The history of Our Global Education
| 1971 | Ms. Mary Robertson (Australia) spends one year as an international student at our school. |
| 1976 | Students from our school participate in the “Hawaii Summer Seminar” (Venue: Lahainaluna High School) hosted, for the first time, sponsored by the Association of Japanese Private Junior and Senior High Schools. |
| 1977 | The International Society for the Promotion of Science uses our school as the venue for the first international summer session in Yonezawa during the summer vacation. 260 students of elementary to senior high school age attend. |
| 1979 | Students from our school participate in the summer session in California held at San Domenico School, California. |
| 1985 | Students from our school participate in the Hawaii International Winter Study School held at Hawaii Preparatory Academy on the Island of Hawaii. |
| 1990 | A student from our school visits Colorado, the sister state of Yamagata Prefecture, as a Yamagata Prefecture Young Ambassador. |
| 1992 | Students from our school participate in an exchange meeting with 6 young men and women aged 18-24 from Swatow City in China, who were here for practical training in companies based in Yonezawa. |
| 1993 | Shuichi Sakurai of our school’s English department spends one year in Canberra, Australia teaching the Japanese language at Radford College. Also, in 1993, students and accompanying teachers from St Johnsbury Academy, Vermont, USA visit our school. Visiting students stayed in the homes of our students. Our two schools agree for this to be an annual event held every spring. |
| 1997 | Students from our school go to both Orange Christian School and St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School in Australia to take part in a voluntary international understanding seminar. |
| 1999 | Students from our school visit Hawaii Preparatory Academy. On the study trip, they visit Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial and reaffirm the importance of world peace. |
| 2000 | A representative of the Interact Club (A junior branch of the Rotary Club) from our school attends a study program in South Korea. |
| 2002 | This year marks the start of the then annual overseas study program in Australia for first year students. The program takes place in Nudgee High School and Cowra City. Cowra City is the home of a prisoner of War Camp dating back to WW2, from which 1,104 Japanese prisoners are said to have escaped. Annual visits by our students to the ruins and graves of the prisoner of war camp managed by ex-servicemen provide an opportunity to learn about the importance of peace. |
| 2004 | Aborigines, named Raymond Austin and Radayne Tamma, visit our school and give a Didgeridoo performance as well as teach our students about boomerangs and other aspects of the Aborigine culture. |
| 2005 | For the first time, one of our foreign students from China, Mr. Li Wulong, participates in the National High School Competition in the table tennis division. After attending and graduating university, he goes on to work in international trade and commerce. Our school begin to accept foreign students from China every year. |
| 2006 | As part of the Progress Course, second year students visit Hawaii, which becomes an annual event. |
| 2007 | Sei Suzuki (a member of our school teaching staff) participates as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer for JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and travels to Zambia’s capital, Lusaka. He works at Destiny Community Centre as an advisor. As well as providing guidance for self-reliance and basic education to children unable to attend regular school, he also coaches a local soccer team. This year marks the first year where second year students from our school participate in a study trip to The Riverina Anglican College in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. |
| 2008 | 6 individuals from The Riverina Anglican College (TRAC) including students, Head Master Dr. Ian Grant and his wife and teachers/guardians visit our School. From then on, TRAC students have continued to visit Japan our school once every two years. |
| 2010 | Visitors from Vietnam participating in the JENESYS Program (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan visit our school and participate in various activities and stay in the homes of our students. In July, as part of the JENESYS Program, five students from our school visit Chu Van an High School and Nguyen Sieu High School in Vietnam while staying at the homes of students of Nguyen Sieu High School. |
| 2012 | Two students from our school participate in an exchange event with junior high school students from the Korean Red Cross Daegu Branch run by the Yamagata Prefecture branch of the Japanese Red Cross Society. Also, one student from our school and the school nurse, Kumiko Saito, participate in the Cambodian Education Support Project (Youth Red Cross International Exchange) and visit elementary schools in Siem Reap Province to deliver educational supplies as well as having cultural exchanges with the Youth Red Cross High School there. |
| 2014 | As part of the JENESYS Program (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange Students and Youths) run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan students visit our school and stay in the homes of our students. Also, on the JENESYS Program 19 students from our school and two accompanying staff members visit India’s Capital, Delhi, on the In the spirit of friendship and mutual understanding, our students visit Delhi Public School R.K. Puram and Tagore International School. Mr. Peter Kuan (Operating Director of the Destiny Community School in Lukasa, Zambia) and a teacher, Ms. Jenny Nyirongo, bring two of their school students to visit our school on our invitation. |
| 2015 | As part of the JENESYS Program, visitors from the Republic of the Philippines come to our school. Visiting students and teaching staff stay in the homes of our school’s students and teaching staff. Our school holds the first ‘Kunori World School – Study Abroad by Ropeway’ event. It is run with the cooperation of international students from the Engineering Department of Yamagata University. Students from our school are able to take steps towards becoming more globally minded individuals. Trustee of the Specified Nonprofit Corporation PCM (project Cycle Management) Takahiro Miyoshi (Yokohama National University) is invited to be a special guest lecturer and a cross cultural communication workshop takes place. This event, as part of the SGH (Super Global High School) associate program, goes on to become a yearly event. As part of the JENESYS program High School students from the Jiangxi and Shaanxi province in China visit our school. Our students are able to participate in friendly exchange and broaden their cultural understanding. As part of the Japan ASEAN Youth Exchange Program (a government funded program), students from Southeast Asian countries visit our school. Visiting students are able to learn aspects of Japanese culture such as Tea Ceremony, Calligraphy, Kendo and Japanese archery (Kyudo) as well as take part in classes and exchange with students. |
| 2016 | July. As part of the Kakehashi project, a people-to-people exchange program between Japan and North America run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, students from Oregon, USA and accompanying teaching staff visit our school. Visiting students are able to participate in Japanese language classes and stay in our students’ homes – allowing for mutual cultural exchange. October. As part of the JENESYS Program students and accompanying teaching staff from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia visited our school. Visiting parties stayed in the homes of our staff and students. |
| 2017 | January. Twenty students from the Republic of Kenya and the Kingdom of Toga visit our school for a government funded event called Ship for World Youth Leaders. February. As part of the Kakehashi Project, twenty three of our students and accompanying teaching staff visit Westview High School, Oregon, USA. They interacted with local high school students, did homestays and gave presentations about the charms of Yamagata and Yonezawa. They also performed a Hanagasa dance (a traditional, local dance) forming mutual bonds of friendship and understanding. November. 32 students from Taiwan visit our school by educational travel. Visiting students are able to learn aspects of Japanese culture such as Tea Ceremony as well as take part in classes and exchange with students. |
| 2018 | April. 72 students from National Changhua Senior high School in Taiwan came to our school. At the welcoming ceremony, the students of our school showed school songs and Taiwanese high school students introduced the state of the school. Students in Taiwan enjoyed lunch together with our students. After that, the students participated in an exchange meeting organized by each class divided into each class. |
