A Strong First Step: MST Takes the Court

Head of School James shares how MST’s Willow and Eucalyptus ballplayers made history in their first middle school-level team sports fixture, showing grit, teamwork, and school spirit in a closely contested basketball match against Nishimachi.

Dear Parents,

I wanted to personally thank you and your children for being part of last week’s basketball fixture at Nishimachi International School. It was a real pleasure to see our Willow and Eucalyptus students representing MST on the court, and I’m very grateful to you as families for supporting their participation. 

While this was a friendly game, it also marked a quietly important milestone for MST. Many international schools in Tokyo consider Grade 6 to be part of Middle School, so while we have had strong participation from Eucalyptus students in individual events such as cross-country running in the past, this was officially MST’s first appearance in a “middle school-level” team sports fixture on the international school circuit!

As our Upper Elementary and Adolescent communities continue to grow, this represents a meaningful first step toward building a broader Middle School––and eventually High School––sports programme.

On the court, the team showed fantastic teamwork, effort, and school spirit, especially considering this was their first time playing together as a group. MST kept the game closely matched in the early stages before Nishimachi opened up a more significant lead midway through the game.

What really stood out, however, was the response from our players. With real hustle and determination in the final quarter, MST pulled the score back to within just three points before the game eventually ended in a Nishimachi win. Our students represented MST with pride, resilience, and excellent sportsmanship - something we can all feel proud of.

Thank you again for your support, encouragement, and trust. This was a wonderful starting point, and I’m very much looking forward to creating more opportunities like this for our students in the future.

Warm regards,

James Moore

Willow Parent