The Metropolitan Board of Education holds the "Tokyo Experience School", where foreign exchange students can experience things such as Japanese-style education, Japanese culture and what it is like to live in Tokyo.For this first Experience School, 45 students and 4 leaders were accepted from America, Canada and Australia. The school ran for a period of 12 days from Saturday, July 8th, 2018 to Wednesday, July 20th
Summary of Events
Period: Saturday, July 8th, 2018 to July 20th. (12 days in total).
Students attended the school from Monday, July 10th to Tuesday, July 19th, excluding Sundays. (8 days in total).
Students were accepted from Idaho and Oregon in America, Alberta in Canada and Queensland in Australia.
Reception Arrangements
- Each foreign exchange student did a homestay with Japanese students’ families.
- They each experienced the different facets of Japanese school-life and lessons, club activities and cleaning, by attending school with their “buddy”, a Japanese homestay partner.
- During their stay, opportunities to experience Japanese culture, to explore the city and to visit cutting-edge technological facilities were also arranged.
On the second day upon arriving in Japan, there was an orientation day for the foreign exchange students, to confirm that they had all the information they needed for their stay. The exchange students introduced themselves to each other in Japanese, during this orientation.
Afterwards, the exchange students each met their host families and went to their different homes. Next, we have some communications regarding the experiences of these exchange students from teachers at the schools which received them.
Tokyo Metropolitan Hakuo Senior High School
We received 18 foreign exchange students from Queensland, Australia for the Tokyo Experience School program, from Monday, July 9th to Tuesday, July 17th
The course of each day
The foreign exchange student goes to school with their buddy for a morning private study room, and after homeroom, 15 of the students bring chairs with side-tables and take part in classes. For the most part, the exchange students join classes that their buddy has scheduled. Lunch is taken with their buddy in the classroom. If there is an excursion that day, they wait for their buddy upon returning to school, and then go home together.
Depending on what time they return to school, they may also take part in cleaning and observing club activities!
School Schedule
*Self-introduction during morning assembly on the first day
On Monday, July 9th, a special morning assembly for self-introductions was arranged by the international exchange student team.
The teacher representative and exchange students introduced themselves and a representative of the "Hakuo Friends Project" gave a welcome speech!
Monday, July 9th
The exchange students arrive at school and gather in the private study room, attend morning assembly, then observe the sports competition. They take lunch in the classroom with their buddy, and then return home with their buddy.
Tuesday, July 10th
The exchange students arrive at school and gather in the private study room, then observe the sports competition. They take lunch in the classroom with their buddy, and then return home with their buddy.
Wednesday, July 11th
The exchange students arrive at school and gather in the private study room, then in the morning, leave with the Vice-Principal and the JET teacher to go sightseeing in Asakusa. They take lunch after returning to school and rejoin their buddy.
Thursday, July 12th
The exchange students arrive at school and gather in the private study room. They then leave for a one-day trip to the Tokyo Anime Center and the TEPIA Advanced Technology Gallery.
Friday, July 13th
The exchange students arrive at school and gather in the private study room.
1st/2nd period: Join the junior high school 3rd grade lessons.
3rd/4th period: Join the 5th grade Introduction to Japanese Culture lesson.
5th period: Prepare and practice their presentations together.
6th period: Present their presentations in the junior high 3rd grade class.
Saturday July 14th
Travel to school and gather in the private study room.
Attend classes and club activities, then return home with their buddy.
*Monday July 16th is “Marine Day”
The exchange students have Japanese cultural experiences and explore Harajuku.
Tuesday July 17th
The exchange students arrive at school and gather in the private study room, then attend morning lessons.
Lunchtime － Farewell Party
The Japanese traditional culture class had a Shogi lesson, where a female Shogi player from Poland gave a demonstration and lecture about the game. In the calligraphy class, the students had fun writing, and in Igo class, they learned the gameplay rules, which they put to use immediately, in a game! The Hakuo High School students also played a big part as "classroom buddies" in this exchange program, by assisting the exchange students, talking to them in English and explaining things to them.
Our "Hakuo Friends Project" members took the lead in everything from the general preparations for receiving the exchange students, to preparing for the reception and farewell parties. Beginning with homeroom every morning at Hakuo, they spent the whole week together!
Tokyo Metropolitan Suginami Senior High School
On July 9th, a total of seven students, two male and five female, came to Suginami High School from America. The female students had summer sailor uniforms ready for them, and they wore these to school every day. They fit in perfectly with the other students.
In the morning on July 13th, they came to Hachioji Baseball Stadium to support the high school baseball club with the brass band members. It was a very hot day, and the opposing team was one of the favorites to win. They cheered loudly for us and we put up a good fight.
In the afternoon of the same day, their buddies, the English club and others held a farewell party for them.
At the end, we gave them “SUGIKOU HAPPY” (A traditional Japanese straight-sleeved coat worn to festivals) to commemorate the occasion.
Tokyo Metropolitan Chihaya High School
This year, for the first time, three students went from the winter in Queensland, Australia, to the middle of summer in Japan, at Chihaya High School. The three students fully enjoyed their time at Chihaya High School, joining the third grade classes in subjects such as English, Japanese, Japanese History and Home Economics and buying desserts at the co-op store.
They also participated in a Calligraphy lesson. The teacher wrote the kanji “Summer” for them, and they used it as an example, copying it several times, before finally creating a final one.
In the Japanese Cultural Experience program taught by the JET teacher, they had a go at making gyoza. It took a very long time to make them, but everyone was very pleased with the taste in the end, saying they were “delicious”.
They also experienced an ikebana class, Japanese traditional games and anime. They attempted to play with kendama after watching a video of the graceful displays of pros but found it quite difficult.
In one Japanese Culture class, they also tried playing the Hyakunin Isshu card game. The reciter read the cards slowly for them, and they managed to find the cards!
They said their farewells in both Japanese and English in the final class.
Tokyo’s constant sweltering heat had them all saying, “it’s so humid”, all the time, but the exchange students enjoyed their time at Chihaya High School very much. It was also a very good experience for the Chihaya students to speak English every day.
