Sagicho, Dondo-yaki, Dondon-yaki

Our culture is filled with many traditions, especially around New Year’s. In Japan, all the items related to toshigami such as the New Year Decorations or the lucky charms are never thrown away but are collected at shrines and burned at the beginning of January, in a ritual fire. Households with children decorate Bamboo grass with colorful strip of paper. They burn Bamboo around their community from the evening of Jan. 14th through the morning of Jan. 15th. They make Adzuki-Bean gruel with Bamboo charcoal and eat　it to wish a safe and healthy new year. Please take some time to talk with your children about New Year Traditions and fun games of your hometown.

Award Winners for Towa Essay Contest

For 16th Towa Essay Contest, 29 applicants from Middle School Students and 25 applicants from High School students submitted their Essays. Congratulations to all
Awards Winners.

Best Essay Award
High School: Daniel Sparks (Washington DC JLSP) “Spread The Message For Peace”
Middle School: Yui Matsuda (Pittsburg JLSP) “The Bridge Of The Language”
Japanese Consulate General in NY Award
High School: Yuka Mogi (Indiana JLSO) “Make A Dream Come True”
Middle School: Kano Hiraizumi (Washington DC JLSP) “Avoiding Misunderstanding”
< b>Kohdansha USA Award
High School: Sota Masuda (Philadelphia JLSP) “The Challenge to Establish a World Free of Nuclear Weapons”
Middle School: Leon Kato (Washington DC JLSP) “Friendship through Social Network”
< b>Japan-America Society Friendship Award
High School: Shouryu Aoyama (Philadelphia JLSP) “Smile Over The Generation Gap”
Middle School: Fumi Noda (Philadelphia JLSP) “Irreplaceable Smile”
< b>Asakura Award
High School: Riki Widodo (Philadelphia JLSP) “Can the World Be Nuclear Weapons Free?”
Middle School: Hirobumi Yasue (Philadelphia JLSP) “Tornado of My Life”

Reading Award “Yokozuna”

Congratulations to those of you who put in the effort to earn the rank of “Yokozuna.” Job Well Done! I hope you were filled with courage, adventure, kindness, and sympathy from your reading.

Kindergarten:
K – Hikaru Noguchi (6)
K – Karina Benjamin (2)
Elementary Grades
1st – Yayoi Izumi (1)
4th – Marina Noguchi (1)
Middle School
3rd – Misato Shimizu (1)

2017 Mochi Making

The Parents Association would like to thank all of you who helped the association sponsor the Mochi Making event last week. Teachers, class parents, parents who volunteered the materials necessary and all of you who volunteered on the day – thank you. Also, many thanks to the Middle School, High School students and Adult Course students helped clean after the event. We couldn’t have possibly pulled off this event without everyone’s help. The children’s happy faces and voices, “More, please!” could be heard all morning.
We would especially like to thank these groups in our community for helping – the Bryn Mawr Japanese Church for loaning us the mocha mortar and pestles, Maido for providing us with all the ingredients for the event, and Nippon Express (Nittsu) for providing us with all the cardboard boxes we used to line the floor.
We look forward to providing more fun learning experiences for the children with your help. Thank you.
(Gratefully Submitted, Parents Association of JLSP)

We are grateful to those who support us:
Nippon Express for Cardboard boxes
Maido for mochi rice, kinako powder and all the ingredients
Bryn Mawr Japanese Church for mortar and pestles
MS, HS, Adult Course students for Clean-up