News

03Feb 2017 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 3 February 2017

The Crane
1. Principal's Message Dear HIS Families I hope you enjoyed your week. If you are reading this, I would like to say, thank you. The Crane is our main form of communication with HIS families. I have been told on many occasions that 'people don't read the Crane' and although this is an issue in many schools, I would ask you to help us out by encouraging others to follow your good example and take the time to look over this newsletter one a week. Thank you. I am in Hong Kong this weekend delivering an IB workshop on creating inclusive classrooms to a group of teachers from a range of countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The IB has a great system of bringing teachers together for ongoing professional development…
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27Jan 2017 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 27 January 2017

The Crane
1. Principal's Message Dear HIS Families Student reports are going home today, so it is a great time to sit down with your child and discuss their learning journey. Please see the messages below about some parent workshops we are holding at HIS on February 11.  Also thanks to the PTA who are working hard to prepare for the HIS Festival. Enjoy your weekend. Regards Damian Rentoule (Principal) 2. The Crane Video 3. February 11 - Open House Student Tour-Guides (10:00am-12:00pm) On February 11, we have an Open House event from 10:00am-12-pm for families considering joining us here at HIS. On this day, we need some help from our students as tour guides. Our visitors were really impressed by our students last time we did this in November. If your…
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21Jan 2017 by Damian Rentoule

HPI Public Lecture Series in English – January 27

Community Events
HPI Public Lecture Series in English The 2nd HPI Public Lecture Series in English In January 2017, the Hiroshima Peace Institute (HPI) will hold its second Public Lecture Series in English at the HCU Satellite Campus. In this program our lecturers will present a series of talks in English, focusing on intriguing topics in their fields of expertise. All lectures are free and open to the public. The 4 weekly lectures will begin on Friday, 27th January 2017 at 6 p.m. at the Satellite Campus. We hope this program will provide a good opportunity not only to  learn and develop your English ability but also to facilitate your interest in critical global topics. Come & join us! Lecture 1 Date & Time: January 27, 2017, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Topic: "Domesticating Hiroshima in…
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20Jan 2017 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 20 January 2017

The Crane
1. Principal's Message Dear HIS Families I hope you enjoyed the week, even after a snowy start. It sounds just right for the PTAs Ski Trip on February 18, which will be lots of fun. Please see the information in the PTA section below. In this week's Crane video, there are some comments from our students about the HIS community. I would like to thank the students involved for helping out and we are planning to make a series of these related to life at HIS. This was a great start and over time we should get better at making them. See you next week. Kind regards Damian Rentoule 2. The Crane Video In this week's Crane Video, some thoughts from our students on the HIS community and some messages for…
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14Jan 2017 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 13 January 2017

The Crane
1. Principal's Message Dear HIS Families I hope you enjoyed the winter holidays. We have been hearing lots of stories of your various adventures. It is good to see everyone back safe. We have a busy semester coming up and hope to see you all at our school events. Thanks to everyone who came to our Friday evening MYP workshop at Tully's. It was great to see you all. Kind regards Damian Rentoule (Principal) The Crane Video 2. Snow Days (School closure decisions and notification) Snow falls may result in the closure of school due to hazardous road conditions and the heavy traffic congestion caused by these conditions. The early morning period when families and the buses are traveling to school is generally the time of greatest concern. In the…
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29Dec 2016 by Damian Rentoule

Life at HIS: How does the IB impact learners?

Principal's Blog
[caption id="attachment_807" align="alignleft" width="300"] Our students - making a difference in the world.[/caption] The question of choice for parents in an educational context is centered on the question of how we want our children to relate to the wider world. I have two children who passed through three of the IB programs and I would like to relate an experience which was my very first exposure to the possibilities inherent in an IB education. I was teaching in Brunei Darussalam at a public secondary school and my daughters attended the International School of Brunei (ISB) which had the IB’s Primary Years Program (PYP). My younger daughter, four-years-old at the time, was in Kindergarten. Time came for a student-led-conference and I attended like the dutiful father I was hoping to be.…
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17Dec 2016 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 16 December 2016

The Crane
1. Principal's Message Dear HIS Families Congratulations to everyone involved in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was a great performance and you can see some of the lead-up in this week's video. Special thanks to Takako Tokunaga, Jason Underwood and Jackie Ikegami who worked tirelessly behind the scenes with the students. In the photos below, you may even be able to spot a couple of our wonderful HIS graduates who returned to the stage. Finally, we farewell Sina (G4) and the Heineck family. It has been great having you as part of our HIS community and we all hope you enjoy your next grand adventure. Enjoy the weekend. Regards Damian Rentoule (Principal)      2. The Crane Video 3. Hiroshima Association for UNICEF Thank you to Kazumi Takata from Hiroshima Association for UNICEF…
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09Dec 2016 by Damian Rentoule

Life at HIS: Using the language of you’re learning

Principal's Blog
When we come to school, we only have a very limited time to interact in the language of our learning. At HIS, the language of instruction is English, except for our Japanese language classes. At school, we need to use the language of instruction - an important choice for language learners (which is everyone). In our units of inquiry, we are all learning through language. For example, if we are learning about optical art, we use English to develop our understandings of this type of art form, including its specific academic language such as the related vocabulary. English is also used to demonstrate our understanding in assessment tasks. For this reason, we need to use English in the classroom during the learning process. If we don't, academic language proficiency will not…
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