Minori's report 

市橋みのり(Minori Ichihashi) bubupig.in.home@gmail.com 

~My Holiday Diary!!~

~To Sydney!~

For the first week, I went to Sydney. It was my first time going to Sydney and I was very excited. On the first day, I went to Wildlife Sydney and saw koalas up close. The koala's sleeping face was so cute and its fur was so fluffy. I met a friend of mine in Sydney and was introduced to the city as we walked around Sydney. Harbor Bridge, Circular Quay, Opera House, Darling Harbor... They were all very beautiful and impressive. I especially liked the bay at sunset, which was very beautiful.

On the second day, I took a tour of the Opera House. I learned that the Opera House was very meticulously built and has a rich history. I knew that the Opera House was famous even when I was in Japan, but hearing the explanation of the structure of the walls and floors and learning about the hard work of the architects made me even more aware of its greatness.

On the third day, I went to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are said to look blue with eucalyptus oil. The weather was very nice and it did indeed look blue. I also rode on a train with a very steep incline! Have you ever ridden on a train with an incline of about 50 degrees? It was very thrilling and fun.

After that, we went to the beach to relax, went to the market, and spent some time relaxing. It was a very fun and relaxing week. I would like to come back again with my husband and family.

~My mom and sister came to Melbourne!~

And!  For the next week, to my surprise, my mother and old sister came to Melbourne! 5 grade, do you remember how to say "mother" and "old sister" in Japanese?　“Mother" is “Oka-san（お母さん）” and “Old sister” is “One-san（おねえさん）.”

My father was unable to spend time with us this time due to work.

I was very happy to be able to spend time with my family for the first time in a while. Although we were there for only about 5 days, we were able to participate in many tours and enjoy Melbourne a lot.

We took the Puffing Billy Railway Tour. This train allows you to ride with your feet out the window. I was very surprised because I had never seen this kind of train in Japan. We enjoyed the ride with our legs out the window and enjoyed the scenery. After that, we went to a fashionable café and enjoyed shopping in Melbourne.

The next day, we took the Great Ocean Road Tour. I had been there once before and was happy to go again with my family. The scenery created by nature is always breathtaking. I was amazed again. Also, on the way back home, we came across a wild koala! It was our first time seeing a wild koala. Whenever we saw them, they were sleeping.

The next day Cheryl took us to the Yarra Valley. Cheryl is my first host mother, my internship coordinator, and a very dear person. It was the same for my mom and she was so happy to see Cheryl. Cheryl took us to the cheese factory, the chocolate factory, Healesville Sanctuary, and the bakery. The most impressive of all was the Healesville Mill Sanctuary. The most impressive part was the Healesville Sanctuary, because we got to see active koalas walking and eating. The day went by so fast.

And finally, we went to Phillip Island to see the penguins. It was so cute to see a small group of penguins walking from the beach in the evening. It was cold, but it was worth it!

It was a very short and intensive 5 days. I was a little sad after they left. However, my husband will be here for the next holiday. I wonder how many more days I have until then.... I am counting down the days. I am looking forward to the next holiday very much! Until then, let's enjoy this third term together!

~Tanabata in Japanese class~

At the beginning of the third term, all grades learned about "Tanabata" in Japanese class. Tanabata is based on the legendary meeting of two stars, Hikoboshi and Orihime, which are represented by Altair and Vega, respectively. After their marriage, Hikoboshi and Orihime idled away and didn’t work. An angry god split Hikoboshi and Orihime apart from the two banks of the Milky Way. However, the god permitted Hikoboshi and Orihime to reunite once a year on July 7. So, Tanabata is held on that day every year, and it is said to be the day when lovers can reunite. We often decorate bamboo trees with colorful pieces of paper, “Tanzaku”, to pray for Orihime and Hikoboshi to come together. People write their wishes on Tanzaku and hang them from bamboo branches, which is said to make their wishes come true. We write Tanzaku wishing for our future, our family, the world, and many other things.

 So, we made "Tanzaku" and displayed them. The bamboos filled with everyone's wonderful wishes are very beautiful. I hope everyone's wishes come true!

The Year 6s engaged with the story texts and had some interesting conversations about the cultural and spiritual link between our First Nations people and the land and what that would have meant for them when white settlement occurred. Some thoughts about the stolen children and the effect being taken from their family and history had on their identity. Tiahna Wild also came to 6T to chat a bit about what NAIDOC week means to the communities of First Nations people. We used our Mindfulness time to colour in some NAIDOC colouring pages, thinking about colours and representing the Australian landscape in their work. We have also made a display of this work on the wall between 6C and 6T.