Global Partners Blog

13 students (Ms DERIHA, Hibiki, Ms HAMADA, Kazusa, Ms HARA, Marie, Ms MATSUO, Akiko, Ms OGAWA, Aya, Ms OGUSHI, Erina, Ms OHKAWA, Minako, Ms OMOTEZAKO, Natsumi, Ms TAKASHIMA, Mai, Ms TSUJI, Manami, Ms TSUKADA, Rio, Ms UENO, Mai, Ms YOSHIDA, Aoi) along with their teacher escort Ms KANEGAE, Rumi of Seiwa Girls Gakuin High School, from Nagasaki Japan, arrived July 12th in Langley, BC for a 4 week program.

The students will be taking ESL classes and participating in activities, while exploring their homestay community.
Yesterday the students visited Lynn Canyon Ecology centre and Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver.

Shujitsu High School spent Wednesday in the Rocky Mountains. They saw Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Bow Falls and toured the town of Banff. Pictured here are the students along with their teachers at Lake Louise.

We had perfect weather for our outing!
What a beautiful lake!

The students from the Toyo Edmonton program got a midsummer treat during their summer school. On Friday July 23rd the students joined GPI program staff at the Mikado Japanese restaurant for a relaxing luncheon. This was a welcomed opportunity for the students as for most it was the first real Japanese meal they have had since arriving in Canada on April 5th. Fun was had by all…desert was quite interesting… the tempura green tea ice cream is something that neither the students nor GPI staff had ever tried!!!

The students move into their final week of their summer TOEFL Prep this week and will enjoy an active English excursion to Fort Edmonton historical park and will be joined by staff and families for their final certificate day this coming Thursday July 29th to finish things off.

In attendance at the Mikado were Colleen Fedelle, Executive Director of GPI, Neil Hosler, Northern Alberta Regional Manager, Patricia Arnold, GPI TOEFL Prep Teacher, Lorna Driesen, along with our Toyo High School students, Rei Matsubara, Mayu Serizawa, Konomi Watanabe, Nana Kimura, and Miori Hojo

17 students (Mr Hidenori Tanaka, Ms Momjii Namba, Ms Misaki Kajihara, Ms Norie Itami, Ms Sachie Takeuchi, Ms Kozue Yamada, Ms Karen Hashimoto, Ms Seika Kanki, Mr Ryosuke Tsuboi, Ms Yuika Furuya, Ms Yuki Nakashima, Ms Aya Hasegawa, Ms Fumie Fujinaka, Ms Haruna Yoshikawa, Ms Maki Kaihara, Ms Kiho Sakai, Ms Hitomi Fujimoto) along with their teacher Ms Yuko Ito, from Shujitsu High School, from Okayama city in Japan, arrived last week in Calgary, Alberta for 2 weeks.
The students will be taking ESL classes in Calgary, Alberta and participating in activities, while exploring their new community.

8 students (Mio AKEY, Maaya AIZAWA, Mayu FUJII, Manami GOTO, Ryo YOSHIDA, Yuka ISHIGURO, Yuka ISHIGURO, Hikari ISHIKAWA, Arisa UMEKI) along with their teacher, Mr Shigeki Misu and escort Ms Sachika Kikuchi, from Yokohama Suiryo Girls High School, in Yokohama City, in Japan, arrived this week in Abbotsford. They are here for 3 weeks of summer ESL and cultural immersion. The group will be taking ESL classes at the GPI Education Centre in Abbotsford, BC and participating in activities with their homestay families and GPI contract staff.
This week the Students took the Westcoast Express train to downtown Vancouver, and attended a workshop at the University of British Columbia for a lecture from Ms Yuko Yasutake, a professional interpreter/translator. Students visited the Aquatic Centre, UBC Bookstore, and toured some of the faculty buildings and libraries.
The group also visited Vancouver’s famous Stanley Park where students were truly amazed at the beauty of the Totem Poles. They had a wonderful afternoon shopping on Robson Street.

We are very excited to have Yokohama back for their sixth year!!!

Enjoy all that Abbotsford and the lower mainland has to offer over the summer!

The students from the Toyo HS Edmonton program visited the “Beach” on the children’s ward at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. The girls wore traditional Japanese costume and did origami and Japanese calligraphy with the patients. This is the fourth year the students of Toyo HS have been invited back by the Stollery. The presentation adds light to the child patients day and our students benefit from practicing their English while teaching others about their culture. It is quite an experience in volunteerism for the students as well!

Pictured left to right Konomi Watanabe, Mayu Serizawa, Rie Matsubara and Nana Kimura. In the middle is one of the Stollery patients the girls volunteered with.

Way to go girls! You look fantastic!

The Toyo High School Summer TOEFL Preparation Course started in Edmonton on Monday July 5th at the Edmonton Japanese Community Association. Pictured here are Miori Hojo, Nana Kimura, Rie Matsubara, Mayu Serizawa, and Konomi Watanabe.

The five young ladies from Toyo High School in Japan are residing and going to school in Edmonton for 10 months. They arrived in April and are staying in Edmonton until March 2011. The girls take the TOEFL preparation course to bring their English skills up to the highest level possible over their year in Canada. They also take the TOEFL iBT exam 2 times while in the country.

By increasing their English scores and practicing their English in school, with their host families and in the community, each Toyo student gives themselves the best opportunity for acceptance into secondary education back in Japan

With each summer I am so impressed at how hard the students from the Toyo program work on developing their English. It is truly a pleasure to watch such focused students work.

It is not all work though; as part of the program the students will participate in active English excursions where they will visit the Devonian Botanical Gardens, do a cultural presentation at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, visit the Telus World of Science and Fort Edmonton Park.

Keep up the good work girls! It may be hard, but in the end it is worth it!

Nine students and their teacher escort, Ms Fern Edbohls from Nagoya Kokusai High School, Nagoya City Japan, arrived in Edmonton this last weekend for eight weeks of summer ESL and cultural immersion. The group will be taking ESL classes at the University of Alberta and participating in activities with their Edmonton homestay families and GPI contract staff. We are very excited to have Nagoya back in our city for their fourth year!!! I know they will enjoy all that Edmonton (Festival City) has to offer them over the summer!

Three students attending Ecole Notre Dame HS in Bonnyville, Alberta, were recognized in the following categories: Eri Hanamasu won the Coach’s Award for volleyball; Rikako Kakuta won the Coach’s Award for Basketball; and Tomomi Arii won MVP for volleyball. Below are all three girls receiving their award. Congratulations, girls!

We received the following from Maho Isshiki who is attending school at Centennial Secondary School in Coquitlam, BC.

I cant believe that it is over.11 months went by too fast.

I would like to say thanks all for supporting my decisions and making me who Ii am today always. This year was amazing finding my dream and olympics going on in here, Vancouver. I couldnt have made it without my friends and host family. This year has been the best of my life.

I was helping Japanese 12 class out everyday like a tutor. They woke up at 4:00 am to make the cake on last day of school. I got the amazing cake and new CAMERA !! They knew my camera broken long time ago, so they spent a lot of money and time for me.

They being such great friends and always being there by my side every step of the way.