The Lion – 11th December 2015

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MESSAGE FROM BRIAN CHRISTIAN – PRINCIPAL Dear Parents, There are some weeks when it is hard to know where to begin my Lion message – not so this week. The starting point has to be music. On Tuesday evening our annual Christmas Concert in the Hitomi Hall offered a wonderful show-case of the breadth of musical talent at BST with a wide-ranging programme that painted a colourful spectrum of classical and popular favourites. It would be invidious of me to pick out my particular highlights but I have to admit to being especially impressed by that rousing finale provided by Full-Scale and Opus in their stunning performance of Zadok the Priest.

The following day I was privileged to attend a rather different concert in the Green Hall at Showa – equally impressive but soothing rather than spectacular and on a much smaller scale. Richard Deakin is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music and a very highly accomplished violinist; Emma Ferrand is a no less accomplished cellist from the Royal Northern College of Music. BST strings players of all ages were fortunate enough to benefit from master-classes led by Richard and Emma throughout Wednesday morning and a little later in the day all secondary school students were treated to a remarkable recital. There was no mistaking the quality of their performance and it was very clear that a lot of very enthusiastic young musicians had been inspired by their visit.

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Music is such an important part of school life and it is evident from Tuesday evening’s music, and all the performances in assemblies throughout the term, that music at BST is in very good heart. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Christmas Concert was simply the number of students who took to the stage with such obvious enthusiasm during the course of the evening. I would like to take this opportunity to say a very sincere thank you to Mr Curran, Ms Danmeri and Ms Nummelin, and to all of the peripatetic teachers who give them such strong support and, of course, to the young performers who so willingly share their talent with us. I think by now most of you will be aware that Tuesday’s concert was, in effect, Mr Curran’s swansong. He returns to the UK at the end of this term having done so much to lay such strong musical foundations here at BST during his very successful time with us. We wish him well as he embarks on the next stage in his career; he leaves, not only with the gratitude of the school and his colleagues, but with the thanks and good wishes of so many young people who have been inspired by his passion for all things musical. In January, Ms Danmeri takes over as the school’s Director of Music and, following a very successful early recruitment campaign (more of that later!) I know that Mr Curran’s legacy will not be squandered. Something else that you will hear much more about in due course is the BST Parent Portal. This was first mentioned in last year’s Strategic Intentions document and at our annual open meeting for parents in May I promised that it would be introduced during this academic year. I am pleased to report that initial beta-testing is well under way and that all the feedback suggests that the project is progressing well. Now the portal has been opened up to one vertical form in the Secondary School for the next stage in the trial process, allowing us to check that it is working effectively for Years 7-13 and to act on the feedback we receive. We are patiently taking one step at a time very carefully because we want to get it right from the outset but please bear with us - this will be a major step forward in our communication with parents and by the end of the academic year it will be open to everyone.

Finally, I know that a number of our students – particularly those considering the option of application to universities in the UK – have in the past gained a great deal from attendance at one of the many summer schools on offer from a range of different providers. Now the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) is opening its own summer school to be held at Clare College, Cambridge in conjunction with Summer Boarding Courses. Anyone who is interested can find further information here: http://www.cobis.org.uk/page.cfm?p=1416 Enjoy your weekend Brian Christian https://twitter.com/BST_Principal

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SECONDARY NEWS Dear Students and Parents, As the end of term draws ever closer we are getting increasingly busier! Music took centre stage this week and it was such a delight to see our students perform in the magnificent Hitomi Hall for our annual Christmas Concert on Tuesday evening. A variety of musicians from both the Primary and Secondary schools, along with teachers, parents and our peripatetic team ‘wowed’ the packed house with an eclectic range of pieces. I am always in awe of musicians (especially young ones) who have mastered or are learning to master a particular discipline and are so willing and courageous to share their passion with an audience; it was a privilege to attend and be able to show our appreciation for their hard work and talent. The following day saw the Music Department host a visit from tutors from the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music. A workshop with our String Ensemble and masterclasses with some of our violinists and cellists was followed by a real treat: all students witnessed a wonderful lunchtime concert of 18th and 19th century classical music. A huge thank you to the music team for putting on these wonderful performances and facilitating these great experiences for our students. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Curran for not only his hard work this week, but also for the past seven years here at BST. Mr. Curran will be leaving us at the end of the term and we wish him well. We would also like to welcome Ms. Louisa Danmeri from the Primary school who will take on the role of Director of Music for the whole school. Congratulations to the swimming team who won first place at the Snowflake Invitational in Yokosuka last Sunday; once again there were lots of personal bests and this is clear evidence of hard work and purposeful coaching, resulting in personal and collective excellence. The HS girls' hockey team and MS girls' futsal teams also won their fixtures in an impressive fashion at the weekend, so congratulations again to all involved. Sports fixtures continue to the very end of this term with a futsal 'jamboree' taking place at Showa this Saturday for MS girls from 9.00am until 2.00pm. Our MS boys’ basketball team play at Yokohama on Saturday with more fixtures for a variety of teams next Wednesday. Sport is thriving at BST and we are looking at ways to ensure more students can have access to these fantastic opportunities. Can I take this opportunity to thank our PE staff and coaches who really do go the ‘extra mile’ for our students and I am sure they will have a well-deserved break over the Christmas holiday……….probably by playing lots of sport! In other news, we had a very productive Year 9 Parents' Evening yesterday; it was good to see many of you again and meet some new faces. Reports and Progress Grade Cards will be issued for all students on the last day of term. Don’t forget our last coffee morning of the term on Tuesday 15th December which will focus on our Electives Programme. We hope to see you at 9.00am. in the 5th floor library; please RSVP if you are attending. And finally, I do hope that students from Key Stage 3 enjoy their ‘HallMoween Disco’ this evening; many thanks to our Student Union for organising this event. Have a lovely weekend. Brian Platts https://twitter.com/bst_secondary

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UPCOMING EVENTS SECONDARY UPCOMING EVENTS: Saturday 12th December MS Girls’ Futsal Jamboree (H) 9.00am – 2.00pm MS Girls’ Kanto Plains vs ISSH, AOBA, YIS (A) 9.00am – 2.00pm MS Boys’ Basketball vs YIS 11.15am – 3.30pm Sunday 13th December Sunday Basketball (H) 4.00pm - 7.00pm Sunday Hockey Training (H) 4.30pm – 7.00pm Monday 14th December Bugsy Malone Production Rehearsals 3.30pm – 5.00pm Climbing Club 3.45pm – 7.45pm Tuesday 15th December Secondary Coffee Morning: Electives 9.00am – 10.00am (All Sec Parents) rsvp: [email protected] HS Boys’ Football Training – Shibuya Sports Ground (A) 3.30pm – 6.30pm HS Boys’ Football Training (A) 3.45pm – 6.30pm Wednesday 16th December MS Girls’ Kanto Plains Futsal vs Seisen (H) 3.30pm – 6.30pm HS Girls’ JV Kanto Plains Basketball c Seisen (A) 3.45pm – 4.45pm MS Girls’ Futsal vs Seisen (H) 4.45pm – 6.30pm Thursday 17th December Year 7 – 11 and Year 12 – 13 Term 1 Progress Reports Issued Friday 18th December Last day of Term 1 Noon dismissal

Term 2 begins on Tuesday 12th January 2016 Design/Tech Savvy and Keen to Volunteer? From January, Year 9 students will be undertaking an indepth project that will involve building and programming a device that will collect atmospheric data. They will then analyse that data to draw conclusions. Our goal with this project is to replicate a real world technology project. To enhance the students' learning, we are looking for anyone who has experience working in the tech industry or on similar projects to speak to students about their jobs, offer some mentoring or provide general support. Specific areas where support would be really valuable are: Project Management, Programming, Design and Fabrication, Technical Writing and Data Analysis. If you, or anyone you know, can spare an hour (or more!) next term, please get in touch. Bradley Hayes Mathematics and Computing Teacher [email protected]

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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

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.

British School in Tokyo - 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 18/12/2015 The diagram shows part of a magic square (in which the total for every row, column and diagonal is the same). What is the value of x? Show all of your working for maximum house points.

4

17

x 5

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PRIMARY NEWS Dear Parents, What a wonderful week it has been! BST Primary is such a busy place that it is a challenging task to highlight just a few items in this newsletter every Friday. On Tuesday, Primary students took part in the Whole School Christmas Concert held on our Showa campus in the magnificent Hitomi Hall. Many of our Primary students demonstrated their individual music skills and performed beautifully as part of ensembles, choirs and orchestras to an audience of over 300 of the BST community and their peers. Congratulations to all the students involved in the concert and to Ms Danmeri, Ms Nummelin and Mr Curran, for organising a wonderful evening. On Thursday, Year 6 students successfully navigated their way up (and down!) Mount Takao calling on all of their team building skills along the way. Thank you to the staff and volunteers that made this trip possible. Of course, I couldn’t write this newsletter without mentioning the fabulous Christmas festivities that have been going on today. We had class Christmas parties and the BST Gym at Shibuya was transformed into a Winter Wonderland for our Nursery to Year 3 students who danced, had their faces painted, took part in Christmas craft and were treated to a story from a very special guest. Tonight we are hosting the Year 4 – 6 Christmas Disco in the Shibuya Gym which I am sure will be a huge success as well. Once again thank you to the staff and volunteers from the PTA who all worked hard to make these events happen. Next week is the last week of Term 1. Nursery and Reception parents can look forward to the Nativity performance of ‘Whoops-a-Daisy Angel’ on Thursday 17th December in Memorial Hall (enter via Shibuya courtyard). The Nativity begins at 10.30am and you can take your seats from 10.20am. Please take some time to read the relevant newsletter for your child’s year group using the links provided below and note the dismissal times for Primary for the last day of term, next Friday. Primary Dismissal Times on Fri 18th Dec 2015 Nursery-11.45, Reception -11.45, Y1-11.50, Y2-11.55, Y3-6 12 noon Have a lovely weekend. Kirsten O’Connor Head of Primary https://twitter.com/OConnor_BST

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PRIMARY NEWSLETTERS Nursery Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/nursery-news-friday-11th-december-2015/ Reception Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/reception-news-friday-11th-december-2015/ Year 1 Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-1-news-friday-11th-december-2015/ Year 2 Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-2-news-friday-11th-december-2015/ Year 3 Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-3-news-friday-11th-december-2015/ Year 4 Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-4-news-friday-11th-december-2015/ Year 5 Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-5-news-friday-11th-december-2015/ Year 6 Newsletter http://www.bst.ac.jp/year-6-news-friday-11th-december-2015/

LOST PROPERTY

We will be displaying the lost property from this term in the foyer from next Monday until Friday morning. Any uniform that is not collected by Friday lunchtime will be donated to the second hand uniform sale.

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SWIMMING

http://www.bst.ac.jp/school-life/sport/swimming/ Direct links below: Yokosuka Snowflake Invitational – 6 December 2015 - Report http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Yokosuka-Snowflake-Invitational-6December-2015-Report.pdf 2015 Snowflake Invitational - High Point Results All http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-Snowflake-Invitational-High-PointResults-All.pdf 2015 Snowflake Invitational - Final Results All Events http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-Snowflake-Invitational-FinalResults-All-Events.pdf 2015 Snowflake Invitational - Combined Team Scores http://www.bst.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-Snowflake-Invitational-CombinedTeam-Scores.pdf

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I CAN GYMNASTICS REGISTRATION

I CAN. GYMNASTICS for Y1 to Y5 students – January to June 2016 How often do we catch ourselves telling our children that they 'cannot' do something, limiting opportunities for growth and achievement? We teach the children to say "I CAN" and to focus on developing confidence in every aspect of their lives as well as teaching motor coordination using basic gymnastics skills. Spaces are available and the program is offered on Friday mornings 7:30 a.m. ~ 8:20 a.m. in the BST Shibuya B1F gym. (Showa students will catch the shuttle bus right after class) There are 17 classes in Terms 2 & 3 January to June 2016 (starting January 15th, Friday). The tuition is 47,000 yen per child. (Y1 to Y5 students only). Please email [email protected] to sign-up! Our website is www.icanjapan.com Thank you very much.

BST AIKIDO CLUB

The BST Aikido Club 2015-2016 Term 2 (Winter) registration All detail is HERE https://goo.gl/1vMm9h The BST Aikido Club is in its 24th year of operation at BST and is an official branch dojo of the Aikikai Foundation-Aikido World Headquarters. Students now doing Aikido can register early to keep their places for next term. Classes are open to girls and boys from five years old. *Students now doing Aikido are asked to complete registration not later than December 8* **Places in the Aikido program will be confirmed only once the term fees are paid in full**

FANTASY FOOTBALL

To join us: http://fantasypremierleague.com League code: 335195-96113 All welcome! Team of the Week: Mr Bateson (84pts) Click here for all the details. https://goo.gl/9JbTM1

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PTA

SAYONARA SALE ITEMS BST BONE FAMILY SAYONARA SALE ITEMS https://goo.gl/ZSDzY1 BST RATHI FAMILY – CAR FOR SALE - https://goo.gl/rP6GAv BST CARNEY FAMILY - ***CAR FOR SALE*** We are leaving Japan in January and need to find a new home for our fab little car. Mazda Premacy 2007 model 7 seats Automatic sliding doors ¥375,000 Contact Catherine - [email protected]

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PTA TOURS KAPPABASHI TOUR On Thursday, 10th December BST PTA (M&S) Tours visited Kappabashi Dori (Kitchen Street) This was the last PTA Tour of this year, thank you to everyone who has joined us!

Sushi Clock

UPCOMING TOURS FOR TERM 2 UPCOMING 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 - Tableware Festival in Tokyo Dome. 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 [email protected] We look forward to meeting new friends and catching up with old friends. Monica and Sandra (M&S)

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COMMUNITY EVENTS Peninsula’s Chef Nojima's Gingerbread House Decorating Class http://tokyo.peninsula.com/en/special-offers/Gingerbread-House-Decorating-Class

BURNS SUPPER 2016

St Andrew Society Yokohama and Tokyo

Burns Supper 2016 Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o' a grace As lang's my arm. The St. Andrew Society of Yokohama and Tokyo is pleased to bring you the 2016 Burns Supper, to be held in the splendid surroundings of the Tokyo American Club on Friday 5th February. Date: Friday 5th February 2016 Place: Tokyo American Club Dress: Black tie, kilt-wearers welcome Time: 18:30 - 24:00 Map: Click here Booking: Register here Full flyer here: https://goo.gl/Rlbqfq Please visit www.st-andrews-society.com for further information and to book your table.

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