Dear Husky Community,

We have nearly reached the last day of school, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to everyone for all of their efforts to support the school this year.  Thank you, also, for the warm welcome that has been extended to me and my family during our first year at HIS. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our students and families have so much to be proud of from the past year.  The learning and growth of our students has been truly inspiring to see.  

The restructuring of events and activities due to the pandemic has of course been a challenge and, at times, a disappointment.  But we are grateful to staff and the community as a whole for their creativity and effort in making sure that many traditions, activities, and events have continued in new forms.  As a school, we are proud to say that we have nearly finished the year without a single known case of Covid-19 physically on the Sapporo or Niseko campus.  Not all schools in Hokkaido can say the same, and we are deeply grateful to everyone for their collaboration in keeping each other safe and healthy.  

It has certainly been a busy year for school improvement, including but not limited to:

• The launch of our new website
• The launch of our new 1-to-1 i-Pad program for elementary students 
• Completion of our WASC accreditation visit with numerous commendations from the visiting committee
• The foundation of the Husky Legacy Association for alumni and community supporters 
• Introduction of a new school library cataloguing system 
• Updated financial aid & scholarships process
• Numerous security and school safety upgrades 
• Continued work on major curricular and educational initiatives

And much more!  

We are proud of how far we’ve come and look forward to writing the next chapters of the HIS story together.  As a school, we are lucky to be building on over 60 years of history, and in the past year I have clearly seen the deep community support for HIS that has developed over that time.  With this strong foundation, there is no doubt that we will be ready for any challenges the future may hold, and that our best work together still lies ahead of us.  

Please stay safe and have a wonderful summer,

Tim Schlosser 
Head of School
Hokkaido International School