The SIS forensics and debate teams had successful competitions. In the high school debate competition, students from SIS took the top four spots, with Sonia Kim winning first place. In the middle school competition, Michael Lee from SIS took third place. The document also discusses the coaches' roles and requirements for students to compete. It provides details on how individual students from SIS placed in various speech and debate events.

1. November 4th, 2014
NSDA and NJSDA were Successful!
Formerly known as NFL (National Forensics League), NSDA (National Speech and Debate Association) is a nationwide program where students compete against each other in many different competitions. The competition program is designed for students to develop speech and improvisational skills. Ms. Hampell and Mr. Harris both coach the forensics team while Mr. Tessen coaches the debaters.
On October 17, six high school and four middle school debaters argued the month's resolved head-to-head: A just society ought to presume consent for organ procurement from the deceased. SIS had four debaters and MBA had two in the high school; no other high schools participated in the debate. The results came in on Wednesday and three of our debaters placed in the top five. Taking first was Sonia Kim, an MBA debater. From SIS, Quintin Ramsey, Cerinn Hwang, and Daniel Lim took second, third, and fourth respectively. Fifth was Won Jun Kim from MBA. In the middle school division, Michael Lee placed third.
Ms. Hampell coaches the high school NSDA students while Mr. Harris coaches middle school NJSDA students. This is the first year Ms. Hampell has ever coached a speech program, and she enjoys watching the kids improve. “I really enjoy seeing my students take the initiative to compete in speech competitions. But what I find entertaining, is seeing the progression of the pieces, from first look all the way to the finished and polished speech." Ms. Hampell does not favor one event over the others, but she does think impromptu is interesting because she can see what the competitors create right on the spot. She also likes original oratory (OO) and extemporaneous speech (Extemp.) because they allow her to see more of the progress of the competitor.
In OO Michael Lee placed second. He also placed third in Extemp. and fourth in impromptu. Stephanie Lee placed fourth in impromptu and dramatic interpretation. Grace Choi placed fourth in storytelling and shared a second place with Tania Tan in duo interpretation. Su Jin Kim placed fifth in prose and secured a first in dramatic interpretation.
In order to compete in a competition, competitors must come to at least 3 practices before the competition. They must also present the finalized piece to either Ms. Hampell or Mr. Harris at least once. If, for some reason, they decide to change their event, they must inform either of the coaches 2 weeks before the competition. Ms. Hampell encourages all students to join this program, and it will look great on a college application resume.
All of the SIS NSDA and NJSDA students worked very hard and did very well in all their competitions.
-By Qunitin Ramsey and Jennifer Tan
The SIS Herald
Free for all Geckoes!!
Issue 2, volume 1

2. 2
The SIS Herald
Middle School Volleyball
Middle school volleyball is approaching the end of the season. The quarter finals are on Thursday and we'll find out the game schedule this coming Wednesday.
Captain AJ (Andrew) Hudkins said, "Our SIS un- derdogs, the SIS blue team, have sadly not won any games. SIS white team, however, has won eight out of the twelve games. Being a captain always puts a heavy burden on me because I have to help lead the team to vic- tory. If we lose then I'd feel like I have let the team down. As a captain, you have to be almost like the teams cheer- leader. You have to keep the team happy, energized, and hopeful. If ever one person is feeling bad, then the whole team will feel bad and it's not fun. The best part about the volleyball experience is playing the good basic funda- mentals of volleyball where we pass to each other, talk to each other, and we try to win every point to the best of our abilities. Bump. Set. Spike! The hardest thing about being a captain is trying to make everyone have fun but be serious at the same time. If we're too serious, we play bad and that happens frequently. This season, I expect us to win the first place trophy. Who wouldn't think we'll get first place?"
The middle school volleyball had both ups and downs during the season. So far, the season has made them all better athletes, more learned in teamwork, more understanding of the value of sportsmanship, and having more of a good time.
There will be great games to watch, so come out and sup- port our middle school geckos on their road to victory!
-By Adele Hudkins
A Professional
Development Day
"A professional development day is when the faculty takes time to learn about new teaching tech- niques, review data gathered about students, and adjust our curriculum," says Mr. Bray, our headmaster. The profes- sional develop- ment days usu- ally take place before the school year starts during the faculty orientation. During the professional development days, the teachers discuss Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and receive training from Achieve 3000. "Professional development days are for teachers to share, learn, and plan. It gives the faculty a chance to analyze data on student learning that we have gathered in our teaching," explained Mr. Bray. There are two new software programs for the fac- ulty and students to use. The first one is Achieve 3000. This is a program designed to improve students' reading comprehen- sion skills.
(Continued on pg. 4)
QR Code for www.achieve3000.com
If you are interested in this topic, please go visit to get more in- formation.

3. 3
The SIS Herald
MPU Joined Pilipnas Cup 2014
In SIS, there are a lot of students who have joined the MPU team; eight people from the high school are in the team. The team is coached by Mr. Norman del Rosario. Practice is held twice a week and games are every Saturday. The games last approximately 2 hours and begin at 10 o’clock in the morning. This week, in the game against TanHoldings team, MPU won the game 4 to 1.
The MPU players were look- ing forward to the tournament in Phil- ippines. Jason Kim, Chanwoo Jeong, and Jehn Joyner from our high school went to the Philippines for the Pilipinas Cup. Chanwoo from 11th grade has been on the team for the shortest amount of time than anyone else. He plays soc- cer really well. This was the first time Chanwoo has been to the Philippines. He was really exited.
MP United Football Club’s U14 and U17 teams went to Philippines for 2014 Pilipinas Cup. They departed on Oct.25, a Saturday morning, and started their tournament on Oct. 27 at 2pm. They challenged the high school team of the University of Santo Tomas. The results of the tour- nament have come back and MPU placed second overall.
-By Emma Zhang
Education Tax Credit
Education Tax Credit (ETC) is a law that was passed by the CNMI government. It allows for local businessmen or corporations to donate money to schools to offset their tax. They can either pay tax to school or to the government. Also, they can donate up to $5000. This law is very important to Saipan International School because it is an inde- pendent organization. Unlike other schools, SIS is not funded by a certain church or a certain company. SIS's faculty members can use donated money for extra supplies. Since tuition is used for paying teachers and maintenance of the school, extra donated money can be used for future developmental projects. So far, twelve organizations have donated money to SIS: Kosta LLC and Soi In Corp, Okadaya, Smile Marianas, Casa De Ate Song, Salty Saipan, Deloitte and Touche, Wing Corporation, Minori Saipan Corpora- tion, Law Office of Sean Frink, Seashore, Inc, Aca Corporation, Pacific Airport Ser- vices, Pacific Fertility Institute, Quincy Corporation, and Ginen Saipan. Big thanks to those corporations and to Mr. Bray for giving information about Education Tax Credit. Please contact Tim Bray if you have any questions.
If you are interested in this issue, visit http:// www.cnmidof.net/rev/ news.asp

4. 4
The SIS Herald
Teacher Development Program
If you ask around SIS, you may find that many teach- ers have been going to a special program after school meant to improve teaching techniques in the classroom through technol- ogy. With many kids nowadays using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, many teachers find it hard to adapt to the changing environment. As more teachers feel lost with newer tech- nology, they look to the Teacher De- velopment Program which as- sists teach- ers with combating problems related to the newer technology their students use. If teachers stick to the program until the very end, they could win a MacBook and/or an iPad, which gives many teachers hope that there’s at least a reward for their dedication to the program. When asked about why she had joined the program, Mrs. Ayeras answered, “To relate with the students nowadays through technology.” She also went on to say, “I take all the things I learn and apply that to the school curriculum.” Mrs. A also told said that she had “felt the need to learn new techniques and explore new options to make learning more relevant.” Many of the teach- ers, including Mrs. Ayeras, had been notified of the program by Mr. Bray and were strongly suggested to attend the program after school. Since Mrs. Ayeras has been going, she has discovered new programs students use frequently to communicate things such as home- work and upcoming tests/quizzes. Overall, Mrs. Ayeras had found this program very helpful and is sure that other teachers have too. The Teacher Development Program has one goal in mind: to help teachers get over the technology gap they have with their students. Ever since many teachers have started go- ing, that gap has been getting smaller and smaller.
-by John H. Stewart
A Professional
Development Day (Continued from pg. 2)
The second program is Comic Life 3. Comic Life 3 can be used by students for publishing comic books they have created. It can also be used in just about every subject by teachers to improve student-teacher communi- cation. The teachers will have another professional development day on January 6. The plan for that particular development day is to focus on help- ing English language learners in the regular classroom setting. The faculty members are going to have a short introduction discussing how to use the program on Mondays after school for a few weeks. As Mr. Bray has pointed out, "Professional development is an important part of an educator's job. If we want to develop students into life- long learners, we need to be life-long learners ourselves."
-By Yeeno Marshall
Cheers to the Seniors’ hard effort on making the door the best!

5. 5
The SIS Herald
Trick or Treat!
Treat or treat. Smell my feet. Get ready for the best Halloween that no one will beat. I am extremely excited for this year’s trunk or treat. I know that parents are scheming up some creative trunk designs just like every year. Not only will we be having a blast getting sugar high from the trunks, but we will also get pumped for the fun and spooky activities that students will provide. The junior class is whip- ping up a Mad Lab with all kinds of icky, gooey concoctions that’ll leave guests questioning their love for chemistry. The haunted house, being held in the high school, is a must see for all visitors at the event. Hosted by the seniors, they can assure you that you will leave haunted. They have been working hard for the past month to prepare for the gruesome, yet fun haunted house that awaits us. Your expectations should definitely be high. Come on down to Saipan International School on October 31 and let’s get spooky!
-By Allen L. Cepeda
STAFF
Writers:
Allen L. Cepeda
Yeeno Marshall
Jennifer Tan
Quintin M. Ramsey
Emma Zhang
Minjin Jang
Adele Hudkins
Takumi Sugie
John H. Stewart
Layout:
MinJin Jang
Editor:
Quintin M. Ramsey
Sources:
SIS SCOOP
SIS Facebook
Advisor:
Mrs.Aysem Bray
Saipan International School
P.O BOX. 503121, Saipan, MP, 96950
Tel: 670 2889660
Headmaster: tim.s.bray@gmail.com