Jiyu Gakuen visit

The last couple of weeks seem to have flown by so quickly.  It is difficult to believe that in a couple of weeks we will be finished the 2013-2014 school year!  Lots of things need to be completed yet before we arrive at the last day of school.  We will accomplish whatever we need to by the end of the school year. 
Back on May 7, we had some visitors at CAJ.  The equivalent of grade seven boys from the Jiyu Gakuen school came to visit with our grade seven class.  I did some asking around and looked at some information on the internet about this school.  It is called the Jiyu Gakuen College.  Apparently it started out as a secondary school for girls by two journalists way back in 1921.  The philosophy of the school is based on Biblical principals.  Now the school has a Kindergarten, elementary school and separate boys and girls junior and secondary schools and a college a co-educational program and a women's only program.  The students are involved in self-government and share in maintenance of their campus. After our students' visit, the most common comment was about how good the food was at lunch, much of which they grow or raise on their campus.
Having these interactions with our neighboring schools allows our students to experience a style of education that may be different from ours.  We like to have an exchange so they  can also experience what our students do at CAJ, which is a North American style of education. 

Introducing themselves

Introductions were done in small groups.

Sharing what is going to happen during the visit.

off to go to chapel

Taking a combined picture and saying good-bye.

I was able to sit down with the principal and teachers that accompanied the students.  They spoke fairly good English and having a conversation wasn't too difficult.  They said they enjoyed the Chapel.  We did make arrangements to have a translator for our speaker and we sang two of the praise songs in Japanese.  We hope to continue this exchange next year and we are looking for ways to make their visit better. 
As an additional note, we have a teacher who has started a video club for Middle School and High School students.  The other day while I was sitting in my office after school, I was hearing some girls talking in the hallway.  I could tell they were talking in different voices, so I went to check it out.  It was four girls from the video club making a video with their puppets.  Not sure what the video is about, but it's great to hear them using their creative abilities to create the story but also to discuss with each other how to line up the camera and using the different angles.  What a great way to end the day. 

The four of them were having lots of fun and learning as well!