長く交流のあるセント・ピーターズ校に、2019年度の訪問から4年ぶりに、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28日(金)～8月11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。
この4月には、セント・ピーターズ校のみなさんが先生方と共に来校され、楽しい交流の時を持ちました。
4月の来校の様子はこちら→St. Peters’ Shoin visit
Friday 28 July (Day1) ・Saturday 29 July (Day2)・Sunday 30 (Day3)
Our families and teachers came to see us off. We prayed for a safe trip.We left Kansai International Airport！
Here we are waiting to board our next flight from Kuala Lumpur airport.
We have arrived in New Zealand! Here is a picture inside Auckland Airport.
Here is a picture in the bus from Auckland Airport. We are on our way to St. Peters!
It takes about 2 and a half hours to get to St. Peters so we stopped off for a bathroom and food break. In this picture, we took a picture with the beautiful New Zealand sky and landscape.
We were early so we stopped off at a lake to relax and stretch our legs. Students had fun taking pictures and playing with the ducks.
We have arrived at St. Peters and the students are now meeting their homestays. I look forward to hearing from students on Monday about their weekend with their families. Japan is known for its hospitality but New Zealanders are also amazingly friendly and eager to make our girls feel welcome.
We are very grateful to the St. Peters’ staff and our local agency for all their preparation for our trip.
Monday July 31（Day4）
Today, Monday July 31 was our first day of school. We started the day with the Maori welcome ceremony called the powhiri. St. Peters’ students and staff sang and made speeches to welcome us. Mr. Hartless made a speech followed by a song from Shoin students. Then we enjoyed morning tea together.
After that, we had a tour from the school guided by Mr. Welsh. He took his students to Japan and Shoin. Our H3 student also helped out.
After our tour we had a visit to the St. Peters’ farm.
After the farm visit, we had lunch and students had classes with their St. Peters’ buddies. That was our first day.
Tuesday 1 August（Day5）
For our second day, student had 4 classes with buddies. We also went to St. Peters’ Golf Academy where students tried to hit some gold balls.
Wednesday 2 August （Day6）
For day 3, we did not have classes but went sightseeing. Frist we went to the Agrodome to enjoy the sheep show and a little souvenir shopping.
We then visited Te Puia. Here we learned about Maori culture. We joined a welcome ceremony to enter a Maori wharenui. After that, we had a guided tour of the area which has geysers. Unfortunately, the geyser was not active when we visited and it was raining.
Next, we went to a nearby lake to eat a late lunch. We were all very hungry. We got lucky because it stopped raining and were able to get a nice group picture with the beautiful blue New Zealand sky.
Thursday 3 August （Day7）
Our adventure continues on Thursday, August 3rd. We started the day with some buddy classes. Then we moved over to the Avantidrome, the New Zealand Olympic training facility which is next to St. Peters’. The students enjoyed a lesson on racing bikes. There were some falls, but in the end they did well.
After lunch, students gave their presentations to St. Peters’ students. Our students prepared these before we left on our trip. They did a good job.
Friday 4 August （Day8）
This is Friday, August 4th. We started the day by visiting an elementary school in the country side. It was a first experience for our group to do so. Shoin teachers did a few activities and out students taught Origami, We also got a brief tour through the neighboring woods.
To finish the day, there were more buddy classes.
Monday 7 August （Day11）
After a weekend with their homestay families, we were back at school on Monday August 7th . Today was the horse riding experience. Some students were shy, but in the end everyone rode and did a fantastic job.
After that we went back to school and students enjoyed lunch and then buddy classes.
Tuesday 8 August （Day12）
Today, August 8th , was our last excursion day. We started by going to the Kiwi House where we saw … kiwis of course. This place is not just kiwis, but a a wide range of New Zeleand birds and wildlife. Normally, we would have a guided tour but because of Covid-19, they do not do so at the moment, Students roamed around themselves.
Our next destination was Waitomo caves. Here we can see glowworms which are beautiful, in the dark. Students also sang on the chamber section of the cave. Other groups gave us a nice round of applause. Well done ladies! Pictures are not allowed in the caves. One picture shows us before we entered, and the other was when we exited. To experience Waitomo caves, you need to go yourself.
Wednesday 9 August （Day13）
Today, Wednesday August 9th, was our last day. Students brought their luggage and then joined the farewell morning tea. Everyone enjoyed talking with their buddies and even some homestay parents attended. After that we were off to Auckland for some shopping and dinner at the hotel.
It was overall a good trip. It was sad to see so many changes after Covid-19. Many stores we used to visit were closed and many activities had to be adjusted as well. Many thanks to all the St. Peters’ staff for making this trip possible. It is certainly an expereicne out students will never forget.
