Results of the 46th Annual Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students

On Sunday, March 4th, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, the Japanese American Association of Northern California (Hokka Nichi Bei Kai), and the Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association, co-organized the 46th Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California.

40 elementary school students participated in this year’s contest, and demonstrated their achievement of Japanese language studies and preparation for this contest. Approximately 120 audience members, including students’ family, friends, and teachers, also attended in support of the contestants.

The Consulate would like to extend our sincere congratulations to all of this year’s contestants and commend each of them on their hard work.

Category 1 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is not spoken)

1st Place:	Selim Richards (3rd Grade, Clarendon JBBP Elementary School) “How I Get Inspired”
2nd Place:	Zaara Ali Dhaddey (3rd Grade, Clarendon JBBP Elementary School) “The Big Mistake”
3rd Place:	Kiyomi Dallaskidd (3rd Grade, Kinmon Gakuen) “Letter to Grandmother”
Special Recognition:	Masao Li (3rd Grade, Sakura Gakuen) “Ultraman Vs Kamen Rider”

 

Category 2 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is spoken)

1st Place:	Kyu Gento Dphrepaulezz (3rd Grade: eLoha Japanese Classes) “Peru: My Dream Destination”
2nd Place:	Lili Nishioka (2nd Grade, American International Montessori School) “Honey Bee”
3rd Place:	Mike Fujii (2nd Grade, Sakura Gakuen) “Secret Pencil”
Special Recognition:	Evan Yuzo Falconer (3rd Grade, American International Montessori School) “Plastic Soup”

 

Category 3 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is not spoken)

1st Place:	Lauren Mayumi Takeda (5th Grade, Clarendon JBBP Elementary School) “My Special Place”
2nd Place:	Joseph Lui (5th Grade, American International Montessori School) “Space Research”
3rd Place:	Avya Poddatoori (5th Grade, American International Montessori School) “How to make Obamacare better for America”
Special Recognition:	Jin Vanholder (5th Grade, Clarendon JBBP Elementary School) “Nut Cracker Behind-the-Scene”

 

Category 4 (Contestants who come from homes where Japanese is spoken)

1st Place:	Anju Manfred (5th Grade, Clarendon JBBP Elementary School) “Do You Remember?”
2nd Place:	Lina Miyazaki Salamon (5th Grade, Clarendon JBBP Elementary School) “Synchronized Swimming”
3rd Place:	Hugh Seitaro Moore (4th Grade, eLoha Japanese Classes) “eLoha and Me”
Special Recognition:	Kai Schneider (5th Grade, Sakura Gakuen) “My Treasure”