Activity report 2015

～11 students of the 3rd year of Junior High School joined an experiential activity in a reed bed they had visited for fieldwork previously ～

11 students (5 boys & 6 girls) of the 3rd year of Junior High School joined “The 3rd activities: Let’s cut reed to regenerate the mouth of the river damaged by Tsunami” which is one of the activities of “Iwate/Miyagi prefecture; The everybody’s regeneration project of Kitakami River basin” & “Let’s make a new Kitakami River” hosted by TOYOTA marketing Japan coporation, co-hosted by Riasunomori, incorporated non-profit organization & cooperated by Kumagai Master Thatchers Co., Ltd.(Kumagai Sangyo) on 5 December, 2015.

They joined it with the thoughts, “What progress has there been with the reeds we planted when we visited for fieldwork in July?”, “Did the reeds take root & grow well?” They confirmed it from inside the bus.

After experiencing “Cutting reeds” & “Making KADOMATSU (New year’s pine decoration) with reeds”, they listened to a lecture about “Meaning of the activities to regenerate reed beds” & realized the major role that reeds play & the importance of an environment preservation. After the activity, they were given the opportunity to give a presentation to make use of their experience for the following year.
We will have them report it at the meeting next January. 

～Had contact with nature under the brisk autumn weather～

The 1st year students of Junior High School went to Izumigatake area as “Inspection of SR”. They observed “Our trees” which they set up in each group at the time of inspection in spring and gathered “Quartz” and “Fossils” at Yakegawara.

They departed Sendai Station by bus and as soon as they arrived at Izumigatake they went to see “Our trees”. We thought that it may be hard to find “Our trees” as the looks had changed from spring, but they undertook the many tasks smoothly such as the measuring of the height and diameter of the trees, and the observation of the ground and the shape of the leaves etc. They felt the change of their trees in the round of the seasons.

After taking an early lunch, they moved to Yakegawara from Izumigatake and began to gather quartz. They dug the lightning stone from the ground with hammers and chisels, one student gathered quarts with a 7mm length. After that, students moved to upper stream, “Ryu no Kousou” which was the marine bed. They were surprised at the fossil which appeared not only the top layer but also at the bottom of the river. They dug up the fossils with their whole heart without regard to being wet. Students found the fossils of shellfish such as “Takahashi Hotate Scallops” and “Sendai Nunome Hamaguri Clams” with their smile shining.

Thanks to the cooperation of highly?professional teachers who belong to Senior High School, students could also spend the fruitful and the fulfilling time in the inspection in autumn. It is a big strength for a coeducational and unified junior and senior education school to develop an attractive learning program.

　　
Ryu no Kousou, marine bed　　　　　Observation of “Our trees”　　　　　Gathering quartz

　　
Gathering fossils　　　　　　　　　　Gathering “Takahashi Hotate 　　　Cleaning of the gathered 
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  　　Scallops”　　　　　　　　　　　　fossils (in the class on a later day)

～They deepened the understanding about world countries’ situations through a food situation～

The 1st year students conducted “A dining table of the earth” which was the 3rd unit of “Learn about the world” in workshop style. Thanks to 10 lecturers includes staff of IVY, incorporated non-profit organization in Yamagata Prefecture and foreign students as same as the former “If the world were a village of 100 people”, the class was held smoothly with increasing students’ willingness and interests to learn.

Students made groups in each class and devoured the delivered pictures and discussed “Which country is it?”, “What kinds of features do foods have?”, “How is the family configuration?” “How much is the weekly food expense?”etc.

After a presentation from each group, the representative of students stated one’s impression. It included “Obvious things for Japanese are not necessary the obvious things for other countries.”, “I was surprised that the amount of food we ate was totally different in each countries.” We were able to think deeply about “What is true wealth?”, “What is the situation of Japan?”, “What is the international contribution which we Japanese can help?” etc.

This unit will link to “Trade Game”, the 4th unit of “Learning about the World”,“English Camp (3 days and 2 nights)” of the 2nd year, and “Study tour to Hong Kong and Macao” of the 3rd year systematically and developmentally.

Empowerment Program was held for 5 days from the 10th August to the 14th August at our school. 15 students of the 3rd Junior High School, 17 students of the 1st year and 1 student of the 2nd year Senior High School, as well as 2 students of the 1st year of Sendai Shirayuri Gakuen High School, total 35 students joined it.

This program was held as a part of “Language Activities” which was one of the 3 approaches of Sendai Nika SGH, the purpose was to learn a global mindset and communication abilities in English.

We invited Mr. Guy Smith from New Zealand as a facilitator and 8 students of California University as tutors. Each tutor took care of several students and they made discussions facilitated by Mr. Guy who has many experiences.

Students introduced about themselves and their partners in the beginning, and they talked about their goals of this program in each group. They thought about leadership based on a speech from Ms. Malala, Nobel Prize winner on the third day. They also talked about an ideal society for elderly people and they made a drama in their group. It was a good rehearsal for their presentation on the last day. They presented what they learned from the program in front of everyone. Thanks to tutors’ preliminary check and appropriate advices, they were wonderful presentations.

They experienced not only fun things but also difficult things, but we thought they could achieve a feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment in the 5 days. They had grown up greatly.

　　
Self-introduction　　　　　　　　　　Discussions　　　　　　　　　　　A picture of all

～Used 1st year learning to deepen a recognition of the current world situation ～

The 2nd year students conducted “Trade game” by inviting lecturers to an integrated study class. “Trade Game” was intended to “show the mechanism of world trade and economy and to realize the problems and tasks (income gap between North and South, economic assistance, industrial waste and environmental destruction etc) that need to be solved”. Students were divided into groups of 5 in each class. The rules were only “No violence and no stealing”. Each group was delivered one bag. They went to sell the specified goods which they made from the contents in the bag at the market. Each group’s contents in the bag were different.

From the beginning, each group negotiated and dealt actively, words for dealing filled the classroom instantly. Some made the specified goods silently, some negotiated, and some spied on other groups. They shared their roles automatically, some groups acted just like a real nation.

Lecturers commented at the end of the class, “What is going on in this game is exactly what happens in the real world. It is important to use your imagination when you act toward it.”
Some students said after the class, “We want to continue this game more.”

How will Sendai Nika Junior High School students act in the real world? We are looking forward to their future growth.