Tomo No Kai 2019-2020

Kaaren Kunze

TNK President 2019-2020

Congratulations to Nishimachi International School on celebrating its seventieth anniversary this last school year. Tomo No Kai (TNK), the parent association of Nishimachi International School, has supported and enhanced the Nishimachi community since 1981. TNK has several functions, but its core mission is to run social, educational, and fundraising events for the community, to enhance the school through the TNK Grants program, and to donate annually to Outreach Scholarship Program.

TNK is a parent-led organization, and every parent is automatically a member. All TNK events are organized and run by parents with hands-on assistance from the TNK Executive Board and committee chairs. Volunteers donate countless hours of their time through one of TNK’s seventeen committees. Each committee has a unique focus and creates opportunities to bring students, teachers, staff, and parents together through TNK events. This tight-knit community feeling has been a cornerstone of our school since it was founded by Tané Matsukata.

The 2019–2020 school year started with that same focus, working to connect everyone together. August is always a busy time as we prepare to return to campus, and this school year began as usual with a flourish of exciting annual events. The New Families Committee hosted a welcome picnic in Arisugawa Park. This picnic, a TNK event only in its third year, was organized as a way for returning families to meet and welcome new families before the start of the school year. In spite of the heat and humidity, the event was a great success with many families beginning new friendships and reaffirming existing ones.

The first day of school was an exciting day on campus, and the TNK Board was there with a welcome coffee in the courtyard. We also displayed the blue and white TNK backdrop, which provided a wonderful photo spot for students to memorialize the start of the new school year. Shortly after the welcome coffee, our Staff Appreciation Committee was busy planning a welcoming event for all of our teachers and staff.

In the fall TNK runs one of its largest fundraising activities, the Food Fair. Over seventy parents attended the kick-off meeting, eager to participate in the fifty-third Annual Food Fair. In an unprecedented turn of events, the Food Fair was postponed to late November due to approaching Typhoon 19. Even though heavy rain fell on the rescheduled date, the wet weather did not dampen the community spirit, and the Food Fair was a giant success.

As mentioned above, one way TNK financially supports the school is through TNK Grants. The fall 2019 Grants were a huge success with strong parent support to fund several projects. The largest project was a 5.25 million yen grant to build a STEAM Lab and Makerspace. Two drinking fountain and bottle-filling stations on campus, new Japanese-language reading materials, and Nishimachi uniforms for Sakura Book Bowl teams were also funded.

Several of the TNK committees are responsible for supporting activities on campus for the students. For example, the After School Activities Committee administered a full roster of after-school activities for students of all grade levels, the Lunch Committee organized an online ordering service for bento delivery to the classrooms, the SciTEch Committee challenged students to think about science in the real world in after-school breakout sessions, and the Cross Cultural Committee brought cherished cultural activities to campus like tasty otsukimi (autumn-moon-viewing) rice dango, gingerbread decorating for the holidays, omochitsuki (traditional rice pounding) for the New Year, and other wonderful activities that the students look forward to year after year.

Other committees focused on events for parents. The Social Committee hosted a fabulous “White Party” to welcome parents, teachers, and staff back to school, the Otousan Club hosted monthly meetings that generated great enthusiasm and friendship among many Nishimachi dads, the Parent Education Committee offered several informative and interactive workshops while the Quilt Committee provided a creative and social meeting space for dozens of parents. All of these events were publicized in our weekly TNK Newsletter and on our interactive TNK Portal webpage, which were both 100 percent parent developed.

The second major fundraising event for TNK is our annual Gala Auction. The 2020 Gala Committee had a beautiful sakura theme planned, and they were well underway with planning a fabulous event when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Unfortunately, we were unable to hold our gala, but we thank all the parents who volunteered their time before it was cancelled.

148 Juban 835 みやこ鍼灸 salon A Cut Above AEONSAVEUR Co., Ltd. ARYZTA Food Solutions Japan Co.,

Ltd. Asia Pacific Land (Japan) Ltd. Azabujuban Asa no Ha Baird Brewing Company Bellas Cupcakes Co., Ltd. Bio C’ Bon Ms. Anya Chavali Chocolate House Mon Loire Climbing Gym SPIDER Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., Ltd. Colonial Trade Co., Ltd. Colonial Trade Co., Ltd. Cosari New Korean Table Crisp, Inc. DC BBQ/DC Corporation Co., Ltd. Discover Japan evian Japan (Danone Japan Co.,

Ltd.) Frankie Melbourne Espresso Funroots Co., Ltd. Gate Inc. Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hollywood Cosmetics Co., Ltd. Ikebana International Tokyo Ikon Europubs K.K. Insolité Beaute Jeroboam Wines John Masters Organics Group, Inc. Ms. Asako Kakehi Kamakura Ham Ms. Misato Kawada KCJ Group Inc. Kiwi Kitchen Knock Cucina Buono Italiana kumi kookoon Ms. Kaaren Kunze Ms. Kyoko Kurokawa Kyojin’s Stew House Let’s Party Tokyo Manhattan Margarita Mikasa Corporation MM Apothecary (K.K. Flug) Mom in Balance Tokyo Mori Building Co., Ltd. Ms. Mahoshi Murata My Body My Pilates National Azabu Supermarket ONE WORLD international hair salon Pernod Ricard Japan Priya, The Indian Restaurant Ms. Sachiko Reeve Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts Shi-Fan Chinese Dining Sierra Resort Hotels Suntory Communications Limited Tempura Shinjuku Tsunahachi The Meat Guy The Peninsula Tokyo TNG Academy K.K. Tokiotours Tokyo American Club Tokyo Fitness K.K. (Club 360) Tokyo Seiyu Academy TY Harbor Brewery Village Cellars Ltd. Walker Shortbread / Mitsubishi

Shokuhin Y.S. PARK SALON Yanone Sushi

Donors

Also, unfortunately, the Staff Appreciation Committee was unable to host its popular Staff Appreciation Luncheon in May. There is always a beautiful display of tempting fare made by parents to express their heartfelt thanks to the teachers, staff, and administrators who make our school a special place for our children to learn and grow.

The 2019-2020 school year ended during a very difficult time with the pandemic touching our lives in many ways. However, I was buoyed by the wonderful community of parent volunteers who supported TNK throughout the entire year.

Back at the beginning of the 1981 school year, many parents saw that teachers and staff were burdened with non-educational tasks in addition to their teaching responsibilities, which led to the creation of TNK. This need still exists today, and I witnessed firsthand how enthusiastically our parents volunteer to support our teachers, students, school, and the wider community. It was a wonderful collaborative experience and a great pleasure volunteering with so many Nishimachi parents. I was honored to serve as TNK President during this school year and enjoyed working side by side with my talented Executive Board members, Mina Bessho, Laura Huizi, Tracy Kao, Ali Gorman, and Ayako Golden. TNK is a vibrant and successful organization because our parents care and take action. Thank you to all the TNK volunteers.