The school song has been completed! ✨

Let’s create excitement and anticipation” is the motto of the staff at Howdy Nara School. Even in casual conversations, outlandish ideas are frequently exchanged jokingly, and one of these ideas, the school song project, has finally come to life! ✨

“Let’s create a school song together!”
This project started with that desire in mind. The lyrics were to be created by the students. Surprisingly, school songs are unique to Japan. So, we first explained “what a school song is” using the national anthem as an example. Then, we gathered ideas in each class about Howdy Nara School’s image, favorite words, and words they’d like to include.
The most frequent words were “thank you,” “grateful,” and “gratitude.” The main chorus lyrics were decided to be “Thank you!” 👍
Other words included “mountain,” “Misato,” “beautiful,” “kind,” and words representing the local area, as well as “dream,” “hope,” “believe,” “unity,” “together,” “friends,” and “step.” There were also words expressing feelings of being away from home, such as “family” and “loneliness.”
In the end, the staff took all these words and the images they evoked, and compiled them into one set of lyrics, which were completed!
Next, a staff member who loves music created the melody. The goal was to make it easy for students, whose native language is not Japanese, to sing, and to make it a melody they could relate to. After trying several versions, getting feedback from passing students, and receiving advice from a music teacher, the song was finally finished.
When I said to the students, “Thank you for coming up with the lyrics,” they replied, “We’re happy you made a song for us,” and it brought tears to the staff’s eyes.
However, by this point, there was only one month left until the graduation ceremony, the event where the song would be revealed. There was no time to waste. First, to get everyone used to it, we decided to play a demo tape three times a day over the school’s PA system. Then, between classes, we held lyric explanations, class practices, group practices, and rehearsals. During breaks, there were even live performances of the school song in the lobby. Toward the end, many students could be heard humming the school song during breaks or on their way home! 🤭
Thanks to all the efforts, the graduation ceremony performance was incredible. Both graduates and current students sang beautifully, and it was a song that brought everyone’s hearts together, fitting for the memorable first graduation ceremony. 🥰

What started as a joke turned into a real project, and there were moments when we wondered if it would work out. However, thanks to the efforts of many people—students, faculty, music teachers, and even volunteer middle school photographers (MV filming team)—we are filled with gratitude for the successful outcome. We hope to continue singing this song with love and pride.
The music video for the school song, “Together Toward Tomorrow,” is also available on the Howdy Nara School website. Please take a look! 😊
Thank you so much, everyone.