SOIS World Scholars Take Center Stage
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TANGOEXTRA Dancing with Words Senri & Osaka International Schools of Kwansei Gakuin December 2016 Volume 10 Number 1 SOIS World Scholars Take Center Stage Participating in the World Scholars' Cup is becoming a Even for the friends and supporters left back rich tradition here at SOIS, and this year saw the SOIS home, there was a real buzz about what was team reaching new heights of success. An obvious high- going on at the global rounds. Members of light has been the trip that members of the team took to OIS grade 9 tuned in in through Skype in compete in the Tournament of Champions round at Yale morning homeroom to listen to Tyus Sheriff in the US. The team was away from November 17 to 22, give a rousing debate speech on center and was supervised by Mr. Sheriff, who provided coach- stage. ing and guidance, and by Minakuchi sensei, who took Tyus established himself as one of the rising care of organization and logistics. stars on the WSC scene through his perfor- In the World Scholars Cup, teams from around the world mances at the global rounds. He was named compete in activities such as debates, quizzes and col- WSC Junior Individual Champion for 2016, a laborative writing. It is a great chance for students to wonderful achievement. A quick check of the challenge themselves, to show off their skills and WSC page on Wikipedia shows he has really knowledge, and to learn from others, all in a fun, warm arrived: environment that celebrates diversity and different per- spectives. Students who participated in the WSC this year spoke highly of the experience. Chisato Suga said that it makes education fun, “You really enjoy learning.” However, as impressive as Tyus' accomplishment is, all For example, many of the examinations and tests WSC students who went to the global rounds of the WSC per- makes you take aren’t really about facts but more about Fun was a key word that kept coming up again and formed well and made their friends, families and the connecting ideas. So it really hones in on your critical again when WSC team members spoke about their ex- school proud. Indeed, all SOIS students who have par- thinking” periences. It seems that the organization keeps a firm ticipated in World Scholars' Cup so far should be proud eye on fun even as all the intellectual demands keep Special credit must go to Mr. Sheriff, Mrs. Inada, Mina- of the ways they have challenged themselves intellectu- coming. Those if us not in the know have to ask our- kuchi sensei and all the other teachers and parents who ally in this way. Attributes such as creativity, collabora- selves: What’s with all the alpacas? support SOIS involvement with World Scholars Cup and tion, critical thinking and communication are highly val- make it possible. ued here at SOIS, so by becoming involved, WSC mem- bers are really engaging in what our school is all about. Chisato and Nanami were quoted as saying that stu- I guess you really had to be dents who were interested in joining World Scholars’ there. As Tyus told us, many of the things he has learned at Cup should definitely try it. It is such a worthwhile expe- WSC he later hears mentioned or reinforced in lessons rience. Students who are interested in taking part should here at school. This emphasizes the academic value of talk to Mr. Sheriff. being involved in WSC. “The experience of participating in World Scholars’ Cup is beneficial in so many ways” A shout out to all the Tournament of Champions Tyus told us, “It develops your public speaking. It gives participants: From OIS--Malka, Sana, Antonio, Tyus, you confidence in what you say. It helps develop your Minami, Nanami. From SIS—Mizuki Ito, Natsumi Kato, The students who participated in the global round at writing, of course. And it’s great for critical thinking.” Mio Kodama, Kikka Okuda, Satoi Akeda, Sophia Smith, Yale said it was a really challenging experience. Nanami Sean Matsuura. Hasegawa spoke of the sleepless flight from Japan to the US, desperately cramming in as much information as possible during the trip. She said the experience of Reporting by Dave Algie. Special thanks to Steve Sheriff, Tyus “hanging out” with her team was a real highlight. She Sheriff, Nanami Hasegawa, Chisato Suga. said that through debating at WSC she developed her Photos courtesy of Nanami Hasegawa. confidence in public speaking. The Winter Holiday Season is Upon Us! The holidays are a time for family… so check out Yuroo’s and Kaya’s moving family stories on pages 6 and 7! Page 2 Senri & Osaka International Schools of KG December 2016 by Sophia Grabowski Volume — Tango 10 Number President 1 Editorial by Sophia Grabowski Senior Stress we fail, it is not the end of the world. We can instead be confident that we are defined by something that doesn’t rely on our ability to succeed. I estimate that half of the conversations that my classmates and I have nowadays are (complaining) about our school work, and the other half is about what we’re going What we identify ourselves with varies from person to person. In most cases I don’t to do after this year. It seems like this next chapter in our lives has completely con- think they can be pinpointed to one thing, as there are so many nuances to what sumed our minds. I often catch myself spending a significant amount of time worrying makes us who we are. It might be certain character traits, hobbies, or even relation- about what my options are, which ones I will choose, and whether I can pursue them ships, even though defining ourselves with other people might not be the wisest thing with what I will achieve at OIS. It is obvious that in this transition time these thoughts to do. Choosing to not live for other people’s approval but instead to really evaluate are completely normal and even important. However, I have realized that to spare for myself how I want to act and why I want to act that way is something I really want myself from experiencing unnecessary stress and anxiety, I cannot let my accom- to work on. plishments or failures be what defines me. Let’s say I get a seven in my Chemistry test and I build my value on getting sevens in that class. Once I fail to live up to this I think that dealing with the pressures of IB and the future doesn’t have to be as self-set standard, who I am is shaken, and I lose worth and confidence. Another ex- daunting as they seem to be. Complaining doesn’t get us our diploma, so I think we ample for this is our IB score. If we don’t get a certain grade which we would’ve need- should focus more on what we can do better instead of how the system might be bad/ ed to enter a certain university, what are we going to do if, throughout the past 2 how we have too much to do. However, if you see us 12th graders sitting in the years, we have told ourselves that the only way to be happy and successful is that we lounge, it never hurts to come up to us, give us a hug, and say that everything is go- go to that uni? ing to be fine. I feel like what should drive us to excel is not to sustain a certain identity, but instead #HugAnOISSenior the identity we already have should motivate us to do our best. If we do that, when A New-look Leadership Team for Tango by Dave Algie A New-look Leadership Team for Tango from an SIS perspective. As Mio has men- by Dave Algie tioned in some of her recent articles, gradua- tion is soon approaching for her as she is an SIS sen- As Tango enters its tenth volume we are proud to an- whiteboard you might have seen out and around the ior. We wish her all the best as she enters her last tri- nounce a new leadership team that will help continue school campus, advertising our newspaper. Sophia is mester here. Check out Mio’s article opposite! the tradition of celebrating the creativity of students at hugely involved in SOIS life, and epitomizes the kind of our school, and producing an informative, entertaining internationally minded, creative student we are lucky to Airi Wakasa has been a very reliable writer for Tango student newspaper from a caring, internationally mind- have at SOIS and in Tango in particular. Check out in recent years. You ed perspective. Sophia’s editorial above, and her article about her ex- might have read her in- periences on student council on page 5! terviews with teachers Sophia Grabowski has new to the school. Airi’s been chosen for the position We are very fortunate to have Mio dedication to the Tango of President of Tango club. Okuda back as one of our two cause has seen her ap- She is a long serving mem- Tango Vice Presidents this year. pointed Vice Presi- ber of Tango who has con- Mio has been a great contributor dent this year and Pictured: Airi Wakasa (left) with her well - tributed a range of articles to Tango for over two years now. known associate, Sherlock Holmes. we look forward to and interviews over the She has had several front page more of her great work appearing in our pages.