| What grades are offered? |
The school offers pre-K through G12
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| What curriculum and textbooks are used? |
OIS is an accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) school and is integrated from kindergarten through high school. The curriculum is student-centered, cross-curricular, inquiry-based, and problem-based (PBL), rather than traditional teacher-led textbook-based, and paper-based examinations. English is the primary language of instruction, with Japanese language and literature for Japanese speakers and a Japanese language acquisition program for speakers of other languages. The Primary Years Program (PYP) is offered from age 3 through grade 5, the Middle Years Program (MYP) from grades 6 through 10, and the Diploma Program (DP) from grades 11 through 12. In addition to the IBDP course, the Upper School (grades 10-12) offers the International Liberal Arts (ILA) program. Both the IBDP and the ILA courses are designed to qualify students to enter universities in Japan and abroad. |
| What is the admissions process like? |
The success of IB education at OIS lies in the understanding and implementation of the IB philosophy and principles by the school, parents, and students to achieve those goals. While traditional education measures achievement of acquired knowledge through paper-based examinations, IB education requires an understanding of the nature of learning. Students are encouraged to think and act in ways that lead to answers to their own questions of "why" and "what" through various types of inquiry. We use a variety of methods to test students' non-cognitive abilities in the admission screening process. Admission screening is conducted in November and January, and monthly for those who wish to transfer. For more information, please contact our office. |
| What kind of afterschool programs are available? |
We have many afterschool programs such as swimming, soccer, karate, etc. in cooperation with local clubs, but we are considering adding more options.
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| What nationalities are represented in your students? |
85% of the students are Japanese nationals and 15% are foreign nationals or have more than one nationality. |
| Are school trips available? |
Before the pandemic, we had a sleepover for kindergarteners, 1-to-2-night trip within Okinawa for elementary school, and about 4-night trip inside and outside Japan for middle and high school.
We plan to resume these school trips, and include them in our school calendar from school year 2025.
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| What activities are currently taking place at the school? |
We had our first graduates from our high school in March 2023. All of our second graduates received acceptance letters from universities and went on to higher education. They took the IBDP Exam and received acceptance letters from leading universities around the world with high grades. Some examples are University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Melbourne, University of Birmingham, Essec Business School, Waseda University, Sophia University, ICU, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, etc. Their grades are a benchmark for OIS. The results of the IBDP Exam have had a positive impact on the content of our curriculum from Kindergarten through middle school. In order to lead IBDP students to success, they are required to have native-level English proficiency by the time they enter high school. Therefore, we have a system in place to scientifically nurture each student by setting English proficiency achievement goals from kindergarten onward.
In Okinawa, awareness of the IB is not as high as in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and we are also engaged in activities to widely communicate the value of IB education and the need to nurture a global elite to the people of the prefecture. |
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What additional support is provided for students?
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For students whose native language is Japanese, we provide support to improve their English language skills. For students whose native language is other than Japanese and who need support in Japanese, we provide pull-out, in-class language support, and online individual support (English only: for a fee). The school also provides extensive guidance on lifestyle and manners in Japanese society as support for acquiring social skills, which we believe will lead to an understanding of global society and the ability to play an active role in the world in the future. We assign specialized teachers for academic guidance, starting from grade 8, and work with homeroom teachers and subject teachers over several years to ensure that students successfully enter the Japanese and overseas universities of their choice. |
| What are the student numbers for each section? |
PreK and Kindergarten – 65, Primary Years Program – 90, Middle Years Program – 42, High School Program – 21 |
