The Crane 28 April 2017

28Apr 2017 by Damian Rentoule

1. Principal’s Message

Dear HIS Families

Our Grade 12 students begin their DP exams on Monday. It is always the start of May, so starts during Golden Week. All IB schools around the world do each exam on the same day and we have strict procedures to follow, including the maintenance of a relatively quiet space. For this reason, we will be asking everyone, at certain times, to keep the genkan a relatively quiet space. Signs will be posted. Thanks. I would like to wish the Grade 12 students all the best. It is a tough journey during these last couple of years, but all worth it in the end.

Also, the newspaper Wendy came and interviewed me a couple of weeks ago and here is a link to the article that ran this week in Wendy. It includes a few thoughts on international education. Enjoy your weekend.

Kind regards

Damian Rentoule (Principal)

2. Crane Video

3. Grade 5 Exhibition Video

Our Grade 4/5 Classes are getting ready for their PYP Exhibition. Here is a promotional video that they put together.

4. HIS Summer Program

We will be offering a summer program at HIS for three weeks over summer, similar to the program over the spring break. The program is for any PYP students and the dates are as follows:

  • Week 1 – July 24-28
  • Week 2 – July 31 – August 4
  • Week 3 – August 7-11

A sign-up form will go out in the Crane after Golden Week, so keep an eye out for that.

5. Creativity, Activity, Service CAS) Project

As a CAS project, us, Linda and Akari from 12th grade are raising awareness of animal cruelty and adoption. We have visited the animal shelter in Nakaku, Hiroshima and directly saw the pitiful environment the animals are kept. The employees there have told us that what we could do is to spread awareness and information regarding the situation. Thus, we will be posting some information regarding the animals that need owners. You can find it at this link.

6. What is IBEN?

During the PYP parent self-study meeting this week, a question came up related to our contributions to the wider IB community. One of the ways we contribute, as a school, to the global IB community is through the IB Educator Network (IBEN) and IB Examinations. Outstanding IB teachers are identified and trained by the IB to lead teacher  training within the IB and take on other roles of responsibility, such as examining for the DP, consulting for schools and taking part in authorisation visits. These roles include:

  • Workshop Leader – Trains IB teachers at regional workshops in the Asia Pacific region.
  • School Visit Team Member – Participates in IB teams visiting schools for authorisation and subsequent verification visits.
  • School Visit Team Leader – Leads the IB School Visit.
  • Consultant – Supporting IB schools who are working through the authorisation process.
  • Program Field Representative – Supports IB regional workshops with quality assurance by supervising workshops
  • DP Examiner – Marks exam papers for the DP exams, receiving exam papers from all over the world.
  • DP Senior Examiner – Leads teams of Examiners and moderates marking.

The number of teachers at HIS having active roles in IBEN and Examinations, as well as  the wide variety of roles (including all of these listed above) is extremely impressive.

  1. Jessica Pechhold – DP School Visit Team Member, DP Senior Examiner
  2. Clare Barnfather – PYP Workshop Leader, PYP School Visit Team Leader, PYP Consultant
  3. Damian Rentoule – MYP/Continuum Workshop Leader, MYP/DP Program Field Representative, DP Examiner
  4. Takako Tokunaga – DP Workshop Leader
  5. Mika Kiriake – DP Workshop Leader
  6. Ayako Kurokawa – DP Workshop Leader, DP Examiner, DP School Visit Team Member, DP Visual Arts and CAS Guide Translation Moderator
  7. Nigel Barker – DP Senior Examiner
  8. Stirling Perry – DP Examiner
  9. Jason Underwood – DP Examiner
  10. Christina Hyde – DP Examiner
  11. Annie Levasseur – DP Examiner

One of our responsibilities as an IB World School is to contribute to the wider IB community and this is one way we do this. It is also a great way for our teachers to keep abreast of new developments and share expertise with teachers from all over the world.

7. Procedures when Withdrawing from School

If your family is moving away or for some other reason you will not be with us next year, please contact Sayaka Hirata shirata@hiroshima-is.ac.jp  as we have a withdrawal form that lets us take care of certain procedures that will ensure you can get required documentation in a timely manner. Thank you for helping us out with this.

(Translated)

8. PTA News

News from the PTA (28 April 2017) (日本語は以下にあります)

  1. Post-HIS Festival Party

We will have a Post-HIS Festival Party. You don’t need any booking. Just come and enjoy!

Date: Saturday 29 April. 18:00 onwards
Venue: KeMB’s, 2nd floor, 2-9-13. Otemachi
Tel:     0505834522

We will not book a table. Please pay for your own food.

  1. Kagura Tour (May 21, Sunday)

As noted in the Information Sheet regarding the Kagura tour (sent home with students last week), the deadline for registering is May 10.  It will be enjoyable for all ages, including young children, so please join us!  As we will be entering the Golden Week holidays, please write to the PTA by email if you would like to join or have any questions.

  1. Voting for the Board of Trustees

Your child will bring home a ballot sheet with information about the BOT vote.  The deadline for submitting your ballot is May 11.  Please put your ballot (without your name) in a sealed envelope and submit to the HIS Office.

  1. PTA Meeting (26 April)

The minutes of the PTA meeting held on Wednesday 26 April are being prepared.  They will be uploaded on the PTA webpage shortly.

We are still finalizing the accounts for the HIS Festival,and will share the results with you after Golden Week.

①フェスティバルの打ち上げをします！

事前に参加不参加の申し出は不要です。
どうぞお気軽に参加くださいませ(^^)

日にち 4月29日（土曜日）
18時より
場所 KeMBY’s 2階
大手町2-9-13
TEL0505834522

食事の予約などはしません。
支払いは各個人でお願いします。

②神楽ツアーの申込期限が５月１０日となっております。小さなお子様も十分楽しめますよ。

連休に入るため、希望の方はＰＴＡにメールをお願いします。

③ＢＯＴの投票用紙がお子さんのホルダーに入っていると思います。

提出期限は５月１１日です。無記名のまま、お手持ちの封筒に入れ、封をしてください。

④４月２６日に行われたＰＴＡミーティングの議事録はでき次第、ＰＴＡのＨＰへ

アップします。　しばらくお待ちください。

またフェスティバルの収支報告もしばらく時間をください。ゴールデンウィーク明け頃にはご報告できると思います。

9. Japanese Outline Video

10. G2-5 Choir Peace Music Concert in the Peace Park 平和発信コンサート参加のご案内 

  • Saturday 27 May

Hiroshima Prefecture has invited the HIS Choir to perform at an annual Peace Music Concert held in the Peace Park in front of the A-bomb Dome.  HIS Choir will be presenting two pieces from the Spring Concert program; Heiwa Kun Kun, an original piece written by HIS students, and G.F. Handel’s renowned aria Ombra mai fu [Never was a shade].

A letter at the following link will be sent home to Grades 2-5 with information about the event:  PeaceMusicConcert2017.docx

Additional information from Hiroshima Prefecture: 290424平成２９年度平和発信コンサート（案）

11. PYP Parent Representative Meeting @ Tully’s, Aeon Fuchu Tuesday 25th April 2017

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Thank you to all the parents who attended the meeting this week to share feedback on Standards A and C4 for our PYP self-study.  Your participation in our self-study is invaluable and greatly appreciated in this evaluation process and enables us to reflect on our practice from multiple perspectives.
It is also a wonderful opportunity to communicate and share how the school is progressing and meeting the PYP standards and practices outlined by the IB to continue to be accredited as an IB World School whilst simultaneously enabling us to consider how best we can meet parent needs.
We will again be meeting next semester to continue this dialogue and hope more parents can join us in the next upcoming events.  Details of meetings will be shared in September 2017.
Finally we are also developing an online survey to be sent out in the near future to extend opportunities for all parents to share their views on how the PYP at HIS is nurturing students to become curious, life-long learners.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me: cbarnfather@hiroshima-is.ac.jp.
Ms. B

PYP Coordinator