TAMAGAWA
Tamagawa Gakuen of Canada Society
AT A GLANCE
Volume 1 issue 5
Serving local and international communities through education
June 2010
YOKOSO! ようこそ April showers bring May flowers…. Hmmm. Does that mean that the showers should have stopped by now? And what about these temperatures? It seems to be a bit cold for this time of year. But, that didn’t stop the Divas on the Fly from coming to learn the skills it takes to Fly Fish. These brave ladies who are all breast cancer survivors, came for a weekend, met other survivors, shared their experiences, tied some flies, learned to cast, received some nutritional information, ate some great meals...so I am told, not to mention that they went fishing at Ellison lake and a few fish were actually caught! A fantastic time was had by all including by myself . We look forward to having them back next spring. Tight Lines Ladies! Coming up in June we have a charity dinner for the Cedar Skate Park on June 4th. “ A Night in Japan”. For tickets call Vicki Suddaby at 250-7143229. Seating is limited so you will have to hurry to get a seat. The International Baccalaureates are coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks. They will be here to learn about environmental sustainability. They have a very busy schedule, with going to Providence Farm in Duncan,
Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op, a kayak trip to Newcastle Island, along with many other lectures and facility visits. Once again the students will be exhausted by the time they are to go back to Japan. The United Way will be holding a Leadership Recognition wine and cheese ceremony here at Tamagawa on June 16th. It promises to be a rather elegant evening. Bruce Williams will be the Master of Ceremonies. The agriculture students have been doing their volunteering in the community. Some have been helping McSeeds Society with preparing fields for planting, the Tozan cultural Society stacking wood in preparation for the next firing. Some of the students will be helping out at the Multicultural festival down town on the 26th and the rest will be helping out with the Skate Park charity dinner. They are also gearing up for their field trip to Lillooet, Hope and Whistler. Tamagawa is holding an information session on June 16th for a new summer camp program we are running for the local youth. If you know of anyone that may be interested in taking part, please ask them to come.
Otaue Matsuri (Rice-planting ceremony)
On June 14th, this major rice planting festival dates back more than 1,700 years. 12 women plant rice seedlings in sacred paddy fields to the accompaniment of traditional music and rice-planting folk songs. Once the planting itself has been done, the Taketori-shinji ritual is performed by a group of loin cloth wearing men who battle in the muddy paddy field for charms attached to a 14 ft bamboo pole.
Phrase of the month 今月の言 Sumimasen Osakini shitsureishimasu. Mata ashita すみません
おさきにしつれいします。またあした
Excuse me, I am leaving early. I will see you tomorrow.
For more information on availability and a free estimate on your next retreat or workshop, give us a call at 250722-2511, Fax us at 250-722-2254 or you can look us up on the web at: www.tamagawa.ca
Tamagawa is a proud supporter of both the United Way and the Tozan Cultural Society