Dear Parents and Friends,

Don’t forget that Weeks 8/9 of this term is the time to showcase Japanese language and culture at St Catherine’s with our…
日本祭り (Nihon Matsuri) or Japanese Festival!

Our theme for the festival is「面白い」(Omoshiroi) which means “That’s interesting!”.

On Wednesday, September 11, we will have our 日本コンサート(Nihon Konsaato) or Japanese Concert. And you are all invited!
At the concert, you will be able to see the children singing, dancing, acting, playing music and more! They can’t wait to show you what they have been practising.

It will be held in the hall from 9am. Remember children are welcome to wear the Japanese colours of red, white, black and gold (yellow) or something ‘Japanese-y’. 
 
Please encourage your children to enter the following competitions which are open to ALL students. You gotta be in it to win it!
 
1. Poster Competition:
To enter, students must design and create a poster that is about ‘omoshiroi’.

What do you think about when you close your eyes and think ‘hmm, omoshiroi nihon’? 
*paper size must be A4 or larger
*the design can be from any artistic medium (watercolour, texta, coloured pencils, crayons, etc) BUT NOT printed
*full name and class must be written on the back of the poster
*must be about ‘omoshiroi’
*have the word ‘omoshiroi’ somewhere in the poster
Once students have completed their poster, they can hand it in to their class teacher, to Sensei or to the office.

2. Trivia Competition:
*answer the following questions in English on a piece of paper
*make sure the answers are numbered
*you can answer in short answers
*there is no need to write out the questions
*write your name and class on the top of the piece of paper
*pop the paper into the entry box in the office
*it doesn’t matter how you find the answers. 

1. How many petals does a ‘sakura’ have?
2. Who are the top two dolls displayed on a hinamatsuri stand?
3. What year did Japan last host the summer Olympic games.
4. Name a Japanese anime or manga character.
5. What does ‘aka’ mean in Japanese?
6. What is the difference between sushi and sashimi?
7. What is ‘Studio Ghibli’?
8. What is the population of Tokyo?
9. What is the weather like if you have to make a teru teru
bozu/boozu/bouzu/bōzu?

10. If I add ni and san together, what do I get? Answer with a
numeral; NOT a word.

3. Cooking Competition
*pick one of the six recipes below
*cook it at home
*when you have cooked the recipe, dish out a portion of the recipe in a bowl or plate
*take a photo of the recipe in the dish/plate with your child in the photo and email it to Sensei: helene.lionakis@scmoorabbin.catholic.edu.au
*in the subject line, please put your child’s full name and class and the name of the recipe
Note: that there be one photo per student; if there are siblings, there needs to be another recipe made

Japanese Potato Salad:
https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cook/potatosalad/

Tempura: 
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/mixed-root-tempura
(if you don’t have the vegies listed, try medium sliced potatoes,
pumpkin, beans or any other hard vegie)

Okonomiyaki:
https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipes/japanese-okonomiyaki-recipe/2ok5pwis?r=easydinners/vfr9jov3&h=easy%20dinners
(you can leave out or sub the prawns and ginger if you want; you
can sub mirin for water or stock; you can sub the stock for water or
vegie stock)

Japanese Curried Rice:
https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cook/curry/

Yakitori with Japanese Slaw:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/chicken-yakitori-with-japanese-slaw

Hot and Sour Ramen: 
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/hot-and-sour-ramen
(you can leave out the chilli if you wish and sub spicy ramen with
non-spicy ramen)

Dorayaki: 
https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cook/dorayaki/
(baking soda is bicarb soda and the tsubu and can be left out)

4. Kyaraben Competition
Kyaraben are characters made out of food. For example, you could make a kyaraben snowman out of rice with two almonds for eyes, a corn kernel for the nose and an olive for the mouth.
For ideas, you can Google ‘kyaraben’ and have a look at the different characters portrayed.
*make the kyaraben
*take a photo of the kyaraben with your child in the photo and email it to Sensei: helene.lionakis@scmoorabin.catholic.edu.au
*in the subject line, please put your child’s full name and class and the name of the character
Note: that there be one photo per student; 
if there are siblings, there needs to be another kyaraben made

5. Ayatori (school) Competition
The students are practising ayatori at school to get ready for the school competition. If they would like to have a go to get ready for the comp, they will need a knotted piece of wool or string approx 150cm long. Here are some links. Of course, there are more ayatori than just these. You can Google ‘ayatori’ or ‘easy ayatori’ for heaps more.

Have fun! 

Solo Cat’s Cradle - With only one person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j-ADpQY3_k

Easy Cat's Cradle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j-ADpQY3_k

Jacobs Ladder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kr8jrc56eA

Hammock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIHfMkxVlnU

Flower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQSJW0G3D08

Fish Trap string figure tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWRKhweGpjU

Open the Gate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11omMUvluwQ

Star
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrveQloT7JQ

Cutting off Fingers trick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcBN_0Sf17U

リオナキス先生
(Rionakisu Sensei)
Lionakis Sensei