Well, we are off to a flying start in our Languages classrooms and beyond!

Year 9 and 10 Japanese language students were fortunate to go on an excursion in the first week of term. Students studied about Yokai (Spirits) in their first class. Then we were able to see a snippet of a production in the works. For this first development, Tamara and Hamish local artist have invited actors from Osaka-based theatre company, KIO, to collaborate with them as part of a cross-cultural artistic exchange – we met the artists, saw some puppets come to life, and got to know the yokai (spirits) lurking within. The students were able to see the development process, listen to some Japanese during the performance, and open their eyes to possible career paths using their language, such as in theatre productions. Before showing us the production, we had the Oni (demon) come, where we threw soybeans at them to get rid of bad luck and bring in the good luck. This is a significant part of the Japanese Setsubun festival, which happened on the 3rd of February.

The Year 8 Japanese students studied about Setsubun, coloured in their Oni masks and committed to a fresh start by throwing beans. Students also learnt that children in Japan also eat the same number of soy beans as per their age to bring them good luck, in addition to eating ehomaki ( long sushi roll) facing the direction of good luck for that year, which was south south east in 2026.

Finally, our VCE classes were able to meet our Language Assistant, Jaimee sensei, who started with us this year. They got to know each other by getting to know each other through general conversation in Japanese.

Our Year 7 French and Japanese students are now two weeks into their learning of their chosen language, and are loving learning about new things, including different writing styles and other cultural differences between countries.

Meanwhile, our Year 10 and 11 French students are preparing for their exciting France Study Tour departing on 15 March - we look forward to hearing all about it on their return in Term 2.