The Comet

The New sletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 19 | Issue 2 | December 2015

In this issue...
03...KISTival 2015

13...Grade 7 Overnight Excursion

05...Message from the Board President

15...Secondary Visual Arts News

07...K1 Creative Activities

16...DP Reflections

08...K2 Excursion

17...Family Handbook

09...School Calendar 2016-2017

25...Women’s Leadership Conference10...Backward Design Planning28...KIST Cross Country Meet

From the Head of School

DATES TO REMEMBER

Holiday greetings KIST community members,
Once KISTival is behind us it is amazing how quickly the winter holiday
approaches us! The start of this school year as well has been an exciting one
and I am pleased for this opportunity to reflect on some of our progress andsuccesses here with all members of our KIST community.
Before getting started, I would like to thank all of our readers for supporting our
newsletter. As you may know, hard copies of The Comet are now madeavailable outside the reception office near the front gate. I was pleased to have
had to replenish these hard copies quite a few times since the past issue. It
brings great pleasure to all those who work hard to put The Comet together toknow that our community readership is strong and that those reading enjoy ourefforts. If you have any ideas for future Comet articles, or how we can further
improve the newsletter, feel free to email me anytime and I will pass yoursuggestions on to the editing team.
As a staff member and as a parent, KISTival is one of my favorite times ofyear, a time when all KIST community members work together as one towards
our common goal to raise funds for the school (and have fun doing so!). This
year’s KISTival was again a huge success with over 3000 visitors and over 9
million yen raised to support the school. Some of the funds from KISTival thisyear will be used to replace the water pipes in the Secondary School building
and the remaining funds will be added to the construction fund in place forreplacing our gymnasium and main school building in coming years. KISTival
demands huge commitment and support from all members of our community
and, on behalf of our school, I would like take this opportunity to once again
thank everyone for their contributions to making KISTival a success each year.
In early October, our Grade 5 students attended a two-day technology camp
aimed at developing skills to support them with preparing for the PYP
Exhibition in April 2016. The camp schedule was full and challenging with
ample opportunity for the students to collaborate, develop skills and have fun!
In mid-November our Grade 7 camp took place, with our students spending
two days at the well-equipped YMCA facilities located at the base of Mt. Fuji in
Shizuoka. During their stay, the students learned about the environment andvisited a forest conservation site where they actually fell a 20+ meter tall treeusing only handsaws! Thank you to all of our teachers for the countless hours
put in to planning these wonderful learning opportunities for our students andto our community for the support shown towards our camp programming.
Continued on next page

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

December 2015
4 (S) Winter concert (*Evening)
5 SAT@KIST
11 (G1-G12) Clubs program ends /(Nu-G5) LEAP classes end
14-16 (G9-G11) Semester 1
examinations
16 (E) Winter concert (*Morning)
17 (G6-G12) SRC dance18 ((Nu/K1/K2/K3) Aftercare notavailable on this day
19-Jan 10 Winter vacation
21-22 Office open

January 2016
11 Staff development day (Noschool for students)
11 2016-2017 enrollment
applications close
12 School resumes for all students
12-19 (G12) Semester 1 DP mockexaminations
15 (G4-G10) Mathematics
diagnostic testing
18 (Nu-G5) LEAP classes resume
this week
21 Semester 2 commences
23 SAT@KIST
26 (G1-G12) Clubs program
resumes
26/28/29/Feb 1 2016-2017
enrollment interviews
27 Japanese new year party

KIST is an
IB World
School
PYP | MYP | DP2

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Continued from previous page

The November DEAR book parade was another huge
success. This year we welcomed some very special
guests dressed as characters from Star Wars.
Students and teachers alike did a great job preparing
and modelling superb costumes of their favorite book
characters and all present enjoyed mingling with our
special guests Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Jawas andeven a toddler R2-D2. This annual event is brought to
us by our Library Team with the support of our hardworking Community Association. The great weather
this year also drew an impressive crowd of supporters
to share in the festivities. A very big THANK YOU goesout to our Library Team, our Community Associationand to all who came out to support the event.
In November, some of our Secondary School students
participated in a locally held drama festival to share
their passion to perform with students from otherschools in the area. The Secondary School is proud tobe able to also offer a two-week long drama workshop
run by two professional actors from New York in
January 2016. We do require 30 participants to secure
this workshop. There has been good response thus far
from hopeful participants and we look forward to
moving ahead with this unique learning opportunity. If
your Secondary School child is interested inparticipating, please refer to E-Communications #124
sent on November 16 or contact Mr Cowe for more
information.
Both of our Winter Concerts are coming up to provide
us even more good cheer as we head into our winterholiday. The Elementary School concert in particulardraws a huge crowd and this year we have planned
various complementary activities that are sure tocontribute towards making our Winter Celebration avery festive time. Our Community Association will beselling hot chocolate and other snacks, and there will
be cultural activities as well, including pictures with
Santa and an opportunity to make hand-madenengajyo (New Year’s cards). I look forward to seeing

many of you at the concert on the afternoon of
December 16.
This time last year we hosted our vising team from theCouncil of International Schools (CIS) who granted us
candidacy for accreditation. Since then, KIST staff
have been meeting regularly and working hard withincommittee teams to prepare documentation and otherarrangements for our accreditation visit which will takeplace at the end of November 2016. There will be
opportunity in the new year for further community
involvement in some of these committees and I thankyou in advance for your support if you are called upon
to take part in committee happenings.
2015 was another busy and successful year for KIST
and we look forward to the excitement that 2016 willbring as well. Once again, thank you all for yourcontinued support of KIST and all that you do to
making our community special. Your contributions arehugely appreciated and your commitment is a sourceof pride for the school.
I wish everyone a wonderful and safe winter break fullof relaxation and quality time with family and friends. I
look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on
January 12.
Season’s Greetings from KIST!
Jeffrey Jones
Head of School

Image from http://www.happyholidays2014.com

Student Surveys
This year we had a very positive response rate on our student surveys. You may bewondering what happens with the survey information. The data collected isprocessed and then passed on to individual teachers so that teachers can prepare
an analysis of results report. The analysis of results report has teachers look forareas of strength and also look for areas where they would like to improve. The reports are submitted to
the Area Principal for review as part of our annually implemented Teacher Appraisal and Support System(TASS).
Although students must log in to the survey site to enter their responses, the survey data given toteachers does not identify any student in any way. The student survey data collected provides teacherswith a look into their classroom from a student perspective and allows them opportunity to reflect on theirpractice. Thank you to all who participated in supporting our teachers in this way.

V o l u me 1 9 | I s s u e 2 | De c e m b e r 2 0 1 5KISTival 2015
Thanks to the dedication of the entire schoolcommunity, KISTival 2015, held on Saturday, October
24, was a great success! Our sincere thanks goes toeveryone who supported
the festival this year andmade it an enjoyable andhighly profitable day.

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Message from the Board President
First meeting with SRC executive
members
On November 18 from 4 p.m., the Board had
its first meeting with five Secondary SRC
representatives including President Angela(G12B) and the other executive members
Rachel (G10B), Motoi (G12B), Nina (G11A)
and Raj (G12B). All five students have beenenrolled at KIST since elementary school, andI was surprised to learn that four of them haveactually been here since kindergarten. (Later, I
compared current and past school yearbooks,
and while reflecting on the school’s history, I
felt deep nostalgia and great pride to see howmuch they have grown over the years.)Representing the Board were five out of theseven members including Mr and Mrs Komaki(President and Vice President), Mr Jones(Head of School), Mrs Naito (Director ofOperations) and Mrs Okude (Career andUniversity Guidance Counselor). The meeting
began with a question from Mrs Komaki: “Arethe SRC members aware of the role of theBoard?” The students indicated an awarenessof the role of the Board by responding: “Tocheck if the school is operated in line with its
mission”.
The Board representatives explained that they
are making every effort to achieve the school’s
mission (to provide highly motivated children
from diverse cultural and social backgroundswith high quality education in a safe andnurturing environment to develop competentand moral individuals who make meaningful
contributions to our global community), andthat one of the ways to do this is through theintroduction of the grade progression criteria
which have been put in place not with the aimof forcing students to fail or leave the school,
but to make our expectations clear in order tomotivate students to work hard to reach therequired levels.
One discussion during the meeting made me
especially pleased. Every morning, I greet
students at the entrance gate as they arrive atschool. Unfortunately; however, nearly half ofthe student population make no effort at all to
reply. When I mentioned this to the SRC, they
indicated that they understood the importanceof proper greetings, as they too have beenstanding at the gate in the mornings, and areplanning various promotional activities such as
the production of a video. I look forward toseeing how these activities will be
implemented by the SRC.
The meeting on this occasion provided a great
opportunity for the Board and the SRC
members to meet and discuss our roles. I lookforward to meeting with the SRC
representatives again to discuss ways tofurther improve the school in order to achieve
its mission.
Yoshishige Komaki
Board President(L>R) Mr Jones, Mrs Naito, Mr Komaki, Mrs Komaki, Mrs Okude, Angela, Rachel, Nina, Motoi, Raj

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Elementary School News
Appreciation
As an IB school we place significant emphasis on thedevelopment of the Learner Profile traits. In the PYP wehave another set of attributes known as the PYP
attitudes. A focus on the development of personal
attitudes towards people, the environment and ourlearning is essential in the development of theinternationally-minded person. There are twelve PYP
attitudes, however, I would like to focus on one:appreciation.
This festive time of year is an opportunity for us tomake merry and celebrate for a variety of purposes. We
meet with family and friends, give and receive gifts,
dine out and take overseas vacations. During thisfestive time, I believe it is also important for us to be
thankful and appreciate everything we have.
Most of us in our school community, myself included,
have more than what we need for our daily lives.
Around the world, and sadly even here in Japan, there
are many who do not. Charles Dickens wrote in hisclassic holiday story A Christmas Carol, “At this festive
season of the year, many thousands are in want of

Writing with purpose
According to the Oxford Dictionary, communication isdefined as:“The imparting or exchanging of
information by speaking, writing, orusing some other medium.”
Writing is communication. Communicating what? To
whom? We write for many purposes. We write toentertain. We write to inform. We write to persuade. If
we ask many students why they write, they may simply
reply that they write because they are told to. At KIST it
is our goal to give our students a sense of purpose in
their writing. We believe that children need to know andunderstand the reasons they are writing; the purpose
their writing serves, and for whom they are writing.
Simply writing for the teacher is not authentic or
purposeful. It is not effective.
Some of the writing genres our students are learning at
KIST are: Narrative (story writing) Descriptive writing Persuasive writing Poetic writing
Each of these genres serves a different purpose. Somecan serve multiple purposes.
Over the winter break, there are many ways in which
you can encourage your child to keep writing. Throughthis encouragement, it is important to keep the purpose
and audience of the writing in mind. Keeping a journal

common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are inwant of common comforts”.
This holiday season, while we enjoy the fruits of ourlabor and celebrate all of our hard work and successes,
let’s be sure to take the time to reflect on everything we
have; reflect on how blessed we are to have all of ourneeds met and a great deal of our wants satisfied. Thisholiday season, let’s take the time to appreciate how
blessed and fortunate we are.
may seem an obvious choice, however, what is the
purpose? For whom is it being kept? Some examples ofauthentic holiday writing tasks are:

Writing letters to friends and family while on vacation
Writing a story to share with a relative
Writing the directions to a party or event
Writing a personalized poem to attach to a gift or
add to a New Year’s card

According to adult learning theory, adults enter into
learning experiences with a task or goal in mind.
Children, too, respond better when they have an
authentic, purposeful goal. Let’s work together to show
our children the wonders of writing and give themreasons to want to write!
I wish you and your children a wonderful winter holiday
and as always, keep reading and writing!
Kevin Yoshihara
Elementary School PrincipalV o l u me 1 9 | I s s u e 2 | De c e m b e r 2 0 1 5

K1 Creative Activities
How we express our emotions andcreativity through music and art in K1
Our second unit, “How we express ourselves,” isfocused on our imagination to express our emotions
and creativity through the arts. In this unit, the children
are exploring the different emotions such as happy,
sad, scared, excited, confused, disappointed and angry.
To express themselves, a stage has been set up
throughout the unit for the children to show their natural
talents by singing and dancing. They are also exploring
the different musical instruments we have in class andlistening to different musical genres to evoke theiremotions.
During one of our activities, the children were asked topaint whilst listening to music. However, in this case,our papered floor was the canvas and our feet were thetools. Students used their feet to create a beautiful
painted canvas. By listening to music, students wereable to express themselves and share their emotions
through dance. The children were risk takers when theyused their feet for painting, and were open-minded to a
new activity. They were communicators when they usedtheir feet as brushes, and showed their emotions by
dancing to the music and moving their bodies. Whenthe music changed from genre to genre, theirexpressions also changed. They became excited when
listening to dance music and made lots of foot prints,
and slowed down when the music changed tempo. Aftereverything had dried up,each child chose theirfavorite part of the canvas
that they made and framed
it as their own piece of fineart.
Claire Yoneyama
K1 Class Teacher“ T h e Co m et ”

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PYP News
PYP parent information session
On Tuesday evening, November 24, the elementary school
held a Parent Information Session focused on “Assessment”.
This was the second information night for the school year andwas attended by around 40 people. The workshop was
designed to help parents understand various aspects ofassessment. These included defining what assessment is andthe purpose for which it is intended here in the elementary
school. Parents were treated to a firsthand view of testing as
the workshop-style session began with a “Pop” quiz. Throughsuch firsthand experience, the parents were then able to grasp
a clearer picture of not only what the students must feel andthink, but also how the teachers are using the results. Also
included in the evenings offerings were presentations by Mr
Vodden (G2A), Ms Chung (K3B), and Ms Aya (K2) regarding
ways in which different teachers use assessment in different
grade levels.
These info-workshops allow parents to deepen theirunderstanding of the methods involved in educating students
and driving instruction in a more meaningful manner. Parents
have a chance to voice their thoughts and questions during andafter the meetings which helps strengthen the bond between
administration, teachers and families.
Information sessions take place twice in the fall each school
year and are focused on PYP teaching methods as well as“Best Practices” in education. Please anticipate theseopportunities for the next school year and leave an opening inyour schedule book.
Clay M. Bradley
Elementary School Vice Principal / PYP Coordinator

K2 Excursion
For an excursion related to our first unit,“Who we are,” the K2 students learned about
the 5 senses and the information we canobtain through our senses. After much
exploration and investigation, the class went
on an excursion to Todoroki Ravine. The
children explored various sight and soundstimulations, and reflected on theirobservations through a Venn diagram. It wassuch a beautiful day, and the children, parent
helpers, as well as teachers, all enjoyedbeing out in nature and “listening in” on thesounds we could hear.
Aya Kurosaki
K2 Class Teacher

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Elementary ELS
the information they
will find later. Some
examples of questions
to ask are: What doyou see? What do you
already know about
what you see? Whatdo you think is happening, or has happened in thispicture? What might happen next? Are there anylabels or captions? What do these key words mean?
What do you think the connections between these key
words and your research topic might be? How arethese pictures the same or different from each other?
Why might they be different?

Helping with online research: Using
images and questions to launch a searchwith a bang
In the PYP, with its concept-based curriculum andinquiry learning, students in one and the sameclassroom can end up heading in diverse directions
when they do group or individual research as part of
the “going further” part of the inquiry cycle.
Researching as part of UOI begins from lower
elementary, and gradually becomes more and more
independent heading towards Grade 5 and the
Exhibition at the end of the PYP. This research willoften include Internet searches, and indeed many ofus turn to using a Google web search almost
automatically. But using the net can get us bogged
down from the start in a long list of sites and an
endless stream of overwhelming text.

After using questions like these to help us think about
and discuss images (in English at school, and in yourhome language(s) at home), our brains will be muchbetter prepared for handling the task of a web searchand scanning text for answers.

When helping our students with their online research –whether at school or at home – first stop is the KIST
Library Moodle page which has links to educationalsites the school subscribes to (BrainPOP and
Encyclopedia Britannica, for example), as well as links
to search engines catering especially for children.
However, even when using child-friendly searchengines, our students’ research can still stall because
there is so much text. This is hard enough for Grade 5
students, but even more so for those of us in younger
grades.

Rachel Parkinson
Elementary ELS Coordinator / G5 ELS Instructor

A tip to help get your child’s research rolling, no matter
which search engine they are using, is for them tosearch first under “images” instead of “web”. Even theregular Google search becomes much friendlier byselecting “images”. Help your child choose 1 – 3
images that seem most relevant to their research.
Spend some time together taking a good look at the
pictures, and then – this part’s important – ask
questions about them. This will help predict some of(image from openclipart.org)
Serena, Ishan and Hibiki (G5B) start their research on electricalenergy with a Google image search. They discussed images
similar to this one shown here before moving on to sites withwritten text and video.

School Calendar 2016-2017
To assist families planningoverseas trips, the datesof school vacation periods
for students and otherimportant dates for the
2016-2017 school year
are listed on the right.
Families are asked to make arrangements
accordingly to ensure that students are backin Tokyo ready to start school after eachvacation period on the correct date.
The complete calendar will be distributedin June.

 First day of school for students: August 15, 2016
 Silver Week vacation: September 17 – 25, 2016
 KISTival: October 22, 2016
 Autumn vacation: October 23 – October 30, 2016
 Winter vacation: December 17, 2016 – January 9, 2017
(Classes resume for students from January 10, 2017)
 Spring vacation: March 25 – April 2, 2017
 Golden Week vacation: April 29 – May 7, 2017
 Last day of school for students: June 14, 20179

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Backward Design Planning
In traditional methods of lesson planning, a teacher focuses oncontent to be taught and then plans lessons based on that
content. In the backward design method of lesson planning, ateacher first identifies desired learning goals, then plans
assessments, and finally makes lesson plans. Which method
might work better to teach Grade 2 students a central idea suchas ‘Stories are a way to express ideas and creativity?’In the How we express ourselves unit of inquiry for Grade 2, abackward design approach was followed. First, learning goals
were identified. It was hoped that students would understand: 1)
that good stories have structure (form), and 2) that stories canbe understood from different viewpoints (perspectives). Second,a task was chosen: re-telling a familiar story in any mode ofstorytelling. Success criteria were laid out in an assessment
rubric, which was given to students at the start of the project. To
ensure a deeper understanding of the concept of form was
acquired, the students had to make sure that theircollaboratively written stories had a beginning, build-up,
problem, solution and ending. To ensure that they gained adeeper understanding of the concept of perspective, students
were required to shift the viewpoint from which the stories weretold. Over the first few weeks, lessons were planned to help
students understand the concepts in focus. Students thenformed groups and chose modes of storytelling such as singing,
acting, ballet or adventure-games. After planning and preparing
for a couple of weeks, the students gave their performances
and then self and peer-assessed the results according to thesuccess criteria laid out in the rubric.
In this type of inquiry, since the focus of instruction is not uponpre-selected content, the teachers act more like facilitators(helping students) than instructors (telling students). In thislearning environment, students have autonomy over every
aspect of planning, preparing, and performing their projects. If
the students create a story that lacks structure, they are able toexperience the consequences when performing in front of a live
audience. This type of enduring understanding is what teachers
hope their students acquire. By focusing on the process rather
than the product of inquiry, students can experience first-hand
what it is like to succeed or fail. Experience of success andfailure is what leads to reflection, and ultimately growth.
Timothy Vodden
G2A Class Teacher

Accompanied by Kate on the keyboard, Alyssa, Carrera,Emma, Sara and Kanade strike a pose before performing
their interpretation of the ballet Swan Lake.

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Grades 2 and 7 Collaborative Ephemeral Art ProjectAs part of a collaborative Visual Arts project inspired byour local environment, and a range of kinetic andephemeral artists (Andy Goldsworthy, Motoi Yamamoto,Chris Drury, Rosalie Gascoigne, Dale Chihuly andRichard Long), Grades 2 and 7 ventured to Kiyosumi
Park.

Students were asked to reflect upon the display space(West Building foyer) and whether their sculpture wouldbe:
1. Hanging
2. On the wall, or
3. (Balancing) on the floor
They were asked to reflect upon the elements of art asthey constructed their sculptures (colour, shape, line,
pattern, texture, form, tone, point).

Students were asked to use their local surroundings to
inspire the creation of sculptures made from naturally
found objects. The excursion provided students with awonderful opportunity to be art detectives by reflecting,seeking, finding and selecting suitable materials fromthis environment for their artworks.

How artworks can CHANGE was a vital concept for
students to reflect upon, and CAUSATION, what may
cause the artworks to change, whether within an
outdoor or indoor environment, and the idea that art
works do not need to last forever.
Photography was considered to be one way to record
the sculptures before they changed. Process rather
than product was also an integral aspect of the learning
activity.

The Grade 2s worked with their peers and the Grade 7s
to brainstorm on paper through drawings, their creativeideas for installations/sculptures before the construction
process began. Some groups found it easier to getstuck into the construction process straight away; eachgroup problem solving in their own way.

Cooperation and communication skills were a vitalelement in this collaborative project and students
worked magnificently with each other, problem solving
construction challenges, modifying ideas, and being
creative risk-takers throughout the process!
Helen Campbell and Emma JusticePYP and MYP/DP Visual Arts Teachers

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Secondary School News
Semester 1 exams to start soon
All students in Grades 9, 10 and 11 will
sit semester exams in most of theirsubjects from Monday, December 14 to
Wednesday, December 16.
The exams are two hours long and will challenge
students to perform their understanding in a variety ofways. Each subject chooses the format that best fits
its needs and requirements. In the MYP, Grade 9 and
10 students have an opportunity on their exam tocomplete a summative assessment that will help form
their criteria grades. In Grade 11, DP students willcontinue the process of preparing for DP exams byworking on papers that match the actual exams they
will sit at the end of their Grade 12 year.
The exams offer a good opportunity for students tofocus their attention and consolidate their learning. A
copy of the exam timetable for each of the threegrades is included here.

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Grade 7 Overnight Excursion
From Thursday November 19 to Friday 20, Grade 7 students
went on an overnight excursion to Fujinomiya City in
Shizuoka. Prior to this excursion, students learned aboutproblems related to overpopulation of trees and unmaintainedplanted forest in science class, and they actually went to aforest to take action towards this problem during theexcursion. They worked with members from an NPO called
Mori-no Yomigaeri (http://mori-no-yomigaeri.jimdo.com/),which was introduced to the school by parents in ourcommunity. Students worked hard to help maintain the forest
in a good condition and they actually cut down some trees!
One of the students said, “I thought it was a misunderstanding
when I first heard we were cutting down the trees because it
would be harmful to the environment”, but “… we gained more
knowledge about trees through the activity and contributed tothinning of theforest to growhealthiertrees”. Grade 7
students
surprised mewith how wellthey work inteams, and it was very good to see the students enjoying
different activities that accompanying teachers had planned
for this excursion.
Shun NakadeService Coordinator

Here are some comments from the Grade 7 students about the overnight excursion.

Sonakshi (G7A)
Tree cutting experience (Thursday afternoon)n the first day of camp we went to a forest. There we learned many different things. We learned that japan has thesecond largest forest land percentage in the world, we also learned that out of all the trees in Japan only 20% of thetrees are used for resources. The other 80% is shipped to parts of South America and other countries. We first learned how
to cut trees properly, then we learned how to carry trees. We used sharp saws to cut branches of the wood so that they could
be used for the wood in the fire place. After some rest we carried logs of the trees to a specific place. This experience was avery good experience since we got to help the professional wood cutters, and stay in the nature for a long time.

O

Michiko (G7A)
Working at the forestry conservation site (Thursday afternoon)n the first day of the G7 camp, we all went to a forest, and stayed there for about 3 hours, helping the forestry
conservation staff. There, we had time experiencing cutting trees, working with them and learning more about them. It
was a lot of hard work, and even though it was a huge work we had done, it was a great experience to have. We live in a
big city and only a small number of us had ever been in a forest. And no one had ever experienced cutting down trees.
From the experience we had, we learned about how to cut a tree (my group was shown two ways), how long it takes, andhow hard it actually is. At first, I thought that cutting trees weren’t that much of a hard work but I was completely wrong, andthe workers had to calculate and work out where to cut so that the tree can be cut perfectly. It was a new, extraordinary
experience and everyone learned new things. Overall, the camp made us learn new things and something that we don’t
study in normal classes.

O

Thilo (G7B)
Night time activity (Thursday night)
n Thursday night the whole 7th grade were gathered for a trivia quiz. The quiz was to test our knowledge on random
subjects, and also to put our teamwork powers to the test. Most students enjoyed the trivia quiz while others raged out.
The quiz tested us on math, geography and miscellaneous section. Almost everyone struggled in the math and geography
section while some of the students did well on math, but our obsession with unnecessary knowledge finally became usefulwhen the miscellaneous section began. I think everybody enjoyed the last subject the most, the questions could’ve been
anything from Shrek to the definition of bi-polar fusion. At the end everyone had fun and our teamwork skills proved useful.

O

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Maki (G7A)
Walking around the lake (Friday morning)e walked around the lake which was less than 3.5 km. Around the lake there was a mountain. On the mountains there
were trees and one part of the trees were starting to turn red, getting ready for winter. This view was very beautiful.
One part of this walk had a place where we can see the ducks swimming in the lake. There was one place where there was a
lot of trees. As we walked through this we were talking about which trees should be chopped down. We knew which trees
should be chopped because on Thursday we went to the forestry conservation site and learnt about trees such as which tree
should be chopped by staff who works there.

W

Ririka (G7A)
Walking around the lake
he seventh graders had a wonderful time hiking around a lake nearby the place we stayed during the camp. The view
was astonishing with a lake surrounded by mountains and roads covered in autumn leaves. The water was crystal clear
and it was shimmering like sparkles with little ducks gracefully swimming in it. There was a huge amount of autumn leaves atthe site. There were red, orange and yellow leaves on mountains, trees and on the trail that I walked on. The colors of theleaves were very eye-catching and pretty. The colors were so vibrant that it all seemed like an illusion! With all the leaves
and opaque colors from the mountains and trail, I felt very peaceful and serene as I was walking along the trail. I enjoyed thishike and camp significantly. I am looking forward to going on more camp trips like this!

T

Aditya (G7B)
Overall experience with the Grade 7 camp
he overall camp experience was tremendously exciting. We did many things and had a fun and exciting time. During thenight and the morning we bathed in an onsen-type place which was something not a lot of people have the experience.
It was a very relaxing feeling when we were in an onsen and it was also fun. At the bus when we were going to Shizuoka andcoming back, we sang together a song called “Little Einstein” as the song reflected the same thing we were about to dowhich was, going on a trip and exploring the different environment together. We ate in a big dining room, and it was a big
experience as we never experience eating together. The whole 2 days and one night in general was a great experience as
the things we experienced did make us closer together as a grade.

T

Grade 4 Dreamtime Art
In September, Grade 4 students completed a project thatthey started towards the end of Grade 3, which was
inspired by Native Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime
paintings.
Students created their own symbols and chose theenvironment for their Dreamtime landscape onto which
they printed footprint
wanderings.
The project began withobservation drawing
studies of their shoes.
Then an observational
drawing of the shapes,
patterns and textures ofthe base or sole of theirshoe was created. This
design was thentransferred onto scratch
foam/polyboard readyfor printing.
Students used their colour theory knowledge of complementary pairs of colour
and analogous colours within this project.
Well done students!
Helen Campbell
PYP Art Teacher

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Secondary Visual Arts News
Polygon Pictures talk and studio visit
This semester the Visual Art students had the uniqueand exciting opportunity to have a visit to school from a
Polygon Pictures representative, arranged by Ms
Wakasa in the KIST office. The DP art students
learned how life working in a professional design studio
was like, and all of the various positions involved inrunning a professional studio. They were shown therange of projects the studio works on which involve avariety of genres in illustration and animation.

Ken (G11B)

Isabella (G11A)

software knowledge are also important aspects ofworking in this environment, so it is not just only for
those who can draw!

The representative mentioned how students like ours,
studying in an international environment and with anunderstanding of multiple languages are highly sought
after by studios such as this as working in a global
platform and liaising with design studios around theworld is essential. Translation skills and technicalA few students were also able to visit the studio in
person and speak to professional modellers andanimators, also being able to use the software and tryout creating digital characters which was more difficult
than it initially seemed! Although the excursion wasover a little quick, the tour of the studio and getting toexperience the atmosphere of professionals working
on so many different aspects of what it takes to makean animation was really interesting and valuable forunderstanding today’s design market and industry.
We hope Polygon will come and visit the Art
Department at KIST again!
Emma Justice
MYP/DP Visual Arts Teacher

Artscape 2016 Logo Competition
KIST submitted a large number of logo designs for thisyear’s competition to be the official logo for Artscape2016 – an exhibition which is held in February every
year and showcases the best work from international
schools from the Kanto region.
This year, Chae Hyunfrom G9A placed 3rd
overall in the logo
design which is agreat achievement
considering there
were submissions
from all over Tokyo!
Her placed design isshown here:
Chae Hyun (G9A)

As we had so many highquality designs, someteachers voted for their top
3 designers which received
house points and a small
Nishi (G6A)
prize from the Art
department. Well done to these submissions!

Varsha (G9A)

Felix (G12A)

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DP Reflections“Diploma Programme…
more like Depression Programme”

If you are in the MYP, chances are you haveprobably heard people saying that before. I
know this because, I too, had been hearing
this during my time in the MYP.
My name is Hardik and I am currently in Grade 11.
About 3 months ago, I was enrolled into the DP
and during this time, I have noticed a few things
about the DP. And although I am not the best
person to hear this from, you might as well. The
experiences in DP are over exaggerated. Almost
half of the things you hear about the DP are justmyths. Now, don’t get me wrong. DP, in no way, iseasy. However, it is definitely manageable.
Coming into the DP, I was scared. I had been
performing badly in almost all subjects and, well,wasn’t anything really special. On top of that,hearing about how DP is a nightmare, wasn’t really
helping my case. I was truly frightened. These twoyears were going to determine how my life would
take off and I really didn’t know how I was going to
do anything. This was a lot of stress and as
evident from my previous grades, I was almost
certain that I was going to fail. At that time, I
realized that I was faced with options. I could
either continue with my lazy lifestyle, or study as
hard as I possibly can.
After all this, I was still curious about some of thethings. How would I study in the DP? What should
I study? I heard a lot about how DP was based on
independent learning and, frankly, I was confused
about what to do. But as the days went by, I
realized that I wasn’t truly alone. Yes, I had to do
the readings and the question-solving alone.
However, at the end of the day, if I needed any
help, I knew I could turn to my teachers andfriends for help. Until now, what has helped me themost is just asking questions. A lot of people
hesitate to ask questions and I don’t understand. It
is easier to clear up confusions because usually all
the topics are linked toagether and if you don’t get
one concept, it is really hard to get related
concepts. That is why I think asking questions iskey, especially in the DP.

Prior to this school year, I had been warned
by the DP students about the horrors of the
Diploma Programme. “No more sleep for
two years,” they told us. “There’s a reason it’scalled the Depression Programme.” To us Grade
10 students – eldest among the MYP students, butnevertheless still in MYP – DP seemed like theabandoned house across the street everyone
knew about but no one dared venture into. We
always talked about it because the two years
ahead of us seemed too daunting for us to think
about alone. It didn’t help that, when discussing
DP classes, my subject choices made myclassmates laugh and teachers widen their eyes alittle (“Are you sure?”). All of us were scared about
the DP because most of it was so unknown.
A semester into Grade 11, I’ve learned whatmakes DP so challenging. The classes aredemanding, of course: there’s no leeway for zoningout or slacking off on classwork. Each classcounts. Regardless of whether it’s a Standard orHigher Level subject, the time and effort required
for tasks has increased twofold. Before DP, I’d befinished with schoolwork by midnight; now, I’mawake in the wee hours of the morning either
because I’ve stayed up till then or have woken up
early for some quiet time to study. However, I’ve
slowly realized that DP is notoriously exhausting
not because of the academic content itself – that’s
another struggle altogether – but rather the mental
and emotional strain it inflicts. The never-ending
summative assessments and continuous flow of
new knowledge leaves little wiggle room. It’s nowonder teachers have stressed the importance oftime management and efficiency: those are theskills that will make us more successful as we
trudge through DP.
However, despite the academic pressure put on us
now, there are aspects of DP I enjoy! I lovelearning more in-depth about subjects that I’minterested in: for instance, I focus on 20th century
history for my Humanities subject. Being in DP has
also helped me improve my work ethics and study
skills, such as taking concise notes. Finally, I think
DP has brought us closer as a grade level: since
we’re all going through the same struggles, we
support each other however we can. It’s easier toface challenges like the DP with the moral supportof teachers, family and friends.

DP might appear hard from all the things you hear,but I’m sure anyone will succeed with a clear goal,
undying dedication and using theresources available to you, well.

For most of us, the Diploma Programme has
proved challenging both academically andphysically. I wish everyone the best ofluck for the next two years!

Hardik (G11B)

Hana (G11B)

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17

Family Handbook
An updated version of the Family Handbook (formerly
known as the School Handbook) is now available on theschool website. For the first time, the handbook has been
prepared in an easy to access and easy to update online
format. Although a number of pages are still underconstruction, the majority of the handbook has been
completed and is now ready to access.
The handbook is designed to help you and your family
understand the school’s policies, procedures andexpectations. It provides a guide to the school rules and regulations that all families in the school community are
expected to follow. We hope that it will assist us to work together in a successful learning partnership. We therefore
ask you to refer to it at times when you are unsure about the procedures to follow in particular situations. By
following the procedures outlined, you will help contribute to maintaining the smooth running of the school’s daily
operations.
The handbook may be accessed via the Community section of the school website at the link below.
http://www.kist.ed.jp/node/340

Japan Shogi Association Visit
As part of a cultural exchange program, the Japan Shogi Association hosted a workshop for ourGrade 5 students on October 2. Three professional shogi players visited KIST and shared very
interesting stories of the history, mannerisms and cultural aspects of shogi games. After the
students learned the basic rules of shogi, they competed against each other. For many students,
this was their first experience playing shogi and everyone greatly enjoyed themselves. A numberof media representatives (newspaper companies and TV stations) also visited us to cover thisevent. We have also received 10 shogi sets from the Japan Shogi Association as a gift.

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KIPS News

Office Updates

Hello everyone, you may have heard by
now that KIPS K1 and K2 are joining
KIST K1 and K2 from the next school
year. There will be a new preschool for children aged
0 to 2 years opening at Morishita, which will take overthe name ‘KIPS’ from the next school year. In thisissue of The Comet, I would like to give you an
opportunity to get a sneak peek at our Nursery classwhich will move to this new campus.

Bicycle parking

In the Nursery class, it is a big step forstudents to be away from their mommies.
Now all the students have gotten use to theclass routines and there are no more tears.
We learned about Halloween and now they
are learning about vegetables. We are singing
vegetable songs and have even planted ourown vegetables on our veranda. We areplanning to have a sandwich party tofamiliarize the children with vegetables. We
are also practicing for the Winter Concert
which is their first presentation. I hope you all
enjoy their singing on the stage.
Tina Aya Nishihara
Nursery Class Teacher

We would like to remind families that bicycle
parking space is limited at KIST. The bicycle
parking area at the front of the school is forstudents and staff. Parents are also
permitted to use the area when visiting theschool for a short time to drop off children, perform
SSP duties or attend meetings. It is not available,
however, for parents who wish to park their bicycle atschool during the day when commuting to and fromwork. We ask for the cooperation of all families inrefraining from using the parking area for this purpose.

School fee payments
The payment date for the 3rd installment ofschool fees for 2015-2016 is December 15.
Please ensure that you make your payment
by this date if you have not already done so.

School lunch orders
The closing date for changes orcancellations to school lunch orders fromJanuary 2016 is December 18. For allchanges or cancellations, the School Lunch Order
Form must be submitted to the office by this date.
Requests to change or cancel school lunch orders
will not be accepted after the closing date.
The form is available from the school website at:
http://www.kist.ed.jp/files/pdf/enrolment/School%
20Lunch%20Order%20Form.pdf

Jewelry
Families are reminded that students are not permitted
to wear jewelry of any kind to school—with the
exception of a small watch. This includes clear earring
posts. Students who wish to pierce their ears should
do so only at the beginning of a long vacation period
and must remove earrings and earring posts when
they return to school.
It always takes a fair amount of time for young
learners of this age to settle into a new environment.
However, I understand that our Nursery staff work
hard to make the learning environment as stimulating
as possible for their students. Learners of this age
acquire language through interacting with grown-ups
they are familiar with, and who are well aware of thechildren’s learning stages. This is also when andwhere cognitive learning occurs. The Nursery class isa class for 2 year olds, and from the next school year
these children will become the oldest students at the
new KIPS campus. I cannot wait to see their first
performance at the KIST Elementary Winter Concert
on Wednesday, December 16. Please hop into the
KIST gym to cheer them on if you have time on theday.
Eri Ozawa
KIPS Head Teacher

School uniform
As the weather gets colder, it’s time to getyour woolly hats, gloves, scarves, neckwarmers and other winter gear out of the wardrobe.
During winter, all accessories worn to school must be
plain black with no stripes, patterns or brands visible. If
your child is currently wearing items that are not black,please ensure that these are replaced. Winter items
are available to purchase at low cost from the school.
Furthermore, wehave noticed inrecent weeks that a
number of students
have been coming toschool in non-KIST
coats and jackets.

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19

Library News
Promoting “reading culture” at
KIST
Thanks to the enthusiastic participationof the whole KIST community, our 5th
annual Drop Everything And Read event
was a huge success! To help us
promote this event, students fromelementary and secondary, including thelibrary elves volunteers, Sakura Medal
Book Bowl team members, SRC
executives and house prefects, posed as models for
our DEAR posters. These reading promotion posters
are displayed in both buildings. We give special thanks
to Michael (G11A) and Ms Erika, our library assistant,
who became our photographers for a quick photo shootsession in the LMC.

DEAR Book Character ParadeWe kicked off the monthwith some very special
visitors from a galaxy far,
far away. Darth Vader
joined our parade, flanked
by Stormtroopers, security
officials, and a whole familyof Jawas! Our appreciation
goes to the 501st Legion
Japanese Garrison forjoining us and encouraging a love of reading at KIST.
Not to be outdone by the Star Wars guests, KIST
students showed up with costumes in full force.
Students coordinated to dress as twins, painted theirfaces, and used their creativity and effort to create
some wonderful costumes. Ms Helen and Mr John, thecostume contest judges, had their work cut out for themin choosing the winners. Congratulations to Saanvi(G5A), Kota (G5B), Hina (G4B), Ethan (G4B), andKian (G4B). The teachers had shown their support byparading their book characters too! Mrs Christian, Mr
Archibald and Mr Grant were also chosen by the CA
Library Committee as having the most interesting

dress-up costumes this year. Winners received
certificates and a token of appreciation from thelibrarians. Photo albums can be viewed from the
Library Moodle pages.
Throughout the month,
KIST students, teachersand staff participated inweekly Drop Everything
And Read sessions. The
whole school stopped
what they were doing
and settled in to read
quietly for twenty
minutes. Participants
picked up a wholevariety of formats, frompicture books tomagazines, chapter
books and graphic
novels, in genres
ranging from popularscience to science fiction and everything in-between.
We hope you will continue making time to read everyday.
To strengthen the enthusiasm of our youngest
community members, we have included the DEAR
parent-storytelling sessions held in our elementary
foyer to read aloud to K1, K2, K3, G1 and G2 students.
Thanks to our parent volunteers: Mrs Sunanda (parentof K3B Rihanna), Mrs Ai (parent of G6B Andrew), Mr
Nick (parent of G3B Sebastian) who came and read
Room on the Broom with props!

Saanvi (G5B)

Kota (G5B)

Hina (G4B)

Kian & Ethan (G4B)

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Continued from previous page

Last but not the least, our final guest presenter wasnone other than our very own Mr Jones, reading
another classic Dr. Seuss book, Green Eggs andHam! Our students enjoyed listening to your stories
and were able to connect the importance of reading inschool learning.

Mrs Sunanda’s parent storytelling session.

Upcoming library activities
In collaboration with the Secondary
Japanese Department, the Sakura
Book Trailers Contest is open to
all Grade 6 to 12 students who arereading books included in the
Middle School and High School
categories of the 2016 Sakura
Medal Reading List. The due date
for Sakura Book trailer entries tojoin the KIST level competition is
January 16, 2016.
For World Cultures Day on February 19, 2016, theplanned activities include: National Costume Parade Parent-storytellers of world languages (4 parent
volunteers needed!) Student presenters teaching mother-tongue
languages
 Student-led seminar Photo booth for a good cause in the MPR
 International Food Fest (CA Library Committee)
 Possible student performances
For more information about these upcoming events,
contact the library team via e-mail:library@kist.ed.jp.
Again, thank you to all teachers, the CA Library
Committee, the school administration and the whole
KIST community for giving us theopportunity to be a part of providing
meaningful learning experiences to ourstudents.
KIST Library Team

Nurse’s Notes
Infectious gastroenteritis
What is infectious gastroenteritis?
Infectious gastroenteritis is a generalterm for gastroenteritis caused mainly
by microbes such as viruses. The
viruses causing the gastroenteritis are the norovirus,
rotavirus, sapovirus and adenovirus, and the main
symptoms are stomachache, diarrhea, vomiting andfever. Gastroenteritis caused by the rotavirus and the
adenovirus are seen widely among infants. As thesymptoms of these types of gastroenteritis tend to last
for a shorter period of time, and treatments normally do
not differ from other viruses, a diagnosis of infectious
gastroenteritis may be determined from the general
symptoms without undergoing a virus test.
Cause and infection route
Infectious gastroenteritis caused by the norovirus iseither transmitted from others, or by food poisoning.
Below are some of the routes of infection.
 Norovirus entering the body (mouth) through fingers
after touching vomit or stool of an infected person.
 Eating clams such as oysters or shijimi when raw or
not heated enough that have been infected by thenorovirus.
 Eating food cooked by an infected person who has
not washed their hands properly.
 Inhaling the virus through dry vomit or stool mixed
with small particles of dust in the air.
Preventing infection
1. Proper hand washing is the most importantmeasure. Washing hands under running water withsoap after going to the bathroom, and before
cooking or eating is essential.
2. Make sure clams or oysters are heated to the core(heating for 90 seconds with the core temperature of
85 to 90℃ is required*) *From the “Large Scale
Cooking Facility Hygiene Manual” (Ministry of
Health, Labor and Welfare).
3. Vomit should be treated appropriately using sodium
hypochlorite (chlorine bleach).
4. When cleaning up vomit, disposable gloves, a mask
and an apron should be worn. Afterwards, hands
should be washed carefully with soap under runningwater.
Treatment of infectious gastroenteritis
There is no specific treatment for infectious
gastroenteritis caused by viral infection. Symptomatic
treatment is provided to ease the pain of the patient.
Infants and elderly patients may suffer from dehydration
caused by diarrhea, and are recommended to consult adoctor as soon as possible. When the vomiting settles,
taking enough liquid and rest, and taking light, digestive
food during the convalescence stage is recommended.
Makiko Whittaker
School NurseV o l u me 1 9 | I s s u e 2 | De c e m b e r 2 0 1 5“ T h e Co m et ”

Ways to Ask “How Was Your Day?”
Hello everyone,
When I collect my own two young children from school I always ask them “How was your day?”.
Every day I get an answer like “fine”, “good” or “so-so”, which doesn’t tell me a whole lot. I
would like to know so much more!
Recently I read a fascinating article by Simple Simon and Company, a father of a grade 1 and grade 4 student(Link: http://goo.gl/oYHVBl). He wrote a wonderful list of delightful questions that I would like to share with you.
I hope these lead to more engaging conversations, and a few insights into how your children think and feel about
their time at school.
Timothy Smith (Mr Tim)ELS Instructor (K2) / Elementary ITC

20 Ways To Ask Your Kids
“So How Was School Today?”(Without asking “So How Was School Today?”)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

What was the best thing that happened at school today? (What was the worst thing that
happened at school today?)Tell me something that made you laugh today.
Where is the coolest place at the school?
Tell me a weird word that you heard today. (Or something weird that someone said.)
If I called your teacher tonight what would she/he tell me about you?
How did you help somebody today?
How did somebody help you today?
Tell me one thing that you learned today.
When were you the happiest today?
When were you bored today?
Who would you like to play with at recess that you’ve never played with before?
Tell me something good that happened today.
What word did your teacher say most today?
What do you think you should do/learn more of at school?
What do you think you should do/learn less of at school?
Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to?
Who is the funniest person in your class? Why is he/she so funny?
What was your favourite part of lunch?
If you got to be the teacher tomorrow what would you do?
Tell me about three different times you used your pencil today at school.

From an original article “25 Ways” by Simple Simon and Company. http://goo.gl/oYHVBl

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Staff 10!
In this month’s Staff 10!,
we are pleased topresent Aya Kurosaki
who joined us in 2014 asan early childhood
teacher in the
Elementary School. Ms
Kurosaki currently
teaches the K2 class.
 Tell us somethinginteresting about
your hometown.
I don’t really have one
Ms Kurosaki and friend.
hometown, I have a few!
My Japanese hometown is in Chiba Prefecture, and it isalso the home of Tokyo Disneyland/Disney Sea. My
house in NY State was the set to the Dick Van Dykeshow.
 What is your favorite place in the world?
My favorite place so far is Vermont State, USA. The
entire state is full of wilderness (“The Green State”), andhas the most beautiful starlit sky that I have ever seen.
Houses have a hot tub in the backyard (just like houses
have pools in their backyard in other states), and in the
brisk air, under the zillions of stars, all in the still of thenight, we dip into the hot water and enjoy the quiet andserenity.
 Who would you like to meet if you had the chance
and why?
I would love to see my grandma again. She passed
away a few years ago, but I never got to see her muchas she lived far away. I know that me being an adultnow, we would have a blast. I will learn how to makemiso and umeboshi from her! Yum!
 Do you have any special skills or talents?
I am pretty musical, and play many different
instruments. I love photography and videography. I
have a kimono license to teach the art (wearing only),and my laugh. People think I am hyperventilating when I
laugh, because I suck in so much air.

 Please share a little known fact about yourself.
To this day, I cannot sit still and watch a movie that iseven a bit scary. I am a sucker for family-stories, andthe old Disney movies. My favorite is the Lion King, allthree series. The first musical I ever watched was Les
Miserables which I watched when I was in the fifth
grade. We went down to NYC as a grade, andalthough I couldn’t pick up much of the storylines
because the words were drowned by the music, I havenever found another musical more powerful, moremoving to this day. I love animals, and when I was 9, I
captured frogs from a nearby creek with empty tennis
ball cans, and with my younger sister, released them inthe vacant women’s changing room of my mom’s
tennis school and had a frog race.
 What is your most prized possession?
My instruments, and my kimonos. I have a Steinway &Sons grand piano, a German flute, and a Senegalese
djembe drum. I have lived so many memories with allthese instruments.
 What words would you use to describe yourself?
Genki! Positive! Genki! Positive!
 If you could live your life again, would you doanything differently?
I would start my life over with the memories/
experiences of my mistakes/regrets unforgotten. But I
would still be me, live in the same places, and love thesame wonderful people.
 Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
Trying to be a mindful teacher/person has me learningfrom people around me every day! Being a new IB
teacher has me continuously learning too. I am
constantly stimulated with “new” and that has me
revved up, it keeps me going.
 Do you have any special message for your fans?
“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard.
Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choosewith no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate yourfriends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all thereis.” (a quote by Mary Anne Radmacher)

The winner of the IB bag from our
September Comet draw was:T. Ashida from G5B
Congratulations!

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Spotlight on Clubs
Spanish club (Elementary)¡Hola! First of all, I would like to thank all the students
who decided to join the Spanish club. It is exciting towatch them tackle a new language with enthusiasm every
week. It gives me such joy when students randomly comeup to me in school and say “Hola” instead of “Hello”.
Every week I am blown away by their growing knowledgeof Spanish.
So far in Spanish club, we have covered the topics ofbasic greetings, numbers, days of the week, animals andcolors. The students play games every week to help themunderstand the topic better. Towards the end of the club,
the students will learn how to dance the Macarena♪Soparents who are reading this newsletter, get ready todance the Macarena with your children!
On a final note, I feel privileged that I got the opportunity
to share my knowledge of Spanish at the school I
graduated from! It would be a dream come true for me if
the students were to use what I taught them in the club inany situation outside of the club! I sincerely hope thatyour children are enjoying studying Spanish as much as I
enjoy teaching them. 
Joann Yamazaki
Spanish Club Supervisor(KIST Alumnus, “Class of 2010”)

Cooking club (Secondary)
As some of you may have noticed, the hallway on the firstfloor of the secondary building smells good every
Wednesday after school. Do you know why? It’s because
the secondary cooking club is held on Wednesday after
school!
Students in the cooking club learn to cook different kinds
of food. So far, we have made tomato spaghetti, fruit
punch with shiratama (rice-flour dumplings), scones,
udon noodles, mochi (sticky-rice) pizza, steamed breadand Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Most of these weresuccessful but there were times when things didn’t go as
expected. In fact, this is when students can really learn
about cooking, just like how we all learn from our
mistakes. One example of this was when students madeudon noodles from scratch. Students realized that it isdifficult to cut noodles thinly and that noodles stick
together if you use too much force when cutting them.
Students in the club enjoy learning how to cook, but
the best part about this club (according to thestudents) is that they get to eat what they cook! We
often have visitors asking and checking what we
cooked. I encourage them to look out for cooking clubofferings in future club cycles.
Nanami Sakuma
Cooking Club Supervisor“ T h e Co m et ”

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Secondary SRC
The survival of the KISTestAt the beginning of the school year, the Secondary
Student Representative Council in collaboration withthe faculty consultant and Secondary School Principal
planned the first ever ‘vertical’ event called 'The
Survival of the KISTest'. In this event, students fromall grades worked together in randomly assigned
groups consisting of one member per grade tocomplete a race style scavenger hunt.
The event occurred on September 18th and lasted forone hour during advisory class. The first portion of theSurvival of the KISTest was a human knot untangling
game in which all students were to create a humanknot by linking hands and untangling themselves in acertain time limit. Next was a group trivia which
consisted of questions based on academics, theschool, pop culture and historical events. The third
portion was a group art project in which a limited
number of art supplies such as colored paper was
given to students, and students created large art
pieces portraying team work and the KIST housecolors.
Students reported saying the event was enjoyable
and surprising as the event itself was secretly
organized by the SRC executives, faculty consultant

andsecondaryschoolprincipal.
Before theevent,
students were only given their group number but had
not gained any information regarding what they would
be doing. The art pieces produced at the end
definitely proved that by the end, members were able
to communicate and work with one another effectively
as all pieces were carefully created by all students.
The event turned out very successful and to this day,students seem to greet those they had been groupedwith during the activity. The three winning pieces of
the activity have also had their work on display next tothe cafeteria for everybody to enjoy!
The SRC was pleased to see that the student body
enjoyed the event. We plan to create more teambuilding events of this sort to increase communication
amongst students from various grades.
Secondary SRC

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A Conference on Women’s Leadership
On November 19, 2015, we had the honor of representing KIST at a panel discussion
at Japan Women’s University. The panel discussion primarily focused on leadershipfor women along with the benefits of studying abroad. It was very inspiring to seeleaders such as United States ambassador in Japan Caroline Kennedy and Kathleen
McCartney, the president of Smith College voice their opinions and give their advice
on leadership. The panel also consisted of a graduate and a student from Japan
Women’s University who both studied abroad in the US through programs available
at the Japan Women’s University.
The panel was very inspiring and fortaking leadership opportunities along withstudying abroad in new environments. A
quote which especially stood out was one
said by Caroline Kennedy in her opening
speech at the conference which was ‘look
before you leap’, suggesting taking a
spontaneous approach to entering new
and possibly intimidating environments as
many have gained rewarding experiences
through studying in new environments.
As the students at the conference
consisted of female high school students,
many of the questions were aimed
towards leadership for women. The panel
members agreed upon the fact that
intimidating experiences like studying
abroad can in turn lead to the gain ofconfidence which goes to show the role ofuniversity and education in building
leadership abilities.
The panel members especially focused on
the importance of liberal arts universities
and their effect on leadership skills foreverybody. Through working in various
fields and understanding standpoints
across a multitude of subjects, knowledge
and skills can be acquired which candefinitely shape one’s overall confidence
and knowledge. The fact that this can all
be achieved within one institution throughthe years of university was something allof the panel members seemed to agree
upon at the conference.
In all, being able to attend the conference
featuring great inspirations like Caroline
Kennedy and Kathleen McCartney was anexperience that has changed our outlooks
on education and leadership. It was aconference that was fully captivating andeye opening.
Nina (G11A) and Radhika (G11B)“ T h e Co m et ”

25

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Technology in Education
Can we have too much of a good thing?
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD), the organization which
implements the world-renowned
Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA) tests,
recently released a study entitledStudents, Computers andLearning: Making the Connection(available here). The reportpresents some interesting findings
related to education andtechnology use, such as thefollowing: Compared with students who
use computers rarely at school,
students who used computersmoderately at school performed
better academically.
 Students who use computers
very frequently at school
performed lower that students
who used computersmoderately at school.
 Countries that made heavy
investments in educational
technology saw ‘no appreciableimprovements in student
achievement in reading,mathematics, or science’ (p. 3).
 Students spending excessive
time online outside of school
time reported higher incidents ofpoor attendance and social
challenges.

So, how does this relate to KIST?
Although our mission is to keepinternational education accessible
through lower tuition fees, at KIST
we work within our budgets toprovide the best possible
information and communication
technology (ICT) that we can atschool. We recently updated thecomputers in our Elementary
School computer laboratory andElementary School classrooms
and also updated some of theolder computers that are available
for student use in our Secondary
School LMC. We have recently
extended our 1:1 computer
program to all students in Grades 9– 12. We have a design coursethat is IT based, with an emphasison coding, in our Secondary
School and our teachers areencouraged to embed ICT related
approaches in their teaching,including maintaining a Moodle
page and supporting thedevelopment of student
understanding of common software
applications.
We feel that students at KIST areusing computers and othertechnology in ways that best
support learning. However, we arealso aware that computers must

play a complementary role instudents’ learning experiences. We
believe that a strong foundation inreading and mathematics is more
important for student success thaninvesting heavily on the latest hightech gadgetry. This belief is
supported by the findings of the
OECS study. We also believe, as
the OECD concludes from theirstudy, that ‘building deep,
conceptual understanding andhigher-order thinking requires
intensive teacher-student
interactions and technology
sometimes distracts from thisvaluable human engagement’ (p.
3).
Technology can be a wonderfulsupport resource for teaching andlearning but this OECD reportconfirms that it is possible forschools to have too much of agood thing.
“…technology can amplify greatteaching, but great technology
cannot replace poor
teaching” (p. 17)

Mathematics Expectations - Revised
Mathematics diagnostic tests are coming up soon on January 15, 2016 for students in
Grades 4 to 10. Upon reviewing past data and upon consideration of feedback
provided, the KIST Performance Expectations: Mathematics document has been slightly
revised. This newly updated document is now accessible through our website via our
new online Family Handbook (Section 17 – click here to access).
The mathematics expectations in the past implied that, for Secondary School students,
the school expected student progress over the summer months. This has been revisedso that expectations at the end of one school year now have more overlap with the
expectations at the start of the successive year.
We encourage all parents and students to review the KIST Performance Expectations: Mathematics document andset their learning targets accordingly for the January test sitting.
HAPPY STUDYING!

“ T h e Co m et ”

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27

Explaining the News to Your Child
Today, children absorb news from TV, friends, social
media, and often directly from their phones and laptops
from websites that are designed for adult audiences thatmight not always be age-appropriate. Children do nothave the ability to understand news events in context,
much less know whether or not a source of informationis credible. No matter how old your child is, threatening
or upsetting news can affect them emotionally.

Tips for all children
Reassure your child that they are safe, that even thougha story may be getting a lot of attention, it was only one
event that was far away. They will look to the way you
handle your reactions to determine their own approach.
If you stay calm and considered, they will, too.

Tips for kids under 7
Keep the news away and out of range of young eyesthat can be frightened by the pictures, particularly ofother children in jeopardy. Young children do not needto see things that will scare them, especially because
they can easily confuse facts with fantasies or fears.
Stress that your family is safe. At this age, children are
most concerned with your safety and separation fromyou. Though it's important to listen and not belittle theirfears, distraction and physical comfort can go a longway. Watching something cheery or doing something
fun together may be more effective than logicalexplanations.

Tips for kids 8–12
Carefully consider your child’s maturity andtemperament. Many children can handle a discussion of
threatening events, but if your child tends toward thesensitive side, be sure to keep them away from the TV
news.

developing their moral
beliefs. You may have to
explain the basics ofprejudice, bias, and civil andreligious strife.
If you let your child use theInternet, go online with them.
Some of the pictures posted
are simply grisly. Monitor
where your kids are going,
and set your URLs to open to non-news-based portals.

Tips for teens
In many instances teens will have absorbed the news
independently of you. Talking with them can offer great
insights into their developing politics and their sensesof justice and morality.
Let teens express themselves. Many teens will feelpassionately about events and may even personalize
them if someone they know has been directly affected.
Try to address their concerns without dismissing or
minimizing them.
If you disagree with media portrayals, explain why soyour teens can separate the mediums through which
they absorb news from the messages conveyed.

The above is an abridged version of an article
published by Common Sense Media, Explaining thenews to our kids which can be viewed at:https://goo.gl/tGMMeU
Timothy Smith (Mr Tim)ELS Instructor (K2) / Elementary
ITC Integration Support

Be available for questions and conversation. At thisage, many children will see the morality of events instark black-and-white terms and are in the process of

REMINDER
Math diagnostic testing (G4-10)

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KIST Cross Country Meet
Congratulations everyone for running hard and finishing this year’s KIST Cross Country race on Thursday,
November 12. We had great weather and enjoyed a very successful day at Arakawa River. Below are the top 4boys and girls from each grade who will represent KIST at the ISTAA Cross Country Invitational on Thursday,
December 3. There will be 8 schools joining us: United School of Tokyo, Tokyo International, The Montessori
School of Tokyo, Nishimachi International, New International, Canadian International, Colombia International and
The British School in Tokyo. Good luck runners!
Boys
Grade 1
1) Luca (G1A)
2) Sora (G1B)
3) Zai (G1A)
4) Akihiro (G1A)
Grade 2
1) Roan (G2B)
2) Naoki (G2A)
3) Mark (G2A)
4) Teo (G2B)
Grade 3
1) Killian (G3A)
2) Ryo Y. (G3B)
3) Sebastian (G3B)
4) Arthur (G3A)
Grade 41) Lance (G4B)
2) Kaito (G4B)
3) Tatsuto (G4A)
4) Kian (G4B)
Grade 5
1) Keanu (G5A)
2) Soma (G5A)
3) Shin (G5A)
4) Harunosuke (G5B)
Grade 6
1) Ryuta (G6A)
2) Kaiser (G6B)
3) Ross (G6B)
4) Hugo (G6A)
Grade 7
1) Joe (G7B)
2) Den (G7B)
3) Preston (G7A)
4) Noah (G7B)
Grade 81) Nimit (G8B)
2) Ewan (G8B)
3) Tomohisa (G8A)
4) Namiki (G8B)
Grade 91) Keina (G9B)
2) Shin (G9A)
3) Tom (G9A)
4) Igor (G9A)
Grade 101) Taisei (G10B)
2) Chan (G10A)
3) Moe Min (G10A)
4) Shouheng (G10A)
Grade 111) Ken (G11B)Girls1) Uta (G1A)
2) Aina (G1B)
3) Riko (G1B)
4) Akane (G1A)
1) Kate (G2A)
2) Sara (G2A)
3) Emily (G2A)
4) Mamiko (G2B)
1) Hana (G3A)
2) Mano (G3B)
3) Sophia (G3A)
4) Hoyuki (G3A)
1) Homare (G4B)
2) Akari (G4A)
3) Nikol (G4B)
4) Aina (G4B)
1) Elena (G5B)
2) Sola (G5B)
3) Aimi (G5A)
4) Diane (G5A)
1) Manaka (G6B)
2) Nanami (G6A)
3) Se Young (G6B)
4) Rina (G6A)
1) Maki (G7A)
2) Sato (G7B)
3) Alia (G7A)
4) Ririka (G7A)
1) Karen (G8B)
2) Emily U. (G8A)
3) Katherine (G8A)
4) Michiru (G8B)
1) Ayumi (G9B)
2) Asami (G9A)
3) Milan (G9A)
4) Emiri (G9A)
1) Jiu (G10A)
2) Seina (G10B)
3) Leia (G10A)
4) Selena (G10B)

“ T h e Co m et ”

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29International School Students Visit KIST for MUN
KIST’s Model United Nations club hosted another successful version of the Near-East MUN scrimmage on
Saturday, November 28. A record seven international schools participated with over 85 students taking on the rolesof ambassadors from countries around the world. In a day-long simulation, students drafted resolutions anddebated the nuances of issues affecting the world. Two of the students who participated in the scrimmage provide
reflections below. Emiri (G9A) was a first-time delegate. Aditya (G12B) is an experienced MUN student who acted
as chair of a committee in this his last MUN conference.
A First-Time Delegate

Emiri (G9A)

I

magine this: A group of delegates representing various countries to create a resolution for a global
issue, in order for nations to reach an economic equilibrium. When we think about it, it is phenomenal of
how within just a few hours, countries come together as one and create a potential solution to a universal
concern we are confronted every day. As my first year participating in the MUN Scrimmage held at KIST, it
was truly one of my utmost experiences in secondary up until now.
Every Tuesday, students gathered in a room with Mr White, Mr Erickson, Mr Cernak and Ms Jesuthasan
to practice, prepare and familiarize with how the MUN works. The club sessions had given us theopportunity to not only practice for the scrimmage that was held on November 28, but also given us the
chance to learn new techniques for debating. Most importantly, being able to work with students fromdifferent grades to discuss their opinions and share newly discovered knowledge about the global issue,
was personally, a striking prospect.
Something that was very intriguing about the whole scrimmage was that, we were able to instantaneously
connect with students from other schools, despite the fact we did not know each other. Within a matter ofminutes, we were already discussing from our country’s point of view, on understanding the issue andcoming up with a resolution that was beneficial, constructive and which effectively embark on the issue
given to us.

A group of KIST delegates vote ona resolution.

If I were to describe the whole experience in one word, it would be remarkable. It is not necessarily thecase where everyone agrees to your ideas. However, you develop your learner profile attributes, such as
being open-minded with one another. You might sacrifice your break time to complete your resolution, or
you might be involved in a situation where the debate has become very intense between other delegates.
But then again, when you reflect back on every single thing that happened on that day, you realize thattime flew by very quickly and see the significance of how an international community is built up and every
nation works together in order to perfect the world we share and live together. I especially thank Mr White,
Mr Erickson, Mr Cernak and Ms Jesuthasan for their support and for giving us this significant opportunity.

An Experienced Delegate Serving as Committee Chair

Aditya (G12B)

W

alking into a room filled with numerous other students from schools unknown to you is surely nervewracking. Additionally, to debate with some of them approaching you in an aggressive manner may
even be an unheard feat to accomplish, but, the results, I promise you, are far greater than what is
anticipated in the beginning.

KIST students work with delegatesfrom other international schools todraft a resolution.

The Model United Nations (MUN) is a globally recognized afterschool club which is centered aroundcurrent world issues, bringing about students collaborating with others to propose resolutions. Students
represent different countries in order to produce a realistic environment of clashing or approving
viewpoints. Since it is completely student-orientated, the judges (known as chairs) are also fellow
students, which dictate the flow of the debate.
Here at KIST, with great pride and pleasure, we were able to hold the Near East Model United Nations
Scrimmage where approximately 80 students from international schools from Tokyo and even Yokohama
attended. This diverse range of students not only allowed our students to engage in real-life situations withstudents of different grade levels, but also with students of varying backgrounds. This activity, I believe,
supports the overall development of a student as it is emphasizes valuable qualities such as, but notlimited to, leadership, communication and interactive skills. Furthermore, in this era of globalization, thisway of learning is fascinating because of its hands-on, interactive approach.

Lobbying calls for strong
communication skills.

I vividly remember my first year as a delegate at the scrimmage here at KIST. Being my first year, it wasdifficult for me to follow with the pace of experienced delegates. I was in awe at how fellow students coulddeliver such well-developed arguments on short notice. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience as I
would be able to apply the skills obtained from this experience to the upcoming scrimmages. This year, 4
years from my first MUN scrimmage, I volunteered to be a chair for one of the general assemblies. The
position of a chair demanded me to be thorough with the issues, and to provide an efficient system for the
fellow delegates to debate. It required me to facilitate the debate and to “keep the house in order.” Themost striking aspect about the position of the chair was that it allowed me to view the assembly from anexternal perspective. Hearing both sides of the debate, I had to make decisions which would result in themost productive and idealistic debate. The chair’s duty was also very technical, for example, keeping timeof how long delegates spoke, how many times they spoke, and the results of a vote. Although it sure is an
arduous task requiring one to be attentive and efficient at multitasking, once one familiarizes themselveswith this task it is fruitful. I highly encourage delegates that have had previous experience with MUN
scrimmages to take upon this task as it delivers a different perspective to the debate, and also helps
develop new skills which one might not as a delegate.

Grade 9 and 10 students enjoy abreak from debate.

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Learning in the MYPAssessment: Finding the best fit
As students move through their years in the MYP, theyrecognize early on that the work they do demands a lot
from them.
Every student is responsible for engaging with the key
and related concepts in a wide range of subjects. Eachof their subjects call on students to engage with difficult
topics, to develop new skills, and, perhaps mostimportantly, demonstrate their knowledge andunderstanding.

explorations students undertake. By having four criteria
across all the subjects, students and parents are able
to make comparisons and see which subjects might
require more work.

Moving from criteria scores to subject
results
At the end of the each semester, MYP subjects publish
results for individual students. On semester reports, allfour of the assessment criteria receive a mark out of 8.
This means that in all of their courses, students canachieve a total criteria score out of 32.

It is this demonstration that is the subject of student
assessment. The MYP’s system for evaluating student
work has two main components: formative andsummative assessment.

Formative vs. summative assessments

Each criterion score comes from at least two
assessments. Teachers determine the best fit
from among the various scores.

The total score out of 32 is then converted to a grade
scale which produces a course grade out of 7.

Students move from many formative experiences to fewersummative assessments.

Formative assessments offer students a number ofopportunities to work through their thinking, receiving
feedback and refining their approach to the work.
Formative assessments can take many forms. They
can include homework, quizzes, class discussions, or
any of a range of activities.
Summative assessments come at the end of periods offormative assessment. The formative experiences arerehearsals leading up to the performance of knowledge
on the summative assessment. Students will beassessed on each of the subject criteria at least twice
each semester. Along with their formative activities, thesummative tasks provide lots of opportunities toimprove and master the necessary skills.

MYP assessment criteria
Each of the subject groups in the MYP have identified
four assessment criteria that work to give shape to the

The total of the criteria grades determine
where the course grade fits on the
MYP’s grade scale.

Finally, the IB also
publishes descriptors thatare common to all MYP
schools across the world.
Parents and students canbe confident that scoresbased on two
assessments using the
subject criteria give an
informed sense of
students’ strengths andweakness.

The descriptors come from theIB’s core document for the MYP.

In the end, it’s worth remembering that assessment isintended, ultimately, to help students develop a greater
engagement with their work. Success comes quickest
when students develop independence andunderstanding on their own.
Robert WhiteMYP Coordinator
Subject groups choose the criteria that best reflects the key
work in their disciplines.

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31

College Guidance NewsG12 university applications
The university application cycle in the northernhemisphere begins from September and some of ourcurrent G12 students have already sent theirapplications to universities in the UK, the USA andJapan during the early application period in Octoberand November. A couple of these students havealready received offers from the universities they
applied to including University of St. Andrews,
University College London and University of Oregon.
Congratulations! We look forward to hearing moregood news from the current G12 students who areeither waiting for the results or plan to send
applications during the regular application periods
towards the end of this year and beginning of nextyear.

Savannah, Georgia, USA, andshared his plan to complete his
major in interior design and minor inadvertising. He also spoke about theadvantages IB students have in
gaining generous scholarships
according to the scores they
achieve. Good job, Vigi! Wishing you all the best forcontinued success at SCAD and beyond!

Alumni talk by PPO, KIST Class of 2011
On November 12, PPO (Class of2011) visited KIST to present analumni talk during lunch time. He
graduated from the University of
Chicago last spring and is currently
working at a consulting firm inTokyo. He talked about his
experience at the University of
Chicago and the city of Chicago. A
number of students from G9through G12 came to see him during lunch time toseek his advice on the DP and university preparationand career planning. Thank you PPO! (He contributed
an article about his college life when he was in his
second year at the University of Chicago. Please see
page 18 of The Comet September 2012 issue.)Mrs Okude meets Caroline Kennedy
As president of the George
Washington University(GWU) Alumni Associationin Japan and KIST
university guidancecounselor, Mrs Okude
received an invitation from
US Ambassador Caroline
Kennedy to attend a private
reception held at her
residence “In honor of US University and College
Alumni and Their Contributions to Promoting Bilateral
Exchange” on the evening of November 19. She washonored to be able to chat with Ms Kennedy about her
mother Jacqueline Kennedy (GWU BA 1951)’s almamater university during the reception and to share with
Ms Kennedy about how Mrs Okude’s efforts inestablishing the official GWU alumni chapter in Japan
three years ago has helped to triple the number ofstudents entering GWU from Japan. This includes two
KIST graduates, Sashank and Naishi from the Class
of 2014.

SCAD presentation by Vigi, KIST Class of2015
On December 1, KIST alumnus, Vigi (Class of 2015),
visited KIST as a student ambassador for hisuniversity, SCAD (Savannah College of Arts andDesign), and conducted a very informative andenthusiastic presentation during Mrs Justice’s G12 DP
Visual Arts class. During his presentation, he showedvideos and spoke about his exciting experiences
during his first quarter at SCAD, which is located in

Mrs Keiko Okude
College Guidance Counselor
Office hours: Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 10:00-17:00
keiko.okude@kist.ed.jp