Some of the 24 second-graders at the Wardlaw-Hartridge School dressed in traditional Japanese wear such as kimonos and even a samurai suit as members of the Japanese Consulate paid a visit recently.
Above: Saigusa Hirohito, counsel for the Ministry of Education, teaches the Japanese word for “cow” to second-graders at the Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison on April 27. Representatives from the Caravan Program, which is sponsored by the Japanese Information Center of the Consulate General of Japan in New York City, visited students as the culmination of the classes’ studies of international cultures. Below: Hane Anderson Schmitt (r) and Destiny Ingram have fun making origami when Japanese Consulate representatives visited the second-grade. PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN Saigusa Hirohito, counsel for the Ministry of Education, came to the school along with public relations coordinators Jesse Taylor and Midori Goto on April 27 as part of the consulate’s Caravan Program.
“It’s great coming into the schools to see the enthusiasm and the knowledge of the kids,” said Taylor, who has been working at the consulate for 15 years. “It’s also great to hear from teachers, because it shows that they care about teaching about different cultures.”
Students learned the names of traditional Japanese foods, discovered that animal sounds in Japan are different from those in the U.S., had a lesson story read to them in both Japanese and English, and created an origami samurai hat.
Second-grade teachers Donna Pedde and Crissy Pianet said the students were learning about the Japanese culture for the past month.
“This is the second year that members of the consulate have visited our school,” Pedde said.
Pianet said the students worked on projects with topics that included sightseeing in Tokyo, geishas, traditional clothing, origami and calligraphy, Japanese folk tales, traditional tea ceremonies, kendo, ninjas and sumo wrestlers.
Many of the students especially liked the origami and the story that was read.
“The story was interesting because it taught you a lesson on how you should treat others like you want to be treated,” student Logan Hill said.
Goto, who was born and raised in Japan, said she started working at the consulate two years ago.
“I remember the traditional tea ceremonies, and at the time I was wondering why I had to do that and follow all these rules,” she said. “But when I look back, I can appreciate what my parents taught me.”
Goto said she was happy to share her culture with the class.
Hirohito said the school made the visit very comfortable.
“They welcomed us, and we hope we were able to provide some fun for them,” he said.