京都府立鳥羽高等学校

Today, 34 students and two teachers from St. Paul's High School in Taiwan came to visit and participate in an exchange program. During the Opening Ceremony, the principal of St. Paul's gave a speech and the students performed a chorus. In a speech welcoming the students, Toba's school principal Mr. Yamano even gave a greeting in Chinese.

After the ceremony, the first grade Global Course students had a small group exchange. Later, the St. Paul's students took part in an exchange with the second grade Global Course, a lunch exchange, and they participated in Chinese as a second language classes. Finally, they observed Sumo Club's practice.

It was a wonderful visit.

May 26 (Sat)
Today, second grade Global Course students went on a fieldwork excursion to The National Museum of Ethnology, which is located on the former grounds of the 1970 Expo in Suita City. This fieldwork was a combined event for their Landscapes of Kyoto and the World and Innovation Studies II classes. The students learned about how the museum works and the ways in which cultural artifacts are preserved. They were even allowed inside the special vault where important items are stored. Later, they could see the special exhibit entitled "A Tower of the Sun Collection: Expo '70 Ethnological Mission" and learn about the history of humanity from many different perspectives.

Today two curators from The Museum of Kyoto, Mr. Murano and Mr. Nishiyama visited to give a workshop about cultural artifacts. During the first part of the workshop, they discussed which types of modern day items might become cultural artifacts in the future, and ways of thinking about cultural artifacts. In the latter half of the workshop, the students were given the opportunity to examine some Jomon era pottery and try and figure out what kind of information they could learn from it.

On May 15 (Tue), 80 Global Course students took part in fieldwork at the Aoi Festival as part of their Innovation Studies I class. The students observed the points that had decided to focus on in the pre-fieldwork preparations, and recorded their observations on their worksheets. The day was sunny and a bit warm, but the students were able to carry out the fieldwork without any problems.

May 12 (Sat)

In today's Innovation Studies I class the students did an orientation about cultural artifacts. They used a "brain writing" sheet to compare their obervations of cultural artifacts with what their ideas about them. After that, they prepared for the Aoi Festival fieldwork which is will be held on May 15 (Tue).

Today in Innovation Studies I, the first grade global course students continued orientations for their research projects. This time they focused on the theme of "Cultural Artifacts." In addition, they prepared for fieldwork to the Aoi Festival, which they will have on the 15th.

Today the second grade Global Course students took part in a lecture and workshop about doing research projects. It was run by Kyoto Koka Women's University Associate Professor Iniu, who is also a Toba alumni. The students learned about research methods, including how to deepen their research themes by asking questions such as "Where?" "Who?" "When?" and "How?"

Today the second grade Global Course students began working on their research projects about global issues. They divided into groups, brainstormed, and decided on tentative research topics. In the next class, to be held on May 12, Toba alumni Professor Inui from Kyoto Koka Women's University will give a lecture and workshop about research methods.　

Today, second grade Global Course students took part in the first class of Landscapes of Kyoto and the World. This is a cross-curricular class combining Geography, World History, and Japanese History. In class, the students worked in groups to draw their own maps of Kyoto. They had to decide what kind of information was important to include in the map and how to present it.

Today the second grade Global Course students participated in the first class of Innovation Studies II. This year they will be focusing on researching about a global issue. In the first class, they presented the results of their spring vacation homework. During the next classes, they will form research groups and begin their projects.

Today, the first class of Innovation Studies I was held. After an ice-breaker activity, the teachers explained the three year syllabus, and then the students did group work. They dicussed their what kind of image they have of Kyoto.