Dear members,

During the school closure, FLT continues to listen to you and is in close contact with the LFIT management team.

Two Skype meetings were held on March 3rd and March 10th. Please find the summary of our discussions below.

We invite you to share your comments and to contribute to the discussion using this form.

The next meeting between LFIT management and FLT is scheduled for Thursday, March 12th, 17:30. Don’t hesitate to share your questions with us.

March 3rd discussion summary

• • Regarding daycare for pupils :
    • LFIT can no longer offer “Garderie” daycare, and so FLT has proposed to send its members a questionnaire in order for parents to contact one another and organize themselves.
  • Regarding online lessons-the system has been presented (refer to the message from LFIT management dated March 6th) ; the details of the questionnaire to be sent at the end of the week were discussed.
  • Various  pieces of information were received:
    • the Languages meeting will be held, but by internet
    • “bac blanc” (mock exam for baccalaureat) will still take place
    • 2 pupils from French Lycees in China will join LFIT

• Do not forget to renew your children’s registration at LFIT for the next school year (before March 16th)!

March 10th discussion summary

•  A brief follow-up about the set up of online teaching : 
  • For the time being, particularly regarding Primary School, the guidelines from LFIT management are not to set up a long term system but to manage only the situation for the coming week. In case the school closure is extended, a different approach will be considered.
  • Regarding junior and senior High School, an extension of the school closure would require a change of schedules, to ensure that all subjects are taught in a balanced way.
  • Issues with access to ONE (Primary School) : parents should contact “vie scolaire primaire”
• Our survey about mutual daycare : there were a few replies from families from Shinagawa to Kita-ku. We have shared contact information to the families so they can coordinate.
• Access to computers/tablets for online lessons :
  • Many families replied to the survey sent by LFIT (830 families replied, corresponding to 87% of pupils). The school tries to contact directly families who did not reply. It should be noted that the school is not able to cover needs by lending computers, and that in many cases, children of the same family have to share a device, which makes attendance to online lessons complicated.
• Regarding SPANs (school trips), for example the trip to Oshima for 3e pupils, a decision will be made soon – probably linked to the decision to extend or not the school closure.
• Decision about school closure : is made by the Embassy. LFIT management participates in the decision process but ultimately, the Embassy decides. Each international school in Tokyo can decide to reopen or not (this is not a mandatory decision by the Japanese government, although it recommends to follow the guidelines that apply to other schools). The LFIT headmaster has asked the Embassy to have a decision as soon as possible, to allow teachers and families to plan accordingly.