On Tuesday 8th November, the Japanese Cross Campus Cultural Course held their Orientation Day. Students met classmates from other schools and became acquainted with the students who will be doing the Beginner’s Online Course in Year 11 2023. It was exciting for the students to see where study of the Cultural Course can take them in only a few years.
Students of the Cross Campus Cultural Course learn about Japanese culture and develop a deeper understanding of Japan as a nation. Many students are coming to the course with an extensive knowledge already and they will be able to apply this in numerous ways in the course. The Orientation Day provided the chance for students to have a practical learning experience that was an informative and exciting day. It soon became apparent that many of the students shared a love of Japanese ‘pop’ culture, particularly manga and anime, striking up fast friendships over shared viewing history.
Students were able to experience a beautiful Japanese tea ceremony. Thank you, Miho and Yoko sensei for impressing us so much with the beauty and serenity of this traditional past time. The Japanese treats with the tea ceremony were a real treat for everyone, contrasting the bitter tea taste with sweetness. The Tea Ceremony was followed by an ‘oishii’ [delicious] lunch at the Yayoi Japanese restaurant in Chatswood. Some students tried Japanese food for the first time. Using chopsticks proved to be quite a challenging experience but most students proving very adept at using them. It was a very friendly and chatty atmosphere over the lunch dishes. It was great to see everyone getting on so well.
Students also managed to become familiar with our Canvas platform; trying out a few activities using the tools available.
Some of the students commented about the day:
The Japanese orientation had been an amazing experience that had enabled students to experience different aspects of Japanese culture such as the food, a tea ceremony and also learning about different facts about Japan with a zoom with someone physically in Japan. It also allowed students to build new connections and friendships with different students. It was also helpful to know the way about the Canvas website and how next year doing Japanese will operate. Mrs Campbell and Mrs Dowdell did an excellent job in organising this day and I had learnt many things about both the language and the culture.「ヴェラ」
The tea ceremony was very enjoyable and I enjoyed it very much. The sweets that were given were very yummy. 「イレアナ」The tea ceremony was very fun and tasted good, I enjoyed watching how the tea was made and the precision of the movements. 「ブライス」
The day was very exciting, especially the tea ceremony, Yayoi restaurant, and the zoom to Tokyo! It was very engaging to talk about Japan’s traditional culture and learning about it all, especially experiencing the tea ceremony and its process first hand and eating at the restaurant. I would certainly recommend it! 「アサル」
The time spent at the orientation day, organised by Mrs Campbell and Mrs Dowdell, was by far a very enjoyable experience. The Zoom to Tokyo, despite it only teaching small facts, was fun and even those small facts seemed useful. The tea ceremony was calming and it was almost mesmerising to watch the tea be prepared in front of us. Yayoi restaurant trip was lovely and the meals we had were delicious and the overall time spent there was delightful. And lastly, all of the hands on activities were interesting to participate in and helped me get acquainted with all of my classmates. This opportunity was a great one and I enjoyed every second of it. – 「アナ」
