The eventful month of May

The months of April and May were filled with fun and exciting events.  Annual Food Fair:  This takes place every year on April 29th, a national holiday, on the Saint Maur campus.  This was the last Food Fair of the Heisei Era, as Japan enters the new era of Reiwa, with Emperor Naruhito ascending the throne on May 1st, following the abdication by Emperor Emeritus Akihito on April 30th, both signifying the importance of the Imperial family as symbolic figures of Japan.

The two games that Montessori offered on the roof of the main building were Lucky Pencil and Fishing.  These two games had the best results, selling 1,627 tickets in total. Good job, one and all!  Special thanks go out to the Pre-first graders who helped with the Fishing game, and to the Pre-First Busy Bees Club that helped wrap the prizes.

It was a hot sunny day, and there were a lot of people who came to enjoy the international food, raffles, games, and great camaraderie.

Face-painting was one of the popular activities in the interim gymnasium.

Montessori Spring Concert: On May 3rd, we had our annual Montessori Spring Concert in the Fine Arts Auditorium. The theme was “Friends”.  We invited the parents, friends, relatives, and all of the Elementary grades to come and listen to our concert.  After Principal Ms. Levy’s welcoming address, the curtain went up, and there stood all the Montessori children in their colorful outfits singing, “Hello, Bonjour, Buenos Dias…” to start the program.  The children aged from 2.5 to 6 years old represent over 20 countries in the world.  They sang songs and danced.

The Montessori Spring Concert video:  check out

The children calmly faced the audience, and were happy to perform to a big crowd.  It was such a good experience for them.

Ramadan:  The Alisha Tahir Family observes Ramadan, and the mom came to talk to us about how Muslim families observe this important nineth month.  She told us how the adults fast from sunrise to sunset, but the young children need energy for their daily activities so they can eat.  At this time the children will try hard to show love and acts of kindness towards their friends and families.

 We then colored a picture that said, “Ramadan Kareem”, meaning have a “generous Ramadan”. It is written in the Urdu language, in a calligraphic art form, with a picture of a moon changing its shape in a month.

Kazenoko Theater: Sponsored by the PSG and arranged by Ms. Catherine, the Kazenoko Theater were invited to perform some plays for us.It was in Japanese, but their performance was very visual, as we tried to understand the stories by looking and by listening to their songs.

Children’s Day, May 5th is a national holiday, and the first one in the new Reiwa Era (令和).  We wore our Kabuto, the Japanese warrior’s helmet, made of newspaper. It is a day set aside to respect the children and appreciate their personalities, as well as celebrate their happiness.

Mother’s Day:  We all love our moms.  Thank you, mommies, for taking care of us everyday.  We made cards and little decorations for them.

Montessori Sports Day & Family Picnic at Negishi Park: It was a hot sunny day, and we had the big park to ourselves for our Sports Day, led by Mr. Hitchman, our Elementary P.E. teacher.  Ms. Julia and Ms. Robin also helped us organize this annual spring event.  We showed our parents and friends what we do during our PE / Movement classes.  We had races, an obstacle course, parachute, ball toss, rocket throwing… it was a lot of fun. Some of the photos here were taken by Mrs. Caplette.

Sports Day was followed by our Family Picnic, enjoying lunch in the open air and in the shade; later we played under the sun in expansive Negishi Park.

The school year is about to finish soon; we are now in our last stretch.