Upper Yarra Secondary College has a Sister School relationship with a Japanese High School called Odate Kokusai Joho Gakuin.  Our Sister school is located in Akita Prefecture , in the North of Japan.

Our relationship with this school began in 2005 when 20 Japanese students and their teachers stayed with families from Upper Yarra for a total of 10 days.  Although the trip was very short, the Japanese students had a fantastic time sightseeing around Melbourne and experiencing school and home life in the Yarra Valley . 

In September 2006, 8 students from Upper Yarra visited Japan.  We spent three days in Tokyo before catching the bullet train to Akita prefecture.  A total of three and a half weeks was spent in Japan.  For most of the time we lived with host families who were very kind to us in every way.  We were fortunate enough to see many amazing sights around Japan as well as experiencing Japanese school life, which is very different to Australia.

Every year, Upper Yarra Secondary College will participate in this exchange program as it greatly benefits the students language and cultural learning.  In addition, students make life-long friends with their hosts and school buddies while broadening their social and cultural understanding.

We encourage all students who have the opportunity to participate in this program, particularly from years 8-10.  Extra classes for these students run throughout the year to further build their language skills and their cultural awareness before the trip.

If you are interested in becoming a host family or would like to know more about the trip, please do not hesitate to contact Michelle Spinks (Japanese teacher/Organiser) on 59 671 877.