6th November 2015

The Lion – 6th November 2015
School
news
Secondary
Primary
PTA
\
Community
MESSAGE FROM BRIAN CHRISTIAN – PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents,
There are many reasons to claim that an international school education opens up
opportunities for young people that might not always be available to them in their home
countries. One that is often overlooked is the probability of meeting inspirational role
models from all over the globe. In recent weeks, for example, BST students have enjoyed
meeting and conversing with a Formula 1 World Champion, the Mayor of London, a Nobel
Prize winning geneticist and the News Editor in Chief of a major television network.
For some of our younger students, however, this list of the great and the good paled into
insignificance when they heard that Jeff Kinney would be visiting the school. There may be
those among you who are now scratching your heads, trying to recollect where you may
have heard that name before but it might jog your memory if I tell you that he is an author
and illustrator who has sold well over 150 million books in the past decade. Still unsure?
Perhaps it will help if I mention his most famous creation, the hapless Greg Heffley… and if
that hasn’t switched on the light for you, I know that his twitter handle - @wimpykid – will
bring instant recognition.
Jeff was in Tokyo for just two days to promote The Long Haul, the tenth book in his
unbelievably popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and it says much for the persuasive
powers of 4R and Mr Crummie that we were able to convince him to come to talk to our
Showa Primary students on Wednesday before rushing off to fly to Beijing.
His talk was a fascinating one, and I feel sure that parents of children in Years 4 and 6 will
have heard all about it (endlessly!) over the past few days. For those of you who would like
to know more, a very brief account of Mr Kinney’s inspirational and highly entertaining visit
may be found here: http://www.bst.ac.jp/principalsblog/the-wimpy-kid-comes-to-tokyo/
I was especially pleased to hear such a successful author explaining to our students that
creativity is not magic; that a funny one-liner is often the result of hours of mental wrestling,
that a great cartoon might take days to bring to the page and that even the most popular
writers may have gone through years of rejection. That combination of talent, imagination
and hard work was clearly in evidence in another of the week’s highlights – yesterday
afternoon’s Kanto Plains Drama Festival, hosted by BST in the Olympic Youth Theatre on the
edge of Yoyogi Park.
Page 2 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
In the course of just one day over 100 young students from international schools around
Tokyo came together to devise and present six performances interpreting the broad theme
of Dreams. The results were remarkable, particularly as the groups comprised students
drawn from different schools and many of the performers were meeting each other for the
very first time. Congratulations to everyone involved, and particularly to Mr Naylor and Mr
Curran for their leadership and hard work on the day.
Talking of leadership and hard work, I must take this opportunity to wish good luck and fair
weather to everyone taking part in this weekend’s International Award Silver expedition. If
we hold on to these blue skies for just a little while longer I am sure that their hike,
challenging though it might be, will also be both memorable and very enjoyable.
Finally, I must offer a brief word of thanks to our Cubs and Beavers for their reminder of
the meaning of the Poppy and the importance of Remembrance in our assembly at Shibuya
this morning. They had some difficult concepts to explain and they managed to convey
exactly the right sentiments with clarity and sincerity.
Enjoy your weekend
Brian Christian
https://twitter.com/BST_Principal
PS: A note to Mr Tseng and Year 1 Rhubarbs - I haven’t forgotten your brilliant assembly
this morning, I just ran out of room! Well done!
.
Page 3 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
SECONDARY NEWS
Congratulations to our Victor and Victrix ludorum (winners) from Sports Day 2015
Dear Parents and Students,
Every Thursday I speak with prospective parents who have just been given a tour of the
school by our students. Without fail, their first comment is how confident, articulate and
well-rounded our students are. This is very pleasing to hear. Likewise, yesterday's
assembly was presented by our Student Union and they talked a lot about providing a ‘voice’
for the student body and their earnest desire to make things even better here in school.
They also outlined some of their fundraising activities such as their recent bake sale and the
service opportunities they are involved with such as Second Harvest.
Our Head Prefects have been working really hard recently, looking at different systems and
initiatives to provide the platform for all students to access positions of leadership and
drive further developments in the school. These include; devising a system of responsibility
and rewards for 6th Form students; broadening, defining and linking the different areas of
student leadership together; and providing valuable input into whole school initiatives.
I see examples of student leadership everywhere: on the corridors,
in the classrooms, on the sports fields, in the swimming pool, in
the drama and music rehearsals, during electives and form time,
and whilst on expeditions and hikes like our International Award
students who are away on their Silver hike in Mt Takao. Yesterday,
I attended the Kanto Plains Middle School Drama Festival and it
was fantastic to see students leading their own learning and final
performance for the day; it took them off on fantastically diverse
paths and the performances were wide-ranging, interesting,
exciting and entertaining.
It is our duty to equip and trust our students to lead, where
appropriate, and I am genuinely excited about where this will lead
us and how student leadership is developing at BST. (If only this leadership was evident in
keeping their bedrooms and the 6th Form Common Room here at school a little tidier!)
Have a lovely weekend
Brian Platts
Head of Secondary - https://twitter.com/bst_secondary
Page 4 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
SECONDARY UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
DoE Silver Assessed expedition – Mt Takao
Friday 6th November
DoE Silver Assessed expeditions 1 and 2 (4 days)
1:10 pm – 2:00 pm
Full Scale Choir (Y9-13)
2:00 pm – 3:15 pm
IGCSE Japanese: Writing
Tuesday 10th November
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Secondary Orchestra
3:30 pm – 6:00 pm
ISTAA HS Boys Volleyball v Columbia (H)
Wednesday 11th November
Year 12/13 Arup Engineering Talk
Thursday 12th November
Year 8 Subject Parents Evening
3:30 pm – 6:30 pm
ISTAA HS Girls Volleyball v KAIS (A)
3:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Secondary Golf ECA
Friday 13th November
9:00 am – 10:00 am
Maths Coffee Morning
Saturday 14th November
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
HS Girls Volleyball ISTAA Finals (A)
Sunday 15th November
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
HS Boys Volleyball ISTAA Final (A)
Page 5 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
SECONDARY PARENT DATES
Tuesday 15th December
Monday 18th January
Thursday 11th February
Thursday 25th February
Thursday 3rd March
Tuesday 22nd March
Tuesday 19th April
Monday 9th May
Thursday 16th June
Electives Coffee Morning
KS3 Coffee Morning
MFL Coffee Morning
Expressive Arts Evening (4:30 pm - 6:30 pm)
KS5 Evening
KS4 Evening
English Coffee Morning
Wellbeing Coffee Morning
Student Leadership Coffee Morning
VIOLIN RECITAL - COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS FOR BST
The BST Community has been offered
complimentary tickets to a ‘Violin
Recital ~ An Evening of British Music'
on Tues 10th Nov Ginza Oji Hall 7pm
Midori Komachi (violin), Simon
Callaghan (piano) two artists based in
the UK.
This concert is organised by
Takashima Artists Management,
supported by organisations in UK and
Japan, including the British Council,
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
and The Japan-British Society.
To reserve invitation tickets
(complimentary), please e-mail to
komkom2011@nifty.com with the
name of attendees and contact details.
Early booking is highly recommended,
as seats are limited.
Midori Komachi Official Website: www.midorikomachi.com
Page 6 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
Page 7 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
SHOWA PUZZLE OF THE WEEK
Look to the board out the front of room 504a at Showa for the weekly challenge
and to see the best attempts from the previous puzzle.
Solutions for the puzzle this week are due in by 16/11/2015
A positive whole number is self-descriptive if each digit appears exactly as often as
the value of the digit (e.g. 212 is a three-digit self-descriptive number because 2
occurs twice and 1 occurs once; 3334444 is a seven-digit self-descriptive number
because 3 occurs three times and 4 occurs four times).
Calculate the sum of all the digits of all the five-digit self-descriptive numbers.
FANTASY FOOTBALL
BST FANTASY FOOTBALL
To join us…
http://fantasypremierleague.com
League code: 335195-96113
All welcome!
Team of the Week:
Jack Parkhill (94pts)
All details are here:
https://goo.gl/Zb6N1Z
Page 8 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
SWIMMING REPORT
http://www.bst.ac.jp/school-life/sport/swimming/
Saturday ASIJ, Saturday/Sunday St Mary’s Report
http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ASIJ-31-Oct-St-Mary-1-Nov-2015Report.pdf
Direct links to the results:
31-10-2015 ESMustang Final Meet ASIJ vs BST - Results
http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ESMustang-Final-meet-ASIJ-vs-BST-31Oct-2015.pdf
Buccaneer Invitational 2015 Day 1 - Results
http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Buccaneer-Invitational-2015-ResultsDay-1.pdf
Buccaneer-Invitational-2015-Results-Day-2
http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Buccaneer-Invitational-2015-ResultsDay-2.pdf
Buccaneer-Invitational 2015 Team Scores - Results
http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Buccaneer-Invitational-2015-ResultsTeam-Scores.pdf
Page 9 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
PRIMARY NEWS
Dear Parents,
This week Jeff Kinney, author and illustrator of the 'Diary of a
Wimpy Kid' series visited BST; Mr Kinney offered an inspiring
presentation to the children in line with our own messages of
working hard to achieve your goals as well as an insight to the
challenges of being an author. I know the children and staff
really enjoyed the session. I would like to thank again Mr
Crummie, Mrs Kaiho and the admin team for an eleventh hour
telephone call marathon to secure the visit.
Next week we have Kate Banfield and Angela Sugden, two EYFS
specialist trainers from the UK returning to BST. We are
looking forward to working with them to extend our practice in
Nursery and Reception. Kate and Angela will be offering a
workshop to Nursery and Reception parents. This workshop
will outline how learning is planned for, encouraged and
assessed through play; details below. If you would like to
attend, please sign up with Helen Kirby hkirby@bst.ac.jp by
Wednesday 11th November.
SPECIAL NURSERY & RECEPTION PARENT WORKSHOP
Theme: Supporting children’s learning through play - parents and teachers
together.
Presenters: Kate Banfield and Angela Sugden - EYFS specialists from the UK
Date: Friday 13th November
Time: 9.00-10.00am
Location: Shibuya Music Room
Audience: Nursery and Reception parents
As many of you with children in Y4, 5 and 6 know Ms. Ohkubo organises volunteer
opportunities for children at Showa with elderly local residents at the local volunteer centre.
As we are always looking for other chances to volunteer for our children Ms Ohkubo is
embarking on a new initiative on the Showa campus. In the next few weeks she will be
working with some of the children to contribute to taking care of the Showa campus. At this
time of year this involves sweeping and tidying the leaves falling from the trees on the
walkways around our building and Leo Place. I know she already has many willing hands so
it already looks to be a popular and successful venture. Thank you Ms. Ohkubo.
Congratulations to the BST Swim Team who came first last weekend at the BUCS Invitational
Meet at St Mary's. This is a huge achievement, against 16 other teams and a first for BST.
Well done to all those who swam PBs and placed in their events. Commiserations to our Y6,
7, 8 footballers who lost their third place final match to the German School on penalties at
the Kyonan Cup on Tuesday. We know you'll bounce back from defeat as all good English
teams do.
Finally, congratulations to So Hadano in Year 6 who performed brilliantly with the Tokyo
Ballet Company last weekend in Don Quixote. We were very proud to see So dance so
confidently with such a large, professional dance company.
Have a good weekend
Kirsten O’Connor
Head of Primary
https://twitter.com/OConnor_BST
Page 10 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
PRIMARY NEWSLETTERS
Nursery Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/nursery-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
Reception Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/reception-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
Year 1 Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-1-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
Year 2 Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-2-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
Year 3 Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-3-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
Year 4 Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-4-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
Year 5 Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-5-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
Year 6 Newsletter
http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-6-news-friday-6th-november-2015/
FOOD ALLERGY COFFEE MORNING
FOOD ALLERGIES & INTOLERANCES
NETWORK
A PTA led support group for parents
Coffee Morning/Get Together
Starbucks, Meiji-Dori
Tuesday 17th November 2015, 9am
Contact Kathryn Armstrong if you think
you can make it
k.galton@btinternet.com
Page 11 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
PRIMARY WINTER SHOW
Page 12 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
PTA
Tuesday 10th November 9am at the Starbucks on Meiji Dori
INITIAL SPRING FAIR ORGANISATION MEETING
Open Invitation – We are looking for volunteers to help plan our
largest, annual community event. Please come along if you are
interested in learning more about the Spring Fair and how you can help.
New ideas, special talents, sponsorship opportunities, helping hands,
etc.… all are welcome!! Hope to see you there!
Please email pta@bst.ac.jp with any questions or
suggestions.
Thursday 12th November – 4pm to 5pm in the Shibuya Library
BID MEETING. BST Staff, Parents and Students are welcome to submit bids. For those of
you unfamiliar with the Bid process, this is an opportunity to present ideas as to how PTAraised funds, such as funds raised from the Spring Fair, can be used by teachers, parents
and students to enhance learning experiences and build community at BST. Following are
links to the Bid Process document and the Bid Form. Please let us know if you have any
questions. To be discussed at the 12th November meetings, all bids must be submitted to
Elin Gilmore via pta-secretary@bst.ac.jp by 5th November.
Page 13 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
PTA EVENTS
Monday November 16th – 9am in Shibuya Library
Next PTA Meeting
SKG/UNIQLO CLOTHING DRIVE
SKG/UNIQLO SECOND HAND CLOTHING DRIVE
Collection duration: Tuesday 17th - Thursday 19th November
Donations cease 3.30pm on 19th Nov
Call for donation of children’s used clothing for refugee camps!
UNIQLO started a recycling project named “Send used clothing to refugees” in 2009, and the
Volunteer Club at Shibuya Junior & Senior High School has been designated as one of the
schools involved in the project. With the cooperation of the parents at SKG, BST and
Shibuya Kindergarten, we have sent as many as 70 big cardboard boxes full of clothing to
refugee camps in the past two years.
We would like to ask for your cooperation in this project again this year. If you have any
used children’s clothing (up to Japanese size 160) at home, please bring them to school
washed and folded. Since they will be worn at refugee camps, casual ones are most
welcome. No underwear, no socks or stockings, no shoes, no hats or caps, please.
You’ll find a collection box at the Shibuya Foyer from November 17th to 19th. Your
cooperation is greatly appreciated.
BST MUMS & DADS FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK
Be sure to join the “British School in Tokyo Mums (and Dads)” Facebook
page!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BSTMumsandDads/
Page 14 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
FLEA MARKET
Page 15 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
MOUNT TAKAO PTA TOUR
MOUNT TAKAO HERE WE COME!
On Thursday 12th, November, BST PTA (M&S) Tours will be going to Mt Takao.
Mount Takao is located within the municipality of Hachioji City in the south eastern part of
the Kanto mountainous region. It is about 50 km from the centre of Tokyo.
We are planning to take trial 6 (3.3km) up to the 599m summit before descending via trail 1
(3.8km) - both are estimated to take 90 minutes.
If you would like more information, please take a look at the link below:
http://www.takaotozan.co.jp/takaotozan_eng1/
This is not a gentle walk around Tokyo but a proper hike up a ‘mountain’; walking shoes or
trainers are recommended, as is a rainproof jacket.
We will leave at 8.45am from BST Shibuya and return for 3pm. Our pace will be brisk as time
will be against us (we need to be back for pickup).
We are hoping that we have timed our hike so we can enjoy the trees in their autumnal
colours but Mother Natural is a law unto herself.
Please bring a packed lunch and a drink. We will stop to eat (picnic style) at the top and if
we are lucky gaze upon Fuji-san as we chew and chat (obviously not at the same time – we
are well mannered mums).
We will be going rain or shine.
Please R.S.V.P. to pta-tours@bst.ac.jp
Monica and Sandra (M&S)
Page 16 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
EDO TOKYO MUSEUM TOUR
On Wednesday 25th November the BST PTA
(M&S) Tour will be going to Edo Museum.
In March of this year the Edo-Tokyo museum reopened its
permanent exhibition after its renovation.
The exhibition showcases over half a million original
objects and replicas, offering its visitors a unique view of
400 years of Edo-Tokyo history.
Please join the M&S tour and explore the roots of this magnificent city we live in.
Please R.S.V.P to pta-tours@bst.ac.jp
Monica and Sandra (M&S)
TOURS FOR TERM 2
TOURS FOR TERM 2 2015-2016
Friday, 15th January - Setagaya Boiroichi Flea Market
Thursday, 28th January - Prado Exhibition at the Mitsubishi ichigokan
museum.
Monday, 8th February - Ooedo Onsen Monogatori in Odaibo
Change of tour instead of the onsen will be going to the Tableware
Festival in Tokyo Dome. We will go to the onsen if we have to cancel a
tour due to the weather.
Tuesday 1st March - Machida Flea Market
Wednesday, 16th March - Gotokuji Temple followed by a walk to Daikanyama along the
canal (a great walk in sakura season).
R.S.V.P pta-tours@bst.ac.jp
We look forward to meeting new friends and catching up with old friends.
Monica and Sandra (M&S)
Page 17 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
EGYPTIAN MUSEUM TOUR
On Monday 30th November, BST PTA (M&S) Tour will be going to
The Golden Pharaohs and Pyramids – The Treasures from the Egyptian Museum – Cairo
Mori Arts Center Gallery (Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 52F)
Please see the link below.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/10/13/arts/openings-in-tokyo/golden-pharaohspyramids-treasures-egyptian-museum-cairo/#.Vjmh0NIrJph
A special guest will accompany us, from the Egyptian embassy and also a BST mum (and
dear friend) Mayssa; she will show us one or two highlights from the exhibition.
Tickets cost 1,800 yen.
Maybe we can enjoy lunch after. Please R.S.V.P to pta-tours@bst.ac.jp
Monica and Sandra (M&S)
KAPPABASHI TOUR
KAPPABASHI-DORI (KITCHEN TOWN)
On Thursday, 10th December BST PTA (M&S) Tours will be heading to Kappabashi.
“Kappabashi-dori, also known just as Kappabashi (Japanese: 合羽橋) or Kitchen Town, is a
street in Tokyo, between Ueno and Asakusa which is almost entirely populated with shops
supplying the restaurant trade. These shops sell everything from knives and other kitchen
utensils, mass-produced crockery, restaurant furniture, ovens and decorations, through to
esoteric items such as the plastic display food (sampuru, derived from English sample)
found outside Japanese restaurants...”
Take a look at the link below for more information;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappabashi-dori
Kappabashi is only half an hour away from Shibuya on the Ginza line and just the place to
purchase some last minute Christmas presents for friends and family.
Depending on numbers we might stop for lunch at Sometaro, one of Japanese oldest
okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes) restaurants.
http://beauty-of-japan.com/article/sometaro-okonomiyaki-restaurant-named-after-japanesecomedian/
Please R.S.V.P. to pta-tours@bst.ac.jp
Monica and Sandra (M&S)
Page 18 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
PARENTING TALKS – SARA HITCHENS
Page 19 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
PARENT WORKSHOP
Page 20 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
SAYONARA SALE ITEMS
BST Curran Family – please email rcurran@bst.ac.jp
1. Balinese Daybed with single bed mattress: 15,000 JPY
2. Bose Wave Radio 30,000 JPY
3. Dining Room Table & 6 chairs: 30,000 JPY
PIANO FOR SALE
Page 21 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
LANDS END
Save 30% at Lands’ End
Promo Code: BEFRIEND
PIN: 1200
Shop now via The British School in Tokyo‘s direct link:
http://www.landsend.com/pp/SchoolSearch.html?action=landing&selectedSchoolNum=900061748
DIY INTERNATIONAL COOKING CLUB
DIY International Cooking Club Session 2 will take place on:
Thursday 12th Nov from 10.00am to 14.00ish pm
Hiroo Green House A, 2-16-5, Shibuya-ku;
USA and Philippines- DIY Leaders: Kimberley and Arleen, with Angel Food Cake and a
surprise main dish from the South of USA and another surprise main dish from the
Philippines.
Space limited: ONLY 2 SPACES LEFT, for a maximum of 12 DIYer in total, please email the
coordinator at elenabelloniguarneri@icloud.com, first come first served basis.
No need to bring any tastings from your country any more.
Page 22 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Page 23 of 24
TO TOP PAGE
Page 24 of 24
TO TOP PAGE