Enjoy this short video snippet about St. Michael’s International School from our 2024 Expo.
Transcript
St. Michael’s International School
ISTimes Global: (00:00) Hello, we are here with
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (00:01) Jill
ISTimes Global: (00:02) from St. Michael’s International School in Kobe. Welcome to Osaka.
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (00:07) Hello, thank you. It’s lovely to be here.
ISTimes Global: (00:09) Well, I would love to know more about your school. Uh we were talking briefly before about your long history, especially in uh Kobe and its uh founding so long ago. Uh I would love to give you a chance to tell us a bit about more about uh St. Michael’s.
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (00:27) Yeah, so St. Michael’s International School is a British International school. Uh we’ve been in the same spot in Kobe since uh March 1946. So we’re going to be celebrating our 79th birthday uh next March. Exciting. Um which is always exciting because our kids love a party. Um but it means that we have that sense of community. We’ve been there for a really long time. Um I have staff that graduated from St. Michael’s. Uh my one of my board members graduated in 1952. Um so there’s a long history of connectivity and community associated with St. Michael’s. Um and we have second and now third generation families who came to St. Michael’s themselves and want their children and grandchildren to come to St. Michael’s. So there’s a real nice mix of long-standing community in Kobe and new families moving in. Uh and also an increasing number of Japanese and bicultural families who are keen to have that British international education. Uh so we specialize in what we call early years and primary. So children between the ages of 3 and 11. Um so all of our teachers are British and they’re trained in the British curriculum. So there’s a real sense of continuity and consistency. Um and it creates a really nice community for our kids. So we have a British curriculum that’s internationalized. So where the we were the first accredited uh IPC school in Japan. So the International Primary curriculum. Um and so we’re really proud of that element because it’s an inquiry-based curriculum that allows the children to learn about their host country, which at the moment is obviously Japan and compare that with their home country and countries of family and friends. Uh so it’s rooted in international learning and it works really well for our children. And all of that is underpinned by strong values curriculum. So we think it’s really important. We talk about our school being like a Sakura tree. So the roots are the values. So we’re encouraging our children to be passionate, be caring, um to be honest, to be responsible, to show respect, uh to be show tolerance and understanding to people who don’t look or sound or behave the same that they do. And then we have a strong personal skills program which encourages good communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. Um and the blossom on our Sakura tree is all about the curriculum and the academic opportunities we offer them. But um we really want to underpin those personal skills that allow them to thrive and they leave us wherever they go. Um so yeah, it’s a nice mix. It’s good fun.
ISTimes Global: (02:58) Thank you. And I I’m interested because you have said that many of your former students from school come back either to be board members, working there, sending their kids there. So I for the question but why do they come back?
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (03:15) Well, that’s the best question, really. I think that sense of community that they experienced very early on. We have a really strong alumni. And so when they leave us, although they leave us at 11, the alumni keeps them connected and they stay in touch with the group that they graduated from. And then they might go off to other international schools in Japan and then they go to universities around the world. But they’re all equally successful in their fields and they stay connected and we host alumni events in Kobe, in London, in Bangkok. Um and so they get the opportunity to meet back together and then they come back and visit school. Uh we were here we arrived this morning and a gentleman on one of the other stalls came over and said, I graduated from your school 18 years ago. Oh, and I keep coming back for Bizarre. Um and his father’s involved in running this uh expo today. And so our graduates, I think, remember it with fondness. It’s their first experience perhaps of an international environment. Um and yeah, they want to be part of that and it’s a legacy and the longer St. Michael’s has been there, there’s something about being part of that community that seems to resonate. Uh so we had our most recent alumni event last Saturday. Uh and we had 98 alumni turn up um for tea and bingo, um and finger sandwiches and it was lovely. So
ISTimes Global: (04:32) There’s uh I uh was looking at some of your posters. Are you a uh primary school only or do you uh you do some middle school and high school as well?
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (04:43) No, so we specialize in early years primary. So our children join us when they’re three and they we have a celebratory graduation at the end of year six. So normally they’re 11 or 12. Um and so it’s we just focus on that really important crucial age.
ISTimes Global: (04:59) You still have them for quite a bit of time from uh age 3 to age was that 12?
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (05:05) Yeah.
ISTimes Global: (05:06) Okay. That’s uh
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (05:06) And and it feels like they’ve been with us and they enjoy being part of that. And we’re a small school. So everybody knows everybody and everybody knows their name and you know, there’s people welcoming in the morning and they feel safe and secure. For many families, yes, they want the British international education. Yes, they want something about after school activities. But what they also want to know is that when their young child at the age of three comes to school, they’re going to be cared for, they’re going to be safe, they’re going to be happy. And if we have all of those things in place, then everything else is a bonus, right? They blossom when they have all those things. And so I think our small community provides that. Um and it it just feels like a really great place to be.
ISTimes Global: (05:47) That that sounds very, very lovely. If if a parent would uh want to come and visit your school and uh they have a very short time, what is something that you hope that they’ll see in a very short period of time and so that they can have the best impression or a best understanding of what So
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (06:06) I think the best time to visit our school is when we’re in session and our children are in classrooms because that’s the bit that’s most important, seeing our organization alive and filled with learning and the children are great ambassadors for St. Michael’s. Um so they would see lots of practical learning, lots of presentation. We focus on communication and collaboration. So our children are used to doing presentations. Uh we have our year sixes doing an assembly on Friday where they get to present in front of the school. There’s a lot of role play and drama and poetry with poetry festival next week because we think it’s increasingly important in this day and age that children or young people have that confidence to express themselves and to present their ideas and their thinking and demonstrate their learning. Um because knowledge now is not just about learning facts, it’s putting it together with skills and demonstrating true understanding. And I hope that’s what parents will see when they come, children engage in activities that demonstrate not only their interest in our curricula, but also their understanding at that age and that level that’s um gets deeper as they get older. But definitely engagement in learning, um not a lot of sitting and being bored and listening. Our curriculum is very practical and interactive. Um so yeah, they get to see everything I think. But definitely when our kids are in session, it’s much nicer.
ISTimes Global: (07:27) Excellent. Well, if you are in Kobe, come on to St. Michael’s and visit this wonderful school. Thank you, thank you so much, Jo.
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (07:35) You’re very welcome. Appreciate it. Please come and visit us.
ISTimes Global: (07:37) I will.
St. Michael’s International School (Jill): (07:37) Cheers.
About St. Michael’s International School
- British International School in Kobe since 1946 (79+ years history)
- Specializes in early years and primary education (ages 3-11)
- Follows British curriculum with International Primary Curriculum (IPC)
- First IPC accredited school in Japan
- Strong values curriculum (passion, care, honesty, responsibility, respect)
- Focus on personal skills: communication, collaboration, creativity
- Small school community with multi-generational families
- Active global alumni network with events worldwide
- Japanese cultural integration through inquiry-based learning
- Safe, nurturing environment for young learners
