Japanese News
School Visit
On Tuesday 16th August, eight students and two teachers from Nishiawakura Village in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, arrived in Wagga for a week long homestay program at Mater Dei Catholic College. The students are all in Year 8 at a Nishiawakura Junior High School – a school with only 32 students, so coming to Mater Dei was quite a shock in terms of class and school size. They participated in regular classes and were billeted with Mater Dei students and their families for the week. A big thank you to our host families in particular, and to everyone for the warm way in which you welcomed our visitors.
Mrs Kirsty Fuller
Jpanese Teacher
Year 9 Japanese Class Excursion to Sydney
On the 10th of August the Year 9 Japanese class travelled to Sydney for an excursion to learn more about the Japanese culture and the daily lives of Japanese people.
After an early 5:30 am departure we arrived in Sydney at 11:30 am with high spirits and much anticipation.
Our first stop of the trip was the Japan Foundation in Central Town Mall. The Japan Foundation is dedicated to promoting cultural and intellectual exchange between Japan and other nations. While at the Japan Foundation we participated in a number of activities which demonstrated Japanese culture and how they do things. There was also a lovely little Japanese shop in Central Mall where there were lots of Japanese goodies and the group enjoyed using some of their spending money here.
Our second stop after the Japan Foundation was the Youth Hostel where we would later stay overnight. After dropping our things off at the hostel, we headed off to Taiko Drumming which is a Japanese style of drumming, growing in popularity in all parts of the world. Taiko Drumming is very complicated and tiring but the class kept going with high spirits and a positive attitude.
One of the highlights of the trip was going out for a beautiful meal at Wagaya on Harbour Street where we ate in a private dining room. The service was excellent and the food amazing!
After a beautiful meal we headed back to the hostel to get a good night rest for an early start the next morning.
On Thursday we visited the Tanken Centre at Kirrawee High School. Here, we were given the opportunity to work with students from Camden High School. While at the Tanken Centre we participated in Japanese games and activities and were encouraged to speak only in Japanese. It was very hard not to speak English!
We were also able to try an obento which is a traditional Japanese lunch box. The menu included sushi, tofu, rice, carrot, cucumber, fish, and chicken.
After lunch we completed a few more activities at the Centre before departing Sydney and heading back to Wagga.
Thank you to Mrs Fuller and Mr Buik for making this trip possible! And thank you to all of the places we visited for having us!
Aaliyah Button - Year 9 student