The Crane, 29 November 2019

29Nov 2019 by Damian Rentoule

Items:

  • Congratulations to Sora;
  • Amy & the Pope’s Visit;
  • Festive Eve – Wicked;
  • Koto Workshop;
  • Teacher/Parent/Student Volleyball;
  • AED Machine;
  • Water Bottle Filling Station;
  • New Building Update;
  • PTA Nominations.

Principal’s Message

Dear HIS Community

I hope you have all enjoyed your week. Just a reminder that we need a name written on all clothing that students wear to school, especially jumpers. Children take them off and leave them in all sorts of places as you can imagine. If they have names, they will find their way back. If not, they tend to gather in large, smelly piles in our lost property box. A simple name is a better option for all involved.

Festive Eve is coming together. It has been an amazing effort so far. Thank you to Elin, Amy & Yuta on the design team for this great visual. A busy day will be had at school on Sunday with a rehearsal. Thank you to all involved.

This week’s TED Talk looks at the power of images and a great, authentic service project in a community in the wake of a major disaster, this one in Japan 2011. All of our Diploma Program students are involved in a Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) and when thinking about ideas for service, are looking for ways not only to use their skills to contribute to the community but to make personal connections to others in the community. This is a great example of both.

Thank you very much for all of the parents who came in and created the wonderful Christmas decorations we can now see around HIS. They look very festive. We appreciate all of your support. Enjoy your weekend.

Best regards

Damian Rentoule

Crane Video

Congratulations to Sora

Sora (G7) was one of the top finalists in World Ballet Art Competition JAPAN 2019 and proceeded to the World Ballet Art Competition Grand-Prix Canadian Finals, Nov. 9,10 Toronto, Canada and won 12th place AWARD in Classical division, 13th place POTENTIAL AWARD in Contemporary division. Congratulations to Sora for this wonderful achievement which comes from a great deal of dedication and training for many years. Well done!

Amy & the Pope’s Visit

Well done to Amy (Gr11) who participated in the 4th Hiroshima Junior International Forum held in August 2019 by Hiroshima Prefectural Government. For 4 days, she discussed nuclear issues and peace with her fellow participants from many countries and helped formulate their peace resolution which was presented to the Hiroshima Governor on the final day. After this event, Amy received an invitation from the Prefectural Government to be part of the Forum student group to join the ceremony where the visiting Pope delivered his message on peace at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on November 24. Amy happily accepted it, attended the ceremony and sang the Hiroshima Peace Song when the Pope departed. It sounds like Amy has some more adventures ahead so we will hear about that in an upcoming Crane. Well done!

Festive Eve – Wicked

We are getting ready for the final countdown for Festive Eve. It is set to be a spectacular performance involving both Primary and Secondary and there have been countless hours of rehearsals, props, performances, costumes, lighting, chasing people, looking for lost things and the list goes on. Takako sensei has helped the students to develop their production skills year by year so the performance itself is a much greater learning experience that the actual production, although that is certainly part of it. We can’t wait!

Teacher/Parent/Student Volleyball

The HIS Girls’ and Boys’ Volleyball Teams would like to invite parents who are interested in playing a few recreational volleyball games on Friday, December 13. The fun begins at 1:20 in the gym. We hope that you can come and join us. This was great fun last year. All parents are invited. Volleyball skills are optional.

Koto Workshop

Just a reminder about the KotoWorkshop that will be held for our parents in January (20th & 23rd). This is a great opportunity. You don’t often get a chance to try these traditional Japanese musical instruments. Click the link above for details. Thank you to Yumi sensei for organizing this.

AED Machine

We have just received an AED machine (Automated Electronic Defibrillator) which will be mounted on the 1st Floor. We will be training all staff in its use and you will see it on our walls in the near future.

Water Bottle Filling Station

A water bottle filling station has arrived and will be installed near the 1st Floor toilets in place of one of the older water fountains. It is sensor activated so there is no need to press buttons which is handy. The water fountains are difficult to use for this purpose, especially for younger students so we are really looking forward to being able to fill our water bottles easily. The station has a digital counter that tracks how many water bottles have been filled which equates to how many single-use plastic bottles have not. This is also a very important part of the wider environmental context. Students are great with their water bottles so as adults, we should be following their lead.

New Building – update

Thank you to all of the members of our community who gave input into the new building plans. We have been continuing discussions with the Hebel Haus team and have been making some alterations based on the feedback. All is going well. We will finalize the plan soon and start the process of attaining building permits and making preparations for construction which we hope to start directly after the DP exams finish in May 2020. It is an exciting time for our community.

PTA Nominations

We are taking nominations for the PTA Planning Committee. There is a set minimum of 5 members and a maximum of 7 members. The Planning Committee meet together to help guide the PTA’s activities. If you would like to nominate yourself for a position on the PTA Planning Committee, please write your name below. One position is for Treasurer. Thank you. We appreciate your support.

PTAプランニング委員会への立候補を受け付けたいと思います。最低5名、最大7名まで任命が可能です。プランニング委員会はPTAの活動を推し進めるお手伝いをするために集まります。PTAプランニング委員会メンバーに立候補される方は、以下にお名前をご記入ください。現在、会計担当を募集中です。よろしくお願い致します。

The link to the nomination form can be found here. (It will be open until Tuesday, 3 December 2019)