Ｔｈｉｒｄ Ｑｕａｒｔｅｒ Ｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎ ｆｏｒ Ｐａｒｅｎｔｓ, April 2, 2009

大阪
京都
奈良
神戸
横浜
三吉演芸場
鎌倉
東京
浅草 　
松島旅館


Japanese Classes, Kimmel Sensei
April 2009



Japanese language students Alexa Imaoka and Keith Dow, both seniors, have long been interested in percussion. Alexa plays with the Kodo group at Midwest Buddhist Temple; while Keith performs with Payton’s jazz band. This winter, both of them went to Orchestra Hall to see something remarkable:

“Special World Music Concert: Kodo -- Returning after its sold-out 2005 Symphony Center debut, the famed Japanese drumming ensemble Kodo gave a special performance on Tuesday, February 17. Kodo has been recognized around the world for its explorations of the limitless possibilities of the taiko, the traditional Japanese drum. Since the ensemble's debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, Kodo has traveled to 43 countries on five continents and has given more than 3,000 performances--continually forging new directions for their vibrant art form.”

Not long thereafter, Vice-Consul Yukiko Menda came to visit Payton on March 3rd. She met the Japanese 3 and Japanese 2 classes. During Japanese 2 class she read the famous folktale, “The Bamboo Princess” (in Japanese, Kaguya-hime, かぐや姫)。This story appeared first in the 10th century as “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter” Taketori Monogatari, 竹取物語。Consul Menda read in Japanese from story-telling cards known as kami-shibai,　紙芝居。After each section of Japanese, Kimmel Sensei read the English translation.

When students asked Vice-Consul Menda about her life and work, she told the classes about how she had worked with the Japan Foundation before coming to the Consulate in Chicago. She said she felt that visiting our school brought her back to the educational atmosphere she had enjoyed at the Japan Foundation. Ms. Menda is a truly international person, having lived in several other countries besides the U.S. and Japan. She also told us that approximately 6 Japanese students will be coming to Chicago this summer, winners of speech contests in various parts of Japan. The Consulate is interested in a 1-day-1-night stay for each incoming student in late July and is hoping to place each of the students with a Payton family. Please contact Kimmel Sensei if you are available for hosting and interested in doing so: 773-833-7823.

For information about curriculum in the Japanese classes on a day-to-day basis, we hope that parents and students will go to www.KimmelJapaneseClasses.blogspot.com, in order to follow activities and homework assignments in detail. You will see that the Japanese 1 class has progressed to learning katakana, the second phonetic writing system, now that everyone has become proficient in hiragana. Students worked on developing and then acting out a story called “Fox and Frog Do Shopping,” きつね　と　かえる　の　かいもの。They are learning new “traveling” verbs and the nouns for various destinations like “library” としょかん。

Second year Japanese students are learning the types of Japanese stores found in a traditional shopping street, しょうてんがい。In pairs they have chosen different types of shops and created lists of products offered, with illustrations and prices. For the purposes of this project, the exchange rate will be 100 yen to the U.S. dollar. In the coming week, students will produce signs for their stores and create or find small models of products. Special vocabulary for shopping will include the kinds of formal expressions used by storekeepers and the counters for various items bought and sold. This work is supported by Chapter 7 in the Kimono text, level two.

Third year students are learning something about Japanese religions while they continue to acquire the various verb conjugations in plain form. They are getting information about individual Japanese shrines and temples, famous ones, creating an ema 絵馬plaque of the kind that might be sold there, and writing 5 prayers or wishes on the back.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


“Ema at Itsukushima Shrine
“Ema (絵馬) are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshipers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, [or sometimes at the temple, as is mentioned in the Japanese version of this Wikipedia article] where the kami (spirits or gods) supposedly read them. They tend to be fairly uniform in size and shape, but many have different pictures painted on them, of animals or other Shinto imagery, and they often have the word gan'i (願意), meaning "wish", written along the side. Stereotypically, the image on the plaque would be of a horse, uma or ma in Japanese (馬); ema means, literally, "horse picture".　This name originates from the fact that real horses were once offered by the wealthy in exchange for blessings at shrines.”
Japanese 4 students have just finished making posters about Japanese cities, with images and information written in Japanese. AP Japanese students have presented driving tours of Chicago, imagining that they are talking while taking Japanese guests on a tour of Chicago by car. Each student chose different locations for the tour, locations such as Marina Towers, Millenium Park, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, and the like. This joint class has finished Chapter 6 in the reader, “A Homestay in Japan,” using Professor Tohsaku’s Yookoso: Continuing with Contemporary Japanese for grammar instruction and expanded vocabulary.
For a view of our relationship with our sister school, Osaka City (Ichiritsu) Senior High School, please look at the following blog site:
www.PaytonChicagoOsakaIchiritsu.blogspot.com