Language - Japanese

LANGUAGE - JAPANESE (日本語)

Konnichi wa! 2025 e youkoso! Hebi doshi desu.

(Hello and welcome to 2025, Year of the Snake).

The language classes at FGHS this year include a Year 11 Japanese Beginners class and six Year 7 classes completing their 100 hours of mandatory language study in Japanese. Learning a language provides students with an opportunity to communicate and engage with the world and its people. Students engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity of the world to develop respect, openness and empathy.

Introducing FGHS 2025 Japanese Language teachers. Mrs Sharon Waller, Mr Alan Tull and our Japanese Assistant, Mrs Yumi Pullman. If assistance is ever needed or a question needs to be asked, you can find Mrs Waller and Mr Tull in the Maths staffroom (we both teach Maths too).

Year 11 Japanese Beginners

Students started the year by making ehoumaki, a special sushi roll that when eaten in a traditional way, will hopefully bring them lots of luck and good fortune for the year. 

Year 7 Language

All Year 7 classes are settling well into their language learning journey. Students are confidently using their newly acquired language skills in both the classroom and around the school. Students greet me in the playground each day with a, “konnichi wa Waller sensei (Hello Mrs Waller)”. All students have demonstrated a willingness to participate in speaking and listening activities and to “have a go” at interacting in Japanese. There is a lot of movement around the language classroom so students can practise their language skills with each other. Frequent interactions using Japanese develops both confidence and pronunciation. 

This term we welcomed our Japanese Assistant, Mrs Yumi Pullman. All students have the opportunity to participate in small group learning activities with Yumi sensei, a native Japanese speaker. 

Students played with Japanese toys called kendama and tsutsuken to practise counting in Japanese.

To practise writing in Japanese script, students used special water calligraphy paper. Once it dries, you can reuse it to practise some more! They have learnt the kanji numbers from 1 to 20, the kanji for month and day and how to write their names in katakana script.

Year 7 students enjoyed learning about the Doll Festival called Hina Matsuri celebrated on the 3rd March each year. They tried their hand at making origami hina dolls to represent the Emperor and Empress of the Japanese Imperial Court.

Japanese Cultural Garden

At the end of 2024, we celebrated the repair and rejuvenation of the flags in the Japanese Cultural Garden. The garden was first opened in 2017 and as any gardener knows, gardens require constant care and attention. Miss Ashleigh Moy, Mrs Megan Moores, S9 Support class students and Craig Manhood spent time each week in the garden throughout the year giving that attention. They spent many hours redoing the flags which represent the ethnic backgrounds of all the students at FGHS.  This was a mammoth task, but the end product looks fantastic. A team of students with an interest in the garden also spent some time doing general weeding and maintenance. The work of staff and students at our school ensures that the garden continues to be a learning space for everyone.

Technology GO!! 

Congratulations to the students who are consistently arriving to lessons with charged devices, ready for learning. It is important that devices are charged each evening so students have access to their Google Classroom and other language learning sites. If students are absent , they are able to access the work on their Google Classroom.

三月 March Samurai　 

omedetou gozaimasu! (Congratulations!) to the following students for your selection as March Samurai in your respective classes.     

Airlee O’Neill  (7S)

Macey Paulauskas (7P)         

Tristan Coleman (7A)

Xavior Devonshire (7R)   

Levi Beitsch (7K) Anastasia Charlton (7K)

Lincoln Findlayson (7Y)

Emily-Kate Plumb (Y11 Japanese Beginners)

This title recognises students for:

• positive engagement in Japanese lessons.
• consistent demonstration of the FGHS values of Respect, Responsibility, Cooperation and Commitment to achieve their potential in Japanese.

Mrs S. Waller