Cultural Exchanges - 5th Grade

Information for 2010 Cultural Exchange

Fundraisers

August 1 (Saturday) - Obon Festival Booth
Time: 4pm-8pm
Location: 3720 SE 34th Ave, PDX 97202
Volunteers: Kazuko & Hannah Curtis, Naomi & Megumi Diffely, Mona Ozaki & Keli'i Clark, Mika Obara & Jason and Nikki Wong, Cathrine & Andreas Collins, Sally Mays & Mayumi Head and possibly Melanie & Jason Scheuermann
Event Organizer: Kazuko Curtis

August 8 (Saturday) - Car Wash
Time: 10am-2pm
Place: SW corner of Powell and Foster Blvd. intersection
Volunteers needed: 8-16 Parent/child teams to wash cars in 1-2 hr. shifts.
Volunteers so far: Cathy and Claire Slyman; Brenda and Kana Endo, Teruko Hall and Adan Moseler; Suzanne Munro and Quinn McGranaghan; Janai Barth and Sage Roland; Sally Mays and Mayumi Head
Event Organizers: Sally Mays and Suzanne Munro

September 20 (Sunday) Oaks Park
Time: 10am-7pm
Place: Oaks Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way; PDX; 97202
Volunteer opportunities: Presell bracelets, attend the event, help sell beverages.
Event Organizer: Mika Obara

November 14 (Saturday) 20th Anniversary Dinner and Auction
Place: The Nines, 525 SW Morrison, PDX 97204
Many volunteer opportunities such as procuring items for auction, ticket sales, liaison for class projects, advertising, power point presentation, check in/check out, cashiering, etc.
Event Chair: John Baumgardner
*Please think about procuring at least one donation this summer. If you need more forms, please e-mail onkauction@gmail.com

We won't be doing the anti-restaurant event this summer, but maybe we can organize a Parent's Night Out/Cooking class as an auction offering. Other fundraisers we'll organize after summer are the Read-a-Thon, Sees candy fundraisers (Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter), food sales at events (Back to School Night, Craft Fair, Mochitsuki, Spring Festival), Corporate Outreach and Talent Show.

Whether or not your child is planning to participate in the trip, please consider volunteering - it's a great way to get to know each other better and I think our kids enjoy playing an active role in supporting the JMP.

Sally Mays
503-281-9790

Cultural Exchange Overview

Richmond JMP 5th grade students are given the opportunity to travel to Japan. Oya No Kai and the administration & staff of Richmond School feel that this experience is very beneficial to their language acquisition. The main objectives of the 5th grade Japanese Cultural Exchange are:

• To provide students with an authentic cultural experience.
• To allow students to use their language skills and cultural knowledge.
• To provide a homestay experience.
• To have a culminating experience for six years of learning Japanese.
• To help students commit to continuing with the JMP in middle and high school

Over the years, the JMP has formed lasting relationships with schools and cities in Japan. JMP students have the opportunity to visit these places at the end of their fifth grade year. This cultural exchange is an amazing experience celebrating years of hard work for both the students and their parents.

In 2006, 44 of the 48 fifth graders and their worthy chaperones left on June 20 for Nagoya on Northwest Airlines for two weeks in Japan. They headed to Fukuno, a small city in Toyama prefecture for five nights of homestays. They visited Fukuno School, a hot springs, and a traditional mountain village in Gokayam. The group then divided in two. One group visited Kobe to be hosted by families of Sumaura School, a private school program well over a hundred years old. The second group went to Numazu, near Mt. Fuji, where the families of Katoh School hosted them. Students from Fukuno, Katoh School and Sumaura School have visited Portland and stayed with Richmond host families this school year. The groups then converged in Kyoto for some sightseeing day trips.

Three schools, two languages, one community