Orange Coast Gakuen
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
SCHOOL LOCATION:
BRETHREN CHRISTIAN JR. / SR. HIGH SCHOOL
21141 STRATHMOOR LN.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92646
PH (714) 235-5559 • SATURDAYS ONLY
MAILING ADDRESS:
ORANGE COAST GAKUEN
P.O. BOX 20642
SANTA ANA, CA 92799
October 2011 Issue
UPCOMING EVENTS
10/08
OCT
2011
NOV
2011
• August 20, 2011: Summer Festival
OCG held a second very successful Summer Festival. Donna Minamide
again led the students in three bonodori
dances (Tankobushi, 1+1 Ondo, and the
Kagoshima Ondo). The students then
enjoyed a lot of great food, including
yakisoba, nagashi somen, and kaki kōri
(shaved ice). All also enjoyed some
activities, including fan making, a bean
bag toss, and kingyo sukui. Students,
teachers and parents all seeme to have
enjoyed themselves.
OCG thanks the Events Committee
for their efforts in making this festival a
successful one. Your efforts in creating a
rich and enjoyable learning environment is
what makes OCG such a great place to be!
Undoukai (Sports Festival)
10/15
10/22
PA Meeting
10/29
Okashiyashiki
11/05
Morning Assembly
11/12
11/19
PA Meeting
11/26
Thanksgiving Holiday
OCG’s Record-Breaking Food Fair to Fund Curriculum Improvements
Once again, the entire OCG family chipped in to make this year’s event a huge
success. In fact, it was our most successful Food Fair ever!! Not only did we sell out all of our
25,000 beef teriyaki sticks, we also set new records for both sales and profits.
The main change we made this year was to have our meat supplier pre-soak our beef for
us. This saved a lot of time (and mess!) at the Food Fair, and made things move more smoothly.
We also tried selling Curry Rice this year. We were able to sell out all of the curry that we made
each day.
The spirit and unity of the school was on full display during the event, as nearly all of our
families and every one of our teachers came out to help. It was also great to see so many of our
students helping out – not only did this show their school spirit, but also helped to build
camaraderie as well.
OCG thanks the entire school for their hard work. Great job, everyone!
Many have asked what OCG will use the profits for. First, as always, the proceeds from
the Food Fair help to cover the rent that we must pay every month. We are still committed to
saving up to buy our own building, which has been a goal for decades. And since last year, these
earnings help to cover the added expenses that we have as an independent school.
In addition, we are making a concerted effort to build up the academic side of OCG. Last
year this included supporting the teachers and advisors as they created new curriculum materials.
We also purchased multiple projectors and document cameras that made the classroom
environment more interesting for students. These efforts – and expenses – will continue this year.
Another large curriculum expense involves what we call the “OCG Textbook Project.”
Last year we started with the first year of a set of textbooks for the JHL side, written mainly by
our advisors. This year, many of the second year of the series are being written by our own
teachers, under the supervision of our advisors and based on their approach. The new textbooks
look impressive, indeed. Although we are still in the planning stage, I hope that we can do the
same for our lower levels of the JFL track in the near future. Rather than our teachers having to
create their own materials every week, which is very costly and time-consuming, having a set of
textbooks will make things easier for everyone. (For now, the upper levels of JFL and our High
School classes will continue to use Erin’s Challenge.)
Remember, the “Long Beach approach” is aimed at students who are being raised in the
US. Even if our students live in a completely Japanese environment at home, their everyday
environment is not the same as living in Japan (obviously). Yet many schools simply adopt texts
that are being used in Japan, or use texts without a clear purpose. Developing our own set of
OCG textbooks will strengthen our school immensely.
This is an exciting development, I think, as it will help us to cement a common approach
to teaching, and will make our instruction consistent across classes and levels. In the end, it will
help to solidify an OCG identity, something that we have lacked for many years.
Bob Uriu
OCG Board of Trustees
This article appeared in a series written for the Orange Network magazine, “Japanese Education
corner,” starting in March. In this 12-part series I discuss all facets of our new curriculum, including the
development of our teachers, the efforts of our parents and how our children are reacting. I hope that this
will help all to understand more fully our new curriculum. Please let me know if you have reactions or
opinions about what I have written.
Kishimizu Hiromi
Senior Instructor, Orange Coast Gakuen
Teaching Japanese to Children Being Raised in the U.S.
PART 1
I know that just about every Japanese parent living in America worries about “how can I help my
child maintain their Japanese language skills.” This applies equally to Japanese parents who are here for
only a short time, as well as those who are establishing permanent roots here. I know that many at the
school where I teach feel the same way.
It is said that language will disappear after three generations unless a strong effort is made to
maintain it. It is our job as teachers to help parents who have enrolled their children in our school in an
effort to preserve their language and culture in their children.
It turns out that a decisive factor in whether a child really learns the language is “the parents’
attitude toward Japanese.” Kazuko Nakajima, a professor at the University of Toronto, writes in her
book, Bilingual Education, that “the most important thing in raising a bilingual child is that they are
raised as much as possible in their original mother tongue (Japanese). That effort has to begin in the
home.” Families must overcome the fact that their children are growing up in America, or are in an
international marriage, and provide a strong language environment. If parents put in the effort, in
conjunction with the Japanese school, their children will learn Japanese well. The potentialities of
children are incredibly strong, as I have seen so often in my many years teaching at Japanese school.
Saying that it is the parents’ attitude that is the key means support and encouragement, not
excessive interference or pushing. But it is important for parents to really encourage their children to
learn. And I hope that parents don’t become discouraged by what are ultimately temporary worries,
such as when it seems that their children are getting behind in English or are having trouble with other
subjects. Parents should have more faith in the capabilities of their children.
Another very important aspect is the development of curriculum and materials that are well
suited for children being raised in the US. Most children at that age don’t have an intrinsic desire to
learn Japanese, so must be convinced – or sometimes simply forced – by their parents to go to Japanese
school. And because what is taught at most Japanese schools is not age-appropriate (that is, their level
of Japanese is usually far below their current age), what they often learn is not highly relevant to their
everyday life. Teachers have tried many things to raise the level of language abilities, for instance by
using materials from younger classes. But the problem here is that materials written for younger
children are of little interest to older children. There is a real need for developing teaching methods and
materials that are flexible and, above all, effective for teaching students being raised in America.
Last year my school adopted a new curriculum and teaching materials for all of its classes, from
Kindergarten through High School. This curriculum, based on the approach of our advisors from
California State University, Long Beach, is a content based one. It is a method that tries to encourage
learning Japanese by tapping into the knowledge, interests and motivations that students living in
America naturally have. It tries to avoid passive learning, where for instance students sit at their desk
and learn kanji by rote memory. Instead, it tries to engage students, and bases lessons and activities on
We here reprint a warm and sincere letter that we have received from our former Head Instructor, Setsuko Koyama, who many of you will remember fondly. For those who do not know her or her
role, this letter should remind us all of just how important the enthusiastic past support and efforts of
so many have contributed to making our school such an active and attractive one.
Until Koyama sensei returned to Japan last Spring she was a central figure at OCG for many,
many years. She has guided many students as a teacher and as our long-time Head Instructor.
There are many of our current parents who were taught by Koyama sensei, and who now have their
children studying at OCG. Koyama sensei and her husband, even after returning to Japan, have
been strong financial supporters of the school, including the Food Fair and our 35th anniversary last
year. We greatly appreciate their support and encouragement.
August 18, 2011
OCG once again thanks our friends
at JFC (Japan Food Corporation) for
donating nearly all of the supplies
we used to make our sauce. JFC’s
continuing support is very much appreciated by us all. For more about
JFC, see their website at http://www.
jfc.com/index.php
This year OCG also thanks House
Foods for donating the curry that we
used to make our curry rice.
I trust everyone at Orange Coast Gakuen is doing well.
It has been a year and three months since I returned to the
place where I was born and raised, a place that I left 31 years
ago. Not surprisingly, with all of the changes that have happened in that time, there are times that I feel a bit like the fairy
tale character Urashima Taro (or perhaps it should be “Urashima Hanako”). But I am staying very busy and enjoying myself.
I have just received the most recent OCG newsletter.
Looking at photos of opening day, and especially the beautiful
faces of the happy and slightly suntanned children, for a moment I felt like I was back there with you all. I read the newsletter with a strong feeling of nostalgia.
I send my sincere support and encouragement to all
at OCG for making the difficult but ultimately correct choice
of separating from the old Kyodo system. And although all
seemed to be in favor of this step, I know that this was still a
huge decision and has involved a great deal of effort and hard
work for all of you.
I am incredibly grateful to all who have made this possible,
from the teachers, led by Kishimizu sensei, who work so hard
every day to improve the curriculum and teach, to Chairman
of the Board Uriu, PA President Minamide, and all of the OCG
parents who have been supporting the school. I applaud all of
you for keeping the future welfare of our children in mind.
I will continue to send my support and encouragement from
here in Japan to Orange Coast Gakuen, which I will always
think of as one of my own children. I hope that all of you
continue to work together to make OCG a better place for our
students.
My husband and I wish you all good luck at your upcoming
Food Fair.
Setsuko Koyama
Former OCG Head Instructor