8Y7M 6Y9M 日本で小学校に体験入学 Went to a primary school in Japan

今年の1学期は、ペナン日本人学校の一年生の体験入学は受け入れないということだったので、急遽2週間弱日本に一時帰国し、日本の小学校へ体験入学。

こういう決定は教育委員会というよりも学校の裁量に任されているので、両親宅から徒歩3分の私の母校、大砂土東小学校に父が電話すると快く受け入れてもらえた。

大砂土東小学校 Osato Higashi P.S.

ペナン日本人学校に何度かお世話になっているが、こちらは文科省の援助があるとはいえ、私立校の扱い。体験入学も学費が発生する。日本の公立校はもちろん無料。給食費と傷害保険料を納めるだけでスタート。


初日は朝の登校班の子供たちに挨拶をしたが、少し遅れて私が連れて行った。教頭先生と会議室でお話をし、1年4組の寺田先生、3年5組の田邊先生がアラタカラを迎えに来た。

初日の朝、多少緊張気味　First morning,  a bit nervous.

生まれて初めて体験する「上履き」に履き替える習慣、赤白帽子をかぶっての集団登校、給食、生まれて始めて一人きりで公道を歩いて下校・・・・私にとっては普通だけれども、日本の学校には独特の文化がある。

Penang Japanese School decided not to take trial children for year 1 for this term. We decided to send Aratakara to a school in Japan. We went to Japan for 2 weeks immediately after SCIPS finished.

If the school takes a trial child or not totally up to the school. When my father rang Osato Higashi Primary School, where I used to go, the deputy headmaster accepted our request. The school is only 3 minutes walk from my parents.

We have sent Arata to Penang Japanese School for a couple of times. Although the school is partially funded by the government, it's still a private school, and they charge us school fee. Of course, local schools in Japan are free. We only have to pay for the school lunch and some sort of insurance, then off they go.

On the first day, we met a group of children, with who Aratakara are going to go together, at 7.50 in front of my parents' house. Then I took them to school a bit later to meet deputy head master, Inoue Sensei. Soon after, Terada Sensei of Year 1 Class 4 and Tanabe Sensei of Year 3 Class 5 came to meet us  and take boys to each classroom.

A lot of "first" experiences for Ararakara. They have to change their shoes to Uwabaki, shoes inside of the school, they go to school by themselves wearing a red and white hat, they are provided with school lunch..... All of these are very normal for me, but for my children, everything is new.