Students & Parents Information
HIS seeks an open relationship with students and their parents and communication is key. HIS is committed to providing timely information. The links on this page are designed to deliver details on school policies, students' academic progress, curriculum, parental involvement, and standardized testing.
Communication is usually much easier if the first contact between the school and family occurs before any problem arises. While in some cultures, teachers are the only ones allowed or expected to initiate conversation, in an international school, we encourage students and parents to bring questions, comments and/or concerns to teachers at any time.
Parents and students are expected to support the policies and the programs of the school, and are encouraged to exercise their right and responsibility to consult–regarding any matter–with the faculty, administration, and Executive Board, in that sequence.
It is also important to remember that as an international school, HIS represents approximately 20 nationalities. At HIS, differing personal perspectives are respected. In discussion, participants need to distinguish between content and style. Developing an awareness of, and sensitivity to, the feelings of others will help us all contribute to the general good will of HIS and the world.
Student-Parent Handbook
The HIS Student-Parent handbook contains information that is important for students and parents to understand and be aware of. Students and parents both should read the handbook, and if there are any items that you have questions about please contact the school so we can assist you. Our goal is that this handbook be the "go to" guide for information and details and allow you to be better informed about HIS. The handbook is comprehensive in scope and will answer most questions you may have. You can read an online edition of the handbook, or view, save, and print a copy from the links below:
Online HIS Student-Parent Handbook
Printer-friendly HIS Student-Parent Handbook (PDF 328 KB)
PowerSchool Reporting
HIS uses PowerSchool, an online software program, to track student grades and attendance. At the secondary level, both students and parents have individual access to their online grade book. The elementary school is working to establish a standard-based reporting system that will also be accessible online. Families receive access information (login name and password) at the time of enrollment.
PowerSchool is an easy-to-use, efficient, and effective tool. For convenience, a permanent link to the PowerSchool system appears in the right column of every page on this site. Just click the blue PowerSchool logo to launch. You may also click here to access PowerSchool.
Report Cards
At the secondary school level, students receive two Progress Reports, a quarterly Grade Report and a cumulative Semester Report each semester. Semester Reports are permanently stored on PowerSchool and in student files and are used to generate the student’s transcript for college applications. All reports are also mailed out to families.
At the elementary level, report cards are sent out twice a year, at semester break in January and at the end of the year in June. Mid-semester progress reports may also be sent out by a teacher if she/he deems it necessary. Report cards copies are sent home with students and parents must sign the report card envelope and return it to the classroom teacher.
My Class Connection
My Class Connection is a link to web pages for all of the school’s grades and subjects. We hope that the My Class Connection pages help to improve communication between teachers and the students in their classes, as well as parents. Teachers are encouraged to utilize My Class Connection more and more as the year progresses.
CourseWeb
CourseWeb is an online course management and resource system. It is used to make course documents available to students via the Internet. It also includes tools to engage learners such as discussion boards, file transfers, external links, assessments, wikis, blogs and podcasts to name just a few.
PTA (HuPA)
Husky Parents' Association (HuPA) is an organization which aims at increasing parent understanding of educational issues, increasing communication of important ideas through the parent community, and to fundraise to help improve our school programs. Meetings are held approximately five times per year, and all parents are encouraged to attend. Meetings are often held bilingually so as to encourage parent participation from Japanese-speaking parents as well as English speakers.
Along with regular meetings, the two biggest HuPA sponsored events of each year have been the Fall Festival, a fundraiser focusing on food and games for the whole family, which usually happens mid- or late October, and the Spring Bazaar, which is an opportunity for everyone in the community to clean out their closets and share their wares with the world. This is usually in mid-May. Both of these events net funds which are then shared with the school in various ways. Both also require a lot of parent help to be successful, so if you are coming to HIS, be prepared to get involved! There are many ways both big and small to get involved in HuPA, so talk to other parents to find out how you can lend a hand.
To contact HuPA, please drop a note in the HuPA mailbox at the HIS office. Or send us an email at hupa@his.ac.jp
Standardized Testing at HIS
Every year, HIS students are given standardized tests to mark their progress and to assess the school's overall effectiveness. For this assessment, HIS subscribes to the MAP testing services which it implemented in 2009. HIS pays for students in grades 9–11 to take the Pre-SAT each year in October, giving them experience in this practice SAT test. 11th and 12th graders can take the SAT at specified dates throughout the year. The dates for each year’s SAT’s are posted in the ‘College Corner’ near the library entrance on the third floor. Test dates and other information can be found via internet at www.collegeboard.com.
HIS, as a test center for Educational Testing Service (ETS), Princeton, New Jersey, is also authorized to administer a number of standardized tests during the year, including the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), SAT I and SAT II tests, Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT). Payment of all fees and registration should be done through ETS, and can be done–in most cases– online with a credit card. Online links for each test are listed below.
Finally, in May each year, students who have completed Advanced Placement classes may take the AP test in the subjects for which they feel prepared. Scores of 3 or higher may be recognized by universities and students can earn college credit or ‘test out’ of some college requirements with adequate scores on AP exams.
Test Names and Online Links
PSAT/NMSQT, College Board ATP, SAT and ACT: www.collegeboard.com
GMAT: www.ets.org
GRE: www.ets.org
TOEFL/TSE: www.toefl.org
