Greetings everyone,

Kyoto Prefecture announces miscellaneous schools (KIS) can plan to re-enter

On Saturday 16 May Kyoto Prefecture announced miscellaneous schools could commence planning for re-entry by students into school. The expectation from local government and the Ministry of Education is that re-entry is undertaken as a phased (different grade levels at a time) approach to support social distancing.

Staff have begun planning to ensure a safe and healthy return to campus. This will include changing classroom structures; adjusting timetables; setting up cleaning zones; and putting safe classroom practices in place.  

Early Years Re-Entry to KIS 22 May

• On Friday 22 May EL1, EL2, EL3 students will re-enter KIS from 0830-1130. More details will be sent out during the week and posted on the school website. 
• EL1-EL3 will continue this schedule on Monday 25 May until further notice. 

Grades 1-Grade 2 Re-Entry to KIS 25 May

• On Monday 25 May G1-G2 will re-enter KIS from 0830-1130. Students will continue this schedule until further notice.

Grades 3-Grade 8 Re-Entry to KIS 25 May

• On Monday 25 May G3-G8 will re-enter KIS from 1230-1530. Students will continue this schedule until further notice. 

Schedule:

• Friday 22 May: 0830-1130 EL1-EL3 
• Monday 25 May: 0830-1130 EL1-G2
• Monday 25 May: 1230-1530 G3-G8 

This phased return allows KIS to focus on cleaning and social distancing, at the same time as welcoming students back on campus in a safe manner.

KIS will send out a complete guide to the Re-entry to school during the week.

As a staff and community we are extremely excited by the prospect of having students back with us on campus. 

Have a great week,
Michael

We have gathered some responses from KIS parents regarding what is working well with distance learning.

Early Learning Program

I am happy with the current arrangement, there are a good variety and amount of activities suggested, and I think the school and the teachers are doing the best they can with the given circumstances. Thank you.

I think the teachers are clearly putting in a lot of time into their lesson planning, activities, and responding to student work.

The morning Zoom lessons are perfect for her. She is looking forward to it and trying very hard. It also helps all of us to start the day on the right track.

Primary Years Program

Appreciate the flexibility afforded to parents. The digital tools work well in most cases.

Distance learning feels safer than holding classes at school. Son seems engaged by class activities and enjoys doing them.

My son is keeping busier than I expected and requiring surprisingly little supervision from me.

My child is very engaged and he is also happy to be connected with his friends online.

I’m impressed by the schedule management. It’s very well-organized.

The clean and specific assignments are great, also the videos are interesting and well done, as well as helpful. The teacher feedback and answers to questions is wonderful.

The teachers are doing an AMAZING job connecting and keeping up with the students via videos, messages, etc.

Middle School

Considering that this is a very new thing for everyone, I think that the teachers and the staff are doing a wonderful job providing lessons and activities for all the students.

Assignments and projects are very well managed. Thank you to all teachers and management for their great effort.

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KIS teachers have prepared well to continue educating students through our distance learning platform. Here is a taste of the compiled timelines and educational activities that families and students can be engaged in learning. Additional tools for daily communication included Seesaw, Zoom, G Suite for Education.

Distance learning lessons are organized by grade and contain a combination of low tech and technology-based options across multiple subject areas, including considerations for student physical and mental wellness.

Our goal has been to provide a clear structure for continuing education from home during this extended break.

Term Three
KIS began Term Three today with a Student Free Day. Staff started  off by thinking about ‘Who do you want to be in COVID-19?’ A well being activity to help us re-frame how we want to remember our experience in these times. Following this were good sessions planning for Distance Learning and beyond. A key focus of planning was the Parent and Student Surveys. Using the information from both surveys to support learning practices was essential. 

Coffee Mornings goes virtual
Starting this Thursday (9 April) KIS will hold a weekly Coffee Morning using Zoom.
The topic this week – Distance Learning Question and Answer

We will record the Coffee Morning for people to catch up on later.  

Tuition
Thank you to everyone that has paid Term Three tuition. A reminder that today Monday 6 April is the due date for Term Three tuition. If you need to discuss tuition please contact Mr Taylor before Friday 10 April. Students who are not financial as of Monday 13 April will not be able to access SeeSaw or Google for KIS until they have contacted the school. 

Again, thank you to the community for your support. We do hope to be able to provide more educational options to the community as the environment stabilises.

Continuation of Distance Learning

In the last 24hrs (2 April) circumstances related to COVID-19 have changed in our region, in Japan and within the Japanese Council of International Schools (JCIS). For the safety and health of the students, the families and the staff, KIS will extend Distance Learning to Wednesday 6 May (end of Golden Week). This decision was made following an informed discussion with the Senior Leadership Team and the Board Chair. It is a decision made in light of the increasing spread of COVID-19 within Kyoto City and Prefecture; the extension of closure for Japanese public schools in Osaka, Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Kanagawa; and the extension of most JCIS schools offering Distance Learning until at least May 6.

Schedule

• Monday 6 April – Student Free Day – teachers will plan the pathway of learning for this extended Distance Learning (teachers will deliver a pre-recorded morning message that morning)
• Tuesday 7 April – Distance Learning resumes
• Wednesday 29 April – Public Holiday (Showa Day) no Distance Learning
• Monday 4 May – Wednesday 6 May Golden Week no Distance Learning 
• Thursday 7 May – Re-entry to KIS (if circumstances the students to re-enter that are healthy and safe)
• Monday 25 May – normal school day (cancelation of KIS festival)

Cancellations

• Wednesday 22 April – Friday 24 April Hanase Camp G1-G5 
• Wednesday 22 April – Friday 24 April Discovering Hiroshima  G6-G8
• Sunday 24 May – KIS Festival

Welcome to today’s Distance Learning Update. 

Healthy Choices
The weather in Kyoto is extremely pleasant over spring. The temptation is to socialise. Please exercise healthy caution at this time. It is important that everybody continue to practice social distancing practices; continued focus on personal hyigene; and maintain a healthy lifetstyle (good nutrition, water intake, plenty of sleep, sunlight and exercise). Research is suggesting these factors will reduce the risk assocaited with coronavirus

Challenge Day
Mr Boyd and Mr Taylor are extremly excited about the Challenge Day this Friday. We will be sending out the links tomorrow. Parents are ecnouraged to be part of the day. It is a good chance to end this term with a celebration of resilence, creativity and fun.

Travel intentions
This weeks Parent Survey will include a question asking parents to indicate if they are travelling overseas at Spring Break, and if so to where. Once again, these are precautionary measures to maintain the health of the entire community.

Re-entry plans
KIS is developing plans to re-enter school on April 6. Supporting information will be available shortly. Be prepared to take regular temperatures; hygiene procedures; and reduced interactions are some of the areas that will be addressed.