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| Cultural Day |
Read the stories (and see the photos) of 15 Students, along with two leaders, who went on the 2007 Student Exchange to Kurashiki. The students were introduced to: Bicycles on footpaths, Horizontal Traffic Lights, Sun in the South at mid-day, Narrow Streets, No grass on school playing fields, 100 yen Shops, Fast Trains, Crowded Stations, Japanese Toilets, Huge Fun Parks, Truck Stops, Fast Freeways, 500 steps to Temples, and many more new experiences.
"Going on this exchange has been one of the best experiences I’ve had to date. It is an awesome exchange and I would recommend it to anyone. When I’m older I want to live in Japan and when I came back I knew I wanted to live there." Jess Todd
"My most favorite part to the trip was the food I love Japanese food I always went for more. . . I tried everything I was given and I ate more than they expected. My host mother Yoko was a great cook." Daniel Larson
Read the student's reports on what they each found so fascinating and so enjoyable
Read the Leader's report with photos
14 students from 10 Christchurch schools have been selected for the 2007 Kurashiki Student Exchange, many of whom will host students from Kurashiki when they visit the city later this month. At the end of September the students will head to Kurashiki for around 2 weeks, where they will homestay, attend local high schools and experience the sites of and life in Kurashiki.
View further details and a photo of the students and the 2 group leaders.
Applications are sought from Year 10 students for the 2007 Christchurch Kurashiki Student Exchange programme.
Christchurch is seeking hosts for 14 Junior High School students (13-14 yrs old) from Kurashiki Japan, for a two-week exchange, staying in Christchurch homes in August. In October, we offer to send those host students, to Kurashiki for a return-two week exchange.
Applicants will need to be available for both. They will be chosen from any high school in Christchurch. They will need to have studied the Japanese language for at least one year & be able to raise their share of the funding for the outbound trip.
Applications close Monday 30 April 2007.
Read the promotional flyer and download the application form. For further information email Newton Dodge the tour leader or phone him on 354 5610. |
| Pizza fundraising evening |
On Friday September 29th, 13 Christchurch year ten students will leave for Japan on a two week exchange to Kurashiki Japan, one of Christchurch’s 6 Sister Cities.
The students selected come from 8 high schools in the Christchurch Area, and are taking Japanese as one of their subjects at school.
The leaders of the tour to Kurashiki selected 14 suitable students to travel to Kurashiki from the students nominated by their high schools.
The purpose of our students’ visit to Kurashiki is to:
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| Arriving in Kurashiki |
The students will travel to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial and Museum. This visit is important for our students as it gives them a first hand experience of Nuclear War and why New Zealand has such a strong anti-nuclear policy. The students have made 1,000 paper cranes, which they will take to Hiroshima to place on the Children’s memorial shrine at the Hiroshima Peace Park.
While in Kurashiki, the students will attend high school for 5 days, which will give them the experience of the Japanese high school system.
The students will be homestaying with Japanese families, which is a fantastic way of experiencing the culture of Japan. To eat at thei r table, to sleep in their bed, and to take a Japanese style bath is really stepping inside the Japanese culture. The students , on their return to New Zealand , are required to make a report back to Christchurch Kurashiki Sister City Committee, and it is often remarked that the homestay experience was a highlight of their visit to Japan.
See the students who are part of this exchange and read some of their stories.
| Amy Ziolo | Villa Maria |
| Anna McNeill | Villa Maria |
| Bradi Downes | Villa Maria |
| Cherilyn Clark | Cashmere |
| Hannah Reeves | Marian College |
| Jamie Cave | Cashmere |
| Kate Maher | Marian College |
| Lara Philips | Avonside G.H |
| Laura Claridge | Aranui High |
| Michelle Quinn | Villa Maria |
| Sophie Cunningham | Marian College |
| Edward Cary | Chch Boys' H. |
| Simon Hore | Catholic Cathedral |
| Kristie McCormack | Hillmorton High |
This year's annual Student Goodwill Exchange from Kurashiki visited Christchurch from Sunday, 23 July – Monday, 7 August 2006. There were 14 students averaging 14 & 15 years old, plus two leaders, who spent 16 days homehosted in Christchurch.
Read the report and see photos of this year's exchange visit...
Two Christchurch students Stephen Krammer (17 years) and Kerri Bonner (18 years), their 2 caregivers and 2 disability advisers Justin Muschamp from Sport Canterbury and Tricia Ventom, Kiwiable Co-ordinator, will travel to Kurashiki from 14-24 April and will be hosted by the Kurashiki Disabled Persons’ International Exchange Association.
The visit is kindly sponsored by Independent Fisheries, Christchurch, who also sponsored a reciprocol exchange when two young people from Kurashiki and their caregivers visited Christchurch in February 2005.
A delegation of 14 students from schools throughout Kurashiki and 2 leaders who are staff members of Kurashiki City are to visit Christchurch from 22 July – 7 August on the annual student exchange. They are to attend schools in Christchurch for 3 of the days and the rest will be spent sightseeing in and around the Christchurch area. They are to stay overnight at Flock Hill Station, spend a day skiing at Porter Heights and take a Jet Boat ride in the Waimakariri River. The whole delegation is to be home hosted for most of their stay.
Two Kurashiki young people with disabilities and their caregivers are to visit Chch as fully sponsored guests of Independent Fisheries here in Chch. Independent Fisheries are planning to make this an annual exchange for people with disabilities. Air New Zeland have given free air fares and the programme has been developed by a team of people from Christchurch Kurashiki Sister City Committee, KiwiAble, Sport Canterbury and the Halberg Trust. The visitors are here for two weeks. One of the visitors will be taking part in the NZ Wheelchair Tennis Tournament being held in Chch at the time.
Mr Hiroaki Oshima (21), who is a keen sportsman, has an intellectual disability, and Mr Mitsunobu Hirata (23)will take part in the NZ Wheelchair Tennis Tournament while he is here.
Their programme includes a Welcome Reception at the Civic offices, visits to local organisaitons, local sightseeing, a night's homestay, and taking part in a ropes course, an outdoor adventure experience.
The annual Christchurch student exchange to Kurashiki is to take place from 18 September - 3 October 2004. The group of 14 students, 7 male and 7 female, is to be led by Barbara and Owen August. While in Kurashiki the group will be home hosted and will attend local Junior High School for 4 days. Home hosting will give the students a wonderful opportunity to experience day to day life of Japanese people. During their stay the group will also visit the various tourist spots in and around the city and its environs.
Three teachers from different primary schools in Kurashiki city spent Friday morning, 20th August 2004, at Mount Pleasant School. They had heard much of the exchange programme between the school and its sister school Dai Shi Fukuda, Kurashiki and sought, through Kurashiki City Hall, the opportunity to visit the school themselves, while they were visiting Christchurch. They were delighted to find the students all dressed in international clothing as part of their celebrations of International Day at the School.
Nine students and one leader visited Christchurch from Sunday 21 July to Saturday 2 August. These 14-15 year old students were home-hosted and attended schools at one of several high schools in the city. A highlight of their stay was a night spent at Flock Hill Stationm, where they went skiing, jet boating and tried their hand at various farm activities. See the visit report and photos
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| Kate Harris |
Fourteen students, chosen from high schools throughout Christchurch, and two leaders visited Kursahiki for 2 weeks from 21 September to 5 October 2003. They were home-hosted for the duration of their stay and attended their host's school for several of the days they were in Kurashiki. The remainder of the time the students took part in sightseeing excursion.
See the students reports of their visit...
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| Group with Mayor Nakada |
For members of the Christchurch Youth exchange team to Kurashiki total immersion into Japanese culture provided an experience of a lifetime as new friendships were forged and new challenges were faced.
The attached reports detail the events and activities of those weeks and provide an insight into the real value of Sister City relationships. By reading these it is hoped that you may be able to encourage others to make the most of such opportunities or it may even encourage you to one day visit this historic area so rich in the arts and history.
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| At Sumner |
Nine Japanese Junior High School students and one leader from Kurashiki, visited Christchurch for two weeks in the heart of a NZ winter (30 July to 13 August 2002) and were home hosted by 9 local students.
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| A visit to the Victorian Garden School |
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| A day trip to Mt Hutt |
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| Enjoying the snow at the Antarctic Centre |
Read the report on Kurashiki Students Goodwill Exchange to Christchurch 30 July-12 August 2002.
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| Dai Shi Fukuda School Group |
On 6 August 2002, a group of nine Japanese students and three teachers from “Dai Shi Fukuda School”, Kurashiki, Japan visited their sister school “Mount Pleasant School” Christchurch. The group was led by the Principal of Dai Shi Fukuda School Mr. Koichi Azuma. Also traveling with the group was Mr. Takumi Ogo from the Kurashiki Board of Education. The purpose of this visit by Dai Shi Fukuda School as to return Mount Pleasant School’s first visit to Dai Shi Fukuda School of Kurashiki in 2001.
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| Dai Shi Fukuda School Group in Council Chambers |
Read the report on Dai Shi Fukuda School students visit 6-11 August 2002.
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| A fund raising sausage sizzle helped the group to get to Kurashiki. Pictured left to right are: Ben Parker, Chiaki Bolam-Smith, Lukas Bolam-Smith, Emma Kovacs, Mrs Dewar, and Heather Dewar. Missing is Marcy Banbury. |
Mt Pleasant School, Christchurch, and Dai Yon Fukuda Shogakko, Kurashiki have formally become sister schools. They have exchanged letters, pictures and seeds, which have been planted in both school's gardens, and recently teachers have been exchanged.
Their first sister school tour took place in September 2001 with years 5 & 6 students from Mt Pleasant School visiting Kurashiki. The students were hosted by Dai Yon Fukuda Shogakko and homestayed with Japanese families.
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| Photo: Mayor Nakada of Kurashiki (pictured in the middle) with his delegation on a visit to Mt Pleasant School, February 2001. |
See more photos of their trip to Kurashiki.
On his visit to Christchurch to attend the official opening of the Sister cities’ garden, Mayor Nakada of Kurashiki and some delegation members, made a visit to Mt Pleasant School. He met the principal of Mt Pleasant School, Dave Dewar, and took the opportunity to experience school life in New Zealand.
This takes place in July - 9 students and a teacher are hosted by various Christchurch high schools for 2 weeks. As well as spending time in the classroom the visitors experience living with a Kiwi family and many of our local attractions.
See photos of the 2001 Youth Goodwill exchange students from Kurashiki sightseeing with Committee Chairman Newton Dodge.
The Principal of Christs College, their Japanese language teacher and six students visited Kurashiki from 2 to 8 April 2002 and were joined by an ex-student, now working on a ski-field in Japan. Most of the group spent the following week in Tokyo before returning home.
Fourteen high school students led by then Christchurch Boys' High School Deputy Principal Colin Donald and his wife Justine visited Kurashiki from 25 September to 8 October. Barbara August, International Relations Co-ordinator, Christchurch City Council, accompanied the group.
Read what the group of 2001 had to say about their fabulous trip to Kurashiki and view some of their photos.
14 fourth form students are selected from various schools in Christchurch to visit Kurashiki for 2 weeks each September. The students are home-hosted in Kurashiki for part of their stay and the experience is always seen as challenging and rewarding with many firm friendships established. Included is a visit to the Peace Museum at Hiroshima.
10 people from Christchurch took up roles as Assistant English Teachers in Kurashiki in 2001, on one year renewable contracts. The selection of Assistant English Teachers is undertaken bi-annually and the new recruits headed to Japan end of July 2001. This is similar to the number recruited in 1999.
The programme is run by the Kurashiki Municipal Board of Education and is designed to promote English education based on mutual understanding and co-operation. The programme involves teachers assisting in English education in Kurashiki City's Junior High School.