By Trish Bowman
Four very fortunate students from Yeppoon State High School will have the opportunity to embrace the vastly different culture of Japan from 8-15 July after being selected to be part of a collaboration between the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education and Education Queensland International.
YSHS teacher Nigel Hutton said the students are preparing themselves to adjust to the contrast between the bustling megalopolis of fourteen million citizens who live and work in Tokyo, Japan with the hustle and bustle of a busy weekend in Yeppoon.
“Students will experience an ancient Asian culture rich with legends of Shoguns, samurai and Shinto temples and shrines,” he said.
“They will meet the Governor, see what school life is like and explore cultural sites unlike any other.”
These are just a few of the experiences the students from Yeppoon will have as winners of the Tokyo School Experience.
The program is a collaboration of the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education and Education Queensland International who will support eight Japanese language students from across Queensland to experience the bright lights of Tokyo on a sponsored tour of the Japanese capital.
After a whirlwind nomination period, year ten students Caelan Byrt, Melissa Lehmann, Taylor Jarvis and Keeley Marsden, have been chosen as successful candidates for the 2023 ‘Tokyo Experience School.’
The eager students are currently spending extra time with their language facility staff as a cultural orientation before their trip of a lifetime.
The program provides airfares, accommodation and covers costs associated with the eight-day experiential tour of Tokyo.
Yeppoon State High School Principal James O’Neill said YSHS takes great pride in its highly successful Japanese Excellence program.
“Started more than forty years ago, we seek to equip our students with intercultural skills required in today’s competitive, globalised world, such as tolerance, empathy, intuition and a curiosity for different cultures and customs,” Mr O’Neill said.
“We know that bilingualism is one of the 21st century’s most employable skills and can open a wide variety of career options, and therefore commit to it as a school.
“Opportunities such as this one, come about because of both the reputation of our program (and it’s staff) but also the reputation built up over many generations by our students who have represented our school, our community and our state with pride.”