HOMESTAY & EXCHANGE STUDENT INFORMATION

HOMESTAY

Takada is currently involved in a joint homestay with two high schools in Melbourne, Australia - Parade College and St. Monica's College. The programme started in 1994, and has resulted in a visit by each school every year since. The Australian students come up in late September for about 2 weeks. They participate in our Sports Day and Cultural Festival, in special Japanese Language, Calligraphy and gym classes, visit Osaka for a day and, if weather permits, enjoy a day hike with their hosts up Mt. Gozaisho in Mie.

Takada's students go to Melbourne in mid-March for about two weeks as well. They participate in English classes, historic trips, sailing, kayaking, native wildlife trips and, of course, many traditional Aussie BBQs. The students also spend one night in Sydney where they can see the sights and put to use on their own the English and cultural habits they learned from their hosts.
Both groups consist of between 20 and 30 students, with 3 teachers from Australia coming up and 5 Takada teachers going down. During the homestay, all the students and teachers are abuzz with excitement. Every person has a different experience to share each day, with many pictures and stories of places visited, foods eaten (and not eaten!) and customs learned. The ties between the schools are so close that a teacher from Parade College, Mr. Chris Callinan, was asked to be a guest teacher at Takada from April to June 1997, while staying on a home stay, so that both sides could learn more about the other country's educational techniques.

EXCHANGE STUDENTS

Over the past several years, Takada has hosted a handful of Exchange Students. Below are the details of each case. In all cases, the students attended some regular classes such as gym, music, and art, but concentrated on studying Japanese. They were taught by the English speaking staff as well as by teachers of Japanese using various methods such as textbooks, newspapers, Calligraphy etc. These students stayed with 4 families during the course of the year, for approximately 3 months with each host.

PENPALS

Takada has two official Penpal Programmes, with the unofficial one being between the Homestay guests and hosts. One programme is between the 3rd year JHS students and other students at the two schools in Australia; the second is an Internet programme with Ben-Gurion High School in Israel. This gives the students a chance to learn about a culture with an extremely long and varied history, and one which has been an integral part of world history. It allows them to broaden their horizons past America, which is what the media here tends to concentrate on.

We are always interested in establishing relationships with more schools, wether it be via homestays, exchange students or penpals. If you have questions about starting any of the above programmes, please contact the English Department at:
Takada Junior and Senior High School
c/o English Department
2843 Isshinden
Tsu-Shi, Mie-Ken
Japan 514
Tel: 81-592-32-2004
Fax: 81-592-31-3822
takadahs@po.inetmie.or.jp

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