Shizuoka Blog from Mr Mike

Rain, Play, Shine and Shoes

This week has continued to be a learning experience for me at Shizuoka Salesio.

Lunchtimes have been occupied assisting Miss Miho Arai in staging a short playlet, written by Mr Akira Taniguchi which will be performed as part of St Mary’s Festival, being presented this coming Saturday at the school.

The talented young cast drawn from the Middle School are confident performers. Don Bosco is a character in the play entitled ‘9 YEARS, DON BOSCO’S DREAM’. A whole school Assembly on Tuesday was devoted to rehearsing number of pieces that will be sung on Saturday by students in K-12.

Singing is an important part of school life and the sound of so many voices joining together was quite inspiring.

Tuesday was a day of constant rain, not an uncommon event for spring in Japan according to my colleagues in the staff room.

Miraculously, the main quad was back in action on Wednesday for Junior Athletics trials.

Next week we will begin working on a performance project for the Year 5 English camp to be held at Mt Fuji in July.

Each Year 5 class will work rehearsing a play to be performed at the camp. One will be a traditional Japanese narrative, one an enactment of a Don Bosco Children’s story and one will have an Australian theme. Miss Arai and I will be team teaching and developing the project over the next eight weeks.

Finally, a very Japanese image, there are shoes for outside, and soft slippers for inside. Here is a photograph of the highly organized K-2 entrance area.

Mr Mike O’Brien - Dominic College exchange teacher in Japan