MONTHLY
NEWSLETTEROUR MOTTO
MOTIVATE
Learning is a life-long journey

APRIL
2023

MISSION
We educate students in a nurturing community where relationships
and meaningful connections are valued and celebrated. Our students
gain knowledge, communicate effectively, develop exceptional
character, and become responsible citizens of a global society.
We inquire into the world around us through rigorous academic

BELIEVE

programs that aim to prepare students for life’s opportunities.

Together we can change the world

VISIONINSPIREWe are a school where exceptional personal character and strong

Follow our lead as we pursue our dreams

relationships provide opportunities to excel in our areas of interest
and affect change in our local and global communities. We are aschool where personal, social, and emotional support help build

SUCCEED
From Japan to the rest of the world

global perspectives. We are a school that embraces diversity,
encourages leadership, and respects the values and unifying
traditions of the Marist Brothers.

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Shawn Hutchinson

The Spring holiday break seems like a distant memory with a range of events and activities keeping us all busy through the month of April.
As we have moved slowly out of a global pandemic, the opportunities for the school community to re-connect, attend events, and engage
in learning experiences in and out of the classroom have increased. The Marist Food Fair, Spring Arts Festival, and Sport Day events saw
members of our school community come together to provide wonderful experiences for our students and we should all feel proud of ourachievements.

Our Parent Teacher Association (led by Interim Head Mr. David Polen) has continued to contribute to school life and support student andschool initiatives. Without the support of the PTA and booth leaders, the Food Fair would not be possible, and we thank all PTA members
for their wonderful contributions. The PTA recently supported the Spring Arts Festival and have provided a generous donation to students to
help support the High School Prom. I would like to thank members of the PTA for attending the recent Coffee Afternoon with the ALT and
encourage parents to attend these sessions in the future. If you are interested in joining the PTA, please complete the MBIS PTA 101 Campaign
Survey.

We have a proud history and have many past Marist students in Japan and around the world. Our aim is to grow a single database of names
and contact information to help us keep our Marist Alumni connected. At our Marist Food Fair, we welcomed over 80 alumni members(including Stella Maris Alumni) and provided an opportunity for alumni to register their details on our database. Our intention moving forward
is to provide alumni members with the following:• regular alumni updates on our website• access to digital yearbooks• access to alumni the database• organise reunion and gala events• provide tuition discount to alumni family members
If you have not registered, please complete the Marist Alumni Association Registration Form.

I would like to thank all our families for completing the re-enrolment process via our new admissions and re-enrolment platform. The
credentials (username and password or single sign in with Google) you created for the admissions and re-enrolment platform (OpenApply)
will also be used for the new platforms you will receive further information about in August - Managebac and SchoolsBuddy. If you have any
questions about the 2023-2024 Academic Year Re-enrolment process, please contact info@marist.ac.jp. For specific questions about fees,
please email finance@marist.ac.jp. I would like to thank you for entrusting us with your child’s education. We look forward to continuing our
relationship with you as a family in 2023-2024.

We recently received wonderful news from the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACSWASC) and the Commissioners have determined Marist Brothers International School (PK-12) meets the ACS WASC criteria for accreditation.
This accreditation status is based on all of the information provided by the school, including the school's report, and the satisfactorycompletion of the accreditation visit. It is the decision of the Commission to grant six-year accreditation status through June 30, 2029 with a
mid-cycle visit during the 2025-2026 school year.

We are also pleased to report that the IB Evaluation Visit Report has been received. The evaluation report highlighted significant strengths
and provided feedback about areas of continued growth and development. Recently, the IB Association of Japan held its first Engagement
Event in Tokyo where Heads and Programme Coordinators from 106 IB World Schools were in attendance to discuss various topics including:building partnerships with parents, inclusion through language, social emotional learning and wellbeing and program development plans andevaluation processes. As an IB World School, we are committed to contributing to the work of the IBAJ and strengthening our reputation as aninternational school in Japan.

Further details about the WASC and IB Reports will be shared with the community before the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES
Earlier this month, we released our Strategic Plan 2022-2027 that is a living document that states our priorities and sets a clear blueprint for
our future. Whilst this document has recently been released to our community, we have been working hard this academic year to achieve
several objectives. Below, we provide an update on several objectives where we have made significant progress in 2022-2023:

A1.1 Utilize a curriculum mapping and design platform to document curriculum standards and develop an alignment with teaching,learning and assessment practices.

We are currently transitioning away from Atlas to Managebac where our curriculum standards and course plans are being refined anddeveloped. Managebac is the leading curriculum-first learning management platform used by over 3000 international schools andsynchronizes with our admissions and re-enrolment platform and our SchoolsBuddy platform. At the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic
year, the school will provide ‘Parents as Learners’ workshops to support parents with access to these platforms.

A2.1 Implement an online management tool to support scheduling, registration, and communication of offerings.

The 2023-2024 academic year will see the school move to the use of SchoolsBuddy – the complete school-to-home management system. The
introduction of SchoolsBuddy will support the management of After School Activities, Atheltics Program Registration, Field Trips, Transport,
and Parent Teacher Conferences.

B1.1 Improve Social, Emotional and Psychological Counseling Services.

The school is committed to improving the social, emotional, and psychological counseling services and has demonstrated this commitment by
appointing a full-time whole school counselor. Furthermore, the school will utilize https://www.komodowellbeing.com/ platform to provide us
with the most innovative wellbeing solution to drive care and support for students to thrive.

B1.2 Improve Career and University Guidance Services.

The school is committed to improving guidance counseling and supporting our students with career and university education. The school has
demonstrated this commitment by appointing a full-time guidance counselor.

E1.1 Develop a campus redevelopment / master plan that provides a blueprint for the next 20 years.

The school has been working with the project management company (JLL – Jones Lang LaSalle) to develop the campus master plan and workwith Marist through the campus redevelopment phases. The programming and campus master planning has been completed and we are now
moving to the next phase of this work with the design and build tender process, schematic design, and detailed design process.
We are committed to continuous school-wide improvement and look forward to updating the community regularly about the progress being
made.

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

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MESSAGE FROM THE DEPUTY
HEAD OF SCHOOL / HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL
Derek Lipp

The month of April has flown by with a number of events happening each week. We started April with the first Food Fair in over three years.
It was a wonderful day and I thank all of those involved but particularly to the PTA led by David Pollen for their tireless work in organizing theday.

Next, Parent-Teacher conferences were held over two afternoons and were well attended by both parents and students. Parents play a vital rolein their child’s education and we appreciate the time taken to engage with teachers about your child’s learning.

20 April marked the last day for Seniors and we celebrated their time spent at our wonderful school with an assembly in the Gym and someparting words of thanks from both elementary and upper school representatives. Six of our Senior students have attended school since thebeginning of Montessori so the future will look very different, for not only these students, but all of the graduating class of 2023. We wish
them all the very best in whatever path they choose to take.

The next day, 21 April, students participated in our annual Sports Day which resulted in a tie between Kensei and Ninja, what a remarkable
result after so many events! Thank you to all the students who participated whole-heartedly and especially Mr. Tom Stang and his team formaking the day so enjoyable and memorable.

Finally, the Grade 12 students began their International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme examinations on 28 April. We wish the students
every success in their examinations which continue until 19 May.

The Senior Graduation Ceremony will be from 2:00 pm at Matsukata Hall, Harborland on 20 May, 2023. All families and friends are welcome
to attend the ceremony. We look forward to celebrating the Seniors with you at the ceremony.

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

MESSAGE FROM THE IBDP COORDINATOR
Gunseli Yuksel

The main purpose of Assessment in the Diploma Programme is to support teaching and learning. Therefore, it needs to be meaningful,relevant, and authentic. In all IB programmes formative assessment is embedded in the curriculum and instruction; in the Diploma
Programme, both external and internal assessment are used.
Internal assessment
Teachers' involvement is a key part of the DP assessment process. Teachers contribute to the assessment of the students through the use ofInternal Assessment (IA) and predicted grades.
Some of the IA tasks are:• oral work in languages• fieldwork in geography• laboratory work in the sciences• investigations in mathematics• artistic performances.
MBIS completed the submission of sample IA work and predicted grades to the IB on April 14.
External assessment
Examinations form the basis of the assessment for most courses because of the need for objectivity and reliability. External assessment tasks
could be:• essays• structured problems• short-response questions• data-response questions• text-response questions• case-study question• multiple-choice questions (rarely used).
The IB offers the world exams in May at the end of year 2 in the programme. This year’s IB world exams take place from April 28 to May 19.
We wish our grade 12 students outstanding accomplishments.
IB self-evaluation
IB World Schools are evaluated by the IB at 5-year intervals. IB evaluation is a reflective process that assesses whether a school continues tomeet the IB requirements. Although it is a requirement of the IB programmes, the process offers the schools an opportunity to reflect andidentify strengths and areas of growth through a detailed and thorough reflection by all community members. It is also an opportunity for theschools to develop a common understanding of the school culture.
We are happy to inform you that MBIS has completed the 5-year evaluation; we would like to thank every member of the community who has
contributed to the completion of the process.

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

5Below is a passage quoted from the letter we received from our school’s IB World School Manager, Florian Ciprian Baciu:
I would like to congratulate your entire school community for your dedication and commitment you have shown to the programme evaluation
process, especially amid a global pandemic.
My sincere thanks to your learning community for your engagement with the preliminary review, for a thorough self-study process, and yourspecific focus for your programme development plan (PDP). Your commitment to your students and learning community is evident from myinteractions with your leadership team, the review of your self-study and this attached evaluation report. I realize how much effort this required
from your teams, and I hope that the process of IB evaluation has already generated insights that have made all the hard work worthwhile.
It was clear from the report that your school is committed to the integration of the programme philosophy into student learning, with support
from school leadership. It is clear, too, that the success of your implemented IB education is in part due to a culture of collaboration. Whole
school collaboration becomes all the more important as you start to focus on the next five years of your evaluation cycle, and as you continue todevelop PDPs in support of your students’ growth. I trust that this report will provide useful guidance on where you could focus your collaborativeplanning efforts.
The work and reflection that has gone into the evaluation process overall was appreciated by the evaluation team and the report is based onyour documentation, evidence of learning and the reflective conversations you all had, as part of the evaluation visit.
The evaluation report shows strengths, as well as areas for development that have the potential to inform your strategic planning for the coming
years, as part of your 5-year evaluation cycle with IB.

6Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL
Stephanie Hanamura‘Balanced’

I would like to take a moment to reflect on the progress andachievements of our students. Recently, our school held parentteacher conferences to celebrate the academic accomplishments andsocial development of our students. These conversations allowed
us to acknowledge their attitudes, skills, and behaviors that alignwith our Marist Expectations. We're grateful to all the parents who
participated in these discussions with our educators!

At our school, we strongly believe that parental involvement in theirchild's education fosters a positive learning environment and helps
students reach their full potential. We encourage parents to remain
involved and engaged in their child's education as we continue to
strive for excellence.

During the conferences, several teachers and parents stressed the importance of balance for students. Research has proven that havingbalance leads to success not just academically, but also in personal life. This month, we're focusing on our Marist Expectation of "Balanced"
and highlighting the importance of a balanced approach to learning and extracurricular activities in our school community. We believethat understanding the value of balance is important for our students to achieve their full potential, and we're committed to having these
discussions with students.

As parents, you can help your child understand the significance of balance and how to work towards balance in their everyday lives by having
conversations with them. Below are some conversation starters you could use:

• Do you think you have a good balance between schoolwork and other activities?
• What activities do you enjoy doing outside of school? How do you make time for them?

We hope that these conversation starters can assist you in having meaningful discussions with your child about balance and the importance ofa balanced approach to learning and extracurricular activities.

As always, we appreciate your continued support and engagement in our school community.

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

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MESSAGE FROM EARLY YEARS
Tina Mathers & Teighyn Austin

At the beginning of this month, our students had the opportunity to visit Kidsbright International Preschool (KIPS) as part of an educational
exchange. The visit was a highly enjoyable and educational experience for our students, as they engaged in various activities such as an Easteregg hunt and craft-making. We ended the visit by having a delightful picnic lunch together, creating cherished memories.
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the staff and students at KIPS for their hospitality and effort in making this visit a success. We
look forward to both the possibility of visiting again in the future and also to welcoming KIPS children to our school, to further strengthen our
relationship and provide more exciting opportunities for our students.

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

9MESSAGE FROM GRADE 1
Mrs. Ito & Mrs. Yoon

EGG-CELLENT Fun Easter Activities!!!
On April 6th, the Grade 1 room mothers organized an Easter scavenger hunt for the Grade 1 students. The scavenger hunt was a fun andexciting alternative to the traditional Easter egg hunt! This fun scavenger hunt provided a thrilling way to discover Easter bags filled with treats
while exploring different locations around the Marist garden. The children were super happy to eat their tasty Easter treats before the rest of
the activities began.

After the Easter scavenger hunt, the children enjoyed participating inan egg-and-spoon race. The children balanced an egg upon a spoon
and raced with it to the finish line. This game developed each child’s
hand-eye coordination as they balanced the egg to the best of theirability. The goal was to reach the finish line without dropping theegg. It was a fabulously fun Easter game. The game looks a lot easierthan it actually is! You must try this game!!!
The children then played an exciting game of What’s the Time, Mr.
Wolf? The goal of the game is for Mr. Wolf to get his dinner. The
game teaches simple math with a fun, fairytale theme. The gamestarted out with one hungry wolf and many tasty sheep.The hungry
wolf stood at one end of the playground and the sheep stood at theother end. The sheep all yelled to the wolf, “What’s the time?” Thewolf replied, “It’s two O’clock.” The sheep then took two steps closer
to the wolf. This exciting game kept continuing on in this manner,
until the sheep became closer and closer to the wolf! All of a sudden
the wolf cried, “It’s LUNCHTIME!!!” The wolf started chasing all of
the sheep until he finally tagged one of them. The sheep who wastagged then became the wolf in the next game. This game is fun for
all ages!! Please try it. Will you be the wolf or the sheep?
Grade 1 students sharing their snacks with upper school students

10Newsletter | Marist Brothers International SchoolAfter playing the Easter games, we went back to the classroom todye Easter eggs. For most of the children, it was their first time todye real hard-boiled eggs! The children needed to mix egg dye withvery warm water. This meant that the children needed to be very
careful, because the water was quite hot. They learned that dyeing
eggs can be a very messy, but fun and creative learning experience.
The children found out they could do a quick dip of their egg in thedye for a lighter color or let their egg soak longer for a darker shade.
Some children even tried dipping each half of their egg in two
different colors for a unique look! Once the eggs dried, the children
drew more decorations on the outside of the eggs with special
markers. This was a great project for Easter, because the children
could have fun together and express their creativity.

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

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MESSAGE FROM GRADE 2
Julie Sugiuchi

Grade Two Timeline Project
Grade Two is learning about timelines and historical events. We have been working on our own personal histories with an activity called aTimeline Project. Students write about milestones, special accomplishments and unique details about their lives. They practice writing in thepast tense, explaining details about how their parents chose their names or what they loved to do when they were in Grade One. Ms Sugiuchi
is collaborating with Mrs Tempesta on this project, so the advanced Japanese class is able to make their Timeline Projects bilingual in both
Japanese and English.
As homework, students interviewed their parents to find out all the important details about their lives. They brought in a few photos for every
year of their life. Next month, they will take home a beautiful book about their personal history. On the back of the book will be a handprint
and six comments written by classmates about their best qualities. The Grade Two Timeline Project will be full of happy memories. Hopefully, it
will be treasured by students and their families.

The Ainu - Indigenous People of JapanIn Social Studies, Grade Two is learning about indigenous people.
Our TCI textbooks are American, so they only feature information
about Native American groups. To make the learning moreinternationally-minded, I've introduced indigenous groups from otherareas of the world, including Japan.
Students have been separated into four research groups: The
Haida people of Canada, the Maori people of New Zealand, theSeminole people of the USA and the Ainu people of Japan. They areresearching the traditional food, homes, land and other interesting
facts about each group.
It is valuable to learn about the many cultural and environmental
contributions that indigenous people have made to our world. GradeTwo is Open-Minded and values people from all cultures!

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Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

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MESSAGE FROM GRADE 6 SCIENCE
On April 10, Grade 6 took a field trip to go strawberry picking in Sanda. This field trip was the culmination of our science unit about
reproduction and genetics.
In this unit, we had to design a strawberry garden for Marist and decide which kinds of plants we wanted to grow, clones from last year’splants (asexual reproduction) or seeds from last year’s plants (sexual reproduction). Students had to justify which method of reproduction theychose based on the traits of strawberry plants they wanted to grow in our garden.
In addition, students had to decide how they wanted their strawberry plants to be pollinated, either using whatever pollinators came into ourgarden naturally or adding bee hives to our garden. Due to the fact that we learned how bee-pollinated strawberries tend to last longer and bebetter shaped, we decided that bees would be necessary to produce fruits that would last longer and be more appealing for Marist students.
During the field trip, we were educated by the strawberry farmer about their methods of farming strawberries. We learned that this farmer
also uses bees to pollinate his strawberry plants. He explained that his farm uses cloning (asexual reproduction) to ensure that all of his
strawberries would have the same genetic traits (taste).
This field trip allowed students to see what they learned in the classroom applied in real life. It was also really fun to eat a lot of delicious
strawberries!

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

LEARNING IN THE UPPER SCHOOLOn March 31, the grade 9 class spent a beautiful day in Kyoto enjoying the cherry blossoms as they toured a number of historic sights. The
day started out in Sanjusangendo Temple where students learned about the unique architecture that went into creating the temple and had an
opportunity to see the impressive display of 1,001 Kannon statues that surround the main daibutsu. From there, students visited a very crowded
Kiyomizu-dera then moved on to Maruya Park for lunch under the cherry trees. The day finished with a stroll along the Philosopher's path thatterminates at the world famous “Silver Pavilion”.
CAS Project
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) requires students to participate in Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) projects
as a way to develop personal, social, and academic skills. CAS projects offer students opportunities to collaborate, plan, and implement
initiatives that address community needs and personal interests. The projects can take many forms, such as organizing a school event, creating
a cultural event, or volunteering in a local organization. In this context, we are proud to showcase the CAS projects of our Grade 11 students,
who have worked hard to plan and execute meaningful initiatives that demonstrate their commitment to making a positive impact on the world.

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

15Grade 5 English Literacy Tutor Project
The Grade 5 English Literacy Tutor project has been managing the Grade 5 Literacy after school activity corroborating with upper school
students who volunteered to become a tutor. This project had been initiated from February and is still a running program occurring every
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school until the end of May. Students are distributed in different groups based on their proficiency
in English and are taught by MHS/NHS students. We had decided to do this project in order to improve our communication skill as well as
giving us a role of managing lower school students. We plan on keeping this project so if you are interested in teaching the Grade 5 students
or looking for a career in education, please take this opportunity as an experience for your future and sign up.

NHS Promotion Project by Tsukika Yoneda and Momoe Ishibashi
For this project, we have been promoting the NHS by creating custom NHS half zip hoodies for NHS members and a new NHS Instagram
page to promote what the NHS has been up to. We are doing this because the NHS has been a shadow since MHS became such a largeorganization with nearly 100 members. As a part of the NHS executive team, we were coming up with ways to "distinguish" the NHS andthe MHS, and we thought that creating a custom sweatshirt for only NHS members and establishing the NHS Instagram page would help
distinguish the two organizations. Please help us by following the new NHS account with the QR code attached below to stay up to date on
what the NHS is up to!

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Prom Project by Nanasei Kyi, Yi Xuan Cui, Sivaranjani Ganesan, Mei Miyazawa, and Rina Okazaki
This project aims to host a Prom for the high school students from Grade 10-12, with the goals of providing an interactive experience for the
students to make lasting memories with friends and classmates, through a social event. This event will be held at Portopia Hotel, on May 27th.
For this project, in order to raise money for the ticket prices to be more affordable for the students to attend, we have done snacks sales almost
every day during lunch, and are currently raising up to our budget goal. We plan on selling tickets starting next week, so please stop by to buy
some tickets to attend the Prom!

School Sports Gears Project by Yanchen Li, Mrigank Mookim, Maksym Sydorov, Mahir Modi, and Kaio Tamayama
Our project team has commenced designing the sports gear and will very soon send out surveys to choose designs to your liking. We started
this project as we believe that the current sports gear lacks uniformity and that we should give them a better and contemporary look. As ofnow, we are working really hard with Mr. Lipp and the administration to do this. We plan to launch these designs in the early months of thenext school year, so please wait!!

Baseball Jersey Project by Junwon Hur, Yuma Ariga, and Rajiv Khemaney
The Baseball Jersey Project has been dedicated to creating a new jersey for the WJAA High school baseball team. We are more than thrilled toshare with the community of creating a custom baseball jersey for our team. As keen baseball fans, we wanted to create something that would
not only reflect our passion for the sport but also to address a need within our team. We noticed a lack of uniqueness and variety in our teamattire and wanted to offer an alternative jersey for away games or multiple games in a day. Our goal was to demonstrate a sense of uniformity
and commitment to the sport. The team’s feedback has been positive, with everyone wearing their new jerseys during practices and games.
While our project may have required a cost of ¥5000 it ultimately brought our team closer together, allowing us to showcase our passion for
baseball uniquely. 3…2…1…BULLDOGS!!!

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

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Sakura Art Festival Project by Mia Lipp, Keila Stang, Kokona Kuroda, Samara Chadha, and Nina Ishii
The Sakura Arts Festival CAS Project Committee worked on decorating and setting up for the first ever Spring Arts festival at Marist. The
purpose of this project was to display all the artworks students created from elementary through highschool. We hoped that people would
recognize and appreciate the time and dedication the students put in to create various pieces of art. We decided to start this project because
we thought that it would be a fun experience to create decorations for the school. Not only was it a blast to create the decorations for thisfestival in the warm sun, but it was also so rewarding to see all the students and staff enjoying the events that were hosted. Although we
experienced some struggles during the festival due to the weather, we worked together to find a solution to carry out the festival in the best
possible way. We hope that the Spring Arts Festival will continue and will get better each and every year so we can encourage the Marist
spirit.

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

MARIST DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
Mark Pilgrim

The Marist Development Office is led by Mr. Mark Pilgrim (Marist Development Officer) and the priorities include building and sustaining
positive relationships with staff, parents, students, and other members of the community. The work of the Development Office also involves
improving parent engagement and strengthening existing networks including the Marist Mission, Marist Global Network of Schools, Marist
Alumni Association and PTA.
The Development Office regularly welcomes alumni members and past Marist students to the school. Recently, we welcomed Mrs. Geunola
Gazeau and her family who were traveling from Paris and spending some time in Japan. Mrs. Geunola Gazeau studied at Marist until Grade 2
in 1978 along with her sister, Mrs. Ines Gazeau (Grade 4 in 1978).

From left to right: Mr. Mark Pilgrim (Development Officer) with Mrs. Geunola Gazeau (Marist student in 1978) and her husband and children.

Understanding our past is an important part of our present and future developments and our relationship with the Global Network of Marist
schools is an important part of the Development Office’s work. Recently, we welcomed Br. Dan O’Riordan from the Marist USA Province. Br.
O’Riordan will be working with us to strrenthen our relationship with Marist Schools based in the US and reconnect us with US-based Brothers
who served at Marist Kobe.

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

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MUN UPDATE
Since hosting the Marist Model United Nations conference students
have continued to stay busy! Seven Marist MUN students spent partof their spring break participation in the Yale Model United Nations
conference in Taiwan - our first overseas conference in several years.
A sincere congratulations to Alex Hur and Kirti Vaswani for receiving
outstanding delegate awards for their respective committees. In April,a large group of Marist delegates attended the Western Japan Model
United Nations hosted by Fukuoka International School. This was thefirst external MUN conference for many of the delegates and offered
great experience for future conferences. Marist MUN is currently inthe process of selecting a leadership team and choosing delegatesfor next school year’s program and we look forward to continued
success.

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

MESSAGE FROM THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR & MAA
Junya Kobo

Recently the middle school teams which are the grassroots of our program, played in their respective final tournaments of the year, bringing
the middle school program to a close. These young athletes have shown tremendous growth and development throughout the season, throughthe guidance and efforts of their coaches, and we couldn't be prouder of their achievements.
Our middle school boys volleyball team proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with at their tournament in Osaka. Their hard workand dedication paid off with impressive performances on the court for both A and B teams. Congratulations to Coach Whitney, Coach Hill,
and the middle school boys for representing Marist well, and especially for their 3rd place finish in the B division.
Outside on the field, the middle school girls made waves at Canadian Academy with their incredible offensive and defensive plays, resulting
in a very successful weekend. Our coaches, Mr. Stang and Ms. Hill, have shared their story in a separate article, which I hope you will read tolearn more about the fantastic work of our middle school softball players and coaches.
As we look ahead to May, the high school boys baseball team will be representing Marist at their end-of-season tournament in Nagoya in a few
weeks. On that same weekend, the high school girls will also be showcasing their skills at the annual Marist WJAA Softball Tournament on May
12-13. We urge everyone to come out and support our Bulldogs at our final sporting event at Marist for the 2022-2023 school year.
Although hosting sporting events is the main focus of the Marist Athletic Association, we all know that their work goes beyond the playing area.
Currently, the MAA is working tirelessly to prepare for the annual Marist Athletic Awards Ceremony. This event provides a unique opportunity
for students to engage in something outside their comfort zone and to be part of a huge collaborative effort. The MAA has a long tradition ofentertaining our school community with their opening performances, and we hope that you look forward to what we have in store for you thisyear!

Marist Brothers International School | Newsletter

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MESSAGE FROM THE SOFTBALL COACH
Thomas StangOn Friday, April 28th and Saturday April 29th, the Middle School Girls’ Elite Team and Lite Team had their final tournament at CanadianAcademy on Rokko Island. In the six team tournament, it was the Marist A Team Elite girls capturing the second place position in the Elite
division. While the Lite B Team completely dominated the younger division and took the Championship winning 4 games in a decisive
manner.
In the Elite division, we had a very enjoyable season playing exciting and competitive softball. Our team was guided by four very
knowledgeable players that comprised the leadership team. A very special thanks to these girls, Hana, Lanka, Sanika and Kei for making it
possible to run focused effective practices and competitive games with a large group of girls playing on both teams.
In the Lite Division, the Bulldogs started their games by making a two out costly mistake that ended up costing us 5 runs. The only reason
I’m saying this is because….it never happened again. After surrendering those 5 runs in the first inning of the tournament,. They would play
the next 27 innings of their 4 games giving up only 6 more runs. Their defense was absolutely impeccable. Despite all of the girls on thisteam in their first year of softball, they played near perfect defense. At the same time, the girls hit well through the line-up and ran the bases
aggressively. The Lites were able to win all 4 games by a large margin. A very special thank you to Coach Nina, who stepped in and helped
the girls practice and play safely, and was able to get the team organized and playing confidently throughout the season and tournament.
Also a special congratulations to Miyu Miura, MVP of the Lite B Division and Hana Carpenter, MVP of the Elite A Division.
Congratulations to all of the players for a very enjoyable and successful season. Coach Nina and I agree that these girls were a very positiveand dedicated group of athletes, and an absolute pleasure to work with. We wish the 8th graders all the best as they enter the varsity sports
and we look forward to working with a very promising group of 6th and 7th graders in future seasons.

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International SchoolSpeed Skating Super Athlete
In February 2023, at the National High School Speed SkatingChampionship held in Hokkaido, 11th grade student Junwon Hurplaced 2nd on the podium in the 1000m race, competing against
top-level students from all around Japan. His record time of 1’12.28”
ranks him 2nd in the world rankings in his age category.
Junwon, who was designated as a "Super Athlete" by the Hyogo
prefectural government after winning the national middle school title
in early 2022, demonstrated outstanding performance in the 20222023 season, further adding a 3rd place title in the 1500m category
as a representative of Hyogo prefecture at the National Winter Sports
Festival held in January.
Junwon has been training continuously for 12 years since the age offour when he began skating with his older brother, a Marist alumnus
who also currently pursues a career in speed skating. Since then, he
has balanced academic study and training, training on the ice threedays a week at a nearby skating rink, and training aerobic endurance
and strength on days without.
During races, Junwon travels with his support team, consisting of amechanic who manages his skating equipment, a technical coach
who helps him improve his skating skills, and a physical care team
who assists with rehabilitation and physical conditioning.
While his short-term goal is to compete in the World Junior SkatingChampionships in 2024, his long-term goal is to participate in the2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

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MESSAGE FROM THE MHS / NHS
Mio Ranni, MHS/NHS

April has been an eventful month for both NHS and MHS. NHS has been actively preparing for theupcoming NHS Executive officers' election and the Induction ceremony, which is an important event for the
NHS community. The new NHS Executive officers will be announced at the MHS award ceremony on May
25th. Adding to that, the NHS executive officers have created a new Instagram account to promote NHS
activities. Please follow the account.
MHS has been busy with various projects throughout the month. One of the most notable projects was the
School cleaning project, where students came together to clean the school premises. This project is an
important part of maintaining a clean and healthy environment for students, teachers, and staff.
Another notable event was the cotton candy booth at the Food Fair 2023, which was a great success. The students who were working at thebooth had a great time interacting not only with our students, parents, and teachers but also with people from the local community. It is great
to see the MHS community coming together to support such events.
On April 23rd, 15 students from MHS participated in a forest conservation project. The project took place in the Shioya area of Rokko
mountain, where the students cut some old trees and evergreen trees to allow sunlight into the forest. It is inspiring to see our students taking
an active role in protecting the environment and making a positive impact in their community.

As we move into May, we look forward to the announcement of the
new MHS leadership team, including the NHS Executive officers,
at the MHS award ceremony. We are proud of all the students who
have participated in various projects and events throughout April andwe hope to see more students actively engaging in the community inthe coming months.

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MESSAGE FROM THE LIBRARY
Elbert Shitamoto

On Friday, April 21, a twelve-member team of 4th and 5th graders from Marist Brothers International School competed in the 2023 All-Japan
Sakura Medal Book Bowl (Book Bowl live stream) at St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo.
We stayed at the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, which was established as a legacy of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Hosted by St. Mary’s International School in their spacious Multi-Purpose Hall, teams from ten international schools in Japan competed against
one another to see which team was the quickest and most accurate in answering hundreds of questions based upon the twenty nominated
Sakura Medal English Chapter Books.
Question categories for the teams included:• In Which Book
• Keywords• Excerpts• Book Covers and Authors• Expert
To promote interaction between the schools, there was a mixer event
where students were divided among twelve tables to participate in a fun
codebreaking group activity.
The 2023 All-Japan Sakura Medal Book Bowl winning team was from
Nishimachi International School. Seisen International and St. Mary’s
International School came in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Although the MBIS Book Bowl Team did not place in the top 3, it wasa wonderful experience for all of our students, and we learned muchfrom participating in our very first live Book Bowl competition. Our teammembers will be sharing this information with this year’s 3rd and 4th
grade students to help them prepare for the competition at Book Bowl

Representing Marist (Thank you to Mr. Caldwell for designing our team badge)2024. Next year’s Book Bowl will be held at the International School of
the Sacred Heart.

Relaxing at the N.O.M.Y.C. before the big competition26

A 2020 Paralympics Torch at the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center

Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

The 2023 MBIS Book Bowl TeamThe Multi-Purpose Hall at St. Mary’s International School, site of Book Bowl 2023

Teams competed using iPads at the All-Japan Sakura Medal Book Bowl

Marist Brothers International School | NewsletterIn the Expert category, experts from each school competed head-to-head against each otherto answer questions about their assigned books.

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The winners of the all-school mixer activity

Congratulations to the winning team from Nishimachi International School. We are looking forward to the day when MBIS will bring home the trophy!
(Photo courtesy of Amber Tang from S.M.I.S.)

In addition to the Book Bowl, our team also enjoyed the Shinkansen ride, staying at the National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, andsightseeing in Tokyo (Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Shibuya Scramble Crossing, and the Hachiko statue).

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All ten international schools–eight in person and two by Zoom. (Photographer, Amber Tang, S.M.I.S.)

Meiji Jingu and Takeshita Street (Harajuku)

The Hachikō Memorial Statue

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Shibuya Scramble Crossing

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Goodbye, Tokyo. See you in 2024!

The 2023 Sakura Medal Book Bowl Team members (in alphabetical order by last name) are:
1. Hanna Inagaki
2. Hana Ishikawa
3. Ryusei Kohama
4. Jin Konishi-Reid
5. Suryansha Kumar
6. Kate Matsusaka
7. Taein Moon
8. Koyuki Naito
9. Risa Okada
10. Jacob Polen
11. Sion Tsushi
12. Emika Yokota
Special thanks go to our chaperone, Ms. Kokoro Konishi, who helped keep the children safe and happy, and Ms. Yoko Abe, Operations
Manager, for helping to make the arrangements necessary for our trip to Tokyo.

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Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School

STAFFING UPDATESWe are delighted to announce the appointment of our Whole School
Music Teacher for the 2023-2024 academic year, Mr. Anthony Tay.
Anthony was born and raised in multicultural Singapore. Music
has always been a big part of his life since childhood, with piano
lessons, choral singing and performance in musicals forming a big
part of his school life. His music taste is eclectic and ranges from alove for the Baroque, to the evocative Impressionism of Ravel, withgenerous doses of soundtrack, ambient, retro, acid jazz, slow rockand the works.
With performance and teaching qualifications in piano andkeyboard, Anthony first started his music teaching career as a
piano teacher.. His love for music teaching extended to teaching
general music appreciation, music theory and keyboard to students
of all ages before deciding to make a greater impact in schools byteaching Music at the high school level for more than a decade.
Anthony believes in the power of music as a vital and powerfulform of expression for anyone and everyone, including beginners
who are just starting their musical journey. Performing music isallowing yourself to have an authentic voice, to be heard, and to beappreciated for who you really are, in a way that is quite different
from the written and spoken word.
Besides a love for music, Anthony can sometimes be seen reading and dissecting poetry. He also loves putting in regular hours at the gym tomake up for copious amounts of dining at Japanese eateries. He loves to travel, and has traveled extensively in Scandinavia, Iceland and Japan.
Armed with his iPhone, and his DSLR cameras while traveling, Anthony can be seen snapping away at wildlife, landscapes or any meaningful
moment at any time. At the moment, Anthony is wrestling with Schumann’s Toccata on the piano, which would probably take him another year
to bring to an acceptable standard.

UPCOMING EVENTS - MAY

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NHS Induction Ceremony

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Grade 6 Camp at Nesta Resort

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IBDP Examinations End, Founder’s Day, and Grade 6 Camp at
Nesta Resort
Senior Graduation
Senior Trip to Okinawa begins
MAA Awards
NHS Induction and MHS Service Awards and Academic Awards
Ceremonies
ToK Exhibition

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MARIST SUPPORTERS
The MBIS community has a long tradition of giving. Every year, through events such as Marist Cafe, students, parents, faculty, and friends, cometogether to raise funds for those in need in Japan and around the world. Our school has also greatly benefitted from the generous support of others.
It was that support that enabled us to grow and, after the 1995 earthquake, rebuild. We are forever grateful for these generous contributions offunds, resources, and time. As a non-profit educational institution, every donation is reinvested into the growth of our students.
The gift of your time can be even more valuable than financial support. MBIS celebrates extensive volunteer involvement of its parents in the schoolcommunity. Their time, talent, energy, and enthusiasm bring vibrancy to every event, whether for a class outing, a holiday festivity, a library task,
coaching, or fundraising on behalf of the school. We also encourage parents to become actively involved in our Parent-Teacher Association (PTA),
or perhaps consider applying for a role on the Board of Trustees.
Please contact the Head of School, Mr. Shawn Hutchinson (hutchinsons@marist.ac.jp) if you are interested in volunteering at MBIS.
When you make an outright cash donation to MBIS, your contribution can be put to work immediately – either providing funding for current
programs or creating a reliable source of future income by expanding the school’s endowment. You are welcome to give a restricted donation(towards a specific resource or fundraising campaign) or an unrestricted donation (allowing the school to use the funds where they are most neededat the time).
Cash gifts are the simplest and easiest gifts you can make. Vist our website for more information.

MARIST PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

ACCREDITATION AND AUTHORISATION

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ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2022-2023
Semester Two

May 2023
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IBDP Examinations End, Founder’s Day, and Grade 6 Camp at
Nesta Resort
Senior Graduation
Senior Trip to Okinawa begins
MAA Awards
NHS Induction and MHS Service Awards and Academic Awards
Ceremonies

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ToK Exhibition2

Grade 6 Band Concert & MAA BBQ

June 2023
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Summer School Program begins

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Summer School Begins

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Summer School Ends

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Marine Day

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of Year Assembly

July 2023
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Term Starts and Ends

Japanese Public Holiday

Newsletter | Marist Brothers International School