The second open high school was held at Akashi Nishi Senior High School on September 20, 2025.

First, in the first half, junior high school students and their parents listened to explanations of (1) the whole school and the regular course, (2) Education course (3) the Department of Global Awareness(DGA).

Second, the DGA offered its own programs: 

(1) A first-year DGA student Ms.Kawabe made a speech; she was the champion of the speech contest held in the English Camp held in August at Aspia Akashi.

(2) A group of two or three students from the second-year DGA class answered the questions about (A) English and other classes (B) School events (C) Visiting universities  and (D) Club activities.

(3) The junior high school students listened to 2024 English listening test of the DGA.

(4) The junior high school students and their parents listened to self-introductions of three ALTs of Akashi NIshi;(1) Shaquille from America (2) Shelly from Balbados and (3) Brittany from Australia.

There were two sessions in the morning and in the afternoon. In total, the number of participants was 127. They were 64 students , 61 parents and two teachers. Thank all the participants for coming. See you at the next open high school in November! 

     2025 Akashi Nishi Senior High School English camp was held between July 23 and July 25.  The 1st year DGA students joined the camp, which was held at Aspia Akashi. During three days of the camp, all the participants were supposed to speak only English. Three ALTs and two ALTs from Akashi Josai High and Prefectural Agriculture High School  gave lessons in English. 

     On the first day and the second day the students had five lessons, which included a variety of activities such as debates, discussions, and games. They participated in the 'Ultra Quiz', in which four groups tried to answer 50 questions asked by ALTs. Team 4, Kangaroo, led by Ms. Kashimoto, came in the first place, Team 2, Panda, lead by Ms. Ueda, came in the second place, and Team 3 Lion headed by Mr. Ogura got the third prize.

     On the second day, there was a qualifying round of a speech contest. Thirteen students advanced to the finals, and they made wonderful speeches on the last day. Ms. Kawabe got the first prize, followed by Ms. Sugahara in the second place and Ms.Ueda and Ms. Kurita both came in the third place. 

    After the closing ceremony, 1-8 students gave presents to the ALTs to thank them.

The first Global Citizenship I (GCI) special lecture was delivered online to the first-year students of the Department of Global Awareness (DGA) on July 15, 2025.

The lecturer was Mr. Kouta Hirose, who is currently participating in a co-op program (also known as cooperative education) near Vancouver, Canada. Co-op programs in Canada integrate academic study with practical, paid work experience in a student's field of study.

Mr. Hirose graduated from Akashi Nishi Senior High School in March 2022 (the 44th graduating class and the 17th DGA graduate) and began studying English at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies in April. During his third year, he decided to study in Canada.

Mr. Hirose discussed the following topics online: 1) self-introduction; 2) what a co-op program is; 3) differences between co-op programs and working holiday programs; 4) his experiences at a language school and at work; 5) his career plans after the program; and 6) what he learned from the program.

After the one-hour lecture, several questions were asked, including about his favorite food, his English proficiency while studying at the DGA, and the languages used in Canada.

He said, "At first in Canada, my English speaking skills were weak because I didn't provide reasons for my statements. I was perceived as superficial. Since then, I have tried to support every statement with a reason. I encourage you to practice expressing your opinions with supporting reasons consistently."

In his final message, he said, "Of course, you should study English, but please also try to find another field of study besides English language learning. In Canada, there are many immigrants from around the world, and they all speak English."

The second day of the Meisei-sai (Akashi Nishi Cultural Festival) was held.

First, all the students gathered at the gym and saw the band made up of some teachers and students play music. The audience was excited. 

In the north building on the 1st floor, the Tea Ceremony and Flower Arrangement Club held a tea ceremony. 

A cup of powdered green tea and a dumpling were served for free.

At the entrance area of the south building, there were two classes selling food---the 3-8 class was selling octopus balls and the 3-2 class was selling frankfurters. 

In the morning some volunteer singers and dancers performed on the stage. At 9:45, ITOOKASHI sang wonderfully. At 11:05, Landmine boys sang wonderful songs and danced beautifully.

In the afternoon,  an ALT Blake performed rakugo. The title was 'Zoo'.  The story amused the audience very much.

Then the 1-8 class sang a school song and a song titled 'This Is Me' in the finals of the chorus competition.

They did their best. They came in the fourth place.

At 14:05, the ESS (English Speaking Society), which many DGA class members belong to, held a play titled, 'Toy Story 3'.  The audience enjoyed a funny story performed by students and two ALTs. It was made easier to understand by Japanese subtitles on a screen.

Then the brass band played several songs. One of them was 'Matsuken Samba.'  Teachers of the third year appeared and sang and danced to the music. The students were amused and excited at the performance.

At 15:10, a closing ceremony was held.  The 2-7 class of the DGA received the third prize of all the 2nd-year plays. The 3-8 DGA class was awarded the first prize of all the 3rd-year food shops.

     Akashi Nishi Senior High School held a two-day cultural festival on June 11 and 12. 

In the morning of the first day, an opening ceremony was held. Commercial films for ESS and 3-8 were shown.

Every student enjoyed seeing the chorus club and the drama club perform.

After these wonderful performances, the 2-7(DGA) drama, "Remember Me", was performed. The story was clear and actors (double- or triple-casts) performed well. 

Then, a dance group from 3rd-year DGA girls, Twinkle's, danced beautifully on the stage, followed by The Beasts, a 3rd-year DGA male singer and a dancer, performed.

Outside, 3rd-year students were selling food. The 3-6 class, Fujichan Dango,  prepared tasty dumplings. The 3-4 class, CHIGU-Donald, fried French fries, seasoned with several-taste powders. The 3-5 class, Gori-chan Pancake, baked delicious pancakes.

The 3-7 class, Shiawase-no Baby Kasutera, sold  soft and small sponge cakes. The 3-2 class, Grand Maison Makino, broiled yakitori, grilled chicken. The class 3-1, KOBUSHI-DE Croffle, baked croffle, a kind of pancakes which combine croissants and waffles.

All the 1st-year classes took part in a preliminary round of the chorus competition.  The 1-8 class sang a school song and a song "This Is Me."

The 1-8 class was chosen as one of the four classes which have advanced to the finals. The final chorus competition  will be held in the afternoon  of June 12. 

On May 3rd, Yuma Hishitani, a second-year student from DGA, participated in Soroptimist International of Akashi Club Youth Forum. The theme was “A woman’s way of life in the bright future ~ Learning from ancient women~”. 7 students from Akashi city’s high schools made a speech on the theme.

Ms Hishitani talked about her experience of learning traditional Japanese dance.

After the speeches, 7 participants discussed the theme and deepened their understanding.

     In the evening of April 17 (Thu), a farewell party for Churchlands students was held. Churchlands students, teachers,  ALTs, and host brothers and sisters with host family members came to a careteria of Akashi Nishi.  They talked over pizza and drink. They had a good time, singing a song in the end.

     Early in the morning  on Apri18, the host family brought Churchlands students to school, and said farewell

to each other.  Churchlands students  left school on foot to JR Tsuchiyama station. They were going

to stay in Kyoto for a few days. Then they were going back to Australia. Their trip to Japan was from April 6 to April 21.

    Second- and third-year  students of the Department of Global Awareness (DGA) held a welcome meeting  for the first-year DGA students in the gym on April16 (Wed), 2025.

   First, the 1st-year students entered the gym and they were welcomed by their seniors. Two second-year MCs, Mr. Kotake and Mr. Tsujita, announced they were going to start a welcome ceremony. A principal, a DGA chief, DGA staff including homeroom teachers and ALTs greeted the first-year students.

     Then, in 14 groups, the senior students talked about their study and school events.

     A welcome ceremony for Churchlands students was held on April 14, 2025. A teacher and three students told Akashi Nishi students that they would like to not just learn the Japanese language but also learn about Japanese culture as well as make friendships.

    They made okonomiyaki or Japanese-style savory pancakes in a cooking room. They cooked them and enjoyed eating them.

   On April 15(Tue), Churchlands students talked with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-year Akashi Nishi DGA students. They talked about their hobbies, favorite movies, anime as well as their favorite food both in English and Japanese.

They also learned how to perform karate moves from Mr. Sato, a karate master. 

After school, they joined club activities. Some practiced kendo, a traditional martial art of swordsmanship.

   28 students and three teachers came from Chruchlands High School in Perth, Western Australia to Akashi on April 11. They arrived in Akashi Nishi Senior High School around16:00, and they met their host brothers and sisters. Their host family took them home.

     They  are going to stay in Akashi for 8 days. They will come to school with their host brothers and sisters. Before coming to Akashi, they spent 4 days in Tokyo.