Dear Titan,
What was the land used for before a school was built?
Signed,
Rewinding Time
RT,
I hope this message finds you well. To answer your question, the land where St. Mary’s International School was built has seen many changes over the years. The school was built here in the early 1970s. At that time there were houses in this area. In the years before this area was much more countryside then it is today. There were many farms around where the school is now and most of the area was used for agriculture. The one thing that has not changed much is the Hōtoku-ji Temple (across the from the northwest corner 0f the field). The temple and cemetery have been a part of the area since 1639. Thank you for your inquiry. I have included some images of the area over the years.
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Dear Titan,
Has there ever been a person that graduated from St. Mary’s and then went on to work at a famous place like NASA?
Signed,
Curious for an answer
Dear CFAA,
Thanks for writing.I researched notable alumniand discovered a few who went on to important careers:
Paul Yonamine is now the CEO of IBM Japan. He shows how someone from here can grow into a leader in the business world.
Reo Yoshida, Director of Porter Classics and renowned photographer. His creative work shows how students from this school can succeed in the arts.
Derek Lee was a talented baseball player who came here for a short time. Even though his stay was brief, he worked hard and became successful in professional baseball. His story shows how this school helped shape him, even for a little while. His fast arms show how students from this school can succeed in sports.
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Dear Titan,
Has any St. Mary’s graduate gone to an Ivy League School?
Signed,
Ivy Leaguer?
Dear IL,
I answer this question, It would be best to explain what the Ivy League is. The first thing we think or see about, is the word “Ivy.” Its 3 lettered word holding its prestigious name, started off as a inter-collegiate American Football league which was formed in 1954. The league consisted of 6 teams, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Dartmouth University.
These schools, were mostly founded during the colonial foundations of the 13 original colonies of America(over 200 years ago). They all have a rich history, notable alumni, that have created international attention for their excellent reputation. However these are not the only prestigious universities in the United States.
We are very proud that we do have St. Mary’s students who have attending, and are currently going to Ivy League schools. In the last years we have sent graduates to Dartmouth and Brown University. However, there are many other non-ivy league schools that hold as much prestige and reputation as ivy schools. These include Stanford, UCLA and UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Notre Dame, and many more in the U.S. and other countries, that St. Mary’s grads have attended. Furthermore, it never really matters what school you will end up going to but matters is that you are trying your best in whatever school you will go in the future.
I hope this helps!
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Dear Titan,
Why is our lunchtime so short compared to other schools?
signed,
Questioning the System
Dear QTS,
Great Question! I contacted some international schools in the Kanto area to find out if our lunchtime is shorter
compared to other schools. It turned out that most schools, such as YIS (Yokohama International School), ASIJ (American School In Japan), and St. Mary’s International School, have an average lunchtime of 45 minutes. Seisen International School also has 45 minutes of lunchtime but has an additional 15 minutes of break time in the morning. St. Maur has the longest. It has 55 minutes of lunchtime, 10 minutes more than other schools in Kanto Plains. It seems like our school is not unusual to have 45 minutes of lunchtime.
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Dear Titan,
Why does St. Mary’s have a school uniform?
Signed,
Curious about Uniforms
Dear CAU,
Excellent question! I asked Mr. Bayfield for his opinion. He explained that when stu
dents dress alike, comparison issues—such as when someone wears a flashy Rolex to “flex” their wealth—are reduced. By eliminating status symbols, we reduce the focus on financial differences and let students be recognized for who they are rather than what they own. As a result, students’ views of one another become more equal.
Uniforms also convey a feeling of pride and unity. Many students take pride in representing their school in this way, and wearing the sam
e clothes displays that you are a member of a community. It’s about belonging, not just your appearance.
I hope this answers your question!
HISTORICAL NOTE:
Japanese school uniforms in public schools have been around for over 100 years. The vaguely naval- inspired dresses that girls wear, and the military style tunics and pants that are worn by boys, date back to the 1920’s when this was very much in style in western countries.
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Dear Titan,
Why were the cup noodles discontinued from Cezars Kitchen?
Signed,
Need My Noodles
Dear NMN,
Thanks for writing. I asked Mr. Sameera, the Kitchen Manager at Cezars Kitchen, your question. He said that they never had cup noodles in the cafeteria but did have Ramen they made by hand for the students. He explained that a couple of years before the pandemic, there was an accident that resulted in the hot water from the ramen burning an elementary school Student. Ramen was seen as a safety risk and was discontinued from the menu. Sadly, it won’t be coming back.
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Dear Titan,
Do colleges specifically look if students have been suspended before?
Signed,
Worried about future
Dear WAF,
I asked Ms Marwood, the high school counselor, and this is what she said. Most colleges require students to report significant behavioral issues, especially those incidents which included putting yourself or others people in danger. There are applications, such as the Common Application that ask if the student has had criminal records and if the student was ever dismissed from any school. Additionally in the counselor section, there is a place for counselors to report major incidents that happened at school. However, these reports are usually about very serious situations, and schools won’t automatically report minor issues unless they are asked about it.
I hope this answered your question.
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Dear Titan,
Why can’t we use the field after school?
Signed,
A Human
Dear Human,
Thanks for writing. I asked Mr. Kagei your question. He explained that the field is reserved for organized sports after school, and at other times there would need to be organized supervision. Because it is private land, not a park, it can not be used in the same way that a public space can be.
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Dear Titan,
Please help me understand how a US President can still ‘win’ the election even though he/she doesn’t win more votes that his/her rival.
Signed,
Trying to Understanding American Democracy
Dear TTUAD,
Great question! I asked Mr. Douglas in the high school social studies department to explain. Here is his answer:
That’s a good question! Many Americans also do not understand the system. The president and vice president are selected by a process that was created in 1787 in the U.S. Constitution. Back then, the people who created the government were not sure how much power they wanted to give to the 
majority of the voters when it came to choosing a president. Some people were afraid that big states with large populations would have too much power, or big cities would do the same and not represent the small states and countryside. Because of that, they created something called the electoral college. Basically it means that each state has a number of votes equal to the number of its members of the House of Representatives, and its two senators. When there is a presidential election the winner in each state then has these “electors” cast a vote for him or her. On election day there are 51 separate contests in every state and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.). There are 538 electoral votes in total, which means that a candidate needs a majority of 270 to win the election. Because no state, no matter how small, can have less than two senators and one member of the House, it is not very proportional. A small state like Wyoming, with a population of just 576,851, has 3 electoral votes—so 1 vote equals 192,283 people. California has a population of 38.9 million, and has just 54 electoral votes—so 1 vote equals 720,370 people. Small states tend to vote for Republicans, and large states for Democrats, resulting in instances where 
Democrats often win the “popular vote”–meaning they have more votes cast for them, but Republicans often have more weighted electoral votes from smaller conservative states which diminishes that advantage.
In 2016 Hilary Clinton received 65,853,514 popular votes compared to Donald Trump’s 62,984,828–that was a difference of nearly 3 million votes. She lost the election because he had more electoral votes.
In 2020 Joe Biden also won the popular vote, but he also won several additional states that Hillary Cli
nton did not (Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin) and a s result he won the election.
There has been an effort for many years to change the system, but it is difficult to amend the Constitution, and there are many people who do not want to see smaller states lose their power.
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Dear Titan,
Why do we not have a snack break[in addition to the lunch break]?
Signed,
Hungry for Snacks
Dear HFS,
Great question! I reached out to Ms. Fradale and Ms. Ashmore (the principals of Middle and high school) to ask them about this. They explained that almost 10 years ago there used to be two shorter breaks for the high school students instead of a single lunch. The middle school did not have two breaks. Because it was a shorter time the students were not able to get a hot meal, just snacks at both times. It was changed because it was decided that a longer break was better and allowed for a better meal time.
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