Author: Damian Rentoule

ITEMS: HIS Student Crane; Congratulations to Ayaka; EAL Support; 24 Hour Race Fundraising Project; International Schools Assessment; PTA News Principal's Message A cool morning on Monday at HIS. Dear HIS Community I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing winter break. It is great to get back to school face-to-face even though the COVID situation remains unstable. Thank you to everyone for helping us out by following our Health Guidelines so carefully. We have to all make sure we remain focused on our procedures which can be a challenge as the situation drags on. Yet, we can do it. In this week's TED Talk, we have two great role-models for all of us discussing the challenges of sexist stereotypes and the ongoing gender-based barriers in work and leadership. Gender equality is…

ITEMS: Festive Eve Principal's Message Dear HIS Community Thank you to everyone involved in the Festive Eve performances. The show was a great success and this event is an invaluable experience for our students who work really independently on the production, more and more so as they get older. One of the most important parts of the event in my mind is the opportunity for our students to see older students taking these leading roles in the management, direction and support of the performance. As adults, it is very difficult for us to know the world as a child knows the world, however, we look to those around us to learn how to be and who to be. For our younger students to see the older role models taking such…

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: 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,…