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Foundation Sponsors Japanese In-service
Foundation Sponsors Japanese In-Service for Area Teachers
In conjunction with the 2007 annual charity gala which honors Japan, the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation will sponsor an in-service program conducted by Dr. Larry Ray, Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Lambuth University. All fine arts school teachers and supervisors (art, music, and theater) in counties served by West Tennessee Healthcare are invited to attend at no charge. JMCSS teachers will attend on Wednesday, August 8th and the private schools, additional counties and home school teachers on Thursday, August 9th, 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Lambuth Visual Arts Complex, 829 West King Street.. Register or for more information, contact Shirley Jones at 423-2200.
An announcement will be made Wednesday at 11 a.m. regarding a Japanese Kite Competition sponsored by The Bank of Jackson and West TN Parent & Family Magazine. Details will also be made available about an upcoming performance of the Japanese play, "A 1,000 Cranes" with an area wide art project led by Dr. Florence Dyer and Lambuth University Youth Theatre.
The in-service will provide information regarding the incorporation of Japanese culture into the fine arts curriculum. Sessions will focus on Japanese Haiku, mask making, folk music, fish printing, calligraphy, puppetry, origami, taiko drumming, and Raku pottery. All teachers will be treated to an authentic Japanese tea ceremony led by Ruth Mercer, who served with her husband as a missionary to Japan for almost forty years. Detailed lesson plans will be distributed and teachers will receive the information packets on the kite competition.
"In planning the gala, the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation searched for a way to impact and enrich our community in addition to raising dollars for the Ayers Children's Medical Center and The Health and Healing Clinic. We decided that the rich traditions of Japan offered us the perfect opportunity," said Libby Murphy, Gala Co-Chair.
Even though Japan may be located half way around the world, globalization and technology have made them our neighbor. As leaders in the automotive and electronic markets, they are expanding their investments around the world, including Tennessee and many are relocating their families here from Japan. They bring with them centuries old religions, customs, art, and language which are being introduced to our society
"Today we welcome several Japanese based companies to our community, the families they bring with them, and the opportunities they provide others who live here. Japan is the number one foreign manufacturing investor in our State with over one hundred and sixty facilities and growing every year. In return, soybeans grown here in West TN and the shells harvested from the Tennessee River used in the production of cultured pearls are two commodities which they highly value," added Shirley Jones, Gala Community Outreach Chair.
"It is our hope that our in-service program will assist our teachers in involving their students with this community wide cultural enrichment. Dr. Larry Ray offers a plethora of knowledge of the art, education and culture of Japan. He has visited Japan many times and his areas of expertise are vast. WTHF is grateful for his partnership with us and are honored and excited to share with our friends in west Tennessee this once in a lifetime in-service program," said WTHF President, Frank McMeen.
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