April 9, 2015
Club Introductions
Today is the third day of the new school year. The first day is for returning students to give a final clean up of their old homerooms, to get awards from the previous year, and to do some other follow up work and then to move to their new homerooms. The second day is the day we hold our Nyugakushiki (入学式), which is the entrance ceremony for new students. The third day is to welcome our new students on a more personal level. There is a short ceremony in the morning in the school yard where students are lined up with their homerooms. Welcoming messages are given and new teachers are introduced as well. Everyone bows and greets the new members of the “Seiritsu Family.”
Then, in the afternoon, we hold what is called the Club Shokai.
All of the clubs have short 3-minute demonstrations arranged so that new students can get an idea of what each club is like. With 40 clubs to visit, that is 2 hours of watching various club presentations. And that doesn’t include the time moving between club areas. So, the introductions take up the whole afternoon.
The students can try any number of clubs during the month of April. It is a very important decision for many as it will have a large impact on their time in high school and, in some cases, can influence their university years as well.