How was your weekend? Did you go out and see the sakura bloom? I went to the park near my home in Atsuhara on Sunday. A festival was due to take place there, but it was raining in the morning, so it was cancelled. Despite the rain, we went there to see the cherry blossom and they are blooming nicely. Hopefully next weekend has some better weather in store.
This week our students are starting back to school after their spring vacation. They start their new school year now. In Ireland it starts in September, after the summer vacation. Another difference I noticed was that students here get a lot of homework to do during the holidays. In Ireland we didn’t get homework during vacation time, it was up to students to study by themselves. There wasn’t much motivation to do it, however, because there was no homework to hand in. I think it’s good to give homework during the holidays to keep students in their routine.
Many of our students are starting elementary, junior high or high school this week. They are understandably nervous and excited about their new schools. It can be a nerve-wracking experience starting at a new school, but they get used to it quickly and before you know it they are settled in to their new school life. Good luck to all of our students who are back to school!

Alan