By Jessica Anstice
Senior Japanese students from Beaconhills College were able to find a way to connect with students from their sister school in Japan on Wednesday 5 August.
Traditionally, the Pakenham school’s year 12 students and Japanese students from Ibaraki Christian Junior and Senior High School would have met in person this month, however the coronavirus restrictions prevented that from happening.
Alternatively the two groups of students met virtually, via a video conference call from the comfort of their own homes.
Beaconhills College Japanese teacher Junji Sakamoto said the students were brought together to speak Japanese and ask each other questions.
“The number one purpose was to connect with our friends in Japan,” Mr Sakamoto said.
“We are in a challenging environment, but so are other people in the world.
“By seeing others smile, we hope that our students and the Ibaraki students were able to feel joy.”
As part of the school’s curriculum, the year 12 students were expected to research a specific Japanese culture.
This year’s topic was Japanese traditional Budo – a form of martial arts.
The Beaconhills College students collected a large amount of information from written texts and videos, but Wednesday’s resource was real voices from young people in Japan.
