Culture/Language/Newsletter

A Taste of Japan

Japan is a fascinating country and today a little bit of it has been brought to Tapton. Children have been learning origami, how to write in calligraphy, all about Japanese culture and even tried a bit of Japanese food.

Calligraphy came to Japan in the 10 th century from China and consists of symbols drawn in ink. But today, in a Food Tech room, Year 9 students were learning the ancient art. They practised writing their names with special calligraphy pens needed.

Origami is the art of folding paper into shapes of animals. Coloured card can also be used to good effect. When we entered the peaceful history room we saw pupils calmly working away at their pieces of paper.

We spoke to one of the Japanese visitors and asked how old the art of Origami was, to which she replied, “…about fifty to eighty years old.” We then asked a couple of students how easy it was to do Origami, and there were mixed views. Some said that it was quite hard to do whereas others found it easy to make a zoo of animals! Miss Grewal, Head of Year 8, was having a go making a crane, a symbol of peace.

Back in Food Tech, plates of sushi were laid out on the desks ready for pupils to sample – one student remarked that is was “rather different from the normal Tapton food!” A pile of kidney beans for the Chopstick Challenge was heaped in the middle of a table waiting on students carefully lifting them with chopsticks.

This exotic culture, which contrasts with ours, was greeted with interest by the students involved and gave them a unique experience.

By David and Robert (Y8)

Japanese-style Names

In one of the rooms some students watched a video about facts on Japan which they found very interesting. The students examined the differences in life-styles.

They also learned how to use Kanji symbols and eventually wrote their name using them.

They found it very interesting.

By Lucy & Liz

Japanese art and culture

Students in the library were making posters using inspiration from Japanese traditional objects.

This linked to all the Japanese related activities going on like sushi and calligraphy in other places.

They made posters that had lots of Japanese facts and pictures; Mrs Johnson was even spotted wearing a Kimono.

The posters contained information about the calligraphy writing used in Japan and pictures of vases, pots, umbrellas and chopsticks.

By 1:40 the group were well on their way to finishing and the posters were making fabulous progress.

They were extremely colourful, informative and aesthetically pleasing.

By Lauren, Florence and Beau.