In this issue
Principal's Message
Dear Middle School Parents,
Well, holidays are here and I would imagine students, families and teachers are more than ready for a break after what has been a busy semester. Busy schools are good schools! As I reflect on the semester, the other word I think that sums up our school is community. Just recently, in the space of just a couple of days, I saw teachers working out in the gym on the weekend, middle and high school basketballers training, skateboarders swooping around the playground, the high school play with teachers, students and parents all present, a Tanner Ensemble performance, the van der Poel Christmas party and our middle school Community Service team working down at a homeless shelter in Kotobuki-cho. These activities are the real strength of our school and offer a fantastic experience for our students. Thanks for your ongoing support and enjoy your break, wherever you go.
Sincerely,
John Snowball
Middle School Principal
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Announcements and Upcoming Events
Reports
With the new assessment and reporting system in full swing this year, parents will notice a different format. Folios have been sent home with summative assessments for parents to see and after the break teachers will begin writing semester reports. The main differences from last year will be:
- the use of criteria in all subject areas
- the awarding of levels of achievement for all criteria assessed. These will largely be in line with the MYP levels - eg. out of 6, 8 , 10, rather than a global A to E.
- narrative comments on strengths demonstrated by work submitted
- goals set to identify areas that need more work
We believe that with the combination of folios and the more informative written reports, there will be greater dialogue between students, parents and teachers. We will be seeking feedback from parents on the new format after the reports are sent out on January 26.
The IB Middle Years Programme at YIS
 As we prepare for next year's grade 6 to be the first at YIS to undertake the IB Middle Years Programme at YIS, we are going to include in this newsletter a series of short guides to help parents understand important aspects of the programme. For this edition we are starting with an overview of the programme and a closer look at one of the fundamental concepts, "holistic learning".
What is the IB MYP Years programme?
The IB Middle Years Programme, for students aged 11 to 16, provides a framework of academic challenge that encourages students to embrace and understand the connections between traditional subjects and the real world, and become critical and reflective thinkers.
The programme consists of eight subject groups integrated through five areas of interaction that provide a framework for learning within and across the subjects. Students are required to study their mother tongue, a second language, humanities, sciences, mathematics, arts, physical education and technology. In the final year of the programme, students also engage in a personal project, which allows them to demonstrate the understandings and skills they have developed throughout the programme.
The fundamental concepts of the MYP
The overall philosophy of the programme is expressed through three fundamental concepts that support and strengthen all areas of the curriculum. These concepts are based on intercultural awareness, communication and holistic learning.
What does holistic learning mean and how will this impact on the students' experience of the curriculum at YIS?
Holistic learning represents the notion that all knowledge is interrelated and that to properly understand real world problems students need to bring insights from a variety of disciplines or subjects. In practical terms this means that the MYP units of study our teachers design will be framed by questions that encourage the students to think about real world contexts for their learning.
These questions will help to guide the students’ inquiry in their subjects and help them to make connections across their subjects. Normally the students units of study will be within a single subject however the framework does also support an interdisciplinary approach. Teachers from two or more different subject areas may decide to plan a unit of study together when there is a strong and powerful connection between the subjects. In these combined units the student's work is still assessed using the subject specific assessment criteria but the context for the unit is shared. The MYP areas of interaction support this holistic approach, providing the contexts for the students to link their learning to the real world.
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News
Community Service
As usual, the team has been busy. As I wrote in last month’s newsletter, a group of CS team members went to the shelter in Kotobuki-cho to help prepare the lunches for up to 900 homeless and unemployed people from the area. It was heartening to see our students working closely with other members of the Yokohama community with such a positive attitude.
The big project for the term just finished was the van der Poel orphanage work, culminating in the annual Christmas Party. The grade 7s have continued their involvement with this as their major focus. Ms Leatham’s 7C also ran a “Pre-Loved “ (or Trash & Treasure!) stall with the proceeds of Y15,000 going to van der Poel.
I have included the report from the organisers Sylvie Maeda & Steve Hooker
 Thanks to the response of the entire YIS community, this year’s Orphanage Christmas party could take place successfully on December 5th. Prior to the event, the fundraising campaign was very well supported and a total of 276,545 yen was collected before the party. Mrs. Negishi, both vice president of the YIWC (Yokohama International Women’s Club) and the Christmas Party chairperson came to the school on December 3rd to receive the donations that were collected up until that time. Our thanks go to all those who helped with the money collection and most of all we are extremely grateful to everyone who contributed so generously.
The money was used to buy stocking fillers for the children of two homes: Kofu Kodomoen and Kodomonosono in Chigasaki and the remainder has been set aside to go towards the purchase of the much needed replacement of a van at one of the participating children’s homes.
We are also very proud of the Van der Poel group of middle school and high school students. This year, the group made up of over 30 students was also supported by the Peer Helpers in grades 4 and 5 led by Ms. Kumamoto and altogether they demonstrated outstanding commitment from beginning to end. They were all determined to ensure the event would be enjoyable for the children and to that end they were all involved in the purchase of the stocking fillers, the wrapping of presents and the decorations that transformed our YIS cafeteria into a festive setting for the party.
 Throughout the day the smiles from the children in response to our students' help with the food and games made it obvious that their effort had paid off. The children received a warm welcome, and at the end of the day our students sent them off knowing that they can meet up again at the spring events sponsored by the YIWC. This year’s Christmas party was a wonderful day where different parts of the community could get together for the enjoyment of all. Lastly, our thanks also go to Ms.Gadsby and our photographer Mr. Rayne.
Sylvie Maeda, Steven Hooker
Van der Poel Community Service Supervisors
BTG
Our annual Bridging the Gap was one with a difference this year. With a theme of 21st century learning, the event featured a “Barcamp” format, with presentations from a sizeable number of our teachers. In addition, this year we had student helpers from the middle school Tech Team, under the supervision of Ms Christine Usyak and Mr Colin Campbell. Ms Usyak has provided the following report, plus the link where you can see photos of our students at work. Once again, I would reiterate my earlier comment on the community aspect of YIS.
The Student Tech Team members were invited to Bridging the Gap 2009 and helped on the final day. The event was called BarCamp, an internationally recognized conference structure. Special thanks to the following students for their time before and during the conference. From Grade 6: Andreas Bager, Kaden Cowan, Jun Lee, Takumi Weegels, Bernard Yoshinami-Hitachi. From Grade 7: John Carroll , Tomoka Manji, Melanie Nakamura, Waltteri Niemi, Alexander Whiting and Seira Yamaguchi. From Grade 8: Matthew Sato. From Grade 10: Gen Ohta. Thank you to YIS for the venue, Cezar's Kitchen for lunch, and Mr. Snowball for supporting the Tech Team. It was a special day that brought the community together and the Tech Team's presence made a big difference. Thanks Tech Team! Mr. Campbell & Ms. Christine.
Link - http://animoto.com/play/OyPs2bOkJxgumDg0Aan50Q
Music ? Winter concert
While this is essentially a high school concert, this year’s event featured several middle schoolers ? Kharim Barthson, Samuel Chen, Andrew Pommersheim and Brendan Delaney in the Jazz Band. The Jazz Band will be performing again at the Kanto Plain Jazz Festival, which will take place February 3 at Zama. Adam Davidson and Kenji Tanoto played a guitar piece and three boys, Matthew Sato, Kento Watanabe and Sunbird Tsai featured in the Percussion Ensemble. Well done to all.
The Renaissance Man
 In November we had special guest Ed Durbrow who came to YIS to share his knowledge about Renaissance and Baroque music. Mr. Durbrow performed on his lute and Baroque guitar and led an insightful exchange between grade 8 HKC students (currently studying the Renaissance) in the morning before answering more questions from the grade 11 and 12 IB Music students in the afternoon. He even found time to play a short concert for the grade 7 music students. This is the third time Mr. Durbrow has shared his talents and knowledge with the YIS students and it was made possible by the PTSA and their generous grant to pay for guest artists. Thank you to all of the PTSA members.
Mr. Johnston
Teacher of Music Technology and IB Music
MS/HS Dance and Gymnastics
Every year the spirit day and student entertainment provides the opportunity for some amazing talents to surface. In the studio space a couple days per week, students gather with a love for dance, music and acrobatics to share ideas and inspirations and develop their own projects. This year the club has grown along with the talent.
What I love most about watching these kids collaborate is how beautifully they combine personalities, styles, genre, culture and talent in their process of composition. I feel like our school’s mission is met when I see the older kids at work. The high school dance group boasts including members from all grades running from grade 8 through 12 in their performance piece. They have mixed their own music to combine songs to suit the many styles that they want to demonstrate.
The “Angels”, made up of Emi, Isabel and Resa will perform for their third year now and this year have choreographed their own dance performance in just a few short weeks. They are incredibly adaptable to space and time allotted and this year will exhibit some of the tumbling that they play around with on Sunday’s in the gym. There are always new members coming out of the works, with potential in this year’s grade six, I am sure that there will be great years ahead.
In the new year, we hope to get some new ideas from professional choreographer Gow Hunter. Some kids have discussed the possibility of working on some rally dances to support some of our sport teams. If new members are interested they are always welcome to come down to the dance studio on Thursdays or see Mrs. Cowan.
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