Entrance ceremony

Today was the opening ceremony for the new term. First, though, was a smaller ceremony opening the first term for the (newly-promoted) second- and third-years. The principal gave a brief speech, and, as per usual, I couldn't keep up with much. I did, however, hear him say that, though the students had been gone only two weeks, they seemed different. While I agree that the students had changed, it's nothing like the 10-12 weeks I remember getting for summer vacation. No wonder my kids can't imagine what it'd be like to go that long without seeing everyone.

After the smaller event, everyone cleaned the school for an hour in preparation for the entrance ceremony. The gym was set up with almost as many seats as for graduation. The (newly-promoted) second- and third-years were seated in the back, with the incoming freshmen seated front and center, grouped by homeroom. Parents were seated on either side of the gym, with the teachers in a small section toward the front.

The band played the national anthem, and the principal gave some opening remarks. The homeroom teachers then stood and read each new student's name. The first student on the roll--the freshman boy who scored the highest on the entrance exam--read a brief thank-you statement on stage, facing the principal. This seemed different and more personal than last year's, which I liked a lot.

After this, the head of the PTA gave a speech to the new students. He got a bit fired up, but I couldn't understand him, and I still don't know what the PTA actually does, so I tuned him out. In my desperate attempts to stave off sleep, I noticed the shoes the freshmen were wearing. The students' school shoes are color-coded by grade: the (I keep wanting to specify "new") third-years wear green, and the second-years red. The freshmen had blue, which naturally was the color of the graduating class. At any rate, the head of the PTA finished, and the students were dismissed to their homerooms.

The parents remained, and there were speeches by the various heads of departments, like the dean of students, the head of new student affairs, etc. There were more speeches by the principal and the head of the PTA; by this point I wasn't bothering to listen. I felt bad about being bored until I noticed Tomino (the third new English teacher) falling asleep beside me, Kanemoto sound asleep in his chair, and several parents nodding off.

The principal gave a brief speech, and, as per usual, I couldn't keep up with much. I did, however, hear him say that, though the students had been gone only two weeks, they seemed different.