Hibiki High School



General Information Hibiki is a prefectual senior high school, but it is unlike any other high school in Kitakyushu, possibly even in Fukuoka. Hibiki is a credit system high school, more similar to high schools in North America. In a regular high school, students all have the same classes, and travel as a group. Here each student has their own schedule. Hibiki also has no uniform, the students wear name cards, but that is the only requirement. The school is open to anyone who has graduated from Junior high school, with students ranging in age from 15 to 65. Hibiki students have the advantage of taking classes throughout the day, and therefore are able to hold down part-time jobs, something that is forbidden by most other high schools. The actual school is a brand new building (in fact as I type this it is not yet finished). Location Hibiki is located in Tobata, the same area of Kitakyushu as your apartment, and in fact, it is very near to your apartment. You can take a bus to school, but my guess is that it would actually take longer then if you were to ride a bike. This is my preferred method of transportation. I am able to leave my apartment and be sitting in my desk in about 8 minutes. That includes getting my bike from the storage shed, riding to work, locking up my bike, and walking to the teachers’ room. To walk it is only about 12 minutes door to door at a regular pace. Near the school there is a 7-11 and a few small restaurants. Students Students have varying reasons for coming to Hibiki, some are here due to illnesses that hold them back from other schools, some students are here because of problems in their lives (caused by themselves, or by others), but most students are here because they enjoy the freedom that they are given. The English level of the students varies quite a bit. There are some students who I can hold a proper conversation with and there are others who I literally have never heard an English word muttered from their mouths. The willingness to interact also varies between students. Some are gung-ho and want to be my best friend, others glare at me as if I just killed their mother. In the end, there are many more smiles than anything else. The student's reasons for being interested in me also varies. Some students will be excited to know you, others just want to say they spoke to a foreigner. On a whole, you can easily being a smile to their faces by simply saying "good morning" or "see you later" as you pass them in the hallways. Activities There are not as many clubs at Hibiki as there are at other high schools. The clubs that I have witnessed are also fairly small (but are growing). This stems back to the nature of the school, and the varying time-tables. I have had the opportunity to play with the basketball team, so if you are looking to do some of the activities, you will be more then welcome. Another really fun activity at Hibiki is the teachers volleyball team. This past year the team made it to the prefectual championships, and we got to go to Fukuoka City for a tournament. Another thing to look forward to is the Hibiki Festival, at which you will be asked to organize an English room, or an “insert your county here” room.

Schedule

Ah, the most beautiful part about being an ALT at Hibiki. Your schedule is very empty, and half the times classes get cancelled. To the side I have tallied the number of classes that I have taught each month since arriving. Each of these classes are 90 minutes long (most schools are 50). This total gives me an average of less than four and a half hours in class per week. Your work hours are from 8:45 until 4:30, meaning that you have 34 hours to kill doing something other than teaching. You will also have a daily meeting in the teacher's room at 12:45, it lasts about 10 minutes. Below are your weekly scheduled classes, which consist of two different courses, English 1 and Oral Communications 1. I have also been helping with a special class, environmental issues, in which the students communicate with an American high school.

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

15 (scheduled)

13 (scheduled)

Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8:50 - 10:20		O.C.1 Matsumoto Sensei
10:30 - 12:00	English 1 Suzuki Sensei or Tsukamoto Sensei or Matsumoto Sensei			English 1 Suzuki Sensei or Tsukamoto Sensei or Matsumoto Sensei
1:00 - 2:30		English 1 Tsukamoto Sensei or Isobe Sensei			English 1 Kumabe Sensei
3:00 - 4:30	Env. Issues Tsukamoto Sensei & Nakamura Sensei			O.C.1 Isobe Sensei
*For English 1 you rotate between classes. Tsukamoto Sensei's classes are advanced English.

Your Responsibilities

As I have previously mentioned you teach two different courses, both of which are first year courses. For the lessons you teach you will be required to make lesson plans. Here is an example of a lesson plan (note that the lesson plan has hyperlinks in it, they will not work on your computer, they are to help speed up my life). I have found that I do this planning completely independently. I plan the lesson, then show it to the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English), then I run the class. You may find your situation different depending on what you would like. I preferred having the control, so I was quite comfortable with the set-up. So you have classes and lesson plans...that is about it. There are other minor things, like a monthly ALT meeting in Fukuoka, or attending ceremonies at school, but nothing that requires you to work at all, you do not even do anything at cleaning time. The closest thing to work would be filling out forms. Japan is huge on forms, but all you have to worry about are business trip "shucho" and vacation "nenkyu" forms. I will leave example forms on your desk, but don't hesitate to ask for help.

With all of this extra time you may find that you want to do extra activities, such as join a class or even start an English club. These ideas are welcomed with open arms, the teachers here are very supportive of your ideas. Currently I teach 6 times a week, plus the environmental issues class. On top of that I teach in a gym class, plus attend three other gym classes and a science class weekly. The students really enjoy seeing me outside of the English classroom. Also you are free to do personal things during this extra time. For example, study Japanese, surf the internet, what ever you want as long as you are in the building.

You are allotted 20 vacation days (nenkyu). I have found that the school does not care when you take these. They prefer if you do not have class, but I have taken about half of mine on class days. As for sick leave, it is no problem either, just talk to your supervisor.

What to Wear
This is one thing that I want to make sure I get right, I was told I could wear casual pants and a golf shirt to work, which is dead wrong. So I have a closet full of stuff I can't wear, and had to buy new clothes. Male teachers are required to wear a shirt and tie everyday, not even a nice turtle neck is good enough for a substitute. This should be worn with a nice pair of pants (cords, Dockers, or dress pants). The female teachers have it a little easier, basically they can wear anything except T-shirts and jeans. On certain days you are expected to wear a suit, but you will have warning of this prior to the day. In the summer it is incredibly hot, so I highly recommend some thin short sleeved shirts. In the winter it is deathly cold and I would plan for lots of layers. The only rooms in the school with temperature control are the computer rooms and the teachers' room, but even they are not controlled well. Hibiki, unlike other schools, allows you to wear your outside shoes indoors, meaning you will not need a pair of "school shoes". For the gymnasium you cannot wear outside shoes, so if you plan to play sports you will need a second pair of runners.

Teachers
I thought I would try to give you a little heads up on some important people. When I arrived I found it difficult to figure out who every one was. One of the best ways to get to know the teachers is at an "enkai", which is a staff party. These are organized by the school, and can be pretty costly (around 5000 yen for 2 hours or so), but well worth it. You will have an opportunity to test out an enkai in late August, early September, as they will hold a welcome party (you don't need to pay for this one). Anyhow, here are some teachers that you may want to recognize when you arrive.
English Teachers	Principals	Others
Tsukamoto Sensei This is your supervisor. You will sit beside her in the teachers' room. She will be able to answer all of your many questions. Suzuki Sensei This is the head of the English department. She has been very helpful in answering questions when Tsukamoto Sensei is not available. Matsumoto Sensei Matsumoto Sensei is a part time teacher, so she is not at Hibiki everyday. Kumabe Sensei Kumabe Sensei works the afternoon shift, meaning he comes in after lunch and does night school. Isobe Sensei Isobe Sensei is also on the afternoon shift. Kuratomi Sensei I have not taught with Kuratomi Sensei, but you will teach O.C.1 with him in the new semester.	Miyazaki Kocho Sensei This is the school principal (Kocho Sensei). You will most likely meet him the day you arrive. After that you will have minimal contact with him, but when you see him he is very happy to try and talk. Tamura Kyoto Sensei This is one of the vice-principals (Kyoto Sensei). He does not speak English, but is often interested to listen to conversations. Shinoki Kyoto Sensei This is the second vice principal. I have not had a lot of contact with him because he was new to Hibiki in the new school year. I have heard him use a little English, but he seems hesitant. Obata Sensei He is not a principal, but he is in charge of the school office, and seems to be important. I had never had any dealings with him, until I took this picture. There are of course, many other teachers. The ones I have chosen to show pictures of are people who are important to know, and those who have helped me in my time at Hibiki. Most teachers really enjoy trying to speak to me, so please don't be shy to talk about anything.	Nakamura Sensei This is the science teacher you will be working with for Environmental Issues. He speaks English well and enjoys the opportunity, but speak slowly. Also a good friend to make if you have computer problems. Kawahara-san Kawahara-san works in the school office, you can get all your supplies from her. Her English is really good. She will be able to help you with obtaining supplies, or any other general questions. Sugino Sensei Sugino Sensei is a computer teacher. She has been a great help when I wanted to set up things to use PowerPoint. Her English comprehension is okay, but speaking is not as high. Abematsu Sensei This is a gym teacher who has been a big help to me in figuring out what goes on in the gym. He has helped me to join classes, and he invited me to the volleyball team after he heard I had played. Kanada-san This is the man you pay the apartment rent to. I am not aware of any English ability, but this is Japan, anyone can surprise you
Hibiki High School `Tenraiji 1-2-1` `Tobata-ku Kitakyushu-shi` `Fukuoka-ken` `804-0041` `Japan` Phone: 093-881-2355 Fax: 093-881-5172

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