The omet

The New sletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 24 | Issue 4 | June 2021

In this issue...
02...New School Uniform
03…Follow KIST on Social Media
05...Parental Controls for Devices
06...A Safe Place
08...K1 Homes and Pajamas
12...Writing from Experience15...G8 English Romeo and Juliet
16...Hokusai Ambassador Project
17...G12 Visual Arts Exhibition
17...Secondary SRC
18...KIST Heart Club
19...Cybercrime

From the Head of School

Dates to Remember

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Us
Sustainable
sus·tain·able | \ sə-ˈstā-nə-bəl: of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17
interconnected goals designed to address global challenges we currently
face. According to the UN, these goals “are a blueprint to achieve a betterand more sustainable future for all.” Meeting our present needs withoutcompromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is at theheart of sustainable living. The 17 goals are:
No Poverty

Sustainable Cities and Communities

Zero Hunger

Climate Action

Good Health and Well-Being

Responsible Consumption and
Production

Industry, Innovation, andInfrastructureLife Below Water

Quality Education

Life on Land

Clean Water and Sanitation

Peace, Justice, and Strong
Institutions

Decent Work and Economic Growth
Reducing Inequality
Affordable and Clean Energy

Gender Equality
Partnership for the Goals

Many of us are familiar with the 17 SDGs, however, lesser known are therelated topics. Examples of related topics are:Sustainable tourism

Sustainable transport

Chemicals and waste

Trade

June 2021

14-15 (G5-G11) Cross curriculardays
16 (S) Secondary awards assembly
16 Last day of school for students(Half day for students)
16 (K1-G11) Semester 2 reports
issued16 (K1-G3) After care not available
on this day
17-Jul 2 Office open
21-Jul 2 Summer program session
1

July 2021

3-Aug 1 School closed

August 2021

19 (K1/K2/K3) Parent welcomenight (*Online)
23 First day of school for all
students
23 (K2-G3) After care begins thisweek
24 (G6-G10) Mathematics
diagnostic testing
25 (G1-G5) Parent welcome night(*Online)
27 (G6-G12) Parent welcome night(*Online)
27 (G12) University informationnight (*Online)
28 SAT@KIST

Continued on next page

KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for LifePYP | MYP | DP2

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Continued from previous pageThe beauty of the SDGs and related topics is that every
one of us can contribute, and all contributions, big andsmall, can make a positive impact. As role models forour children, we have the ability to instill the importanceof the SDGs in our families. Involving our children infamily decisions is a great way of helping our children
learn about the SDGs and apply them to their lives. As
families we can reflect on our family choices together.
Sustainable travel: How do we travel as afamily? What type of vehicle do we drive? Is
it necessary? Is it fuel-efficient? What is ourenvironmental impact?
Chemicals and waste: How much garbage
do we produce as a family? How many
aerosol cans do we dispose of? How many
batteries do we dispose of? Are thesenecessary? How can we limit the number ofchemicals we use?

The development of compassionate individuals whomake meaningful contributions to our global community
is an important component of our mission at KIST, andwe hold the belief that we can all make a commitment
to living sustainably. While on summer vacation weusually have more time with our children than during
the school year. This vacation is a wonderful
opportunity for us to involve our children in family
decision making, and reinforce how our actions canhave a positive impact on our world.
Please stay safe and I wish you all awonderful summer vacation.
Kevin Yoshihara Ed.D.
Head of School / Elementary School
Principal

Sustainable tourism: How can we ensure
we are responsible tourists? Do we support
local businesses and the promotion of local
culture? Do we purchase local products?

New School Uniform
We are very excited to announce that KIST will be transitioning to a new school uniform between theupcoming 2021–22 school year and the 2023–24 school year (over a three-year period). Our new
supplier, Top of the Class School Uniform, was selected with the needs of the KIST community in mind
with particular importance placed on the following areas:● They have outstanding customer service. From May, all uniforms can be ordered on their online store.
Payment can be made by Paypal, credit card or bank transfer, and orders can be delivered within one
business day. You can find more information about how to order here.
● Their products are very high quality. They do not spend money on marketing or retail space and so they canspend more on eco-friendly fabrics and experienced garment makers and staff.
● They have a fitting specialist who can assist with questions on sizing in English and Japanese.
Top of the Class is a well-respected uniform company that serves many of the schools in the Japaneseinternational school community and is particularly known for their dedication to environmental friendliness andethical practice. They were also chosen for their strength in the following areas:● It is an eco-friendly company. Sustainable fabrics such as bamboo and recycled fleece are used in theuniforms, and all packaging is made from recycled paper. You can read more about their eco-initiatives here.
● It is an ethical employer. Unlike many clothing companies, Top of the Class does not subcontract. They workwith small factories and workshops where people have fair pay and ethical employment conditions. You canread more about the company's principles here.
Overall, we are proud to offer their environmentally and ethically conscientious uniforms to the KIST community,and feel this sets a wonderful example for our students in line with the IB concept of “action,” towards making theworld a better place.
The new uniform has been designed to be stylish, comfortable, practical, durable and affordable—in fact, theprices are significantly lower than the current uniform! The designs will be released in the near future, butplease see a sneak peek at the new Secondary pinstripe blazer, G1–G12 blue sweater, and K1–K3 navy blue
skort (all skirts will now have shorts underneath for
comfort and ease of wear!) below.
We hope that the new online system will make theuniform ordering process easier and simpler forparents, and that students will enjoy the stylish new
items made of durable, high-quality fabric!

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Follow KIST on Social Media!
The continuing COVID-19 situation has been difficult for manyreasons, including its impact on our sense of school community.
With family members not allowed on campus, extracurricular
activities cancelled, and strict social distancing guidelines, it’seasy for us all to feel isolated.
If you’re feeling a little disconnected from the KIST community,
why not check out the KIST social media channels? Our
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts are updated several
times a week with snapshots of school life from K1 to Grade 12.
Recent posts have ranged from reports of events such as ECE
Cross Country and G6–G11 students’ participation in the KPASS
Math Field Day to glimpses into daily life at KIST, like the G9s’
outdoor physics experiment or the G2s’ Unit of Inquiry popup
card activity about world landmarks.

K1–K3 students enjoyed some exercise during the
ECE Cross Country event!

We also share content from student-run accounts for the SRC
and service activities such as The Green Team, The Rainbow
Project, and Sustainable Superheroes in our Instagram Stories,
and retweet content about our staff and students’ activities andsuccesses from other accounts on Twitter. With so much newand exciting content shared each week, we hope that you’ll takea moment to follow us so that you don’t miss anything!
You can find us on each platform at the links below:

Facebook(k.internationalschooltokyo)
https://www.facebook.com/k.internationalschooltokyo

For their Unit of Inquiry, “Where we are in place andtime,” G2s read text about a landmark of theirchoice, paraphrased the relevant information, andpresented it on a pop-up card with their own artworkof the landmark!

Instagram(k.international.school.tokyo)
https://www.facebook.com/k.internationalschooltokyo

Twitter(KIST1997)
https://www.facebook.com/k.internationalschooltokyo

Six KIST G6–G11 students placed 1st through 3rd intheir grade level category at this year’s online
KPASS Math Field Day, and another seven justnarrowly missed the podium, coming in 4th.

We would love to hear from you in the comments, as well! We
welcome you to share your support for the achievements of yourchildren, friends and classmates in each post!
We hope, with vaccinations beginning to reach the population ofJapan, that soon we will be able to resume all of our activities infull swing and welcome all KIST families back to campus. But for
the time being, we look forward to engaging with you on social
media!
Miranda Liu
Admissions and Communications Officer /Social Media Administrator
G9s enjoyed the warm spring weather whilemodeling the motion of a satellite moving aroundthe Earth during this scale Physics experiment!

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PYP News
Preventing the dreaded ‘summer slide’
After a long and difficult school year, most of us just want to kick back andrelax. Whatever you decide to do during the summer vacation, nine weeks
is a long time! Even with the Summer Program, the extended break canoften bring on the dreaded ‘summer slide’, which is when a child forgets
many of the things that they were taught in the previous school year, andcan spend August and September playing catch up. While I fully
recommend our excellent summer program, there are also several things
you can do to help prevent summer slide that do not involve expensive
materials or tutors.
Setting up a daily schedule which includes as little as 20–30 minutes of guided practice can really work wonders,and being involved in your child’s learning can also be a very rewarding experience. It is important that this is nonnegotiable and EVERYONE (this includes you) sticks to the plan. As a parent myself, I know how hard this can be,
but trust me…it is worth it.
Here are some simple things you can do:

1

Read!!! – 20–30 minutes of reading (aloud foryounger children) each day. You may want to seta challenge (e.g. read 100 short stories over thesummer).

2

Work on reading skills such as phonics, blending
and segmenting with younger readers and, forolder children, discussing books/chapters, asking
questions or making connections to other stories
or your own lives.

3

Write!!! – This could be anything from writing letters and simple words with chalk or
paint to keeping a diary or writing full stories.

4

Math is all around us. There is so much mathematical language in our everyday lives.
Take your child to the supermarket, putting them in charge of the shopping list; or dosome cooking, allowing them to measure out the ingredients. Multiplication facts arealways crucial, so regular practice with these is also very helpful.

5Problem solving – Have your child engage with puzzles or brain teasers. Jigsaws andmodel-making are also fantastic ways to get the brain going.

6

Develop a new skill – Learning does not always have to be school-based anddeveloping a new skill can be a wonderful challenge for children of all ages. For
younger learners, these skills could be as simple as fastening the buttons on theirschool shirt or tying their shoelaces; for older children, they could develop their typing
or coding skills.

7

Spread some kindness. Simply doing nice and helpful things can also be hugely
beneficial for everyone.

While it is very important to recharge our batteries over the summer, we alsoneed to be thinking ahead to the next school year, and that is why every bit oflearning helps. Just try to do a little bit of something every day. For somemore detail on these ideas, you could have a look at this site:bWebhttps://coffeeandcarpool.com/its-not-too-late-to-prevent-summerslide/
Enjoy the break and see you all in August!
Oliver Sullivan
PYP Coordinator“ T h e Co m et ”

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Sakura Medal Japanese Book Report Contest
Once again this year, KIST students participated in
the 12th Annual Sakura Medal Book Report Contest,
held by the Japanese teachers at international
schools around Japan. This year, a total of ten KIST
students submitted works; five in the “Lower
Elementary” category, and five in the “Upper
Elementary” category.
We would like togive special
congratulations
to Mana (G5B),
who won a prize
for excellence inthe Upper
Elementary
category, andHiroyoshi(G5B), who wona prize for effort
in the same
category
Hiroyoshi (G5B) and Mana (G5B) with Dr. Yoshihara

Lower Elementary

Upper Elementary

Sakurako (G3B)

Han (G5A)

Cain (G3B)

Hiroyoshi (G5A)

Kei (G3B)

Mana (G5B)

Isabella (G3B)

Ryan (G4A)

Mirei (G2A)

Kurumi (G4B)

Parental Controls for Devices and Apps
As our children grow older, they begin to be more
independent in their use of technology. For parents, it
can be difficult to determine exactly how much timechildren are spending on their device(s), what content
they are exposed to, who they are communicating
with, and how their data is used.

Common Sense Media also
has an informative article on
their website at the link
below:We recommend all KIST families to watch the
documentary Social Dilemma, which is currently
available on Netflix. It explores the human impact ofsocial networking on young people and the dangers
of addiction. It also explores how companies that own
social media apps may monetize their users’ data andhow young people can be manipulated throughtargeted content and advertising as a result.

Some tips on setting parental controls

What controls are there?

Apple, Android and Windows have features that allow
parents to set up some form of parental controls, but
third-party software such as Norton Family,
Kaspersky Safe Kids and Qustodio, can provide evenmore options.
We have put together a guide about some of theparental controls currently available. These controls
can range from monitoring or setting time limits on achild’s device, to restricting certain apps or content.
Please see our review of parental controls on the PSL
IT Support Page at the link below:b
Web

PSL IT Support Page

b
Web

•
•

•
•
•

Ultimate Guide to Parental Controls

Be honest with your child about the purpose anduse of parental controls. Be aware that setting
parental controls may become a source of friction.
Discuss and set reasonable targets andboundaries together (e.g. hours of use, whichapps are age-appropriate, what would beinappropriate use of their devices).
Encourage children to be in the room with you
when using their devices.
Be aware that children may find ways to getaround any controls you set.
As many of the popular apps have limitedparental controls, or privacy settings that can beeasily changed, third-party parental control
software has become a popular solution (e.g.
Norton Family, Qustodio, Kaspersky Safe Kids).

If you have any questions on the above content, or
would like any advice, please contact the IT Support
Team in the main office, Mr. Tim (MYP Designteacher), or Ms. Cobbs (Elementary ICT teacher).
IT Support Teamit.support@kist.ed.jp

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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
On April 8 and 9, 2021, students from Grades 4 to 11
created a medley performance of the songs from
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and theAmazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The school orchestra (conducted by G11B Daigo)
provided accompaniment as students sharedchoreography and vocal performances.
This performance will be available to view online aspart of the end-of-year concert activity.

A Safe PlaceT

oo often we underestimate the powerof a touch, a smile, a kind word, alistening ear, an honest compliment, or thesmallest act of caring, all of which have thepotential to turn a life around.”—Leo Buscaglia
Working in the elementary school brings one face toface with children who are struggling to understand the
puzzle of human relations and socialization. Students,
who are not yet fully formed in their growth both
physically and mentally, often run up against questions
and situations for which they have no experience orpreparation. This situation can cause feelings offrustration, loneliness, and outright confusion about
one’s life. Where do you turn when you are not evensure what the problem is? From whom do you ask forhelp when you don’t understand what kind of help it isthat you need? This is a problem that can lead people
to believe that there might not be any solutions or
options for help.
Luckily, schools often offer the services of someone
who can help struggling young learners. These people
have been trained to recognize certain responses tothe trials that pop up in a student’s daily life. They takemany forms, some are called
councilors, others might be known asStudent Care Coordinators, others
yet might be in the form of a doctor
or nurse. Regardless of the title they work under, they
all have the same objective in mind: to relieve sufferingand help people understand their own feelings in order
to find some peace of mind and freedom from theconfusion that growing up can conjure.
At KIST, both the elementary school and thesecondary school have people in positions who canhelp students make sense of their feelings and findsome relief. Our Student Care Coordinators and school
nurse are here to help. If you ever feel that there issome issue from which you feel sad, confused, angry,
or have any uncomfortable mental or emotional state,please talk to your teacher or come directly to Mr.
Bradley in the elementary school or Mr. White, Mr.
Cowe, or Nurse Yukiko in the secondary school.
Help is only a question away…
Clay M. Bradley
Elementary School Vice Principal/
Student Care Coordinator (Elementary)V o l u me 2 4 | I s s u e 4 | J u n e 2 0 2 1

Early Childhood News
Hello KIST families! It is hard to believe that this is the last issueof The Comet for the 2020ꟷ21 school year. This year was not aneasy year for any of us, but we did our best against an invisible
enemy we have never faced before.
Our Spring Concert was a prime example of how we came
together to tackle the new difficulties we have been facing due to
COVID and overcame obstacles together. The wonderfulperformance the children and staff created collaboratively
showed how creatively we can work together with our children to
make them proud of themselves and share their hard work with
their families safely. We want to give a shout out to the Art team,as this would not have been possible without their contributions,as well! I hope you all enjoyed watching the awesome
performances by the P0 (our youngest class) to K3 children justas much as I did.
While sadly, we could not have as many live events and activities
this year as we would have in a normal year, looking on the brightside, I am pretty sure all our young children enjoyed this year
better than the year before, when we required them to sit in frontof the computer for so long!
Lastly, as an early childhood practitioner and also a mum of twochildren, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of our KIST
families’ for their efforts in supporting us.

Thank you...
◆ ...for your continued support of your child’s learning,whether by distance learning at home or in person
at school.
◆ ...for keeping an eye on your child’s healthcondition.
◆ …for being creative to reduce stress for your childduring this difficult time.
◆ ...for preparing healthy meals for your child.
◆ ...for maintaining your child’s daily routine.
◆ ...for following our school safety measures.
…and the list goes on! Without your support, we would most
likely not have been able to enjoy the entire school year together,in person.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer holiday, and I am
looking forward to welcoming all you back to school during the2021-2022 school year…with less restrictions, we hope!
Eri Ozawa
Early Childhood
Coordinator (K1ꟷK3)/
K2A Teacher“ T h e Co m et ”

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K1 Homes and Pajamas
As part of the K1 unit, ‘Sharing the planet,’ focusing
on homes, we have been learning about different
types of homes. The students acquired knowledge ofthe different types of homes that can be found aroundthe world such as treehouses, mud houses,
bungalows, island houses, mansions, castles, stilt houses, igloos, yurts,
teepees, houseboats, glasshouses, motor houses, cave houses,
underground houses, and even container houses. The favorite home formost of the K1s is the CASTLE!
We used a world map to show where we live here in Japan. Upon looking
at the world map, the students became aware of the countries where
their grandparents live. Some of their grandparents live in Australia, theUK, the USA, China, Korea and different parts of Japan.
One fun and enjoyable activity that the students took part in was to maketheir own homes at school while in their pajamas. The students broughtbath towels or blankets from home. In our classrooms, the students used
tables, chairs, mats, racks, and everything they saw in the classroom tocreate their own home. They even used pegs to decorate their homes.
The K1As named their own homes, while the K1Bs made their own forts.
Below are the names of the homes the K1As made:Anika: “Glasshouse”
Mio: “Castle”
Runxi: “High-rise building”
Miro: “High-rise long tower”
Kai: “Mansion”
Xiaoyu: “Castle”
Lola: “Castle”

Sebby: “Mudhouse”
Mandar: “Bungalow”
Yuri: “Castle”
Arisa: “Castle”
Haru: “Castle”
John: “Treehouse”

To make the day more exciting, we wore our pajamas! The students
wore patterned pajamas and showed off by walking on a ramp while
everyone cheered and clapped. The students talked about the pattern on
their pajamas as part ofmathematics, learning how to makepatterns. When the students
finished building their homes, they
enjoyed watching
the movie, The Lion
King, while eating
popcorn.
Claire Yoneyama
K1A TeacherV o l u me 2 4 | I s s u e 4 | J u n e 2 0 2 1“ T h e Co m et ”

Elementary ELS
Inspire writing with wordless books
We are incredibly proud of the amount and qualityof writing that our students have done this year.
Over summer, if you are looking for a way to keep
up the writing at home, wordless books and comics
with empty speech bubbles can inspire storytelling.
Children can use these in many ways, including by
first telling the story orally, and by telling the story
in more than one language.
The elementary library has many wordless picture
books to borrow, which you can find by searching“wordless picture books” in Destiny (Destiny
Discover Search).

G3A’s Takafumi (pictured above) and Chikara (not pictured) eachpublished a book for their classroom that included a series of short stories
based on wordless comics. First, they added speech to the comic, thenwrote a short story to create the characters and events in detail. They
also used infographics—with only brief text such as labels and captions—as sources to write a series of information reports.

There are also sites where you can view some
wordless books online for free:b
WebFree Kids Books | Wordless (some links tothe pdfs don’t work, but most do, so keep
persisting)b
Web

Payer-Smith Books | Wordless

And here is a site listing recommended wordlessbooks (not available to read for free online, butmany of the books recommended are in theelementary library):b
WebChildren’s Library Lady | Wordless

For blank comics, Pinterest has many that you canfind by searching for “pinterest blank comics”.

G2 students have recently written incredibly detailed information reports,
and thoughtful letters from their role models. Here some of the G2A
students show one of their pieces of writing.

Lastly, as strong home languages are the crucial
foundation from which to develop additional
languages, any activities your child does oversummer that develop vocabulary and literacy inyour home languages will help their English, too.
Wishing you a safe and sunnysummer!
Rachel Parkinson
Elementary ELS Coordinator/
G3 ELS Instructor
rachel.parkinson@kist.ed.jp

G2B’s Kaitlyn with her newly published information report fullof particularly interesting facts about car racing.

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KIPS News
From the P1 classroom...
Greetings from P0ꟷP1!
Summer is approaching, and currently, we have entered term 7. In this term, weare learning about different modes of transportation in relation to our theme, "A
Day Out". The children enjoy singing and dancing to different songs related togoing on outings. The teachers also set up pretend sites to “go out” to inside theclassroom, which helped the children to learn through playing. Recently, thechildren have been introduced to the "Parachute" activity. The children enjoy
joining in with the teachers to shake the parachute and are encouraged to
improve their talking skills.
Time flies, and soon a new school year will begin! We are amazed to think that
we will soon be promoting the P0 children to P1 and the P1 children to P2. The
children have all grown up socially, physically, and emotionally, and thedevelopment that they are making has been tangible. The younger children who
used crawl to get around and required being fed by the teachers can now walkand are learning to eat by themselves. Some of the older children have started
making simple sentences to express themselves in words such as, "Moreplease,” “No thank you,” “Let's go,”and “It's sunny." We are looking
forward to seeing their growth nextyear, too!
Rinkal Sharma
P0ꟷP1 Teacher

From the P2 classroom...
We welcomed two new friends to P2 since the last issue of The Comet, so although
we began the school year with seven children, we are ending it with nine. This year,
we were so busy with COVID prevention and safety measures while helping thechildren learn and play that the year went by in the blink of an eye! The P2 children
have grown up so much since the beginning of the year, and we have had a wonderfultime watching them gain more skills and confidence as the year has progressed.
The children have become able to do so much without help; now, they do everythingfrom playing with and getting along with their friends to changing clothes to eating andgoing to the toilet by themselves! During morning circle, when we check the month,
day and date, and talk about whose lessons we will have today, the children answer
confidently and loudly. Each child has a turn to be “Today’s Leader” every nine days,
and on that day, the leader checks the weather for us. The children get so excited tobe the leader, they constantly ask, “is it my turn tomorrow?” and stand proudly in frontof the class to do their job when it is their turn. They are so grown up now!
Each day, we have different lessons in Language, Art, Music and Movement, andJapanese. During these lessons, each child pays close attention and actively
participates, and they all enjoy learning new words, moving around, and touching theobjects we’re learning about. Although, due to COVID, the Spring Concert had to berecorded at KIPS rather than performed live, the children worked hard to practice their
numbers and really enjoyed dancing for the camera. We are always surprised andamazed at the flexibility of these young leaners as they try out thebrand-new things that they learn and experience right away. It has
been our pleasure working and playing together with your children to
give them a fun and meaningful experience at KIPS for the past year!
Yoshimi Machida
P2 Teacher

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MYP News
MYP students explore the transition to IGCSE
The current Grade 8 class will end their time in the
MYP in June. Over the course of the past three years,
the students have investigated a range of concepts
while building the necessary skills to take on new
challenges.
In April this year, the G8s participated in a seminarwith current G9s. Led by Shota (G8B), the G9s—
Shaunak (G9B), Stephanie (G9B), Remi (G9B) andHan (G9B)—provided insight on their experiences intaking on their IGCSE courses this year. Mr.
Dayaram, an experienced IGCSE Science teacher,also offered his perspective on the transition.
The message from the G9s was that there is definitely
a period of adjustment to the new program, but theyfelt that they were prepared to take on this new set ofchallenges.
A common theme that emerged from the G9s—
reinforced strongly by Mr. Dayaram—is that IGCSE
students need to quickly develop systems for
managing the amount of content covered in many of
the IGCSE courses. In the Science courses (allstudents study Biology, Chemistry and Physics) andagain in the Humanities courses (where students
choose from among several options), students arecalled on to prepare and revise concepts quickly. Mr.
Dayaram mentioned that students who succeed in
IGCSE will work on units before they officially begin inclass.
The G9s also shared with the G8s their experienceswith exam-style assessments. Going back to revise
past content to consolidate understanding becomesmuch more of a requirement in IGCSE courses. Thisis particularly true given that the actual IGCSE exams
happen in the second year of the program.
In the end, the G8s benefited from the discussion.
They spoke about their sense of growing confidence
and excitement about moving into thenew program next year.
Robert WhiteMYP Coordinator

Leading the seminar—Shaunak, Stephanie, Shota, Remi, Han and Mr. Dayaram

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Secondary ELS
Keeping your language fresh during the summer vacation
At KIST, students are in an immersive English
environment throughout the school day. A challenge oflanguage learning is keeping up English skills over along period outside of this immersive zone, say during
the upcoming summer vacation. While the idea of
language study during the holidays may appear to be
the nadir of summer vacation fun times, rest assured
there are ways to keep up English that won’t interferewith one’s relaxation.

Mirror reading

Do you have afavourite bookin your homelanguage? Do
they publishthat book in an
Englishtranslation too?
Brilliant! Haveyou everconsideredreading them both AT THE SAME TIME?
Before you begin, skim read your book and highlight
any words you do not know. Make a list of these andtheir definition, continuing to add new words as you
read. You may wish to do this chapter by chapter
depending on the length of the book. Highlight words
that you have already defined on your list in a second
colour, this will save you looking up the word each timeand give you a sense of vocabulary frequency.

Depending on the complexity and length of yourchosen text. this may take some time and more than
one pass at reading. Recently completing this project
myself, I gained both invaluable insight into the cultural
nuance of my target language and improved reading
speed.

You know what you like…go with that

I know this is not the first time I have said this, and I will
say this again: read, watch and listen to texts in Englishthat are within your sphere of interest. Forcing yourself
to study English that is completely irrelevant to your life
is demotivating at best and torturous at worst; don’t doit.

Keep contact(responsibly)

It looks like it might
be yet anotherphysically distant summer vacation, but this is all themore reason to keep in contact with your friends fromschool (in English). You can use phone, e-mail, snail
mail, slam poetry, slant rhyme rap battle to name a few
modes of communication. It will keep you connected
and your English skills will stay on point.
Have a relaxing summer and remember
to wash your hands.
Jade Bonus
Secondary ELS Coordinator

Writing from Experience
KIST teacher, Madeline Horan (MYP/DP English Language andLiterature), has received honorable mention in the third annual
Kenyon Review Short Nonfiction Contest for a story she wrote aboutnorthern Japan entitled, “The Quiet Limit of the World.” The Kenyon
Review is often considered to be one of the best literary magazines
in the United States. When she received notification of her
achievement recently, she was told that the judge, writer Roxane
Gay, admired her writing.
Ms. Madeline said of her experience:I

Ms. Madeline at Lake Tazawa in Akita, Northern
Japan, the region that inspired her writing.

was so surprised to be among the selected. I have been writing thispiece since I lived in a small town in Akita on the JET Programme(2012–15). There, I watched my town and school lose people every year,
and I found the quiet resignation that people endure in the face of
extinction heartbreaking. I hope to continue to polish the piece and one
day honor the community I love so much. I look forward to doing morewriting this summer!”“ T h e Co m et ”

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13

Our KIST Mission in Action
KIST aims to: develop competent, academic and compassionate individuals who make meaningful
contributions to our global community.
Has your research ever been published? Research at a level for publication most often involves post-graduate level
university students and their mentors. We are proud to report that recently a group of six KIST G11 students(Eleina, Kishore, Rei, Shiro, Stephen and Sunny) had the opportunity to get involved with cancer-related
research under Dr. Ko Sato and Dr. Anna Sedukhina. Their team’s work was recently published in a major scientificjournal called Scientific Reports. CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE
The students even put together a short video explaining the project. CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO
On the following page is a firsthand perspective from Rei and Eleina on this two-year journey that had them working
hands-on with cutting-edge science.

SPECIAL THANKS to Drs. Ko and Anna for theirsupport and for this opportunity!

Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page

Rei (G11A)

A

lthough we were initially planning to go to an internship at a local hospital, it wascanceled due to COVID-19 and we ended up writing a research paper instead. I
thought that I would be able to utilize my hobby of programming in this project as well;
however, I was quickly disappointed as most of my work at the start involved sorting excel
spreadsheets which took ridiculous amounts of time to load because of their size. Luckily, I
was able to program once I was done processing the data, or at least that was what I
thought at first. As it turned out, a lot of the analysis was typing a little bit of code, pressing
enter, and waiting hours—sometimes even days—for the code to finish running.
To me, what was thrilling more than analyzing the data was discussing with Dr. Ko the vastpossibilities of using big data to aid in medical research. I was surprised to hear that there
was quite an overlap between doctors and technicians, and I would imagine that theoverlap will only increase in the future as more data becomes available.
I immediately began to wonder whether it was possible to use machine learning to identify
and learn different patterns in the data to speed up the analysis process. I felt that if theanalysis took less time, a lot more people would be interested in trying it out, which would
result in more discoveries being made. Although I currently lack the skills to try out myideas, this unique experience had greatly benefited me by broadening my views andopening up new possibilities for what I wanted to do in the future, and although I was
initially underwhelmed by the analysis process, I am very glad that I was able to try it out
and gain a new experience.

Eleina (G11B)

F

or this research paper, half of the group focused on data analysis and the other
half—including myself—focused on the clinical aspect. Although the whole process
was extremely challenging, taking part in it was a valuable and exciting experience!
The data analysis team processed data using the TCGA database and it was concluded
that the overexpression of the gene GRB2 linked with lower survival. Our job was to confirm
the findings from more than 100 clinical biopsy samples from actual prostate cancer
patients. In order to do this, we needed to measure if the GRB2 protein was overexpressedin the cancer cells. Not only was it such a rare opportunity to see real cancer cells
underneath a microscope, but there was so much to learn: we had no idea how we weregoing to measure substances so miniscule as specific proteins.
Almost every single concept used seemed groundbreaking to us. I remember Dr. Ko
chuckling at our reactions as he explained the process of immunohistochemistry—the
application of antibodies binding to specific proteins and thus staining the biologicaltissues—and various chemicals which we never heard of prior. Since we had to handle
valuable biopsy samples and scientific equipment, there was a lot of responsibility whichcame with the procedure of successfully staining the cancer cells. It was extremely
satisfying to see the biopsy samples gradually turn the intended brown color, indicating thepresence of the GRB2 protein which we were looking for. As an extension, we also
investigated and experimented with possible target treatments for prostate cancer using
GRB2 inhibitors to stop the gene from overexpressing to prevent cancer cells fromdeveloping more. I was able to witness the thought process of how possible treatments fordiseases are made.
Dr. Ko mentored us along the way, teaching us the complex mechanisms behind thelaboratory processes we used and what the life of a scientific researcher was like.
Encountering this professional world of science has further inspired me to take on scientificresearch when I enter university. My first time in the laboratory at St. Marianna University
still seems like yesterday. I have learned so much over the past two years and I am
extremely grateful for this opportunity.

“ T h e Co m et ”

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G8 English Makes Romeo and Juliet Their Own
Though Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has long
been taught at KIST, it was traditionally a Grade 9
text. With the shift to the IGCSE curriculum, it wasnecessary to move this unit into Grade 8. While
Romeo and Juliet is often considered one of the mostaccessible and relatable Shakespeare plays forteens—and therefore often serves as an introduction
to his works—the language can certainly be
intimidating. This spring, the Grade 8 English teachers(Ms. Hirakawa, Ms. Madeline, Mr. White) used
aspects of the Folger Method of teaching
Shakespeare, which focuses on helping students
realize how much of Shakespeare’s language they
already can understand, moving gradually from word
to line to sentence to scene. The method also
encourages rigor by resisting paraphrase or “dumbing
down” the original language.
Students began the unit by focusing on tone andstress with the single-syllabled “O,” then experimented
with saying one sentence while varying stress todramatically change meaning.
Next, students played with delivering famous lines andusing Shakespearean compliment and insult
generators to help them gain confidence andunderstand that his language can be used in fun,vibrant ways, not just in abstract analysis.
Students also learned to anticipate the play’s core
meaning by performing a 5-minute Romeo and Juliet,
which introduced them to pivotal and meaningful lines,
then watched clips from the 1995 Baz Luhrmann film,

the 1968 Zeffirelli film, and the more recent 2013 film
to see how the same lines could be interpreted inradically different ways. Throughout, students learned
how to cut lines, as directors do, to highlight meaning;
to use movement to show a change in thoughts or
character; and to vary their tone, stress, intonation,and pacing.
All of the techniques learned came into use when
students were invited to give a summative
performance of a chosen scene in pairs. They edited
the script to fit their intended theme/interpretation,
memorized their lines, and performed it for the class.
At the start of the unit, students did a “chalktalk” onwhat they knew about Shakespeare and Romeo andJuliet, and at that time, the impression from thestudents was overwhelmingly negative. However,during a post-unit reflection, the students viewed
Shakespeare and the play much more positively. Our
hope is that they learned that Shakespeare has suchan incredibly broad range, in verse and in theme, thatall students can find something they relate to, learn
from, and enjoy in his work. This strong foundation
prepares students to move into their IGCSE and DPEnglish Shakespeare studies with knowledge,
confidence, and skill.
Madeline Horan andSteven Otis
Secondary English
Teachers15

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“ T h e Co m e t ”

Hokusai Ambassador Project
We are excited to share with you about a group a KIST
students who have contributed to the local community!
Working together with the Sumida Hokusai Museum, KIST
graduate, Yui (Class of 2020), started the “Hokusai
Ambassador Project” as an IB Service project in 2018. The
goal of this project was to make the museum more accessible
to foreign visitors and to help spread an appreciation of theJapanese artist Hokusai and his works.
Now, through the efforts of several generations of KIST
students, the museum has released a video in English by
Shota (G8B) introducing Hokusai and his works, and French
information booklets are now available for guests to use at
the museum!
We are so proud to see KIST students using their linguistic
talents to share Japanese culture with visitors from aroundthe world. While unfortunately, the museum is currently
closed due to the COVID situation, please drop by once itreopens!

Snapshots of the video created by Shota (G8B)

Watch the video here:bWebhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsSK-VtTqjk

Find out more about the Sumida Hokusai Museum here:bWebhttps://hokusai-museum.jp/?lang=en

French translation by Yui (Class of 2020)

Interview with Shota
How did you become involved in the service?

I made a promotional video for the Sumida Hokusai Museum. It is mainly about the
fun activities that you can do in the museum, as well as a little bit of the basics, suchas who is Katsushika Hokusai. I helped a local community to benefit from my work.

What are you most proud of?

I am quite proud of simply getting my video chosen as the one to use. I remember taking my time andeffort to make this product. I carefully analyzed other promotional videos to implement techniques in myown one. I also worked on this outside of class as well. So I guess my work paid off.

What technical challenges did you experience?

This whole project took pretty long to make. In G6 Design class, I was introduced to a new film-making
software. It took me a good amount of time to get used to the features. There were many times that I had
to do some tedious work. After I showed my initial video, the people from the museum told me to fix
some things. Eventually, I also had to make the whole video again because of some technical issues.
But hey, I did it!

How has this service helped you grow as a person?

As mentioned already, this took a lot of time. For sure, I became more persistent. Also, I had theopportunity to actually talk with the people from the Hokusai Museum, so that helped me develop social
skills. It was a new experience for me to formally talk with an adult.
b
Web

Watch the video:
http://bit.ly/hokusai-museum

Interviewed by Mr. Tim

“ T h e Co m et ”

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17

G12 Visual Arts Exhibition
On March 20. the Grade 12 DP Visual Arts students
held their end-of-course exhibition in the school gym.
The exhibition was one of the three assessedcomponents of the course, consisting of the students
selecting and organizing their exhibition to highlighttheir journey in visual arts. The works
reflected each student’s hard work,
individual creativity and style.
Congratulations Grade 12s!
Andrew DiBella
DP Visual Arts Teacher

Secondary SRC
Hello! We are the
new Executive
members for theSecondary SRC:
President, Kishore(G11B); Vice
President,
Tatsunori (G11B);
Secretary, Heet
(G10B); Treasurer,
L>R Heet, Mr. Knuchel (Advisor), Kishore, Armaan (G11A);
Eleina, Armaan (Absent: Tatsunori)and Public
Relations Officer,
Eleina (G11B). We are excited to share the variety ofevents and campaigns which we hosted during
semester two to engage the student body! In the pastfew months, we have made some drastic changes tofreshen up our image. Most notably, we arranged aschool-wide logo contest where over twenty logo
designs were submitted by talented designers from a
range of grades. The student body voted on the newlogo by Stephanie (G9B) which features a vibrant,
stunning comet—the KIST mascot—and the initials of
the Student Representative Council. We are delighted
to proceed on utilizing this meaningful logo to represent
us.
The Valentine’s season was a kickstarter for organizing
a multitude of events. We played the role of cupid andexchanged gifts such as roses, chocolates, andmessages between students and their friends/special

someone complemented withtwo competitions: The
Chocolate Guessing Contest
and The Love Letter Contest.
The main objectives of the new
Executive board are to
reestablish the SRC’s presence within the student bodyas well as heighten our collective school identity—ourschool spirit! In order to do so, we put in an extensive
amount of effort into reviving the KIST house system(Red, Yellow, Green, Blue). The SRC organized a TwoDay Spirit Free Dress Day and used it as the firstopportunity to reward house points for participants. The
school flourished with students in free dress—athletics
clothes for the first day and warm and cool colors forthe second. House points are:1st: Yellow 5600
2nd: Red 5400
3rd (tie): Green and Blue 5300
We have received a very enthusiastic response fromthe students saying that the SRC has been more active
as ever before! The SRC will continue to hearken to thestudent’s ideas and create a positive andsupportive environment for the students.
Please continue to stay safe and healthy!
Eleina (G11B)
Public Relations Officer

18“ T h e Co m e t ”

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“ T h e Co m et ”

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19

Cybercrime
How we can protect ourselves
Identity theft, ransomware and other types ofcybercrime are a growing problem all over the world.
We would like to share some tips on cyber security that
may help to keep your device and online accounts
safer.

Protect your devices•••

Here are some simple tips to help protect your devices
from malware:• Use anti-virus and malware software.
• Make sure your firewall is on.
• Keep your browser, software and operating system
up to date.
• Use an anti-phishing toolbar on your browser.
• Only install apps from trusted sources.
• Use secure Wi-Fi networks.

•

Password security•

Having one of your accounts hacked can be a very
unpleasant experience. KIST sets up every Office 365
account with a secure password. For security, your
KIST O365 password should not be used for any ofyour personal accounts.
Try to avoid becoming a victim by managing yourpersonal passwords wisely:• Make strong, long passwords:
 12–15 characters
 You could use a phrase that is easy for you toremember, but hard to guess Include numbers and symbols
 e.g. i$likeL0ngwalks• Don’t use the same passwords for importantaccounts.
• Avoid using variations of the same password.
• Never share your password.
• Use multi-factor authentication where possible (acode sent to your phone, fingerprint, PIN number).
• Consider using a password manager.
• Think carefully before using the Facebook/Google
single sign on option to create online accounts.

Phishing e-mails

Phishing e-mails aim to trick you into providing
passwords or other sensitive information that can beused to access your accounts or steal your identity.
The e-mails may appear to be from a real company,
like a bank, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, PayPal, acompany you do not know—or even someone from
KIST! They might say there is a problem with youraccount, so you need to log on to fix it using a link they
provide. They might try to make you take urgent action.
The website you are taken to will be fake and any
information you enter will be collected to use against
you.
Here are a few tips to avoid becoming a victim:• Be suspicious of unexpected or unusual e-mails,
even from well-known companies.
• Check who the e-mail is addressed to. Often these e•••-mails are not addressed to you
correctly.
Watch for spelling and grammar
errors.
Stop and think carefully before clicking on any link!
If in doubt, do not click on any links. Visit or call thecompany using the official website/phone number.
Try hovering over the links. Sometimes it is clearthat the URLs are not related to the company.
Never open files from unexpected e-mails, evenO365 documents, jpegs or pdfs. They may bemalware. It is rare for legitimate companies to send
attachments.
As a rule, do not enter any personal information
when it is requested by e-mail.
Do not reply to any suspicious messages but report
it as phishing or spam.
If you receive a suspicious e-mail to your KIST email account, please contact it.support@kist.ed.jp
with the details or a screenshot. We can investigate
and make efforts to block the sender.

For more information about phishing and how to protect
yourself, visit https://www.phishing.org/

Blackmail scams

Another type of e-mail scam we sometimes see will
demand money from you. They may say that youraccount has been hacked and try to blackmail you into
sending money. Some “spoof” e-mails might even look
like they were sent from your own KIST e-mail account!
You have probably not actually been hacked. If you
receive such an e-mail to your KIST account:
DON’T...
• Do not panic.
• Do not reply.
• Do not open any attachments.
• Do not send any money.
DO...
• Report the e-mail as junk/spam.
• Take a screenshot and e-mail it to IT Support toinvestigate.
• Ask IT Support to change your O365 password if
you are concerned.
• Follow the password security advice above and only
use your KIST password for your school O365
account.

What’s your Phishing IQ?

Here are some short online quizzes—see if you canspot the difference between a phish and the real thing:• https://phishingquiz.withgoogle.com/• https://www.opendns.com/phishing-quiz/• https://www.sonicwall.com/phishing-iq-testlanding/
IT Support Team20

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“ T h e Co m e t ”

Math Department News
Wonderful achievements by KIST students at math events
KPASS Math Field Day

On March 9, 2021, twenty-six students from Grades 6
to 11 participated in the online KPASS Math Field Day
event. There were over 250 students from twelve
international schools in and around Tokyo.
The following students represented KIST on the
podium in the individual contest:
Stephen (G11A): 1st in G11 category
Dawon (G8B): 2nd in G8 category
Jiayin (G8B): 3rd in G8 category
Fumie (G8B): 3rd in G8 category
Mamiko (G7B): 2nd in G7 category
Saku (G7B): 3rd in G7 category
We also had many students who missed the podium byjust one mark and came 4th. They were: Amey (G10A),

University of Waterloo math contests

On February 24, twenty-four students in Grades 9 to 11
participated in the annual University of Waterloo mathcontests. The Pascal, Cayley and Fermat contests
were written by a total of 35,153 students worldwide.
The top three scores per school count for a teamscore, which is then compared to other schools. This
year, all three teams from KIST made it to Honor rolls.
The results were:• Grade 9 Pascal team (Kaito, Haruto, Shaunak):41st (top 6.4%)• Grade 10 Cayley team (Amey, Gi Jeong, Saanvi):
28th (top 4.6%)• Grade 11 Fermat team (Shiro, Stephen, Anish/
Sunny): 39th (top 6.4%)

Gi Jeong (G10A), Heet (G10B), Tomoko (G10A),
Kaito (G9A), Shaunak (G9B) and Jiani (G7B).
In the Energizer round, two Junior teams and three
Senior teams containing KIST students managed toreach the top 3.

I would also like to give an honorable mention to those
who scored among the top 25% of international participants. They will be receiving a Certificate of Distinction
for their outstanding achievement!
Certificate of Distinction winners with Honor rolls:••••

Amey (G10A) – top 1.9%, top in school
Gi Jeong (G10A) – top 3.7%
Shiro (G11B) – top 3.8%, top in school
Stephen (G11A) – top 5.4%

Certificate of Distinction winners:• Grade 9: Kaito (top in school), Haruto, Shaunak• Grade 10: Saanvi, Jason, Sara, Tomoko, Bubble,
Archita, Heet, Johan• Grade 11: Anish, Sunny, Yiling, Rei M. andShriyanCongratulations to all the participants, and best wishes
for future achievements!
Nanami Sakuma
Secondary Subject Area Coordinator—
Mathematics

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21

Library News
Happy summer reading!
When kids read over the summer, they are more likely
to have leapt ahead when they return to school. This isoften called the “summer leap,” and we have made it apriority to encourage your reading and spend awonderful summer improving your life by improving
your reading skills.
Here are a few ideas and recommendations to help you
keep the reading momentum going all summer long:

Harness the power of choice!
Try to pick out your own books—visit a local library orbookstore and choose a book to read. But don’t
hesitate to seek help if you need it!

Have a reading goal

Set a goal and see how many books you can read in
one summer—Be a reading role model every day witha favorite picture book, comic book or even a
newspaper article. Everything counts. There are many
places to help you discover new books. The mostpopular ways for students aged 6–17 to get reading
help over the summer include:• Visit a library with parents/siblings• Pick books from the local library or book fair
• Take books on trips and vacations

myON

KIST also has a free summer
subscription to myON, an online
database of 6000-plus electronic
books and 5000-plus articles. You
can use this service from any
device. Details have been sent to all families via ECommunications.
Learn how to use myON with three introductory videos
that are available at the link below:bWeb

https://help2.renaissance.com/myON/getstarted

Mrs. P.

Kathy Kenny is an American actress, professional
storyteller and famous for her inspirational titles “Queenof your own life” and “101 jolts of Inspiration”. Classic
children’s stories are also brought to life by Mrs. P. You
can find online learning lessons and many interesting
activities here.
bWeb

http://mrsp.com/

Open Library

Open Library is an open, editable library catalogue,
working towards building a web page for every bookever published. Read, borrow, discover a wide range ofcollections and more...It’s just one click away.
bWeb

https://openlibrary.org/

2021 Sakura Medal winners
English books• Picture books:
The Panda Problem (Deborah Underwood)• Chapter books
Ninja Kid (Ahn Do)• Graphic novels
Guts (Raina Telgemeier)• MS books
White Bird (R.J. Palacio)• HS books
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Holly Jackson)
Japanese books• Picture books
パンどろぼう (柴田ケイコ)• Chapter books
ラストサバイバル 最後まで歩けるのはだれだ！？ （大久保 開）• MS/HS books
世界は「 」で満ちている （櫻いいよ）

Scholastic summer reading
recommendationsbWeb

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/booksand-reading/book-lists-andrecommendations/summer-young-adultbooks.html

Michael Davignon
Secondary Library Supervisor

22“ T h e Co m e t ”

Staff 10!
In this month’s Staff 10!, we arepleased to present Edwin
Gombya who joined us in
August 2018 as an Economics
teacher in the Secondary
School. This year, he is also
the homeroom advisor for
Grade 12B.
1) Tell us something
Mr. Gombya—Thinker.
interesting about yourLifelong learner. Mt. Fuji
hometown.
lover. Father. Teacher.
I’m from West London, UK.
From a town called Hounslow. Hounslow West to be
exact. This town is very close to Heathrow airport andwhen I was growing up, the planes taking off from
Heathrow flew above our house and you could literally
see their tyres as they gradually disappeared inside
the plane. The noise the planes made when they flew
over our house was deafening.
2) What is your favorite place in the world?
I’ve visited many places around Mt. Fuji and I find thismountain to be incredible, magical, god-like andoverwhelming every time I come close to it. There’s
something very spiritual about it. I love the way its
perfect structure dominates and towers overeverything and how its landscape changes from being
barren during summer to being snowcapped in winter.
3) Who would you like to meet if you had thechance and why?
I would like to meet Jesus Christ. I was raised as a
Christian—more accurately as a Protestant—and
although I’ve grown out of this religion, I would like tomeet him and ask him whether he actually did themany things that people say he did, like walk on water.
And why is there no record of his existence from theages of 12–29? Where was he? What did he actually
get up to? So many questions.
4) Do you have any special skills or talents?
I can speak three languages and some basic Spanish.
I’m also a versatile teacher as I can teach a variety ofstudents and subjects such as Business Management,
Economics, English and I&S.
5) Please share a little-known fact about yourself.
I once lived in Nagoya and attended karate classes for
two years. During this time, I competed at a famousvenue in Tokyo and, despite my low belt ranking, I
managed to defeat two of my opponents, one of whom
was a black belt that went on to win the tournament.
My sensei gave me lots of praise and said that I had
shown lots of fighting spirit. So I decided to get a tattoo
on my leg of the Japanese word for fighting spirit(Toukon = 闘魂).
6) What is your most prized possession?
It’s got to be my children, hasn’t it? My twin girls? I
wouldn’t swap them for anything. But as I share themwith my wife, they’re not just mine, are they?
Personally, I think my most prized assets are thepositive comments I have received over the years fromstudents on how my teaching has inspired andinfluenced their thinking about their further studies andlife in general. It’s this feedback that makes teachingsuch a noble profession.

V ol u me 24 | I s s ue 4 | J u ne 2 02 1

7) Which IB learner profile attribute do you mostclosely identify with and why?
Thinker—I like to think about my actions and theactions of others a lot and try to make sense of it all.
This helps me to come to a more balanced conclusion
on many issues about myself and the world I live in. I
also believe it’s this learner profile attribute, along withreflective, that enables me to have a centric
perspective on world issues.
8) If you could live your life again, would you doanything differently?
Yes. In my first year at university, I would not spend$2,000 on my first car. Instead, I’d invest it in Amazon
or Bitcoin. I got a lot of joy out of that car but
regrettably it didn’t make me a millionaire.
9) Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
I truly believe in lifelong learning. I’ve been playing
football since I was ten years old but still can’t do keep
ups comfortably. Also, as I grow older, I’m learning
new things about my body (aches and pains andwellbeing), my mind (love and hate) and my spirit(mentality, attitude and beliefs).
10) Do you have any special message for yourfans?
Yes. Smile as often as possible. Say good morning.
Say sorry. Say thank you. Have an opinion. Never let
your schooling get in the way of your education. Most
important of all, go for it. Just do it! Why not?

Athletics Update
It was very unfortunate forstudents, but we were only able
to have a few weeks ofpractices for some sports as theSpring season was sandwiched
between two states of
emergency. Both the ISTAA
league and Kanto Plain league
cancelled games between
schools during these times.
Looking toward the Fall season,
KIST will include two teams in
the Kanto Plain league that will
be participating for the first time:
Varsity Girls’ tennis and MS
Girls’ volleyball. These teams
will join our Varsity Boys’ tennis,
MS Boys’ football (soccer), HS
Boys’ and Girls’ volleyball, and
the X-Country teams inparticipating in Fall sports.
Dennis Ota
Athletics
Coordinator“ T h e Co m et ”

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Nurse’s Notes
Children’s eyesight
Why are regular eye checks important forchildren?

Vision continues to develop from birth to around 8
years of age. Children may not tell their parents if they
have vision problems because they may think the way
they see is the way everyone sees. Because of this,regular eyesight checks are essential. Thesecheckups can help uncover any abnormalities, detect
eye diseases early, allow children to receive effective
treatment promptly and help preserve eyesight longterm. In particular, children who wear prescription
glasses or contacts should have annual checkups byan oculist or an optician to screen for vision changes.
It is recommended that parents begin regular eyesightcheckups for their children when they reach around 3
to 5 years old.

Effects on academic progress and schoollife
Around 30% of Elementary students and 50–60% ofSecondary students have problems with theireyesight. If left unidentified and untreated, these canhave a negative impact on their learning outcomes
and development. Problems with vision can impact achild’s ability to read textbooks, copy notes from theblackboard, participate in sports and other school
activities, and interact socially with friends andclassmates. These factors might lead to social issues
and behavioral problems in school.

Please visit an eye clinic if your childdisplays any of the following symptoms:
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Regularly rubbing eyes
Extreme light sensitivity
Trouble concentrating
Poor visual tracking (following an object with theeyes)
Abnormal alignment or movement of the eyes—
this includes the eyes not pointing in the same
direction and crossed eyes (after 6 months ofage)
Chronic redness of the eyes
Chronic overproduction of tears/eyes constantly“tearing up”
Being unable to see objects at a distance
Having trouble reading the blackboard
SquintingDifficulty reading
Holding screens, books and other handheld itemswith text close to the faceComplaining of headaches and eye strain
Problems with hand-eye coordination (e.g.
struggling with ball sports and games)
Being unusually clumsy

Short-sightedness

Short-sightedness is a common
condition of the eyes that causes
distant objects to appear blurred, while close objects
can be seen clearly. The cause of short-sightedness
is overgrowth of the eyeball, causing it to become toolong from front to back. As a result, light rays focus in
front of the retina at the back of the eyes, rather thanfocusing directly on the retina itself. This condition
usually begins to develop from 6 to 13 years.

How do children develop shortsightedness?
••

Heredity is one factor: if both parents are shortsighted, there is a greater risk that their child will
be short-sighted too.
The prevalence of short sightedness is increasing
worldwide. Studies indicate that children focusing
on nearby objects, such as smartphones,
computers, TVs and books, and studying for long
periods may be up to five times more at risk ofdeveloping short-sightedness than those who donot.

Tips to protect your child’s eyesight
•

•

•

•

•
•
•

Eat nutritious food: Fish (Omega-3 fatty acids),
green vegetables (carotene), eggs (vitamin A),
carrots (beta-carotene), nuts (vitamin E) may
prevent or reduce the onset of short-sightedness.
Encourage daily outdoor play: Spend 60–90
minutes a day outdoors so that children can train
their eyes to focus on distant objects and relax
their eyes. Daylight is effective in preventing
progression of short-sightedness.
If your child is busy with his/her studies, taking ashort break for a walk in the local park and/or
spending some outdoor time with family for ashort while on weekends can make a difference inthe progression of short-sightedness.
Protect your child’s eyes from sun damage:
Encourage your child to wear a hat andsunglasses on sunny days, and try to stay in theshade.
Encourage children to rest their eyes for 5
minutes per hour when studying or focusing on avisual task.
Encourage good posture, appropriate viewing
distance and proper room lighting when your childis focusing on nearby objects.
Make sure to get regular eye
checkups at an eye clinic.

Yukiko Yamazaki
School Nurse

Reference:
Jonathan H. Salvin, MD. (June 2014). Your child’s vision. Kids health. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/vision.html

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University Guidance News
PSAT 8/9 information

This year was the first time that KIST
students participated in the PSAT 8/9 exam.
The PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT) has
been used historically by our Grade 10 and
11 students. Why did we decide to introduce
another exam to the KIST community andwhat does this mean going forward?
What is it?
• The PSAT 8/9 is a preview for the SAT that is designed forstudents in Grades 8 or 9 to give an indication of how “college
ready” they are at their current age.
• In the US, this test is used to help diagnose areas of
improvement that may be necessary for students in schools that
do not have standardized curriculum/testing in place.
• At KIST, because we use standardized curricula (IGCSE/IB),the PSAT is used mostly as a preview and early preparation to
upcoming SAT exams.
Why offer it?
• The recommendation from our counseling team for students
wanting to consider US applications in the future is to take the
SAT exam. However, these exams are only offered once every
few months and therefore, extra preparation time becomes
valuable.
• Most students in the past have taken the SAT three to four times
to get the score they desire. When asked, students often
mention sitting the first exam just to “see how it is”. This is not
the best use of time or money. Giving students the chance tohave an earlier preparation exam means they will not sit a “seehow it is” SAT anymore and can prepare more efficiently.
Getting desired SAT results earlier gives more time to focus onschool and enjoying more free time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is this test the EXACT same as the real SAT?
A: No. However, the format and length are similar. The level ofdifficulty also increases when moving from PSAT 8/9, to PSAT/NMSQT, and finally to the SAT. You can see the below chart for abetter comparison.
PSAT 8/9
What is the
maximum score?
How long is it?
# of Reading Qs# of Writing Qs# of Math Qs
Who will take it at
KIST?
Can this be used
to apply foruniversities?

PSAT/NMSQT

SAT

1440

1520

1600

2 hrs. 25 mins.
42
40
38

2 hrs. 45 mins.
47
44
48
All G10 (optional
G11)
No (but US citizens
may receive ascholarship)

3 hrs.
52
44
58
Optional for all
students

All G9No

Yes

Q: If this test is an easier version of the SAT, how does it
help?
A: Taking two preview SATs before sitting the real one will give
students familiarity on how the test operates, eliminating the needto go into the real test “blind” for the first sitting. Also, it provides alogin to the Khan Academy resources provided by the SAT
provider, College Board, to give extra practice for the real exam
when that is taken (suggested to prepare and take for the first timein the summer following
Grade 10).
Q: What if we never plan
to sit the SAT or apply to the US? Is this awaste?
A: While the value is greater for thoseplanning to sit the SAT or consider US
universities, it is not a waste of time for otherstudents. This provides what may be their firstexperience with a formal standardized test
setting, which should mentally prepare themfor their upcoming IGCSE exams later thatyear. Plus, if plans change and families decideto consider US applications, it makes
preparing for SAT later than planned still
possible and not an overwhelming task.
Q: What should we be doing now if we are
currently in Grade 8/9/10?
A: Grade 8 – Will take the PSAT 8/9 in April
2022. You do not need to prepare in advance
Grade 9 – Will take the PSAT/NMSQT in
October 2021. You will be given some
practice booklets in advance of the exam tohelp you prepare.
Grade 10 – Practice SATs are completed formost of you. US citizens may want to take it
one more time in Grade 11 for scholarshipconsideration. Otherwise, this summer istime to prepare for the SAT if you like. The
next test is August 28, 2021 and can beregistered by clicking here.

April 2021 results

The test was taken by the current Grade 9class in the morning of April 21st. They were
instructed that they did not need to prepare or
study in advance and performed well!
Grade 9Mean total score (KIST): 1201 (1440 max)
Mean total score (Global): 905
Mean Reading/Writing (KIST): 538 (720 max)
Mean Reading/Writing (Global): 466
Mean Math (KIST): 663 (720 max)
Mean Math (Global): 438
Key takeaways• The KIST average was almost 300 points
higher than the global average.
• All KIST Grade 9 students were above the80th percentile globally.
• 75% of the was class above the 90th
percentile.
• 100% of KIST Grade 9 Students met thebenchmark for College Readiness in the
Math Section.

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V o l u me 2 4 | I s s u e 4 | J u n e 2 0 2 1

Continued from previous page

Online virtual graduate forums

Our online virtual graduate forums came to a close this month. We had an excellent collection of KIST graduatesfrom all around that world speak about life after KIST and how the IB DP prepared them for their next steps. Some
graduates were just beginning their university lives, others have entered the workforce, one is even working
towards a PhD!
Date

Name

KIST Class of…

Forum language

Undergraduate university

April 19

Aska

2018

English

University of California – Davis, USA

April 26
May 10
May 17
May 24
May 31
June 7
June 14

Tatsuya
Ayan
Jamie
YurikaYuki
Chae Hyun
Motoi

2015
2019
2015
2018
2019
2019
2016

Japanese
EnglishEnglishJapanese
EnglishEnglishJapanese

Truman State University, USA
UC Santa Cruz, USA
Nagoya University
University of Tokyo
Imperial College London
University of Tokyo
NYU Abu Dhabi

Tatsuya – KIST Class of 2015
(University of Colorado – Boulder – Astrophysics PhD student)

Aska – KIST Class of 2018
(UC Davis – Comparative Literature/
Cinema Digital Media double major)

If you missed the sessions, we hope to arrange more in the future, so please keep watch!

Summer is coming!

Once again, it seems we will be facing a summer where most of us will not be travelling, and highschool summer programs are all remaining online if available. For those not sure of what theyshould be doing, I highly suggest re-reading the university guidance article posted in the June
2020 issue of The Comet as the advice is also very relevant for this year. A few highlights ofsuggestions:• Participate in online university fairs, tours and meetings• Join an online class or summer program• Begin studies for standardized tests (SAT)• Do an online English test/interview such as Duolingo (Grade 11 students)

Summary

It has been an unprecedented year once again and while there have been struggles, we have also been met withgreat success with Grade 12s achieving some excellent results (more to come on that in our next issue), and thosein younger grades looking very impressive from the university preparation standpoint. As always, our counselingteam is on standby throughout the summer months for any questions that come up. Please send an
e-mail to thomas.waterfall@kist.ed.jp and/or schedule a virtual meeting through Cialfo (G9–G11
students and parents). Have a great summer!
Thomas Waterfall
University Guidance Counselor25