School Vocabulary List

Places

Listing of the names of some special places/rooms you'll find around your school
Note: Many of these listings end with 室 (shitsu), which seems to be a standard at high schools, however at some schools a different suffix such as 所 (sho), 場 (jō), 館 (kan), etc may be found instead for some of these rooms.

Main Office

じ　む　しつ 事務室

jimu shitsu

Where school administrative duties are performed. Generally located at the front door of the school and has a few staff workers. The principal's office is usually next to the main office. For high school JETs, the office staff at your main school will also handle a number of important things in your life, such as apartment and finance-related matters.

Teacher's Office

しょく　いん　しつ 職員室

shokuin shitsu

Where teacher's work when not teaching classes. Each teacher has their own desk which effectively forms their own personal office within the school. Many schools have more than one, with certain teachers that are in charge of certain departments perhaps being in a smaller room. The main teacher's office is where the vice principal works.

Meeting Room

かい　ぎ　しつ 会議室

kaigi shitsu

Location of meetings, primarily the all-staff meetings that take place once a week at many schools. ALTs are generally not required to go to these meetings, so if all of the teachers at your school suddenly disappear, they are probably either in the meeting room or maybe the gym/auditorium.

Gymnasium

たい　いく　かん 体育館

taiiku kan

Use for sports and gym classes, however also used as an auditorium. This will probably the be the location of all major events and/or presentations, such as the graduation ceremony.

Library

と　しょ　しつ 図書室

tosho shitsu

Has lots of books and a few computers connected to the internet. Maybe have a few English books, depending on the school. Some kids will go here after school to read.

Discipline Room

せい　と　し　どう　しつ 生徒指導室

seito shidō shitsu

Where the teachers in charge of school discipline work. They are also in charge of student council. Kids who cause big problems in class should be sent here.

Guidance Office

しん　ろ　し　どう　しつ 進路指導室

shinro shidō shitsu

Where the school guidance councilors work. They assist students with college and/or job applications and give general advice on their future prospects. They also meet with representatives from companies and universities who wish to distribute information within the school.

Nurse's Office

ほ　けん　しつ 保健室

hoken shitsu

Where the school nurses work and treat sick students. Depending on the school, it may also be a popular place for kids who don't want to be in class.

Principal's Office

こう　ちょう　しつ 校長室

kōchō shitsu

Where the principal works and meets the many visitors that come to the school, such as representatives from other schools or the board of education.

English Room

えい　ご　けん　きゅう　しつ 英語研究室

eigo kenkyū shitsu

Not all schools have the so-called "English Research Room", and even if they do, little to no research will take place there. Generally, it houses a tremendous amount of English educational books, from textbooks to dictionaries to academic tomes -- often lining both walls. Though it is likely impossible to go through all the materials in there, the volume of old textbooks and practice problems to be found in this room may help out in lesson planning.

Schedule

A listing of terms for some various items / events you may find on your kanji school schedule

Midterm Exams

ちゅう　かん　こう　さ 中間考査

chūkan kōsa

Tests held in the middle of each school term. Often not a full week. May be a good opportunity for taking a trip somewhere.
Note: In normal conversation these are referred to as shiken (試験) or tests (テスト), however on the schedule the more official term kōsa (考査) is used.

Final Exams

き　まつ　こう　さ 期末考査

kimatsu kōsa

Tests held at the end of each school term. Often a full week. May be a good opportunity for taking a trip somewhere.
Note: In normal conversation these are referred to as shiken (試験) or tests (テスト), however on the schedule the more official term kōsa (考査) is used.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

ほ　ご　しゃ　かい 保護者会

hogosha kai

Series of days in which homeroom teachers meet with the parents of each student in their class. How often these are held depends on the school but they are generally held at the end of a given term. There are no classes at all during these days and so may be a good time for nenkyu/travel.

Opening Ceremony

し　ぎょう　しき 始業式

shigyō shiki

Ceremony which official marks the beginning of a new school term. Held at the start of each term.

Closing Ceremony

しゅう　ぎょう　しき 終業式

shūgyō shiki

Ceremony which official marks the closing of a school term. Held at the end of each term.

Entrance Ceremony

にゅう　がく　しき 入学式

nyūgaku shiki

Held on the same day as the first term's opening ceremony, always at the beginning of April. One of the two extremely formal ceremonies of the year and it is recommended that you wear a suit. During the ceremony the principal, PTA chair, and current student council president will each give a speech to the incoming students. The 1st-year homeroom teachers will introduce themselves and meet their kids for the first time. You may get the impression that there are some leftover elements from military Japan present in the ceremony.

Graduation Ceremony

そつ　ぎょう　しき 卒業式

sotsugyō shiki

Held in early March, always on March 1st for high schools. Not on the same day as the closing ceremony. One of the two extremely formal ceremonies of the year and it is recommended that you wear a suit. During the ceremony the principal, PTA chair will give speeches to the outgoing students. The president of the graduating class will give a thank you speech and include some advice to the lower-classmen, and the president of the class immediately below the graduating class will give a thank you speech to their outgoing sempai. At the end, the graduating class will walk out via a "hanamichi", where the lower classmen and parents separate and the outgoing students leave the gym by passing between their peers and parents. Lots and lots of tears to be found on this day, the graduation ceremony is considered more of a somber event in Japan than it is in many other countries, largely symbolizing the "end" of something rather than the "beginning" of something. Does not run as long as graduations at home may run.

School Festival

ぶん　か　さい 文化祭

bunka sai

Major school event, often cited as the students' favorite day of the year. Typically held in the fall. Each class in the school will create something special to be performed or displayed during the day of the school festival. Food stalls are a popular choice as well, and for any class setting up a food stall some students from that class will go around the school selling tickets for whatever food item they will be making. Be sure to grab these up in advance if you want to eat the food stall food on the day of the school festival.
Note: Many JTEs often use the literal English translation "Cultural Festival".

Chorus Competition

がっ　しょう　さい 合唱祭

gasshō sai

School events, though it is only present at a small number of schools. Typically held in the winter. Each class in the school picks a song which they will sing together as a class. One kid in each class is selected as conductor and the other as piano player, and then all remaining students sing. The class with the best singing generally wins some type of award.

Track and Field Day

たい　いく　さい 体育祭

taiiku sai

Major school event. Typically held in early summer. Members from each class in the school will compete against each other through different track and field events, as well as some goofy events like a joke obstacle course and the "mukade race". The classes that win each event win some kind of award to hang in their classroom. In many schools, each class will create a special t-shirt which all the class members will wear on that day, generally with the class name on it, a slogan (sometimes in bad English, try asking teachers to confirm English slogans with you), and some drawings -- cute creatures are especially popular as is the case anywhere in Japan.
Note: Many JTEs often use the literal English translation "Sports Festival".

Sports Day

ぎゅう　ぎ　たい　かい 球技大会

kyūgi taikai

Members from each class participate in a tournament-style competition in various sports with baseball, basketball, volleyball, and soccer being the most common. Like Track and Field Day, but with sports involving "balls" (as the Japanese name implies). There may be more than one of these per school year.

Sports Day

クラスマッチ

kurasu matchi

Same as above. For some reasons, many high schools use the term "Class Match" instead of the phrase 「球技大会」 seen above.

Field Trip

えん　そく 遠足

ensoku

Everyone in the school gets to go out with the teachers and (ideally) have fun for a day. Generally, each school year goes somewhere different. Field trips are generally to places in or around Mie Prefecture however trips to farther away places may occur.
Note: Many JTEs often use the English translation "Excursion" for this event

School Trip

しゅう　がく　りょ　こう 修学旅行

shūgaku ryokō

A multi-day educational vacation, generally much farther away from the school than a field trip. In high schools, only second-year students go on the school trip. Common destinations are Hokkaido and Kyushu, with some schools even going as far as Korea or Saipan.

School-wide Cleaning

おお　そう　じ 大掃除

ō sōji

All the students in the school all work to clean the school, with different sections of each class being designated certain areas. Often takes about an hour, and most teachers will help out as well. Generally occurs at the beginning and end of each school term, as well as perhaps once in the middle or if there is a major event (such as graduation) is coming up or in advance of a day in which prospective students will be visiting the school like on entrance exam day. A great chance to chat with students and feel like part of the school.