St. Michael’s International Summer School 2024
Overview
Summer is such a wonderful time of year. It’s an opportunity for your child to spend time with family and friends, cool down at the beach or pool, or better yet, extend their learning with engaging hands-on activities at our St. Michael’s Summer School. At our summer school, your child can enjoy a variety of activities including IPC/IEYC, English, Numeracy, Technology and Crafts from our dedicated and caring teachers. Yet probably the highlight for all children is the joys of daily water-based activities and swimming lessons at The Kobe Club for those in Primary.
Taste of St. Michael’s for New Families
St. Michael’s International School, located in the heart of Kobe City, is the oldest British international school in Japan, celebrating its 78th anniversary since its founding. With a well established reputation for academic excellence and personal education, why not participate in our summer school program to actually experience our innovative curriculum that combines the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC), the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), which has been highly praised and implemented in over 90 countries worldwide, with the British educational curriculum.
Our Summer School is a great opportunity for new families interested in St. Michael’s to get a good taste of our school, faculty members and curriculum.
Read our Summer School Parent Handbook and reserve your child’s spot by applying here…
For further information please contact summer-school@smis-mail.org
Early Years
Schedule
Summer school will run from:
- June 24th – July 19th 2024 (a total of 4 weeks)
- Monday – Friday 09:00 – 15:00
Fees
- Four weeks……………..¥150,000 (weekly rate = ¥37,500)
- Three weeks……………¥120,000 (weekly rate = ¥40,000)
- Two weeks……………….¥85,000 (weekly rate = ¥42,500)
- One week…………………¥50,000
If not a current SMIS enrolled student, you will be charged an additional insurance fee of ¥2,000.
Age Ranges
Our Summer School aims to cater for children in the following age ranges:
*We require that all children entering the Early Years Class are toilet trained.
Classes are capped at a maximum of 20 children.
Lower School Photos
Staff
Summer School staff will consist of experienced St. Michael’s International School Teachers and Assistants as well as additional teachers connected to St. Michael’s who have previously worked in one of our summer school programmes.
Lesson and Activities
The majority of the learning will be based upon topics from our International Early Years Curriculum and International Primary Curriculum and will involve using the following skills:
- Reading / Creative writing / Phonics / Language development
- Applying Numeracy skills to solve problems
- Practical Science Exploration
- Art / design / crafts
- Physical Education / Swimming lessons / Water-based activities
- Technology
Fridays are called ‘Fun Fridays’ – and for good reason! These days will also be themed, and we will all enjoy a particular focus each week, all packed with summer fun fun fun!
Water-based Activities and Swimming
There will be water-based activities held in school for all classes (EY, Lower School and Upper School). We will also be running a swimming programme at the outdoor pool at the Kobe Club twice a week for children in Lower and Upper School classes. This will be supervised by St. Michael’s staff and qualified swimming instructors from Linkworks.
Upper School Photos
Attendance
School starts at 09:00 and finishes at 15:00. If arriving late, leaving early, or absent, please make sure to call the office in advance, or on the morning between 08:45 and 09:15.
Classes will be met at the gate by a teacher and then taken inside by an assistant.
Children will be released at the gate at 15:00 every day. Those aged 7 – 11 can travel to and from school unsupervised if written parental permission is given. All other children need to be collected by a specified adult. Please inform the teacher in the morning if you have made special arrangements for your child to be picked up by someone else at the end of the day. The school must be cleared by 15:20 each day as the school gates are locked.
Snack Time / Lunch Time
Children are expected to bring their own snack and packed ‘bento’ lunch to school. Please pack a healthy mid-morning snack, lunch and a drink. It is essential that children have plenty of water to drink so a personal water bottle is needed.
What to Wear
Children should wear casual, light summer clothes and light shoes. No indoor shoes are needed.
Children in Early Years should bring a change of clothes that can be kept at the school until needed. Please write their name on all items of clothing.
Water-based activities: Every Monday, please send labelled swimwear, towel and beach footwear such as flip-flops, sandals or Crocs. Goggles are optional. The swimwear and towel will be dried at the school throughout the week and will be returned on Friday to be washed.
Lost and Found Items
Please make sure you write your children’s names on their personal belongings. At the end of Summer School we will display any lost and found items. Please understand that any leftover items not claimed will be disposed of.
Parking
Please use the car parks in the vicinity of the school. It is illegal to park on Tor Road. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Typhoons / Earthquakes
In case there is typhoon activity in Kobe, St. Michael’s has the following procedures for emergencies:
Two warnings are in use:
- Chui Ho: School as usual. Parents must use their own discretion in deciding whether or not to keep their child at home, especially for those who travel from some distance away.
- Kei Ho: If this warning continues until 07:00 there will be no school and all parents will be emailed at 07:00 indicating this. If there is a Kei-Ho in your area but not in Chuo-ku Kobe, please use your judgement as you will need to be able to pick your child up after school. Please keep an eye on the Weather Warnings page which is linked under our Community Page.
If the Kei Ho is announced during school hours, students will be kept at school until collected by parents. If in doubt, please telephone the school office after 08:30.
In the event of communication/transportation problems arising from major tremors/earthquakes, students will be kept in school or at the evacuation location until collected by parents. In the unlikely event of an overnight stay being necessary, staff will remain with the students.
In the event of an emergency, our evacuation location is located at the Tor Shimin Park.
Terms and Conditions
Summer school tuition:
- We ask that you make any cancellations two weeks prior to the beginning of the St. Michael’s International Summer School so as not to incur any cancellation costs.
- Cancelling one week prior to the start of the first week of Summer School: 80% refund of tuition fees.
- Cancelling three days or less prior to the start of the first week: 50% refund of tuition fees.
- Cancelling during a week already registered for: No refund of tuition fees for such week(s).
Typhoon, earthquake, or other Natural causes:
- No refund for any summer-school-related fees in the case of cancellation of school and/or of activities due to typhoon, earthquake, or other extreme events beyond the control of school and its staff.
Rights of the school:
- St. Michael’s International Summer School reserves the right to reject the application — even after the start of summer school — of any student who is unable to function at an age-appropriate level in the English language, and/or whose behaviour is consistently inappropriate. This includes those children entering the Early Years class who are not toilet trained. After a written warning to the family, any student who is asked to leave the summer school programme based on circumstances covered in the aforementioned will receive a full tuition refund for any week(s) he/she is enrolled in that follow the week in which he/she is asked to leave. There will be no tuition refund for the week in which he/she is asked to leave.
Health related closures:
- If Hyogo prefecture declares a State of Emergency during the running of the Summer School programme, St Michael’s International Summer School reserves the right to close the Summer School program indefinitely. In this case, a refund will be issued for any days on which the programme is not running.