Japanese students experience what it’s like to be a Haller Middle School student

April 5, 2019 1:30 am
Two Japanese students observe Haller Science teachers Roel Ubungen and Scott Rice conduct a dry ice experiment. Twenty-two Japanese students visited Arlington to experience how students learn in America.
Two Japanese students observe Haller Science teachers Roel Ubungen and Scott Rice conduct a dry ice experiment. Twenty-two Japanese students visited Arlington to experience how students learn in America.

ARLINGTON- Twenty-two Japanese teenagers spent March 28-29 experiencing what it’s like to be a Haller Middle School student.

The kids from Kagoshima on the southernmost tip of Japan shadowed Haller leadership students as they ate lunch, attended class and participated in school activities. One of those activities included dry ice science experiment in the Haller courtyard.

The students stayed with host families while in Arlington. The foreign students said the best part of the visit was spending time with the Haller youth and their families. 

“The Japanese students are surprised to see so many stars in the sky in Arlington since they can’t see them very well where they live in Japan,” said Karen Edwards with Cultural Homestay International, the group that organized the visit. “They also like seeing all the grass. They live in flats, or apartments, in Japan and don’t have much grass where they live. It’s truly a unique experience for them.”

The students also met with Mayor Barb Tolbert to hear about Arlington’s form of government, and comparing cultural and community events.

Another group of Japanese students will be visiting the area this summer.

Two Japanese students observe Haller Science teachers Roel Ubungen and Scott Rice conduct a dry ice experiment. Twenty-two Japanese students visited Arlington to experience how students learn in America.

Two Japanese students observe Haller Science teachers Roel Ubungen and Scott Rice conduct a dry ice experiment. Twenty-two Japanese students visited Arlington to experience how students learn in America.