昨年度に続き受賞！国際教育研究協議会主催　第４０回英語弁論大会長野県予選会にて最優勝賞及び優秀賞を受賞！

祝　関東甲信越静地区ビデオ審査へ決定!! ★国際教育研究協議会主催　第４０回英語弁論大会長野県予選会★ 　［令和２年６月２４日（水）　於：富士見高等学校での事前送付ビデオの審査］
令和２年度長野県国際教育研究協議会主催の第４０回英語弁論大会長野県予選会が長野県富士見高等学校で開催されました。　本校からは園芸クリエイト科３年生の松下さんと食品科学科３年生の石原さんが事前動画送付によるビデオ審査方式にて出場しました。松下さんのコスタリカ研修の体験や実践を踏まえたスピーチは見事最優秀賞に輝きました。石原さんの体験談は実質第２位と思われる優秀賞に輝きました。　関東甲信越静地区のブロック大会はビデオ審査となります。極めてレベルが高いですが、次なるステップを大いに期待しております。
★国際教育研究協議会主催　第４０回英語弁論大会長野県予選会★
最　優　秀　賞　Our motto : “Pura Vida” 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　長野県下伊那農業高等学校　３年　松下　陽佳
“Hola! Como estas?” “Muy bien, Pura vida!” --- This is a common conversation in Costa Rica, but do you know what “Pura vida” means? Today, I’d like to talk about this phrase and our happiness. 　　Last year, I went on a study trip to Costa Rica because my home town, Matsukawa became the host town of Costa Rica for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. Before visiting, I heard that in the World Happiness Ranking in 2019, Costa Rica was placed 12th, though Japan was placed 58th. So, I wanted to know why Costa Ricans feel happier than Japanese people. 　　In fact, Costa Ricans were very cheerful and friendly. Also, my host family was very kind to me and I came to love them at once. When I asked them the reason why they feel so happy, they said, “We cherish the spirit of Pura vida.” It literally means “Pure life” in Spanish, but it is used in many cases as a greeting or for positive meanings like, “Hello”, ”Thank you”, “Wonderful” ,”Let’s go for it”, and so on. “Pura Vida” is their motto and slogan to have a more relaxed and simple life. So, they are optimistic and positive. 　　On the other hand, Japanese people tend to think negatively. For example, when we fail, many of us think that we’re finished, but Costa Ricans think that they have plenty of chances and things will work out. I realized that the spirit of “Pura Vida” makes their life much more fun and this is why they look happier. 　　After returning to Japan, I keep in mind “Pura Vida” in my daily life, therefore I have become cheerful and confident in myself. I became student council president of my high school and I have a busy and full life.　　　But then, an unexpected, invisible enemy has changed everything in the world. The Coronavirus pandemic. The Tokyo Olympic Games have been postponed to the next summer. All schools in Japan were closed for a few months. We couldn’t carry out the events we had planned. I was really shocked. 　　However, one of the athletes said, “I try to think that we’ll have a chance to train for a much better performance.” Exactly! It is important to think what we can do now, not to complain about the things we cannot change. It would be a waste of time to worry about a future that nobody knows. Actually, our school festival in fall might not be opened to the public, but we can still make a new plan to contribute to the community. It is now that we should remember “Pura Vida”. Our happiness is in our mind. 　　In the future, I want to be a nursery school teacher. I’d like to teach the children to live a positive and happy life, and when they are in difficulty, I’ll try to help them with the magical phrase: “Pura vida”.
昨年、私が訪れたコスタリカという国は、日本とは対照的に世界幸福度ランキングで上位にあり、その理由を尋ねたところ、明るくポジティブに生きる彼らのモットーである「プラビダの精神」にあることがわかった。新型コロナウィルスのために様々な活動が制限された今こそ、自分たちができることを考え、前向きに生きることが大切だと感じている。そして、将来は保育士になって「プラビダの精神」を子ども達に伝えていきたい。

★優　秀　賞　A Better Life for Someone 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　長野県下伊那農業高等学校　３年　石原　欣恵
Everyone wants to make their life better. If you can support someone to have a better life, what do you want to do? I have a plan! 　A few years ago, my older sister volunteered to go to Cambodia. After returning to Japan, she told me that there is a big difference between the rich and the poor in Cambodia. And she also told me some children are working because of poverty. 　Most of the stories my sister told were familiar to me. But there was one thing in particular that interested me. “The children often eat snacks.” I‘d heard that many children suffer from malnutrition in that country. So, I thought there was not enough food in Cambodia. I was wondering why Cambodian children are eating snacks. 　To find the answer, I focused on food and health in Cambodia. One of the Japanese doctors in Cambodia says that lifestyle-related diseases in urban areas and malnutrition in rural areas are currently two major problems. In other words, in urban areas, where many rich people live, eating habits have changed and more people are eating fast food instead of traditional meals. 　On the other hand, in rural areas, where many poor people live, the low intake of meat and dairy products is the reason for malnutrition. Furthermore, snacks are not so expensive. That’s why children can get snacks by themselves. 　I was surprised to learn that every household has only a small amount of salty side dishes and a large amount of rice. They eat meals and snacks only to satisfy their hunger. It means that they take any food they can get. They don’t care about nutritional balance and the body cannot fully develop. The average height and weight of Cambodian children is much lower than that of Japanese children. 　In Cambodia, the meal support is provided by external organizations. But I heard that Cambodia plans to add health and nutrition classes to public schools this year. I agree with this plan because I think that acquiring the correct knowledge is the most important thing to enrich children’s lives. Of course, it is true that there are still many children who have to work and cannot receive even compulsory education. But it is very important to spread this knowledge as much as possible. 　I would like to work on the development of nutritious snacks for my school project. Why did I choose snacks? Because Cambodian children like them! My plan is to visit Cambodia, to check their dietary habits, to tell them the importance of taking in nourishment, and to make stick-shaped snacks which include necessary nutrition, and are easy and fun to make. If they can eat their favorite food and also take in necessary nutrition, it kills two birds with one stone. And I also hope that Cambodians themselves can learn about food, and enrich Cambodia with their own hands in the future. 　From now on, I’ll study hard to complete my school project and learn English to make my plan a reality.
カンボジアでは生活習慣病と低栄養が２つの大きな問題となっている。塩分が高めのおかずや大量の米、お菓子を食べることが多い彼らの生活においては、バランスを考えた栄養摂取や、食や健康について学ぶことが大切である。今後の課題研究で、現地の子どもたちを想定したお菓子について考えると共に、栄養を摂ることの大切さや健康や栄養に関する正しい知識を現地の人々自身が学び、カンボジアを豊かな国にしていってほしい。