― Can you tell us about yourselves and what led you to SISS?

J.S : I was born in America, and my family moved here when I was six years old. Before coming to SISS, I was only in a Japanese public school, so there wasn't an actual English program. My family and I were looking for a school that could offer both languages — to keep up with Japanese while also giving us a real chance to grow in English.

When we first arrived, my family didn't know any Japanese at all. We had a translator, who helped us a lot with the language, the customs, everything. So I want to be like that translator and help other people who can't fully understand the other language, the environment, or the traditions.

― What about you, K.I.-san, what have you learned here so far?

K.I : I'm in my fourth year. I really like History — genuinely, because I like stories. But right now I'm also really interested in Psychology. Since I'm taking actual Psychology lessons, I feel like I'm able to dive deeper into it. One thing I really feel has grown with me over the three years I've been here is my ability to give presentations.

― J.S.-san, you've just started here. Have you had any experience with presentations yet?

J.S : Yes. We each wrote our own statement here, the Salesian Declaration, presented in small groups, and two from each group were picked to present in front of the whole year. It was my first real experience. I'm still pretty nervous.

K.I : Nerves aren't something you overcome easily, but it's more that you get used to them. Our teacher taught us how to actually present properly. He told us to position our feet at a 45-degree angle, so that we can see everybody and everybody can see us — not just our backs. And he taught us how to maintain eye contact with everyone.

― Presentations are a key element of PBL at SISS. Could you, Mr. Dulin, tell us how SISS thinks about PBL, critical thinking, and presentations, and how they connect?

Michael Dulin (Teacher) : PBL works through three things: thinking logically to build a hypothesis, thinking critically to question your assumptions, and thinking creatively to find a solution no one has thought of yet.

Teaching isn't about giving information and getting it back. We ask questions. You process what you know, your experiences, your imagination — and bring it all into a proposal. Thinking isn't a straight line from A to B; it's a wave of possibilities. With repetition across classes, it becomes the way you think.

And that's where presentations come in. The better you get at presenting, the bigger your audience gets.

K.I : Critical thinking runs through PBL and discussions — incorporated into every subject. Back in my first year, I wasn't good at presentations at all. I would always mumble. But through three years of PBL, I had so many opportunities to present and express my ideas. I found my voice.

M.D : Presenting means they get to speak in their own voice. It's like teaching democracy — everybody is allowed to have a voice in the room, as long as we're respectful. What would you tell your first-year self?

K.I : To be more confident in myself and just be open to all sorts of ideas. And that it's okay to be lost.

― What would you like to achieve at Salesian, J.S.-san?

J.S : I want to become fully bilingual and give good presentations in both Japanese and English. And to do that, I also want to study History — to learn more deeply about Japanese and American traditions and norms.

― K.I.-san's generation is in a historic position at this school. Can you, Mr. Dulin, tell us more?

M.D : Yes, they're going to be the first individuals in Japan to ever take the Dual Diploma Program, or DDP, incorporating the VCE: the Victorian Certificate of Education.

We're building a foundation to scaffold and prepare students for VCE. Those final tests are not rote memorization — it's applied knowledge. And what we teach aligns directly with what VCE demands.

― K.I.-san, can you tell us what you have been doing as you prepare to begin VCE?

K.I : Currently, we're getting ready for VCE in the first and second semesters. For example, there's Psychology, which is a completely new topic.

― Mr. Dulin, do you have any advice for students and families who are hoping to study abroad through SISS?

M.D : Language is the least of it. Go into everything with an open mind and be humble — you're going to make mistakes. But when you realize you're just dealing with humans, the world gets a lot smaller. And that changes how you see everything.

So education doesn't always happen in the classroom — it's getting out and having a life. See it all with a sense of whimsy. You're on an adventure, and everything is an experiment.

The other big thing, especially about going abroad, is to give yourself time to grow with the place. Go through a full year, and you find yourself making habits and friends and really finding your place.