The excitement is building at Seiritsu, because it will soon be the school's culture fair!
The culture fair, called Bunkasai (or Seiritsusai, for our school), is a weekend where all the culture clubs and classes have a display or stall, and the school becomes a festival ground! It is certainly something everyone looks forward to at seiritsu, both teachers and students alike!
As the fair is this weekend (September 29-30), the school is using the three days leading up to the event preparing and decorating all the rooms. This usually involves a lot of paper and craft work. For our stall, the International Department and English Conversation Club students will again be looking deep into the crystal ball and predicting people's fortunes!
Former international student Nick demonstrates the power of fortune telling!
Last year's Bunkasai was a massive success, so we're looking forward to doing even better this year!
Hot. Bright.
My initial thoughts as I stepped off the train were echoed by my class mates as we started off towards the rice field. This rice, which we had planted several months ago, was now fully grown, ready to be harvested. We walk to the field, and are shown how to cut the rice with a kama, a sort of curved knife. Then we got down to business. Of course, us being high school students, after about 15 minutes, everyone was complaining that it was too hot and they were tired. I was having none of it.
Crouch, cut, pass. Crouch, cut, pass. Crouch, cut, pass. People kept saying I was “Sugoi”, and I just chuckled to myself, thinking, “No, I’m just cutting some rice, don’t applaud me. I know I’m a hero.” We finished up the cutting, and it turned out we did five more rows than the previous group, and in half an hour less. Needless to say, we were all pretty proud of our efforts. Of course, we still don’t know how delicious our rice is, but, soon we shall find out.
On September 19-20, Seiritsu was visited by 9 students of Fairhills High School from Victoria, Australia.
Students meeting the school principal, Fukuda Kocho.
The students, aged between 13 and 17, are here on a school trip to discover more about Japan and to practice their Japanese language skills. For many, this was their first time to this country, so they were really excited.
Some 'shikishi' given to the students from their Japanese classes.
Paired with Seiritsu High School students, the Australian students took part in a standard Japanese school day and sat in classes. Richard also presented a talk about what life is like as an international student and beyond. Current students Annariina and Jesse also talked about their experiences.
After classes, the students also got to try school clubs, with Karate, Dance and Cheerleading being the clear favourites.
It was great to meet everyone and we hope that they all have an enjoyable and safe remainder of their stay in Japan!
All together...
Manga Style!
Japan Under-20 Soccer athlete and Seiritsu High School 1st year Maya Doko was celebrated by this morning in a brief presentation in the school courtyard. The entire school assembled at 8:30, and applauded Doko and her "Young Nadeshiko" team mates for placing third in the FIFA Under 20 girls' World Cup, held in Tokyo.
Doko talked briefly about her experiences, and how being a Seiritsu athlete has helped her onto the national team. She then answered some questions from the school's student council about how she felt about playing for Japan. She said was nervous, but of course she gave it her all!
The school principal Fukuda Kocho then gave a small speech, again congratulating Doko and wishing her well for her next national duties.
Well done Maya Doko, we hope to see much more of you in the future!
Well, that being my first summer in Japan, I would have to say it went quite well.
With a change of host family a few days into it, it made the start a little unnerving. After I had settled in with my new family, however, it was a lot of fun, and also very productive. Now, the summer here is not just hot. It is certainly hot though, don’t get me wrong - we barely had a day under 30 degrees Celsius - but the hardest thing about the heat is the humidity. It kind of traps you, and you end up looking like you had a shower, before you have even had a shower.
Asakusa is popular with the tourists. Source: schuelersprachreisen-community.de
One of Tokyo Disney Sea's many shows. Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. Source: progressiveportal.org
The heat aside, Japan is a great place to be in the summer time, and I had trips with my family to Asakusa, Tokyo Disney Sea, and Hiroshima. Hiroshima, as you may well know, has the Peace Park and museum regarding one of the only two times that atomic weapons have been used. Although an admittedly sad place to go, I would say it is essential to go there, if you truly wish to understand why these weapons should never be used again.
Although a lot of time was spent hanging out and having fun, there was also a lot of time dedicated to studying, because my exchange company EF decided that their students should do over 120 pages of study for the summer break. Through this, and the conversations I have had with my host family, I think that my Japanese has improved. It was a great holiday and an excellent part of my trip so far.
Making his first Olympic appearance, 2008 graduate Yuki Otsu's scored a total of 3 goals for Japan in the men's soccer tournament which helped the men's team reach the 3rd round. Otsu's brilliant plays helped get Japan to the semi-finals, where they were stopped in the bronze medal match by South Korea. But it is the farthest in an Olympic tournament Japan has ever gone.
Well Yuki, see you in Rio!
Congratulations to 1st year high school student Maya Doko for making the Japanese National Under-20 Women's Team which just competed in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Tokyo! She helped the team make it to the semi-finals where unfortunately they were stopped by Germany.
Good luck in future events, our 'Young Nadeshiko'!
In August, Seiritsu's Baseball team entered the National Summer High School Baseball Championships, held in Osaka, for the first time!
The Competition features all the high school teams that won their prefecture championships. Seiritsu won the East Tokyo tournament, so they represented the area.
Before leaving for Osaka, the school held a large ceremony for the athletes congratulating them on winning the area competition.
The national tournament, familiarly known as Koshien because of the stadium where it is held, began August 8th. Seiritsu's debut match against Tokai-dai kofu, Yamanashi champions and koshien semi finalists in 2004, was on August 12. Most of the school - teachers, students, parents and graduates alike - travelled down en masse to cheer them on!
Sadly, Tokai-dai was too strong for Seiritsu's first experience at the national championships, winning the round 3-0. The Yamanashi team actually went on to repeat their semi-final best performance, so everyone agrees that it was a great experience for Seritsu.
Koshien was eventually won by Osaka Toin, defeating Aomori's Kosei Gakuin in a 3-0 final on August 23.
We're looking forward to seeing our team compete against the very best again next year!
Seiritsu Gakuen is a private co-educational high school created in 1925 and it is located in Tokyo, Japan.