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A special surprise was awaiting our Kindergarten class.  The after-school Paper Mache Club comprising of students from the Gr 1-3 levels, had been making a castle, complete with a workable drawbridge, especially for our younger students.  The Paper Mache Club members, along with their teacher, Ms Wendy Carroll, unveiled the impressive castle during our Friday Assembly. The very sight of the castle sparked the imaginations of our Pre-K/Kindergarten students and they sure were ready for play.

Switching the spotlight on…

Ayaka Tanimoto Ayaka, a former KIS student will be putting on a concert in Kyoto.

Date and time: Jan. 10 (public holiday), doors open @2pm, show starts @ 2:30pm
Hall: Aoyama Music Memorial Hall in Nishigo-ku, near Hanku Kami-Katsura station
Ticket price – 2,500 yen (2,000 yen for advanced purchase)

Since I graduated high school in Japan, I moved to London to attend the Royal College of Music to study classical singing. In College, we have lectures on German, French, Italian, Acting, Dance, and Music history, to name a few. In the four years as an undergraduate student, I had to build my techniques, gain as much experience on stage as I could, and learn a few different languages. Also, I did many concerts throughout London and Japan to build confidence as a performer. In the Masters programme that I am currently doing, we are working towards opera productions that happen once every term and a solo recital at the end of the academic year.

After graduating from my Masters programme in July next year, I am planning to audition for opera schools around Europe. In opera school, we concentrate on singing opera as well as acting and stagecraft which deals with every aspect on performing on stage. It became clear to me in the past year or so that I want to do opera and my dream is to sing in opera houses around the world.

It is amazing to think that when I entered KIS at the age of 10, I only spoke a few words of English. KIS has taught me to be creative, original and independent which was lacking for a country girl who came from a small Japanese community. These are all essential qualities that one needs to become a great artist and I cannot thank KIS enough for opening my eyes to a bigger perspective of things. Without being able to attend KIS, I surely wouldn’t have even thought of becoming an opera singer. I am grateful to be part of the warm and supportive KIS community.

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Fun as we learn more about the Way of Tea

Students from the Higashiyama High School invited the KIS Middle School students to a Tea Ceremony Event on Nov 24.  These students, who are bound for Australian this January, were eager to show the Urasenke tea etiquette they had been learning in class.  In preparation for serving tea to their Australian home-stay parents, they were able to practice their skills and their English language with the students of KIS.  The way of preparing tea, Japanese cultural elements and how one should handle the tea bowl were all demonstrated and explained.

Alex Chapple, from the KIS Middle School commented,   “It was really fun. We understood the English instructions.”

Below is what was reported in the Kyoto Shimbin (Newspaper).

Switching the spotlight on…

We wrote to our alumna, Nina Whittaker to see how she was getting on. The photo below shows Nina involved in coral monitoring.

Hello Mrs Levy!

I hope you are all well at KIS.
Well, what can I say about my year so far? It has been one of the most surreal experiences ever.  I am currently at LPCUWC in Hong Kong (http://www.lpcuwc.edu.hk/), and am having the time of my life. I am studying Political Thought which is extremely interesting, and learning Mandarin as well, which is quite rewarding.  The schoolwork here is quite rigorous; there is always a lot of work to do, but in amongst all of the studying various other thing have been
happening as well.
I am learning Latin American dancing, which is taught by a Bolivian, a Colombian, and a Mexican, and have just finished  mastering the salsa.  I am learning Judo from an Iranian, a French, and an Italian, and am now able to throw people, much to my excitement! Most of the lessons are spent doing muscle training, but we do ground and standing fights and I am able to get people into all sorts of locks now (and get myself into locks, of course!)
I am taking part in organizing and running Sino-Japan Youth Conference, which is a conference aimed at increasing understanding between the youth in China and Japan.  This will be held in August next year.

A few weeks ago, we all went to China on a China Week Trip. Our group had 13 people, and we went to a children’s home in a place called Quanzhou. This children’s home dealt with former street children, and so we went there and played games with them and taught them about our cultures, and spent all day painting a gigantic mural on their wall. It was amazing – the time flew from when we picked up our paintbrushes at 9 in the morning until we put them down at 7 at night. We also got to see real rural China – it was amazing, and we often went for early morning explorations. This was probably one of the most memorable experiences so far.

I have also joined a group called Coral Monitoring, and so have learnt how to scuba dive! We have had two open water dives so far, which have been completely amazing. My buddy, Liilia from Estonia, is amazing, and we have learnt to trust each other as we have to do exercises like buddy breathing. My official exam is in two week’s time, and then I will become an official Padi qualified scuba diver! We are planning to go to the Phillipines for Project Week in March to spend a week diving there.

I still am in awe of the fact that I am now friends with people from Tajikistan and East Timor and China and the Bahamas – the list is endless! There are Global Information Forums every week, where people address issues that are affecting the world at present, which are fascinating and always end in hearty debates. The diversity here makes certain that not a moment of it is boring! I am quite busy at the moment, being involved in a Brecht play which
is being performed on Sunday. The lifestyle here is generally quite hectic though – students here are given a lot of independence, and doing your homework, studying, and sleeping, exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is left up to you. This has meant I have had to become a lot more responsible, but it is something that I definitely think is worth it.  As I am writing this, there is a Nepali sitting next to me with my Zimbabwean ‘brother’, having an
argument about marmite and vegemite (a very common debate here, may I add!) while Guillermo, my spanish ‘hermano major’, is fast asleep on the sofa opposite me. Jack, from Hong Kong is spinning around in a chair in front of me, trying to tell me about the law of conservation of angular momentum or something…
I hope you are having a lovely time in Kyoto as winter wraps its arms around you!

Lots of love,
Nina

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Fun at the Futsal Tournament

“We had a wonderful time in Kobe. The kids had a blast and demonstrated some great sportsmanship.

We cleaned up with all three teams making it to the finals. Two came in first place and the other came in second, so quite a successful day for KIS!”  ~ Mr Ammon (Gr4/5 teacher)

(Photo: One of our teams who played in the second annual Futsal Tournament hosted by Marist Brothers International School.)

The education at KIS

For many decades, the Kyoto International School was an association of parents and teachers, educating children in Kyoto city.  At times we have been referred to as being an American school, yet KIS is an International School.  We are also an IB World School.  So what exactly does that mean for the children being educated with us?  For our students this means they can depend on a high quality of education, where international-mindedness and communicating in at least two languages is part of our everyday life, as we inquire and make meaning of our world.

Through the ideas that our students inquire into, study skills are taught, critical thinking is encouraged, and meaningful action is explored and supported.  This allows our students to walk on a path in becoming independent learners, while also learning how to work in collaborative teams.  These life skills help prepare our students to transfer with greater ease into other educational systems around the world, and more importantly to hold them in good stead for what life may bring them beyond their school days.

Being authorized to run The Primary Years Program, one of the three programs offered by the IB, International Baccalaureate, means that students and teachers at KIS also know the benefits of being in a network of 3,083 IB World Schools in 139 countries.  www.ibo.org/

We welcome you to come visit us, here in Kyoto.

~ Annette Levy (Head of School)

Switching the spotlight on…

Hello Mrs Levy!
I haven’t visited in a while, I hope everyone is well.
I have some exciting news to share:
I have been selected by the NZ Government as one of three people to represent New Zealand for two years overseas at an United World College, on scholarship. These colleges are headed honorarily by Nelson Mandela, and bring together 200 students from over 80 diverse countries with the aim of fostering world understanding and peace. There are 13 of them worldwide in places like India, Costa Rica, and Norway. I will be attending a UWC in Hong Kong, crossroads of Asia. The curriculum taught is IB, and whilst half the time is spent on campus with a strong focus on school work, the other half is dedicated to community service, whether it be helping villages in mainland China, monitoring coral reefs, or going on goodwill trips to North Korea. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am very lucky to be part of it.  (http://www.uwc.org/)

I am sending this email to let you know that the time I spent at KIS played an important role  in both my inspiration and my selection. I first started KIS as a member of two cultures, and by the end of my three years there I had adopted many more. The multicultural aspect of KIS was fantastic – always interesting, always fun, and most importantly, always positive. Curiosity was encouraged, and my passion for global awareness and peace began to grow there. KIS had an amazing energy and optimism, and it allowed me to be inquisitive and grow my dreams in a safe, caring environment. Going to KIS was an awesome experience, and it lives with me to this day – so I would like to say a hearty “thank you”.

The little fledglings who came to KIS have started to spread their wings, and are taking the name of KIS all over the world!

Lots of love to you, Sasaki-san and Miss Sue and whoever else remembers me,

Nina Whittaker

(Photo above -  Ms Levy with Nina and Nina’s brother, Toby when they visited KIS, in April 2008.)