Dear Parents,
I hope your children are enjoying school as much as the teachers and I are enjoying the children! We are truly blessed with amazing students. They are working hard and growing fast.
Some new news and some reminders:
1. All high school students must volunteer 50 hours from grades 9 through 12. This helps prepare them for real-world experiences, and it is a way to support our local community. NLIS students are mostly free to choose whatever they are interested in. So far, some have volunteered at Ogino, walked dogs for a vet, and picked grapes. There is an excellent opportunity to work with an organic farmer who speaks English, Japanese, and Chinese. The students will go after school every other week on Wednesday, two times a month, and work for 1 to 2 hours (depending on the light). The students will go together by the 3:48 train to Isawa station. Kotaro Furuya, the farm owner, could pick up to six students in his van at 4:06 and take them to his farm in Ichinomiya-cho. The students would plant seeds, water, weed, measure the growth, test the soil, etc. Afterward, he would return them to Isawa Station, or you could pick them up at the farm. This starts after Golden Week, so on Wednesday, May 8. So far, we have 4 students who have volunteered, so two more spaces are left. I will send home permission slips for this program next week.
2. On Monday, April 29, Friday, May 3, and Monday, May 6, NLIS is off on all national holidays.
3. Friday, May 10: Open House! This is a special opportunity for parents to actively participate in their children’s education by visiting their classes. We highly encourage your presence. Please see the schedule below:
9:05-9:35 2nd Grade
9:40-10:00 4th and 5th Grade
10:00-10:20 3rd Grade
10:30:10:50 1st Grade
11:00-11:20 6-8 Grade
11:25-12:00 9-12 Grade
4. Monday through Friday, May 13-17: Spiritual Emphasis Week! Speakers will come from 11:25 to 11:55. Please see the poster below for more information. Parents are welcome. Parents in grades 1 through 5 may also eat lunch with their children in the cafeteria from 12:00 to 12:30.
5. Tuesday, May 14: There is no afterschool care. Teachers will meet from 3:30 to 5:00. We are working hard for the school’s accreditation with WASC.
6. Starting May 17, students will visit the public library every other week. They should wear comfortable shoes on these days.
7. English Parents’ Bible study is on Friday, May 17 and 31 at 2:00 in the cafeteria. We are studying the Gospel of John. This is free, of course.
8. We have school T-shirts for sale. All students will be asked to wear one for the field trip in June. We also plan on doing some volunteer work picking up trash this year, and the students must wear their t-shirts during that time. On another note, the student council is planning to create new long-sleeve school shirts this year. Please see me or the office staff if you know of a good company that makes quality shirts.
9. Students should be working on their art projects for the art fair. They should bring the art to school between June 17 and June 21.
A peek in June:
June 3-7 Food Bank
June 4-6 Standardized Teaching
Monday, June 10 is off. Teachers will be working hard in a WASC Workshop.
Wednesday, June 12:Our first field trip this year will be at Kachoen in Shizuoka. I love this place! It’s an owl and flower park with bird shows and an aviary where you can feed birds by hand, including exotic birds, ducks, emu, and penguins. Parents are welcome to join. There are some seats available on the buses, but not many, so if you want to join, please let the office staff know right away. More information about this will follow later.
Tuesday and Wednesday, June 18 & 19: Personal Safety Classes
Monday, June 24: Open Campus! If you know anyone interested in joining NLIS, please tell them about this day. Prospective parents tour the building, visit the classes, and hear a bilingual presentation all about our excellent school. Current parents may also join.
June 24-28: Prepare for a burst of creativity at our Art Fair. It's a week-long celebration of our students' artistic talents and a chance for everyone to be inspired.
It will be a busy two months with more learning and growing. Have fun and stay safe on the long weekend holidays.
Warmest regards,
Suzy Brown
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