When I entered Columbia two and a half years ago, I was a shy boy who couldn’t speak English very well, and I was afraid of talking to people. Even though I was born in Japan, I grew up and studied in Shanghai, China for the first fifteen years of my life. Because of that, my native language was Mandarin, and I could speak very little Japanese and English. In the first month of my high school life, I could hardly understand what was being discussed in my classes, and I didn’t have any friends because I couldn’t speak either Japanese nor English fluently. However, the challenge did not overwhelm me.
In order to keep up with the classes, I prepared the next day’s lessons every night; asked teachers questions after school; and took language courses outside of the school. At the same time, I actively become involved in activities. For example, I joined the basketball team, and made many friends; and practiced both Japanese and English by communicating with my schoolmates. As a result of my effort, I could speak English and Japanese besides Mandarin, and I made a lot of friends at the school. I learned in the process that there is no fear of challenge as long as I make strenuous attempts to overcome it.
In the end, I really want to thank all the teachers, staff and classmates for giving me such a wonderful high school life.

I came to Columbia International School one and a half years ago. At first, I worried about whether I could enjoy my school life here because I was a transfer student. But as time went on, I gradually acclimated to this new place; I learned how to study for tests, write an essay, express my opinions, and also build good relationships with all students and teachers at Columbia. I really enjoyed my high school life though I had never gotten this feeling in the school I attended before Columbia. I think the reason is that Columbia is an unrestrictive school that all students can easily optimize individuality and uniqueness. I felt there are so many unique people in this school and many of them can be leaders in the future. People speak out their own ideas without fear to their classmates and even to their teachers. On the other hand, because the school doesn’t intervene often, we need to have responsibility to do our assignments on our own. In a normal Japanese school, teachers will tell you an answer quickly when you ask them, however, in Columbia we need to work out answers by ourselves; they just give us hints.
It was hard at first, but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed learning because I liked the feeling of accomplishment when I finished my work or got good marks. Honestly there were so many things I learned at Columbia more than at other schools. I will remember what I learned at Columbia and keep working hard for my future.
I believe people who make an effort can get what they want someday. So everyone work hard!

My life in CIS (Columbia International School) was the best compared to the other schools I have attended and experienced. I had travelled back and forth from Hong Kong to Japan numerous times since I was little and as a result experienced many schools, and I feel that the memories I have from CIS are something worth remembering. I appreciated the teachers and staff, who cared about students when we had our ups and down in life and school. We were all one big family in school who helped, taught and shared with our peers and teachers our memories and learning experiences that helped us mature and taught us a lot. I enjoyed my two-hour journey from my station to the Higashi-Tokorozawa station, as well as the walk to school. After school, sport clubs were the best moments of my day, especially floor hockey. I will never forget about the intense competition we brought to the game but at the end of the day, we were all having fun as one team.
After graduating CIS, I moved to Canada to a small city called Calgary in Alberta. I am currently in my senior year in a 4-year program at the Alberta College of Art and Design. In relation to the experiences in CIS, the classes that the school provided helped me build an understanding and a variety of knowledge that supported me and helped me understand my expectations in college. Writing was the key element in my current college. To be able to know how to cite and write in an expected format was highly valuable as I was prepared for it because of the CIS teachers that were strictly teaching students based on essay writing.
Overall, I have no dislikes against CIS. I believe that any schools we attend will have our good and bad times but Columbia International School is a school any student who has not experienced it, should, because they won’t regret it. I never regretted it.

I clearly remember my first step into this school, full of hope and a little worry. I cannot believe that was only two years ago. Time flies by! The last two years have been irreplaceable for me. Having fun with my friends, school trips with everyone, and enjoyable but hard classes… these are my unforgettable experiences in CIS. My motives for choosing CIS were to learn English and make my dreams come true. However, sometimes people feel lost without having dreams. Even if you don’t have dreams now, that’s OK because you will find something important through your CIS life! Here’s a tip for you to have an awesome time in this school. If you want to find something, you have to be active and work hard. Please work hard! Just try your best.
Your teachers will see your hard work, and they’ll give you more chances. Please take chances to better yourself. One of the teachers said to me, “Keep working hard and you will succeed at anything”. This word remains in my mind and gives me power. We’ve got such nice teachers here! As you go through school life, you must feel something in your heart which words cannot describe, but gives you satisfaction.
That’s the irreplaceable thing which you’ll get at CIS. Here is the place for you to find your new self.