Ed Lyons, a fulltime teacher at Sand Creek Schools and LISD Japan Exchange Student Coordinator who spoke about the program which results in an exchange of students twice a year between Adrian and Moriyama Japan – Adrian’s Sister City! Ed began by thanking our club for its support of this program over the years.
 
A delegation of middle school students (usually 4 boys and 4 girls) and teachers (2) from Japan in October each year who travel here and stay with host families there for 7-10 days which includes a trip to Washington D.C. Then in June of the following year, they host a similar delegation from Lenawee County which includes a trip to Hiroshima.
 
Two of the 8 students who just returned from Japan in June, Liam Cornish (Tecumseh Freshman this year) and Maddie Bowman (a Blissfield Freshman this year), shared their experiences while there with the audience. They spoke about the lasting friends they made, the foods they developed tastes for and the different activities they were involved in.
 
Maddie said that, in Japan, students stay in the same classroom throughout the school day and the teachers go to them to conduct their classes! Liam said that he learned so much about the Japanese culture and language while he was there he had never known before. While there, he was able to play on a Japanese high school soccer team.
 
Ed concluded the presentation by saying that the money we donate supports the cost of admissions to various sites when the Japanese delegation comes here along with lunches and transportation expenses. Should any student (6th and 7th graders in Lenawee County) wish to become part of this program, a registration site (https://www.lisd.us/instruction/programs/japanese-exchange/) will be up and running this November and December, Ed said, to indicate their interest.