Remember
Term 3

Learning for Life

Volume 1 Issue 8

Principal’s Message
June:
Over the last couple of weeks there have been many exciting events happening
at our school, one of the major events has involved our Grade 5 students in theirExhibition.
The Exhibition is seen as the culminating event for students as they complete
their final year of the Primary Years Programme.

2nd June:
K1-G5 Normal Day
Secondary Holiday
3rd to 6th June:

It marks the transition from the PYP to the Middle Years Programme (MYP) andthe students’ graduation from primary school to secondary school.

No ESL or Clubs

It represents a significant event in the life of both the school and students,
bringing together the essential elements of the programme and sharing themwith the whole school community.

Secondary End of Year
EventAt K. International we believe that the Exhibition should be seen as a process
where students bring together the skills, knowledge, understandings andattributes of the learner profile, that they have been developing throughout theirengagement with the programme.

K. International School Tokyo

Dates toK. International School Tokyo

May 2008

13th June:

14th June:
Rescheduled SecondarySports Day
16th June:

This year’s Exhibition was a great opportunity for us all to see our students taking action and making meaningful contributions to their world as a result of theirlearning.

Student Free Day

The students sent a very clear message to all of us present at the Exhibition, thatthe actions we choose to take today, will have a lasting impact on the world andthe lives of our future generations.

26th June:

Throughout the remaining pages of the newsletter you will read several articles,
poems and posters created by students who asked, as part of their Exhibition
action, to use this month’s newsletter to share their learning and thoughts withthe school community.

27th June:

Please take some time to read through this student work.
Congratulations to all of our Grade 5 students, their classroom teachers (Mrs
Astrop and Mr Matamu), and the Exhibition Mentor team for a successful andenjoyable 2008 Grade 5 Exhibition.
In our June newsletter we will bring our year together to a close and say farewell
to our departing staff. We will also highlight some of our achievements this yearand our plans for a new and exciting school year.

Sasha Marshall
School Principal( No school for all students)

Grade 5 Graduation

K3 Graduation
No ESL or Clubs

August:18th-25th August:Summer School(see handout for details)
September:
8th September:First day for Primary andSecondary
9th September:First day for ECEPage 2

News @ KIST

Volume 1 Issue 8

News from the ESL Department
As the end of the year approaches your son or daughter will have completed their ESL exit tests. While it is the goal of allconcerned to have children exit the ESL program, as parents and teachers, we need to be wary of applying too much pressure to children at this time of the year. My favorite quote, which applies equally to test preparation as it does to sport,comes from Tim Gallwey’s (1974) The Inner Game of Tennis: “relaxed concentration is the key to excellence in all things”.
This reminds us that too much pressure placed on us by ourselves or others actually lessens the likelihood of best performance and success. From the results I have looked at so far in consultation with ESL teachers I have seen some significant
improvements in children’s English language skills. I would ask that you acknowledge and praise your child for their improvement even if they do not exit the program this time. This positive feedback for your child is an important part of setting up the right circumstances for further success next year.
For the children who do get a tentative exit from the ESL program … congratulations! I’d also like to remind you that they
will need to continue to use English over the holidays if they do not wish their English skills to decline too much. The holidays are a great opportunity for children to read widely in English: fiction, non fiction, newspapers ( many available on thenet) and the Internet are just a few ways that they can do this. Finally, the Summer School in August will give them thebest opportunity to refine their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and exit the program with strong language
skills.
I would like to thank you for your support of the ESL program throughout the year and look forward to working with you
and your children in the next school year.
Sincerely,
Tony Henderson
ESL Coordinator

KIST Tutoring ProgramThis year, a new tutor program was established. Secondary students tutored primary and kindergarten students in theirweaker subject areas for CAS. This has been a great success.
Thank you to the parents of these students for keeping in close contact with the tutors regarding the progress of their children.
Also, thank you to the secondary students who were—despite their hectic schedules with schoolwork in addition to extracurricular activities—involved in this program and made sure to assist students to their full capacity.
It was wonderful to see tutors, students, and even parents enthusiastic about their weekly tutor meetings.
I hope for your continued support in the following school year!
Carmina Mancenon [Grade 10]
Tutor Program Coordinator

Celebrations at KIST
On Thursday 15th of May students and staff put in a wonderful effort to come dressed in ‘family’ attire for the celebrationof International Day of Families. Dressed in an array of traditional clothing and country flags, we attended a whole school
assembly. During the assembly we watched slide presentations from KIST families, plays from our grade 6 students andheard about The Philippines Self Help Fund, a non-profit organization in the Philippines that supports families in the development of new businesses. This organization will benefit from the ¥100 donation that each child made for the non-uniform
day. We would like to thank all those who gave their time and effort to contribute to this celebration.
Celebrations Committee

News @ KIST

IS THIS THE WORLDYOU WANT TO LIVE IN?
Is this the world you want to live in?
Crowded like sardines in a tin.
Or do you want your own space,

Volume 1 Issue 8

Page 3

Home/School
SafetyHello my name is
Shrey from Grade 5.

Making the world a more comfortable place.
Is this the world you want to live in?
Where food, water and shelter is a challenge to win.
Or do you want enough for all mouths to feed,
Which fulfills everyone's basic needs.
Is this the world you want to live in?
Youngsters’ talents going in the bin.
Or do you want them to earn money,
And bring back smiles to their family.
Is this the world you want to live in?
Where cutting down trees is not a sin.
Or do you want a place where it is a crime,
And polluting the world is given a stop sign.
Is this the world you want to make?
Cause a decision we have to take.
Controlling the population is not a goal to miss,
Birth control and education are some solutions to this.
So wake up and take some action really fast,
Otherwise this issue will become really vast.
Yash Jhaveri (Grade 5M)

My topic for theGrade 5 exhibition isabout child safety.
So, I would like to inform the students at
our school about coming to school & goinghome.
It is necessary to go
straight to school &straight home, because it could be possible that you could
be caught up withsome strangers.
It is important thatall students should besafe at all times & gohome and to schoolsafely.
It is important to besafe!
By: Shrey Shanbhag –Grade 5M

Page 4

News @ KIST

Attention
PeopleVolume 1 Issue 8

Help savethe animals!
TAKE ACTIONNOW

Why should we care

If one of the species is gone,
it will affect the whole
Our central idea:
animal kingdom. Certain
The future of bio-diversity
animals will over-populate,and civilization hangs on
and others will go exour action.
tinct, the whole natureprocess will be a disaster.
All animals are part ofthe earth & our environment, and we have toshare it with those animals. We feel that lessanimals are living onplanet EARTH and if wewant to see animals more
often we need to help. People are wasting a lot of stuff
that goes inside the ocean
and it is killing sea creatures.

By Rina Osaki(G5)

Page 5

News @ KIST

Volume 1 Issue 8

Oxfam Trailwalker & KIST 2008
Mr. Paterson, Mr. Weston and I all wanted to thank the families and staff at the school for all of the support we received in our recent efforts to raise funds for disaster relief and long-term development projects for Oxfam Japan byattempting to hike 100 kilometers through the mountains from Odawara to Yamanaka-ko.
Please enjoy reading about our experience as well as a little bit more about Oxfam Japan.

Oxfam JapanAt least 80% of the money raised through Oxfam Japan Trailwalker 2008 will be used to support Oxfam's programaround the world. A maximum of 20% will be allocated to cover the administration and management costs of theevent. The ratio may differ depending on the total amount raised by Trailwalkers and through corporate sponsorship,
but we will ensure that the administration costs will not exceed 20%.
Donation amount for Trailwalker Japan
This year’s Trailwalk successfully collected a huge amount of donations which exceeded the world average!
We are grateful for the contributions that were made by the school community.
Total : 77,437,675 yen（approx. $661,917）
Average per team : 450,000 yen (approx. $3,846)
Where the money goes?
The fundraised money, after deducting expenses, will be used for the following Oxfam-operated projects.
■Emergency Aid● Darfur, Sudan■Long-Term Community Development● Cambodia : Long-Term Community Development● India : Empowering Women and Livelihood Improvement● South Africa : Combating with AIDSYour money will support ...
● Emergency Aid -Darfur Crisis
In Darfur, Sudan...
• 2.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes• Ongoing violence against civilians and aid workers• Continues to be one of the world's largest humanitarian crisis for 5 years

The Course
Between the Start – CP1, CP1 – CP2, CP3 – CP4, CP4 – CP5, CP6 – CP7, CP7 – CP8, CP8 – Finish were mountains! In total you climb 7! This never really sank in until we were sat on thesummit of one of these very mountains CP4 – CP5 at 4:00 AM realizing we still had another50km in front of us and another 3 peaks to climb. It is worth mentioning here also that all
the CP’s were back down at sea level (or near enough).
Right from the beginning we pushed hard to stay mid table. Our Team, The Crew (#182) was very strong on the ascents andacross open ground; we slowed a little with our descents due to being susceptible to knee injuries. We were proud that wewere attempting the 100km with no support team (we were possibly the only team without a support crew) and no sleep(another mistake in retrospect).
Next time we decided that we would get a support crew (We were carrying too much weight in our packs) and did not haveproper nutrition for the course. The support crew thing really works – it means you carry nothing but water, you have clean
kit at each CP and it gives you the chance to have a BBQ at CP4!
It was at the summit of CP4 – CP5 at around 4am that two of our members decided to resign from the challenge.
In addition to raising over ¥200,000, we covered 55km in 22:30 hours and conquered 4 mountain peaks. In addition it isworth mentioning that as a team we never fell out and we always supported each other – which is impressive seeing theadverse conditions we were walking under; especially when it got dark and our spirits were at their lowest in the cold earlyhours of the morning.
With the support of the school we hope to put together another team for the 2009 event and tackle it with the benefit ofthis experience. We will need a support crew and will train on the course regularly between now and then. We are currently
considering ways to get the school more involved including a possible student event to help raise awareness further. Pleasewait for details and again…
Thank you all!
We couldn’t have done any of it without your support.
Mr. Paterson, Mr. Weston & Mr. Thompson
Photo by Terrence Weston

Secondary Newsletter May 2008
I would like to take the opportunity for us to reflect on the ways in which our students make contributions to the schoolcommunity during their day to day lives at school.
We have a formal programme in both the Middle Years Programme and the Diploma Programme which requires students tokeep a record of their community service activities in the Middle Years Programme and Creativity, Action and Service activities in the Diploma Programme. The two conditions that we use to decide whether an activity is eligible as a community service activity relates to whether or not the activity was voluntary and whether the activity made a positive contribution tothe community.
Raising students’ awareness of the effects that their actions can have on the community is as important as the contributions
themselves. We see these contributions everyday and it is the smaller ones that often go unnoticed in the busy days at
school that often make the really significant differences. It is the smile and ‘good morning’ to one of your classmates who islooking a little upset. It is picking up a book for a fellow student who has their arms full and has dropped one. It is saying‘That’s not funny.’ when a friend says something as a joke and you notice the hurt on a classmate’s face. It is waiting to listen to another’s point of view when you don’t agree.
If you stopped at the end of the day and wrote a list, how many items would you be able to find for your day?
The idea of community service is based on extending ourselves. This is in a similar manner to the way that students are required to extend themselves in an academic sense with the aptly named Extended Essay in the Diploma Programme. By raising our awareness of our effects on the community we can make a conscious effort to extend ourselves in this area of serving our community and we can start with the small things.
Damian Rentoule
Upper School Principal / Vice Principal