朝、校門をくぐり、さらさらと風に吹き飛ばされそうな落ち葉を踏みしめながら、今年も秋が来たなと感じていましたが、それも束の間、朝夕の冷えこみに冬の訪れを感じます。寒さが増すにつれ、コロナ感染者も全国的に激増しているようです。本県も例外ではありません。冬は乾燥しているため飛沫の水分が長く空気中を漂い、室内では換気もおろそかになり、そして、水が冷たいので手を洗うことが億劫になることなどもあり、感染リスクが高まるようです。校外活動での感染や家庭内感染の事例も出ています。普段からやっている、手洗いの励行、マスクをつけて、３密回避などの感染防止対策を徹底しましょう。そして抵抗力を高めるため、十分な睡眠や適度な運動も忘れないでください。 そんな中、高校３年生にとってはいよいよ自分の進路を決定する、受験シーズンの到来です。今は、AO入試（総合型選抜）や推薦入試（学校推薦型選抜）の真っ最中、コロナで今年はオンラインでの試験が課せられる大学も多いようです。先日、３年生のあるクラスのHRの時間に、「受験生の心構え」について話す機会がありました。まず、受験は団体戦だということ。自分が合格しても、クラスの全員が合格するまで、皆で励まし合って頑張ることが大切だということです。志望校選択に関しては、Where to study よりも What to study が重要であるということ。そして、今から一番力がついてくるので勉強時間を確保し、受験日に合わせて学習計画を立て、それを実行に移すことなどを話しました。皆さんも参考にしてください。 恒例の収穫感謝礼拝の後、表彰式を行いました。ウィズコロナで１学期は大きな大会やコンテストはありませんでしたが、２学期になり規模を縮小したり、無観客にしたりして開催されたようです。アーチェリー部は、これまでの全試合のほとんどで１、２、３位を独占しました。中学バレーボール部は市の大会では準優勝に涙しましたが、県大会で雪辱を果たし念願の優勝を勝ち取りました。ゴルフ部やバドミントン部もそれぞれ２位と大健闘。絵画やポスター、デザインなどの美術の分野でもたくさんの賞を頂きました。日本語や英語の暗誦コンテスト、俳句に挑戦し、受賞した生徒もいました。予定時間をオーバーするほど受賞者が多く感激しました。 さて、学期末試験はできましたか。部活動はじめ、今学期のいろいろな取り組みにおいて成果は出せましたか。今こそ、学習はもちろんのこと学校生活を振り返り、改善に結びつけてもらいたいものです。コロナで世界が暗雲に覆われた２０２０年もあと少しですね。来年こそはと祈るばかりです。皆さんが楽しみにしている冬休みですが、コロナの感染回避のため不要不急の外出は避け、家族と共に有意義な時間を過ごしましょう！ Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!
In the morning, I passed through the school gate and stepped on the fallen leaves that seemed to be blown away by the wind, and I felt that autumn had finally arrived this year. But soon the chill in the mornings and evenings reminded me of the coming of winter. As it gets colder, the number of people infected with corona seems to be increasing dramatically across the country. Our prefecture is no exception. In winter, the risk of infection seems to increase because moisture from droplets drifts through the air for long periods of time due to the dryness of the weather. Ventilation is neglected indoors, and washing hands is also neglected because the water is too cold. There have also been cases of infection during activities outside of school and at home. Take thorough measures to prevent infections, such as encouraging hand-washing, wearing a mask, and avoiding the "Three Cs" (closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings) which I'm sure you usually do. And don't forget to get enough sleep and moderate exercise to build up your resistance.
For third-year high school students, the exam season has arrived, and it is time to decide on your future. Currently you are in the middle of taking AO entrance examinations and entrance examinations by school recommendation. This year, many universities are requiring online exams due to the coronavirus. The other day, I had the opportunity to talk about "Preparing for Entrance Exams" during the HR time in one of the third year classes. First of all, taking exams is a team competition. Even if you pass, it's important to encourage each other and work hard until everyone in the class passes. When it comes to choosing a college, 'what to study' is more important than 'where to study.' I also talked about getting enough time to study, making a study plan based on the exam date, and carrying that plan out. Please follow this advice.
After the annual harvest festival, the awards ceremony was held. There were no major competitions or contests in the first term due to the corona, but in the second term, they were held by reducing the scale and were held without spectators. The archery team has dominated, taking first, second and third place in almost all of the games so far. The junior high school volleyball club cried from finishing as runner-up at the city tournament, but won the long-awaited victory at the prefectural tournament. The golf club and badminton club also did very well, each taking second place. We also received many awards in the field of art, such as painting, posters and design. Some students tried and won Japanese and English recitation contests, as well as haiku. I was very impressed with the number of awards that you earned in such a short time.
Now, did you do well on the second term-end exams? Did you make progress in your club activities and other activities in this term? Now is the time for you to look back on your school life, not to mention your studies, and make improvements. We are almost at the end of the year 2020, when the world was shrouded in a dark cloud of corona. We can only hope that next year will be much better. All of you are looking forward to the winter break, but to avoid corona infections, please avoid going out of the house and spend some quality time with your families.
Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!
