Message from the Principals 8/29/2025

School Account
Aug 29
7 min read

Today's Topics:

1: Important Reminders

2: New Teacher Introductions!

3: House Points

4: Learning Highlights

1: Important Reminders

Used Uniform donations can be dropped off at the Elementary office or to the supervisor on the 1F during pick up / Drop off.
Club Registration is Open Please see the Club information post in the Parent Portal for more details.
- Deadline is Sept 1.
Monday, Sept 1 (Labor Day) NO SCHOOL
Open School - Sept 23
- Friends of Hope will also be holding their Used Uniform Sale!
Oct 13-17 - Autumn Break NO SCHOOL
In case you missed it, you can download the School year Calendar HERE.

2: New Teacher Introductions!

This year, we began to expand our high school program and increase the amount of subject specific teachers within the school. We also added a second Grade 1 and Grade 2 class. With the busy start of the school year, we did not have the opportunity to introduce all the new staff in the blog. Please join me in welcoming our new teachers to the Hope Community! I will allow each of them to introduce themselves.

G1B teacher: Ms. Hazel Viñas

Mabuhay! Hello! My name is Hazel Viñas and was raised and born in Philippines .I took up Bachelor of Secondary Education ,Major in Biological Science. I had been teaching since 2011 and taught in three countries: Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Japan. My aim is to create a classroom where children not only learn academically but also enjoy the process of discovery and exploration. Let’s learn, have fun and grow together!

G2M teacher: Ms. Janique Allen

Hello! My name is Janique Allen. I’m Jamaican by birth, but grew up in Canada from the age of 6. I’m a Drama teacher by specialty, but I also love art, music, and dance. I have a bachelor's degree in Education, Fine Arts and Cultural Studies, and Communications. I’ve been teaching in Japan for over 9 years now, but I’m new to Okinawa. I’m truly excited and happy to be at Hope and looking forward to the year ahead.

G2B teacher: Ms. Julia Arungan

Hello! My name is Julia Arungan and I come from Lombok, Indonesia. I have been teaching elementary students for over 15 years, with experience both in Indonesia and the UAE. I hold a Bachelor of Education from Mataram University and a Master of Education from the University of South Australia. This is my first time living in Japan, and I am truly excited to join the HOPE family, share my passion for learning, and grow together with this wonderful community!

G4 teacher: Ms. Debie Nobles

Hi, I’m Debie! I’m a graduate teacher from Australia with a Master of Teaching (Primary Education). I’m excited to join Hope International Academy as a homeroom teacher—a school I’ve loved since my student teaching days. I'm passionate about creating a safe, supportive classroom where students feel valued and inspired to grow. I’m thrilled to continue my journey at Hope alongside such dedicated educators and wonderful young learners!

G6 teacher: Ms. Doris Wanjiku

Hello, my name is Doris Wanjiku from Kenya. I am a science and mathematics teacher with a specialization in Physics. I always encourage my students to learn science through interactions with what they see around them. It makes it fun, relatable and easier. Nothing gives me greater joy than being there for my learners and watching them grow.

G9 teacher: Mr. Eyup

Hi, my name is Eyup Kocluoglu, and I am originally from Turkey.

I have been teaching for 16 years in a variety of international school settings. For the past 10 years, I have taught IBDP Chemistry in mainland Japan, and I truly enjoyed the experience. Outside of teaching, I have a wide range of hobbies including playing table tennis, football, guitar, cycling, and games. I look forward to continuing to grow both professionally and personally, while contributing meaningfully to the Hope family.

Cassandra Tregoning: MS & G9 ELA and G5 Geography & International

Hello! My name is Cassie Tregoning, and I am excited to join Hope International Academy. I was born in Gqeberha, South Africa. I hold a BA, an Honours degree in English, and a PGCE. I worked as a high school English teacher in South Africa and an ESL teacher in Thailand before moving to Okinawa. Outside the classroom, I enjoy reading, practicing yoga, and exploring the outdoors. I look forward to growing with my students and contributing to this community.

Alison Bryant: Substitute teacher

Howdy! My name is Alison and I am new to Hope. I recently moved to Okinawa from Las Vegas. I started my career in teaching 8 years ago and have had the pleasure of working with a variety of students. Most of my work has been at the elementary level, but I enjoy working with and watching students grow at all levels. I also love unpacking the data and curriculum behind their growth. Outside of teaching I like to run, hike, bake, and explore the island with my family! I am excited to meet you!

3: House Points

Basilisk: 506

Hydra: 436

Dragon: 398

Phoenix: 376

4: Learning Highlights

Prep class had a busy week! In connection to their unit "Who am I?" they worked collaboratively using their motor skills to identify, label, and glue the correct parts of the human body. In ELA they gave examples of words that begin with A and B. They also had some writing practice. In Math, Prep class explored the classroom and identified objects that appeared in pairs or had matching counterparts. They also practiced writing number 2.

Grade 1M:

This week, learners began exploring the concepts of old and new. They watched a video comparing old and new objects and discussed the changes that have taken place over time.

Afterward, learners completed a sorting task with old and new houses. They reflected on why certain houses were considered “old” or “new” based on their features.

Students were also introduced to the idea of a timeline—“a very long time ago,” “some time ago,” and “now.” Using this understanding, they sorted different houses according to their knowledge of the building materials and time periods.

To wrap up, students completed their first self-assessment using the scale Beginning, Developing, and Mastering to reflect on their learning progress.

Grade 1B

Students got hands -on with real world math becoming shopkeepers, cashiers and customers. They practiced comparing numbers of items, determining which was greater, lesser or the same and spending their money on items.

They followed that with a different activity focused on comparisons. Students selected 2 number cards and compared the values to the labeled cups. This hands-on activity reinforced critical thinking (thinker),collaboration and problem solving skills and built confidence in math through play-based learning.

Grade 2M used their PLGs (collaborator, communicator, and resilient) to combine an image with the text that represented it, then had to organize the set in order of the process chocolate is created.

Grade 2B continued their IPC unit by exploring where cacao trees grow and locating these regions on a world map. This is still a skill we are practicing, but the learners also engaged in a hands-on mini project as preparation for building a larger 3D model of a cacao tree.

Grade 3's IPC task was connected to Health and Well-being. It is a very big task and we're scaffolding the task by doing it in 3 parts. They began by learning about warning labels on foods, medicine and other types of edible products.

Then students were tasked to design their own warning labels for 5 different products. The next part involves them researching information that will be used to create infographics that connects to their ELA class.

In Grade 5's unit 'Space Scientists' the students gained new vocabulary words in ELA. With the goal of 'Be able to write about and organise what they have learned from a variety of sources,' students dived deep into reading articles and books on facts about space. Collaboratively they made notes of new and useful words. The learners wrote these words in their 'Vocabulary rockets' where they will continuously refer back to them throughout the unit!

Later in the week, they completed a few writing tasks, one of them being poetry! By using their new vocabulary words, the learners used their thinking skills to create poems with similes about space!

In ICT & Computing, Grade 6 learners explored a Search Challenge using various search engines, including Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. They practiced refining keywords, comparing results, and checking for accuracy and bias. This activity connects to their current unit, Discovery— "finding out new things is a human driver and affects things for better or worse", especially when looking at different websites. Learners also discovered that browsers continuously track our location and that predictive models are embedded in our searches.

Grade 7s are working on Maps and why cartographers created those maps for their unit "Curiosity" - "The desire to know more drives exploration and aspiration”

For this activity they had to collaboratively record information from their reading about the Nine World Changing Maps. They are actively demonstrating their understanding of global perspectives and international mindedness.

G8 learners explored Emotional Literacy; noticing, naming, and managing feelings. They discovered how emotions first show up as body sensations, and how putting feelings into words can actually calm the brain. Learners created a “Feelings Mind Map” to expand their emotional vocabulary and were highly engaged in recognizing triggers, showing empathy, and taking ownership of their emotions. Building emotional intelligence helps them navigate daily challenges with resilience and self-awareness. This is one way of recognizing their own Identity by identifying their own emotion and understanding further their sense of self.

In High School English, learners explored the vocabulary used by Neil Gaiman in Chapters 4 and 5 of Coraline, analyzing both the explicit and implicit meanings behind the words he chose. They practiced applying context clues to define unfamiliar terms from an assigned passage. They applied their understanding through a pair work activity that required the use of both a dictionary and a thesaurus.