The Crane - 31st May 2013

Dates to note
Please make a note of the forthcoming dates/events.
Tuesday, 4 th June – PYP Student-led Conferences
Friday, 7 th June – Grade 5 PYP Graduation
Thursday, 20 th June – school year ends
Class of 2013
Last Saturday saw the eight students of the Class of
2013 leave HIS formally through their Commencement
ceremony. Whilst some of the Class have only been at
HIS a few years, for others it was the end of a very
long journey with HIS; Karen and Manan have only
ever gone to school at Hiroshima International School!
Congratulations to Yuta, Jeong An, Karen, Tommy,
Yuichiro, Marina, Manan and Tres, and we wish you
the best of luck in your future studies and careers.
Keep in touch!
The Crane
The newsletter of Hiroshima International School
31 st May 2013
PYP Student-led Conferences
You should have already received your invitations to the PYP Student-led conferences taking place next
Tuesday. School will be closed for PYP students, who should only be at school while conferencing with their
parents.
The role of the child
Your child will be in charge of leading you through the student-led conference. It is important that you
follow their lead. The children will have a ‘roadmap’ to guide you through your conference. They will be
responsible for telling you about their development in each learning area. They are encouraged to use the
language that most readily allows them to communicate with you, whether that be English, Japanese or any
other language.
The role of the parents
This is the most exciting part… the student is in charge! In the SLCs the student becomes the teacher and
you become the student! Please respect the timing of this presentation – there is a lot for you to see and
experience and we wouldn‘t want you and your child to miss out on any part of this day! The parents’ role
is vital to the success of the conference. It is important that you see yourselves as an integral part of the
discussion. When sharing your child’s growth in learning your role is more important than that of a good
listener. You are actively encouraged to ask questions.

Grade 5 Graduation
The Grade 5 Graduation will be taking place on Friday, 7 June starting at 4:30pm in the Gym at HIS: this
event is open to any member of the school community who wishes to come and celebrate the achievements
of these students who are about to pass from the Primary to the Secondary school.
Sports Day
Were we just plain lucky or were the weather gods smiling on us
because we deserve good fortune? Who cares! On Wednesday
the whole school turned out for the annual HIS Sports Day at the
Coca-Cola West Stadium in Naka-ku, and it is probably fair to say
that a great time was had by all.
The morning focused on co-operative team challenges in vertical
groups: teams consisting of students from the Foundation class
through to Grade 12 worked together to accumulate points for
their larger ‘colour’ team. After lunch the focus turned to the
more traditional track and field events
Party, etc. Invitations
Recently in school we have had a couple of instances of parents
asking teachers to give out party invitations on behalf of their
children. Whilst this is not generally a problem it does become one when some students are included, i.e.
invited to the party, and others are excluded and do not receive an invitation. This might be a fact of life for
adults but for children it can be very distressing, both at the time when the invitations are handed out and
afterwards when children are talking about the party. Therefore, in line with the practice in many schools,
we will no longer give invitations out on behalf of parents or children unless all students in a class are invited.
Should you decide to give them out yourself in school we simply ask that you are mindful of the feelings
of students and do this discreetly: we will also expect this of the students.
HIS prides itself on its friendliness and ‘family’ approach, and so I would urge all families to consider being
as inclusive as possible when organising events such as birthday parties, etc. Inevitably our children will not
always get on all the time but it is important that we urge them to be inclusive and to consider the feelings
of others at all times, thus modelling the Learner Profile attribute of being Caring.
I am sure that you understand why this approach is necessary: If you have any questions or concerns about
this matter please feel free to contact me.
Yearbook
A team of teachers and students have been working very hard to assemble the 2012-
13 Yearbook ready for sending off to the printer: it went off this week and we will
have them back before the end of the school year.
The yearbook is priced at ¥4500 and there will be limited copies, so it is important to
order early: the order form is being sent home as a hard copy and can also be downloaded
from the Newsletter page of the school’s website. It should be returned to the
school office as soon as possible.
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Financial Regulations 2013-14
A letter detailing tuition and other fees for the next school year has been mailed to all families and corporate
sponsors. Whilst there have been some adjustments due to the re-alignment of grade groupings, the
policy this year has been one of keeping fees for 2013-14 at the same level as for this year, i.e. no increase.
Facebook and Twitter
If you want to get up-to-date news about what is happening at HIS then make sure that you a) ‘Like’ our
Facebook page and b) ‘Follow’ our Twitter page: not only do photos and videos from events get posted as
they happen but it is also where we will first make announcements about emergency closures, etc.
Hiroshima International School tel. (082) 843 4111
3-49-1, Kurakake, Asakita-ku fax. (082) 843 6399
Hiroshima 739-1743 www.hiroshima-is.ac.jp
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