Field Trip
Social Studies - Long ago vs. Today
*photos will be uploaded this weekend
Japanese Culture Day - email from PTA
Dear Parents,
The sakura blossoms have started to bloom, and Japan Culture Day (Friday, March 29th) is fast approaching!
The Japanese language teachers and PTA committee members have been working hard to make this day fun and memorable for the students, while the students have been working hard on researching the prefecture assigned to their class.
We have a packed schedule on the day, including guest performances and demonstrations, workshops, craft making, traditional games and presentations by G1-G6 students on their assigned prefecture in a "matsuri" or festival style. We will also unveil a large group art project to celebrate the sakura season.
As for the guest performances this year, we have invited a taiko (Japanese drum) drummer, aikido athletes, and a "rakugo" traditional storyteller.
With focus kept on the different prefectures that make up Japan, the PTA have chosen snacks and a lunch menu that reflects the local foods/specialties of each prefecture that has been assigned. Snacks and lunch will be provided however, please make sure your child brings an empty lunch box (instead of a plate), cutlery, and a water bottle as usual.
Children will be given a morning snack (tangerine), lunch (fried chicken "karaage", rice balls "onigiri", soy beans in the pod "edamame", battered octopus balls "takoyaki", and "yukimi daifuku" -vanilla ice cream covered in soft rice cake "mochi" for dessert).
There will also be some extra goodies (Okinawan cookie "Chinsuko," dried persimmons jelly, rice cracker "osenbei," and an apple juice) to take home in a goodie bag! Please take precautions if your child has an allergy and be sure to read the ingredients of what is being sent home. If you would like to know the ingredients in advance, please let us know!
Students are invited to wear any Japan culture-related clothing such as kimono, yukata, ninja costume, karate uniform, anime character etc. Please make sure they can move freely in their clothing.
We do not have space for parents to come and watch; however, we are looking for volunteers (2 per class) to help ensure the day runs smoothly and we stay on schedule! Please let us know if you are interested! Please note that you may not be assigned to a class of your child.
Also, we are still looking for volunteer parents to talk about Hokkaido, Aomori, Kyoto, Osaka, and Okinawa. You don't have to be a native. Even a little bit of your knowledge and experience will be a great help for students. Please help their research!
We are very much looking forward to it!
Sincerely,
PTA Committee
保護者の皆様
桜の開花のニュースが流れ始めました。国語、日本語の先生方とPTAの総力をあげて企画にあたってきたジャパン・カルチャー・デー(3月29日金曜日)まで残すところ2週間!G1以上の生徒達も、各クラスに割り当てられた都道府県地の魅力をアピールすべく、いよいよ本腰を入れてリサーチに取り組んでいます。
今年度は、北海道、青森、新潟、京都、大阪、奈良、熊本、沖縄をテーマにそれぞれのクラスでの「まつり」を行います。当日、日本に関連した服装(着物、浴衣、漫画などのキャラクター、忍者、道着、など)で登校させてください。(あまりに動きがとれない格好はご遠慮ください。)
パフォーマーに関しては、和太鼓、合気道、落語をそれぞれ披露していただく予定です。その他、日本の昔ながらの遊び、ご当地にゆかりの深い食べ物から選んだスナック、ランチ、お土産も用意し、みんなが日本文化に浸れる一日になれば、と一同願っています。
ランチにからあげ、枝豆、たこ焼き、おにぎりを、そしてデザートに雪見だいふくを用意しています。(当日ルカデリを頼まれている方は早めのキャンセルをお願いします。)お弁当の空容器(紙皿の無駄を省くため)、箸(フォーク)、スプーン(雪見だいふく用)、飲み物をご用意ください。朝のスナックはこちらでみかんを用意しているので持たせなくて結構です。その他、おせんべい、ちんすこう、干し柿ゼリー、りんごジュースの入ったお土産袋を渡す予定でいます。アレルギーのあるお子様で、前もって原材料などが知りたい方はご連絡ください。
スペースの関係で当日の見学はできませんが、ボランティアを各クラス2名づつ募集しています。お手伝いいただける方はご連絡ください!その際、クラスが日本語と国語に分かれている関係で、お子様のクラスのお手伝いになるとは限らないことをご了承ください。
同時に、引き続き北海道、青森、京都、大阪、沖縄の紹介をしてくれるボランティアを探しています。出身でなくても、住んだことがある、親が出身、など、少しの経験や知識で結構です!実際にボランティアの保護者の方からお話を聞いたクラスはやはり、モチベーションがくらべ物にならないほど上がりました。ご協力お願いいたします!
では、当日、生徒一人ひとりの心に残る日にしましょう!
我々も楽しみにしています!
PTAコミッティー
Writing
Poetry - Rhyming Poems
This week students worked on publishing and illustrating their rhyming poems to prepare for the Poetry Slam. On Wednesday we had our class presentations. Four students were selected to participate in the Poetry Slam event on Friday: Mahinatea, Jumaru, Anna, Takuto. I am so proud of all the G1A students and the effort they put into writing and presenting their own poems! As we prepare for the end of the term, we will continue learning about poetry and students will have the opportunity to write more poems next week.
Reading
End of Term 2 - Reading Assessments
At the end of the term I complete a reading assessment with each student to track their progress as a reader and identify their independent reading level. I started these assessments this week and will continue next week as we prepare for the end of Term 2 and report cards.
Social Studies
Life Today and Long Ago
We started a new Social Studies unit focused on what life was like long ago. We will continue this unit when we return from Spring Break. Our class began looking at historical artifacts and students talked together at their tables to answer these two questions:
- What do you think this object is?
- How do you think it was used?
Next week we will continue comparing and contrasting past and present community life (schooling, children's lives, transportation).
Math
Data & Graphs
This week we completed our Math chapter all about data and graphs. Students worked with their Math partners to create a survey question with two choices (Ex. Which do you like more cats or dogs?). One student asked the question and the other student recorded their classmates' answers. When they were finished collecting data, they worked together to create a graph or tally chart to display their data.
Have a good weekend!
- Ms. Allison