Today was the JHS closing ceremony. The closing ceremony marks that last day of the academic school year. Although the 9th graders have graduated and no longer attend school, 7th and 8th graders prepare to move onto the next grade. March is an unusual time to end the school year, but the reasoning can vary depending on who you ask. From my understanding, the end of March to early April marks the beginning of spring. This is a very important time of the year in Japan as beautiful cherry blossoms trees are in full bloom symbolizing a chance to start fresh. However, a chance to relish a fresh start is short lived as the next school year begins on April 8th.

The closing ceremony is also an opportunity to say sayonara to many teachers. As previously mentioned in an earlier blog, Japanese teachers often move from school to school after a few years. The final decision regarding changes is made by a central board of education, which oversees all teachers in their respective prefectures. Sadly, a number of great teachers will be leaving after today, including Nakasono-sensei, a Japanese English Teacher (JTE) that I’ve taught a lot of classes together with. Tonight is the final enkai (party) of the school year. The sayonara enkai is usually one of the better parties in the year, so I’m looking forward to it. Heavy drinking to commence in under 7 hours and countdown…