Hi! I’m Claire Rhodes, and I’m the assistant English teacher for Yamaga City’s two Junior High schools. I’ve been living in Yamaga since July 1997, and enjoy it very much. Before I came to Yamaga, I lived in England, near London. There, I worked in a large electrical retail company doing marketing. I went to Durham University in the north of England, where I studied Philosophy. My family live near Liverpool, which is famous for The Beatles pop group.

I really love living in Yamaga. The people here are very friendly and helpful. They are very generous with their time and gifts. Yamaga is a small city of 35,000 people. It has a nice shopping centre, and plenty of bars and restaurants. Beautiful mountains and picturesque farmland surround Yamaga City.

One of the schools I visit sits at the foot of the mountains, in rice fields. This is Kakujyo Junior High School. It is a relatively small school, and it has a family atmosphere. They always make me feel very welcome, and the students are very enthusiastic. The school also has a large garden where the staff and students grow and pick flowers and a variety of foods. These include Kakujyo tea, chestnuts, persimmons, plums and tomatoes.

Number of Students: 174

Number of Classes: 2 per grade

Principle: Mr Kimura

Number of teachers: 13

Total staff (inc teachers): 19

School motto: Kangae nuki, Shinji nuki, Stome nuki

Think hard and deeply, believe forever, do our best.

School clubs:

Baseball

Judo

Kendo

Shodo (Calligraphy)

Soccer

Soft Tennis (boys)

Soft Tennis (girls)

Volleyball

Volunteer

This year the girl’s soft tennis team was champion of Kumamoto Prefecture.

By contrast, I also work at Yamaga Junior High School, in Yamaga City itself. This is a very large Junior High School, and is always bristling with activity. The students and teachers are proud of their many achievements. The students are very polite, and take their study and club activities seriously, but with a good sense of humour.

Number of Students: 936

Number of Classes: First year, 8

Second year, 9

Third year, 8

Principle: Mr Tanaka

Number of teachers: 48

Total staff (inc teachers): 63

School motto: Uta kana jyousou, Takumashi shinshin, migakareta chisei

School clubs:

Over the last year the school has the following achievements:

Chorus club - Gold Medal in the All Japan Chorus contest

Basketball - top 8 of the all Japan championship and first in Kyushu,

Judo (girls) - first in Kyushu

Brass Band - Gold Medal in Kumamoto

English Recitation - Third years, first in Kumamoto

First years, first in Kamoto

Baseball - first in Kamoto

Soccer - first in Kamoto

Basketball (girls) - first in Kamoto

Judo - first in Kamoto

Table Tennis - first in Kamoto

Soft Tennis (boys) - first in Kamoto

Handball - first in Kamoto