|
|
|
Okay, here we go with a calendar of upcoming events in the diaries of Kitakyushu City JETs:
|
|
July:
|
Tokyo Orientation for new JETs
At the end of July we stock up on beer and teaching anecdotes and get
ready to welcome the new JETs after their brief visit to Tokyo. We
dont need to tell you much about the Tokyo conference, other than
that youll also be welcomed by a couple of Kitakyushu ALTs.If
you have any questions, then feel free to ask them. Also meeting you
in Tokyo will be our supervisor, wholl give you the official welcome
and your travel information. Loads of information for you guys can be
found in our Newcomer's Guide.
Warm Welcomes
Group A arrival in Kitakyushu is usually around July 20th while Group
B arrives one week later. Since school has already finished for the
summer, quite a few of us will be eagerly waiting for your arrival,
to help you settle in to your new apartments, and show you around.
Drinking will probabably ensue...
|
|
August:
|
Prefectural Meeting
Although employed solely by Kitakyushu's Board of Education, our new
ALTs attend this large conference as part of the Fukuoka Prefectural
ALTs. It's an opportunity to find out a little more about your new
home, how to cope with everyday living here, and meet the other 200
ALTs who live in and around Fukuoka.
Kitakyushu's Festivals
The festival season of July and August culminates in the Wasshoi
Million Festival (see photos, left), a giant 3-day event held around Kokura Castle and
its grounds. Involving lots of public drinking and daft dancing it's
a huge carnival with a great atmosphere, and if you're lucky you might
be invited to take part in the dancing! The highlight of the festival
is a street procession of hundreds of dancers and floats, although
rather different from the Brazilian versions! Its possibly the best
introduction to the city (and vice versa) you could possibly wish for.
Homestay
In recent years, new ALTs have been offered a homestay, giving them the
opportunity to stay with a 100% genuine Japanese family for a weekend,
so that you can experience the Japanese way of lifeEthat you may
otherwise only be able to read about in books. Although your
participation is optional, its an experience to be recommended.
Japanese study courses
The summer vacation schedule varies from year to year, but one element
remains; a very effective study course. Arranged through Kitakyushu
University, it's normally a 10 day intensive course for beginner,
lower intermediate and higher intermediate levels solely for us ALTs.
Once again this is entirely optional for you, but it is a chance to
get your motivation going at an early stage, and youll have plenty of
time in the evenings to go to some bars and... erm... review for
tomorrow. For some extra tips, see our
Japanese Study resources.
Lesson demonstrations
Presented by our very own ancient and wizened senior ALTs, these
demonstrations are intended to give new ALTs a few pointers and top
tips for fun in the classroom. You'll also hear all sorts of stories
about the weirdness of Japanese junior high schools (mostly true!).
Settling-in time
We know new ALTs will probably be fed to the back teeth of the adviceE
of senior ALTs (or conversely fed to the back teeth of eager new ALTs!
[hee-hee]), but why not suck in some more - its your last chance
before school starts. It's also your last real chance to get help
on fixing up your apartment, find out where the video store, etc. etc.
|
|
September:
|
Start of 2nd school term
Since the Japanese academic year starts in April, this is the 2nd term
in junior high schools here. Apart from the obligatory spate of
introductory lessons for new ALTs, one particular school event looming
on the horizon is Sports Day. This is a very big event in Japanese
school life, and therefore merits lots (and lots) of preparation.
|
|
October:
|
Some real teaching
Hopefully the self-introductions will be out of the way, and you can
get down to some more creative teaching. Take a peek at our collection
of Lesson Plans & Activities if you're in
need of inspiration.
|
|
November:
|
School Culture Festival
As the second term rolls on, one special event worthy of mention would
be the Culture Festival, where classes perform music recitals, songs
and self-penned dramas. Usually confined to one day (sometimes two for
larger schools), this is another major event in the school calendar,
and again is preceded by lots (and lots) of preparation.
|
|
December:
|
Prefectural Mid-Year Conference
Once again re-uniting all 200 ALTs from throughout Fukuoka Prefecture,
this compulsory teaching conference is held near Fukuoka in the first
week of the month, and also involves around 100 JTEs from junior and
senior high schools. The seminars and workshops given by ALTs and JTEs
aim to stimulate new ideas and approachs to team-teaching, in addition
to providing material for future lessons and activities.
Kitakyushus English Festival
This afternoon event is organised by a committee of english teachers
from various junior high schools throughout the city, specifically for
junior high school students. The reason this event is mentioned here
is because it takes place at the Kitakyushu International Association
building in Yahata, and also because the organisers always request ALTs
to attend (since the students are our own students). It takes place in
Yahata International Village, also in the first week of the month.
ALT Christmas Party
Usually set for early December, while most people are still here, this
traditional event also features the 'Secret Santa' ritual of pulling
names from a hat and anonymously giving a small (and suitably daft)
gift to one of the other ALTs. The party may or may not also involve
alcohol at some point.
Christmas vacation
Being a non-Christian country, Japanese businesses don't close for a
vacation until the 29th, although school term does finish shortly
before Christmas Day. Many ALTs take this opportunity for some
well-earned R&R, popping off to (hotter) foreign climes.
|
|
January:
|
Start of 3rd term
School starts up again with the third and final term of the academic
year in the second week of January; a term that is considerably
shorter than the previous four-month one.
|
|
February:
|
Extra school visits
As the academic year begins to wind up and the 3rd year classes start
to dwindle (high school entrance exams beckon), ALTs often find
themselves with large holes in their weekly lesson schedules. So the
Board of Education sometimes ships us off on occasional extra school
visits (elementary schools etc.).
|
|
March:
|
Graduation
3rd year students leave junior high school for good, at the end of this
deeply sombre ceremony. Be prepared for an awful lot of weeping
students (and those are just the bad-lads!), and even the occasional
teacher!
Spring Vacation
School closes in the last week of March, marking a short two-week
holiday and also the annual turn-around of staff. Teachers usually
stay at a school for a maximum of six years, before being transferred
away to a new school within the Board of Education's sphere of control.
|
|
April:
|
Start of 1st term
All those cute lil first year students will be turning up in droves
in their oversized uniforms and huge smiles. This, by the way, is the
time when you can have the biggest effect. Their teachers will be
really enthusiastic (?) simply because they dont have to teach those
serious/studious third years anymore. Hopefully you can introduce any
good classroom rules (for both students AND teachers) right from the
start and get rid of those little phrases that irritate all of us (Im
fine thankyouE- how dull!). A good first goal might be to eliminate
any katakana english from greetings and simple phrases (harro...Eand
sankyouEbeing good examples) , and from the alphabet - and make sure
your JTE knows the difference between ABC and ABSHE. Above all, the
first term and the new first grade should really cheer you up.
Cherry blossom season
About this time, the cherry blossom season starts in southern Japan,
slowly working its way northwards with the warmer weather.
Traditionally signalling the advent of spring, it also signals the
advent of huge outdoor barbecue and drinking parties in parks and
castles throughout Japan. Kokura castle is a particular popular spot.
|
|
May:
|
Kobe RenewersEConference
This 3-day conference is attended by all 1st year JETs renewing for
their 2nd year, and is hosted by the thriving port city of Kobe, this
event is really good fun, and not at all hindered by the uncertainties
which are found at the Tokyo conference sometimes. And the fact that
you get enough free time in the evenings to have some fun probably
helps somewhat - many ALTs can heartily recommend the Hard Rock Cafe;
we havent got one in Kitakyushu, itll be full of partying ALTs
(not as bad as it might sound), and one year we even got the staff
dancing on the tabletops!!
|
|
June:
|
Preparations for leaving JETs
Retiring JETs tend to start thinking seriously about making
arrangements for returning home or moving on around now. This obviously
entails packing, shipping stuff home, and selling apartment contents
to new arrivals or those remaining. With that done, it's time to settle
back and enjoy the rest of your time here in Kitakyushu, and finish in
style.
|
|
July:
|
Fond farewells
The end of the first school term is officially closing ceremony day,
which is usually only a few days before an ALT's contract ends (for
those originally in Group A). ALTs who originally arrived in Group B,
they will be departing one week later. And that's it - the year over!
Keep in touch...
For those ALTs leaving, please don't forget to leave contact addresses
or e-mails, so everyone can keep in touch in years to come. You never
know, you may one day feel like coming back to visit! Last-known
whereabouts and details of JETs from years gone by can be found in our
Hall of Fame.
|
| |