Field Trip

We did not have any classes today. Instead, we had a field trip to Amity Hall in downtown Nishinomiya. Amity Hall is located next to City Hall. It is a civic opera house. When I arrived at the school this morning, most of the students had assembled on the athletic field and were singing with their homerooms. In the last minute preparation, students had gathered in their groups. Some groups were just the boys, working on their parts. Some were the girls, doing the same. Most of the students were rehearsing with their entire class.

I picked up some things from my desk and came back out to the field. It was a little chilly, but we had a clear sky and the promise of a sunny day. Shortly after the 8:20 bell each of the three grade levels assembled with their teachers for the last minute instructions.

I stuck close to Katsumoto’s class. They are the kids I am most familiar with. I eat lunch with them ever day. The first grade students (7th) took off first. They walked two by two with the boys leading the way. Each class had a teacher in the front of the group and another bringing up the rear. Katsumoto and I brought up the rear of his class.

The walk from Kawaragi to Amity Hall is about three miles. It took us nearly 60 minutes to cover the distance. We had 700 students stretched out with about 10 minutes from the first to the last group. The kids were very well behaved as we wound through town to the city center. We arrived just as the doors to the hall were opened.

The students sat in their homeroom classes. Boys sat on the left and girls on the right side of the auditorium. Parents sat in the balcony. Christina arrived just before 10:00 am and was able to sit down with me. As she arrived, she walked down the aisle with me. Several girls asked me if she was my wife as we passed. They were excited to see her. In fact they mobbed her as she walked down the stairs with me. She got the star treatment.

At the last moment Katsumoto told me he had forgotten the school’s camera and asked me to tape the entire production. I had brought my camera, but had only planned taping parts of the program. The format of the program was very simple: each grade level sang one song as a class from their seats on the auditorium floor, then each homeroom would sing two songs from the stage. The first song they would sing was the same as each other class and the second song was a song that the class had chosen on their own. Each class had their own accompanist and student director.

We could really tell the difference between the maturity of the first grade through the third grade voices. The first graders worked hard, but they are still very young. The second graders had a couple of great numbers, most of all I liked the way their accompanist played a couple of their songs. They really have some remarkable piano players. The third graders chose some very difficult choir pieces. The girls outperformed the boys, but the boys worked hard. Every student in the school performed.

At the end of the performances, the schools band played three or four songs. Their best piece of work was at the very end. I missed it, by then I had run out of tape. Several of the kids confessed to me how nervous they were to perform with the band or with the choirs. They put a lot of work into the entire production.

The last part of the program was the awarding of the prizes. Three classes from each of the grade levels were awarded prizes. With each announcement there were kids who would jump up and scream, glad that they had won.

At the end of the day, we all walked back toward Kawaragi. When we were about one mile away, we stopped as a school and gave some final announcements and disbanded. The kids were back to their neighborhood and they could just return home from there.

Tonight, my feet are sore from walking the six miles or so and riding my bike another six. Tomorrow, I have to teach three classes at Kawaragi and then I will teach the alternative education class at Sogo Center. I have a little bike ride after lunch to get to Sogo. On Friday, we have an English teachers seminar at another junior high school. I will teach three and a half classes, eat a quick lunch and ride across town for the meeting. It will be another busy day. I like busy days. I prefer busy days with kids, but I like busy days.