English VersionApril 2019
Fukuoka City Board of Education

For parents or guardians who have enrolled or transferred
their children into a Fukuoka municipal school
This guidebook introduces Japanese school life for parents or guardians
who have come to Fukuoka from overseas and have enrolled or transferred
their children into a Fukuoka municipal school. In Fukuoka City, we also
provide a substantial Japanese language support system to support
non-Japanese students as part of the Japanese Support for Children Project.
We hope that the children who have entered Fukuoka municipal schools
and the parents and guardians that support them can smoothly adjust totheir new environment and enjoy school life with a smile on their face.
Fukuoka City Board of Education

Contents
1) School Education in Japan.......... p. 12) About School LifeAn Average School Day.......... p. 2

An Average School Year.......... p. 3

Subjects.......... p. 4

Counselling on Education
School Rules.......... p. 5

Health and Safety.......... p. 6

School Costs
3)

Japanese Support for Children Project.......... p. 7

1) School Education in Japan① Japanese School System Chart (Source: MEXT Guidebook for Starting School)② Types of Schools
Japanese schools are separated into elementary, junior high, senior high schools anduniversities. However, compulsory education in Japan takes place over 9 years fromage 6 – 15 at elementary school, junior high school, secondary school (lowersecondary school) and special education elementary and junior high schools.
〇 Elementary school— Children can attend elementary schools from the first April
after they turn 6 years old. Children receive 6 years of education here.
〇 Junior high school— Children can enter Junior high schools after turning 12 years
old and completing elementary school. Children receive 3 years of education.
〇 Special education school— Special education schools provide special support forchildren with impairments and have elementary and junior high sections.

2)

About School Life
８An Average School Day

９Going toschool

Make sure your child takes the set route to school andarrives on time by:a.m.

Lessons

Lessons are 45 minutes long at elementary school and50 minutes long at junior high school. There will be a
5 – 15 minute break between lessons. At elementaryschool, the homeroom teacher will be in charge ofteaching most subjects. At junior high school, theteacher will change depending on the subject and day.

10111112
12
１Schoollunch

２２

BreaktimeCleaningYour child’s school will prepare lunch for them.
Parents and guardians pay for the meals. The children
will take it in turns to hand out the food for school
lunch duty [kyūshoku tōban]. Lunch may not beprovided on some days. If your child cannot eat theschool meal due to allergies or religious reasons,consult their school in advance.
Children can spend time playing with their friends inthe playground or reading books in the library.

３The children clean the school themselves. Each student
is assigned an area to clean. Cleaning is a traditionalpart of the Japanese education system, and children
can learn many things through cleaning. Some schools
do their cleaning in the morning.

４４
５５Lessons

There are lessons in the afternoon. There are also
clubs and committee activities at elementary schools.

Going
home

Around:p.m. there will be an end of
day meeting before going home. Your child may gofinish school at different times depending on the day,so check their weekly timetable or school newsletters.
There are also after-school club activities available atjunior high schools for children who wish to attend.

An Average School Year
MonthTerm
Start of Term Ceremony
This ceremony signifies the start of the term.
Terms 2 and 3 also have opening ceremonies.

AprilMay

Term 1
From April

June

until July

July

Entrance Ceremony
This ceremony is to celebrate first year
students beginning their school life.
Sports Day & Sports Festival
These are events where the children canenjoy exercise by working with theirclassmates in short races, relays and dancing.
Summer Holiday
From July
until AugustAugust.

Art events
Students can enjoy music, plays and art
exhibitions.

September
Term 2October

From August
until December

December

School Trips
Every 6th year student in elementary schooland 2nd year in junior high school go on a trip
with overnight stays and can enjoy visiting
various facilities and workshops.

January

Winter Holiday
From December

NovemberFebruary

Term 3
From January
until March

March

until January

Graduation Ceremony
This is a ceremony to celebrate the oldest
students’ graduation.
End of Term Ceremony
This is a ceremony that signifies the end ofterm 3 and bring the year to an end.

※Some schools split their school years into only 2 terms.

.

Subjects
Elementary School
1st & 2nd year
subjects
3rd & 4th year
subjects

Japanese・Arithmetic・Life Studies・Music・Arts & Crafts・
P.E.・Moral Studies・Special Activities
Japanese・Social Studies・Arithmetic・Science・Music・
Arts & Craft・PE・Moral Studies・Time for General Studies・
Foreign Language Activities・Special Activitiesthth
5 & 6 year Japanese・Social Studies・Arithmetic・Science・Music・
subjects
Arts & Craft・PE・Moral Studies・Foreign Language・Time for General Studies・Special Activities

Junior High School
1st, 2nd and3rd yearsubjects

Japanese・Social Studies・Mathematics・Science・Music・Art・
PE・DT・English・Moral Studies・Time for General Studies・Special Activities☆ Evaluating Students
Your child’s school will let you know about your child’s life at school and theirperformance at school through end-of-term reports.

Counselling on Education
Japanese schools provide opportunities for parents or guardians to talk about theirchild with teachers.
◇ Home VisitsHome room teachers visit their student’s homes to talk about school life and life
at home with the student’s parent or guardian. Some schools don’t provide thisservice.
◇ Parent-Teacher Meetings
Parents or guardians go to their child’s school to listen to the head teacher, talkto their child’s homeroom teacher and discuss things with other parents andguardians.
◇ Individual Counselling
Individual counselling is available for students who wish to talk to their
homeroom teacher, or for parents or guardians wishing to talk to their child’s
homeroom teacher.

School Rules
There are rules at school to ensure each and every student can go about their school
life safely and healthily.
① Your child must take the set route to and from school.
② Your child must not be late. Arrive at school by:a.m.
③ You must contact the school if your child will be absent.
④ Your child can’t leave the school without permission after they have arrived⑤ Your child must not come to school by bicycle.
⑥ Dyed hair, piercings or other accessories are not allowed at school.
⑦ Your child must not take money, food, snacks, toys, cellphones or games toschool.
〇 If your child will be late, absent or needs to go home early, you must contact theschool by:a.m.

School telephone number: 092－－year_____ nen _____ kumi no ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ desu.

[I’m calling about (child’s name) from class (XXX) in year (XXX).]

netsu ga aru node, kyō wa gakkō o yasumasemasu.
[They have a fever, so won’t be coming to school today.]

Wakarimashita.
[I understand.]Dōzo odaiji ni nasatte kudasai.

[I hope your child feels better soon.]Health and Safety
Your child’s school pay special attention to ensure yourchild can go about their school life safely and healthily. If yourchild falls ill or is injured at school they will be treated at theschool nurses office, or if necessary, contact you and take yourchild to hospital.
Your child will also receive regular health checkups tocheck as set out by Japanese law. You will be informed of theresults of these checkups, and if necessary, recommended totake your child to a doctor.
You will need to fill out an emergency contact card andother documents so the school is aware of your child’s state
health and allergies, and also be able to contact you in an emergency

School Costs① School books and lesson fees
・School books are free at elementary and junior high schools.
・Lessons are also free at elementary and junior high schools.
② School Lunch
・You must pay for school lunch.
・Parents or guardians are must create an account at the bank or post officespecified by their child’s school. The account will be charged for school lunch
and other teaching materials.
③ Teaching materials
・You must also pay for teaching materials such as tests and study drills, andmaterials for arts and craft lessons.
・These fees will be withdrawn monthly from the account you opened at thespecified bank or post office.
④ Other fees
・Schools have a PTA group for parents and guardians and teachers to work
together to make sure the school’s education program runs smoothly. Someschools collect fees to support the PTA.
・Your child’s school will provide a calendar with information on when and how
much fees will be withdrawn. Please inquire at your child’s school forinformation.

Japanese Language Support for Children Project
The Fukuoka City Board of Education provides special Japanese language learning
support for students to be able to smoothly get used to school life and attend classes
in Japanese. This service is provided for students who are struggling with attendingclasses in Japanese at elementary, junior high or special education schools.
1) Fukuoka City Japanese Language Support System
A Japanese language support coordinator will
arrange a meeting and measure the student’sability.

Japanese Support Center
Hub Schools

Placement Schools

There is one elementary hub school
and one junior high hub school ineach of the four east, central, west
and south areas. There are specialist
Japanese language teachers at theseschools. Students in each area visit
their local hub school. Sometimes
the teachers visit the students too.

SpecialistJapaneselanguage
teachers are stationed at schools
where there are large numbers ofstudents who need support with
their Japanese learning. Students
receive support with basic Japaneseskills that will help them study
school subjects in Japanese.

Sometimes support is provided by Japanese language support staff.
1) Process to receive Japanese language support.
① Enter/transfer to a municipal elementary, junior high or special education school.
Meeting & counselling with head and deputy head teacher.
② Meet with a Japanese language support coordinator.

③ Receive Japanese language lessons from a Japanese language support teacher or staff.

※Support will be conducted according to a personal guidance plan.