This email was lovingly crafted with so much love and passion that I think it would be a waste not to share it. Enjoy Sensei's passionate side!

Konnichiwa, minnasan!

The English department will kick off the Ole Ole programme next Monday. Coupled with Escape Room activities, we will induct our Year 1 students into the world of Japanese cuisine. In Term 3, they researched, prepared PPT slides and did presentations on their beloved Singaporean dishes. It might be a good thing for them to extend their learning by learning about popular Japanese foods and dining etiquette. At the very least, they will be able to read and recognise oishii. The photo below was taken at McDonald’s:

I will host this Japanese immersion activity with KW (henceforth known as Low Sensei).

Ideogram.AI has generated a somewhat authentic image of the 10 food items (okonomiyaki, fugu, ramen, udon, unagi, takoyaki, kagi, tempura, sushi, onigiri)

To learn these food names, we will teach students how to play janken (Japanese version of scissors, paper, stone). Without revealing too much, please learn how to play it next Monday because we will give you 10 minutes of Circle Time to strategise how to play the first game, in which knowledge of janken is necessary!

As an aside, janken is used heavily by the Japanese – children and even adults – to make decisions. Maintaining the wa (harmony) is important in Japanese society, so sometimes they resort to playing janken so that they don’t have to suffer through awkward negotiations.

To be honest, I’m not a foodie, but I’m quite excited about teaching young minds something that is close to my heart! Click on this if you are interested to find out more about Japanese cuisine. I combed through my travel materials to extract the bits that captured my attention. Oishii desu ne!

Ja mata, next Monday.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Sensei