A group of Cambodian children visited the school today and spent the afternoon with 3rd year students.

Mr. Uchida, a Buddhist monk who is known for his work digging wells in Cambodia, has been visiting the school with groups of children from the Dharma Orphanage for ten years now.

In order to make the afternoon a success, a special committee of 3rd year students was set up, and the students involved carried out all of the planning and preparations themselves. This hard work resulted in everyone enjoying their time together.

This year was the fiftieth year of the Fuji high school chorus competition. Fittingly, the location was changed from the auditorium to the Sapporo concert hall "Kitara". The main concert hall hired for the occasion and an unforgettable chorus competition was held in inimitable style!

The first year basic computer classes have been under way since last week. With the expertise of the school's IT teacher, as well as specialists brought in from outwith the school, the students are learning the basics of logging in and operating a computer. This will ensure they are able to take advantage of the computer room after school, when it is available to students (excluding Wednesdays).

Students visited Fumio Ueda, the mayor of Sapporo to report on their receiving an award from the director of the Resources and Energy Agency. With so many people of all ages present, the visit showed that energy conservation is a common goal which is being tackled seriously by a wide cross section of society.

Fourth year student, Shoko Komatsu, has recently returned from a national piano audition in Tokyo. After playing Chopin's Rondo, Shoko was chosen to be one of eight prizewinners out of a total of 78 participants. After receiving her prize at the Kawai Omotesando in Tokyo, Shoko went on to take part in a recital held at Tsuda Hall.

Hearty congratulations indeed.

A performance given by the rhythmic gymnastics club was held after school today. Students and teachers alike found themselves entranced by the gracious movements of the 10 students who were performing in what is the last year before they graduate.

Club member comment:

"We were put up a lot of posters and handed out personal invitations in order to let as many people as possible know about the event, so we were very happy that so many people came to watch us. We were a little nervous, but this performance will be a great memory for us when we look back on our time as clu members."

This morning, the facing-off ceremony between new students and the rest of the student body was held. As the new 1st years entered the gymnasium, they were greeted with warm applause as they came face to face for the first time with the 900 or so senior students who will help them if need be.

After a short talk from the headmistress, the head of the student council and a representative of the 1st years exchanged greetings. After this ceremony, the 1st years had their class photographs taken and were then given an orientation around the school facilities.

The 2010 entrance ceremony for new 1st year students was held in the auditorium with parents and guests in attendance. A representative from each class was handed the student notebooks by the headmistress and, with the beautiful singing voices of the chorus club descending from above, 163 new girls took the first step in their six-year long adventure at Fuji.

A warm welcome to you all.

The new school year started today with a morning assembly followed by a ceremony to welcome new teachers to the school. The students listened to the headmistress talk about the importance of using time wisely and not losing sight of one's goals. Thereafter, the students gave a warm welcome to the new teachers joining Fuji this year.

A total of thirty four students returned to Sapporo from their spring language study trip to Canada. During their twelve day stay, they spent each day putting their English skills to the test, became part of a family from a completely different culture, and generally enjoyed a trip which offered them a wide variety of learning experiences.