Welcome back to another fantastic Shady Grove school year! We, in the Japanese department, are excited for our third year at Shady Grove. This year kindergarten and first grade will meet three times a week and second through fifth grades will meet twice a week. We look forward to a great year with plenty of fun and exciting stuff to learn!
Setsubun02/07/2014 This week in Samurai Club students celebrated the holiday setsubun (the day before the first day of Spring) celebrated on February 3rd or 4th. Setsubun symbolizes the coming of Spring. On setsubun, Japanese families throw beans/nuts at a family member (mame maki) pretending to be an 'oni' (goblin) and shoo him out of the house as they yell, "oni ha soto, fuku ha uchi!" (out with the devil[bad], in with the good!) Then, they collect the nuts and eat the same number of beans as their age. In Samurai Club, students made their own 'oni' mask as they learned about setsubun. Upcoming Events01/11/2014 The Operetta Mikado will be presented by Opera Memphis at the Germantown Performing Arts Center (GPAC). Before the performances, there will be various Japanese cultural introductions. There will be three shows, each starting at 7:30 PM. Jan 14 (Tue), 5:30 - 7:30 PM: Japanese cultural introduction by JAST-West. Jan 17 (Fri), 5:30 - 7:30 PM: Japanese cultural introduction and costume contest (cosplay and traditional Japanese). Winner receives a great prize! Jan 18 (Sat), 3:00 - 7:30 PM: Family events; Japanese cultural introductions, tea ceremony, kendo demo, Japanese dance, and photo opportunity with Godzilla/Pikachu. Admission: JAST/Opera Memphis Members 25% off, UM Students (with ID): $10.00, group ticket 10% off (reservation required). On December 4, 2013, washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) was chosen as an Intangible World Heritage. This is a huge honor for Japan, as it will help contribute to more widespread acceptance of various Japanese dishes and ingredients native to the land. The Oishii Japan event is the perfect opportunity to have a taste of some of these delectable dishes from right at home in Memphis. Sample Japanese food for a great price, and try mochi pounding, the Japanese new year tradition of making festive rice cakes. Or would you like to compete as a new Memphis Iron Chef of sushi? You can also get new cooking tips from the Sharp super steam oven demonstration. There will be a sale of Japanese handicrafts, sale of giri choco (obligation chocolate for non-special person = for everybody) gifts to celebrate this year's Valentine's Day in a Japanese way. Live music by The Maguires. Admission: Free for MBG and JAST Members and children K-12 to enter. Food coupon $5.00 (just curious), $10.00 (tasting), $15.00 (hungry), $20.00 (super hungry). CASH ONLY!!! Future Samurai01/10/2014 We are really excited to announce that we have ordered t-shirts for Samurai Club students! The t-shirts have been paid for with club dues, meaning ALL Samurai Club Students will receive a t-shirt! The t-shirts will be forest green. The front will have an image of a Samurai on the front and say, 'Future Samurai.' The back will have the image on the left printed on it (the image in the middle is the Japanese character for Samurai.) The principal has approved the t-shirts to be uniform appropriate. So, students will be able to wear the t-shirts to school. We LOVE our Samurai Club Students and can't wait for the t-shirts to come in so we will be able to show our Samurai pride in school :) Thank you to all the parents and students who came and supported the PTO Christmas Celebration!! Samurai Club Representatives did a great job sharing the Japanese New Year's tradition of sending nengajyo (New Year's Cards.) Students shared this tradition because New Years is the main holiday in Japan. Students in 3rd-5th grade made nengajyo this week in class that illustrated a Japanese New Year's Tradition such as the special foods that are eaten, traditional games children play, the first visit to the temple after the new year, and the custom of giving children otoshidama (money in a special envelope as a gift) for New Years! The nengajyo were displayed for the audience to see (see picture.) All of us at Shady Grove would like to wish you a Happy New Year: akemashite omedetou! Samurai Club Students got a "taste" of oshogatsu (Japanese New Years) the past couple of weeks. Last week, students learned about the Japanese zodiac calendar and how each year in a 12 year cycle is represented by an animal. 2014 is the year of the horse. Students then made Japanese nengajyo (new year's cards.) This week, Students took a virtual trip to Japan where students learned about winter festivals that take place all throughout Japan. This included visiting the famous yuki-matsuri (snow festival) in Sapporo, playing with snow monkeys in Nagano, warming up in a Japanese kamakura (snow house), and watching the ringing of the bell at a Japanese temple. Students then sampled some Japanese treats, including mochi, a Japanese dessert. More photos to come!! Our next Samurai Club meeting will be after winter break on Wednesday, January 9th, 2014! Comparing Japanese and American Homes11/26/2013 In Unit 2: Welcome Home students have been learning phrases about their family and home, such as where they live, who they live with, and what rooms they have in their house/apartment. This week, 4th grade students learned about cultural differences between Japanese and American homes. For example, Japanese people take off their shoes before entering their house and some Japanese people sleep on futons rather than beds. Below are some student's projects that show what items are in a Japanese home (nihon no ie) and an American home (amerika no ie). More student work is on display in the 4th grade hallway. Please be sure and ask your child what they are learning in Japanese class each day!! Japan Night Pictures & Video11/04/2013 We had so much fun at Japan Night!!! A big thank you to parents, students, and friends who celebrated with us :) We were able to share Japanese culture such as Japanese pop and traditional music fusion dance, Japanese arts and crafts, Japanese traditional clothing, and Japanese traditional toys. A special thanks to Japanese teachers and students at White Station Middle School, White Station High School, and the University of Memphis for making this K-16th event successful!!! JAPAN NIGHT10/17/2013 On October 24th at 6:30 pm Shady Grove will be hosting its first ever Japan Night! There will be Japanese dances; a photo booth where students can try on traditional Japanese clothing; Japanese songs as performed by members of Shady Grove’s Samurai Club; a storytelling booth; sample lessons; traditional toys booth; and Japanese arts and crafts! The festival will run until 7:30 and admission is free! Samurai Club10/07/2013 Samurai Students, 3-5 grade students who participate in the Japanese Culture Club at Shady Grove, have had a busy month! Students have either been part of the kousaku no guruupu (craft's group) or uta no guruupu (song group). Students in the craft group have made all of the decorations for Japan Night, including the posters to advertise the event (see poster below!), maps of Japan, Japanese paper lanterns, and Japanese cherry blossom flowers (see photo on left). Students in the song group have been working on a dance and song from the Japanese movie Totoro that they will perform on Japan Night. Join us on Thursday, October 24th, 2013 from 6:30 - 7:30 in the Shady Grove Elementary Cafeteria for a night of Japanese culture, crafts and performances!! |