The omet

The New sletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 23 | Issue 2 | December 2019

In this issue...
02...New Building Construction
03, 04…KISTival 2019
05...Celebrations in K3
08...K1: The People Who Help Us
09...Anti-Bullying Week 201911...School Calendar 2020–21

15...I&S Department Snapshot
17...MUN Scrimmage
19...G7 Camp
21...G8 Visits the National Diet
21...Teacher Training Scheme22...G11 Camp to Atami

From the Head of School

Dates to Remember

Parental support at KIST

Near the beginning of November, we held our annual
Elementary Explanation Day for prospective parents (theSecondary Explanation Day was held in October). In thepresentation, I described the types of students and families we seek to enroll at
KIST. I explained that at KIST we seek:• academically motivated, dedicated students• compassionate students and families• morally upstanding students and families• students and families with a volunteering spirit• academically conscientious families• families who actively support students• families who will be involved with and follow the guidance of the school.
During the consultation time, I was approached by a group of prospective
parents. They were curious to know what type of parent support we feel leads
to academic success at KIST. This was an interesting question and reminded
me of the book by Amanda Ripley titled The Smartest Kids in the World: And
How they Got That Way. Through her research, Ripley attributed part of South
Korea’s impressive academic results to parental attitude and involvement intheir child’s learning. While in some countries, she explained, parents tend tofollow the “cheerleading approach,” South Korean families tend to follow the“coaching approach.”
The “cheerleading approach” refers to a style where parents are so concerned
about negatively affecting their child’s self-esteem, that they pile on praise foreven insignificant successes. The “coaching approach” involves coaching
children through their learning in a systematic manner. One example isquizzing children on times tables while doing chores around the house. In
families that apply the “coaching approach,” the parents typically consider
educating their children as part of their job as a parent.
Children

Parents

Teachers

In her article titled School begins at home,
Harper (2013) explains that a child’s parents
are their “first and most enduring educator,”
and an integral part of the learning triangle.
She further explains that a child’s education
and academic success is “not like buying acar, where you buy the best available productand then sit back and relax; you have to get
involved.”
Continued on next page

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

December 2019

6 (G1-G12) Clubs program ends
6 (K3-G5) LEAP classes end
6 (K1-G3) After care not available
on this day
7 SAT@KIST
8 Lego robo-jousting tournament
9-11 (G9-G11) Semester 1
examinations
12 Winter celebration rehearsals
13 Winter celebration
13 (K1-G3) After care not available
on this day
14-Jan 5 Winter vacation
16-17 Office open

January 2020

6 School resumes for all students
6 2020-2021 enrollment
applications close
6-13 (G12) Semester 1 DP mockexaminations
13 School day (Morning only—half
day for all students)
13 (G4-G10) Math diagnostic testing
17 End of semester 1
20 Semester 2 commences
20 (K3-G5) Semester 2 LEAP
classes begin this week
21-24 2020-2021 enrollment
interviews
24 (K1/K2/K3) School holiday (forstudents)
28 (G1-G12) Semester 2 clubs
program resumes
29 World Cultures Day

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Continued from previous page

At KIST, we value, and expect, positive parental involvement for each of our students. The support you provide,and the way you provide it, will have a lasting impact on your child’s academic progress. Parents can get involved
by integrating learning into daily family life, developing a systematic plan, and by demonstrating a
genuine interest in their child’s learning.
Kevin Yoshihara
Head of School/Elementary School Principal
References:• Harper, C. (2013, November 10). School begins at home. Retrieved from https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/family/school-begins-athome-1.648919.
• Ripley, A. (2014). The smartest kids in the world: and how they got that way. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.

New Building Construction
Construction of our new multistoriedcomplex for the Secondary School isscheduled to commence in summer 2020!
As announced previously, the new building will
incorporate an increased number of general andsubject-specific classrooms and laboratories, a LibraryMedia Center (LMC), a gymnasium featuring a fullsized basketball court, a performance hall for over 400
guests, and a rooftop cafeteria and adjacent futsal
court. The main school office and health office will
also be located in this building. For easy access to theperformance hall and instrument practice spaces, boththe Elementary and Secondary music rooms will also
relocate to the new building.
Construction of the building itself is planned tocommence in September 2020, with completion
expected by March 2022, and classes resuming from
April 2022. Following this, finishing touches will bemade to the main playground, with completion of theentire project expected by autumn 2022.
Through a special arrangement with Nakamura Juniorand Senior Girls’ High School, a Japanese private
school located within walking distance from KIST,
classes for Grade 6 through 8 will be held at
Nakamura during the period of construction. Use of
the gymnasium and athletics facilities at Nakamura
may also be possible for other grades.

The generalschedule for the
project is as follows:• October 2019 – March 2020: Finalization of plans
and selection of construction company• March/April 2020: Maintenance work to the area
behind the school cafeteria• June 2020: Demolition of the east wing of mainbuilding and the gym; maintenance of classroomsin the remaining northern wing
• August 2020: Grades 6 to 8 move to Nakamura• September 2020: Construction begins• March 2022: Construction ends; moving in• April 2022: Classes resume; demolition of thenorthern wing of main building• December 2022: Completed of main playgroundand outdoor areas
During the almost two-year period of construction, thesize of the current outdoor playground will beconsiderably reduced. There are also expected to bevarious unavoidable challenges caused by the noise of
construction and other inconveniences such as having
to travel for sports off campus; however, we are
excited about the many possibilities the new building
will bring and look forward to its completion in time forour 25th anniversary in 2022. We ask for theunderstanding and cooperation of the schoolcommunity during the period of construction.

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V o l u me 2 3 | I s s u e 2 | De c e m b e r 2 0 1 9KISTival 2019
Thinking back to KISTival preparation day, I shudder toremember what a nightmare it was. Despite the heavy rain
and strong winds, everyone worked together to assemble
the tents. But just as we were taking a break for lunch, a
powerful gust of wind sent the tents flying through the air
and crashing to the ground. This sent our staff into a panic
as everyone hurried to take the tents apart once again.
Thanks to their efforts, we were able to avoid catastrophe,and special thanks to Mr Suzuki and his booth staff for their assistance with dismantling the tents!
We are truly grateful to all the staff for their efforts in saving the tents, chairs and tables in the pouring rain and intense
wind, despite getting drenched and chilled to the bone in the process. We are also very sorry for any staff who caught acold due to this incident! Thanks to the generosity of the Bazaar booth leaders (and to Ms Wakasa for her idea), we
received towels and dry clothes from the Bazaar. We were worried that we would have to cancel KISTival due to thismajor accident, but thanks to Mr Yoshihara’s quick thinking and leadership, many staff arrived very early next morning
to set up the grounds once again in time for the event to begin. This year’s KISTival was held without problem or delay
thanks in whole to the tremendous effort of our staff. Thank you so much for all your help in ensuring that this year’s
KISTival didn’t end in disaster!
This experience was a first in the 20 years that we have been holding KISTival, and we were truly moved by how theschool community came together to solve the problem. We will definitely learn from this incident and, in the future,
make better and safer plans around
Revenue:¥10,630,308
inclement weather on preparation day.
Expenditure:¥2,585,390
The weather on the day of KISTival
Profit:¥8,044,918
itself seemed almost unbelievable after
the day before. The sun came out and• Revenue includes advance and on-the-day sales tickets and raffle tickets, onthe weather was warm and pleasant all
the-day cash sales, donations, advertising sponsorship, air slider pass sales,
day long. As we did not collect anindividual family contributions, and professional booth tent fees.
entrance fee this year, we do not have
• Expenditure includes ticket and promotional flyer printing costs, rental costs,
exact visitor numbers, but judging fromgarbage disposal costs, materials costs, sales settlement for professional
the crowds, sales and participation inbooths, Habitat for Humanity and Peace Winds Japan.
the raffle and other events, we feel thatit’s safe to say that this was probably
Booth
Group
Content
Profitthe most highly attended KISTival ever!
K3
Drinks¥549,245
Additionally, we were able to meet ourrevenue goal of 10,000,000 yen! We
G1
Sausages¥213,776
are so thankful for the support andG2
American food¥311,829
cooperation of all of the members of
the KIST community for helping toG3Chinese food¥369,132
make this year a success. As
G4/G5
Bazaar¥785,585
previously announced, all proceeds will
go towards the construction of the new
G6
Air slider/Games¥413,007
Parents
school building complex.

Students

Staff

G7

Japanese food¥281,407

G8

Chinese food

¥280,225

G9

Asian food

¥250,115

G10

Mexican food¥339,426

G11

Indian food¥263,375

G6A

Bowling game

¥41,375

G6B

Shooting game

¥63,750

G7A/G7B

Trick-or-treat¥68,375

G8A

Shooting game

¥35,875

G8B

Chocolate bananas¥62,625

G9A

Haunted game

¥48,125

G9B

Haunted café

¥39,460

G10A/G10B

Haunted house¥100,000

Staff

Korean food¥214,625

Staff

Candy, toys, Janat goods¥262,588

KomakiCrepes¥105,375

Staff

Face painting¥107,250

Staff

Crocodile panic game

¥78,500

June 2020 marks the long-awaited
start to construction of our new schoolbuilding complex. For the next 2 years,
although we will unfortunately not beable to hold KISTival in the sameformat, if you have any thoughts orcomments about this year’s KISTival orideas for the future, please contact
sayoko.naito@kist.ed.jp.
Thank you once again for making thisyear’s KISTival a success!

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Elementary School News
Screen time and internet addiction
With the upcoming holidays, children and teens aroundthe world will be receiving gadgets like smartphones,
tablets and gaming devices as gifts. While useful inmany ways, it is important that we be mindful of screen
time and how much time is spent surfing the internet.
Screen time and internet addiction are becoming amajor concern for many parents. Over the past few
years, CNN has published various articles regarding
internet addiction including: Are you addicted to theInternet?, Addicted to the internet: Behavioral therapy
could work, and Boot camp for the Internet-addicted. Avery recent CNN article described how smartphone
detox centers have been set up in some areas to deal
with an overdependence on smart phones.
Over the years I have also become increasingly
concerned about screen time. It first came to myattention while I was on a beach vacation. I witnesseda family of four laying on their beach cots, under astunning blue sky and surrounded by the beautiful blue
ocean, all on different devices. Then I saw a family
walk into a restaurant, and even before they sat down,
they set up the tablet on the table for their son, who
couldn’t have been much older than one. Seeing
children being brought to school in strollers while
watching videos or playing games on smartphones isalso alarming to me. Our children are not born with aninnate need to be constantly entertained by screens;they are conditioned to. It is a case of nurture, notnature. And when young children become
overdependent on smartphones and tablets, I believe
we, as parents, need to take responsibility.
Gregory (2019) explains that while internet addiction is
not officially recognized as a disorder according to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
it affects a large number of people in many countries.
According to this recent CNN article (cell phone detox
centers), it is estimated that around 30% of South
Korean children aged 10–19 were described as
overdependent on their smart phones.

indicate if someone is sufferingfrom internet addiction. The firststep, according to Gregory (2019)is recognizing that a problem exists. As parents, it is
our responsibility to monitor our children and theirscreen time. In her article titled Is Your Child Addicted
to the Internet, Cuffey (2010) suggests the following inorder to prevent internet addiction:
1. Limit screen and online time
2. Lead by example
3. Keep an eye on gamers
As we move into the holidays, please ensure you
monitor your child’s screen time. It is much easier to
set guidelines for screen time within our families thanto try to undo
the harm caused
by internet
addiction later.
As BenjaminFranklin said:“An ounce ofprevention is
worth a pound of
cure!”
I wish you all a safe and wonderful winter holiday, and I
look forward to welcoming you all back in 2020!
Warm regards,
Kevin Yoshihara
Head of School/Elementary School Principal
References:• Cuffey, A. L. (2010, January 4). Is your child addicted to theinternet? Retrieved from https://www.womansday.com/
relationships/family-friends/a4508/is-your-child-addicted-to-the-internet-101986/.
• Gregory, C. (2019, May 22). Internet addiction disorder - Signs,
symptoms, and treatments. Retrieved from https://www.psycom.net/iadcriteria.html.

There is a long list of possible symptoms that can

New Faces
Since the last issue of The Comet, we havewelcomed two new staff members to our Elementary
School team—Yuri Matsuo who is working as ateaching assistant with K1B, and Niña Reyes who is
our new music instructor for students in K1 throughGrade 1.
On behalf of the schoolcommunity, we wish you all
the best in your new roles
and hope that you enjoy yourtime with us.

Yuri Matsuo
Teaching Assistant (K1B)

Niña Reyes
Music Instructor (K1–G1)

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PYP News
Student agency
One of the new buzz wordsof the new enhanced PYP
is “agency”. Although thisisn’t a new concept in theinternational
baccalaureate, there has
been a shift towards
placing a greater emphasis
on developing leadership skills by giving our students
more choice and autonomy.
It is often said that the adult in an IB classroom is not ateacher, rather they are a facilitator of learning;
therefore, it is vital that we provide opportunities for ourstudents to actively participate, not only in the lessons
themselves, but also in their construction. Allowing
students to take ownership of their learning will lead togreater engagement and a deeper conceptual
understanding.

Agency is the power to take meaningful
and intentional action, and acknowledges
the rights and responsibilities of theindividual, supporting voice, choice andownership…” IBO November 2017
In the elementary school, our teachers work hard toprovide these kinds of opportunities for our students.
Here are some examples of student agency at KIST:• Burning questions – Students add their burningquestions to an online forum, where other students
can find them and comment, leaving weblinks assources of evidence.
• Student-generated central agreements – The
students decide which learning guidelines areneeded.
• Personal goals – Regular weekly reflections on
personal goals.
• Flexible seating – Students having a choice about
who they sit with for different activities.

•
•

•
•
•

Visual dictionaries – Students build their own
word lists.
Open-ended discussions – Students are allowed
to explore topics themselves rather than giving
them the answers. This gives students ownershipof their learning and a sense of accomplishment.
Inquiry table and hands-on resources – Students
can explore and experiment to show theirunderstanding in multiple ways.
Field trips – Students are given a voice in where
they want to go.
Flexibility and flipping the learning – Blurring thelines between homework and classwork.

These are examples of some of the things that we do,and through the efforts of our dedicated staff, we willcontinue to develop student agency at KIST.
Read more about agency on the PYP Teaching Tools
blog:
b
Web

http://www.pypteachingtools.com/
implementing-student-agencyin-the-ib-pyp/Oliver Sullivan
PYP Coordinator

Celebrations in K3
K3 students are currently exploring a unit on celebrations focusing on why
people celebrate and how they celebrate. Recently, we had students “Showand Tell” about a celebration they’vetaken part in. Already, we’ve noticed
our students displaying openmindedness and respect towards
other’s beliefs and family traditions.
We hope they further grow theirappreciation of othercultures.
Christie Chung
K3B Teacher

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Early Childhood News
It’s hard to believe that it’s been
almost four months since theschool year started. I hope yourchildren have settled well into theirschool life and classroom
environment and are enjoying theirlearning at school. Additionally, I
hope the Parent/Teacher/Student
interviews held at the end of
November were meaningful to all
our families.
Since the last issue of The Cometin September, we have only had a
few major events in the ECE, but
we are excited to share them here!
Before that, however, I would liketo take this opportunity to give a
big thank you to our ECE parents,
guardians and family members forvisiting our KISTival face painting
booth. This year, we had fourparent volunteers assisting us.
Thank you to Ruka’s mum, Sena’s
mum, Ran Ran’s dad and Siyoon’s
mum for supporting us. This year
we opened a plastic keychain area,
too, which was very popular withthe children. It is always nice towork as a team to create an
enjoyable experience for the ECE
children and other young KISTival
guests. Thank you to all thefamilies who came to spend timewith us on the day of the event.
Our very first ECE assembly of theyear was led by the K3 children
who shared to all our K1 and K2friends about ‘Friendship’First at the assembly, the K3Bclass distributed paper hearts thatthey had prepared especially forthe assembly for all the K1s andK2s to decorate. During theassembly, K3B demonstrated how
unkind words can hurt our hearts.
When the K1s and K2s heard acomment that was unkind or
hurtful, they wrinkled andscrunched their paper hearts. By
the end, when they tried to unfold it
and make it beautiful again, they
couldn’t!! Through this activity, theK1s and K2s learned that it is so
important to be careful of what wesay so that we don’t breaksomeone’s heart beyond repair.
Then, the K3A class did someshort skits based on books called
The Bad Seed and The Good Egg.
First, the students demonstrated asituation where they did somethingthat ‘the bad seed’ would do, andthen the students asked for advice
from K1 and K2 of how they could
have handled the situation better tobe good. The K3 students thenchanged their skit to show how
they can become “good eggs”.
The next assembly will be led by
the K2 classes, and then theyoungest, K1, will take their turn. I
hope that seeing our oldest
children presenting and performingin front of the big audience helps
the younger classes feel ready for
their turns.
Lastly, our ECE Winter Celebration
is soon approaching. This event isalways a great opportunity forparents to see how their children
are developing at school, and theperformances of the older classes
also provide a sneak peek as towhat they will be able to achieve inthe coming years.
As a K1 teacher, I am always sohappy to see not only our
Elementary students but also ourSecondary students taking goodcare of our young ones during theirtime at school, such as through theReading Buddies program, theAfter Care program, and, mostrecently, the music lessons offeredby Secondary students. Having
students from K1 all the way up to
G12 on the same campus provides
natural and very meaningfullearning opportunities for all thestudents.

K1A

K1B

K2A

K2B

K3A

Eri Ozawa
Early Childhood
Coordinator(K1ꟷK3)/K1B
Teacher

After Care

K3B

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K1: The People Who Help Us
During our ‘Who we are’ unit, the K1 classes visited different places on
excursions such as the police station and the neighborhood children’s library.
We also went around the school campus and looked for people who help us
learn.
Within the school, the students interviewed people in many different roles such
as Dr Yoshihara, our Head of School/Elementary School Principal; Mr Bradley,
our Elementary School Vice Principal; Mr Sullivan, our PYP Coordinator; Nurse
Yukiko, our School Nurse, and many more teachers. After the interview, the K1s
became more aware of the people who help them. The K1s do not forget
greeting these people, such as “Good morning, Dr Yoshihara.”
We also went outside of the school to look for different people who help us inmany ways. The students got so excited to see many taxi drivers, truck drivers,
construction workers, chefs cooking in a restaurant, pharmacists, a police officer
riding a police bicycle, and KIST teachers walking.
Firefighters from the local community visited our school and demonstrated somefire safety drills. They also prepared four activities for the students and parents
to enjoy.
1.

Earthquake simulation truck

The students and parents experienced the violent jolting and shaking of an
intensity six earthquake.
2.

Using a fire hose

Students and parents were able to use a real fire hose and learn how to reeland unreel it, so that water reaches the flame or fire.
3.

Using a fire extinguisher

Parents and students had a chance to use a fire extinguisher to put out afire. Steps on how to use fire extinguishers included: pulling out the pin,
aiming the nozzle at the base of the fire, squeezing the fire extinguisher’s
handle, and moving the nozzle from side to side while aiming at the fire.
4.

Trying on firefighters’ uniforms

Students were able to wear the firefighters’ uniforms. There were three typesof uniforms:• The black jacket with yellow strips is for specialized firefighters or officers.
• The orange jacket is for rescuers.
• The brown jacket is for ordinary firefighters.
Claire Yoneyama
K1A Teacher

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Anti-Bullying Week 2019
Every year, I organise an antibullying week at KIST and leadthe anti-bullying assembly with
G3 pupils. This year, I createda script based on the British
television game show called“Family Fortunes.” Our special
anti-bullying game involved
two families providing answers
to questions that were surveyed to 100 pupils fromG4 and G5 before the assembly.
The survey consisted of the following threequestions:

1. When might someone feel thatthey are being bullied?
2. What can you do if you see
bullying?
3. How can you prevent bullying
from happening?
The first question is to help our pupils identify thedefinition of bullying. Bullying is when someone isbeing hurt, either by words or actions, on purpose
repeatedly. Bullying of any form or for any reason
can have immediate, medium and long-term
effects on those involved, including bystanders.
Therefore, it is very important that our pupils areaware of things they say and do that might hurtothers.
The second question is aimed at making our pupils
aware of the possible strategies they may use if
they see bullying, or if they are bullied.
The third question is the most important part, as if
the pupils can build appropriate social skills,
including how to manage their anger, how to build
self-esteem and how to make better friendships,
this will help us to have a bully free school.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding
bullying prevention in the
Elementary School, please feel free
to contact me.
Kana Furnival
Elementary School Student Care
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Elementary SRC
At KIST, we believe that our students have a voice and should be able to
make a valuable contribution to their school and the wider community. It
is important to us that our students are given the opportunity to express
their views on issues that concern them. It is equally important that they
are listened to and are encouraged to take an active part in promoting theaims and objectives of the school.
We divided this academic year into three blocks and asked each of theGrade 4 and 5 classes to elect two Student Representative Council(SRC) members for each block. All ESRC members are supported andencouraged by their classroom teachers to run regular class meetings
with their classes where the sharing of ideas and information occurs.
During the first council meeting, students choose one project to focus on
throughout the first block. As mentors, we guide discussions during formal
meetings with all of the ESRC representatives every Thursday, whereplans are made, and tasks set. At the end of each ESRC term, themembers have an opportunity to present their ideas to Mrs Komaki, Mrs
Naito and Mr Yoshihara in the school boardroom.
Here are some photos from the first presentationof the school year.
Kana Furnival and Oliver Sullivan
Elementary SRC
Mentors

LEAP News

Ms Parvathy’s G3 English
Support Class

Hello LEAP students and parents! Thankyou for your hard work and support thissemester!
Students involved in LEAP undertook a variety of creative andengaging tasks, some of which are highlighted in these photos.
If you can believe it, 2020 is almost here, which means that thesecond annual LEAP application dates are almost upon us.
LEAP recommendations for semester 2 will be e-mailed toparents on December 12. After receiving their recommendations,parents can use the time over the winter vacation to support theirchildren in areas of need, in addition to thinking about LEAP
applications.

Ms Miki’s G1 English
Support Class

Applications for the second semester of LEAP will open after the
winter vacation; all families will be notified via E-Communications
when applications are open. LEAP classes will begin on January
20, 2020.

Ms Amanda’s G1English Extension ClassFor more information on LEAP and the classes offered, please
visit the LEAP homepage.
If you have any questions, please feel free tocontact me directly at leap@kist.ed.jp.
Miki Kanai
LEAP Coordinator

Ms Ching-Hui’s G2
Math Support Class“ T h e Co m et ”

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11

Elementary ELS
Presentation nerves: How we can support our students
An upcoming presentation can make us
extremely nervous, and our students
usually have several presentations eachyear to tackle. On top of having all ourpeers staring at us as we speak, we canhave added worries. Two big ones are: “Have I
understood the topic of the presentation wellenough?” And, “Will my language be clear enoughfor the audience to understand me?”Class teachers and ELS instructors help with the firstof these worries in many ways throughout the unit
prior to the presentation. Moreover, preparing thepresentation is itself a further way to understand thecontent. For example, grouping students to prepare
presentations together means students can help eachother understand the topic better. It also means theteaching staff can move from group to group easily
and find which students need more help tounderstand.

Akihiro (G5A) uses animage and real-life objects
to explain how electricalenergy works.

The second worry—about
being able to use language
clearly—is also addressed byteaching staff in several
ways. Often guidance inpreparing a script can help,
but there is a step after this,too. Encouraging students to
put away the script andpractice speaking freely is a
way to make language skills
stronger. The key words,
pictures or demonstrations
that they will show theaudience can really support
students as they try speaking
without a script.

Parents can also give a very special kind of support at
home. If your child is worried that they don’t
understand the topic completely, discussing the topic
together in your home language is one of the best
ways to help. Likewise, you can support them todevelop clearer
use of English by
guiding your childto explain the
topic in yourhome language
first, then next torehearse it inEnglish.
Language skills
transfer between
languages, so
your guidance
G5B’s classroom shows a “jigsaw”
when your childpresentation in action: small groups where
presents in their each participant presents on a different but
home language
related topic. This presentation comes halfsets a process in way through the G5 unit on energy as partof building students’ knowledge.
motion that will

help them toimprove theirpresentation in
English.
This kind of
support at home,
together with theteaching staff’s
support at
school, makes
such adifference!

Kokona (G5A) directs audience participationin an experiment as part of her explanationof what electrical energy is. Akihiro andKokona were part of a small group that
supported each other to study about
electrical energy and work out how to
explain it clearly.

Rachel Parkinson
Elementary ELS Coordinator/G5 ELS
Instructor

School Calendar 2020–21
To assist families planning overseas
trips, the dates of school vacation
periods for students and otherimportant dates for the 2020–21
school year are listed below.
Families are asked to makearrangements accordingly to ensurethat students are back in Tokyo readyto start school after each vacation period on thecorrect date. The complete calendar will be
distributed in June.
• First day of school for students:
August 24, 2020
• Whole school event*:
October 24, 2020
• Autumn vacation:
October 25 – November 1, 2020
• Winter vacation:
December 19, 2020 – January 10, 2021
(Classes resume from Monday, January 11)• Spring vacation:
March 21 – 28, 2021
• Golden Week vacation
May 1 – 9, 2021
• Last day of school for students:
June 16, 2021
*Due to construction of our new school building, KISTival will not beheld in 2021. In its place, however, a separate event for the whole
school will be held. Details will be announced at a later date.

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KIPS News
From the P1 classroom...
It’s hard to believe that three months have passed
since the beginning of the school year. We had
quite a few new children join the P1 class this year,
and we have spent every day in a whirlwind of energy and activity. At first,
many of the children had trouble getting used to their new environment andcried frequently, but now, they have made good friends with theirclassmates, calling their names and continuing to deepen their relationships
with those around them.
In P1, we aim to help the children learn to build relationships with othersand develop a regular routine through meals and naptime, while each day
increasing the various tasks they are capable of doing. At first, somechildren didn’t want to sit still during Circle Time and cried, while others
couldn’t focus through their lessons. There were some children who didn’t
want to eat their meals, and others who hated naptime and refused tosleep, but now, things have completely changed. Now, in the mornings,
they finish cleaning up quickly and sit quietly to wait for Circle Time, andreally enjoy the activities in each lesson. As they grow bigger and stronger
and more active, the amount they eat has increased, and they have grownaccustomed to quietly lying down for nap time. We are so pleased to see
how they’ve gotten used to the routine of their daily life at KIPS.
While the children have only just started their school lives, we are so
impressed with their growth in just three months, and lookforward to seeing how they continue to grow and change inthe future! All of the KIPS staff do our best to help thestudents grow and enjoy their preschool experience.
Mai Inagaki
P1 Teacher

From the P2 classroom...
Swoosh! We have been blowing through this school year so quickly like agust of wind. It’s hard to believe that since the start of the year, the P2s
have already begun making life-long friends. Through tears and smiles, andups and downs, they’ve slowly begun to stretch out their hands to theirfriends for comfort and to experience new things together. Especially during
the spookiest and scariest of events: Halloween!
Each student took their turn to introduce themselves and their costume to
the rest of the class. They were delighted to dress as their favorite
characters like princesses and skeletons! While wearing their costumes,
they danced enthusiastically along to the Halloween songs they had been
preparing for weeks beforehand. The P2 friends also went trick-or-treatingaround KIPS and a nearby shop. Each time they stopped at a location, in
their biggest (or sometimes shyest) voices, they said, “Trick-Or-Treat!” andwere delighted when they received their special surprises!
With the weather growing cold, it means winter break is almost upon us!
The P2 friends have been steadily preparing for their Winter Celebration
Party each day and holiday cheer is all about KIPS. With
mystified faces, they have been listening to stories about
Santa coming to visit and snow all around. Happy Holidays!
Brooke Esper
P2 Teacher

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MYP News
Parents new to the MYP explore
learning at KIST throughworkshop activities
Starting a new school year, of course, canbe a nervous proposition. This is especiallytrue for students who are brand new to theexperience. But the change doesn’t only
affect children. The transition to Middle
School (or to KIST itself for new families)
can be a big change for parents as well.
Each year, parents new to the MYP areinvited to a workshop to explore key ideas
about the approach to teaching andlearning in the IB’s Middle Years
Programme. In a series of hands-on
activities, parents discussed a number of
relevant issues.

Ms Duran leads a simulation of the Secondary School Open Session.

At this year’s session held on September
16, parents reviewed the nature ofassessment in the MYP with Mr White, the
MYP Coordinator. In particular, Mr White
asked parents to think about how MYP
subject teachers are called on to use therelevant subject’s assessment criteria andmake judgements that are consistent. A
point of emphasis for parents is to help
encourage new MYP students to ensurethat they’re clear about what’s being
assessed and how they can improve thenecessary skills required to show their bestwork.
Following this, the MYP Service
Coordinator, Ms Duran, examined the roleof Service as Action in the MYP. Ms Duranshared exemplary service projects frompast years and reviewed the expectations
for new students this year. Parents worked
to brainstorm ideas about Service
opportunities in the community.

Parents brainstorming Service activities that would be engaging for middle school
students.

Finally, Ms Holdaway, the Student Care
Coordinator (G6–G8), introduced parents toOpen Session, a program of peer support
used in the Secondary School to allow
students to share their concerns aboutsocial-emotional experiences. Parents
worked together to simulate an Open
Session discussion.
At the end of the workshop, parents wereable to reflect on a range of issues relevantto the MYP and to gain a sense of the best
way to support their children as they maketheir way through the Middle
Years Programme.
Robert WhiteMYP Coordinator

Parents discussing how standards are applied in the MYP.

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KIST Students Compete in Japanese Events
Biblio Battle

Presentation Festa

The East Japan High School Biblio Battle 2019 washeld on Sunday, September 8 at Seikei University.
Organized by the Katsujibunka Promotion Council,
supervised by Yomiuri Shimbun, and sponsored by the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology, the event this year saw 73 representatives
participating from eight prefectures.

The 18th High School Student Presentation Festa(sponsored by the Society for Acquisition-Oriented
Learning) was held on Tuesday, March 26 at the
Fukagawa Edo Museum in Koto-ku, and wasattended by 35 representatives from high school inTokyo. Three students from KIST, in G11 at that time:
Akino (G12B), Michiru (G12B), and Marin (G12A),
participated in the investigation and presentation byteaming up with students from other schools for eachof the themes covered. Well done, students!

KIST student,
Manaka (G10A),
representing
Tokyo, put up a
great battle, but
wasunfortunately
unable toadvance to thefinal (6 players).

A view of the battle.

The students finally received their certificates.

Learning through Tragedy
American scholar shares “tragic” knowledge with G12 English
Antigone, an Ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles,
depicts an irreconcilable conflict between the titularcharacter—the cursed daughter of Oedipus—and her
uncle Creon, the newly appointed king. The DP English
Language and Literature Paper 2 examination requires
students to write a timed essay drawing a thematiccomparison between two of the literary works studied,
one of which is Antigone. On October 21, KIST was
fortunate to enjoy an online lecture from Damian
Stocking, PhD., the chair of the Comparative Studies in
Literature and Culture department at Occidental
College, an undergraduate liberal arts institution in Los
Angeles. Stocking holds both Masters and Doctorate
degrees from UCLA in classical Greek literature and is
the author of The Ruin of Song, a critical essay
regarding the role of song in Antigone. In previous
years, some of our top-scoring English students haveapplied ideas from Stocking’s work in their final Paper 2
exams.
One of the concepts Stocking helped clarify for students
during his lecture was immanence, the human desire to
fully control our individual fates. In order to illustrate theconcept, Stocking used simple analogies to explain thenecessity and inevitability of reliance on others. For
example, a tennis match shows how the game can only
work if we are willing to share control of the ball with our
opponent, entering into an exchange in which power isshared between both players. A failure to eversurrender the ball to the opponent effectively ends thegame and, ironically,
eliminates the individual
player’s opportunity forsuccess. In Sophocles’
play, both Antigone andCreon refuse tocompromise with theother and, as a result,destroy themselves.

Greek scholar Damian Stocking,Occidental College, Los Angeles

Following Stocking’s lecture, several students applied
his ideas in their Paper 2 practice test, including Noa(G12A). Like several others, Noa established anargument about the threat that immanence posed to thelegitimacy of Greek democracy, a system adopted forthe first time only a few decades prior to the first
performance of the play. Noa writes that Antigone“outlines the importance of rejecting immanence inorder to create a thriving democratic society.” Many
students were surprised at how well they could
understand Stocking’s essay following the lecture andfelt more confident about starting college courses as aresult. We are grateful to Professor Stocking for his
generosity to KIST DP students andhope to continue to draw upon his
expertise in the future.
Steven Otis
Subject Area Coordinator—English

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15

I&S Department Snapshot
Welcome to the Individuals & Societies Snapshot,
which provides insight into what each
grade level and subject has explored so
far during the year!
Keith Erickson
Subject Area Coordinator—I&S

Grade 7G7 has welcomed teacher-trainee Ms Kanoka
Furukoji to the classroom. Ms Kanoka is leading ahistory unit in which we explore what life was like in
the Middle Ages. Students engaged in a feudal
system simulation, headed by King Shota! We willcontinue to look into how theidentity and development of pastsocieties can be exploredthrough the perspectives of thepeople who lived in them bymaking an excursion to the EdoTokyo museum and interactingwith the daily lives of people infeudal Japan.

IGCSE Business Management

Students have been learning about different businessstructures; for example, understanding theadvantages and disadvantages of becoming a limited
company. One task got students thinking about a realbusiness problem where they
were told to assume theresponsibilities of a consultant toresolve the issue. Their task was
to provide advice to a potential
sole trader who wanted to set up
as a limited company and to
explain the steps required to
become incorporated. Here aresome examples of students’ work.

Grade 10Students have been learning about the ancient silkroad and how cooperation in trade can foster positive
global relations. Students researched key trading
locations along the silk road and learned about the
products and influences that trade brought to theregion. The students thenconsidered the impact of
global trade with themodern silk road, known
as China’s Belt and Road
initiative.

Grade 6

In G6 I&S we have started ahistory unit which explores
civilizations around the world,from the Ancient Egyptians,
Sumerians, Romans and Greeks. Students
have been extremely engaged in their learningand are always curious as to which civilization
they will learn about next! Students have been
introduced to the significance of using sourcesin learning about the past, but also theimportance of using them with caution. Students
were able to critically discuss the dangers inhaving too few and too many sources for a
topic. This week students have started theirformative assessment for the unit. Students will
be required to produce an infographic on asignificant individual from Ancient Greece.
We’re excited to see what the G6s will produce!

Grade 8G8 students have been learning how thegovernance of societies is organized by different
systems that are used to distribute power,
affecting fairness and development. The
students learned
about monarchies,
democracies andsingle-party states.
During the unit, thestudents examined
key events in thehistory of democracy
and also visited the
National Diet.

DP Business Management

DP students have spent a lot of time looking at
the six concepts in BMꟷstrategy, ethics,
innovation, change, globalisation and culture.
Their most recent assessment focused on theconcept “strategy,” whereby they assumed therole of a manager/director of a sports team.
They were asked to consider fiverecommendations for their sports team for theupcoming year and to present this in class. To
do this effectively, they were required to gather
data and evidence to best support theirjudgement, which required the skill of researchand criticalthinking. Here isan example
screenshot of a
student’spresentation:

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DP Economics

During the first quarter, students discussed thearguments for and against trade protection as well
as how exchange rates work. Some arguments infavor of trade protection included protection ofdomestic jobs, protection of infant industries, andprotection against unfair competition, while somearguments against trade protection included thedanger of trade wars, higher prices for domestic
consumers, and increased cost of production due
to lack of competition.
It’s interesting to learn about foreignexchange and how it works since I am able toconnect it to what’s happening in the news
today.” Ushani (G12A)
I see an intricate relationship between
Economics and Business Management.”
Aryan (G12B)

DP Geography

As part of a unit on
Food and Health,where HL Geography
students learnt about
the importance ofensuring food security and the creative solutions
from various stakeholders, we visited a farm
maintained by Pasona within an office building in
Otemachi. At the urban farm, we interacted withsome farm animals and observed how edible
plants can be grown on wall surfaces and from
ceilings. Other projects where rice was cultivatedindoors and vegetables grown in offices wereshowcased as well. We were able to enjoy agood discussion about the viability of urban farms
as a potential strategy in the light of the growing
shortage of arable land and high population
densities in large cities.

Secondary ELS
The brisk chill in the air signals not only the coming of winter (and wintervacation) but also that the end of semester one is fast approaching. Throughout
the year so far, students undertaking the Academic Writing and Intensive
English classes have continually impressed us with their tenacity, openmindedness and initiative; these are skills that will serve students in thesecourses throughout their time at KIST.
For all students, summative task season is in full swing and for some this can bea stressful time. As language instructors, we understand that working acrosstext types can add to this load. Conversely, having all been students ourselves,
we also understand how extra guidance and support can lighten this load.
The English Language Support department is continually developing new
strategies to help all students at KIST achieve their language goals, therefore,
we have recently introduced weekly drop-in sessions for students in grades 9
and 10.
These sessions allow students to receive guidance about language issues from year level ELS instructors in theirsummative tasks across subjects. Moreover, ELS instructors are also available to answer general questions about
grammar and language learning strategies.
Drop-in sessions are held every Tuesday after school for G10 and Thursday after school for G9. Appointments forthese sessions are not necessary. To consult their grade level instructor students need only to come by the English
office during these times. Students with commitments after school on these days can also make appointments to
consult with Ms Chernenko and myself based on our availability.
Advice for the holidays… keep it fun!
With a three-week winter vacation coming to daub us in festive cheer and maybe even some snow (depending on
where you are going this is a good or terrifying thing) it is easy for our language learning journey to stall but it
doesn’t have to! Relaxation time is a great opportunity to work on your language skills. Read books,
watch movies and browse magazines in your target language. By melding your interests withlanguage learning you can retain useful vocabulary, master common vernacular and, mostimportantly, enjoy yourself, because you earned it! Happy holidays!
Jade Bonus
Secondary ELS Coordinator“ T h e Co m et ”

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MUN Scrimmage
On November 16, 2019, KIST held the annual MUN
Scrimmage. On this warm autumn day, KIST’s MUN
delegates had the privilege of interacting with students
from the British School in Tokyo, St. Mary’s
International School, Yokohama International School,
Tamagawa High School, Horizon Japan International
School and KAIS International School.
KIST MUN high school delegatesThis year, the MUN Scrimmage started off with aguest discussion with Mr Mioh Nemoto, who is the
Senior Advisor/Deputy, UNICEF Tokyo Public
Partnership Division, facilitated by the secretary
generals Akino (G12B), Marlinah (G12A) and Ji Hye(G12A). This discussion allowed delegates to better
understand the works of the United Nations and theattributes delegates should develop in order to actively
engage with the United Nations.

Over the course of the day, high school delegatesdiscussed, created and debated on resolutions for two
global issues. The first topic was “Preventing andcombatting trafficking in human organs and trafficking
persons for the purpose of organ removal” and thesecond was “Promoting international cooperation andtechnology-sharing toward the goal of manned
exploration of the solar system and a permanentcolony on Mars.” Meanwhile, the middle schooldelegates debated the topic: “Limiting the negative
impact of single-use and micro-plastics on the global
marine environment.” The delegates did an excellent
job representing their country and reflecting theircountry’s stance on the topics discussed.
Although, this MUN Conference was a first-time
experience for many delegates, everyone wasengaged and actively debated the issues. With manydifferent schools in attendance, the event was aperfect opportunity for delegates to interact andsocialize with new people. We hope everyone enjoyedthe conference, and that it will continue to be held in
the years to come.

Akino, Marlinah and Ji Hye with Mr Nemoto.

Akino (G12B), Ji Hye (G12A) and Marlinah (G12A)

Reflections from a middle school delegate
In Grade 6, I still remember the first time I stepped in frontof the speaking podium to give my opening speech. My
hands were shaking profusely and instead of hearing myown voice, I was only able to hear my heartbeat. The
numerous pairs of eyes staring felt like daggers stabbing
me. The first ever MUN Scrimmage, I was a nervous wreck.
I was confused about all the motions and procedures, I
kept on choking and stammering, and to top it all off, I didn’t
understand a single word the other delegates mentioned.
Throughout these three years of middle school MUN, I wasable to gain confidence, after losing it, I was able to makenew connections and friends, I was able to expand myknowledge based on the world, and finally I was able to realize that eventhough each delegate tends to go against one another, argue about one’s
idea, in the end, we must all collaborate together to must ensure that nations
will be united. After all, it’s called “Model United Nations” for a reason.
I would like to remind future MUNers that joining MUN, you will always walkaway from it, with not only gained knowledge and confidence, but with newmemories and priceless experiences. Thank you to everyone who supportedme throughout this journey.
Remi (G8A)

KIST MUN middle school delegates

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IGCSE News
Grade 9 students have been working on study skills in their advisory lessons. All G9s
were tasked with making a study timetable, prompting them to consider forthemselves how best to balance their studies with their personal commitments. This
process allowed students to start to take responsibility for their own daily schedules,
as well as helping them to improve their study and time management skills. Oncecompleted, the study timetables were checked by the G9 homeroom advisors to confirm that they were suitable toeach students’ study requirements as well as realistic and in line with the students’ other commitments. After thetimetables were checked and finalized, the students e-mailed them to their parents in order to give families anopportunity to help support students’ study habits by keeping a copy of the study timetable at home.
The G9s were also recently advised on how the newly-introduced IGCSE is assessed at KIST. They learned thatthe assessment for each objective is based on a 1–9 scale (with 9 being the highest possible score) as used by the
IGCSE for its externally-marked assessments. Students now know what type of assessments will be given in the
IGCSE and are aware of the grade boundaries for each assessment. They have been encouraged to
speak with their teachers if they are unsure of the subject weighting or grade boundaries for each of
their subjects.
John Rose
IGCSE Coordinator

Musical Notes
KPASS solo and ensemble festival (vocal and piano)

On November 16, KIST students participated in the KPASS solo and ensemble
festival at ISSH. Six students played piano and two students sang.
The students practiced their repertoire hard for this event and the results are
below:••••

Gold medal for singing—Sara (G12A)
Silver medal for singing—Hamsika (G9A)
Superior performance for solo piano—Junya (G11A)
Excellent performance for solo piano—Stephen (G10B), Ketan (G9B),
Keanu (G9A), Jessie (G9A) and Yudai (G9B)
Congratulations!
Makiko DuranSecondary Music Teacher

Ketan (G9B)

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19

Grade 7 CampOn the G7 camp everyone had afavorite thing that they did. We
worked together and participatedin some fun and very difficult
activities, such as cooking our own
food and hiking in the dark. We
took a survey of the mostmemorable and enjoyable
activities and compiled the results.
Here are the results:

Top 5 ranking#5

ONSEN!! Where you relax in the bath together.

#4

Doing stuff in our rooms! (e.g. pillow fighting, wrestling, relaxing playing
cards, etc.)#3

The night hike when we hiked in the satisfying world of silence and saw
animals that only come out in the night. We also could see Fuji-san lit
up by the moonlight.

#2

The bus drive. The bus was, well...so loud! The back part of the bus
was singing, and the middle was playing card games, and the front was
I assume talking. One of the rest stops had exactly what some of us
wanted: tapioca drinks.

#1

The most loved activity in the camp was kayaking!!! Half of thosesurveyed voted for kayaking. After we got to the destination, ate lunch,then we want kayaking. Kayaking was all about teamwork. We had towork together in the same kayak (2 people per kayak). We had topaddle how we were shown, otherwise, the kayak would flip over or wewould drift away somewhere.

During the camp there were many challenges, but we all experienced growth by stepping outside of our comfort
zone.
Takeru (G7A)
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Reflections from Grade 7 camp...

We arrived at the resort after
hours of trip. We could see
the beautiful scenery of lake and
Mt Fuji itself. Worn out fromplaying card games, I sat down
after leaving my stuff at the lobby
and saw many others do the same.
But we were told to stand up andmove. After getting into single filein order to avoid becoming anotherroad-killed animal, we arrived at
the cooking site where we were
supposed to make our own dish.
Obviously, it was curry. Since I
joined the group that cooked rice,
we lit a bonfire with newspaper andwood with minor incidents thatmade me feel that it was a
Sisyphean task. While we cooked
the rice, wind blew, and ashes
overwhelmed us in such mannerthat reminded me of Pompeii. Halfcrying and throwing up due tosmoke, I saw that huge spider wasstuck at Junu’s neck and hesquashed it.
After a nice refreshing lunch, weheaded to kayaking area which
was just down the hill. Wind was
raging sweeping the premises
every few seconds. When we got
our paddles and huddled aroundthe instructor, he scared us when
he told us we would need to becareful not to flip over in the windy
conditions! Naturally I chose apartner who I believed I could trust.
As we sailed on because we werelazy, we fell behind. My partner
didn’t know which way was left or
right, so we had minor problems.
After sailing for what seemed likean eternity, we got back to where
we started and found myself
carrying pounds of water in mywaterproof jacket.
We got back to the resort andfound ourselves inside a palace.
Not exactly Versailles but at least
Edinburgh Castle. We changed
into warm clothing and foundourselves with 2 hours of freedom.
We encountered one of myroommate’s card set and decided
to play a card game. He taught us
how to play and soon, we wereplaying it as good as professionals.
Around 4 o’clock, we went toonsen to wash ourselves fromexhausting day. After that as soon
as we sat down, we were called fordinner. As I inspected it, it was
French styled buffet all set froml'aperitif to demitasse, an excellent
meal. After that night hiking was
waiting for us.
We were called and we went up to
the bus and in 5 minutes, we were
nowhere without a single lightsource. The guide came up to tell
us no flashlights were allowed andhow to not end up lost. We set out
for more of a walk than a hike but
ended up within deep forest. We
were told to sit down and enjoy thesilence that we needed but did nothave in the city. A few minutes
later I decided to lie down andmade a loud cracking noise when I
broke a considerably large twig,
but it sounded more like a branchbeing cracked by lighting! Next, weheaded to observe mice among
those holes. It was lit up with red
lights that are invisible to animaleyes. That was when I saw themouse! I enjoyed looking at it
scurrying around. We had somefriendship lesson that taught us
how we were feeling and such.
After the lesson, we went back to
the resort and ended up in
mattress in 10 minutes. But what I
didn’t expect was that I stayed up
with my eyes open until 2 a.m. in
my blankets. Partially because of
giggling and knocking on the door
and motorized timed toothbrush,
but mostly due to excitement.
The next morning, we woke up at
exactly 6:25 altogether surprisingly
refreshed. We brushed our teeth
and hurriedly went to ourbreakfast. It was same format aslast night but more delicious. We
had exactly 5 minutes to come outof our room packed. We went backto same room that we had lessons
and did similar activities that wasquite enjoying.
After the lesson, we loaded ourbus with our luggage and were
dropped off near a mountain. After
10 minutes of vigorous climbing,
we reached the top. I was
extremely eager to throw
something down but decided
against it. At the back, there was ahuge waterfall which we enjoyed in
middle of November.

On the way, same member that
played card game in the room
played Blackjack 21 with eachother for few hours. When school
was in sight, most of us wanted toget a traffic jam so they could
enjoy more of their vacation. Afterthe arrival, we were allowed to gohome and dispersed. Overall, it
was very exciting and fun
experience outside of the school
and definitely one of my best
school days ever.
Brian (G7A)

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21

G8 Visits the National DietOn November 14, 2019 the current G8s headed off to the National
Diet to learn more about how the Japanese government
operates. As we entered the premises of the Residential Area of the
Speakers of the House of Representatives, we were astonished by
the level of attention paid to every detail within the interior design.
The composition of this building was beautiful, and the structure
incorporated aspects of Japanese culture. Symbols, such as the red
shoujou flower, embodied characteristics present in some of Japan’s
oldest folktales. From the chandeliers to the garden, everythingembraced the beauty found in Japanese culture. There was also
multiple exquisite paintings and sculptures which really tied all theunique features together. This location is utilized when foreign guests
of authority in their municipal administration travel to Japan for an
official meeting with Japanese council members.
We were then taken to visit the official Diet building. Entering the Dietbuilding, I felt as if I was being embraced into a fairy tale; it was truly
magical. The polished marble walls glimmered with the fluorescentlights. There were so many explicit subtle details in the engravements
on every wall, pillar, ceiling and floor. On one wall you could see faintJapanese cranes and pine tree carvings, and on another you could
make out patterns of chrysanthemum flowers, a symbolic flower for
the Japanese imperial family. It was more of a scavenger hunt thanan excursion. Entering every room gave me this peculiar thrill andmade me think to myself, “what will I discover next?” The last stop in our excursion was the hall for plenary sittings.
I, myself, had seen this hall prior on television, however, it was my first time stepping into the actual room. The hall
was much bigger than I had imagined. The room was filled with velvet cushion seats and every single wall panel
had marvelous carvings of flowers and potteries. The ceiling was paned with stained glass, allowing streams ofsunlight in, making the place even more wonderous.
From the outside, the National Diet area looked like it only contained old buildings, but once I entered inside thebuilding, I was astonished by all the exquisite details that represented Japanese culture and history. The National
Diet itself was like a Japanese folktale being unraveled. It was truly an unforgettable and precious experience.
Remi (G8A) and Neha (G8A)

Teacher Training Scheme
Providing a high-quality education for students requires
the sustainment of a population of exceptional
teachers. Despite the high demand for teachers aroundthe world, the number of exceptional teachers able toguide students in achieving high academic scores islimited, particularly those skilled in teaching within theDP.
In order to secure exceptional teachers who
demonstrate long-term commitment to working at KIST
as either classroom teachers in the Elementary Schoolor as subject teachers in the Secondary School, we
introduced a teacher training scheme from the 2019–20
school year in partnership with the University ofSunderland in the UK. Through this scheme, individuals
interested in undertaking a career in teaching are able
to complete online studies as part of a one-year
teacher education program through the university, while
undergoing on-the-job training as teacher-trainees at
KIST from experienced teachers who act as mentors to
guide the trainees in the practical aspects of the job.

To ensure that participants are
fully aware of the challenges ofthe educational programs
offered at KIST, and who havedemonstrated long-term commitment to working at
KIST, the opportunity to take part in this scheme isoffered only to individuals who are either high-achieving
KIST DP graduates who have completed theirundergraduate university studies, or those who are
currently working as instructional staff at KIST (i.e. ELS
instructors, teaching assistants).
We believe that this scheme has great potential in
helping us to maintain our population of exceptional
teachers as current staff move on to other teaching
opportunities or retire, and look forward
to the benefits this brings to students.
Craig Larsen
Director of Admissions and Personnel

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G11 Camp to Atami‘A three-day adventure yet a lifetime of memories’
The G11 camp was the first main highlight of our DP
journey. The camp took place in Atami, Shizuoka, for 3
days and 2 nights, between the August 28th to 30th. The
days that we stayed at the camp included numerous
activities that would help our team building skills, andhelp introduce the important skills needed to succeed in
the DP. It also introduced the ideas about TOK and theEE, to help us ease into the two-year course.
On the 28th, we set off to the camp from school by bus,
and after a 2-hour journey or so, we got to the camp
hotel. The floors were separated for boys and girls, andeach homeroom had their own rooms to have a place torest. The corridors and the roof acted as the mostcommon site where we interacted with our friends, andwe were allowed dedicated breaks that we could use toeither rest or socialize. The activities were quite
engaging! We started off with some team building
activities on the first day, led by Mr Hiro, right after wegot to the camp. Along with informative EE anduniversity sessions led by Mr Smith and Mr Waterfall
respectively, we also did some cooking with Ms Childand Mr Rose, which was quite fun. Ms Evelyn also
helped us to relax by having some puzzle activity as well
as resting periods.
On the 29th, we continued to work as a group to help
with team building, and played a game called ‘dominos
stacking’, led by Mr Cely. There was also the outdoor
bath, which was an enjoyable experience; it allowed us
to get closer to those within the same gender group, as
it was split into one group for girls and one for boys. We
also engaged in a very tiring but enjoyable trek andparticipated in Tabata fitness training which was led by
Mr Smith. All the teachers led extremely fun andengaging activities that had immense benefits to us andall of us are very thankful for them!
It goes without saying that the camp was more than justa trip; it was an experience that equipped the Class of
2021 with skills that are necessary for life during andbeyond the rigorous two-year course ahead. Eachactivity was carefully planned by teachers such that by
the end of the trip, every one of us was aware of how toapproach struggles, failures and accomplishments in the
DP using the skills we acquired. The team building

activities that solely
relied on effective
collaboration andcommunication
made us realizethat our peers will
be our greatest
allies in the coming
years and nomatter how difficult
times get, we will
always be there foreach other. Whilethe cooking
activities or the trek
might seem
unrelated tosuccess in the DP,
it taught us morethan improving ourculinary or athletic
ability. We wereable to recognize
the importance of
perseverance,engaging in newexperiences andhow nothing, nomatter how simple,
will come easy in
our lives ahead. At
the same time, our camp experience, assisted us with
developing tactics to tackle perhaps some of the mosttroubling concerns for students: stress and anxiety. It
was the much-needed reflection sessions that proved
sometimes a few minutes of meditation, disconnectingfrom technology or even engaging in a hobby aids inrefreshing and easing the mind for the better.
Without a doubt, every minute of our three-day
experience at Atami will always be engraved as anindescribable memory in our minds, functioning as a
steppingstone, as we, the KIST Class of 2021 take on
the DP journey ahead!
Ravi (G11B) and Leah (G11A)

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23G12 Economics Students Visit Bank of JapanU

pon hearing the phrase “Bank of Japan”, one may
initially imagine a building containing large vaults
of money. While this assertion may be considered
accurate to some extent, the G12 Economics class
may not entirely agree. After visiting the Bank of Japanon Tuesday, November 12, we discovered that its role
is much more than simply holding money in its vaults.
From maintaining price stability to ensuring thesoundness of the financial system, the Bank of Japanis an imperative body for the wellbeing of Japan’s
economy and promoting both economic growth anddevelopment. This is especially important given
Japan’s current economic circumstance, whererecently economic growth has slowed down to 0.2%.
After leaving school at lunch time, we made our way to
Mitsukoshimae-eki, the location of the bank. Before ourtour began, we visited the Currency Museum, which
was adjacent to the main Bank of Japan building. I was
surprised to see such extensive and rich history of theJapanese currency outlined throughout the museum’s
displays. In one particular instance, lifting the replicasof the hefty coins used centuries ago made me ponder
about the historical and cultural lifestyle incontemporary times. It was also interesting to see howmuch change the Japanese currency has seen,
especially with 100 yen, which initially was a largesized note. Apart from exploring the gradualtransformation of the Japanese currency, we also
discovered the evolution of currencies from all aroundthe world, which was a memorable experience foranyone intrigued by the fields of Economics andFinance.

Though certain parts of thebank were under construction(they were undergoing aseismic insulation retrofit
reform on their main building),
and we were not able to see
the actual vault itself, we
experienced several other aspects of the bank whichwere important as well to understand its operations.
Firstly, we were welcomed by one of the members of
the staff of Public Relations, who gathered us into aroom and delivered a brief presentation explaining themain aims and policies which the Bank of Japan
employs to ensure efficiency and economic growth. We
also had the opportunity to ask additional questions to
our tour guide, which helped us enrich our knowledge
about monetary policies. Before this trip, we wereintroduced to monetary policies and other major
macroeconomic objectives in our Economics classes;
however, experiencing a real-life application of these
theories was a way for us to observe the applications of
the content we learnt.
The overall tour was a great experience for the G12
Economics class. We were also able to take a classphoto doing our iconic Bank of Japan pose! Our
gratitude goes to Mr Erickson and Mr Knuchel fororganizing this event.
Aryan (G12B)

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Athletics Update
Kanto Plains Cross Country

We sent up to 32
Secondary students tothree cross country meetsand our MS Boys/Girls did
well in the team scoresagainst other participating
schools. Here are someMS team pictures andcomments from Coach Thomas.

KIST MS Boys’ Cross Country

KIST MS Girls’ Cross Country

This year Ms. Cobbs and I were very pleased to join the Secondary Cross-Country Club, enabling us toreconnect with/get to know some of the older students at KIST. We started the weekly training sessions
back in August to prepare for the first Kanto Plains League meet in September. The sessions varied
between steady paced runs and interval training in Kiba Park. One session we took the train to the Imperial
Palace to run the well-known 5 km route around it. There was a great turnout for this scenic training session,so something that we will do again!
As a result of Typhoon 19, one of the events was unfortunately cancelled, and some students were unable
to compete in the final Kanto Plains League meet due to a clash with KISTival. Despite these setbacks, theMiddle School Boys team still managed to finish the season in the middle of their category, which included
some very strong international schools.
Even though the season is now officially over, the club will continue to meet every Friday after school toencourage students to keep fit for the KIST cross country meet in early April, which informs the selection for
the ISTAA cross country invitational at the end of the month.
Bethan Thomas, Emily Cobbs, Florent Debouverie
Secondary Cross-Country Club Coaches

Kanto Plains MS Boys’ Soccer

KIST played A-Pool MS 11-aside boys’ soccer
for the second year which was a successful one.
KIST finished 3rd place in the league with 6 wins and 2
losses and finished 3rd place in the Champions tournament
at ASIJ. We were a bit unlucky missing some key players forthe tournament. Great season that will be tough to match!

Kanto Plains HS Boys’ Tennis

In our first season playing tennis, KIST had varying
success winning some and losing some to St.
Mary’s, ASIJ, YIS and CAJ. The 8 boys worked
hard weekly with Coach Jamal. At the final
tournament at ASIJ, one of the doubles’ teams reached thesemi-finals. Great effort!

KIST MS Boys’ Soccer

ISTAA Volleyball

The Comet U-18 teams with Coach Lee provided
excitement at home matches this year with many
games being very close with some good rallies
mixed in. The boys were on the losing end of mostof these though and finished 4th in the league. The
girls finished 3rd. In the final tournament, the girls lost to
BST but went on to beat KAIS and CIS to take 3rd place.
The boys beat KAIS but lost 25–23, 25–23 to Columbia inthe semi-final then lost to BST 2 sets to 1 inthe 3rd-place match. With only one senior on
the boys’ team, next year looks promising.
Dennis Ota
Athletics Coordinator

KIST U-18 Volleyball teams

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V o l u me 2 3 | I s s u e 2 | De c e m b e r 2 0 1 925

Towards a Better Me, Starting with Me

Reference:
Sun, C.J. (2019) Funny Thing about Self-Awareness. Retrieved on 22
November 2019, from https://www.conniewonnie.com/2019/02/
funny-thing-about-self-awareness.html

In the last issue of The Comet, Ms Holdaway reminded
us of the importance of Social and Emotional Learning(SEL) and introduced the CASEL Framework theschool adopts to structure our SEL lessons. In thisarticle, we will focus on ideas related to developing theSelf, which will ultimately form a foundation for healthysocial relationships and responsible decision making.

What?
•
•

Self-awareness: ‘the ability to identify yourthoughts, feelings and values, as well as how theyintersect with your behaviors’
Self-management: ‘the ability to not only identify
but regulate emotions, thoughts and actions’

Why?

With better self-awareness and self-management skills,
students perform better in all aspects of their lives
and the educational community becomes morenurturing. We want students who can withstand stressand manage anxiety, teachers who are emotionally welland desiring to inspire, and parents who will foster
meaning and purpose in their children.

How?

Here are 3 simple activities you (whether student,
parent or staff) can incorporate into your life to start/
continue your journey of greater self-awareness andimproved self-management skills.
1. Create a personal mission statement: This will
help you define what is important to you and guide
you as you set goals to achieve what constitutes
success for you.
• In creating a mission statement, consider
answers to questions like: ‘Who are the mostimportant people in your life?’, ‘List 10 things
you love to do.’, ‘Five years from now, anewspaper is going to interview three people
you are close to. Who are they and what would
you want them to say about you?’• Collect a few of your very favorite quotes. The
sum of these quotes then becomes your mission
statement.
• This website resource (https://
msb.franklincovey.com/) helps you build amission statement and provides examples ofinspiring people (for example, Martin LutherKing Jr.’s mission statement ‘I have a dream…’
motivated and guided his life choices and work).
2. Write a regret letter: The process of reflection is
integral to heightening your sense of selfawareness.
• Write a letter to your younger self telling him/her
about what regrets you have had in your life andapologize for any mistakes committed oropportunities you let slip by. As you write, youcome to accept your vulnerable younger selfand become mindful of what you want to avoid
doing in your future.
3. Practice gratitude daily: This act will help you
recognize what you already have and allow you to
focus on the resources and abilities you have tocope with life stresses.
• Set aside a time of the day to find reasons to be
grateful. For example, review what happened
throughout the day in the evening and identify
things or people you can be thankful for. Or startthe day reminding yourself to be proactive infinding things for which to be grateful and to
express it when appropriate.
• Write a letter or e-mail, or send a text to aperson you are particularly grateful to have inyour life.
• Carry a gratitude rock (or small object) aroundor leave it somewhere where you can see itthroughout the day. Each time you see it or
touch it, pause to think of at least one thing thatbrings you joy or fulfillment.
Note to parents, if you would like to learn more about
Student Care at KIST, please check out thisPowerSchool Learning page:b
Web

https://kist.learning.powerschool.com/
student.care/studentcareforparents/

References:• Covey, S. (2014) The 7 habits of Highly Effective Teens, New
York, NY: Franklin Covey Co.
• Scott, S.J. (2019) 33 Self Awareness activities for adults andstudents, Retrieved on 22 November 2019, from https://www.developgoodhabits.com/self-awareness-activities/• Waterford.org (2019) 15 Activities for Teaching CASEL Core
Competencies, Retrieved on 22 November 2019 from https://www.waterford.org/education/15-activities-for-teachingcasel-core-competencies/

Evelyn Pang
Student Care Coordinator (G9–G12)

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V ol u me 23 | I s s ue 2 | Dec em b er 20 19

Spotlight on Clubs
Zine Club (Elementary)

What are zines? Pronounced like magazine (zeen), a zine is a book that is
published independently and can be on whatever topic the author prefers.
There is no eye of the editor, sponsor, or teacher to please! You please
yourself by writing, drawing, cutting, gluing, and compiling a book about
anything and everything.
The authors in zine club this semester have let their imaginations soar!
Some students wanted to use computers to conduct research on beetles,
ice cream, beautiful locations, and rabbits, and have used the photos andfacts they have learned to draw and write in their zines. Other students havefocused on making multiple zines on mazes. Almost all students brought inmaterials from home that they wanted to use on their zines. Felt, glittery
pens, stickers, stamps, and colorful masking tape…there are absolutely norestrictions to what a zine could be or how it
should look like, and students have absolutely
enjoyed the freedom to explore and be creative.
Currently, the students’ zines are displayed in
the elementary foyer for you to see. Pleasecome by, pick up a zine, and check out thepassion and creativity these wonderfulelementary authors haveexpressed. And if this appeals
to you…come join Zine Club
next semester!
Aya McDonoughClub Supervisor

IGCSE Band Club (Secondary)This year, we have a bigger band due to the requirements of the G9 IGCSE music class. There are 16 students inour band: 1 drummer, 2 vocalists, 1 trumpet player, 1 flute player, 1 violin player, 4 pianists, 4 guitarists, and 2
bassists. We practice every Tuesday after school. To showcase our skills, we performed two pieces at KISTival.
We hope that you all heard our band and enjoyed it.
The students practice hard at home and at school, and we hope that you will be able to hear them
perform again at the winter concert. They will be performing “Take the A-Train” and “Do you Wanna
Build a Snowman?”
Makiko DuranClub Supervisor

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Library News
18 books shortlisted for contenders in
the Middle School Category of the
Sakura Medal. Students read three ofthe books, then vote for their favourite.
The KIST votes are tallied next year
along with those from otherinternational schools inTokyo to produce a winner.

KIST Libraries PowerSchool page

The KIST Libraries PowerSchool page is accessible toall KIST community members.
bWeb

http://bit.ly/KIST-Libraries

Since the last issue of The Comet, the Library Team
has added a lot of exciting and useful content including:• Library information – How many books may I
borrow?
• Online resources – The JSTOR digital library ofacademic journals, books and primary sources• 5-minute news – From and about Japan, andaround the world in multiple languages• Scholastic – How to support your school libraries• Software guides – How-to guides from Adobe andMicrosoft

LMC chess

A game of chess is awonderful and popular
way to relax and makenew friends in the LMC.

Early favourites are The
prince and the dressmaker,
by Jen Wang andRenegades by Marissa
Meyer.
bWeb

http://bit.ly/KIST-Sakura-2020-MS

these books.

21 excellent recommendations for HighSchool students. To cast one voterequires a
student toread three of

Early favourites are
Warcross by Marie Lu, andA heart in a body in theworld by Deb Caletti.
bWeb

http://bit.ly/KIST-Sakura-2020-HS

The Financial
Times

Via the KIST Online Resources page, all students over
the age of 16 may now access The Financial Times
online and via mobile apps.

Here, Si Yuan (G6A)
helps Mr Tim count andorganise 12 new chess
sets.

b
Web

Library resources

There are many resources available to students in the
LMC besides books.
A big thank you from the
Library Team to Travis
and Noa from G7A whochecked that our 24
compact cameras were
working properly. This as
one of their IT Service
contributions.

http://bit.ly/KIST-Online-Resources

Latest news and in-depth articles dedicated to studentsof Economics, Business and Geography. Audioversions of select articles are also available.

Scholastic

For full details of how you may support KIST Libraries
via the Scholastic Book catalogue please visit:bWeb

http://bit.ly/KIST-Scholastic

Secondary students use these cameras for recording
camps, robotics, movie making, artwork, KISTv videos
and more.

Sakura Medal
2020

This year’s Sakura
Medal reading
contest is off to aflying start with many students making choices forleisure or reading assignments from this year’s
selection.

Riu (G6A) and Jackie (G6B)
present the Scholastic catalogue
for ages 7–11, and the Teen BookClub.

The books purchased with
the Elementary Librarypoints from Scholastic –Thank you!
Continued on next page

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Continued from previous page

LMC news

The LMC team always strives
to support teachers andstudents. We have been working to improve ourmusic genre materials and have added new
books about music and dance, world music,
musical instruments and music theory. We havealso updated the science section by dividing
materials into several categories for students’projects, and have also added new university
guidance resources to help students choose thebest university for their further studies.
Many new books are available in both fiction and nonfiction genres. The Guinness World Record 2020 guideis also available for interested learners to explore theirknowledge of the world. New and fascinating books
available in the young adult section include: Game ofThrones, The Tattooist and many more. For staff, wehave also recently updated our collection of
professional resources.
Please visit the LMC to check out your choice of books.
If you needassistance,
please ask us.
KIST Libraries
Team

Emergency Communication
General school notices related to class activities,
excursions, parent workshops, KIST Community
Association (CA) meeting minutes, health alerts andthe like are sent through the E-Communications
system. An archive of messages sent may be accessed
on KISTnet at the link below.
b
Web

E-Communications 2019-2020 Archive

Notices of school and grade/class closures due tohealth epidemics, inclement weather conditions and thelike, however, are not sent through E-Communications.
Instead, they are sent through our separate
Emergency Communication System (ECS).
Through this system, families are able to register
several personal e-mail addresses directly into thesystem in order to receive emergency notices from theschool in a timely fashion. As the school is not able toupdate addresses, it is the responsibility of families to
do so themselves directly via the ECS. Failure to
update your registered addresses may result in you
not receiving important information from theschool during emergency situations.
The ECS log in page is accessible from the school
website ‘Community’ portal at the link below (log inrequired). An explanation guide is also available.
b
Web

V ol u me 23 | I s s ue 2 | Dec em b er 20 19“ T h e Co m e t ”

https://www.kist.ed.jp/user

If you have any questions about accessing the ECS,
please contact our IT support team at
it.support@kist.ed.jp.

Staff 10!
In this month’s Staff 10!, weare pleased to present
Scott Grant who joined us
in August 2013 as a Grade
5 classroom teacher in the
Elementary School.
1) Tell us somethinginteresting about yourMr Grant and family having
hometown.
fun at KISTival.
I hail from a small town inPerthshire, Scotland called Blairgowrie. It’s considered
to be the raspberry capital of the world and thegateway to the highlands. Some other local attractions
are the tallest and longest beech hedge in the world
and the Glenshee Ski Centre.
2) What is your favorite place in the world?
Anywhere I can find a dirt track leading up a mountainwith a view is a pretty good place to be in my books.
3) Who would you like to meet if you had thechance and why?
It would have to be my grandmother on my mother’sside of the family. Unfortunately, she passed away justbefore I was born and I never had the opportunity tomeet her.
4) Do you have any special skills or talents?
I am a keen amateur photographer. I especially enjoy
taking photos with my old film camera and developing
the film in my makeshift darkroom a.k.a. the shower.
5) Please share a little known fact about yourself.
As a teenager, I captained my national league
basketball team to the Scottish Cup final, and had thegood fortune of scoring the final and deciding basket to
win the game.
6) What is your most prized possession?
Time.
7) Which IB learner profile attribute do you mostclosely identify with and why?
Caring—I wouldn’t be where I am today without thehelp and support I received from many people
throughout my life.
8) If you could live your life again, would you doanything differently?
I’m sure there are a few things that I would like to dodifferently if I had the chance, but I believe the lows
are just as important as the highs.
9) Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
As I mentioned previously, I enjoy taking photos andI’m always trying to capture that decisive moment. As
well as developing my own film, I
am also keen to get in thedarkroom and learn how to makemy own prints too.
10) Do you have any special
message for your fans?
I feel privileged to come to school
each day and be inspired by you
all. Thank you!

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Nurse’s Notes
The immune system
The immune system’s job is to protect the body from
infection by attacking pathogenic bacteria and helping
to keep us healthy. So why are we more susceptible
to colds in winter? According to The New England
Journal of Medicine, there is evidence that exposure
to cold temperatures suppresses the immune system,so the opportunities for infection increase. Because ofthis, it is important for us to strengthen our immune
systems in order to fight viruses and bacteria evenduring the coldest months of the year.

2. Taking protein and vitamin A
and C to strengthen the immune
system• Protein: fish, eggs, meat, beans, bean
products, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt• Vitamin A: spinach, broccoli, pumpkin,carrots, salmon, eggs and liver• Vitamin C: oranges, grapefruit, mandarinoranges, kiwifruit, strawberries, spinach,pumpkin, kale and broccoli

The main parts of the immune system
are:•White blood cells: These cells flow through yourbloodstream to fight viruses, bacteria and otherforeign invaders that threaten your health. Whenthe body is in distress and any particular area isunder attack, white blood cells rush in to help
destroy the harmful substance and prevent
illness.

•

Lymphatic system: This system is a network oftissues and organs that help rid the body of
toxins, waste and other unwanted materials.

•

Bone marrow: This matter inside our bones
produces red blood cells, platelets and whiteblood cells. Lymphocytes are produced in thebone marrow and play an important part in the
body’s immune system.

How to strengthen your immune system:
1. Improvement of intestinal environment• Eating fermented foods that contain probiotics
improves the intestinal environment andprovides health benefits.
• Biologists have discovered thatmicroorganisms contained in fermented foods
have the ability to improve the barrier functionthat blocks unnecessary substances andunwanted bacteria from entering the intestines.
Common fermented foods:• Yogurt, cheese• Sauerkraut, kimchi and Japanese pickles• Sourdough bread• Miso• Natto (fermented soybeans)
All fermented foods containhealthy microbes such as lactic acid bacteria.

3. Try to minimize and release stress• Stress changes your gastrointestinal
microbiota. If you are stressed out thegastrointestinal microbiota is disturbed as aresult, and you will experience increased
levels of stress hormone and a different
immune response.
• One simple method to reduce stress is torelax in a hot bath.
4. Increase your body temperature andmetabolism• Regular exercise develops your muscle
strength and increase the body temperatureand metabolism. According to the American
Journal of Medicine, people who walked for ahalf-hour every day for one year had half thenumber of colds as those who had not
exercised. Researchers found that regular
walking may lead to a higher number of whiteblood cells, which fight infections.
• Taking a bath can be helpful, not only to help
relieve stress, but also to increase the bodytemperature and metabolism.
5. Other ways to boost your immune system• Getting adequate sleep helps you fightinfections. Lack of sleep can cause the body’s
immune system to go into overdrive, much inthe same way as stress affects the body.
• Proper hand-washing and oral hygiene aresimple ways to help prevent germs andbacteria from entering the body.
Yukiko Yamazaki
School Nurse

References:• Bell, V. (2018). One Health, Fermented Foods, and Gut. PubMed, 7(12), 195. doi: 10.3390/foods7120195• Harvard Health Publishing: Out in the cold. (November, 2019) Retrieved fromhttps://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/out-in-the-cold• WebMD: Excise and the common cold. (November, 2019) Retrieved fromhttps://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/exercise-when-you-have-cold#1

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University Guidance News
Student nominated for PSAT recognition

Over 1.5 million students took the 2018 Preliminary
SAT (PSAT) last October and applied towards the
National Merit Program (for US passport holders only).
Out of those students, the 50,000 highest scorers wererecently notified and presented a commendation for
their scores during that test.
We would like to recognize
Erika (G12B), as one of the
global 50,000 and the sole
student at KIST to receive thiscommendation this year. Our
students work hard to complete
their IB Diplomas while at thesame time working towards
additional proficiency tests,
language tests, extra-curricular
activities, and more to increase
Erika (G12B) with her
PSAT commendation.
their university offers. We areproud to see the fruits of theirlabor and look forward to more continued successwithin our program.
The PSAT takes place at KIST each October with theresults being distributed around six weeks later andcommendations towards the National Merit Scholarship
being announced the following calendar year.

Application season is underway!

In other university news, the application season is now
in full swing. All 44 of our Grade 12 students are now inthe process of getting their IB Predicted Grades (PGs),
examining their final choices, and applying to theirearly option choices. By December 13, any students
that have university deadlines before the end of
Semester 1 will have their applications finished. Please
help support our G12s in this time when they are
managing one of the most difficult times of their year.
Our counseling office isalso planning to meet all
Grade 11 students forsome of their first one-onone interviews of the year.
It is time for them to start
thinking about where theymight want to target in the
future as well as making
timelines for when to
prepare for tests, what to
do during their winterholidays, and how tomanage their first year in
the Diploma Program. To
aid in their research, wehave added a section to the
KIST LMC university guidance
library specifically forcorneruniversity research toassist alongside our new
platform Cialfo. New books are added each semesterand new brochures are added after each university
visit.

University of Cambridge
information session

It was a great pleasure for us tohost the University of Cambridge
Undergraduate Information
Session in the evening of
September 13 at KIST. About 300
students and parents from KIST
and other schools in the Tokyo
Mrs Okude with Ms
Claire Canningarea came to KIST to attend this(Cambridge Admissions
event—the first ever of its kind in
Office), the presenter ofJapan—conducted by the
the Tokyo information
Cambridge Undergraduate
session at KIST, at the
University ofAdmissions Office. We hope that
all in attendance enjoyed the event Cambridge Student
Services Centre
and went home with a lot of
information about the University of Cambridge
application process, curriculum, student experienceand more.

Mrs Okude visits the University ofCambridge, UCL, Imperial College andKing’s College London

Mrs Okude was invited to an international counselor
conference at the University of Cambridge at the endof November and spent three days with 48 counselors
from the international schools all over the world. During
the conference, she was able to visit four of their 31
colleges (Clare College Christ College, Trinity College,
Sydney Sussex College) to meet the admissions
counselors and faculty members. As a part of theconference, Mrs Okude was fortunate to be able toexperience mock interviews and “supervision” (aspecial teaching style at Cambridge), and she greatly
enjoyed a chance to dine at one of the “Harry Potter”
dining halls and campus tours. All in all, the event wasboth an enjoyable and educational experience, andMrs Okude is very thankful to the university forproviding this rare opportunity to explore theeducational experience at Cambridge
After the event, Mrs Okude
traveled to London toattend another counselor
conference at UCL(University College
London) and made apersonal visit to Imperial
College and King’s College
Strand Campus. At
Imperial College, she wasable to meet Igor (Class of
Lunch meeting at Imperial
College London with Igor (2019) 2019), who has just started(center) and Mr Jake Ganymede his Master of Engineering(left) (Student Recruitment and(Mechanical Engineering)
Outreach).
there. Mrs Okude was very
glad to see Igor enjoying the program as a busy
freshman and as a competitive swimmer as well.
Keiko Okude andThomas Waterfall
University GuidanceCounselors