Written by Mary Ann Colter
“Konnichiwa”, “hello” in Japanese, was the greeting of the day on January 27 at Hayes Leonard Elementary School as the children were treated to a visit from Rumi Mitsubayashi, Japan Outreach Coordinator from Valparaiso University. Dressed in a pink kimono, she shared information about her native country with over 300 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Much of Ms. Mitsubayashi’s presentation centered on school life and education in Japan. Some of the differences she pointed out were that school children walk to school, eat lunch in their classrooms, and stay after school to help clean the school building! The children were shown examples of the three alphabets that Japanese children learn and a child’s textbook. The children were surprised to learn that books written in Japanese read right to left. She shared many other aspects of Japanese culture including holidays, food, and their government and monarchy.
The students were especially excited to learn about the Japanese art of origami. Ms. Mitsubayashi demonstrated the art of folding a single square of paper into a beautiful design or animal. The older classes had the opportunity to try their hand at making their own paper creations.
Fifth grade teacher Ann Frederich felt the program was very worthwhile and left her students wanting to learn more. “The students really enjoyed the presentation and asked if she could come back and share some more about Japan. Her program was very interesting and kept the students’ attention. They especially enjoyed the chance to practice origami.”
Morgan Corneil, a third grader in Mrs. Jody Silhavy’s class commented, “I thought it was neat and interesting. I would like to learn more about Japan. My favorite part was when we got to look at the origami animals and see all the shapes.”
Ms. Mitsubayashi is from Shiga Prefecture, Japan and is the Japan Outreach Coordinator at Valparaiso University for the Japan Outreach Initiative. She will be in Valparaiso for two years and hopes to share her culture, language, and traditions with many in the Valparaiso community.