Juri Takara playing guitar and singing “Two Is Better Than One.” AICHI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
March signals the end of the academic school year at Aichi International School (AIS), however, things did not slow down last month. At the end of February AIS had its annual Speech Contest. Students from the Orca Class (age 5–6 years) right through to those in Grade 6 gave speeches on a wide variety of topics, ranging from Shel Silverstein poems, to what to do in Paris, to a biographical account of Cody Simpson.
On March 6, 15 AIS students performed a mini-concert at Atsuta Aeon shopping centre, near Kanayama Station, Nagoya. The range of acts for shoppers to see was wide, and included violin performances; Chinese, Japanese, English, and French language recitals; traditional Japanese and Hawaiian dancing; plus renditions of the Beatles’ “Let it Be” and Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.” With an average of 20,000 people shopping there every day, many people were impressed by the composure that AIS students displayed, especially because two of the violinists and the student showing her Chinese communication skills were from the kindergarten. Due to the success of this event, AIS hopes to be able to put on more public performances in the future. But after all this hard work, students and teachers will first enjoy their spring vacations. — MARK REED
