The whole school performed the Yosakoi Soran dance that they had been practicing hard for in P.E. class! They danced with great passion under the scorching heat of the sun. Local people also participated, and the Yosakoi dance with a large number of people was very impressive! The children were sweating and seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment at having completed the dance.
1st to 6th grade students, as well as the kindergarten, participated in this year’s new event: “Ninja Great Operation! Dream Flower Scroll Retrieval Grand Mission”. In order to save the kindergarten children and the 1st and 2nd grade students who have been taken captive, 3rd to 6th graders head out to rescue them. After rescuing them, they run together and take on missions such as tunnel diving and balance beams! They move on to the final “borrowed person race”.
In the borrower race, topics included “7-year-old person,” “police officer,” “Mr. X” and “twins.”
Next is a new game called “Oraho Karuta.” When the cards are read out, the children run to find the person holding the card they were given at the reception.
After the group completed the circle of “Oraho Karuta”, there was a break before the Bon Odori dance, accompanied by live music from the Okuma Heimakai group on flutes and drums. It represented the expansion of our bonds through the formation of a large circle.
After the Bon Odori dance, parachutes were launched into the air. The wind blew them down towards the school building, but some children picked them up. The closing ceremony was held and the sports festival came to an end. The temperature rose to nearly 30 degrees, so it was very hot during the festival. It was a great success thanks to the children and designers of Yumenomori, the parents, local residents, and everyone who supports Yumenomori.
~Thoughts~
・”I thought it was great that local people could participate. There were many different events, and it was fun. I’d like to hold the event in a cooler season next year.”
・”It was my first time dancing Yosakoi, so practicing was hard. But it was a good experience. I was more tired at the Sports Festival than at any other sports festival I’ve experienced. But it was good to be able to do various events with everyone.”
・”We all had a lot of fun together. I think we were able to cooperate. We did a good job with Yosakoi. I’d like to cooperate with everyone at the next Sports Festival.”
・”We especially worked hard on Yosakoi. Just like our slogan “Full cooperation,” I think we all worked together and put our all into the events.”
・”The preparation was hard, but we did our best. The ball throwing event was fun.”
