2010-11

Summer Sessions I & II

(6.20-24, 27-July 1) Photos from our first two summer sessions of the NIS Summer Program!

Congratulations Class of 2011

(6.5) Seniors bid farewell to NIS at the school's 44th Commencement Exercises.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

(6.9) A cast of 25 performers went back in time to New York City in 1922, and provided an evening of delightful music and entertainment in the spring musical, "Thoroughly Modern Millie".

Tohoku Relief 1: Day 1

(6.11) A team of 31 from NIS were able to volunteer for two days of work in "Ishinomaki-shi", an area in Miyagi Prefecture that was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. NIS was fortunate to be helped in our efforts by an NIS alumni parent Mr. Nakagawa, who introduced us to "Team Kobe" - a network of volunteers that are operating out of Ishinomaki-shi Minato Elementary School. After an overnight bus-ride that lasted over 12 hours, the students spent their first day cleaning the cemetery behind the school (which is now an evacuation center). The rain stopped and we were able to take our rain gear off. The mother of the head priest brought out drinks for us and talked about how until just a week ago the cemetery had a few cars washed up into it. We were able to clean up about half of it.

Tohoku Relief 2: Onagawamachi

(6.11) After our first day of work, we took a bypass and drove through Onagawamachi - a place which was completely destroyed by the Tsunami on March 11. The city survived the first wave of the tsunami but was devastated 15-20 minutes later in the second wave. Many people died thinking all was safe after the first wave. We saw the raw power of the tsunami as it wiped out the city and so many homes and lives. There was hardly nothing left standing, only the remnants of foundations of homes. The water was at the level of these taller buildings that managed to stay standing, and actually would have engulfed us where we were standing if we were there at the time. We were told that this was one of the highest levels of all Japan - nearly 40 meters high. The devastation was immense, and it was very emotional.

Tohoku Relief 3: Day 2

(6.12) We split into two teams, one to continue cleaning the cemetery and one to fill sandbags. We broke into a third group to help a woman clean through her home. She explained that she was able to escape to the roof as the tsunami hit and rushed up into the 2nd floor. Within an instant, her house was flooded with sea water and debris. Between shifts working on the house, students ate lunch at the evacuation center and spoke with some of the residents. A few students were moved to tears listening to stories. We finished the work on the home, and took a photo with the woman. Our last job was to clean the gutter of a home next to the school. We returned to the elementary school to clean up and say goodbye, and Ms Kaneda of Team Kobe announced our departureit on the PA system and residents opened the windows and waved and screamed "Arigatou"!! It was an emotional ending to our trip.

Elementary Student-Led Conferences

(4.27) ELC and elementary Student-Led Conferences provided an opportunity for children to share their learning with families at school using their portfolios and the classroom environment.

High School Art Show Opens

(4.26) High school students presented their work to the NIS community and to an examiner as the culmination of two years of work in IB art. Congratulations artists on a great show!

Multiculturalism Conference at NIS

(4.23) 60+ participants joined in a half-day conference on "Multiculturalism" to share ideas and thoughts on being multicultural in Japan. Special thanks to all of the presenters for joining the NIS community and the greater Nagoya community as well for this day.

5th Grade Inventors Share Inventions

(4.21) The 5th graders held their annual "Invention Convention" and shared their amazing ideas and inventions to the entire community. Special thanks to Raytheon for sponsoring this annual event and for supporting science education at NIS!

Badminton Team Finishes Strong

(4. 9) The NIS badminton team finished strong again, this year hosting the tournament. Congratulations Dolphins!

Elementary Book Battles!

(4.9) The upper elementary classes continued their "Battle of the Books" where they break into teams and answer trivia questions about assigned books.

Cherry Blossoms at NIS

(April) The cherry blossoms came a bit late this year, and stayed a bit longer, thanks to slightly cooler weather. Everyone enjoyed the the first signs of warmer weather and time under the blossoms on campus!

NIS Habitat Builds Home in Indonesia

(3/21-27) NIS Habitat would like to thank the NIS community for all the support again. With fourteen students and two teachers, we had a successful trip to Bali. We worked on a house in the village of Git Git for one week and basically finished the bottom half. This was considered a special project by Habitat for Humanity Indonesia and the house was given to a woman who was twice widowed. There was some very heavy rain, but that only slowed us down a little. We learned new skills and words, saw new things, tried new foods and made new friends. There was time to do some shopping, sight-seeing, a visit to a local school and even some white-water rafting. Fundraising has already started for our next trip, wherever that may be. Thank you for your support!

PTA Game Night

(3.11) The PTA hosted a fun-filled "Game Night" with games, food and sweets to take home! Special thanks to all PTA parents and teachers for helping make a fun evening for all who came.

HS Girls Soccer Tournament

(3.11-12) NIS hosted teams for their season-ending soccer tournament for some hard-fought games.

HS Boys Soccer 2nd @ Dolphin Invitational

(2.25-26) The high school boys soccer team came back from a 3-1 deficit in the semifinal game to win 4-3 and propel into the championship game in their bid to win the Dolphin Invitational Soccer Tournament for the fifth straight time. The team fought valiantly but unfortunately lost in a tie-breaker shoot-out to MC Perry for second place. Great soccer by all teams and we thank everyone for coming all the way to Nagoya for this tournament!

MS Boys & Girls Sports at NIS

(2.19) The middle school girls basketball team and boys soccer team hosted teams from KIUA (Kyoto) for a day of games. Thanks KIUA for coming up to Nagoya!

HS Drama "Our Town" Performance

(2.17) HS Drama class performed the Thornton Wilder classic "Our Town" on Feb. 17 and 18 - a story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century USA as depicted through their everyday lives. Great job thespians!

HS Girls Basketball Tournament@NIS

(1.27-28) The Dolphin girls played hard for two days at the season-ending tournament at NIS, unfortunately winning only 1 of 4 games. It was a great two-days of basketball, however, and all players are to be commended for their effort!

Snow Brings Students Out to Play

(Jan) Rare snowfall in Nagoya made recess much more fun - for students of all ages!

HS Winter Retreat@Nagano

(1.13-15) The 2nd annual High School Retreat took place in the mountains of Nagano for two nights and two days of re-connecting.

Students Try "Shodo" Calligraphy

(1.11) HS JFL (Japan as a Foreign Language) students spent the day writing characters using a brush instead of a pencil!

Students Inspect River

(12.16) NIS high school students visited a nearby "river" which they will help a local environmental group assess, clean and possibly help design a plan for new public use in the coming months. The area (within walking distance from school) is a breeding ground for fire-flies which have become rare in the region and the fear is that new development will encroach too close to their habitat and they will disappear.

Secondary Winter Concert

(12.16) The middle school and high school finished off 2010 with their annual winter concert.

ELC Winter Concert Performance

(12.13) The ELC put on a great show for their Winter Concert.

Battle of the Books Returns

(12.13) Elementary students from grades 4-5 participated in their ongoing "Battle of the Books".

Students Continue River Research

(2.27) HS students involved in the "Saido-gawa" river project spent Sunday morning working with neighborhood environmentalists researching water quality and encouraging the development of a "natural" spring-water fed pond by releasing fish into the pond. The area is being threatened due to encroaching development caused by the Nakashidami Land redevelopment project, with plans for a road and shopping mall construction to start soon.

Sports Day Fun!

(10.11) NIS students enjoyed a day in the sun at the Sports Day! Everyone had fun - thanks to all who helped make this event a great day for the students!

Gr.10 Science Class Biosphere Unit

As part of their Biosphere unit for Biology, the grade 10 students went on a field trip to “Yasuda-ike” (Yasuda pond) to study, observe and collect samples for research in and around this local pond. Students tested water samples gathered from various locations in the pond (to gather data on Nitrates, Iron, Alkalinty, Copper, Chlorine and Hardness), took Quadratic measurements, collected insects and documented their results and discoveries.

Specialist Harvey Visits NIS

(9.28) Reading Specialist Stephanie Harvey visited NIS for an EARCOS-sponsored weekend and two days of workshops in the classroom with students.

PTA Welcome Potluck

(9.17) The PTA hosted a community potluck for everyone to open the school-year. Thanks PTA!

Middle School Retreat

(9.8-10) The Middle School spent three days in the mountains on their annual retreat.

HS Mini Retreat

(8/27-28)

First Days of School!

(8.23-25) Snapshots of students back in classes, starting up the 2010-2011 school year!