■Summary
Description:
A two-day camp was organised for elementary students. Together with foreign camp leaders and volunteers, the participants played games, hiked, learned about foreign countries and made handicrafts.
The CIR was involved throughout the process, from planning to implementation.
Duration |
2 days, 1 night |
|---|---|
Location |
Prefectural Forest Park |
Target |
5th and 6th year elementary school students (participation fee: 1,800yen) |
Participants |
16 people |
Organiser |
Planning Section |
Budget |
50,000yen - 100,000yen |
Objectives:
To promote multicultural understanding through interaction with foreigners, and to provide an opportunity for students to learn and experience foreign languages and cultures.
■Implementation
Role of the JET:
Eight foreigners took part in the camp as camp leaders and volunteers.
There were four camp leaders, each responsible for a group of students. They led their group during the camp. Volunteers assisted each group.
Foreigners were all JET participants who were acquaintances of the CIR.
Schedule:
| 1) | Hiking Participants gathered in the morning and travelled to the camp venue by bus (approximately one hour). |
| 2) | Cultural Presentations Once at the camp, groups were formed for multicultural understanding time. Each camp leader introduced his/her home country. |
| 3) | Dinner Groups were also formed for dinner, with each group cooking a dish from each country. |
| 4) | Campfire After dinner, participants gathered around the campfire, toasted marshmallows, sang, and danced. |
| 5) | Accomodation Participants spent the night with the camp leaders in the lodges. |
| 6) | Second Day After breakfast, participants left the camp and arrived home before lunchtime. |
Language:
During the camp, the language used was mostly Japanese, but presentations were mainly in English. When students did not understand something, they relied on gestures to express themselves and the CIR interpreted only when necessary.
Staff:
Seven people from the city office accompanied the group as staff.
■Preparation
PR, Gathering Participants:
One month prior to the event, an announcement was placed in the city newsletter and local newspaper. In addition, flyers were distributed to elementary schools.
Participation was limited to 20 and there were 16 applications. One or two students of the city's ten elementary schools participated.
In order to have enough participants, the camp was scheduled over the weekend. However, because many students were busy with cram school and other extracurricular activities, they were not able to take part in the event.
Foreign Staff:
Besides having the CIR ask his friends to participate, a mail was sent to all JET participants in the area.
After recruiting the foreign staff, the information sent to the participants was translated into English and distributed. Contact with the foreign staff was made through email, answering their questions and preparing for the camp.
Orientation for the Parents:
One week prior to the event, an orientation was organised for the parents.
Programme Planning:
Planning started three months prior to the event. Centring around the CIR and sharing ideas, the programme was decided in collaboration with the Japanese staff responsible for the event.
The camp leaders were in charge of the content of the group activities. They also took care of gathering materials they needed for their activities and were reimbursed afterwards.
Indoor activities were also prepared in case of rain.
Reserving the Venue:
Setting a date and securing a location were the top priorities. Taking into account various elements such as school events, the ALTs' schedule, and weather conditions, a date was set and the venue reserved three months in advance.
Equipment:
No particular equipment was required. Staff from the city office brought their own coolers and other equipment.
■Budget
The venue costs roughly 50,000yen and approximately 30,000yen was spent on fees for the group leaders, amounting to a total of around 80,000yen.
Participation fees were charged to cover the cost of food and insurance (Recreation Insurance).
The bus was city-owned and thus free of charge.
■Submitted by
Tateyama City (Chiba Prefecture)
Planning Division
Planning Section
Tel: 0470-22-3147
■Comments/Advice from the Supervisor
The reason for limiting participation to fifth and sixth year elementary school students is that it becomes very difficult to manage kids below those grades without parents or teachers present. Furthermore, since both boys and girls take part in the camp, having a female city staff was helpful to meet the needs of the girls in the group.
With some modifications, this type of camp could also be organised for junior or senior high school students. For example, the camp could be exclusively run in English, giving students an opportunity to build up their language abilities in a short time or to actually practise their English with foreigners.
■A Word From CLAIR
Experiences outside of school during summer holidays, particularly surrounded by nature, become very memorable for children.
If it is too difficult to organise an overnight stay, it is also possible to organise a one-day camp. We received many reports of similar projects.
