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若葉祭
The school sports day and culture festival were held recently which gave the students a chance to show off all their hard work and creativity. After weeks of preparation and working together as a team, each class demonstrated their own individual ideas which were both entertaining and impressive.
I was lucky enough to be chosen to run for the teachers’ team in the sports day relay race. After my very disappointing performance last year, I was determined to run faster this year…. alas, the teachers’ team was no match for the Shoin girls, who swiftly passed the baton from runner to runner, comfortably took the corners of the track at high speed, and made us teachers (especially me!) look like tired, old dinosaurs.
After the sport events came the third-grade class dances. Each class had their own unique costume and they danced together as a team accompanied by the music of their choice and the cheers of their juniors. Some dances had very impressive displays of acrobatics and complicated choreography and I could not help feeling moved by all the hard work and hours of practice the students must have put in.
A few days after, came the culture festival, in which many of the classrooms were completely transformed into miniature theme parks. There was a Mario Kart room, rooms with various games, arts and crafts, and a haunted house room which was so scary, my 7-year-old daughter who came was brought to tears! (笑)
The musical performances by the brass band club and the keion band club were also excellent, not to mention the dance, pon-pon cheer, baton twirling and 身体表現 performances which were outstanding!
It was wonderful and inspiring to see so many different talented students and I look forward to future school events where the students can display the fruits of their labor.
Glossary.
show off 発揮する・見せびらかす
impressive 印象的
lucky enough to be chosen 幸運にも選ばれた
be determined to~ ~しようと決心する
alas 悲しいことに・残念ながら
be no match for ~に歯が立たない
make (someone) look like~ 人を~に見せる
accompanied by~ ~の伴奏
complicated choreography 複雑な振り付け
could not help feeling moved 感動せずにいられなかった
be brought to tears 泣かされた
not to mention 言うまでもなく
fruits of one’s labor 努力の成果