Today was the second day of the new school year, and we had two more assemblies ("ceremonies").

Yesterday morning we had a kind of "meet the new teachers" ceremony. The principal gave a (long) speech and then introduced the 12 new teachers that are with us this year. There was a lot of bowing and standing and sitting back down going on! (not good for the students who have to sit on the floor... they are probably just managing to nod off to sleep when it's time to stand again).

Yesterday afternoon was the Entrance Ceremony for the students that are starting this year. I was meant to go to that but accidently took too long at lunch time and missed the start. I will go next year...

This morning in the staffroom, the 10 teachers that are leaving our school (or "have left") came in and gave a Sayonara speech. I was a little late for school, and arrived just in time to see a full-grown male holding back sobs as he made his farewells to a school he has worked at for a full 4 years out of his 26years teaching career (why?). The speeches went until 9.30am, when we all had to head to the main assembly hall so the teachers could give their "official" goodbye speeches to the school.

The principal gave a little spiel on each teacher. The principal at my school is famous for his heartfelt speeches. He does these motivation talks that really crack me up. Most of the time I can't understand what he is going on about but he yells and then speaks softly, swings his arms around and makes fists and blows out his chest... all very powerful for a 5 foot nothing 64 year old man. Anyway, the little pieces he did on the teachers that were leaving were all done with the same kind of zeal as his motivational speeches.  He must have inspired those teachers into thinking they had some interesting knowledge to impart to the students, because one hour later we had only managed to get through 4 of the 10 teachers speeches. (I snuck out after that... was quite boring).

Then that ceremony finished and it became time to welcome the new first year students to their first school assembly (the first year students were not yet in attendance; they were off getting pictures taken and height and weight measured!) The Brass Band came out and there was marching music as the first year students all filed in one by one underneath the banners of their class. Then more speeches. Funny things about a Japanese assembly is that it has to be properly announced at the start, the master of ceremonies gets the vice principal to announce the day and time and school name, and then the vice intorduces the principal, and the master of ceremonies gets everyone to stand up and bow... it is all done with so much seriousness and with an air of the "official".

Japanese people LOVE official.