LATEST POSTS

Make ‘em laugh: Tokushima AJET Presents… a Musical

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By:Mari Rueter and Harry Stoneley

There’s singing, dancing and acting aplenty, but this is no enkai or bunkasai; it’s not even an Elementary School lesson. This is the Tokushima AJET Musical, the jewel in the Tokushima AJET crown; three grueling months of rehearsal, 5 shows across the prefecture, blood, sweat, and the occasional tear.

This year’s production Beauty and the Beast, the 18th musical such adaptation, brings together a ragtag group of JETs, private ALTs and local friends. From the script to the choreography, via each individual stitch on every last costume, everything is organized by the Tokushima JET community. Now you may be wondering, how does one go about putting on such an event for their own community? Well, it all began a long time ago…

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2011 Saga Charity Christmas Party

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The Saga Charity Christmas Party is an annual event held in Saga city around Christmas time, with the aim of raising money for local charities and promoting international relations. This year will be the 22nd year the party has taken place; it was originally started by a group of foreigners living in Saga, along with some Japanese people, as a way of giving back to the Saga community. Today, the party is still run completely by volunteers – both Japanese people and foreigners living in and around Saga. The money we raise this year will be donated to the Seikaen Orphanage in Saga city, where it will be used for books, computers, sports supplies and other educational materials for the children. Last year we donated 500,000yen to the same orphanage, and to date the Party Project has raised and donated over 15million yen to various charities in and around Saga.
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Miyagi AJET launches grant program in honor of Taylor Anderson

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Miyagi AJET has launched a Micro Grant Program in honor of Taylor Anderson intended to “empower JETs with financial support in their efforts to fulfill the goals of the JET Programme in and outside of school.”

Read below for full details (via Miyagi AJET):

To all Miyagi/Sendai JETs:

Employed directly through Boards of Education and embedded in communities, we JETs have a lot of potential to do great things here in Japan. Many of us invest our personal time, and sometimes our own money, to craft interactive lessons that engage students, to motivate students and spark their interest in English and foreign cultures, to produce quality events educating the people in our communities about our home countries, and more. As the AJET branch for Miyagi and Sendai, MAJET is here to support you in your activities as a JET, and to this end, we would like to announce the “Miyagi-Sendai JET Micro-Grant Program.”

Attached please find a detailed description of the program, outlining it’s goals and how to apply. To put it simply, as Miyagi starts to take it’s formative steps towards recovery from the March 11th disaster, the purpose of this program is to empower JETs with financial support in their efforts to fulfill the goals of the JET Programme in and outside of school.

All too often JETs have great ideas to create language/culture boards at their school, to put on fun events for eikaiwa groups, to put on culture days at the local community center, but find themselves encumbered for lack of even a minimal working budget. There’s only so much that can come out of our own pockets, which is where this program comes in. Whatever idea you may have for doing something that you feel helps meet the goals of the JET Programme (internationalization, cultural interaction, language education, etc.), we want you to tell us about it. If your idea does indeed further the cause of JET, we’ll provide you with money to make it a reality! Initially we have set the range of possible grants to between 2,000 and 10,000 yen, but if you have a particularly good idea, let us know and we will consider going beyond this range.

If you are interested in applying for a grant, please fill out an application here:
https://docs.google.com/a/ajet.net/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDNPaFdVSFUxUDBzb1pZcGttZEdoSHc6MQ

Even if you are currently engaged in an activity that you already pay for out of pocket, let us know and we may be able to provide you with funding to take this activity to the next level. Please keep in mind that once funds run out, this program will be discontinued, so if you have an idea for things you want to do next spring/summer, let us know sooner rather than later.

In announcing this program, we would like to give special thanks to the family of Taylor Anderson, an Ishinomaki JET who was sadly loston March 11th. During what was undoubtedly a trying time for the Andersons, they decided to honor Taylor’s memory as best they could in supporting the recovery of the community in which Taylor lived, and which she loved. Knowing Taylor’s activities as a JET, the Andersons recognize the importance of the JET Programme towards internationalization and language education at the grassroots/community level in Japan, and see the potential for the JETs of Miyagi and Sendai to be active parts of recovery. It is a result of the Andersons commitment to helping Ishinomaki and Miyagi that the idea for this program was formed, and it is from donations raised by the Anderson’s that the seed money for this program will come.

If you have any questions about this program, or if you would like to brainstorm with us and discuss in more detail the possibility of receiving a grant, please contact us at miyagi@ajet.net

Wishing you the best,

The MAJET Team
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Miyagi Association of JET 2011-12
www.ajetmiyagi.net

Claudine Bennent (President)
Cameron Peek (President)
Brian Garvey (Vice-President)
Marissa Godwin (Treasurer)
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Read on for official Micro Grant Program guidelines:

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The Shikoku Field Day Event

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By Lisa Cross, AJET Block 8 Representative.

Shikoku is comprised of four beautiful prefectures, Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi and Tokushima. Shikoku is home of the famous 88th temple of pilgrimage, a vibrant community spirit and its natural scenic beauty.

The Shikoku Field Day is the main Block Eight event of the year. The event is open to the entire block and beyond for the purpose of coming together and having lots of fun while forming and maintaining friendships. The event is also supported by all the prefectures on Shikoku.

The Field Day is a one-day (overnight optional) gathering of Shikoku-ites and their friends to play games more focused on fun than competition. The games followed by a barbecue will take place at Shikoku Saburo no Sato, in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, on the afternoon of Saturday, November 26th afterward; attendees can stay the night in a tent or a cottage and participate in the evening’s ongoing revelries, or head back home.

The event will give you the opportunity to relive some of your childhood memories. Remember when there was a time in our childhood when we didn’t play for results, there was no tournament bracket, no championship round, no record-keeping and sometimes there weren’t even any points. You just showed up, played hard, had lots of fun and went home.

Many of the day’s games are taken from the New Games Movement of the 1970s. No prior knowledge of the rules is required to participate. Exciting games may include; capture the flag, catch the dragon’s tail, bola, slaughter, caterpillar and rock-paper-scissors. In keeping with the spirit of the event, teams will be randomly determined on the day and distinguished by bandanas (provided), which will have the side effect of making participants look totally great. Awards will be given, but not all of them will be for winning. Some awards will have inherently magical properties.

Shikoku Field Day promises to be an exciting and unpredictable day to remember! Eat, drink, play, and be merry. Looking forward to a fun filled day!

Former Miyagi Residents Raise Funds Through Hong Kong Event

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Hong Kong – 25th April, 2011
Two former residents of Miyagi Prefecture have pooled the creative expertise of five photographers in a silent photographic auction in Hong Kong to raise money for the March 11 earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.

The event entitled “Kampai for Sendai” was held on Saturday, April 16 at Shore Restaurant and Bar and was attended by approximately 180 people. The silent auction of distinctly Japanese photographs including 13 original mounts and three canvassed photographs, was the main focus of the evening. Additional funds were raised through the live auction of Simone Legno autographed Tokidoki merchandise and the sale of raffle tickets.

The total amount raised from the event was HK$30697 (US$3950). 100% of these funds were be donated to Peace Winds Japan andShine Humanity, two non-government organisations that have been highly visible in Miyagi Prefecture and are committed to using all designated funds for the Japan relief effort.

The event organizers, Monique Moloney and Matt Jones, both Australian nationals living in Hong Kong, were Assistant Language Teachers on the JET Programme in Miyagi Prefecture between 2003-2006. Having maintained strong connections with their former home, they were deeply affected by the devastation and suffering in communities where they’d often visited and fondly remembered. Their reaction was to organise an event that could raise awareness and funds in a meaningful way.

Through online groups, Monique found photographers who were willing to contribute their work to the cause. She also connected with other former JET participants who were living in Hong Kong. These people helped promote the event and attended to show their support.

“We may have moved on but we haven’t forgotten our friends in Miyagi Prefecture. It was our turn to give back for the kindness and good will we were shown during our time there.”

For more information, please contact Monique Moloney at mnqmlny@gmail.com or phone +852 90300243