Ms. Chie Helinski shares Japanese AP students went to Japan Village on March 21st and had a tea workshop at the Ito-en facility. Ito-en provided a Japanese bento lunch. They were given a tour of the tea making and packing facility. Then learned about history of tea, types of tea, and how to make tea three ways. They first learned the proper way to measure green tea leaves and how to make tea in a tea pot properly using the right temperature of hot water. They were amazed how much fresher the correctly poured tea was. After that, they were taught how to make matcha tea - as in tea ceremony. The last one they made was matcha latte with almond milk. The workshop ended with a mini lesson on haiku. Ito-en hosts a haiku contest, and Ms. Helinski was asked to submit my students' haiku. They were shown on screen, and the students read their work out loud and explained where they got their inspiration. It was an interactive, hands-on workshop. After the workshop, students visited a Japanese supermarket in Japan Village and bought various food and sweets. Assistant Principal, Ms. Francesca McAuliffe expresses her gratitude to Ms. Helinski for organizing this trip! (photos courtesy of Ms. McAuliffe)
