8th Grade Japan Research Residency
Donation protected
We are going to Japan to build bridges of international friendship and understanding. And we need your help to do it (and your gift is tax-deductible)!
In the capstone project for nine to eleven years of studying Japanese language and culture, 80 eighth graders from Portland Public Schools Mt. Tabor Middle School will travel to Japan to immerse themselves in its language and culture. We’ll make friends and strengthen international bonds...but we can’t do it without you!
Every spring, eighth graders from our school who have studied Japanese for most of their lives apply their knowledge in our 8th Grade Japan Research Residency . This is a two-week interactive trip to Japan, in which we visit Japanese schools, make friends, and watch their culture come to life in front of us. We learn so much about Japan, and in return we offer some of our own zest and joy. We teach them about our own culture, and even perform popular music for them. All of our studies are meaningless unless we apply our skills in real life, and that’s exactly what we will do.
We will speak, hear, and read Japanese all day, every day. We’ll order meals in Japanese, purchase bus and train tickets in Japanese, and even check into hotels and inns in Japanese! We aim to conduct an in-depth study of Japanese culture by surveying the Japanese people on important issues, and comparing their opinions to responses from people back home.
It’s an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
But not all of our families are fortunate enough to be able to pay for their student’s trip themselves, a staggering $2,500 per student, and we want every one of our classmates to be able to join us, which is why we ask you to support our cause.
$135 supports one of us for a day of the trip,* including all the things we get to do, things that form the basis of international friendships and communication. Imagine the skills you’ll help reinforce! We want to cross borders and people who speak differently and think differently from us.
In order to offset trip costs, and to support the trip scholarship fund, in the months leading up to the trip we engage in a variety of fundraisers.** For some of us, this will be our only opportunity to visit Japan, and to put our hard-earned language skills to work in a real-life setting. We need all the money we can raise to ensure we all have the best time we can possibly have.
You can learn more about the incredible Japanese Language Immersion Program we have been participating in the past 8+ years in this great JAPANESE IMMERSION VIDEO. In this this program, we have been honing our skills to proficiency and our languages to fluency; however, these skills are meaningless without the beautiful, rich culture we wish to be immersed in. Help us become the next generation which can help bridge a gap in language and culture. Let us become the next translators and ambassadors. Help us to help the future to help you.
Arigato Goziamashita (Thank You)!
てつだてありがとございました。
*This includes meals (reading a menu, ordering in a restaurant), travel (reading a train or bus schedule and buying the correct tickets), and board (paying for and checking into a Japanese Inn). As simple as these activities are, they are the bedrock of international communication, and the foundation for what it requires to be a global traveler and citizen.
**All dollars raised are distributed evenly amongst participants, encouraging teamwork and cultivating a spirit of partnership.
This campaign has been created by 8th grade students who are organizing and leading their own Japanese Research Residency. It is supervised and monitored by 8th grade teacher and trip director Matthew Bacon-Brenes and parent trip treasurer Peter Bilotta. The trip is a joint program of Portland Public Schools and Oya No Kai , a 501(c)3 nonprofit parent group that supports the PPS Japanese Language Immersion Program, so your gift is tax-deductible!
In the capstone project for nine to eleven years of studying Japanese language and culture, 80 eighth graders from Portland Public Schools Mt. Tabor Middle School will travel to Japan to immerse themselves in its language and culture. We’ll make friends and strengthen international bonds...but we can’t do it without you!
Every spring, eighth graders from our school who have studied Japanese for most of their lives apply their knowledge in our 8th Grade Japan Research Residency . This is a two-week interactive trip to Japan, in which we visit Japanese schools, make friends, and watch their culture come to life in front of us. We learn so much about Japan, and in return we offer some of our own zest and joy. We teach them about our own culture, and even perform popular music for them. All of our studies are meaningless unless we apply our skills in real life, and that’s exactly what we will do.
We will speak, hear, and read Japanese all day, every day. We’ll order meals in Japanese, purchase bus and train tickets in Japanese, and even check into hotels and inns in Japanese! We aim to conduct an in-depth study of Japanese culture by surveying the Japanese people on important issues, and comparing their opinions to responses from people back home.
It’s an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
But not all of our families are fortunate enough to be able to pay for their student’s trip themselves, a staggering $2,500 per student, and we want every one of our classmates to be able to join us, which is why we ask you to support our cause.
$135 supports one of us for a day of the trip,* including all the things we get to do, things that form the basis of international friendships and communication. Imagine the skills you’ll help reinforce! We want to cross borders and people who speak differently and think differently from us.
In order to offset trip costs, and to support the trip scholarship fund, in the months leading up to the trip we engage in a variety of fundraisers.** For some of us, this will be our only opportunity to visit Japan, and to put our hard-earned language skills to work in a real-life setting. We need all the money we can raise to ensure we all have the best time we can possibly have.
You can learn more about the incredible Japanese Language Immersion Program we have been participating in the past 8+ years in this great JAPANESE IMMERSION VIDEO. In this this program, we have been honing our skills to proficiency and our languages to fluency; however, these skills are meaningless without the beautiful, rich culture we wish to be immersed in. Help us become the next generation which can help bridge a gap in language and culture. Let us become the next translators and ambassadors. Help us to help the future to help you.
Arigato Goziamashita (Thank You)!
てつだてありがとございました。
*This includes meals (reading a menu, ordering in a restaurant), travel (reading a train or bus schedule and buying the correct tickets), and board (paying for and checking into a Japanese Inn). As simple as these activities are, they are the bedrock of international communication, and the foundation for what it requires to be a global traveler and citizen.
**All dollars raised are distributed evenly amongst participants, encouraging teamwork and cultivating a spirit of partnership.
This campaign has been created by 8th grade students who are organizing and leading their own Japanese Research Residency. It is supervised and monitored by 8th grade teacher and trip director Matthew Bacon-Brenes and parent trip treasurer Peter Bilotta. The trip is a joint program of Portland Public Schools and Oya No Kai , a 501(c)3 nonprofit parent group that supports the PPS Japanese Language Immersion Program, so your gift is tax-deductible!
Organizer
Friends of Yoko Niki-Breyfogel
Organizer
Portland, OR