Launching Our 11th Program

This past week before Christmas we completed the first week of our Winter 2018 program. If you remember, last December we graduated our first class of students who went through ten cycles of the program. In June, we started with a new class of students, and those same students returned to our classroom last week to learn about the human body.

We continue to combine our science curriculum with our English curriculum, so we started out the week teaching the students “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” in English to teach basic vocabulary. As students learned about more body parts and their functions, we added on to their English vocabulary. Eventually they drew self portraits with their major body parts labelled in English. Students then worked on their communication skills by working in small teams to make dolls and discuss the dolls’ various body parts.

After learning about the function of their external and internal body parts, students will now begin to explore healthy habits to protect their bodies this upcoming week. They will discover the importance of good hygiene, exercise, and a balanced diet. We will also continue our leadership curriculum. As always, we plan small group work to help develop self-confidence and encourage skill-building, but we also provide opportunities for students to practice their public speaking skills within the larger classroom setting.

This upcoming week will be an exciting one as students participate in class elections, plan skits, and prepare their final presentations. I look forward to sending you another update on the second half of our program soon. Thank you to everyone who donated this past fall to help make this program possible. We are extremely lucky that this December marks our 11th program, and it is wonderful that we are offering Ota’s programming to a second generation of students now thanks to your support.

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year.