Sayonara for now...

Hello Russell Street!  It's hard to believe that summer is here already!  Time seems to have sped up this past month as the school year has ended.

Kaela went to prom....

And graduated from high school (it was a great day but we all missed Littleton!)

And Tommy graduated from 8th grade (there were 19 countries represented in his 8th grade class!)....

Then several "sayonara" parties as we said farewell to new friends whose time in Japan has ended... 

Tommy and Noelle are already home in Littleton... enjoying being back with our dog Molly... and hearing English being spoken everywhere... grocery stores... Five Guys and Yangtze River... trees and birds!.... etc.  Kaela and I stay here in Tokyo for a few more weeks for our jobs.  We (Tommy, Mr. Nanto and myself) look forward to summer in the U.S. ... and then ONE more year in Tokyo.

Students and teachers at Russell Street, it's been fun to share some of our adventures with you this year!  I  have thought of you often and I have missed you.  Perhaps I'll run into some of you around town or at Kimball's this summer:).

Love, Mrs. Nanto

Bunka

Fourth grade classes at ASIJ are exploring Bunka, or Japanese Culture.  For many students, Japan has been home for years, but for some, Japan is a new and foreign country.

Student examples of calligraphy, or Shodo: 

Snowy school day!

On Wednesday, Tommy, Kaela, and I walked to the bus stop (I substitute taught that day in fourth grade) in the pouring rain.   By the time our bus arrived at school 30 minutes late, the rain had turned to heavy snow.  It snowed all day.

Three of the students in the class I taught had never seen this much snow before!  It hardly ever snows like this in Tokyo! Looking out of the classroom window, I almost felt like I was back home in Littleton - it was awesome!

You will recognize the game that some boys played during afternoon indoor recess (but listen closely to the words!):

It was an exciting day... and it was still snowing at the end of the school day.  It took us nearly two hours to get home!

Beauty School

Kaela and Tommy both take beginner Japanese at school instead of French or Spanish.  The high schoolers taking beginning Japanese went on a field trip to a local beauty school for a "cultural exchange."  Kaela had so much fun being dressed in a traditional kimono!

Daiko drumming

A few days ago I caught a few minutes of a Daiko Drumming performance at the American School.   Daiko drumming is an ancient Japanese art, and all elementary school children learn it at least a little bit.  These students are part of an after-school club that practices and performs traditional Daiko drumming.