Let’s aim high withthe Higashiko Spirit

Principal Yusuke Takanashi

Chiba Prefectural Chiba Higashi Senior High School is a school with an 80-yeartradition as of April, 2020. Our students exert themselves to the utmost intheir studies, club activities and school events. Graduates from our schoolcall it “the Higashiko spirit” and it acts as psychological support for them.It is true that they have a busy life every day, but the graduates I questionedreplied that they had been able to enter their school of choice because of it.Everyone, I look forward to your entering Chiba Higashi Senior High School,where “you can live the fullest high school life” in order to lead a satisfyinghigh school life and “realize your dream.”

1 Try to promote the “revival of education”
  Ourschool was designated as a “special academic-track school” by the ChibaPrefectural Board of Education in 2004. We introduced a two-semester system in2007. Also, we began having seven, forty-five-minute classes a day, that is,thirty-five classes a week when we adopted the credit system in 2008. Since 2022,we introduced a new curriculum and began having seven, fifty-minute classes aday from Monday to Wednesday, and six classes a day from Thursday to Friday. Inaddition, our curriculum has allowed students to take “Public” in the 10^thgrade and study basic science in the period for Inquiry-BasedCross-Disciplinary Study in order to adapt to lowering the legal age of adulthood.We believe that thiscurriculum will help students have a broad and profound education, in which ourschool promotes the “revival of education.”

2 “More practical” cooperation with universities
Also, we are actively working in cooperation with universities as follows:
①A fundamental education course by the Chiba University Faculty ofEducation is held every Saturday in our school.
②Courses called HOC(High School On Campus), which enable our students toattend classes together with Chiba University students; a course for thecultivation of the science-related fundamentals at the same university; acourse for advanced science and mathematics at Toho University.
③Cooperative courses with The University of Tokyo and Tokyo Institute ofTechnology.
  Quite a few students participate in thecourses above. We also make exchanges between Chiba University foreign studentsand our science club students. They assemble at our school and share mutualstudies with each other.

3 “Fruitful” daily school life
  It goes without saying that ChibaHigashi is not a school where its students do nothing but study. Educationrequires not only abundant knowledge but also richness of spirit and empathy,the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
Accordingly, our students concentrate not just on studies but also on clubactivities and school events. According to the club participation rate, thesports clubs account for 54% of students and the culture clubs 47%, whichamount to 101% in total as of May, 2021(Some students are involved in multipleclubs). Recently, some sports clubs won prizes at interscholastic athleticmeets or captured the championship in a prefectural athletic meet. I think itis marvelous for our students to make time to apply themselves to training,regardless of the results. The activities of the cultural clubs are varied frommusic clubs that hold regular concerts and take part in competitions to clubsand associations that contribute to local communities by participating inneighborhood events.
  Concerningone of the school events, our school festival called “Shinonomesai” is held inthe beginning of July. The customary musicals performed by senior students areas popular as ever. The total number of visitors in 2019 exceeded 6,500. Beingable to accommodate this number makes it possible for not merely students fromother schools but also graduates and neighboring citizens to gather together asbefore. Because of pandemic, we could not invite visitors outside the school to“Shinonomesai” in 2020 and 2021. However, we are considering about themeasurement on covid-19 so that we could welcome many people into our festival.

4 International Exchange Program “with a long history”
  Moreover,we have international exchange programs. Our students have a chance to do ahomestay and attend a local high school in Clarkston, Michigan, USA. Beginningin 1973, the USA Study Tour Program has a long history. The cultural exchangewith Clarkston has lasted since 2000. The Australia Study Tour Program began in1996, and has resumed in New South Wales in 2014.
*In March of 2020, the USA Study Tour Program and the Australia Study TourProgram were canceled due to the COVID-19 corona virus. We believed this wasthe safest option for our students and host families.
  Meanwhile,we have plenty of visitors from abroad. Clarkston students stayed in ourstudents’ homes in 2019. We also hosted Malaysian high school students, whocame to Japan on a school excursion in 2015.

5 University entrance examination results
  Ourstudents’ efforts have chalked up an outstanding record. According to theuniversity results in the 2021 academic year, 104 students passed entranceexams for national universities and 1024 students passed entrance exams forprivate universities during their last year of high school. The percentage ofsuccessful examinees was 83%. The results were due to the academic and careercounseling with a three-year plan, daily classes and consistent home study. Ourstudents are very occupied with daily study, but they learn how to persevereand nurture their mental strength.