New International School (NewIS) got the new school year off to a splendid start with an exciting assembly on the first day. This year’s theme is “collaboration,” which was illustrated during assembly by three skits that were performed by teachers. This was followed by two of the senior school students passing a seven-metre-long but just three-blocks-thick Lego construction from the front to the back of the all-purpose room and back again. It was passed over all students from A class up to the Senior School, and didn’t break once! It was a grand collaborative and memorable effort, as children of all ages squeezed the blocks together over their heads so the chain wouldn’t break.
Collaboration is not only the theme for this school year at NewIS, but also describes the philosophy of the school in general. Students learn all subjects in both English and Japanese, using a thematic approach in team-taught, multi-age-by-design classrooms with a three-year age range of children in each class, and lots of opportunities for collaboration.
