FROM THE SENIOR SCHOOL

A successful Japan Trip

Thirteen students and three accompanying teachers (Hayley McLeod, Stephen Dobson and me) experienced an amazing time in Japan over the Term break.  The group has many stories to impart and memories of the experience that will last a lifetime.

The teacher team were proud to be travelling with this group and we were told by a considerable number of other travellers that our group was polite and well behaved and were often asked which school we represented.

The Japan Trip is built around so much more than travelling to places to see the sights.  Some major skills were developed and the increased confidence in the students by the end of the trip was highly evident.  Being able to navigate around a foreign city/ country was one of the main skills gained.  Students also learnt to read Tokyo subway maps as well as other street maps.  These skills set the students up sufficiently to undertake their free day in Tokyo in small groups which proved to be a highly memorable day.

Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan, brought a delightfully different change of pace.  This was a time to visit many beautiful temples, shrines, gardens and bamboo groves.

The significance of visiting Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum was not lost on anyone.  Our students wished for world peace while hanging the 1000 cranes we had prepared as a group.

Time on Miyajima Island with the classic red torii gate in the water was welcome downtime before the students embarked on home stays in Osaka, at our Sister School, Osaka International Junior & Senior High School.

Each day brought new challenges and students successfully coped with the heat and humidity and listening to Japanese all day every day, which is quite tiring as one has to concentrate hard!  This was resilience building.

Every student stepped up to living life the Japanese way at their home stays at the end of the trip.  New friendships were formed and communication happened in many different ways. English, Japanese and good old gestures were used.

All students embraced the entire experience and gave things a go.  There were times when they were out of their comfort zones and they stepped up to these challenges.  Much was learnt, both personally for each student as well as linguistically and culturally.  This was a delightful group to spend time with.

ありがとうございました！ (Thank you very much!)

Jenny Banbury
Coordinator of Japanese