Produced by SHOEI GIRLS’ SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLSTUDENT EDITION, JANUARY 2024--------------------------------------

Shoei’s Miryoku
PeekMiryoku
into Shoei Students’ Daily Life!

<Daily Services>

There are many things thatyou probably wouldn’t haveimagined doing until you enter
Shoei. As a Christian school, westart off our mornings with ourdaily services. Singing the hymn
and reciting the verse for theLord’s Prayer are part of our dailyroutine. We mainly sing the hymn
in Japanese and sing the English
versions on Fridays. We also
practice singing them in our musicclasses.

<Lunch Time>
After the 4th period it’s
finally lunch time. At Shoei there
are a variety of options for lunch.
Some students bring lunch fromtheir home. Another option is tobuy lunch at the cafeteria. The
cafeteria in Shoei sells a lot ofdifferent dishes and it’s very
cheap, so it is very helpful for thestudents. Students who reserved
lunch go and pick up the lunch
after the 4th period. Some otherstudents buy snacks at the freelunch sale and students don’t needto make a reservation. Somestudents do not get full eating theirown lunch, so they can buy
something small to eat. After
students finish eating lunch, they
are free to do what they like. Somestudents talk with friends or finish
their homework. Other students
who belong to the student council
or any other committee do theirjobs. Most students in Shoei
belong to clubs in which time they
use the lunch break to finish theirwork instead of finishing it afterschool. Although most clubs haveclub activities only in theafternoon, some students havelunch practice, such as thebasketballclub
andthecheerleading club.

Shoei, there are 35 clubs, and eachclub has its own schedule andplaces to practice. Furthermore,some clubs, especially athletic
clubs, have their activities on
Saturdays and even take part incompetitions.
Another common way forstudents to spend their afternoon
is to study in the library. On the
5th floor of the White House,
there is a library where students
can not only borrow books, butalso study with friends. Since
there are vast spaces for them tostudy,
students
visit
here
particularly
beforetheexamination.
In addition, before CoLearners’ Day, as known forschool festival, snacks such as
fried potatoes and noodles are soldin the cafeteria after school. Somestudents were enjoying their afterschool life chatting and eatingwith friends.
---------------------------------------By Yuri Sato, Marina Fujii, Yuzuki
Wada---------------------------------------(credit)Photo by Shoei〇(credit)Photo by Shoei〇<After School>Finally, let’s peek into
Shoei students’ after-school life.
As we mentioned before, most of
the students enjoy their afterschool life with club activities. In
Morning Service Photo by Shoei

The Secret to Our Lively
and Refreshing Environment
Focusing on the schoolbuilding, anyone can see that it is
one of the keys to our fulfillingschool life.
A little on the vintage side
but holding a hint of elegancewith the vines gracing the walls
certainly brings out the beauty ofthe building into the picture. Thecourtyard and hill lined with trees
are also refreshing to walkthrough as we head to our nextclasses!
Encountering insects fromtime to time is common and wehave embraced it as a “Shoei
Shoei School Building

Photo by Shoei

Thing.” Including all of that, it’sinteresting to see how oursurroundings change in eachseason. In the summer, thegreenery gives off a lively mood.
On the other hand, we can see thewarm colors of the leaves
changing in the fall.
We can’t ask for more when
we have such a large, beautiful
environment that keeps school life
exciting, and insects add to thedrama too.
--------------------------------------By Yuri Sato---------------------------------------SCHOOL LIFE

2

STUDENT EDITION, JANUARY 2024

ENTERTAINER

A Look into the Shoei Cafeteria
Hundreds of Shoei students
use the school cafeteria every day,whether it would be to buy a fullmeal or to buy some bread andside dishes to snack on. The scentof the scrumptious food drifting inthe air from the school kitchen tothe classrooms captivates thestudents in Shoei. Not only thestudents but also within theteachers, the school cafeteria
meals are cherished, becoming abeloved part of the entire schoolcommunity.
As the bell rings, many
Shoei students rush through thecorridors, eager to get hands onthe delicious lunches. Not only is

it affordable with the maximum
price for the main dishes being
500 yen, but it has a wide range offoods to choose from. There areoptions such as Japanese styleobentos,
Americanstylehamburger sets, Italian food suchas pasta and even Indian nan andcurry. Some of the menus boast
imaginative names, sparking thecreativity of the students. They
constantly do surveys to hear what
students would like to see being
sold, and they make these menus
possible. The popular menus arenoodles and hamburgers.
Not only are the main
disheswell-balanced
andnutritious, but there are also morethan two options for the main
dishes to choose from. One for
450 yen, and the other for 400 yen.
Although students need to makereservations for a dish beforehand,
this is all done to prevent kitchen
staff from creating extra food not
being put to use or being eaten.
When it comes to the set meals,
the slots are full every day,making it a challenging task tosecure a reservation.
For side menus and extra
treats, we have both sweet andsavory breads that you can choose
to buy without a reservation. Mostof the time the food gets

consumed seeing as it is popularamong all students.
---------------------------------------By Kurumi Tanaka and NichikoMatsumura---------------------------------------

The cafeteria menu
Photo by Shoei

Behind the Scenes of Shoei’s Vending Machines

Survey and our beloved vending machine

A few years ago, vending
machines were an important
aspect in many Shoei students’
lives, but due to COVID-19, thevending machines were disabled.
However, this year, life without
vending machines had becomeinconvenient, which led to thestudent council and teachers toapprove the reinstallation of thevending machines. In reinstallingthe vending machines, the student

Photo by Shoei

council took surveys targeting all
students to decide whether toinstall vending machines withplastic bottles or box-type drinks,
which were previously used.
Although both were close in
numbers, the plastic bottles werevoted the most.
After the decision wasmade to install plastic bottle-type
vending machines, the student
council chose drinks that wereconsidered healthier and costeffective. The drinks sold in these
vending machines are about 120
to 140 yen, which is one of themany reasons Shoei’s vending
machines are cherished.
The student council not
only decided the drinks, but theyalso chose charities to donate themoney earned from these vendingmachines. As a result, it wasdecided to support the pink ribbon

movement. Now, a few percentsof the money earned from these
vending machines goes to charity
and assists the pink ribbon
movement. The pink ribbon
movement supports spreading
correct knowledge about breast
cancer and since Shoei is an allgirls school, this will be a good
opportunity to enrich ourunderstanding of breast cancer.
Shoei’s vending machines
have two different types of trashcans lined besides. One is forplastic bottles and the other is forcaps. This makes it easier torecycle and support the work on
SDGs that Shoei is working on.
Currently, there are threevendingmachines
installedaround the school. Two in theWhite House and one beside theprincipal’s room. According to a
student who took part in installingthese vending machines, all threeof them use less electricity than
average vending machines andhave been making an effort to becarbon neutral.
--------------------------------------By Misaki Yatsuka and Futaba
Kiji---------------------------------------SCHOOL’S REALITY

3

STUDENT EDITION, JANUARY 2024

EDITORIAL

Synergy...Is It Real?
Unfortunately, we may not
be taking advantage of thereturnee and non-returnee system
aimed to achieve harmony
between the two types of students.
We presumed the greatest reason
is the inferiority students feeltowards
eachother.
The
interviews conducted provide us
with interesting insight into theissue.

returnee and non-returnee
students?
S: I understand returnees can behandicapped, but so are nonreturnees who grapple withEnglish so frequently for so long.
Q3. Is there anything you keep
in mind when teaching twotypes of students?
K: Word choice and explanation.
The progression of classes isadjusted for returnees as well.
Ideally, I want to stimulate
students at top levels by giving
them the problems that are a bittricky.
J: I make sure to set clear goals for
non-returnee classes and keep aneye on grammar and expression.
S: Everyone shares the same goal
– university exams – so I wantthem to compete on a levelplaying field.

K… Ms. Kimura (Algebra),
J…Mr. John Presley (English),
S…Ms. Sakata (Japanese)

J22…Class Jr.2-2
S13…Class Sr.1-3
Q1. How do you feel about thesystem in general?
J22: It’s good that new
perspectives are introduced byhaving returnee students in thegrade.
S13: It’s a relief to spend timewith students who have had
similar experiences abroad as Ihave.
Q2. Is there room forimprovement
intheir
relationship?
J22: No.
S13: They feel inferior to eachother and tend to stick to the statusquo, so yes.
---------------------------------------By Yuzuko Shimizu---------------------------------------

Q1. How do you feel about thesystem in general?
K: It’s crucial; however, since
Shoei isn’t the only school
adapting the system while demand
for global education remains high,a systemic reformation is calledfor.
Q2. Do you feel there is asignificant difference between
Photo of Schoolyard Photo by Shoei

CLD≠Bunkasai

CLD decoration
One of Shoei’s main events,
CLD (Co-Learners’ Day), differsfrom general school festivals.
“Co-learner” means learning andworking together, and CLD is a
day for students and homeroom
teachers to present what they havelearned and researched together

Photo by Shoei
throughexhibitions,stageperformances, and other culturalevents.
Theformer
director(Naoyuki Okami) was dissatisfied
with the content of the original
school festival. He wanted aschool event with academic

content, so in 1975, he abolishedthe festival and created a new day
for research presentations, which
he named Co-Learners' Day(CLD). Co-Learners' means
teachers and students, and CLD isa day for teachers and students topresent what they have learned
together. During the school days is
the most important and best time
for students to absorb new
knowledge, so spending time onthings that we can just do outsideof school is a waste of time, waswhat Okami thought.
CLD is mainly divided into
twoparts,
theresearchpresentation and the club
activities. Many students say that
CLD is boring because it has anelement of learning, and I was oneof those students, too. However,after interviewing the assistantprincipal, Mr. Igasaki, andlearning about the purpose ofCLD, I found that it was fun. Fora start, CLD is not just an event topresent what students haveresearched, but an event to learn
the joy of making new discoveries.
Likewise, Sr. 2s and Sr. 3s can dofood sales to put into practice theknowledge they gained in Shoei.
In the past, a sweet shop was onceopened.
Aside from CLD, there is an
event called “Minnna-no-hi.” Thisis an event that is completely
separate from education and is a
day for students to just have fun.
In the past, they have shortened alltheir classes that day and evenmade pork miso soup.
--------------------------------------By Nana Takeshita and YumikoSekine---------------------------------------

STUDENTS’ LIFE

4STUDENT EDITION, JANUARY 2024

ENTERTAINER

Shoei’s Transportation Too Attractive
One of the most valued ofthe many advantages of Shoei isthe convenience of transportation.
Takanawadai Station on theAsakusa Line is within a 1-minute
walk of Shoei, and Gotanda
Station, Shirokanedai Station, andShinagawa Station are within a
15-minute walk. With a wide
variety of options and numerous
train lines, students can get to andfromschool
without
anyinconvenience.
The presence that makes
such students feel more secure is
the police box positioned justoutside Takanawadai Station. In
addition to the police box, thesecurity guard of Shoei stands infront of the main gate early in themorning to watch over us students,making us feel even safer.
The only gripe of students
attending Shoei, built in a location
with great transportation, is thenumber of stairs at Takanawadai

Station. Takanawadai Station isused by many Shoei students andis overflowing with students on
their way to and from school. Thestation has about 120 steps andseveral turns, making many
students exhausted early in themorning or on their way homefrom school. However, the highnumber of stairs also has theappeal of building stamina. It is
common for breathing to appear
more stable as the year progresses.
Takanawadai Station, thestation that Shoei students use
every day, opened on November
15, 1968, as a station on the Toei
Line 1. It was also renamed theToei Asakusa Line in 1978. It hasa history of about 55 years, but asof the year 2023, Shoei will havebeen in operation for 139 years.
Before the town was developed,students probably went to schoolby rickshaw or on foot.
Takanawadai Station has

only about 10,000 passengers per
day and is also the least busy
station on the Asakusa Line. Thereis no elevator from the ticket gate
down to the platform, andpassengers with baby strollers or
injuries are often seen in trouble.
Shoei students use the stairs andescalators when there are few
people; therefore we do not need
an elevator. However, we always
think it would be more convenient
if there were one...

Takanawadai Station

Excellent
transportation,
the watchful eye of the police
station and security guard, and thephysical fitness of the students.
Proud of such an attractive Shoei,
students pass through the maingate just outside Takanawadai
Station every morning with aglorious future ahead of them.
---------------------------------------By Akari Ito, Rika Sato---------------------------------------

Photo by Rika Sato

SHOEI’S CLUBS

ESS and DANCE CLUBJoining a club is not just an
exciting activity, but an essential
part of the junior high and highschool experience. Shoei, with its
four outstanding and well-known
clubs, offers an opportunity to
become a part of a community,
develop new skills, and build
lasting friendships.
1.
E.S.S. is a club that holds
mainly musical performances,

Photo by Shoei

debates, and other activities fivetimes a year. As a team, they
practice every day to create
dances, music, and theatricalperformances.
They
work
together to bring it all to life.
Working hard and practicing
together for performances aresome of the most cherishedmoments in our youth that we cannever replace.

2.
In the Kyudo club, they
have participated in many Kanto
Tournaments, Kanto IndividualChampionships and National
Invitational Tournaments as arepresentative of Tokyo. It is aclub with a proven track recordand tradition.
3.
The Choir has recentlybeen acknowledged, both thejunior and high school clubmembers being chosen to sing at
the prestigious NHK competition.
Moreover, the junior choir clubmembers won an outstanding
bronze medal. Shoei’s choir isdifferent from other schools
because they sing hymns daily andare involved in various special
school occasions. For the same

reasons, we fellow students canhear their angelic voices often.
4.
The Dance club is a
popular option among junior 1
students. They practice basic
ballet and hip hop moves, andonce festivities such as CLD
approach, they practice with bothsenpais (older club members) andkohais (younger members of theclub). All club members cometogether to give the best
performance, and they deepen
their relationship. They are able togain the strength to work hard.
---------------------------------------By Nagisa Ozawa, Kaede Koizumi---------------------------------------

Shoei’s Miryoku
Published by a group of 14 students of Shoei Girls’ Senior High School, a private high school in Shirokanedai, Minato ward, Tokyo, incooperation with the not-for-profit Global Education Information Center(GEIC).
Publisher: Shoei Girls’ Senior High School Sr.1-3A
Project Supervisors: Erika Nakajima and John Healey, English department
Editor: Kaede Koizumi
Staff Writers: Akari Ito, Nagisa Ozawa, Futaba Kiji, Kaede Koizumi, Yuri Sato, Rika Sato, Yuzuko Shimizu, Yumiko Sekine, Nana Takeshita,Kurumi Tanaka, Nichiko Matsumura, Marina Fujii, Misaki Yatsuka, Yuzuki Wada
Contact : 〒108-0071 2chome 26-5 Shirokanedai, Minato, Tokyo
URL: https://www.shoei.ed.jp/