Westglen School in Didsbury is celebrating a 20-year-old partnership and friendship with the Japanese community.
Since 2005, students from Miki Town, Japan, have visited Westglen School for an educational and cultural exchange for junior high students.
According to Chinook's Edge School Division, the Towns of Didsbury and Miki Town became officially twinned municipalities in 2009. Although exchanges have occurred every year for many years, this is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that they have happened. Miki Town students visited Didsbury for six days in late March.
“It has been very positive for our students,” says Carolyn Massel, Principal of Westglen School. “It gives them a chance to consider life from a new lens. Also, I love seeing how the students of two different cultures and languages, who think they are so different when they first meet each other, end up finding so much in common. They connect over music, social media and sports. Our students grow close with their friends and have a hard time saying goodbye."
During their visit, the Japanese students explored Banff, joined the Didsbury students for two days of classes, and spent quality time with their billet families. According to Massel, some of the highlights for the students included staying on farms and seeing animals, having snowball fights, and enjoying a hot dog roast.
“These are experiences they haven’t had before,” says Massel. “Also, they couldn’t get over how dirty our cars can get, driving rural and winter roads, which I thought was humorous.”
The students from Japan spend time teaching the Didsbury students about Japanese culture and language. Westglen students learned words from the Japanese language, calligraphy, and origami.
Also, Japanese students showcased drumming, which Massel described as “incredible.”
The adults who accompanied the students from Japan had the opportunity to tour other schools in Didsbury and observe different educational approaches.
Grayson R., a Grade 7 Westglen student, says, “I learned how to use chopsticks. It was pretty hard at first, but then it was super easy! Being a host is a fun experience because you learn about their language and culture and meet new people. Rina loved going to Drumheller and seeing the dinosaurs. She also had a lot of fun when we let her drive the quad while we were doing chores.
Didsbury students say these visits are ones they’ll remember for a very long time.
The division has 12 schools in neighbouring communities, including Olds, Mountain View County, Didsbury and Carstairs. Chinook's Edge has a total of 11,000 students across 40 Central Alberta schools.
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