International School of Belgrade – Page 3

Classroom Observations: Wednesday April 1, 2009 Period 1

April 3, 2009April 3, 2009billkralovec

Occasionally I like to document digitally some of my classroom observations to give the community an idea of the daily teaching and learning in the classrooms.

Wednesday I was in the middle school and they are in the midst of “Spirit Week.” Each day, students are asked to dress up according to a theme and there is a fun activity during the lunch period. It gives a lift to the students enthusiasm and is a rally point in the school calendar. Above, “Vladamir Putin” is surrounded by his “body guards” although I don’t know what kind a protection a banana offers.

Today is the culmination of the week and the students are holding a Locker Decorating competition. It is designed to get the students to clean their lockers and use them more effectively. Many students continue to carry around all their books in their bags instead of storing them in their lockers. There will be a dance tonight that the STUCO students are organizing.

The Grade 8 Design and Technology class was working on calligraphy. Below, David shows his favorite Gothic script, “Fraktur” which was made popular in the early 1500’s by Maximillian, the Holy Roman Emperor.

In science, Mrs. Medenica prepared a wonderful presentation on geological time. Her classroom is an “oasis of learning” and she always posts much student work.

The grade 7 Language Arts class was practicing their new vocabulary words, “roster”, “procrastinate”, and “trenchant”. I believe a foundation to a good education is possessing and using a large vocabulary. Words are power!

One thing I noticed is the tendency of the students to socialize in their own ethnic or nationality group. Teachers need to be aware of this and when designing seating charts, or organizing collaborative work, they need to purposely create diverse groups. It is good to have students from different cultures working together.

ISB Wins A Trophy!

March 30, 2009March 30, 2009billkralovec

Team Photo With Trophy in Helsinki, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Doron and Zoki are holding the third place trophy outside of the International School of Helsinki. The team was celebrating an important victory over the Kiev International School in the consolation match, 50-47. The victory earned the team the third place trophy. There were 8 teams competing so it was quite an accomplishment. It was appropriate the cup was filled with snow, as it represented the team venturing to the frozen north of Finland to compete in the tourney.

The Dragons led the entire game against the Cosaks of KIS. ISB used a full court pressure defense to disrupt the opponents. The strategy worked as many fast break layups were scored by Doron and Nikola. Panayot played with an injured foot, and despite the pain, he had his usual outstanding game. A special mention also goes to Mik for his defensive efforts on their best player. Coaches Sands and Kralovec thank the team for their efforts. It was a fitting end to a great season. The boys played close to 20 games! They developed their individual fundamentals of basketball, learned the strategies and finer points of the game, increased their fitness, and interacted with students from all over the world and Serbia.

Things are looking bright for 2009-2010, as the entire team that traveled to Helsinki returns. We will also get some excellent players from the Middle School team that finished in second place in their tourney. We will also be hosting the high school boys’ tourney, so there are many things in our favor. Job well done gentlemen!

CEESA Championship Final Day

March 29, 2009March 30, 2009billkralovec

After watching the fifth and seventh place matches, we had the consolation final against the Kiev International School. The Dragons defeated the Cozaks, 50-47 to take the third place trophy (of eight teams competing).

It was an incredible performance by the boys’ basketball team. Mik had 6 points and played stellar defense against their top player. Tausan and Misa rebounded well against the bigger Ukrainians. Pan played with an injured foot and still scored in double figures. It was a proud moment for the school and the team. Congratulations to the Dragons! Photos and video to come!

Day Two of CEESA Basketball Tourney

March 27, 2009March 30, 2009billkralovec

ISB on the Attack, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The International School of Belgrade lost this afternoon to the Perchersk International School of Kiev, Ukraine, 39-47. The game was the semifinal, as the Dragons won the Pool B. The boys were matched up with the second place team of Pool A. The team started out slow and shot only 12% from the field in the first quarter. The boys from Percherk were physical and out played us.

The Dragons were led by the outstanding long range shooting of Nikola T. and Doron. They gave a good effort and cut down a larger deficit.

ISB now goes to the consolation match. The Dragons will take on the Kiev International School at 1:00 PM tomorrow. The Dragons previously beat KIS and the Cozaks will be seeking revenge. At stake is a third place trophy. Can the Dragons bring home some hardware? They will also have the chance to leave Finland with a winning record as they are 2 wins and 2 losses currently.

It was a great day despite the loss. The games were held at a local professional team’s arena (Messuhalli II). The arena was used for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. We saw the photo of the USA Olympic team who played in the gym as our students did today.

CEESA Boys’ Basketball Championship Day One

March 26, 2009March 26, 2009billkralovec

The International School of Belgrade won their first two games on Day 1 of tournament. In the first game this morning, the Dragons defeated Quality Schools International of Bratislava 52 – 34. Six players scored for the Dragons, with Panayot leading the way with 20 points. Mi also scored 6 points. Nikola T. had a stellar performance on defense.

In the second game today, the Dragons won by a score of 56 – 49 over the Kiev International School. The hard fought game was decided by coolness under pressure demonstrated by the Dragon. In the final quarter, Pan and Doron made some big baskets and steals to seal the victory.

We have one more game today against Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu, a local Finnish team. If we win, we guarantee a spot in the semifinals. If we lose, there will most likely be a three-way tie for the top and then it will come down to point differential, which we want to avoid. If we do lose, we could finish anywhere from first to third in the group.

UPDATE:

We lost to the local Finnish school, 47 – 74. The score was tied at halftime 30-30. In the second half, we ran out of energy as this is our third game today. The Finn school played a reserve team in the morning (lost to KIV) and had an easy game against Bratislava. It will be disappointing if this game against a non-CEESA school causes us to out of the semifinals. If due to point differential we finish third, the highest finsh we can have is fourth.

In the other Pool, the most likely winner will the Internationl School of Latvia and second place will be the Pechersk International School of Kiev, Ukraine.

Boys’ Basketball Team Arrives in Finland

March 26, 2009March 26, 2009billkralovec

ISB Cheerleaders Send off Hoop Team, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The ISB cheerleaders gave the team an enthusiastic farewell before the boys embarked on their journey. The cheerleaders have been incredibly supportive this year. This is the best cheerleading squad perhaps in the history of the school. They attended all of our regular season games. On behalf of the team, THANK YOU!!! You can see them in action by clicking on the video above.

We bussed to the Budapest, Hungary airport and flew from there to Helsinki. The International School of Helsinki (ISH)is hosting the annual Boys’ Basketball Championship of the Central and Eastern European Athletic Association. Eight teams from all over the region are competing for the title. All visiting student-athletes are billeted with ISH families.

I wil try to post regularly during the competion which begins today. We have been placed in Pool B with the Kiev International School (Ukraine), Quality Schools International of Bratislava (Slovakia) and Soumalainen Yhteiskoulu (Finland). We play those three teams today with games at 10:45 AM, 12:45 PM, and 3:45 PM. It will be a grueling day indeed.

This is the farthest away I’ve been from the equater. Helsinki is at 60 degrees north latitude, a mere 6 degrees (400 miles) from the arctic circle. There is still snow on the ground and temperatures are below freezing. This is a special trip for me as my mother’s ancestry is Finnish. It will be great to learn more about Finnish culture and coaching a lot of basketball the next three days.

International School of Belgrade Presents One Act Plays

March 22, 2009March 22, 2009billkralovec

Last night I attended the One Act Plays presented by the International School of Belgrade’s Thespian Society and the high school performing arts department. The scene above is a comedy sketch on the assassination of Russian historical figure Leon Trotsky. One Acts are the performing equivalent to the literary short story. The students performed to full houses both Friday and Saturday evenings.

In the scene above, Teodora and Luka do one of the six variations on the violent death of Trotsky. it was hilarious!!!! Whenever I watch our students performing, I forget they are students and I just enjoy the play. There was a variety of one acts, ranging from Pan and Doron’s take on Rowan Atkinson, to Mina’s interpretation of Medea and Greek tragedy. The evening was enjoyed by all and I would like to compliment Mrs. Sands and the students for their efforts. The PTA lead by Manon and Jeanette provided refreshments for the audience during intermission which was appreciated by all.

Mina and William Are Featured in this Greek Tradegy

All of the props and costumes were designed by our stagecraft class. Student directors from the IB Theater Arts class were involved as well as many students not enrolled in our performing arts classes. I uploaded some short exceprts of video from some of the plays, feel free to view them on my flickr.com account.

As I said in my welcome message to the audience, we have wonderful students and last night they were showing their best. At ISB, we pride ourselves in everything we do, we do at the highest level! The performing arts department is a shining example of this. I can’t wait for the Shakespeare Festival coming in May!

March Madness Hits Belgrade!

March 21, 2009March 21, 2009billkralovec

Coach Kralovec, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

It is basketball madness for me as the boys’ high school team is on their final preparations for next week’s CEESA championship in Helsinki, Finland. I am shown above at Tuesday’s game at the FMP Arena in the Belgrade suburb of Zeleznik. It is an industrial area with lots of Communist Era apartments, but in the midst of the run down buildings is the basketball school and this beautiful basketball arena. Our school project manager went along to get ideas for our new gymnasium.

The team lost 37-81 to their sub-15 team. FMP has the best basketball club in Serbia and they compete in international tourneys for elite high schools in Europe. They are one of the best high school teams I have ever seen! Our students got to experience the best in the world and they held their own in the second half. The relentless pressure defense and attacking style of FMP forced our students to bring up their game. It was a great experience and on behalf of ISB, I thank the basketball school for inviting us to play twice this season! The opposition in Helsinki will pale in comparison and our team will be battle tested by the time we get there.

It is also the NCAA tourney and the team joined a pool. The students and coaches filled out their brackets like President Obama. All of the games are on live on ESPN America, My favorite, the Michigan State Spartans, won their opening game against Robert Morris. The University of Michigan also won their first NCAA tourney game in 11 years, upsetting Clemson. And finally, neighboring state Wisconsin also made it to the second round. I hope they make it to next weekend.

To top off the basketball frenzy, Belgrade professional team, Partizan starts their series with CSKA Moscow in the Euro League Quarterfinals. My favorite professional team Red Star, made it to the Final Four of the Adriatic Basketball League. It will be next month at the Belgrade Arena. Three Serbian teams (Red Star, Partizan, Hemofarm) will join Croatian Zibona for the games in the Belgrade Arena.

Nice Day of Learning in the Middle School

March 21, 2009March 21, 2009billkralovec

Bartosz Pi, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The Middle School has its own rhythm and is very different from the High School. I spend about 25% of my time over there and really enjoy my day with teachers and students.

Thursday we had an ISB Time Assembly in Mrs. Medenica’s room. The main part of the assembly was to watch the Public Broadcasting System Frontline program documentary, “Growing Up Online: Just How Radically is the Internet Transforming the Experience of Childhood?” which you can watch on line from the PBS web site. An animated discussion ensued between the students and teachers. The students gave each other advice on staying safe on line. Very good stuff and we’ll continue this topic this semester. The video above shows Bartosz reciting the first 106digits of pi. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It is a non-repeating, irrational number. Bartosz is getting ready for the Knowledge Bowl trip and exercised his brain with trying to memorize as many digits of pi as possible. He memorized 160 in practice and during the assembly he did an amazing 106. Classmate Ellis also had a turn and did over 90. It was a fun way to promote the joy of knowledge and the team’s preparation for the CEESA championship. By the way, the world record for memorizing pi is 67,890 by Chao Lu of China.

Sixth Graders Enjoy Lunch on the Terrace

The middle school campus is located down the street from the Lower School. It is the former secret police station of Yugoslavia. It is not an ideal place for a school, which is why a new middle school building is being constructed on the high school campus this spring and summer. But the place does has its charms and the students have made it a cozy place of learning. Above the sixth graders hang out at lunch outside of their homeroom teacher’s terrace. They are a nice group and enjoy their own space overlooking the playground.