15 minute read
Press Release
An Innovative Arts and Culture Center
Stroll through the streets of a major Japanese city today and you might mistake it for a typical American city--darting cars, bustling sidewalks, familiar restaurants, and neon glow. From clothing, food and architecture, to sports, movies and music, the Japanese have eagerly embraced Western culture. Tracing its roots, this cultural revolution first impacted the island nation during the Meiji restoration (1867-1911), when trade with western nations flourished anew and Japan adopted a western legal system and constitutional government. For the next century, Japan’s traditional identity shifted westward, and centuries-old traditions gave way to modernization.
However, one international school in Japan is bringing Japanese traditional arts and culture once again to the forefront of the world’s main stage. The International Center for Japanese Culture (ICJC) at Yokohama International School is a non-profit institution promoting traditional and modern Japanese arts and culture. ICJC is designed to help international K-12 students and adults explore and appreciate Japan’s rich and unique culture through music education, arts programs, special guest lectures, and live performances. Located on the scenic campus of YIS overlooking Yokohama Harbor, ICJC resides in a traditional-style Japanese house boasting a performance/lecture space, a Japanese tearoom, a Japanese traditional music room, multi-purpose rooms, and an innovative multimedia resource facility.
Founder and director of ICJC, Dr. Joseph Amato has spent over nine years building a successful and award-winning Japanese Music Program at YIS. But while on a performance tour with his students in New York City several years ago, Dr. Amato was surprised to see American audiences so enthusiastic about Japanese music and culture. “Their interest sparked the idea to create a new program for people of all ages and backgrounds who are interested in Japanese music and cultural heritage,” he says. ICJC officially opened on August 1, 2011 with fanfare and celebration. ICJC poses to be an international landmark for unique and creative Japanese arts and cultural programs.
ICJC now offers the following programs:
The ICJC Japanese Music Program is within the YIS school curriculum and open to all students from Grades 4-12 with extra-curricular classes for younger students as well. These classes are taught in Japanese and English. Focusing on a deeper understanding and appreciation of traditional Japanese music through education and performance, the Japanese Music Program seeks to reach a broader international audience for Japanese music through its activities in Japan and abroad.
The ICJC Curriculum Enhancement Program provides additional Japanese arts and culture classes for the entire YIS school body. Elementary CEP classes for the 2011-2012 academic year include Japanese calligraphy, Japanese Way of Tea, Japanese Taiko, and Japanese Dance. Middle School students will explore Japanese kimono design and dressing as well as a workshop in Japanese Kabuki. Special guests lecturers will present to high school students on various topics including Japanese language and literature, arts and architecture.
The ICJC Evening Community School is geared toward high school students and adults. ICJC’s professional artists and craftsmen share their expertise in small and intimate classes. ICJC hosts an array of tuition fee programs including Japanese language, tea ceremony, calligraphy, Japanese dance, Japanese history, Japanese film, architecture, flower-arranging, kimono/clothing design, 13-string koto, shamisen, taiko and much more.
The ICJC Friday Night Lecture Series provides an evening of discussion and interaction led by specialists in Japanese architecture, history, literature, music, visual arts and much more. Each year, six regularly scheduled evening lecture presentations provide the ICJC community with the most diverse and up-to-date perspectives about everything Japanese. ICJC’s Friday Night Lecture Series are live-streamed with recorded broadcasts later posted on the ICJC website.
The ICJC Grants and Artists in Residency Program supports artists and musicians who specialize in Japan as a fundamental strategy in promoting global awareness of Japanese culture. Through the support of its donors, ICJC offers various grants and Artist in Residency programs for Japanese and non-Japanese interested in sharing their art with the ICJC community.
For more information about all ICJC programs, please visit our website at www. yis.ac.jp/icjc or contact us at icjc@yis.ac.jp.
Press Release Celebrating NIST’s 20th Anniversary
On Friday 17th August 2012, the NIST community kicked of its 20th year with a grand birthday celebration. As a School of 1,500 students it is quite a feat to organize any whole school event but the importance of celebrating all together, as one unified school made this feat surmountable. NIST students from Early Year 1 to Year 13 partook in a whole school portrait as students and staff created a sky full of bubbles and a fantastic cut-out ‘20’. Directly following there was a whole school lunch with a great selection of food and surprise entertainment. Around the NIST oval there were magicians, acrobats and even stilt walkers as NIST students enjoyed this jubilant day. There were also photo booths with customised backgrounds to serve as a keepsake.
To top it all off, there was a whole school assembly complete with a 2,000 cupcake display baked by NIST’s own elementary school. Students and staffed worked tremendously hard on this giant cake and the effort and success was enjoyed by all. Additionally, the NIST world languages programme displayed its extensive languages on offer as students came up and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in nine different languages (Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, Hindi, Dutch and Hebrew!). The NIST old school song was sung by over 250 students and for NIST’s long-term students and staff the song brought back many fond memories. Finally NIST drama students from Year 7 showed off their great talents in the brilliant and hilarious adaptation of an old NIST video, organised by NIST’s fantastic Drama Coordinator.
This has been an incredible start to the School year with a number of other exciting future events planned to celebrate the School’s 20 wonderful years. The School looks forward to an upcoming Grand Gala to celebrate with NIST’s adult community and to the release of two commemorative books.
* * * * * Bangkok Patana School Awarded Second Prime Minister’s Export Award
Bangkok Patana School has recently been honoured as a ‘Best Service Provider’ in the Prime Minister’s Export Award 2012. Presented by the Prime Minister, Her Excellency Yingluck Shinawatra, this award is the Royal Thai Government’s highest official award, annually granted to outstanding Thai exporters of products and services in recognition of their high quality and standards.
This is the second time Bangkok Patana has received the Prime Minister’s Export Award, having also won in 2002. It is the only international school to have achieved this honour twice. Since then it has grown and developed, consolidating its position at the forefront of international education, and the award is a testament to the outstanding learning environment provided by the school.
Dr. Tej Bunnag is the chairman of the Bangkok Patana School Foundation Board. “It is a great honour to receive this prestigious award. We appreciate being recognised for the efforts we make, and the ensuing success we achieve through our students. The award truly belongs to our teachers and students who, every day, strive for excellence, good character and to fulfil potential,” he said. “We are very grateful to the government of Thailand for this award.”
The Prime Minister’s Export Award was founded in 1992 and is presented to the country’s top exporters, acknowledging the importance of this market to the Thai economy. The award-winning organisations are credited with not only offering products and services of a world-class standard but also for improving the reputation of Thai companies in the global marketplace. achievements. Governed by a not-for-profit foundation board, it is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is an IB World School. The school currently has an enrolment of 2,200 students from over 60 nationalities.
Thai Prime Minister, HE Yingluck Shinawatra, poses with Mr Matthew Mills (Head of Bangkok Patana School), Khun Pornpimol Charoen (School Manager), Mrs Laura Stamp (Vice Chairperson of the Foundation Board) and Mr David Humphreys (Foundation Board Member) on the occasion of the school being awarded ‘Best Service Provider’ at the Prime Minister’s Export Award 2012.
For more information please contact: Ms. Emma Goligher, Development, Alumni & Marketing Manager emgo@patana.ac.th
By Kim Fieldhouse, AISG Parent
31 years ago, in 1981, 7 students from the United States Consulate began their first day of school in a small room at the Dong Feng Hotel, and by doing so, also took the first small steps toward what is now AISG.
AISG is no longer a small school enrolling just a handful of students from the U.S. Consulate. In fact, those visiting the elementary school on Er Sha Island or the middle and high school campus in Science Park immediately feel the energy generated by nearly 1,000 students from 40 nations studying and learning together. In the school year of 2011-2012, the AISG community celebrated the 30th Anniversary to the fullest.
AISG is a student-centered place. It was no surprise then that, during the first official 30th Anniversary event on November 4, 2011, the visiting United States Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, was consistently engaged by eager AISG students. In anticipation of Ambassador Locke’s visit, elementary school students created two giant Jasper Johns-inspired murals of the number 30 to connect with the school’s anniversary. This special project, coordinated by AISG art teacher Jaci Stucker, was a collaborative effort of literally every student at the AISG Elementary School. Ambassador Locke also formally addressed the students at the Ersha Campus during his visit, speaking about the importance of education. He mentioned the significant impact attending an international school has on students and families alike. Ambassador Locke stated, “I want to say to you that you are getting a fantastic education. It’s being provided to you by some great teachers, instructors and staff here at the American International School of Guangzhou.” Locke’s visit invigorated the entire AISG community and set the tone for the continued celebration of AISG’s 30th anniversary.
The 30th anniversary murals featured during Ambassador Locke’s visit also became a focal point for AISG’s next major anniversary event, the Bridging Cultures Art Exhibition, which opened with an evening ceremony on March 2nd and remained on display at the Garden Hotel from March 3-30, 2012. The spirit of global collaboration behind the creation of the 30th anniversary also permeated this event as organizers sought to involve the wider Guangzhou community. By the time the exhibit opened, it included artwork from six Guangzhou international schools and two local Chinese schools. The Opening Ceremony for the exhibit was joined by members of Guangzhou’s expat, diplomatic and local Chinese community, as well as five regional and international artists: Mark Obama Ndesandjo, Ken Cadwallader (Vice President of the Oil Painters of America), Ni Kwan, Lavinia Yu, and Yao You Yi. These professional artists remarked that it was a joy to support the work of the aspiring students and to join in an evening to celebrate cultural sharing and the spirit of community.
During the Art Exhibition Opening Ceremony, AISG Director of Development Mike Ludwick announced the school’s plans to join with the Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) to support the city’s poverty-alleviation efforts in the Meitang Village in Eastern Guangdong. This 30th Anniversary charity drive linked AISG and the city of Guangzhou in a joint effort to support education for the children in the Meitang Village. Most of the professional works on display at the exhibit were donated for a silent auction, to support the charity drive, to be held at the AISG 30th Anniversary Gala in May.
The AISG Pearl Anniversary Gala on May 5, 2012, served as the final event in AISG’s yearlong celebration and was an opportunity for the AISG community and friends to gather in support of education, the children we serve and the Guangzhou community in which we live. The evening invited guests to dine, dance and celebrate together while contributing to the Charity Drive in support of Meitang Village. The vision for the event, according to Mr. Ludwick, was “to celebrate 30 years of AISG by reiterating the themes of this special year, which are the power of education, global citizenship, and our shared community of Guangzhou.”
As AISG enters its 31st year it is a milestone not just for the AISG community, but also for the expat community in Southern China. From humble beginnings, AISG has been a home and a resource for thousands of expatriate families in the Guangzhou community and has played a small, but vital role in the development of international business in the region. By providing a top-tier educational experience for expats in Southern China, AISG has made Guangzhou a viable option for expat families by meeting the educational needs of their children.
Press Release 20th Anniversary of ISU
By Robert Stearns, Iinternational School Ulaanbaatar
Last September 14, 2012 Mongolia’s International School of Ulaanbaatar, cele-brated 20 years of international education for primary and secondary stu-dents living in Ulaanbaatar.
With the arrival of democracy in Mongolia after 1990, many embassies, international agencies, and NGOs opened their doors in Ulaanbaatar – eager to build strong connections to a country that had been at one time the largest em-pire in the world but had more recently, during the times of the Soviet Union, become isolated from the world com-munity. It was quickly apparent to the families arriving to work at the newly established offices in UB that an English-medium school was needed to support the educational needs of their children. A group of them came together, and with significant assistance from the Embassy of the United States, lay the foundations and acquired the special sta-tus that resulted in the 1992 opening of the International School of Ulaanbaatar (ISU).
Since its modest beginnings in a rented, two-room school in the basement of UB’s Russian Cultural Center, ISU has moved three times and now is housed in a modern, fully equipped purpose-built school in the northern outskirts of Ulaanbaatar.
Twenty years later, we are still the only not-for-profit school in Mongolia wholly owned by its parent body – and the only IB World School fully authorised to offer PYP, MYP and DP. Of the four other schools in Mongolia that advertise themselves as international schools, we are the only one acGraduating class of the 20th Anniversary year pose in front of a Mongolian time capsule to be opened in 2032.
As the economy of Mongolia grows, so does ISU. We are beginning an ambitious expansion of our facilities that will double our current capacity of 350 students and triple the size of our existing campus adding a second gymnasium, a swimming pool, a large theatre, another full-sized soccer field and many more special-ized learning spaces for our students.
As ISU grows and develops within its dynamic and rapidly changing host country, its guiding vision is clear – drawing on Mongolia’s unique cultural heritage and environment, ISU aims to offer world-class international education to prepare students, foreign and Mongolian, for higherlearn-ing and for life. We now look forward to the next twenty years of doing just that! Robert Stearns Director
By Rie Sato Seu
On September 22nd, six Saint Maur students participated in “YSF FIRST (Forum for International Research in Science and Technology)” at the Yokohama Science Frontier High School (SFH), Saint Maur’s sister school. Although we participated with the expectation of learning about other experiments from students of other schools, we not only gained knowledge in the scientific field, but also created lasting friendships.
As one of the most excited students out of the six to attend this conference, I could not wait to discuss the theme - “Science for the coming generation” – a subject of my passion. Participants from Ichikawa Gakuen Ichikawa Senior High School, Senior High School at Komaba (University of Tsukuba), Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama Senior High School, Tokyo Tech High School of Science and Technology, National University of Singapore High School of Mathematics and Science and Science Frontier High School all presented their experiments and discoveries on topics related to environmental problems, such as “Producing Biogas and Identifying Bacteria,” or on their own research at their respective schools, such as “The Synthesis of Corundum Crystals from Aluminum Cans and Color Changes of Corundum.” It was an unbelievable experience to see high school students carry out such advanced experiments with high-tech instruments.
My presentation was on the “effect of public speaking on the heart rate” in front of 300 people. Despite being a relatively eloquent public speaker, I was at first challenged when finding out that I would speak in front of such a large number of students, teachers and researchers. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable experience (and FUN) to present my research and interesting results.
The keynote speaker for this event was Dr. Dhugal Lindsay, a research scientist with the Japan Agency of Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Listening to such a revered scientist, who has led the Picasso Project and studies the biodiversity of deep-sea plankton, talk about his findings was exhilarating. Furthermore, I had the chance to discuss my experiment with him!
Although listening to other people’s experiments was intriguing and, at times, mind-boggling, my best memories of the day were when I was able to reunite with my SFH friends whom I met at the “Immersion Camp” I attended last year. We ate lunch together and went around viewing the poster presentations. At the end of the day, several students showed us the science bukatsu (or after school clubs) held at school. Their Astronomy Club presented their research, pictures taken of the sky and instruments to measure the brightness of the sky at night. Some students had access to electron microscopes without teacher supervision! Students in that club gave explanations of pictures of the heads of ants and eyes of mosquitoes. We also visited a lab where the students experimented with axolotls!
Although a busy day, when I returned home, I realized how much I enjoyed myself and will miss all the friends, from not only Japanese schools, but also Singapore.
