As our students interact with the students from Hijirizaka Special Needs School, we hope all of them get an understanding of the diversity of people and groups in the immediate community and foster an understanding of themselves as members of the community.
Parents are invited to join us on Tuesday, January 22 at the Personal Project Exhibition to celebrate one of the most exciting projects that a student will complete during their time at YIS. It is an opportunity for the Gr. 10 students to showcase their abilities to independently inquire into a topic of their choice.
Leadership is a key component of the YIS experience, and students are regularly given opportunities to find out what leadership looks like for them. In Grade 9 PE, our students experience leadership in a setting like no other.
I fondly remember my time at YIS after graduating and how much I enjoyed working with clay in the late afternoon when the winter light would fill the art studio and my only witness was Mount Fuji.
One thing our community does, and does well, is provide us with a sense of grounding through companionship and belonging.
In my wanderings around campus, it is not uncommon to hear students, teachers, and yes, leaders, talk about how busy they are. We are all very "busy" and at times, we are all guilty of wearing this busy-ness as a badge of honor.
Through this workshop, parents will gain an understanding of key beliefs about, and strategies to support, young writers.
A short walk from Ishikawa-cho Station is Kotobuki-cho, one of the three largest areas for day laborers in Japan. Many of its inhabitants are elderly, on welfare and too old to work. The Middle School Chiku Center Service Group makes a practical and useful contribution to easing the plight of the homeless there.
Join the Elementary EAL department for a session about what it means to learn in a second (or third) language, and how parents can support their child at home. Wed., Nov. 28, 10:00 am, The Loft.
Come listen to the fascinating stories behind the students, staff, parents and alumni of the YIS community in this interview-based documentary-style theater piece.
Grade 10 Drama and Grade 11 DP Theater students investigated documentary, interdisciplinary, and interview-based theatermaking with the goal of creating a community-based performance for this year's high school production
Our library vision is to create a space that encompasses reading, research, and community. The Creativity Commons reinforces this: it's an evolving space that is both student-driven and student-accessible.
Composed of YIS students and members of the wider community, The Tanner Community Ensemble will have their annual Fall Concert on Saturday November 10 at 3:00 pm in the auditorium.
This year's Group 4 project linked the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the Growth and Sustainability Key Focus Area of our school's Strategic Plan to provide context and application for the students' work.
Students in grade six and two visit the Bon Sejour nursing home in small groups almost weekly, making it a consistent part of the home's activities schedule.
Get ready for an extravaganza of food that will tickle all your tastebuds!
In the summer of 2018, IBDP art students Ayaka and Claire were fortunate to be accepted in the Savannah College of Art and Design's Rising Star Summer Program, an application-based residential experiential program offered to high school juniors.
Several alumni have taken the lead in organizing an informal reunion at Food Fair this year. All alumni, former students, former staff and former parents are invited to the reunion to celebrate their connection to our community.
As a new counselor at YIS, I was delighted to see the strategic plan included wellness as a key area of focus, as this is a passion of mine. So why do we consider it so important?
School will start at 9:30 am this morning for all students.
Anticipating a normal school day tomorrow but please check back in the morning in case of any typhoon-related delays.
There is a common warmth shared between a sun-filled valley in Yamanashi and Kotobuki-koen in Yokohama where the MS Service Learning Human Rights Club prepares meals for the Chiku Center patrons.
Parents with children in ELC are invited to discuss our next Unity of Inquiry, How the World Works, and our intention for a year-long focus on the theme of light.
This workshop introduces parents to the key elements of the IB Primary Years Program and the elementary curriculum.
By acting as leaders to new and well-established service groups, the representatives on the Student Service Committee have helped shape the YIS service learning program.
Parents with children in the Early Learning Center or in elementary school are invited to the annual Back to School Night on Wednesday, September 12
Welcome to the Kirin Community Garden, a community project that started in the fall o f 2017, and continues to this day, thanks to the students, staff and parents of YIS.
In early April, YIS and Dragon Dining hosted BBC School Chef of the Year, Tony Mulgrew, for a week full of sharing best practices in the school food industry. Tony reflects on the inspiration provided by his time at YIS.
All parents of grade 5 students are invited to the opening night of the highlight of the grade level, the PYP Exhibition on Tue., Apr. 24, 6:30PM - 8:00PM in the Tanner Auditorium.
After the Elementary play, a student confided that he had "found a new type of happiness in drama", and that he "wasn't afraid anymore". His transformation, and that of others, was a pleasure to see.
Service learning allows our students to get connected, feel relevant and engage in a meaningful way.
Gr. 12 Visual Arts students will be exhibiting their graduate artworks in Design Festa Gallery East, Harajuku, in the biggest display of their Diploma Program.
Inspired by the hit musical 'How To Eat Like a Child and Other Lessons in Not Being a Grown Up' , this year's ES musical is a journey through the joys and sorrows of being a child.
Many of our elementary school students will have their artwork exhibited at The British House as part of the annual Yamate Art Festival. Come see the energy, efforts, and two- & three-dimensional creativity of our artists from kindergarten through grade 5.
Students in grade six and two visit the Bon Sejour nursing home in small groups almost weekly, making it a consistent part of the home's activities schedule.
In early April, YIS and Dragon Dining hosted BBC School Chef of the Year, Tony Mulgrew, for a week full of sharing best practices in the school food industry. Tony reflects on the inspiration provided by his time at YIS.
Service learning allows our students to get connected, feel relevant and engage in a meaningful way.
Kana's love for the environment resulted in a Personal Project on the illegal trade in the endangered slow loris. Her digital book, Dr. Slow Loris Got It!, is being used by NGOs in Japan and Indonesia to promote conservation education.
ELC and Grade 8 work together to create ceramics with a purpose.
We were prepared to make the AISA Girls Volleyball tournament one of the best of our high school years, and even more so because YIS was finally hosting it. As we strived to improve through hard work and a few losses, we learned to pick ourselves up, building our momentum towards getting YIS into the finals. And that's exactly what we did.
Sato comments, "I thought of poverty as something very distant and far away from me as I only had some vague ideas. But as I started to do my internship, I was able to get a better idea of it and how even a water well or a school can help families to break the poverty cycle."
Ten YIS delegates recently travelled to the Bangkok Model United Nations held at the United Nations Conference Center to debate issues of global importance with their counterparts from other schools.
When we hear the word "Leadership" we often think about one person standing up and guiding others. The Middle School Leadership Retreat was designed to show us that there are other ways of becoming a leader.
In this short video, Head of School Craig Coutts recalls hearing how a student linked those three simple words
Moving from Colombia to Japan has been an incredible learning experience for me. As I reflect on the first weeks settling into my new home, I was expecting to notice the many differences between Colombia and Japan, but instead have been struck by the commonality of kindness in the two cultures.
Our community was asked on several occasions to provide examples of their experience with living, learning, and leading in the YIS community.
This year, in Grade 8 Drama, we will be studying children who have been significantly impacted by the tragedy of external events in their lives.
Established in 2011, the ICJC is designed to help students as well as the greater YIS community explore and appreciate Japan's rich, unique culture through curriculum enhancement programs, music and arts education programs, hands-on workshops, Yokohama historical tours, and lectures by special guests.
Although mountain biking can be fun, and climbing rocks can be thrilling, the reasons for YIS having a scaffolded Outdoor Education program extend beyond only having fun.
Director of University Counseling, Hillary Hewins, emphasizes the importance of learning about oneself in high school in order to navigate the university search and application process.
The only way to get better at it is to read more, and there is no such thing as a bad book.
For the second year in a row, the 7 & 8 graders collaborated on group projects to open up a year of active learning. Igniting a spark with Dragon Days.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your continual support through the year. Once again, it is a time for us at the school to reflect on what a good community we have here at YIS.
Middle School Parent Newsletter - April 2016
This year's Group 4 project linked the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the Growth and Sustainability Key Focus Area of our school's Strategic Plan to provide context and application for the students' work.
Just before the summer holidays, a young student came to my classroom, ready to leave after a day of learning, and asked, "Ms. Mason, can I ask you why you like being a music teacher?".
Working with Project Baseline, our Underwater Explorers service group contributes to ocean conservation.
Violinist Midori Goto's NPO, Music Sharing, recently played for the grade 10 students.
In early April, YIS and Dragon Dining hosted BBC School Chef of the Year, Tony Mulgrew, for a week full of sharing best practices in the school food industry. Tony reflects on the inspiration provided by his time at YIS.
After the Elementary play, a student confided that he had "found a new type of happiness in drama", and that he "wasn't afraid anymore". His transformation, and that of others, was a pleasure to see.
A profound connection is created when many performers come together to perform a story for our community. Although the show last for a short time, th experience of producing a story as a school stays with the performers and directors for much longer.
Service learning allows our students to get connected, feel relevant and engage in a meaningful way.
We should keep in mind the inherent joy students experience when they forget about all of the holistic learning just for a moment.
Senior Visual Art students are working hard to finalize their studio pieces for their, arguably, biggest moment in the Diploma Program, curating their own collection of work for their graduate exhibition.
Together with 17 students from the HOPE Cambodia Service Club and two colleagues, I returned to school last week inspired by our 9-day trip to Cambodia, where we helped to construct a new junior high school classroom building.
Ten students from YIS took part in the inaugural Spanish Exchange Program between YIS and SEK, Atlántico, in Spain's northwestern autonomous region of Galicia.
Involving nearly 50 high school students on and off stage, this year's musical is guaranteed to feed your appetite for laughing and singing. Tickets now available.
As Global Citizen Diploma Coordinator, I am very fortunate to read and comment upon student reflections, and I am always amazed at how powerful these stories can be. An's is one such story. She provides answers to common questions about the GCD, which students at YIS may earn along with their IB diploma.
A self-organized group of eight of our HS koto players won the grand prize at the "Kono Oto Tomare! Koto Competition" held on January 2 at the International Forum in Yurakucho. The creation and success of the group is a prime example of self-initiative, mentorship and teamwork underscored by friendship and a passion for playing the koto.
We were prepared to make the AISA Girls Volleyball tournament one of the best of our high school years, and even more so because YIS was finally hosting it. As we strived to improve through hard work and a few losses, we learned to pick ourselves up, building our momentum towards getting YIS into the finals. And that's exactly what we did.
Sato comments, "I thought of poverty as something very distant and far away from me as I only had some vague ideas. But as I started to do my internship, I was able to get a better idea of it and how even a water well or a school can help families to break the poverty cycle."
Ten YIS delegates recently travelled to the Bangkok Model United Nations held at the United Nations Conference Center to debate issues of global importance with their counterparts from other schools.
In this short video, Head of School Craig Coutts recalls hearing how a student linked those three simple words
Moving from Colombia to Japan has been an incredible learning experience for me. As I reflect on the first weeks settling into my new home, I was expecting to notice the many differences between Colombia and Japan, but instead have been struck by the commonality of kindness in the two cultures.
Grade 10 Drama and Grade 11 DP Theater students investigated documentary, interdisciplinary, and interview-based theatermaking with the goal of creating a community-based performance for this year's high school production
Composed of YIS students and members of the wider community, The Tanner Community Ensemble will have their annual Fall Concert on Saturday November 10 at 3:00 pm in the auditorium.
Violinist Midori Goto's NPO, Music Sharing, recently played for the grade 10 students.
Performance group Epic Arts' mission is simple - to bring people with and without disabilities together through the arts. They will be conducting workshops for students, staff and parents and will have a performance for the general public while at YIS.
Enjoy a full day of film and it's accompanying themes as amateur filmmakers come together to showcase their work on Saturday, May 19, 10:00am in the Tanner Auditorium.
Delight in the talents of the YIS staff and parents as they display their artwork in this popular community event.
Classical musicians Mimi Solomon (piano) and Nicholas DiEugenio (violin) will be on campus this Wednesday to lead several master classes for our high school music students and also perform a concert for the YIS community. The concert is open to the general public as well as to the YIS community.
Delight in the sounds of Tchaikovsky, Seitz, Haydn and other conductors as the students and professionals of the Tanner Community Ensemble perform selected pieces at their annual spring concert on Saturday, March 17, 4:00 PM.
Gr. 12 Visual Arts students will be exhibiting their graduate artworks in Design Festa Gallery East, Harajuku, in the biggest display of their Diploma Program.
Inspired by the hit musical 'How To Eat Like a Child and Other Lessons in Not Being a Grown Up' , this year's ES musical is a journey through the joys and sorrows of being a child.
Leadership is a key component of the YIS experience, and students are regularly given opportunities to find out what leadership looks like for them. In Grade 9 PE, our students experience leadership in a setting like no other.
With Season 3, and the MS sports year concluded, it was time to celebrate our accomplishments
With Season 3, and the HS sports year concluded, it was time to celebrate our accomplishments
MS Girls Basketball and more....
A quick update on Season 3 athletics
It's time to end the preparations and start season 3!
Season 2 culminates this week with the "weekend of Championships"
Basketball is the theme of this week's update.
Find out the latest news from YIS Athletics including the recent victory at the WJAA JV Girls Tournament
YIS athletics is back for 2018!
I fondly remember my time at YIS after graduating and how much I enjoyed working with clay in the late afternoon when the winter light would fill the art studio and my only witness was Mount Fuji.
Several alumni have taken the lead in organizing an informal reunion at Food Fair this year. All alumni, former students, former staff and former parents are invited to the reunion to celebrate their connection to our community.
We were fortunate to have two alumni visit our campus recently for two very different purposes.
The relationships I formed at YIS are unparalleled to any other I have formed since. Once a Dragon, always a Dragon.
I live in New York, and attend an art school called the Pratt Institute.
Artist Virginia Russolo, Class of 2013, will be exhibiting at t293 gallery in Rome, Italy from June 22 - July 28
Librarian Rita Kar says farewell after 32 years of being a part of the YIS community. Join us as we thank her for being a part of our community.
Adam Gutterman, Class of 1998, and his wife Rashmi, paid a nostalgic visit to the campus recently, reuniting with teachers he hadn't seen since his last visit here in 2001.
Class of 2014 alumna, Isabel Thompson-Pomeroy, spent two weeks observing and working with class 4M as part of her practicum for her studies in education.
Arthur is very committed to the YIS alumni community having produced the '74 Chowa yearbook, prom & graduation. His graduating class of ten students was only the second high school graduating class the school had.
After studying German and Drama in the United Kingdom for her undergraduate work, Anissa decided to take a gap year, returning to YIS in the fall of 2017, to gain experience in the profession she plans on pursuing.
John Tanner, Head of School from 1976-1993, paid a visit to YIS after several years.
Cellist Chris Gibson and R&B singer Aisha, both YIS alumni, continue to gain recognition in Japan's active and varied music industry.
Fleur was happy and surprised to see that some things hadn't changed, particularly the feel of the school as she walked through the hallways. "There is still a small community feel to the school, just as I remember", recalls Fleur.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Yokohama International School will be held on Thursday, November 16, 2017, in the Auditorium, commencing at 7:30 PM.
Timpa recalls spending plenty of time in the library, which was in the Main Building during her time here, soaking up all the books, and stuffing her bag with books to read during the holidays.
After more than six decades of combined service to YIS, longtime faculty members Junko Cancemi and Dennis Stanworth will be retiring at the end of this school year.
"Not going to Uni straight after high school was definitely the best decision for me. I'm gaining so much from being on the road, attaining practical skills we don't learn in school: planting, harvesting, fishing."
Join Leo Konno on March 31st at BankART Kawamata Hall to celebrate the release of his first CD.
YIS alumni visit campus.
