General Information
Kokura Minami Senior High School is a prefectual senior high school. The school, like most senior high schools consists of three grades; first year students (一年生), second year students (二年生)、and third year students (三年生). The school is strict in many ways. For example, all students wear uniforms and are not permitted to have part-time jobs. Kokura Minami School has an “English Course.” This means that there is one class at every grade level that specializes in English. Although all students are required to take English courses, the English Course students take extra classes and participate in events like the Summer Language Workshop and the yearly Speech Contest. This English Course also brings up an interesting point. There are two ALTs at Kokura Minami. You will be planning and teaching with this ALT throughout the school year. The school itself is a typical Japanese school. It does not have central heating or central air. A new building is in the process of being built which will contain a new library. I have heard rumors that the building will be finished around October so I am sure that you will have a chance to enjoy this building.
Location
Kokura
Minami is located in the Kokura Minami ward, which is a section of
Kitakyushu city. There are many buses that pass by the school
and
go to
Kitakyushu’s city center, Kokura. There is also a JR train station and a
Monorail station within a five-minute walk from the school. I did not live
in the apartment that Kokura Minami offered, but I
was told by my predecessor that it takes about 10-15 minutes to walk or 5-10
minutes
by bike to get to school from
that
apartment,
should it be the one they offer you. Within a five-minute walk of the school there is a store called Daiei. This store offers a lot, from cheap groceries, a 100 Yen store to an
electronics store. There is a Moss Burger across the street from the
school. It is a Japanese fast food chain restaurant, which is a bit pricey
and slow, but very tasty. There are a variety of other restaurants nearby.
Students
The students at Kokura Minami are quite used to having an ALT. As I mentioned, there are three grades at the school. You will see mostly the first year students. You can tell what grade the students are by the colour of their slippers and gym uniforms. The first years have red slippers, the second years have blue slippers and the third years have green. You will find the third year students are very involved with preparing for their university entrance examinations. Do not let this deter you from talking to them. Of the third years, you will most likely only teach the English course students. They are a very interesting and lively group of students. From my experience, you will get to know your second year English course students very well because you will have several classes a week with the same students. In regular English classes (Oral Communication classes), the students can vary from being dead silent to refusing to stop talking. Both situations can present a challenge, but as time passes, the students will get accustom to you and I am certain that you will enjoy your classes.
Activities
There
are many activities at Kokura Minami. The students are very talented
and dedicated to their clubs. There are clubs from Judo to selling bananas.
The students and teachers take their club activities very seriously, so much
that they continue even when the students are on holiday. There are a
few interesting events for you to see at the school as well. In September,
there is a sports day and in February there is a marathon event. There is
also a school culture festival and trips for the students.
Don't forget your camera!
