2019年8月から2020年3月末まで、アイルランドに留学していた本校の現高校2年生のR. Y.さんが、留学先のアイルランドの学校から、現地校のトランジション・プログラムで優秀な成績を修め、ホワイト賞を授与されました。本来であれば、彼女の留学は1年間の予定でしたが、このCOVID 19の影響で早めの帰国を余儀なくされました。それでも、留学先のダンドークの学校は、日本に直接、この賞を送り届けてくれました。コロナ禍で賞の授与には時間がかかってしまいましたが、それでもアイルランドから日本へ、しっかりとこの名誉ある賞を届けてくれました。

本校は、アメリカ、カナダ、オーストラリア、ニュージーランドに加えて、ヨーロッパの学校への留学にも力を入れている学校です。イギリス、フランス、ドイツ、そしてこのアイルランド。現在もアイルランド、ダブリンの学校で1年留学をして頑張っている生徒がいます。

R.Y.さんへの the White Cup のアワード。　留学先のアイルランド・ダンドークにある本校のアイルランド・留学プログラム校の一つであるダンドーク・グラマー・スクールからレポートです。どうぞ！

Dundalk Grammar School send trophy to Japanese student R.Y.

R. Y. is now back at school in Tokyo in Japan. Up to last March 2020, she was a transition year student attending Dundalk Grammar School, as part of the Japanese International Student Placement Programme. She joined the school in August 2019, boarding in the school Sundays to Fridays, and staying with a host family in the area at weekends and holidays.

As well as the cultural exchange, another aim of the programme is to improve proficiency in the English language. For R.Y., this was no problem, as her English was already very good from before she arrived.

If ever a visiting student got more involved and engaged in the life of the school, she was that student. She adored her time in the school, and loved her stay in Dundalk. She claimed “I love my country, but now I have become Irish and I want to stay in this country. I love Dundalk. I love Ireland”. She engaged in all aspects of school life, and academically was a top student.

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She learned fast. She had a particular interest in all matters to do with the environment, and played a central role in the Green Schools Project. The other core interest she had was sharing and celebrating cultural diversity. She played a central role in the planning and organising of the School’s Annual Celebration of Culture Day.

It goes without saying that R.Y. became a very popular student in Dundalk Grammar School. Unfortunately, when schools were ordered to close on March 12, and any hope for reopening was extinguished, R.Y., as with other overseas students, were left with little option but to return to their home countries. But R.Y. had left a little of her culture behind, and determined to maintain her contacts and links with all in Dundalk.

As a testament to her engagement in the School’s TY Programme, R.Y. was awarded the White Cup for having achieved the highest credits of all the students in the year. Credits are awarded for all engagements and involvements in TY, and the White Cup is awarded annually to the student who receives the most credits. The Cup is awarded at Prize Day, which this year was a virtual event. With R.Y. back in Japan, it was not possible to present the Cup to her in person. So it was decided to post it to her. Given the current long delays in postal deliveries between Ireland and Japan, the parcel eventually arrived in Tokyo to her home address last week.

R.Y. was overjoyed to receive this award, as it meant so much to her, and it was the perfect recognition of her time spent in Dundalk. R.Y.’s mum, Michiko, said “this means so much to R.Y. and our family, and it is a wonderful honour for her to receive this award”.

R.Y. is pictured at her home in Tokyo having taken possession of the Cup, giving the traditional Japanese greeting of friendship and gratitude. She misses all her friends in her class, 5 Green, and the Grammar School and Dundalk, but she promises to come back in the future. With her Cup, a part of Dundalk is now in Tokyo. Ireland and Japan, opposite sides of the world, but united and together.