Sogo Presentation Day at Ooka Junior High!

March 12th, Friday in the gymnasium

So apparently all Japanese junior highs have a class called 'sogo,' which seems kind of like a club to me.  I think each teacher picks a 'hobby' that they are interested in and then create a class out of it, and the students can choose one to join.  (I'm sure there's more to it than that, but it's kind of an easy way to describe!) On this Friday, there was a 'concert' of sorts, so the students could show off all their hard work.  I think I heard the principal say they studied these subjects for four months. It was a very fun and interesting day!  So here are some of the pictures I took!

The students in the gym, watching the first 'act.'

The first 'act,' musical bells.

The second 'act' was a chorus performance.

The girls', and then the boys' choirs performed after the full chorus.

The next 'act' was a dance group.  We watched one performance of the full team, then each class (first, second and third years) performed their own dance.  Most were hip-hop, but one was more ballet-style. This picture is of the third year girls, dancing to a Britney/Madonna song.  They did great!  I think the students can repeat the same Sogo Class each year, so these girls must have studied dance for a few years. (:

Another performance came from the 'ocarina' group.  I believe they made the ocarinas themselves!  I have a detail of one to the right, and then the students performing on the far right (bad quality, though!).  They played a few songs, including "Ode to Joy."  How nostalgic!  I remember my recorder days when I hear that song!

These pictures are from the Shorinji Temple Martial Arts group.  This was certainly the most fun 'act!'  You could see the kids had really enjoyed studying, and were very proud of what they could do!  That's a girl, pinning a boy, in the first picture! (:  The did lots of kicks, punches and jumps--it was so fun to watch!

Out on the grounds, another group was having a lacrosse match.  We saw them while we toured some classrooms that had displays from the other groups (like paper crafts and such, where performances won't work well).  It was so cold this day, though!  Poor kids!!

The last performance was a play that I didn't understand at all.  But it was fun! (:  Many of the actors did really well!  Again, so nostalgic....

This took up an entire day of classes! I was surprised, but it was a great experience! (:  Thanks, Ooka JHS!