When a child starts elementary school at age 6, it's a big deal over here. They're dressed in adorable pants suits or frilly dresses, and are then taken to photography studios to get professional pictures taken. On their first day of school they're given an elaborate welcome ceremony - almost like reverse graduation. They parade into the gymnasium in front of the entire school, teachers, PTA and fawning parents. Speeches are made, songs are sung, pictures are taken, and each student is formally introduced. Here are some pictures from one of my elementary school's entrance ceremony back in April. It's a very small school, so there were only 5 ichi nen-sei (1st year students) this year.
A 'Congratulations!' sign, welcoming the new students. It says "Omedeto".
The 1st Year Classroom with another welcome message on the blackboard.
The new students make their much-anticipated first appearance! I was curious to see if any of them would be shy or apprehensive, but they were beaming and obviously loved the spotlight.
Aren't they adorable ;-)The new students walked the red carpet, listened to speeches, heard the school song, and then got to see some performances from the other students. Here's a video I took of the 2nd and 3rd year students doing their welcome performance. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but it's pretty darn cute. You also get to see the rest of the school - there are 23 kids in total - and the mother's dressed in kimonos.
