卒業 おめでとう

[Happy Graduation]

At 10 AM, Saturday, March 15th, the 61st class of 3 年生 [nensei, or 9th graders] graduated from 荒木中学校[Araki Junior High School]. The ceremony was very Japanese, minus the outpouring of tears from the students (boys and girls alike) and some of the teachers. So much emotion!!!

Being highly efficient, the Japanese start their ceremony by handing out the diplomas. The students went onto the stage by homeroom, were called by name by their homeroom teacher, responded with a はい, or yes, and then walked up to the principal for their special piece of paper. After all the students recieved their diplomas, there were speeches, songs and presentation of gifts. The student body president passed the torch onto the class president of the 2年生. Many important old men and a few women came to graduation and were each asked to say a few words, mostly to honor their presence I presume. They all had to stand up, and said pretty much the same thing; "sotsugyou omedetto" or happy graduation. You may work hard to become an important person in Japan, but once you get there, it seems like a piece of cake to me.



While I helped the 2 年生 clean up the gym and stack the folding chairs, the 3 年生 returned to their homerooms to give their teachers presents and do some last minute bonding. All the parents stood in the hallway watching through the classroom windows.

When that was over, everyone gathered outside for many, many photos. One of the English teachers described the ordeal as "endless" and the no longer crying (thank goodness) graduates had to be shoo-ed off campus so the teachers could go eat lunch. The photo shoot was much happier than the actual ceremony and more closely resembled the graduations I am accustomed to.

3の2, probably my favorite class. Shhhhhh don't tell.

Happy students. We are all looking fabulous in our navy blue blazers. Graduation was pretty formal. The principal, one of the English teachers and several mothers were wearing special graduation kimonos. The VP was wearing a suit and jogging shoes as usual.



Some of the boys and the math teacher (right side of the picture.) Many of the girls wanted pictures with their favorite boys, who would sort of stand off to the side while all the girls would huddle together in the middle. For the picture below, one of the boys wanted his bicycle included, front and center, but the teachers and some parents objected, so it was put off to the side instead. This is much more the kind of behavior I would expect from them, none of the crying stuff I witnessed inside.


At the teacher's party later that night, there was a lot of reminiscing. Many of the teachers were sad to see this class go, but apparently it hadn't always been that way. As 7th graders, this class was sort of a hassle, but it's a testament to the teachers at my junior high how well they turned out. I am too a bit sad to see them go, but I am excited for the 2 年生 to move up. I have taught them the most, and feel like I know them better than I knew any of this year's graduates. I didn't cry this time, but might next year.