The Crane, 30 October 2022

Welcome from James Steward

Dear HIS Community,

It has been an extremely busy week at HIS as the HIS Parent Wolfpack (We are the Wolves!) had been planning day and night for our Halloween Carnival! All of this intense planning came to an amazing fruition on Friday.

We started the proceedings off with a superb student led Costume Parade. The costumes were outstanding. The student MCs were tremendous. And finally, the Secondary class skits were amazing and incredibly funny. I was supremely impressed, and the entire audience was too! Students were offered treat bags when the assembly was complete. Then, it was onto the events of the evening planned by the ‘Wolfpack’.

The evening events began with a series of games in the gym, such as mummy wrapping, pumpkin bowling, Halloween tattoos and face painting, ping pong toss, and more. The Halloween Disco (DJ Fidel!) began at 18:00, along with the student created, and very popular, Haunted House, which scared me, and unsuspecting others, to no end!

The Trunk or Treat held in the playground was a fabulous success. Parents went all out to create an extravaganza of scary and creative arrangements. Scrumptious delights filled the students treats bags.

It is safe to say that everyone went home with smiles on their faces, bellies full of treats and scary memories to last another year!

Once again, our thanks to our amazing Parent Wolfpack and to the entire community for an outstanding effort.

Please read on for further information.

James Steward

HIS Principal

Board of Trustees (BOT) Guardian Positions

There are 5-7 places for Guardians on the Board of Trustees. We hold an election when a position opens due to a member’s 2-year term expiry, or if they leave the school. If a member’s term expires, the member continues in that role until the election is finalized. Currently, we are looking for nominations for 2 Guardian positions on the Board of Trustees. It is a voluntary position, and we are very grateful to all of our Board of Trustee members for their generous support of the school. If you are interested in nominating yourself for this 2-year voluntary position, please enter your name in the following nomination form. We will contact you to request a short written introduction.

As an example, Kelly Rose has served as a Guardian on the BOT these past years, and we would like to thank her for her continued service.

At present, we have two open Guardian (parent) positions for the BOT. If you would like to nominate yourself for one of these BOT Guardian places, please add your name on this form.

Also, for a short explanation regarding the difference between the BOD & the BOT, please click here.

The process is as follows:

Step 1: Principal announces the availability of positions in Crane and calls for nominations.

Step 2: A one week period is provided for collecting nominations.

If the number of nominated candidates is equal to or less than the available positions, no election will be held. The Principal will inform the Chair of the Board of Trustees once the one week nomination period is complete. If more nominations than available positions are received, the election will proceed.

Step 3: A paper ballot is posted to each HIS family, containing:

  • The number of open positions.
  • The list of nominated candidates.
  • A checkbox for support of each candidate.
  • Instructions to mark the checkbox of the candidates you support, up to the number of open positions. (e.g. If three positions are open, you can check up to 3 candidates.)

Step 4: A one week period is provided for the collection of ballots in the school office.

Step 5: Checks on ballots are counted. Candidates are ranked in order of total checks received. The highest ranked candidates fill the nominated positions.Step 6: The Principal supervises the process and informs the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the outcome. The Chair informs the successful candidates.

評議員会には、5~7名の保護者枠が設けられています。評議員には2年の任期が定められているため、任期が満了した場合や、お引越しなどで空席ができた時に選挙を行います。評議員の任期が切れた場合でも、後任の評議員が選任されるまでは、その職を引き続き行うことになっています。現在、評議員会では、この保護者枠に立候補して下さる方を2名募っています。

評議員は任意のポジションのため、評議員として学校をサポートして下さっているすべての皆さまに深く感謝しております。

このポジションへの立候補に興味のある方は、ノミネーションフォームにお名前をご入力下さい。その後、こちらからご連絡し、簡単な自己紹介文を提出して頂きます。

手順は以下のようになります。:

ステップ1:校長が、ニュースレターで定員の空き状況を報告し、立候補を募ります。

ステップ 2:候補者の募集期間は、1週間です。

候補者の人数が、募集人数以下の場合は、選挙は行われません。校長は、1週間の募集期間が終了し次第、評議会議長にその旨を報告します。もし立候補者が募集人数を超えた場合は、選挙 が行われます。

ステップ3:投票用紙を各ご家庭にお送りします。投票用紙の内容は以下の通りです。

・空席数

・立候補者氏名

・投票欄 (支持する方にチェックをする欄)

・投票方法 - 空席数の人数まで投票が可能

(例:3席空いている場合は3名まで投票が可能)

ステップ4:1週間以内に投票用紙をオフィスにご提出ください。

ステップ5:投票用紙上のチェックを数え、チェックの数が多い候補者から評議員に任命されます。ステップ6:校長がこの選挙プロセスを監督し、評議員会議長に結果を伝え、議長は候補者に評議員に選出されたことを伝えます。

HIS Faces in the News! (Picture Gallery)

Click here to see our weekly selection of photos from across HIS.

From the HIS Parents Wolfpack (PTA) 

◆ The Halloween Carnival

The Halloween Parade was held on October 28th (Friday) in the gym during the last period, and we took videos for each class (Thank you, Ms Miho Kando!), so we made an album on Google Photos and shared it with everyone. Feel free to download it if you would like a copy

 ➡︎Link: HIS Halloween Costume Parade 2022

After the Halloween Parade ended, we gave each of the students a bag of sweets from everyone’s cooperation in donating and packing. We hope some of them made it home!

After school, the smaller children were looked after by a team made up of members of the secondary volleyball club the Crane Club and the Peace Ride team. The Spooky Night’s Carnival then began. The main attraction was Trunk or Treat with many eerily and sometimes cutely decorated cars. We also had Halloween theme games, dancing on stage with mirror balls, a Haunted House created by secondary volunteers, etc… The faces of the children who were dressed up in costumes were glowing (a little spookily), which made us feel very happy. We are very grateful we could hold the carnival successfully with the support of so many people. Thank you very much for your participation and cooperation whether helping out or by donations.

Bonfire Night

Next Friday, November 4th, at 17:15, we will hold our annual Bonfire Night. This year we will return to the traditional method of cooking and serving hot food. We have completed the necessary notifications to the public health centre and will prepare and carry out the event with attention to hygiene.

The participation fee is 1000 yen for all ages 3 and over.

As with the Halloween Carnival, children in grade 8 and under must be accompanied by a parent (or a responsible adult on behalf of a parent). Only students of grade 9 and above can participate on their own. As usual, we will provide some tables and chairs, but you are also welcome to bring your own mini table, picnic chair, mini lantern, etc.

In order to hold this event, we need the help of parents to help with cooking, from Wednesday to the day (including the Nov 3rd holiday). There will be a lively atmosphere in the kitchen and we always have fun cooking together.

Please let us know how you can help, as detailed in the Bonfire Night registration form that Mr Barker emailed the other day. The amount of ingredients to order will change depending on the number of participants, so please complete your application as soon as possible. The form will close at 13:00 on Monday.

 ➡︎Link: Bonfire Night Sign-up Form

Parking

As with the Halloween event, we will rent a parking lot for 25 cars from the Atomic Bomb Nursing Home Nozomi-en. There will also be some parking spaces on the school grounds. There will be a lottery because the total number of parking spaces is limited. Please apply early. Please avoid parking on the street as it may cause inconvenience to our neighbours.

Only the front section is rented at Nozomi-en’s parking lot (the part surrounded by the yellow frame in the photo). The driveway is hatched in black – do not park there as it is the access for the rest of the parking for the home staff. Please check the link below. 

Parking helpers will be present but leave before the 18:00 Bonfire lighting time.

➡︎Link: Where to park at Nozomi En

Child Care

Please note that the event begins at 17:15. Students below grade 9 must apply for child care if they will remain at school. Otherwise, they must go home as normal, and return to the event with their parents. Please donate at least  ¥500 per family for the child care service. Your donation will be given to the Child Care Team, which consists of the Volleyball Club, the Crane Club and the Peace Ride Club, to support the purchase of equipment necessary for the operation of each club.

The Participation for the Secondary Students in G9 and above

As mentioned above, secondary Students in G9 upwards can participate in the event without their parents on site, but they still need to get permission from Mr Steward for safety reasons. Mr Steward will send out the permission form to the students, but please remember to apply through the family sign-up form as well. 

Rush hour traffic

Driving from the centre in the evening overlaps with the rush hour, and the bus lane system is also effective, so considerable traffic congestion is expected. Please be careful not to be late for the start of the event by allowing enough time.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend and enjoying the autumn sunshine.

From the HPW (The HIS Parent Wolfpack)