American School in Japan

American School in Japan
Location
Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan Japan
Information
Type	Private
Motto	Developing Compassionate, Inquisitive Learners Prepared for Global Responsibility
Established	1902
Head of school	Tim Carr
Enrollment	1,600
Color(s)	Black and gold
Mascot	Mustang
Affiliation	none
Website	American School in Japan Website

Founded in 1902, the American School in Japan (ASIJ) is an American private school located in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The school consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school, all located on the Chōfu campus. There is also an early learning center (nursery-kindergarten) for children aged 3-5 located in the Roppongi Hills complex in downtown Tokyo. Instruction is principally in English and follows an American-style curriculum. About two thirds of the school's students are the children of citizens of English-speaking countries who are on temporary assignment in Japan, and the remaining one third are Japanese students who speak English. The campus is fenced in, resulting from heightened security measures taken after the September 11 attacks. Campus surroundings include the Nogawa Koen and the neighborhood of Tamabochi. In a review, the Good Schools Guide International said "This is an impressive school, not only for its size and facilities but also for its strong sense of where it is going.

History

Overview

In 1902, three different missionary home-schools combined their resources, founding the predecessor to the American School in Japan. In 1910, the school re-organized and became the Tokyo Grammar School. In 1920, the school changed its name to its current name and a new facility was built in Shibaura; however, the facility was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. In 1927, a permanent school-site was purchased in Meguro. The school was closed during World War II and re-opened under the United States Military during the Allied Occupation of Japan. It operated from 1947 until the spring of 1952 when the Occupation ended; during that time it was called the Tokyo American School at Meguro.

In 1963, the American School in Japan moved from Meguro to Chōfu. A decade later, ASIJ opened the Naka-meguro campus. In 2006, a new theater called the Ricketson was added to the campus. In 2006-2007 ASIJ renovated both the back field and the main field. The renovations included the addition of industry standard FieldTurf, the expansion the middle school field, the landscaping and addition of lights on the main field. The lights were donated by Jin Roy Ryu '77, but sparked controversy among ASIJ alumni and students due to the involvement of Mr. Ryu's company, Poongsang Corporation, in the manufacturing of military munitions. A number of alumni have since refused to donate to the school.

Curriculum

On campus

ASIJ follows a strictly American curriculum, offering almost all Advanced Placement courses for high school juniors and seniors. There is an extensive Japanese language program, which begins in the first grade. Other languages taught are French and Spanish. All the students in the Elementary School have to learn Japanese for one period every other day. There are different levels in the Japanese classes.

Extra/co-curricular

Clubs and activities

Middle school

The Middle School starts from 6th grade up to 8th grade.

Fall: Girls/ Boys- cross country, Girls/ Boys- soccer, Girls- volleyball,

Winter: Boys/Girls -swimming, Boys- basketball, Boys- wrestling, Girls field hockey,

Spring: Boys/ Girls -track and field, Girls-Basketball, Boys/ Girls- Tennis, Boys/Girls Baseball,

Yearly: Student Leadership team ( student council), Peer Helpers, Brain bowl team, Mix it up Mondays, Golf Club etc.

High school

The high school offers a variety of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, including the following sports:

Fall: boys/girls cross-country, boys football, girls volleyball, cheerleading

Winter: boys/girls swim team, boys/girls basketball, cheerleading, boys soccer, girls field hockey, boys wrestling

Spring: boys/girls track & field, girls soccer, boys baseball, girls softball (club)

The high school also offers many clubs & service opportunities, including Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF, Abot Kamay, Amnesty International, Speech/Debate, Thespians, Gay-Straight Student Alliance (GSSA), National Honor Society, Peer Helpers, Anime/Manga, Dance, Model United Nations, etc.

Extended campus

The school values interaction with its host country, however, and the curriculum includes several programs including an 5th grade exchange program with Japanese students of a school in Numazu, "Intermission" activities for middle school students, and "JUMP" (Japan Understanding Motivational Project) trips for high school students, which include the options of traveling around Japan to places such as Okinawa.

The middle school includes extended campus trips to the Izu peninsula, Kiyosato [AKA: KEEP (Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project)], Hiroshima, Naeba Skii trip, and Lake Sai.

• • The 8th Grade Hokkaidō trip was changed in 2003 due to restructuring of the Extended Campus program. Now, the 8th graders "engage in Tokyo area cultural activities before or after Lake Sai trip, and goes on the Naeba ski trip there."

Facilities

Athletics

In house Athletic trainers are on duty while athletic events occur on campus.

File:Asij-mustangs.jpg

ASIJ Mustangs Logo

Main field

The main field, located in the back of the Chōfu campus, is set up for all major sports, including soccer, baseball, football, field hockey, most track & field events, and archery. The field, newly turfed in 2007, includes built-in bleachers, a 100-meter strip of track, football goalposts, stadium lighting, and a security fence next to Nogawa Koen.

Middle school field

The middle school field is surfaced with FieldTurf.

Multiple gyms

ASIJ has three gyms, one in each division. The high school gym was recently re-floored (2006). None of the gyms are air-conditioned, but all are full-sized and equipped for sports such as volleyball and basketball. The high school gym features retractable bleachers.

Workout facility

The weight room/fitness center consists of two levels and is located next to the pool. The lower level houses the free weights and larger machines, while the upper level is divided into smaller machines and a stretching area. There is also a dance studio located in the new cafeteria building.

Aquatics

The Chōfu campus houses a 25-meter heated pool used by the elementary, middle, and high school swim teams and PE classes. The pool features a 10 ft (3.0 m) high "platform" for diving, as well as heated floors.

Fine arts facilities

Ricketson Theater

The Ricketson Theater is the home to many students. It is frequently called the "RT" for short by students and faculty. The theater originally opened as the "Little Theater" in 1963. Later, it was renamed after former Headmaster and musical director, Bill Ricketson. Bill Ricketson died in 2004. The original Ricketson Theater was demolished in 2005 and a state-of-the-art, 420-seat theater opened in 2006. Features of the new theater:

• State-of-the-art ETC lighting system
• Yamaha digital sound mixing console
• Hydraulic operated orchestra pit
• Xenon Spot lights
• Changeable acoustics & fly-in acoustical shell
• SONY DVCAM Multi-cam recording system with Sony's Anycast System
• AVID Xpress & Media Composer non-linear editing systems
• TV Studio

Blackbox Theater

A mini-theater located on the second floor of the Fine Arts complex adjacent to the high school. This facility is also equipped with a full lighting grid housing an ETC lighting system. This room also has mirrors for dance practice.

Art studios

there are many places where you can learn art, in your classes that you are in, during after school activities, and also if you do the plays after school, you can sign up for doing the scenes in the play, and draw/paint the scenes

Bandroom

The band room is used by students in middle school and high school in an instrumental music program. Middle School level courses

• Rookie Band (beginner band)
• Cadet Band (at least 1 year of experience)
• Symphonic Band (at least 2 years of experience)

High School level courses:

• Rookie Band
• Concert Band (majority is freshman)
• Wind Ensemble
• Jazz Band

High School bands also participate in the following festivals and competitions:

• Kanto Plains Solo/Ensemble festival.
• AMIS International Honor Jazz Band Festival
• Tokyo Area Honor Band

Choir room

Don Berger Choir Room

Misc

Technology

• Telescope and dome for astronomy classes
• Technology is a key component of the ASIJ curriculum. ASIJ offers various services on the web, including MustangsOnline (a parental portal for community news) and Blackboard.
• The school maintains over 800 Windows computers.

Banking

A Shinsei Bank ATM is located in the plaza in front of the middle school. Transactions can also be made with the following banks:

• Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
• Mizuho Bank
• Sumitomo-Mitsui Bank
• Risona Bank

Food services

The cafeteria seats 250-300 students with additional seating outside in the high school courtyard and middle school plaza. The menu is large, with daily specials and a la carte items including pasta, meat, and vegetable main dishes. The cafeteria also serves ramen, soba, and udon every day. The "Beans'n'Greens Cafe"/Kiosk, located in the bookstore in the front of the middle school, offers a variety of deli-type sandwiches, soups, and salads, as well as snacks such as senbei, pretzels, bagels, candy, and ice cream. Beverage options include coffees (made from Starbucks beans) and fruit juices from the "Beans'n'Greens", Crystal Geyser water machines, and Coca-Cola product vending machines.

Library and media centers

ASIJ has 1 library in each school division The main library alone houses over 32,000 books, 200 periodicals, several thousand video, audiocassette and CD-ROM titles.

Finances

Major contributors

• Class of 1977 (in the name of Jack Collins) - Main Field Project
• Ehara Family - Renewal of the Fine Arts wing
• Zwaanstra Family - Renewal of the Fine Arts wing
• Various companies

Summer programs

ASIJ hosts two summer programs, the Summer Studies Program, and Summer Day Camp.

Summer studies program

The Summer Studies Program (formerly known as Summer Passport Program) is a three-week summer school program available to international and English-speaking students, ages 5 (kindergarten) through 18 (high school senior). The program is run like a camp for the younger students and a summer school for the older students. Students in kindergarten and first grade study bugs and dinosaurs, respectively. Elementary students (2nd grade - 5th grade) do a variety of "passport" programs, usually focusing on one or two countries. The middle and high school students are allowed to choose four classes to take for the three weeks, from a variety of topics including sports, musical instruments, and SAT prep classes.

All instructors at the Summer Studies Program are certified teachers, and the program offers a monitored bus service for children living downtown.

Summer day camp

The Summer Day Camp program, run by Jo Ash and Tim Thornton, is a two-week summer day camp for Japanese-speaking children (there are also some English-speaking groups), grades 1 - 6.

The camp promotes the usage of English in everyday life, and usually has an enrolment of approximately 750 children per two week session (there are two sessions, beginning mid-July and ending mid-August). The campers are separated into groups by age (and, in older groups, by gender), with each group named after an animal. The groups spend their two weeks going to different activities, including swimming, sports, model craft, needle craft, music, mini-golf, computers, roller skating, etc. All the campers attend English class every day. The camp curriculum also includes a special activity called "Kappa Corner," led by Kappa-sensei. "Kappa Corner" is set up as a competition between every group in the camp and campers compete in a variety of games to win coveted "Kappa Badges".

The camp is primarily staffed by college and high school-age teens, although each activity's lead specialist holds a college degree.

Battle of the bands / show down

Battle of the Bands was a large event hosted at ASIJ which was faculty sponsored by Bruce Bryant and the Communications club. Over the years it had grown to a large competition involving all the international schools in the Kanto Plains area, with sponsorships from HMV and Coca-Cola. The original series of Battle of the Bands came to a close in '97 with "Spring Fest 1997". (Jesse McFadden performed here prior to the formation of RIZE).

The event was revived in 2000 with Tai Dirkse and David Neale. This event is no longer competitive and rather a time where students can perform "MUSE-ic" with their band. The event is currently run by "MUSE", ASIJ's music enthusists, and COSA.

• • Archive Video on Myspace of "Cassandra" from Battle of the Bands 1988
  • MUSEic Fest 2006 "All the Small Things"

Notable alumni

• Thelma Aoyama, singer
• John Cornyn, United States Senator
• Joan Fontaine, actress
• Utada Hikaru, singer
• Joi Ito, entrepreneur
• Lois Lowry, author
• Hikaru Nishida, singer
• Oliver Platt, actor
• Linda Purl, actress
• Edwin O. Reischauer, U.S. ambassador
• Beate Sirota, co-author of the Japanese constitution
• Oleg Troyanovsky, ambassador
• Oswald Wynd, author

Miscellaneous information

• The wife of Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales attended ASIJ.

External links

• American School in Japan home page
• ASIJ Going Green
• ASIJ Photo Gallery
• Teacher Recruitment Video (by Tai Dirkse '06)
• MustangsOnline: Community Portal
• Official Prominent Alumni List
• ASIJ Teachers' Union
• Profile at the Good Schools Guide International