Visiting Shin'ei Middle School & Sapporo Kaisei Senior High School

Shin'ei Middle School, Sapporo, Japan

The students in Japan don't start their summer vacations until July 21st.  So while we were in Sapporo we were pleased to be able to visit two schools.  In the morning we visited Shin'ei Middle School.  The middle school is home to about 800 middle schoolers from the 7th to 9th grades.  The students greeted us very warmly and we greatly enjoyed the smiles and enthusiasm on the faces of the teachers and students we met. 

The students have to take their shoes off before entering the school and put on their "inside sneekers."  We had to take our shoes off as well.  Since we didn't have "inside shoes" we were provided with slippers and we put our shoes in a plastice bag.

The students were all very excited to see us and to practice their English skills.  I was greeted by many "Hello's" and  "Nice to meet you's!"  I had fun responding back in English as well as Japanese, "Konnichiwa" and " Hajimimashte!"  I visited many classrooms including a Social Studies classroom.  I was able to chat with a few students about the geography they were learning.

I had lunch with a 7th grade class.  This is a picture of my lunch group.  In Japan the students don't change classes (except for Science and technology lab) the teachers do.  Also, the students don't eat lunch in a cafeteria.  They eat in their classrooms with their teacher.  We had a delicious, freshly prepared lunch of rice and beef, miso soup, pickeled greens and of course milk! 

The students have assigned jobs that include serving their fellow students.  And of course the students must clean up after they're done eating.  Food not eaten is placed in the proper pans for recycling. 

Sapporo Kaisei High School (Student Bike Racks)

In the afternoon we visited the Sapporo Kaisei Senior High School.  This school for 10th-12th graders focuses on English learning for the medical/science fields.  Japanese teenagers can't get their drivers license until 18, so they ride their bicycles to school in.  The school day starts around 87:30 am and lasts until 5pm.  The students have their classes and then attend afterschool clubs. 

We visited an English language class and watched as the students used technology to improve theirEnglish  language skills.  Afterwards we listened to some students give a presentation in English on various aspects of Japanese culture.