Konnichiwa minna-san!
こんにちは、みんなさん！

Term 2 has been busy in the Japanese department, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

NCEA Japan Day: Wednesday 7th June

On Wednesday 7th June, 9 students in Year 11-13 along with Ms. Boland went to the University of Canterbury for the annual NCEA Japan Day. Over 530 students from 18 schools gathered to celebrate learning Japanese in senior school, experience workshops taught by different teachers, and enjoy Japanese culture, such as Takumi - Taiko drumming. It is the biggest workshop of its kind in the world, and provides valuable insight into how languages can be a valuable asset in future study and employment.

Devon Barrett (Year 13) also participated in the Konnichiwa! Japanese Speech Contest, and came third in Canterbury, plus gained a Merit for his speech internal at the same time! A phenomenal effort. Yoku Dekimashita, Devon-San!

Japan Trivia Championships: Friday 16th June
On Friday 16th June, Sam Rawstron, Cooper Jones-Duckett, Josh Blunden, and Sebastian Goddard entered the Japanese Trivia Championships. Schools from across the motu hold the championships on the same night, with regional prizes, and national prizes awarded for the highest scoring overall. For Canterbury, we placed 6th out of 16 teams. That’s a phenomenal effort for our first try!

International Students from Japan!
This term, we have enjoyed the influx of international students. Municipal Omiya International School (MOIS) brought a group of Year 11 students in the first two weeks of June, and a group of Year 10 students landed just this week. Ellesmere students studying Japanese have enjoyed making friends, using Japanese language in an authentic context, learning new Japanese, and teaching them Kiwi English. These experiences are invaluable to us; it is difficult to learn a language without full immersion, and friends are a great motivator!

In April 2024, we will be travelling to Japan with 20 students and 2 teachers, so will have the chance to stay in the dorms at MOIS, and reconnect with these new friends! I hope these friendships last a lifetime.

Sister School Exchanges!
In Term 3, our sister school Urawa Minami Secondary School (UMSS) will be visiting with 10 students in Years 11-13. They will be here from July 22nd to August 3rd. One student, Hana Kashimoto, will stay for the remainder of Term 3. Her family hosted Robert Stoliker (Year 13) on his recent 4 week exchange to Japan. Robert had an excellent time at UMSS; boosting his Japanese language through immersion, making dozens of friends, joining in enthusiastically with Volleyball, and teaching his class about New Zealand culture. I am stoked that we could reopen our outbound Japan exchanges with UMSS, and hope to send at least one student every year on a reciprocal exchange. Robert has come back from his exchange with a renewed passion for Japanese, and was a fantastic ambassador for Ellesmere College.

Fundraising for Japan Trip 2024!
For our outbound trip, we are kicking off the fundraising! Last weekend we grabbed a spot at Mitre 10 Hornby for a Sausage Sizzle, which was a huge success despite being June!

On Friday 21st July, we are holding a Japan Quiz evening and Raffle at the Crate and Barrel. Spaces are limited, so get your team together and email Josh Price (pricej@ellesmere.school.nz) to register your team. If you or your business can help us out with our fundraising, please also get in touch. Ma tini ma mano ka rapa te whai. Many hands make light work.

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