About the 20th Annual English Speech Contest 第20回スピーチコンテストについて

10月9日のスピーチコンテストの審査、お疲れ様でした。

On the 9th of October, 2021, we had our 20th Annual English Speech Contest and 16th Annual Japanese Speech Contest (for Foreigners). Many Junior High School students participated this year, and showed us their best efforts. We enjoyed listening to speeches about Korean Culture, trekking across Japan by bicycle, memories of the Firefly Festival, recommended places to visit in Tatsuno Town, personal stories about the contestants' family members, and to stories about many of the contestants' dreams for the future. Contestants impressed the judges with creative props such as the use of sketchbooks to create a slideshow of related images and words, as well as fine shows of confidence and many well-rehearsed speeches. 

In the end, the judges made the hard decision to choose first, second, and third place winners. Thank you for your participation, and we look forward to listening to your speeches in the upcoming contests!

P.S. If you are a Japanese language learner, we'd love to have you join our contest next year!

This yearly event is produced by Tatsuno International Association and made possible by local sponsors.

2021年度定期総会、リモート会議の感想、ワイトモガーデンの整備作業 2021 General Fiscal Year Meeting, Students' Responses about the Remote Exchange Program, and the 2021 Waitomo Garden Cleanup Project

2021年6月5日 (June 5th-6th, 2021) 

TIAの2021年度定期総会が開催されました。

On June 6th, TIA held the 2021 General Fiscal Year Meeting.

昨年はCOVID19の影響で、来賓者無しでの開催でしたが、今年は、武居町長にお越しいただき、ご祝辞を頂戴致しました。

Last year, we were unable to host any guests due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but despite this change in our programming, the Tatsuno Town Mayor came to give us congratulations.

2020年度の事業報告、決算報告に続き2021年度の事業計画、予算案が報告され、出席者の承認を得ることが出来ました。
2020年2021年と2年続けて3月のホームステイプログラムは実施出来ませんでしたが、2022年はCOVID19の影響も静まり、NZへの渡航が可能となることを願っています。ホームステイ・プログラムが実施できない場合は、リモート会議によるワイトモの小学校との交流を予定しています。
総会の後、3月25日27日に行われたリモート会議に向けてのオリエンテーション・プログラムに参加した4人の中学生からの感想発表が行われました。

During the meeting, we shared a report on our 2020 events and as well as the yearly financial overview, as well as the planned events and expected cost analysis of hosting events in 2021. 

Although we were unable to offer the exchange programs as planned in 2020 and 2021, we are hoping to be able to resume our scheduled trip to NZ in 2022 as the pandemic wanes. If we are unable to send students to participate in homestay programs in the upcoming year, we plan to offer a remote video exchange with Waitomo Elementary School.

After the General Meeting, the Junior High School students who participated in the remote video exchange shared about their experiences with the new program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rawa5ed5tDM

６日には理事に依るワイトモガーデン整備作業が行われました。
毎年「ほたる祭り」には、来訪者が来られるので、６月上旬に整備をするのですが、今年は、ほたる発生区域が町内在住者限定での公開となったため、ワイトモガーデンまで来られる方が、どれほどか期待はできませんが、例年通り、綺麗に草取り、剪定を致しました。

On the following day (June 6th), the members of the board cleaned up Tatsuno's Waitomo Garden. 

We do this cleaning at the beginning of June since the town normally has many visitors at our yearly Firefly Festival. However, due to the pandemic, the town limited this year's festival to only Tatsuno residents. We can't be sure how many people made it out to the Waitomo Garden this year, but regardless, we made sure to pull weeds and clean up the garden to meet our yearly standards.