The Comet

The Newsletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

In this issue...
New Appointments…p. 2

Peace Boat…p. 8

Guidance Counselor’s Office …p. 3

Japanese New Year…p. 9

Grass Comments…p. 5

Supervision Notice…p. 9

ISA Testing…p. 5

SRC Report…p. 10

School Handbook…p. 5

Basketball Season…p. 11

Mathletics Stars…p. 7

Congratulations Carmina!…p. 12

From the Principal’s Desk
What other topic could I start with than “the grass!” Over the winter holidays,
the artificial turf was laid and the difference it has made to the environment andfeel of the school is indescribable.
Children are playing and interacting differently, they are able to do handstands,
forward rolls, sit and talk and enjoy the outdoors. The green has enhanced thewhole school environment and has been commented on by students, teachersand staff alike. I would again like to thank our parent body who have been so
supportive of this change to our physical resources at the school. Fundraising
will continue for the artificial turf over the rest of the school year. Ideas for thisare welcome from parents.
Another major event that has mobilized our student body is the earthquake in
Haiti. Students, along with Ms Gray (G4A), organized a fundraising event
called “K. Idol.” The results of the fundraising and the evening will be posted in
our next newsletter. The compassion and energy displayed by these students
and those teachers who assisted is truly a reflection of the action component
in the IB programs. K. Idol was held in conjunction with “Dancing with theStars,” a fundraiser organized by Mr Ralph for our representative team at theWorld School Games.
Carmina (G12) returned from Davos, Switzerland earlier this month where she
attended the World Economic Forum as the youngest participant. Carmina is
the living embodiment of the IB Learner Profile and I would encourage you totake a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ViElaZETg
to listen to Carmina talk about her hopes for the world.
Lastly, inside this edition you will notice the new appointments section where
the new Head of School and other leadership positions are introduced. It has
been an energizing and exciting task to appoint these experienced
professionals to positions of leadership starting the academic year 2010-2011.
Anne Grahame
Principal

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DATES TO REMEMBER

February 17 − 18:(G3/G5/G7/G9) ISA testing
February 26:(G10) MYP personal project
exhibition
March 22:
Student-led conferences
March 22 − 24:
No clubs/ESL this week
March 24:
(G12) End of year reports issued
End of Winter Term
March 25 − 27:
Staff development days
March 25 − April 5:
Spring holiday
April 5:
Staff development day
April 6:
(L/P/S) Start of Spring Term
April 12:Clubs and ESL start
April 29 − May 5:
Mid-term break2Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

“The Comet”

New Appointments
We are happy to announce the appointment of a new Head of School, Secondary Principal and Lower School
Coordinator beginning 2010-2011.

Head of School
Dr Nanci Shaw has been appointed as KIST’s new Head of School. She hasover 25 years of experience in teaching and administration. She started hercareer with a BA in Elementary and Special Education, followed by a M.Ed.
in Secondary Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. She has
also taught at Iowa State University in the field of international comparativeeducation.
Nanci joins us from the American School of Yaoundé, Cameroon, West
Africa where she has served as Head of School for the past five years.
Nanci has a wealth of experience in international education having worked
at the American School in London, Bonn American High School andfacilitated the implementation of the IB programs at Bonn International
School. She has also lived and taught in Japan before at a Department of
Defense school in Iwakuni.
Nanci is also very familiar with school accreditation processes and has led
successful CIS/MSA accreditation processes. She is a certified Board
Trainer with the Council of International Schools (CIS).
Nanci is passionate about the IB programs and ensuring that students are at the center of school life. She is excitedabout her role and returning to Japan. Nanci has been appointed for five years.

Secondary Principal (G6-12)
Robin Schneider has been appointed to the position of Secondary Principal. Robin joins us
following his completion of eight years at Korea International School. During his time at
KIS he has fulfilled the roles of Middle School Principal and Middle School/High School
Associate Principal.
Robin is experienced in all aspects of education and has completed his Masters of
Educational Leadership from Lehigh University, PA, USA. Robin also has experience with
WASC accreditation and has been an EARCOS presenter on pedagogy behind theinfusion of technology into the curriculum.
Robin has previously worked in Japan. He was employed at Nishimachi International
School for three years as a teacher of mathematics. He is also an experienced volleyballand basketball coach and has been very involved in the development of an athletics
program and an IT plan at his current school.
Robin is an ardent exponent of inquiry and an integrated approach to learning and is excited about joining KIST in
August 2010. Robin has been appointed for three years.

Elementary Principal (K1-G5)
Greg Brunton will take on the newly created role of Elementary Principal continuing on from his year as Acting
Primary Principal. Greg’s appointment is for two years.

Lower School Coordinator
Erin Hoover will move from her position as Grade 1 teacher to take on this position. As most of you will know, Erin
has a wealth of experience and knowledge specific to PYP in the early years. She is an experienced Early Years
teacher, a PYP workshop leader (specializing in the course ‘PYP in the Early Years’) and also has experience inleadership as both PYP coordinator and vice principal. We feel confident that with her prior experience and herdeveloping knowledge and understanding of our school, Erin will be able to work closely with Greg and Emma todevelop a strong and effective Lower School department. Erin’s appointment is for two years.

Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

ADVERTISEMENT“The Comet”

3

Tokyo English Life Line
Tokyo English Life Line is a multifaceted, nonprofit
organization that has been serving theinternational and business communities since1973. Their services include free phonecounseling and information, professional face-toface counseling, and educational workshops.
TELL has provided workshops to the secondary
school at various times and in turn KIST would liketo support TELL through promotion of these two
upcoming events.
6th Annual TELL Ballet for Children
Yuki Onna - The Snow Princess
Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Starts: 2:00 pm
Ends: 6:00 pm
Venue: Tokyo American Club
Performances start at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm

11th Annual TELL Charity Walk/Runathon
Date: Saturday, May 1, 2010
5km Run; 10km Run; 5km Walk
Last year, a group of staff and students from KIST
ran in this event and this year we are again trying
to field a team. At least 10 participants areneeded. Interested parents are asked to contact
the school by the end of Term 2. More details will
be forthcoming in the next issue of The Comet.

Guidance Counselor’s Office
COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE SEASON IN FULL SWING
Grade 12 students at KIST have been keeping
themselves, Mrs Okude and Mr Wagner very busy overthe past two months including the winter break withcollege application preparation and student essays.
With applications being prepared for more than 50
different schools, Mrs Okude and Mr Wagner can beseen working on application packages, reproducing
grade reports and proofreading essays throughout the
day and into the early evening. The cause for all thisactivity has been the college deadlines.
Many schools in the United States have deadlines ofJanuary 1 and March 31 for applications, and schools in
the United Kingdom have deadlines of January 15.
Creating the proper and complete college application
package requires many steps to ensure that the
package submitted accurately reflects the student’s
effort and accomplishments. Many colleges require
essays so as to get to know the student better andthese must be polished to highlight the student’s

activities and education. The essays are often aparticular challenge with topics ranging from thepractical: ‘Why do you want to attend this college’; tothe reflective: ‘What particular experience in life hasbest prepared you for college’; to the humorous: ‘If you
were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?’ But thehard work does pay off when the college acceptances
begin appearing and we have wonderful news of that at
KIST.
Thus far, KIST students have received acceptanceletters from: Warwick University, University of Glasgow,
Imperial College London, University of Saint Andrews
and Pacific Lutheran University in the United States.
What is more rewarding is the scholarship offers andthus far we have two half-tuition offers from Pacific
Lutheran University. There will be many more
acceptances and scholarship offers before April anduntil then, the students wait anxiously for their letters.

4

V o l u m e 1 3 | I s s uV
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1 r3u Iasrsyu2e031 0“The Comet”

Office Updates
Communication formats

Artificial turf

As previously advised, we would like to remind allfamilies that the current distribution system for schoolcommunication (e.g. newsletters, notices etc.) willchange from the beginning of the 2010-2011 school
year. All school communication will be distributed
electronically through e-mail only. Families who have
not yet registered a contact e-mail address are asked
to do so as soon as possible. Addresses must be
computer-based (mobile phone addresses are notaccepted) and able to accept up to 10MB of data. We
also recommend that families currently receiving paper
communication change to the electronic format during
the current year so that any difficulties can be ironedout before next year. To change your current method ofcommunication, please complete the Communication
Registration Form (available on the school website
Contact > Forms page) and submit it directly to theoffice. We ask for the cooperation of all families inensuring the transition to this new environmentallyfriendly system of communication proceeds smoothly.

As mentioned in the principal’s message, there havebeen many changes since the artificial turf wasinstalled on the school playground. Thanks to the turf,
we can now help to prevent damage to the health ofstudents and teachers prone to asthma attacks. Also,
as expected, there has been a dramatic decrease in
the number of injured students coming to the office.
Now, no one slips on the sand that was always brought
inside the buildings and the school is generally muchcleaner.

Student withdrawals
We would like to remind families intending to withdraw
their children from KIST at the end of the winter term toplease be sure to submit a Student Withdrawal Form atleast one month in advance of the final date ofattendance. The form may be downloaded from theContact >> Forms page of the school website.

Donation of paper
We have again received a donation of A4 paper from
Furuya, a company located in the same neighborhood
as KIST. Furuya stored left over paper, cut it to A4 sizeand delivered it to school. We would like to thank all thestaff at Furuya for their generosity. KIST receives agreat deal of support from our local community and we
ask all students, parents and staff to assist us inmaintaining this important relationship with ourneighbors.

Lost and found
There are many, many wintercoats, PE tracksuit tops and otheritems of clothing at the entrance tothe main school building. If
you are missing an
item please be sure
to check this large(and growing!)mound of clothing.

Calendar errata
Please amend your school
calendars. There was an error in
the club/ESL free weeks. Clubsand ESL will run as per usual
during the week of February 22-26.
They will not run during the weekof March 22-26.

We have observed
students enjoying
playing new games on
the playground thatthey could not play
before. It also seems
like the turf has
enabled students todemonstrate aspectsof the IB learner profile
more often than
before. Furthermore,
K1-K3 students havealso been enjoying PE
and other activities on
the playground. As wewatch the students andteachers using theplayground, we feelsatisfied that installing
the turf has been awonderful addition to
the school facilities.
To keep the turf in prime condition, there are a few
precautions that we all must follow. These are postedon the fence around the playground; however, we
would like to ask for your cooperation in understanding
the following main points:
 No food or drinks are allowed (except for water).
 Metal spikes cannot be used.
 Do not dig out the filler chips (surface temperature
suppression chips).
 Do not bring in materials made of glass (broken
glass may contaminate the chips).
 No vehicles are allowed on the turf.
We will continue with our fundraising campaigns toraise money for the artificial turf and its maintenanceand repair costs. The Friends of KIST Artificial Turf
Committee is now planning a number of fundraising
activities such as a hanami festival, bingo and a futsal
tournament. Details of these activities and an
accounting report will be included in a special
newsletter from the Committee that will be issued soon.
We also welcome ideas for further fundraising
activities. If you have any suggestions, please e-mailFriends of KIST at friends@kist.ed.jp.

Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

“The Comet”

Grass Comments
Shauna and Malini (Grade 1) …it
feels nice and soft…I like itbecause I can stay and have funlike laying down and playing…

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down andInternational Schools’ Assessment Testing Program
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has again been engaged to conduct an assessment of
Reading, Mathematics and Writing. ACER is an independent Australian researchand development organization that conducts the ISA in approximately 240
schools worldwide each year.
The ISA assessment program is designed especially for students in international
schools in Grades 3 to 10. It is based on the internationally endorsed reading andmathematical literacy frameworks of the OECD's Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA). (http://www.acer.edu.au/isa/ Accessed 29/1/10)
This year, the ISA will be held at KIST on February 17 and 18 in Grades 3, 5, 7
and 9. Notification of results will take place in Term 3.
Errata: If you received an ISA testing letter with the dates as February 17 and19, please amend this to February 17 and 18.

School Handbook 2009-2010
We are very pleased to announce that the KIST School
Handbook for the 2009 – 2010 school year has been
uploaded to the school website Admissions >Documentation page (http://www.kist.ed.jp/node/41).
The handbook is an important document that isdesigned to help you and your family understand theschool’s procedures and expectations. It provides a
guide to the school rules and regulations that all
families in the school community are expected tofollow. We hope that it will assist us to work together ina successful learning partnership. In this regard, we
ask you to read the handbook carefully and refer to it attimes when you are unsure about the procedures tofollow in particular situations. By following theprocedures outlined, you will help contribute tomaintaining the smooth running of the school’s daily
operations.

The handbook is a public document and may beviewed by anyone interested in finding out more about
our school. At the time of preparation, it contained themost up-to-date
information on theschool; however, it
is possible that policies
and procedures maychange from time totime. For any changes
that may occur during
the year, families will be
informed accordingly.
Printouts of thehandbook are available
from the office uponrequest.

5

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Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

“The Comet”

Action in the Primary School
As a parent myself, I know yourchild’s education is very important.
A child’s education is not complete
if it focuses on academics alone
but must also consider thedevelopment of the whole child. At
KIST, we strive to provide an
education which follows the IB’s
aim of developing, “internationallyminded people who, recognizing
their common humanity andshared guardianship of the planet,help to create a better and morepeaceful world.”
Some recent Primary events at
KIST have clearly demonstrated
this belief in education.
Immediately after learning about
the situation in Haiti, the Grade 4classes, led by Ms Gray and Mr
Henderson, organized a carnival
type fundraiser with games, foodand shops to raise money forvictims in Haiti. Students planned,
organized and carried out thefundraiser which not only will help
others they do not even know, butalso demonstrated the ability to
use the skills they have learned totake action in helping those whoare in a time of need. This spark
inspired Ms Gray, Mr Ralph and Mr
Adams to organize other teachers
from different areas of the school
as well as Secondary students into
coordinating the K. Idol event held
on February 10. The K. Idol
fundraiser was a collaborative
event for others to get involved
with in different ways. For
example, Grade 5 classes,organized by Grade 5 students
Haruto, Kiseki, Koki and Moana,
contributed to the event by doing
extra work around their home or

school and then donating theproceeds to the fundraiser. Other
students and classes aroundschool have also been
volunteering to help in different
ways. But most of the time, action
is not fundraising. Students
demonstrate action every time theydecide to act after learning andreflecting. For example, picking up
trash left on the ground bysomeone else, taking care ofsomeone when they are crying,closing the door to save energy,
using our respectful words and not
our fists to solve problems,organizing the classroom
bookshelf when it is messy, or
choosing a healthy snack withwater, all demonstrate taking
action. How we choose to act, ineither big ways or small ways,
demonstrates who we are.

Greg Brunton
Primary Principal

Builders/Carpenters Needed Bottle Caps Wanted
We are looking for one or twoparents who have building/carpentry skills that could help
with the building of a sandpit forour main playground area. This
would involve the purchased ofmaterials (school funded) and a
day or so to put it together. You
would work together with Ms
Cooke and Mr Brunton to design the sandpit. If you
think you might have the skills and time to help, pleasecontact Ms Cooke at a_cooke@kist.ed.jp.

My name is Johnathan from G3and I would like to talk about adonation of bottle caps fromplastic drink bottles. I want to help
other countries from getting sick.

Indoor Shoes

For more information, visit: www.ecocap007.com.

With the replacement of the dirt
field with artificial turf, thecampus environment has
become much cleaner. Becauseof this, starting on Monday,
February 15, students in Grade 1 through 12 will nolonger be required to have or change into indoor shoes
when entering the buildings. The shoe boxes in theentrance to the main school building will be removed
soon. If a student’s PE shoes are different from theirschool shoes, they are welcome to store them with their
backpack on those days. Because students in K1
through K3 use the Lower School playground, they willcontinue to use both outdoor and indoor shoes.

Thank you.

You can help other countries too
by putting your bottle caps in thebox that you will see near theschool door entrances. The bottle caps will be taken toa depo and they will be turned into chips. The chips willthen be turned into money. Then, the money will be
used for vaccinations by ECOCAP.

K3-G5 MusicWe are continuing to search for along term music teacher for our
Lower and Primary musicclasses. Until then, we are
fortunate to have Mr Carloteaching the music classes. He is a trained andcertified teacher who loves integrating playing his
guitar into the lessons. You might even have a chanceto spot him with his ukulele.

Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

“The Comet”

7

Grade 6 are Stars in Mathletics!

Well done Mr Heppenstall’s Grade 6 mathematics classes, currently ranked number 8 in
the world of Mathletics!

Japan World Maths Day

KIST’s published author
Faye of Grade 11 hasdonated a copy of hervery own publishedbook to the KIST library.

World Maths Day 2010 iscoming on March 3 andHannah from G8A has been
selected to be the Japanambassador! Hannah will be
the contact person for Japanand she will talk about
Mathletics and how it ishelping her development inmathematics.
All middle school students have a subscription to
Mathletics. Some complete course work and also
compete against other students from around the world
in Mathletics Live.
Hannah is a top performer
in this part of the program.
Congratulations andgood luck Hannah!

Faye wrote a collectionof short stories for her
personal project as theculminating activity of
the MYP focusing on thehealth and social
area of interaction.
Her talent for writing
and the messages
about how we think
and act can now beenjoyed by thestudents at KIST.
Look out for “Angel
Service” andcongratulate Faye
when you see her.
Well done Faye!

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Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

“The Comet”

My Travel on the PEACE BOAT
as a Volunteer Staff Member
I went on a ship called “PEACE BOAT” as a volunteer
staff member. I went with my grandmother, and wewent all around the world in three months.
We departed from Yokohama, Vietnam, Singapore,
Seychelles, Kenya, Suez
Canal (This time the Greece
fleet helped us be safe on
the ship, because pirates
could appear), Egypt,
Turkey, Greece, Croatia,
Malta, Italy, Morocco, Spain,
Cuba, Mexico, Panama,
Panama Canal (through the
Panama Canal), Ecuador,
Peru, Easter Island, Tahiti
and Samoa. We went totwenty-one countries. On theship, the volunteer staff
members planned a lot ofprojects such as sports days,
dance competitions, fashionshows, summer festivals and more, for people to not
get bored on the ship.
Before we landed in each country, we had explanatory
meetings, so we could understand about that country.
In some countries, I mixed with the local people, and I
also went to an orphanage. We asked the 66th cruise
members what we needed to bring to the orphanage.

The 67th cruise members brought some blankets,medical supplies and some toys for the orphanage.
The kids at the orphanage were very friendly and kindto me. They hugged me, and they were hanging downfrom my arm. They were cute, but I could feel in someparts that they have ashortage in love… In theworld there are lots ofchildren who are like theorphanage kids, so I feelthat I am really blessed(and feel happy) about
my life.
There were lots of cultural
heritage like thepyramids, Machu Picchu
and the Easter Islands
moai statues. The
pyramid rocks were thesame height as mygrandmother, so I was
surprised that people
carried the rocks to build the pyramids. Machu Picchu
was at a high place. The air was hard to breathe and it
was hard to walk around the mountain. I thought that
the Inca people were smart to make a country up highin the mountain. The moai statues were bigger than I
thought, and the moaisthat stand in a line,
were well worth seeing
for me. During mytravel, I noticed thatpeople around theworld were thinking
about the same thing,
and they need help
from many people.
When I grow up, I want
to work where I can help and support people aroundthe world.
Rika (G8B)

Professional CD Recording Opportunities
Occasionally, KIST allows a recording company to use one of ourmusic rooms to make a professional CD. To date over 70 of ourstudents have been singers for these recordings. The CDs are soldcommercially in music shops and on the iTunes Music Store. If you
are interested in your child being considered for a recording projectin the future, please contact Mr Adams to receive more information
on how to become involved. The recording company is called Star
Fruits Entertainment and the commitment usually requires
approximately two to three hours after school. Please e-mail Mr
Adams at school at t_adams@kist.ed.jp for more information.

Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

“The Comet”

9Japanese New Year Celebration
On Wednesday, January 27, we held our Japanese
New Year celebration. Once again this year, we were
fortunate to be joined by many sumo wrestlers from
Kise stable.
The students were so
excited to push or touchthe bodies of thesumos. They were
surprised with theirbody size. One very
entertaining
performance occurred
when four or five Grade
5 students tried to push
a sumo down, but he
did not move at all. And
when a Grade 1 student
tried to fight by himself,
the sumo fell down andlost. The humor of thesumos helped thestudents to have agreat time.

Students were also able to pound mochi rice cakes
together with the sumos. Usually, when students try to
hold a heavy pounder by themselves, they won’t beable to pound smoothly because they do not haveenough strength, but when the assistance of thesumos, the rice cakes were made instantly.

Students smacked their lips over four different tastes ofmocha: soybean flour (kinako), seaweed, sesame andsweet red bean, that were made by volunteers. The
most popular taste was sesame.
Thanks to the sumos from Kise stable and all thevolunteers, we were able to enjoy an entertaining
Japanese New Year celebration. Thank you everyone
for your cooperation!

Supervision Notice
A reminder to parents regarding supervision of students at school and the duty of care we hold. The levelof supervision changes with the age of the student and is provided so that foreseeable accidents may be
prevented. Students are supervised in the following spaces and at the following times only:
Time

Lower

Primary

SecondaryBefore School

8:00 K1 & K2 Not available unlesssigned up for Before Care
(Before Care classroom advertised
at front reception each day)
K3 Lower School Playground
G1 Same as Primary School

8:00-8:30 Ground

8:15-8:35 Ground/Building

Morning Recess

G1 Same as G2

10:00-10:20 G2 Recess
10:20-10:40 G3/G4/G5 Recess

10:45-11:05 Ground/Building

Lunch Recess

G1 Same as G2

12:00-12:30 G3/G4/G5 Recess
12:30-1:00 G2 Recess

1:00-1:35 Recess - Building/Ground/Gym

After School

2:00-3:30 K1, K2, K3 not available
unless signed up for After Care
3:00-3:30 G1 Same as Primary

3:00-3:30 Ground

None unless student is inclub activity or studying in thelibrary

Please ensure that you do not send your child to school before the appropriate time as supervision will not be
available. Further, when visiting the school, individual parents/guardians are responsible for the supervision of
their children when at school outside of the times outlined above. Secondary students are not to remain after
school unless in a supervised activity.

10“The Comet”

Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

Secondary NewsSRC Report

We are fast approaching the time of year when ourGrade 12 students are mentally preparing themselves
for their mock exams, followed by three weeks of IB
exams in May. As these students prepare to depart our
school, the next generation of students is preparing totake over leadership of the school. During this month
campaigning for, and election of, our new SRC
executive takes place.

Hello fellow teachers,
parents and students of
KIST! We are the
Executives of the SRC,
here to report to you
about our progress andaccomplishments.
Members of the SRC
have had regular meetings every Thursday, discussinga variety of issues and resolutions in order to enhance
the quality of the environment in our school community.
All of the members in the SRC played his/her role tosignificantly contribute to our progress and without asingle one of them, it would undoubtedly have been
impossible to have reached the goals of the SRC as
successfully as we have. We made many kinds ofchanges; some were gradual and some were
impromptu; some were big and some were small. A few
examples include setting up the hooks for bags in thesecondary locker areas, setting a tradition in our schoolof graduation gowns, and functioning as co-members in
the decision making process in choosing the next headof the school. There are so many more areas in which
the SRC tried to make positive changes and is still
undertaking a great number of issues, concerned withthe school community as a whole, within our fullcommitment and responsibility. Although it is the timeof the year when we finally hand over our roles andpositions of executives, we are sure that the next
executives are going to have more commitments inmaking positive changes in our school that would
forever benefit the students of KIST for years to come.

It has been my pleasure to work with the SRC this past
year in progressing ideas they have presented. The
2009-2010 Executive, in conjunction with the SRC
grade representatives, has established a firm
foundation for future Executives and I believe the SRC
will continue to grow in its role as a forum for ourstudents’ voices to be heard. Please take the time toread through the SRC report included on this page.
This month is a big month for our Grade 10 students
who are in their final year of the MYP. On February 26,
they will present their Personal Project to the schoolcommunity. The Personal Project is a very importantpart of the MYP and needs to reflect the student’s
experience in the program. Grade 10 students haveworked hard on their individual projects over this year
and deserve congratulations. My thanks to Mr Ferris for
coordinating the Personal Project and thanks to all staff
who acted as mentors.
Next year in the Secondary School there will be somechanges with regard to textbook purchases. From thenext academic year students will be expected topurchase their textbooks in advance of the school year.
Booklists and options for purchases will be drawn up
and information sent home well in advance of the endof the current school year.
There has been a great deal of activity taking place in
the Secondary from cultural to sporting events:
Mr Wagner will take a group of students andaccompanying staff to Yokosuka High School for a
Model United Nations (MUN) scrimmage thisweekend; Ms Ritcey took a group of students to St.
Mary’s International School for Brain Bowl this past
week; Mr D. Bates continues to work with the Grade 11
students preparing for Habitat for Humanity; Mr
Spring is organizing a team from KIST to attend theWorld School Games in Ohio in July; Ms Cussen is
directing a group of students who will perform Oscar
Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest sometime in
March. Added to this are the everyday co-curricula
activities offered by staff such as softball, baseball andbasketball (see page 11 for details), making for a very
busy term. I would like to thank all staff, students andparents for making these activities possible.
If you have any questions about programs andactivities or news in the Secondary, please feel free tocontact any of your child’s teachers or me at any time.
Anne Grahame
Secondary Principal

James (President); Carmina & Disha (VicePresidents); Soo Min (Treasurer)

As the SRC Executives' term is coming to an end, weare thrilled to share with the rest of the school some ofthe projects the SRC has taken on this school year.
SRC ACHIEVEMENTS SUMMARY SRC has successfully had bag hooks set up forsecondary students’ convenience.
 SRC has successfully set in place a school traditionof graduation gowns for Grade 12 classes.
 SRC has actively been organizing school spirit
activities such as lunch break sports tournaments.
 SRC has attempted to voice student opinion on theissue of printing at school.
 SRC has been a co-member of the decision making
process to choose the next Head of School.
 SRC has been involved with the fundraiser for Haiti
earthquake victims through the K. Idol event.
 SRC has other projects underway.
Working with the SRC class representatives throughout
the school year has been very exciting for the
Executive and it has been a great chance andprivilege for us to represent the KIST student body!
Thank you for your support throughout the year!

Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

“The Comet”

11

Basketball 2009/2010 Season
The KIST Comets Basketball season has been an
extremely busy one thus far. The Boys U/18 team,coached by Ms Cussen, began playing before
Christmas with away games against St. Mary’s and the
Lycee Francais Japonaise (LFJ). Both games, the boys
put in solid efforts and were very unlucky to lose to LFJ,
going down by two points. The winter break was agreat chance for the team to regroup, coming back thefirst week after losing after another improved
performance against Columbia International School
and then playing an excellent four quarters against
International Secondary School (ISS), winning very
convincingly. Next stop was Yokohama for the two day
invitational tournament where we played several teams
from around Japan. The boys finished in fifth place
after losses to Osaka International School and St. Maurand another win against ISS. The following Monday,
we played away against Columbia and lost with a very
undermanned team. On a cold wet Monday night, we
took on the American School in Japan (ASIJ) and were
expecting a very tough game. The team were obviously
switched on from the beginning of the match scoring

they showed some good signs, were outplayed by
Columbia. The more the girls practiced, the greater the
improvement was, and following a loss to CanadianInternational School, we ventured over to Yokohama toplay in the Invitational Tournament at St. Maur
International School. We played three games against
Osaka International School, St. Maur and CanadianAcademy Kobe. All of the games were well fought out
with the girls displaying a brilliant performance against
the Kobe side going down by two points in a nail biting
finale. The girls collected their first win of the season in
the return game against CIS, winning by six points. The
girls then took it up to ASIJ on that wet February night
being level with them deep into the third quarter but
eventually went down by twelve points. The girls havebeen lead by Sara, Ria and Mei, all of whom havescored well in each game.

Karlee’s, Monica’s and Dingyun’s rebounding has also
been outstanding and has been well supported by therun of Shifa, Shiza, Momo and Jessica. Aki and Hikaru
have provided valuable support in the defensive halfand have also scored when necessary. Well done to all
girls thus far this season. I would like to give a huge
thank you to Ms Cussen and Ms Ritcey for their efforts
with the coaching this year and also to Ms Ozawa, who
has not only given up her weekends, but has also
stepped in to referee games when necessary. Thankyou to all of those involved.
the first 12 points and never looking back from there.
We eventually won by 37 points in a high scoring
game. Captain Pyay Phyo (PPO) has displayed great
leadership throughout the season so far with Jakub andJeff providing valuable support scoring many
impressive baskets in tight situations. It has been mostimpressive to see Tyson from Grade 6 and Sho from
Grade 8 display maturity beyond their years. Argi and
Brandon have also shown solid defensive skills
grabbing numerous rebounds throughout the games.
Yubo, Jin Wook and Claude have also displayed theirbasketball prowess, scoring and rebounding in thegames that they have played. JC and Alakhsa haveplayed several games and have developed very well.
The Girls U/18 team, coached by Ms Ritcey,commenced their season with a game against
Columbia played in the KIST gym, and although theyWill Spring
Sports Coordinator
GIRLS
Vs Columbia IS
19 – 43 (Loss)
Vs Canadian IS
11 – 28 (Loss)
Vs Osaka IS
16 – 40 (Loss)
Vs St. Maur IS
18 – 44 (Loss)
Vs Canadian Academy Kobe
18 – 20 (Loss)
Vs Columbia IS
30 – 24 (Win)Vs American School in Japan
19 – 31 (Loss)BOYS
Vs St. Mary’s
25 – 44 (Loss)
Vs Lycee Francais Japonaise
27 – 29 (Loss)
Vs Columbia IS
37 – 48 (Loss)
Vs Intl Secondary School
58 -13 (Win)Vs Canadian IS
23 – 24 (Loss)
Vs Osaka IS
20 – 42 (Loss)
Vs St. Maur IS
35 – 37 (Loss)
Vs Intl Secondary School
50 – 15 (Win)Vs Columbia IS
36 – 62 (Loss)
Vs American School in Japan82 – 45 (Win)12“The Comet”

Volume 13 | Issue 4 | February 2010

Congratulations Carmina!
INQUIRER
BAL
AN
CE D
THINKERRISK TA COMMUNICATOR RE
KER
FLE
C
C
T
A
R
I
N
G
IVE
KNOWLEDGEABLE

PRINCIPLED
D
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I
M
N
OPE

You have done the K. International School Tokyo
community and yourself proud. We would like torecognize your amazing achievements by asking
any members of our school community (parents,
students, teachers, alumni) to write a tribute in 100
words or less to your continued demonstration of
the attributes of the Learner Profile. Students,
parents, teachers please e-mail or hand yourtribute to the IB Office or myp_co@kist.ed.jp.
We will publish a selection of entries in the next
issue of The Comet.