PTSA Mentor Family Program

Our PTSA's Mentor Family Program has been running for several years with the aim of easing the transition to a new school and living environment for families new to our school and to foster lasting relationships between YIS families. The PTSA tries to match new families with mentors who have children in the same or similar grades, who live close to the home of new families or come from the same home country. Mentors can provide support and introductions to other parents and students, as well as offer guidance about adjusting to your new life here. If you are new to the school and are interested in having a mentor family help you settle into life in Japan and at YIS, please email our Mentor Coordinator, Iwona.

In the 2020-2021 school year, with 106 new families joining YIS, we were delighted to see 80 mentor families helping new members of our community settle in. Much of the initial mentoring was done online because of interruptions to international travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a testament to the welcoming, helpful spirit of YIS families, we are proud to mention that we also had a mentor family that was outside Japan for some time last year when school started, yet they continued to help the family new to YIS settle in. That giving spirit convinced a new family last year to become a mentor family this coming school year.

The program relies on parent volunteers. The more volunteers we have, from a cross selection of nationalities and year levels, the more successful the program can be. We have over 50 different nationalities at our school and we are always looking for non-English native speakers to be mentors. Having more mentor families from the Early Learning Center and Elementary School level would allow us to cater to the new families with students in those school levels. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please fill in this form or email Iwona.

The PTSA also has a buddy system that allows students who commute to school to have some company on the train during the commute. The impetus behind the idea is to help families new to YIS with their children's commute; however, existing families may also benefit from being connected to other families that live on the same train line. This video, made by two outgoing high school students, explains some basics about using the train system to get to school. Read this letter to learn more and contact Yasuko Elison, Buddy System Coordinator, to request a train buddy. 

The PTSA provides a host of opportunities to connect with parents, to learn from others and to experience Japan with knowledgeable new friends. We encourage new and existing families in our community to take advantage of the experiences offered by the PTSA. Read more about what our PTSA does on their page.