Nigawa Gakuin is proud to announce the arrival of the first international student from our sister school Saint Mary’s Catholic High School in Phoenix, U.S.A.

Alex’s interest in Japan was a major factor in his family’s decision to host one of our students who recently spent 10 months in Phoenix, an experience that had made him even more enthusiastic about visiting Japan. In taking advantage of the long summer break, Alex will be here for approximately 2 months during which time we are excited to help him learn more about Japan, the people and teach him some Japanese language! We are also looking forward to learning more about our sister school in the U.S.A. from him.

Alex, Nihon e yokoso!!

「日本へようこそ、アレックス君！」

本校の姉妹提携校であるセント・メアリーズ・カトリック高校（アメリカ・アリゾナ州）から初めて留学生を迎えました！

アメリカの高校ではすでにもう夏休み。その夏休み期間を利用して約２ヶ月間日本に滞在し、日本や日本の人々について学び、全く初めて触れる日本語にも挑戦します。仁川学院生一同、アレックス君から私たちの姉妹提携校であるセント・メアリーズ・カトリック高校について知ることをとても楽しみにしています。

Welcome to Japan, Alex!

Nigawa Gakuin was recently lucky enough to have our first ever visit from a school in Taiwan!

25 students from Li Jen Senior High School, also a catholic school, spent a fun-filled day with us that included some special lessons, a musical performance, a tour of our facilities and, of course, some student exchanges. With English as our shared language of communication, we learned that the distance between our countries was much smaller than the map may suggest, and their wonderful school introduction (presentation) gave us an insight into school life in Taiwan that has increased interest towards our Asian neighbors.

Such exchanges are a valuable opportunities to not only learn about other cultures, but enable us to be aware of the things we have in common. Thank you Li Jen!

台湾からの学校訪問を受け入れたのは今回が初めてとなります！

同じカトリック校である同高級中学より２５名の生徒が来日し、彼らの旅程中の一日を本校で過ごしました。本校では、特別授業体験や、吹奏楽部による歓迎演奏鑑賞（そして立仁高級中学の生徒さんも歌を披露してくれました！）、学校内施設見学、そして本校生徒との交流活動を行いました。交流活動では英語を共通言語として使い、その交流を通して私たちは台湾と日本の距離がぐっと縮まったことを実感しました。立仁高級中学の生徒も彼らの学校紹介のプレゼンテーションをしてくれたので、台湾での学校生活の様子も知ることができ、同じアジアの隣国として更に台湾への興味が増してきました。

相手の文化を学ぶだけでなく、お互いの共通点も発見できた素晴らしい一日でした。立仁高級中学の皆さん、ありがうございました！

The soccer team at Padua College, our sister sister school in Australia, is currently on a soccer tour of Japan. During the 12-day tour, 18 boys and 4 teachers are touring the country to play several friendly matches and to learn about the culture through exchanges and sightseeing. During their visit to Nigawa Gakuin, they played a full match against our high school team, enjoyed a post-match cultural exchange with our students, took a tour of the school which involved a kendo demonstration by our vice principal Mr. Koyama, and had their first Japanese school lunch in the restaurant.

This tour is the first opportunity for most of the students to visit Japan, an experience that is sure to be a memorable one in many ways. Moreover, our students showed a keen interest in not only the match, but also communicating (in English) with their new friends from Australia. Our sister school relationships are sure to offer students at Nigawa Gakuin many more such opportunities to learn about other cultures and deepen their understanding of the world.

Thank you Padua. See you again!!

「姉妹提携校 Padua Collegeとサッカー国際親善試合をしました！」

本校の姉妹提携校であるオーストラリアの男子校 Padua College から１８名の生徒と４名の教員が昨日本校を訪問してくれました！　現在彼らは１２日間の日程で日本国内を旅行しながら各地で親善試合を行い、交流行事や観光を通して日本の文化を学んでいます。

昨日の訪問では、本校サッカー部の高校生チームと試合を行った後、交流会が開かれ、校内見学ツアーも行われました。ツアーの中では、本校副校長の古山先生による剣道の実演があったり、本校レストランでの学食体験もあったりと、初めての経験を楽しんでくれていたようです。

１８名の生徒のほとんどが、日本を今回初めて訪れたということもあり、この仁川学院での体験もきっと忘れられないものになってくれたことでしょう。さらに、本校の生徒たちもサッカーの試合だけでなく、オーストラリアからの新しい仲間たちとの英語でのコミュニケーションにも強い関心と意欲を示してくれました。

私たちとの姉妹提携校との関係は、仁川学院の生徒たちにとって異文化や世界に対する理解を深める機会となっていることが改めて実感できた一日でした。

Padua College の皆さん、ありがとうございました。

またお会いしましょう！！

This January, we welcomed another international student into the Nigawa family. Anna (17) is the first exchange student to join us from our sister school in Australia, St. Mary’s College Ipswich. She is a keen Japanese language student and loves anime. Despite having been with us just a short time, she already has plans to join several clubs including the cooking club, tea ceremony club, art club and ESS. All of us here are excited to have Anna in our school and we hope she has a wonderful experience in Japan.

「ようこそ、アンナ！」

この１月、私たち仁川ファミリーにオーストラリアからの新しい仲間が加わりました。本校の姉妹提携校であるSt. Mary’s College Ipswichから交換留学生として来たアンナさん（１７歳）。交換留学制度の１期生である彼女は、非常に熱心に日本語を勉強しており、日本のアニメが大好き。本校での生活をスタートしてまだ間もないですが、早くもクッキング部、茶道部、そしてＥＳＳなどを見学し、複数の部活動に参加しようと意欲的です。私たち一同、アンナが仲間に加わったことを心からうれしく思っています。そして、日本での滞在がすばらしいものになりますように願っています。

Yesterday we said goodbye to James, an exchange student from Padua College who had been at Nigawa for the last month. In the short time that he was with us, James left a big impression on Nigawa, he made many friends and learned about school life in Japan.

Good luck back in Australia, James!

This month, the Nigawa community said farewell to Lachlan Woodland, our first ever long-term exchange student from Padua College in Brisbane, Australia.

Lachlan came to us in April with a keen interest in learning about the culture of Japan and to improve his Japanese language ability. While he was successful in both of those goals, he also managed to make many friendships that no doubt will be long lasting. We are going to miss his humor and enthusiasm for life in general, but we look forward to seeing him once again when he returns to Japan.

Arigato, Lachlan!

On October 29 we received a group of students and teachers from Institution Marmoutier. This was the second time that Marmoutier students and teachers have come to Nigawa for a short-term exchange.

Throughout the day, our visitors took part in activities with Nigawa Gakuin junior high and high school students. In addition to numerous activities that included joint classes, kendo and caligraphy, the French students were hosted for 5 nights by Nigawa students, giving them a unique chance to experience Japanese home life. Moreover, the host students had an opportunity to make new friends and communicate with students from abroad in a more relaxed setting outside the school. These friendships have, in the past, been ongoing, with students staying in contact even after the program has completed.

Thank you Marmoutier for yet another exciting day. All of us here at Nigawa Gakuin look forward to your next visit in 2014.

Last week, we were fortunate to have a short exchange program with a group of high school students from Queensland, Australia. Students from Beaudesert State High School and Flagstone State Community College visited Japan for a 2-week study trip, the highlight of which was a homestay and exchange with students at Nigawa Gakuin.

The program was a huge success for students on both sides and we wish to give special thanks to all of the Nigawa families that hosted the Australian students.