The Comet

The New sletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 17 | Issue 1 | September 2013

In this issue...
Secondary SRC…p. 2

Perceptual motor program…p. 8

Welcome to new staff…p. 3

Library news…p. 9

Founders’ awards…p. 4

Nationalities at KIST…p. 10

IB diploma results…p. 5

Nurse’s notes…p. 11

Elementary school news…p. 6

Mathematics initiatives...p. 13

Secondary school news…p. 7

Group 4 project…p. 14

From the Head of School“Anythconce ing the miniv
dachie e and belie canve.”ve, it c
an
—Nap
oleon
Hill

DATES TO REMEMBER

The summer holidays are over and the 2013-2014 school year has begun. I
hope you all had a wonderful holiday.
As for my family, we spent roughly a month travelling to the UK and US as ourson and daughter were attending counselor training courses in London andMiami. Although the training proved valuable and informative (resulting in some
hotly debated discussions in the evenings), we were constantly engaged withwork-related issues. It would be nice to have a slightly more relaxing vacationnext year.
Thank you to the many parents who braved the recent heat wave to attend ourParent Welcome Nights on August 15, 28, 29 and 30. Through directconversations with parents on these nights, the level of dedication parents
have towards their children’s education was evident, and I realized once again
the weight of responsibility we have as a school to our students. I was also
pleased to receive many comments from parents in support of our current
goals for KIST. Below is a brief summary of the points I presented on thesenights.
This year, we will continue to implement a variety of initiatives as we work
towards realizing the school’s mission:
K. International School Tokyo aims to provide highly motivatedchildren from diverse cultural and social backgrounds with a highquality education in a safe and nurturing environment to becomecompetent and moral individuals who make meaningful
contributions to the global community.
To achieve our mission, it is our specific aim for students to gain high scores inthe Diploma Programme, the ultimate goal at KIST, which is evidence that they
have developed a high level of knowledge and skills required at universities
and in the real world. In order for students to reach this goal, it is vital that theyacquire the necessary knowledge and skills during the PYP and MYP.
For this reason, this year we will continue the process of strengthening
students’ English and mathematics skills, both of which are vital learning toolsin achieving success in all areas of study, by adopting the following initiatives.
Continued on next page

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

September 201316 School day
16 (G1-G12) Clubs program begins
17 (S) Field Day
18 (E) Field Day
20 Staff development day (Noschool for students
20 MYP information session for newparents [Changed from Sept. 13]
23 School holiday
24 (W) Free dress day
25 PYP information session for newparents
28 (G9-G12) High school drama
festival (Hosted at YIS)
30-Oct 1 School photographs

October 2013
5 World teachers’ day
8-10 (G3-G9) ISA testing
14 School day
19 School explanation day (forprospective parents)
19 (G10) PSAT tests (*Optional)
21 2014-2015 enrollment
applications open
22 Last day of quarter 1
25 KISTival preparation day(K1-G5) No school for students(S) School day
26 KISTival
27-Nov 3 Autumn break

November 2013
4 (W) School resumes for all
students
5 (W) DEAR literary character
dress-up day

KIST is an
IB World
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Continued from previous page

Initiatives to improve the level of English:
Elementary SchoolFurther development of classroom libraries.



Increased number of English lessons in the Secondary
School with classes now held daily.

Provision of an additional two English lessons per week
for G6 to G8 students who have not yet reached English
A level (native or near-native level) to develop language
skills necessary to move into the English A class as
quickly as possible.

Implementation of a writing workshop in September.
Secondary School

Initiatives to improve the level of mathematics:

Implementation of diagnostic tests in mathematics
following the British Key Stage curriculum standards
and the International GCSE. Test results are used as
the basis for streaming students into one group at
Extended Level and two groups at Standard Level from
Grade 6.
At Standard Level, provision of an additional twomathematics lessons per week for G6 to G10 students
to help ensure improvement of fundamental math skills.

Furthermore, in conjunction with the introduction of the Key
Stage and International GCSE diagnostic testing, we arealso reviewing our grade exit and advancement criteria. It is
my hope that in developing clearer criteria, we can provide
students with a better understanding of what is expected ofthem, socially and academically, and make it easier forparents to offer support.
The school’s educational philosophy, which makes explicit
how our mission is put into practice, includes a statement
that: “Reinforcing appropriate dress and behavior standards
promotes a respectful, responsible and safe school
environment”. I was, therefore, delighted to hear commentsfrom some of our new teachers regarding the respectful
behavior and enthusiastic approach to learning they had
witnessed from our upper-secondary students. Furthermore,
we are also continuing to strive to improve the instructional
learning environment in order to nurture good study attitudes
amongst students in the lower grades. From previous
experience, we have seen that students who perform well in
the DP are, without fail, those who acquired good study
attitudes from an early age.

Jones worked as MYP Coordinator at Tamagawa Gakuen
and then Principal at Doshisha International Academy where
he was again noted for his fine leadership skills. I am very
pleased that he has decided to rejoin us and look forward toworking together to achieve the mission of our school.
In addition to Mr Jones, we are joined this year by 6 newteachers and 3 teacher’s assistants in the Elementary
School, as well as 6 new teachers in the Secondary School
which brings our total faculty to around 70. I hope it will be avery fruitful year for all of our students and ask for thecontinued support of all families throughout the year.
Please remember, if you have any
questions, feedback or ideas relating to theschool, you are welcome to contact me
directly anytime.
Yoshishige Komaki
School Director/Head of School

Secondary SRC
Congratulations to the students who havebeen elected to the Secondary SRC thisyear!

Executive

Homeroom Reps

President
Min (G12B)
Vice President
Kouta (G11B)
Treasurer
Tatsuya (G11A)
Secretary
Prakhar (G11B)

Grade 6
GaOn (G6A) | Shridhar (G6B)
Grade 7
Kevin (G7A) | Natasha (G7B)
Grade 8Rachel (G8A) | Ellen (G8B)
Grade 9
Moana (G9A) | Hana (G9B)
Grade 10
Angela (G10A) | Aditya (G10B)
Grade 11
Arya (G11A) | Vigi (G11B)
Grade 12
Kent (G12A) | Abhinav (G12B)

We also continue to receive words of praise from many ofthe visitors to our school who comment that the positive
manner and appearance of our students is one of theoutstanding features of the school. To uphold this image,and to encourage an environment of respect, responsibility
and safety amongst our students, it is important that we
continue to cooperate in ensuring that students follow school
rules regarding general appearance.
Lastly, I am pleased to welcome back Mr Jeffrey Jones to
KIST this year as our Director of Education. I am confident
that he will prove a valuable asset in helping us work
towards our mission. Mr Jones previously worked at KIST
from 2005-2008 as a mathematics teacher and CAS
Coordinator, and was a very popular teacher who displayedstrong leadership skills, bringing success to many students.
My son, who himself became a KIST math teacher thisAugust, was one of his students. After leaving KIST, Mr

The members of the Secondary SRC for2013-2014 with supervisor, Ms Babaeva.

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Welcome to New Staff
On behalf of the KIST school community, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new staff for 2013-2014.
We wish you all the best and hope that you enjoy your time with us!

Helen Campbell
PYP ArtJennifer Campbell
Grade 1B

Cesar Cely
MYP Science /DP Physics

Tibor Cernak
MYP Humanities /DP Economics

Scott Grant
Grade 5B

Jeffrey Jones
Director of
Education / MYPMathematics

Hiro Komaki
MYP/DP
Mathematics

Seth Kroschel
MYP Mathematics

Joanna Lee
Teacher’s Assistant
K2

Sophie Noreen
Teacher’s AssistantGrade 1A

Andrea O’Handley
Grade 4B

John Rose
MYP Science /DP Chemistry

Oliver Sullivan
Grade 3A

Christopher Tihor
MYP Mathematics

Timothy Vodden
Grade 2A

Some of our new staff enjoying Japanese cooking with Atsuko-sensei.

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Staffing Changes
In addition to welcoming new staff, we have a number of staffing changes as shown below. We wish these staff
members all the best in their new positions!

Clay Bradley
PYP Coordinator

Robert Collins
PYP Music

Nanami Komaki
Student WelfareCounselorAnna Holdaway
Administrative
Assistant (Office)Jude Ross
Grade 2B

Leslie Hynes
Elementary School
LibrarianAndrew Young
MYP Coordinator

Founders’ Awards
KIST Founders’ Awards recognize students who make significant contributions to theschool community, and encourage students to maintain motivation in their studies. There
are two types of awards: KIST Study Scholarships and KIST University Support Scholarships. Information
about the awards is available on the school website. Awardees for this year’s University Support Scholarships
have been determined. Congratulations to the following graduates. We wish you all the best in your studies.

KIST University Support Scholarships

Class of 2013
MonicaSilver Award

Class of 2013
SamkitSilver Award

Class of 2013
Yu Zi
Bronze Award

Class of 2013
Marie
Silver Award

Class of 2013
RishabBronze Award“ T h e C o m et ”

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DP News
IB Diploma results – July 2013
During the summer vacation, the IB Diploma results were issued to the students of the “Class of 2013”. The tablebelow summarizes the performance of the candidates and also KIST graduates from 2007-2012.

Year of
Graduation

KIST
mean
points*Number of
Grade 12 fullDP students

Number of students awarded
the IB Diploma

Mean points ofstudents
awarded the IB
Diploma*Highest
KIST
score*

Worldwide
mean points

2013

30.63

35

29

32

42

TBA

2012

29.06

17

14

30

37

29.77

2011

30.5

16

14

32

40

29.61

2010

27.05

18

11

30

38

29.55

2009

31.80

10

9

32

45

29.51

2008

30.88

8

5

35

39

29.57

2007

30.50

2

1

36

36

29.56

*Maximum score: 45 points
As the table shows, the Class of 2013 was significant for KIST as this year group was twice the size of previous
year groups at the school. Also, every student in the year group challenged themselves by going for the award of
the full IB Diploma with 29 students (83%) being successful in achieving this goal. Furthermore, the majority of thesix who were not awarded the full IB Diploma only missed out by one single point. The school compares favorably
to world statistics released by the IB in these two categories; just under 50% of IB Diploma candidates go for thefull IB Diploma and of those that do, approximately 78% are successful in this goal (IB, 2012).
Also significant for KIST was that amongst the Class of 2013, three students achieved scores of 40 points ormore: Monica and Marie, who received 42 points and Samkit, who was awarded 40. Also worthy of individual
mention are Rishab and Yu Zi, both of whom achieved 39 points. Overall, twenty students were awarded an IB
Diploma with 30 or more points. Nine students were also awarded a bilingual Diploma in recognition of studying
two language A or “first” languages.
Parents who would like more general information on IB Diploma results should go to http://www.ibo.org/diploma/
assessment/results/. The IB publishes a “Statistical Bulletin” summarizing IB Diploma results, a link to which ison this webpage. The “Statistical Bulletin” for the May 2013 Examination Session should be published in October/
November.
Congratulations to the students on their individual successes in the external DP assessment andthanks to all the Grade 12 teachers from last year for all their hard work!
Mark Cowe
Secondary School Vice Principal/IB Diploma Coordinatormark.cowe@kist.ed.jp(IB, 2012) “IB DP Statistical Bulleting May 2012 Examination
Session”

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Elementary School News
Welcome back for the start of the 2013-2014 schoolyear!
I hope that you all had an enjoyable and restful summer
holiday! In the Elementary School, we are all excited toget back to work and begin another school year!

Welcome back again to KIST for 20132014 and let’s all continue to fill eachother’s buckets and keep our school awarm and positive place for all!
Kevin Yoshihara
Elementary School Principal

The week before our students returned to school, our
KIST staff had a week together to prepare for the newschool year. Our PYP Coordinator, Clay Bradley, and I
used much of this time reviewing best educational
practices and introducing new instructional techniquesand strategies. In an effort to implement a consistent
approach to behavior management, I presented abeautiful book titled “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?”to our Elementary staff. The premise of this book is thatby making a conscious effort to recognize the wonderfulthings people do, we can fill someone’s bucket andmake them feel great.
Although my initial intention was to implement thistechnique solely with our students, I quickly realizedthat it could be used on a wider scale through our whole
school community to bring out the best in each otherand maintain the positive energy we have at KIST.
If you are unfamiliar with this wonderful book, I
recommend you take the time read it. It is available in
our Elementary School Library and English/Japaneseversions can be found in many bookstores.

PYP News
The 2013-2014 school year has begun and there is afeeling of excitement in the air as students settle into
their new classes and routines. Teachers are also
excited by the prospects that the new year will bring.
Last year, teachers focused on implementing our new“Readers Workshop” approach to literacy and were met
with outstanding results. As an extension to thosesuccesses, we will be welcoming Ms Laura Benson to
our school for a “Writing Workshop” in-service training
to enrich and deepen our literacy program.
Equally as important, the new math curriculum has
kicked into gear. Teachers, students and parents alikehave noted that the new Key Stage math texts andsupport materials make the task of learning math moremanageable as well as fun. These resources also
strengthen the children’s learning by providing us with acommon language across the grade levels through to
our Secondary School. We look forward to seeing how
far our students will progress along this important path.
These two new items in conjunction with our inquirybased units of instruction guarantee success in theacademic arena which stretches beyond the walls of K.

International School Tokyo. Pleasefeel free to direct your questions about
these and any other curricular
programs at the school to the
Elementary Office as we look forward
to making your learning experience enjoyable andfulfilling here at KIST
Clay Bradley
PYP Coordinator“ T h e C o m et ”

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Secondary School NewsAs we move into the second monthof the 2013-2014 academic year,
the students are all now familiar
with their new schedules and havesettled in well. This year we havewelcomed several new teachers to
the Secondary School andtransferred a few from the former
English Intensive Class. As with
our student body, our teachers
come from diverse backgrounds.
The current teaching staff
represent 17 different nationalities
which complements the diversity of
our students (see page 10).
During the summer teacher
orientation week, I led a session on
student multitasking. This is indeed
a topic that needs to be addressed
as many of us become ever more
comfortable with the use andconvenience of smart phones inparticular. Our discussions
highlighted the following withregard to multitasking: Using social media requires
complex mental processes
such as language andanalytical skills that are also
demanded by school work.
 Brain research indicateslearning is far diminished when
multitasking as compared toapplying one’s full attention toa given task.
 Student’s understand less andhave greater difficultytransferring learning to newcontexts while multitasking.
As a staff, we reviewed current
research on this topic with specificreference to The New
Marshmallow Test: Students
Can’t Resist Multitasking andworked together to develop
classroom management plans topromote healthy multitasking whileeliminating unhealthy multitasking.
I highly recommend parents readthis article as Professor Larry
Rosen’s work in this area is quite
enlightening. Not all multitasking isbad, but students as well as adults
need to make appropriate choices.
In support of this and after
reviewing the school’s 1-to-1
laptop program in Grades 10-12,
social media misuse was identified

as an area needing to beaddressed more comprehensively
at school. Many times students areusing these mediums to stay intouch with friends and family which
may be appropriate outside ofschool, but this is interfering withschool studies. Additionally, on
occasions this produces
inappropriate social networking theschool strongly discourages suchas online bullying. We are
therefore restricting access fromstudent computers to certain sites
including Facebook and Twitter
which have been deemed
distracting and inappropriate forclass lessons. Where there is aclear educational value, we will
work closely with our IT support
team to ensure access does notinterfere with student learning.
The school’s rationale is to ensure
focus on student learning andreduce time spent on social
networking which potentiallydistracts lessons. Students are
increasingly being asked to accessthe immense resources available
on the Internet but also needguidance to ensure they develop
skills to prioritize with the ability toremain focused in productive ways.
We have put Moodle in place tohelp keep resources in one central
spot wherever possible per course,
but this network restriction isdesigned to further assist andencourage students to stopinefficient multitasking.
Suggestions for supporting
student home learning
environments:
Parents frequently ask forsuggestions for better student
home learning environments sokindly consider the following: Encourage your children touse computers, iPads andsmart phone applications in a
public space so you canmonitor what they are working
on to ensure focus on
appropriate items such as
homework.
 Set a time when no one uses
technology in your home suchas during meal times andwhen you expect your children



to be going to sleep.
Model appropriate behavior by
not being overly dependent on
your own mobile devices while
the family is together. Findingbalance is increasingly difficultin which your guidance is
crucial to support the notionsof well-balanced learners.

The school has stressed thedangers of social networking inassemblies, advisory and othermediums, but parents should also
be discussing these issues.
Reminding students that posting isoften permanent and inappropriate
postings or antisocial comments
may be used by colleges/
universities or employers in the
future when considering
applications.
As in previous years, I am looking
forward to working with schoolcommunity members to maximize
student learning and continue thewarm atmosphere our school
maintains.
Warm regards,
Stephen Rothkopf
Secondary School
Principal

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Perceptual Motor ProgramThis year, children from K1-G1 will be taking part in the
launch of the PMP program here at KIST. This is a cuttingedge developmental PE scheme that aims to improve ourchildren’s perception and self-image while making
connections to everyday classroom learning behaviors. Mr
Aki will be delivering these structured lessons in the MPR,
which has been converted into a “PMP laboratory”.
The information below is a short
description of the research and theory
behind the PMP program provided by:
http://www.smartstarters.com.au
Jay Leroy
PE Teacher/Athletics Director
PMP stands for PERCEPTUAL MOTOR PROGRAM
A Perceptual Motor Program aims to give the childexperiences in seeing, hearing, touching, processing,making perceptual judgments and reacting throughcarefully sequenced activities which children enjoy
doing like running, hopping, skipping, jumping,balancing, crawling, climbing, throwing, catching,bowling, sliding etc., using a variety of common andspecially designed equipment,
The child needs the motor skills of balance, locomotionand eye/hand/foot coordination and needs to be fit tofunction effectively. Children with common behavior
problems of inattention, “day dreaming”, wandering,laziness, clumsiness, disruptive behavior, among otherthings, are frequently children who have not developed
a “perceptual world”. These are the children who
become frustrated with school and optimal learning is
not achieved.
The perceptions the child needs can be grouped as: A perception of self (body image, body control,
laterality) if problems of reversals, sidedness etc.
are to be avoided in the classroom.
 A perception of space, if problems withhandwriting, poor use of time and inappropriate
movement patterns are to be avoided.



A perception of time (body rhythm) if the child is tobe able to remember things rhythmically and moveefficiently and effectively in his/her world.

A true Perceptual Motor Program aims to be“preventative rather than curative”, diagnosing andworking with problems which impinge upon the child’smode of operation in the classroom. By providing
effective experiences and modes of operation, the childwill have opportunities for more effective learning. It
also develops good social skills and self-esteem.
An effective Perceptual Motor Program has children
work through a sequence of experiences to develop
perception and motor outcomes along with memory
training. Confidence grows, problems are solved,
language skills develop and the fundamental sports
skills are learned which will enable the child to movecompetently into the major games and activities.
Children become self-assured people, aware they havea place in the world, and aware of the contributions
they can make to that world.

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The Library is an extension of every classroom.

Library NewsAs the new school year starts, the KIST Libraries will
be promoting the Elementary Library and the LMC as“extensions” of every classroom in our school. This
reflects the library vision of developing inquirers,
critical-thinkers, independent and lifelong learners
that supports our school’s motto: “Learning for Life”.
This year we have new resources in
KIST Libraries. Our new subscriptions
include the Student Edition, Opposing
Viewpoints, Science in Context, Kids
InfoBits and BrainPOP. We also
renewed our subscriptions on
Britannica Online School Edition,
Destiny WebPath Express, Questia
School, and Turnitin. All of thesesubscriptions aim to improve the
Library Online Services that support
the educational needs of an IB World
School. These resources can beaccessed through the Library Media
Center (LMC) and Elementary Library
Moodle pages. Ms Leslie and Mr Andi
will introduce these resources tostudents during library orientation
sessions.
We also developed the collections in the LMC andElementary Library by adding books that support the
curriculum needs of the PYP concepts, MYP unit
planners and DP research studies, so please stop by tobrowse the new titles or you may also visit the Destiny
Library System for the complete resource lists.

Library teamMs Leslie Hynes is our new Elementary School
Librarian. She will be helping students develop the loveof reading, and develop research skills.

* Please note that outside of school hours, elementary
students must be accompanied by a parent/guardian
while visiting the library.
** On Tuesdays, the libraries close at 2:40 p.m.
Elementary students are required to bring a canvas
library bag in order to protect their books whenborrowing. Classes visit the Elementary Library once a
week. Students may check out a maximum of 10 books(2 books at a time for Lower Elementary). We also
welcome library visits during snack time with a librarypass and permission from the class teacher.

Whole school library activities
We have many exciting activities
planned throughout the year. All
students are encouraged toparticipate in our Hungry Readers
reading program. Students read andreview books from the Elementary
Library and LMC. Students whocomplete a Hungry Readers booklet
available in the library receive one
Yatta! Card and are eligible to win a
prize in a raffle draw. Completed
Hungry Readers booklets must be
submitted to the librarian on or
before October 10.

Information on Yatta! Cards
Q1. What are Yatta! Cards?
A1. Yatta! Cards are a reward system that promotes
the IB learner profile and library skills.
Q2. Where can I get a Yatta! Card?
A2. You can get it from your teachers or from thelibrarians if you possess one of those qualities.
Examples: active participation in class recitations or
discussions, joining Hungry Readers, show
reflective research skills on assessments,
homework, projects etc.
Q3. When is this happening?
A3. It runs from August 26 – October 9. You must drop
your Yatta! Cards into the library to join the raffle
on October 10.

Ms Satoko Yoshimoto is our LMC Librarian. She
manages the daily operations of the LMC and is happy
to help students with online research tools and otherquestions about the library resources.
Mr Andi Licuanan is our Teacher-Librarian. He teaches
information literacy and works closely with teachers to
support students’ study and research skills.

Library hours and borrowing procedure
Library Media Center (LMC) 8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Elementary School Library

8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Continued on next page9

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Continued from previous page

Drop everything and read
On November 5,
elementary students
will participate in theBook Character
Dress-Up Paradeon the field to kick off
our annual Drop
Everything andRead (DEAR)
program for the month of November. Every
Wednesday during November, the whole school –students and teachers alike! – will drop everything
and read for twenty minutes.

Nationalities at KISTAs an international school, we aim to keep a balance ofnationalities across the school and at each grade level.
This year at KIST, we continue to enjoy a highly
multicultural environment with 48 different nationalities
represented in the student body and 17 nationalities
amongst the staff. Can you find your nationality in the
Wordle diagrams below?

Upcoming dates
PTA Library Committee Tuesday, September 17,
Meeting (LMC)
1:00 p.m.
Hungry Readers andYatta! Card Raffle

Thursday, October 10

Elementary Book
Character Dress-Up
ParadeTuesday, November 5

Drop Everything andReadNovember 6, 13, 20, 27

PTA library committee
We need help covering books to protect them sothat they last longer for students to enjoy and use.
If you are interested in volunteering, pleaseconsider joining the PTA Library Committee, or
stopping by the LMC on the 2nd floor of the Main
Building to see Ms Yoshimoto.
As always, thank you to the school administration,teachers and parents for your continued support of
the KIST Libraries. We are here to help students
learn more and enjoy reading.
The Library TeamMr Andi, Ms Satoko and Ms Leslie
library@kist.ed.jp

PTA Bellmark Committee
Thank you for your efforts in assisting
us to collect Bellmarks.
In our first year of operation, wecollected Bellmark points worth 46,955
yen. This will be used to purchase supplies for ourschool.
Please continue to collect and bring in Bellmarks forthe benefit of KIST and our children!

Student nationalities

Staff nationalities

KISTival 2013
The annual school festival, KISTival, will be held on
Saturday, October 26 from 10:00 to 3:00. As thelargest and most important fundraising event of theyear, we ask for the support of the entire schoolcommunity in assisting with the preparation and runningof grade level booths to ensure that maximum funds areraised. KISTival is open to the public so you arewelcome to invite your friends. Further information will
be distributed soon. Have you planned your costume forthis year yet?

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Staff 10!

Office NewsIn this month’s Staff 10!, we arepleased to present Jeffrey Jones
who returned to KIST this year as the
Director of Education and MYP
mathematics teacher.

School fees due

Mr Jones

 Tell us something interesting
about your hometown.
I find that many people in Japan have the impressionthat all of Canada is extremely cold in the winter. While
this is true for many of the metropolitan centers in
Canada, winters in my hometown of Vancouver are
relatively mild, with temperatures quite similar to thoseof Tokyo.
 What is your favorite place in the world?
I feel very fortunate to have travelled to various
countries around the world and I feel that I have also
been very fortunate to have lived in what I feel to be oneof the most beautiful places in the world – Whistler,
British Columbia (also one of the most expensive places
to live in the world!).
 Who would you like to meet if you had the chance
and why?
I am thankful to have met the people I have met during
my life journey thus far – there is something to learn
from every encounter. As for who I would really like tomeet henceforth, if I haven’t met you already then I am
going to say YOU – please drop by and introduce
yourself.
 Do you have any special skills or talents?
Not that I feel are particularly ‘special’.
 Please share a little known fact about yourself.
Few people know that I used to be a snowboard
instructor.
 What is your most prized possession?
My family – not really a ‘possession’ but what I value
more than anything.
 What words would you use to describe yourself?
My students describe me as: positive, caring, nice,helpful, funny (sometimes), a thinker, open-minded, tall.
I will go with that description.
 If you could live your life again, would you doanything differently?
I’m too busy trying to live this life the best I can to think
about it. But no, I try to live my life in a principled way
and hence have no (there must be a few that are notcoming to mind) regrets.
 Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
Can I say anything and everything? I think of life as aquest to learn as much as I can in the time I have been
given – and try to use what I learn to improve myself tocontribute to making our world a better place to be.
 Do you have any special message for your fans?
I have fans? I would like to share a message from
Gandhi that has been a positive influence on my life:“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

11

We would like to remind you that the deadline forpayment of the 2nd installment of school fees for 20132014 is Tuesday, September 17. Families who havechosen to pay school fees by the installment method
are asked to please ensure that payment is made bythis date.
As previously advised, annual invoices outlining detailsof school fees for the entire year are distributed once
only prior to the start of the school year. As such, allfamilies should already have this information, so pleasecheck your annual invoice for details.
If you have misplaced your invoice or
require further information on
payment methods, please contact
Accounts by telephone or e-mail.

Nurse’s Notes
The warm days just keep on coming.
On August 20, we held a teacher’smeeting outlining the dangers ofheatstroke. We discussed ways toprevent heatstroke, common symptoms and emergency
procedures. We reiterated our policies for any days thatare over 35ᵒ. On these days, use of the field may be
restricted if conditions such as humidity are too high.
Children should drink some water before going outside
to play, and should take a rest and water break at least
every 20 to 30 minutes during PE classes or otherphysical activity.
Everybody is affected by the heat in different ways, but
it is said that those who are overweight or have low
physical strength are affected themost. During this season, it is evenmore important to ensure that children
are keeping healthy with a balanced
diet, plenty of sleep etc.
Makiko Whittaker
School Nurse

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V ol u me 17 | I s s ue 1 | S ept em b er 20 13“The Comet”

College Guidance NewsThe Careers and College Guidance Office at KIST
offers various services for the KIST community througha wide range of activities including information
sessions for parents/students, college fairs, college
visits, personal meetings, consultation booths at school
events, workshops and lessons in Advisory periods. Allof these activities and events are designed to assist
KIST students (and parents) to build their own future
careers and higher education plans after graduationfrom KIST. We have been offering Careers andCollege Guidance lessons for G9 through G12 as partof Advisory for several years, but this year we havedecided to include G7 and G8 as well since we believethat students should be informed about their options as
early as possible. We are looking forward to working
with the G7 and G8 students during Tuesday Advisory
periods from December.

 Monday, September 23, 3:15-6:00

Careers and college guidance team

We are pleased to announce that Mr Hiro Komaki(KIST “Class of 2008” graduate), a new KIST
mathematics teacher, has joined the KIST College
Guidance team. He earned his Postgraduate
Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Goldsmith,
University of London and BSc (Hons) Mathematical
Sciences from the University of Bath. He also
completed his professional training for international
college guidance this summer.



CIS Fair & Workshop at St. Mary’s(registration required)
Saturday, October 19, 1:00-6:00
Education UK by British Council (open to the public)
Sunday, October 20, 1:00-6:00
beo Fair at Shinjuku L-Tower (open to the public)
Friday/Saturday, November 8-9
Canada Fair at Canadian Embassy (open to the
public)College visits at KIST Monday, September 9, 3:40-4:30


Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD), USA
Thursday, September 19, 3:40-4:30
Laureate Hospitality Education, Switzerland
Wednesday, September 25, 3:40-4:30
UC Riverside, USA
Tuesday, October 22, 1:40-4:00
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU),USA

Mrs Keiko Okude
College Guidance Counselor

Personal statement workshop—Wednesdays after school, 3:45-4:45
Mr Robert Johnson’s special workshop for Grade 12
students (also for Grade 11 students from Semester 2)commenced on September 4. Students may come toroom 202 after school on Wednesdays from 3:45 to
4:45 with their draft personal statement/college essay(s) in hand to seek Mr Johnson’s advice andassistance with proof reading.

KIST “Class of 2013” destinations
 29 out of 35 graduates applied to 3- or 4-yearcolleges and universities during G12
 26 will enroll in September/October 2013
US: 8 | Canada: 4 | UK: 3 | EU: 1 | Japan: 8 |Singapore:1 | Korea: 1
 6 will apply to college/university later this year
Japan: 5 | Australia: 1
 2 will take a gap year
 1 will do military service in his home country
Please see the complete list of acceptances/offers andmatriculations posted in front of the College Guidance
Office on the 1st floor of the main building.

College fairs
 Friday, September 20, 1:00-4:00
Kanto Plains Fair at St. Mary’s (G11 and G12
students only)

Explanation Day 2013
For the 2014 - 2015 school year
KIST will hold an Explanation Day for parents
interested in enrolling children for the 2014 2015 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.
Date:
October 19, 2013 (Saturday)
Session times:(1) English: 9:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
(2) Japanese: 1:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Reservations close:
October 18, 2013 (Friday)
Reservations essential!

www.kist.ed.jp

“ T h e C o m et ”

V o l u me 1 7 | I s s u e 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 3

13Mathematics Initiatives for 2013-2014
As you may have heard, KIST has set some five-year
goals which include: improving our DP score average
to 36 points; improving student performance in DP
mathematics; and increasing the number of students
studying DP Mathematics at Higher Level andStandard Level. In order to attain these goals somechanges to mathematics programming at KIST havebeen introduced this school year.

Revised mathematics curriculum
In an effort to better prepare students for the IB
Diploma Programme, KIST has aligned its
mathematics curriculum with that of the UK Key Stages
for K3 to Grade 8 and the EdExcel International GCSE
curricula for Grades 9 and 10. Curricular content willcontinue to be delivered following the frameworks
provided by the IB Primary and Middle Years
Programmes (PYP and MYP). More information can beobtained from the following websites.
Key stage curricula:https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum
EdExcel IGCSE:
http://www.edexcel.com/Subjects/Mathematics/
Pages/Default.aspx

Mathematics diagnostic testing
Diagnostic testing is scheduled to take place threetimes per year for students in Grades 4 to 10. This year
the test dates are: August 20, January 17, and May 29.
Diagnostic test data is used to better understand classand grade level performance, to assess effects ofinterventions such as summer school and/or secondary
school class placements, to make secondary schoolclass placement decisions, and to make decisions
about grade promotion and/or required summer school
attendance.
Performance reports are prepared and sent home to allparents after each testing session. As the tests used

contain year level content that
may not yet be understood,
parents should expect student
performance levels to improveon successive tests over theacademic year.

Secondary school class placements
Diagnostic test results are used to guide secondary
school student placement in one of two mathematics
courses: Standard Mathematics or Extended
Mathematics. Students in Standard Mathematics arethen allocated to either a five lesson per week class ora seven lesson per week class. While the content ofboth Standard Mathematics classes are the same,
students in the seven lesson per week class have more
instructional time to revisit foundational concepts andto develop new conceptual understandings. Classtransfers will be considered after diagnostic test results
are processed in January and June.
We are pleased to report that August session testscores showed significant improvement for many
students over test scores attained last June. This
improvement reflects well on the summer school
programming and other efforts made by families tosupport progress during the summer months. We lookforward to continued improvement henceforth.
Thank you for your continued support to assist us in
raising the mathematics performance of all KIST
students.
If you have any questions about the mathematics
initiatives that have been introduced, feel free tocontact your child’s mathematics teacher or e-mail meat the address below.
Jeffrey Jones
Director of Education
jeffrey.jones@kist.ed.jp

PTA Events Committee
The PTA Events Committee would like to sincerely
thank everyone in the KIST community for theircontinued cooperation and support. Your efforts are
truly appreciated.
Although somewhat belated, we’d also like to sharewith you our activity reports from the end of last school
year. Through English Day at K, a fundraising event
held on June 8, we were able to raise 516,416 yen(including 49,000 yen donated by the PTA for T-shirts
and lunches provided to student and teacher volunteers
on the day of the event) towards the eventual
construction of a new gymnasium. The success of thisfirst-ever major fundraising event was made possible

thanks to the combined efforts of the faculty, office
staff, parents and students of KIST.
We also raised a total of 124,357 yen at bake sales
held on May 10 and June 7. The funds raised at thesebake sales have been donated towards the purchase of
uniforms for KIST’s sports teams. We were pleased tohave the opportunity to work together with players fromthese teams on this fundraising activity, and aresincerely grateful to everyone who purchased baked
goods, helped with the bake sales or made donations.
Thank you again for your support of our fundraisingefforts. We look forward to your continued cooperation.

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V ol u me 17 | I s s ue 1 | S ept em b er 20 13“The Comet”

Group 4 Project
One topic, four sciences, countless possibilities
The group 4 project is a compulsory component of the
Diploma Programme that encourages students toappreciate environmental, ethical and social
implications of the experimental sciences. While
students are usually only required to be concernedwith a specific chosen experimental science (that is,DT, biology, chemistry and/or physics), the group 4
project requires students from the different science
disciplines to collaborate and think on interdisciplinarylevels. Topics of the group 4 project are chosen byteachers, and students are encouraged to formulate
research questions and methods to design andexecute experiments. Last year, we 11th graders were
given the topic “racquet sports”.
Initially, many of us had the same reaction: what could
we possibly do that was science, and involved
racquets? Gradually, group discussions andbrainstorming led to groups to come up with aneclectic amount of ideas. My group tested the effectthat various sports drinks had on grip-strength. Other
groups tested the effect the colour of tennis balls had
on reflex-speed, or the effect temperature had on theelasticity of table tennis balls—each group had beensuccessful in formulating unique experiments from thesame topic.
Being grouped with people that you are not used toworking with may be frustrating at first. While opinions
clashed in the brainstorming process, there was asense of collaborative accomplishment at the end of
the project. Even if your experiment did not result in
anticipated results, you learned things that lecturesand class lessons couldn’t teach you: the importanceof the experimental sciences and how prevalent they
are in our daily lives…yes, science can even be foundin racquet sports.
Assessment of the group 4 project comes in the formof “Interpersonal Skills”. Qualities such as motivation,perseverance and teamwork are assessed along withthe ability to reflect on learning and evaluate one’s
own strengths and weaknesses. Group 4 project
topics are deliberately chosen to cause as much
havoc in students’ minds as possible. Furthermore,groups are also chosen to create as much conflict
between personalities, genders and subject
specialities. Most of the students’ own ideas wereunworkable and even when workable the execution
was flawed. But that is the point. In order to assess
how students can collaborate and work underpressure, first a task that is beyond their individual
capabilities is needed.
After some initial guidance, all groups got under way
with experiments and all groups generated useable
data. Although mistakes were common in both thecollection and processing of data and even morecommon in the interpretation of data, the goals of the

project were met.
Students worked
very well together
and all had a fullpresentation readyto deliver by thedeadline. It was
clear that students
had learnt thatscience in the realworld is acollaborative
process and thattime, knowledge
and resources
commensurate with the task are required before
significant innovations can be achieved. Students also
learnt that when in the absence of any of thesefactors, interpersonal skills are vital in order foranything at all to be achieved.
Rio (G12A)

Andrew Young
MYP Coordinator“ T h e C o m et ”

V o l u me 1 7 | I s s u e 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 3

MYP News
In this first edition of the MYP News for the 2013 – 2014
school year, an introductory overview of the main principles
and practices of the International Baccalaureate
Organization (IBO), Middle Years Programme (MYP), will
be given.
The MYP is a 5-year program for students aged 11 to 16,
which translates into Grades 6 to 10 here at KIST. The MYP
provides a curriculum framework which dictates theapproach to teaching and learning but allows total flexibility
for schools to decide the content that will be covered. To
ensure sufficient academic rigor, the MYP has set
assessment objectives for each subject area for the final
year of the program. The IBO also offers moderation ofassessment in Grade 10, leading to official MYP certificatesof achievement. Alternatively, schools may opt formonitoring of assessment in grade 10, such that external
validation of the school’s assessment practices can occur
and advice for improvement be obtained. In addition, theIBO conducts 5-yearly school visitations to evaluate schools
against mandated standards and practices. Failure to showcompliance with the standards and practices may result in aschool losing its accreditation to offer one or moreprograms.
The primary aim of the MYP, as with all IBO programmes, isdeveloping “international mindedness”. This is an elusive
concept which evades concise definition, however the IBO
instead propose that international mindedness will develop
as students exhibit the values defined in the Learner Profile.
Consequently, at KIST we design units of work that will
promote development of the learner profile attributes:
Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Principled, Caring,
Communicator, Risk takers, Open-minded, Balanced,
Reflective.
While the learner profile is common to all IBO programmes,
the MYP has three unique Fundamental Concepts. These
are Holistic Learning, Communication and Intercultural
Awareness. Holistic Learning is the notion that all learning isconnected and real-world problems require inter-disciplinary
solutions. Communication is the notion that students must
be able to communicate effectively in multiple mediums &languages. Intercultural Awareness is the notion that
understanding one’s own and other people’s cultures builds
identity, tolerance and respect.
Another key component of the MYP is the Areas ofInteraction (AOI). The AOIs are central to teacher’s unit
planning and support development of units of work that
promote the fundamental concepts. The AOIs facilitate thisbecause they set contexts for learning that highlight realworld connections and facilitate inter-disciplinary links.
Furthermore, they give emphasis to skills for life-longlearning. The AOIs are: approaches to learning (ATL),
community and service, health and social education,
environments and human ingenuity. The ATLs split further

into seven key skills to address the fundamental concept ofcommunication, these are: organization, communication,
collaboration, information literacy, reflection, thinking, andtransfer. Every MYP unit of work must focus on thedevelopment of ATL skills, with one or more being made aparticular target of development. The remaining AOIs areintended to address the fundamental concept of Holistic
Learning and to a lesser extent, Intercultural Awareness.
Teachers select one AOI to become a context throughwhich to guide inquiry into the content defined within unit
planners. The IBO provides a unit planner template forteachers which guides every stage in the development of
the unit such that ATLs, the chosen AOI, content
knowledge, skills, attitudes and assessment tasks arealigned throughout.
Assessment is a particularly important aspect in any
curriculum and in the MYP this is clearly evidenced by IBO
mandated subject objectives and assessment outcomes. In
essence, the IBO sets the assessment criteria for every
subject for the final year of the program. Thus, schools mustensure that their units of work will allow students to reachthe highest levels set by the IBO, by the final year of the
program. These criteria are then progressively modified andsimplified for the lower grade levels. Unlike the IBO
Diploma Programme, most national curricula & otherinternational curricula such as the Cambridge IGCSE,
assessment in the MYP is internal and qualitative; meaningthat teachers design, construct and conduct assessments
and decide student grades. The IBO mandated assessment
criteria form the descriptors by which teachers decide a
student’s level of achievement.
With so much responsibility and freedom lying in the handsof individual teachers, quality control becomes an importantconsideration. At KIST, we conduct internal standardizationfrom grades 6 – 9. For Grade 10, schools have the option of
external moderation by the IBO, which leads to verified
grades and IBO sanctioned MYP certificates as students
complete the final year of the program; in essence a Grade
10 graduation certificate. Alternatively, schools can opt formonitoring of assessment to obtain
feedback, without the additional cost ofverifying grades and issuing certificates.
At KIST, Grade 10 assessments undergo
monitoring annually, by the IBO, after aprocess of internal standardization.
If you are interested in learning more
about assessment in the MYP and in
student portfolios, please attend the MYP Parent
Information Session on September 20th at 6:00 – 7:30pm.
Andrew Young
MYP Coordinator

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