Malaysian Dances! Part 1 : Introduction to Malaysia

Luna International first-ever Malaysian Dance day! Being a proud Malaysian, I took this challenge and wanted to knock the socks off these students! As it was held in August, also known as Malaysia’s Independence month, I thought “Great! Perfect timing!” Thus, my planning started! I conducted my research and talk to family and friends back home! I wanted something unique but not too difficult for students. Finally, I found Zapin and Magunapit to teach them! Was I excited!

 On a beautiful Wednesday morning (18^th August) we had a full house! We started with the first half of the day with an introduction to Malaysia! A beautiful montage created by Malaysia Truly Asia showcased the diverse cultures present in the country! The students were in awe especially seeing the animals (Proboscis monkey I see you!) They are also introduced to all the other popular dances across the country (Ulek Mayang - calling spirits of the sea) (Ngajat - A harvest dance)

We continued more by asking the students to colour in 3 different Malaysian inspired drawings by a talented close friend of mine (Instagram: @byanisgallery). She was inspired by the 3 big regions in Malaysia (East and West of Peninsular Malaysia as well as Sabah and Sarawak). From the fabric to our traditional games to our flora and fauna. Truly beautiful especially after the students coloured everything in! Then we stuck up the coloured drawings on the map of Malaysia!

West Malaysia

East Malaysia

Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak)

Now time for costumes!!! Like every performance, the costumes are the utmost important aspect! In Malaysia, as an activity, we like making clothes using newspaper and I really wanted to make the students wear newspaper! So, we made a paper skirt! Extremely easy to rip but did the students have fun learning something new! We continued on to a different aspect of the costume! The headbands! Dancers in Malaysia would usually wear a headdress thus I must make it too! Using yellow and gold cut out leaves, we shaped our headband beautifully. Am I proud of the students!

In Part 2, we will talk about Zapin as a dance and how the students enjoyed learning it!

Masato's Big Day Out - gone camping

 I had a really great day out. The weather was so good and I went camping with my friend.We took a tent, a sleeping bag, charcoal and so on. We were going’s to camping.

We set a tent and made a fire to do BBQ at dinner. During this, it has begun raining. We hurried up to prepare for camping. It was little hard, but we did with cooperation each other.

My friend said taught me how to make a fire, so we could do that easily. According to him we can make fire easily to set charcoal square.

After a camp, we went back by train.
We felt so tired but we enjoyed a great camping

Elementary, my dear Taisei: digital native "Can Do"

 I can totally talk about my family, and manage all the #edtech AND make a load of creative + editorial decisions on the fly, under time pressure...give me a job!

Unfortunately, Taisei is still at elementary school, but he could do a hell of a job for any number of businesses locally & trample any staffroom of high school teachers that I know of!

A young man's presentation that uni students would stuggle to beat (time taken, artwork - no eraser! -, diction and confidence, editing skills)...

Hana's perfect summer picnic

The place for my picnic...

 It is Sky Park.
I can ride a bicycle and go walking.

 My friends for my picnic.
They like tag and dodgeball.

Their names are Hinano, Fuka, Mei.

It's sandwiches and rice ball

The food for my picnic

It's a sunny day

 

Talking about my family...Sawa says

 

Sawa loves to draw, and loves to talk - I KNOW she is going to be an English teacher when she is a little bit bigger!

Here she grabbed Jim sensei's iPhone & monstered the tech to make this multi-faceted interactive presentation in no time at all. Asking really smart questions about 'how to' with intuitive ideas about what she thought she should be able to do (eg add an icon/change the colour of the background/switch sides...).

Love using students' native talents to produce a complete package - artwork, digital skills, digital navigation, decision making, composition, voice, reading skills...and a topic we all love to talk about ;)

***And a non-humble brag from Jim = he used to teach Sawa's grandmother (thank you former Young Australian of the Year - now Professor Belinda Tynan for introducing us!); grandpa brings her to class every week and they say "hello"... her older sister has been his student since she was tiny and he's worried she's going to be taller than him by the end of this year! Definition of Luna's Family!

Animals should have the rights as people?

How do you think about an opinion that Animals should have the same rights as people?

My answer is Yes. In a movie “My 10 promises with dogs”, I learned following importance things to have a life with dog.

Firstly, please do not forget that the animals have emotions.  Secondly, Humans have a school and friends, but Animals only have owner and owner family. In addition, Get along well even when Animals get old. Lastly, Animals can live for about 10 years, so let’s cherish our time together. And from my experience that had two dogs and the movie “My 10 promises with dogs”, I am keenly aware that that animals’ life depends on how owner contacts with.

I can agree with the opinion at following points. Animals are not be treated violently. Should be laws against abuse of pets. Should be illegal to neglect pets. Animals are not kept making clothes. Animals are not kept for medical experiments. Safe places to live in the wild. Animals are not kept in zoos. Lastly, Humans should take good care animals like human baby/children

On the other hand, I disagree with the opinion at following points. Animals cannot vote. Animals have no access to education. Animals cannot own land or property. Animals cannot have money

In conclusion, Animals do not need same rights as people, but should be taken good care like human baby/children. Humans cannot converse with animals, so humans should see how animals want/think.

This is my family: Riku

 

Taking advantage of Riku's lovely drawings of his family members, we used Adobe Spark Video (iPhone app) to put his commentary together - I say "we"... I showed him where the buttons/tabs/options were & he dived into creative mode like the digital native he obviously is! ("Get out of the way, Jim!").

Riku has recently joined us at Luna, and I could see his shoulders going back as he gained confidence from doing this 'first' in our group. I think you'll agree this is an awesome little project?!

A voyage around my favourite relative

I write about my wife's brother, a straight man with no front and back who is loved by everyone

He is three years older than me, and is also a karate enthusiast.

After graduating in physical education at college, he began his career as an adventurer. His most famous adventure was an unsupplied dog sledding adventure to the North Pole, which shows his aggressive, adventurous spirit. Of course, in appearance he has kept his youth, and does not look his age.

After his adventure to the Arctic, he became a director of a company that undertakes corporate training, to strengthen organizations’ talents. He also teaches leadership and organizational management at university. I haven't seen him because of the coronavirus, but I'd like to hear about his other interesting adventure stories someday.

Posted for Masaya

My Great Uncle Hiroaki

Of all my relatives, I like my Uncle Hiroaki. He’s my mother’s youngest brother. Sadly, I said my final goodbye to him last year. Today, I’d like to write something about his life.

He was very tall (actually over 200cm!) and used to play basketball in his school days and early years after joining his company. He played any sports quite well, and he often used to play catch with my younger brother and me when we were children.

He majored in electricity when he was a high school student. After graduating from high school, he got a job at a big electronics company in Hitachi, Ibaraki, in Japan. He had been working hard and got a lot of patents there. And he built his own house and spent a long time of his life.

He was very kind to his family, including me. I was pleased when he got back to his hometown Nagano and had some dishes with him. When I visited his house, he feasted me with lots of tomatoes and cucumbers from his garden. Also, he kept a lot of pets, such as rabbits and dogs. His last dog was now in his older brother’s house. Every time I see her that reminds me of my great Uncle Hiroaki.

Posted for Yuki T

The town where I was born.

I was born in Matsumoto, the second-largest city in Nagano prefecture. Its population is about 250000. There're several tourist attractions, including Matsumoto castle, which is the National treasure of Japan. 

Cool summers, and cold winters. Flowers bloom in spring and rice grows in autumn. 

When I tell people I am from Matsumoto, they say they would like to go there one day. But to be honest, it just doesn't feel right to me. The castle, and other tourists attractions, I never thought of them as belonging to our homeland. 

To me, it seems to belong to some other city. That's because I wasn't actually born in "Matsumoto city".

I was actually born in "Hata town" between Kamikochi and Matsumoto city. It was famous for watermelon and was located on the west side of Matsumoto city. 

The town was long, expanded from east to west ad also schools and other educational institutions, a town hall, a hospital, a shopping street (very local and small) and a train station in the centre. The town was on a river terrace and when I was in primary and secondary school, I had to walk up a steep hill to get to school. 

When I was in high school, the town merged with Matsumoto city. It was quite natural, considering the economic situation of the town. Hata town became "Matsumoto city".

The merger was decided by a referendum, but I was a high school student at the time and did not have the right to vote. I heard that the town was split in two, for and against the merger, but I didn't know much about it because I was 16 years old. 

For me, who went to high school in Matsumoto city by train, it didn't matter either way. 

"Hata town will disappear from the map!" said my second cousin who used to live in the same town, sadly. She was looking forward to coming to "Hata" for her summer vacation. 

I thought, "if it disappeared from the map, it doesn't mean we won't have a place to live" It was a feeling I didn't quite understand at the time.

Sometime later, I became a university student and for the first time, I started to live outside of my "hometown". I was in a student dormitory during my university days, where there were a lot of students from every prefecture. We're trying to get to know each other better by asking questions like "Where are you from?" I answered "Matsumoto in Nagano".They replied by saying "Oh, I know your city. There's a castle, right? I would like to go one day" "I've been there, it's a nice place, there are some sights to see"

I felt uncomfortable.

Yes, "I am from Matsumoto city" but as far as I could remember, there was no castle, nor tour attractions in my "hometown". Finally, I understood what my cousin had said and I felt a bit sentimental. "Hata town became Matsumoto city"

Every holiday, I took the Shinkansen and the Express Shinano to get to Matsumoto. Arriving at Matsumoto station, I changed the train which I used to take back in high school. The train left Matsumoto city and ran through the watermelon fields and rice fields. The train ran west to west. 

At Hata station, I got off the train and walked past the hospital, which used to be called "Hata hospital". I then walked past the building which used to be called the town hall. I walked past my junior high and primary schools. went down the steep hill and finally, I reached my "hometown".

I often say "My hometown has nothing, nothing to see, nothing to visit" I often think of it. The town where I was born, cool summer, and watermelon fields. Cold winter and the steep slopes are frozen. Flowers blooming around the river terrace in Spring and rice growing in the fields in Autumn. There used to be a small town, where I was born. 

Written by Anna.

Things I like: dogs

 I have 4 dogs. Eren, Rona, Marusu and Rohan, they are toy poodles of 3 generations. The oldest is Eren.

16 years ago, my daughter and I met her in a pet shop in Aoyama. She was very cute and just 45 days old. We fell in love at first glance. 

At that time my daughter went to the high school in Tokyo. She lived alone. Perhaps she felt lonely. She was eager to buy this pretty dog. 

Eren saved her. They were necessary for each other. Time has passed and my daughter is a mother of two children and Eren is also a grandmother. 

She lost her eyesight and can not hear. She was a very clever dog but now she has dementia. From daybreak to midnight, we have to look after her. But she is the existence that is more important than the past. We are very happy with this dear great dog. 

The picture was taken from: https://www.mediastorehouse.com/ardea-wildlife-pets-environment/new-images-august/black-poodle-grey-poodles-dogs-outdoors-15299394.html

By Olga

Things I like: reading

 When I was 9 or 10, I had a chance to read a book. It was powerful to get into the world in the story. I loved the story because it was so exciting and interesting. There are some animals, humans, and some creatures between animals and humans. 

Picture was taken from: https://world.edu/how-to-make-reading-fun-and-part-of-life-beyond-the-school-room/

A few years later, I studied children's literature, especially in England. They have a lot of classical literature. For example, Peter Pan, Peter Rabbit, Mary Poppins, Dr. Dolittle, Alice in Wonderland, and of course The Chronicles of Narnia. They are so interesting and attractive. 

By Naoko Hiramatsu

Ellis Island - "I've been there"

Ellis Island

I read “Ellis Island: Rosalia’s Story", which is about an immigrant’s journey from Italy to the U.S.A. in 1910.

A small island near New York City in the U.S.A., Ellis Island was where more than 12 million immigrants arrived between 1892 to 1954, for their health and immigration checks, before traveling into the city.

I have visited New York City several times, first in 1991 and most recently in 2019. When I got close to the area of Ellis Island, it seemed like a very little island, so I could not believe that such a lot of people arrived and stayed for several hours there. People must have been very worried and excited when they arrived there after their long journeys.

Liberty Island is close to Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty, on Liberty Island, is one of the most famous things in the world. It has been standing in Liberty Island since 1886. I think the immigrants must have been encouraged by the symbol of liberty. Today it still stands magnificently. Every time I see it I get very excited.

The Statue of Liberty: Teruki, Liberty Island,1991

Teruki

Things I like: My cat

the picture was taken from www.hisgo.com

I thought I like dogs better than cats. But my thought changed recently. A stray cat came to my house from my friend two years ago. 

I named him Brownie. His face was not so handsome and I didn't know his real age. His movements were also slow. He didn't show his teeth and didn't scratch me with his nails. 

Now he is my family member. When I worked in the dining room, he sleeps like a bowl on the table. I can stroke Brownie kindly. It's a comfortable time. 

So I found that I like both dogs and cats. 

By Hiroko Miyazawa

Things I like: Golf

One of my hobbies is golf. I started to play golf when I was over 50 years old and I found I liked it very much. 

It was a surprise to me. I didn't think I would like sports when I was a child. My old friends will be surprised if they knew I enjoy golf now. 

I like golf because both young and old can play together in nature. So, sometimes when my family gets together, we play gold while chatting the whole day long. It is a great joy. 

I also enjoy watching golf TV programs. Hideki Matsuyama is the best gold player in Japan. He won the Masters Golf Tournament this year and on the same day, my second grandchild was born!

Now I am looking forward to playing golf with him in the future!

By Yasumi Imai

Best eateries in Azumino - a local's Top 10

1. Auberge la vie tranquille Azumino 

“Marvelous French dishes with great views of Azumino. The first and only Auberge in Azumino”

“You can enjoy fancy French food”

2. Okina (Japanese Soba)

“You can enjoy some very good soba in the restaurant with a wonderful view of Azumino and Japanese Alps “

“It’s really popular and kind of a famous soba restaurant”

“In the restaurant, most of time, full of people”

3.Teatime Garni

“It’s a cozy cafe in the woods”

“My favorite place in this cafe is the terrace seat” 

“The morning plate: omelette and mushroom sauce and garlic rice or muffin, baked vegetables and fresh salad, is lovely!!”

4. Nishiya besso (accommodation and restaurant, shop)

“Amazing old house!!”

“You can enjoy the very traditional Japanese course dishes. They are beautiful and tasty. The rooms are really interesting old style “

“You can also enjoy hot spring. There’s a outside bath, which is fantastic “

5. Soup Curry Hanjiro

“Original soup style curry. Tasty and volume with meat and lots of vegetables”

“Really popular one. Most of the time, there is a queue in front of the restaurant “

6. Suehiro

“A Japanese style barbecue cooked in front of the customers. Traditional Japanese food, yakitori ( barbecue chicken) and karaage ( fried chicken) , cold or fried tofu…everything is good!!”

“Very old restaurant relaxed atmosphere”

7. Stagione 

“Nice Italian restaurant. They cook excellent food with their own vegetables from their garden. Especially antipasto plate in amazing!! “

“Nice, charming interior and a good view of the garden and mountains.

8. Cafe Olika

“It has just opened in this early summer. A kind of stylish cafe. You can enjoy some lunch plate. “

“ There’s a charming garden”

“On the weekend, sometimes it’s full of people. There’s parking “

9. Gappidou Seipan

“Excellent home made campagne bread and some hard bread. They are really tasty”

“The shop is in wood. It’s really nice place “

10. Azumino milk 

“There are some interesting products and food made by their fresh milk. Pudding, Ice cream, drinks. Fresh taste is unforgettable”

The Raven Crow - local rock band on the up!

Struggling to find a new rock band to follow? 

Look no further than one of our local high schools in Matsumoto, where Instagram influencer & school president Masato fronts The Raven Crow. He writes the lyrics, whips up the crowd and leads from the front...and headlined Agata-no-Mori High School's 74th summer festival with aplomb last week. Pretty tough 18 months to try to break through on the music scene, with very limited numbers at live gigs (if even open) & last year's school event binned. 

Startled teacher last autumn: "Why did you fall asleep in your Cambridge B1:Preliminary exam?" 

Unapologetic student: "I was practicing with my band all night"

Love the lad's chops, especially with his English lyrics and tight production of their debut track on Youtube (link above). 

• Please check out The Raven Crow on Youtube (like/subscribe/share - hit all the buttons!)
• Find them on Instagram & ditto all the buttons

No English grammar was hurt in the writing of this song!

The Habsburg Family

 "Bella gerant alii, tu felix Asutria nube."

- Leave the war to others, and thou, blessed Austria, marry!-

The Habsburgs family reigned for many years as rulers of the nations of Europe. They expanded their territories through marriage.  Austria, Spain, Napoli. Their territories were so huge. 

However, it's also true that the repeated marriage policy has led to a lot of inbreeding. As a result, there were many weak children, premature deaths, and even more deformities. One of the most famous is the Habsburg mandible (jaw). Also (or perhaps as a result of this), they were a prolific family. 

Maria Teresia, who was the queen from 1740 to 1780, had 15 children. Among her children, the most famous one is Marie Antoinette. She was the victim of the French Revolution, and also the victim of the marriage policy of Habsburg.

At first her older sister of 3 years (Maria Carolina) was the candidate, but their oldest sister, who was planned to be married to the king of Naples, died suddenly just before the marriage. So Maria Carolina was suddenly married to the king of Naples, then Marie Antoinette, therefore, became a candidate for a political marriage to France. After that, as you know, French Revolution started. 

World War I ended on 11th November 1918, Austria was defeated, Karl I the last emperor abdicated, ending the reign of the Habsburg. But their descendants are still alive.

                                -Leave the war to others, and thou, blessed Austria, marry!-

Their marriage sometimes changed history, and their lives have been changed by their marriages.

Written by Anna

Flipping good work - young learners on Zoom

Two of my students moved away in the spring, but wanted to keep learning together as they've been with Luna/in the same class since they were knee-high. They have adapted to taking classes online really well, because they have confidence in each other, trust me (a bit!) and realise that 'mistakes' are just part & parcel of the learning process...but once upon a time a hair-trigger for tears & red faces. Now, giggles galore and superb collaborative English adventure.

Having adopted/upgraded to online presentation tools for textbooks, & digital copies of graded readers (kids still need physical books in their hands...reading is a tactile sport!) for our teachers to exploit, we've been re-skilling at Luna Towers on the job.

Last night, only one student could join me at the last minute...we've just started a new text book and I didn't want to leave her buddy behind or have to retrace our steps next week. We've just finished a set of readers and the new order is literally in the post. My game plan crashed & burned.

Sherlock Holmes:
The Dying Detective

Imagine MY delight when she bounced off her chair squeeling when I showed her the front covers of the new readers "I love Sherlock Holmes!" ... Let's run with that enthusiasm :)

Ceeding control of my keyboard & mouse, we worked together to build a Quizlet set from the glossary of 'harder' or less familiar words in the story. How? 

I have a fair idea her vocabulary 'store' so:

• challenged her to spell 'known' or previously studied words (memory or a quick book dive) & then checking herself, by choosing an image (auto search is accurate enough) to suit. I liked this approach as her selections were different to mine!
• familiar words I typed and she told me what she thought it meant (some L1 here), then image search to confirm understanding
• obviously unknown & unique words to this story eg contagion or microbe, I added the word & found a suitable image & then checked for understanding ('corona?')

And there you go. Student generated content. Fully engaged both of us, and will be a great help to her buddy next week. Next mission with this set will be to make a copy, and have them both agree on a Japanese translation for the vocabulary. This will be a dictionaries open exercise if necessary, and another way we can flip our online classroom; after that game time in Quizlet and whatever else I can think of eg  wordwall or oodlu

The Quizlet set "Sherlock Holmes - The Dying Detective" OUP Dominoes "Quick Starter" graded reader produced by 'lunateacher' in our "Graded Reader - Young Learners" class. Feel free to join (it's free!) students and teachers!

Hotel reservation - Mena House Oberoi Hotel, Giza, Egypt

 Kanako & Takeshi's writing project for June was to email a hotel to confirm a reservation. 

Dear Madam,

I'd like to make a reservation for  a family room for a week, between the 22nd and the 27th of August. I'd like a room with a view of pyramid, and confirm what menus there are with price for dinner.

Please confirm the reservation.

Yours sincerely

Your sincerely

Takeshi