The long summer vacation has come to an end, and school life begins again today.

When I arrived at school around 7:00 this morning, the first thing I noticed was how beautifully the trees and plants in the courtyard had been trimmed. The stairs the students use to come up to the school buildings and the walkways leading to the classrooms were also completely clean, without a piece of litter in sight.

I could feel how much care the staff responsible for maintaining the school grounds had put into preparing for the children’s return today. Teachers are not the only ones who welcome our students back to school. Many staff members support our students’ school life in different ways. It was a refreshing morning that reminded me of this once again.

As the students began arriving, several memorable things happened.

One of our junior high school students, who will soon leave AMICUS to study abroad, came to school for the last time with her younger sister. At the moment of saying goodbye, her younger sister began crying because she was so sad to see her go. Seeing this, I could not help but shed a few tears myself.

The older sister has her own dreams and hopes, and she is now taking a new step toward them. We understand that growing up means gradually becoming more independent from one’s family and expanding one’s world. Even so, saying goodbye to family is never easy. I sincerely hope that she will learn many things in her new environment and continue to grow.

There was also some very happy news.

A Grade 6 student came to tell me, “I passed the EIKEN Pre-1 test.” The student happily explained, “I failed several times before, but this time I passed,” and “I got a perfect score on the interview.” Seeing such a proud and happy face made me very happy as well.

Of course, passing the test is a wonderful achievement. However, I believe there is even greater value in the fact that the student did not give up and kept trying after several unsuccessful attempts.

At 8:30, just as usual, the morning announcement by the Elementary School Student Council began. As I listened to the students announce the day’s schedule, I thought, “Yes, school has really started again.” When the voices of children return to the campus, the school truly feels like a school again.

I believe that summer vacation is one of the times when children can grow the most.

Without their regular classes, children have more time to use on their own. They can make their own study plans, read books, work on independent projects, spend time with their families, or enjoy nature. In other words, they have much more time to decide for themselves what they want to do.

Because they have this freedom, they also need to think for themselves, learn for themselves, and take action for themselves.

Our school values the words Think, Learn, Act, and I believe summer vacation gives children many opportunities to put these words into practice. I am very much looking forward to hearing what our students thought about, what they learned, and what they challenged themselves to do during the summer.

Above all, what made me happiest today was seeing our students return to school safe and well. I am truly grateful that we were able to welcome them back without any serious injuries, accidents, or major incidents during the summer vacation.

I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all parents and guardians for supporting and watching over your children during the summer break.

The second half of our school year begins today.

All of us at AMICUS will continue to work together to support every student so that they can build on the experiences and growth they gained over the summer and take another step forward.

Thank you, as always, for your continued understanding and support of our school and its educational activities.