The omet

The New sletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 23 | Issue 1 | September 2019

In this issue...
02...IB Diploma Results—July 2019
03…Welcome to New Staff
03...Academic Scholarships
07...K2B Life is a Circle
08...KIST Student Wins Art Prizes
12...PowerSchool Learning

14...KIST Orchestra Visits Tokushima
16...GaOn’s Research Paper Published16...Wall of Honor 2018–19
17...Social and Emotional Learning
20...KIST Community Association
22...University Acceptances/Offers

From the Head of School

Dates to Remember

Dear KIST Community Members,
Welcome back to another school year at K. International
School Tokyo! I hope that you all had a safe and enjoyable summer vacation. It
has been wonderful watching our students happily return to school, excited forthe new school year! I hope that you enjoyed our Parent Welcome Nights andhad the opportunity to ask any questions you had about how and what yourchildren will be learning this school year.
As was announced on Parent Welcome Night, our 2018-2019 graduating classset yet another record KIST DP average. Our students achieved an average
DP score of 39.2 points. A 39-point average. Let’s consider this number for a
moment. It is not simply a number that can be used to measure achievement.
A score such as this is a measure of persistence, determination, drive, grit andsupport. Achievements such as this have the ability to develop a level ofconfidence in our students that inspires them to follow their dreams. It signifies
what is possible.
With this amount of effort on the part of our students, the support of theirteachers and families, and persistence, achieving personal goals and dreams
are definitely within our students’ reach. Ambitions like becoming a doctor, alawyer, an engineer, an author, an artist, or completing an MBA are attainable
goals.
So, while a 39 can be seen simply as a number or a score, I think it represents
more. It represents what students can achieve with persistence, drive and the
support of those aroundthem, and it signifies themany opportunities the
future holds for ourstudents. Let’s continue tosupport our children andassist them in achieving
their full potential.
Warm regards,
Kevin
Yoshihara
Head of
SchoolKIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life

September 2019

13 (G11-G12) Kanto Plain College
Fair 201916 School day
16 MYP Information session for G6
and new parents
20 Staff development day (Noschool for students)
21 (G9-G12) KPASS High School
Drama Festival
23 School holiday
24-25 School photographs
24 PYP Information session for newparents

October 2019

3 (G5) Day camp
5 SAT@KIST
10 (G9-G12) KPASS High School
Brain Bowl
12 School Explanation Day (forprospective Elementary parents)
14 School day
14 School Explanation Day (forprospective Secondary parents)
14 (G8) MYP Community Project
information session
14 2020-2021 enrollment
applications open
16 (G10) PSAT tests
18 (G6-G8) KPASS Middle School
Drama Festival
22 School holiday
25 KISTival preparation day(K1-G5) No school for students(S) School day

PYP | MYP | DP2

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IB Diploma Results—July 2019
The results of KIST’s“Class of 2019” saw thehighest KIST Diploma
average score so far of
39.2, 1.2 points higher
than the previous highest
average in 2017. Of theClass of 2019 cohort, one
student attained a perfectscore of 45 points,
placing the student in the
top 0.25% globally. A
summary of the Diploma
results from the past fiveexamination sessions isshown on the right.
Of particular note for the Class of 2019:• 35 of the 37 students (95%) were enrolled in the full Diploma, in comparison with the global average of 52%.
• 35 of the 35 students (100%) enrolled in the full Diploma at KIST attained the IB Diploma, in comparison withthe global average of 77%.
• The average score for KIST students attaining the IB Diploma was 39.2 points, nearly 10 points above the IB
Diploma world average of 29.6 points.
• 15 KIST students attaining the IB DP (43%) attained scores of 40 points or above, in comparison with theglobal average of 7%. The 15 students qualify to be considered for the KIST “Learning for Life” University
Support Scholarships.
• 1 student attained a perfect score of 45 points, which only 0.25% globally achieve.
• 4 students attained 44 points; 1 student attained 43 points; 3 students attained 42 points; 2 students attained
41 points; and 4 students attained 40 points.
• 46% of students attaining the IB Diploma enrolled at KIST prior to Grade 6, with an average score of 40.1
points attained by these students. These statistics reflect well on the quality of learning in the PYP and MYP at
KIST.
The table on the right shows how KIST’s course
averages (calculated for students who attained the IB
Diploma) compared against the IB world averages foreach course.
• 100% of courses offered at KIST had results
above the IB world averages.
• 93% of courses offered (with green and blue
shading) had results more than 0.5 points above
the IB world averages.
• 70% of courses (with blue shading) had results
more than 1 point above the IB world averages.
Please refer to the “Statistical Bulletin” at the link
below for further information on the IB Diploma results
and statistics.
https://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/facts-andb
Web figures/statistical-bulletins/diplomaprogramme-statistical-bulletin/
Congratulations to the Class of 2019 for achieving
fantastic IB Diploma results, and best wishes forcontinued success as you commence your university
adventures.
Hiro Komaki
DP Coordinator*Subjects studied through Pamoja Education

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Welcome to New Staff
We would like to introduce you to our new staff for 2019-2020. Please join us in welcoming
them to KIST!

Teachers

Andrew Archibald
DP/IGCSE/MYPEnglishAbigail Child
DP/IGCSE/MYPEnglishTeachers

Thomas Waterfall
University GuidanceCounselor/Teacher

Pei Yi (Jenny) Wu
DP ESS,IGSCE Science

Mahipaul (Ron)Dayaram
DP Biology, IGCSE/
MYP Science

Bernard Knuchel
DP/IGCSE Business,
Economics

Instructional Support Staff

Nataliia Chernenko Kanoka Furukoji
Hema Teja Yadavalli
ELS Instructor
Teacher-Trainee I&S Laboratory and Library(Secondary)(Secondary)
Assistant (Secondary)

Academic Scholarships
KIST ‘Learning for Life’ University Support Scholarships
KIST ‘Learning for Life’ University Support Scholarships are awarded to Grade 12
students who attain 40 points or more as their final DP score, and meet other criteria.
These scholarships are in place to recognize student commitment during their final year of
study, to celebrate high accomplishment, and to support students with their tertiary education as they continue‘learning for life’.
A total of fifteen graduates have been awarded ‘Learning for Life’ scholarships in 2019. Congratulations students
and families, and all the best with your continued studies!

Gold Award

Silver Award

Bronze Award¥2,000,000¥1,000,000¥300,000

45 points

1 studentbWeb43-44 points

5 students

40-42 points

9 students

Click the link below for more information about academic scholarships and how and when to apply.
http://www.kist.ed.jp/node/197

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Message from the Board PresidentIt’s hard to believe that, after the long summer holiday, the 2019–2020 school year has alreadybegun. Now that my year-long term as Acting Head of School has ended, I would like to greet
you once again as Founder and Board President.
As you may have heard, the average DP score achieved by our Class of 2019 graduates was
39.2 points. We are proud of our graduates for their incredible efforts, but at the same time, weknow that they would not have been able to achieve the outstanding and commendable averagescore of 39 points if it weren’t for the support and guidance of our staff and parents/guardians.
Thank you all for your efforts in helping our students succeed on a global scale, and for helping topave the way for their future successes as well.
When I consider the future generations of KIST graduates and observe the smiling faces of ourcurrent Elementary and Secondary School students, I am reminded of the reasons why I want toprovide a strong academic foundation to support these children as they become young adults in
our global society. However, it is sometimes difficult for me to express in words just why this goalis so important to me.
At a recent party to thank our staff for their efforts, I was deeply moved when a speech made by
one of our staff members so clearly expressed exactly what I feel in such a relatable way.
In the speech, the speaker told of how he recently took his children to the dentist during thesummer holiday and explained that for the first time, he considered that perhaps his children
might want to become dentists. As enrolling and succeeding in a dental school is a challenge that
requires a strong academic background and well developed skills in time management and selfdiscipline to achieve high level academic results, he shared that he had never considered thiscareer path for himself when he was younger. Now, however, he has come to the realization that
because his children study at KIST, they have so many more options available to them in terms of
university, postgraduate studies, and future careers.
This story really struck a chord with me because I felt that it truly expressed just why we are so
dedicated to the idea of providing a strong academic program for all students. From time to time,parents ask, “Why do all students at KIST have to study in such a rigorous program? Why can’tsome children choose an easier academic track?” The reason we feel so strongly that all students
at KIST should prepare for and eventually study in the DP is just as was expressed in the staff
member’s speech: because we want all KIST students to have as many doors as possible
opened to them, regardless of what they decide they want to pursue in the future.
I hold a strong feeling of hope for the future as we begin the new school year. I realized that
finally, KIST is full of passionate and dedicated students, parents/guardians, and staff who are
working together towards the goal of “giving our students a strong educational foundation to allow
them to succeed at any path they choose in the future.” To make a comparison, the morecompanions we have all rowing our oars in the same direction, the faster we will be able to moveour boat swiftly and strongly towards the direction of our goal.
Once again, to all the families who have been members of the KIST community since last year
and before, thank you so much for everything you have given the school in the past, and to
everyone, including families who have joined us from the current school year, I look forward toworking with you to make KIST students even more successful and achieve higher and higher
goals in the future.
I wish you all a happy and successful year!
Sincerely,
Yoshishige Komaki
Board President

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Elementary School News
Taking action
As an International Baccalaureate school, we place aheavy emphasis on taking action. The DP refers to thisas Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), in the MYP it iscalled Service, and in the PYP we call it Action. PYP
schools meet this challenge by “offering all learners
with the opportunity and the power to choose to act; todecide on their actions; and to reflect on their actions inorder to make a difference in the world” (IBO, 2009).
What exactly is action? Although we all understand that
action is something we do, it means so much morethan this. Action involves a mindset and the way wethink. It is the desire to take what one has learned andapply it in a meaningful way. It is a part of who we are.
A classic example of action describes a student who
ensures she turns off lights around the house andmonitors the use of the air conditioner in order to saveelectricity.
There is much more to action than the things we do; it
is about our attitudes and how we act. When we
contemplate action, it is important that we consider
how our actions have the ability to affect others. Action
can and should brighten the lives of those around us.
There are an infinite number of ways in which we cantake meaningful action that can make someone’s day
better.
• Holding the door for someone.
• Thanking a parent for doing the laundry.
• Giving up your seat on the train for someone who

needs it.
• Complimenting
someone around you.
• Picking up a bicyclethat has fallen downin the wind.
• Picking up litter.
The possibilities are endless!
What are your ideas?
We all have the ability to make the world a better placeby doing kind things. As humans, we are affected bythose around us, and we are often products of ourenvironment. This includes our own children. As adults
and parents, the best action we can take to make theworld a better place is to spread kindness ourselves
and model it for our children. If our children are to learn
this form of taking action, they will most likely learn itfrom those around them.
Kevin Yoshihara
Elementary School Principal
Reference:
International Baccalaureate Organization. (2009). Making the PYP
happen in the classroom: A curriculum framework for international
primary education. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.

PYP News
Welcome back to school
2019–2020 is going to be an extremely eventful year for
all of us. With the proposed construction at KIST and
the Tokyo Olympics just around the corner, things are
sure to be very lively. For myself, this is also a year of
great change, as I will be taking on the role of PYP
Coordinator. There will also be some changes to our
curriculum, but with the wonderful staff that we havehere at KIST, I am certain that we are going to continue
to provide a fantastic education for your children.
This year, we will be introducing a new mathematics
curriculum in the elementary school. We will be
adopting Pearson’s Abacus mathematics program from
K2–Grade 5, with our G5 students sitting the externallymarked Edexcel examinations for mathematics andliteracy.
We will also be making some changes to the Japanesecurriculum in the elementary school, which will enhancethe opportunities for our students to develop their
Japanese language abilities.
As a PYP school, KIST holds the philosophy of theInternational Baccalaureate in high regard and we willcontinue to promote constructivist and conceptual

methods of learning. We want our students to be active
participants in their education, therefore it is importantthat our program of inquiry reflects this. Our students
are encouraged to take on board what they are taught
and synthesize these ideas to form their own
viewpoints and opinions of the world around them. I feelthat we do well promoting this philosophy and we will
strive to develop this further in the years to come.
A new school year is always exciting for everybody,and I am very much looking forward to working with you
all in my new role. We will be holding this year’s PYP
information session on Tuesday, September 24 foranyone who wants to know more about
the PYP and what we are introducing thisyear.
Oliver Sullivan
PYP Coordinator

Event:PYP information session
Date:
Tuesday, September 25
Time:
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Multipurpose room (MPR)6

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Early Childhood News
Hello, ECE families.
Welcome back to the newschool year, and to those new
families, welcome to K.
International School Tokyo!
In our ECE (Early Childhood
Education) department, wehave over 100 children in six
classes, K1–K3. This year, we
do not have any new
instructional staff in our
department; all 18 continuingteachers, instructors andassistants have remained in thesame year groups. Each class
has three instructional staff
members, and all classes havea teacher who has beenworking at KIST for more than
five years. We have staff fromeleven different countries.

K1A
K1B

K2A

Recently, I have been readingbooks about early childhood
development. At kindergartenage, children go through various
stages of development.
Because of this, many people
find it difficult to deal withchildren between three and five
years of age. When they turnthree, children start to become
more independent and want todo various things bythemselves. They also startsaying ‘no’ to their parents orothers around them. When they
are five or six, we start to think
about their next stage ofdevelopment—going toelementary school—and worry
about how they will do in their
new environment.
All these concerns are present
because the children are
growing and developing. To
help ease these concerns, withthe cooperation of parents, ourexperienced ECE teachers andsupporting staff strive to provide
the best educational
environment possible to support
children as they develop.
Let’s have another great year oflearning together!
Eri Ozawa
Early Childhood Coordinator(K1–K3)/K1B Teacher

K2B

K3A
K3B

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It’s OK to be Different in K2A!
A diverse classroom is one in which
both the students and the teacher are
accepting of all people, regardless of
their race, culture, or religion, and is
an important theme to explore,
especially at the start of a new schoolyear.
As part of their unit of inquiry, ‘Who we are,’ the K2A students
are exploring the human body, what it can do and how theirown body is unique. This integrates well with our Community
Circle lessons on new beginnings, and the students enjoyedlistening to ’Whoever We Are’ by Mem Fox, which explores the wonderful differences between all of us.
As a class, we discussed ways in which we are different, from our eye color to our skin tone, to our dreams andaspirations for the future. The students then used a variety of paint to mix their own skin tone to make their portrait,
communicating with each other about why the skin tones were different and what they liked about themselves.
They demonstrated curiosity
towards each other and enjoyeddiscussing their unique traits, andthe importance of this cannot be
underestimated when students aretransitioning to a new environment
and making bonds with new friends.
Catherine Wells
K2A Teacher

K2B Life is a Circle
Last year, for their final unit of inquiry, “Sharing the planet,” the K2slearned about living things by focusing on the certain needs living things
have in order to grow and stay healthy. As part of their inquiry, K2B
students began their academic year in 2018 by raising several rhino beetle
larvae, and throughout the course of the year, they saw their classroom
pets change from little grubs to pupae, and finally into fully formed rhino
beetles. They experienced firsthand how a rhino beetle needed certain
things/conditions for them to grow and be healthy. But the students ended
their school year before the cycle had time to close.
...And this year, in August, the former K2s revisited their beetle friends forthe first time in three months. To their surprise, they found that the beetles
had had babies of their own! They were able to see that the beetles’ life
cycle in fact does become a full circle, and life goes on; it definitely
repeats. During their visit, these now K3s were also kind and shared how
best to care for their soon to be wriggling buddies, all of which they hadlearned and remembered from taking care of them while they had been in
K2B. The K2Bs expressed their great appreciation for the care and hard
work that had been given by the current K3s. Before theK3s left, the K2B assured their K3 friends that they would
also do their best to raise this next generation well. The
cycle begins again!
Axel Norwood
K2B Teacher

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Elementary ELS
The opportunities poetry brings
Your child may be starting off the 2019–20 school yearwith poetry or have a poetry unit coming up soon.
Poetry is a hugely popular feature of literacy lessons
throughout the PYP. Loved for many reasons, it is also
one of the least onerous and most enjoyably magicalways for students who are not yet fluent at writing in
English to express themselves. Writing poetry canboost our confidence as writers because with just asmall amount of paper we can reveal thoughts that wemight otherwise feel are too hard to write down and sochoose to keep off the page.
Poetry is also the perfect opportunity for teachers and
ELS staff to work 1-to-1 with students on vocabulary
expansion, sentence patterns and recognizing the partsof speech, as well as skills such as using a thesaurus.

G5B’s Aina and Riko discussing a poem,
while their classmates also mingle to share
the poems they found that they strongly
connect with.

Likewise, poetry units are an opportunity
for parents: encouraging your child’s
love of reading and writing poetry intheir home language(s) will make theirlanguage knowledge and skills even stronger. Strong
home language literacy transfers over and supports
English language learning at school.
If you are new to KIST, you might like more information
on how strengthening home languages positively
affects English language learning. Please feel free toemail me or to ask your child’s teachers for the article“English as an Additional Language (EAL) Family
Support”, by Bonnie Campbell Hill (2001).
Rachel Parkinson
ELS Coordinator (Elementary)/G5 ELS
Instructor

Clockwise from front left: Madhav, Nonoka,
Naohisa and Sara from G5B each work on
the final copy of the acrostic poems they
have just written.

Clockwise from front left: Abhinav, Jessie,
Hiroki and Avni from G5A discuss the
structure of diamante poems before
beginning to work on their own.

KIST Student Wins Art Prizes
Weizhao (K3B) wasawarded the grand prize at
the 84th World Children’s
Art Conference organizedby the Korea Art Education
Association. The ceremony
was held on July 3 inSeoul. He won the top
prize in the children’s year
5 group. In addition, healso won an Award for
Excellence at the 43th
Japan Sumitomo Children’s
Art Contest organized by
Japan Sumitomo Life. The
ceremony was held on
August 24 in Tokyo.
Congratulations to
Weizhao on winning theseawards. We look forward toseeing how your art
develops in the coming
years.

Weizhao with one of his awards—from the Japan Sumitomo Children’s Art Contest.

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Elementary Student Care
The role of the Elementary School Student Care Coordinator
Welcome back to school! I hope you all had a niceand relaxing summer holiday as a family.
For those who have newly joined the KIST
community, my name is Kana Furnival, and I am the
Elementary School Student Care Coordinator.
My role is focused on the following three areas:

1. Supporting staff in responding topupils’ academic needs

In response to our pupils’ different needs andabilities, we adjust our levels of difficulty andsupport, and when required, entire activities tomeet the individual requirements of all learners.
This practice is called “differentiation.” It isplanned in advance by each pupil’s homeroom
teacher, and plans are shared with other staff in
the grade in order to prioritise and maximise thesupport based on each pupil’s needs. It is my role
to follow through on the implementation of support
and track each pupil’s progress.

This year, theelementary school
has implemented
new student carerelated proceduresfor the teachers inorder to best
support our pupils.
We aspire to ensure that, through a carefully
designed program of care, all children at KIST are
fully supported in order to meet their individual needs.
If you have any questions or concerns related to
student care, please do not hesitate to contact me. I
am looking forward to working with you
and your child!
Kana Furnival
Elementary School Student Care
Coordinator

2. Supporting staff in responding topupils’ social, emotional and mental
health needs

Our school is committed to ensuring that all pupils
progress through their school years not only withstrong academic skills but also with the skills
necessary to foster resiliency and prevent social,emotional and behavioural problems that can
impact their success in various areas of their life.
People with secure social-emotional skills areable to cope better with everyday challenges.
These skills range from effective problem-solving
to self-discipline, impulse control to emotional
management. The SEAL (Social and Emotional
Aspect of Learning) programme we use during
our community circle time helps build a foundationthat supports pupils’ success both personally andacademically. It is my role to design and review
this life skills program.

3. Share school information with theparent community relating to student
welfare and pastoral care support
This may occur during school information days,
parent evenings and coffee mornings.

Explanation Days 2019
For the 2020–2021 school year

KIST will hold two Explanation Days forparents interested in enrolling children for the
2020–2021 school year.
Administration and teaching staff will beavailable to answer questions regarding
admissions procedures, the school
curriculum, progression to universities, andgeneral features of the school. Visitors will
also be able to view the school facilities.

Elementary Explanation Day
October 12, 2019 (Saturday)
Session times:(1) English: 9:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
(2) Japanese: 1:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Secondary Explanation Day

October 14, 2019 (Monday)
Session times:(1) English: 1:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
(2) Japanese: 1:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Reservations close:
October 11, 2019 (Friday), 3:00 p.m.
Reservations essential!

www.kist.ed.jp

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LEAP News
Hello KIST families! My
name is Miki Kanai andas the new LEAP
Coordinator, I am
thrilled to invite the
KIST community to join
LEAP for the 2019–2020 school year. I hope that you are as excited about
the new school year as I am! Although I have been a
proud member of the KIST community since August
2018, I would like to introduce myself as a new addition
to the Elementary team. I am looking forward tomeeting and getting to know many of you!
For those new to KIST, LEAP (Learning Enhancement
Academic Program) is a series of before- and afterschool classes offered to K3 to Grade 5 students tobuild essential skills in English and mathematics. Class
sizes are limited—admittance to any course is subject
to preliminary screening based upon teacher
recommendations or diagnostic test results—allowing
students to receive focused attention and guidance.
LEAP serves an important function at KIST in providing
students with a nurturing small-group environment,
where students make progress in skills they mightotherwise struggle with in the classroom through stepby-step scaffolding. Through such additional support,
students, particularly English language learners, canbuild their competency and confidence in all aspects of
their learning.

•
•

•

•

Newsletters will be distributed twice a semester togive parents a better sense of the achievements
their children have made.
Admittance to the Before-School English Support
Program is determined by considering teacher
recommendations, diagnostic information, andeach student’s individual English support needs.
Admittance to the After-School Math Program islimited to those students who have received ateacher recommendation and/or have not met
grade-level expectations according to diagnostic
tests.
Admittance to the After-School English Extension
Program is limited to students who have met or
exceeded grade-level expectations according todiagnostic tests.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward
to working and learning together in the coming year!
Please direct any questions regarding
LEAP to leap@kist.ed.jp.
Miki Kanai
LEAP Coordinator/G1A ELS Instructor

Important announcements•

LEAP classes began on September 9, but you canstill apply at the link below:
b
Web

•

https:// kisted.sharepoint.com/CA/
SitePages/LEAP.aspx

Throughout the semester, there may be days inwhich one or more classes will not convene.
Please check the LEAP Calendar carefully toconfirm which days your student will not haveclass.

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KIPS News
Welcome back to the 2019–20 school year!
Beginning school is such an exciting time for you and your child. The staff at KIPS staff arevery pleased that you chosen K. International Preschool (KIPS) to begin your child’s
journey through his/her academic career. We are dedicated to supporting children’s growthand development in a positive learning environment through a variety of services at KIPS.
2018–19 was a successful year at KIPS! Fourteen children completed their preschool life at KIPS and moved on
to a new start in K1. Our ongoing assessment helps to monitor the children’s progress toward meeting theirdevelopmental goals, as well as compliance with regulatory requirements by the government. In June 2018, KIPS
was fully certified as a facility fulfilling all instructional criteria required for authorization as a “Ninkagai hoiku
shisetsu,” by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and has received a certificate indicating this status.
KIPS provides each child with a high-quality early childhood experience and school readiness. For many children,preschool is their first school experience. We want to make preschool a positive environment, ensuring thatcoming to school is enjoyable, as well as beneficial. For the 2019–20 school year, we will focus on developmentof non-cognitive skills such as:• Endurance (Self-control)• Perseverance• Social skills: ability to interact well with others• Caring attitude for others
Just as the children are encouraged to collaborate, we encourage parents to cooperate with us as well. It is thepartnership and continuing communication between the parents and teachers that builds the foundation for a
successful school experience.
Let’s make it a great year!
Stephanie Pae
KIPS Coordinator

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Secondary School News
New school year 2019–20 message
I hope that the year has started well for your child and that they are enjoying learning and feeling comfortable intheir school environment!
Thanks to all the parents who attended Parent Welcome Night. It was great to see so many familiar faces, and new
families as well. I encourage you to review the documents that I referred to in my welcome presentation and in thefollow up e-mail. These are:• Grade Level Curriculum Guides• Updated KIST Progression Criteria and Graduation Requirements• Family Handbook
The instructional staff of teachers and instructors are very much looking forward to the year ahead, and to continue
to support the academic progress and success of your children, but also to provide them with even more learning
opportunities outside the classroom, especially in team sports and music.
As learning is a community effort, I would like to ask parents at this time of year to ensure that:• Their child’s name is on all their belongings!
• Students have all the necessary supplies based on the supply lists!
Finally, as mentioned in my welcome presentation, I would like to remind parents about who
you can contact regarding questions about your child. The first point of contact is always
your child’s Homeroom Advisor. If it is directly related to a subject, you can also contact thechild’s subject teacher. After that, rather than contacting me, I encourage you to contact the
curriculum coordinator for your child’s grade level. I have pasted the relevant staff member
slide from the PWN presentation here. As explained during the presentation, these areexperienced staff who know KIST well and who may also teach your child, or will know theyear group well. Thus, they are well placed to provide further support in these instances.

Rob White (G6–G8)

John Rose (G9–G10)

Looking forward to a good year ahead and to seeing parents throughout the year
at school!
Mark Cowe
Secondary School Principal

Hiro Komaki (G11–G12)

PowerSchool Learning
From the start of this school year we will be piloting a new Learning Management System (LMS), called
PowerSchool Learning. We plan to eventually use PS Learning as a replacement for Moodle, our current LMS,
from the 2020–21 school year. Initially, not every course will be using PS Learning. Some teachers and courses
will continue to use Moodle and/or other tools. We understand there may be some inconvenience for students andparents using both PS Learning and Moodle, but we hope to use this pilot as a way to allow community members
to become familiar with the new system before transferring to PS Learning completely.
PS Learning has been chosen for a number of reasons:• the integration it has with our current student information system and teacher gradebooks in PowerSchool,
which we have used for over eight years;• its reputation as a high-quality K–12 LMS (formerly called Haiku Learning);• its full integration with Office365;• as a partner of Microsoft, it aligns very well with our overall IT infrastructure;• it is a more cost-effective system in the long-term; and• the design and features fit well with our school environment.
We believe PS Learning has a lot of potential for KIST and hope that it will be a positive change for our wholecommunity. The IT Department will be holding an information session for parents on Monday, October 14 tointroduce some of the features of PS Learningand for parents to learn more about the new
Event:
Introduction to PowerSchool Learning
system. As this is a national holiday, we look
Date:
Monday, October 14
forward to seeing as many parents as possible.
IT Support TeamTime:
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Location: Secondary Lunch Room

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13

MYP News
MYP students start year with hope andenthusiasm
Every August brings a new surge of hope andenthusiasm as work begins on a brand-new school
year. This year is no exception as KIST MYP students
dig into their new units of work and begin their
exploration of a wide range of topics.
Ayami (G8) (back row, center), with her community volunteer group.

activity for the year. This project involves planning,taking action, and reflection. Many students participate
in Service organized at the school. We have a numberof students whose Service work takes them out into
the community. This can be a very rewarding
experience and it’s a good demonstration ofleadership. Students wanting to find out more about
Service should check in with Mrs. Duran, the MYP
Service Coordinator.

LMC/KIST learning cycle
G6A students reflect on their summer holiday and look forward to
the new school year.

In preparing for success, there are a number of things
to keep in mind for teachers, students and parents.

Organization for learning

Good habits and strong effort can bring about great
results. A real point of emphasis for MYP students is
how they organize themselves and manage their work.
Grade 6 students are new to secondary school andGrade 7 and 8 students often need a refresher about
what works best. A start-of-year routine can work
wonders in building momentum for a strong year.
• Homework diaries: students need to be consistent
with keeping their homework diaries up to date andneatly organized. Parents should check these to
make sure both short-term and longer-term work is
being managed properly.
• Lockers: every MYP student is assigned a locker.
These should be organized and kept neat so thatthe proper resources can be brought to hand
immediately.
• Binders: gathering and keeping resources fromeach class is very important. Binders need to be
managed to keep everything where it belongs.
• Homework routine: it helps a lot for students tohave a consistent time and place where they canwork uninterrupted on their studies. Fostering thiskind of routine helps a lot to build a structure toensure success.
Ms. Holdaway, the MYP Student Care Coordinator,and homeroom teachers are excellent resources forstudents who are struggling to maintain effective‘Organization for Learning’ habits.

MYP Service

Each MYP student needs to undertake a Service

The Library Media Center is the heart of the school.
Every day it’s filled with MYP students working,reading, playing board games, and meeting with theirclassmates. The students who take advantage of thisgreat space have a chance to draw on the resources
organized by Mr. Tim and Ms. Hema.
As the year moves along, all MYP students will take on
research tasks. The school’s research framework is
designed to help them recognize the skills required to
do this kind of work. As the Teacher-Librarian, Mr. Tim
can help guide students as they work through theseprojects.

All-in-all, it’s worth taking a moment for all of us toreflect on how we approach our work and ourinteractions with one another. I’m looking forward toanother great year and to working with all
the students in the MYP.
Robert WhiteMYP Coordinator

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KIST Orchestra Visits Tokushima
This year’s Tokushima trip with my fellow orchestra members—Ririka(G11B), Daigo (G10B), Ketan (G9B), Gi Jeong (G9A), Maya (G8B),
Waka (G8A) and Harunosuke (G9B)—has become such an unforgettable
memory for me. This was the KIST orchestra’s second trip to Tokushima.
The trip was from August 5 to 6; however, in order to perform well, we had
several rehearsals from July 29 to August 2. Based on the dances andsolo performances that we learned individually during the summer
vacation, we focused on bringing everything together as a group. With
special thanks to Harunosuke, who prepared all the choreography for ofus, the dances started to get in shape very quickly in a just few days.
When the D-day for the Tokushima trip knocked on our door, we were
happy to open it. We met lovely kids and kind staff at Stella International
School and enjoyed many entertaining activities such as T-shirt dyeing
and cooking, which helped us get to know the kids better and to cooperatewith them as a team.
We all performed the next day with our best effort, and I was delighted tosee smiles on many of the kids’ faces. It was also very touching for me tosee how these precious kids were eager to learn new things and to be
open-minded. In only two days, I realized how much closer I became withthe students at Stella and with my fellow orchestra members.
The meals were also so wonderful and delicious that I couldn’t believe
what I was eating. For providing us with such an incredible
experience and unforgettable memories, I would like to senda huge thank you to Mrs Duran, Mr Honda, and all the staff
and students at Stella. Thank you very much!
Sehyun (G7B)

Athletics Update
Early Fall season sports under way at KIST
Kanto Plain X-Country

In our second year in the Kanto Plain association, KIST has an amazing 32 runners across the
middle school (3.3 km) and high school (4.4 km) races. They will attend four races at the Tama
Hills Retreat over September and October. We have some new coaches in Coach Cobbs andCoach Thomas, with Coach Florent providing additional support at some of the races.

Kanto Plains U-18 Boys Tennis

KIST will be participating in tennis for the first time this year. Coach Jamal started some training
sessions last May and students have been practicing at tennis courts nearby in preparation for theseason. The first match is on September 19 at CAJ.

Kanto Plain MS Boys Soccer

Training has already started with our first match being at St. Mary’s on Monday, September 9. We
are looking to build on our 4-win season last year (finishing fifth of 9 schools). We will host 3
games at our home ground in Shin-Koiwa. We welcome students and parents to come support us.

ISTAA U-18 Girls and Boys Volleyball, U-14 Girls Volleyball

Numbers were down slightly from last year, but KIST will be able to enter the above teams again
this year. Training has already started with Coach Lee with games starting in mid- to late
September. Please check the Moodle schedule for home games.
We hope it is a good season for all our teams!
Dennis Ota
Athletics Coordinator“ T h e Co m et ”

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Secondary ELSIntroducing the Secondary ELS staff for 2019–20

Jade BonusELS Coordinator, ELS Instructor
G8, G10I am originally from Melbourne,
Australia. After qualifying as asecondary English and Media Art
teacher, I fulfilled my lifelong dream ofmoving to Japan to teach and have
lived here for just over six years. I
initially joined KIST in 2015 and spent a wonderful three
years in the Elementary School as an ELS instructor for
Grade 1. I moved to the Secondary School last year
and am excited to take on the role of ELS Coordinator
moving forward.
Along with Mr. Davignon, I am also thrilled to welcome
our new ELS Instructor, Nataliia Chernenko, into thedepartment. As is evidenced in her introduction, Ms.
Chernenko’s diverse range of expertise and experience
will be of considerable benefit to both staff and students
alike. Welcome Ms. Chernenko!
As a team, we look forward to working closely withstudents this year to help them achieve the academic
success they are striving for. If you have any questions
about English Language Support please contact me atjade.bonus@kist.ed.jp.
Here’s to a fulfilling and successful 2019–2020 schoolyear!

Michael Davignon
ELS Instructor G6

I have been at KIST since 2014. For
most of that time, I have been an ELS
instructor. This year I will besupporting Grade 6 and teaching
Intensive English and Academic
Writing to Grade 6, as well.
Over the years, I have compiled some interesting andfun writing assignments, so if you are in my class, I lookforward to getting started, learning about you andfinding out how we can make you a better reader, writeror whatever skill it is you want to improve!
I am posted on the second floor in the Secondary
building across from the LMC. If you want to come andtalk, you can probably find me there. I look forward tomeeting my classes and getting to work for anotheryear of learning!

NEW STAFF!
Nataliia Chernenko
ELS Instructor G7, G9

I am from Ukraine. I majored inEuropean and International Law. My
passion for teaching and coachingdeveloped when I was a university
student. I became a team member for the International
Moot Court Competition at WTO law. We had anamazing coach who believed in us and always
encouraged us to put our best effort into everything we
did. She also taught us to be ambitious and to always
aim for the best result. Due to her support and hard
work, our young team of just two girls from Ukraine,
who had limited access to resources, became the thirdbest team in Europe. This success inspired me to share
my experience with others. So the next year I became
the coach myself. It was incredible to help the students
become more confident in building their arguments andpresenting them to the audience.
After working in a law firm for a year, I decided to obtainmy master’s degree in Beijing. Living abroad opened
my eyes to new career opportunities, therefore, I stayed
in China to become an educator. I worked as a Grade 2
English Homeroom teacher in an IB school in Beijing forthree years. It was extremely challenging at first,
however, it taught me some crucial classroom
management and organizational skills. And it was a lotof fun to work closely with those energetic young kids!
I speak four languages and hope to learn Japanesesoon. I love to study, read, travel and learn about
different cultures. I prefer to stay in one country for awhile so that I can fully experience a different lifestyle,learn about different customs, values and beliefs. Thereis nothing more exciting for me than landing in an
airport for the first time. I don’t have a hometown
anymore, because I find a new home anywhere I go.
My mother lives in Turkey, my father lives in Russia. I
lived in Ukraine, the USA, China and Kazakhstan. As
you can imagine, I have many homes. And Japan is afantastic addition to this list.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to become a partof KIST! I am feeling a lot of support already and truly
impressed with all the outstanding professionals who
are working at this school. Looking forward to working
with these brilliant students and learning from otherteachers.

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GaOn’s Research Paper PublishedOn August 1, 2019, we received exciting news from former KIST student, GaOn, that a
research paper originating from his MYP Personal Project in 2018, “An Economic Perspective
on Quantum Game Theory,” was published in the Journal of Young Investigators. The paper
was co-authored with Dr. Nho from Chungnam National University who continued to supervise
GaOn’s writing of the paper after the completion of the Personal Project.
GaOn described the process of his Personal Project as follows:For my Personal Project in G10, I studied academic papers on quantum game theory and wrote
a review paper myself that focused on comparing the results of quantum game theory to its non-quantum counterpart. My goal in writing the literature review was to submit and potentially publish thepaper in a peer-reviewed journal featuring students’ research (i.e. Journal of Young Investigators). So,after the initial completion of the paper during my Personal Project, I sent out e-mails to economics andphysics professors around Japan and Korea who I thought could evaluate my paper and help me
improve it. After getting no replies, I started visiting universities and knocking on professors’ doors to
ask for help with the paper. After tens of unsuccessful visits, a professor I visited while in Korea finally
told me that he was interested in evaluating my paper. I was completely ecstatic as I could now carryon with and improve on my paper with expert advice. I then rewrote large parts of my paper, making
progress and learning under the guidance of the professor, who became the co-author of the paper.
The final draft was submitted to the journal, and they first requested two rounds of revisions on thepaper, mainly to clarify my conclusion. Then, the paper was finally accepted by the journal for
publication in August 2019. It was a two-year journey on just one paper, but this was truly an exciting,intensive and fruitful learning experience!”
GaOn’s paper can be accessed at the link below:bWeb

https://www.jyi.org/2019-august/2019/8/1/a-review-of-quantum-games

Congratulations GaOn for this incredible accomplishment!
Hiro Komaki
Personal Project Supervisor

Wall of Honor 2018–19
Every semester, we recognize students in Grade
6–8 for being role models in their class in line with
the IB Learner Profile. These attributes are longterm positive goals for students to strive towards
to become motivated and effective learners forlife. Students are nominated by their peers, so it
really is an honor to be chosen for an award.
Congratulations to the winners of theWall of Honor awards for the 2018–19 school year in Semester 2!
Anna Holdaway
Student Care Coordinator (G6–G8)
G6A
G6A
G6B
G6B
G7A
G7A

ArthurAadya
Donna
Tomoyoshi
Ryan
Vihan

Balanced
CaringOpen minded
Communicator
Communicator
Risk Taker

G7B
G7B
G8A
G8A
G8B
G8B

Hina
Kian
Shin
Sola
Heet
Elina

Open-minded
Inquirer
Balanced
CaringBalanced
Communicator

“ T h e Co m et ”

V o l u me 2 3 | I s s u e 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 917Social and Emotional Learning
Ms. Evelyn and I are so happy to be back and working
with KIST students again in the Student Care Office.
We are continuing to develop the Secondary Advisory
Program and have some exciting new things planned forstudents this year. We will be continuing to grow our Life
Skills lessons to include even more on student socialand emotional wellbeing.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is a hot topic in
education right now, and many schools are reporting
better results and happier students overall. (CASEL,
2019) These skills can also help them after leaving KIST
to be successful in university and beyond.
We are using the Collaborative for Academic, Social,
and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Framework to
structure our SEL lessons because their strategies arehigh quality and evidence based. Here are the 5 key
SEL competencies that we work on with KIST students
throughout the year.

3. Social awarenessAfter learning to manage ourselves, we have the ability
to consider other people and have empathy. We cantake others’ perspectives on and appreciate the diversity
in our experiences.

4. Relationship skills

Through shared empathy, we can then learn how to be
more socially engaged and make and sustain positive
relationships. We can learn to communicate and work
effectively in teams.

5. Responsible decision making

Finally, with the ability to consider our own wellbeing
and the wellbeing of others, we can move on to planningfor the future and making responsible decisions. We canlearn effective ways to identify, analyze, and solve
problems. We can be reflective without getting down on
ourselves. We can also consider the wider context in
considering our ethical responsibility.
Did you know that the top 10 skills identified by theWorld Economic Forum all involve social and emotional
competence?
1. Complex problem solving
2. Critical thinking
3. Creativity
4. People management
5. Coordinating with others
6. Emotional intelligence
7. Judgment and decision-making
8. Service orientation
9. Negotiation
10. Cognitive flexibility
Research also links social and emotional skills to otherskills such as critical thinking. (World Economic Forum,2018)

1. Self-awarenessWe start with self-awareness, allowing us to be mindfulof our emotions, to learn what triggers us, and how wefeel in certain situations. We are no longer in fight-orflight survival mode because we know that our emotions
do not control us.

2. Self-management

Once we are more aware of ourselves, we can learn tomanage them with strategies to control impulse,manage stress, and motivate and organize ourselves.

5 examples for parents toencourage key SEL skills athome (CASEL, 2017)

Self-awarenessTake time to talk with your child about feelings andemotions on a daily basis. This will help your child todevelop a rich vocabulary to express their emotions.
Instead of asking if they feel sad, ask if they feel upset,annoyed, disappointed, frustrated, etc. If you speak alanguage other than English at home, that is a great
opportunity to teach them emotions in your homelanguage too.

Continued on next page

References:• World Economic Forum. (2018). The Future of Jobs Report 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2019 from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/
WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf• CASEL. (2017). Core SEL Competencies. Retrieved August 30, 2019 from https://casel.org/core-competencies/•

CASEL. (2019). SEL Impact. Retrieved August 30, 2019 from https://casel.org/impact/

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Continued from previous page

Self-management

Model effective ways of managing stress,
disappointment, and anger. Talking it out, going for awalk, meditating, writing in a journal, creating art, andmany more strategies can be effective in managing
difficult emotions. If you do have an emotional outburst(nobody is perfect!), that is an opportunity to model
how to apologize and make things right.

Social awarenessUse story time to ask your child to empathize withcharacters in the story, “How would you feel if that wasyou? Would you react the same way?” If your children
are older, you can do the same thing with films or reallife situations.

Relationship skills

Develop your child’s ability to resolve conflict by asking
questions about the situation instead of giving advice.
For example, try asking, “What do think your friend was
feeling when that happened? How do you think you
can make things right?”

Responsible decision making

Talk to your child about consequences by asking
questions like, “What might happen if you decide not towear your coat on a cold day?” or “How might yourfriend feel if you choose to cancel your plans to hangout?”
Practicing these skills a little bit each day can help yourchild to learn and grow into a well-rounded young
adult. It is also a great reminder for us, parents andteachers, to keep an eye on our own emotional
wellbeing.
If you would like to learn more about Student Care at
KIST, please check out our new PowerSchool Learning
page for parents here:b

V ol u me 23 | I s s ue 1 | S ept em b er 20 19“ T h e Co m e t ”

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

Anna Holdaway
Student Care Coordinator (G6–G8)

Staff 10!
In this month’s Staff 10!,
we are pleased topresent Nanami
Sakuma who joined us
in April 2012 as a
Mathematics teacher in
Mrs Sakuma (left) after receiving
the Secondary School.
her certificate in curriculum
leadership from KIST’s first
This year, in addition to
her teaching duties, she Principal, Gordon Eldridge, at the
Principals’ Training Center (PTC)
has been appointed
in summer 2019.
Subject Area
Coordinator—Mathematics.
1) Tell us something interesting about yourhometown.
My hometown is Tokyo. I also lived on the Gold Coast,
Australia for long enough to call it my second
hometown. Although the Gold Coast is a major tourist
destination in Australia and has beautiful beaches, I
didn’t go to touristy places when I lived there. I finally
got to be a “tourist” when I visited there with my family
two years ago.
2) What is your favorite place in the world?
Tokyo. I lived in Australia for over 6 years and visited
so many different places, but I realized that Tokyo is
the best place to live.
3) Who would you like to meet if you had thechance and why?
My grandmother on my mother’s side who died when
my mother was 20 years old. I always wanted to
become like my mother when I had my own child, andI wondered what my grandmother was like as she was
the one who raised my mother.
4) Do you have any special skills or talents?
I think I’m good with directions. I’m also good at driving
and parking my car.
5) Please share a little known fact about yourself.
As you may or may not know, I am a secondary Mathteacher. I was not good at Math in elementary school
and it was Kamo-sensei who helped me improve in
Math. I still enjoy discussing about Math with him.
6) What is your most prized possession?
My family and the people who care about me. I am
also thankful that I have a job that I enjoy doing andfeel proud of.
7) Which IB learner profile attribute do you mostclosely identify with and why?
“Thinker,” because I am always thinking, and I like tothink. At the moment, I am thinking how I can make myresponse to these questions interesting.
8) If you could live your life again, would you doanything differently?
There are so many things that I wish I did or didn’t do,but I believe in the saying, “all’s well that ends well,”and I care more about what I do from now on.
9) Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
I am always striving to become a better teacher, wifeand mother. I think I’m improving as a teacher, butthere are definitely many areas of improvement for myother two roles.
10) Do you have any special message for yourfans?
Please feel free to visit me anytime. I’d love to meetand have a chat with you (if you exist).

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Library News
New staff

Hi! I’m Hema from India, the new Libraryand Laboratory Assistant. I like cooking,experiments and watching movies, and I
also enjoy long walks with my family. I am
excited to join the KIST community and so
glad to meet everyone. It is my pleasure to
rearrange student resources in subject order in the
LMC (as shown by Yuri [G6B] and Devika [G6A]) inorder to assist
students in finding
the resources theyneed easily inorder to build theirknowledge of theworld. I lookforward to
supporting the staff
and students in the
KIST Libraries andLaboratories.

PowerSchool

As you may know, KIST is piloting a new learning
management system called PowerSchool (KIST ECommunications No. 13). The KIST Libraries page isnearly complete, with links to all Library resources, both
physical and digital.
Now would be a great time to recommend any links orrequest any content that you feel your child would finduseful with homework or studies. Please contact Mr.
Tim with requests or suggestions.
Almost all Elementary Library and LMC resources can
now be accessed online (and still available via Moodle)
including...
Elementary research resources•••

Great links to NASA, National Geographic,
Science.com and more
How to use Destiny Discover (very useful for Grade
5 exhibition research)
Fiction genres

Subscriptions—Digital

KIST subscribes to several online resources forelementary to high school students that are only
available to schools and universities. These include:•••

BrainPOP
Britannica
The Day

Study booths

A big thank you to the IT
department for
supporting the LMC thisterm. Here, Zoran (G8A)
shows the four
dedicated search-stations available to students at any
time of the day for online research, browsing the school
catalogue, or accessing their work.

Chess

The LMC is open from 8:00 a.m. every day, not just forbooks or students to do homework, but to relax withfriends before a busy
day over a game ofchess. Here, Jimin(G6B) and Divyansh(G6A) enjoy a game
together first thing
Monday morning. Also
available are Scrabble
and Boggle, plus books
on how to play chess.

Sakura Medal

This year’s event will be bigger
and better than ever before. The
books have arrived and will beavailable to students by the time you read this. If
students subscribe to MS Teams LMC News or MS
Teams EL News, they will receive notifications of new
arrivals to the library—usually a photo of the cover sothey may read the title and recognize it in the library.

Elementary Library

Over the holidays theelementary library wastidied and reorganised,and now looking evenbetter with some
additional furniture! We
also have some tatami in
the Japanese section,
making it even more
comfortable to lie down andread a book, and a soft squishy
armchair, so come to thelibrary, grab a book, makeyourself comfortable and let’s
read!
We’ll also have the latest
Scholastic book ordercatalogue very soon, so you
can order yourself some greatbooks and support KIST libraries at the same time, as
the library gets rewards points we can use to buy new
books every time a KIST student orders books from
Scholastic
book club.
KIST Libraries
Team

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KIST Community Association (CA)
Welcome back to the new school year! The KIST Community Association (CA) supports
and fosters the partnership between students, parents and the school in accordance withthe school’s mission, vision and guiding beliefs through planning and implementing eventsand providing services, equipment, materials and resources which directly enhance theeducational experiences and well-being of students.
Many of the CA’s activities are arranged through five committees as listed below. Getting involved in a committee
is a wonderful way to meet new people and can also be a lot of fun. It is not necessary to participate in every
committee activity, or to attend every meeting, so we hope that as many parents as possible will sign up for acommittee. Online sign-ups are accepted here.
Communications andCommunity Relations Committee
IT Committee
Library Committee
Service Committee
Events Committee

KIST CA Officers 2019-2020
President

Vice President

Treasurer

Secretary

Mika Shindo

Kishi Kedia

Yukie Itoyanagi

Noriko Nogami

If you are interested in finding out more about the CA,
please contact the Officers by e-mail at
ca.officers@family.kist.ed.jp.
CA Officers

“ T h e Co m et ”

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21

Nurse’s Notes
The relationship between constipationand studying
Did you know that for a healthy excretory system, you
should move your bowels once a day? Additionally, if
you do not have bowel movements in three days, do
not feel completely empty or have to help the stoolout, you may be constipated.

Causes of constipation••

Our diets directly impact our bowels. Contributing
factors to constipation may include eating a meatheavy diet and not getting enough vegetables.
Our busy, modern lifestyles may be responsible
for constipation, as well. Getting up late, skipping
breakfast, and not taking time to go to thebathroom when we feel the urge can all cause
constipation.

intestine. People sometimes
experience recurrence of abdominal
pain and diarrhea.
Other causes of constipation may include: Physicalinactivity, not drinking enough water and side effectsof medicines.
You can use the Bristol Stool Chart to check if yourbowel movements are healthy. An ideal stool is type 3
or 4.

How does constipation affect your body?

While constipation may not seem like a big deal, it
can still have a considerable impact on your heath.
When stool becomes backed up in the large intestine,
it can cause bloating and a feeling of discomfort.
Recent studies show that children suffering fromthese symptoms feel difficulty concentrating on
studies and have trouble achieving higher
performance due to bowel discomfort. Additionally,
research shows that the brain has an effect on ourintestines, and vice-versa. For example, many of us
have experienced that when we feel anxious, some ofthe hormones and chemicals released by our bodies
enter our digestive tracts, where they interfere withdigestion. The inverse is also true, and poor digestive
health may affect our abilities to think and study.

Types of constipation and theirrespective causes
•

•

•

•

Eating smaller amounts of food: Reducing foodportions and dietary fiber can lead to constipation.
People who are chronically constipated for thisreason may suffer from an overgrowth of harmful
bacteria in their intestines due to the prolonged
time stool remains unpassed within their system.
Withholding type: Children may ignore the urge
to go to the restroom because they do not want totake a break from play. Some children withhold
when they are away from home because they areuncomfortable using public toilets. Painful bowel
movements caused by large, hard stools also
may lead to withholding.
Atonic constipation: Atonic colon occurs when
there is a lack of normal muscle tone or strength
in the colon. Although those who suffer from thiscondition have bowel movements, they do not feelcompletely empty.
Spasm constipation: A form of constipation
associated with constrictive spasms in part of the

How to prevent and treat constipation

Develop a regular meal schedule and get into thehabit of going to the bathroom: Eating is a natural
stimulant for the bowels, so regular meals may help
your child develops routine bowel habits. If necessary,schedule breakfast a little earlier to give your child achance for a relaxed visit to the bathroom before
school.
Encourage your child to eat more fermented foods
and fiber: Yogurt, sauerkraut, miso soup and cheese
all contain healthy microbes such as lactic acidbacteria. Fermented foods have been shown to alter
brain activity. Increasing fiber intake is thought toincrease the bulk and consistency of bowel
movements, making your child easier to have bowel
movements. Vegetables, fruit, seaweed, and wholegrains are an excellent source of fiber.
Drink more liquids: Drinking enough water and otherfluids helps stool move more easily through theintestines. In particular, drinking a glass of water
before breakfast can help stimulate bowel
movements.
Encourage your child get enough exercise:
Physical activity nudges the bowels into action, so
encourage your child to get plenty of exercise.
Get enough sleep: Lack of sleep can cause
disruption in your child’s body and that includes yourchild’s gastrointestinal system. This system functions
via nerve signaling, hormones, andelectrolyte balance, all of which can be
negatively impacted by lack of sleep.
Yukiko Yamazaki
School Nurse

References:• Toyokezai Online. The relationship between studying and bowel actions (in Japanese). Retrieved from https://toyokeizai.net/sp/
morinaga-bifidus05/index.html• The National Health Service in England: Constipation. (August, 2019) Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/constipation/

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University Guidance News
2018–2019 KIST university acceptances and offers

We are very pleased to announce that KIST had another successful year for university acceptances. Somehighlights this year include:• The first KIST student enrolled at the University of Cambridge• The first KIST student enrolled at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, School of Medicine• Three students enrolled at the University of Tokyo• Japanese universities were very popular this year with 14 students enrolling• UK universities were the 2nd most popular this year with 6 students enrolling
Please see the full list of college and university acceptances and offers for 2018–2019 on the next page.
Congratulations to our graduates on their university acceptances, and all the best for your continuing success inboth your university studies and beyond.

Welcome to our new counselor

This year, we welcome a new University Guidance Counselor to ourteam, Mr. Thomas Waterfall, who will be working alongside Mrs.
Okude. Mr. Thomas comes from a background in teaching acrossmultiple countries, most recently as a lead university counselor of
the IB Curriculum Department at The High School Affiliated toRenmin University in Beijing, China. He has also worked as an admissions counselor
for Temple University in the United States and Tokyo, and completed his counselingcertification at UCLA. We are excited to welcome Mr. Waterfall to our team and to
KIST, and hope that he can provide our students with even more excellent
opportunities when they head off to their future universities and careers. Mr.
Waterfall’s office (University Guidance 2) is located on the third floor of the KIST
secondary building. Come filled with questions and say hello!

University guidance calendar

There are a number of events, university presentations at KIST, college fairs and information sessions aroundTokyo scheduled in the fall. Please check the University Guidance Calendar to view updated schedules anddetailed information about the event and universities.
Mrs. Keiko Okude
University Guidance Counselor
keiko.okude@kist.ed.jp
Office hours: Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, 10:00–5:00
University Guidance 1 (2nd floor)

Mr. Thomas Waterfall
University Guidance Counselor
thomas.waterfall@kist.ed.jp
Office hours: Mon–Fri. 8:30–5:00
University Guidance 2 (3rd floor)

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College and University Acceptances and Offers
2018–2019( )=Number of students accepted[#]=Matriculation confirmed || [★]=Scholarship offered
As of September 2, 2019

AUSTRALIA

UK

Australian National University (1) [1#]University of Melbourne (3) [3#]University of Sydney (2)Arts University Bournemouth (1)Bath Spa University (1)Birkbeck University of London (1)Bournemouth University (1)City University London (2) [1#]Durham University (3)Glasgow School of Art (1)Goldsmiths, University of London (1)Imperial College London (3) [1#]King’s College London (4) [1#]London Metropolitan University (1)London School of Economics (1) [1#]Queen Mary, University of London (1)Royal Holloway, University of London (2)Teesside University (1)University of Bath (2)University of Birmingham (1)University of Brighton (1)University of Bristol (2)University of Cambridge (1) [1#]University College London (2)University of Edinburgh (4)University of Gloucestershire (1)University of Hertfordshire (1)University of Leeds (1)University of Manchester (2)University of Nottingham (2)University of Portsmouth (1)University of St. Andrews (1)University of Warwick (6) [1#]BELGIUM
Howest University (1)CANADA
McGill University (3) [1★]University of British Columbia (3)University of Toronto (5) [1#★]University of Waterloo (1)Western University (1)FRANCEARTFX (1) [1#]LISAA School of Design (1)GERMANYEU Business School (1)HONG KONG
SCAD Hong Kong (3) [2#]The Hong Kong University of Technology and
Science (3) [1#] [3★]HUNGARY
University of Semmelweis, School of Medicine (1) [1#]University of Szeged, School of Medicine (1)JAPAN
Doshisha University (1)Hosei University, GIS (1) [1#]International Christian University (ICU) (6) [1#]Keio University, GIGA (1)Keio University, PEARL (4) [1#]Musashino Art University (1) [1#]Nagoya University (1) [1#]Osaka University (1)Okayama University, School of Medicine (1)Sophia University (7) [1#]Tokyo Medical and Dental University, School of
Medicine (1) [1#]University of Tokyo, PEAK (3) [3#]Waseda University, School of International LiberalStudies (6) [4#]Waseda University, School of Political Science andEconomics (1) [1#★]Yokohama City University, School of Medicine (1)
KOREA
Sogang University (1) [1#]NETHERLANDS
University of Amsterdam (1)USA
American University (1)Georgia State University (1)Hamilton College (1)Kansas State University (1) [1#]Lake Forest College (1) [1★]Middlebury College (1)New York Institute of Technology (1) [1#★]Occidental College (1)Pacific Lutheran University (1)Reed College (1)Savannah College of Arts and Design (3)UC Merced (1)UC Riverside (2)UC Santa Barbara (1)UC Santa Cruz (1) [1#]University of Cincinnati (1)University of Illinois, Chicago (2) [1★]University of Kansas (2)University of Michigan (1) [1#]University of the Pacific (1)University of San Francisco (2)University of South Carolina (2) [1★]University of Utah (1)

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Alum Report—1
Taisei is an alum of KIST’s “Class of 2014.” He completed a
Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of British Columbia,
majoring in Anthropology, and is now working for a major news
organization in Japan.
After spending four years at university
abroad, I can say that the experience
shaped me into who I am now. I couldn’t
have predicted it at the time, but thosefour years exposing myself to new ideas
transformed an IB student from Japan
into a staff reporter working for one of thelargest news agencies in Asia.
Back in 2014, I flew across the Pacific
Ocean to Canada after making thedecision to study abroad for university.
And so, I found myself in the beautiful
seaside city of Vancouver, surrounded byvast mountains and forests andimmersed in a diverse community like I
had never seen before. Everything was
new and fresh to me. However, thedownside of this new experience was that
I didn’t know anything about the city or
the university at which I would be
studying, leaving me totally clueless as I
attempted to navigate the campus for the
first time. Fortunately, I met otherinternational students who encountered
the same problem, and soon, theconfusion we felt strengthened oureagerness to learn about our new
surroundings. My advice to future KIST
graduates who find themselves in thissituation is to do your best to talk to
people with a variety of different
backgrounds, visit as many different, newplaces as you are able, and keep an
open mind to anything you encounter. If
you do, you may experience things you
never imagined, as I did.
By maintaining an open-minded attitude, I
was lucky enough to stumble upon achance encounter with someone who
really inspired me, an indigenous man
who had grown up in a remote fishing
town called Prince Rupert, located in thenorthern part of the province, and who
had worked hard to come a long way andwas now working as a professor at myuniversity. This was my first encounter
with someone who identified as‘indigenous,’ and through meeting him, I
realized my own ignorance regarding
indigenous populations in North America
and the struggles they face. Thisencounter inspired me to research more
about North American indigenous

Taisei (left) and friend at Death Valley, US.

populations, and I grew deeply interested
in the topic. It was all thanks to thischance encounter that I realized that I no
longer wished to pursue a major inInternational Relations (which is often thedefault dream degree of international
students) and changed course to follow
my new passion in the Department of
Anthropology.
The four years I spent in that department
led me to many places I never imagined
myself going to. Once, I joined in a marchprotesting pipeline construction acrossthe traditional territory of an indigenous
community. Another time, I discussed
environmental issues with an indigenous
totem pole carver and his young
students. What I learned from thisexperience is that the world is full of
struggles that many people overlook.
Once I actually took an interest in theindigenous community, everywhere I
went, the high suicide rate of indigenous
youth, income gaps, and discrimination
against the indigenous community wereunavoidable topics of discussion, and yetsomehow, I never knew about them
before. Learning about these topics
deepened my awareness of such issues,
but I was still not sure about how tochannel my desire to help spreadawareness of these problems into a
career where I could find my passion.
However, I knew just who I could look tofor advice—the same person who had
inspired me at the beginning of myuniversity career. Not only is he auniversity professor (in fact, the first fromhis community to even get a university
degree), but he is also a great writer of
ethnography and the leader of adocumentary film unit. Spreading
information about the struggles of his
people to society was his passion, careerand lifework. Speaking with him made me
realize that rather than pursuing an
academic career in research, I too
wanted to be active and vocal on the
problems that our society faces.
In order to accomplish this goal, I decided
to become a journalist. As my time atuniversity was ending, I started to apply
for jobs with many newspapers and news
agencies in Japan. I had a certain degreeof confidence in my Japanese writing
skills and thought I could get a good jobthat led to a concrete career path inJapanese media. However, this period of
my life became one of the toughest andmost challenging that I have ever faced. I
started my job hunting literally fromscratch, having no connections with any
Japanese media companies orjournalists. When I participated in job
interviews, many employers initially
doubted my Japanese language skills,
and some didn’t take me seriously.

Taisei’s university graduation ceremony witha totem pole carved by an indigenous artist,
Jim Hart, in the background.

However, as I started to talk about mypassion in these interviews, things began
to change for me. It was challenging toovercome the initial doubt andquestioning from interviewers andcompanies at which I had applied forjobs, but once I was able to overcome thefirst hurdle through patience andperseverance, I started to attract
attention.
One such company whose attention I
caught was Kyodo News, a Japanese
news agency. I was so excited to learn
that I had finally gotten a job following mypassion, and now I am working in the
Kyushu region as a staff reporter for
Kyodo News, chasing news daily. My job
requires great patience and care, but at
the same time, it needs to be donequickly and on a tight deadline. I often
need to be on my feet ready to cover a
story around the clock, as newsworthy
incidents may occur anytime. Sometimes,
I am required to face nasty and heartwrenching situations. It may seem tough,and sometimes it is, but I truly love thisjob.
I believe that the core of journalism isactually about recording the reality ofsociety and people at an exact moment intime at a certain location. These records
are necessary to show the world what istruly happening. While I am still intraining, I am doing my best to learn how
to capture these moments accurately,and I hope one day to be able to sharethe important issues I care about bothnationally and eventually internationally. I
truly feel that I am pursuing my dream,
and I’d like to give some advice to future
KIST graduates who might want topursue a similar path. First, I suggest thatwhen you apply to university, try to talkwith someone who has gone there
already, so that you have a good senseof what the community will be like. Also,you want to make sure that universities
see all of your accomplishments when
you apply—studying in the DP is really
important, but doing something beyond
studying that is unique to you willdefinitely shine in your application.
Finally, find something during your time
as a student that you feel passionately
about and be knowledgeable about it sothat you can proudly talk about it in frontof anyone. That will be your strength andmay be the key to your future career.
TaiseiKIST “Class of 2015”

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25

Alum Report—2
Nina is an alum of KIST’s “Class of 2017.” She is currently
attending The George Washington University in Washington,
D.C. where she is majoring in International Affairs(concentrating in Asian Studies and Security Policy) andHistory.
Hi! My name is Nina and I am from
KIST’s Class of 2017.
When I first found out International
Studies was a college major, I knewthat was the one for me. After all, I
enjoyed studying world history andwanted an interdisciplinary, yetinternational education. When I foundout that I had the opportunity toattend GW’s Elliott School ofInternational Affairs located in D.C.,
there was no turning back.
With this pretext, I went into my first
Intro to International Affairs class likeany excited first year would.
However, my excitement quickly
transformed into intimidation when
everyone seemed to know everything
about every world conflict, all thepeace treaties, and have tons ofconfidence. I suddenly felt
underqualified and unsure of my
choice.

understand topics better, but find how
International Affairs is very tailorable
to my own interests.
By sophomore year, I had a stronger
sense of my bearings and started myfirst part-time job in the U.S. as acommunications intern for Sasakawa
USA, a Think Tank dedicated tostrengthening U.S.–Japan relations
through research and education. At
Sasakawa USA, I was able to meetscholars and professionals in the fieldof U.S.–Japan relations. I helped out
at a plethora of tasks—from updating
the organization’s social media, totaking care of Pepper the Robot foran event. This internship was a great
way for me to get a taste of how
Think Tanks in D.C. operate and what
it means to pursue research as acareer.

I was tired of feeling stressed anduncomfortable being in this unfamiliar
environment, so I decided to explore
my surroundings. Seeing that GW isin the heart of D.C., I had theopportunity to attend many talks andpanel discussions by ambassadorsand scholars without leaving campus.
For classes, I started attending officehours with professors or teachingassistants where I would get one-onone help. I kept asking questions andtalking through any outlines I had for
papers. I started to not only

On top of internships, publications are
crucial in entering the world ofInternational Affairs. For a few
months, I conducted research for apaper for an essay contest held by
the Okinawa Prefectural Government.
This meant reading old Okinawa
Times articles and narratives. After
dedicating my winter break to write
this paper, I got third place and got an
all expenses trip to Okinawa to meet
prefectural government officials! My
paper titled, “The Okinawan
Amerasian Identity: A Vanguard forJapanese Multinationals” can now beread on the Okinawa Prefectural
Government website.

Nina with Pepper the Robot during a
Sasakawa USA event in D.C.

When I was thinking about mysummer plans for this year, I decided
I wanted to do something completely
new. I had always been mesmerized
by the Library of Congress and feltthat Government experience wassomething that show me a new sideof D.C. Despite the tediousapplication process, I got a 10-week
Junior Fellowship at the Library ofCongress’ Digital Strategy
Directorate. Here I helped out withvarious events pertaining to the
Library’s labs, crowdsourcing
initiatives, and experiments. It was agreat way to see the intersection
between IT and history to further
engage Library users. I also got topresent at Display Day, an event
where other Junior Fellows like

Nina at the Library of Congress with her
Junior Fellow Display Day setup.

myself shared our projects with the
public.
On top of the wide variety ofprofessional opportunities, one of thehighlights of my time in college has
been making friends and planning
events for GW’s JCA (Japanese
Cultural Association). In JCA, I met agroup of students who either grew up
in Japan or study Japanese. This
picture is from JapanFest, our D.C.wide annual event for Asia PacificIslander Heritage Month. I felt veryout of place at the beginning ofcollege, but JCA allowed me to findpeople who had a similar upbringing.
For anyone studying outside ofJapan, whether it be for one semesteror four years, I strongly recommend
participating in your school’s
Japanese club!

Nina (top row middle) with the JCA
Executive Board during JapanFest.

Leaving my home in Japan andentering the competitive world of D.C.
was difficult, but necessary. I learned
that I grow most by challenging
myself, whether it being applying tojobs that are a reach for me, pursuingniche research topics, andnetworking. I understood that I cantailor International Affairs and thetons of opportunities D.C. has to offer
to my own interests. Althoughrejection and hurdles have shown up,
they never stopped me because I
take it as redirection. And with that,my next big journey takes me to
Shanghai, where I will be studying at
Donghua University this fall!
Nina
KIST “Class of 2017”