Page 4 - 2018 송도타임즈(통권 10호)
P. 4
SONGDO HIGH SCHOOL · SCHOOL NEWS
School Welcoming Day
The Songdo Times Editorial
Anyone who went to high school in Korea won’t feel happy when they look back on their memories of going through school
gate in the morning on the way to school. Normally, if it could have been called so, there were scary teachers (from the disci-
pline department) standing high-handed near the gate in the morning and their eyes overwatching students slowly walking past
in a row to see if there were any of them not abiding by hair and dress regulations. Their “eagle eyes” would not let anyone pass
without getting caught and severely scolded. This is not the case anymore. There are teachers at the gate, but their job is not to
oppress students anymore; their mission is to make it safer for students to enter the school gate around which it is crowded with
many vehicles and therefore is dangerous. Anyway, the students aren’t scared by teachers any more.
Still, there are rules to keep in the school and students in particular are strongly encouraged and required to behave properly.
‘The School Welcoming Day Event’ takes a different approach to fulfill this objective. This event started in 2016 as a part of “Re-
storative Student Guidance” from the view that student guidance can be done best only when students feel its need and work on
it on their own. So what happens on this offbeat event? As its name says, many members of school, both teachers and students,
welcome students on their way to school in the morning. First, there is school band producing lively music for their friends.
The sound is so dynamic and loud that it can be heard from under the hill where the school buildings stand. Also there are the
principal greeting the boys with smile and student council members guiding their friends to walk to the right so that they can be
safe from cars. Up on the hill at the top, the vice principal, chief teachers of each grade and some home room teachers welcome
their pupils. They don’t do it just with smiles; they give away beverages. Behind them, the school counselling club members are
2 THE SONGDO TIMES