Okay, grr... blogger just ate my message about graduation. Luckily, I have nothing else to do all day, so I might as well go ahead and rewrite the whole thing. Graduation was on Monday, but there are still classes the rest of the week. The 9th graders aren't coming to school anymore, but the other students are.

For the ceremony on Monday, all the teachers wear black and white. Men are supposed to wear black suits with white ties. I bought a white tie at the 100 yen store, a suggestion my supervisor made. I didn't think they would sell ties at the 100 yen store, but they did. Some of the 9th grade teachers wore traditional Japanese formal wear instead. They looked quite good in it. Their outfits were more colorful, and saved the teachers from looking like they were attending a funeral instead. After the ceremony, many, many 9th grade students posed for a picture with me. It was pretty funny.

The day after graduation, the 9th graders find out if they passed the high school entrance tests for the high school they want to attend. A high school education is not guaranteed in Japan. Students have to take exams, and rank their order of preference for which high school they will attend. Most of my students want to go to Toyama High School, where my neighbor works. It is close by and a very good school.

Some students don't score well enough on the tests to get into any high school. Many of these students attend private school instead, but it is more expensive. Students who can't afford to pay for private school just don't go to high school. Also, some students can't pass the easier private high school entrance exams, either. On Tuesday there was a small crowd of the "bad boys," who never went to class during junior high school, that formed outside my school. The other students were busy checking each school to see if they got in, but these students knew that they wouldn't get into any high school, so they didn't bother. I feel sorry for them, since they are only 15, yet have a very limited future.

The students get about a one week vacation, then they have to return to prepare the classrooms for the arrival of the new students. The new 7th graders won't arrive until April 8. The teachers will also move soon. Next Monday, the teachers will find out if they are being moved to another location. They have a couple days to move to the new school, and there they have to get ready for the new classes they'll be in charge of. It really makes things pretty crazy, from what Abi says. I guess I get to find out.

Anyway, I won't have English classes until the new students arrive, so I have to sit around and do nothing for awhile. I'm hoping my supervisor will let me work short hours next week, or just study at home. After all, what's the point of sitting at school and playing computer games the whole day?