Volume 2: March 2000
A publication of NLF designed to keep us informed and connected.

Articles and Features

• Executive Notes
• Kids Corner
• Dear Sensei
• Honoring Our Children
• Hanami (Blossom Viewing)
• Bulletin
• Committee Reports
• Contact Information
• Communications Committee Members

Executive Notes

Our first issue of the Quarterly Scoop was very well received. Readers felt the quarterly format was a great vehicle to keep them updated on the work of NLF. We thank you for your thoughts and comments.

NLF is continuing its efforts to negotiate with the YWCA for the purchase of the 1830 Sutter Street building and property. NLF put in a formal offer to the YWCA in early February. The YWCA responded back that they would like to meet with NLF representatives with a mediator. The reply did not address NLF’s purchase offer. NLF’s attorney, Mari Mayeda, and the Soko Bukai’s attorneys are currently in communication with the YWCA’s attorneys to try to arrange for a legal mediation to resolve the issue. In the meantime, NLF is continuing to seek support in this matter. Earlier this month, the Japantown Task Force voted unanimously (with one abstention due to conflict of interest) to support the efforts of NLF and wrote a support letter to the YWCA in this regard. Also endorsing NLF’s efforts are the Japanese-American Religious Federation (JARF) and the local United Methodist Mission along with Rev. James McCray from the Western Addition African American community. We will keep you appraised of any new developments on this situation.

Although the purchase price was not accepted by the YWCA, NLF is still planning a capital campaign to raise funds for a permanent site. Over the past 8 months, NLF’s Board has been researching fundraising for a capital campaign, and we are now in the process of developing our outreach materials for the campaign. We need your help and support in this very important step for NLF. Buying this building will ensure that NLF has a permanent home in Japantown for our future generations. Please show your support for NLF on this important project by completing the survey on the next page of this Newsletter Also, it is very important to let us know if you have any resources or contacts that may be useful to us in this fundraising campaign.

The SF CARES Program, which compensates and rewards teachers for their work in the childcare field, is now up and running. Applications for stipends to childcare teaching staff are available and are due in by May 1. If you know anyone who has worked in the childcare field for at least one year at the same licensed program (center or family daycare) and has at least 6 early childhood education units, please refer them to me at NLF (922-8898). NLF is one of the places to help applicants with the application process and answer questions regarding the CARES Program. A postcard writing campaign is still in progress targeting Mayor Brown to thank him for his past support of this program and to urge him to continue the program with increased funding for subsequent years.

We look forward to seeing you at our annual theater performance event on May 21 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater.

-Cathy Inamas

Return to top

Kid’s Corner

With Sakura Matsuri just around the corner, the children are busy practicing the songs they will be singing as they march in the parade on Sunday, April 16. We hope you can come and support the preschoolers as they march and sing down Post Street.

Soon after Sakura Matsuri is over, the children will begin preparing for the May 21 Dowa No Matsuri Dance Performance fundraiser at the Palace of Fine Arts, featuring renowned storyteller, Brenda Wong Aoki, musician, Mark Izu and the children of NLF. The preschoolers will be doing an adaptation from the story the "Rainbow Fish" and the Japanese folktale "Momotaro" while the After School children will be performing a dragon story in honor of the Year of the Dragon.

Recently we asked the third to fifth graders at our After School Program, what their fondest memories from preschool are.

Kit Mannion, Grade 3

"My friends were Sean and Sky. My favorite teacher was Cernel (Cornell). I liked to play outside."

Hiroshi Kurakata, Grade 3

"When I was in preschool, I always played (outside/inside), ate, ran, and talked. I liked to play the most. My favorite subject and activity was playing and throwing and burying people with newspaper strips."

Vincent Ushikubo, Grade 4

"In preschool, I pooed in the toilet with no doors."

Mikey Yonemoto, Grade 3

"When I was in preschool the funnest thing to do was play with the blocks. My second favorite thing to do was to play in the play house with my friends. I also like to play in the sand box with a bucket and dig."

Crystal Hadley, Grade 4

"I remember eating things made by the cook. Usually I didn't eat much. I also remember taking pictures with people putting "bunny ears" on me, playing, and then taking sand out of my shoes and putting them on."

Christopher Wong, Grade 5

"During preschool, I made some friends and learned how to make things. My preschool was on Bush Street. I always ran there when my mom dropped me off. On Halloween, I remember a teacher in a booth."

Tyrone Bullard, Grade 4

"I had friends name Vincent and Hayato and I used to draw like this.

Return to top

Dear Sensei

Dear Sensei,
My children are bored at home and all they want to do is watch TV. Any suggestions?

-Desperately Seeking Ideas

Dear Desperately Seeking Ideas,

If you weren’t able to join our Parent Education Workshop on this very subject, ask a teacher for the handout from that day.

In the meantime, here are a few ideas to keep your children busy. The first thing to remember is that children learn through PLAY. Even though you’re teaching them a concept, e.g. alphabets or numbers, they don’t have to know that. Keep it fun.

Reading is so crucial to learning. Read to them daily, even if it’s only a few pages. Have them retell the story to you or explain how the characters feel or what they think happened or will happen next. Alphabets and numbers can be introduced during meal times, e.g. counting the carrots, asking what letter carrots begin with, or discussing what colors the fruits are, etc. Use household items such as button, beans or uncooked macaroni noodles (soaked in food color and rubbing alcohol for colors) to make collages, trace alphabet letters or numbers, and use for counting. Make alphabet flash cards with index cards and begin with the letters in your child’s name. Make an alphabet book or a number book together using stickers or pictures from a magazine. Let your imagination go and have fun with your child. Limit the amount of TV they watch.

-Sensei

Return to top

"Honoring Our Children" Donors

A very heartfelt thank you to the following families who have generously contributed to our "Honoring Our Children" campaign. It’s never too late to join this list of donors. Every little bit helps!

• Se Jin Choe (Yun Il & Chung Ran) Bush Site
  
• Sean Dy Juanco (Sandra) After School Program (Sandra received $1500 from her work to purchase a digital camera and printer for the school)
  
• Kelly Eshima (Todd and Shellin) Bush Site (Shellin donated stocks to NLF which her company may match)
• Mika Jang (Jon & Joyce) Sutter Site
• Ema Jordan (Steven & Mariko) Bush Site
• T.J. Kim (Mike & Nancy) Sutter Site
• Helen Li (Sui Hui & Jian Ying) Bush Site
• Kenta Otsuki (Stanley & Junko) Sutter Site
• Quillan Rusky (Robert & Karen) After School Program
• Tyler Shirai-Rielly (Ben & Yuri) Sutter Site
• Katherine Talavera-Nakao (Gilberto & Kaori) Sutter Site

Return to top

Hanami (Blossom Viewing)

As springtime rolls into the Japanese archipelago, an age-old tradition comes to life each year. Within days, barren branches are covered in blossoms of soft pink and white as cherry trees everywhere come to full bloom. In parks, mountains and even cemeteries where cherry trees abound, a canopy of colorful blossoms painted against a powdery blue sky will drive souls to compose haiku, fall into deep reflection, or simply sit and admire its beauty. The beauty of the blossoms lasts but a week or two, before they tumble gently to cover the ground like snow. For centuries, cherry blossoms have signified the brevity of human life: beautiful and capable of capturing deep emotion, but all to fleeting in nature.

To celebrate the fleeting beauty of the blossoms, the Japanese have a tradition called Hanami, or "blossom viewing". This is a virtual ritual for anyone living in Japan without which spring would seem not to begin at all. Hanami originated during the Heian Period (794-1185 AD) when a particular Shogun conceived of the notion of holding a social gathering at springtime. The nobility would gather to feast, reflect and write poetry under flowering trees. The idea caught on with the hoi polloi during the Edo Period (19 Century) who found that they, too, could enjoy an outdoor party.

Today, these outdoor parties continue wherever cherry trees abound, be it a park, cemetery or temple. Groups of Japanese will stretch as far as the trees themselves, spread out on blankets or the ubiquitous blue vinyl "sheets", replete with picnic baskets filled with onigiri, sushi and other delicacies, and most importantly, plenty of sake, beer or shochu (a distilled liquor, similar to gin). After downing a few glasses of sake or beer, it is not clear if the present-day partygoers are truly capable of appreciating the beauty of poetic significance of the blossoms; they are, however, capable of singing loudly through their karaoke sets they frequently bring. The poetry may have been lost, but the unfettered and massive parties that have taken its place today have become an important cultural experience.

As the last blossom falls, a stark and shocking disparity from just days ago becomes apparent, as the blossoms seem to share equal space on the ground with the litter from the revelry. Now the massive cleanup begins, as the garbage is swept into huge piles. The party is over; all return to work or school. But this is as it should be-for springtime, in Japan, is also the beginning of the school year as well as when new recruits join companies. After the initial celebratory moment, it is, after all, back to work.

-Miyoko Schinner

Return to top

Bulletin

Babysitter Wanted: Seeking babysitting services on weekend and weeknights for 2 and 5 year old girls. Contact: Bob at 415-885-5345

Return to top

Committee Reports

Fundraising Committee

• The Committee has been meeting regularly to define, strategize and prioritize the many tasks required to launch the capital campaign.
• NLF’s annual Theater Performance/Auction Fundraiser is set for Sunday, May 21, at the Palace of Fine Arts.
• Cherry Blossom Festival will be on the weekends of April 8-9 and April 15-16. Come and buy some skewered beef!

Special Events Committee

• The February Family Ice Skating was a great success with over 130 skaters.
• The next Parent Educational Workshop will be on Thursday, May 25, at 6pm at the After School Program.
• The next respite night will be on Friday, May 5.

Physical Plant and Facilities Committee

• Bush Site submitted a request for new shelves to be built for the storage of paper products and one to place our printers and computer accessories on. If you know of any company that can donate lumber, please let Naomi sensei know (415) 922-8898.

Community Liaison Committee

• Japantown Task Force Report, Board Chair, Maria Matsu, presented information regarding our capital campaign efforts to the Land Use Subcommittee. The subcommittee recommended that the Task Force endorse NLF’s efforts in our negotiations with the YWCA.
• NLF will be participating with a craft table at JCCCNC’s "Kodomo no Hi",
• Children’s Day Festival which will take place on Sunday, May 7, at the Yerba Buena Gardens. Come and Join the fun.

Return to top

Communications Committee Members

Return to top

Home | Programs | Calendars | Experience NLF | Newsletters | Outreach to Japan | About Us | Get Involved
Quarterly Scoop Newsletter | Buzz Newsletter | Archive