The sister school program was first established at St Albans Secondary College in 2015 and is an integral part of the Languages Curriculum. The College currently has a sister school relationship with the following schools:
- Nishishiba Junior High School
- Yokohama Municipal Sakuragaoka High School
Both schools are located in Yokohama, a city south of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture. Students of the College were able to visit Nishishiba Junior High School in 2016 and 2018 as part of the biannual Japan Study Tour, where they participated in various activities intended to foster respect and appreciation for Australian and Japanese culture as well as provide meaningful opportunities for students to develop their respective language skills.
As part of their language studies, students undertaking Japanese have engaged in a range of activities with our sister schools, such as exchanging pen pal letters, video calls, participating in surveys, recording cultural videos and creating blog posts. These activities are arranged by the Sister School Program Coordinator in consultation with classroom teachers at the College in order to offer students with authentic experiences to apply and deepen their learning.
We hope to continue fostering these sister school relationships for the benefit of all of our students in Australia and Japan.
