News Detail
Japanese Students Visit La Salle
La Salle Academy recently had the distinction of being the only Rhode Island school and the only Catholic school visited by two Japanese college students who are members of one of the Vista Project Teams that are visiting high schools in the United States and other countries to get an overview of high school education around the world and to better understand the cultural of those countries. Their findings will be published in Vista, a free magazine concerning global issues that is published annually.
The team of Nonoka Oshima from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and Riho Inagaki from Waseda University, who visited a number of high schools geographically between New York City and Boston, met with La Salle Principal Don Kavanagh and Vice Principal for Academics Leanne Romani for about 90 minutes and then were given a tour of the school by seniors Allegra Micheletti and Amanda Morgan.
Editor's Note: At the end of this story are several paragraphs written by Nonoka Oshima about her experiences during her visit to La Salle and why she and her companion Riho Inagaki chose to visit La Salle Academy. Her words were written from Japan in the midst of that country's devastation.
Editor's Note: At the end of this story are several paragraphs written by Nonoka Oshima about her experiences during her visit to La Salle and why she and her companion Riho Inagaki chose to visit La Salle Academy. Her words were written from Japan in the midst of that country's devastation.
Editor's Note: At the end of this story are several paragraphs written by Nonoka Oshima about her experiences during her visit to La Salle and why she and her companion Riho Inagaki chose to visit La Salle Academy. Her words were written from Japan in the midst of that country's devastation.
La Salle Academy recently had the distinction of being the only Rhode Island school and the only Catholic school visited by two Japanese college students who are members of one of the Vista Project Teams that are visiting high schools in the United States and other countries to get an overview of high school education around the world and to better understand the cultural of those countries. Their findings will be published in Vista, a free magazine concerning global issues that is published annually.
La Salle Academy recently had the distinction of being the only Rhode Island school and the only Catholic school visited by two Japanese college students who are members of one of the Vista Project Teams that are visiting high schools in the United States and other countries to get an overview of high school education around the world and to better understand the cultural of those countries. Their findings will be published in Vista, a free magazine concerning global issues that is published annually.
The team of Nonoka Oshima from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and Riho Inagaki from Waseda University, who visited a number of high schools geographically between New York City and Boston, met with La Salle Principal Don Kavanagh and Vice Principal for Academics Leanne Romani for about 90 minutes and then were given a tour of the school by seniors Allegra Micheletti and Amanda Morgan.
“Both Nonoka and Riho were very curious and eager to learn what a La Salle Academy education is all about,” said Kavanagh and Romani. “We covered such diverse areas as class scheduling, curriculum, student leadership/student council, annual class projects, and our four years of religious education. They also asked about Masses at school and social issues. It was a lively and thorough discussion. They said that they discovered La Salle Academy online and decided to visit based on what they saw and read on our website.”
“We took them on a tour of the entire school,” said Allegra and Amanda. “In addition to academics, both Nonoka and Riho were eager to hear about extra curricular opportunities and after school activities here at La Salle. We also took them to lunch and answered questions about the richness of our Lasallian education.”
A Vista Project Team is an inter-university student club at the University of Tokyo. The team publishes Vista. In past years, it has published more than 70,000 issues to provide Japanese students the opportunity to be informed on global issues such as poverty, drug trafficking and microfinance.
Nonoka's email message to La Salle Academy from Japan -- received Tuesday, March 15, 2011:
“Our first impression of La Salle Academy was that its facility was very large. After being welcomed into the school and given a tour around all its buildings, this impression was confirmed even more. The classrooms, as well as the theatres and gym were very impressive.”
“Although its facilities were cutting-edge, La Salle Academy also seemed to preserve the traditional spirit of the Catholic faith. Stained glasses imprinted with themes from Christian teachings, a small chapel set inside the main building, and images of Christ caught our eye. However, contrary to our previous image of parochial schools, La Salle seemed to possess a liberal mind in education. Not only were the students taught the Catholic faith, but they were also educated on a wide variety of subjects, including other religions. This range of subjects will surely enable the students to hold a wider perspective.”
“We were also struck by the enthusiasms of the students. In all the classrooms, every student seemed to be enjoying participating actively in class. It was quite obvious they were aspiring to enrol in higher education in the future.”
“Lastly, we would like to thank La Salle Academy for the warm welcome we received. It is owing to all of the people who have helped us that our visit has become such an informative one.”
“We chose La Salle Academy because we wanted to see a private, parochial school in America. Our plan was to compare various types of schools, especially ones that were uncommon or less known in Japan. Then, one of our club members came upon La Salle Academy while searching on the internet. The website looked very promising, and we decided to ask the school if we could visit it.”
La Salle Academy is a high school rich in history and grounded in the person and teachings of Jesus and the Catholic faith, which are core to the school's life and culture. The De La Salle Middle School provides a strong holistic foundation for students to transition into high school. The high school and middle school provide students of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds, a community to foster growth in the tradition of St. John Baptist de La Salle’s ideals of faith, service, and community.
