DARE TO DREAM
Henry David Thoreau, in his writing, tells us to go confidently in the direction of our dreams. As HIS Niseko opens its doors on January 23rd, 2012, we are doing just that! With confidence, diligence and determination we are bringing to fruition the dream of past and present Niseko families and Hokkaido International School ... the dream of international education for students in the Niseko area. From January, as this dream continues to unfold, we will strive to instill in our students the desire to listen to their own dreams and work with passion, determination and diligence to make their dreams come true.

Please visit the HIS Niseko Calendar for details on upcoming events.

Ms. Shibuya
 

Latest Announcements

Saturday, January 7, 2012

NEW BEGINNINGS
The Hokkaido International School Niseko officially opens its doors on January 23rd, 2012 to bring a long-awaited opportunity for international education to the families in the Niseko area. It is with enthusiasm and excitement that we welcome our students and teachers to this new beginning.

Our teachers (check out their bios) start preparations on January 10th for the start of the semester on January 23rd, 2012. They will meet and spend time with their Sapporo School collaborative partners and join with them for training in the implementation of The International Primary Curriculum (IPC). Sarah Brown, coming from England to train teachers throughout Japan, will spend two days working with our teachers.

What lies ahead in the coming months?
Although our doors are just opening we are already thinking ahead to cultural exchange experiences with our neighboring Niseko schools, outdoor learning for our students and the planning of an exciting summer program for local students and students from outside of Hokkaido.

Curriculum development will be an ongoing process in which the teachers will be involved. Through collaboration with the Sapporo teachers, curriculum development will take place on late-start Wednesdays. The teachers will join the Curriculum Team in incorporating use of Reading and Writing Workshops to deliver the Language Arts curriculum. They will also be working together to revise the Maths curriculum, which is up for review.

HIS Niseko will host the WASC Accreditation Team in late April of 2012 for a one-day visit before they move on to the Sapporo School to complete their visit to HIS. Their review and recommendations for the school will help us to move forward as we strive to make improvements that will support the development of excellence at HIS Niseko.

Look for more specific details in these areas as we move closer in time to these events.

Best regards,
Peggy Shibuya / HIS Niseko Principal
© 2012 Hokkaido International School, Sapporo, Japan. All rights reserved.