The Comet

The Newsletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

In this issue...
Spring Welcome Party…p. 2

Staff 10!…p. 7

Live the Learner Profile…p. 3

Summer Programs…p. 8

School Concerts…p. 3

Are You Ready for Learning…p. 9

Office Updates…p. 4

eClassroom Pilot Program…p. 9

MYP FAQs…p. 5

The Use of Texts at KIST…p. 10

Free Dress Day…p. 6

Founders’ Awards…p. 12

From the Head of School
At the end of last term, Mr Rentoule and I attended the IB Asia-PacificRegional Conference in Singapore. The theme of the conference was“Unlocking the Treasure Within”. There were a number of keynote speakers,
but two in particular, Wade Davis (Explorer in Residence at the National
Geographic) and Greg Mortensen (Author of ‘Three Cups of Tea’ and founderof Pennies for Peace), highlighted and confirmed for me the essence of what
we do in an IB school and that is preparing students for a world where they are
equipped to take action for the greater good. The conference was also a goodchance to re-connect with colleagues throughout the Asia-Pacific and shareideas. The IB itself is going through a huge growth phase throughout the world
and in particular in the Asia-Pacific, and along with that growth there is change
and development. It is an exciting time for the IB and for us, as one of only 141
three-program schools throughout the world.
The end of this academic year is fast approaching and with this a number ofimportant school events. The first one is the PYP Exhibition. This is awonderful celebration of the culminating year of the Primary Years Programme
for our Grade 5 students. Students and their mentors work together to follow a
thread of inquiry that is of personal interest to students. The PYP Exhibition
and MYP Personal Project and the DP Extended Essay that although unique instructure to each program, share common elements such as personal
engagement, inquiry, different perspectives and understanding.
The next event that again is a celebration of the talents of students here at
KIST is the School Concert on June 5. I look forward to seeing all families
there to support their children and enjoy the wide variety of performances. A
few short weeks following the concert, we farewell our Grade 12 students attheir graduation on June 18. On the same day, our Grade 10 students will also
graduate to the senior school from the middle school.
I would like to thank those parents who have been able to attend one of thesmall consultation sessions for our Parents’ Association. There is one more to
go before finalizing procedures and I encourage you to attend if you have notbeen able to do so.
Finally, I look forward to seeing everyone at Family Day on Saturday, May 22.
See you then!
Anne Grahame
Head of School
KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life

“Tell me a ndShow
I'll formremem e, and I m get.
ay notber. InvolveI'll understa me, and
nd.”
Nativ

e Ame

rican S
aying

DATES TO REMEMBER

May 18:
Parents’ Association: Small
Consultation Group (10 a.m.)
May 22:
Family Day
May 24:
School holiday
May 25 − 28:
No clubs this week (ESL as usual)May 28:(G5) PYP Exhibition
May 31 − June 4:
No clubs this week (ESL as usual)
June 5:School concert
June 7:
School holiday
June 18:(G10/G12) Graduation ceremony(Morning)(G12) Graduation dinner (Evening)
June 21:End of year reports issued
June 21 − 23:Student transition program
June 21 − 24:
No clubs or ESL this week2

“The Comet”

Spring Welcome Party
The Spring Welcome Party held on April 10 went very
well, thanks to the efforts of many to get it organized.
The weather was glorious, the food was delicious,
students enjoyed games and the mood was relaxed.
About 650 people attended, and it was fun to see
so many KIST teachers, staff and parents talking
together and introducing each other.
In addition, we were able to generate profits(445,117 yen from the food and games and
201,000 from direct donations, for a total of
646,117 yen), which will go towards the artificial
turf fund.
Thank you to all who helped and all who attended,making the event a success. Special thanks are
due to the class parents who pitched in to help, to
the Sakamoto family who arranged for the Kise-beyasumo wrestlers to prepare and donate chanko-nabe,
and to the parents who donated baked sweets.
We look forward to seeing many of you again on
May 22 at Family Day!
Friends of KIST Executive Committee

Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Live the Learner Profile!
On the morning of April 23, Erin Hoover (Grade 1Bteacher), embarked on a 100 km walk against poverty
with her team ‘The Soundtracks’ and their supportcrew, Emma Homerlein (PYP Coordinator) andMarnie Hollindale (K3D teacher). Oxfam Trailwalker
Japan is a challenging fundraising event in which
teams of four complete 100 km of trail through bushterrain in 48 hours. The donations have been used to
implement projects in many of the poorest regions of
the world to help end poverty and provide vital relief
following natural disasters and conflict.
Thanks to the support of KIST staff and parents, ‘The
Soundtracks’ helped to raise over 185,000 yen for
Oxfam Japan.
After 24 hours of rain, hail, sleet, fog and mud, ‘The
Soundtracks’ team retired at 54 km. What an amazing
effort towards helping those less fortunate thanourselves.

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL!
Thank you for your donations and messages of support!
K. International School￡175.00

Good luck from all of us at K. International School Tokyo! Live the Learner
Profile!

Peggy Marsh￡100.00

I want to be the biggest donator...go on...beat me!!

Sayo and Toshi Naito￡32.00Good luck girls! We are looking forward to hearing about your OXFAM
trailwalker adventure! Be safe :-)Erin’s G1 class at KIST

￡50.00Thanks for everything you do!!! Will you still be able to dance with us on
Monday?

For more details of the event, please visit the following websites:
http://www.trailwalker.jp/en/fundraising/how_the_money_is_used/
http://offtheplanet.typepad.com/the_soundtracks_09_twj/

School Concerts
The date for this year’s school concerts is fast approaching and students are hard
at work practicing for their performances. This year, all concerts will be held at
Funabori Tower Hall near Funabori Station (Toei Shinjuku Subway Line) on
Saturday, June 5. The day will be divided into three sessions corresponding to thethree areas of the school and each concert will run at the times indicated below.
Lower School Concert
Doors open: 10:00
Concert begins: 10:30
Concert ends: 12:00

Primary Concert
Doors open: 1:00
Concert begins: 1:30
Concert ends: 3:00

Secondary Concert
Doors open: 4:30
Concert begins: 5:00
Concert ends: 7:30

For the Lower School and Primary Concerts, all children from K1 through Grade 5 will be involved in on-stage
performances. Performers for the Secondary Concert, however, have been selected through an audition process.
Further details regarding the three concerts and the rehearsal schedule will be distributed soon.

34

V o l u m e 1 3 |VIoslsuumee61|3 MI sasyu2e031 0“The Comet”

Office Updates
School terms in 2010 – 2011
As indicated previously in the
December 2009 issue of The Comet,
we would like to remind families of thedates for the school terms during the2010 – 2011 school year. The
complete calendar will be available soon.
Autumn term:
August 23 (Monday) – December 17 (Friday), 2010
Mid-term break:
October 24 (Sunday) - 31 (Sunday), 2010
Winter term:
January 11 (Tuesday) – March 25 (Friday), 2011
Spring term:
April 5 (Tuesday) – June 22 (Wednesday), 2011
Golden Week vacation:
April 29 (Friday) - May 8 (Sunday), 2011

Student ID cards
We continue to notice students passing through theschool entrance gate without scanning their ID cards.
Please remind your child/children that it is their
responsibility to use their ID card each and every timethey pass through the gate, both coming in or goingout, even if the gate is already open. Scanning the card
records the time the student enters or leaves. As thisinformation may be necessary in emergency situations,
it is very important that students follow this procedure
as required. Parents are also required to scan their ID
cards upon entering and leaving the school campus.

Behavior in public spaces
We would like to remind students and families of theschool policies regarding behavior in public spaces.
Students are asked:
 Not to eat or drink on public transport.
 Not to be overly noisy in public spaces (e.g. in thestreets, on the train platform).
 Not to loiter on the walkway in front of theconvenience store near KIST. Students have beengathering here to eat after purchasing snacks after
school and blocking the sidewalk.
We ask for the support of families in discussing thesethree points with children to ensure that they areadhered to at all times. Where no improvements are
noticed, restrictions may be implemented.

Secondary enrolment agreements
Enrolment agreements have been distributed to all
current Grade 5 and 10 students who will be entering
Grade 6 and 11 at KIST next year. These forms areimportant in ensuring that all students entering the
MYP and DP and their families are aware of theschool’s expectations. Because of this, we ask thatparents discuss the content of the agreements with
their children. The forms should be signed by parents
and students and returned directly to the office no later
than Friday, May 21.

Student withdrawals
With the end of the school year approaching, families
planning to withdraw children at the end of the year are
required to submit a Student Withdrawal Form to theoffice as soon as possible. The form is available fromthe Contacts >> Forms page of the school website.

Financial support for secondary students
KIST has been recognized by the Ministry of Education
as a school eligible to receive financial support for
students in Grades 10, 11 and 12. Details will be
distributed to families as it comes to hand. Further
information may be viewed at the link below (Japaneseonly):
http://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.jp/shigaku/
youshiki/shienkinkakushu/index.htm

Language, Learning andCelebration
During early April, Morena
Christian, our Lower School ESL
teacher, attended the Global
Language Conference in
Melbourne, Australia. Not only did
Mrs Christian attend it in order todevelop herself professionally, but
she also presented a session titled“Methods of Teaching to Read in
English as a Second Language”.
Mrs Christian’s session focused on the different reading
methods throughout history and the best combination ofreading methods to be used with ESL students.
Congratulations Mrs Christian for your successful
contribution to teacher professional development andglobal developments in language learning.

Wanted: Relief Teachers
We are looking for relief teachers tocover for when one of our regularteachers is away for the day. Suitableapplicants will have the ability to
manage the classroom environment,
provide lessons following lessonplans, and arrange alternative lessons
as needed. Applicants should haveexperience working with children andshow a patient but firm disposition. Applicants should
possess strong English language skills. Preferred
applicants will have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in
education as well as classroom teaching experience.
Compensation will be discussed at the time of theinterview and is based on the applicant’s training andexperience. Please apply in writing, including CV/
resume, to Greg Brunton (Primary School Principal) at
g_brunton@kist.ed.jp.

Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

MYP Frequently Asked Questions
Extracted from the MYP Coordinator’s Handbook 2009–2010, p. 109–110
Will the MYP ever be administered like the Diploma
Programme, with a written curriculum and external
assessment?
The MYP is different from the Diploma Programme in a
number of ways: it caters to an age group where
curriculum is controlled in varying degrees by national
systems; it is offered to a great variety of schools as aframework within which schools can adapt theircurriculum; and it is taught in many languages.
However, and very importantly, the MYP curriculum
framework requires teachers to revisit their own
curriculum and practices, and to work as teams ofeducators to develop their own progression of learning,enriched with the fundamental principles of the
programme. Therefore, the MYP has a written
curriculum, but one that must be written by the teachers
themselves in accordance with the basic principles ofthe programme. The MYP assessment criteria arealigned with the objectives of each subject group. Hereagain, teachers are required to work as teams to adapt
their practices to some basic principles, keeping thestudent at the centre of focus.

Where do my second-language learners fit in? Arethey language A or language B?
Where students are placed will largely depend on thelanguage profile created for students entering theschool. The most important factors in determining
placement will be students’ proficiency in the languageof instruction, whether the school is willing to allow thestudent to take the language of instruction as language
B, access to a mother-tongue programme, andopportunities for study of other languages. Please notethat a student does not have to take the school’s
language of instruction as language A if this language istheir second language.
For further information
about languages of
instruction please referto the document
Learning in a language
other than mothertongue in IB
programmes (April2008) as well as toSecond-Language
Acquisition and Mothertongue Development: A
guide for schools(January 2004).
Reminder: Students must select one of the following
options if they are applying for MYP certification.
1. One language A and one language B
2. Two languages A
3. Two languages A and one language B
4. One language B and a language programmeapproved by the IB as a suitable replacement for alanguage A course. (Please refer to section D3.6 forfurther details on the mother-tongue language option,and section D3 for information on languages ingeneral.)Ross Ferris
MYP Coordinator

Bottle Cap Collection Update
The bottle cap collection service project initiated by Johnathan(G3A) earlier this year has been going strong! With the help of
his family, 40 kg or approximately 16,000 bottle caps havebeen turned in for recycling. The recycling funds polio
vaccinations through ECOCAP. So far, enough funds havebeen earned to give 20 children polio vaccinations! Thank you
for your donations. As this is an ongoing project, bottle caps
will continue to be collected at the collection stations located in
the entrances of each school building. For more information,please visit: www.ecocap007.com.
Greg Brunton
Primary School Principal

56Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Free Dress Day - Reminder
As indicated in the “Dates to Remember” section on
page 1 of this newsletter, the next Free Dress Day will
be held on Tuesday, May 18. Students who choose towear non-uniform clothing on this day are asked to
donate 200 yen towards the Kasumisou Foundation
which provides water wells to areas of Cambodia. To
go along with the water theme, students are asked todress in the color blue.

To view details of KIST’s previous participation with theKasumisou Foundation, please visit the following
website: http://kasumisou.org/international-school.html
We would like to remind families that all Free Dress
Days are for the whole school: Lower, Primary andSecondary. Separate notification will not be distributed,
so please make a note on your calendar.
Further, we remind you that although students do nothave to wear the school uniform on these days, theclothes they wear must uphold the image of the school.
In addition, all students are expected to follow theregular school
dress code interms of generalappearance.
Please check the
School Handbook(available on the
Admissions >> Documentation page of the school
website) if you are unsure of these expectations.

Mr Sophat Lach before his house which he shares with his wife andfive children. He represents one of the three families who received awater well through the previous Free Dress Day Kasumisou
Foundation Fundraiser.

Greg Brunton
Primary School Principal

K3 News
To help us make connections between classroom studies andthe real world, we used our pending excursion to Mt Takao as
a provocation for a reflection activity. Children were asked tothink about what they had learned about the ways they could
protect and value the environment, and show responsibility. Ingroups of two, children chose a message from the chart tomake a poster. We studied posters and their features before
children began planning.
Each poster features a unique title, pictures and the message
from the chart. Children embellished their messages by
including reasons why people should follow their message
and/or consequences to certain actions.
All the children cooperated and took the time to consider eachother’s points of view. They took turns to complete each partof the chart and learned to make compromises.
The K3 Team

Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Staff 10!

ISA Testing - Mathematics

Staff 10! is a new area of The
Comet where we hope tointroduce some little-known facts
about our teachers and staff
through 10 questions. A different
staff member will be featured ineach issue. We hope you enjoy
finding out more about them!

We have recently received the results of the ISA
testing. Below are some graphs showing theperformance of Grade 7 and 9 students compared to allother schools and also like schools. I see these results
as very positive reinforcement of our MYP mathematics
program. The scale mean results are consistently well
above the other schools in both Grade 7 and 9.
Mr. Southall performingThis month, we are pleased toat the Spring Welcome
Party, April 10, 2010
present ESL teacher, NoëlSouthall, who is from a town
near Birmingham, UK, and has been at KIST since2005.

 Tell us something interesting about your hometown.
Birmingham is famous for Cadbury’s. It is known
worldwide but it all began in a town called Bournevillewhich was built to provide houses for the chocolate factory
workers.
 What is your favorite place in the world?
I don’t have one favorite place. I have several for different
reasons. I love living in Japan though.
 Who would you like to meet if you had the chance
and why?
This question is part of the ESL test and the students havea hard time answering it. Now I understand why! It would
have to be my grandfather for reasons mentioned below.
 Do you have any special skills or talents?
Most people know that I play the guitar and sing wheneverI get the chance. I also like cooking Japanese food.
 Please share a little known fact about yourself.
It is no secret that I do origami but I am also a qualified
origami instructor. I am pretty serious about origami. See
my work here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?
aid=218250&id=898860213&l=f647037608
 What is your most prized possession?
This was hard to answer until I thought of it as “Whichpersonal possession would you be most upset to lose?” It
would be a small pair of fold-up scissors that my nan(grandma) gave me. They belonged to my grandfather
who died before I was born. I am supposed to be a lot likehim so I guess that is why I place so much value on them.
 What words would you use to describe yourself?
I couldn't do this so I asked other teachers and they said:
committed, organized, meticulous, passionate. I think they
were being nice!
 If you could live your life again, would you doanything differently?
I regret wasting time the most. When I was younger, I
thought that I had all the time in the world and adults told
me so. Now, I realize that living an adult life takes up somuch time that I have very little time to do the things I
want to do.
 Is there anything you are trying to learn/improveabout yourself at the moment?
The list is huge! My teaching, my time management, myenvironmental efforts, my organization, my Japanese,my...everything!
 Do you have any special message for your fans?
Fans? Me? For any fans that I do have I guess mymessage would be “Thanks!”

Ross Ferris
Subject Area Coordinator: Mathematics (Secondary)7

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Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Soccer Report
During the spring term, the soccer clubs have been out
in full force. The boys under 18 team, coached by Mr
Ralph, began their season against International
Secondary School on the brand new artificial turf at
KIST. In a hard fought match, the boys managed to win
6 – 5 with Ryousuke (G10) scoring three goals, andShinnosuke (G8A) and Claude (G10) also scoring. The
next game involved the long journey out to Columbia
International School, where we again played extremely
well without many key players, but eventually went down
2 – 3 after being down 0 – 3 very early on in the game.
Ryousuke and Shinnosuke were once again the scorers.
The under 14 boys and girls teams have also been mostsuccessful in this year’s soccer campaign. The season
kicked off on an overcast Wednesday afternoon against
Tokyo International School on our home pitch. The boys’
team, coached by Mr Heppenstall, played brilliantly,
overcoming TIS 6 – 1. Bilal (G8B) was very solid ingoals assisted by some very impressive defending by
Motoi (G6A) and some very good team goals finished off
by Kai (G6B). The next game was against the British
School in Tokyo at BST on a very warm spring day.
While we ended up losing 2 – 5, we played extremely
well in parts. Awais (G8A) and Jung Hun (G8B) bothscored excellent goals.

The girls’ team, coached by Mr Farquhar, opened up
their season with a very convincing victory against TIS,
winning 6 – 0. Hannah (G8B) played extremely well as
goalkeeper and didn’t look like letting a goal through allmatch. Anisha (G6B), Shally (G7C) and Stella (G7C)
scored some amazing goals during the game. The
second match of the season was an away match against
BST. Again, all girls played very well, but eventually lost1 – 5. All girls should be very proud of their efforts during
both of their games thus far and they are looking forward
to the return game against BST.
Thank you to all of those teachers, parents and students
who have come and supported the teams when we areplaying. We have several more games for the remainderof the season and hope to
see some more supporters
there. Finally, a huge thankyou must go to the coachesof all of the teams. Without
the coaches, the sporting
program would not be as
successful as it is.
Will Spring
Sports/PE Coordinator

Summer Programs
As announced in the previous issue of The Comet, a series of summer programs will be offered this year at KIST for
students who wish to improve their skills through intensive study. For lower grades, the programs will cover skills in
English, mathematics and other subjects; for upper grades, they will cover English and/or mathematics dependingon the program. The programs offered are:K2 - Grade 1

Grades 9 - 10

Summer Holiday Program & After School Care

Summer Intensive English Program

Grades 2 - 6

Grades 9 - 10

Summer Study Program

Summer Intensive Mathematics Program

Grades 7 - 8
Summer Intensive Program (English/Mathematics)

Grades 11 - 12
Summer Intensive Mathematics Preparation
Program

For more information, including application details, please check the school website.
Summer Support for ESL Students“Are the summer programs for ESL students?” If you have a child enrolled in the ESL
program, you may be wondering if they should attend this year’s summer programs at
KIST. Although the summer programs this year are not designed only for ESL
students, we certainly encourage ESL students to attend. As you may have read on
the school website, the programs include a range of learning experiences, many ofwhich are focused on developing language skills in speaking and listening, reading andwriting. As with learning anything new, the more we practice the better we will be, sowhether your child is just getting their tongue around English for the first time, or has
well developed skills, the summer programs will help support them in their continued
language development.

Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Are You Ready for Learning?
Readiness is one of the most vital
prerequisites for success inlearning. But what does this mean?
Who does it apply to and why is it
so important?
Readiness can be discussed in avariety of ways; academic
readiness, developmental
readiness and emotional
readiness, each one of theseworking together to suggest alearner’s ability to successfully
learn or take on something new. A
recent analogy used in a
discussion between school staff
viewed readiness as the hooks tohang new learning on; these hooks
being the prior knowledge, skills
and experience necessary tounderstand the new learning.
Hanging new learning on thesehooks forms connections between
the old and new, making learning
meaningful and long lasting.
Without the appropriate hooks,
new learning is often meaninglessand short lived.
Just as people differ in looks,
character and interests, readiness
differs. For some children the skills
and development necessary toread are apparent around the ageof 4 or 5, for others this readinessis not present until 6 or 7. As
parents and educators, we need to
be aware of these differences andhelp each individual child to accessthe learning they are ready for,which may be very different fromtheir classmate or brother or sister.
This can sometimes be difficult toaccept. When one 4 year old canhang on the monkey bars andanother can’t, it doesn’t mean they
are any less able, it just means
they don’t have the physicaldevelopment prior experience thatprovides the base for this skill.
Once they are ready they will hangon the monkey bars with as muchconfidence as those before them.
The idea of readiness not only
applies to children. Adults
experience readiness, or a lackthereof, in many life experiences.
Teachers coming to Japan for the
first time experience a wide rangeof readiness in regards to thelearning of Japanese language.
For some, they experience aninternal motivation that provides
the necessary readiness as soon
as they get off the plane. Others
require some understanding andintegration with Japanese people
and culture before they are readyto take on this learning challenge.

KIST eClassroom Pilot Program
In the Internet age, online access to educational resources isincreasingly becoming a key to helping students achieve
educational outcomes. With this in mind, we are piloting a
new secure online classroom based on a leading LMS(Learning Management System) called Moodle. Moodle,
which is used worldwide at a large number of schools anduniversities such as the University of Bath and MIT, waschosen from a number of options for the features it provides
and its ease of use.
Moodle will help students by facilitating student and teacher
communication through message boards, surveys, and wikis,
providing online access to classroom resources such as PDF
documents and PowerPoint presentations, and providing
online learning opportunities from home through online
quizzes and assignments. Here at KIST, some volunteer
teachers have begun testing the system with their students. If
the pilot is successful, we are planning to make it available
schoolwide in the upcoming school year. Stay tuned for more
information.
Christian Thompson
Education Technologies Integrator

For all teachers, the more
readiness they have the moremeaningful the learning will be,
resulting in a greater level ofachievement.
As parents, you also will have all
experienced varying levels of
readiness in relation to yourchildren. The best example of thisis how you feel when you first send
your child off to school. For someparents, this is a smooth and easy
process, for others, this time isfilled with anxiety andnervousness. Each of you will
experience the ability to let go andallow your child to be independent
at different times. Just as thesekinds of differences are ok for thechildren, they are ok for you, too.
Being aware of readiness is thefirst step in making new learning orexperiences a success. Talking
with friends, teachers and children
about readiness helps us toacknowledge and celebrate
difference and to respect individualjourney’s within our learning
community.
Amanda Cooke
Lower School Principal

910Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Accessing Information in KIST Units of Inquiry:
The Use of Texts at KIST
Understanding based in knowledge
We believe that understanding can only be founded in abase of knowledge. In order for students to build on their
existing bases of knowledge, units of inquiry in all IB
programs require students to explore a range of different
sources, both primary (from the original source) andsecondary (from a subsequent source) in order toaccess information.
An inquiry cycle – the process
As an IB school, our curriculum must provide ample
opportunity for student inquiry and the presentation ofideas. (IB, Programme Standards and Practices, 2005)
At KIST, in all programs, student learning is organizedaround an inquiry cycle involving several stages:








Tuning In - Planning for the inquiry
Finding Out - Gathering information
Sorting Out - Sorting through information
Going Further - Making Connections andgeneralizations
Reflecting - Thinking about your learning
Taking Action - Acting on what you know
Demonstrating Understanding - Communicating
what was learnt

All of these stages of the inquiry cycle require students
to have access to a range of sources of information ina unit of inquiry.
Structured inquiry – activities in the process
Within this inquiry cycle students involved in a processof structured inquiry will participate in a range of different
activities including:












speculating, exploring,questioning
making connections between
previous learning and current
learning
researchingdeveloping and testing
theories
collecting data, reporting
findings and constructing explanations
clarifying existing ideas and reappraising
perceptions of events
identifying assumptions
taking and defending a position
solving problems in a variety of ways
analyzing and evaluating
considering alternative explanations (IB, Towards aContinuum of International Education, 2008)

All of these activities within an inquiry cycle require
students to have access to a range of sources of
information in a unit of inquiry.

Critical thinking in an inquiry
based programme
To think critically means students
reflecting on, thinking about andanalyzing a text, argument or opinion
so that they do not just accept whatis stated but form their own
judgment. (IB, Towards a Continuumof International Education, 2008)
Critical thinking skills are central toan inquiry based approach tolearning and are developed within all three programs.
In order to develop critical thinking skills, students needto have access to a range of sources of information ina unit of inquiry.
The nature of our changing world
Effective learning for life in the 21st century recognizesthat: the knowledge base is increasing rapidly, requiring
learners to process and evaluate knowledge, notjust acquire it the world is changing rapidly, requiring learners toanticipate the unknown and adapt to change, notjust respond to it developing self-confidence in learners, as well as
academic competence, is essential if learners aregoing to be able to function effectively; affective
dispositions in addition to cognitive competence are
central to learning constructive critical thinking is a tool necessary for
individual and collective survival; students must
learn to be able to distinguish sense from nonsense,
propaganda from truth and make their own wellinformed judgments (IB, Towards a Continuum ofInternational Education, 2008)
In order to prepare students to make informed
responsible decisions in the world into which they will
move, they need to become critically aware lifelong
learners who, through the process of having access to arange of sources of information in their units ofinquiry, can independently access a range of sources
and make informed judgments of those sources’ worth.
Planning units of inquiry
As part of the planning process for a unit of inquiry,teachers will outline a variety of sources of information
required as part of the process of structured inquiry.
Some possible sources which would be indicated on theunit of inquiry planning documents could include:
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Individual core text if appropriate
Small sets of class texts
Questia online resource bank
Supplementary materials (e.g. library texts, online
materials, primary sources)
The learner's prior knowledge
Community based sources such as guest speakers(Continued on page 11)

Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Advertisement(Continued from page 10)
Regarding individual core texts in the MYP and DP
It is possible that at certain times a textbook could be,
for practical reasons, one of the possible sources of
information in a unit of inquiry for a variety of reasons
including:
1. The specific text contains substantial elements ofknowledge related closely to the KIST Scope andSequence documents across a range of units ofinquiry.
2. Specific activities outlined in the unit of inquiry
require all students to have access to the same
information at the same time.
At no time would a single core text be the sole sourceof information in a unit of inquiry. With the PYP
organized around transdisciplinary themes, it is highly
unlikely that substantial elements of knowledge would
be found in a single text and for this reason, this point
relates to the MYP and DP programs only.
From 2010/2011, students in the
MYP will be required to purchasecertain texts. Students will continue
to purchase prescribed texts in the
DP. The final decisions regarding thetext lists in MYP and DP subjects arebeing finalized. A list of required texts
and purchasing details will be sent home to parents by
the end of May.
Damian Rentoule
Deputy Head of School/Curriculum Director

Family Day
As per the school calendar, Family Day
will be held on Saturday, May 22. Thisannual school event aims to bring
together all members of the schoolcommunity—students, parents andstaff—through participation in games andenjoyable physical activities. It takes theformat of a Japanese Sports Festival
which emphasizes communication and interaction as
opposed to competition. The day also provides anopportunity to communicate to families various details
about the upcoming school year.
As a regular school day, all students are expected toattend. In lieu of this, Monday, May 24 is a school
holiday.
This year, in conjunction will Family
Day, a book fair will be held in themain library (2nd floor of the main
school building). A range of English
and Japanese books, as well as aselection of textbooks, will be on sale throughout theday. Please feel free to visit the library anytime.
We look forward to seeing you on May 22!

11

BARGAINS!! BARGAINS!!

BARGAINS!!

AND STILL MOREBARGAINS!!

NO PETS ALLOWED NO PARKING AVAILABLE

AMERICAN EMBASSYCOMMUNITY SIDEWALK SALE
WHAT: Lots of good sale prices on a
range of books, household andclothing items
WHEN: SATURDAY, MAY 15
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
WHERE: AMERICAN EMBASSY HOUSINGCOMPOUND
2-1-1 Roppongi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo(Near Tameikesanno Subway Station)
Notes:

 Only Grew Gate entrance will be opened.
 All bags will be inspected when entering
compound.

 Photo-ID required for admittance.

EVERYONE WELCOME!

Building/Carpentry Skills
NeededWe are still looking for 1 or 2
parents who have building/carpentry
skills that could help with thebuilding of a sandpit for our main
playground area. As advertisedback in February, this would involve
the purchase of materials (school
funded) and a day or so to put it
together. You would work together
with Amanda and Greg to design the sandpit. Our
young primary students are in desperate need of aplace to dig and create, this being an important part oftheir social, physical and academic development. We
have worked hard to help the children resist digging up
our gardens, with the promise of a sandpit tocome...please help us make this a reality. Pleasecontact Amanda Cooke at a_cooke@kist.ed.jp if you
think you can give some time to this project.

12Volume 13 | Issue 6 | May 2010

“The Comet”

Founders’ Awards 2010-2011
The inaugural KIST Founders’ Awards are an initiative of the school’s
Founders and Directors, Mr and Mrs Komaki. Through a generous
personal endowment by the Founders, the awards are offered in theform of scholarships to students who make a significant contribution to
the school according to its vision and founding principles, and who
demonstrate qualities that truly represent the essence of the spirit of theschool.
There are three categories of awards as follows:
Category

Award

Gold Award

Full scholarship covering 100% of the tuition fees for one school year

Silver Award

Half scholarship covering 50% of the tuition fees for one school year

Bronze Award

Quarter scholarship covering 25% of the tuition fees for one school year

The awards cover tuition fees only for the period of one school year. All other school fees are required in full. If
there are no suitable candidates in one or more categories, no awards will be offered.
Eligibility and selection criteria
The criteria for receipt of the awards have been determined by the Founders in line with the school’s three guiding
principles―Respect, Responsibility, Safety―and the school rules and policies that follow from these. For the 2010–2011 awards, students who meet the following requirements are eligible to apply: Students who have been enrolled in Grades 9, 10 or 11 since the beginning of, or prior to, the 2009–2010
school year.
 Students with a well-rounded academic achievement: For MYP students, scores for all subjects must be 4 orabove, and the estimated total score of their best six subjects must be 38 or above. For DP students, theestimated total score for all subjects must be 38 or above.
 Students whose absentee rate (including late arrivals and early departures) is less than 5% of the total numberof school days for the current year.
 Students who have shown regular progress in fulfilling their Community & Service (MYP) or Creativity, Action,
Service (DP) commitments.
 Students who have displayed consistently responsible conduct in all areas. This includes acceptable
standards of behavior and adherence to the school policy on dress code and general appearance (as outlinedin the School Handbook).
 Students who contribute to creating a positive learning environment in their class/es (e.g. inspiring otherstudents to actively discuss relevant topics during class; supporting other students with their studies etc.).
 Students who act as good role models to other students and who demonstrate qualities expounded in theschool’s mission and philosophy (e.g. altruistic behavior; take action to stop incidents of bullying etc.).
 Whether the applicant’s parents/guardians demonstrate an understanding of the school’s mission andphilosophy through appropriate support of their child and the school.
 Whether the applicant’s parents/guardians participate in school events and the School Support Program (ifregistered for the duties option) and fulfill other duties as required.
Application method
Application period: Monday, May 10, 2010 – Friday, June 4, 2010
Applications and related documents should be submitted directly to theschool office between the above dates. All documents must be received
by 6:00 p.m. on June 4 to be eligible.
Announcement of awardees: Friday, June 18, 2010

Application requirements
Applications must include: Application Form Personal statement
 Teacher recommendations

Further details, including application forms and teacher recommendation
forms are available on the school website at:

http://www.kist.ed.jp/node/197