Student Activities

In addition to the core academic, music and physical education curriculum, John Stanford International School offers a 
variety of extracurricular activities which compliment the classroom learning and encourage participation  in the global community.

After School Activities

Activity Coordinator - Director: Michele Englehart.
Please see the external ASA web page for details re: the current programs being offered and who to contact for questions.

The goal of the JSIS ASA programs is to provide all students access to fun, convenient, and affordable opportunities for curriculum enhancement and social enrichment.

• Every after-school activity must be approved by the PTSA board
• Every after-school activity must have a current parent volunteer
• Parent volunteers must be PTSA members and have a background check on file with the office
• No classes at school on early dismissal days or no-school days
• No classes may pull students out of class during school hours (9:20-3:30)

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Art Enrichment Program

Activity Coordinators - TBA

John Stanford has several arts opportunities for students.  Annual artists in residence work with students and classroom teachers of all grades on projects in visual art, music or dance. Individual classes also produce various works of art
reflecting the culture of their immersion language.  Students are encouraged to submit art for the PTSA Reflections Program.

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Balloon Drop

Held in September every year, this event involves creativity, water balloons and a chicken suit.  Visit our Balloon Drop
page for highlights of our most recent event.


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Camp Kirby

Every fall, our 5^th graders experience outdoor learning at Camp Kirby.  Visit our Camp Kirby page to see highlights from
their most recent trip.


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Day of Action

Each year, the students participate in a Day of Action to help raise awareness of a global issue.  In 2012, we participated in Walk for Water.  The 2013 event, Read to Feed, benefitted Heifer International.

El Dia de los Muertos and Obon

Each fall, some of the classrooms at John Stanford International School celebrate El Dia de Los Muertos and the Obon Festival. 

More information about El Dia de los Muertos and the Obon Festival:
On November 1^st and 2^nd, some parts of Mexico celebrate “El Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead”. This festival 
grew out of the ancient Aztec custom of celebrating death and two religious holidays. One is All Saints Day, a 
celebration for the souls of children who have died. The other is All Souls Day, the time when adult souls return to 
visit their families. On these days, religious ceremonies are held to hone the dead. Many families set up pictures 
and photographs of honored relatives beside or on an altar in their homes.

The mood of El Dia de Los Muertos is a cheerful one. The color yellow is widely used n flower and candle decoration. 
Toys, masks and candies in the shape of skeletons and skulls are sold. Bakeries sell Pan de Muerto,  a special 
bread baked to represent a skeleton. It has a nob for the head and twists for the bones. On these festival days, 
families and friends gather at cemeteries to clean and decorate the many graves. Sometimes, families will decide 
to hold a feast among all the beautiful flowers and decorations. Often, special meals will be prepared in honor of 
visiting spirits.

Obon is an annual Japanese event for commemorating one’s ancestors. It is believed that each year during Obon, 
the ancestors’ spirits return to this world in order to visit their relatives. Traditionally, lanterns are hung in front of houses 
to guide the ancestors’ spirits, Obon dances (bon odori) are performed, graves are visited and food and offerings are 
made at house altars and temples. At the end of Obon, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas in order to 
guide the spirits back into their world. The customs followed vary strongly from region to region.

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Ice Skating Social

Activity Coordinator - Matt Chadsey

The Annual John Stanford International School Winterfest Ice Skating Social takes place in the Seattle Center Fisher
Pavilion in early December. 2012 Registration forms are HERE.

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Japan Night

Activity Coordinator - Glen Mitchell 

Japan Night is an exciting all school event that highlights Japanese culture.  On this evening, we celebrate the art,
music, food and popular culture of Japan.  There are free activities and games for students.  Tasty Japanese dishes
are for sale.  Kendo martial arts and taiko drummers have performed in past years.

Visit our Japan Night page for details of our most recent event.

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La Fiesta Latina

Activity Coordinator - Tania Hino

La Fiesta Latina is an exciting evening to celebrating Latin culture by coming together as a community, enjoying live Afro-Cuban music, a Capoeira demonstration, sharing a delicious meal, and dancing.

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Mexico Educational Exchange

Activity Coordinator - Maestra Priscilla

Every year, the students of John Stanford take a trip to our sister school in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The visit is during
Spring Break and is open to all John Stanford students and their families. Students attend a half-day of classes at our
sister school, Juan de la Barrera (JB). Parents are encouraged to volunteer, either in the classroom or helping to improve
the school grounds and infrastructure.

Escuela Primera Juan de la Barrera - Our Sister School
Escuela Primera Juan de la Barrera is our sister school in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico.
Website:  http://juandelabarrerapv.blogspot.com 
Email:  escuelaprimariajuandelabarrera@gmail.com

Visit our Educational Trip to Mexico Page for more details.


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Monster Mash

Activity Coordinators - Midge Bradshaw and Jan Nicosia

The Monster Mash is the SPOOKIEST event at JSIS all year!  There are lots of carnival games to play, pizza and
treats to eat, music to dance to, and of course, the 5th grade Haunted House!

Visit our Monster Mash Page for all the details of our most recent event!


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Poetry Aloud

Activity Coordinators - Erika Bigelow and Meg Chadsey   

This is Poetry Aloud's 9th year at John Stanford! Readings will be held on Thursday mornings as part of the morning announcements.  All students will have a chance to read, speak or listen to poems by a wide variety of poets
(including our very own JSIS students). Poetry Aloud provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about cadence and
rhymes and to really think about words, their meanings and how they fit together.

Read more in the introductory letter from coordinators, Erika Bigelow and Meg Chadsey, for suggested readings
and internet resources.  Below is the schedule for 2012-13:

                                  

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Science Fair

The goal of the John Stanford Science Fair is to develop the students' skills in investigation and communication 
when it comes to science. Students will actively be involved in designing a question, developing a hypothesis, 
conducting an investigation, observing processes, gathering data, tabulating results and expressing a conclusion 
about a project.

Judges will be recruited from the scientific community: academia, non-profit research laboraties and the private sector. Families will be invited to see the science displays and meet the junior scientists for a Family 
Celebration of Science. 

Visit our Science Fair page for more details.

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 Young Author’s Day

Activity Coordinator - Lucy Atkinson

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