To all the members of the KIST community, we hope you enjoyed KIST Festival! Despite our office superstition of never washing our cars before a big event, we unfortunately had poor weather; however, visitors continued to arrive right up until the event concluded at 3:00 p.m., and in the end, we welcomed more than 3,200 guests, making the festival a great success.
The festival was held for the first time in six years, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the construction of our new school building. For more than half of our students, parents, and staff, this was their first KIST Festival. Despite this, the event was completed safely without any accidents or major issues. This was truly the result of the cooperation and unity of parents, staff, students, and the entire school community. The total proceeds of 6,317,298 yen will be used to replace aging equipment and furnishings and to purchase new items for use throughout the school as previously announced. Details of these purchases will be shared at a later date.
We received many heartwarming comments from the G1–G2 parents who ran the bazaar booth. They shared that local residents told them, “We’ve been looking forward to this,” “We’ve been waiting for it,” and “We’re so happy it’s back after so long,” and that hearing these words made all the preparation worthwhile. We also saw many local families visiting with their children. For neighbors who do not usually have the opportunity to enter the campus, the festival served as a valuable chance to learn more about KIST. We hope that these visits will lead to positive relationships within the community. Additionally, many people who attended our Explanation Day in the previous week also came to the festival, which reminded us of the strong interest in KIST and its community.
The much-loved haunted house run by G10 students also made a return this year, and we are already hearing enthusiastic comments from G9 students who are looking ahead to next year. It is truly great to see these traditions being passed on.
As a new initiative this year, the G5 Japanese games booth and the G4 garbage collection station were operated through collaboration between parents and students. We have received very positive feedback from both students and parents regarding this approach.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the many families who supported the festival, including those who generously donated large quantities of products from their companies for sale at the bazaar, as well as those who contributed supplies for use at various booths.
The raffle draw, one of the highlights of the event, featured the most luxurious prizes we have ever had. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who donated such wonderful prizes.
We would also like to thank Mr. Ioka for presenting a professional sparring session on stage, a rare opportunity for us all, as well as the Ioka family for bringing along the guest performer, professional magician Cyril Takayama, who helped entertain the audience.
To our Festival Leaders, despite the short preparation period, every booth was amazing and brought great enjoyment to our visitors. New ideas and creative touches were incorporated throughout, bringing fresh energy to KIST Festival. Thank you for working so hard together — this event would not have been possible without your cooperation.
We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to the parents and volunteer staff members who came to help with the additional cleanup on Sunday, as well as the preparation day. For us in the office, it is only after the Sunday cleanup that we truly feel, “It’s finally finished!” Experiencing this feeling again for the first time in six years, we were able to begin the autumn break with a refreshed and satisfied mindset.
While there are areas for improvement moving forward, such as providing clearer explanations of the purpose and structure of the festival and allowing more time for preparation, we would greatly appreciate your feedback as we look ahead to next year.
To everyone in the KIST community, well done, and thank you very much!
