Speech Contest-FINALLY!! 10.3.05

For the entire month of September I had to stay after school to work with my speech contest students. So, it was with great relief that the day had finally come for them to give their speeches. Liz, Lauren, and I were all celebrating that speech contest practice had finally come to an end…at least I thought so. Since 2 of my girls were 1st place, I still have to practice with them for the next level of competition—sigh. However, I was really proud of all my kids. Most of them tried their best, and that’s all you can expect. (unless you’re Sato-sensei and expect beyond perfection—which isn’t possible!) Six of the kids I worked with got awards, so that was great. They were so happy. When it was over, two of my girls who didn’t win were crying. I almost lost it. I couldn’t take seeing these precious girls cry. I tried to cheer them up and tell them they did great, but of course they just think they must have screwed up since they didn’t get an award. Only 6 people out of 22 get awards, so obviously not everyone can win. Anyway, I eventually pulled myself together and the girls managed to stop crying for some pictures.

Here are some random pictures of me with my kids.

My Kayada girls


My Katsutadai boys-aren't they adorable?!


My Katsutadai girls