Term 4 in Languages!
It’s been a busy term in Languages@SFX! Some Year 7 Spanish classes enjoyed a local excursion for empanadas at Florey Shops to try out their Spanish with the staff at a local café and enjoy a yummy traditional dish.
Some Year 7 classes participated in kite making following the Guatemalan tradition. On the 1st of November, All Saints Day, Guatemalan people fly kites to uphold tradition dating back to the Mayans in order ward off bad spirits. Students made the kites in pairs with tissue paper (Papel de china), bamboo skewers (varillas), glue (pegamento), thread (hilo) and sticky tape (cinta adhesive) and then went to the oval the fly the kites.
El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November. This celebration is famous all over the world for the typical and colorful skull face paintings, which represent a celebration of the circle of life. Year 8 Spanish students experienced a taste of el Dia de los Muertos in an engaging and successful skull facepainting session.
“I enjoyed the Day of the Dead facepainting since it helped me understand Spanish culture and it was really fun for everyone.” (Zoe, Year 8)
Our Year 7 Japanese students had a ‘ball’ making Japanese onigiri rice balls after completing final assessment this term. With guest judges Mrs Darley and Mrs Bakonji, the stakes were high in the decoration competition before we said ‘itadakimasu’ and enjoyed the handmade snacks so popular with Japanese students.
One of our 27 students who travelled to Japan in October on our reciprocal Japanese Study Tour, recently reflected on the experience:
“This trip had us spend 14 days in Japan and two days of traveling with planes trying all of the new foods such as many different types of tofu, ramen, and even bento boxes. The fact that we got to see Sumo, Castles, and Shrines was such a life changing experience as we begun to develop a different view on the world. This trip was a major learning experience for all of us, seeing Japanese being used in average daily life. Being able to be a part of conversations with all these different people was just an amazing experience for all of us.” (Mitchell, Year 10)
And our Year 8 Japanese students enjoyed the disciplined and aurally exciting Taiko incursion earlier in the term and felt the beat of traditional Japanese drumming. Thank you to the organising staff enabling these linguistic and culturally immersive experiences. Congratulations to all our languages students on their achievements in 2024. Feliz Navidad and Merii Kurisumasu from the Languages Department.
Article supplied by Mrs Horsington, Languages Coordinator