Diplomats sharing Asian regional costumes and local artistic objects from home: (left to right) Nico Ueda (Laos), Callia Koshiba (Korea), Quiara Koshiba (Vietnam), and Kito Kondo (Japan). CHATEAU SCHOOL
Chateau School diplomats were immersed in the cultural exploration of Asia for the first two months of 2012. The expedition began with learning about the dynasties of the Far East and concluded with the Silk Road and the Great Wall of China.
February was the last month of term at The Chateau School. Diplomats received their detailed assessments and review of their development and progress. Along with a written review, diplomats received a certificate for the completed term.
Every weekend in February was filled with workshops and parties. The Canvas Workshop held at Keio University saw over 3,000 children sampling the programs at Chateau School. The workshop was a huge success and will be featured on the national media network sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture; the Ministry of Economy; and the Cabinet Office.
March begins with a journey to South America. The Chateau School will turn into a tropical rain forest so that diplomats can discover the beauty of wild habitats while looking at environmental projects, endangered animals, World Heritage, the Amazon, Machu-Pichu, Chile, and Argentina and conducting botany experiments. Diplomats will participate in an environmental action to purchase acres of tropical rainforest in Colombia. Geometry will be introduced by studying the lines and geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana, and algebra will be incorporated by counting the numbers of tresses on wild animals. During their South American adventure, children will focus on self-expression and emotional gestures, learning the dance moves of the samba and tango.
The Chateau Times — an in-house newspaper created by the diplomats — will start this month. Each month, an outstanding creation is selected by a team of diplomats and will be featured in the newspaper. An “Honour Ambassador” who works in the real world will add comments to each featured artwork. The first ambassador will be Sali Sasaki, an artist based in Paris who was formerly the manager of Creative Cities for UNESCO. Creative Cities is an international network of 25 cities from 17 different countries. Sali’s latest work was in South East Asia, protecting an ancient heritage site based in Bangkok. See http://salisasaki.com.
The Chateau School is accepting applications for Easter Camp April 2–6 and Spring Camp May 21–25. Please refer to The Chateau Club for admissions at http://www.chateaubonbon.com. — RINA BOVRISSE
