Participating in Suzaka Sousei High School's "Sousei Fair"!

Sousei High School is a "high school that combines commerce, industry, and agriculture," and is the only comprehensive technical high school in the prefecture, formed by merging Suzaka Horticultural High School and Suzaka Commercial High School.
This mammoth high school opened in 2015 and has seven classes!
This time we helped out the high school students there! The high school students sold Gruber Leather products, and we acted as workshop instructors for three days.

This year's theme is "Shine Diversity Gift sosei - Shining and diverse gifts from each and every Sosei student."
While continuing last year's efforts related to the SDGs, this year we also focused on "ethical" issues.
Please take a look at how each department is working on SDGs and ethics.

https://www.nagano-c.ed.jp/sosei/index.html

The above article was taken from an article about the Sosei Fair on the Sosei High School website.
We were first approached by teacher, Mr. Sato, about the "ethical" aspect, and later passed on to Ms. Mika Taguchi, who is in charge of Gruber Leather, but it all started with a phone call from Sosei High School.
I don't remember the details, but I think he saw our activities on TV and that's what prompted him to call me.

After that, I had many phone calls with Professor Taguchi, but it turns out that the students are the center of the fair! I also had a phone call with Mr. Takizawa, a student and the section manager of the fair.
I thought, "They're really trying hard," and I felt like I wanted to help them wholeheartedly (^○^)

And then the preparation day arrived!
I was surprised when I was shown into the classroom!

Front: "Groover Leather"
On the back: "Logo mark"

I was so happy!
I think my feelings may not have been conveyed to the students, so now I want to express my gratitude to them more.

I enjoy this photo no matter how many times I look at it!

When you're tired, look at this picture.

Think about it! "Groover Leather" on the hallowed blackboard of your high school
What's more, the logo mark on the back was hand-drawn by me, so even the parts that only I know are clearly expressed! I'm so happy!
Looking back, I realize that it's not something to be taken for granted and I feel a deep gratitude from my heart.

Then we started to get ready. They had done some preparations, and we all worked together to set up the products and prepare for the workshop. However, I think that it was the first time for the teachers, us, and of course the students, and they were probably a little confused by the fact that we were exhibiting our unusual professions.

Once we managed to set up the workshop, we started explaining it to them.

Just to be safe, we offer sunglasses processing for students and customers.

At the entrance, the team for this classroom was introduced, and ethical themes were prominent in the other classrooms as well. I was once again amazed at how much the students were concerned with the global environment and SDGs.

This class is about Ethical Lesson 4: "Earth-Friendly Products"
In addition to the deerskin that was exterminated in Nagano Prefecture, we also used cowhide, which is a by-product since we eat it, so the workshop was conducted using cowhide.

The event was split over two days as a COVID-19 precaution, with the first day open to the public and the second day for parents.
Still, it's been three years since it was last open to the public!
Students in this COVID-19 era are restricted in many ways💦 I really want things to go back to normal soon(◞‸◟)

The students were rotated between the afternoon and morning classes, and I had to assist them each time, but they all remembered the lesson right away after being taught once! "I've never learned so quickly^^;"

On the second day, the students were mainly teaching me, so I was happy to see their progress!

The person in the center with the unedited sunglasses is Mr. Taguchi, the teacher in charge of this class (please forgive me for revealing the teacher's personal information (^○^) Sensei).

Hara YA-MAN was also a teacher.

You can stamp your keychain to make it your own original piece!
Adults are hooked on this too - it's even sold at the cash register in the back!

The public opening was on a weekday, Friday, so the crowds were uneven.

The second day, which was open to parents, was quite crowded!
Everyone was bustling with items, food and other crafts collected from all over the country!

That's all for the photos, but due to the coronavirus, this was the first time in three years that the teachers and students had a proper Sousei Fair. That means that only a few people knew about the previous, incredibly lively Sousei Fair, and I heard that the teachers had a very hard time.

We hope that the traditional Sousei Fair will return next year.

There is a fountain between the school buildings, and its sound can be heard from time to time...it is a very pleasant and soothing sound.

This fountain is cleaned every time an event is held, and makes flowers bloom on the school grounds on the day.

The sound of the fountain, which we normally hear every year, has probably stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic...

I don't know if we were able to do anything memorable for the high school students we spent time with, but I hope that flowers will always bloom in your future (^○^)
Thank you very much ٩(^‿^)۶