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This week I would like to
talk about our Far East Activities Programs. During the
school year, my office sponsors 13 different events for
high school students--evenly divided between academics and
athletics. The current DoDDS Pacific Far East Activities
Program was instituted in 1997 to standardize high school
activities throughout the Pacific. The program parallels
state level competitions and provides an opportunity for
DoDDS students to compete in a variety of educational and
sports events.
Our Far East schedule of events
begins in early fall with the cross-country competition.
Cross-country and tennis alternate with tennis being held
in odd years and cross-country in even years. Veterans Day
is the starting point for our most ambitious week of competition
with the Journalism Festival, cheerleading, girls' volleyball,
and the all-Japan football championship (Rising Sun Bowl).
Various schools within the Pacific's four districts host
these events. Other activities traditionally held prior
to the winter recess include the spirited JROTC competition
and the Speech, Arts and Drama Festival. Winter activities
shift indoors with Model United Nations, and as February
draws to a close, our wrestling and boys’ and girls’
basketball tournaments kick-off. Warm spring weather finds
our students traveling to the Japan Science and Technology
Center outside Tokyo for the Junior Science and Humanities
Symposium, closely followed by our finest DoDDS Pacific
musicians gathering for their April concert. The final event
on our calendar brings together our student athletes for
a week-long soccer competition, held at the end of April.
Over two thousand DoDDS Pacific high school students participate
in one or more of these events. Completing our activity
schedule in early May affords our students adequate time
to prepare for the Advanced Placement tests, the SAT and
ACT, semester examinations, and to enjoy school proms and
graduation exercises.
DoDDS Pacific students who
compete in these Far East activities are held to high student
academic standards, are responsible for completing their
missed school assignments, and learn to manage their academic
workloads with their extracurricular requirements. For many
of our DoDDS students the travel aspects are routine; however,
for some it marks their initial international travel experience
and provides many lasting memories of the friendships made
at these various events. DoDDS teachers who serve as coaches
and activity sponsors accompany our students on their adventures.
These teachers provide experience and security to the students
while they are away from home.
The Far East Activities Council
(FEAC) accomplishes oversight of all the activities. This
council meets twice per school year and sets the standards
and procedures for all activities. The Council also schedules
the dates and locations for the up-coming school year's
activities. Each of the four Pacific area districts provides
representatives to the Council.
DoDDS Pacific Far East Activities
are similar to events and competitions at the state level
in public schools throughout the United States, where students
come from various districts across the state to compete
with each other. However, our Far East Activities Program
provides an added benefit; our DoD students have the unique
opportunity to come together with each other as well as
various international and host nation schools, enriching
their athletic, academic, and cultural experiences while
living overseas.
Nancy C. Bresell
Director, DoDDS Pacific
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