Announcing the Results for the 43rd Annual Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students
2016/6/23
On Sunday, March 1st, the 43rd Annual Japanese Speech Contest for Elementary School Students was held at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California. This event was co-sponsored by the Northern California Japanese American Association (Hokka Nichibei Kai) and the Consulate General of Japan San Francisco.
38 students from local elementary and Japanese language schools demonstrated the results of their Japanese studies at this year’s competition. An audience of approximately 150 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. Thanks to our contestants, schools, judges, sponsors, and everyone else who helped make this year’s contest such a great success.
38 students from local elementary and Japanese language schools demonstrated the results of their Japanese studies at this year’s competition. An audience of approximately 150 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. Thanks to our contestants, schools, judges, sponsors, and everyone else who helped make this year’s contest such a great success.
Result: 1st- 3rd Grade
Category 1 (Students who come from a background where Japanese is not spoken at home)
| 1st Place: | Nikolas Mitsuki Margaritis (San Mateo Nippon Gakuyen) “My Dragon” |
| 2nd Place: | Sydney Leung (Clarendon Elementary School) “Connecting with Japan” |
| 3rd Place: | Kylie Tam (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “My Family” |
Category 2 (Students who come from a background where Japanese is spoken at home)
| 1st Place: | Connor Shota Terashima-Kim (Sakura Gakuen) “My Way to Happiness” |
| 2nd Place: | Saho Ito (Pine Japanese Language Afterschool) “Heart to Heart Communication” |
| 3rd Place: | Kana Gehrman (Clarendon Elementary School) “My Big Dream” |
Result: 4th Grade and above
Category 3 (Students who come from a background where Japanese is not spoken at home)
| 1st Place: | Jonathan Kazuki Takeda (Clarendon Elementary School) “My Hero, Fred Korematsu” |
| 2nd Place: | Maya Sprague (Little Angels Nihongo Class) “I Love To Dance” |
| 3rd Place: | Hiroki Matsuno (Rosa Parks Elementary School) “I Like Manju” |
Category 4 (Students who come from a background where Japanese is spoken at home)
| 1st Place: | Makiko Kato Block (Sakura Gakuen) “Things that Japan Has, But America Doesn't” |
| 2nd Place: | Mimika Lucia Moro (eLoha Japanese Class) “My ‘Joy of Cooking’” |
| 3rd Place: | Karin C. Quinn (eLoha Japanese Class) “Wonderful World of Sewing” |
Speech Contest Judges
Mr. Nobuhiro Watanabe (Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of Japan)
Ms. June-ko Nakagawa (Executive Director, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California)
Mrs. Nobuko Takamatsu (President, Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association)
Ms. Yukie Kato (Language Class Coordinator, Japan Society of Northern California)
Mr. Evan Galloway (Publishing Licensing Coordinator, VIZ Media LLC)
