Dear Parents,
January is a period of change. Apart from it being the start of a new calendar year and a time when people make resolutions about how they will change their lives, it is also a time when the school must take steps to replace the staff who intend to seek new adventures at the end of a school year － it is recruiting season.
On average, about 10% of the staff turn over each school year. Last year was lower, this year it is higher. We began our search in December for new teachers to replace those who will be leaving. During the first week of January, James MacDonald, Dennis Stanworth and I attended a recruitment fair in Bangkok and were successful in filling a number of positions. Information on the staff changes will be sent to you once we have completed our work. What I can tell you, at this point, is where I will be going next year. Germany. I am heading back to Europe to take up the position of Head of School at Munich International School. I am delighted to be able to continue to serve international education in another excellent school. However, there is certainly much that I will miss about YIS, Yokohama and Japan in general.
I have a number of topics to discuss in this newsletter, but before I do let me just mention － rather belatedly I’m afraid － some Board news. At the AGM in the autumn, Janet Donszelman was elected to the Board of Directors. Janet has been an active member of the PTSA and we are fortunate to now have her on the school’s governing board.
Kanagawa Governor’s Visit
If you happened to be on campus last Wednesday afternoon you may have noticed a special visitor. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, spent the afternoon at YIS, meeting with our school administration and some of our board members, touring the campus, visiting classes and speaking with students. Each month Governor Matsuzawa visits a different school in the prefecture and we were honored that he chose YIS for his first visit to an international school. You can read more about his visit here.
End of Semester Student Reports
The first semester officially came to a close on January 8th, and so you have just received or will soon be receiving student reports. Our format for reporting has evolved and the new format aims to provide you with richer feedback. Teachers have also indicated how students can develop further. We hope you find these reports helpful when you discuss them with your son or daughter.
IBDP Evaluation
You may know that every five years the school’s IB programs are evaluated. In regard to the IB Diploma Program in high school, a program study coordinated by Stephen McIlroy was submitted to the IB and assessed against standards. I thought I would share with you a summary of the IB report we received.
Overall the report was very positive. We were commended for many aspects of our Diploma Program and also given some useful recommendations, the majority of which are already under consideration by the school.
The school’s continual attention to improvement was recognized, in particular the recent revision of the Mission, Values and Aims. Our management of all elements of the IBDP core was commended, as were the opportunities it affords to students. Our new assessment policy was highlighted, as were our efforts to use assessment data constructively, work more collaboratively and our intended implementation of the MYP. The work done on the new language policy and the school’s efforts to support students whose first language is not English were also commended, as was the school’s evident commitment to professional development for staff.
Recommended areas for the school to address were the further development of options for students who may struggle with English, the drafting of a school Academic Honesty Policy and a more comprehensive written curriculum, all of which, as mentioned, are already being addressed.
PYP Evaluation
Most recently, our PYP has been in the spotlight with Shanel Catasti coordinating our self study. Overall, there is widespread support of the philosophy and implementation of the PYP. It is well supported financially by the governing board and administration through adequate resources, personnel and funding.
The PYP Self Study Committee considered the three levels of our Japanese Language program in Grades 1 - 5, and various initiatives to support other languages and their integration with PYP pedagogy, strengths of the program. Access to PYP documents and planners were found to be readily available to teachers and PYP philosophy, pedagogy and practices were evident across the school in teaching, learning, assessment and reporting, reflection and general practices of inclusion for all students. This was considered effective. Still further, aspects of the IB Learner Profile were seen to be built into daily practice at YIS. The use of the First Steps Language maps of development of student literacy (reading / writing) was noted as a positive move to more closely link teaching, learning, assessment and reporting. Morning assembly was also seen as a strength, as a community event for sharing learning and action. The Grade 5 exhibition and the Units of Inquiry celebrations also reflect a tradition of sharing and celebrating student learning and praised.
However, we recognized that we can always improve so have identified the following for further attention. We will be establishing a Mathematics committee, to review the teaching of Mathematics with a focus on how we can better use an inquiry approach. A literacy committee will finalize the Literacy Policy and develop a full YIS Language scope and sequence. In addition, all teachers will try to integrate better the work of the classroom with that of specialist teachers. Last but not least, we will be looking at communication, staff training and ICT resources to ensure that we have high levels of each.
Two representatives from the IB will be coming to YIS March 2 - 4 for the PYP evaluation visit.
Accreditation Self Study
In addition to program-specific self studies, we also have the full school accreditation, a process that began with the survey that many of you completed. This is a huge undertaking that will be a major part of the school’s focus over the next two years. Your responses to the survey will be very useful to the teams as they look in more detail at each part of the school. Many thanks for taking the time to participate.
Student Behavior Off Campus
I believe we have great students who live up to the school’s values the vast majority of the time, whether in school or outside. Sometimes, however, they slip up. We received some reports just before the winter break regarding loud and at times rude behavior by groups of students traveling on the Minatomirai/Toyoko Line. From what I have heard, I believe that these have been isolated instances of perhaps a bit too much youthful exuberance, but I would ask parents’ cooperation in reminding their children that they are ambassadors of the school and should behave appropriately when traveling to and from school.
Save the Date - Headmaster’s Trivia Quiz Night on April 10th
Finally, please mark your calendars for the annual Headmaster’s Trivia Quiz Night on Saturday, April 10th. More details to follow.
Best Regards,
Simon Taylor
Headmaster
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