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Schools

Japan Relief Fair set for Saturday, April 2

Japanese families from across District 15 will host a Japan Relief Fair on Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the cafeteria at Frank C. Whiteley School, 4335 Haman Avenue, in Hoffman Estates.

All District 15 community members are invited to attend the fair, the proceeds from which will benefit the American Red Cross as it works to support those in need after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11.

For a donation to each booth at the fair, attendees can select to paint their names in Japanese, make an origami airplane, participate in a tea ceremony, and/or play a Japanese game. There will also be Japanese crafts, rice balls, and other items for purchase.  

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Also, throughout the week preceding the fair, Whiteley’s Japanese parents will assist students in creating paper cranes to sell during the school’s lunch periods. Teachers will also read Carmen Agra Deedy’s 14 Cows for America to their students. This book tells the true story of the gift a small Kenyan village gives to America in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

This outreach campaign is a joint effort of the 40 families of Japanese students who attend Whiteley and approximately 35 other Japanese families from across District 15. It is being organized by Yuko Nakagawa, a bilingual teacher at Whiteley and a native of Japan. Ms. Nakagawa meets with the District’s Japanese families three times a year, and she maintains a database of their contact information that she has used to see to their concerns and organize this campaign in the wake of the tragedy.

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For more information on this campaign, contact Mary Szuch, Whiteley’s principal, at 847-963-7200 or szuchm@ccsd15.net, or Ms. Nakagawa at 847-963-7250 or nakagawy@ccsd15.net.

-Story Submitted by Community Consolidated School District 15

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