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!