E-News Letter

Chiku Centre Support Group

Embedded in the grade one curriculum is a Unit of Inquiry, "People create systems to connect communities." It has been designed to help young children build their capacity for leadership and service. In collaboration with members of the Chiku Centre group the grade one's build an understanding of homelessness and take age appropriate action. This has included learning what people really need and raising their own money through their actions, such as making a cardboard arcade. The children then funded and made onigiri with the Chiku Centre Group.

YIS Kindergarten - Takarajima Kindergarten Buddies

In 2011 YIS and Takarajima began a buddy partnership where they could be both learners and teachers to each other, sharing their respective kindergarten spaces and learning from each other through play and shared activities. The children develop their stewardship potential with the experience of sharing spaces, trying new things, helping others feel comfortable, trying new ways of communication, creating an environment that others will enjoy, playing in a space that is unfamiliar yet supported, and taking care of others' spaces and the natural environment.

Lady of Lourdes Baby Home

16 years ago, we established a connection with The Lady of Lourdes Baby Home in Yamate. The Home is for children ages 2-18 years of age, with 20 children between the ages of 3 and 6. These children all have at least one parent, but for various reasons cannot live with their parents and for most, rarely receive visits from them. Every year the ELC invites the younger children not yet attending school to our center and to play with us. In December, we organize a Craft Day with our parents to make gifts for our Baby Home friends.

5W Kiva Initiative

For the past 3 years, at the start of the school year, 5W students have been invited to learn about and connect with KIVA by making a loan to someone in the world who needs it. As KIVA states on their website: "We are a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world." More than 90% of 5W students each year have chosen to take part each year. Together in 5W we have learn about how KIVA works and the students have work hard outside of school to raise enough money to make a US$25 loan. Then each student chooses the person or group to make their loan to. To date, ALL 5W students have been repaid! Thank you everyone.

Partners: KIVA

A list of Elementary Service Initiatives for 2018-19 can be found here

Sanagitachi Service Club

Sanagitachi works on bettering the lives of people in need and without stable housing within the Kannai area of Yokohama. Students and teachers regularly collaborate with the Sanagitachi Center to support homeless individuals around the Yokohama Stadium and Kannai station areas by distributing necessities such as soup, razors, toothbrushes, socks and blankets.

HS YIS Underwater Explorers

A student-led service group that aims to understand and improve the aquatic environment in Japan. We will serve our community by working with the organization Project Baseline to check and record the ocean conditions and share them with local governments and educational institutions. We will also develop a further knowledge and understanding of scuba diving to help us support this purpose.

Partner: Project Baseline

MS Chiku Service Team

Do you want to be involved in making a positive difference to people that live in Yokohama? Are you interested in learning more about the issues of poverty and homelessness in Japan? We work together in small groups to raise awareness about issues that people in our community deal with. We will make regular visits to the Chiku Center to help prepare and serve food to homeless people in the area.

Partner: Kotobuki Chiku Center

The Combating Human Trafficking Group

The Combating Human Trafficking service group works alongside a non-profit organisation called Lighthouse to seek ways raise awareness about and combat the issue of human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of young people in Japan. Our group educates others by organising speaking events for YIS and the wider community and has contributed by translating Lighthouse materials into English to widen their audience.

Partners: Lighthouse: Center for Human Trafficking Victims

Van der Poel Community Service

The Van der Poel Community Service group works to improve the welfare of children in two local orphanages through a partnership with the Yokohama International Women’s Club. Students participate in regular outings and visits to the childrens’ homes and they also organize and host the Orphanage Christmas party held annually at YIS in early December. This is a major event that brings together the YIS community and the orphanage communities.

Partners: Yokohama International Women's Club

OUR SERVICE MODEL

Our model for service at BSO* is organized around specific roles and types of service, a cyclical process for engaging in service, and communities of interaction.

Students and others in the BSO community may play multiple roles and be involved in various types of service activities during their time at BSO.

To be meaningful and successful, service should be a deliberate and thoughtful process that incorporates research, preparation, action and reflection.

At BSO service interaction starts with our own school community and extends to local, national and international levels. The communities we serve are those presenting a real need, and as a school it is our responsibility to ensure that our service activities are part of a learning process. To help identify needs and ensure the effectiveness of our response, we cultivate strong links with NGO's and other trusted community partner organizations whose missions align with our own. This helps provide a wide range of opportunities for our community to engage in service action.