今年度もセント・ピーターズ校に、希望者から選抜された20名の生徒が本校教員の引率のもと、7月26日(金)～8月9日(金)までの夏季研修に出発しました。セント・ピーターズ校は、ニュージーランド北島のケンブリッジ市にある、本校同様のイギリス聖公会系の名門校です。 男女併せて1200人程度の生徒が広大な敷地で学んでいる学校です。
現地から報告です！
report ①
Here is the start to our journey. As always, we started with a prayer service.
We have arrived in New Zealand! Here is a picture inside Auckland Airport. We can already see the influence of Maori culture.
We took a bus from the airport to the school. In this picture, we took a picture with the beautiful New Zealand sky and landscape.
We have arrived at St. Peters and the students are now meeting their homestays. It is always nice to see the start of the homestays and to see friendly connections beginning. These bonds will only become stronger in the coming days.
In this picture, we are waiting to be called into the welcoming ceremony called Powhiri. This is a traditional ceremony in which we are welcomes onto the Maori land that St. Peter’s was built on. A St. Peter’s student was kind enough to explain the ceremony and what to do to our group. So many St. Peter’s students and staff help us on our trip.
report➁
Day 3 was our first outing. We went to Rotorua and saw the geysers since the area is geothermally active. We were very lucky to have nice weather for the visit this year. We enjoyed a Maori welcoming ceremony and a guided tour of the area.
After Rotorua, we went to a redwood forest where we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed a walk around the trees which are connected by rope bridges.
The last stop was the Agrodome where we enjoyed the sheep show. One student even got to go up on the stage and milk a cow.
Day 4 at St. Peter’s was racing bicycle challenge in the Velodrome. Students also gave their presentations which they were working on in Japan for the pre-tour study classes. They did very well and were asked some questions by St. Peter’s students. Also included a picture of a class which we joined for some fun and games.
Day 5 at St. Peter’s was out horseback riding lessons. Friday is a late start and early finish so it was a short day. On our way to the horse riding place, we wenmt by the font gate of St. Peter’s for a group picture. Student did a great job riding the horses and then brushing them after that. We also met a friendly dog while we were waiting for the horses to be prepared. We were blessed with nice weather but it was a little cold. In the afternoon, students were with their buddies. Now students will enjoy the weekend with their host families!
report➂
Day 6 After a nice weekend with their homestay families, it was great to reunite with our students. Today was our visit to Te Miro which is an elementary school in the countryside about a 40-minute bus ride from St. Peters. We enjoyed a tour of the grounds and interacting with the students. Our students played Japanese games and Te Miro students taught our students some string figures, 綾取り. The school has a tradition of new students and staff planting a tree when they arrive. They did so for us as well. We hope to visit again to see how it has grown.
After Te Miro, we came back to St. Peters and the students went to classes with their buddies.
Day 7 Today was our visit to the Kiwi House where we got a good look at two Kiwis in the dark room. After that we went to Waitomo caves to view the cave and the glowworms inside. Students sang Hymn 575 in the echo chamber which has great acoustics. We then enjoyed lunch at the caves which was provided by the homestays.
Day 8 Today was out last at St. Peters. We had a small farewell party with the buddies and staff. Students received a certificate for their time at the school. After that, we went to our Auckland hotel, had dinner, and packed our suitcases. We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel before taking our flight back to Tokyo.
Day 9 Here some students enjoyed some last minute shopping. We enjoyed a very Japanese style dinner at the hotel before resting up for the flight back to Itami airport.
