The Comet

The New sletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 18 | Issue 1 | September 2014

In this issue...
Welcome to New Staff…p. 3, 4

Habitat for Humanity…p. 15

IB Diploma Results…p. 6

Welfare Counseling…p. 16

MYP Next Chapter Changes…p. 9

K. International Preschool…p. 17

Study Skills Tips …p. 10

Alumni News…p. 19

LEAP in 2014-2015…p. 13

2014 University Acceptances...p. 20

Dengue Fever…p. 14

PTA News…p. 21

From the Head of School

DATES TO REMEMBER

Welcome back from what was hopefully a restful break that allowed for quality
time spent with family and friends. September has started and with the Parent
Welcome Nights now behind us it feels like we are well on our way into KIST’s
18th year.
Many schools find that students seem to have forgotten much of what they
have learned upon coming back from an extended break such as summer
holiday. However, at KIST things are different. We are very proud to report that
our mathematics diagnostic results from August, when compared with thosefrom May, indicate that our students not only enjoyed some time away fromschool but that they also reviewed math concepts and studied to improve theirmath performance. All of our August Key Stage test results showed anincreased percentage of students attaining at or beyond school expectations.
Attaining our goal of 36 points in the DP by 2018 is an ambitious goal that
requires the support of all members of our community. I feel that these
impressive results reflect strong support from our student and parent
community towards attaining this goal – thank you all for your efforts!
Many new and expanding initiatives were announced at the recent Parent
Welcome Nights, changes that are sure to make 2014-15 another exciting year
for KIST. One such change is increased documentation and policy to support
stakeholders in better understanding our expectations and to increaseaccountability in relation to these expectations. With regards to academics, onesuch document is the KIST Progression Criteria and Graduation Requirements,
sent out at the end of last school year through E-Communications (#298 on
06.17.2014) which outlines performance expectations for students in Grades 3
to 12. Academics are a priority at KIST; club involvement is now guided bypolicy which requires secondary school students to sustain satisfactory
academic performance (as measured from the previous semester of study) as
a condition for club participation. With regards to student conduct, both on
campus and while commuting to and from school, we have introduced a new
KIST Code of Conduct that clearly defines, and provides reasons for, student
conduct expectations. To support us in supporting your child in meeting KIST
expectations, I urge you to review the Code with your child – it is contained in
the KIST Homework Diary which is distributed to each student. However,please note that the following phrase has been added to the Code since theHomework Diary was published:
Out of concern for student safety and out of respect for ourneighboring community members, all KIST students not underparent supervision are expected to return home directly upon leaving
the school campus.
Continued on next page
KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life

September 201415 School day
15 MYP Information session for G6
and new parents
19-20 Staff development days (Noschool for students)
22-23 School holiday
24 PYP Information session for newparents (*Evening)
25 (W) Free dress day
27 (G9-G12) High school drama
festival (Hosted@KIST)
29-30 School photographs

October 2014
5 World teachers’ day
10 (G5) Day camp
13 School day
13 (E/S) Field Day
15 (G10) PSAT tests
18 School explanation day (forprospective parents)
20 2015-2016 new enrollment
applications open
23 Last day of quarter 1
24 KISTival preparation day(K1-G5) No school for students(S) School day
25 KISTival 2014
26-Nov 2 Autumn break

KIST is an
IB World
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Continued from previous page

Also exciting for KIST is the rapidly changing
employment context here in Japan. A recent NY Times
article* reported that 48 percent of mid- to large-sized
Japanese companies are looking to hire international
university graduates, up from 20 percent a few years
back. This summer during my visit with family in
Canada I was surprised by the prominence ofJapanese brands new to the Canadian consumer
market including: Daikin, Rinnai, Toto, Calbee,
Hisamitsu and Morinaga. KIST graduates, with skills
and knowledge from an international education andalso Japanese language and cultural proficiency, aresure to draw positive attention from Japanesecompanies looking to further globalize their business.

KIST looks forward to working with you this year aswell towards attaining our school goals and in doing sofurther increasing opportunities for our students. Onceagain, thank you for all of your support
and please do let us know your thoughts
or concerns by contacting the school, orme, directly.
Jeffrey Jones
Head of School*http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/world/asia/
japanese-companies-seek-internationalgraduates.html

The hard work of our graduating class of 2014 resulted
in some very impressive Diploma Programme results.
95% of KIST grade 12 students participated in the full
Diploma Programme and 94% of those students
attained the Diploma. The DP awardee point averagefor our graduating class increased to 33.4 points. By
the end of September you will be able to access more
information about our DP results and an updated list of
universities to which KIST graduates have gained
admission under the Learning > Diploma Programmetab of our school homepage.

Looking for a tutor?
Have you ever heard of the Khan Academy?
Originally started as a collection of videos by Sal Khan to help him tutor
friends and family located all over the US, with financial support from donors,
including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Khan Academy has
grown from its humble roots to become a hub for learning to over 16 million
registered users.
For mathematics and science (and a variety of other subjects as well), atlevels ranging from elementary school to university, the site offers video
tutorials, online practice activities, individual progress statistics, and progressawards – and best of all of these resources are available FOR FREE!
So if you are looking for some extra support with mathematics or science,
why not check out what those 16 million users are doing by visiting:
http://www.khanacademy.org

Feeling lucky?
Why not enter our draw!
Click on the link below and complete the survey toenter your name in a draw for an IB logo computercase. One entry per person.
Good luck! Click here to enter the draw

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3Welcome to New Staff
On behalf of the KIST school community, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new staff for 2014-2015.
We wish you all the best and hope that you enjoy your time with us!

Teachers

Luke Callaghan
Preschool K3

Florent Debouverie
MYP Japanese

Caroline Jesuthasan
MYP Science /DP Biology

Emma Justice
MYP/DP Art

Aya Kurosaki
Elementary K1Paul Martin
MYP Mathematics

Aya Nishihara
Preschool
Nursery /Art Instructor

Eri Ozawa
Preschool
Head Teacher /Preschool K1

Kay Shinada
Elementary K3A

Aaron Smith
MYP English /MYP Humanities

Akiko Takashima
MYP/DP Japanese

Andrew Tulk
MYP Mathematics /MYP Technology

Ryan Van Loh
MYP Science

Instructors and Assistants

Campbell Boyd
Secondary
ELS Instructor

Thomas Chandler
Preschool Dance
Instructor

Julian Dave
Teacher’s AssistantGrade 1

Makiko DuranPreschool
Music Instructor

Amber Guarente
Preschool
ELS Instructor K1
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Continued from previous page

Sheyla Mattos
Teacher’s Assistant
K2

Angela Oana
Teacher’s Assistant
K1

Evan Salzbrenner
Teacher’s Assistant
K3

Tamara SomersHarris
Elementary
ELS Instructor K1

Rosanna O’Connell
LMC Library
Assistant

Natasha Paterson
Elementary
ELS Instructor G1A

Office Staff

Yukinori Honda
Operations Manager

Tsubura Kobayashi
Office Support Staff

Student Nationalities
This year, we have a record 51 different
nationalities represented in the student bodyat KIST. Can you find your nationality in the
diagram on the right?

Asumi Moroguchi
Accounts Support
Staff

Yukiko Murai Jones
Preschool
Office Coordinator

Julie Rochefort
Science Laboratory
Assistant

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Secondary School News
Welcome message from Mark Cowe, the Secondary School Principal!
It gives me great pleasure to beable to write my first Comet article
as KIST Secondary School
Principal. I hope that the year has
started well for your child and they
are happy at KIST and learning a
lot! Although this is my first year as
Secondary School Principal, I am afamiliar face to some parents/
guardians and I look forward togetting to know more of you as theyear progresses.
I want to take this chance to givethe community a message that I
gave to all the Secondary students
at our first Secondary Assembly on
Friday, August 22. As I mentioned
to parents/guardians at Parent
Welcome Night, in this Assembly I
told students about the real life
story of me and one of my legs
being significantly longer than theother! I used this real life example
with the students to emphasize theimportance of perseverance anddetermination (I used the phrase“grit” in the assembly) in reaching
the goals that we set in our lives
and how they will always facechallenges and obstacles in theirlearning. Rather than give up I said
that students need to embracethese challenges and obstacles
and not be put off or defeated bythem. Especially with support, it isamazing what we can achieve. An
example of how we embrace thisphilosophy at KIST is that we havealways encouraged all students totake the full IB Diploma in Grade

11 and 12 and last academic year,
94% of our graduating classachieved this goal. Mr Rose andMrs Okude will have specificarticles about G12 IB Diploma
results and university destinations
later in The Comet. If Secondary
parents and guardians have notdone so already, can I encourage
you to ask your child about thestory of my legs!!
I also want to take the opportunity
to communicate to you through thisarticle about some upcoming
events and slight changes to ourschool calendar. This year I haveorganized some of our Secondary
parent information events to be on
national holidays and not so late in
the day to hopefully allow as many
parents as possible to attend. If
you could look at our school
calendar for the whole year that ison the website and mark relevant
dates in your own calendars thatwould be appreciated.
Furthermore, as I mentioned onparent welcome night, overnight
camps for certain year groups are
firmly back in the school calendar.
Grade 11 may have just been on
their DP Orientation Camp as you
read this, plans are already in fullswing on the Grade 7 Camp to the
Kamakura area in late November
whilst Grade 9 are scheduled tohave an outdoor adventure campeither in Yamanashi or Nagano
prefecture in May 2015. These arejust two slightly new developments

for this year which I
hope that thecommunity is positive about. I lookforward to hearing any feedback
throughout the year.
Too conclude this short firstmessage, I want to come back to
the concept of support that I madereference to earlier. Over thesummer, a lot of work was put into
making sure the Homework Diary
was up to date and full of relevant
information for students andparents/guardians. It also has a
new section, the KIST Code of
Conduct, which clearly outlines
the school’s expectations forstudent behavior. Overall ourstudent conduct and dress code isa positive reflection of ourcommunity, but it takes aconsistent team effort, from
homeroom advisors, a principal
and parents/guardians to achieve
and maintain this, and thus I would
encourage all of you, whichever
grade your child is in, to look atsome of the information in theSecondary Homework Diary as I
hope it will clearly outline andexplain our expectations.
Thanks for reading this message
and I look forward to seeing manyof you at our upcoming events thisyear!
Mark Cowe
Secondary School Principal

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DP News
IB Diploma results – July 2014
During the summer vacation, the IB Diploma results were issued to the students of the “Class of 2014”. The tablebelow summarizes the performance of the candidates and also KIST graduates from 2011-2014.

Year of
graduation

Number of
Grade 12
students

Number of
students awarded
the IB Diploma

Mean points ofstudents awarded
the IB Diploma

Highest KIST
score*

Worldwide
mean points

2014
2013
2012
2011

37
35
17
16

33
29
14
14

33.41
32
30
32

43
42
37
40

TBA
29.81
29.77
29.61

*Maximum score: 45 points
As the table shows, the Class of 2014 was significant for KIST as this year group improved the KIST mean point
average well above previous world mean point average scores. Also, 35 students in the year group challenged
themselves by going for the award of the full IB Diploma with 33 students (94%) being successful in achieving thisgoal. Furthermore, the two who were not awarded the full IB Diploma only missed out by one single point. The
school compares favorably to world statistics released by the IB in these two categories; just under 50% of IB
Diploma candidates go for the full IB Diploma and of those that do, approximately 78% are successful in this goal
(IB, 2012).
Also significant for KIST was that amongst the Class of 2014, eight students achieved scores of 39 points or more:
Eun Ji and Abhinav received 39 points, and Daniel scored 40 points, with a special mention to Adamscoring 41 points, Min and Elizaveta achieving 42 points and finally Rio and Sashank scoring an amazing 43
points. Overall, twenty-one students were awarded an IB Diploma with 30 or more points. Ten students were also
awarded a bilingual Diploma in recognition of studying two language A or “first” languages.
Parents who would like more general information on IB Diploma results should go to http://www.ibo.org/diploma/
assessment/results/. The IB publishes a “ Statistical Bulletin” summarizing IB Diploma results, a link towhich is on this webpage. The “Statistical Bulletin” for the May 2014 Examination Session should be published in
October/November.
Congratulations to the students on their individual successes in the external DP Assessment and thanks to all theGrade 12 teachers from last year for all their hard work!

Introduction to Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) for Grade 11
Since the start of the school year, G11 students have beenfinding out what CAS is and how they are to achieve therequired goal of 150 hours of activities to complete the IB DP
CAS requirements. Students have been shown the process for
CAS by: Submitting an activity into ManageBac; After approval students then conduct the activity; During the activity students conduct a log book inManageBac program; Finally, writing a reflection into ManageBac to complete
CAS hours.
We also have a new CAS coordinator this year, Shun Nakade.
You can see him teaching an introduction to CAS in the photo above.
John Rose
DP Coordinator
john.rose@kist.ed.jp(IB, 2012) “IB DP Statistical Bulletin May 2012 Examination Session”

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Elementary School NewsPYP News

It is my pleasure to extend a warm welcome to eachand every K. International School community member
as we enter into the 2014 - 2015 academic year.

Concepts as essential elements ofcurriculum“

Education’s purpose is toreplace an empty mind with anopen one.
—Malcolm S. Forbes”

I find the preceding quote very interesting. Often, whenit comes to education, we think about filling the empty
mind. Filling it with what? Knowledge? Information?
Facts? Now, opening a mind, allowing it to absorb
information, process it, and apply skills and knowledge
to daily life, this is more challenging, and much morevaluable.
Inquiry-based teaching and learning aspires
to open minds. The best programs promote
the development of Higher Order Thinking
Skills (HOTS). Higher Order Thinking Skills,
or HOTS for short, takes thinking to higher
levels than simply restating the facts. HOTS requiresthat we process the facts. We must understand them,
manipulate them, connect them to each other,categorize them, put them together in new ways, andapply them as we seek solutions to problems.
This diagram shows the different levels of thinking,from the simple to the complex. As students move fromelementary school to middle school it becomes moreessential for them to have the ability to think in different
ways. As children move up from grade to grade,teachers require them to do more and more things with
the information that is stored in their brains.

Studying within an IB curriculum is an exciting andworthwhile adventure. There are many things that
separate it from other ways of learning, notably the ideathat learning best takes place by building a strong
conceptual base of knowledge rather than relying onrote memorization.
Concepts are powerful ideas that have relevance within
the subject areas but also transcend them. In order tounderstand these, students must build upon priorunderstanding and expand their ability to access theseconcepts at deeper levels. Structuring curriculum
around concepts is important as it focuses on universal
and timeless ideas which help students make sense of
the world. It helps students organize and retain theimportant ideas and skills in a discipline and provides
coherence to these bodies of knowledge. Most
importantly, it moves beyond information to thought andto thinking about one’s own thought processes which
actively involves students as doers and problem
solvers. This in turn is attractive to students andteachers alike. Another attractive point is that it is
attached to the lives and cultures of learners and to theworld beyond the classroom door. These real life
connections give students the sense of being part ofsomething bigger in their learning and this supports theefficacy of the ideas and skills which are being taught.
Parents might ask which concepts are being taught tosupport the units of inquiry here at KIST. During thecourse of the school year, you can expect to see theseeight concepts highlighted in your child’s units of
instruction: form, function, causation, change,
connection, perspective, responsibility andreflection. Focusing our inquiry through theseconcepts will strengthen your child’s ability to negotiate
through more than just the lessons at hand but willbuild a solid base for more broad based understandingof the world of ideas and real life situations.
Clay Bradley
Elementary School Vice Principal/
PYP Coordinator

It is our goal to develop Higher Order Thinking Skills inevery one of our students at KIST. We look forward toworking with all your children in 2014-2015 andopening their minds to all the wonders of the world!
Kevin Yoshihara
Elementary School Principal

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Grade 5 Art Excursion

Elementary ELS

Grade 5 kicked off their first art lesson of the year witha field trip to Sompo Art Museum in Shinjuku. The
students were given this invaluable opportunity toexperience first-hand art appreciation, and for some,
this was the first time they had had exposure to art in agallery space.

Welcome back, or welcome for all who are just startingat KIST. My name is Rachel Parkinson, the elementary
English Language Support (ELS) coordinator. As westart the school year, there are two main things
regarding language that are important to emphasize.

The exhibition focused on Kinetic or moving artworks,(many of which were automated for public interaction)
and Op art where the illusion of movement is somehow
incorporated using various optical and creative tricks.
Most of the art works in the exhibition were created by
Italian artists in the 1960s. The visit will help
springboard our first art project, which will connect withthe classroom unit of inquiry “How we express
ourselves”.

It was a fun afternoon and we were grateful to havethe support of the students’ classroom teachers, Mr
Grant, Mr Archibald and Ms Rachel.

Please enjoy the photos, unfortunately we were unable
to capture the students appreciating the exhibits as(understandably) no photography is allowed within thegallery. But hopefully, these few images will give
students a happy memory, and others a glimpse of the
moment.
Miss HelenPYP Art Teacher

First of all, I’m sure you’veseen the signs around theschool that “We speak
English at KIST.” English is
our common language at
school, and our main“language of instruction” (thelanguage that we learn in together for most of ourlessons). To include all of our friends in our
discussions, our games, and our decision-making, weneed to make sure that we are using language thateveryone can understand. This means speaking in
English (or in Japanese with our Japanese teachers),
and it also means teaching each other new words in
English (or in Japanese) whenever necessary. Since
we all have different experiences, we all have different
vocabulary that we do or don’t know, so we can always
be language teachers for each other. This message
about our common language at school is for everyone
in our community. Let’s make sure we choose thelanguage we use based on the principle of allowing
everyone around us to be able to participate indiscussions with full understanding.
So that’s about language use at school, but how about
language at home? Hopefully you picked up the “EAL
Family Support” information at the recent Parent
Welcome Nights, and many of you will have received it
last year also. This document is from a renowned
literacy and language educator, Bonnie Campbell Hill.
The reason we emphasize this information repeatedly
each year is because of the huge difference it canmake to your child’s progress in language
development. Key messages to take to heart are:“Speaking in your native language will not make it
more difficult for your child to learn English. […]Furthermore, learners who have had…no primarylanguage support can take as long as seven to ten
years to demonstrate academic competence in a new
language.” The article then details exactly how you can
use your child’s first language at home to support theirconceptual development and their overall language
development. Top tips include listening and talking
with your child each day about school in your homelanguage, reading to your child in your native
language, and explaining challenging concepts to yourchild in your native language.
If you didn’t receive Bonnie Campbell Hill’s document,
or if you have any questions about it, please e-mail me
any time.
Rachel Parkinson
Elementary ELS Coordinatorrachel.parkinson@kist.ed.jp

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MYP News
MYP year begins with changes
The Middle Years Programme at KIST is off to a great
start. In class after class, students and teachers areengaged in a rich program of learning designed to help
young adolescents gain a better sense of the world andtheir place in it.

G6 Individuals and Societies unit poster.

G9 students exploring a poem with Ms Christian.

Next chapter starts now
The MYP is undergoing a transformation. Beginning
this school year, KIST is implementing changes basedon an update to the program called the Next Chapter.
These changes developed by the IB are in place toallow schools more flexibility to suit the circumstancesof their students and their community. You may havenoticed some changes already. More will be
implemented over the course of the next two years.
While the heart of the program – the IB Learner Profileand the commitment to international mindedness –remains the same, there are a number of excitingchanges underway:
 Subject names
There are several new subject names being used tobetter reflect the nature of the concepts being
studied.
 Language and Literature replaces Language A Language Acquisition replaces Language B
 Design replaces Technology Individuals and Societies replaces Humanities
 Physical and Health Education replaces Physical
Education
 Assessment criteria
To help students, teachers and parents to have abetter picture of student success, all subject groups
are using four assessment criteria. These criteria are
all assessed out of eight points. While subject groups
have used assessment criteria that best suit thenature of the disciplines being studied, this alignment
across the program will allow for a more transparent
view of how students are performing throughout the
MYP.
 Global contexts
MYP units used to refer to Areas of Interaction.
Starting this year, MYP units will explore six global

contexts. These broad categories, ranging frompersonal identity through to globalization andsustainability, offer a framework to allow for learning
to make connections across a wide range ofconcepts and subject content.
 Professional development
September 19 - 20 will see all MYP teachers
participating in a workshop on the changes in the
MYP. Mr Quincy Kameda, an experienced IB
workshop leader from here in Tokyo will guideteachers as they continue to revise their programs tomeet the requirements of the Next Chapter changes.

G6 students learning how to spike from their G10 peer-coach.

Mr Lee leads a combined G6 and G10 PHE class as they
practice their skills.
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Study Skills Tips

Continued from previous page

A new MYP Coordinator
Mr Rob White has taken on the role of
MYP Coordinator starting this year. Mr
White is in his fourth year at the school,
and he is working with teachers,
students and parents to help the KIST
community take advantage of thedemanding MYP program. Mr White willbe leading MYP information sessions forparents throughout the year. The first of these will takeplace on Monday, September 15 at 3:00 p.m. in the
MPR. This session is aimed at parents andguardians of Grade 6 students
and those whose sons ordaughters are new to theschool this year. Anothersession on November 3 will
explain the MYP Personal
Project for parents withstudents in Grade 10, the lastyear of the program.
If you have any questions
about the MYP or would liketo learn more about thechanges to the program,please contact Mr White bye-mail at:
robert.white@kist.ed.jp

G6s practicing spiking
during PHE class.

Explanation Day 2014
For the 2015 - 2016 school year
KIST will hold an Explanation Day for parents
interested in enrolling children for the 2015 2016 school year.
Administration and teaching staff will beavailable to answer questions regarding
admissions procedures, the school
curriculum, progression to universities, andgeneral features of the school. Visitors will
also be able to view the school facilities.
Date:
October 18, 2014 (Saturday)
Session times:(1) English: 9:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
(2) Japanese: 1:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Reservations close:
October 17, 2014 (Friday)
Reservations essential!

www.kist.ed.jp

Thinking ahead
Are you riding a rollercoaster at school? Rollercoasterstudy is where you stay up late doing last minuteassignments, then you take it easy for a while and dovery little, then panic again when something is due andhave to spend huge amounts of time at the end
completing the work. If you plan ahead and areprepared, you will find school much less stressful andmore rewarding.
Here are the top tips for thinking ahead:
1. STUDY NOTES: If you know that you have a testat the end of each topic or examinations
approaching, then on the nights you do not havemuch homework start working on your study notes
and summaries. File them in folders at home sothey are ready to go when you need them.
2. ASSIGNMENTS: Always start the assignment
the day it is given to you, even if it is just a little bit.
Make sure you understand the requirements and if
you don’t ask your teacher straight away the nextday. Brainstorm the steps the first night and do arough plan of when you will do each step.
3. ASK FOR HELP EARLY: There is nothing more
frustrating than a student who says ‘I haven’t
understood anything we did in the last 3 weeks’.
Ask for help as soon as you have a problem. Keepa list of questions for your teacher on a post-it inyour textbook or sticky notes on your computer or alist in your phone. Don’t let problems or issues
build up, ask for help early and often.
4. THINK ABOUT WHO YOU SIT NEXT TO: Choose
wisely who you will sit with in class. This can makea world of difference to your results. If you sit withsomeone where it is a productive relationship, you
encourage and help each other and stay on task inthe classroom you will understand your work betterand have less to do at home.
5. CONSIDER YOUR WEEK: Plan ahead for busy
times. If you know you have nights where you can’t
do much work or a busy weekend, plan ahead andget things done early. Always look ahead forpossible times where you could be caught short oftime and make plans to avoid problems.
Learn more this year about how to improve your results
and be more efficient and effective with yourschoolwork by working through the units on:
www.studyskillshandbook.com.au
Our school’s access details are accessible on our
Moodle site at:https://moodle.kist.ed.jp/course/view.php?id=30
Jeffrey Jones
Head of School

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Bodies in Grade 3

Office Updates

Lions and tigers and bodies….oh my!

School ID cards

For the unit, Who We Are, G3 students are exploring
five of our body systems: the respiratory, digestive,
circulatory, skeletal and nervous systems. For one of
their “tuning in” activities, the students used theirprevious knowledge to create their very own bodies,complete with organs such as the brain, heart andintestines.
Care for a gander? Pop into one of the G3 classrooms,
and look up at the ceiling, where these creative (andsomewhat accurate) body representations are “living.”

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School ID cards are issued to allstudents from G1 to G12 and to allparents (one per family). The cards
contain a delicate electronic chipthat may be easily damaged if notcared for properly. We strongly
recommend that you keep yourcards in hard plastic cases toprotect them from damage.
Cards must be scanned at the school gate every
time you pass through regardless of whether thegate has already been opened or not.
Parents are asked to please be sure to bring the parent
card and scan it at the gate at all times when visiting theschool to complete SSP duties, attend information
sessions etc.
It is important to ensure that the cards scancorrectly when entering and leaving the campus. If
your card is in a case with other electronic cards(e.g. Pasmo, Suica), it will not scan correctly, unless
it is kept in a case especially designed for multiple
electronic cards.
When the cards are correctly scanned, you will hear ashort “beep” sound. If the card does not scan correctly(i.e. there is no beep sound), your entry and exit times
will not be recorded and we will be unable to verify yourpresence on campus.
If your card does not scan correctly, please take it to themain office. If the electronic chip has been damaged,
the card must be re-issued.

School fee payments
Just a reminder that the due date for the
2nd installment of school tuition fees is
September 16. Have you already madeyour payment? The due date for the 3rd installment will
be December 15. Please make a note of this date.

Changes to school lunch orders
If who wish to make changes to yourchild’s school lunch order for the period
from January 2015, please submit the
School Lunch Order Form (available
on the school website Community >>Forms page) to the office by Friday, December 12,
2014, the last day of school prior to the winter vacation.
If no form is received, your lunch order will continue andyou will be invoiced as appropriate.
Please be aware that the school office is especiallybusy at certain times of the day. If you choose to pay bycash, it is possible we may keep you waiting for a while.
To avoid waiting, we recommend that you makepayments by bank transfer.

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Library News
New school year! New library activities
ahead!
New staff
As we begin the 2014-2015 school year, KIST Libraries
would like to introduce our new library assistant in the
LMC, Rosanna O’Connell.
Just to give you a bit of information
about me. My mother is Japanese andmy father is Irish but I was born andraised in London. I came to Japan at theend of December 2013 and have been
living here with my husband ever since.
I have many different hobbies but toname a few, I love traveling, playing
badminton, visiting art museums, singing karaoke andbaking. I’m very excited and thrilled to be part of thelibrary team at KIST. I’m looking forward to meeting you
all and getting to know you. We have many new itemsin the library this year so visit us sometime in the LMC.

Current events at KIST Libraries
We are starting the new school year off strong with thereturn of Yatta! Cards and Hungry Readers booklets.
Yatta! Cards are awarded to students by teachers for
exhibiting learner profile traits in and out of class.
Students can also earn Yatta! Cards by completing
Hungry Readers booklets, available on the librarydesks. Students may submit one booklet for every
three books they read. One booklet equals one Yatta!
Card. The more books, the more Yatta! Cards, and themore chances to win fabulous prizes from KIST
Libraries. Submit your Yatta! Cards and Hungry
Readers booklets to the library on or before September
26 for a chance to join the raffle.

Look out! Upcoming activities at KIST
Libraries

September 26 – Yatta! Card Raffle Draw
October 22 – Due date for Shelfie Entries
November 4 – Book Character Parade
November 5, 12, 19 & 26 – DEAR Times

This year, we will see the return of DEAR (DropEverything And Read). The whole school will “ drop
everything and read” once a week during November,and we mean everybody: students, teachers, visiting
parents, even the principals will take some time out of
their busy day to enjoy a good book, magazine ornewspaper.

To kick off this exciting event, the Elementary School
will host the annual Book Character Parade. Students
and teachers are invited to dress up as their favorite
book characters to celebrate a love of reading. Grade 4
and 5 students can enter into our Book Character
Dress-up Competition for a chance to win. New thisyear, your teachers will have a chance to compete, too!
Let’s see your creativity in bringing your favorite book
characters to life!
In the Secondary School, students can submit a“Shelfie” for this year’s iCapture competition. Take aphoto of yourself and your favorite book. Be creative!
We look forward to seeing your “Shelfies” and the best
ones will win a prize. Email your Shelfie entries directly
to Mr Andi on or before October 22. Watch out for more
information on our Daily Notices and Library Moodle
pages.

Correction
In our last article, there was anerror on the Sakura Medal art
entries of secondary students.
This art work was originallycreated by Aishwarya who is now
is G12B. KIST Libraries
apologizes for this oversight.

Library online services
When you think of KIST Libraries, what do you think of?
Books? Of course, we have plenty of books, and lots of
new titles for you to read, but did you know that some
KIST Library services are available 24 hours a day, 7days a week? It’s true!
Anytime, anywhere,
you can visit the Library
Moodle page to accessgreat informational
resources. We haveBrainPop videos,Britannica School
Edition, Kids InfoBits,
Opposing Viewpoints
about controversial
topics, and more. You
can access it from
home, at school, or anywhere in the world – although
we don’t recommend doing your projects the night
before they’re due.
With so many exciting things going on at KIST
Libraries, sometimes it seems like a lot to remember.
Please feel free to drop by the Elementary Library or
LMC any time to ask your librarians if you have any
questions. Remember! “Library is an extension to everyclassroom”. You can also email us at
library@kist.ed.jp. We are happy to help you.
The KIST Libraries Team“ T h e Co m et ”

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13

LEAP in 2014-2015
At KIST, we believe that academic success is enhancedby the development of skills in language and mathematics,
the vital foundation upon which all other subjects are built.
We provide many different
kinds of lessons to help
support students in a way thatis suitable for their learningneeds and requirements.
LEAP, the Learning
Enhancement Academic
Program, has had someexciting new changes again this year and I’d like to takethis opportunity to explain them in detail.

Introduction of morning LEAP classes
In order to provide support for as many students as
possible, we have decided to open up the followingclasses in Period 0 (8:10–8:40 a.m.): Elementary Before School English Support
Program (K1-G5)
Students are taught in small groups by their grade’s
ELS instructor in 30-minute mini-lessons that are both
based on the class content and in line with the Key
Stages. Having shorter lessons several times per week
ensures that students have regular practice in order tomore quickly develop appropriate language skills.
Recommendation letters are sent at the start of eachsemester, and students who receive a
recommendation are given preferential entry into theclass. Other students may also apply, but only students
who require English language support are accepted.

 Secondary Academic Writing Program (G6-G10)
The overall aim of this class, is to develop
understanding of essay writing in various academic
settings, and improve students’ academic writing skills.
Students enrolled will develop their ability to write
academically and improve across the curriculum.
The program is aimed at students who are currently inIntensive English or Language Acquisition classes, andthose who have recently moved from IE or Language
Acquisition into English A Language and Literature;
however, it is open to anyone who would like toimprove their academic writing skills.

After school classes
 Elementary After School Math Support Program(G2-G5)This program is designed for students who arestruggling with math. We recommend that you takeadvantage of this program to build a strong foundation
for your child’s math ability.
Recommendation letters are sent at the start of eachsemester, and students who receive a
recommendation are given preferential entry into theclass. Other students may also apply, but only students
who require math support are accepted into the class.

 Elementary After
School English
Extension Program(K3-G5)This program isdesigned for students
who are meeting or exceeding grade level
expectations to extend their learning beyond theclassroom. Classes are linked to classroom content,
but students are pushed further to use critical thinking
and practice their academic writing skills.
 KIPS LEAP Program (G2-G5)
As many of you will know, 2014 marks the opening of
the new “K. International Preschool (KIPS)”. KIPS will
be hosting a variety of new fun educational programsfor students in G2 to G5. Information will be coming in
the next few weeks so keep an eye out on the LEAP
website!

LEAP surveys
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of theparents who participated in our LEAP surveys at the endof last year. From the surveys, we were able to recognize
2 main expectations from parents.
Firstly, parents wanted toknow more about what was
being done in Elementary
LEAP classes. To meet these
expectations, Elementary
LEAP will now be providing
simple portfolios that display
students’ work done
throughout the semester. Thisway parents can see bothwhat is being done in class and the progression of theirchild’s English/math level. Portfolios will be sent home at
the end of every month for a weekend.
The other area that parents commented on was
homework. Parents wanted to receive specific LEAP
homework for the classes. From this year we will be giving
homework as is appropriate for the age group. It is an
expectation for students enrolled to finish their homework
in a timely fashion.
 K1-K2 will only receive homework occasionally at the
instructor’s discretion.
 K3 will receive homework once a week, plus anythingthat is not finished in class.
 G1-G5 will receive homework 1 to 2 times a week, plus
anything that is not finished in class.
The surveys are still open, so if you would like tocomment on anything, please feel free to have a look.
The LEAP instructors and I are very excited about the
coming year ahead. If you have questions about any of
the LEAP programs, please do not hesitate tocontact me.
Anna Holdaway
LEAP Coordinatoranna.holdaway@kist.ed.jp

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Staff 10!
In this month’s Staff 10!, weare pleased to present Julia
Lupone who joined us in2012 as a Grade 3 teacher
in the Elementary School.
 Tell us somethinginteresting about yourhometown.
Haha....which one? SimilarSea, sand, palms and…
to many of the students here
Ms Lupone.
at KIST, I am the product of
an international lifestyle and have spent some timeliving on various parts of the globe. Here are someinteresting facts about some:
Ipswich, England – where the world’s firstcommercially marketed powered lawnmower was built
in 1902. / Berlin, Germany – where I witnessed
firsthand, the fall of the Berlin Wall on the night ofNovember 9, 1989. / Blacksburg, Virginia – home to oneof the oldest rivers in the world – the New River. It’s
also one of the few rivers in the world that flow south tonorth. / Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – home to Heinz
ketchup, the birthplace of the banana split and the city
possessing more bridges than any other in the world. /Malta – According to the Bible, St. Paul was
shipwrecked here in 60 AD. / Tokyo, Japan – This is mythird time living here and I still am not fluent inJapanese...
 What is your favorite place in the world?
Madeira, Portugal and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands –both perfect island combinations of beach and hiking –two of my favorite outdoorsy activities.
 Who would you like to meet if you had the chance
and why?
Theodor Seuss Geisel – "Dr. Seuss" – It would be
wonderful to speak with him about how he created his
books and where he drew his inspirations, charactersand illustrations from.
 Do you have any special skills or talents?
I am not sure if these qualify as skillful or talented, but Ivery much enjoy both dancing and cooking (...andsometimes simultaneously, which may very well beconsidered a talent ).
 Please share a little known fact about yourself.
“Lupone” is an Italian name that means “great wolf” andis actually my maiden name. My married name is“Welsh,” but I did not have the time to change it before
moving to Japan two years ago.
 What is your most prized possession?
Not so much a "possession," but I treasure my family
the most. After moving from place to place, I have lost,left behind, and stored away most of my possessions.
My husband left behind his, as well, and followed me tothe other side of the world. My parents supported andguided me when I needed it most and these qualities
make my family way more “valuable” than any physicalpossession.
 What words would you use to describe yourself?
Creative, honest, determined and dependable.

 If you could live your life again,
would you do anything differently?
No, for the most part, if we didn’t makemistakes in our lives, we wouldn’t be able to learn fromthem. My mother-in-law shared this mantra with me;“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannotchange; the courage to change the things that I can;and the wisdom to know the difference.” I am learning tolive by these words.
 Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
To focus on the present – and to live each day to thefullest. It is all too easy to anticipate what is coming next
and/or to regret things that have happened, after thefact.
 Do you have any special message for your fans?
Carpe Diem Nurse’s Notes
Dengue Fever

A number of cases of Dengue Fever werereported in Japan at the end of August
2014. The majority of these were caused after being
bitten by mosquitoes in Yoyogi Park. Dengue Fever isa kind of tropical infectious disease caused by thedengue virus which is transmitted by mosquitoes. It is
not transmitted directly between humans. Symptoms
include sudden high fever, articular muscle pain,
nausea and vomiting, and a measles-like rash thatappears on the face and hands 4 to 8 days after the
incubation period. After a while, the fever abates, and in
most cases, recovery is smooth. The death rate is a low
1 to 2%, and it is said that 80% of those infected withthe virus do not develop any symptoms.
On September 4, 2014, the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government announced the partial closure of Yoyogi
Park in order to prevent the spread of infection. The
section closed is Area A where the main plaza andfountain are located. Along with this closure, the cycling
center, the car park and the shop in Area A have also
been closed. A number of other parks around Tokyo
have also been closed or partially closed.
Measures to be taken at home to prevent being bitten
by mosquitoes include using insect repellent, wearing
long sleeve shirts and long pants, using insecticides,
and removing any water left outdoors (such as
abandoned tires etc.).
The active period of the Tiger mosquito (Aedes
albopictus), the mosquito responsible for transmitting
the virus, is until around the end of October, and as themosquitoes are not able to live throughthe winter, the dengue infection in Japanis thought to be transitory. As such, there
is no need to be overly concerned.
Makiko Whittaker
School Nurse

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V o l u me 1 8 | I s s u e 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4

Habitat for Humanity
What is Habitat for Humanity?
Habitat for Humanity is a non-governmentalorganization founded in 1976, which operates all over
the world. Their aim is to build “simple, decent andaffordable” houses and to protect human rights. There
are various on-going programs conducted by Habitat
but the more familiar one and the one we went on was
the Global Village program. Students from around theworld travel to different locations where Habitat
operates and with the help of volunteers from Habitat
itself, they help build new homes for families who are in
need.
Habitat’s overall vision is: “A world where everyone has
a decent place to live”.

What did we do?
In preparation for the 2014 Habitat for Humanity, thestudents created two fundraisers in order to earnmoney for the trip. The first fundraiser was a hotdog
sale during the information session for parents who areinterested in enrolling their children in KIST. The
second fundraiser was during KISTival. This fundraiser
had different sections—the pastry decorating, the artsand crafts, and the bald voting. The trip itself consistedof working days, where we actually built the house andorientation activities through which we got to know theculture more and relax. The weekdays were mainly
when we worked in two groups, as we built two houses.
Every day we all got into a van to our destination, were
given instructions as a whole group, and went to ourown individual groups for work. The work consisted ofvery physical work such as: loading bricks, building
walls, digging holes and making framework forapproximately 6 hours. Though with the help of local
workers this was done smoothly, and lunch after work
was always the best. There was a lot of interaction
between the students, teachers and the family owners,
which really pulled us together.
Orientation activities were held on the weekends,
shopping, hanging in our hotel pool and Lake Toba was
one of the highlights. The environment was beautiful
and felt as if we were in a resort relaxing ourselvesfrom the hard workdays. Banana and speed boating
was one of the activities the group agrees was very
enjoyable. However, going back to work and seeing thekids’ smiles could not have been beaten by anything.

The team from KIST

Thoughts on the experience
Rina (G12B): “ Being part of
Habitat for Humanity was one of
the best life experiences I’ve everhad. Not only did we contribute to
the Indonesian community andhelp build a house, but also we
got to know the people there andlearn their culture. This made myvolunteer work much moremeaningful because I grew to lovethe family we were building thehouse for. Even though most of
our Habitat trip consisted of us
working for hours a day, we also
got the opportunity to explore
Indonesia and its culture by eating
the local food and going
shopping! It was an amazing lifechanging experience!”
Kanoka (G12A): “ This trip
encouraged me to appreciate
every single thing around me, andnot to take anything for granted. I
really appreciate the opportunity
to be able to contribute to such a
wonderful trip with the amazing
team.”
Anna (G12B): “ This Habitat for
Humanity trip was a very special
experience for all of us. Building ahouse in a foreign country wasdefinitely challenging, but wewere able to look into the lives of
the Indonesian people, who live ina different environment to us, andlearn about their culture. I feel likethe trip allowed all of us to build astronger relationship with eachother and it also helped us
develop as individuals. Everything
about the trip was perfect, and i
couldn’t have asked for a better
team.”
Continued on next page

Dedication ceremony

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V ol u me 18 | I s s ue 1 | S ept em b er 20 14“ T h e Co m e t ”

Continued from previous page

Vigi (G12B): “ This was a very
memorable trip. Just the fact that
we were able to make adifference in someone’s life issomething I am really proud of. It
exposed me to the outside world
even more and made me
understand how easy my life is(despite IB) compared to how
hard they work for a one time
meal.”
Prakhar (G12B): “ As humans weembark on innumerous journeys in
our lifetime— be it our daily
commute or a planned family
vacation. The word ‘journey’ can beinterpreted in two different ways: atrip from one place to another or aprocess of personal development.
There are only a few journeys in ourlife that manage to touch us on the
deepest extent of both of these
meanings. There is no doubt that
our Habitat for Humanity trip to
Indonesia was one of them. We
departed Japan as students insupport of a humanitarian cause;
we arrived in Japan with an
expanded view of ourquintessential, human scopes.”

Welfare Counseling
Welcome to the 2014-2015 academic year. It has beena few weeks since the year has started and I hope thateveryone has settled in well.
This year, I will be sharing my counseling role with Mr
Clay Bradley, our Elementary School Vice Principal. Mr
Bradley will be working more closely with Elementary
students and I will be working with Secondary
students.
In this issue, I would like to explain what my role is andhow students can access the counseling service at
KIST.

What do Student Welfare Counselors do?
The Student Welfare Counselors support students’social, emotional and academic needs. If students
have problems or concerns, counselors listen to themand try to come up with solutions with the students.
Students may want to meet with the counselor if they: have a hard time making friends feel reluctant to go to school feel depressed and restless have concerns about their family
Keeping your problems and concerns to yourself may
affect your physical and mental health. Pleaseencourage your child to speak to his/her family, friends,
teachers or other people around him/her.

How can students access the counselingservice?
Secondary students can visit the Welfare Counselor’s
office anytime during lunch time. The office is locatedon the 3rd floor of the main building. Students who
prefer to speak with the counselor outside of lunch
hours may make an appointment by e-mail atnanami.komaki@kist.ed.jp or ask me directly.
Students are also welcome to visit the WelfareCounselor’s office during lunch time for a casual chat.
If you have any concerns about your child, please do
not hesitate to contact me and share them with me. I
look forward to working with all themembers of the KIST community thisyear.
Site 1, Day 1

Nanami Komaki
Student Welfare CounselorV o l u me 1 8 | I s s u e 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4

K. International Preschool Opens!
We are pleased to announce the opening of K. International
Preschool (KIPS) at Nihonbashi-Hamacho. Thanks to the hard
work of all the staff, all the classrooms have been fully furnishedand decorated inside and out to welcome 2 to 5 year old children.
The KIPS program is designed to prepare children to be successfulwhen they enter the school system at KIST, or other international
schools.
Children are provided with a solid foundation for lifelong learningand help to develop a positive attitude towards learning
experiences. Fun and engaging activities achieve curriculumfocused learning objectives such as early numeracy skills, colorand shape recognition, fine motor skills, and crucial early literacy
skills. Students will also learn logical thinking skills, technologicalliteracy, vocabulary development and social skills, and can also
enjoy art, music, hip hop and dance classes.
The program has been well received by students, parents andteachers alike. Furthermore, from the middle of September, our
LEAP program will offer even more enjoyable experiences for ourstudents to attend. We look forward to also greeting KIST
students at KIPS.
For more information on K. International Preschool, please visit
our website.
http://www.k-preschool.jp/en
KIPS Staff“ T h e Co m et ”

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V ol u me 18 | I s s ue 1 | S ept em b er 20 14

College Guidance News
I would like to take this opportunity to share with you
some exciting news that we received at the College
Guidance Office during the summer vacation.
The Class of 2014 final destinations by country:
 33 out of 37 graduates applied to colleges/
universities during G12
 27 enrollments for August/September/October
2014: USA: 10; Japan: 7; UK: 5; Canada: 4;
Australia: 1
 7 graduates applied to colleges/universities after
graduation: Japan: 3; Korea: 2; Australia: 2
 3 graduates will take a gap year
90% of the Class of 2014 applied to colleges anduniversities during their G12 year and more than 80%
decided to enroll in the freshman year at one of thecolleges/universities from which they received offersfrom this academic year commencing from the end of
August, September or October.
As you can see in the table above, the USA was themost popular destination for the Class of 2014 followed
by Japan, the UK and Canada. Due to the different
admissions calendar in some countries in the AsiaPacific region such as March intakes in Australia andKorea, and April intakes in Japan, several students sent
their applications after graduating from KIST. During
summer, one of the students received offers from two
medical schools in Korea: Yonsei University and the
Catholic University in Korea, and decided to go to Yonsei
Medical School from next March. Please check the latest
list of acceptances and offers for the Class of 2014 on
page 20.

Special admission for IB students hascommenced in major Japanese universities
Although Japanese universities have become very
popular among KIST students, students’ options werelimited previously to only a small number of courses
taught in English. If they wanted to apply to a regularprogram taught in Japanese, they usually had to sit anentrance examination such as the “Center Shiken”
organized by the National Center for University Entrance
Examinations for Japanese nationals and “EJU” by theJapan Student Services Organization for non-Japanesenationals and/or original entrance examinations at each
university. Those entrance examinations are fullycompliant with the Japanese high school curriculum
authorized by the Japanese government which issignificantly different from the IB curriculum offered at
KIST. Therefore, our students had to spend extra time toprepare for the Japanese entrance examinations after
they graduated from KIST. Thanks to recent movements,
however, recognition of IB education amongst theJapanese education community has increased, andseveral established Japanese universities have started
special admissions for IB Diploma students. For

example, one of the top government schools,
University of Tsukuba, announced that it will offer
the Global Entrance Examination to IB students foradmission to all departments, including its medical
school, from April 2015 intakes if they meet therequirements; for example, Japanese native speakeror those taking Japanese B High Level andMathematics High Level as well as at least two HighLevels in Physics, Chemistry or Biology for Medical
School. Another government school, Okayama
University, also introduced an IB AO (Admissions
Office) Entrance Examination for all departments,
including its medical school, with the requirement ofJapanese A and at least one High Level subject
from Mathematics and two sciences in Physics,
Chemistry and Biology. Similar admissions havecommenced among private universities including theFaculty of Law at Keio University, College ofBusiness at Rikkyo University, and all programs at
Musashino University and Tamagawa University. As
this trends seems to be continuing, more and more
options are expected to become available for IB
students in Japan.

KIST has become an SAT Test Center
Good news for our students who will send their SAT
scores to universities as part of their applications.
Students no longer need to travel to other schools
but are now able to take the test at KIST by simply
selecting KIST as a test center when they register
through the SAT website. If you have any problems
reserving a seat at KIST, please e-mail Mrs Okude.

Summer internship at Keio University
Once again this summer, three students from KIST
completed an internship at the Graduate School ofMedia Design, Keio University (KMD). Tatsuya(G12A), Aishwarya (G12B) and Keerti (G12B)
spent several weeks with graduate students andenjoyed participating in special projects with their
mentor Masters and Ph.D students under thesupervision of Professor Masahiko Inami, Associate
Professor Kouta Minamizawa and Project AssistantProfessor Yuta Sugiura in the labs at Keio Hiyoshi
campus and Odaiba Miraikan.

Continued on next page

“ T h e Co m et ”

V o l u me 1 8 | I s s u e 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4

Continued from previous page

Upcoming events
College Fairs (open to the public) Saturday, September 13, 12:30-17:00, America
Expo 2014 (Akihabara UDX Gallery)
http://americaexpo.jp
 Tuesday, September 16, 18:00, Brown University
and University of Pennsylvania (ISSH)
RSVP:
https://key.admissions.upenn.edu/register/tokyo

Alumni NewsKIST alumni talks
Airi (Class of 2013) visited KIST on Tuesday, August
19 to share her experiences at Groningen University in
the Netherlands with G11 students during Advisoryclass. Airi is studying Psychology and successfullycompleted her freshman year in this rigorous program(nearly one third of students dropped out!). She talked
about the admissions process for the university and her
exciting new life both on and off campus.

 Sunday, October 26, 13:00-18:00, beo International
Education Fair (Shinjuku L-Tower)
http://www.beo.co.jp/fair/english/index.html

Rishab (Class of 2013) visited
G11 Advisory class on Friday,
September 5 to conduct a
presentation about London Schoolof Economics and Political Science
where he is studying for his BS in
Business Management. He talked
about the IB requirements for thistop UK university according to his
own experience during G12 andthe summer 2013 after his
graduation, as well as his busy
college life in central London.

College presentations at KIST (LMC)(for KIST students and parents)

Thank you Airi and Rishab. We wish you all the best in
your college lives!

 Thursday, September 19, 3:45, Northeastern
University, University of Colorado Boulder,
University of Iowa and University of Missouri(USA)

Carmina (Class of 2010)
graduated from Princeton
University on June 3, 2014 with a
BS in Engineering (Operation
Research and Financing). Her
thesis was awarded the AdmiralAngas W. Mack Memorial PrizeAward. She is currently working as
an analyst at BlackRock in WallStreet, NY. She has already been
Carmina
admitted to the MBA programs at
Yale University and MIT and isplanning to attend one of these within two years.
Congratulations Carmina!

 Sunday, October 12, 11:00-18:00, Study in Australia
Fair 2014 (Ochanomizu Sola City Hall)
http://afuee.jp
 Saturday, October 25, 13:00-18:00, Education UK
Exhibition 2014 (Akihabara UDX Gallery)
http://education-uk-fair.jp

 Tuesday, October 7, 3:45, Hendrix College (USA);
Laureate Hospitality Education (Switzerland) Thursday, October 9, 3:45, Queensland University ofTechnology (Australia)
 Friday, October 10, 2:45 (G11 Advisory), 3:45, The
Cooper Union (USA) Wednesday, October 15, 3:45, SCAD: the University
for Creative Careers (USA) Monday, November 3, 2:45, Pratt Institute; Suffolk
University (USA)(compulsory for G10 and optional for G11)
Wednesday, October 15 during school hours (seemore details in the PSAT letter)
Mrs Keiko Okude
College Guidance Counselor
Office hours: Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 10:00-17:00
keiko.okude@kist.ed.jp

RishabMrs Okude’s visit to NY and Princeton

 Thursday, October 23, 3:45, University College
London; SOAS University of London (UK)

PSAT at KIST

19

Chaitanya

During the Golden Week
vacation, I had the chance tovisit NYU and Princeton
University and had awonderful time catching up
with Chaitanya (Class of2013) at NYU and Carmina(Class of 2010) at Princeton
University.

Mrs Keiko Okude
College Guidance Counselor
keiko.okude@kist.ed.jp

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V ol u me 18 | I s s ue 1 | S ept em b er 20 14“ T h e Co m e t ”

University Acceptances for
KIST Graduating Class of 2014
UK
Ashton University
Durham University
King’s College London (2)Kingston University
London School of Economics and Political
Science
Queen Mary University of London (2)Roehampton University
University of Birmingham
University College London (3)University of Edinburgh (3)University of Exeter
University of Leeds
University of Liverpool
University of Nottingham
University of Surrey
University of Westminster
University of West England, Bristol
USA
Birmingham Southern College*
Boston College*
Boston University*
Florida Institute of Technology*
George Washington University* (2)Lynn University
Midwestern State University*
New York University*
Northeastern University* (4)Pacific Lutheran University* (3)Pennsylvania State University
San Jose State University
Soka University of America*
Syracuse University
UC Santa Cruz
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Iowa

University of Oregon* (3)University of Wisconsin, Madison
CanadaUniversity of British Columbia* (7)McGill University* (2)Mount Allison University*
Simon Fraser University
Trent University*
University of Northern British Columbia
University of Toronto*
University of Victoria*
York University
Japan
Akita International University
International Christian University (2)Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Sophia University, Faculty of Liberal Arts (6)Waseda University, Advanced Scienceand Engineering (2)Waseda University, Political Science andEconomics*
Waseda University, School of LiberalStudies (4)Korea
Korea Advanced Institute of Science andTechnology
The Catholic University of Korea, School of
Medicine
Yonsei University, College of Medicine
Hong Kong
University of Hong Kong
Australia
Sydney Institute of TAFE

* Indicates universities from which scholarships were also offered.
(The number of students accepted is in parentheses)
Red indicates universities where students will enroll from fall 2014 or spring 2015.

“ T h e Co m et ”

V o l u me 1 8 | I s s u e 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4

21

PTA News
We are KIST PTA!!!

Library Committee News Fall 2014Your participation and involvement over the past years
has enabled us to hold countless events and provide
valuable support to our school.

This year we are promoting Parents in the Librarybecause: Older children (ages 10-16) pick up reading habitsfrom watching their parents read; When parents read books for pleasure, older
children often read more; When older children read books for pleasure it has
a positive impact on their vocabularydevelopment.

Your continued cooperation and understanding is truly
appreciated.
Members of this year’s Executive Committee are as
follows:

President
Mika Shindo

TreasurerDavid Halphen

Co-Vice Presidents
Jun Hirano
Shinichiro Kawamatsu

Secretary
Jessica Suzuki

Please come and check out books for yourself toread from either library. Parents may check out up to
10 books under their child’s name. Please visit thelibraries between the hours of 3:40 to 5:00 p.m. on
Tuesdays to Fridays, since student needs come firstduring the school day. If you are waiting to pick up
your child from after-school club activities or LEAP
classes or happen to be on campus after school, stopby either of the libraries to browse or just to say hello.
Elementary students must be accompanied by aparent while in the library after school.
You can search for your favorite book, author or
subject by accessing KIST’s electronic card
catalogue from your smartphone, tablet or personal
computer:
KIST website >> Links >> LMC Quick Links
http://www.kist.ed.jp/node/294
After accessing the page, type in author, subject, or
title in the Destiny Web Path Express box and tap‘Search’.

This is also the first year since our PTA’s establishmentthat we have seen so many new faces in our Executive
Committee.
While we are just getting started and still have a lot tolearn, we are all committed to building a thriving schoolcommunity and enriching our children’s educational
experience.
The motto of this year’s PTA is “simple and fun.”We hope you will consider joining us as we work tocreate even better events and make further
improvements to our school environment.
If you’re interested in getting involved, please e-mail us atpta.executive@family.kist.ed.jp. We continue torecruit members to join our various committees, and lookforward to your active participation.
Mika Shindo
PTA Executive Committee

Of course the popular Scholastic Book Club willcontinue. For every book that you purchase, theschool receives funds to purchase additional books
for both libraries.
If you would like to learn more about the Library
Committee, please contact Rebecca Yarita at p1022@family.kist.ed.jp to be added to the
distribution list. You will receive updates throughout
the year on activities and events that directly support
both libraries. Please feel free to join us
anytime by email or in person.
A huge thanks to the KIST Community foryour continued support of the libraries.
Let’s read!
Rebecca Yarita
Library Committee Chair, G7,G2*For a technical report regarding reading in the home,
visit (English only):
http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/shared/get-file.ashx?
itemtype=document&id=1719