Makuhari International School
Makuhari International School Chiba Japan
In April 2009 I started working at Makuhari International School Chiba Japan. I have taught both Elementary (G1/G2) and Kindergarten (EYS Coordinator) classes and my child centered desire to fully engage in school life has resulted in my teaching every grade from K1 to G6 in some capacity or another. As a new school I have been able to gain a complete understanding of how a school develops its curriculum, philosophy and resources. This has enabled me to further develop my pedagogy and understanding of the Early Years Curriculum and the National British Curriculum. We also recently went through the accreditation stage with the Council of International Schools.
Being part of the first Kindergarten team in the opening year, I was responsible for all foundational development for children entering the school from a variety of backgrounds including many children learning English as an additional language. This role included using my knowledge and expertise to develop appropriate learning practices, introducing initial phonic development and implementing a daily mathematical program. Through working in Grade 2 I have displayed the ability to work collaboratively as a team and differentiating learning for children of different learning needs and styles. Through our assessment for learning initiative I have developed both formative and summative assessment strategies which have led to significant progress for my children in all areas of the curriculum. Being a new school, I have benefited from the latest technology including interactive whiteboards, iPads, a Media Suite and many interactive learning tools including Edmodo and Nessy.
I am aware that learning takes many forms and does not just take place inside the classroom and have fully involved myself in a wide range of extra-curricular clubs including various sports, construction and academic clubs and played a significant role in our PE and Literacy curriculum teams. I have also taken children on a wide range of off-site trips and activities. I pride myself on building strong relationships with students, colleagues and parents and very much consider learning to be a child centred, positive partnership in a learning community.