The Comet

The Newsletter of K. International School Tokyo

Since 1997

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

In this issue...
KISTival 2010…p. 2, 3

Calendar for 2011-2012…p. 13

Early Years News…p. 4

Grade 6 Nikko Camp…p. 14

Elementary School News…p. 5

Cross Country Fever…p. 15

Read-a-thon 2011…p. 7

Save the Words…p. 16

Grade 5 Camp…p. 9

Hana’s Suitcase…p. 17

Middle School Drama Festival…p. 11

Memories of KISTival…p. 18

From the Head of School

DATES TO REMEMBER

Greetings to everyone! This has been a busy month indeed, and it is hard tobelieve that December is here already. First of all, I would like to thank the
many parents who participated in the SWOT Analysis meetings. Your opinions,thoughts and ideas will provide invaluable information for the Board to utilize indeveloping a long-term strategic plan for the school. And also thanks to those
who participated in the KIST Philosophy Workshops, as it is essential that thistask include representatives from all nationalities, cultures and areas of the
KIST community.
We have scheduled two final Philosophy Workshops for parents to participate
in developing the guiding statements of the school. The purpose of theseworkshops is to examine the vision, mission and objectives of the school interms of what our students will need to live and work in the 21st century. If you
were unable to attend the previous workshops, we welcome you to please try
to attend one of the following:

Tuesday, December 14, 9:00 a.m. (In Japanese), Multipurpose
Room
Tuesday, December 14, 11:00 a.m. (In English), Multipurpose
Room

After the winter holidays, you will receive the results of the SWOT Analysis anda draft for the school’s revised Philosophy. This is all in preparation for theupcoming visits we will have by representatives from two externalorganizations. The first in February will be a re-authorization visit conducted bya team from the IB Organization to evaluate our three curricular programs(PYP, MYP and DP). The second visit in April will be the preliminary visit
conducted by WASC (Western Association of Colleges and Schools). Thisvisit will begin the process aimed toward KIST becoming an accredited school.
The advantages of earning this award are that being an accredited school:








“Ther
e
dream is nothinglit
future o create the ke a.”—Vic
tor Hugo

Validates the integrity of the school
Ensures high standards and quality
Focuses on student learning and well-being
Provides transferability to other schools
Enables paths to university admission
Fosters ongoing school improvement
Provides an international “stamp of approval”

December 8:(ECE/E) Class parent
representatives meeting (2:00) [seepage 5](S) Coffee with Mr Schneider (6:00)[see page 10]
December 10:
Parent steering committee (9:30)[see page 2]
December 14:
KIST philosophy workshops(Japanese 9:00 / English 11:00)
December 15:(G10) IB DP 2011-2013 information
evening
December 17:
No clubs on this day
2011 enrolment applications close(S) The English Event (2:30) [seepage 11]
December 18 − January 9:
Winter vacation
December 20 − 21:
Office open
January 5:
Office open from this date
January 10:
Students return to school

Continued next page

KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life

January 17:
Clubs resume from this week2

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Continued from previous pageThe big news this week is the fantastic turnout at themeeting held on Tuesday, November 30 to rejuvenate a
KIST parent-teacher organization. More than 50
parents, teachers and administrators were present andfull of enthusiasm to kick-off the new group, expressing
ideas and suggestions for possible committees, events,
and activities to plan for the future. Participants alsooffered suggestions for a name to call the neworganization. About 20 parents volunteered toparticipate on the Parent Steering Committee to get theorganization underway. Their task will be to establish a
Constitution, a committee structure, and a process forelecting officers.
The first meeting of the Parent Steering Committee

will be Friday, December 10 at 9:30 a.m. Those who
signed the list to participate on this committee, as
well as any other interested parents, are encouraged
to attend.
You will be hearing more about the parent organization
very soon, and there will be opportunities for all to be
involved in many different areas. Thank you all forjoining together with us in partnership aimed toward thelearning and well-being of all students…your children.
With warm regards,
Nanci Shaw, Ph.D.
Head of School“Parent Steering Committee”
Date: Friday, December 10
Time: 9:30 a.m.

KISTival 2010 - Out of This WorldStar date October 23, 2010: Our
spaceship hovered over the great
human metropolis of Tokyo, Earth.
The computer sensors indicatedhigh levels of happy energy
emanating from one KIST, a lovely
institute of learning in the Kiyosumi
section of Koto-ku. Apparently theearthlings were celebrating theirdiversity and joi de vie by sharing a
glorious day with their loved ones
and friends.

And boy oh boy, thosehumans sure can cook! We
saw and smelt a banquet ofmouthwatering cuisines
representing the four cornersof this delightful, little planet.
The generous feast ranged fromhost country Japanese delicacies
to spicy Turkish ice cream. The
festive folks feasted with family,
friends and frogs (There were frogs
croaking about, weren’t there?).

And did they ever enjoy! A
multitude of well-mannered girls
and boys were helping out andhaving a splendid time. The
exemplary playing field chosen for
the event was jam packed in what
was clearly the most highly
concentrated section of the capitalthat day.

Human entertainment acts
certainly helped make merry theday. They featured singers,
dancers, pianists and hard rockin’bands. A special alien salute to theyoungest (and cutest) little risktaker, a K2 boy who capably andfearlessly played guitar and sangonstage with his teacher/dad.

We thought all humans were thesame; were we wrong! We didn’tknow a man could be a DOMINO;
that a boy could be a
TRANSFORMER; that Earth had
so many WITCHES; and that somany little PRINCESSES attended
KIST. In fact, their differences werebeing celebrated through anancient western custom called
Halloween.

>>> Mr Carlo
performing on
stage at
KISTival 2010.

The human capacity for joy andhappiness definitely reached its
potential at KIST that day, and we
certainly do look forward toreturning to this part of the galaxy
next year. Hope to see you there.
Oh, and if you do notice anybody
dressed up looking like an alien,well, just don’t go pulling theirantennas. They just might be real.
Your Friendly Alien Teacher,Phillip Carlo
Elementary Language Support
Teacher

“The Comet”

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

KISTival 2010
Hello, everyone. I hope you had
fun at KISTival! This year we wereblessed with great weather and it
was a fantastic day.
It was the first public event that we
had held since the installation of
the artificial grass and while there
were some concerns about eating
and drinking on the grass, there
were no reported problems. On thecontrary, visitors stayed for evenlonger as they were now able to sit
down and rest on the grass.
Although we reached our annual
average of around 5,000 visitors,
all stalls recorded higher sales
than last year. The bazaar also
proved the most successful ever,breaking all previous years’ sales.

I would like to thank the membersof the KISTival executive
committee and all the parents, staff
and students who, despite only
having a short amount of
preparation time, worked together
efficiently and ran the stalls without
any problems. I would also like tosend my gratitude to all the otherparents for your donations and forsupplying us with prizes, operating
the stalls, and for yourunderstanding and cooperation
regarding the purpose of thefestival. Head of School, Dr Shaw,
experiencing her first festival at
KIST, was also deeply surprised
and moved by all the parents’amazing cooperation and ability to
get things done.

Sales¥8,258,876

Expenses¥2,374,301

Profit¥5,884,575

Sales details

Sales
Dipping Bouncing Ball, Dipping Water Balloon,
Lucky dip

¥209,613

K2

Beer / Wine / Soft drinks¥475,601

K3

Japanese food¥243,831

G1

Face painting, Henna painting, Nail art¥161,250

G2

Indian food¥249,750

G3

Mexican food

¥317,597

G4/5

Bazaar¥777,370

G7

Korean food¥261,682

G8

Thai food¥176,625

G9Hawaiian food, Shaved ice¥393,500

G10

Cakes and Drinks¥201,050

G7A

Game: Quiz

G7B

Game: Boogie/Beauty room

¥8,125

G8A

Game: Sponge throwing game

¥34,260

G8B

Game: Hit the teacher game

¥13,625

G9A

Game: Find the missing person game

¥13,875

G9B

Game: Bean bag throwing game

¥56,500

Air slider, Fishing, Strike out¥457,351

K1

Parents boothStudents booth

Parents & Students
G6A&B
booth
Staff booth

Staff

Cloakroom

Staff

Crepes, Ice-cream¥3,750¥1,875¥123,150

Habitat for Humanity
G11

Tapioca drinks, Sweets, T-shirts sales, Monarchy contest¥105,563

G11 Parents

Hamburger, Yakitori¥212,125

G10A&B

Haunted House¥205,911

・Total sales include ticket sales, entrance fees, donations, advertising sponsorship andMercedes Benz booth charge.
・Total expenses include expenses from food and games booths, printing for tickets andadvertising, tent rental, garbage disposal, raffle prizes, stage costs and decorations.

We made a profit of 5,884,575 yen(details below), and this will be used
to purchase equipment to improve
the school’s IT facilities. We will
publish details of the exact use of
the money at a later date.
I invite you to send us youropinions, ideas and impressions sothat we can make next year’s
KISTival our best ever. Please send
any feedback by e-mail toadmin@kist.ed.jp. Feedback
received will be published in thenext issue of The Comet.
Sayoko Naito
KISTival 2010 Executive Committee34

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Early Years News
Each morning as you
arrive to bring your childto school, you linger in thehalls and peek in the
doorways, and wonder,“What are they learning?”
as you notice everyone
playing. Some children
play alone, some beside
one another; others areengaged in conversations,pointing fingers, giving directions. Isn’t it interesting to know that there isa purpose to it all?
Here’s an idea of what’s really happening…
When children do this:

They are learning to:

Put blocks in trucks and dump them out

Understand sizes, weight and number concepts

Put on dress-up clothes

Use their small fine motor muscle skills (self-help / writing)Separate cups and plates at clean-up timeGroup objects in categories (math)Finish a puzzle

Complete a task (study habits / self-esteem / math)

Sort pictures that are the same

Match and classify (math)Make playdough

Recognize how materials change (science)

Gather paper, scissors and glue for a project

Plan and carry out a task (study habits / organization /independence)

Draw a picture of a person

Use symbols to represent something (reading / writing
readiness)

Play beside other children

Get along with others (social and emotional skills)

Pour without spilling

Use their small muscle fine motor skills (physicalcoordination / independence)

Turn pages of a book from beginning to end

Read a book from left to right (reading and writing
readiness)

Scribble on paper

Use writing as a means of communication (reading andwriting)

Listen to a story and talk about what happened

Enjoy books, remember details and express ideas(language development)

Sing or do a fingerplay with the other children andthe teacher

Participate socially and cooperatively in a group

Follow directions in a recipe that calls for adding
ingredients by teaspoons, cups, etc.

Begin to understand measurement (math skills)

Operate a computer mouse, put a disc in thecomputer and turn it on and off

Improve their fine motor coordination skills andindependence (physical and emotional development)

Climb on outdoor equipment

Use their bodies in challenging tasks (self-esteem /coordination / gross motor skills)

Erin Hoover
ECE Coordinator

“The Comet”

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

5

Elementary School News
Elementary SRC
At the end of the last school year, Grade 4 classes
elected the Executive for the Elementary Student
Representative Council. The Executive consists of a
President, Ritsuki from G5A, a Vice President, Kei from
G5A, a Secretary, Asuka from G5A and a Treasurer,
Hikaru from G5A. They have been meeting every
Monday during recess time.
The Executive’s first assignment was to organize ageneral election earlier this year for classrepresentatives. Congratulations to our classrepresentatives: Shridhar from G3A, GaOn and Sara
from G3B, Julian from G4A, Krisha from G4B andIbuki and Riko from G5A.

Elementary SRC Executive

The ESRC organized the recent Free Dress Day on
Wednesday, December 1. Proceeds from the Free
Dress Day will benefit different charities and ESRC
initiatives as decided throughout the year.
Students who have ideas or suggestions for the ESCR
should contact their class representative or leave a notein the box located in the West Building lobby. As othermembers of the school community such as the Board of
Directors, teachers, staff and parents have completed
the SWOT analysis of our school’s strengths and areas
needing strengthening, the ESRC will also organize tocollect the opinions of Elementary students as well.
The ESRC is a wonderful opportunity for empowering
students to be involved in the constant improvement
process of our school through student voices andaction.

Elementary class parent representatives
meeting
The first Elementary Class Parent Representatives
meeting was held on November 9. After having sometime to meet one another, we worked on a SWOT
analysis. The SWOT analysis is a way of gathering theopinions of what our school’s strengths are as well as
areas which could use strengthening. Parents
discussed and wrote down their ideas which will beanalyzed and shared with the Administration Team andthe Board of Directors. We also brainstormed what we
felt the roles of class parents should be.

Elementary SRC Class Representatives

Elementary assemblies
We are excited that more and more parents have been
coming to our Elementary assemblies which take placeapproximately every other Monday morning in the gym.
The assemblies are a time for students to share what
they are doing and learning in the classroom and forsharing their interests from outside of KIST. It is also atime for students to be involved with the larger
community at school.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, December 8
from 2:00 to 3:00 in the multipurpose room which isacross from reception. Class Parent Representatives,
parents interested in becoming a Class Parent
Representative or anyone else is welcome to attend.
We will be discussing how class parents can become
more involved, sharing ideas for class socials and otherways we can help. Child care for K1 and K2 students
will be provided. Hope to see you there.
“Class Parent Representatives Meeting #2”
Date: Wednesday, December 8 | Time: 2:00-3:00
Venue: Multipurpose RoomOur assemblies are varied. Some recent examples ofsmall group sharing has been with a PowerPoint
Continued next page

6

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Continued from previous pagereflection from a recent Grade 5 camp to Northstar, adramatic skit, and a taiko drum performance by two
Secondary students. Some recent individual
performances included playing a song on the piano anda demonstration of karate. If a student is interested in
an individual performance, they can makearrangements with Ms Erin.
One of the most exciting events recently was the Waka
Waka dance performed by our Grade 3 students andorganized by our PE teacher, Mr Ralph. The audience
was introduced to the purpose of the dance of raising
an awareness that millions of students do not haveaccess to an education. We learned about the 1 GoalEducation for All campaign. A challenge has been given
to submit videos of children performing the dance. If you
would like more information, please visit
www.join1goal.org. To learn more about upcoming
Elementary assemblies or any other happenings at
school, please visit your class’s web page.
Greg Brunton
Elementary School Principal

Grade 1 Communities

ICT@PYP

What community would you like to live in?
Grade 1 students have been inquiring into howcommunities have services to meet the needs of thepeople in the community. What if you had a chance toselect a new community to live in? How would you
design it? G1A held a mini-exhibition on November 15
and invited other students and parents to learn about
their new communities and tried to convince others that
their community was the best.

With the permanent installation of digital projectors in
the Grade 2, 3 and 4 classrooms earlier this month andthe increased availability of mobile projectors, there has
been a remarkable increase in the integration ofcomputers and audio-visual content into classroom
programs.
Projectors allow teachers to demonstrate the use of ICT
and present online content to the class, enhancing class
instruction and providing engaging stimulus to inquiry
units. Teachers have been integrating video clips, digital
images, short movies, DVDs, online books, PowerPoint
presentations, online interactive education tools such as
the ones found in Mathletics and one clever class haseven begun airing cooking shows during snack andlunch eating times to help promote and encourage
student healthy eating choices.
One website that is growing in popularity amongst
teachers and students is Animoto (www.animoto.com).
Animoto is an online program that automatically turns
your photos and video clips into beautifully orchestrated,completely unique and engaging video pieces (and theylook spectacular on the digital projector). Animoto isfast, free and shockingly easy to use for bothelementary students and computer novices. See foryourself, check out the links below for some great
examples:
http://animoto.com/showcase
http://animoto.com/education/case_studies
Feel free to send me your Animoto creations or
feedback at e_dumenden@kist.ed.jp. I would love tohear from you.
Erwin Dumenden
Elementary Technology Integration Coordinator

“The Comet”

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 20107

KIST Read-a-thon 2011
February 14 will see the start of the very first KIST Read-a-thon!

the conclusion of the Reada-thon.

What is a Read-a-thon you ask?
It’s a reading marathon! Over a period of 30 days
(February14 to March14, 2011) students in K1 throughGrade 5 will read as many books as they can. Eachchild will have an individual goal to try and reach, suchas reading 100 books in 30 days.

Why do a Read-a-thonand why raise money?
The main goal of any reada-thon is to motivate
children to read for fun, give
students practice reading tohelp them overcome reading obstacles, and provide
more time to read. It also encourages parents to read totheir children and students to read to each other.

For K1 to K3 children only, books that are read by theteacher or a parent also count towards their quota.
Each student participating will receive a bookmark at
the beginning of the Read-a-thon.
The aim of our KIST Read-a-thon is to raise money for
an organization called Room-to-read, and for new
books for our individual classroom libraries. Students
will seek sponsorship from family, friends and membersof the local community. People may sponsor an amountof money per book read (100 yen per book), or a flat
donation (3,000 yen).
Books read and donations are all recorded on a form,and handed to the classroom teacher with the money at

By raising money for Room-to-read we hope toempower students to feel that there is something they
can do to help other children around the globe. Also, byusing some of the funds to buy books for their classroom
libraries, students can see the direct benefits of theirefforts.
More information will be sent out via your child’sclassroom teacher after the winter break.
Diana Hudson
Elementary Literacy Coordinator

http://www.roomtoread.jp
http://www.roomtoread.org/Page.aspx?pid=209

Mathletics
This month we have been lucky enough to receive
some additional statistics from Mathletics.
Mathletics.com sent us some data which is not currently
available on their online site. Here are some awards
and fun facts about our Mathletics usage for the past
two months.
Correct answers by grade level
Grade

Live Maths

Curriculum

Grade 157,45232,369Grade 2

48,30012,146

Grade 3

126,870

11,045

Grade 4

19,535

7,978

Grade 5130,059

15,177

Correct answers by grade level
1st

2nd

3rd

Grade 1
Kaiser (G1A)

Minn Thant (G1A)

Hugo (G1A)

Grade 2
Aoi (G2A)

Samuel (G2A)

Oiso (G2A)

Grade 3
Zijun (G3A)

Toshinaga (G3A)

GaOn (G3B)

Grade 4
Vlad (G4A)

Yuhki (G4A)

Igor (G4A)

Grade 5
Su Hyun (G5B)

Hikaru (G5A)

Vaishali (G5B)

8

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Elementary Science
Science Skills: Measuring
Scientists use a lot of different tools tomeasure data accurately. We need tomake sure that we record the types oftools we use to measure so someone else
can get the same measurements:
 We use standard (cm, kg, m, litre) and non-standard
units for measurements.
 Try and measure and record the weight and heightof different objects around the house. What tools
can you use?
Cool science fact #3:
Because of lower gravity, aperson who weighs 100 kg on
Earth would only weigh 38 kg on
the surface of Mars.
Susan Lee
Elementary Science Coordinator

English Resources
We would like to thankthe staff at ELT (English
language teaching)materials supplier,
Nellie’s Group, Ltd., fortheir generous donationof materials for the
LEAP after-school program. The materials include
storybooks, educational toys, teacher resources andmany other items designed for children learning English
as a second language. These will be ideal for the LEAP
program.

Grade 4A Puppet Theatre
Grade 4A is reallygetting into “hands on”
experimenting with
their current unit ofinquiry “How the WorldWorks.”
Mainly we have been
thinking about how
scientists havetheories they wish toinvestigate, they
hypothesize what they
think will happen andthen follow rigorous
procedures to see ifwhat they thought iscorrect or not. In the class and at home the students
have been doing various kinds of experiments to dowith magnetism, gravity, light and electricity.
The class set out to explore the properties of light. They
decided to make shadow puppets and a shadow
puppet theatre to perform a very popular kid’s poem
“The Owl and the Pussycat.”
We hypothesized it would be an easy process to firstmake the puppets and then design a simple shadow
theatre. However, along the way we observed
problems with the lighting, the relative size, position of
the puppets and finally, the smooth actions of thepuppeteers. One by one we tested different variables
until we made our final changes or improvements.

The Nellie’s head office, located near Asakusabashi
Station in Taito-ku, is also the site for Nellie’s English
Bookstore which stocks a large selection of resources
for English learners of all ages. The store is open to the
public and visitors are welcome from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m., Monday to Friday.
For more information about Nellie’s
and the variety of resources they haveavailable, please check their website
at the URL below:

http://www.nellies.jp

Definitely it wasn’t as simple a process as we
hypothesized. We thought we finally became
successful because we talked and listened a lot toeach other and shared our ideas. Our first shadow
theatre performance of “The Owl and the Pussycat”
was tested publicly on Tuesday morning with K3 as our
first live audience. Enjoy the photos of our final
rehearsal.
Val Gray
G4A Teacher

“The Comet”

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

9

Grade 5 CampDAY ONE
By Sara (G5A)
On October 13,
Grade 5 went toNagano prefecture
to Camp Northstar.
It took about 5 hours to get there.
The first activity we did, once wewere settled in, was a scavenger
hunt. We were split into six groups:
the Yellow Northern Stars, Red
Stars, Green Clovers, Ocean Blue,
Purple Penguins and Orange
Sparks. We tried to find items that
fit the descriptions we got from theteachers, for example ‘I am theessential equipment for one ofJapan’s most popular sports’…wefound a baseball bat and ball.
Unfortunately, some of the items
were hidden so well we neverfound them…Sorry Mr Farquhar!!
On every item were words. At theend, we had to combine all thosewords and make a sentence about
teamwork. My group’s sentencewas ‘Individually, we are one drop.
Together, we are an ocean’.
Later on that day, we had our firstmeal served by the staff fromCamp Northstar. We had meat,
salad, bread and potato chips andoatmeal biscuits for dessert. All ourmeals were delicious and lots ofpeople went up for seconds!
Before we went to bed, we went tothe campfire (except for Aki-sensei
who kindly took one of the boys tothe dentist). The campfire was all
ready when we got there. First Ms
Homerlein, Mrs Astrop and Mr
Farquhar roasted us somemarshmallows and made us

some smores.
Everybody ate one.
After that, we all sangsongs that 5B had
practiced for us. After
singing thosewonderful songs, 5Bleft with Mr Farquharand Mr Yoshihara
while 5A stayed behindand burned thenegative thoughts we had written
down on a piece of paper on thefirst day of school.
DAY TWO
By Ricky (G5A)
The next day, after
we finished eating
our breakfast, theboys went backdown to theNorthstar lodge from
where they were staying at Raicho
Inn for a morning of team building
exercises. There were threedifferent activities: mine field,
caterpillar logs and orienteering. Allof these challenges required
cooperation and definitely
communication!
After we had finished those
activities, we got all our stuff androcketed off to a nearby courseand hiked to a waterfall called"Zengorou No Taki". The waterfall
was enormous, gorgeous andsplendid. It must been one of thelargest waterfalls G5 had everseen! After our healthy snack offruit (and a piece of chocolate

leftover from the smores at thecampfire) we hiked back down themountain and we ate anotherdelicious meal at the girl's camp.
That night, we entertained eachother by creating and acting inskits at the camp concert. Everygroup had been practicing theirskits since we arrived at the camp.
Every group’s skit was full of
imagination and creativity andsome of the items we had collectedfrom the scavenger hunt on thefirst day. It was wonderful to see
and everybody had a great time.
Before we went to sleep, we wrote
our positive affirmations. We wrote
positive affirmations about
somebody who helped you, who
did something good to you andother things that had a positiveeffect on you. The teachers put
each student’s affirmations into anindividual envelope and gave themto us when we got back to school
on Friday. The surprise when you
opened the envelope and read thepositive affirmations that others
had written for us was marvelous.

10

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Secondary School: A Year in Review
It is almost WINTER HOLIDAYS
and the students’ minds are on
vacation. As we reflect on 2010, I
feel it is time to reflect on the first
four months of the 2010-2011
school year.
The school year started in August
and was kicked off with this newword that has now became
common language at KIST:
MOODLE. What is next, WIKI?
Moodle is just the beginning of
connecting our KIST community.
There has been a new Grade 8
camp to Chichibu and of course
the old annual Grade 6 camp to
Nikko. The students could not stoptalking about these camps andhow much fun and educational (mywords) they were. I have had
numerous 10th graders, 9thgraders and 7th graders asking“Where is our camp? (Maybe in the
new year!)
We cannot forget about our clubs,with 23 different clubs running on
Mondays, Wednesdays andFridays. The students had a lot ofchoices and we are hoping for agreater number of students

applying for term 2 clubs. Coming
soon in an e-mail near you!
The KIST Secondary School has
been very involved in theinternational school community thissemester. KIST hosted the 2nd
annual Middle School Drama
Festival where 6 different
international schools joined KIST
at our campus to act and performin front of each other. KIST also
continued its long tradition of
hosting a cross country meet with
12 different international schools in
attendance. Our school also has
been playing volleyball against
other schools in the area andattended the High School Drama
Festival. Let’s not forget about theannual Model United Nations(MUN) coming up on the 11th ofDecember at KIST.
There are a lot
more events
coming up that will
give our students
opportunities tocompete and meetother international
students in thearea.

Let us not forget the increased
communication with parents. Using
Moodle, e-mails, new progress
reports, parent meetings, classparent meetings... We will continue
this communication into the next
semester. Please don’t forget toattend the “Coffee with Mr.
Schneider” evening on December
8 at 6:00 p.m. Everyone iswelcome!
I have not even talked about all of
the parent speakers, field trips,
KISTival, and amazing learning
opportunities happening in everyclassroom. There are a lot ofwonderful events that have
happened so far but I know that thebest is yet to come.
Robin Schneider
Secondary School Principal

Secondary School: Forthcoming Events“Coffee with Mr Schneider”
Date: Wednesday, December 8 | Time: 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Multipurpose Room
“Grade 10 IB DP 2011-2013 Information Evening”
Date: Wednesday, December 15 | Time: 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Multipurpose Room

Office Updates

K. English Immersion Program

Student withdrawals

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Families planning to withdraw children from KIST
before the winter vacation are reminded to submita Student Withdrawal Form to the office as soon
as possible. The form is available from theContacts >> Forms page of the school website. In
conjunction with this, families who requireparticular documentation (e.g. statements ofenrolment, letters of recommendation etc.) arealso asked to arrange this in advance using theRequest for Documentation Form also available
on the school website. General documents may
take a week to prepare. Letters ofrecommendation may take up to two weeks.
Requests should be submitted through the office,not directly to teachers.

Applications for 2011-2012
Just a reminder to families wishing to apply foradmission for siblings not currently enrolled at
KIST, the due date for applications for April andAugust 2011 entry is Friday, December 17.
Please inform any of your friends with eligible
children who may also be considering enrolment.

Starting in August 2011, a new English immersion program
will be established for very young children with little or no
English language ability.
The K. English Immersion Program will be an alternative
kindergarten program that offers children the opportunity tolearn English in a safe environment with an enhanced focus
on all aspects of English language development. The aim of
the program is to prepare children
to enter KIST with confidence,
engagement in the curriculum,and increased success.
A meeting will be scheduled soon
to explain the program further.
Details will be announced
separately.

“The Comet”

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 201011

Middle School Drama
Festival
On Wednesday, November 3, the fabulous Middle
School Drama Festival occurred and was attended by anumber of other international schools. The morning
began when we met with all of the visiting schools in thegym, seated in a circular form. Then we were divided
into new groups with the visiting students, most ofwhom we had never met before! The workshop leaders,
who generously donated their time and talent, took eachgroup to a separate room. Here we did ice-breaking,trust-building and team-building games and exercises
as the leaders introduced the theme for each group.
Each theme was based around a famous fairy tale orfable, though neither the workshop leaders nor the
students knew which they were going to get as they
were randomly assigned that morning.
After we settled down in the room, we introduced
ourselves to each other. Then our leaders read to us
our theme or story. They then told us our task was tochange the story, to make it more modernized,
interesting or creative. As a group we began tobrainstorm our ideas and decided which ones we could
incorporate into our story.
Finalizing the story was extremely fun, but also a bit ofhard work. We all had many ideas. While it was fun
listening to them it was also a bit hard choosing which to
keep in and which to leave out. We then had a brief
lunch break before we got straight back to work andstarted practicing our plays.
After two hours of hard work we were ready to perform
so we all gathered into the gym and sat down ready towatch and listen to all of the performances. This wascertainly the highlight of the day as we got to see a lot ofcreative, unusual and interesting ideas. Each group wascompletely different. With play titles such as “Little Red”,“Ginger Bread”, “The Shoemaker”, “Three Little Pigs”,“Oh, the Places You’ll Go”, and “Goldilocks and theThree Biebers”, there was certainly a lot of talent andvariety on display. From modern dance to musical style
dramas to more serious moments, it was certainly
enjoyable to watch and be a part of.
The opportunity to work with students and teachers fromother international schools in Tokyo was an invaluable
opportunity and I would encourage any Grade 6 to 8
students to think about
getting involved next
year. Special thanks to
all the workshop leaders
including our own Ms
Cussen. Also to Mr
Rentoule and Mr Marson
who helped to organized
the event.
Mihir and Joohee (G7A)

Language EventsThe English Event
Parents are cordially invited to a performance based
event on Friday, December 17 in the Gymnasium at
2:30 p.m. The English Event is a unique performance
opportunity for all Secondary students. Performances all
relate in some way to their learning in MYP and DPEnglish units of inquiry. Performances could include
dramatic performance, poetry readings, impassioned
speeches, riveting presentations or cutting edge video
productions to name just a few. We look forward toseeing as many parents as possible on the day.

Mother Tongue Support Opportunities
The development of mother tongue provides a language
to process thoughts in as well as a basis for further
language development and is essential to thedevelopment of understanding of ourselves as
individuals. We believe that language is a powerful toolconnecting us with our communities.
This is a reminder that we need help to increase thelevel of mother tongue support at KIST. As parents you
can help in three ways:
 Become a mother tongue tutor – share yourlanguage with small groups of students at school
through games or stories for example.
 Share language resources – let us know ofcommunity resources in your mother tongue which
would be helpful to other KIST families.
 Donate books in your mother tongue – we havea section in the school library for these resources
and we want to build this over time with your help.
(You can even order through Amazon for delivery
directly to school.)
As a school community we need to help all of ourstudents maintain the development of all of theirlanguages. Thank you for your support.
Damian Rentoule
Deputy Head of School/Curriculum Director
d_rentoule@kist.ed.jp

12Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Innovation: An Exciting Internship and Presentation
I wanted to make the most of the summer between myfirst and second years of the IB Diploma Programme. I
love innovation and plan to study bioengineering inuniversity, so I was looking for a summer internshipalong those lines. However, Japanese universities andcompanies apparently don’t take sixteen-year-old
interns. I understood the reasons for this, but I kept
asking people and demonstrated that I was capable ofdoing well. Thus, I was accepted for a three-weekinternship at Keio University’s Graduate School ofMedia Design.
This was an exciting place that had produced
innovations such as iPhone robots and the invisibility
coat used in a James Bond movie. It was here that I
joined a group of doctoral students (all six years older
than me!) in a process of “ideation”. I learnt to expand
my mental horizons and simply imagine, because any
idea could be experimented with at Keio Media Design,
however wacky it might seem at first.
After making some cardboard prototypes for “Robox” (abox that’s also a robot), our group moved on toresearch a particular new idea to do with microwavable
designs. When we put them in a microwave oven, these
designs literally sparked (and, a couple of times, burst
into plasma and almost blew up the microwave oven). I
had the privilege of naming this interesting innovation“Phoenix-letters” for the way secret messages appearedout of fire. I also wrote a research paper on it, which I
would present in October at an academic conference inKyoto called Entertainment Computing 2010.
I was the only high school student, and only nonJapanese person at that conference. I did not know what
to expect as I explained Phoenix-letters in twenty
minutes to an audience of university professors andgraduate students. Those professors can be critical!
Happily, they were very accepting and curious about mywork, and I was able to carry on a bilingual discussion
with them. I even received thought-provoking
suggestions about future applications of Phoenix-letters.
Imagine my surprise when our group won the “NextGeneration” Award for showing research with future
promise! It was vote-based, and this sign of support
from that formidable audience greatly encouraged me:
age shouldn’t limit anyone.
I met amazing people during that conference in Kyoto,and it was definitely a huge learning experience.
Research, as a group activity, can be so fun, andpresenting your original idea can be thrilling. I certainly
value this rewarding experience, and I encourage
everyone to pursue their passions with determination!
Shreya (G12)

Homework ClubThe Homework Club is for Secondary students (G9 to 12) to assist students
in the Elementary School with their homework. Elementary students are
assigned to older students who are the tutors. Elementary students come tothe club on their assigned day(s); either Monday, Wednesday or Friday.
They will have the same tutors every week.
Every week, students work on their homework or the worksheets that we have organized in different grade levels. It
is a wonderful opportunity for both the tutors and tutees because you can gain knowledge from each other. If you
are interested in joining Homework Club, it’s not too late! You can always apply for term two.
We hope to see you there every week and learn something new each time!
Yeon Soo (G10B) and Hanako (G10A)
Tutoring Club Student Supervisors

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

13

Staff 10!

Community Announcements

In this month’s Staff 10!, weare pleased to present Juliet
Collier who joined KIST in2009 and teaches PYP and
MYP art.

Occasionally, we receive announcements of events andservices from groups within the wider Tokyo community.
This month, we have received information from the twogroups below. Please be aware that these groups are
not connected in any way to KIST and we are simply
passing on the details to anyone in the schoolcommunity who may be interested.

 Tell us somethinginteresting about yourMs Collier unveils her new
hairdo at KISTival 2010.
hometown.
My home is in the country but
my closest city is under a mountain and beside the sea.
It is where “The Last Samurai” movie was filmed.
 What is your favorite place in the world?
On a certain hill on my parent’s farm where there is abeautiful view of the mountains and the lake.
 Who would you like to meet if you had the chance
and why?
Andre Agassi – I would like to challenge him to a gameof tennis!
 Do you have any special skills or talents?
Drawing sheep.
 Please share a little known fact about yourself.
I went to a primary school with only 3 students!!!
 What is your most prized possession?
Photos of friends, family and travels – memories.
 What words would you use to describe yourself?
Maybe I will look to the learner profile and ask mystudents to help me with that one!!!
 If you could live your life again, would you doanything differently?
No I don’t think so, hopefully it all works out in the end.
 Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
I am trying to learn Japanese, sumie painting andjewellery making! (Thanks to many people who haveintroduced me to these things!).
 Do you have any special message for your fans?
A little quote from Pablo Picasso: “Every child is an
artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once wegrow up.”Calendar for 2011-2012
To assist families planning overseas trips, we would
like to inform you of important dates for the 2011-2012
school year. We hope that this early information will
help ensure that students are back in Japan ready tostart school after each vacation periodon the correct date. The complete
calendar will be distributed later thisyear.
August 29: First day of school
October 15: KISTival 2011
October 16 – 23: Autumn breakDecember 17 – January 8: Winter vacation
March 24 – April 1: Spring breakMay 3 – 6: Golden Week
June 21: Last day of school

Tokyo Stay at Home Dads
The purpose of this group is tocreate a sense of community formen who have decided to leave
their careers and be the full time
caregivers of their children. What
we do as a group is entirely up to
us. Some possibilities are:
1) Establish a network ofintelligent professionals who
may decide to reenter the
paying workforce at some pointin the future.
2) Together support a philanthropic cause such as
Habitat for Humanity, or others.
3) Socialize over coffee/tea during the day, a soccer(football) game in the afternoon, or a few beers in
the evening.
4) Share knowledge with each other; be it on where toinvest our money these days, how to build a nicelooking TV table yourself and save a lot of money,or how to cook a tasty dinner.
If what you have just read interests you, and you
already have some ideas of what we can do and how
we can make this group a success, then you are thetype of person that should join.
http://www.meetup.com/Tokyo-Stay-at-Home-Dads

From the Indian Embassy
The India Cultural Centre at the Embassy of India,
Tokyo has announced the opening of registrations forthe following classes for the period January - June
2011.
Yoga, Contemporary IndianDance (Bollywood), Tabla,
Vocal (Indian Classical),Bharatanatyam, Odissi,
Sambhalpuri, Hindi Language,
Bengali Language
Registrations are due by December 16, 2010.
For more information, please visit the Embassy of India,
Tokyo’s website at:
http://www.embassyofindiajapan.org

14

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Grade 6 Nikko CampOn November 10, the Grade 6group departed for Nikko to spend
three days and two nights in thewilderness of the mountains. With
anxious faces they prepared toboard the train unsure of what toexpect. With seconds to spare, thelast student got on and the train
pulled out.
The first day, students were asked
to put their artistic talents to thetest in order to create pottery
masterpieces. In the afternoon, thegroup made their pilgrimage to the
Toshogu Shrine, the resting placeof the founder and uniformer ofJapan as we know it; also home tothe three wise monkeys: see noevil, hear no evil and speak no evil.
Despite the many steps, 207 in all,the students completed the journeywith energy to spare, althoughsome of the teachers struggledwith this endeavor. Students andstaff were thankful to finally reach
their destination. Oh, what a

New Faces

destination! Full buffet meals,
luxury accommodation and private
onsen time, a favourite for most,after the exhausting day.

owls managed to fall asleep quite
quickly.

After a good night’s sleep for most,not including some of our nightowls, and the buffet breakfast, ahike through the wilderness wherestudents certainly became risktakers. Chewing bark, tasting wild
berries and nuts, drinking fresh
mountain stream water and, ohyes, dissecting and smelling
animal droppings. Who could
forget that!! A highlight of the day
was our walk to Kegon Falls, one
of Japan’s famous three waterfalls
and the most famous of Nikko’s
forty-eight. Lots of pictures and a
few souvenirs. More onsen timeand another scrumptious dinner.
An academic evening with aclosely contested quiz night and agood night’s sleep, even our nightAn early start was had by all thenext morning with packing andcleaning on the agenda; a hardtask for one particular room ofboys. Once leaving our hotel forthe final time, our last activity was
Edomura where students enjoyedhanging out with friends, exploring
the many souvenir shops andspending whatever money they
had left, trying to decide where andwhat to eat for lunch, getting lost inmazes, being scared in haunted
houses and watching ninjas
perform death defying acts.
The train trip came too soon formost. With great memories, newfriendships and new experiences
under our belts, we boarded thetrain for Tokyo, but not before mostof us had one last relaxing visit to
the foot onsen at the station. Twohours later we were back where
we started and ready to go home
to our parents and loved ones.

Welcome to Jamie Kenyon and Anna Findlay who have recently joined
our ever-growing staff. We wish you all the best in your new positions.

Jamie Kenyon has been appointed tothe position of Bilingual Support Staff towork within our office team. Jamie will
be involved with translating andinterpreting, responding to telephoneinquiries, and providing general officesupport. He will also be working as an
instructor in the after-school LEAP program.
Jamie said of his position: “Hello. I'm James, also
known as Jamie, and I'm from England. I majored in
English and Japanese at Liverpool and Kanazawa
Universities, I love all aspects of language and I hopethat I will be a beneficial asset for everyone connectedwith K. International School. Cheers!”

Anna Findlay has been appointed as
our new Library Assistant based in the
Junior Library. Anna will be supporting
our ECE and Elementary School
students and staff with all their libraryneeds as well as assisting within our
Main Library as required.
Anna said of her position: “Hi there, I'm Anna and I
have come to Tokyo from Wellington, New Zealand. I
am enjoying meeting students and staff in the
Elementary School and in the wider KIST community.
I'm looking forward to helping students find lots ofbooks they will love to read, both for fun and forschool projects.”

“The Comet”

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

15

Cross Country Fever
The sun was shining on Friday, November 5 for theannual KIST Inter-House Cross Country event at
Ojima Komatsugawa Park. All grade levels from Grade2 through 12 ran extremely well around their various
courses. Congratulations to Hokkaido House (Green
House) who was the victorious house on the day andall of the competitors from other houses who competedso gallantly during the day. I would like to thank all of
the parents who came along and supported the eventand enjoyed a picnic with their children, and I would
also like to thank the teachers who gave up their time
to make the day such a success.
Students who finished in the top three in each age
group at the inter-house event then went on tocompete in the annual ISTAA Inter-School Cross
Country Championships hosted by KIST on yet
another perfect autumn day at Ojima Komatsugawa

Park on Friday, November 19. This year, elevenschools from around the Tokyo and Yokohama region
competed. KIST had many excellent individual efforts
throughout the day with many students taking homemedals. Overall, KIST continued its dominance of theevent winning the overall trophy and along the way
winning the lower school and upper school trophies.
Thank you very much to all of the teachers who
assisted with the running of the event during the day
and also congratulations once again to all students whocompeted.
Will Spring
Sports/PE Coordinator

KIST Inter-House Cross Country
Grade 2 Boys:Hee Sung (G2A)
Samuel (G2A)
Deniz (G2B)

Grade 2 Girls:
Saki (G2B)
Maki (G2A)
Hannah (G2B)

Grade 3 Boys:
Oliver (G3B)
Amane (G3A)
Salim (G3B)

Grade 3 Girls:
Sara (G3B)
Emily (G3A)
Minori (G3B)

Grade 4 Boys:
Keina (G4A)
Keigo (G4B)
Yusuke (G4A)

Grade 4 Girls:
Hina (G4A)
Mifuyu (G4B)
Eleonore (G4B)

Grade 5 Boys:
Hiroshi (G5B)
Keijiro (G5A)
Kiyoshi (G5A)

Grade 5 Girls:
Seina (G5B)
Seo Yeon (G5B)
Riko (G5A)

Grade 6 Boys:
Haruto (G6B)
Shouta (G6A)
Masaru (G6A)

Grade 6 Girls:
Lin (G6B)
Kotone (G6B)
Moana (G6A)

Grade 7 Boys:
Tyson (G7A)
Makoto (G7B)
Kai (G7A)

Grade 7 Girls:
Koharu (G7B)
Tabasa (G7B)
Nino (G7A)

Grade 8 Boys:
Salam (G8B)
Taymur (G8A)
Maung Wai (G8B)

Grade 8 Girls:
Keerti (G8A)
Erika (G8A)
Rino (G8A)

Grade 9 Boys:
Roland (G9B)
Adam (G9B)
Tae Yeon (G9B)

Grade 9 Girls:
Himeka (G9B)
Moyu (G9B)
Misato (G9B)

Grade 10 Boys:
Shimon (G10B)
Joe (G10B)
Abeer (G10B)

Grade 10 Girls:
Shifa (G10B)
Monica (G10B)
Fenella (G10B)

Grade 11/12 Boys:
Eric (G11)
Ryosuke (G11)
Maung Pyay (G12)

Grade 11/12 Girls:
Ewa (G11)
Sung Hye (G11)
Na Yeong (G11)ISTAA Inter-School Cross Country
Grade 1:
Boys
Gold: Kaiser (G1A)
Silver: Kishore (G1B)
Girls
Silver: Rina (G1A)

Grade 8:Boys
Gold: Salam (G8B)

Grade 2:
Boys
Gold: Hee Sung (G2A)
Girls
Gold: Saki (G2B)
Silver: Hannah (G2B)
Bronze: Maki (G2A)

Grade 9:Boys
Gold: Adam (G9B)
Girls
Silver: Himeka (G9B)

Grade 3:Girls
Bronze: Sara (G3A)

Grade 10:Boys
Silver: Shimon (G10B)
Bronze: Joe (G10B)
Girls
Gold: Shifa (G10B)
Silver: Monica (G10B)
Bronze: Fenella (G10B)

Grade 4:
Girls
Gold: Hina (G4A)

Grade 11:Girls
Bronze: Ewa

Grade 7:Boys
Silver: Tyson (G7A)
Girls
Bronze: Koharu (G7B)

Grade 12:Boys
Silver: Maung Pyay
Bronze: Keito

TotalsLower (G1, 2, 3)

Middle (G4, 5, 6)

Upper (G7, 8, 9, 10)

KIST

930

1

KIST

360

1

YIS

370

1

KIST

460

BST

680

2

MST

250

2

BST

310

2

BST

300

YIS

790

3

YIS

150

3

KIST

110

3

YIS

270

BST=The British School in Tokyo / YIS=Yokohama International School / MST=The
Montessori School of Tokyo16

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Save the Words
Are you up for the Word Challenge?
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2

To solve this word puzzle,
check out Save theWords at:3

http://www.savethewords.org/

4DOWN
3. prickly or thorny
8. figurative expression

5
6

ACROSS
6. to become less good, to deteriorate
10. filled with weeds or reeds

7

If you think you have found the answers, come and see me in the IB
office or e-mail me at pyp_co@kist.ed.jp!

89Emma Homerlein
PYP Coordinator

10

MYP and DP Mathematics
The table below identifies some of the perceived issues (myths) raised by schools. The
aim is to increase understanding and awareness of how the two mathematics programmes
have been developed.
From Mathematics: The MYP-DP continuum
Myths

Reality

There is little alignment between MYP mathematics The mathematics courses in the MYP and the DP have a significant
and DP mathematics.
alignment. The MYP mathematics framework covers concepts and skills
included in and beyond the presumed knowledge required for the DP. The
objectives of the two courses are closely aligned and overlap.
MYP mathematics does not prepare students for
DP mathematics.

The philosophy of the MYP allows schools to develop their own
mathematics curriculum to meet the needs of their students. Schools needto plan to spiral the DP presumed knowledge purposefully within the MYP
mathematics framework. Additionally, the assessment criteria in MYP
mathematics demand a level of skill and rigour that provides an excellent
transition to both the internal and external assessments in the DP.

MYP mathematics is not suitable for all students.

MYP schools determine the taught content of MYP mathematics and,
therefore, its suitability for their students. The concepts and skills listed in
the MYP framework for mathematics are recommended to allow easiertransition from MYP to DP mathematics and allow the possibility forstudying mathematics at two distinct levels.

MYP mathematics is not rigorous.

Schools develop their own curriculum and levels of rigour by using thestandard and including relevant portions of the extended MYP concepts
and skills. This developed curriculum must meet, and can exceed, thelevel required to succeed in the DP courses. Schools determine thefrequency and rigour of tests and examinations in MYP mathematics andschools can opt for internally assessed work to be moderated within aworldwide context.

The DP mathematics courses do not explore
mathematics in real-life situations.

The DP advocates teaching mathematics in a contextual manner where
and when appropriate, as determined by the aims and objectives.

There are no assessments in MYP mathematics.

There are continuous internal assessments in MYP mathematics with thepotential to request external moderation. Prescribed minimum tasks are
submitted for moderation and include elements that are common to theDP.

Bibliography
International Baccalaureate. (n.d.). Mathematics: The MYP-DP continuum. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from Online
Curriculum Centre: http//xmltwo.ibo.org/publications/MYP/m_5_mathm_mdcdoc_1011_1/html/production-app3.ibo.org/
publication/249/part/1/chapter/1.html

“The Comet”

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 201017

Hana’s Suitcase
On November 2, Fumiko Ishioka visited KIST andpresented a PowerPoint presentation about a girlnamed Hana Brady and how Fumiko herself had
researched about Hana.
When Fumiko was explaining about World War 2, shewanted something that is related to this event to show
to children. So she got a suitcase from a museum, andthis was the start of her research about Hana. Fumiko
didn’t know where to start, at first. She mailed to themuseums for information, but it was hard to findsomething about Hana.
Then, she got four pictures drawn by Hana, and thenshe found out that Hana’s brother, George, was still
alive. George sent Fumiko his sister’s pictures and told
her all about Hana. When Fumiko got enoughinformation with Small Wings (the students who weresearching for Hana with Fumiko), they opened an
exhibition.
Fumiko told us about the way she
researched, where she went, how
she felt when she found out
something about Hana, what she
had discovered, and about Small
Wings. And now, Fumiko is traveling with Hana’s
suitcase, to tell people about Hana.
Hana Brady was a girl who lived during the wartime. Herparents were kind and nice, and had a store. Hana andher brother George were very close and they were a
happy family. But then, the war started which was leadby Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Adolf Hitler hated theJewish people. He made restrictions that banned Jews

receiving services.
Jews couldn’t go to
public places, andschools were
included, too.
Then, they madeconcentration camps.
Jewish people were forced to go there, and many died inconcentration camps, and the Brady family was not
excluded.
Hana suffered in the concentration camp and died there
after two years. The war ended soon after, and George
Brady was the only one who survived in the Brady
family.
From Fumiko’s presentation, I
learned about human rights and how
we should respect them. I learned
that everyone is equal and shouldbe treated the same. If we do notfollow this, a lot of people will suffer.
Her presentation made us think
about the war and the people whodied there again.
George said that Hana’s
dream was to be a teacher. I
hope everyone learned
something from Hana andunderstood what she wanted
us to learn.
Chae Youn (G8B)
One of Hana’s drawings

Influenza Season
The onset of winter each year brings with it anincreased danger of contracting illnesses such as
influenza. We would like to remind all families to be
extra careful during this season to take special care inpreventing the spread of this disease.
Influenza is caused by a hardy virus that can mutate
itself into different forms. It enters the body through thenose and mouth, similar to a common cold; however,
the influenza virus can also cause high fever and canseverely affect the brain and lungs. The virus may be
spread directly from person to person through sneezing,for example, or indirectly through contact with items
touched by an infected person. In fact, the virus cansurvive outside the body for a number of hours on soft
objects such as items of clothing, and for up to a full day
on hard objects such as door handles, cups and cutlery.
One of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of
the virus is to simply wash your hands regularly withsoap. Gargling regularly is also
effective in expelling germs fromthe throat. In situations where
gargling is not possible, it is also
a good idea to drink liquids
regularly as this helps to flush any germs from the throat
into the stomach where they are killed. Vaccinations
are also effective in preventing infection, and this year’s
vaccine is designed to cover the main types of influenza
currently known. It is important to remember, however,that even after being vaccinated, there is no 100%
guarantee that you will not contract the disease.
Children diagnosed with influenza should not attend
school until cleared by a doctor—usually 2 or 3 days. If
your child contracts influenza, please be sure to notify
the school office directly.
Please take care of your health and the health of yourfamily this winter.

18

Volume 14 | Issue 3 | December 2010

“The Comet”

Memories of
KISTival 2010