Graduation (and the other 2 ceremonies from that day)

(now that I have a computer and a lot of free time...here come the posts! Pardon any random typos... I tried to proofread and edit, but sometimes I miss things. I have a Japanese computer at school and the keys are in slightly different positions, and it keeps throwing me off. Also it keeps switching into Japanese on me for some reason!)

first, graduation! My third years graduated from junior high school on March 18th. It was a very interesting ceremony. I do not remember my middle school graduation at all, so it was probably not very big or important. However, the ones here are insane. Apparently they do similar ceremonies for elementary school and high school, so they are all taken seriously. I just remember a party after 6th grade and absolutely nothing from middle school.

Anyway, during school, the younger students did a small ceremony for their "sempai" (meaning their olders in school) and it was cute and involved skits and slideshows and songs. It was relaxed and enjoyable, which is good because the real graduation was very stiff. They practiced for it twice (especially receiving diplomas: right hand, left hand, bow to the Principal, take a step to the left, bow again, close your diploma carefully, tuck it under your left arm, turn to your right, bow again, return to your seat) and thus the actual ceremony went without a hitch.

I guess, the ceremony was what you would expect. Speakers from the Board of Education, the Principal and Vice Principal gave speeches, the graduating class had a rep give a speech, the non-graduating students had a rep give a speech, the PTA talked, etc etc etc, plus the graduating class sang a song, the other kids sang a song, and everyone sang the school song! (everyone but me, that is... I only know the first line) I was just shocked by the fact that such a serious ceremony happens　for middle school. I suppose, since the students are not required to go to high school (and a lot of them choose not to, or do not pass the entrance exams, which are hard) that it is nice to celebrate their graduation. Also, middle school here is 3 years, not just 2, so that extra year is, well, another year! In my case, during middle school, there was no real attachment. As a 7th grader, its the first year, everything is scary, you are getting used to it, and then as an 8th grader, that`s the end, next year is high school, so school events do not matter. There is no reason to become attached to middle school. Plus, those two years are the worst in a teenagers life, as far as ages go. It`s all awkward and puberty-ey, boys start to smell, girls start to really be interested in boys and vice versa, we receive real grades for the first time in some classes, and all those annoying things happen. (If you enjoyed middle school, props to you, I am just sharing my opinion)

Alright, so after graduation, we had another ceremony! this one was the announcement of which teachers got moved to another school and which did not. Lots of tears. More tears than the graduation caused. Some of these kids are seriously attached to the teachers and so were just balling when they found out which teachers were being moved. It was very strange. The had the transferring teachers line up and everyone went on stage and the Principal announced where they are going and how long they have been at sanchu, what they teach, etc. I am sad because my awesome kyoto sensei got moved to a school in Ueda. That means he is no longer my neighbor, either, so as of this weekend, there is a new person living next door, but I have yet to meet him/her.

The third ceremony (and last) of the day was the closing ceremony. After this, all the students were allowed to go home and the teachers stuck around. And now, I will rant about the fact that teachers here DO NOT GET SPRING BREAK! The students have about 2 weeks off and the teachers come to school anyway! I understand needing a couple of days to prep things (and in this case, we did move buildings so that took time and we are not set up in the new school at all yet) but generally speaking, it would just be sitting around with nothing to do. Ridiculous! I could take days off, using my paid vacation, but I guess I have a very American attitude and I think that we (the teachers) should just have built in days for break besides national holidays.

Hmm... this entry was perhaps not as interesting as I intended and had more of me ranting about middle school and lack of break. alas.

Next: teacher`s trip to the OCEAN! (including my onsen debut)

After that: notes about how much of a pain it is to move school buildings

After that: you will just have to check back and see!