April 2025 Newsletter

Hello!

I hope you are having a wonderful spring break.  NLIS will start the new school year on April 7th.  School will be 9:00 to 12:00 for all grades from Monday, April 7th to Wednesday, April 9th, so students will not need an obento, but they will need a small snack and a thermos of water or tea.  Then, on Thursday, April 10th, we will have school at regular hours:  Grades 1-3  from 9:00 to 3:00, Grades 4-6 from 9:00 to 3:15, and Grades 7-12 from 8:50 to 3:30. 

We have many new students this year.  Please welcome the new families and students.  We are going to have more students than ever when we advertise that we have full accreditation with WASC.  The official letter will be given after WASC has it “commission meetings” on April 28 and 29. (WASC only has three meetings a year to decide the official status of each school annually, in late January, April, and June.)  Thank you for the amazing support you gave to help the accreditation process in late February.  The last email I received from the WASC committee on March 8 was from the WASC chairman, and he wrote, “Keep New Life the wonderful school it is.”  We have a wonderful school, and that is thanks to you, to your wonderful children, and our amazing teachers. The staff will pray regularly for your children and ask God to bless this school year to be a fruitful one full of learning and fun.

Thank you for helping the students safely enter our parking lot every morning and afternoon last year.  Parents will continue to watch the children every afternoon this year. Thank you for your participation.  Please be watchful as you enter and exit the parking lot in the mornings as we try to not ask for volunteers in the mornings.

Teachers will have a weekly Wednesday morning staff meeting until 8:50 and a monthly Tuesday meeting after school.  We will announce it ahead of time, but after school activities will still be held, including after school care. The high school students will take care of the children. They must volunteer 50 hours of service, so they are happy to do this to fulfill their class duty.  This is volunteer, so on this day only, there is no charge for after school care.

The principal must go to Taipei, Taiwan from April 12 to the 16 to visit (inspect) a school for WASC.  The office staff and the teachers will be happy to help any of you during that time.

Thursday, April 17 will be a fun, bonding day for all students and teachers.  They will go by bus to pick strawberries at Hijikata Strawberry Farm, then go to Kose Sports Park to eat obento outside (or inside in case of rain) and play sports.  Please look for the permission slips and more information from your student’s classroom teacher.  Please have your children arrive to school on time on the 17th.  The students must walk to the north side of Kofu station to get on the chartered bus, since the large buses cannot come down our street.

The secondary students have a new teacher, as previously announced this year, but due to the excessive backlog in immigration, Dr. Brombuela from the Philippines’ visa is delayed.  He is ready to come as soon as he gets it, and we will notify the parents when we receive it.  In the meantime, there are two qualified substitutes who will teach math and sciences to all classes from grades 7 to 12, and the 7/8 grade classroom homeroom.  Stella Hukpati, from Africa, is a full-time graduate student at Yamanashi University.  She studies science.  She will teach every Monday, Thursday and Friday.  Jeff, from the Philippines, is a teacher, a registered nurse, and a graduate student. He will teach on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We are very fortunate to find these substitute teachers, and they will work hard until Dr. Brombuela arrives.

Please see the calendar for April below. 

Warmly,

Suzy Brown,

Principal

   7-9 M-W         Start classes, half days  9:00-12:00 - no lunches or Japanese 

10 TH              First full day;  Japanese classes begin; Student Council Mtg.12:50

11 F                 1st Assembly  9:05-20

12-17 S-TH  WASC trip to Taipei (Principal out)

17 TH              FIELD TRIP!  Bus, Strawberry picking, and Kose picnic & sports 

18 F                 Library – students should wear comfortable shoes 

22 T                 Teacher's Mtg. 3:35 – 5:00  

23 W               Board Meeting 3:30

25 F                 PSE General Meeting 2:00 upstairs. 

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29 T                 OFF Showa Day