Let the ceremonies begin

March 10 Passing the Entrance Exam

Today was the day the incoming sophomores found out if they passed the entrance exam for Takahagi HS. I was sitting in the teacher’s room when all of a sudden I heard shouting and screaming coming from outside. I looked out the window and saw a group of junior high students jumping up and down. I went out to the front of the school to find many students checking the poster on the wall. The poster displayed the students’ number and exam score. The shouts and screams continued as more students found out they had passed! There were a few students that were crying and I assumed they were among the five that did not get accepted. Overall, it was a very happy atmosphere and an interesting event to witness. I found out later that day that the majority of the incoming 140 new students were girls!

March 19, 2010 Closing Ceremony

Today was the last day of the school year before spring vacation. All the teachers and students gathered in the gym for the closing ceremony. The principal and vice principal gave speeches and students received various certificates of achievement for clubs, sports and perfect attendance. It was a strange feeling to be at the end of the school year since I’m use to teaching until June with summer break marking the transition between school years.

A Season of Change

Spring in Japan is marked by the famous cherry blossoms and changes in schools all over Japan. The month of March and April is a time of transition when many principals and teachers transfer schools or retire. Teachers may request to be transferred to a different school in the prefecture, but sometimes their request is denied if the school of their choice has limited openings. This was the case with one of my JTE’s at Takahagi. She put in a request to be transferred to a higher level school in Hitachi City, but there were no open positions, so she will be staying at Takahagi HS. I was sad that there were no positions for her, but at the same time happy because I that means I have one more year to teach with her. She is an excellent teacher and puts a lot of effort into her lessons. We make a great team and are able to work off of each other’s ideas to make it into something even better!

Another strange rule Japan has is that teachers may only teach for a maximum of 10 years at one school and must transfer after their tenth year. This will be my co-worker’s tenth year, so no matter what she will have to transfer next year.

Farewells and Welcomes

At my base school, Takahagi, five teachers and the principal left. My principal retired, but is working part time as an English teacher at my Friday school, Isohara Kyoei. It will be strange to team teach with him after thinking of him as Principal this past year, but at the same time I’m looking forward to it. At my Friday school, Isohara Kyoei, two English teachers left and four new English teachers will start there this year. There were several new teachers that came to Takahagi, including the teacher I sat next to at Kita Ibaraki HS. Some teachers from Isohara are now teaching at Takahagi, so I recognized some of the new faces.

There was a big farewell and welcome party after school during spring vacation at a hotel in Hitachi. Everyone chose numbers to determine which table to sit at. I sat next to two teachers I didn’t know so well and across from the nurse and Japanese teacher. The teacher sitting to the right of me didn’t speak any English, so I had many opportunities to practice my Japanese that night!

One of the teachers was MC for the night and formally introduced himself and officially started the party. The principal and teachers leaving were recognized on stage and given big bouquets flowers. Another teacher gave a short speech about each person and afterwards each person gave a speech of thanks. I was able to understand bits and pieces of the speeches and discovered that my principal really likes ramen from Kyushu! Another young, female teacher was called the Asian Beauty of our school and teared up during her speech. The new teachers were introduced on stage and each gave a short introduction speech.

After about an hour of speeches it was time for the kampai or toast. Everyone filled each other’s glasses with beer or tea and yelled kampai! After that dinner was served and included a feast of miso nabe, sashimi, udon, scallops and pork with vegetables. The custom in Japan is to refill other people’s glasses around you, you are not suppose to refill your own glass. Refilling other people’s glass is also a way to show gratitude and I witnessed this custom in its entirety at the party. The teachers that were leaving walked around to each table pouring beer and tea and stopping to chat to individual co-workers. The new teachers also made their rounds and gradually all the other teachers got up as well. There were so many teachers that came to refill my glass that I just couldn’t keep up! Eventually, I had to take really small sips, so they could pour for me and at one point ended up with two glasses!

It was at this point that I decided it was time for me to participate in the pouring fest. I got up, with a big Asahi beer bottle in hand and went around to pour for my old and new colleagues. Many were delighted to see me participating in this popular ritual and I felt really Japanese! After several hours of pouring, socializing, eating and drinking the MC officially ended the party by having everyone throw their hands up and yell, Bonzai (hurray) three times. All the teachers lined up at the door to applaud and bow as the principal and other leaving teachers left the room. It's been great to get an inside look and participate in Japanese ceremonies like my school party.

March 31, 2010 Musical Desks

Today was the first official day all the new teachers came to Takahagi. They were all introduced in the teacher’s room at the morning meeting. The rest of the morning consisted of various department and grade level meetings. Majority of the teachers were changing grade levels and thus teachers’ desks were getting moved. The teacher room is set up into three main sections according to the grade level, so all the first year teachers sit in the same section, second years, etc. I was sitting in the third grade section, but was getting moved to the second grade section. At precisely 3:30pm, Endo Sensei announced the start of the moving. All male teachers leapt into action moving out the third grade teachers’ desks first. The rest of the teachers began vacuuming and dusting as the desks were moved. I grabbed a broom and joined in the cleaning. There were a few desks piled high with files, papers etc. and it took extra man power to move these. But, within 45 minutes all the desks had been rearranged in their new locations and the dust cleared. It was quite a sight to behold! I am quite happy in my new location, now facing the entrance and closer to the computers and sitting near two of my JTEs.

April 5, 2010 The Final Farewell

Monday was the official last day for the principal and teachers leaving Takahagi. The teachers and second and third grade students assembled in the gym to listen to the farewell speeches. Applause and bows followed as they left the gym. I said goodbye to Fujieda Sensei who had helped me practice my Japanese and in turn I taught her English. Kocho Sensei told me, ‘see you later’ since I would see him at Isohara the following Friday.

April 6, 2010 Opening Ceremony

Tuesday was the official opening ceremony of the new school year for the second and third graders. Once again everyone assembled in the gym as the brass band played. The new principal addressed the students and encouraged them to do their best and welcome the new first year students. He also announced their new homeroom teachers and students became very excited after receiving the news. This followed with hair, make-up and uniform checks by the teachers, armed with eye make-up and nail polish remover. The rules were black hair, no nail polish or eye make-up and neat uniform at the appropriate skirt/pant length. During the checks I wandered around and talked to students about their spring vacations and found many of them very willing to speak English with me. One group of girls said they really enjoyed our conversation and I think they surprised themselves at how well they were able to communicate in English!

April 7, 2010 Welcome Ceremony for the Ichi Nens

On Wednesday only the new first year students came to school. In the morning they met their new homeroom teachers and prepared for the ceremony. It was a similar atmosphere to graduation and their parents waited anxiously in the gym for the ceremony to begin. Ishikawa and Sato Sensei showed a slideshow to the parents while they waited. At 10:00am sharp the brass band began playing as the new ichi nensei students filed in, led by their homeroom teachers. The principal, vice principal and PTA representative gave speeches. Each student stood up to be recognized as his/her homeroom teacher read his/her name. The ceremony ended and parents and students left the school. For lunch the teachers received a special obento that included seki han since it was a day of celebration.

April 8, 2010 First Day of Class

Today was the first official day of classes for the first, second and third year students. In the morning the second and third grade students gathered in the gym to meet and welcome the new first year students. They were seated at one end of the gym and the ichi nensei students entered and stood at the opposite end. Each group bowed to the other and one sempai student gave a welcoming speech to the first year students and one first year student addressed the second and third year students. Yet another interesting ceremony to witness!