Saint Maur International School

Saint Maur International School, located in Yokohama, is the oldest international school in Japan with a coeducational system open to students of all nationalities and beliefs from kindergarten to high school. According to the "Good Schools Guide International", "This is a small school which offers a quality education in a nurturing environment." [http://www.gsgi.co.uk/countries/japan/yokohama/st-maur-international-school?form.submitted=1&country=japan&countryCity=&submit=Go&city=]

History and Facilities

Established in 1872 by the missionary Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus from the Saint Maur Rue in Paris, France, Saint Maur began with "direct support received from over 15 legations, such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, Austria, Holland, and Germany." Although it is a Catholic school, the school emphasizes the philosophy and approach of "acceptance of all." In 1884, the buildings were devastated by a typhoon and in 1894, an earthquake demolished the school. Its sister school, Futaba Gakuen, was founded 1901 for Japanese girls.

The Fine Arts Center consists of a 400-seat auditorium, specialist rehearsal and practice rooms for band class. In addition, the school purchased property located three minutes away from the school campus in 2003, "to serve as a practice field enabling students to further develop their sporting skills."

Academics

The school was the first international school to introduce to Japan such programs as the international Montessori program, the International Primary Curriculum, the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, the Lions Quest values program and Trinity College of Music examinations. The school also offers the International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement subjects. The most recent innovation is a return to the school’s Gallic roots: a new French Section began in 2007, offering primary education following the French national curriculum. This section may expand to the secondary years in the future, based on the needs of the local French population.

Recognized for its excellent academic program, between 95-100% of the school's graduates are accepted to good universities and colleges throughout the world.Fact|date=November 2007 The school library contains more than 15,000 books.Fact|date=November 2007

Extracurricular Activities

Athletics
Sports programs include girls' volleyball, boys' baseball, girls' and boys' basketball, soccer, track and field, and cross country. The middle and high schools compete against other international schools in the Kanto League and finish their seasons with tournaments.

Fine Arts
After-school fine arts extracurriculars include drama, art, handbells, senior band, jazz band, senior choir, chamber orchestra, and more.

Other
Students can also participate in the middle or high school student councils, brain bowl teams, math clubs, speech contests, and hiking clubs. Except for the latter, students also have the opportunity to participate later on in KPASSP-wide (Kanto Plain Association of Secondary School Principals) competitions or the KPSC (Kanto Plain Student Council).
Local social service opportunities (such as the Sanagitachi Project and Seeing Is Believing), intensive summer marine biology courses at the Yokohama City University, close relations with Ishikawa prefecture and Atami city, and summer European concert tours of the highly-acclaimed concert and jazz bands are offered to students.

Notable alumni

*Thane Camus

ee also

*Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus
* ("Gakkō Hōjin Futaba Gakuen")

References

External links

* [http://www.stmaur.ac.jp Saint Maur International School] , official website
* [http://japan.english-schools.org/sain-maur-international-school.htm Saint Maur International School] , from the "World Wide Schools Directory of International Schools"
*ja icon [http://www.futabagakuen-jh.ed.jp/history01.htm History of "Futaba Gakuen"]
* [http://www.gsgi.co.uk/countries/japan/yokohama/st-maur-international-school?form.submitted=1&country=japan&countryCity=&submit=Go&city= Profile at The Good Schools Guide International]