Type Private Staff 5 Grades PreK age 3 ~ Gr.12 Phone +81 9460015001 Number of students 187 | Established 2001 Faculty 32 Enrollment 187 Mascot Newbird | |
Address 3 Chome-18-32 Minamiikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo 171-0022, Japan Motto Help us help you help your children! Similar Nishimachi Internatio School, K Internatio School T, Aoba‑Jap Internatio School, Internatio School of the Sacre, The British School in | ||
New International School (NewIS) was founded in Tokyo, Japan, in 2001 as a dual language, multiage by design (3 year age range of students in each class) international school, initially for students from age 3 to grade 9, following the mission of Steven Parr, the Founding Director/Head of School, and under the sponsorship of Iwata Gakuen. It extended to Grade 10 from August, 2012, Grade 11 from August, 2013, and Grade 12 from August, 2014. As of December 15, 2016, 187 students are enrolled, including 77 in the Secondary School (Grades 7-12). The school was accredited through grade 9 by the Middle States Association of College and Schools (MSA) in 2005, granted non-profit status as a school foundation in 2006, and accredited through grade 12 by both MSA and the Council of International Schools (CIS) in May of 2014. The students learn all core subjects in both English and Japanese with two teachers of equal status per class, one for Japanese and one for English, who, using an integrated, thematic approach, teach, plan and write their reports together. It represents a highly interactive Vygotskian style of multiage education that furthers the development of social skills and social and emotional intelligence as well as cognitive intelligence. In addition, all of the students learn to play the violin by ear in the primary school, and Mandarin Chinese is offered as an elective from grades one to twelve. The school has graduated 92 students from grade 9, and 5 graduates from grade 12 as of June, 2016. The number of grade 12 graduates is expected to increase to 10+ per year from 2018-19. NewIS is a member of the Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS) and a founding member of the Tokyo Association of International Preschools (TAIP)
Contents
Multiage
All classes at NewIS follow a multiage style of education initially inspired by Dr Sandra Stone, author of Creating the Multiage Classroom. Each of the classes has a three-year age-grade range of students and at least two teachers who use formative assessment methods and a developmental approach, as opposed to a standardized curriculum. The students continually create and recreate themselves as individuals without being compared to others and without the imposition of fixed age-grade expectations or limitations on their learning. Over the three year cycles, they experience different age and developmental perspectives and proficiences with respect to others as a matter of course. They learn from each other as well as from adults within their zones of proximal developmen(ZPD).
Dual language
The school mission states that at NewIS, “every child becomes bilingual or multilingual over time.” To achieve this, NewIS uses a system of content-based dual language education, where all subjects are learned in both English and Japanese, and possibly in a third or fourth language as well for students who use yet other languages at home. The thematic approach facilitates the transfer of concepts from one language to another over time. Activities in context minimize the need for translation. In class, the students are welcome to use all of their languages in the process of learning and doing. Following the inspiration of Prof. Ofelia Garcia of CUNY graduate school, "translanguaging" methods are favored. The students develop and access their linguistic repertoire according to the context, which is how adults use language.
Curriculum
Drawing on the configuration of the Curriculum for Excellence (Scotland), the curriculum cycle at New IS is designed to assure breadth, balance, continuity, progression, and cohesion in all of the curriculum areas, with a comprehensive range of learning skills and informed attitudes developed in every topic. The classes all have a three year cycle of themes, with one major theme in each of three twelve week terms in a school year. The program rotates term by term through the major areas of social science [1. People, past events and societies (History); 2. People, place and environment (Geography); and 3. People in society, economy and business (Sociology, Politics, Economics, Anthropology)], and every year addresses four areas in science [ 1.Materials and Planet Earth (Chemistry); 2. Forces, electricity & waves (Physics); 3. Biological systems (Biology); and 4 .Topical science (contemporary issues)], and three areas in mathematics [1. Number, money and measure (Algebra, Advanced Algebra); 2. Shape, position and movement (Geometry, Pre-calculus, Calculus), and 3. Information Handling (Data Analysis, Statistics)]. Technology is an explicit curricular area whose strands are integrated into each of the subject areas.
Both the English and Japanese elements of the NewIS program use the same pedagogies and curriculum, which has led the school to develop a radically different approach to Japanese kanji when compared to those used in the Japanese school system or at other international schools. Kanji are learned from an early age in a logical order for reading and writing as recommended by Professor Yukio Yoshimoto of Rikkyo and other universities, along with the learning of common use kanji and developmentally appropriate kanji in each of the subject areas related to the themes. Because the Japanese language has a purely phonetic alphabet, it is relatively easy for even young children to learn to decode the language. The kanji add a visual dimension that children relate to well if they are learned in context.
The students at NewIS learn to play the violin by ear through the Suzuki method, starting from age 6, and many of them go on to other instruments as well. The visual and performing arts are also built into the curriculum.
Dr. Sandra Stone has been a consultant to the multiage program, and Professor Emeritus Kazuko Nakajima of the University of Toronto has been a consultant to the Japanese program since the school was established. Other consultants who have spent some days in the classroom and given workshops to the teachers have included Bonnie Campbell Hill, Connie Ekey, Prof.Ofelia Garcia, and Dr. Rick Gordon of the Compass School in Vermont.
Facilities
NewIS is housed in two complete buildings and part of four others in Miniami-Ikebukuro, which is convenient to Ikebukuro station, Zoshigaya Sation, and other subway stations as well. To accommodate hands-on, constructivist teaching, the classrooms are spacious and well resourced. Resources include a library with over 40,000 books, Interactive SmartBoards in each classroom, student computers in all classrooms, and many resources for active learning, including over 50 imported science kits imported. One of the buildings houses an all-purpose room used for PE, assemblies, and events, and a rooftop playground.
Main building – 1F School Office 2F,3F and 4F, Multiage Classes. 5F Music and 6F Art.
Annex building - 1F Gym, 2F,3F multiage classrooms, Roof-top Play Area
Sun Building - 2F Early Learning Center, and a classroom for the Chinese Language (offered as an elective(, 3F two other multiage classrooms .
Ikebukuro Excellence Building - Library and Resource Center
Tsutake and Sanji Building: More classrooms for the Upper and Senior school
3 School Bus Routes are available.
School events
To compliment the multiage, hands on approach to learning at NewIS, a number of student centered events have been created. These include, specialty weeks e.g. Book Week, Autumn Festival Week, Heritage Week, and Science and Technology Weeks; two or three day overnight camps for the older children; and whole school events such as Snow Day, Picnic and Field Day, a Spring Carnival, and yearly musical productions. NewIS also offers parents and visitors a number of orientations and seminars throughout the year focusing on different aspects of the program.
Extra programs
Extra programs include a Saturday Program, Summer School Program, and After School Clubs or Extended Care.