Taro

“After graduating from ISN, I enrolled in Kaisei Junior High School in Tokyo, and then continued to Kaisei High School.

I’m now part of the track and field team, the ski team, and the math research club. There’s something about the quiet right before a race and the atmosphere of the club rooms that just feels right to me.

I owe my comfort with English presentations to ISN.
Since I was little, making slideshows and speaking in English in front of people became an everyday routine for me.
Even now, when we have English presentations in my high school and my other classmates get a little tense, I simply start talking without thinking twice.
During a short study-abroad trip in the summer, I could talk to people overseas without any hesitation.
Looking back, I realized those six years at ISN had been pushing me forward more than I ever noticed at the time.

I have countless memories of my time at ISN, but I mostly enjoyed the rice planting and rice harvesting.
I can still recall the soft, slippery feeling of the mud when I stepped into the rice field for the very first time. Also, I’ll never forget the day we all skied together in Hakuba. There was something strangely wonderful and joyful about that cold winter air mixed in with the laughter of friends.

In class, the combination of Ms. B and K-sensei left a vivid impression on me.
Math in English, Math in Japanese, Japanese language. They showed me that even when the language changes, you can enjoy your learning just the same. I also feel grateful to our principal, Ms. Rie, for creating such a learning environment for us.

To the students who are at ISN now, and to those who will join in the future:
ISN is a place where you can breathe easily.
You can learn at your own pace, without pressure, and deepen your understanding step by step.
The teachers really watch over you with warmth.
The time I spent there became an important foundation for who I am today.

One last thing I’m a little proud of is that I’ve been skiing since I was very young, and I still ski to this day.
In my third year of junior high, I was able to compete at the national level. When I stand on the snow, it feels as though the memories of my childhood and my current self meet for a moment.”

Ryu

“After graduating from ISN, I entered Matsumoto Shuho Secondary School, where I am now a 4th-year student. To maintain my English level, I joined the English Club. Since I really like tennis, I also became a member of the tennis club, and I enjoy practicing with my teammates after school.

I feel that my ISN experience has helped me in two major ways.
First, thanks to the strong English education at ISN, my junior high and high school English classes have been quite easy, and I can get high scores without spending too much time on them. This allows me to devote more time to other subjects, and as a result, I have been able to achieve good grades in those areas as well. I can also prepare for external exams and have earned high scores on EIKEN Grade 1, TOEIC, and TOEFL.

Second, ISN places a strong emphasis on presentation skills. I learned how to make posters and use slideshow software properly while I was still in elementary school. After entering secondary school, I realized that many of my classmates do not have these skills. This has helped me a lot with class assignments, club activities, and preparing for school festivals.

My most memorable experience at ISN was visiting a rural village to learn how to plant rice. It was something I had never done before. Both the physical work in the rice fields and talking with the local farmers were very interesting for me, and the experience left a strong impression on my mind. Furthermore, the rice we planted with our own hands was later sent to children in need in an impoverished African country, which made the whole experience incredibly meaningful.

I feel proud of a few things about myself.
First, I am proud of my English ability. I received the EIKEN Minister of Education Award and the Ambassador of Canada Award, and I have achieved very high scores on both TOEFL and TOEIC.
Second, I won first place in the 20th Nagano Prefecture High School Speech and Recitation Contest, which was a big challenge for me.
I am also proud that I graduated from junior high school as the top student in my grade.
In addition, I have achieved good results in both tennis and chess, which are my main hobbies outside of studying.

I have two suggestions to current or future ISN students.
First, make full use of the English-learning environment at ISN. Try to use every opportunity you have to practice English, including improving your vocabulary and learning clear, natural pronunciation. A strong command of English will help you greatly when you move on to junior high school.
Second, ISN gives students plenty of free time and offers many kinds of activities. I recommend using that time and those opportunities to discover what you truly enjoy and to continue developing those interests. Once you enter junior high school, your schedule becomes much busier, and it becomes harder to explore new things.”

Yuuki

After graduating from ISN, I entered a nearby junior high school and focused on my studies. All my effort paid off, and I was able to pass the entrance exam for F High School. I’m studying hard there now, and I’m also very involved in my club activities, which keep me motivated every day.

The English I learned at ISN has become a major strength for me.
Thanks to that foundation, I was able to pass the EIKEN Grade Pre-1 test, and it gave me a clear advantage during high school entrance exams.

One of my favorite memories from ISN is the Christmas Show.
Every year, we worked carefully to make the show wonderful, even creating the stage backgrounds ourselves. I can still remember the excitement backstage and the feeling of being part of something we built together.

To students who are at ISN now, and to those who will join in the future:
Learning a language other than Japanese can be challenging, but it becomes a valuable experience. Studying at ISN is truly a great opportunity.

Something I’m proud of is that I’ve been playing tennis since I was a child, probably for more than nine years now. Whenever I step onto the court, I feel grateful that I’ve kept it going this long.

Yuumi

I attended ISN from the 3-year-old class all the way to Grade 4. I feel like the years I spent in Matsumoto are still a part of me, almost like a landscape I can return to anytime. After transferring, I moved on to a public elementary school outside the prefecture, and later I was accepted into Tokyo Gakugei University International Secondary School, a national IB school where you can take the entrance exam in English.
Most of the students there are returnees from abroad, so when people found out that I had grown up entirely in Japan, they were a little surprised. Some even assumed I had spent my childhood in an English speaking country.

At my current school, we study subjects like religion entirely in English. We also learn a second language, and I’m realizing firsthand how difficult it is to learn a language after you get older. Some of my friends are really struggling with English grammar.
That’s why I’m so grateful for the foundation I built at ISN. It’s helped me more than I ever expected.

What I remember most about ISN is that every day was simply fun. Matsumoto is full of nature, and running around the mountains when I was little feels like it opened up the way I think today. My memories of playing in Alps Park are still vivid. Classes were also very free. There was no strict “you must line up” or “sit quietly” kind of atmosphere. We could explore our own ideas, and I think that freedom shaped me into who I am today.

Maybe because of that, at my ballet school the teacher once told me, “Yuumi, your ideas are different – in a good way.” The way I talked, and the kinds of questions I asked, seemed different from the kids who went to regular public schools.

ISN also had so many opportunities to present in front of people, like the Christmas Show. Because I got used to expressing myself from such a young age, I still feel comfortable standing on stage or speaking to a big crowd.
The only thing I struggled with after transferring in 5th grade was kanji. That was tough… but now I can laugh about it.

Right now, I’m the vocalist in my school’s light music club.
In the future, I want to work with 3D CG or animation.
I’m also interested in careers where I can use English, like working at a trading company.

When I joined a summer program at Stanford University, I made many international friends.
Because I could communicate smoothly in English, I felt like I could connect with people more deeply than others.
There were moments when people were unexpectedly kind to me, like giving me a free hamburger, just because communication was easy and natural.

Being able to use English means I can access information from overseas sources too. It’s a completely different world from searching only in Japanese. There are places translation tools just can’t reach, and English lets me cross that boundary.

Finally, to everyone at ISN:
Enjoy nature with your whole heart. And in the free, open atmosphere of ISN, let your strengths and your likes grow as big as they want to. Those things will become a real source of strength for you in the future.