Founded 1986 | ||
The Melbourne International School of Japanese, Inc. (MISJ; メルボルン国際日本語学校 Meruborun Kokusai Nihongo Gakkō) is a supplementary Japanese school in Melbourne, Australia. It serves levels kindergarten through senior high school. Classes are held on Saturdays, at Oakleigh South Primary School in Oakleigh South.
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History
The Japanese School of Melbourne, a full-time Japanese school, was formed out of the previous supplementary school, so a new supplementary program opened to replace it. There had been Japanese families who already had children enrolled in Australian schools at the time the JSM was established, with many of them being permanent residents. Therefore, there was demand for a new supplementary school.
The MISJ first opened in 1986. The Japanese government had little connection with the new supplementary school. MISJ began admitting non-Japanese students in 1995; these students were divided into small classes based on their Japanese proficiency.
Previously the school held its classes at the Brighton Grammar School in Brighton. The school later moved classes to the Kilvington Girls' Grammar School in Ormond, and then Sandringham East Primary School in Sandringham.
Student body
In April 1995 the MISJ had a total of 232 students in the Japanese national classes, which included some part-Japanese students from mixed marriages, and 23 international class students. The Japanese national classes included 53 kindergarten students, 129 students in grades 1-6, 38 junior high school students, and 12 senior high school students. In 2005 the school had a total of 324 students in all divisions, including 315 students in Japanese national classes and 9 international class students. The Japanese national classes included 73 preschool students, 169 elementary school students, 3 junior high school students, and 30 senior high school students.