出発しました。まだ伊丹空港ですが、気分はもうイギリスです。

On the morning of December 22, 2025,　Mr. Lukas LEDO visited Hyogo Prefectural Akashi Nishi Senior High School. Lukas studied at Akashi Nishi Senior High School in Japan from September 2023 to July 2024. This time, he returned to the school after two years and reunited with the students from DGA Class 1-8 (now Class 3-8). He also participated in English and physical education classes.

In January 2025, Lukas had already reunited with the current DGA 3-8 class students (who were 2nd-year students at the time) in London during their UK study trip. Lukas is Italian and is currently studying French at a high school in France. This time, he came to Japan with his mother and visited Akashi Nishi Senior High School. Afterward, he plans to visit Hiroshima and Kyoto, staying in Japan for about two weeks until January 3, 2026. He expressed his desire to come back to Japan again when he becomes a university student.

On the morning of December 18, 2025 (Thursday), first-year students from the Department of Awareness (DGA) at Hyogo Prefectural Akashi Nishi High School visited the University of Hyogo. First, Mr. Jeremy September from the Global Business Course (GBC) of School of Economics and Management gave a lecture about his home country, South Africa. Following that,  the students had an exchange meeting with Akashi Nishi High School graduate, Ms. Kawasaki, a second-year student, who shared stories about her high school days and current university life.

In the afternoon, the students visited Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. They first had lunch in the cafeteria. Then, there was a university overview presentation by staff, and we watched a mock class video. Finally, we had a campus tour and discussion session with student participants. Akashi Nishi High School graduates who participated included Ms. Nishimura (first-year), Ms. Onishi (second-year), Mr. Kitamura (third-year), and Mr. Hirose.

On the morning of November 27, 2025 (Thursday), 1st-year students at Akashi Nishi Senior High School visited Kobe University. First, we toured the Kobe University campus. We enjoyed the view from the top floor of the Tsurukabuto Second Campus and visited other campuses guided by Mr. Okamoto, a fourth-year student at Kobe University and graduate of our school.

Next, Professor Koichi Yamashita from the Faculty of International Human Sciences gave a mock lecture titled "Interaction between Globalization and Education - Social Development and Individual Growth". Afterwards, he introduced the Faculty of International Human Sciences at Kobe University.

In the afternoon, we visited JICA Kansai located in HAT Kobe. First, Ms. Horai spoke to us about JICA. Then, we listened to the experiences of Ms. Emiko Morita, who worked as a JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteer in Zambia. It was a fulfilling day.

      On November 7, 2025, the English Recitation Contest for the 1st-year students of the DGA was held in the 5th period at School Alumni Hall (Kisho Kaikan). Finalists and guest speakers including an international student from Belgium, Loic, made wonderful speeches. The students who won the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places were awarded on November 21 at the principal's room.

1st prize                 2   UEDA Yuki          　　  　I Have a Dream

1st prize               33   YOSHIDA Miyu                I Have a Dream

3rd prize               14   SUGAHARA Kokoro        I Have a Dream

4th(Honorable)      32   YAMAMOTO Kokomi      I Have a Dream

  On November 7, 2025, the English Speech Contest for the 2nd-year students was held in the 6th period. Finalists and guest speakers made wonderful speeches. The students winning the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places were awarded on November 18 at the principal's room.

2025 English Speech Contest Results

1st prize                31    MISHRA Adity       I am me, you are you

2nd prize                4    OZONO  Yurara     Love yourself keep it real

3rd prize                 1    AOYAMA Nao 　　The Person I Admire Most

4th (Honorable)    34    YASAKI Rio 　　   What I learned from basketball

An award ceremony was held at the gym of Akashi Nishi Senior High School in the 7th period on October 9, 2025, and eight DGA students were awarded.

First, two award winners of Toban-Deistrict English speech contests received their certificates; Ms. NAGANO Kokomi received the third prize of the contest, and Mr. TSUJITA Riichi got the certificate of the fourth place.

Next, two third-year DGA students received the certificate of EIKEN Pre-1st Grade. They were Ms.TAIRA Sachika and Ms. MAEDA Yuina.

Finally, four third-year DGA students received the certificate of GTEC Official Test Advanced B2 level, equivalent to EIKEN Pre-1st Grade. They were Ms. ANDO Manami, Mr. KANEMOTO Changki, Ms.KOUNO Yuuki, and Ms. TSUKUDA Emi. 

The 40th Hyogo Prefecture Higashi-Harima District Senior High School English Speech Contest was held at Miki Senior High School on October 4, 2025. Three students joined it from Akashi Nishi Senior High School.  All of them are the  2nd-year students belonging to the Department of Global Awareness(DGA). 

Ms. NAGANO Kokomi made a speech titled, 'Carrying My Hometown on My Shoulders' and  came in the third place. She has advanced to Hyogo Prefectural English Speech Contest. 

Mr. TSUJITA Riichi came in the fourth place, and Ms. TAKAHASHI Hinako did her best.

The 21st Junior High School English Recitation Contest was held at Akashi Nishi Senior High School on September 27, 2025. Twenty-two students joined the standard section (一般部門）and four students joined the experienced section (特別部門)

Four students in each section were awarded. In the standard section, the first place went to MIYAZAKI Kouta from Iwaya Junior High School.

[Standard Section]

1st place: MIYAZAKI Kouta from Iwaya Junior High School.

 2nd: SHO Masahiro from Utashikiyama Junior High School

3rd: YOROZU Sari from Himeji International School

4th: TAKAHASHI Yuji from Kanki Junior High School.

In the experienced section, Mia Michelle STARK won the championship. 

[Experienced Section]

1st: Mia Michelle STARK from Utashikiyama Junior High School

2nd: KONAGAYA Shinba from Kakogawa Junior High School

3rd: Uy Xiao Ji PANGANIBAN from Nonoike Junior High School

4th: KINUGAWA Koumei from Suma Kita Junior High School

2025 Sports Day was held at Akashi Nishi Senior High School on September 26, 2025.

The third-year DGA (3-8) students joined the pink block (H) and won  the cheering competition.

Second-year DGA yellow-team students also did their best.

The first-year DGA green-team students participated in the cheering competition for the first time. 

ALTs also enjoyed joining the Sports Day.

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.