Student Leadership, Service, and School Spirit at HIS
The Crane Club is our student leadership and service group committed to strengthening community life at Hiroshima International School. Members help shape events, welcome new students and families, and model the PEACE values that guide our school. The club gives students a chance to take initiative, work with others, and make a meaningful contribution to daily life at HIS.
Every year, Hiroshima International School receives thousands of paper cranes from schools, organizations, and individuals worldwide. Our club takes these cranes to the Peace Memorial Park and hangs them at the Children’s (Sadako) Monument on behalf of the senders. It is with pride that we make these small contributions to peace.
Why It Matters
The club gives students real opportunities to practice agency, collaboration, and responsible citizenship. It helps build a warm, connected school community where everyone feels seen and supported. Crane Club members learn how to plan, communicate, solve problems, and lead with integrity.
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Who Can Join
The Crane Club is open to students in the Secondary School who want to contribute positively to HIS. Members should be enthusiastic, reliable, and ready to work as part of a team. Leadership roles within the club are offered each year.
Our Symbol
The crane is a powerful symbol of peace in Hiroshima. As members of the Crane Club, students carry this symbolism forward by helping create a welcoming, safe, and positive environment for everyone in our community.
We invite your school to take part in this activity!
Read Sadako and The Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr. And create your own project to petition for world peace!
Send your folded cranes to HIS! We will deliver your cranes to the Peace Memorial Park at Sadako’s monument. Your name will be added to the official database and the Peace Park will send you an official letter of thanks.
Students can apply at the beginning of each semester. Meetings are held regularly to plan events and support ongoing projects. Announcements about application openings are shared in assemblies and on the student bulletin.
Students in the Crane Club take on a range of leadership and service roles, including:
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Supporting whole-school events such as Festive Eve, assemblies, Open House, and Spirit Days.
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Welcoming new students and helping them settle into school life.
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Assisting with community activities, parent coffees, and special celebrations.
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Leading projects that promote kindness, inclusion, and student voice.
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Sharing ideas with school leadership about how to make HIS an even better place to learn and grow.
The Thousand Crane Club was organized by Dr. Walter Enloe (former HIS principal), and Steve Leeper (Co-director of Hiroshima Center for Global Education) on October 25th, 1985.
The idea of this club originated during an HIS summer school class. The children and teachers were talking about Hiroshima and were discussing their feelings about war and peace, friendship, and nuclear weapons. The summer school students had been sent cranes folded out of paper from children in America and Canada, hoping that the students at HIS would place them at The Children’s Peace Monument which is located in Hiroshima Peace Park. The Canadian and American children, like the summer school students, had read and discussed the story of “Sadako” (a girl in Hiroshima who died of leukemia as a result of atomic radiation, to which The Children’s Peace Monument is dedicated – (see next article). The summer school students decided to string together all the cranes they had received together with their own cranes. They then took the cranes to be placed at the Children’s Peace Monument.
The summer school students talked about what they could do to build the same kind of friendships and understanding, that was evident at their school in Hiroshima, among children all over the world. Their idea was to begin a Thousand Crane Club so that students everywhere could work together on a common project that would help to promote peace and understanding around the world. Through the Thousand Crane Club they hoped to encourage children the world over to fold 1000 paper cranes as a way of promoting peace and making friends.
In 1995, the 50th anniversary of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, the HIS Student Council decided to take over the running of the Thousand Crane Club as a service activity.
During the 2005-6 school year, the 60th anniversary of the bombing, a group of High School students formed the first HIS Peace Mission, visiting Canada to give presentations to schools on Hiroshima’s message to the world.
In 2015, the 70th anniversary of the bombing, a group of High School students and teachers cycled the 450 km between the Peace Parks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the first Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Ride.