Administration Corner
Head of School
Health-Related Updates & Preparations
Last Monday, the school set up five hand sanitation stations across the school in preparation for the potential threat of the Coronavirus. Alcohol pumps were placed at the entry to the school, on the second and third floor hallways (midway) and one outside the entry to the gymnasium.
While we remain at Level 1 of our pandemic response protocols, we continue to monitor the situation, are in daily communication with Japan Council of International Schools and are committed to responding in a balanced and appropriate fashion with the information provided to us by governmental authorities (the US State Department included) and other agencies.
At the dormitory, we are asking students to limit their time downtown, especially areas where tourists may congregate and to wear masks when on public transportation and in groups. We have also sent out educational videos to teachers on proper handwashing so they can share these with students. New cleaning routines will also be incorporated at the end of day classroom cleaning time.
In Connection to the Coronavirus, HIS is taking the following precautions:
- Food stockpiles in the dorm have been increased
- N95 Masks have been ordered as a precaution
- Any incoming students from Wuhan would be asked to be on a two-week home quarantine to ensure they are virus free before attending school (no applicants at this point) - Common to all JCIS schools.
- The above will be reviewed and updated and may be extended to all students coming from China, should the virus spread.
- Would review the Kyoto trip should travel restrictions be suggested by government authorities.
- Following any future instructions from Habitat for Humanity regarding our planned trip to Myanmar. (We have a meeting regarding that on Thursday).
From the Principal’s Office
Report Cards - Elementary and Secondary (Sapporo): Reports will be downloadable on Alma as of Saturday, February 8th
Please note, I will also email all parents their child’s report card as PDF along with instructions about how to retrieve this and all future report cards directly from Alma.
Report Cards - Elementary (Niseko): Mr. Mernin and the Niseko school office will email report cards directly.
Early Years report cards will be generated and distributed in paper format.
Sapporo Parent Conferences - Tuesday, February 11 (8:30-3:30)
(Elementary) February parent conferences can be organized by parents contacting their child’s homeroom milepost teacher. In some cases, a teacher might contact you directly to arrange a conference if they feel there is a specific issue or concern to discuss.
(Secondary) Middle school or high school parents who would like to schedule a meeting with their child's teachers, please contact me at principal@his.ac.jp by February 7th.
If one or more teachers would like to organize a meeting to discuss an issue or concern, I will contact you within the next week.
Next PTA Meeting
Looking forward to seeing parents at the next PTA meeting this week on Wednesday, February 5th, from 15:45 in Room 206. Please let me know if you need a babysitter so one can be arranged.
Babysitters and Tutors
Any family looking for a babysitter or a tutor is welcome to contact me. From time to time, students are looking to make some extra money after school. I have a list of some students who are interested in finding out about babysitting or tutoring opportunities in the HIS community. Please contact me at principal@his.ac.jp
Greetings from the Executive Board
Notices from the Executive Board:
Outgoing EB Chair:
November 30, 2019
Dear HIS Community,
It is with regret that I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign my position on the HIS Executive Board, effective immediately.
Although I have only been Executive Board Chair since August 1, 2019, it has been increasingly difficult for me to fulfill the requirements of Executive Board Chair as well as Board member, and I feel it would be best for me to step down from my board responsibilities at this time.
It has been a pleasure being part of the HIS Executive Board and I am honored to have served the HIS community as a Board member these past 5 1/2 years. The experience I earned has been very valuable and I wish the Board and New Chair, Phred Kaufman, the very best.
Warmest regards,
Alan Bossaer
Incoming EB Chair:
Dear Husky Community,
I would like to thank Alan B for all of his hard work on the HIS Board.
I look forward to working with the Executive Board and Administration of the school in ensuring a smooth and positive transition to the new head of school.
Sincerely yours,
Phred Kaufman
If you wish to learn about what the Executive Board is
and what we do, please follow this link to the HIS homepage:
(Governance page is here)
If you wish to read the minutes to our meetings,
to read in detail, what exactly was discussed and decided on,
then follow this link to the HIS homepage minutes archive:
(Minutes Archive is here)
The Executive Board had its annual Scholarship Fundraiser this June. If you wish to see the Final Report,that shows how much money we were able to raise, please find the link to the document here.
@ Niseko
Dear Teachers, Staff, Parents and Prospective Parents of HIS Niseko
Our Best Learning of Late:
I am so grateful to see the EY students actively practicing kindness in the classroom. I am very excited to see the MP students celebrating the written word during their latest writing celebration.
Outstanding job, teachers!
Mummy and Me
Just a quick note that HIS Niseko EY will host Mummy and Me this Wednesday, February 5 at 10:00. During these sessions, we share dances, songs, books, and crafts. EY students enjoy sharing our songs and dances with new friends. Our EY students help smaller friends who join us on these days.
Looking forward to this!
February 11 is an optional PTC Day
February 11 is scheduled for Parent-Teacher Conference (PTC) day. There will be no classes on this day. Each conference is about 20-25 minutes. This is an optional opportunity to share your child's social, emotional and academic progress. Please kindly contact your child's teacher if you would like to request a meeting.
Health Alert
Influenza A continues to make its way through the Niseko community.
Thank you for teachers and staff for continuing to recommend frequent thorough hand washing and cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands).
Upcoming Dates:
- Feb 5 Mummy and Me
- Feb 2 - Int’l Read Aloud
- February 11 PTC Day
- Feb. 14 Town Ski Race Festival
Barry Mernin
Administrator
Hokkaido International School Niseko
HIS Parent E-mailing List
Husky Parents!!
Do you ever have trouble receiving the weekly HEx, Husky-Info bulletins or other school-wide emails? Do you have another email address to which you’d like to receive these electronic communications? If so, please email us at his@his.ac.jp or phone the main office so we can update our mailing lists and include you as soon as possible!
From PTA
PTA Steering Committee Meetings
Please note, all Steering Committee meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month. Any parent is welcome to attend, and please let Megumi or Neil know if you would like to become a regular (and voting) member of the committee.
PTA EMAIL: pta.sapporo@gmail.com
PTA Information Website:
https://sites.google.com/his.ac.jp/parent-teacher-association/home
Husky Hugs
Husky Hugs go out to...
- Rod, Norm, and coaches Mario and Cenobia for their time and efforts for the SFC
- PTA who supported a very delicious food table for the benefit of the SFC and the Kitara Performance.
The Publications & Media class
This year the students have revived the online student website, www.TheHusky Pulse with lots of new content including artwork from elementary, middle, and high school students, MP3 narratives, high school writings, student articles on HIS events and the Hokkaido outdoors.
Also check out HIS Newscast, a series of quirky video reports created by high school students.
The Husky Pulse, created by students for all to see.
Upcoming Events
Upcoming EVENTS
Feb 7 - Semester 1 Report Cards
Feb 11 - Parent-Teacher Conferences
Sports
Fantastic to see and hear a full to the capacity gym of Husky fans to cheers our boys on to a great win against the visitors from Nagoya in the very first game of the SFC last Friday. Unfortunately from there on for the Husky boys, we failed to reach those standards again. A combination of a drop in intensity and some injuries saw us lose to Hiragishi HS, KIUA Flames and then to Nagoya in the return game. This placed us in an all too familiar 4th place finish. The tournament champions were Hiragishi HS from Nagoya IS and Kyoto IS.
A feature of the tournament was the high number of close finishes which indicated the evenness of the teams this year. We also were thrilled to see so many people come into our school to watch the games.
I want to commend the outstanding efforts of the H.A.A. who superbly ran the tournament from the scorebench and the live streaming of games.
Thank you also to the PTA and Gr10 classes who ran delicious food stalls that kept everyone well fed.
Livestream Recording :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5bHNdVJWq7urBLkX7YLDg
Go Huskies!
Babysitting
If you are an HIS parent and are looking for a babysitter for an evening or on the weekend, please feel free to contact his@his.ac.jp
Interested HIS parents can then be provided with a list of students available for babysitting.
Also, if you are looking for a student tutor for your child, please contact his@his.ac.jp
Concerts You Should Go To! FREE CHILDREN TICKETS TO Theatre Production of
- Poupelle of Chimney Town -
A theatre production of the famous and heartwarming children’s book, Poupelle of Chimney Town. Please read the online version for a closer look at the story:
http://poupelle-multilingual.com/poupeiie-of-chimneytown/
Dates & Times:
- Feb. 28 (Fri) 11 am, 3 pm, 7:30 pm
- Feb. 29 (Sat) 11 am, 3 pm, 7:30 pm
- Mar. 1 (Sun) 11 am, 3 pm
Hall opens 30 minutes before each performance time.
Program length: About 75 min
Location: Sapporo Children's Theatre Yamabiko-za.
A 5-minute walk from Motomachi Station (Blue line)
Address: Kita 27-jo, Higashi 15 chome, Higashi-ku Sapporo
Cost:
- Adults= 4000 yen
- Students and children= Free!
- 65 yrs. and older= Free!
Tickets: Available through phone (Japanese) at 090-8270-9565, OR email at trunktheater2012@yahoo.co.jp (Japanese) or ksugino@his.ac.jp (English)
