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Japan Study Tour
Each year, Ironside students have the opportunity to participate in the Japan Study Tour program. This exciting event provides students, staff and members of the community to forge links with our neighbours in Japan.
Students from Ironside and schools in Japan alternate exchange visits on a yearly basis. The Ironside Study Tour takes place every two years and usually departs in the September holidays.
In 2008, students from Sumiyoshi Elementary, Nohara Elementary and Tomioka Higashi Elementary visited Australia. In 2009, students, staff and parents will visit Japan.
A HISTORY OF THE JAPAN STUDY TOUR AT
IRONSIDE STATE SCHOOL
In July 1978 a Japanese Language and Culture Program was introduced as an enrichment activity at Ironside State School. It was introduced, taught and developed by teachers, Peter Aspinall, Janet Matthew and Arthur McBride.
There was support for this pilot program from the University of Queensland’s Japanese Department and the Kobe Japan-Australia society. The University offered to provide a tutor to assist with the teaching of Japanese language and resources were purchased with a grant from the Schools Commission.
The program was innovative and the teachers showed tremendous enthusiasm and commitment- attending night classes at the University to develop their language skills. It was decided that Mr Aspinall’s Year 5 class be the pilot class and they would be taught by all three teachers over the three years of the pilot program. The Japanese lessons were structured around group learning situations.
Apart from the formal areas of the pilot program, which held the larger focus in the early days, a genuine exchange of experiences with the Japanese people had slowly grown.
The possibility of taking groups of students to Japan at first seemed rather remote, but in 1981, Mr Aspinall and Janet Matthew took 25 students from the pilot program to Kobe as guests of the Kobe Japan-Australia Society. This visit was arranged by Mrs Furusawa.
The group stayed for two weeks and billeted with families of the primary school attached to the Kobe University. Three schools were visited – Tomioka Higashi in Sakai, Nojiri school in Haga and Sumiyoshi in Kobe. The group visited the historical sites of Kyoto and Nara, Himeji and Osaka castles and rode the bullet train.
A contingent of newspaper reporters followed the group throughout the tour.
One morning the group spotted a bride driving by the school in Haga in her wedding finery. She had her photo taken with the children- much to everyone’s excitement. The family that ran the bridal shop in Haga were so proud that they sent another bridal grown to our school. This is now displayed in a glass case in A Block.
The next year, students, teachers and parents from Tomioka Higashi paid a reciprocal visit to Ironside. And so, the Study Tour began and has continued to this day with a focus on development of cultural understanding and appreciation between the school communities of the two countries.
Japanese Schools
While in Japan, the students visit three schools; one in Kobe, one in Haga and one in Sakai. You can visit their webpages here. These sites are all completely in Japanese.
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