With Plays, Demos & Food, Fourth Graders Celebrate Japan Day

By Laurie Borst

On Friday, May 26, Middle Gate School’s fourth graders culminated a monthlong study of Japanese history and culture with plays, demonstrations, and food. Students and teachers appeared in kimonos and gis, the white uniform of karate practitioners.

The students learned about several Japanese art forms. They practiced origami, the art of paper folding, and kirigami, the art of paper cutting. Students learned about calligraphy and produced their own scrolls. The children explored haiku, Japanese poetry that follows a pattern of three lines, with a total of 17 syllables. Students cut out lanterns and wrote poems on them. Parent volunteers put in many hours helping with craft projects in the classroom.

The lanterns decorated the cafeteria for an authentic Japanese lunch provided by Ichiro Restaurant. Anthony Sadowski pronounced the food, “Excellent. The noodles rock.” Christie Colavito said she liked the sushi, as did her friend, Lauren Henchcliff.

Students all worked on projects based on what they were learning. Hayley Dunn, Selina Henn, and Rebecca Vodola were inspired by the book, Sadako and the 1,000 Paper Cranes. The book tells the story of Sadako, a young Japanese girl, who, at the age of 11 in 1955, is diagnosed with leukemia, “the atom bomb disease.” According to legend, if she folded one thousand paper cranes, she would be granted a wish. The girls were moved to start folding cranes themselves. They have almost finished 1,000, and plan to send them to children in hospitals in Japan.

Before lunch, Middle Gate students who practice karate gave a demonstration for their classmates. After lunch, the GATES students put on a shadow play that they wrote themselves. They also wrote the music, programmed the sound effects, and created the shadow puppets that they used. The play was called, Wight Wei Goes the Right Way. It was inspired by a story, “The Adventures of Wong Wei,” which the students heard on CD. Wong Wei had a habit of doing things the wrong way. The GATES students gave the story a positive spin instead.