Meidei High School Visit  #20

This year our school community was once again fortunate to host 10 students from Japan.  The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves both at school and with their host families during their 14 day visit.  

At school they took part in an English program, joined in classes of Agriculture, Science, Physical Education and Music, had conversations in English classes, joined in Year 8 Pastoral Care, played HOOPS, cooked ANZAC biscuits, made and painted a boomerang, participated in our Reconciliation event and created a calendar to give their host families. They had afternoon tea with the Mayor, visited the Courthouse Gallery, enjoyed Eisteddfod events and spent time with children at the Balaklava Community Children’s Centre and Balaklava Primary School.  A day trip to the Adelaide Hills with their host buddies enabled them to see koalas before having lunch at Cleland, however, the cold, wet and stormy weather resulted in a quick escape from the Hills and a visit to the Adelaide Central Market which was also enjoyable.  Comments from the students included….

Ami “I enjoyed having a lot of fun classes. I was glad I could see the Aboriginal dance”

Ryu “It was very fantastic to do a lot of experiences. For example burning hands in science, making lemonade.”

Manaka “This is the first time I play netball and football but it was so fun”

Aimi “We could talk with Australian students in class.  I spent a wonderful time here”

Yuna “The class was a lot of activity, easy to understand and fun”

Honoka “At first, I was surprised of life in school… the lesson is hands on… there is also a recess time when we eat snacks”

Koumi “The most impressive lesson was making rockets.  I had a great time with my buddy… the sea and stars are beautiful”

Mahiro “I felt that Australia is a very good country. I was very happy while I stayed in Australia….. Balaklava High School students and teachers were very kind”

Hiroki “Australian people are very kind! I was very glad that they welcomed us.  All the classes were interesting, especially Agriculture class.

Masahiro “When I saw wild kangaroos I was surprised... they run fast.  I made a boomerang and it worked”

On weekends their experiences were many and varied. They visited the beach, enjoyed local football and netball games, went to a Crows match, experienced a bonfire, saw the stars and enjoyed many other experiences that they will never forget.

Our farewell dinner was held at the Balaklava Sports Club.  Each student gave a speech to thank their host family for their kindness and for the experiences they had given them.  The Japanese students performed the traditional dance ‘Soran Bushi’ which delighted the audience with their co-ordination and stamina.

The success of this program is mainly due to the families who take on the challenge of hosting.  This year, the buddy students at school did an amazing job in looking after their Japanese visitors and made them feel very welcome. We sincerely thank the host students and their families for their involvement in this wonderful program.

• Ashlee, Bella-Rose and the Allegretto family for hosting Koumi Katagiri
• Maddie and the Karklins family for hosting Aimi Ishino
• Brooke and the Michalanney family for hosting Ami Sahara
• Alex and the Bousfield family for hosting Yuna Toguchi
• Tylah and the Arthur family for hosting Manaka Abe
• Casey and the Pratt family for hosting Honoka Imasu
• Jack and the May family for hosting Masahiro Takano
• Jacob and the Battle family for hosting Mahiro Hirai
• Jack and the Heaslip family for hosting Ryu Ogasawara
• Tom and the Michael family for hosting Hiroki Sugita

Your efforts have given all students at this school the opportunity to interact with students from another culture.  Although the Japanese students have returned home, many of them have kept in contact with their Australian families which reflects how enjoyable and life changing this experience can be for everyone.   

This unique program has been going for 20 years at Balaklava High School and as a celebration of this valuable cultural exchange, we have created a Japanese garden in the school grounds – complete with bridge, Torii gate and plants.  Thank you to Ruth Stevens for her inspiration and effort (with help from the Owen’s Men’s Shed) in creating this beautiful space between Tech and Home Ec.  The Japanese teacher Mari Konishi, Hiroko our tour guide and all the Japanese students were delighted when they first saw it!

Mrs Pratt and the Year 9 Agriculture class also started a native garden with each of the Japanese students planting an Australian tree or shrub.  This will be added to in future years and will improve the appearance of the gym carpark entrance.

I would personally like to thank the Balaklava High School staff past and present, who for the last 20 years have embraced this exchange and created learning opportunities within their classes or used their NIT lessons to become involved.  Special mention must go to Cherie Cmrlec for completing the administrative tasks and especially for talking to families and convincing them that, “it is an amazing experience to host a Japanese student.” We encourage you to consider hosting an exchange student in future years.

Arigato gozaimasu

ありがとうございました

Karyn Von-Zieden