To say that today’s Taiikusai (sports carnival) was mind-blowingly good is an understatement!
Senior school teams of red, blue, green and yellow lined up across the tracks, looking like thick, bright highlighter ink on a crisp white page. Among these teams was, of course, Team Purple, a special inclusion of our Genesis students. Ably led by Mr Connolly, Team Purple joined the marching exercise in the impressive opening ceremony before participating in the team jump rope, six-legged races (teams of five) and 1200m relay events. The students showed great spirit in banding together to encourage others.
Genesis students spent most of the day in awe as the stunning display of Minokamo students’ organisation, cohesion, determination and initiative unfolded before their eyes. ‘Is there anything they can’t do better than us?’ one of the team members asked, mesmerised.
As it turned out, we did win our tug-of-war battle against the winning female team from Minokamo. I like to think our victory was due to the Genesis staff participation (all the staff jumped in too) but I’m sure the students would have a different opinion!
The team war-cries were incredibly energetic and accompanied by synchronised choreography. I am sure the harmonised chanting and singing could be heard all the way down the hill through this part of the Minokamo valley. One of the most impressive parts of the whole day was the amount of organising and leading done by the students themselves. Wow!
Genesis received a special award by Principal Akasaki during the closing ceremony and Seiloni was the representative chosen and presented with a certificate to great applause in front of the whole school.
The day finished with a final rotation of Japanese martial arts in the budoukan (martial arts hall) and some administrative preparations for our Farewell Ceremony tomorrow. The weather is a little drizzly this afternoon and the students are a little tired from their busy day but everyone is happy, safe and ready to see what tomorrow’s adventures will be!
genesis2japan 
Wow. The taiikusai looks amazing. Love seeing all the students trying out judo and kendo!
Wow. That was the most amazing sports carnival I’ve ever seen. What a great experience. Kye, you’ll have to show Mr Yates the footage of the marching band.
Love you buddy,
Mum
So will there be a bit of changing up of things at next years athletics carnival?? How amazing is that! They clearly love what they do!
So good to see you getting in there Baylee, so proud of you stepping out of your comfort zone!
Still missing you lots! Can’t believe 2 weeks have gone already! Your siblings are more upset that it’s the end of the holidays! They do miss you too tho!
Enjoy your last few days!
Mum
Hey Zara, the Kendo looked awesome. Hope you don’t beat me up with the broom stick when you get home. We all miss you and Holly is sad. Can’t wait to hear all about your experiences. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Dad xxx
Hello Vrishin . Wow !! The line up at the carnival looks incredible. Congratulations in winning the tug-or-war👏🏻👏🏻Good team work .
Enjoy your last few days at the host family and school .
Missing you 😘 mum , dad & Kairav
Hi Josh. Absolutely fantastic to see everyone getting in a giving it a go. Great to see you doing the carnival and Kendo! Great effort, Mate! Love, Dad, Mum, Luke and Finn.
What an amazing sports carnival! Good to see you taking part in the judo Nalia. You can teach Denzel on your return, lol. But you slept really well after all that. Wonderful to see all the Genesis students having fun. Enjoy your weekend. God bless.
Love and hugs
Nana and Kungkung, Fiji
Wow, what a sports event. Incredibly synchronised. Great experience to be a part of and awesome photography.
Thank you
Missing you so much Blakey, house is so quiet. Lovely to see you in video yesterday.
Mum xxx
Hi Noah, its nice seeing you doing Judo. Did you do Kendo as well? I hope you did that is your favourite and you really want it to do in Japan. Enjoy the activities.God bless everyone.
Hi, all students were able to do both sports and separate days. – Mrs S
Wow that Carnival was amazing, good to see you all giving it a go.
We have some amazing videos to show you Mr Barker! The war cries were outstanding. – Mrs S
Nice JUDO moves Shae 💪🏼💪🏼🏆😂
Hi Caitlin. I’m nearly speechless!! The amazing ceremony and all the diverse sports! You must be having an incredible time. Well done with your Judo :). I hope you’re having a special time with your host family. Love Mum D, S, Gracie and Misty xx
Wow! Impressive! I bet they all slept well last night! Well done on winning the tug-o-war team Genesis 🙂
How amazing Josh!!!!! I hope you are enjoying your week with your host family. The martial arts looked like fun.
Love us xxx
Hi Michael,
Wow! What an experience to be part of the sports carnival. It looked incredible. Hope the farewell ceremony goes well and you enjoy your last few days of home stay! We miss you. Love mom
Hi Baylee. It is really great to see what you and your team are up to each day. You are certainly having some incredible days filled with various activities. Continue to enjoy.