Summer vacation is over, and it's been a while since we came to school. The second semester has started as of today. The students faces were smiling with excitement when they came to the new school. They were full of happiness to see their friends again, and had their own expectations of the new school. On August 25th, we had our opening ceremony, in our new school for the first time. Thanks to so many people, the new school was completed, and the students, and designers prepared a lot for the day.

At the beginning of the opening ceremony, we listened to the GM, Mr. Nango. When we came to see the building for the first time, a worker from the Taisei Kensetsu company, explained that the functions of the building were akin to the functions of the human body. Mr. Nango's story was based on that idea. 

Speaking of the body, if you look closely, the walls are like the skin, the pillars are like the bones, we hear it's breath via the air conditioners, and we think about the life within "Yumenomori-kun" from today.

To celebrate the new "Yumenomori-kun", we performed "Kagami-Biraki" (A bowl (taru), where you break the wood on top to get inside). Some students broke into the taru using mallets, and inside the taru was their favourite juice "Nacchan".

Finally, we went inside through the main entrance. The children were looking around, and their eyes were shining.

They moved to the student entrance, then they made sure of where the lockers were. They wanted to go around the school, but they had a very important mission first from the designers. 

"You are better at finding something than the teachers, so good luck!" This was the mission from the designers. The students said "Ok", stored their bags, grabbed their iPads, and went on an adventure around the school.

In the school there are a lot of bookshelves, and some exhibits. In the science lab the students observed rubber bands and fingerprints with a new microscope, that has a monitor.

In the music room, we can control the curtains with switches, we showed the students and they were surprised, and cheered. "When we see the sky from here when it rains, it's going to be fun!" a student said. We were excited about the idea that we could see the sky change their faces daily with the weather. 

At the old school, the drum set was always nearby the children, so they played it at anytime. The places we borrowed until now, the sound of drums was too noisy for them, so we couldn't have the drums around, but we finally can play the drums again, especially this student, who really likes playing the drums. 

After their adventures, we had presentations in the library in the centre of the school. Before beginning the presentations, they looked around the ceiling, or at their favourite places then told others where they were. 

The library has bookshelves that are stairs, and is also a meeting space. It has a lot of functions, and is a great space. Even though it was the first time for them to be here, they still looked like they were getting used to the space. They comfortably talked to their friends around the room. 

The students favourite places are the drum set in the music room, some chairs, a small space they dubbed the "Secret Space", and so on. It took less than an hour, but they found many favourite places. They are going to use the school often, so we wonder how many favourite places they can find. 

After the opening ceremony for the school, we had the opening ceremony for the new semester. Mr. Masuko, the Vice Principal, said "Think, make your own decisions, then try them." with these keywords, he told the students to make full use of this school and challenge a lot of things. 
Then, students from 3rd, and 9th grade had a presentation about their summer vacation, and their goals for the new semester. The 3rd grade students story was about going to the sea, seeing fireworks, and how the student wants to read many books over the second semester. The students who listened to the presentations also reflected upon their summer vacations, and thought about what they want to do with the new school. 

A 9th grade student had a speech about her memories in Sendai, and spoke it in English. She showed of her hand-made mobile that she made, and her presentation slides. Over summer vacation, she practiced her English with the ALT, Ben, and the English Designer. Her pronunciation was really good, and the speech was filled with her feelings that she wanted to share with others. Afterwards, the younger students said "I want to make these accessories too!"

Each grade had home room at the end of the day. This school doesnt have specific rooms for home room, instead they meet in the "Fumufumu" area, or behind "Suribachi" (This is the name of the bookshelf in the Wakuwaku area).

On the first day of school, the designers were all very happy because the students were excited to start their new lives in this building.

The designers are still getting used to the new school, and are getting ready for the new semester. However, when the students came to the school for the first time, we felt that the school finally got its first breath of life. At this moment, we really want to mention how much we appreciate the people who built this building, and helped prepare us for the new school. Thank you very much. We wonder what our new school life is going to be like, or how we can show off the charm of this new school with the students. With their help, we will "think and act" on this.

Here is a video you can watch to see the new school. Please check it out.