A day at a School

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Coming to School

The children come to school by　　：　　.Children either walk to school alone, or with children from their neighborhood. Please send them to school early enough so they will not be late.
   

Morning Assembly

There will be times when all of the children in the school gather and listen to the Principal give a speech. We also talk about goals in our everyday lives and tell the children important information.

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Class Routine

Before class starts the children have a “Morning Meeting” and after class they have an “End of the Day Meeting”. At the meetings we talk about the activities planned for that day, and tell the children important information. The children also have an opportunity to reflect on their day, and will listen to information about the following day.

Class Jobs

Children are assigned various roles in class and are responsible for a specific job. Some examples of these roles are helping prepare for class and watering plants. There are different jobs for each classroom.
   
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Class

Classes are 45 minutes long with around 5 to 20 minute breaks between classes. Once a child attends school they are not allowed to leave without permission from the homeroom teacher. The classes are conducted entirely in Japanese. If your child does not understand Japanese, a special attendant volunteer will be available to help with Japanese and with his/her classes. Please consult with your child’s teacher for further details.

International Classes

In several elementary schools in Sendai City there are special “International Classrooms” which offer Japanese language classes that are for Japanese students that have come back to Japan after living abroad and for foreign children who have come to live in Japan. Supplementary classes are also offered for all other classes as well. The day of the week and time of the classes are decided after consulting with the homeroom teacher about what would work best for the child. Generally, this class will be held between 1 and 5 times a week, but it also depends on your child's grade. Please contact the Sendai Board of Education for information concerning schools that have international classes.

   
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School Lunch.

02illustAt lunch the children will eat“school lunch" in a classroom or in a lunch room, and everyone eats the same food. Every day children bring their own spoons, chopsticks and otefuki (a small towel used to wipe their hands). After the children use these items they take them home daily and wash them. Payment for school lunch is made by automatic withdrawal from your bank account. In a year, there are several times where there will be no school lunch provided. On these days please send your child with a bento (Japanese-style lunch in a box). We will inform you ahead of time when there will be no lunch at school. We will also distribute a menu containing information about meals. If your child has food allergies, or due to religious reasons your child is unable to eat certain foods, please inform the homeroom teacher of these conditions. At Japanese schools, children take turns serving lunch in one week shifts; this is called touban. After their one week shift is over, the children will take back their hakui (a white coat they wear when serving lunch) to be washed. Please bring the hakui back to school the following day. After lunch is over, the children have a 20-minute break. However, they are not allowed to go home, and must remain inside the school.

   
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Cleaning

The children will clean the classroom under the direction of their teacher. Cleaning is seen as a traditional component of Japanese education; through cleaning the children learn many important lessons.

 

Days Off

School is not held on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays. There are also other instances where the day will be shortened, like teacher training days. The school will tell you of these days in their monthly newsletter. In some cases school will be cancelled, for example when there are school events, or in the case of bad weather. Sometimes, there will be school events on the weekend and a day off will be provided at some future date.

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After School

After cleaning, the children go back home. There are some children who play with their friends on the playground until it is time to go home. The time when school ends between April and October is　　：　　.The time when school ends between November and March is　　：　　.

   

 

  
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