SYDNEY JAPANESE SCHOOL

The wallabies and kookaburras that frequent its bushland property may belie the Japanese roots of this unique Australian school. In fact, the Sydney Japanese School (SJS) is an academic blend of both cultures. From humble beginnings as a single class and teacher operating from a modest inner Sydney church, SJS now caters for more than 220 students from its modern, 14ha campus in the northern Sydney suburb of Terrey Hills.

Founded in 1969, SJS was conceived as a not-for-profit business serving the sons and daughters of Japanese expatriates. The school was intended to operate as close as possible to a typical Japanese primary school and to cater for Japanese families temporarily based in Australia. Children kept up to date with the Japanese curriculum, allowing them to make a seamless transition back into the Japanese school system. To help with this ongoing goal, the Japanese government contributes a small percentage each year to the school's running costs.

The school has always welcomed students from all backgrounds. However initially, the handful of non-Japanese students at SJS found the Japanese curriculum difficult to follow. In 1975, SJS introduced an International division to its operations and is now fully accredited by the NSW government as an independent school.

SJS students follow one of two paths: those in the Japanese division are taught the Japanese national curriculum; those in the international division are taught the NSW Board of Studies curriculum. The Japanese division has 100 students and the International division is growing with 120. Students graduating from the international division are fully equipped to attend Australian high schools.

The Japanese division enrols students up to Year 9 who spend five hours a week studying in native english, while the international students study Japanese. The two education streams meet during visual arts, music and physical education classes. Cross-cultural exchange, when the children come together to play and learn, is also encouraged by having Japanese and international classrooms side-by-side.

Beyond this there are many co-curricular activities that students enjoy together; last February SJS students donned classic Japanese clothes and performed a traditional dance at the Japanese festival in Darling Harbour. The school year is also full of events such as sports days, musical concerts and language festivals.

The school aims for a supreme blend of both cultures' tuition styles. The teachers, from both Japanese and local backgrounds, work closely together to adopt the best teaching methods from the two cultures. Primary school years are critical to the growth and development of language skills, as well as children's ideas about their surrounding world. SJS students are encouraged to explore different cultures and cultivate knowledge, allowing them to become true global citizens.

With its bilingual offering and culturally aware learning focus, SJS now attracts a wide variety of students. The school has many children whose parents, or one of their parents, are Japanese. SJS allows these students contact with Japanese culture and way of life. However some parents with no direct affiliation to Japan are also attracted to the fusion of Japanese and Australian teaching styles that the school offers.

The school's history has been one of growth and expansion. Apart from its peaceful and safe bushland environment, the students enjoy a full range of modern facilities like computer labs, art and music rooms, science labs, an audio-visual theatre and a food technology room. In the sporting arena, a running track, soccer fields and long jump runways are all part of a well packaged athletics program. An on-campus depot runs 12 school buses every morning and afternoon to Sydney's northern beaches, north shore and western Sydney. Such modern amenities make for one of the finest educational institutions in Sydney.

The Sydney Japanese School welcomes all prospective parents with its open days annually held in May.

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Who's the boss? Interview: Yasuhiro Shimmi Principal Sydney Japanese School

Jstyle: We understand you've only recently moved to Australia to take up the position of SJS principal. What are your impressions of Australia so far?

Mr Shimmi: Yes, well I received the job offer through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology at the end of last year and moved to Sydney in March. I'm living in Belrose, but I'm amazed at the amount of greenery in Sydney despite it being the largest city in Australia. I enjoy the variety and tastes of the fruit here as well. Prices are high for some things, but it's great that the lifestyle is so laid back. I've found it very comfortable to live here so far.

SJS has two streams, the Japanese division teaching Japanese curriculum and the international division that follows the NSW Board of Studies curriculum. Is having an international section common in a Japanese school ?
No, it's not. Of the 85 Japanese schools around the world, we are the only one that has an international division in addition to the Japanese division. The Sydney Japanese School was established in 1969 with financial assistance from the Japanese government and Japanese corporations based in Australia. The aim was to provide an educational facility that ran parallel to the Japanese curriculum. While SJS is a Japanese Ministry of Education accredited school, we are also a private school approved by the NSW Department of Education.

What are the benefits of local students attending a Japanese school?
It used to be the case that when either the father or the mother was Japanese they would want their child to be exposed to Japanese culture and language, so they would send their children to SJS. More recently however, we have many local students where both of their parents are Australians. The significant benefit for local students attending SJS is the constant exposure they have to Japanese students and culture through the shared classes of physical education, art, music and so on. Through school events and friendship, both local students and Japanese students are able to learn each other's lifestyle and way of thinking. This can be said for teachers sharing and learning from each other as well. Teachers, like students, are able to share with each other their teaching methods and principles and gain immensely from this unique environment.

What are your plans for the school?
Our goal is to assist as many students as possible in being equipped with Japanese and English language skills, cultural understanding and tolerance with the hope that some of them might go on to foster the Japanese and Australian relationship in the international arena. To this end, we would like many people to discover the strengths of our school and will dedicate ourselves to providing an education facility for children of all backgrounds. The plan is to further develop our education curriculum and extra-curricular activities to make SJS bigger and better than ever.