TATSUNO&WAITOMO REMOTE MEETING 2023

The Tatsuno International Association has been preparing for a remote meeting with elementary school students in Waitomo since November last year. In addition to the basics of English conversation, we had planned eight lectures on New Zealand's nature, history, and culture.

On March 21, 2023, with the cooperation of Centennial Park School in Te-Kuiti, we were able to have a meeting with 3 people from Tatsuno and 8 people from Waitomo.

We gave presentations about cooking, family, school life, hobbies, etc., and we were able to proceed with the discussion in the form of asking questions.

We are  hearing that many of the Waitomo students who attended the conference will be visiting Tatsuno in June.

We would like to hold a remote meeting again when the host family is decided.

 辰野国際交流協会では昨年11月からワイトモの小学生とのリモート会議に向けての準備をしてきました。英会話の基本だけでなく、ニュージーランドの自然や歴史、文化について8回の講座を企画し、辰野の中学2年生を対象に希望者を募り、準備をしてきました。

2023年3月21日、テクイチのセンテニアル・パーク・スクールの協力を頂き、辰野側3人ワイトモ側8人との会議を持つことができました。

料理や家族、学校生活や趣味などについてプレゼンをし、質問を受ける形で話し合いを進めることが出来ました。

会議に参加したワイトモの生徒の多くが6月には辰野町に来る予定とのことで、楽しみです。

受け入れ家庭が決まったら、またリモート会議を開催したいと思います

The 5th Lecture

 The 5th orientation was held on Feb. the 28th.

Ayane was the only one who was able to attend this time as it was not convenient for the other members who participated in the orientation program.

There are two more courses on creating content for Padlet, and I would like four people to somehow create two pieces of content each.

28日オリエンテーションの5回目が行われました。

オリエンテーション・プログラム参加メンバーの都合はなかなか合わず、今回も出席できたのはあやね一人でした。

パドレットのコンテンツ作成のための講座はあと2回、なんとか4名で2つづつのコンテンツを作って頂きたいものです。

Annual Meeting 2022 (総会)

 

On June 11, 2022, we had our annual meeting.

TIA members gave various updates on the yearly budget, etc.

A JHS student gave a reflection on the 2021 Remote Meeting program.

２０２２年６月１１日　辰野国際交流協会の総会がありました。

理事会から、２０２１年の事業報告、会計報告、２０２２年度の

事業計画（案）、予算（案）が報告されました。

オリエンテーションプログに参加された、生徒から感想をいただきました。

After the meeting, we went out to eat sushi! It was delicious. 😋

総会終わった後、寿司を食べに行きました。美味しかったです。

Waitomo Garden Renewal 2022 「ワイトモガーデン」の整備

 

辰野国際交流協会では毎年ほたる祭り開催に合わせて「ワイトモガーデン」の整備を行っています。
5日朝、7人の理事の手で草取り・草刈、剪定など行いました。
ホタル観賞の前に駐車場の南側の「ワイトモガーデン」を是非御覧ください。
日本ではなかなか見られない本物のマオリ・カービングです。

Every year, in alignment with the opening of Tatsuno Town's annual Firefly Festival, members of TIA come together to renew the Waitomo Garden.

On the morning of June 5th, seven members from the board of directors came together to mow the grass, pull weeds, prune bushes and trees, and so on. 

Before you enter the firefly viewing area, please come view the Waitomo Garden! It is located in the southern area of the parking lot. It's easy to find if you look for the Mauri carving, which is a rare sight in Japan!

 Since late last year, We have been preparing for a zoom conference between Tatsuno Junior High School students and Te-Kuiti elementary school students, which is scheduled to be held in March.

The impact of the coronavirus seems to be severe even in NZ, and in Te-Kuiti, heavy rains have caused damage such as river flooding and landslides, and the school seems to be different from the normal schedule.

Last month, after the summer vacation, the coordinator told us that they couldn't cooperate with the elementary school we had planned.

In order to meet the expectations of junior high school students who have been preparing, I asked some of my acquaintances to find some students who can talk with Japanese students , aged 10 to 15 years old, and I got good information. Arrived today.

I still have some uncertainties, but at least I think we can communicate with someone.

I would be happy if it was a good experience for junior high school students.

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.