Father Christmas finds Luna kids early!

Well,

Contrary to the previous blog posting, Santa (aka Father Christmas) does know where Luna's children like to hang out!

He found us just down the lane at the local kominkan - we can't fit everybody who wants to party with us into the school! Over 60 children and 28 mums & dads?!

With so many party-goers this year, we had to rotate people through four static activities. Marty had drawn a lovely Rudolph sadly missing his nose, which blindfolded rescuers tried to glue back in the right place. Ski gloves make that hard! Damian was multiplying snowmen in the crafty corner. Naomi had again produced a couple of amazing winterscapes for everyone to colour in as a mozaic, and Jim had competitive Christmas colour & paste ladder races for all ages. Everyone was a winner!

Boulangerie Ciel catered for us this year - we have outgrown the abilities of MosBurger to feed us, and Mac ran out of potatoes (can you believe?) when we needed them last time. So, healthy & local option win - win!

Santa found us after a speedy clean up; everyone sat on his knee & posed for photos (iPhones everywhere) before taking a present home.

Recognise anyone? Please share on twitter, like us on Luna's Facebook page, download pics from Flickr...and tell your friends!

Most of our classes are already full for 2016 - hurry hurry folks!

None of this happened without Yukari's awesome organising skills...thank you xxx

Christmas in Japan

In class this week, my junior high school class was reading about Christmas for teens in the UK, in their Mary Glasgow magazine "Crown". We decided to compare our own answers, and this is what we found.

Do you like Christmas?

• Yuta: No, because Santa Claus doesn't come to my house. Maybe I'm a bad boy?
• Karen: No, because I don't get any Christmas presents.
• Jim: No, because I don't like working until the very last minute and not having time to buy nice presents or prepare my home.

Did you get what you wanted last Christmas?

• Yuta: No, I didn't. I wanted a Fender guitar.
• Karen: No, I didn't. I wanted money.
• Jim: No, I didn't. I got socks instead of books about cricket in Afghanistan & the West Indies.

What did you do last Christmas Day?

• Yuta: I went to school, as usual. My teacher gave me some chocolate.
• Karen: I went to school.
• Jim: I skyped my brother's family in Australia & talked to my mum. After that, I started cooking with a glass of wine.

What did you eat last Christmas?

• Yuta: I ate fried chicken (my mum cooked it) at home, with my parents. I didn't have Christmas pudding because I did not know what it is. I'd like to try it this year.
• Karen: I ate chicken & Christmas cake at home with my family.
• Jim: We ate a traditional Christmas dinner that I cooked - roast turkey & vegetables, gravy, as well as other things my wife's family brought (pizza, salad, cake...) and of course we drank champagne & wine. I ate too much!

How about this year?

• Yuta: I want a new basketball, to play with my friends at school - no holiday.
• Karen: I want a polaroid camera. School is off for Christmas this year. I don't know why!
• Jim: I don't want socks. I want a gadget to turn my old analog stereo amplifier & speakers into bluetooth receivers. I hope my children do not get toy guns/swords/anything noisy!

Only one of us has a tree in the house (we have a big one outside the school)!

We'd like to know about how you celebrate Christmas.

 If you don't, what do you do instead?

Overcoming challenges - Hirotada Ototake

Write about someone you know who looks 'different', and the challenges they had to overcome.

When I read the above sentence, I recalled Mr. Hirotada Ototake. He is a writer and a commentator. He is a person born without legs and arms and uses an automatic wheelchair to move around.

His most famous book is Gotai Fumanzoku (No one's Perfect – English title) that was published in 1998 and his experiences as the physically challenged are positively described. In the book, he says that “Handicap is inconvenient, but not unhappy”. He considers that his handicap is one of his personalities. When I read the book, I was surprised and moved by his positive message and life style.

After his graduation from Waseda University, he entered Meisei University to get elementary school teacher’s license and worked for a school. He also became an educational board member in Tokyo.

He got married in 2001 and has three children. When the first child was born, he took paternity leave. In the meantime, he is a member of rock band “Cowperking” and vocalist.

He entered a graduate school in April 2015 to study social issues. I expect he plays an important role in various fields regardless handicap.

An after reading task from Anne of Green Gables

Postcard from: Hawaii, USA

Hello, Jim-sensei

I enjoy Honeymoon with my husband in Hawaii!

It is the first time to visit Hawaii, but I love it.

We went to hy's Steak House last night. He was so excited to see and eat T-bone steak as he loves steak.

We don't want to go back to Japan!

Chinasa

Amelia Earhart - after reading

Welcome back to the States, Amelia

Amelia Earhart was invited to the White House and received a big welcome by the thousands of people last night.

She just made the world record. She became the first woman who flew across the Atlantic. This is really brilliant record and everyone must admit she is a brave woman. Last year, Charles Lindberg did the solo flight from the States to Paris in France. Just one year later, Amelia proved the woman could fly across the Atlantic as Lindberg did.

Amelia joined the project as one of pilot. She flew together with Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon. The team left the States by the plane named Friendship and arrived at Burry Port of Wales. It was over 20 hours of flight. The weather was very bad. The plane had to go through the heavy storm and thick fog. They finally arrived in Wales though their original goal was Ireland.

After she arrived in Wales, one of reporter asked how her flight was. She replied, it was the challenging flight but the brave pilot, Stultz did a great job and managed to have a safe flight across the Atlantic. She also said she would like to make a solo flight across the Atlantic in the near future.

Multicultural London - a personal report

I used the bus to go to the museum

I lived in London for four years about 5 years ago. There I felt that London is a very generous city. It accepts the immigrants from other counties.

The school I used to go to was called "Old Oak". There were students from more than 30 different counties, including me from Japan. We looked different, we had different colored skins, we had a variety of religions, but we had no discrimination. There was respect between each other. When I started to go to the school I couldn't speak English, but a lot of students took me to the play ground and taught me how to play football. I couldn't understand what they are saying, but I was very happy with their politeness.

 My best friends were from Afghanistan, Sudan, London and Morocco. People living in my street were from America, China, Sudan, Ghana and Iraq. I ate lots of different kinds of food, learnt about a lot of different cultures and religions.

John Perryn Primary School, East Acton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think it will be a difficult thing in Japan to welcome immigrants who can't speak Japanese because the Japanese are shy, skeptical and conservative. In this way, I think Japan should imitate London's multiculturalism. Japan would be a more interesting and exciting place.

By Takuro

Remember remember, the menu of November

I realize we are already into December, but due to a bi-monthly class I haven't been able to share this work until now. With many festivities and celebrations occurring over the months of November and December, there has been a running theme where we have touched on Halloween, Guy Fawkes Day, Christmas to name but a few.

Japanese people tend to be big on food, so I was expecting great things from my class when I asked them to design a night time menu to go along with while watching fireworks on Bonfire Night. Definitely beats a jacket potato or a greasy burger!

Yoko's selection

Reiko's hearty menu

Misuzu' has her priorities right, hot wine only!

Misako's comfort food

Postcard from Chicago, Illinois

Hi Jim-sensei

I am leaving for Japan tomorrow.

This time I had two full-day meeting and it was very productive one.

I hope I can work closely with my customer for future product developments

Tomoko

Love among the Haystacks - after reading

Under the stars. Write about a night when you slept outdoors

The elementary school that I went had an event to go for camping when I was fourth and fifth grade.
I was excited to go for camping because didn’t have a chance with my family. We stayed lodge when we were fourth grade, but we actually built tent when we were fifth grade.


Nowadays, tent might be light and easy to build. Back then, tent was thick heavy sheet, especially, the rental tent was nothing fancy green tent, but I was so excited to build it with my friends.

The tent seemed that it’s not big when I saw it from outside. However, I was moved when I went into the tent. My group was four people, and it was big enough to chat and sleep for us. The fifth grade camping was held in June. The sad thing is that the day was cloudy. In the night, gentle rain started.

Because of rain, I couldn’t hear much sound of frogs or birds. I only heard the sound of rain drop and river stream far away. I slept soon for that I worked hard that day to do activity, so it was not the problem anyway. The rain finished in the morning, and little bit foggy. It was magical atmosphere in the forest.

While I write this essay, I remember the joyful camp. Someday, I hope to have a chance to go for camp!

My first International JALT Conference

English Central with Charles Browne

I had the great privilege of attending the International JALT Conference in Shizuoka from November 20-23. Nothing could have prepared me for a hectic weekend filled to the brim with presentations, workshops, talking to publishers, networking, hands on learning, sharing ideas, socializing and this list goes on. It was such an amazing opportunity to be surrounded by fellow peers, soaking in the wealth of knowledge and experience available. The weekend changed my outlook on the kind of educator I aspire to be, and armed me with the tools in order to succeed.

I have never attended a conference of this scale before, over 1800 attendants over the course of 4 days, from all sorts of teaching backgrounds. There is so much to see and do, people to meet that there doesn’t seem to be enough time for everything. There were many presentations and workshops I missed out on due to clashes or being preoccupied with something else.  My mind didn’t even have to chance to wander as there was always something that required my full attention.

A huge crowd gathers for Paul Nation

The theme of the conference was: Focus on the Learner, perhaps something that can be, but never should, be overlooked. A lot of the presentations I attended had an emphasis on the importance of needs analysis; who are the stakeholders and what do they want? Are we truly fulfilling our role as a teacher if we fail to meet this single requirement?

With needs analysis also comes the task of identifying problems and solving them: what is not working, why not and how to go about fixing it. Not every problem has a simple solution and you have to be equipped with the suitable knowledge and tools. A major point to keep in mind when it comes to self evaluation and expanding your teaching skills, something I will be keeping at the forefront when it comes to lesson planning.

Publicity Officers' meeting

Another thing that often cropped up, which is something I find myself guilty of at times, is the

teacher taking a step back and doing nothing. Let students do the work and let them figure out for themselves. The less time the teacher spends talking the better. I’m sure all my students would agree! I have a tendency to offer assistance prematurely and it is something that I need to work and improve on.

It was fascinating to get a glimpse of educators from across the globe sharing their insights, ideas and experiences. There was so much to take in that I was furiously scribbling in my notebook the entire time. I came away from the whole experience with a better understanding of how to cater to my student’s needs, my own pitfalls and weaknesses plus a host of ideas and techniques to implement in my classroom.

Research  results on show at a Poster Session

But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, I had to share a hotel room with Jim after all! One of the main grumps was that Shizuoka did not lend itself to a good “after-event”. There was a lack of venues to continue the conference into the evening in a much more social manner, gathering ideas together over a couple of beverages and exchanging personal experiences. I guess you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

But in no way did that take anything away from my first International JALT conference. I feel as though I have come a long way since my first day on the job, but this conference has made me realize I still have a long way to go. I am looking forward to every single step of that journey. A massive thank you to all the organizers of the event, the staff involved and everyone who contributed to such a fantastic event.

A special mention to Jim for driving me all the way to and from Shizuoka, (even though I was a lousy navigator!), and introducing me to so many brilliant people. I cannot wait for the next one!

After reading - Anne of Green Gables

Write a letter to Marilla, from Anne, when she first arrives in Charlottetown.

Dear Marilla,

How have you been, Marilla? Is Matthew going well?

I arrived in Charlottetown yesterday afternoon. The college dorm is very nice and clean. The college campus is very large and beautiful but the trees and field of grasses of Green Gables are more beautiful than anything.

I’ve been to the center of Charlottetown with my roommate today. There were a lot of stores for clothes, foods and everything! I want to take you and Matthew to show all of them.

I heard that we can go to see another seaside of Prince Edward Island from Charlottetown after taking a bus for 10 minutes. I want to go to the seaside and read books with my classmate. Of course I don’t forget to study hard in the collage. I will be a teacher in the future and live with you and Matthew happily.

I miss you so much and hope to see you soon in Green Gables.

With best regards,

Anne

My favourite dish - nikujaga

Nikujaga (meat and potato stew) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of my favourite dishes is 'nikujaga'. I alsways made it for my children when they were home. I use a lot of ginger.

First, cut the potatoes, carrot & onions, then slice ginger.

Fry the pork and everything in oil in a pot, add cold water, boil everything and simmer, adding soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake.

Posted for Kaoru

After reading - Amelia Earhart

Inspiring woman

I write about Malala Yousafzai as a woman who is the one I was inspired.  She was ranked second as woman who was respected in the world following Angelina Jolie.

She was born in Pakistan in 1997.  Her father ran a women’s school and she studied there to become a doctor.  In the meantime, Taliban started conducting a region of terror in 2007.  They deprived women of their right to take education and sought the life of women who tried to take education or pushed ahead with the action.  Malala criticized those activities by Taliban and continued to emphasize the need of women’s education and the peace.  When she was a junior high school student, she was attacked by Taliban and seriously injured.  She miraculously recovered and was released from a hospital after two and a half months.

Six months later, she made a speech at the United Nations headquarters and insisted on the importance of education.  In 2014, she got Nobel Peace Prize.  At that time, she was seventeen and the youngest person who got the prize.  She said that it was start, not end.

I am very inspired by her extraordinary bravery and hope the chance of taking education is given to everyone in the world.

Film review - World War Z

If you are a big fan of horror-action film, this might be the one for you. The film is called World War Z, and it definitely surprises you.

The plot was sophisticated. It starts with joy and a happy family life, but suddenly it collapses. Then the husband cooperates with the Navy and WHO to produce the vaccine to cure the zombie infection, since he used to be a member of WHO.

In my opinion, the acting was first-rate and unbelievable stunts were included which you definitely can't miss. My favourite part was where the Israeli Wall collapses by noise. It was hilarious to me and couldn't stop laughing, and my least favourite was where the wife phones her husband. It was stupid, but as a film I think it needs something that is unexpected.

Finally, World War Z is highly gripping and thrilling. It doesn't really end with "End", it makes us think and what will happen if the story became true. I can recommend it from teens to anyone.

Shimei

Luna's monster scrapbook

Cute and cuddly or stuff of nightmares?

Eeek! It's Friday the 13th and there's something horribly frighting I have to show you all! My students have been busy making a monster scrapbook, terrifying enough to give even the most composed of souls the creeps!

We began with a body as a starting point, and used a trusty die to determine how many of each body part we would add to our crazy creations. 6 heads with 1 eye, 4 feet with 4 toes, you name it, we had it! 

For the more advanced students, there was an additional twist where the activity was a dictation exercise, pairing an adjective (short, big, thin etc) with each body part.

Leave us a comment with which monster you think has the most resemblance to either Damian or Jim!

Postcard from the Bourgoyne, France

Hello Jim,

I'm in Beaune now.

It's a beautiful town which is the centre of Bourgoyne wine's distribution.

I'll move to Lyon today.

A bientot!

Miyuki

Amelia Earhart - missing, presumed dead

Amelia R.I.P.

Beginning approximately one hour after Earhart's last recorded message, the USCGC Itasca took a search north and west of Howland Island. The United States Navy soon joined the search and over a period of about three days sent available resources to the search area in the vicinity of Howland Island.

The official search efforts lasted until July 19, 1937. At $4 million, the air and sea search by the Navy and Coast Guard was the most costly and intensive in U.S. history. But search and rescue techniques during the era were introductory and some of the search was based on erroneous assumptions.
Despite an unprecedented search by the United States Navy and Coast Guard no physical evidence of Earhart, Noonan or the Electra 10E was found.

In late July 1937, Putnam chartered two small boats and while he remained in the United States, directed a search of the Phoenix Islands, Christmas Island, Fanning Island, the Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands, but no trace of the Electra or its occupants was found.

Back in the United States, Putnam acted to become the trustee of Earhart's estate so that he could pay for the searches and related bills. In a court in Los Angeles, Putnam requested to have the "declared death in absentia" seven-year waiting period waived so that he could manage Earhart's finances. As a result, Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939.

Love among the Haystacks - stargazing

Under the stars

I love seeing stars.  When I was a high school student, I was a member of astronomy club. The most interesting activity of our club was to see a star shower.  There are two big chances to see the star shower in a year.  One is Aquarius meteor in May and the other is Perseid meteor in August.  There is a good camping site for our activity in Ikeda-machi.  We went up to the hill and had a camp.  When sun goes down, we started the preparation of observation.  Ten members went into each sleeping bag and lie on the ground in a circle.  In the center of circle, one member sat down on ground and took note how much shooting stars we could count in each direction.  We took turns watching all the night.  All of us tried hard not to sleep, but some members went to sleep during the observation.  The member in the center of circle called over the name every ten minute, but some member didn’t reply.  The midnight was the hardest time for us, but it was the best time for seeing stars.  More and more shooting stars can be seen in the midnight toward morning.  It was silent night and stars were very beautiful in the dark.  We felt the sky was nearer to us. 

Posted by Reko on behalf of Tomoko

Amelia Earhart and her airplanes

Planes

 

One of Amelia’s air planes was Lockheed 5B Vega.

It was called little red bus. It was vivid red, and had a single seat.

In 1932, she used it for her famous flight and made a record.

She flew alone over the Atlantic Ocean back and forth without any recess. It was the first record for woman.

The Lockheed 5B Vega was sold into the market in 1927. The designer was Jack Northrop and Allan Loughead. It was first product made by them for Lockheed Aircraft Company. Lockheed 5B Vega was sharp shape and fast. It soon became popular among pilots.

She repaired the little red bus because of an accident. The fuselage was replaced and strengthened in order to carry extra fuel tanks.

It mounted three types of compasses, a drift indicator and a more powerful engine. She accomplished the Atlantic Ocean flight with the modified little red bus.

She sold it to Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute. It’s presently displayed in Smithsonian museum.

Another air plane was the Model 10-E Electra. It’s also made by Lockheed Company. It was the best known aircraft, but disappeared in the Pacific in July, 1937 with Amelia Earhart and her flight assistant, Fred Noonan on the half way to achieve world record flight.

Posted by Reiko on behalf of Yumi

After reading - Did Edward do the right thing?

Yes, he did. I thought Wallis was a very attractive woman. So even she already married Edward loved her. I thought they were wonderful lovers. If they met in London of course Edward would be a King and Wallis would be a Queen. But before World War Second, she wasn't a suitable person for him to marry. Wallis was from the USA. She divorced her husbands twice. Her husbands were alive. The British people wanted the Royal family to be an ideal family. So they couldn't accept Wallis as a Queen. It was sad for them not to live in London. But they got a free lifestyle. I think no one gets everything. For Edward it is a wonderful life to live with the true lover. I hear there is an interesting thing. British people don't like American lineage But Princess Diana's grandmother is American. So now there is an American lineage in Royal family. The time is changing.

Posted for Hiroko

After reading - A review of "The King's Speech"

I've seen the film "The King's Speech". I liked it, because I like the actor (Coin Firth).

The story was about King George 6th, a younger brother of Edward. (We read a book of him "The love of a King") When King George 6th was a child, he was troubled with speaking (stammering), so he was a shy boy. But his father was very strict. And his older brother Edward was a free man, he choose Love instead of to be a King. So, unexpectedly he became a King of England. He still had trouble of stammering, but as a King he had to make speeches many times.

His wife Elizabeth was worried about him and took him to Lionel, a specialist of stammering. But Lionel was not a medical doctor yet and didn't have much experience. King George 6th was a difficult person and Lionel was a obstinate person, so at first it didn't work well. But it was a last chance for both of them to get over their life. They tried very hard, and gradually his speaking became better. At that time England was involved a war. He had to declare it on the radio to the people of England. Finally he could make a very good speech without any trouble as a King. People could be proud of their King. At the end of the movie, the war began with his speech, so this is not a happy ending story.

Posted for Yasumi

A World Flag - round 2

If you frequent our blog regularly, you may have seen that last year we had some students design a "World Flag" to coincide with the Football World Cup in Brazil. If you want to have a look at last year's edition, look here. As it was received so positively last time, both the lesson plan and the blog post, I decided to to use the Rugby World Cup as a good excuse for round 2. I was a little disappointed with the lack of rugby imagery though! But you can't argue with these results. Let us know which you think is the most suited to be a World Flag.

 This flag has horizontal stripes. The first stripe is deep green. It means North America. Second stripe is yellow green. it means South America. Third stripe is yellow. It means Africa. Forth stripe is orange. It means Europa. Fifth stripe is red, it means Asia. Sixth stripe is perple, it means Oceania. Seven stripe is blue, it means Antarctic. The seven color is rainbow color. Rainbow means symbol of peace.

Rumi

The flag means the earth. The background is blue. Blue is ocean. The big diamond is white. White is land. The small diamond is green. Green is forest. I think people must save the forests. So, green is center.

Katsuaki

 This flag has a symbol that looks like white pigeon and many star and a language "WORLD PEACE" on a yellow background.

Yoshiko

 This flag mean of world peace! And the people sing a song together, make a big chorus that bind another country people. So, symbol of peace, doves flying.

Mieko

This flag has an image that looks like earth and people live on this planet. On the blue background, there is a father on the left and a mother on the right. Also in the middle, there is a child. We hope no one living on earth will lose their lives of loving people by any crimes or war. Everyone is important for someone.

Yuki

Love or Money - Your favourite characters

Molly Clarkson lived in the country near Cambridge. The Clarkson family had a big old house with a beautiful garden. She was fifty years old and was very rich. But She has some troubles to life. It was her fiftieth birthday.She was having a small party. only four people .Her daughter Jackie and Diana,her sun Roger.and her sister`s hasband Albert. So She ws killd by Jackie. Because Jackie loved Tom Briggs .But she hate him. She thought about Jackie, and she said `No` to marrige. But...I think Molly was very sad. She was difficult to understand for Jackie.

Sergeant Faster aws detective. He was a very tall young man with black hair and a nice smile. He was not very happy this morning because he usually played tennis on Sunday morning. He was one of the best players at Cambridge Tennis Club. The day was Sunday, Molly was killd. Detective Inspector Walsh and he found to killer on Monday. Killer was Molly`s daughter. Next Sunday he wanted to nothing affair.

Posted for Misuzu

After reading - The Prince & the Pauper

Thank you Edward
Write a thank you letter from a pauper to the King

Dear Edward,


How have you been recently?

I have been very busy because many people come to see me.

I appreciated for you so much that you gave me the title. Everyone is very kind to me and respect me now. I have never imagined I can live such a great life when I was lived in the streets of London.
When we met each other at first time, I was very happy to see you and also was surprised that we look same. I have never noticed about that but you let me recognized when we exchanged our cloths in front of the mirror. As I was hanker for you and your life, Waring beautiful clothes, eating delicious food, sleeping in bed.. All things were very exciting and it was like a dreaming.

While I stay in the palace, I felt so happy but also felt a bit lonely. There was everything in the palace but a few friends who can talk each other openly. Now I am very happy to live my life as Sir Tom and you are to be my best friend. This is all by your favor.

Again, I thank you so much and hope keep in touch in the future.


Best regards,
Tom

Love or Money - after reading: your favourite romantic story

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte 

Jane Eyre was an orphan. She was sent to a boarding school by her aunt.She is not so beautiful but she is a reliable person. 

She got a job as a private teacher for a child at a big residence.She grew up and became independent. The master, Mr. Rochester was not friendly at first. 

She received him at last but there was something warrying her. but they became close and understood each other. He asked her to marry him. 

She found that he had a wife and his wife was insane. She was shut up in the room. The strange sound was hers.Sometimes at midnight she heard a strange sound of laughter from a corner of the residence. Jane left him. Jane worked at school at a new place and she lived peacefully. 

She rejected his proposal and then she heard a voice to ask for help.A man,a good person proposed to her but she was at a loss to receive or not. She was not certain he loved her truly. She decided to return to Mr. Rochester. The residence was in ruin . The mad wife set fire to the residence and kill herself. 

He got back his hope and they married.Rochester was alive but he lost his arm and eyesight. 

Jane determined to live with him.


Posted for Misako

Love or Money - Your two favourite characters

Jackie was a tall,fat woman, and she was thirty years old. She lived in Molly's house with Molly but she didn't like Molly, Because she wanted to marry to Tom Briggs but Molly said no. So she killed Molly with sleeping tablets in hot milk. And she put the empty bottle in Diane's bag.

Diane was twenty years old,and she was a good singer but could never get work. She lived in London,in one room of big house, and she wanted to go to America. So she wanted money. She always got money from her father. But she never got money from him recently because he died. She didn't like Molly because Molly killed him.

Posted for Reiko

After reading – The Prince and the Pauper

Philanthropist
Write about a person you know about, who is doing good things for other people.


I think Tetsuko Kuroyanagi is one of famous philanthropist. She is well known as actress, voice actress, chairperson, and writer in Japan. The most famous her book is “Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window” that is based on her childhood experience. Besides these activities, she has been a goodwill ambassador of UNICEF since 1984. She is the first person who is the position in Asia. James Grant who was the executive officer of UNICEF at the time read her book and he suggested her to be in the position. She visits the developing countries in South Africa and Asia every year. Her activities were reported on a massive scale and helped to accumulate a fund for many children and the mothers. She personally has run a fund drive and the total amount reached at more than 50 billion yen as of 2014. All of them were sent to UNICEF and used for the children.


In the meantime, she has researched Panda more than 70 years and worked as an honorary chairperson of Panda Protection Institute of Japan. She introduced Panda in TV and thanks to her effort, two pandas “Kankan” and “Ranran” were sent to Japan from China in 1972.

Creative writing - "You"

Creative writing exercises provide a scope for thinking outside the box and coming up with some fantastic imagery, as the following poems will demonstrate!
The poems are based on individuals that we either love or hate, titled "You", and the parameters of the poem was to describe them under random topics such as a kind of food, a means of transport, an article of clothing, and so on, combined with a fitting adjective. Let me know what poems/imagery/similes you enjoyed reading!

You are a tough meat.

You are a strong gale.

You are an old fixed big desk.

You are a reckless riding horse.

You are an old moth-eaten shirt.

You are a creaky staircase.

You are sludgy brown.

You are boiling end of June.

Misako

You are like a sweet and milky melon.

You are sometimes typhoon and always the sun.

You are sometimes broken wardrobe.

You are sometimes uncontrollable dumper truck and sometimes slowly turtle.

You are a warm mitten.

You are the bright lamp light.

You are always a soft pink and sometimes dark blue.

You are peaceful and mild May.

Reiko

You are a bad smell blue cheese.

You are heavy lightning.

You are over decorated chair.

You are a big limozin car driving big American road.

You are always thin under wear.

You are a golden lion shape door knocker.

You are too shiny orange.

You are crazy hot August.

Misuzu

You are strong straight wiskey.

You are clear blue sky.

You are a heavy table.

You are a damaged old bicycle.

You are a heavy warm coat.

You are a strong roof.

You are deep green like a turtle.

You are warm the beginning of spring.

Yoko

Plating up the 2015 Rugby World Cup - #CarryThemHome

Unless you have been hiding under a rock over the last few days, you will be aware that the 2015 Rugby World Cup is in full swing, with World Cup history being made in the South Africa vs Japan game. A game that will be talked about for years to come, and deservedly so with such a magnificent performance from the Brave Blossoms! There may be a few late nights with eyes glued to screens over the coming month for Damian and Jim.

Who's going to win this group?

Rugby is still a growing sport here in Japan, and in an attempt to raise awareness of the sport (especially as Japan will be hosting the next tournament in 2019!), we got some of our students involved in a workshop on the theme of "Countries and Flags". Most of our students were unaware that the World Cup is going on, let alone the 20 countries involved. I hoped to change all that recruiting some help from a few keen students. I even wore my full rugby kit for the entire day in honour of the occasion!

With 20 national flags and home jerseys to colour and sort, it was quite the task for Kahina, Hinata and Hikari. Since there were 4 of us, me included, we assigned a knock-out group for each person to focus on and got to work! We ran into a bit of trouble when Kahina chopped one of the kits in half, but thankfully, after having a closer look, it turned out to be the French one.

A proud smile!

The real challenge came however when we came to matching the kits to their national flags. Some of the colour schemes are not too dissimilar to each other and even Damian sensei got in a muddle at times. We got there eventually through some good guess work and trial and error. In hindsight writing the countries on the reverse may have been a good idea...

How many more upsets will there be? Who's going to come out on top on the 31st of October? What are your predictions for the Rugby World Cup?

The final product