Dear Marist Alumni,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and update you on some recent events and activities at Marist Brothers International School. First, my name is Brent Jones and I became Chairman of the MBIS Board of Directors in August of last year. I wish to thank my predecessors Unryu Haku and Fritz Leonhardt as well as other Board of Trustees who have given so generously of their time and energy in the service of our school and students. Although I am not an alumnus of MBIS, I have a daughter who has been here for eight years and my family feels very much a part of the Marist family.

As for recent happenings, there are lots to report on. Most of these are included in the March 2011 Newsletter (attached), but I would like to highlight just a few. First, we have some big administration changes to announce. First, Marijana Munro has taken over as Interim Supervising Principal. She will be working with our new Business Director Yasushi Ito, who joined the admin team on March 1st. They have both hit the ground running and are already making a positive contribution on several fronts, including school beautification and promotion projects.

Teachers and students at Marist have been actively supporting relief efforts for the quake and tsunami victims in the Tohoku region. To date, nearly 400,000 yen have raised for the Save the Children and the Tasuki Project (started by victims of the Hanshin earthquake). More fund raising events are planned for the near future. Ganbare Nippon.

Preparations are also proceeding for the upcoming Founder's Day celebrations, scheduled for May 20th. You should be receiving invitations in the near future. We hope you can join us to mark this auspicious occasion and keep the spirit of Saint Marcellin Champagnat burning brightly.

Enrolment is hovering around 270, down from 290-300 when Fritz Leonhardt last wrote, but we are planning promotion projects that could give us a boost back to the 300 range. We continue to pay back the two loans for rebuilding projects after the Hanshin earthquake, but reserves that we had built up are down quite a bit this year.

As mentioned in Fritz Leonhardt's last letter, the current administration building, which also houses the library and the assembly hall/cafeteria, survived the earthquake but is now in dire need of major repairs. We have had this building inspected recently and structurally it still seems to be very sound. However, there are some repairs that are urgently needed. Mr. Ito is working with a construction consultant to prioritize these. The main areas needing attention seem to be (1) replacement and leveling of some of the flooring in the kitchen/cafeteria and library, (2) water proofing along eastern side of the building (facing the grounds), and (3) surface repairs to cover pipes and exposed structural components. We would then like to paint all buildings in preparation for the upcoming 60th anniversary celebrations. Conservative estimates for these minimal repairs are between 25 and 30 million yen.

We realize that people have been giving a lot to relief efforts in the North, but we are appealing to you as a Marist Alumni to donate to the building fund that was started by Mr. Leonhardt and currently stands at roughly 2.6 million yen (approx. 600,000 yen of which was donated by the current PTA). As mentioned in previous announcements, donations to this fund are tax deductable in both Japan and the United States (instructions included below). Any amount you could spare for these endeavors would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your kind donations. We hope you have you can attend on Founder's Day celebration or drop by the school when you are next in the vicinity.

Sincerely,
Brent Jones
Chairman, Board of Directors

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Suma Branch (Mitsui Sumitomo Ginko, Suma Shiten) Savings A/C #: 3804146 (Futsu Yokin 3804146) Swift Code: SMBCJPJT A/C Name: MBIS Alumni Association Building Fund

(Japanese banks charge a very heavy fee for processing remittances in foreign currencies. Therefore, if ever possible, please make your donations in Yen.)

"TOKUZO"(Tokutei Koeki Zoshin Hojin) If you would like to have your donation treated as tax-deductible, please request Mr. Yasushi Ito (itoyash@marist.ac.jp) to send you a "TOKUZO" receipt.

The Marist Brothers is an IRS verified 501(c)(3) charity.
All donations must be made to the MARIST BROTHERS with a brief statement by the donor that the gift is intended to assist Marist Brothers International School in Kobe. Gifts are to be sent to:

Br. Hugh P. Turley,
FMS, CFRE, Co-Director
Marist Brothers
Provincial Development Office
4200 W. 115th Street
Chicago, IL 60655-4397

Upon receipt, the gift will be acknowledged in writing by the Development Office using IRS approved terminology. This letter of acknowledgement should be retained by the donor and is sufficient to claim a tax exemption for the gift. The gifts will be periodically transferred to Kobe.