International elementary & high school in Tokyo, Japan

Columbia International School, Tokyo:
Columbia International School, situated in Tokyo, eastern Japan, is a prominent international school which strives to develop the best ability in each student, and prepares students for the post secondary education overseas with a world recognized and accepted Ontario Secondary School Diploma (grade 12) of Canada. The high school rigorously follows the Ontario curriculum encompassing English, ESL, mathematics, geography, history, science, physical & health education, family studies, social sciences, computer, and business.

Elementary School:
Columbia International School incorporates an unique elementary program that provides students with an English immersion curriculum, blended with a Japanese curriculum suggested by the Ministry of Education in Japan for Japanese citizens. We provide children with an immersion language program that will develop their fluency with both English and Japanese, and develop an international perspective and understanding while maintaining their identity as Japanese citizens. Subjects are taught through an integrated approach in a small collaborative class enabling much closer teacher-pupil contact.

Junior High School:
The Junior High Program (Grades 7-9) incorporates the best of western pedagogy in the delivery of the curriculum. The curriculum focuses on developing language and computer literacy, mathematical understanding and a community and global conscious in each and every student.
Upon successful completion of the Grade 9 program a student will be assigned a credit equivalency value of seven credits, three of which will qualify as compulsory. Transcripts for the last three years, including both the original and an English translation issued by the school are necessary for the assignment of these credits. Some credits obtained at other high schools may also be transferable. Both original and English transcripts issued by the school are necessary to transfer these credits.

Senior High School:
The high school follows the directives of the Ontario Ministry of Education and is entitled to grant diplomas identical to those received in the Province of Ontario. The high school is annually visited by the Ontario Ministry of Education & Training for a period of several days to certify that the high school is in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Ontario educational system.

The educational system of Ontario
The Ministry of Education in Ontario Canada issues the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) to graduating students. The OSSD is recognized and accepted throughout the world. In order to obtain this, each student must earn 30 course credits, 18 compulsories and 12 electives. (One credit represents satisfactory completion of the learning expectations of a formal secondary course of study, requiring a minimum of 110 student-teacher contact hours.)

The academic program is structured so that a student can complete the diploma requirements in 6 years (Grade 7 to12). The school year is trimestered: Summer term (April / July); Fall term (September / December); Winter term (December / March). Student can obtain a maximum of three credits per semester. The student should experience courses covering a wide range of academic content. As part of the diploma requirements, students must complete a minimum of 40 hours of voluntary community involvement activities. These activities may be completed at any time during their years in the secondary school program (Grade 9 to12).

The community involvement requirement is designed to encourage students to develop awareness and understanding of civic responsibility and of the role they can play in supporting and strengthening their communities. CIS offers a wide range of career exploration activities to grade 7 to 12 students. The list of such activities that our school have offered to students in past years is as followed: field trips, volunteer activities, business courses, school assembly with a guest speaker, and individual employment consultation.