News

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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09Dec 2016 by Damian Rentoule

Community Event – Hiroshima Shogyo Kouto High School – Commerce Fair 10/11 December, 2016

Community Events
Hiroshima Shogyo Kouto High School - Commerce Fair 10/11 December, 2016 Hiroshima Shogyo Kouto High School has invited HIS to their Commerce Fair. They are looking for non-Japanese speakers to provide some 'authentic' experiences selling goods in a more international setting. I met with the Principal last week and we talked about some ongoing connections between the schools that we would like to foster. They have a very strong club program and there may be a possibility that our HIS students could access some competitive training and games in our local community through this connection. We will invite their students to our HIS Festival and hope to build a strong relationship over the next few years. Sunday 11 December at 10:00am (Meet at Genkan) Hiroshima Shogyo Kouto High School, 6-7-11 Funairiminami, Naka-ku, Hiroshima…
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02Dec 2016 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 2 December 2016

The Crane
1. Principal's Message Dear HIS Families We were very fortunate this week to receive a visit from our new friends at Concordia College, Adelaide who have crossed the sea to bring their music to an array of audiences in Japan. You will see some images in this week's video. Thank you very much for a great show, where our students were introduced to a variety of instruments and inspired by the dedication of the performers. I would also like to thank the Tomita Family who graciously donated a range of items to HIS, including a bank of lockers, which our students will be able to use, as well as a large set of pipe-chairs and fold up tables, so we will no longer need to hire extras for large school events. Thank…
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02Dec 2016 by Damian Rentoule

Life at HIS: What’s my Lexile level?

Principal's Blog
Last week, I introduced the idea of a Lexile measure, which is the level of difficulty of a written text. A Lexile level for a student refers the level of difficulty they are ready for. Remember that this was the critical part in matching reader to text. If you would like to find out your child's Lexile level for yourself,  there is a great site called www.readtheory.org, which provides an excellent visual for tracking Lexile measures over time. If your child is in Secondary (MYP), they will have a log-in to the site already and will be able to share their scores with you. If you have an upper-primary child, you can sign up as a teacher and make a class for them. There is a pre-test and they can keep doing the exercises,  which…
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25Nov 2016 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 25 November 2016

The Crane
1. Principal's Message  校長からのメッセージ Dear HIS Families I hope you enjoyed the week. We were very proud of our HIS student tour-guides who showed visiting families around our school during the Open Campus on Wednesday. We received many comments on how confidently they presented and the level of detail that they were able to provide during the tour, providing a unique perspective into school life at HIS. Click here for the Life at HIS blog post - it's about 'reading'. Enjoy your weekend. Regards Damian Rentoule (Principal) 2. The Crane Video  (Translated) 3. Art Exhibition: Heiwa Kodomo Ten (Peace art exhibition)  へいわこども展 Heiwa Kodomo Ten is a collaborative art exhibition with Korean school, Jogakuin Girls' JH/SH, Sakuragaoka SH and HIS. It started last year and we will be once again participating…
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25Nov 2016 by Damian Rentoule

Life at HIS: Matching Reader to Text

Principal's Blog
Despite popular belief, schools are not magical places, particularly when it comes to learning in an additional language. However, from what I have seen in schools over the years, I am convinced that consistent reading at an appropriately challenging level may just well be a little bit of magic. Language development doesn't just happen - there needs to be consistent action and some of this needs to be happening at home.  At HIS, our students learn language, but they also learn through language and learn about language.  This is a lot of work and requires time and dedication from both the student and the family. The partnership between the school and the family is vital for language development as it will never be possible to just send a child to school and have them learn whatever…
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18Nov 2016 by Damian Rentoule

The Crane 18 November 2016

The Crane
1. Principal's Message Dear HIS Families We have been wondering how best to communicate information to our diverse HIS community and thought that you may be interested in the breakdown of languages that our families speak. As you can see, English-only and Japanese-only are significant groups and our English bilingual families is the largest, which may not be a surprise. We also have members of the community who speak neither Japanese nor English and others who speak Japanese and another language. A rich array. Navigating this linguistic diversity is one of the challenges of being part of an international school and it is excellent preparation for all of us, adults and children, in our futures as global citizens. Kind regards Damian Rentoule, Principal 2. The Crane Video 3. Festive Eve (Chitty Chitty…
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17Nov 2016 by Damian Rentoule

Community Event – Career Seminars for Students

Community Events
Hiroshima prefecture's International Centre has sent us the information/invitation for a career seminar, in Japanese. Date: Sat., 3rd December 2016 Speaker: Mihoko Kumamoto (Head of the UNITAR Hiroshima office) Theme: What does working for the United Nations mean? How to become a staff member of the United Nations Fee: Free Time: From 2:00pm till 4:00pm (Door opens at 1:30pm) Venue: Hiroshima International Center, Koryu Hall (Hiroshima Crystal bldg. 6F, 8-18 Naka-machi, Naka-ku) Capacity: 50 people for each seminar Deadline: Thurs., 1st December 2016 These seminars are for students but adults can also participate. Online sign up sheet for the seminar is here, https://goo.gl/KDmbZk. You can find the information for the seminars here http://hiroshima-ic.or.jp/2016/10/24/sekaino-shigoto/
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17Nov 2016 by Damian Rentoule

Presentation by Prof. Kajita, winner of Nobel prize for physics

Community Events
Open to anyone, but G10 or older would be recommended. The lecture will be held in Japanese but simultaneous interpretation will be available. Date and Time: Tuesday, 29th November, from 3:30pm till 5:00pm (Door opens at 3:00pm) Venue: Satake Memorial Hall, Hiroshima University (Higashi Hiroshima Campus, 1-2-2 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima) Speaker: Prof. Takaaki Kajita (Winner of Nobel Prize for Physics) Title: Discovery of Small Neutrino Masses Fee: Free Seating capacity: 1,000 - Reserve in advance using this form: http://appform.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/20161129/form.php Further Details: http://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/upload/0/news_events/2016nendo/20161129_Neutrino/20161129.pdf
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