Last week we welcomed 19 students and 2 teachers from our Japanese sister school Ibaraki Nishi High School. They left a balmy 35 degrees in Osaka to come to our chilly Kyneton winter, but there were warm smiles all round when host families met their exchange students for the first time.

Over the week, the Japanese students joined various classes with their hosts, participated in an EAL lesson and attended our academic awards assembly. They also learned a lot about Australian school life by doing seemingly normal things such as catching the bus and visiting our school canteen. The first week culminated with an excursion to the city with the Years 9 - 12 Sacred Heart Japanese classes. We visited the Melbourne Museum and Queen Victoria Markets, with activities designed to get the students speaking to each other in both Japanese and English. It was wonderful to hear all the chatter and laughter.

On Monday, the Japanese students visited Our Lady of the Rosary along with two teachers and three Year 12 students from SHC. They taught the Grade 5/6 classes how to fold origami cranes and how to play Japanese games such as kendama and jyan ken. They also taught the Grade 1 classes how to do a special Ibaraki version of the Obon dance.

Wednesday saw the official signing of our ongoing sister school agreement with Ibaraki Nishi High School. We had an online meeting and ceremony between our two principals, and formalised our relationship to ensure future exchange opportunities.

A huge thank you to our generous host families who have opened their homes to our Japanese guests, and to the broader SHC community who have made them feel very welcome.