Bibleverse

聖せ い し ょ書

Moral LessonsBiblefrom the

Daniel Fanger, Principal

Diligence means to intensely devote oneself in work or study. Some-

one who has acquired the character trait of diligence is not lazy. They

will not cut corners, or do a halfway, sloppy job. The Bible talks about

the results of diligence and laziness:

The hand of the diligent will rule,

while the slothful will be put to forced labor. (Proverbs 12:24)

Diligent individuals will be entrusted with more work, and be given

positions of responsibility. Those who are lazy will be given less im-

portant roles, and put in positions where they can be monitored, since

they cannot be trusted.

Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,

but the diligent man will get precious wealth. (Proverbs 12:27)

Laziness leads to waste and missed opportunities, but those who

work diligently will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that

come their way and gain the rewards that come with them.

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (Proverbs 13:4)

Lazy individuals want to have all kinds of things, but because they

are not willing to work hard, they are unable to obtain any of them. On

the other hand, diligent people work hard to achieve their goal, and

therefore gain the thing they desired.

The sluggard says,

“There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”

As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. (Proverbs 26:13-15)

This is saying that the lazy look for excuses to not work. They rest all

the time—not willing to work even to make food for themselves, or be

bothered enough to put food in their own mouths.

In all toil there is profit,

but mere talk tends only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

When we work hard or study hard, our efforts will surely gain some

reward. But people who say they work, when in fact they only talk and

do no work at all, will not be left with anything.

Students, concentrate in your classes at school, Friends Club, Pre-

mier School and Kindergarten. Listen to your teachers and study hard.

When you get home, do not rely on your parents to take care of your

things, but clean up after yourselves. Try helping out around the house

with washing dishes, cleaning, laundry, and cooking. Start with small

things at first and learn to do more.

Do you find yourself complaining about chores or work? Do not let

laziness become a habit. Becoming a diligent person requires effort

on our part. Those who learn diligence at a young age grow up to be

reliable adults: fathers, mothers, and members of society that can be

depended on.

Parents, giving children responsibilities in the family is a good idea.

I would like to encourage you to actively seek to give your children

chores such as serving food or folding clothes, so that they can learn

to have fun helping from an early age.

How to Become a Diligent Person

Part 10

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will

dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe

away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying,

nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV)

Hideki Sugai (Nathan) Maruyama Friends Club13th Graduating Class (1985)

MESSAGE FROM AN

ALUMNUS

Hello everyone at MeySen Academy! I cur-

rently live in the city of Saitama and I work

as a life plan consultant at an international

life insurance company. Until a few years ago,

I worked as a mechanical design engineer,

designing things like audio casing and semi-

conductor manufacturing equipment. The rea-

son for my career change from technology to

life insurance was because of an experience

I had with a colleague who, while on a busi-

ness trip, died suddenly from a stroke. He had

been such a hard worker, but the company

did not take care of his wife and four children

in this sudden tragedy. I realized during this

time how important it is to have life insurance,

and how financial security goes a long way

to helping maintain peace of heart and mind.

This realization led me to this current job. The

thinking behind life insurance is universal: it is

simply a visible expression of our love to those

who are dear to us, something that we can

leave behind for our family should something

unexpected happen.

I do not have as many opportunities to use

English as I used to, even though I work for

an international company. My previous job

required a lot of travel abroad and extensive

communication in English. Email, video con-

ferences, and meetings were all conducted

in English. Modern Japanese society has be-

come global, and communication with people

abroad is a necessity, with English being the

vital medium.

The longer I work in this changing global

society, the more I realize how important my

experience at MeySen Academy was for me,

where English became something familiar.

I think many of us Japanese tend to be shy, and

I have often heard people say they find it hard

to take that first step. This of course applies

to English communication. People go abroad

but cannot find the courage to try to speak in

English. Or, worse yet, they will not venture out

and travel abroad in the first place. I personally

never experienced this kind of anxiety thanks

to my time at MeySen Academy. I encouraged

myself to try and talk to people just like I did to

the teachers at MeySen, regardless of whether

or not I made mistakes when I was speaking.

My two younger sisters live in America with

their families, and I believe I will have oppor-

tunities to visit them. And I am sure there will

be opportunities to interact with people in

the same industry. It would be fun to naturally

communicate in English in those situations.

I imagine myself in these kind of scenarios as

I continue to utilize English.

I want to thank my parents for allowing

me to go to such a wonderful school as Mey-

sen Academy, and I am thankful for all the

teachers I knew during my time there. I will

continue to make the most of these valuable

experiences in my life ahead.

15 Years of Europe Study Trip

15 Years of Europe Study Trip2016 marks the fifteenth year since MeySen

Academy sent the first group of 2nd year High

School students on the Europe Study Trip in

2002. Counting from the six students in that

first group, this year brings the total number

of students who have participated in the trip

to 155.

The study trip provides a wonderful oppor-

tunity for the students to test and improve the

results of their four years of High School En-

glish study, as well as to experience European

culture and customs.

The participants also communicate in En-

glish with students in Germany, peers who

are studying English as a second language as

well. Students realize once more the impor-

tance of English, that it truly is a tool for com-

munication with people all over the world.

Many of the students who have gone on

the trip expressed that the Europe Study Trip

helped them to reexam-

ine themselves and to

think about their goals

and their future. This

trip takes place during

an especially crucial

year of life, making the

experience all the more

valuable.

The 11 students on the

trip this year will return

on October 18, having

discovered and grown

a great deal. We hope to have many more stu-

dents who will participate with the same en-

thusiasm for English study and multi-cultural

exchange as they have.

A total of 16 students from Premier School G7 and G8 took up the

challenge and went to Australia for their short-term study abroad trip this

summer. These students have worked hard over the years, having been a

part of Premier School since they joined as K4 students. During their 3

weeks’ stay, they were able to fully show the fruit of that hard work, and

demonstrated that they had kept up with their

English studies along with the demands of their

regular school work and other activities.

A local newspaper in Queensland, the Dalby

Herald, featured an article introducing the four

students that visited Dalby Christian College. We

are looking forward to more students following

in their footsteps next year and beyond.

Credit: Dalby Herald http://www.dalbyherald.com.au/xz

Friends is the MeySen Academy newsletter and publishes the latest news and event announcements for all members of our community, including students, alumni, teachers, and interested friends of MeySen.

Cover: With homestays and school visits in England and Germany, and sightseeing in France, the Europe Study Trip is an amazing three-week trip where High School students can experience culture and history altogether different from Japan or America, as well as experience the importance of English as a vital communication tool, even with people outside of English speaking countries. Publication Date: October 10, 2016

Published by

Launch of New Premier High School Australia Summer Study Program

ENGLISH EDITION

No.175AUTUMN

2016

Vo

lun

teer

Jamboree

Jamboree

IntroducIng

our new Pony!

Let's enjoy a harvest of

Letter from a School Using GrapeSeed Curriculum

Over the years, MeySen Academy has been proud to host a variety of volunteer efforts to support children in poverty, such as the annual clothing drive for children in Thailand and Cambodia, and the preparation of gift packages as part of Operation Christmas Child (OCC). The success of these efforts has only been possible through the generous support of all the parents.

In keeping with this history of volunteer work, MeySen is pleased to announce the formation of a formal volunteer system which will enable parents and alumni to be involved in different Academy activities, as well as better support the students in their development and growth. Currently, several High School alumni have been volunteering time at the school to help run the day to day activities.

The volunteer work includes both educational support: helping teachers with events and administrative work; and environmental support: monitoring

the children for safety as well as helping to maintain the grounds. MeySen is grateful for all the volunteers, parents and alumni, who can

be a part of supporting the Academy in this way. In the future, the Academy plans to expand the volunteer

work to the communities that surround Maruyama and Takamori campuses.

Since 2016, the K3 program plans 15 Art Days throughout the year, which run in 60 minute sessions. The focus is not on the student’s proficiency in a particular craft or activity, but rather on strengthening the student’s ability to express their thoughts, ideas and emotions through art and crafts. As you can see from the picture, the K3 students are not afraid of getting a little paint on themselves in the process!

Today’s world requires the ability to search for answers to problems and situations that do not have clear solutions. Innovation and creative ideas are needed more than ever. We believe that these kind of skills need to be nurtured from a young age.

The 2017 school calendar contains a total of 15 Art Days for K3 students and 10 Art Days for the K4 students.

Fuji Kindergarten has had English classes taught by native English speakers for the past 20 years. The classes have always been fun and the students enjoyed them, but unfortunately they were not producing students who could really speak English.

Eight years ago in December, I attended a seminar hosted by Meysen Academy. It was during this seminar that I saw for the first time Japanese elementary school students speaking with each other in natural, f luent English while they played. This was not only during their after-school English class time, but even during the playtime on the school ground. I thought to myself, "This is amazing!" In that moment, I could see the potential of this new curriculum.

The decision was made to adopt GrapeSEED into our school soon after, and we printed flyers and distributed them to the families of our students after the New Year holidays. We selectively recruited our 4- and 5-year-old students, with the intention of gathering around 25 students. To our surprise, we had 126 students sign up.

While I was excited at the prospect of our students’ English advancement, what made me really happy was the positive response of the families and the trust they were placing in us. That trust brought a weightiness to the decision to begin this program, and I felt a responsibility to see it through until we had some definite results.

The seven years since then have passed very quickly. The requirements for joining the English course (GrapeSEED) is that the families agree that the students will work on their REP every day at home, and also that they will continue in the program once they have graduated from kindergarten. Currently, we have 558 students (303 kindergarteners, 255 elementary students), with 15 native English teachers teaching the curriculum. We are seeing definite results.

This year, we have organized Easter camps and homestays at Yokota US base, hosted Survival Camp as “Station English” at the kindergarten, and enjoyed barbecues and a variety of other fun programs and events to help keep our students motivated in their English studies.

Meysen Formalizes Volunteer System for Parents and Alumni

Sekiichi Kato, Fuji Kindergarten Principal

Hi, my name is Sunshine! I just arrived at Maruyama campus at the end of July. I was born in Fukushima, and am two years old. I am a girl. My trainer says that I am smart and a little bit shy. Right now, I am practicing hard so I can give rides on my back. I can’t wait to play with all of the boys and girls at MeySen!

The inspiration and excitement of the Rio Olympics has come to a close, and now Japan is in the midst of preparation for their turn at hosting the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. In 2013, the Ministry of Education introduced a major new initiative to improve English education for Japanese children, and in preparation for hosting this major international event, there is a renewed effort to further strengthen English education in the Japanese school system.

With educational reforms in progress, GrapeSEED—MeySen’s original English curriculum for children—has been introduced to 142 educational institutions (kindergartens, schools, after-school study programs etc.) throughout the country.

One of these schools is Fuji Kindergarten, a private kindergarten. Mr. Sekiichi Kato, the kindergarten principal, shares here a little about the process of introducing GrapeSEED into their school and the results they have had.

Top: English class for elementary studentsBottom: Students participate in various activities at Survival Camp

“So, What do YOU do in Autumn?”Fall is Full of Events for Every Grade at MeySen!

Art Day Activities Report

SunshineHi, I’mLet's be friends!

Fathers Open House

Sweet Potato Dig

Bonfire Potato Roast

Boat Ride

Safari Park

4th Grade / G4 Day TripThe second trimester at MeySen Academy brings a

string of events that runs all the way to Christmas for every grade, from Kangaroo Club to High School.

The Kangaroo Club Mini Sports Day was held in September, along with Field Day (K4, K5), and MeySen Day for Kindergarten. From October on is the Fathers Open House, the Sweet Potato Dig with the Bonfire Potato Roast soon after, and finally Thanksgiving. The upper grades of Friends Club and Premier Elementary will be going on an outdoor trip, enjoying the fresh sky and the beautiful autumn leaves. High School and Premier High School students can take a break from their studies and the stress of their school club activities for a fun celebration at Jamboree!

Students, the weather is cool and pleasant, but make sure you eat well, and don’t forget to wash your hands and gargle, so you can participate in all the events!

Jamboree

Jam

bo

ree

No.175