On Friday last week we were visited by 22 students and 3 teaching staff from Sonoda Women's University in Hyogo prefecture in Japan.

The students visiting are studying to be teachers and nurses and during their morning at Papanui High School they spent time doing traditional activities with the Year 9 to year 12 Japanese classes.  The activities the Kiwi students took part in were, kendama, koma, origami and taketombo.  The Kiwi students also had an opportunity to use the Japanese they have learnt during lessons to ask questions and converse with the Japanese students in Japanese.

The nursing students also had the opportunity to visit  the Student Support Centre and the sickbay, and were able to hear how NZ schools deal with students who are unwell.

The trip is always a highlight for the Japanese classes, and the students from Sonoda also enjoy interacting in a NZ school setting.  This year was no exception.  We are very privileged to be visited by Sonoda University every year and are looking forward to their next visit in 2026.  Thank you to the PHS Library staff and the other PHS staff who helped make this visit such a success.