Field Trips
On average, the students go on an off-campus field trip once every two months. Outings are to a variety of destinations such as museums, science museums, planetariums, hiking, athletic parks and many more.
In addition, there are field trip orientations and pre-planning conducted to ensure the students gain as much as possible from the event. Take a look at some of our notable past outings.
Miraikan: National Museum Of Emerging Science and Innovation
A place where people can understand the things happening in our world today from a scientific point of view, and have discussions about the future that awaits us, Miraikan truly was a memorable experience for the students.
It had a great line-up of exhibitions where students could enjoy hands-on contact with science and technology. We could also experience the technological progress of today in regards to the latest technology, the global environment, space exploration and life science.
Students enjoyed exploring the huge space in groups of upper and lowergraders with an appointed teacher. It was a true joy to see them interact with the exhibits on display with such curiosity and interest.
In addition, each student was given a task booklet to complete by the end of trip which involved recording information about what they encountered. Everyone performed really well and showed truly deep comprehension of the sometimes difficult and complicated ideas they came across.
Entertained, exhausted, and with brains full of newly-acquired knowledge, we headed on back to school where, on the next day, we reviewed what we had learned and shared our ideas and opinions with each other.
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The teachers were all pleasantly surprised at the impact Miraikan had on our students.
One of our favourite field trips for sure!
Tsukushino Field Athletic Park
It is hard to describe how much the students were looking forward to this trip. As soon as we made the announcement, everyday we heard discussions about the different obstacle courses and how scary and fun they all looked!
With barely contained excitement, they attended our pre-trip orientation to discuss grouping, time schedule, travel route, and most important of all, safety. These orientations are a staple at YES where we try to prepare students as much as possible for each outing so that they approach the day with the right frame of mind and squeeze as much out of the experience as possible.
When we arrived at Tsukushino, students were separated into their groups, issued their obstacle clear sheets and sent to their appointed starting points.
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From reports we received from group teachers, the level of participation, the amount of effort, and the sheer lack of fear was like nothing they had ever seen! Surprisingly, this was all done whilst maintaining safety practices and looking out for other members in their groups.
Of course, it wasn't only the students who had fun. The teachers found themselves feeling significantly younger and trying out obstacle courses themselves; much to the students' delight.
I guess we all have that inner child waiting for a chance to come out!
The National Museum of Western Art
This time, we put on our art hats and headed down to Ueno to get some culture. One of the benefits of having a school near Yokohama station is the easy access to various places and this time was no exception, with Ueno just being one train ride away.
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Students were on their best behaviour and enjoyed respectfully and quietly going around the museum in their groups to appreciate the rich variety of artwork on display.
Art hunting, sketching, and opinion writing were all on the menu as students attempted to finish their field trip booklets with help from fellow students, teachers, and the wonderful guides at the museum.
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Thanks partially to our oreintation and field trip prep lessons, students were able to have meaningful discussions and generate unique and interesting opinions about the art they came across.
It wasn't all booklets and study though. Students were able to finish before lunchtime and enjoy playing and having lunch outside together.
Although we did ask students to sketch and recreate the artwork they saw on display, this picture was not what we had in mind!