卒業式

Today was graduation or sotsugyoushiki. My ninth graders are moving up to the big and scary world of high school. In the next couple of weeks they'll be taking high school entrance exams and choosing which high school they want to attend. And to celebrate that next step in life we had a two hour ceremony in a freezing cold gym with a few songs, several very boring speeches, and not one person who did a back flip when they received their certificate (unlike at an American graduation ceremony forever fixed in my memory.)





I thought I might cry since when I started this job these kids had just started junior high but the shivering cold of the gym and the intense boredom that comes with listening to speeches in a language you don't understand overrode any extreme emotions. The picture taking session in the courtyard after and the amazing bento lunch the teachers ate together later when the students had left made up for the uncomfortable morning. (Seriously amazing food and so much of it I won't need to eat dinner tonight!)

Good luck to my kiddies! Ganbatte kudasai!




Momo-sensei in her hakama - a special kimono worn at graduation. (But only by the 9th grade female teachers.)