2022年10月の記事一覧

This week, students had their mid-term exams. While they were working hard, the ALTs had a party with the PTA. For some of the ALTs, this was their first meeting with the PTA.

Members of the PTA had a chance to ask questions and learn more about the ALTs and their home countries. This was also a chance for parents to speak English with native speakers. Afterwards, the ALTs tried kirigami with the parents and had the opportunity to chat with them.

This was my first time doing kirigami. Although it was hard, it was a lot of fun and very rewarding for me to complete my kirigami rabbit! The ALTs also had a wonderful time chatting with parents in both English and Japanese. I’m looking forward to next year’s PTA party!

Catriona

Hello! It’s me, Tunji! I can’t believe I have been working at Wakoku for a little over a year now. I initially arrived on September 13th 2021 but I didn’t start working until the 27th of that month. Getting used to Wakoku was initially difficult at first because of the pandemic. Over time many things got easier. Getting along with students was initially very difficult as there wasn’t much opportunity for me to talk with them in class. Due to this a lot of students got the impression that I was a scary person or that I wasn’t interested in talking to them. Of course this was not the case. As things calmed down I’ve gotten to know many teachers and students very well. Though it has already started I looked to what will happen during my second year at Wakoku. 

Hello everyone! It’s Jade writing this week. I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather lately. This week I’m going to write about one of Wakoku’s biggest school celebrations.

This week students and teachers all celebrated the sports festival together. What is the sports festival? First of all, in Japanese, the sports festival is called “undokai.” In Japan, schools host two festivals each year. The culture festival and the sports festival. For this school celebration, students participate in various team sports such as relay races, tug of war, and the typhoon event.

As a foreigner, I had never seen the typhoon event before. I thought it was really interesting. To do this event, students huddle together as a team in four rows. The four students in the front are holding onto a long pole. First, the students with the pole must run together to maneuver the pole around some obstacles. Then they must get everyone on their team to jump over the pole which is followed by passing the pole over the heads of the rest of the team. Finally, they pass the pole to the next four students, and everything repeats for another round. The first team to complete ten rounds is the winner!

After the sports events are finished, all of the students participate in a cheer competition. Although everyone participates, it is really the 3rd year students who shine the most during the performances. Students do all sorts of cheers and dances. It was amazing to see how much hard work the students put into preparing their performances. If only they could put that much effort into their homework!