Earlier this morning, Port Lincoln High School celebrated the first anniversary of the signing of our sister school agreement with Muroto High School in Japan, with a small ceremony staged in the garden adjacent to the school’s front office.
The event was attended by a handful of invited guests and speakers (including PLHS Principal Mr. Todd George and Treasurer of the Port Lincoln Muroto Friendship Group, Mr. Chris Mantle), plus Mrs. Tanya Booker’s Year 9 Japanese class.
The proceedings were compered by Mr. Brian Gabb, Chairperson of the PLHS Governing Council, and commenced with an Acknowledgement of Country delivered by senior Indigenous students Sabrina Burgoyne and Nathaniel Hirschausen-Burk.
A speech about the significance of our sister school relationship was delivered (in English) by our Principal Student Leaders, Nell Cane and Mitchell Paterson, then confidently translated into Japanese by Year 9 students, Rebecca Madden, Sophie Lang, Fletcher Beard and Evan Lukin.
To recognise the first anniversary of our formal association with Muroto HS, our school and Governing Council purchased two symbolic monuments – these were both revealed this morning.
The first is a “Pink Cascade” cherry blossom tree, the “planting” of which was completed by our students through a ceremonial laying of white pebbles at the base. The second is a large commemorative sign displaying stunning graphics created in 2021 by Year 12 Design student Ursula Clarke. After the sign was officially revealed by Booker Sensei, the thoughtful symbolism embedded within Ursula’s graphics was explained to the audience by Design teacher, Mr. Shaun Thomas.
To conclude our ceremony, the Year 9 Japanese students spoke in unison to a video recording, saying “arigato gozaimasu” (thank you very much) and “sayounara” (goodbye) to our friends in Japan.
We look forward to many more years of friendship and cultural exchange with the Muroto High School community.
* This morning’s event was kindly filmed by Mr. Chris Mantle – “arigato gozaimasu, Chris-san”; we will share key excerpts from the ceremony with the staff and students at Muroto HS.
