Normally we would have hosted at least two international tour groups by this time of year, but with no sign of the borders opening to international students we came up with an idea so our students could engage with a school in Japan.

Sixteen girls from Waitaki and sixteen for St Hilda’s Middle School in Tokyo meet via zoom for a two-hour exchange.  Working in groups of four the girls exchanged information on their country, culture, school, and life in Covid.  At the start Ms Koni shared a welcome on behalf of our school.  Later the girls went into breakout rooms and although some of the Japanese girls were too shy to speak in English, we were impressed by how good most of their English was.  All the Japanese girls wore masks throughout the exchange as it is a school rule for them.  They have experienced four different lockdowns and soon after the exchange they were sent home as Tokyo had recorded 3,000 new Covid cases that day.