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High School preparation for college/university?
Jon Hartmann, College
Counselor, CMIS
High School students have to make themselves into
University students in a short period of time. They have to step up to a
whole new level. Usually by 18 years of age this step is welcomed by
students tired of being “school kids” and anxious to both act and be
treated like adults. A great deal of personal adjustment has to take place
to deal with the freedom and independence of College life. Here are some
ways to prepare while still at school.
Firstly find out what colleges and universities want from
a High School student. Most want students of good character who have
successfully completed tough courses and been good citizens of their school.
Some universities, particularly in the UK , want only good grades. Others in
the USA might be looking for character and not worrying as much about
GPA’s and SAT. Some even advertise that they are prepared to give students
a second chance if
they have not performed well so far.
Whatever the personal requirements, you will need to
start to take responsibility for your curriculum and studies like a college
student. Learn to discuss grades with teachers, ask for clarification and
organize appointments to discuss any difficulties you may have. Start to
take control and take responsibility for yourself. By all means attend
parent /teacher nights with your parents and discuss your progress with your
teachers. This is a step towards taking
full control of your study. Many good schools encourage this process with
Seniors and some begin it in grade 9.
To prepare yourself for success, good study skills and
habits are essential and nothing prepares you as well for this as taking
tough courses. What is a Tough Course? Some schools run educational programs
that have an international reputation for being tough. The IB or
International Baccalaureate is an example of a course that is recognized for
its “toughness” as well as its educational value. Other such courses are
the English “A” levels and the Australian High School Certificate. In
the American system AP subjects give your course academic toughness. AP or
Advanced Placement courses are actual college courses taught at High School.
Some parents and students worry about which High School
credential is the best and what credential will be the best to get into
University. Remember, universities have been taking international students
with an amazing variety of credentials for many years. They know how to work
it out so that your credential is comparatively rated against another. It is
interesting to know that for entry to European universities 4 AP subjects
with scores of 3 to 5 and an SAT of 1300 equal an IB Diploma.
Your college counselor should be able to tell you what
specific standard
you need in the Schools credentialing system to go where you want to go.
Finding this information out as soon as possible is a wise move. If you are
unsure of what course you want to do then do the hard tough classes that are
prerequisites for tough university courses and you will end up with a huge
choice of courses at the end of grade 12.
Other factors for entry to colleges in the USA are
the points written as guidelines by colleges for the counselor’s
evaluation
of you such as intellectual promise, motivation, maturity, integrity,
independence, originality, initiative, leadership potential, capacity for
growth, special talents, enthusiasm, concern for others, respect accorded to
you and reactions to setbacks. Think about each one of these points and see
how you can develop them in your life. If you have been a “complete”
student, involved in the fullness of school life as well as its academic
life, you should score well on all of these points. Let’s look more
closely at a few other things you can do
1. Have you visited the campus, do you know about it,
have you spoken to people there? This indicates enthusiasm and commitment.
It shows you are acting like a college student already.
2. A special talent! Get in touch with the university
department or club that caters for it. We have all heard stories of the oboe
player who got into Harvard because they needed one for their orchestra.
3. Write a thoughtful original essay. Get your counselor
to help you with this but make sure you use your own thoughts and words.
Remember Admission Officers can access your SAT essay so be careful what you
write in these. They are not confidential.
4. Your counselor may be rung up if your admission is
borderline. Make sure he or she knows you well enough to speak on your
behalf. Give your counselor a list of all the extra curricular things you
have done.
5. Work experience in your subject area. As well as
galvanizing your choice of career, work experience shows the seriousness
with which you approach your life and future career.
6. Be different! Admission officers have always liked
students who have had amazing experiences and want them on their campuses.
Colleges in the USA have been fascinated by our students who helped in
Tsunami relief. One boy from Afghanistan who was interrogated twice by the
Taliban and who had seen Bin Laden’s camp was made verbal offers of large
financial aid on the spot by a top US college.
U8 soccer tournament – CDSC wins ice cream!
Marcel Strecker
The
enthusiastic little players getting a High Five from the coach.
One of the biggest soccer tournaments between the
international Schools in Chiang Mai took place at Grace International School
(GIS). The teams were well prepared through previous matches during the past
months and were all excited!
Apart from the two teams from GIS, there were the Lanna
International School, (LIST), Chiang Mai International School (CMIS), Prem
School and also a team from the German Christian School Chiang-mai (CDSC).
All had sent their best players at the age of 8 and below.
It was fun and very exciting to watch this bunch of
youngsters play, cheer and wiggle their way through the various matches. The
highlight of the day was the final game between the boys of CMIS and CDSC.
Both teams played really well but in the end the CDSC won the tournament
with a clear 4-0 success. The third place was taking by the boys from one
GIS team followed by the LIST.
Right after the last games, the players were waiting and
hoping for some sort of recognition from the organisers but sadly none of
them showed up and no trophy, badge or anything else was given to any team.
Luckily some parents felt for the
unhappy winners and invited them to have some icecream.
But in a nutshell, it was a great day. All players were really into
playing and cannot wait to continue the fun at the upcoming Futsal
tournament in May 2006.
International Day brings together foreign students at CMU
Saksit Meesubkwang
Chiang Mai University held its International Day on
December 7, designed for foreign students and with staff of the various
foreign consulates that are stationed in Chiang Mai also attending. The
event was led by CMU president Prof Dr Pongsak Angkasit.
 Traditional
food show of each country
Dean of International Relations and the Special Affairs
Faculty Rome Chiranukrom said that CMU wants its students who have traveled
from their home countries to feel fully at home and integrated in the
university. This is the third occasion that International Day has been held,
and the university intends to make this a regular event every two years.
There are currently 300 foreign students throughout the
various faculties, along with 100 foreign members of staff.
CMU has a working relationship with 143 universities
around the world. Many of these send exchange students. There are at present
40 exchange students from Ohio University, in the USA, studying at CMU.
There are also a large number of Japanese students, and many countries show
great interest in the exchange scheme every year.
International Day included a show by students of the Fine Arts Faculty.
Students from many countries including Japan, America, Africa and Laos
prepared their traditional food for guests to taste, and there was a stage
show featuring national dress.
CMU
president, Foreign Consuls, and foreign students took photo together.
The show
of CMU students that meaning to the world is one
Prem’s Arts Festival 2005
Tara Colen
This year’s Arts Festival had as its theme “Home,”
which is a somewhat fluid concept for students at Prem Tinsulanonda
International School. Students used this important premise to combine dance,
drama, film, music, and sculpture. Instead of the typical school musical
acted out on stage in an auditorium, the Arts Festival had a number of
unique venues. The audience was split up into two groups and brought around
campus to various outdoor locations to watch performances, with the
auditorium being used merely as a bypass to get from one side of the campus
to another.
The
finale of Arts Festival 2005 included a performance by the choir and an A
Capella group.
The night began with a riveting performance called
“Walls Collapse,” by the Senior Dance Troupe. The idea behind this dance
was that although a physical house can be welcoming, prejudice can cause
people to use houses, or walls, in an exclusive, divisive manner. The dance
also envisioned spiritual homes as solace where a diversity of people is
welcomed.
The night also included a drama troupe performing
“Suli’s Flight” within the unfinished cluster apartments of Prem.
“Suli’s Flight” was an improvisation with a collage of sounds and
images portraying Suli, the protagonist, escaping her war-ravaged home in
Cambodia to a refugee camp across the border.
In a courtyard venue, several Grade 10 students combined
music and drama to perform movements exploring “Different Views” of
people in Thailand. Korean students offered excitement with a thunderous
drum call by the light of torches. Senior art students showed off their
creation of a bamboo house (with the help of installation artist, Markus
Heinsdorff).
 Grade
10 students wrap themselves up in green fabric during the “Different
Views” performance.
The Arts Festival also included a film presentation
created by several students and staff about a boy who decides to flee the
home of his abusive uncle and finds himself in the opening arms of
strangers. A unique representation of “Little Red Riding Hood” by the
8th Grade was included in the Festival. Students using their bodies to
physically show every single object in the story.
Drama teacher Maurice Halder, who helped coordinate the
night, commented, “For me the great thing about working on this Festival
was the way it was put together creatively. Through collaboration of both
staff and students working together, we were able to devise a completely
original performance. The closing image of everyone on stage ‘building’
that bamboo structure was a strong metaphor of the experience as whole. It
has been a great introduction to Prem for me; guiding the audience to places
they might never have been to. Perhaps parents and others in the audience
gained a different perspective on not only the layout of the school but also
what the students are capable of achieving.”
Prem’s Art Festival 2005 concluded with a melding of performers and
audience in the amphitheatre to celebrate diversity, community, and the
power of collaborative endeavor. With the Senior Choir and an A Capella
group to set the mood, there was a symbolic weaving together of music and
movement to raise up a wooden structure representing a home, with the finale
showing people working together to make a place called “home”.
CMU rounds up 2005 and looks towards big changes next year
Saksit Meesubkwang
Chiang Mai University wound up the year on December 15
with its annual press briefing, led by the president and vice pre sidents,
and with department heads and representatives of student bodies also
present.
Group of
administrators of CMU make annual press conference 2005
Students who had completed their bachelor degrees, master
degrees and doctorates were listed, there were awards for prominent alumni,
and also for tutors who had made outstanding progress on research projects.
The change of status of CMU under the control of the
government has already cleared the House of Representatives and the Senate
and is expected to come into force from the beginning of 2006.
Each faculty is to provide an orientation course that
will help newly graduating students to better understand the markets for
their skills and thus enable them to find employment more easily.
During the 2006 academic year, CMU will establish a Mass
Communications Faculty that will prepare young people for a career in the
media, public relations, or in community services. Mass communications as a
discipline has for the past 40 years been taught under the Faculty of Social
Science, but recently alumni and students have been pressing for their own
mass communications faculty, citing the successful careers that can be
enjoyed in this field. Courses will be to both bachelor and master level.
CMU is currently rated number four amongst Thailand’s
universities on a general academic basis. It rates number three for its
Faculty of Science and Faculty of Medicine.
Hair-raising way of fund raising is a cut above the rest
Pinutda Suwanchaisri
(Student Trainee MFLU)
 Auction
activity went joyfully; got a lot of interest from parents and students.
Chiang Mai International School came up with a novel way
of raising funds to purchase new equipment by offering to shave the heads of
the highest bidders during a special hair-cutting auction.
Students, teachers and parents gathered at in the school
playground at 3 pm on December 13 for this unusual style of fund raiser.
Nine people were wielding the shaving tackle, six students and three
teachers, with the winning bidders
lining up to lose their hair.
More than 30 people had their heads shaved in an atmosphere of great
amusement and at the end of the day 3,420 baht had been collected. All of
this money will go towards the purchase of new equipment for the school.
Atmosphere
of shaving off hair auction activity for school equipments fund; the bidding
winner was shaving for the volunteer.
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