At the start of the second quarter, ELL students and Academy Japanese classes met with four Japanese exchange students from Ehime, Japan. Students spent an hour with the four, each of whom did an oral presentation which covered school life, Japanese folk instruments, kindergarten events and Imabari, a city located in Ehime prefecture.

Japanese and ELL teacher, Masahiro Yamaguchi, explained how this event came about.

“Near the end of the last school year, I was contacted by the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) about hosting students. At the beginning of this school year, it was decided that the four Japanese girls would be provided homestays by our students and would come to school to give  individual presentations,” he said.

Sophomore Elaine Namoca said her interaction with the Japanese students helped her to learn more about the culture as a whole.

“Thanks to the Japanese students’ presentations, I was able to learn more facts about Japan that I never knew before. From seeing various musical instrumentals to learning about the daily life of a student,  it made my fascination for the Japanese culture grow. I had a lot of fun!” she said.