A-JIS SELECTED BY NERIMA FOR NEW CAMPUS

A-JIS is pleased to announce we have been selected as the preferred tender for a school facility in Nerima Ward, Tokyo. Over the past year, the School Development Office has undertaken an extensive search for a new campus facility that will accommodate the growth of A-JIS on a third campus and provide the opportunity for the development of a high school in the near future.

A-JIS was selected from a large field of candidates as the preferred organization to occupy this existing school campus and we are now in the final stages of the approval process with the Nerima local government. Pending the successful conclusion of this process, we will begin an extensive planning and preparation process, which will include consultation with the A-JIS community, including parents and families.

The facility is located in a beautiful leafy suburb of Nerima, within a unique suburban enclave of tree-lined streets, large parks, sporting facilities, community centers, schools and apartment living. This facility was specifically selected by the School as an ideal location for expansion, in consideration of the size of the campus, roughly four times that of the Suginami Campus, as well as the impressive facilities and resources, including a large number of classrooms and specialty rooms, with sizeable science, art and band rooms. Full size sporting fields, a large indoor gymnasium and a swimming pool offer excellent opportunities for the future growth of our athletics and physical education programs.

The nearest train station, Hikarigaoka on the Oedo Line, is just one train ride direct to Shinjuku in 23 minutes, 30 minutes to Aoyama, 33 minutes to Roppongi and 35 minutes to Azabu Juban. The Oedo line is an inner-city loop line conveniently connecting with all 28 major train lines and subways, making the campus one of the most accessible in Tokyo. The location is a short walk from the station along a tree-lined pedestrian and bicycle path and green belt, with absolutely no roads to cross.

Ample bus parking and safe boarding areas provide the means for our student bus services, as well as the opportunity to develop inter-campus shuttle services, the facility being just 8km or roughly a 15-minute drive north of the Suginami Campus.

There have been many great strides in the growth and advancement of our School this summer and this fantastic new facility is one more step in our mission to be the best that we can be. On conclusion of the selection process, we will begin a comprehensive and careful planning process, including plans for renovation of the facility into a modern international school campus. We will endeavor to keep all families involved and informed as we progress, including decisions on the timeframe for development and which grade levels and programs will be established at the new third campus as those decisions are made.

ANOTHER GREAT LEAP FORWARD IN TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION AT A-JIS

A-JIS is pleased to announce the opening of our second computer lab in the school, on the second floor of the Suginami Campus, along with a huge upgrade of our third floor computer lab. With sincere thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of the Family Community in 2009-2010, we have been able to establish this second computer lab with the very best and latest laptop technology, and complete a total upgrade of our third floor computer room, now an all iMac setup with large 21.5 inch displays, ideal for classroom learning and interaction.

These rooms are another great stride in technology integration in our curriculum, following on from the addition of two mobile MacBook laptop carts last year. Our mobile laptop carts provide computers as wireless learning tools in any classroom in the school, enabling teachers and students to integrate technology as a research, learning or active tool into any lesson, right at their own desks. Our two computer labs compliment this with dedicated technology spaces for lessons guided by teachers using a large screen smart board displays.

Behind the array of impressive computer displays hides another great improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of our IT resources, thanks to the efforts of our dedicated Technical Solutions Team. A complete cabling upgrade and reorganization complimented the establishment of the new labs and will ensure smoother and more reliable operation and maintenance of computers for students. The before and after pictures below speak for themselves.

And the advances don't stop there! New iMacs in the Library, Art Room and Science Lab bring technology right into the learning environment of fields where computers have become integral to skills, learning and research. Laptops for teachers ensures our educators themselves are working on the forefront of technology, where they can lead and support our students in new realms of learning, as well as utilize our comprehensive new student database system and soon to be established teacher, student and parent portals on our school website.

Also advancing our A-JIS Gearbox also implemented last year (a complete email, calendar and document collaboration system for teachers and staff), our new computer labs and carts have been added to an online booking system for teachers, ensuring access for classes and maximizing the use of these resources.

Just like technology and education itself, the progress never stops at A-JIS, where we strive to provide students with the right technical tools to be the best that they can be in the evolving world of today and tomorrow. Come and see it all for yourself at our next family event on campus.

A NEW ERA IN LEADERSHIP

Dear A-JIS Community,

It is with great pleasure that we announce and introduce our new Head of School, Mr. Neal Dilk, appointed by the new Board on July 9th 2010. As a school we are looking forward to a new era of leadership and direction for A-JIS, bringing our school to its rightful place in the international educational arena.

Many of you know Mr. Dilk, but may not know his complete background. Mr. Dilk has worked at A-JIS for twelve years, and previous to his role as Head of School, worked as the Director of Curriculum, the Middle School Principal and as the Head of Science. Neal has a Master’s Degree in International School Administration from Lehigh University, has completed principal’s training in London, England at the Principal’s Training Center, and has completed teacher’s training at Brandon University where he earned a Bachelor of Education. 

We are also very pleased to announce that Mr. Paul Wright and Ms. Kristine Bordner will be remaining at A-JIS as part of our leadership team in the new school year. Their experience and expertise will be of enormous value to the school in this exciting new era of growth and advancement.

There are many wonderful characteristics that make A-JIS a great place for students to learn. We will hold on tightly to those values as we adjust school processes and improve practices. We look forward to your continued support of the School and our new leadership as we work together to move A-JIS forward into a bigger and brighter future.

We look forward to meeting all of our current and new families next month for the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. In the meantime we wish all A-JIS families and safe and enjoyable summer break.

A-JIS Mother Tongue Program

A-JIS is proud to announce plans to implement a Mother Tongue Program this fall.

The purpose of the program is to provide students with the opportunity to develop academic skills in their native language. It is designed for children who are fluent speakers in a language that is spoken at home with at least one parent.

The mother tongue program at A-JIS operates at the school, but outside of regular school hours. Currently the program consists of two sessions of one hour of mother tongue instruction each week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:45pm to 4:45pm. Depending on how the program develops, the school may opt to add additional sessions at a later date. Each language group has flexibility in terms of scheduling and the number/size of each group.

Mother Tongue classes will begin from October and will depend on availability of an instructor and the number of children who register for a particular language.

A-JIS is currently seeking instructors for various languages that may be taught this upcoming school year. Applicants must be fluent in the language that they are offering to instruct and must also be proficient in English. We are accepting applications from instructors of any language, but are particularly interested in: Arabic, French, German, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Taiwanese. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to employment@aobajapan.jp. Further information on employment application procedures are available here.