NIS News

I’m very grateful to our parents, staff and students for helping our students understand the emerging situation with the COVID-19 virus . . .

Last Saturday (Feb 15) was the Osaka futsal tournament for the middle school boys, organized by . . .

A very exciting day today at NIS as our Global Issues Network (GIN) students took the lead by hosting students from international schools across Japan  . . .

On Wednesday, our academic staff spent a fruitful day collaborating on a number of key projects. Secondary teachers...

As we enter the mid-winter break, I wish to thank you all - everyone - for all that you do to make NIS a special community for everyone . . .

To be an inquiring, inspiring and impacting community school, NIS relies on the dedication and support of parents, staff, students and friends . . .

High School Boys Basketball is flying north on Friday to represent NIS at the annual tournament...

This week, over 60 NIS students submitted Walkathon T-shirt designs for consideration for the 2020 event’s official shirt design . . .

I&S Student Podcast Episode 3: Being the Historian with the Extended Essay. Class of 2020 students Teresa, Olivia, and Alex describe what it...

Five teams are visiting NIS today and tomorrow for the WJAA HS Boys Basketball Final Tournament while the girls are away in Kobe...

Students admired and tried to decide which of the 50+ designs to choose from for the winner of the Walkathon...

At NIS, we understand that our goals as a community are achieved only when we are in partnership with our wider community . . .

On Monday, "Three-Way Conferences" involving parents, students and teachers were held and...

Join Grade 12 students Coco, Emalee, and Ulysses as they discuss Black Friday, Consumption and related economic concepts...

I trust everyone in the NIS community had a wonderful holiday season. The school is back and running and full of excitement . . .

The annual ACCJ/NIS Charity Walkathon is in May, but the Tshirt contest is due on Tuesday, Jan. 14. This year again, we are grateful...

Hoping all your wishes come true for 2020! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and are ready to Inquire, Inspire and Impact in 2020!

The wonderful performances, art display, and parent participation by both the ELC and the Gr. 5 was a fitting end of a busy semester . . .

HS Boys JV Basketball and HS Girls JV Basketball play their final tournaments on...

Over the past few weeks, NIS held a series of "Parent Community Meetings" to help gain better insight...

Last night we had our fourth “Community Parent Meeting”, and this time it was held downtown in the hope of making it easier for parents living closer in to town . . .

Good luck to the middle school Dolphin teams for their WJAA final tournaments on Dec 6th and 7th. MS...

Yesterday was a day of artistic creativity. In the morning, the Gr. 10s gave their pitches to a panel of judges for community art . . .

A big thank you to the parents who came out to share their thoughts and ideas in the first of our parent ‘Community Meetings’ . . .

NIS teachers spent two days attending workshops on Thursday and Friday.
Primary School teachers worked with...

Over 40 educators from schools all over Asia - including NIS - came to the 2-day EARCOS Service Learning Workshop by Cathy Berger Kaye hosted...

The annual ACCJ/NIS Walkathon is a terrific community event - a day of good food, friendship (and some walking!) in the park every Spring . . .

It was terrific week for parent partnerships at NIS. Thank you to the many families who came out to campus on Monday . . .

Quarter two sports starts right up quickly with a full weekend of teams playing. The MS Boys Basketball team has...

Parents and students in grades 1-12 met with teachers today for 3-Way Conferences on Monday. Through three-way...

Welcome back to all our families after what was, we hope, a wonderful week spending time with your children. This first week of the second quarter has been a busy...

• Our thoughts this week have been with the victims of the recent typhoon Hagibis which included a minute of silence to pay our respects . . .

The high school volleyball teams have their final tournaments this week, with the boys playing...

Middle School Dolphin teams have their final tournaments this weekend. MS Girls Volleyball play at Marist and...

NIS is grateful to be a member of the Japan Council of International Schools, a network of 27 schools across Japan . . .

The NIS Cross Country team took part in their first race of the season at Canadian Academy, Kobe. The runners have been training hard concentrating on...

Both the HS Boys JV Volleyball team and the HS Girls JV Volleyball team had successful final...

It is a busy week in Dolphin Sports this week. The Primary Soccer team traveled to Kobe on Thursday...

Last Friday, while school was on holiday, a number of our committed students were busy participating in the global movement for climate action . . .

As research shows that teachers working together to achieve common goals (Collective Teacher Efficacy) has...

The annual "Parent Information Day" was held for NIS parents on Monday, and this year, the event was shaped much like...

Congratulations to HS Boys Volleyball who won 2nd Place at their Mid-Season Tournament in Fukuoka last weekend. The boys overcame...

NIS students and staff gathered on the front steps near the bus parking lot and posed for the annual...

Dolphin sports teams started their seasons this past weekend with high school playing away games in Osaka and...

The HS Girls Volleyball team has their first tournament of the season this weekend in Osaka. The girls have come out in large numbers...

The annual start of the year retreats in Secondary have finished and, if like me you’ve been following the hashtags ..

Welcome back! What a great start to the year it has been. The long summer of preparations all made sense when the corridors and classrooms...

NIS conducted the first earthquake drill of the year on Thursday. Students, staff and guests ducked and covered...

NIS opened the 2019-20 school year with a record number of 503 students. The first day of our 56th school year started with a ...

With the 2019-20 school year officially starting on Tuesday, new students and their families were invited to "Orientation Day" ...

All of us here at NIS are excited to welcome students and families for a wonderful year together. Over the summer we’ve been busily preparing for the school year ahead . . .

The Primary Student Council organized a day of safe but wet “Water Play” for each grade, much to the delight...

As the last full week of the 2018-19 academic year closes up, the school is a frenzy of activity. With concerts, sports days, closing assemblies, marches and celebrations . . .

On Tuesday, NIS celebrated "Be Who You Are" Day in honor of Ms. Luci Willis, our Whole School Principal for Well-Being...

Megan J. (Gr. 11), created an Instagram page as part of her CAS to spread positivity at NIS by sharing photographs of students with Posipan, the Positive Panda . . .

As the year comes towards a close I was very grateful to see so many parents come out to spend time reviewing our partnership with parents . . .

Back in March, the Gr 3 students raised 55,164 yen at their "Market Day", which was in connection...

Today saw the first of our two-day graduation celebrations as we honor our amazing students in the Class of 2019. Following the Graduation March of Pride in which our graduates paraded around the school . . .

It was wonderful to see so many students and parents at the Walkathon on Sunday. Besides being a beautiful day weather-wise, the event provided a great chance to interact and make connections with many . . .

The Boys Baseball team had a successful final tournament, coming back on the second day of the tournament ...

Everyone is invited for panel discussions and workshops related to social and emotional support for multicultural and international young people . . .

The arrival of spring heralds different things in different cultures, and here in Japan it often feels like new beginnings for many things, as the school year starts in April in Japanese schools . . .

High school teams are in their season-ending sports tournaments this weekend, the last of the school year. The girls softball team is playing in Kobe while...

Mr. N. Bitencourt, the Brazilian Consul visited school on Thursday. He toured the school, met some of our Brazilian students, and also our parents. We are proud of...

It was wonderful to see many images of the secondary students on their trips throughout the region, and to see them reflect on their Interdisciplinary Units today . . .

On behalf of all of us here at NIS, I wish all of our families a wonderful Golden Week. This year, Golden Week is particularly special, with the abdication of Emperor Akihito on April 30 . . .

Be on the watch for the Walkathon Ticket Order Form (envelopes) which will go home in backpacks after the holiday . . .

To explore how it feels to reduce our reliance on technology, NIS had a "Low-Tech Day" on Monday, a day to encourage staff, students and families to try...

Today saw a true “celebration of learning” at NIS. In addition to the Student Led Conferences in most grades, the day also saw the concurrent events of . . .

The HS Girls Softball team took second place at the Spring Classic at NIS on April 13th. The middle school ...

The Spring Classic softball tournament is underway with a big win for the varsity girls in their first...

Competing against teams from Canadian Academy, Yokohama International School, and Osaka International School, NIS Dolphins competed ...

The 19th Annual NIS Scholarship Golf Tournament was held at Springfield Golf Club in Tajimi on Saturday, and...

About 30 primary students from Gr 2 and 3 who participated in the Reading Challenge enjoyed spending ...

Gr 1 students visited the Obara Paper Art Museum in Toyota city on Thursday and enjoyed learning the process...

Good luck to HS Badminton as they travel to CA in Kobe for their final tournament...

The Varsity Boys Soccer team won their home tournament which took place March 8th and 9th. The boys had to came back to defeat Kyoto in the finals...

In an effort to highlight the United Nations designated International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8, NIS hosted...

There are two big tournament this weekend to finish Quarter 3 seasonf for the soccer teams. NIS is hosting...

On Wednesday, tables in the staff room were overflowing all day with delicious food and desserts...

While students in an international school such as NIS have incredible benefits in terms of the richness of learning which is not possible in a national system in any country . . .

Frustrated at the lack of real action around the world and at home, and inspired by Greta Thurnberg and the growing student ...

NIS conducted an earthquake drill on Tuesday. Even though it was one of our three unannounced drills ...

Middle Schoolers had a successful weekend in Dolphin Athletics, with both the boys soccer A team and girls ...

After weeks of hard work, grade 9 has some amazing art to share with everyone.The Drawing Series project ...

Combine a group of curious 5th graders, some rulers and the blueprints for the new East Building (better know as the 2020 Vision Project!) and what do you get...? A terrific math lesson! The Gr.5 students...

Students in grades 3-10 participated in ISA (International Schools’ Assessment) testing as a way to compare our curriculum effectiveness with other schools and . . .

The Middle School Soccer team took home two trophies last weekend, with the A team winning 1st place, and the B team winning...

This week was the first week of Open Campus for families with students in grades 1-5. Open Campus is a time for parents to come and observe their child...

The PTA hosted a Popcorn Day, and the school was filled with the delicious smell of popcorn! Students and staff enjoyed the snack after lunch ...

Each year, the Library hosts an optional Reading Challenge for students in grades 2 to 5. It is a great chance to promote the love of reading outside...

Some Gr. 5 students wanted to help a local hospital, so, they planned a chocolate sale to raise money for the hospital library for the hospital. After working with...

NIS teachers spent two days last week working together to improve the quality of the learning in the school. On the first day, a trainer from the IB worked with high school teachers ...

Gr. 5 parents got together for a PYP Exhibition Parent Information Meeting. The PYP Exhibition is the culminating project for the PYP...

The ELC had an unwelcome visitor on Tuesday - a scary looking “Oni” (demon) who wishes to bring bad luck and evil spirits to your house. But don't...

Monday, February 4 was “NIS Happy Day" - a day for students and teachers to spread happiness throughout the school. In the...

The HS Varsity Boys Basketball team had a great tournament in Hokkaido, winning 4 of their 5 games to finish in 3rd place..

Gr. 2 students are working on a Unit of Inquiry with a theme of “Human Actions Impact the Environment”...

As part of their current unit about the memories of war and how people can understand and share their experiences, Gr. 10 MYP Japanese Language and Literature class invited a guest speaker, Ms. Yanagi, to learn about her experiences from...

Nick Kreel, the Head of Community Outreach for Brighton Table Tennis Club(BTTC), Brighton, UK visited NIS on Wednesday. With the strong belief that table tennis can be used as a powerful tool in engaging people of all ages and...

What are the options ahead for our Gr. 10 students? On Tuesday evening, the High School Diploma/IBDP Information Meeting...

Students and families from G4-6 joined a field tour with the Moriyama Wild Squirrel Conservation Society on Saturday...

Hayato, from the Class of 2015 and in his final semester at Boston University, visited the Gr. 11 homeroom on Wednesday to share...

Classes visit the Asahi Newspaper photo exhibition to delve more deeply into the events surrounding the tragedy and resiliency of communities...

A group of volunteer parents, our Parent Partner Outreach Team, organized a panel discussion on Monday that asked participants, "Why NIS"? "...

Pictures from the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami are on display in the library courtesy of Asahi Newspaper....

Gr. 4 is currently investigating human-made global warming and its causes. They had a chance to visit the high school chemistry lab and inquire into our Earth, the atmosphere, greenhouse gases, and...

Gr. 1 students started a new UOI on "How We Express Oueselves" where they are learning all about storytelling. Today, they invited Ms. Johnson as a guest speaker who shared...

On Tuesday, NIS received a visit from the Nagoya Vice Mayor and representatives from the educational community from the city of Nagoya...

The Gr. 1 and 2 students performed holiday classics and a few other tunes for their end of the semester Musical Showcase...

Great job to all middle school artists, musicians and actors who performed and presented their work at the Middle School Winter Arts Fair...

A big thank you to everyone for making the NIS Community Raffle a huge success! The school was able to raise 2.8 million yen ...

Students, parents, staff and guests from the community got together to enjoy all the bargains, food and performances...

The ELC Kindergarten students visited Nagoya Science Museum as part of their unit, “How the World Works”on Tuesday...

NIS celebrated the UN Children’s Day on November 20 and all students from preschool through high school were paired with classes from other divisions. Students spent the whole day sharing personal artifacts and significant events...

An amazingly delicious Harvest Lunch was hosted by PTA on Wednesday. Parents and staff enjoyed turkey, potatoes, pumpkin and other delicious dishes! They also enjoyed spending time...

TED-Ed Club members held the first event of the year - TED-Ed "Ignite Talks" presentations to share their TED talk ideas to students, staff and faculty. The event was live streamed...

An information session was held on Monday evening for Gr. 10 students and parents to explain how the NIS High School Diploma and IB Diploma programs work, and to help them select their courses for the upcomiong...

The ELC families visited the Mizunami City Fossil Museum on Saturday for their first ELC Experimental Learning Day, created to help build connections within our ELC community. The days are...

Gr. 10-12 Theater students are in final rehearsals for their Theater Showcase on Nov. 12. You will be able to see  . . .

A huge thank you to the PTA for organizing such a wonderful parent excursion to Asuke-Korenkei yesterday . . .

Gr. 4 students visited "Meiji-mura" for their "Where We are in Place and Time" UOI, in which they have been inquiring about . . .

The PTA organized a bus trip to Asuke with 50 participants who enjoyed the autumn leaves, indigo-dying, weaving and . . .

The 2018 ACCJ/NIS Walkathon Fund Distribution Ceremony was held in the Library on Wednesday, planned, organized and ...

The 2nd EAL/MT Joint Parent Tea was held on Nov 6. with Translanguaging for a topic. Translanguaging is one successful literacy technique that can be used to support ELLs.

NIS hosted a weekend workshop for regional educators led by M. MacLean and S. Peacock to help schools move beyond the traditional focus on . . . .

Thanks to the work of many high school students, teachers and parents, Primary students ..

Students in Grades 3-5 held two performances of “Earth Expedition: The Elementary Musical” on Wednesday and Thursday. The musical follows a Molekin on a journey to find the Gravitas...

Gr. 12 Physics students spent all day on Wednesday at the National Institute of Fusion Science (NIFS). It was an excellent experience to follow up their study on Atomic and Nuclear Physics...

Parents who participated in the Turkish Cooking Class on Tuesday had great fun cooking trying six different foods. A big thank you to all the participants and of course, to PTA for...

All four NIS secondary sports teams are playing in their final league tournaments this weekend, as the last of the teams made it off this morning . . .

Grade 6 English Language Acquisition students are exploring the connections between stories through a collective exploration of myths, legends, ...

This has been a week of many highlights - some of which are big and obvious . . .

The Grade 12 Biology students visited a local river to carry out field tests on the diversity of plant life and river water quality. They conducted scientific tests to determine the pH and...

Under a clear, beautiful autumn sky, the Primary Sports Day was held on Monday. Students and teachers (and parents too!) enjoyed a great day of...

As part of their CAS activities, a group of Gr. 11 students have been planning, prepping and teaching "Lunchtime Science" experiments for elementary students in Gr. 3-5...

The Grade 3-5 students have been working hard to prepare for "Earth Expedition" - the upcoming Elementary Musical! Students who are participating in the Drama ASA ...

Gr. 2 students made timeline charts with events that are important in their life for their UOI on personal history. On Thursday, they visited the Gr. 12 Individual and Societies class ...

NIS held our first Fire Drill of the year this week, one of three "announced" drills this semester, to go with the three "unannounced" drills in the next semester. These drills are ...

NIS teams are participating in lots of tournaments this weekend. The Elementary Soccer Teams participated in the Falcon Cup...

The first Kidzuna activity of the year was held on Friday and students from Gr. 3-5 made presentations about what they have been learning ...

The PTA had their first "Casual English Conversations Class" on Tuesday, and the topic was about food cultures. Participants had a great time ...

An NIS Admissions Open House was held on Monday and families intersted in enrolling their ELC-aged children into NIS had a tour of the school and had a chance to chat with current NIS ...

On Saturday last weekend our school was filled with educators from across Japan as we discussed how to embrace translanguaging in our school culture. Translanguaging is the process whereby . . .

The PTA hosted a Korean cooking class on Thursday and the PTA house was filled with the yummy smell of Korean foods and ...

Students from the Gr. 10 Drama and Gr. 11-12 Theater classes are busy preparing a wide range of performances for our November Showcase....

The annual K-12 student medical screening for weight & height, vision, hearing, and scoliosis took place on Tuesday. On behalf of everyone we ...

The all day "Information Day" (Open House) for all current families was held on Monday, and we are happy so many parents were able to join us ...

As a part of the CIS/WASC accreditation process, the school engages in a comprehensive ‘Self-Study’ in which we analyze ourselves against international standards . . .

The Gr. 12 students gathered with parents as a group for one of the last times before the college application process reaches its peak. Parents were ...

Walking around campus this week it has been great to see so many Inquire-Inspire-Impact t-shirts being worn, especially today with the HS girls volleyball team off on their first tournament of the season . . .

Gr. 5 invited local naturalist Mr. Iio, who spoke with students about the local natural history of Shidami, and who will help students identify ...

All Home Language Club groups started this week! Home Language Club (HLC) is a student-led language club that gives participants a chance to value and nurture their Mother tongue. Every week . . .

The first week of After School Activities in the Primary School was a huge success! Students from Grade 1-5 participated in nine different activities, ranging from Storytelling to Soccer to Dance and Drama!

All students and staff were photographed this week, not only for the yearbook and ID cards, but also of course for any families wanting to order photo packages with a variety of sizes. Special thanks to the PTA for helping to organize the flow of traffic and also making sure everyone looked just right!

NIS secondary students returned this afternoon – tired but happy – from the start of year retreats in Nagano. I hope parents have been following on twitter to . . .

In Gr. 3, for their "Journeys" unit, students have been interviewing classmates about journeys they have taken, interviewing family members about migrations...

Middle School and High School students were off to the mountains on their annual two night/three-day retreats with staff. With many activities...

The PTA hosted their annual "Welcome Tea" on Wednesday to talk with parents about the upcoming year and...

The school welcomed families back to NIS - along with families new to NIS - fo the annual Welcome Potluck on Friday, Aug. 24. There were...

A school without kids in is a very strange place indeed and so it was wonderful for us to welcome back our nearly 500 NIS students this week for the start of the new school year.

The grade 11 students are spending two days (and tonight!) to plan out the next two years at their beginning of the year IBDP Introduction/Retreat...

The ELC students (and parents!) had their first full day (half-day actually) in classes today, after orientation interviews...

NIS welcomed all new students and families to the NIS community on Monday, with a half-day of orientation led by teachers and student buddies...

On Orientation Day, one of the sessions was an informative joint presentation by the EAL department...

NIS staff have been busy planning and preparing for the start of the 2018-19 school year next week. Teachers . . .

The NIS Design and Fabrication Lab is the school’s latest addition to support the expansion of the current curriculum and . . .

We had another successful four weeks at the NIS Summer Program with everyone learning, creating and . . .