April 2009

A New school year has started on April seventh. The opening ceremony was attended by various principals from other schools, PTA members, all the school staff, and the freshmen parents. I was placed at the gymnasium's entrance to guide students and parents to their seats, making sure the entrance didn't get clogged up. It was nice to see new uniforms being worn for the first time with fresh creases along the sleeves and back, buttons all shiny.

As every year, every freshman's name is called, they'll stand up and and reply, and sit down again one by one. Then there are seemingly endless speeches from principals, vice principals, and other "important" people. A freshman's representative delivers a statement of commitment to the school and its curriculum. Japanese people love these kind of things where everything is done by tradition and in a strict time frame. Really nothing fun about it, but most parents might feel relieved that their children are in disciplined hands.

After the entrance ceremony the first year students go to their first homeroom class with their homeroom mentor. Due to a revised time schedule the homeroom class was shrunken down to a bare 35 minutes. There was too much information to be given in such a short time so much was printed out on paper. Parents filled the back of the classrooms and the corridor watching their sons and daughters first day at high school.