Japanese Exchange Program
Japanese Exchange
Hisashiburi! (Long time no see!) What a momentous way to begin Term 3! After so many lunchtime meetings, host family recruitment drives, emergency lunchtime meetings, late nights and anxious conversations the 2018 Japanese Exchange has been and gone in the blink of an eye! (Though in my experience, it wouldn’t matter how long the exchange is for, time always flies by). It was such a thrill to see our students welcome our guests from Japan and the strong union of our two schools was felt across the two weeks.
From a teaching perspective, the program really seemed to bring out the best in the students of St Clare’s High School. The hosting students and their families represented themselves, the school (and some might even say the country) tremendously well! I dare say that even general student cohort were also incredibly receptive and well-behaved. The program also brought out an impressive level of teamwork across the different staff and faculties of the school. This is not to say that we don’t support each other normally, but rather the program highlighted the immense talent and giving nature of the different people at school. Students and teachers both made the program a success!
We had such a diverse group of students hosting this time around, with a mixture of students from Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 all volunteering. Originally, the decision to include the Year 8 in the hosting came from a position of need, but the Year 8 students involved demonstrated such care and respect that they very well may have paved the way for more junior students to host in the future. The elective-Japanese students from Year 9 and 10 made up the bulk of the students who hosted, together with many previous exchange students from Year 11. Although, there were also several students not normally involved in Japanese studies who just wanted to welcome our sisters from Japan – you all did an amazing job! The decision to host and the efforts students and their host families went to, were not lost on our visitors and certainly not lost on St Clare’s High School. So, on behalf of the both schools, I would like to congratulate all those involved in the exchange program and thank you for your efforts.
Richard Petrucci
Japanese Teacher
