11月7日（金）インド姉妹校来校8日目（授業体験最終日）　　Friday, November 7 - 8th day of the visit from the sister school in India (last day of class experience)

　本日、11月7日（金）はインド姉妹校の生徒、先生方が本校に登校する最後の日になります。職員朝会にて、先生方からご挨拶を頂きました。

    授業は通常に受講していただき、昼休みは地元業者である学食業者さん特製のお弁当をご賞味いただきました。有機野菜等の地元食材を上手に活用したヘルシーで非常においしいお弁当だったと思います。ご満足いただけたでしょうか？

　そして、放課後に修了式を実施しました。司会は歓迎の生徒グループの副団長が実施し、校長あいさつ、そして歓迎の生徒グループの団長からの挨拶を頂きました。姉妹校の先生方、生徒代表の挨拶の順で式は進行致しました。

　インド姉妹校の皆さんは明日土曜日はホストファミリーとの交流をしていただき、そして日曜早朝に、本校に集合して帰路に発つ予定です。昨年度に続き、今年度で2回目の御来訪を頂いたわけですが、昨年度とまた違った感慨があります。

　まず最初に思うのは、ご訪問頂いた皆さんに本当に有意義な日本の旅になっていたでしょうか？本校関係者一同、懸命の努力を行いました。しかしまだまだ改善の余地はあると思います。次年度に向けて、更に素晴らしい取り組みになるよう努力していきたいと思います。国際交流は単なる「語学研修」と違うと思います。本校及び姉妹校の交流が長く続き、こんな交流が１０年、２０年、３０年と継続していき、親子２代で相互訪問の経験がある家庭が出てくることを願っています。今後も本校と姉妹校の絆が年々強く結ばれるよう、努力したいと思います。

　次に思うのは、今回のホストにあたった本校生徒の対応についてです。細部を見れば、課題があった部分もあると思います。そこも含めて、大きな経験だったと思います。ここでの経験をしっかり人生の肥やしにできるかどうか、皆さんは試されていると思います。この経験を通じて、一回り成長してくれることを切に願っています。

Today, Friday, November 7, is the last day that students and teachers from our sister schools in India will be attending our school. During the staff morning meeting, we received greetings from the teachers. The students attended their classes as usual, and during lunch, they enjoyed special bento boxes prepared by the local cafeteria provider. I believe these healthy and very delicious bento boxes made good use of local ingredients, including organic vegetables. I hope everyone was satisfied.

After school, we held a closing ceremony. The vice leader of the student group that had welcomed them acted as the MC, followed by a greeting from the principal and a speech from the leader of the welcoming student group. The ceremony proceeded with greetings from the teachers of the sister schools and finally a representative of the students.

Tomorrow, Saturday, the students from our sister schools in India will spend time with their host families, and early Sunday morning, they will gather at our school and depart for their return journey. Following last year, this is their second visit this year, and it brings feelings different from those of the previous year.

First of all, I wonder if this visit has been truly meaningful for all the visitors. Everyone at our school worked very hard. However, I believe there is still much room for improvement. We aim to make next year’s program even more wonderful. I believe that international exchange is different from mere 'language study.' I hope exchanges between our school and our sister schools will continue for a long time, and that in the future, families with two generations will have the experience of mutual visits for 10, 20, or 30 years. We will continue to strive to strengthen the bonds between our school and our sister schools each year.

Next, I want to reflect on the response of our students who acted as hosts. If we look closely, there were areas that needed improvement. Including those aspects, I think it was a great experience. I believe everyone is being tested on whether they can turn this experience into a valuable part of their lives. I sincerely hope that through this experience, everyone will grow and develop further.