An eager group of second-graders gathers around their sensei on the carpet at 8:15 a.m. for their Japanese lesson.The children stand and exchange a morning greeting, "ohayoo gozaimasu," bow with their sensei, Naomi Hirano-Omizo, then unify their voices into a welcome melody for the good morning "Ohayoo Gozaimasu Song."

Japanese language classes were added to the second-grade curriculum four years ago through the efforts of Hope Staab, director of Punahou's Wo International Center. Adding the study of Japanese language and culture to a curriculum that already focused on "Islands around the World" seemed a natural fit, Staab said.

"Second-graders learn about what makes living on an island special or unique," said second-grade teacher Vickie Bisho, explaining the broad theme for the year. "We learn that Hawai'i's culture was shaped by contributions from the groups of people who came to Hawai'i looking for a better life."

Despite the compelling arguments for adding Japanese, the already full second-grade curriculum meant the teachers needed convincing. So Staab got to work. "She took us on the most fantastic trip to Japan that you could possibly imagine in the summer of 2005," said Bisho, recalling the 10-day trip that included the second-grade teachers as well as a dozen other Junior School and Academy faculty members. "It certainly did the trick!"

Today, each of Punahou's six second-grade classes - 150 students in all - has a Japanese lesson with Omizo once a cycle. In these lessons, the children are exposed to Japanese language and culture by learning fundamental Japanese words and phrases and by participating in an assortment of cultural activities. Omizo, second-grade art teacher Erin Oda '89 Osman and music teacher Karen Drozd also work together to incorporate language, art and music into each other's lessons.

"The program has become very rich in the four years since we started," said Bisho, rattling off a list of activities that address many of the year's themes: Girls' Day celebrations, visits to the Academy of Arts, lessons in the art of ikebana flower arrangements, fish-printing lessons, and a formal kimono dressing class are just some of the examples. Occasionally, Omizo enlists the help of her advanced Academy Japanese language students. "I very much value their help, and it is a great way to encourage cross-campus learning opportunities," she said.

Students aren't the only ones learning. "Classroom teachers integrate the lessons learned from Omizo Sensei who comes to teach our students, but who is actually teaching the teachers as well," said Bisho.

Following the early education theme of community, and drawing on Hawai'i's influence as a multicultural community, the Junior School language program begins with a Mandarin Chinese focus for first-graders, followed by the Japanese program for the second-graders and a Hawaiian concentration in third grade. The objective, Omizo said, is to introduce foreign languages and their respective cultures to children at an early age. In addition, the program previews a few of the many language options available to students as they move on to Case Middle School and the Academy.

Back in the classroom, the students are learning to read the date: month, day and year. The children repeat the Japanese words after their sensei and discover patterns in the sounds and organization of the words. Omizo explains that they will be focusing on the word for "day." She draws the character for "day" on the whiteboard and describes how Japanese characters are symbols derived from pictures and drawings.

"It's fun seeing how the symbols come from something, like day comes from the sun, and month comes from the moon," said David '20. "She shows us how she makes it into the letters."

Natalie '20 agreed. "I like writing the symbols because you get to see what they mean and how we make them. It's really fun and every time we have a class we get to write a new symbol."

Every child in the room shares a jubilance and enthusiasm as Omizo enlightens the second grade with new vocabulary, phrases, and customs from the Japanese culture. The synergy between the children and their sensei demonstrates the students' passion for learning about the Japanese culture. "We do learn a lot," said Nicole '20.

When the lesson is over and Omizo Sensei must leave, the children stand up to bid her a respectful farewell: They face Omizo and say "doomo arigatoo," thank you, and bow. Next, the students sweetly sing "Sayonara" and offer their final goodbyes, "Omizo Sensei, sayonara."