Japanese High School Visit

On Wednesday 20th November we had a visit from 154 students and 12 teachers from Sakae Junior High school in Japan.

It was a brilliant day where they experienced some Australian culture, music, food and project based learning at our College.

Below two of our students share their experience from the day.

2019 Japanese Student Visit

Lucia Ribeiro - The Concert Performances

The performances that were held on the day of the Japanese students visiting Santa Sophia were a great way to showcase the different cultural practices from both Japan and Australia. Santa Sophia presented a variety of different performances in front of the Japanese students to show them what we learn. The performances included the string ensemble, the vocal group and the rock group. The string ensemble performed a classical music piece named “Pachelbel Canon” as well as performing a jazz blue piece to lighten the atmosphere. The vocal group and the rock group festively joined together to present a classic song named “Twist and Shout” which was amusing to watch. After the performance ended, Santa Sophia provided the Japanese students with a typical Australian lunch and dessert which was a sausage sizzle and lamingtons for dessert.

After this occurred, the Japanese students decided to perform in front of us showcasing their cultural perspective. They all sang their school song demonstrating their Japanese vocal skills. They also provided souvenirs from Japan towards us to keep as a treat.

Before the Japanese students left, Santa Sophia’s Principal Mark De Vries presented a speech thanking them for visiting us, and then the Principal of the students of the Japanese also presented a speech thanking us. On an overall basis, the day was a success showcasing the different cultural perspectives.

Jada Scoulou - Presentations/ Learning

Throughout the Japanese student’s visit, it was our role to educate them about Australia and its culture. In order to teach them, our teachers put together a mini project about designing a residential building to withstand Australian weather conditions. By doing this, students from Santa Sophia created presentations to teach the Japanese students about the environmental conditions and culture of Australia. A really fantastic way of bringing the message towards the Japanese students was to use translators, and this really brought everyone together. By the end of the day, Santa Sophia and Nikken Sekkei both learnt about both Australian and Japanese lifestyles.

We look forward to having more visits from Japanese students again in 2020 which provides a rich cultural experience for our students.