Announcing the Results for the 45th Annual Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students
2017/3/9
On Sunday, March 5th, the 45th Annual Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students was held at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California. This event was sponsored by Japanese American Association of Northern California (Hokka Nichibei Kai), Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association, and the Consulate General of Japan San Francisco. 30 students from local elementary and Japanese language schools demonstrated the results of their Japanese studies at this year’s competition. An audience of approximately 130 people, including family, friends, and Japanese teachers, came out to cheer on the contestants. Each of the participants had clearly devoted a lot of hard work into their speeches. Thank you to our contestants, schools, judges, sponsors, and everyone else who helped make this year’s contest a great success.
Group A: Grades 1-3
Category (1): Students who come from a background where Japanese is not spoken at home
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1st: 2nd: 3rd: |
Tyler Tachiki, “Why Japanese is Important to Me” (3rd Grade, Clarendon Elementary School) Jo J.J. Top “Three Languages” (3rd Grade, Little Angels Japanese School) Ma’at Meri Clark, “I Love Cooking” (3rd Grade, Clarendon Elementary School) |
Category (2): Students who come from a background where Japanese is spoken at home
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1st: 2nd: 3rd: |
Minami Angelina Heffernan “My Story” (2nd Grade, Sakura Gakuen) Ayame Sengoku, “Chinese Fan Dance” (3rd Grade, San Mateo Nippon Gakuen) Saya Chanyontpatanakul, “Stubbornly Awesome” (2nd Grade, Sakura Gakuen) |
Group B: Grades 4 and above
Category (3): Students who come from a background where Japanese is not spoken at home
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1st: 2nd: 3rd: |
Dahlia Myers, “Everyone Deserves Respect” (5th Grade, Clarendon Elementary School) Arisa K. Krueger, “Saving the Ocean” (5th Grade, Clarendon Elementary School) Kiko Taira Tilles “My Dream” (5th Grade, Rosa Parks JBBP Elementary School) |
Category (4): Students who come from a background where Japanese is spoken at home
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1st: 2nd: 3rd: |
Gen Hokamura, “Tried Eating Hot Vit Lon” (5th Grade, Clarendon Elementary School) Ashley Miyuki Block, “Hiroshima” (5th Grade, Sakura Gakuen) Kai James Hara Schneider, “My Homework Plan” (4th Grade, Sakura Gakuen) |
Judges for the Speech Contest:
| Mr. Shoichi Nagayoshi (Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of Japan) |
| Mr. Tetsuya Wakabayashi (Executive Director, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California) |
| Ms. Junko Ito (College Representative, California Association of Japanese Language Teachers) |
| Ms. Yukie Kato (Language Class Coordinator, Japan Society of Northern California) |
| Mr. Evan Galloway (Publishing Licensing Coordinator, VIZ Media LLC) |
