A new school year beckons

School hall

The Japanese school year closes at the end of March. This is when the 3rd years 'graduate' and move onto the High School that they've qualified for and a new bunch of munchkin 1st years appear out of a cabbage patch.
The graduation was a real bubble (crying) fest for the students and even some of the teachers. The 3rd year homeroom teachers are like parents to some of these kids and they can get pretty attached. Everyone's all smartly dressed up too and even the hall gets a bit of decoration.
This is also the time of year that the teachers can get moved from one school to the next. Unlike the UK, where teachers move on their own accord, or if they are fired, or snuff it, the Japanese teachers are rotated by the prefecture/municipal board of education that they work for. For new teachers, this can happen every 3 years, and it occurs less as the teachers get older, I think. In some respects it's a nice idea to keep them on their toes though I'd be happier with the UK way, it puts you in the driving seat.



Singing good bye


Both of the English teachers that I worked with moved back to the mainland, from whence they came, and I now have only one English teacher at my base school. As the teachers were moving on they got a really fancy enkai (Japanese style party which most notably starts and finishes at predefined times) involving all teachers, the PTA, a large feast, muchos boozos, obligatory speeches and the odd greet (cry).


See if you can find me in this teachers' party picture...


Sometimes they chuck the leavers up in the air for a laugh too. Not sure if they'll be able to do that with me.

All good fun.

I liked the idea of the graduation ceremony and the formal leaving party. It puts an actual end to things. We just king of left school one day and I've never been back since.