Books & Christmas Cake sent to Tohoku schools

Thank you to everybody who donated books. We've just sent off 2 boxes of new/nearly new books to Yamashita Elementary School's library... just in time for Christmas. From our fund an extra 250,000 yen library donation was also added.

And for some extra joyous cheer, JP & the Cezar Kitchen crew have volunteered their time & skills in preparing Christmas cake for all the students & staff at both Nakahama/Sakamoto ES & Yamashita ES. Our fund will cover the cost of the ingredients, boxing & delivery, and there’s also a large candy cane for each student.

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• 9 kotatsus for families in need will be sent to Nakahama  before Christmas (9 x 8000 yen)
• Books donated were sorted and will be forwarded to both schools Monday after the HS SC brings in additional new books Monday
• 250,000 yen has been allocated for Yamashita ES's library
• We are looking into forwarding a candy cane for each student and perhaps a class Christmas cake per class (or bag of cookies per class)
• December 11th is a Sunday, so we'll wear our Pray for JP t-shirts Friday, Dec 9

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Thank you to all those who joined us on Wednesday, November 9^th for our presentations on recent Tohoku trips.

After our experiences with Peace Boat, it was decided that we would donate a further 1,000,000 Yen from our fund to assist them with their relief work in Ishinomaki City over the winter. A Peace Boat representative joined us for the second time at our Xmas Bazaar, and will again visit our school Friday, November 18^th.

The committee decided to assist Nakahama & Yamashita Elementary Schools in replenishing the international section of their libraries. We also thought you might like to donate a book about your country. Ideally, the books should target elementary students whose first language is Japanese. The books might be about food, sports from around the world, dance, geography, history, or even atlases. You can drop off a book in the collection boxes by the Front Office, near the Faculty Room or in the Montessori Building.

Finally, December 11^th marks the 9^th month since the magnitude 9 quake hit Japan. We would love to see as many members of the Saint Maur Community as possible in their Pray for Japan t-shirts during the school day.

Teachers Visit Yamamoto

A group of 7 teachers from Saint Maur have just returned from the tsunami hit region. We visited the town of Yamamoto, just south of Sendai and home to Nakahama Elementary School. We worked out of the Yamamoto Volunteer Centre, mainly assisting the remaining strawberry farmers. Some 90% of the strawberry farms in the area have as yet been unable to rebuild.

We visited Nakahama ES and Yamashita ES and presented students and staff with gifts courtesy of our Tohoku Fund. On the final day we were lucky enough to take part in Yamashita ES’s International Day. It was a truly magical experience, with all members looking forward to another trip north in the near future.

Both schools are short on library resources, so this looks like becoming part of our fund’s focus.

Miyagi trip presentation Wednesday 8th Nov

Some of our teachers will be giving a presentation and sharing their experiences of recent trips to Miyagi-ken. The presentation is open to parents, students and teachers. It will be at 12.50 in Mr. Morice's class.

Peaceboat In Ishinomaki

In May the Saint Maur Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Fund made a 100,000 yen donation to Peaceboat Japan (see earlier post). Over the mid-semester holiday one of our teachers had the chance to join a Peaceboat team and see first-hand the fantastic work that they are doing in Ishinomaki. Follow the link to find out more.
Peaceboat Ishinomaki Presentation
    

Message from Nicky Farmer of The International School, Uganda

I am glad you received the donation from our school in Uganda.We began the fundraiser in June to not only raise money for the people of Japan but as an awareness program to the school and its community.

Students aged 5-12years old held a swim-a-thon whereby getting sponsors for the amount of laps they swam in class. With the incentive of 'every little helps' and the support and enthusiasm of our Japanese families, the students raised just under $3,000.