11月9日、駐日ラトビア共和国大使ダツェ トレイヤ・マスィー様をお招きし、欧州連合(EU)代表部主催『EUがあなたの学校にやってくる』の企画で、本校にて講演をしていただきました。
講演では日本語の通訳を交えながら、前半はEUについて、後半はラトビアについてお話いただきました。
質問コーナーでは英語・日本語の質問を受け付け、半数以上の生徒が英語で質問をしました。学年を問わず複数の手が上がり、時間が足りないほどでした。
講演会終了後、6年生の希望者とオープンスペースにて意見交換会を行いました。生徒は全て英語でやり取りし、有意義なお話をすることができました。
ダツェ様、貴重なお時間をありがとうございました!
Latvian Ambassador’s Visit
We were delighted to welcome Her Excellency Ms. Dace Treija-Masi, Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia, to Saint Joseph as part of the ‘EU Comes to Your School’ project. Ms. Treija-Masi made two separate presentations, one to introduce the EU and the other to tell us about Latvia, in front of all 3rd-5th grade students. She then answered questions from students on topics as diverse as ways to bring the people of our two countries closer together, Latvia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the reason why Latvian women are so tall! Later, the Ambassador spoke with a small number of 6th grade students who had prepared questions on subjects such as Latvia’s environmental and English education policies. Ms. Treija-Masi was very complementary about the English ability of all the Saint Joseph students that she spoke to, saying that she would love to visit again. For our part, we look forward to welcoming the Ambassador again at any time and hope that her visit marks the just the beginning of a special relationship between our school and the people of Latvia.