The Comet

The Newsletter of K. International School Tokyo
Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

In this issue...
Fundraising for Haiti…p. 2

The IB learner profile…p. 9

MUN scrimmage…p. 3

Spelling bee…p. 10

Wildlife protectors…p. 5

SRC executive election…p. 11

Student-led conferences …p. 6

Cyber culture…p. 12

Junior APEC conference…p. 7

MYP exhibition…p. 14

Software at educational prices…p. 8

Summer programs 2010…p. 16

From the Head of School
Spring break is just around the corner, but before then, we have one of themost important days in the school calendar - our Student-Led Conferences.
This is a chance for students to talk through their work and achievements with
their parents. Research has shown that the process of preparation by students
to talk about their accomplishments or lack of achievement is a great driver for
further improvement. This is not a one-off event but a point in time in a learning
process where students reflect on their work at the end of each unit. It is also achance for students to celebrate with their families their life at school. Please
see the information on page 6 of this newsletter on the role of the student andparent during the conference.
When term finishes for students, their teachers will be involved in three days ofprofessional development. Professional development is an important part of ateacher’s role and is one way that the school ensures that our staff continues
to develop and grow professionally, refreshing and renewing their craft. Staff
teaching the PYP will participate in a 3-day workshop facilitated by a workshop
leader from the IB focusing on Teaching, Planning and Assessing the 5
Essential Elements. Teachers in the MYP and DP will participate in a 2-day
workshop again facilitated by an IB workshop leader focusing on Theory ofKnowledge (a component of the Diploma Programme) across the MYP and
DP. The first day of term is also a student-free day when staff will meet andparticipate in various professional development activities.
Our Grade 10 students presented their Personal Projects to students andparents at the end of February. This was a great opportunity for these students
to demonstrate their learning and personal engagement with their study. The
ideas, enthusiasm and polish displayed at this event made me long to return toschool again and have the chance to learn in the same way. I encourage
everyone if they have the chance next year to make sure to get along to the
Personal Project evening. It is a credit to the teachers and students of the
MYP. The same enthusiasm for learning was on display at the recent Primary
assembly where many certificates were handed out to students for their effort
or excellence in initiating action, participating and engaging in activities.
I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable spring break.

“Th
e te
ach
one
er
who
mad is
idea
e tw
s gr
ow
o
only
w
her
one
e
gre
b ef
w
ore.
”

Elbe
rt H
u

bba
rd

DATES TO REMEMBER

March 22:
Student-led conferences
March 22 − 24:
No clubs or ESL this week
March 24:
(G12) End of year reports issued
End of Winter Term
March 25 − 27:
Staff development days
March 25 − April 5:
Spring holiday
April 5:
Staff development day
April 6:
(L/P/S) Start of Spring Term
April 10:
Ohanami Spring Festival
April 12:Clubs and ESL start
April 19:
School photographs (for new andabsent students only)

Anne Grahame
Head of School

April 29 − May 5:
Mid-term break

KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for Life KIST Learning for LifeMay 18:
Free dress day

2Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

Fundraising for Haiti
Thank you to all the KIST community for helping to raise funds for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
We share this planet – the only
one in the universe that we know
has life – with about 6 billion otherhuman beings. When some of our
fellow human beings are in trouble,
what do we do? We help!
That is exactly what the KIST
community came together to do
once we learned that an
earthquake of magnitude 7 had
jolted Haiti – one of the poorest
countries in the Americas – andwas desperately needing our help.
What is truly overwhelming is thefact that the whole school came
together so quickly and cheerfully
to put in their hard work –teachers, Japanese staff, parents,and students of every age. There
was the Grade 4 bazaar where thesmiling, enthusiastic Grade 4s soldfood and trinkets and held
entertaining games to raise 84,146
yen, as well as the events ofDancing with the Stars and K. Idol
held on Wednesday, February 10(in cooperation with the fundraisers
for the World School Games),

which raised a total of 177,639 yenon the night. These events were
two of the highlights of the term.
The evening event was so
successful. The little things added
up to the big: the Grade 3 booth,
Grade 6 raffles, ‘Guess How Many
Candies in This Jar’ by the Grade7s, hot dog sales, loose change
collection, parents selling wine,
concert entry charge, the teachersand students who prepared music,
decorations, posters and otheressentials and/or performed in thetwo events. Behind the scenes onthat cold, wintry night, parents
managed the so important school
security and the Japanese staff
spontaneously put a food stall
together to shore up the catering.
Thank you to everybody whoorganized this event andparticipated in it to make it areality, along with the fantastic
audience!!
Half of the amount raised during
the evening (88,820 yen) will go to
the “Free The Children’s Haiti

Earthquake Relief Fund” (specially
set up in response to the recent
disaster), where it is possible for
the NPO to buy medical supplies
worth $10 for every $1 donated.
The other half will go to the World
School Games project.
In conclusion, together with theGrade 4 bazaar proceeds (84,146yen), individual donations, funds
from donation boxes and proceedsfrom the teachers wine raffle(11,000 yen), the total money
raised by our whole schoolcommunity and friends to buy
medical supplies for theearthquake victims is 261,785 yen.
Everyone played an important role,
however big or small, in making
this happen and we all hope that
we can continue to show such
community spirit in the future. We
set out to relieve the suffering ofothers, and made ourselves
happier people in the process.
Shreya (G11)

Congratulations to thewinning performers!
Dancing with the Stars:
1st: Ms Claire & Ms Junko
2nd: Mr Mark & Ms Elly
K. Idol:
1st: Mona Lisa & Ishanaz
2nd: Jeanine

th e
h
t
i
w
g
Dancin

St

ol
d
I
.
K
ars /

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

Free Dress Day
As indicated in the “Dates toRemember” section on page 1 of thisnewsletter, the next Free Dress Day,
the final one for the year, will be held
on Tuesday, May 18. Students whochoose to wear non-uniform clothing
on this day are asked to donate 200
yen towards the Kasumisou
Foundation which provides water wells to areas ofCambodia. To go along with the water theme, students
are asked to dress in the color blue. To view details of
KIST’s previous participation with the Kasumisou
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 in terms of generalappearance. Please check the School Handbook(available on the Admissions >> Documentation pageof the school website) if you are unsure of these
expectations.

ADVERTISEMENTInternational Secondary School Presents

The Ziggurat Model
2-day Training Workshop- Planning Comprehensive Behavioral Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder- Winner of the 2008 Autism Society of America’s National Award for Literary Work of the Year

What is the Ziggurat Model?
The Ziggurat Model is a system for designing meaningfulcomprehensive interventions for individuals of all ages with
autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It provides a uniqueframework to simplify a complex process while utilizing
research and evidence based practices to build effective
interventions.
What can you learn from this workshop?
Through hands on exercises, participants will learn to: Recognize strategies with empirical support.
 Select appropriate strategies for an individual.
 Address underlying needs through comprehensive
interventions.
Presenters
Ruth Aspy, Ph.D and Barry G. Grossman, Ph.D
Dates / Registrations
Saturday, April 24 & Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tokyo International Exchange Center(3 mins. From Fune no Kagaku Kan Stn, Yurikamome Line)

Doors open 9:00 a.m.
Register at: www.isstokyo.com

Greg Brunton
Primary School Principal

Model United Nations Scrimmage
On February 13, 2010, 39 KIST students from Grades 9
to 12, accompanied by Mr Wagner and Mr D. Bates,
travelled to Yokosuka Naval Base to participate in an
MUN scrimmage hosted by Mr John Taylor, the MUN
Sponsor at Kinnick High School. Students from KinnickHigh School as well as St. Mary’s International School
also participated in this scrimmage to hone debate andresearch skills in support of United Nations issues andconcerns. The students, divided among four United
Nations Councils: General Assembly, Security Council,
Human Rights Council and Economic and Social
Council, tackled a broad range of issues from The
Status of Child Soldiers to The Nuclear Disarmament of
Iran and North Korea. All of the students approachedtheir role playing positions with enthusiasm andproduced excellent position papers. Several resolutions
were drafted and all of the students concluded that theevent was informative and fun.
Apart from the scrimmage, Mr Taylor had arranged forthe participants to have a ship tour of the United States
7th Fleet Command Ship: USS Blue Ridge. The
students were hosted by the 7th Fleet Chief of Staff,
Captain Fred Perryman, and received excellent
briefings and an extensive tour of the ship. There were3

also several photo opportunities for the students at theBlue Ridge as well as at the aircraft carrier, USS
George Washington.
All in all, a wonderful Saturday experience for the
students. Mr Wagner, the MUN Sponsor for KIST, is in
the process of arranging another scrimmage for KIST
students in April.
Michael Wagner
College Guidance Counselor

4“The Comet”

V o l u m e 1 3 | I sVsoul eu m
5 e| 1M3a Ir sc shu2e031 0

Office Updates
Changes to school fees

Abolishment of payment envelope

We would like to remind families that various school
fees will change from the start of the 2010-2011 school
year as follows.
 Enrolment Fee (for new enrolments): 300,000 yen
 All Purpose Fee (K1 to G10): 100,000 yen Technology Fee: 30,000 yen
In addition, the current Class Events Fee (K1 to G5)
will be combined with the All Purpose Fee.

Miscellaneous expenses incurred when students areloaned money through the office in situations when
they forget their lunch or lose their lunch money, or insituations when an after care fee is incurred by parents
unable to pick up their children on time, are currently
requested monthly through the miscellaneous invoice(yellow payment envelope) method.

Student ID cards (K1 - K3)
From the start of the spring term, we will no longer
issue Student ID Cards for new students enrolling in
K1, K2 and K3. Producing cards for students at theselevels is unnecessary as students are not permitted touse the cards by themselves. These students will
receive ID cards when they move up to Grade 1.
Parent ID Cards will continue to be issued to all new
families. Students currently enrolled will not be affectedby these changes.

School support program
Families leaving the school at the end of the current
term or at the end of the school year are reminded that
all School Support Program duties must be completed.
If you have duties remaining but are not included on
the roster, please contact the school reception to checkif any slots are still available. Families unable tocomplete duties will be invoiced at the rate of 25,000
yen per each remaining duty. Please refer to the
School Handbook for more details.

School redevelopment campaign
Last year, we began an ongoing fundraising campaign
to raise money for the construction of the West
Building. As part of this campaign, families were able topurchase commemorative tiles that were inscribed with
the names of the donating families. You may haveseen these tiles on the wall in the multipurpose room.
As there are still a few spaces vacant for additionaltiles, we would like to offer families a further
opportunity to take part in the campaign by purchasing
one or more tiles to fill these spaces. The sizes andprices of tiles available are as follows: Small size (95 x 45 mm): 50,000 yen per tile Large size (197 x 97 mm): 300,000 yen per tile
If you are interested in donating to the school bypurchasing commemorative tiles, please contact theoffice for more details. Thank you for your support.

Student withdrawals
A further reminder to families withdrawing children at
the end of March that a Student Withdrawal Formmust be submitted to the office as soon as possible.
The form is available from the Contacts >> Forms pageof the school website.

As the number of students in these situations is very
low, we will no longer use the payment envelope
method. When miscellaneous expenses are incurred,
the school will contact parents directly and ask them tobring the amount to the office in cash on the same dayor the day after.
Further, the late fee that is charged when tuition fees orclub fees are paid after the due date will no longer berequested through the miscellaneous invoice envelope.
If you are unable to make payment before the duedate, please add the 2,000 yen late fee to your total
payment. The due dates for payment of term tuition
fees are July 15, December 15, and March 15.
If you have any overdue miscellaneous expenses, we
ask that you pay these at the office as soon as
possible. Please be aware that if your payment is notreceived by the end of the current school year, theamount remaining will be added to your school fees fornext year.

On the buses…
A warm welcome to Yuuichi
Komatsu who has joined KIST
as a school bus driver andmaintenance support person.
Komatsu-san has been a longtime supporter of KIST and
has attended and participatedat previous school festivals
and other events with hisfamily. We are very pleased
that he has chosen to join us
as a full-time staff member.
Komatsu-san’s previous position as a machinery
operator saw him scaling the heights of the new Tokyo
Sky Tree currently being constructed in Sumida-ku.
Komatsu-san will be replacing Katsuo Iwabuchi whowill retire on March 19. Iwabuchi-san has been with theschool for approximately four years. We thank him forhis efforts during this time and wish him all the best fora happy retirement.

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

5

Wildlife Protectors
As one of our activities as Wildlife Protectors (WLP) at KIST, wewere able to meet with a worldwide NGO called the World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) at their Japan office on December 21, 2009. During
the meeting, we asked WWF Japan many questions on topics weare concerned about.
After the meeting, we were able to look around the office where
they work and one of the members of WWF Japan taught us
about the importance of nature, animals and what we get fromanimals and nature.
We learned a lot of information and thank WWF Japan for theirkindness. Though they were very busy because of COP15 andother environmental problems they are facing at this moment, they gave up their precious time to answer ourquestions in detail.
We, the WLP, are pleased to support WWF Japan and we are also planning to have somegreat activities between WWF Japan and KIST.
For example, we are planning to provide an opportunity for students to interview WWF
Japan during an assembly and to hold an information forum during our school festival.
Furthermore, in the near future we would like to have an opportunity for students toparticipate in tree planting and volunteer activities and so on.
We need more students who have an interest in saving animals and nature and are
waiting for newcomers to join WLP during the year.
Wild Life Protectors at KIST

Tributes to Carmina
In the February 2010 issue of The Comet,
we invited members of the schoolcommunity to submit personal tributes toshare with Grade 12 student, Carmina, inrecognition of her recent achievements on
the world stage. We have included theseon this page. We hope you enjoy reading them.
From Carmina’s parents:
You are an exemplary student, thoughtful friend and atrue achiever. Your accomplishments truly inspireothers. You have made your family and school very
proud. But all your achievements are just an added
bonus to your being kind and a very loving daughter.
God has amazingly blessed you! Keep up the goodwork! Your parents love you!
From George (KIST graduate, Class of 2008):
Few of us ever stop to think about ways in which wemight make the world a better, more exciting place, andan even fewer number attempt to put those ideas into
practice. You are among that rare breed, and I
sincerely wish you the best of luck in turning your ideas
into reality. I'm sure that your experience with Global
Changemakers and your participation in the World
Economic Forum have both educated and motivatedyou, and I hope you will put these experiences to gooduse impacting the local and global communities today,and for years to come. Congratulations Carmina, andGood Luck!

From Faye (G11):
I'm so proud of you Carmina! I admire your work. I'msure you learnt a lot, keep those lessons close to yourheart.
From Tomoko (Faye and Abbie's mum):
Congratulations Carmina, I respect you. Keep up thehard work!
From Ms Okude (College Guidance Counselor):
I couldn’t imagine that this would happen when I
received an invitation letter to the Global Changemakercompetition from the British Council Osaka last July justafter we entered the summer break. Mrs Naito and I
decided to send a copy of the letter to all students who
met the age requirement of over 16 as of November
2009, with a slight concern about the waste of paper.
But it was worth it! Congratulations Carmina. We arevery proud of you and looking forward to your ongoing
success in the “Stitch Tomorrow” project and more!
From Mary Christie (Former Head of ECE):
It was great to watch your presentation on YouTube.
How inspiring!
From Anne Grahame (Head of School):
I tell everyone about how fantastic the youth of today
are and have many examples to give – Carmina is one
such example of the hope we have for our future
through our young people.

6“The Comet”

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

Student-Led Conferences
As per the school calendar, student-led conferences will be held on Monday, March 22,
2010. On this day, students will introduce their classroom/s to their family and explain
what they have been learning. Students and families only need to come to school at theirscheduled time. Students must wear full school uniform. The school lunch and bus
services will not operate on this day. As the conferences are a very important part of thereporting and reflection process, participation is compulsory for all students and theirfamily.
To help you interact with your child on the day, we have prepared a number of questions that you may ask during theconference.
 Which piece of work are you most proud of and why?
네가 가장 자신 있는 과제가 무엇이니? 이유는?
最も自信をもてるワークは何ですか。
 Could you improve your work next time? How?
다음 번에는 더 잘 할 수 있겠니? 어떻게 하면 될까?
次回はどのような事を頑張りますか。それはどの様に頑張りますか。
 How did you solve the problem?
그 문제를 어떻게 풀었니?
どの様に問題点を解決しましたか。
 Explain/ tell me about how you did this?
이것을 어떻게 했는지 설명해 보렴.
どの様にこれをしましたか。説明してください。
 What helps you learn best in the classroom?
수업 중 너에게 가장 도움이 되는 것은 무엇이니?
どうしたら最も勉強できると思いますか。
 What do you find difficult/interesting in the classroom?
수업 중 어려웠던 것/ 흥미로운 것이 무엇이니?
教室でどのようなことに興味があります/ありませんか。
 What do you do if you don’t understand something in class?
수업 중 이해가 안가는 것이 있을 때에는, 어떻게 하니?
教室で分からない事がある時、どうしますか。
 What are the activities what you enjoyed doing most and why?
네가 가장 즐기는 활동이 무엇이니? 이유는?
教室で楽しい事は何ですか。それは何故ですか。
 What does it mean to be responsible?
‘책임감이 강하다’는 의미가 무엇인지 아니?
責任をとるとはどういうことだと思いますか。
 How do you show it in the classroom?
너는 그것을 학교에서 어떻게 보여주고 있니?
教室ではどの様に責任感を発揮しますか。
 Choose a piece of work that shows you are a communicator?
네가 한 과제 중 ‘커뮤니케이터(전달자)’로서 잘 표현한 과제를 골라보렴.
あなたがcommunicatorであるということが良く理解できるワークはどれですか。

Role of student
Facilitate the conference.
Talk about the work they
have chosen for theirportfolios.
Share their workbookswith their parents.
Demonstrate someclassroom activities andexplain them to theirparents.

Role of parent
Be on time for the
conference.
Be positive andencouraging.
Show an interest.
Ask questions.
Be responsive.
Recognize both strengths
and weakness.

Role of teacher
Manage the time.
Clarify where necessary.

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

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7

Junior APEC Conference 2010
On Saturday, February 20, I took the shinkansen to
Hiroshima to attend the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation) Junior Conference for five days.
It was a large event, with months of preparation fromthe Hiroshima city committee and 37 participants from
17 different member economies from the Asia-Pacificregion. I was a representative of Australia. The
participants were divided into four groups:
Environment; Education; Intercultural Communication/
Understanding; and Trade, Food and Poverty. My
group was the Education group. In our groups, we had
workshops in which we discussed the problems(recognitions) and solutions (recommendations) in our
member economies countries, and made a declarationthat we presented to the whole group in the general
assembly. In these general assemblies, we presented
our declaration, listened to other groups, andsuggested areas of improvement or clarification.
Our final declaration was formally presented to the
Senior APEC Chair, and was presented to the Senior
APEC conference. Knowing that my voice, my
opinions, and voices and opinions of other youths fromdifferent member economies was heard by important
decision makers of the world made me feel as if we canreally make a difference.

This was a
new andamazingexperience
for me, forthe general
assemblies
were set up
on a stage
so thatevery
discussed word was heard by an audience. The
workshops were also open to the public, and manyobservers came to listen to our presentations. At first I
was nervous and self conscious, but developed public
speaking skills as the conference went on. In addition
to the main conference, we were exposed to peaceeducation by visiting the peace memorial museum andpark, and we listened to a testimony given by an Abomb victim, Keijiro Matsushima. It was a very moving
experience, not unmixed with feelings of disgust about
the horrors humans can resort to, and it has filled mewith a personal desire to make sure that nobody everexperiences anything of that kind again.

“...we have to build friendships between
cultures and countries so that we can live in”peace and prosperity.

I learned a valuable thing at the JAPEC conference.
Humans are capable of doing horrible things to one
another, but friends aren’t. So we have to build
friendships between cultures and countries so that we
can live in peace and prosperity. Although our work in
Hiroshima may have been an insignificant act, what we
did by making friends and taking the time and effort tounderstand each other, was an important first step.
Faye (G11)

IB Workshop Leader Training
One of our Grade 5 teachers, Mr Yoshihara, hasbeen selected by the International Baccalaureate
to attend their workshop leader training in May.
Teachers from all around the Asia-Pacific region
applied and we are thrilled that Mr Yoshihara was
one of only 20 applicants selected.
After completing the training, Mr Yoshihara will be
eligible to conduct workshops on the IB’s PrimaryYears Program to teachers all around Asia as
well as sharing his expertise with our own school community.
Congratulations Mr Yoshihara!
Greg Brunton
Primary School Principal

Philippine Self Help
Foundation
The school received a thank you letter in
February from the Philippine Self Help
Foundation for the 36,702 yen donation
made by KIST in May 2008 fromproceeds from the UN International Day.
This loan was used to help two families
with livelihood loan assistance on thePhilippine island of Negros and one ofthese loans is now fully repaid. Fantastic
work and thank you to everyone who wasinvolved.

8Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

Software at Educational Prices
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, from the new school year, allschool communication to families will be sent via e-mail only. Thismeans that all families will need to ensure they have a computer thatcan connect to the Internet in order to receive school communications.
As families prepare for this transition, there is a wide range of choices
to choose from. Please ensure that your software is compatible with
the PC software currently used at school (mainly Microsoft Office) so
students can easily edit documents and transfer them between homeand school.
As KIST is a recognized educational institution in Japan with “Gakkou
Houjin” status, all students and staff are eligible to purchase selectedsoftware at educational prices. The savings range between 10 - 50%
depending on the software you buy. The following software is used
regularly at school and can be bought cheaply to help support yourchildren in their studies at home. There is no difference between thefunctionality of full price software and educational priced software.

SoftwarevendorName of software

Educational
price (yen)Recommended
retail price (yen)Used atschool?

Office Professional 2007 Academic Office

32,800

Office Word 2007 Academic

13,80026,800

Yes

Office Excel 2007 Academic

13,80026,800

Yes

Office PowerPoint 2007 Academic

13,80026,800

Yes

Office Access 2007 Academic

13,80026,800

Yes

Office Publisher 2007 Academic

10,80019,800

Yes

Office OneNote 2007 Academic

5,800

11,800

Yes

Office InfoPath 2007 Academic

18,00024,800Yes

Adobe Photoshop Elements

7,140

Yes

Microsoft

Adobe

Yes

This is not an exhaustive list - parents can find out more information on line. For more details about purchasing
Microsoft Office and other software in Japan, please visit the website below (Japanese only).
http://www.microsoft.com/japan/education/license/ap/application.mspx
For more details about purchasing Adobe Photoshop Elements and other Adobe software, please visit the websites
below.
http://www.adobe.com/go/check_jp
http://www.adobe.com/go/school_jp
Please understand that the above prices are a guide only. They were quoted directly fromMicrosoft and Adobe and may be different to prices at stores in and around Tokyo. To
receive educational pricing, all you have to do is show your school ID card. Please confirm
that you have received the educational discount when purchasing.
Rob Whittaker
IT Software/Hardware Coordinator

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

The IB Learner Profile - Ethics in Action
The following is an article submitted by Mr Thompson previously to the IB World Magazine of which an excerpt
was published. It has been reproduced here for parents who may be interested in reading about the Learner
Profile from a teacher’s perspective.
How do you teach ethics in the classroom?
What place do ethics have in education? If
you work in an IB school, this second
question has largely been answered for you
in the form of the Learner Profile. If ethics
can be explained as the principles ofconduct governing an individual or group(Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary,1998) then the Learner Profile can be seenas the platform from which ethics are taught
within the framework of the PYP. The firstquestion, still however, poses one of ourgreatest challenges. The IB Learner Profile
sets forth a list of ideals that offer guidancein assisting our students to become fully
realized, ethically minded adults. For thoseof us working with younger learners thistask requires a great deal of creativity anddedication.
We all know the attributes of the Learner
Profile. We can recite them by heart. Someof us may recall a few outstanding moments
when our students have not only exhibited
them, but achieved that most remarkableability to do so and then reflect upon thefact, in our presence, at a time when we
could appreciate and document it. To help achild understand these attributes is no smallfeat. But to have them “meta-cognitively”
reflect upon them… Well, if you’ve beenworking with the PYP programme for 20
years or 20 days, you know that this issomething to behold. As such, we need tomake the Learner Profile relevant to ourstudents from as early as possible to givethem their best chance of realizing theseaims.
For all of us, coming to terms with the terms
and putting all of it into practice is a longrunning challenge and one with no real end
in site. There will never be a day when we
can look back and realize that we havemastered it all, nor do we expect complete
mastery from our students. This sort ofambiguity characterizes some of the beautyof the art of teaching as well as thesometimes elusive nature of good practice.
So how do we, professionals charged with
understanding it all and sharing it with thechildren in our care, make it matter? As ateacher working with young learners I can
see the importance of making the Learner
Profile matter from the start – from theplace where I first saw it as impossible.
When I first began working with the PYP
and started coming to terms with all I
needed to understand to work within its
framework, that these youngsters would
grasp these lofty concepts seemed unlikely
to me at best. Inclusion of dispositions andattributes, imparting concepts, skills,
attitudes and everything else we want forour students seemed like some wonderful,amazing utopian fantasy. Where would wefind the time and how would we make all of
it relevant and accessible, even in somesmall way, for our young students? But as I,
with the help of my teaching partners (aswe worked with two in a class in the ECE

department), and the whole team in myyear level began to grapple with thischallenge we started to see ways aroundthe clumsy terminology. (Clumsy
terminology, I felt, at least, for five and six
year olds.) We started with the easy ones
first, of course. We do little else at this age
if not take risks so that came naturally
enough as part of our teacher talk or target
language (insert the phrase of your choicehere). Then we were caring. This is aconversation any ECE teacher has with
their students whether in an IB school orotherwise. It just goes with the territory. We
could incorporate discussion of these
attributes naturally within the course of ourdays.
However, when it came time to address
what it means to be principled in such a
way that our students could really sink theirteeth into it we started getting stuck. Thereis really no picture, song, or set of words
available to the ECE teacher to make this
attribute immediately engaging to theirstudents. On top of this, we felt the weightthe future implications our efforts may haveon our students as we start them on thisimportant inquiry and were cautious not tomake it a trial for them. I could see these
little faces, a few years older, with theireyes rolling back in their heads as somepoor primary school teacher tried to sparkthem into lively and meaningful discussions
about the Learner Profile.
So we didn’t make it an ordeal. We stayedtrue to everything we had come to accept
about teaching children in this age bracket.
To keep it interesting. To keep it relevant totheir own direct experience and not to
confound and bore them by droning on
about things that were of no interest tothem, couched in terms they couldn’t
understand. We had to get more creative.
We came up with the idea of using picturesof our students and placing them up on our
Learner Profile board under the heading of
the attribute they had exemplified,
explaining how they had done so. We werethen promptly chastised by every student
who felt they had acted similarly and notbeen immediately recognized! We knew
right then that we were on to something.
We tinkered with different means ofexecution. Was it best to get the photo up
right away to make sure everyone
understood why it had gone up? Was it
better to make a note and share at the endof the lesson or at a special part of the day
to avoid interruptions and give the students
something to anticipate? Should everyone’s
photo be up all the time? So manyquestions and differing opinions but the ball
was rolling. Instead of wondering how tostart we were considering how best to
implement. When a colleague informed us
how Takeshi (not his real name obviously),
who had difficulty expressing himself inEnglish, told her during an after school club
how he was “principled” and proceeded to

explain why we all just about fell over. At
that moment I was won over by the Learner
Profile. I had always believed in the theory
behind it but here was evidence that it could
be put into practice effectively with theyoung children we were teaching. Whether
he knew it or not, Takeshi had made achoice on how to behave based on an
ethical reflection of fairness.
Since then this practice has continually
evolved and likely always will. I have held
“Community Circle” discussions for
introducing and discussing attributes of the
Learner Profile. During these sessions I ask
the children if they have seen any of theirfriends exhibiting any actions that fit this
attribute of the week. We use this time to
explore meaning and to consolidate ourunderstanding. Often times, children whoaren’t following the current attribute will fallback on an attribute they feel more
comfortable with further reinforcing it. But
they are still tuned in to this important
aspect of what the PYP is all about and why
we, as a school, are implementing it. To
give it further context we have describedthe Learner Profile during circle time as asort of map for becoming the kind of people
we can be proud of.
In other classes, to see just how
comfortable students had become with theirunderstanding of some of the attributes wehave covered, I have invited them to takepart in a Learner Profile Signing Gallery. I
had four different posters available ontables around our class. We pointed themout and explained which each one was. I
then explained that the children could sign
as many of them as they liked, or none atall. The only restriction was that if they
signed their name to an attribute poster
they would need to try and explain how they
thought they had exhibited that attribute. As
with any chance to observe students
engaged in a free-choice activity, it was aninteresting experience on many levels. On
the whole, however, it allowed me to see
who was most comfortable with the terms,
which ones had been most commonlyinternalized by the students and gave me achance to just speak with students one on
one about their favourite subject...
themselves, in relation to the Learner
Profile.
As a long-term convert to the aims of the
Learner Profile I urge everyone teaching in
IB schools to re-think the use of the Learner
Profile in their classrooms. Certainly wealways do our very best to serve ourstudents’ needs but the better anunderstanding students can achieve of thisfundamental component of our programfrom the beginning, the better it can serve
them once they leave us.
Sean Thompson
ESL Teacher

910Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

Spelling Bee

K3’s Hall of Celebrations

The Japan Times newspaper held the first everinternational school spelling bee in Japan. Twenty-eightschools and 55 students participated from as far as
Okinawa. The two winners will go to Washington, D.C.
to represent Japan in the Scripps National Spelling Beein May. The following is a student’s description of thepreliminary competition held at KIST. Next year, we
hope to extend the bee to some of the lower grades
and hope to prepare earlier in the term.

If you’ve been in the West
Building recently, you may
have noticed a board labeled‘Hall of Celebrations’. This ispart of K3’s ‘How we express
ourselves’ unit, about
different celebrations, which
is running all year.

Stacey Isomura
ESL and Japanese Teacher
I participated in the Grade 6, 7 and 8
spelling bee as one of the two classrepresentatives. There were lots ofwords I did not know and I thoughtthat I still had a lot to learn about. It
made me respect the people that did
know these words and got to step up
to the second stage. The spelling
bee was held on Thursday, February 25 in the
gymnasium and four members from some of the Grade
6 to 8 classes participated. The two winners were
Keerti (G7A) and Kaijia (G8A). I would like to say
congratulations to both. I hope they can go to
Washington and be the world champion. I am going topractice much harder next time to be a candidate and I
am really hoping to win because I didn't this time. All
the people who participated and who didn't, please try
again at next year's spelling bee, which will be muchbigger and better. Thank you Mr Hough and Ms Ritcey
for organizing the spelling bee. I believe we all had fun
and we are looking forward to next year.
Akiko (G6B)

Teen Rockers
Four of our Grade 10 students recently participated in
the Japanese “Teens Rock” competition to select thebest teenage rock band in Japan. Cameron, Eric, Paolo
and Justin formed X-24 and submitted performances ofthree songs they wrote themselves. 5,000 other ‘teen’
bands also participated from all over Japan. X-24 were
one of 15 bands selected to perform in the final to beheld at Hitachinaka in Ibaraki-ken in May. The winningband will perform in the annual “Japan Rock Festival.”
The K. International community wishes Cameron, Eric,
Paulo and Justin the best of luck in the final round.
Congratulations on
being selected as oneof the best teen bands
in the country!! YOU
ROCK!!
Trevor Adams
Secondary Music
TeacherK3 parents have generously
volunteered their time andartifacts from different
celebrations to show a
bit about what we arelearning and what the
KIST school community
celebrates.
If you have a celebrationthat you would like toshare with K3 or the
KIST community, let us
know and we can showcase it in our Hall ofCelebrations!
The K3 Team

Nihongo Notes
The Japanese Language
Proficiency Test (Nihongo
Noryoku Shiken) is a test ofJapanese for non-native
speakers of the language. Sincemany KIST students have taken
or are preparing to take the test,
I thought it would be a good time to introduce the newversion which will start from July, 2010. The new test
will be divided into 5 levels instead of 4, with the newlevel placed between the old level 2 and 3 tests. The
other levels will remain basically the same as the older
version, but the new level 1 test will measure slightly
more advanced skills than the current test.
While I think the addition of a new level is excellent ascandidates can choose a more accurate test forthemselves, a more important improvement is the
addition of more focus on what learners can do with thelanguage. In other words, there is more focus on whata person can actually do academically and otherwise inJapanese at a particular level.
For more information on the new test, please go to:
http://www.jlpt.jp/
I also have sample tests with practice audio in room
432 if anyone is interested in having a look.
Stacey Isomura
ESL and Japanese Teacher

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

11

SRC Executive Election Result
Earlier this month, the Secondary School voted for their new SRC Executive. It was a well-contested election with
6 outstanding candidates vying for the four Executive positions. I would like to thank Argi (G11), Matthew (G11),
Na Yeong (G10), Pyay Phyo (G11), Ryousuke (G10) and Shreya (G11) for an excellent campaign. It was a very
closely contested election with only two invalid ballots cast in the entire Secondary. Thank you to all who helped
facilitate and most of all to everyone who participated in this democratic process.
Thanks also go to the outgoing SRC Executive who put together a very rigorous interview process for the
candidates. They can be proud of their achievements over the past year as they had a very tough job reinvigorating the SRC and its role in the school. If this election is one measure of their success, then the energy anddrive students committed to the process and the vibe it created amongst the Secondary staff and students issomething of which they can be very proud.
I would now like to introduce you to our incoming SRC Executive for the 2010-2011 school year.

President
Shreya (G11)

Vice President
Ryousuke (G10)

Secretary
Matthew (G11)

Treasurer
Pyay Phyo (G11)

Congratulations to the new Executive and best of luck in your respective roles next year.
Anne Grahame
Secondary School Principal

Counselor’s Corner
My name is Sharon Gibbons and I
am the Student Welfare Counselor.
I have a Master’s Degree inInternational School Counseling.
International school students deal
with very specific situations whichmake their experiences vary greatly
from other children their age.
Students in international schools deal with identity
issues when living in countries different from theirparents’ home countries. The question “Where are you
from?” becomes a difficult one to answer. Internationalfamilies often lack the support system people living intheir home countries have which can make every day
challenges highly stressful.
Students in international schools regularly deal withloss of friends, home, pets, routines, and language
accessibility to name a few. They feel vulnerable andfeel a sense of loss of balance in their lives. The

stressors can build up if students do not find a way tokeep some sense of control and this can play out in avariety of ways.
In order to ensure students are reaching their potential
academically, my role is to help students maintaintheir emotional and social health. Many students feel asense of relief knowing someone neutral is available
to talk with them.
Please contact me at s_gibbons@kist.ed.jp if you
would like me to touch basewith your child or you feelyou need to meet with me.
Sharon Gibbons
Student Welfare Counselor12

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

Cyber Culture
Over the past term, I have addressed a number of issues that fall within the realm of what
is termed Cyber Culture. The issues were varied from use of mobile phones at school toonline bullying. I thought it was timely, therefore, to revisit the results of the survey
conducted in Grades 3 through 12 by ASIV last year and reiterate the responsibility that theschool, home and individual holds in the use of technology.
Mobile phones
89% of students who participated in the survey said they had a mobile phone at school atleast sometimes and 75% said always. Of this number, 71% said they kept their phone on
and silent during class often or always. In Grades 9 through 11, over 30% of students
checked messages, and similarly, in Grades 10 and 11, 30% sent messages.
SchoolTeachers to monitor and to
confiscate mobile phones if
used at school.

Home
Parents to reinforce message of
responsible use at home.

Student
Switch off mobile phone whileat school.

Negative online experiences
Negative online experiences include: someone spreading a rumor on line; sending a nasty or threatening e-mail or
text; someone sending a picture that makes you feel uncomfortable; posting cruel or nasty comments on yourprofile/someone else’s profile. In last year’s survey, the collective response of students having a negative online
experience was considered to be a low 16.9% of students who had experienced at least one of the 9 negative
experiences surveyed; however, amongst this there were very high figures of 20% of Grades 5 and 6 students,
43.6% of Grades 8, and 31.8% of Grade 9 students who had a negative online experience. These numbers arevery concerning and we need to keep educating our students to keep their cyber world as safe as their physicalworld.
SchoolContinue to educate about
appropriate forms ofcommunication and distribution.
Have clear guidelines about
expected use as appropriate to
age level.
Build awareness in adultcommunity of cyber-bullying
and other issues.

Home
Know what your children are
doing online – supervise accessof Internet as age appropriate.
Keep the lines ofcommunication open.

Student
Talk to someone if you have anegative experience.
Talk to someone if you know ofsomeone who is experiencing
negative things via technology.
Follow guidelines set up by
parents and school.

The rates of negative experiences of students in this digital age are increasing and we need to be aware of what we
can do. If you would like to receive a copy of last year’s survey report, please contact the school.
Anne Grahame
Head of School

Curriculum Meetings
Meetings for the Language Policy Review andCurriculum Advisory Team will be held during theSpring Term on the dates as indicated below. We lookforward to meeting with you and receiving your input.
Week 4: Second Language Policy Review meeting:Monday, April 26 (5:00 pm - 6:00 pm)
Week 6: Curriculum Advisory Team meeting:Monday, May 10 (5:00 pm - 6:00 pm)
Week 9: Third Language Policy Review meeting:Monday, May 31 (5:00 pm - 6:00 pm)

There is currently a wiki (online page) with details of
meeting agendas and all parents in our schoolcommunity are invited to join. If you would like to join
the wiki to keep informed about the work of either ofthese two groups, please contact me atd_rentoule@kist.ed.jp. The meetings are informal andopen to any parents who wish to attend. It is awonderful chance to meet other parents and also tohave some valuable input into our school’s curriculum.
Damian Rentoule
Deputy Head of School/Curriculum Director

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

Library News
Hello. I’m Satoko Yoshimoto. I joined KIST as the School Librarian in September 2009. Working withme as library assistants are Yoshie Adams and Amanda Forrest. With the opening of the Junior
Library in 2009, there have been many changes in the libraries. In the Main Library, we opened acomputer room. In addition, with library classes for Lower and Primary School students now taking
place in the Junior Library, we have been able to increase classes for Secondary students in theMain Library. The libraries are open from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Anyone may use the libraries at times whenclasses are not being held. With the division of resources between the libraries, however, a number of difficulties
have arisen due to the increased workload necessary in dealing with collections across two libraries. We ask foryour support, in helping us to adequately maintain the library collections for the benefit of students.
Volunteering
We are looking for occasional parent volunteers to assist with shelving and covering books, and to participate in aresource inventory planned for the 3rd week of June. If you are able to help support the school libraries, please
register for the Library Volunteer Contact List by sending your name, telephone number, e-mail address andchild’s name and grade to s_yoshimoto@kist.ed.jp.
DonationsThank you to families for providing donations of books to the school libraries. Library staff arecontinuing to work hard to catalogue these and prepare them for students to borrow, but there arestill piles of books to get through as you can see in the photo. Although we will continue to accept
donations, we ask that you consult with the librarian in advance and, if possible, provide a list of
titles you wish to donate so that we can determine whether the books are suitable for our current
needs. We do have a wish list of books and you are welcome to view this. We also ask that all
books donated are clean and free from damage. Please understand that books unable to be used in
the library will be sold at the school festival bazaar.
Book Club
Thank you for your interest in Book Club. Unfortunately this year, we have so far been unable to begin accepting
orders due to fluctuations in exchange rates since October 2009. We have requested that Red House (UK)/
Scholastic (Asia) enable credit card payments and provide on-line access for individual families (this system isalready in place in some countries). Catalogues are available for viewing in the library, but we ask that you wait alittle longer before orders will be accepted.
Borrowing Videos and DVDs
There will be some limitation for borrowing Videos/DVDs due to Japanese copyright law. Please ask at the library.
Main Library
The Sakura Medal Program, which has been running since last December, comes to an end soon. You only havea month left to get your votes in.
Sakura Medal Program
The Sakura Medal Program
brings together students frominternational schools acrossJapan each year to vote for
their favourite books.
http://sakuramedal.wordpress.com/

1

2

Most reserved titles:
Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible
Edibles
Tells the story of a girl who realizes that she
loves to cook and make her customers
happy. (G7)1001 Cranes
Angie finds out that family is more important
than friends who betrayed her. (G7)

Library monitor positions (i.e. student library assistants) were offered to G4-G12 students during February.
Students from G4 and G7 applied and will be working before school, at lunch time and after school.
Junior Library
It is wonderful to know that spring is almost upon us. In the Junior Library, we have been readingsome books about cherry blossoms and the warm season approaching during our library sessions.
To celebrate the start of spring, some of the Lower School students have been helping to decorate
the library with sakura flower petals. Please feel free to come and have a look at our new
atmosphere on the 3rd floor of the West Building.
Don’t forget that students’ families are welcome to borrow books from the libraries anytime.
Satoko Yoshimoto
Librarian13

14“The Comet”

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

MYP Personal Project Exhibition
The MYP Personal Project Exhibition, the culminating activity of the MYP, was held on Friday, February 26, 2010.
Congratulations to all of the Grade 10 students for their efforts with the project and thank you to the families whocame along to support their children on the night.

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

15

Basketball Report
Under 14 Boys and GirlsThe winter term has provided us withmany memorable games ofbasketball in both the boys’ and girls’
teams.
The season started on the weekend at the end ofJanuary with the Koto-ku Junior Tournament at a local
Japanese junior high school. This was a knockout
tournament so we needed to win to proceed to the next
round. Unfortunately, we lost both the boys’ and thegirls’ games against quality opposition.
The beginning of February saw the start of the ISTAA
season against Canadian International School (CIS) at
their home court. The boys’ team dominated, eventuallyrunning out 20 point victors, while the girls’ team won athriller by two points. The boys’ season continued to rollon with big victories against Tokyo YMCA International
School (YMCA) twice, Tokyo International School (TIS)
twice, CIS again and a big win against The British
School in Tokyo (BST). The boys’ team has been very
well led by Sho, Tyson, Adam and Salam who havescored heavily in all games and have been well backed
up by Eric, Sashank, Irene, Abhinav and Ashutosh in
the centre of the court, while Roshana and Jeet haverebounded very well in defense.
The boys have kept an undefeated ISTAA season intact and will look to complete this by winning the final
ISTAA tournament next Monday at CIS. Best of luck to
all of the boys.
The girls have also hada most successful
season, only dropping
the one game since
the Koto-ku
Tournament and that
was against CIS in
another high quality
game. We have had
two very big wins over
YMCA and TIS twice.
All girls have played extremely well and have shown
great signs of improvement throughout the season.
Gina, Miku, Michiru and Nina have led the scoring,
Naishi, Erica, Remi and Karen have brought the ballout of defense through the center very well, and Ria,
Cindy and Nino have been valuable in the back half ofthe court.
The girls also will go into the final ISTAA tournament
next Monday as favorites to win the championship.
Good luck to all girls on the team.
A huge thank you must go to Ms Ritcey who has given
up countless hours after school and on her weekends
to coach the girls’ team. Thank you. Thank you also to
Ms Gibbons who has also coached when needed, it ismost appreciated.

Under 14 results
Boys
Koto-ku Tournament
38 – 66 (Lost)

Girls
Koto-ku Tournament
28 – 52 (Lost)

Vs Canadian IS
38 – 18 (Won)

Vs Canadian IS
24 – 22 (Won)

Vs Tokyo YMCA IS
48 – 2 (Won)

Vs Tokyo YMCA IS
45 – 6 (Won)

Vs Tokyo IS
69 – 24 (Won)

Vs Tokyo IS
33 – 22 (Won)

Vs Tokyo YMCA IS
51 – 8 (Won)

Vs Tokyo YMCA IS
16 – 8 (Won)

Vs Canadian IS
50 – 36 (Won)

Vs Canadian IS
36 – 44 (Lost)

Vs Tokyo IS
55 -5 (Won)

Vs Tokyo IS
44 – 4 (Won)

Vs The British School in Tokyo
41 – 17 (Won)

Primary basketball tournament
On Saturday, March 6, Mr Ralph, Mrs Komatsu, myself
and several very keen parents went to The British
School in Tokyo (BST) with a team of primary boys anda team of primary girls. We took part in a round robin
tournament with Tokyo YMCA International School and
BST. Each team played each other twice. The girls’
team had victories against BST twice with all girls
displaying some excellent teamwork and skills. We
unfortunately lost narrowly
to YMCA who were theeventual champions in the
girls’ division. The boys’
team battled very hard ineach game and wereplaying against boys mucholder and much taller thanthemselves. Each game
was a huge improvement
and although they didn’t
win a game, they shouldbe very proud ofthemselves.
Thank you very much to all of the parents for attending
and also to Mr Ralph for refereeing. We are very muchlooking forward to next year’s tournament.
Will Spring
Sports Coordinator16

Volume 13 | Issue 5 | March 2010

“The Comet”

Summer Programs 2010 at KIST
We are pleased to announce that aseries of summer programs will beoffered this year at KIST for students
who wish to improve their skills throughintensive study. For lower grades, theprograms will cover skills in English,
mathematics and other subjects; for upper grades, they
will cover English and/or mathematics depending on
the program. Applications are welcome from students
currently enrolled at KIST or those who will be enteringfrom August, as well as students enrolled at otherinternational schools, Japanese schools or other nonEnglish schools in and around the Tokyo area. The
school lunch and school bus services will be available.
The programs being offered are:K2 - Grade 1
Summer Holiday Program & After School Care
For students entering K2 through Grade 1
 Session 1: Monday, June 28 - Friday, July 9 (2weeks)
 Session 2: Monday, July 12 - Friday, July 23 (2weeks)
 Main program: 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 After Care: 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
 Content: Through this program, students will havethe opportunity to improve their English skills anddevelop an understanding of mathematics andscience while learning in enjoyable ways.

Grades 9 - 10
Summer Intensive English Program
For students entering Grades 9 and 10
 Monday, June 28 - Friday, July 9 (2 weeks) Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 Content: This programemphasizes literary analysis
and essay writing. Skills
taught will also help students
write assignments andreports in other subjects.
Grades 9 - 10
Summer Intensive Mathematics Program
For students entering Grades 9 and 10
 Monday, August 2 - Friday, August 20 (3 weeks) Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 Content: This program will help
students master basics inmathematics such as arithmetic
and how to use formulas in orderto prepare for the final years of
secondary school.

Grades 2 - 6
Summer Study Program
For students entering Grades 2 through 6
 Session 1: Monday, June 28 - Friday, July 9 (2weeks)
 Session 2: Monday, July 12 - Friday, July 23 (2weeks)
 Main program: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 After Care: 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
 Content: Through this program, students will
participate in activities to improve their English andmathematics skills in the morning. After lunch, they
will cover activities relating to social studies, science
experiments and food technology.

Grades 11 - 12
Summer Intensive Mathematics Preparation
Program
For students entering the IB Diploma Programme
 Monday, August 2 - Friday, August 20 (15 days) Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 Content: In this program, students who will enter
Grade 11 will review basic mathematical concepts
covered in previous years and will also be introduced
to selected content from the Grade 11 and 12 course.
Students entering Grade 12 will review concepts
presented during Grade 11.

Grades 7 - 8
Summer Intensive Program (English/Mathematics)
For students entering Grades 7 and 8
 Monday, June 28 - Friday, July 9 (2 weeks) Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
 Content: This program will help students improvetheir English and mathematics skills. For English, itemphasizes literary analysis and essay writing. Skills
taught will also help students write assignments andreports in other subjects. The mathematics
component will help students master basics such asarithmetic and how to use formulas.

For more information about thecontent of the summer programs,
fees required and application
procedures, please check the school
website at:www.kist.ed.jp