3月12日に行われた卒業終業礼拝。

小学部、中学部、高等部合わせて45名の生徒が卒業しました。

それぞれの学校の代表によるスピーチを3回に分けてご紹介します。

第2回は中学部3年生。

今年は3名の中学部3年生が日本の高校に進学しますが、そのうちの1人、小学生の時から本校にいた生徒による英語のスピーチです。

 

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Hello.  

I’m going to talk about my life and friendships in Rikkyo School.  

Please forgive my mistakes as I sometimes talk very very fast.  

I want to talk about 3 things that impressed me a lot.

 

The first thing that I want to talk about is what I felt about this school when I first came.  

I entered Rikkyo when I was primary sixth grade.  Before I tell you about how my first impression of the school, I want to say what I have imagined to be in Rikkyo school.  

Because I was used to the school not surrounded by Japanese, I can only get the information from the Internet.  

And the conclusion I reached was terrible which made me not want to come here.  So, I can still clearly remember what I was like the first day…I was completely puzzled.  I didn’t understand the people, rule, manner in dining room, and so on.  

But as soon as I entered my classroom, thanks to my wonderful classmate, I got used to the atmosphere.  

It was warm and friendly like my home.  I am probably not the only one who felt like this.

In Japan, this kind of situation is not easily made.  We have to struggle a bit before you get familiar.  

However, in Rikkyo, the moment you stepped into the class is the moment you get used to the class.  

I can say this is one of the most important characters that schools should have.

 

I will talk a little bit about my 10 classmates’ daily behaviour in classroom.  

There are 8 boys and 3 girls including me. They are humorous and intelligent.  We sometimes get very loud but in most of the times, we were good students, I suppose.  

There is one boy who I have never seen him stop moving.  He is always running around the classroom which makes us really tired but he always gave us a lot of funny stories that we could never imagined.  

And there, looking at the running boy laughing is a girl who is always smiling and looking happy.  She seldom gets the blues.  

The third classmate usually quiet and she like reading books.  But as soon as she gets excited, she is the most funny and noisiest girl in my class.  

There are 2 boys who are always together.  They are really good at badminton and I often saw them playing.  Of course, there was no way I could get a point from them.  Plus they were really fond of playing computer games.  T

here is a handsome boy who was with me for 4 years.  He is also very quiet in most of the time, but after he found himself in fun situation, he acts like monkey.  

I must say that there are normal people in my class as you might mistake that my class is a zoo.  There is a kind-hearted boy who always takes care of us when we have done some mess.  He picks up the trash and he is also a very hard worker that we must say that we respect him.  He’s like the zookeeper for us.  That is the first and the last person who I can say well.  The next person is the girl who is very smart and thoughtful which all of us know.  

The three girls are always together and although one of the girls is going to another school, I am sure that they will forever be good friends each other.  

The last boy came to Rikkyo last term.  He came from Japan and like I was, he was completely confused what’s going on here in Rikkyo.  At first, he didn’t even know where the shower room is.  But as I said before, the moment you step into the classroom is the moment when you get used to the classroom.  He had no problem.

So, what I want to say about my classmates is, in short, thank you.  

All the wonderful time and all the laughter that you have made are all my valuable memory.  

You are certainly my best friends.  There is no one who I don’t want to keep in touch with.

 

At last, I want to talk about communications with teachers in this school.  

When I first came, Mr.Kaneko was in charge of my class.  He is always smiling and looks happy like the rest of the teachers. He has taken us to the forest couple of times and we went bracken gathering and afterwards in his room, we ate it.  I don’t think there are many teachers who take his students to the forest.  

I also have to thank him for being my nice adviser.  Because although I got used to the school very quickly, I do sometimes get depressed and every time I felt it, Mr.Kaneko was always beside me to listen to my problems.  

Thank you.  

When I was 2nd grade middle school, it was Mr.Kurashina who took care of me.  I think he is the most sincere person within the people who I have met.  I can’t imagine him telling a lie.  And he is also very good at making laughter explosions in our class.  

I enjoyed it very much.  

On the other hand, as a teacher of Kendo that is a traditional sport in Japan, he is sometimes very stern.  But I have to tell you that Kendo is a sport, which you have to be very strict, and Mr.Kurashina is usually a gentleman.  

To end I shall speak little bit about EC teachers. For primary 6th grade, I knew that I could speak a little better than other Japanese who were brought up in Japan.  So that means that I had more chance speaking to EC teachers.  And I did.  They are probably the best English-speaking teachers.  Because in general, student like me always start to forget their native English when entering the Japanese school, however, it didn’t happen to me probably because I had my EC teachers.  

I have to thank you a lot. I will try not to forget my English though I am going to another school.  I will not forget the stories that you have told me.  All of those interesting stories were never being heard from Japanese people.  And through those EC lessons, I learnt how important to talk to people other than Japanese.

 

To sum up, I want to say a huge thank you to all of the people in this school.  

The time I will forget about this school will never come.  I would like to thank especially to my classmates.  

The pleasant time spent in Rikkyo was not done without you.  

Also, thank to all teachers who supported me with all your energy.  It wasn’t only the study that you taught me.  

And finally, thank you to all of you for listening my long speech.

3月12日に行われた卒業終業礼拝。

小学部、中学部、高等部合わせて45名の生徒が卒業しました。

それぞれの学校の代表によるスピーチを3回に分けてご紹介します。

第1回は小学部6年生。英語によるスピーチでした。

 

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I went to London from Japan when I was 3rd grade in primary school.

And I went to Hong Kong when I was 5th grade.

Then, I entered Rikkyo School in England.  

The best thing about Rikkyo is that elder students are kind to me.

 

The first day of Rikkyo, the 3rd grade middle school students taught me how to take a shower since the system was difficult.

Since then, they are nice to me. Although they should have no time, they spend some of their times for me to play.

 

The manner in eating meals in Rikkyo is a little bit difficult. But people older than me carefully taught me how to eat.

For example, when serving the food with two spoons in unordinary way, they helped me by my side.

Plus they told me lots of interesting stories. So, I am always happy to eat the meal.

 

Open day which was held last term, my class had display of Japanese comics and animations.

My job was to fill a big paper with drawings of Japanese animation characters.

I found hundreds of pokemon in the internet.

I had to copy them all one by one in bigger size. But it was not easy to finish.

The day before open day, I have only gone the half way.  

Although, some students helped, it still didn’t finish. In the afternoon I had to go to Domino project.

When I came back, surprisingly it was almost finished!

There were a lot of pokemons added. The 3rd grade high school students helped me.

The finished work was so beautiful and perfect.

 

When I enter the middle school next term, I would like to help the new comers as those elder students have done for me.

 

Thank you for listening to my speech.

 

久しぶりの立教、当時と変わっておらずほっとしました。沢山の自然に囲まれて勉強していた当時が本当に懐かしいです。

先生方にも当時と変わらず温かく受け入れて頂き感謝です。

今回はロンドンへの長期出張にともなう訪問でしたが、次回は駐在を目指して訪問させて頂きたいと思います。

また遊びに来たいと思います。

 

 

本校で22年間にわたって英会話の授業をされてきたアップコット先生が今学期をもって引退されることになりました。

以下、アップコット先生から頂いたメッセージをご紹介します。

 

 

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‘All good things come to an end’ and on Saturday 12th March 2011, I am retiring from my job as an English Teacher at the Rikkyo School.

I cannot believe it is almost 22 years since I arrived for my first day on a beautiful sunny September morning in 1989.  

I have worked for four Headmasters and have seen many changes.  When I arrived the classroom block, teachers’ room and sports hall were not yet built.  

There was no running track and there were fewer tennis courts.  

However, some things remain the same, not least the beautiful gardens, but more importantly, the atmosphere of the school is still as warm and friendly as ever.  

The kindness of both staff and pupils is what makes Rikkyo such a happy place to work in.   

Two things have always impressed me, the friendliness shown by  students to each other,  irrespective of their  year group, and the wonderful welcome students always give to visitors to the school.

 

I have loved the teaching.  Sometimes it has been quite challenging but it has always been rewarding  and a great pleasure watching the students grow up, develop and improve their English.  

I so enjoy  hearing  news from  students after they  have left.  

It has also been a great privilege to learn about and appreciate the Japanese culture.   

I am very fortunate to have had wonderful colleagues and I shall miss staff and students alike.  

I want to thank everyone for making my time at the Rikkyo School so happy.  

I very much look forward to coming  to concerts and open days in the future.

 

3月12日(土)、卒業終業礼拝が行われました。

受験のため日本に帰国していた中学3年生、高校3年生が数日前から続々と帰寮、中学部は全員が、高等部は20名が式に参列しました。

 

きれいに晴れ上がった空からは春らしい日差しが注ぎ、卒業式にはぴったりの天気。

チャペルに入堂する前に生徒たちが中庭に集まると保護者の方々が写真やビデオを一斉に撮り始めました。

イギリスはもとより、ヨーロッパの国々や日本から遥々来て下さった方もいらっしゃいました。

 

今年の卒業終業礼拝は、まず東日本で起きた大地震で被害を受けた方々のためのお祈りで始まりました。

続いて各種表彰。

この1年の学校生活に積極的に取り組み各種資格試験に合格した生徒、音楽活動で活躍した生徒、英語でめざましい進歩を遂げた生徒達が表彰されました。

表彰の最後は地元ホーシャム市議会の議長ブライアン・ドネリー氏よりアンバサダー賞の授与がありました。

その名のとおり、地域との交流を通して学校の代表としてふさわしい活動を続けてきた生徒に毎年贈られる名誉ある賞です。

今年は、夏の短期留学や地元の学校との交流プログラムに積極的に参加し、さらにバスケットボールの対外試合や校外での練習活動を通して地域と密接にかかわり合いながら活動を続けた高等部2年生の女子にこのアンバサダー賞が贈られました。

 

祝辞は在英国日本国大使館の特命全権大使 野田様、そして本校の守村理事より頂きました。

数年間をこのイギリスの地で過ごした生徒たちにはとても励みになるお話でした。

これからの日本を「外からの目」を持って考えられる人でありたい、卒業生の一人一人がそんな自覚を持ってくれたのではないでしょうか。

 

最後に卒業学年生徒のスピーチ。

まずは小学部6年の男子生徒が英語でスピーチをしました。

全校で一番小さなこの生徒が話し始めると、その滑らかな英語に来賓の方々は少々ビックリした様子。

ホーシャム市議会議長や、本校のイギリス人スタッフも皆微笑みながら楽しそうに聞いていました。

続いて中学部3年生の男子生徒。これも英語でのスピーチでした。彼は逆に全校で一番大きな生徒。

流暢で、しかも堂々としたその話しぶりにはイギリス人の方々だけではなく、保護者の方々やスタップ、他の生徒たちも皆感動していました。

そして最後は高等部3年女子生徒のスピーチ。中学部1年から本校に6年間在籍していた生徒です。

数々の地域交流プロジェクトに参加し、いつも笑顔で積極的に学校生活を送って来た彼女の話は、同輩には懐かしい思い出の宝、そして後輩達にはとっても刺激的なメッセージでした。

 

小学部6年生は全員本校中学部へ進学、中学部3年生は3名が日本の高校へ進学し他は本校高等部に進学、そして高等部3年生は全員が日本に帰国します。

皆それぞれ次のスタート地点につくべく、新しい生活の準備を始めています。

卒業して2年経った今でも在学中の事はすぐに思い出す事ができます。

久しぶりに訪れると、何も変わっていないようでやはり確実に変化はしていて、少し寂しいような気もします。

しかし生徒の皆さんや先生方の温かい雰囲気はいたる所で息づいていてとても嬉しかったです。

突然の訪問にも関わらず受け入れて下さってありがとうございました。

 

3月9日(水)、受験を終えて卒業式のために帰ってきた高校3年生11名が、小学校6年生、中学校1年生と一緒に、英国南部の有名なリゾート地、ブライトンに行ってきました。

海に伸びる桟橋、ブライトン・ピアで楽しいひと時を過ごしました。

風が強くて、寒さにくじけそうになりましたが、生徒たちは美味しいものをたくさん食べ、海の上にある遊園地で大いに楽しみました。

 

絶叫マシーンにも皆で挑戦! スリル満点の気分を味わいました。

高校3年生の下級生の面倒見の良さには目を見張るものがありました。

こまめに声をかけてあげたり、一緒に乗り物に乗ってあげたり、お菓子を分けてあげたり、自然と受け継がれている素敵な先輩後輩の関係に心が温かくなりました。

小学生、中学生はそんな先輩方と接する度に心から満足そうな顔をしていました。

まるで本当の家族のようでした。

これから立教を去っていく先輩達に、後輩達は大事な事を教わったのではないでしょうか。

そして高校3年生にとってもまたひとつ、最後の思い出が加わったことでしょう。

 

イギリス人先生との特別ディナーの日を迎えると、そろそろ帰宅だなぁ、という気分になる学期末恒例のランチ。

この日は朝から快晴!日差しはすっかり春めいているのに、最近はなぜか連日の低気温。

でもスペシャルディナーのテーブルがセットされた食堂には暖かな日の光が眩しいくらいに注ぎ、白いテーブルクロスの上に飾られた水仙の花がもうすぐそこまで来ている「春」を演出していました。

 

今学期の覇者は中学部3年生の面々。

日本の高校入学試験を受けるため帰国していた仲間がいない状態でもしっかりとECの授業に取り組み、見事全校で一番のクレジット獲得率を達成しました。

イギリス人による週4時間のこの英会話授業では、積極的に授業に取り組んだ生徒たちに、その証しとして毎週クレジットが渡されます。

学期末にそれを集計し、平均獲得枚数が1番のクラスが、このスペシャルディナーをイギリス人の先生方と一緒にとることになっています。

 

「またあのクラスだ。」「なんでいつも…?」

こんな声が昼食前のダイニングホールで呟かれていましたが、その担任の先生に「何でですかね?」と伺ったところ、「特別なことは何もしていませんよ。ただね、イギリス人の授業の時にも、絶対にあとに引いちゃ駄目だ、といつも言っています。」とのこと。

特に現地校から来た生徒が多い訳でもないこのクラス、やはりクレジット獲得の秘訣は「積極性」なのかも知れません。

 

他のテーブルとはちょっと違うお洒落なテーブルセッティング、特別なデザート、そして6人のイギリス人の先生とのたっぷり1時間の英会話付きディナーは、期末テストを終えてゆったりとした気分になっていた生徒たちにはぴったりのご褒美でした。

卒業から10年、2回目の訪問となりました。

当時から学生の数が減ったものの、特に変わりもなくホッとしています。

今回は結婚と転職というタイミングで来ましたが、また何かのタイミングで戻ってきたいと思います。

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