Dear Friends and Family of Grade 4,

We are having an Autumn abundant with learning, growth and glee so far! Bathing in the golden hues of a warm Indian summer we are making the most of the weather and spending plenty of time outdoors!!!

One of our first special events was a trip to a park in Shiga to see some hard working Police dogs put through their paces by their highly skilled trainers! Much to the delight of Grade 4 and the other assembled guests we also had an opportunity to meet and pet these fine and upstanding canine defenders of the public order!

Our next big outdoor engagement was the rice harvest! This was very exciting for me as last year’s was cancelled due to inclement weather. It turned out to be a very exciting harvest for Grade 4 too!! They were armed with sickles and asked to cut down some of the rice as well as hanging the sheaths out to dry! As well as that we were able to take the husks from some of the grains and sample a few grains of fresh rice! This was such an honour and education for me and the Grade 4 students, to get a flavour of both the grain and the experience of harvesting rice! We reflected deeply on the massive importance of rice and the farmers who we entrust the safety of our food supply to!

Our final recent big event was a school assembly! Last year the Grade 4 (then 3!) students were so shy to plan and execute an assembly that they needed the help and support of middle school! This year they were able to plan and execute an assembly themselves! I was so so super happy and proud to see them do that! After a long classroom discussion on what is the purpose of having an assembly, the students arrived at the conclusion that one of the most important reasons is to get to know students and staff outside of one’s own grade and to build solidarity and team spirit across the whole faculty! To that end, students put together a school wide quiz wherein the correct answers were all information about students and staff likes, dislikes and so on! Before the quiz we limbered and loosened up with a little excersize! One favourite of Grade 4 recently have been Mario dances where we imagine ourselves as Mario and dodge all the usual obstacles! A great combination of play, performance, and physical exertion!

What a wonderful and bounteous Autumn it’s been so far this year! Please give your Grade 4 students a well earned pat on the back for their excellent work and the effervescent joy they bring to GOJO campus!!!