FAQ

 

WHAT ARE THE NORMAL SCHOOL HOURS?

Early Learning Center

  • 8:45 am to 12:00 pm (half-day program)
  • 8:45 am to 2:45 pm (full-day program)

Students may be dropped off from 8:20 am. Half-day students do not stay for lunch.

Elementary (Grades K - 5)

  • 8:20 am - 3:00 pm. Entrance to the campus is permitted from 8:10 am.

Middle School (Grades 6 - 8)

  • 9:00 am - 3:55 pm* 

High School (Grades 9 - 12)

  • Grades 9 & 10: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm* 
  • Grades 11 & 12: 
    • 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Mondays, Wednesdays* and Fridays
    • 8:40 am - 4:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays

*Middle School and High School students will finish classes at 3:00 pm on Wednesdays of Week A.

Special Schedule for August 21 - 25

To help ease students’ transition to the new school year and allow for additional collaboration time for teachers, please note the following early dismissal times during the first week of school:

  • Monday, August 21:
    12 noon dismissal for ELC - Grade 2; 2:40 pm dismissal for grades 6 - 12
  • Tuesday, August 22:
    12 noon dismissal for ELC - Grade 2; 2:40 pm dismissal for grades 6 - 12
  • Wednesday, August 23:
    12 noon dismissal for ELC - Grade 2; 2:40 pm dismissal for grades 6 - 12
  • Thursday, August 24:
    12 noon dismissal for ELC & Kindergarten
  • Friday, August 25:
    12 noon dismissal for ELC & Kindergarten

*Note: No lunch at school for students dismissed at 12 noon on above dates.

 

WHEN DO AFTER-SCHOOL STUDENT ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE AND HOW DO YOU SIGN UP?

Elementary School Activities (ESAs) run over three sessions beginning in September, January, and March. Activities vary from year to year and updated information is listed in the elementary activities catalog which is made available to parents before the start of each season. Elementary after-school activities run from 3:15 – 4:00 pm, unless otherwise notified. Sign-up for activities is conducted online via the parent portal.

Secondary Activities generally take place from 4:10 – 6:00 pm, with some meeting before or during the school day. Sign-up for activities is conducted online via the student portal. For more information regarding our activities program, please contact Brinya Tananone, Director of Activities and Community Programs.

Athletics for Secondary School students are held over three seasons during the school year. Tryouts and practices for the various teams will be announced by coaches at the beginning of each season.

 

How do children get to and from school?

YIS is conveniently located in the mixed residential/commercial neighborhood of Kominatocho, Honmoku in Yokohama with good access to reliable public transportation. A large number of students and teachers who live nearby walk or ride a bicycle to school. For those living farther away, the great majority take public transportation and some are driven to/from school. The most convenient train stations are Motomachi-Chukagai on the Minatomirai/Toyoko Line and Ishikawacho or Negishi on the JR Negishi/Keihin Tohoku Line, with connecting bus service to stops near campus. See our Getting to YIS page for details on bus routes and schedules, as well as information on discount student commuter passes for trains/buses.  

We offer a limited school bus service between YIS and central Tokyo, as well as between school and Motomachi/Ishikawacho train stations. Please see the 2023-24 YIS Bus Rider Handbook for detailed service and registration information.

If you are driving children to school, you must strictly abide by our parking and traffic regulations and must use the designated pick-up/drop-off points indicated in those regulations. This video shows the morning drop off location and procedure. ELC children must be accompanied to/from their classroom by an adult.

 

 

What SHOULD MY CHILD BRING ON THE FIRST DAY OF school?

The school provides most supplies, including notebooks, pencils, etc., and elementary students in particular rarely need to purchase additional supplies. ELC, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students will require a pair of indoor shoes for class and PE, preferably slip-on and rubber-soled. Middle and high school students may need some specialized supplies, but these are not required right away. For the first few days of school just send students with a backpack or school bag and a few pencils or pens.

Students in grades 9 - 12 will need to have a TI-84 plus CE graphing calculator, which is available for purchase through online shopping sites or at many electronics stores, and in person through the school store. The calculator must be this model and not another type of graphing calculator.

All students should have a refillable water bottle (with their name written on it), especially in the hot weather months.

 

Will my child receive a computer / iPAD?

All students in grades 6 – 12 use a school-owned and issued individual laptop computer, which they may use at home as well as at school. Students in grades K - 4 will receive a school-owned and issued iPad, which must be kept at school. Grade 5 students will receive both a laptop and an iPad, both of which will be kept at school. Other shared computing resources are used in other elementary and ELC grades, and iPads and other devices are also used for some particular applications in the secondary school. Details including an explanation of our Empowered Use Policy, will be provided on the New Family Orientation Day. The cost of all computing devices is included in the tuition fee.

 

will my child receive a student ID?

All students are issued a photo ID card which they can use for various campus services (Dragon Dining, Library checkout, YIS school bus service, etc.), as well as to obtain a discount commuter pass for public trains or buses. ID cards will be distributed at the beginning of the school year or upon arrival if you are joining later in the year. More information will be provided in August.

Please note that there is a ¥2,000 replacement fee for lost cards. 

 

What do students do for lunch at school? What about snacks?

Dragon Dining, our excellent food services vendor, offers a delicious and nutritious lunch and snack service in the school cafeteria to students in grades K - 12. Students may also bring their own lunch. The service is a cashless, debit account system; after opening an account, students can charge meals or snacks by scanning a contactless card or providing an ID number. See the cafeteria page for further information.

ELC Students having lunch in the ELC may bring their own lunch or order lunch from Dragon Dining, which we will deliver to the ELC.

You may send a snack to school with your child or snacks may be purchased at the cafeteria. Snack time is mid-morning. We encourage healthy snacks at YIS (i.e., no candy or other sweets). Please note that to protect children with serious food allergies, YIS maintains a strict peanut-safe policy; never bring to school or on school-related trips any food products that contain peanuts, peanut oil or peanut butter.

The Street Cafe, located under The Bridge in between the two buildings and operated by Dragon Dining, also serves snacks and drinks. Parents are welcome to enjoy a coffee or tea and fresh bakery items there. 

 

WHAT IF MY CHILD HAS A PARTICULAR DIETARY REQUIREMENT?

Dragon Dining offers a range of options, including vegetarian and vegan choices, with menus posted weekly on their webpage. Students may also bring their own lunches if they prefer. The checkout system is able to flag students with food allergies. Dragon Dining staff are available via dd@yis.ac.jp to answer any questions you may have.

 

How can we set-up our Dragon Dining account?

New families will receive a welcome email from Dragon Dining with instructions on how to activate their cafeteria account. Families access their account via a system called Lunchbox, which is very intuitive and easy to use. Deposits may be made by credit card online, or by cash at a kiosk located in the cafeteria. 

 

Where is the school store and when is it open?

The school store is located on the first floor of the North Building between the Main Reception desk and the cafeteria. The store is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8:15 – 11:00 am when school is in session. The store will also be open on New Family Orientation Day (August 17).
 

Are there school uniforms or a dress code?

Except for the PE kit (see next item) there is no school uniform for students at YIS. We do expect students to be clean, neat and dressed in a manner appropriate for a school environment. See the dress code for further details. 

 

What is the PE UNIFORM and where do I buy it?

All students in grades K-12 should wear a PE uniform and appropriate non-marking sports footwear that provides proper support and traction for active sports. For students in Secondary School, sports shoes with cleats for use on our artificial turf field are not mandatory; all-surface sports shoes with soles like these provide good traction indoors and out.

Elementary PE Kit ¥11,000

Short sleeve YIS T-shirt
Long sleeve YIS shirt (not shown in picture)
Black shorts
PE bag

MS/HS PE Kit ¥8,000

Short sleeve T-shirt
Black shorts
PE bag

 

What About Swimwear?
Aquatics is an integrated part of our PE program as well as a popular feature of our activities programs. When participating in aquatics, students should bring the following items:

  • Appropriate swimwear
  • Towel
  • Swimming Bag (to place wet clothes in)
  • Swimming Cap (optional)
  • Goggles (optional)

In order to help with what is appropriate swimwear and what is not, we have prepared a YIS Swimwear Style Guide. This guide is a collaboration between YIS and DECATHLON and should be used as a reference. As we are swimming everyday during PE aquatics units, it might be a good idea to have two swimsuits so you are not putting a wet swimsuit on every day.

 

What is the VERACROSS parent portal and how do I access it?

The parent portal is a secure, password-protected site that connects directly to the school’s central student information database, also known as Veracross. It provides personalized access to student schedules, grade reports, assignment calendar (MS/HS), school directory, parent-teacher conference sign-up, family profile and more. You will be sent login credentials prior to the start of school in August and may access the portal directly at https://portals.veracross.com/yis or from the Portals Login link at the top of the homepage of the YIS website. Families starting mid-year will receive their login credentials after their first day of school.

 

what if our move to Japan is delayed beyond the start of school?

We understand that delays can occur when moving internationally. Please rest assured that we will be as flexible as possible in accommodating your situation. We would just ask that you keep our Admissions Office apprised of any changes to your planned start date.

 

What if we have to miss the new family orientation?

Although we would of course like to have all our new families join us at the orientation day on Thursday, August 17, we know some families will be joining us later. If you are unable to attend the orientation, rest assured that we will provide your family with information and orientation to the school when you arrive.