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SATURDAY JAPANESE CLASSES NEWS JUNE 2008

1: Lower Grade Class I
2: Lower Grade Class II
3: Middle Grade Class
4: Upper Grade Class
5: Middle School / High School Class
6: Class I
7: Class II
8: Class II-2
9: JFL

Lower Grade Class I

I can't believe summer break is just around the corner. Over the past nine months, I've learned so much from students, parents, and my fellow teachers. Thank you all.The students made a great effort in coming to class even though they were busy with other weekend activities such as sports. I would like to thank parents for driving children to and from school. You have a long vacation till September and probably have many fun plans. Have a wonderful vacation and try to use Japanese as much as possible.
(Miyajima)

Lower Grade Class II

In May, we composed Haiku:
"Mentaiko daisukidakedo karainda" by Kanta ( I love cod roe, even though it's spicy!)
"Okaasanwa tanpoposukida baramosuki" by Sakura ( My mom loves dandelion, and roses,
too.)
"Tulipya ball korokoro tsuburetayo" by Emiri (A Tumbling ball crushed the tulip!)
"Go shichi go yubiorikazoe haikudesu" by Hideo (Five-seven-five, Let's count with
our fingers and compose a Haiku!)
"Tanoshiina kodomonoiede asobunowa" by Takuki (It's fun to play at Kodomo no Ie.)
"Americawa iroirosugoku kitanaiyo" by Ruri (It's messy here and there in America)
"LEGOLAND yapparitanoshii mataikou" by Timmy (Surely, LEGOLAND is fun. I want to
go again!)
"Obaachan itsumoysashiku arigatou" by Lorain (Grandma, thank you for being kind
all the time!)
I would like to thank parents for your cooperation for the past year. Have a wonderful
summer break!
(Yamada)

Middle Grade Class

When the school began last September, it was daunting to organize such a big class
and I was a little worried how I would manage it, but we made it this far and it's
almost the end of the school year. Over the past year, we studied many different
themes such as communication, the earth and environment, food, and so on. In the
process, not only did students learn Japanese vocabulary, expressions and kanji
characters, but became knowledgeable about these themes to a certain extent. They
worked very hard in class, even when they were busy with weekday school and other
activities. I would like to thank parents for your support. Please keep up studying
Japanese!
(Uehara)

Upper Grade Class

The students made quicker progress than anticipated in two lessons: the picture
story telling "If the world were a village of 100 people?" and a word game, Karuta
(recognizing kanji as ideograms and reviewing "On" or Chinese reading and "Kun" or
Japanese reading).
So, On May 24th, we went on a field trip to the Japanese American National Museum
in Little Tokyo (With a small class of 3 students, we can do things like this!)
Prior to the trip, we studied about Japanese immigrants using PowerPoint. I hope
that students develop the ability to think for themselves, paying attention to the
world and what life was like 150 years ago. I believe that the secret to mastering
Japanese as a second language is to use Japanese continuously. Please keep up your
work next year, too!
(Sakamoto)

Middle School / High School Class

We started middle school and high school classes in February. Over the last four
months, we used the study of Japanese history to strengthen research skills and
improve writing techniques in different formats and genres. In the beginning,
students' writing was disjointed, more like a list than a composition. Now they
have learned to write coherent essays that explore a main idea with supporting
arguments, which became more interesting to read. However, this type of study
takes more than one term of practice, and students need to keep practicing
repeatedly using different themes. After summer break, we will continue to work
on research, critical thinking, and presentational skills.
We studied history through Manga "Naruto" and covered the history of main Japanese
annual festivals. We think we know these events and customs, such as throwing beans
for Setsubun (the day before the beginning of spring), Hina arare (cubic rice
crackers) for Hina matsuri, (the Doll Festival) and Kashiwa mochi (rice cake wrapped
in an oak leaf) for Tango no Sekku (the Boys' Festival). But when it comes to
explaining, it requires active learning and presentation of knowledge. This is
exactly what AP exams require. In the next term, we will continue to work on this
whenever we have the opportunity.
We had a great time learning a variety of things in the past term. I would like to
thank parents for driving to and from school. "Practice makes perfect" applies to
everything and so does learning Japanese while living in the US. I would appreciate
your continuous support for children.
(Douglas)

Class I

The class learned the stroke order for hiragana, while calling out 1-red, 2-blue
and 3-green.
I called "hane" a point, and "harai" a slide to make it easier for the kids to
remember. In June, I will introduce more vocabulary used in everyday life through
pretend shopping.
During summer vacation, I would like you to encourage your kids to use Japanese at home.
I'm looking forward to welcoming back the class in September.
(Arichi)

Class II

The class is learning antonyms and adjectives so that kids can write what they have
to say in detail. I will give them as much practice time as possible before summer
vacation. They are also learning ways to count different types of animals this month.
(Ozeki)

Class II-2

The class tried hard to make many books as presents for Mother's Day. They will do
the same for the Father's Day as well. I hope the kids will have plenty of time to
speak in Japanese during the coming long summer vacation. Do your homework little
by little, too.
Thank you, dear parents, for all your support throughout the year.
(Umehata)

JFL

I'm glad to find a lot of improvements in the students at the end of the school year.
I had a valuable experience with them. In June, the class will look at pictures and
read long stories with words and expressions they've learned. They will also learn
to compose simple letters. I would like to say to the kids: you've been learning
Japanese in the early stage of your lives; you've built up basic knowledge already;
if you keep on learning, you will be able to read and speak fluently. A famous
scholar, who is a simultaneous interpreter in five languages, once said about
successfully mastering a language, "time spent multiplied by interest equals
result". Don't give up, keep learning.
(Minemura)

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