TIPS Journal September 1, 2021
on the school year so far
Greetings from Tokyo International Progressive School
The TIPS Journal is my way of staying connected with TIPS families. I hope you will find it useful. You will receive an issue of the TIPS Journal at the beginning of each month this school year.
CALENDAR CHANGES
Because the state of emergency in Tokyo is extended through September 12, our Parent-Staff Social (originally September 10) will be rescheduled with hope for the spring months. The See Japan Break, an overnight event, will be adjusted.
On Thursday, September 23, a national holiday, students will be under parental supervision with no classes scheduled.
On Friday, September 24, selected students are invited on a 20 km bike ride escorted by Freewheeling Japan, and supervised by Mr. Brock and Ms. Batnini. You can read more information about Freewheeling Japan here:
Other students will spend the day at Tokyo Dome City, supervised by the rest of our staff. You can read more about Tokyo Dome City here:
https://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/en/tourists/
We have chosen these activities as safer alternatives than traveling on an overnight trip, with the state of emergency likely to be extended.
You will receive more information about the activities of September 24 based on which activity your son or daughter is invited to.
EVACUATION CRITERIA
As you know, our building is situated between two rivers, the Tama River and the Nogawa River. In case of excessive rain and there is a danger of flooding, the school may close in order to evacuate.
The decision will be made based on the Japan Meteorological Agency's five levels of danger, which you may see (in Japanese) here:
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/know/bosai/alertlevel.html
TIPS will suspend its face-to-face classes at the third advisory level (the red stripe on the chart at the Japanese link above).
We hope there will not be such a case of severe flooding, but TIPS would like you to know the policy anyway.
Thanks for reading. Any questions, please ask!
Sincerely,
Lyn Sato
TIPS Principal
Our 2021-2022 Staff Members
PSA activities, by Iris Yamanaka
A warm welcome to all our returning families and new families joining TIPS! We hope the first week of school went smoothly for everyone, and that your child has settled nicely into the new campus. My name is Iris Yamanaka, and alongside with Regina Salathe, we will be co-chairing PSA this academic year. I have a son, Callum in the 4/5 grade cohort, and Regina, also has a son, Hugo in high school!
We have some exciting things planned for this school year, and we are looking for support from all you parents to make every part of this year a bit more exceptional. So without further ado, I'd like to kick off the new school year with some plans already underway that will help build a tighter, more cohesive TIPS community.
- CLASS PARENTS: This year we are looking for one parent in each grade to step in as Class Parent. The Class Parent will be responsible for joining our monthly PSA meetings (choice via zoom or in-person). All school and class relevant information will be filtered to other families in the designated class by the Class Parent. PSA will also ask for your help and support in organizing school events such as faculty appreciation day, class/school holiday parties, etc.
- VILLAGE COMMUNITIES: In our efforts to build a tighter, more cohesive TIPS community, we are introducing Village Communities this year. Families will be grouped by neighborhoods that are in close proximity of each other. These Village Communities will enable families to meet other families/students in different grade levels. It will create a deeper network of resources and knowledge exchange among the TIPS community. Again, we will be looking for one parent representative from each village. The Village Representative role will include coordinating village coffee mornings with Lyn Sato, as well as help organizing all-inclusive Village Communities events. For example, we are thinking of starting an annual Sports Day event where Village Communities will compete with each other. We are also planning to organize Community Days on school campus, where a member of a Village Community may want to teach a class (e.g. Ikebana, Taiko) for families.
- PSA DONATION: In order to help fund a number of PSA initiatives, we are kindly asking a donation of 10,000yen from each of our TIPS families. You can send money in an enclosed envelope addressed to PSA and have your child give it to Junko-San at the front office, who will ensure that the money is safely received.
- TIPS PSA FACEBOOK: If you haven't already, please join TIPS PSA Facebook page. A link has been provided here. We will be posting announcements, sign-ups, upcoming events, and other relevant news on the TIPS PSA Facebook page. It will be a great way for families to stay updated with what's happening and what's ahead with TIPS PSA.
We hope you will join us for the first PSA meeting of the year on September 8 at 2 p.m. You may attend either online or in the building, in our Meeting Room.
Subsequent PSA meetings will be on the first Wednesday of each month at 2 p.m. Ms. Sato will join the meetings and hopes to see you.
Upcoming Special Dates (through October 15, 2021)
Friday, September 3: Last day for 3:25 dismissal.
Monday, September 6: Begin 4:15 p.m. dismissal. First day of W-I-N (What I Need).
Tuesday, September 7: PE in gym. First day for clubs.
Wednesday, September 8: Parent/ Staff Association meeting 2 p.m. (online or face-to-face)
Monday, September 13: Robotics for grades 4 - 7.
Tuesday, September 14: PE in gym.
Tuesday, September 21: PE in gym.
Thursday, September 23: Students under parental supervision - no classes.
Friday, September 24: Outdoor activities.
Thursday, September 30: LEAP swim lesson
Tuesday, October 5: PE in gym.
Wednesday, October 6: Parent/ Staff Association meeting 2 p.m. (online or face-to-face)
Friday, October 8: Sports Day, Altered Schedule.
Monday, October 11: Robotics for grades 4 - 7.
Tuesday, October 12: PE in gym.
HYGIENE AT SCHOOL
We continue to require face masks at school. The only exception to this is when we are eating or drinking. Students are not allowed to speak while they eat. The use of face masks continue to be required by all people in our building, except when eating and drinking.
From now on, for photos at school, masks are also required. One exception to this is outdoor PE, where masks are optional in the extreme heat.
You may read more about our fever protocol on our website here.
CLUB FUN
Tuesday clubs include Weightlifting, High School Board Games, Elementary/Middle School Board Games, Service Club, and Coding by Tokyo Coding Club.
Friday clubs include Weightlifting for selected weightlifting members, Music Jam, High School Movie club, Art, Soccer, and Coding by Tokyo Coding Club.
There is no charge for participation in clubs, with the exception of the Tokyo Coding Club, which delivers fun coding, creative arts and robotics activities by their knowledgeable and creative staff. The fee for Tokyo Coding Club is 5600 yen per group session and 8400 yen per individual one-to-one session.
Your son or daughter received a registration form on August 30 for Tokyo Coding Club. To register, you may use that form or contact Kyle at kyle@tokyocodingclub.com. You may also download the Tokyo Coding Club registration form below.
If you have questions about the clubs, please contact Mr. Luigi Mondino, our club director, at lmondino@tokyoips.com.
Weekly Lunch Menu
Tokyo International Progressive School
TIPS is the small school in the Futako-Tamagawa area
that specializes in learning differences and learning support.
Email: tips@tokyoips.com
Website: https://www.tokyoips.com/
Location: 1-5-20 Kamata, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-0077
Phone: 03-5717-0511
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tokyoips