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 Most students commute by train, so the streets from the station to the school are a sea of navy and gray uniforms in the morning. Kids either bring their own lunches or eat in the cafeteria, and after school, many participate in club activities. Club
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Kanagawa
University High School
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The School Day
The school day at Kanagawa University High School starts at Nakayama Station on the JR Yokohama train line, which is packed with people commuting to work and school. Most students get to school by taking the 15-minute walk uphill from the station, so in the morning the road is a sea of navy-blue and gray, the colors of the school uniforms. Homeroom begins at 8:20. The students rise from their seats and greet their teacher, who stands at a lectern at the head of the classroom. Then the teacher takes attendance and, when necessary, makes announcements for the students to pass on to their parents.
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 The
first-period class begins when the bell rings at 8:30. Ordinarily, the
day consists of six 50-minute classes. On this particular day, the schedule
for seventh grade class F is as follows: first period, Japanese; second
period, music; third period, geography; fourth period, math. Then comes
lunch. After lunch come fifth period, art; and sixth period, English.
The 10-minute breaks between periods allow students enough time to prepare for their next lesson. The students keep their books in lockers outside the classroom, and they swarm out into the halls when classes end. All classes are generally held in the same room. But for the music, gym, and other classes students move to different rooms, so their footsteps and voices can be heard throughout the school.
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A fun spot in the busy, time-constrained
schedule of the school day is lunch. The students can spend the 50 minutes
in their classrooms or in the cafeteria, as they like. Peeking inside
class F, we see that almost all the students have brought lunches from
home. The typical lunch consists of rice with seasoning sprinkled on top,
accompanied by side dishes like scrambled eggs, fried chicken, and boiled
vegetables. Meanwhile, the cafeteria is full of chattering and laughing
students.
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At 3:00, when afternoon classes
end, the students return to homeroom for 10 minutes. The two class leaders
for the day stand at the head of the classroom to sum up the day's events
and pass on any information from the student committee. The students close
their school day by standing and saying goodbye in unison.
Several students chosen as cleaning monitors remain to straighten up the classroom, sweep or vacuum the hall floors, and so on. The other students move on to their club activities or go home.
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The lunch menu offers several
choices, such as curry and rice and the set lunch of the day, but most
students line up for the ramen noodles.