On Friday, 29th of September, all Saint Maur Secondary School students embarked on educational excursions. While the Grade 7 and 8 students were on an overnight trip in Miyagi and Chiba prefectures, Grade 6 to 11 students went on expeditions to Kamakura, Tokyo and Yokohama’s historical area.

Thanks to these enriching educational excursions, students were able to form closer bonds as a cohort while deepening their learning through real life experiences encompassing Japanese culture, history and more.

Our Grade 9 students explored the historic city of Kamakura, the heart of Japan's first feudal government. This excursion was a great opportunity for them to deepen their understanding of the Kamakura period while creating stronger bonds as a cohort. The class divided into five groups and explored the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine and Jufuku-ji Temple. In addition to diving into Kamakura's rich history and culture, students sampled delicious local food in traditional tea houses. It was truly a living Japanese history lesson!

Grade 10 students enjoyed good weather for their walking tour of historical sites in central Yokohama. Starting in the historical heart of Yamate and exploring the Foreign Cemetery, they located many landmarks in and around Yamashita Park. The location of the Yokohama Archives of History (formerly the British Consulate) represents the origin of Yokohama, when the port opened to international trade 164 years ago. The current exhibit, marking the centenary of the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, made a strong impression on the students. The day ended 100 meters up in the sky, looking down on city of Yokohama from the top of the Marine Tower.

The Grade 11 trip to the Tokyo Stock Exchange included a guided tour around the facilities with an explanation of the role the stock market plays in the economy, as well as how it has evolved over the years. The tour concluded with the students playing a stock market simulation game where they competed against each other in the buying and selling of stocks and shares. After our tour of the Stock Exchange, students visited two exhibitions at the National Art Centre Tokyo. The first exhibition offered the students a retrospective look at the work of Yves Saint Laurent which included over 100 garments as well as sketches, photographs and more. The second exhibition featured 120 artworks from the Tate collection revolving around the topic of 'Light'. The works spanned several important art movements, from the Romantic era all the way to Contemporary art and inspired our Grade 11 students beyond the classroom.

Meanwhile on our campus, our Grade 12 IB students spent an exciting day in the Saint Maur Science Centre working on the practical phase of the 'Group 4 Project'. Working in interdisciplinary teams, they carried out scientific investigations on the theme of Green. The emphasis of the day was on teamwork and collaboration and students were assessed on their ability to contribute to the group, communication and ability to overcome challenges. Many groups came up with very unique research questions but by working hard were able to come to some interesting scientific conclusions. The Group 4 project is a compulsory component for all IB Natural Science and Computer Science students. All students were able to successfully complete this important component.