Fostering Inquisitive Learners

by The American School In Japan

Project Report | Jun 27, 2018
ASIJ High School Students Present TEDxYOUTH@ASIJ

By Jean Ren | Database Specialist

TedxYouth male presenter

On May 24, 2018, a group of ASIJ High School students assisted by faculty hosted the TEDxYouth@ASIJ event, which was dedicated to exploring the theme “Students Make an Impact”, at Meiji Kinenkan. TEDx, a derivative of TED Conference, allows for self-organized events dedicated to the discussion of ideas worth spreading, and TEDxYouth events are organized by and for youth. Our students became involved in this project through the ASIJ IMPACT program, a self-directed learning program dedicated to helping students achieve their true potential through independent projects. From serving as the speakers themselves to creating the program and TEDx sign, to organizing the AV requirements and helping guests check in, ASIJ's student team was intimately involved in all aspects of the event’s organization and production.

Six student speakers shared their knowledge on a diverse array of topics in front of an audience of approximately 100 ASIJ faculty members, parents, donors, and other community members. The topics included raising awareness for human trafficking, helping Japanese children who were about to leave foster homes, giving children the opportunity for an education through intersectional feminism, and creating a unique fashion brand for the youth of Tokyo. The rest of the team members were tasked with helping the speakers prepare for their talks by running rehearsals, editing scripts and more. They also tackled the AV aspects of the event such as running the livestream, operating the microphones and lights, and recording the event— all of which required close communication with the Meiji Kinenkan venue team. ASIJ sophomore, Solomon, comments: "As the organizer, I also had to create the overall plan for the night, including scheduling, team management and pre-event planning, which was an experience that I will not forget."

Throughout this experience, students learned the importance of clear communication, teamwork and flexibility. When unexpected changes or setbacks occurred during the planning process, they had to think quickly and adapt their strategy accordingly. We are extremely proud of ASIJ's high schoolers for producing a TEDx experience of the highest quality, all while fulfilling their usual academic responsibilities (AP classes, final exams and other extracurricular projects and sports) during the busiest time of year. Each presentation sparked insightful discussions within the ASIJ community about how we can reach out and impact those around us, showcasing the remarkable wisdom and potential of our students.

TedxYouth female presenters

TedxYouth team

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Apr 3, 2018
ASIJ's TVEC Heads Back to Tohoku

By Jean Ren | Advancement Database Specialist

TVEC1

TVEC (Tohoku Virtual English Classroom) is a program run by ASIJ Middle School's Student Service Leadership Team (SSLT). TVEC started six years ago as a way for ASIJ students to offer help to children devastated by the March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. Every other week after school, students from SSLT collaborate to teach fun and interactive English lessons via Skype to two sixth-grade classes in Ikawa or Sakari elementary schools. ASIJ high-schoolers are also part of the program, teaching students from Takkon elementary school.

On Feb 9, 2018, 12 SSLT members (4 eighth-graders, 6 seventh-graders and 2 sixth-graders) ventured more than 500 kilometers to Iwate Prefecture to teach English in person to the fifth and sixth-grade classes of Ikawa Elementary School. Middle school teachers, Mr. Richard, Mrs. Gesling and Ms. Nickle, along with program coordinator Mr. Mita, chaperoned the trip.

Upon arriving in Ofunato, students were saddened to discover the lasting impact of a disaster that took place almost seven years ago. Sign boards were still bent and residents were still in the process of rebuilding their homes. However, living conditions in Tohoku had made slow but noticeable improvements since their first visit. The first year that SSLT members visited Ofunato, temporary shelters still surrounded the school. This time they were gone and replaced by more permanent facilities.

One SSLT member, Matthew, wrote of the insight and humility that he gained from being able to give the gift of education to those in need: "I have never seen a group of kids so grateful for one simple thing, learning English. It’s shocking to see how one small thing can make such a difference in one’s life." He goes on to say: "Their lives have really been taken away by the tsunami, but their optimism and brightness just inspires and touches you."

This TVEC trip reinforced ASIJ's belief that through service to local communities, our students can enrich their own education as well. ASIJ strives to continue creating more opportunities for our students to learn though service and volunteerism.

TVEC2

TVEC3

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Jan 8, 2018
In the Zone at the VEX Robotics Competition

By Erin Nelson | Director of Advancement

This year’s VEX Robotics Competition saw 32 teams come together for a battle royale over two days of testing technical feats on the ASIJ campus.

Motors whirred, steel arms extended and batteries tested as preparations began on Friday, Nov 17 for the VEX Robotics Competition. In addition to seven homegrown teams from ASIJ, including two middle school teams, local and international teams filled the ASIJ Theater and its lobby with equipment as robot inspections began on Friday morning. Joining us from overseas this year were teams from Chadwick International (South Korea), Foshan Nanhai Yanbu Middle School and Tianjin International School (China), Hong Kong International School, Pearl City High School (USA), Thai-Chinese School (Thailand) and Taipei American School. Local competitors included British School Tokyo, Christian Academy Japan, KAIS International School, St Maur International School and Tokyo Tech High School of Science and Technology.

Once robots passed their inspections, they took to either the Gravitational Field or Magnetic Field to begin the skills challenges. Teams had three chances to accrue points by testing their driving and programming skills. The challenges period ended with Foshang winning the programming and driving skills to end up with an impressive score of 184 in the Robot Skills Challenge Rankings. ASIJ’s 901c team placed fourth in the skills ranking.

This year’s game is In the Zone, played on a 12’x12’ square field. Two alliances composed of two teams each compete in matches consisting of a fifteen second autonomous period followed by one minute and forty-five seconds of driver-controlled play. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by stacking cones on goals, by scoring mobile goals in goal zones, by having the highest stacks and by parking robots. There are 80 cones that can be stacked on ten goals during a match. Some cones begin in designated locations on the field, while others are available to be entered into the field during the match.

Competition was fierce on Saturday and plenty of drama unfolded as robots shed chains and screws, fell over or simply got stuck. For those teams that found their form, the rewards paid off. The first part of the competition ended with Taipei American School’s 4253J in pole position followed by 7090B and 7090A from Foshan. ASIJ’s 901B team was the highest placed Japanese team in eighth place with Christian Academy’s 99484c following in ninth place.

The alliance selection saw teams line up, in order of their rankings, to choose who they wished to partner with for the final stage of the competition. Raid Zero J from Taipei kicked things off by choosing Vesibay Robotics and Midknight from Canadian Academy to join their alliance. ASIJ’s 901A joined the third seeded alliance with HKDragon Alpha from Hong Kong and T-Raptors B from Tianjian. The fourth seeded alliance saw ASIJ’s 901M and 901Z join up with TCIS1 from the Thai-Chinese School. ASIJ’s 901C joined an alliance with two teams from Tianjian and 901B joined CRX-KAIJU from Chadwick International and Tianjian’s TCSI2. ASIJ’s final two teams 901N and 901X formed the eighth seeded alliance with St Maur’s Perihelion.

The final round saw the red alliance of Raid Zero J, Vesibay Robotics and Midknight take on the blue alliance of Vesibay Robotics, Pearl City High School and CRX-OPTIMUS from Chadwick International. The blue alliance won the autonomous round of the first match with 10 points and then went on to score 137 points in the main battle. In the second match the red alliance won the autonomous section and, after a close battle, were victorious overall. With everything to play for in the final match the two alliances squared off. Red started well by winning the autonomous portion. In a hotly contested final round, which saw a stack fall over and robots make a last minute scramble to rack up points, the red alliance won with 100 points—a single point more than blue alliance’s 99 points.

The day ended with the awards presentation where Pearl City High School’s 4142A team took home the Excellence Award. The Design Award went to team 99484 from Christian Academy Japan with Chadwick International’s 6724D tem receiving the Judges Award and Foshan’s 7090A team taking home the Robot Skills Winner Award. The Sportsmanship Award, which is voted on by all attending teams, went to ASIJ’s own 901b team.

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