Current and Upcoming Events

Announcements

To our wonderful teachers who are moving on: thank you for creating so many of those moments for our students. You may well be someone they’ll remember for life—because of what you did, what you said at just the right time, or how you chose silence when it mattered most. You’ve become a part of our story, and we’ll miss you deeply.

To the dear families setting off on new adventures: just a tiny reminder—once a Mustang, always a Mustang. We’ve been lucky to share the same ASIJ tribe—with all its quirks and perks—and we wish you all the very best until our paths cross again.

And as they say at the end of every great season…

To be continued.

Indre Mackeviciute
On behalf of the ASIJ PTA Board

PTA MS Division Chair - Pascal Buckley (msdivision@pta.asij.ac.jp)

It’s Pascal’s third year at ASIJ, and he’s still riding the high of how awesome this community is. 

At his very first PTA welcome coffee, a friendly parent (who happened to be the Winterfest Chair) invited him to join the Italian food booth. As both Italian and American, a foodie at heart—and a former sous-chef at his brother’s restaurant—Pascal jumped in with a team of volunteers to serve up nearly a thousand portions of homemade lasagna, lemon cake, and arancini.

Since then, Pascal has been all in. He regularly hosts MS parent coffees at his family’s apartment near Yoyogi Park and is the go-to guy for connecting parents and kids—for ski buddies, club referrals, or academic tips.

The Buckley-Waugh family moved to Tokyo for Stephanie’s role as Vision Care Franchise Head for Japan at Swiss-American company Alcon. When we spoke, Pascal was calling in from Modena, Italy, where his family spends two months each year. His kids—Graey (G11), Droke (G8), and Cate (G6)—attend local school and eat a lot of tortellini. He’s also a competitive sailor, racing in Asia, Europe, and North America with enthusiastic teammates for local regattas and world championships.

If you’re a Middle School parent (or even if you’re not), find a chance to meet Pascal. You might spot him biking to campus from Yoyogi Park—while you’re on your way to volunteer.

“If I could tell new parents one thing—it would be: Volunteer! The school brings community—and friendships—for kids and parents alike. Join us on campus, and see you at Orientation!”

PTA Secretary - Grace Swaine (secretary@pta.asij.ac.jp)

Hi ASIJ, I’m Grace. This last year I served on the PTA Board as Communications Officer and had the great fun and privilege of working alongside Matt, Johnson and Zelda in the Communications Office. This next year I will serve as PTA Secretary as I manage a rising senior, sophomore and sixth grader. 

ASIJ is our third international school (after Nido de Aguilas in Santiago, Chile and Seoul Foreign School in Korea). At every school my kids have attended, I’ve found the PTA to be the starting point of relationship, service and community. Whether it be volunteering to be a room parent, baking cookies, or making another balloon arch, the PTA is the intersection on how you can be involved in your child’s school life, serve your local community, express your creativity and find some of your bestest friends. 

With three active and diverse kids, I’m sure I am in one of your WhatsApp chats. I love to play tennis, bake, craft pretty things, walk very slowly through home good stores and walk a little faster through Yoyogi Park with my golden retriever. Please feel free to drop me a note of hello and I look forward to knowing more of you all next year. Have a wonderful summer!

Grant and Speakers Program (GSP)

Just a reminder before the summer when all our best thoughts hit us: the PTA has funds to help bring cool projects and guest speakers to ASIJ! If you’re a teacher, staff member, student group, or parent with a great idea to boost learning or add something special to school that would go beyond the standard curriculum, you can apply for financial support through the PTA Grants and Speakers Program (GSP). From author visits and student-led gardens to virtual reality in the classroom, past grants have made a difference. 

Want to know more or ready to apply? Check out the guidelines and the application form.

Volunteer Request

• Call for Spirit Day Lead Volunteers – Join the Heart of the Action!

Spirit Day is happening on October 4th, and we’re looking for passionate parents to help lead some of the most exciting parts of this iconic ASIJ event!

This is a unique opportunity to contribute your talents to one of the biggest events of the year, experience the behind-the-scenes magic, and deepen your connection with the ASIJ community.

We’re currently seeking leads for:

• Volunteer Support Coordinator

• Student-Led Booths Coordinator

We have experienced volunteers who are happy to support — you won’t be doing it alone!

If you're interested, please fill out this FORM by June 12. Detailed role descriptions are included in the form.

And feel free to reach out to Natasha Shih or Olga Fisher at spiritday@pta.asij.ac.jp if you have any questions.

• Calling for lead volunteers for Winterfest ‘25

Not too far from the corner of Spirit Day ‘25 is Winterfest ‘25. We are also in need of volunteers to plan and host the fun, festive, and wintry event that is Winterfest. If you would like to be in charge of activities, foods, sweets, decorations, parking, and/or volunteers, please contact Maricris Abelarde at winterfest@pta.asij.ac.jp to volunteer. We look forward to working with you to plan this year’s Winterfest and curate a day that will surely be filled with laughs and memories with our children…and maybe hot cocoa. 

• Request for Donations of American Candies & Sweets for Winterfest ‘25

In keeping with traditions of past Winterfest events, we would like to continue to host the American Candy Booth at Winterfest 2025. For families/individuals traveling back to the US this summer, we kindly request for your donations of American candies and sweets that we can offer at the booth. For questions and/or to arrange pick up of the candies upon your return, please contact Maricris Abelarde at winterfest@pta.asij.ac.jp, and CC wf.candybooth@pta.asij.ac.jp.   

Community Gratitude

Our ASIJ community is the best around! We want to honor our unsung heroes by creating a new space in our PTA weekly emails to recognize members of our community who have let their Mustang Spirit shine bright. Each week, we will highlight those who you have nominated in this space. Let’s perpetuate kindness by recognizing kindness and leave your message here. 

• On behalf of the Class of 2025 families, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped make the graduation so special and meaningful.

To the parent volunteers who supported decorating the campus, the Banquet at Odaiba, and the Reception.

To NHS student volunteers who joined parents to decorate and set up.

To Matt, for always coordinating between the PTA, parents, and the school.

To Johnson, for your design work, printing support, and for dashing around campus to capture every moment with your camera.

To Zelda, for creating touching yet concise digital content that we all cherish.

To Tai, for everything—from maneuvering the lift to hanging lanterns, to driving to Odaiba, and supporting ASIJ TV.

To Yasu and the maintenance team, for quickly rearranging the seating and venue during the last-minute pivot to an indoor ceremony.

To Midori and Akiko in the HS office, for your timely communication to parents and coordination for graduation.

And to everyone else working behind the scenes—thank you so much! 

Parent-Led Clubs

Are you new to ASIJ or to Tokyo, or maybe a returning parent? Do you have hobbies or interests that you would like to share with the ASIJ community? We encourage you to establish a new club. The PTA will support you in starting, managing and promoting the club. If you have a club idea or questions, please contact Parent-led Clubs Chair, Jennifer Min at parentledclubs@pta.asij.ac.jp. 

View the full list of parent-led clubs on our website, including current photos. 

Thank you to all of the Club leaders for your dedication and efforts to bring the ASIJ community together throughout this school year. We are thankful for the many opportunities and unique experiences. It was another successful year with over 150 Parent-led Club events! Looking forward to more memorable events and connecting with everyone again in the Fall!