Japanese
Konnichi wa!
こんにちは
Welcome back to Japanese for 2023! This year we celebrate the Year of the Rabbit (usagi doshi 卯年 うさぎどし) in Japanese as part of the juunishi 十二支 (or Japanese zodiac) celebrations.
If you were born in 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 or 2011, you are a Rabbit! That means that most of our Grade 6 students are Rabbits! People born in the Year of the Rabbit tend to be associated with qualities of being calm, gentle, kind-hearted, polite, cautious, ambitious and good listeners.
At the beginning of this term, students in Grade 1 - 5 participated in some activities to assist their understanding of the juunishi 十二支 (Japanese zodiac). They watched some clips to learn about the 12 animals of the zodiac and learnt the animal of the year they were born in. They also completed some craft activities to assist their learning, including origami rabbits and origami daruma だるま. They also had the opportunity to write the word for rabbit in hiragana (usagi うさぎ), as well as set some goals for themselves.
Preps
We welcome this year our new Prep students into Japanese! This term the Prep students have been learning some simple greetings and instructions in Japanese:
Good Morning おはよう (ohayou)
Good Afternoon (hello) こんにちわ (konnichiwa)
Goodbye さようなら (sayounara)
Stand Up たって (tatte)
Sit Down すわって (suwatte)
Students have also been learning to count from 1-10 in Japanese and correctly match the kanji (Japanese & Chinese characters) to the numbers.
1. 一 いち (ichI)
2. 二 に (ni)
3. 三 さん (san)
4. 四 よん (yon)
5. 五 ご (go)
6. 六 ろく (roku)
7. 七 なな (nana)
8. 八 はち (hachi)
9. 九 きゅう (kyuu)
10. 十 じゅう (juu)
Grade One
Students in Grade One have been revising over one-stroke hiragana, which is one of the writing systems in Japan:
く(ku)、し(shi)、そ(so)、つ(tsu)、て(te)、の(no)、ひ(hi)、へ(he)、る(ru)、ろ(ro) and ん(n)
They also been starting to learn some two-stroke hiragana:
い(i)、う(u)、え(e)、こ(ko)、す(su)、ち(chi)、と(to)、ぬ(nu)、ね(ne)、み(mi)、め(me)、ゆ(yu)、よ(yo)、ら(ra)、り(ri)、れ(re) and わ(wa)
Grade Two
This term, students in Grade Two have been revising over two-stroke hiragana:
い(i)、う(u)、え(e)、こ(ko)、す(su)、ち(chi)、と(to)、ぬ(nu)、ね(ne)、み(mi)、め(me)、ゆ(yu)、よ(yo)、ら(ra)、り(ri)、れ(re) and わ(wa)
They have also been starting to learn some three-stroke and four-stroke hiragana:
あ (a)、お (o)、か (ka)、け (ke)、さ (sa)、せ (se)、に (ni) 、は (ha) 、ま(ma)、む(mu) 、も(mo) 、や(ya) 、を(wo) 、き(ki)、た(ta) 、な(na)、ふ(fu) and ほ(ho)
Grade Three
Students in Grade Three have been revising over the 46 hiragana characters so that they can more easily read, recognise and write them. This will assist them over the next year as we begin to explore more topics using Japanese writing (such as hiragana and kanji). Using picture stories as clues, students have been working hard to master the art of writing and reading the hiragana characters.
Grade Four & Five
As part of our juunishi 十二支 (Japanese zodiac) celebrations this year, students in Grade Four and Five also had the opportunity to craft their own ema (えま), which is traditionally a house-shaped wooden plaque that is used to write a wish on and hang in temple grounds. Students were able to decorate their own paper ema (えま) with a usagi doshi 卯年 うさぎどし design on it, as well as write their own wish.
Much like the Grade Three students, Grade Four and Five students have also been revising over the 46 hiragana characters. This will be beneficial for them over the next year as we explore new topics which will require them to read, write and recognise the Japanese characters (such as hiragana and kanji).
Brown Sensei
I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a healthy and happy 2023. From the end of March this year I am undertaking some travel which will see me away from Oatlands Primary School until the start of the 2024 school year.
In my absence, Mrs Naomi Taguchi (Tuesday - Friday classes) and Mr Matt Wilksch (Monday classes) will be taking over the teaching of the Japanese classes. I’m sure you will join me in giving a very warm Oatlands welcome to Taguchi Sensei and Wilksch Sensei as they continue to provide an enriching program for all students. I can’t wait to hear about all the exciting learning that will take place over the next year when I return in 2024.
Until next time,
Sayounara
さようなら