PTA - The British School in Tokyo

Events Calendar

Upcoming events

December 2020

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Mon, Nov 30

Tue, Dec 1

Wed, Dec 2

Thu, Dec 3

Fri, Dec 4

Ski Sale - cancelled

8:45 AM - 10:00 AM

Shibuya Campus

Sat, Dec 5

Sun, Dec 6

Mon, Dec 7

Tue, Dec 8

Wed, Dec 9

Thu, Dec 10

Whole School Mufti Day

Fri, Dec 11

Sat, Dec 12

Sun, Dec 13

Mon, Dec 14

Tue, Dec 15

Wed, Dec 16

Thu, Dec 17

Fri, Dec 18

Sat, Dec 19

Sun, Dec 20

Mon, Dec 21

Tue, Dec 22

Wed, Dec 23

Thu, Dec 24

Fri, Dec 25

Sat, Dec 26

Sun, Dec 27

Mon, Dec 28

Tue, Dec 29

Wed, Dec 30

Thu, Dec 31

Fri, Jan 1

Sat, Jan 2

Sun, Jan 3

Event Posts

Class Parents

Catalyse in building the class community

Be the social point of contact for parents of the class.
Organising the class Christmas party
Organising end of year party
Organising events such as lunch for the school theme days.

Be the voice of your class in BST

Represent parents to the PTA and liaise with school community at a class level
Organise teacher and TA birthday and end of year presents
Helping the teachers when needed, volunteer to go on trips
Organising lunch for the theme day; an event at school

Organise class events & activities

Organise activities & and help build memories for both parents & students.
Welcome all parents in the beginning of the year with welcome letter, and new parents throughout the year
Coffee mornings
Once a year class bake sales

Be the class administrator

Help manage the class administration - communicate guidelines, yearly schedules
Gathering the class kitty money
Attend class parents meetings
Cascade messages to all parents in the class
Solicit volunteers, and help from class parents

Contact PTA

New to Tokyo

Daikanyama Area

Click on the top left icon on the map to discover interesting and personalised insights on major amenities and landmarks, from the perspective of a BST parent.

Hiroo & Azabu-Juban Area

Hiroo, Azabu-Juban, Minami Azabu, Motoazabu and Nishiazabu are predominantly ex-pat areas. One big highlight is the Kōgai Park. A great little local park with a zip line, sand pit and swings.

Click on the top left icon on the map to discover interesting and personalised insights on major amenities and landmarks, from the perspective of a BST parent.

Meguro Area

Click on the top left icon on the map to discover interesting and personalised insights on major amenities and landmarks, from the perspective of a BST parent.

The Japanese archipelago is located in an area where several continental and oceanic plates meet. This is the cause of frequent earthquakes throughout Japan. You will at some point during your time in Japan experience an earthquake.

Information

Shindo Scale

Japan uses a different scale for measuring earthquakes. This is called the “shindo” scale. You may be familiar with hearing the Richter scale to describe earthquakes. Basically the Shindo scale refers to the intensity of an earthquake, what do you actually feel at a given location. The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake, the energy an earthquake releases at the epicenter.

Map of Japan showing the distribution Shindo Scale values (震度) for the 11th March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.
The image shows several numbers in different colours (7...5+, 3, 2, 1) spread across the prefectures, the highest being 7. These are the seismic intensity, or shindo, measurements which vary according to your location.

Seismic Intensity Scale and Estimated Physical Damage
(According to the Seismic Intensity Scale List created by Japan Meteorological Agency)

J-Alert System

Japan also has system that will give you a J-Alert (全国瞬時警報システム, Zenkoku Shunji Keihō Shisutemu) which is a nationwide warning system in Japan launched in February 2007.[1] It is designed to quickly inform the public of various threats like earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, severe weather and other threats. The system was developed in the hope that early warnings would speed up evacuation times and help coordinate emergency response. You will be notified by an alert on your phone just before a sizable earthquake is predicted to occur.

https://medium.com/@robintlewis/what-is-the-japanese-seismic-intensity-shindo-scale-for-measuring-earthquakes-and-why-does-it-25cc3bebdb58

Useful Website and Apps

Yurekuru

The standard application of providing the Earthquake Early Warning.

JMA

Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) - Weather, Climate & Earthquake Information

WaNavi Japan

Wanavi Japan is an NPO that offers workshops on a variety of different topics. They offer a fantastic workshop specifically aimed at helping families prepare for earthquakes.

Japan Shelter Guide

Japan Shelter Guide is an app for searching for disaster evacuation shelters in Japan and showing you routes to them.

NHK World

NHK WORLD-JAPAN provides the latest information on Japan and Asia through television, radio and online to a global audience.

Tokyo American Club

The Tokyo American club offers a disaster awareness day open to the public. A great event to take the children as it is very interactive.

Safty tips

This Application notifies a user with EEW, Tsunami Warnings, Volcanic Warnings, Weather Warnings, Heat illness Warnings and Civil Protection Information issued in Japan.

TMG

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has compiled a manual called “Disaster Preparedness Tokyo” (Tokyo Bousai) to help households get fully prepared for an earthquake directly hitting Tokyo and other various disasters.

Tokyo Rinkai Park

Earthquake simulation and education at the Tokyo Ringai Disaster Prevention Park.

PocketShelter

PocketShelter is a sightseeing and a disaster prevention application that will help in saving lives when it comes to emergencies.

NHK

NHK Television Channel will be broadcast in English. Familiarize yourself with the language change function if you have one.

It is advisable to register with your embassy
Visit your local ward office and familiarize yourself with evacuation areas in your neighborhood. There is a lot of information at the ward offices and they often have events during the year to educate people.

When an earthquake strikes

The mobile phone networks will be overwhelmed after an earthquake, therefore the internet is the best way of getting information and contacting your loved ones.

Earthquake Preparedness

Ten-minute clip of Japan's earthquake early warning system. A clear video outlining how this early warning system works.

When you are at home

What would you do when a big earthquake occurs while you're home? Here are tips for what you should and shouldn't do.

When you are outside or in your car

What would you do when a big earthquake occurs while you're outside? Here are tips for what you should and shouldn't do.

What to do if you can’t go home

When transportation services in urban areas are stopped due to earthquakes, attempting to return home can be very dangerous.

When you are at school

Example BST earthquake drill

Getting Prepared

Avoid placing heavy objects in places where they could easily fall during an earthquake and cause injury or block exits. If you are moving to Japan think about the furniture you plan to bring with you and whether it is suitable in the event of an earthquake.
Familiarize yourself with the designated evacuation areas in your neighborhood. Please visit your local ward office to obtain this information. Keep these maps and information somewhere you can access them easily if needed.
Please read the BST earthquake procedures: https://www.bst.ac.jp/useful-information/emergency-procedures
Establish family meeting points with alternate sites inside and outside of your home reunion sites with alternate sites for when the family is not at home, e.g., local shelter, neighbours house, park, school. (keep this written down with the ward office map and point it out to babysitters)
Keep electronic copies of passports and other important documentation. Either email to yourself, relatives or store in the cloud.
Don’t rush to collect your children from school. Make sure you are safe first. Your children will be well cared for at school. BST children have frequent earthquake drills. They know exactly what to do and keep this consistency at home. You will be surprised at how calm your children will be!