purchase the major pieces of property that will make up the school’s permanent home. The school will acquire the Hilltop Building which it has leased since 1992 and currently houses twelve classrooms, the library, gym, and four administrative offices. The school will also acquire three parcels of land above Stearns Hall, resulting in ownership of the superblock from Stearns Hall to near Naito Parkway.

The acquisition will complete the first phase of the Campus Master Plan which was adopted in early 2012. The school will realize immediate expense savings and build equity by paying into a mortgage instead of paying rent to a landlord. Going forward, money spent for improvements will be invested in an asset owned by the school.

With this purchase, the school also gains control over its future. TIS will no longer be vulnerable to rent increases, expiring leases or sale to a third party. Property ownership will provide security for the future and a basis on which to develop long term plans.

“We are moving ahead with the Campus Master Plan in phases based on many years of strong enrollment and continued strong interest in our program,” said TIS Board President Matt Schweitzer. “The board is very optimistic and yet moving conservatively to ensure the school’s healthy long term future.”

The Campus Master Plan was a result of the TIS Strategic Plan adopted in 2008. At that time, the school community completed a long, thorough and thoughtful process, examining over 90 sites in the Portland Metro Area. It was determined that the current location and surrounding land is the best possible site for the school.

With the property acquisitions set to close at year end, the school is developing a facilities roadmap for our current enrollment and for moderate growth to the Strategic Plan vision of up to 525 students. The board is actively working on details for the next phase and will reach out for community involvement in early 2013. Anyone who would like to be involved is invited to contact campusplan@intlschool.org.

InternationalBaccalaureateWorld School

Confucius Classroom

International Spanish Academy

PURCHASED 2008

STEARNS HALL

PURCHASED 2007

HILLTOP BUILDING

DEC 2012 PURCHASE

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NAITO PARKWAY

DEC 2012 PURCHASE

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The International School Campus Map

DEC 2012 PURCHASE

DEC 2012 PURCHASE

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Join us for the TIS auction at the Portland Art Museum.Saturday Nov 19 • intlschool.org/auction

The INTerNATIoNAl SChool’S TIS NeWS * Fall 2012

Third grade Spanish teacher Norma Torres-Alonso knows what it means to be a “risk-taker”.

In 1998, Norma and her husband put their names in the U.S. government lottery for a visa to emigrate from Cuba. Norma was a teacher, her husband was an electrical engineer, and they had a four-year-old daughter. If Cuban officials learned of their visa application, they would never be allowed to work again.

The family lived with this big secret year after year, never knowing what might happen. In early 2006 an envelope arrived: her husband had been chosen in the lottery. There were no guarantees of immigration, but they were invited to begin the process.

Norma and her husband were immediately dismissed from their jobs. They had interviews, submitted paperwork, and waited. Their families supported them emotionally and financially as the process dragged on. There was a lot at stake - if they were denied visas they would have to stay in Cuba but could not get jobs. Ever.

In late 2007, U.S. visas finally came through. The Cuban government took their home and household goods - everything except one small suitcase each. Norma, her husband and their 13-year-old daughter landed in Miami with no friends, no relatives, no knowledge of English, and no idea where they would get their next meal or bed. They had been given only a phone number to call upon arrival.

Their call reached Catholic Charities: someone would come for them. So they sat in the airport - 6pm, 7pm, 8pm - scared out of their minds, worried about their daughter, not knowing what would happen to them. Finally, at 11pm, a man came and they got into his car, not knowing who he was or where they were headed.

They were brought to small hotel

room for the night, then offered a choice of settling in Minneapolis, Atlanta or Portland. Minneapolis was too cold, Atlanta was too big . . . The family arrived in Portland and was helped by two more charitable organizations - Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees (SOAR) and Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO). They were set up in a small apartment, given food stamps and $800 a month to pay rent and all other expenses. Norma worked as a salesperson, waitress - whatever she needed to do.

When she was hired at TIS in 2010, it was a dream come true. “I appreciate the opportunity that TIS has given me,” she says with emotion in her voice. “All the cultures here fascinate me. It’s one of the things that has impacted me the most, that I have enjoyed the most about coming to the United States. Since Cuba is an island and has been so closed off, we had no idea about the phenomenon of world cultures and how they interact. That’s what I love most about this school - we are all human beings, yet we have all these different cultures. Wow.”

Norma is truly happy in her classroom. “From the time I was born, I knew that I would teach. I didn’t know what, but I knew that I would teach something. I studied math in a special high school, but language always called to me. In university I focused on speech and language education.

“At TIS I love being able to apply my background and to figure out what each child needs. I love working with my colleagues - we get the best ideas when we do lesson planning

together. And the IB style is very similar to how I taught in Cuba. We’re teaching the children how to think, how to use processes: observation, investigation, analysis, synthesis. When a child discovers something for himself, that knowledge stays with him forever.”

Norma feels that her experience has made her stronger and more focused, but also more sensitive to the world. “I teach my students about the difference in opportunities and resources between our two countries. I want them to understand that being born here is a privilege. Being in this school and learning a second language from a young age is a privilege. I want to help them make the most of it.”

Norma’s enthusiasm clearly touches her students. “I’m not sure what engaged my son most,” said Amy Lennon, a parent whose child was in Norma’s class last year. “Her kinetic way of teaching, her kindness, her clear and strong command of the subject, her genuine emotion about what she’s teaching...” And what did Amy’s son like most about Norma? “That she was so excited to see me every single day.”

Long time TIS Business Manager Rob Timmons was on the board of IRCO, one of the charities that was critical for Norma’s family when they arrived in Portland. Neither Rob Timmons nor Norma Torres-Alonso knew of the other’s connection to IRCO until now.

Learning from Cuba

The INTerNATIoNAl SChool’S TIS NeWS * Fall 2012

TIS art teacher Julie Jansen is no stranger to the interconnected world. Her previous work at a school in Germany involved students in concepts of global significance and inquiry-based learning. Starting at TIS in 2010, Julie developed an art curriculum that interweaves traditions from all over the world and from many times throughout history. This year Julie is bringing the TIS art program to an even higher level by incorporating lessons from her recent Fulbright teacher exchange with Japan.

Julie was one of 24 U.S. teachers awarded a Fulbright scholarship for the Japan-US Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). As part of the award, Julie and her American colleagues spent time in San Francisco and in Japan working with their Japanese counterparts to develop curriculum for teaching sustainable development.

“Education for Sustainable Development offers the opportunity to alter our current educational climate from acquisition of wealth and competition to compassion, conservation, and community,” Julie explained. “ESD

concepts coincide with the International Baccalaureate theme of ‘Sharing the Planet’ and with The International School’s philosophy of helping children become true world citizens.”

Julie will address Education for Sustainable Development and use her Fulbright connections with TIS students in various ways. “While I was in

Japan, a lot of the focus was around peace studies and creating an understanding of why peace is an important idea worldwide. So in art class we started the year with a theme of peace. Each student in first to fifth grade created artwork around this theme, and we shared our work with the Japanese and other U.S. schools for the International Day of Peace on September 21. TIS students also presented their ideas to one another during school assemblies.”

In addition, TIS fourth graders will work closely with the

classes of Julie’s Fulbright colleagues in Utah, Wisconsin and Japan. The students will establish pen-pal relationships, and will jointly create a folktale book translated into Japanese, Spanish, and English. The third grade classes are exploring universal needs, and will design a sustainable way to help the homeless.

“I really enjoy infusing my passion into class, seeing students develop skills throughout the grades and watching them mature intellectually,” Julie said. “At TIS I am teaching small classes so I can get to know each child as an individual. It’s really nice to work with elementary age students - they aren’t focused on what they can’t do and they’re open-minded about possibilities around them.”

Julie’s work and her energy are felt all around TIS. She connects art and sustainable development to IB units studied in homerooms, and creates displays of meaningful student work around campus. “Julie is an inspired and dynamic instructor who recognizes the students’ ability to engage at a mature level and understand art,” said Margaret McConnell, parent of a fifth grade TIS student. “My child is being introduced to art techniques I wish I’d learned in my own K-12 years.”

• Julie’s art curriculum: intlschool.org/art-elementary/• Video and photos of Peace Day work: intlschool.org/itk/2012/10/14/intl-peace-day-assemblies.html• UNESCO: www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-sustainable-development/• Julie’s blog on visiting Japan: juliejapanesd.blogspot.com/

Bettering the world through art class

Traditions carry onThe TIS Handshaking Ceremony welcomed a record 485 students and 79 staff members back to school this year, continuing a tradition started by former Head of School Bruce Bayliss almost a decade ago.

The INTerNATIoNAl SChool’S TIS NeWS * Fall 2012

Educating World Citizens since 1990 • International Baccalaureate World School Thriving in other cultures • Fluent in another language

Engaged in math, science, social studies & arts • Confident & capable

025 SW Sherman Street, Portland, OR 97201 • 503-226-2496 • intlschool.org

TIS graduate Yzmari Duran ’06 remembers her elementary school as a place of small classes, caring teachers, and special opportunities.

“My Capstone trip to China is definitely my favorite memory,” she states. “A camera crew followed us everywhere so we really felt like celebrities. The school where we stayed had very welcoming and

friendly kids. They even brought us gifts and asked for our autographs when we left!”

TIS didn’t just allow Yzmari to experience another culture. It opened her eyes to other possibilities, interests, and the motivation to thrive in school. “A lot of things were different at TIS compared to other schools. I got to learn all of my subjects in Chinese - that alone is very different! TIS also helped me advance in several classes that I take now, mostly language.” Truly, Yzmari Duran is a world citizen.

Now a senior at Southridge High School, Yzmari takes higher-level classes, mentors incoming freshman, serves on an event-planning club, and even works as an assistant teacher at a preschool. At the preschool she found her Chinese to be especially useful. “One day I was working

with a little boy who only speaks Chinese. He fell and hit his knee, and no one was able to communicate with him except me.”

Although she took Chinese through middle school and most of high school, Yzmari is not currently in a Chinese class. “They used to offer it at Southridge but budget cuts eliminated the class. Thankfully I was able to finish my International Baccalaureate Chinese class on time.” Yzmari still hopes to continue with her Chinese, and even use it for a career. “It would be a dream come true to be able to complete my studies in different countries. Chinese is a skill I really don’t want to forget! I hope to use it in my work somehow.”

When asked what she was going to major in, she replied, “I love to write, so maybe Journalism. I would love to major in Psychology too. I’m looking at a lot of things that appeal to my character.”

Whatever direction she takes, her language skills will be a part of it. “Chinese has become a part of who I am.”

Graduate embraces her Chinese culture

Where they wentGraduates from the last three years went to the following middle schools:

Gilkey (private: advanced Spanish & Chinese) 21East/West Sylvan (public: Spanish magnet school) 19Northwest Academy (private: advanced Spanish & Chinese) 10Hosford (public: Spanish & Chinese magnet school) 8Mt Tabor (public: Japanese magnet school) 6International School of Beaverton (public: magnet school) 2St John the Baptist (private) 2Stoller Middle School (public: neighborhood school) 2Winterhaven (public: math/science magnet school) 2

Other (1 child each) - public 8Other (1 child each) - private 6Moved outside Oregon 3