Dear Parents,
So, we're finally there - the
end of a very big and for me personally rewarding year, my first year at YIS. The
students and teachers are all tired and more than ready for a break. I would
like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the parents for being so
welcoming. To those of you who are leaving, I trust your time at YIS and in
Japan has been has been a positive and I am sure you will leave with a host of
good memories. It is perhaps an opportune time to reflect on some of the big
events of the past year
Middle School graduation
This was held last night in the Auditorium, in a move away from the past ceremonies. The feedback has been very positive and from my perspective, I thought it was a lovely evening. The students looked really smart, they performed their various artistic acts with class and style and spoke very well. The slideshows that they produced of their time in middle school - and put together by Colin Campbell - and the show of art work put together by Frank Curcovic were very impressive. The venue was intimate and in keeping with the personal feel to the evening. There are a number of other people to thank for their work: Joseph Amato, Brad Johnston, Billy Ball and Sheryl Bridgewater molded and polished the musical performances; Brian Lockwood, Genki Unno for camera work and program production; Shohei Nishihara for stills photos; the grade eight tutors, Dr Scagliarini, Feraille Cowan and Djaisi Robinson for helping with the organization and preparing the students; Tim Evans for lighting work and helping the students prepare for the speeches and dramatic performances; Spike Niederhauser for her fabulous graduation cake; Stu Air and his canteen crew for their food. Last but certainly not least, our band of grade seven waiters who volunteered their services for the evening - Eric Standar, Alec Whiting, Daniel Yamamoto, Ken Mochizuki and Camiel Endert.
UK Junior Maths Challenge
This year, for the
first time, YIS grade 6 and 7 students competed in the UK Maths Challenge. This
is an annual event and around 600,000 students world-wide enter this
competition. There are three sections - Junior, Intermediate and Senior. Gold,
Silver and Bronze certificates are awarded and those students who score over
102 are eligible to enter the Junior Maths Olympiad. This is a select group of
students and I am pleased to announce the following students who received
certificates:
Grade 7 Gold: Dong Joon Lee, Kelly
Chung, Seira Yamaguchi, Rikako Hatoya, Jeong Hyun An, Jung Eun Lee. Dong Joon
has also been successful in entering the Olympiad round, to be held in
mid-June.
Grade 7 Silver: Waltteri Niemi,
Danielle Magnus, Tim Hazelwood, Dayna Bee, Yooya Hwang, and Ryo Yasuda
Grade 7 Bronze: Daniel Yamamoto,
Henry Reynolds, Makoto Shiraishi, Melanie Nakamura, Jae Hyun Park, Alec Whiting, Sam Hinge, Georgios
Markezinis, Sakurako Naka and Nick Bigger.
Grade 6 Gold: Haebin Kim, Tomohiro
Tokuyama, Kosuke Kanehisa.
Grade 6 Silver: Seojin Park, Utana
Kishino, Thomas Barrett and Aska Hemink
Grade 6 Bronze: Adina Darbyshire,
Hyun Park, Ayaka Ushida, Jonah Reynolds, Piers Litster and Rina Ossing.
Congratulations to all
these students and to Ms Lynda Leatham for organising the competition. We
intend for this to be an annual event and we think this year's success will
spur on many other students.
LAMDA
This year's annual
LAMDA competition has also taken place and our students have been very
successful. We simply had too many names to mention individually, so overall,
here is how we went:
Grade 6 - 14
Distinctions, 27 Merits and 9 Passes
Grade 7 - 23 Distinctions,
22 Merits and 8 Passes
Grade 8 - 16
Distinctions, 19 Merits and 12 Passes
My congratulations to the students and thanks to
Mr Tim Evans and Mr Shane Meiklejohn for their organization and coaching of our
students.
Food Fair
This has been another successful
event and the contribution of our students and families is an excellent
reflection on the community spirit here at YIS. Grade 6 students worked long
and hard on the “gomi” collection, grade 7s and 8s operated very successful Arcade
stalls. Many of our students then stayed behind to help clean up and I thank
them for it.
Sports - Girls Basketball
 To end the season on a high note, MS Girls Basketball A-Team Coach
Christine Usyak took the team and two parents, Mr. & Mrs. Van Der Maarel,
to the last season game of the professional basketball team Basketball Japan
League Tokyo Apache. The girls who attended the dinner before the game or the
game itself enjoyed socializing and building team spirit for the A-Team
Tournament that was the next day. This was a great season of building trust
with each other, improving basketball skills, and making realistic goals to be
a better athlete. Good luck next season!
 For more information on the Basketball Japan
League's Tokyo Apache, please visit the following team website and contact Mina
Wakui for ticket information.
Basketball Japan League (In English)
http://www.bj-league.com/html/en/index.html
Tokyo Apache (In Japanese)
http://www.tokyo-apache.com/
Mina Wakui
(Fluent in English and Japanese)
wakui@tokyo-apache.com
MS Christine Usyak Coach
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented
Youth (CTY) is pleased to present the spring issue of their Talent Search
School E-Newsletter. If you are interested in finding out more about this
program, you can find information on this link: http://www.cty.jhu.edu/ts/schools.html
Goodbyes
As well as our departing students, we are also
saying goodbye to several Middle School teachers. Dr Richard Scagliarini, Mrs
Feraiile Cowan, Mr Colin Campbell and Mr Jon Ames have all played such a big
part in giving the YIS Middle School its own identity. Dr Scags has not only
contributed to the curriculum, he has also run Student Council and Youth Club. The
regular dances and theme nights for the Youth Club were always anticipated
eagerly by students. Mrs Cowan, fellow HKC teacher, succeeded him running the Student
Council, but also offered a range of other activities that involved her in the
student dances, Green Club, Community Service, dance and gymnastic clubs. Mr
Campbell, in his role as Curriculum Co-ordinator, has done a power of work on
guiding the development of the Middle School curriculum, but he has also
coached the boys' football team and run the Middle School Chowa group. Mr Ames
has been a tireless grade 6 tutor, played a key role in organising the grade 6
Field Studies and Food Fair “gomi” patrol. Mr Dan Cowan, while mainly a high
school teacher, has taught middle school classes as well as coached middle
school basketball and baseball teams and also stepped in to assist with his
considerable musical skills. Mr Tim Evans, our much loved Drama teacher is
leaving for Phuket. Tim has worked tirelessly in promoting the Arts at YIS,
whether in formal productions, extra-curricular clubs or MCing at other events
and his droll sense of humour and fun will be much missed by the students. Ms
Dianne Gamage, our EAL teacher and grade 7 tutor has contributed much to middle
school life in a short time, both in the classroom and as hockey coach. Dianne
is one of those people who are willing to put their hand up and volunteer at a
moment's notice.
To all of the above, I would like to say a
heartfelt thank you for all you have contributed to Middle School and I wish
every success in your next venture.
To finish, I would like to wish all our families
a happy and safe holiday and to those returning in August, I look forward to
seeing you again.
Regards
John Snowball
Middle School Principal |
