November & December Newsletter

We are all happy that November is coming and the hot weather is gone! Fall is always a busy time at school, and we are enjoying the buzz of active learning.

Dr. Glenn Brombuela is finally coming to Japan on Wednesday, November 12! We are very excited to have him join our school. Our secondary students will now have three teachers:

1. Miss Boko -  2 English Literature and essay classes, Bible, and the electives, Home Economics, Bible, Drama, Intro. to Photography, and Art, plus she teaches a TOEFL class after school on Fridays. She will start an after-school Teen Bible Club for girls soon.

2. Mr. Pretorius – 3 social studies classes, and the electives PE, Computer, and Intro. to Psychology, lunch duty, plus he will start an after-school sports club.    

3. Dr. Brombuela – 4 math classes, three science classes, and Bible, plus he will start an after-school Teen Bible Club for boys and a Robotics club.

And for Japanese classes, students have three teachers depending on their level: Mrs. Seki, Mr. Matsuoka, and Mrs. Maruyama.

We are very blessed to have very highly qualified, creative, loving teachers at NLIS. When the WASC visitors were here this year, they kept saying how we have great teachers, and they even asked how we get such qualified teachers.  I told them that we pray hard!

As usual, we have a lot of activities in November, starting on the 1st.  If you know anyone interested in an international school, please let them know about our Open Campus from 10:30 to 12:00 this Saturday, November 1. It includes a bilingual PowerPoint presentation on the school, a campus tour highlighting all levels of the curriculum, and a question-and-answer session. If any of our current parents have questions about junior high or high school, this is a good time to come and learn more.  Children are welcome to join.

November 4-14th is the Food Bank Drive. PSE leads this drive twice a year. It's a time to give to those less fortunate than us, which is an excellent example to our children. Our families and teachers are incredibly generous. Thank you! This meets two of the NLIS learner goals, God-centered and Outreaching.

Friday, November 14, all classes will walk to Midorigaoka Sports Park and Gym and play all day in the gym and in the park. Children will need to bring an obento, a water bottle, a coat, a hat, and comfortable shoes. The students will play badminton and basketball, run relay races, and have a great time.  They should come home very tired, but happy. Parents are welcome to come and enjoy the day with their children. The large gym is closed for renovations, so we are using the smaller one. Students will be outside longer than usual since only half can use the gym at a time.

On Sunday, November 23, is the ASAHI Festival. Students should come to school at 1:45 to practice the songs, and from 2:10 to 2:35, we will sing gospel and Christmas songs at the Asahi Festival, a community event where we share our talents and celebrate the season.

We will be practicing a lot this month to take advantage of this great opportunity to bless our community. 

Also, from 3:00, four of our high school students will volunteer to lead the BINGO game at the festival. They are busy shopping and buying the prizes and the cards for the games. All high school students at NLIS volunteer at least 50 hours during their education at NLIS. This meets two of the learner goals, “Outreaching” and “Actively Expressive.”

Special note: Asahi will be closed to traffic, so the only way to the school is from Yamanote.

Friday, November 28, will be the student-led Parent-Teacher Meetings.  No classes will meet on this day.  The teachers will send more information about this day, including a schedule for the meeting time.

There are quite a few holidays in November: Monday, November 3; Thursday, November 20; Monday, November 24; and, for classes only, Friday, November 28. 

December has two significant events: the Christmas Program on the 12th—a special performance by our students to celebrate the holiday season—and the Christmas Market, a fun and festive way to raise funds for our school. We encourage all parents and family members to join us for these special occasions.

The Christmas Program will be on Friday, December 12, at 2:00. Parents and family members are welcome to enjoy this special time.

The Christmas Market will be held Wednesday through Friday, December 17-19. Please bring your donated items to the gym on Monday and Tuesday, December 15 & 16. Our wonderful student council will separate the items into groups and post signs with the pricing.  Please let us know if anything is new or never used, and if it was expensive, write down how much it cost. We only have two and a half days to sell everything, so there isn't much time to price the items.  Generally, books will be 100 yen, clothes, dishes, and toys will be 100-300 yen, etc.  If something is worth much more, please let us know, and we will price it accordingly. All proceeds will go toward items needed for another building. We are still working hard on getting a building in Shiobe. As soon as anything is certain, we will announce it and invite you to come and look at it.

See below for the November and December Calendar.

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all parents for your unwavering support. We are truly blessed to have such a supportive community at NLIS. Thank you for entrusting us with your children's education and growth. 

Warmly,

Suzy Brown

NOVEMBER      12, 19, 26 (Teacher's Meeting)

*Practice choir every T/TH at 1:20-1:40  4,6,11,13,18, & 7/21 F

1 Sat.               Open Campus

3 M                 Off  Culture Day

4 T                   Teacher Meeting 3:35-5:00 5/6th grade room

4-14                 Food Bank

7 F            Choir -Assembly; Movie Day (1-6) Student Surveys

​7/21 F              Library

14 F           NLIS Sports Day at Midorigaoka! Report Card (1-6)

​20th TH             OFF  Yamanashi Day!  

23 Sun.            Asahi Festival – School Choir

24 M               OFF 

​28 F         No Classes Student Led Parent-teacher Meetings; Parents' Surveys

DECEMBER      10, 17 (Teachers' Meetings)

2 T                   Teacher's Meeting 3:35 in 5/6th class

5 F            Library; Assembly

M 8                 2:30-3:00 Christmas Program Practice 

T 9                   2:30-3:00 Christmas Program Practice

W 10               2:15-3:00 Christmas Program Practice

TH 11              2:00-3:00 Dress Rehearsal

F  12           Christmas Program 2:00-3:00     We welcome all family & friends!

M 15               Christmas Market Donations!

T 16                 Christmas Market Donations!

W 17               Christmas Market!

Th 18               Christmas Market!

F  19                L – return books!  Class parties; Half-day 9:00-12:00; no lunch

Dec. 20-Jan. 6 OFF for Holidays !!