Community Events
Hoshizora Gala 2024
Please join Aozora Community on Sunday, March 17th for the return of our Hoshizora “Starry Night” Gala! It will be a fun and fabulous night of food, drinks and entertainment. Bid generously in our silent auction or get a lucky win with a raffle. We can't wait to party with you, raising money for Aozora's community.
AOZORA OMAKASE SOIRÉE
Join us for a very special evening of delicious dinner under the stars as we celebrate and fundraise for our amazing Aozora Community. On Saturday, June 24, we will gather in the magical garden in support of our shared mission to nurture open-minded, caring global citizens. Our talented school chefs, Chie and Natsuko, will prepare an elevated sampling of cherished kyushoku recipes. Please save the date for an unforgettable evening as we unite to create a brighter future for our community and beyond.
Date and Time: Saturday, June 24, From 5pm to 8:30pm
Location: Aozora Community St Marks Location (238 St Marks Ave, Backyard)
Fee: $250/ individual ticket $425/ couple tickets (Each ticket confers the guest entry (adult only) with a delicious dinner, 2 drink tickets, and 1 raffle ticket)
Please make sure to purchase the tickets by June 17. We look forward to seeing many of you.
talk with mei sensei - what’s it like to grow up as bilingual? (Free)
May 20, 2023 11AM - 1PM
Mei sensei is one of Aozora’s bilingual assistant teachers. In this event, she as a guest speaker will share her personal experience about growing up as an English-Japanese bilingual.
You may ask her questions, share your thoughts and be connected with other families in a very casual setting, where you can sip coffee and enjoy Aozora school lunch samplers!
Mei sensei is also a great musician. She will share her music with families and children at the end of the event.
We hope this event will be an encouragement for Aozora families and kids to keep cherishing Japanese language and culture!
Event: Talk with Mei Sensei - How’s it like to be bilingual?-
Date & Time: 11AM - 1PM, Saturday 5/20/23
Place: Suzume Classroom at St.Marks Campus
Participant: Academy Families, PSP Families interested in Academy Program, limited to 25 parents
Program:
11:00AM -12:15PM: Talk time with coffee & lunch samplers
12:15PM-1PM - Academy Kids joins / Q & A, Music time
Booking: Please fill out this form
First come, first serve. Reservation closes on 5/13.
醤油は日本の台所に欠かせない食材で、日本食のレシピには必ずと言っていいほど使われる食材です。この度、サンジルシ醸造の佐藤社長にたまり醤油の作り方を教えていただきます。奮ってご参加ください。
Tamari Shoyu Making Workshop
March 20, 2022 10 - 11am
Let's make Tamari soy sauce together! たまり醤油を作ろう！
Soy sauce is one of the most important ingredients in Japanese kitchens and it is used for almost every Japanese recipe. In the workshop, Mr. Takashi Sato, president of San-J Tamari soy sauce company, will present to us how we can make good tamari soy sauce at home.
醤油は日本の台所に欠かせない食材で、日本食のレシピには必ずと言っていいほど使われる食材です。この度、サンジルシ醸造の佐藤社長にたまり醤油の作り方を教えていただきます。奮ってご参加ください。
Learn how high quality tamari soy sauce can be made at home. If you purchase a tamari kit, we recommend 1 kit per family. All kits must be picked up at Aozora Community before the workshop. A zoom link will be emailed to all participants.
Virtual Halloween Costume Contest
OCtober 18 - 31 2021
Time to get creative!! Submit a picture of your child or your child with their pet, parent, grandparent etc. in their Halloween costume(s) between October 18th and October 24th. Voting will occur on Bloomz between October 25th and October 30th to select a fan favorite. A panel of judges will select 3 additional winners (Cutest, Funniest, and Best Duo/Group). Winners will be announced on Halloween - October 31st! All 4 winners will get a bag of treats and an Aozora t-shirt or Taisan Sensei's Brooklyn t-shirt (their choice). Winners must be able to pick up their prize at Aozora.
Note of caution: Do not select any costume that appropriate a culture that is not your own. Many people in our community love Halloween and the magic of dressing up. Part of creating a safe school community for ALL students on Halloween is making sure racially, ethnically, and culturally based costumes are NOT part of our festivities. We invite families to review the Cultures are not Costumes checklist here.
School Choice Workshop
November 6, 2021 3 - 5 pm
What is the process for applying to a public kindergarten? Which elementary school is good for my child? How would my child continue learning Japanese after Aozora Preschool?
Join us for our School Choice Workshop via zoom on November 6 from 3pm to 5pm!
In this workshop, we will cover:
NYC public school system and the application process
What to consider when choosing a school for your childAozora’s alumni parents’ experiences
Japanese language school choices
How to support your child’s Japanese-language learning
The Workshop will be held in English.
Meet the Authors
April 10, 2021 at 10am
We are hosting a free and virtual "Meet the Authors" event to kickoff our week-long book fair fundraiser with Greenlight. Bookstore. All three authors are either of Japanese descent or celebrate Japanese culture in their books. Join us as each author reads one of their books and learn about what inspired their stories.
Children’s Book Fair with Greenlight Bookstore
April 7 - 17
Why 15% of all proceeds will be donated to Aozora! Support Aozora and add books to your collection.
How
Go to Greenlight Bookstore's online shop and look at Aozora's recommended reads.
Select any books that you would like for your children, yourself, or friends/family.
At checkout, enter the code AOZORA2021 (Don't Forget: that's how the proceeds are allocated to us).
Ship books to yourself or pick them up at one of their two Brooklyn locations.
If you don't see anything for yourself, check out Aozora's wishlist for our classrooms.
Who Anyone and everyone can join this book fair!
Where Online Shopping Only https://www.greenlightbookstore.com/aozora2021bookfair
Parenting Book Club
starting on February 27 at 8:30 pm
We are sorry! This event will be for Japanese-speaking families only because there is no English translation of the book at the moment. We are hoping to do a similar event for English speakers in the future.
あおぞらファミリー対象に、松村亜里先生の著書「世界に通用する子供の育て方」を読むブッククラブを開催します。
対象：あおぞらファミリー（在校生、卒業生の保護者の皆様およびスタッフや先生）
参加費用：＄４０
本代：＄２０（送料込み）この本をすでにお持ちの方は、必要ないです。
日にち：
２月２７日（第１〜２章）
３月６日（第３〜４章）
３月１３日（第５〜６章）
３月２０日 （第７〜８章）
時間：8:30pm - 9:30pm （時間がある方はこの後に残ってシェア会継続可能）
＊＊＊＊ディレクターの西間庭より＊＊＊＊
「世界に通用する子供の育て方」は約２年近く前に出版された本で、子育てに関する素晴らしい知恵とアイディアがたくさん詰まった本です。この本の出版前に、私は０期生として松村亜里先生の子育て講座も受講させていただいて、大変感銘を受けました。私は亜里先生のような心理学者ではないのですが、幼児教育の立場から、この本を元に私が今まで学んできたことを身近な例を出しながらお話しすることができると思い、この企画を立てることにしました。本を一人で読むだけだと、よく理解できないことがあったり、理解できても理論だけで終わってしまいなかなか行動に移せずにいたりするのですが、コミュニティのみなさんと一緒に読んで、お話しを分かち合うことで、内容の理解を深め、お互いに行動に落とし込んでいく声かけなどもできるのではないかと思っています。また、この本を一緒に読みながら、みなさんの子育て話をシェアしあいながら、コミュニティの繋がりもさらに深めることができたらと思っております。どうぞみなさん奮ってご参加ください。
Let’s Make Mochi at Home
Saturday, January 16, 2021, at 10am
Mochi Tsuki is one of our favorite annual events! While we will not be able to gather this year, we invite the community to join us virtually for this free event. We are going to have a demonstration of how to make traditional Japanese mochi via zoom. We will also provide live instruction for children and their families to make mochi at home at the same time. We are going to make mochi and enjoy eating mochi together with everyone online. Please RSVP on eventbrite so we can send the zoom link to you.
Miso-Making with Chef Natsuko
Saturday, March 13, 2021, at 10am - NEW DATE!!
Our annual Miso Making Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, March 13th via zoom. New this year....our school chef, Natsuko Yamawaki, has made an arrangement to get high quality ingredients from Japan. The kits are now sold out, but you can get your own ingredients from local stores and join us to learn how to make miso.
毎年恒例のあおぞら味噌づくりワークショップ！今回は3月13日（土曜日）に、Zoomで開催することになりました！Zoomでの味噌作りワークショップは初めての試みです。今回はあおぞら給食シェフの山脇奈津子さんが日本からの材料購入のために特別なはからいをしていただきました。イベント自体はまだ先の予定なのですが、イベントに間に合うように日本から材料を購入するため、味噌づくりキットのオーダーを12月15日（火曜日）締め切りで受け付けます。イベントに参加していただくためには、この特別味噌づくりキットを12月15日（火曜日）までに、オーダーしていただくか、アメリカで手に入る材料（大豆、塩、麹）をご自分で購入していただく必要があります。下のリンクよりお申し込みください。
Shodonnay With Taisan Sensei
Friday, December 11, 2020, at 8:30pm
Aozora alumni parents!!! It's been away too long! Let's get together for our online Art and Wine event on Friday, December 11. We will paint, talk, drink and laugh. All you need to have is a brush, paper, ink, and don't forget your glass of wine.
If you purchase a bottle of wine from Fat Cat Wine (fatcatwinesny.com) at 538 Court Street, 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Aozora Community Foundation. If you purchase $150 or more by sending an email (fatcatwines@yahoo.com), Fat Cat Wine will send you an additional bottle of wine from the owner's selection. Free delivery in Redhook, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Columbia Waterfront & Park Slope for purchases of $30 or more, and citywide for purchases of $100 or more.
Looking forward to seeing you all!