Ottawa-Carleton Education Network

On April 15th, students from four local high schools. —A.Y. Jackson, Earl of March, Sir Robert Borden and West Carleton — and their families hosted 83 students from Yamate-Gakuin School in Yokohama, Japan. In order to prepare for the arrival of the Japanese students, OCDSB students and teachers prepared by taking a series of Japanese language lessons and learned about Japanese culture. The schools also prepared with outreach programs from the Japanese Embassy, as well as judo and sushi workshops, among other activities. The majority of the host families had never hosted an international student before, so in order to welcome their guests, host families attended information meetings and organized special outings for the visitors. While in Ottawa, the Japanese students attended classes in the host schools as well as visited Ottawa area landmarks and Montreal.

	Students were able to try on traditional Japanese dress at the cultural showcase event		(l-r) Geoff Best and Kathy Scheepers of OCENET, with John-Patrick Healey, Yamate- Gakuin teacher chaperone

One of the many highlights of the exchange was the Japanese Cultural Showcase held at Earl of March on April 21st where the Japanese students organized cultural games and activities such as origami, karuta, and koma in the cafeteria, followed by music and dance performances in the auditorium. When the Japanese students departed from the Ottawa Airport on April 29th, there were many long goodbyes. As part of the exchange program 40 OCDSB students and 5 chaperones will be travelling to Japan this summer to re-unite with their new friends.