Thumbs Up!
Originally uploaded by Jason In Japan.
Hello All -
I posted some pics from a speech contest that took place about a month ago on Saturday, November 10th at Hokuryo High School, a local private school.
This was my fourth time attending the contest with students, and my first time taking two sets of kids - one set from Taisha JH and one set from Hamayama Chu.
I had some success at Hokuryo my 2nd year, when two of my kids took home prizes, but last year we went home empty-handed.
So I'm pleased to announce that Taisha Jr High was awarded the Top Team trophy for the first time since 2003. In addition to the #1 school trophy, two of my kids took home individual prizes - 8th grader Kensuke got a 3rd place plaque for his recitation of "Plastic Bags & Turtles" and 7th grader Koki got a 2nd place plaque for his recitation of "The Hungry Lion." 9th grader Risa also did a great job, and her recitation of "An American Rakugoka" helped push Taisha to the top for the #1 school team trophy.
My 3 kids from Hamayama Jr High also did well, but I had much less time to practice with them. None of them won a prize, but I was proud of all of them for a job well done. I know next year we'll spend some more time preparing and have a better chance of nabbing a prize.
I had lots of help from Nagami sensei, pictured here, and Nariai sensei getting the kids ready. And over at Hamayama Chu, Yoshida sensei helped me out. It makes a big difference if one of your JTEs is supportive of the kids trying to do a speech contest.
This Saturday, the 10th, was a busy day, as after spending most of the day at Hokuryo, I had to head over to the Urarakan music hall for the evening "Thanks Concert" put on by the Taisha JH Brass Band.
A full day, but I was smiling all night after our victory at Hokuryo.
Way to go Risa, Kensuke and Koki!!
-Jason
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