“Hi! My name is Shono and I came to Sacred Heart in K5. I will be going to London for college! The pandemic has actually affected my university decision in many ways. It made me realize that life is filled with uncertainty wherever we go, but we need to embrace it and be prepared for anything that could happen in the future. It also made me realize that I wanted to leave Japan because I’ve been here my whole life, and I want to experience something new in a different country.

All of my excursions were really awesome, but I’ve got to say my favorite was junior year excursions. Maybe it’s because I now know that it was my last excursion, but I remember nothing but excitement and happiness. I even enjoyed sitting and meditating in silence with my whole grade for what felt like ten hours but was actually 15 minutes! 

My best memory at ISSH was also during junior year excursions when we were all playing games in the tatami room. We divided the grade into groups and played trivia, charades, guess the song, etc. That night everyone in the grade was having A BLAST, and I remember being surrounded by happy energy and laughter. I literally remember I lost my voice that night because I was having so much fun with my grade. It’s really amazing because I still hear a lot of people talk about how much they enjoyed the junior excursions games. I think it would be cool to have a reunion sometime and play the exact same games we played in junior year with my grade!

One really weird memory I have was from my sophomore year. My friend and I were talking about scary ghost stories during math class and we were both feeling really spooked. Because it was a double period, we decided to go to the pink bathroom in the math wing during break time, and we saw a shadow. We screamed and ran back to class. I think I investigated later on and it turned out to be a painting…

Honestly, every memory I have as a veteran is playing in the playground during lunch. I remember that when we were in first grade there was a bunch of stairs in the playground that led to a tennis court (now it’s been replaced by the K/JS building). When I look back the stairs look so tall and endless, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t actually that tall. It’s weird because I have memories from junior school and kindergarten where everything in the school (the swings, the yellow slide, the breezeway, the picnic tables) looked SO BIG, but now that I’m older they don’t look as big anymore.

I’m really thankful for my teachers and for my friends who made school so exciting. I think everyone at Sacred Heart is so warm and friendly, and I was really able to become more confident over my years at Sacred Heart. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go because I’ve been at Sacred Heart for over 12 years, and I realized that everyone who’s attended Sacred Heart is so encouraging and spirited. I really feel like the phrase ‘once a Sacred Heart girl, always a Sacred Heart girl’ resonates with me. I want to thank everyone who has helped me, has laughed with me, has smiled at me, and has encouraged me for the past twelve years.

This sounds cliche, but cherish your memories! The past four years in high school and twelve years at Sacred Heart made me realize how fast time goes by. My first day of middle school and high school literally feels like yesterday and I remember everything so vividly. It’ll all go by in a flash, and you’ll never experience high school, both the good parts and the bad parts, ever again, so please enjoy and cherish your time here as much as you can!

Thank you so much for the past twelve years, and good luck to everyone!” — Shono