The Campbell River Twinning Society announced that Maeve Milligan and Vanessa Mae Harrison will be the 101st and 102nd Senior Exchange Students between Campbell River and our Sister City of Ishikari, Japan.
Milligan and Harrision will now begin Japanese language lessons and courses on Japanese culture to prepare for a full high school year in Ishikari from next September 2014 through to the end of July 2015. One measure of the success of the Twinning program between Campbell River and Ishikari is the number of students that have left their homes and schools to live in the twin city for a year. This has created many lasting ties between families in the two cities.
Each year two Campbell River students (Grades 9 to 11) are selected to live in Ishikari and attend school. The selection takes place annually in the late fall. After screening, interviews, reference checks and final public speaking events, the final students are selected in December and immediately begin preparation and language lessons that continue until their departure for Japan the following August. At that time one or two students from the two high schools in Ishikari arrive here. Over the year the students live with six or seven families for about seven weeks each. A great deal of community involvement is needed for this to work and both cities are proud of their success.
The Campbell River Twinning Society has been recognized as one of the most successful Canada Japan Student Exchange Programs in Western Canada and Hokkaido, Japan. It has seen over 850 Senior Exchange and Young Ambassador students travel between our two cities over the past 30 years. Currently the 100th Senior Exchange student, Shawn Wilson is in Ishikari and having the experience of a lifetime. To follow Shawn’s adventures visit www.facebook.com/TwinningCR. Last year it was Daniel Henry that was the Campbell River student in Japan. Daniel says “It was an amazing opportunity and I learned so much about other cultures and myself. I would highly recommend this to any student.”