the new school year in full swing

Whew! And there goes another month . . .

May was great because we had three big events: Golden Week (three consecutive national holidays), Ferris' Sports Day (体育大会= taiikutaikai), and Ferris' annual excursion (遠足= ensoku).

I'll start with pictures of Sports Day. At this event, the entire school was divided into four teams (A, B, C, and D). Each team was a different color: A = red, B = white, C = blue, and D = green. Every team had all six grades represented, so the ability levels based on age/development were represented fairly. In the end, the blue team won.

Really, I should be calling this event "Relay Games Day" because they didn't play any sports. Most of the activities were running relays, ball games, or dance-style performances. In the above picture, the girls had to throw as many of their teams' color balls into the net within a certain period of time. The team to get the most balls in the net was the winner. There were also a few gold balls for each team, worth a lot more points than the regular ones.

The video below is an impressive formation they made during the S2 students' (11th graders) fan dance. It was really awesome to see their entire class (all 188 of them) doing this dance completely in sync with each other. Their lines were ruler-straight and their motions so tight and fine-tuned that it was as if they were all one person. It was so impressive.

The next picture below is from the white team's cheer/dance. Each team prepared a cheer, then the teachers and staff had to vote on which team was the best. The judging criteria included such things as neatness of formation, uniformity, enthusiasm, creativity, etc. I can't remember who won, but I thought they were all pretty entertaining. Really, they're just cute. :o)

The next two pictures are from when I was walking around, cheering on my students. They were all so surprised to see me, as if they didn't think I'd be there. I showed them -- of course I wouldn't have missed it!! They were all excited to take pictures with me. Aren't they so cute? These are of my J1 students (middle school, first year).

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any pictures from our "ensoku," or school excursion. I went with my S1 students (senior high, first year) to 金時山, or Mt. Kintoki. It took us a couple of hours to finally reach the summit, but when we did, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I'm so sorry I didn't take any pictures! Actually, I was designated as the photographer with the school's camera, so once the students learned that I had the yearbook camera, they kept me busy by asking me to take their pictures rather than letting me take pictures with my own camera. Bummer. That's alright. There's next year, too, right?

Anyway, on this day, we reached the top right around lunchtime, so it was planned perfectly for us to bask in a beautiful view while enjoying each other's company. The day before, I bought a TON of snacks so I could walk around to all the students and offer then some treats. It was "bonding" time . . . tee hee. I also brought some left over rice krispy treats from Green House' gathering the night before. The students loved them. Yumm. After all the excitement, it took us only about half the time to descend the mountain. Our group actually got slightly lost. The other teacher and I were having fun talking and didn't notice where the group in front of us went. Oops. We all made it back just fine, though. In the end it worked out. The poor girls were getting nervous, especially since one of the teachers leading them was a gaijin. They probably had less faith in me. At the end of the day, after the long bus ride and bathroom stops, we finally reached Landmark Tower in Yokohama around 5:00. We left that morning at 7:30. Whew...what a long day.

Well, as for the month of May, that's about it. Besides these major events, the month was all about adjusting to our new schedules and routines. I feel like the school year is off to a good start with my new students. I'm excited to see what God has in store both at school and at Green House. Thank you for your prayers~~!

a new season brings...

a new school year, a new climate, a new experience . . . new life.

That's what April brings -- new life. We celebrated Easter not too long ago, and this year especially I was reminded of how precious Easter should be to us. I won't lie, but I easily get caught-up in the busyness of life and the routines of my daily schedule, so I often forget to take a step back to really remember the purpose of what I'm doing or even celebrating. It gets really hard, especially when the commercialism for holidays definitely overpowers the origin and true meaning to what we are celebrating. In Japan, Easter isn't recognized like Christmas or Valentine's Day, so I wasn't distracted by the Easter bunny, pastel candies, and chocolate eggs. Instead, this year I could focus on being with my church family by celebrating Christ's resurrection with them. The night before Easter, I felt excitement and anticipation as I lay down to sleep much like a little kid on Christmas Eve, eager for morning to come. I had never felt that before.

Then Easter morning came. I can't even describe my sense of 'completeness' as I entered the sanctuary and saw the families that I have grown to know and love all there to celebrate Christ's resurrection. He is alive and we were constantly reminded of that throughout the day. After the service, we were supposed to do お花見　(ohanami) which is "cherry blossom viewing" by having a picnic at Motomachi Park, however, the temperature was pretty cold, so we had our picnic in the sanctuary, then walked together through the park and around Yamate-cho where I live.

Beautiful.

Walking through the park for ohanami felt as if all of creation was celebrating Christ's resurrection with the rebirth of nature. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the greenery was brightening into a livelier shade. For me, this was the best way to celebrate Easter.

The following Friday we began classes for the new school year. I teach the same grade levels this year, which is great, but my class schedule has all changed. On Mondays I teach 2 classes, Tuesdays I don't teach any classes at all, but still have to be at school, then Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays I teach five classes each day. The J3 (9th grade) students I had last year are now S1 (10th grade) students so I get to teach them two years in a row! I am so excited about that because these students last year were our core group to come to Green House. I am hoping that another year with them will strengthen our relationship and that hopefully I can continue to plant seeds. Along with them, I am also teaching an English composition class. Once again, I taught these students last year as S1 students, so I am hoping that the same relationship will continue with them. This class is great because there are only 15 girls, so I can really invest a lot of my time in their writing to help them develop their skills. We are working on a journaling project, and through their journals, I plan to actually write back to them to cultivate a sense of trust to develop relationships even further.

Now for the biggest change -- my new J1 students. These are the students who are fresh out of elementary school, completely new to Ferris. They are so cute! Right now they walk around all wide-eyed and fresh-faced, excited to have passed the entrance exam into Ferris, and yet completely intimidated by the next six years they will spend here. They look like little elementary school girls wearing Ferris' uniform. :o) Their first week of classes is designed as an orientation, with the other teachers basically holding their hand as they learn their new schedule and the way Ferris operates. Because they are eased into the school year, it wasn't until the third week in April that I actually taught them for a full week. At the end of that week, though, I felt my body physically drained because I was doing more acting than teaching. These girls have had very little English experience, and since I have to hold my classes in ONLY English, I found myself acting and having to use a lot more energy in order to make myself understood. Otherwise, simply explaining in plain spoken language would leave the girls completely unsure of their task. Whew...talk about an exhausting style of teaching!

Despite this fact, though, I am thoroughly enjoying this group of students. They are such eager learners! No joke, but they honestly sit with their hands folded nicely on their desks, use great posture, and lean slightly forward as they listen eagerly to anything I say. That is something you don't see in the States. Since they are just out of elementary school, I can teach them fun 'kiddie' songs. I taught one of my classes "Jesus Loves Me" along with the sign language, and we sang it for their parents one day when they were allowed to come and observe their daughter's classes for the afternoon. We even translated the song orally for their parents, so there is no way they didn't get the message. Little by little, we're planting seeds. I am so excited for this class because I get the experience of a fresh start with a brand new group of students.

So, with this spring season, comes the new, warmer climate which is such a relief after the unusually cold winter we had in Yokohama without central heat, the new experience of starting all over with Ferris' newest students, the new school year that I am so excited about, and the celebration of new life, both with the blooming of nature and the reminder of Christ's presence among us.