1985 School Magazine

SO YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WE DO IN JAPANESE:

YEAR 10- 13 + So with a touch of nostalgia we close our big, purple, Japanese books, some of us for the last time. To most, it is the end of our bilingual years, but some wait in eager anticipation of the next two years. During this year we have discovered many new regions of Japanese culture which had previously been unexplored. One of the many new cultural act1v1t1es which we discovered was Japanese Cooking . One day we monopolised the canteen and spent the better part of two lessons chopping, mixing, cooking and eating a Japanese dish called " Yukitori" which is made from chicken. Although we made quite a mess, it was an enjoyable lesson and many of us have used the recipe since. Some of the other cultural activities which we have attempted this year are Origami, the Japanese tea ceremony, and calligraphy. The language which we have been learning for the last three years is incredibly complex. Each year we have studied a different script and so far we have discovered seven different ways to count. This year the script we have studied is Kanji. Unfortunately most of our Kanji looks as if a spider jumped into the ink and ran around the page. Earlier this year, a few Cultural Evenings were held at the "Little Tokyo" restaurant. They were most enjoyable and included food, singing and dancing in a traditional atmosphere. Of course this year we have had a trip to Japan . and some visitors came to B.G.G.S. These events have given us experiences to share with future generations. YEAR 9- The Year 9's have had rather an interesting year. We have had several visitors- We had a very entertaining lesson with the children from the 1st August - Japanese Children's Summit, where we taught them how to sing "Waltzing Matilda" in English and they taught us a Japanese song. We made Sukiyaki early in the year. Some of the attempts did not look very appetising, but were demolished none- the-less! We look forward to our visit from Miho- our exchange student- every week. Several of our girls enjoyed a visit to our sister school, Hirayama Gakuen, in the June/July holidays. YEAR 8- Every Tuesday and Friday Mrs Batt's class have a Japanese lesson. During this lesson we see films. These films tell you about the way Japanese people dress, eat, work, and what they do in their recreation time. The class likes going to the language Laboratory. every couple of weeks. Sometimes we do Origami and cards for special occasions. We have a book into which we put our creations. Sometimes we have small spelling tests and for homework we work out of Alfonso Book One. At the moment we are learning how to count in Japanese. After we accomplish that we will be able to play Bingo and other games with numb.ers. Students in this Japanese class enjoy this language very much . Kimberley Dripps

YEAR 12- The Year 12 class has had a great year and we'd like to thank everybody who has made it such a year to remember. We have now visited Japan and this, coupled with visits from our sister school, has contributed to our memories. Thanks to Miho and all the other exchange students ... Minako and Kayoko. We are all taking with us wonderful memories from our five years at Grammar- not only the trips, but the films, slides, stories and visitors. Thank you so much, Mrs Duncan- you have given us more than you probably realize. Good luck in the future.

To everyone carrying on with Japanese ... Stick with it!!!

Best of Luck -

Kate, Sarah, Natalie, Kylie, Jenny and Julie

YEAR 11 - The year has been incredibly busy for Year 11 Japanese- with visits to Japan for fifty per cent of the class (not so unusual when there are only ten of us!), return visits from our sister school, The Hirayama Gakuen; the memorable English teacher-come-guitarist, Mr Aoki, highschool students, and our exchange student Miho, who has put up with our slow attempts at her native language, as well as doing actual work! From all this exposure to Japan and Japanese we have gained much; the least of all being memories (and exhaustion!) that will last us a lifetime. Thanks to Mrs Duncan (the one not wearing a school uniform!) for being patient with, and encouraging to, all of us, and good luck to next year's Grade ll's!

Going out in style -

Year Eleven Japanese Students

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