When looking for Preschools in Tokyo, look no further than Ohana International School! When approaching an alumni family whose two sons attended Ohana International School 11 years ago to ask them what makes our school different from all other schools, their answer was matter of fact and succinct. They were clear about their response and they had spent time visiting many other neighbourhood International Preschools, before selecting ours.
Ohana International School has a HEART!
Wow, this was quite a strong statement and I believe it truly reflects who we are. I am not going to go into the inference of this statement with regard to other schools but rather focus on what we do here, at our “Passion Project”.
Ohana means flower and nose in Japanese (different kanji) and in Hawaiian, it means family and friendship; hence our slogan “Where children bloom and friendships flourish”. Our children arrive as Buds (our youngest class); they grow and develop Petals (our middle class) and finally, they bloom into Flowers (our oldest class). Each and every step is made in a nurturing, loving environment where we all embrace difference and emphasize the positives of being a part of a multicultural family and are open to learning from one another.
Aside from our language rich classrooms, creativity is present in abundance and our focus in all classrooms is on sensory experiences together with movement, music, science, art and “LEARNING ABOUT LIFE”. I was once asked by a prospective parent whether we teach children the ABC and my reply was “No! Our children learn the ABC.”
Our focus with the children in our care and their families is to make sure that we provide them with the necessary skills to ultimately leave us “confident, independent and with a good sense of self. We give them wings to fly.” It is natural for children to learn therefore we ensure that they have the necessary building blocks for more formal learning when they eventually leave Ohana to head off to Kindergarten. They are all able to write and are skilled in invented spelling. They understand number concept rather than memorise how to count to 100 and they have the ability to concentrate and complete tasks. We do our best to make sure that learning is fun and interesting and that opinions are respected even if they are different from another’s.
We build on their social and emotional skills in sync with cognitive, physical, and language development. In addition we have very strict protocols around sustainability and we emphasise social responsibility. We have a large banner outside that says “NO MORE PLASTIC – IT’S FANTASTIC” and no single use plastic is permitted in the school.
We believe in giving back to the community and all of our fundraising efforts are sent to charities, NPO’S and other organisations, in full. We build relationships with schools in other parts of Japan and the children are actively involved in sending messages via video as well as through art works to these schools. We have two schools in particular that we work with; one in Minamisanriku and one in Aomori. Our OPTO, Ohana Parent Teacher Organisation plans social events, fundraising projects and works with teachers so that parents remain connected at all times.
We are now 16 years old with an owner/director who has been in the field of Early Childhood Education for the past 49 years. Not only do our children reach milestones, but so do our committed, dedicated staff.
Come and see for yourself! Your child can bloom too!