Pictured are the following: Front row: Misty Birtcher, Bessie Kahn, Misaki Inoue , Kenta Saito, Kyle Miller Second row: Nicolas Vilt, Aoi, Sukuma, Ryan Hoerner Top Row: Former Councilman MJ Khan, Teacher/chaperone Mr. Tanaka, Yuuki Akimoto

Johnston Middle School students and families opened their hearts and homes to exchange students from Japan at the beginning of the school year. The students from Japan were accompanied by their sponsor, Mr. Tanaka. They toured many sights here, including NASA, the Zoo, Japanese Gardens, City Hall (not pictured here is Cassie O’Sullivan) and Downtown Houston. They also attended Sea World and the River Walk in San Antonio as well as enjoying the sights of longhorn cattle, hayrides and a barbeque at the Elizondo Ranch! The children attended school during their second week with their American hosts at Johnston Middle School and Kolter Elementary, which also has a Japanese program, where they talked to many classes. Each day was filled with educational and fun activities for the students. Johnston is proud of our students and how they took care of their friends from across the ocean! This annual exchange is sponsored by the Japan-America Society of Houston.