Author: Damian Rentoule

Items: Festive Eve Performances; Peace Events over Winter; Wall Art for Fundraising Project; PTA News. Principal's Message Dear HIS Community As we move into the cooler weather, we see the number of COVID cases across Japan and also in Hiroshima increasing. I would like to remind everyone of our Health Procedures. HIS Health Guidelines - August 2020 (1)Download Health-Observation-Form-健康観察カードDownload So far, everyone has been great, filling out their health observation forms every day, wearing their masks properly, maintaining social distancing as much as is possible in a school environment, washing hands and using hand sanitiser regularly during the day. Let's keep this up! For this week's TED Talk, I thought I would add a very interesting one from Andri Snær Magnason about glacial melt which serves as a further reminder…

ITEMS: Images from Hiroshima Peace Park, Human Festa; Festive Eve; Events update - Primary & Secondary camps, Sports Day; PTA News Principal's Message Dear HIS Community Thank you to all of the PYP parents who came in or joined us on Zoom for the PYP Parent Workshop looking at the Learner Profile and the Approaches to Learning. It does not matter what IB program your child is in, the broad range of attributes in the IB learner profile is a central part of your child's experience at HIS. Here are a few more thoughts: https://youtu.be/X4Yx-C2CmvA The IB learner profile is a broader range of attributes compared to what we may have experienced as a focus in our own schooling. Regarding Festive Eve, please remember that today is the last day…

ITEMS: Festive Eve tickets; Video Games (Appropriateness of content); PTA News. Principal's Message Dear HIS Community As we move into the winter months, we have to make sure we all maintain our caution related to COVID19. We are seeing a growing number of cases across Japan. We have a set of Health Guidelines in place which we have to keep going back to and refreshing our memories. These guidelines have been working well for us and we want to stay on track. HIS Health Guidelines Download Health-Observation-Form-健康観察カードDownload While we are being safe in terms of our physical health, we also need to maintain an inclusive environment where we feel safe and secure in our wonderfully diverse, individual identities. Part of creating this environment is taking care of our language use,…

ITEMS: Festive Eve seating; Student book trailer contest; Donations for the new building and beyond; PYP parent information session; 24 Hour Race information; Bento orders; and PTA News. Principal's Message Dear HIS Community This week, I would like to share the report put together by Ms Sasha, Diploma Program (DP) Coordinator, related to our Diploma Program results from the Class of 2020. Diploma Program Coordinator Report - November-2020Download We were very proud of all of our students who not only did very well academically but were also great role models for our younger students in the way they lived their day-to-day lives at school. They were risk-takers and inquirers. Thinkers and caring learners. Reflective and open-minded. Great communicators and knowledgable. They were also principled and balanced. These ten attributes (our…

ITEMS: BOT Meeting; IB Graduates & Universities; PTA News. Principal's Message Dear HIS Community I hope you have all enjoyed the week. The Peace Ride was successful with all of the riders confronting the challenge with an adventurous spirit and learning a bit more about themselves in the process. Well done to the Peace Ride team. This week's TED Talk is about biodiversity which is an essential part of sustainable ecosystems, a subject very close to our heart here at HIS. I hope you enjoy your weekend. Kind regards Damian Rentoule https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_crowther_the_global_movement_to_restore_nature_s_biodiversity?https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_crowther_the_global_movement_to_restore_nature_s_biodiversity?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare Crane Video https://youtu.be/K96lq8iUEHE Board of Trustees Meeting - Monday We have the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday evening so thank you to everyone in the HIS community involved in this important work. IB Graduates and Universities I…

ITEMS: Joe's (Gr12) Letter to the Editor; Ayaka's Music Award; MYP/DP Open Day; Festive Eve update. Principal's Message We have a HIS Board of Trustees (BOT) coming up on Monday 9th November 2020. Thank you to everyone who is involved in this important team who helps to support HIS. The BOT is made up of a range of members of the HIS community including parents, teachers, members of the Board of Directors, and other community members with an interest in supporting HIS. I received some questions from parent members on the BOT regarding the English and Math levels of our Primary Years Program (PYP) students. It was requested that I address these questions at the upcoming Board of Trustees meeting, however, all of your children are involved in the development…

ITEMS: Piano Performance by Jundai; Board of Trustees Guardian Election; HIS Sign; PTA News. We have a roof, walls, floors and windows. Nearly there! At least for the outside. Principal's Message Dear HIS Community It was great to see all of our families at HIS today for the Student-Teacher-Parent Conferences today. The three-way partnership between the student, the home and the school is extremely important. Also, please remember that you can contact your teachers at any time during the year. The more communication we have, the better we are all able to support your child's learning. As we move into our one-week break, I would like to emphasise two points which may well form the most powerful influences on your child's academic performance at school that you, as a parent,…

ITEMS: Secondary Event in Peace Park; Congratulations to Jundai; Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences; PTA. Coming along... Principal's Message Dear HIS Community We had a busy week with the visiting team from the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the International Baccalaureate (IB). At the end of the virtual visit, we were provided an initial summary, in draft form, of major commendations (what they thought we were doing very well) and recommendations (areas needing improvement). The self-study and the evaluation visit are based on comprehensive sets of standards addressing all aspects of school life. The final report will highlight all of the commendations and recommendation and this will be shared with the school community. All of the recommendations are incorporated into PYP, MYP, DP or whole school action plans so we can use…

ITEMS: Parent Meeting with Visiting CIS/IB Team; HIS Crane Club Representatives meet Hiroshima's Mayor Mr. Matsui; Peace Ride Training; PTA News. Principal's Message Dear HIS Community I would like to remind everyone of our HIS Health Guidelines related to the COVID19 pandemic. The reality is that the situation is as serious as it was when Japanese schools, including HIS, closed our campus last year. In the graph below, you can see the Hiroshima active cases as reported on the Hiroshima Prefecture COVID new infection information webpage. School closures were happening during that first spike in cases during April. You can see the months running along the very bottom of the graph. The message is that we need to maintain a reasonable sense of urgency and we can do this by…

Items: Parent/Teacher Conferences; Secondary Peace Day; PTA News Principal's Message Dear HIS Community I would like to thank our graduates who came to HIS on Thursday to speak with our secondary students. Our graduates are outstanding role models for our students and I am very proud to have such wonderfully kind-hearted students as alumni. You spoke very well and had some great advice for your listeners. All has been going well with Ato and Mizuki who have settled in well and are continuing to work hard eating through all the undergrowth as the new building rapidly goes up on the other side of the fence. This week's TED Talk is by Xiye Bastida who has been taking action for our environment and is an inspiration for us all. I hope…