Japanese embassy visits school pupils
Early last week the 4th class students in Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál, Ballymote had a visit from a member of the Japanese Embassy in Ireland.
The students had been studying many aspects of Japanese culture and decided to write a letter to the Japanese Ambassador inviting her to visit.
The ambassador could not come but Mr. Yuichi Yamada,
First Secretary in charge of Press and Cultural Affairs, was happy to make the journey to Ballymote.
The excited students began making posters, collecting Japanese items from home, writing Haiku, making a model volcano and learning Japanese phrases in preparation for the visit.
When the day arrived Mr. Yamada entered the room and greeted the students with ‘ Dia Duit’.
He made a presentation to the class about Japan and held a quiz. Some children were lucky enough to win prizes.
The children were especially interested to see a video of Japanese school children cleaning the entire school themselves!
Mr. Yamada visited other classrooms in the school and before long had to make his way to his next appointment.
The children had a fantastic day and hope to visit Japan in future!
Sayonara Mr. Yamada!