Applications

Today I received the 5th application. We need to have at least 5 applications to make the trip possible. The deadline is February 1, 2010.

Host family selection

Rebecca got back to me with the explanation of the host family selection process.

"Host families are selected by asking the incoming students' necessities and the like. Then they pass out sheets to each class in the school asking for volunteers. Then the volunteers come talk to Yoshida and they relay addresses and the like.

Please be VERY specific when applying for a host family. If there is anything that bothers you that could occur within a household, you must tell. For example, I hate smoking but my host family smokes. I didn't know that they would and I never asked in the first place. Little things like these could be troublesome over time."

Parent Info Night 12/10

Last night, parents of 9 students attended the trip information meeting. Mrs. T-F and I hosted the meeting. In the 50-minutes meeting, I went over the information sheet, shared my experiences, showed pictures I took in March, and answered questions. The application deadline is February 1, 2010.

Parents want to know how the host families are selected. This is a good question. I will ask Seishin and get back to them. I have the email address of those parents to keep them posted.

Student trip information meeting 12/3

The student trip information meeting was held in the Alumnae room at lunch time on Thursday December 3rd. Seventeen students attended. In addition, a few students were not able to attend and contacted me individually.

In the meeting, the information sheet and application form were given. I also showed some pictures I took in Japan during my business trip in Japan.

Parents are invited to the parent information night on Thursday December 10th in the library. Mrs. Riley and I will host the meeting.

I already received three applications so far.

Exchange Program Meeting

Japan short term exchange program student information meeting - Thursday 12/3 @ lunch

Japan short term exchange program parent information meeting - Thursday 12/10 @ 7pm

Travel Agencies

I've talked to Kintetsu International Express, a local Japanese travel company, and Willow Glen Travel.

1. Airfare prices go up after June 10. (updated 2/24 -- this is not true. Airfare goes up after June 3rd this year).

2. United is the only airlines fly non-stop from SFO to KIX, but only M, W, F. They are more restrict and less negotiable.

3. Alternatives - fly Japanese airlines and connect flight in Narita (Tokyo)

4. Airfare surcharge is not predictable and could be very high if the oil price sky rocks

5. Book tickets next February the earliest

6. Insurance is required by ND

Notre Notes Newsletter Fall 2009

Notre Notes Fall 2009 issue

Page 3

In the spring of 2009 Amy Huang, Notre Dame San Jose's Librarian, visited Seishin Junior and Senior High School in Kurashiki, Japan as part of the City of San Jose's Sister City Program. While in Japan Ms. Huang discussed establishing an ongoing student exchange program. "Notre Dame San Jose will be taking a group of students to Kurashiki, Japan in June 2010 for a visit (possibly 2 weeks). Students will stay with host families and attend classes at Notre Dame Seishin Senior High School where they will learn Japanese language and culture. Notre Dame San Jose is also looking at hosting students from our sister school in Japan, starting in June 2011." Amy Huang will accompany interested exchange students this summer.

Meeting with Mrs. Riley

I had a brief meeting with Mrs. Riley on Thursday November 12. There are the conclusions:

1) We are targeting at 5 or 6 students.

2) We will be meeting with Mr. Katahiro Tomie, the general manager at KIE/Kintetsu International to talk about the airfare.

3) We will provide a trip information night before the Christmas break.

4) I can use the documents that modern language department has for their Europe trip to help me create my own template. Mrs. Kussman sent me the minutes from their information night meeting. Mrs. Zambo shared her Cuernavaca chaperon experience.

Annoucement

In the faculty meeting on Thursday Nov. 5th (the day before the 8th grade day), Mrs. Riley asked me to briefly talk about the progress of the exchange program, so now the faculty knows that I am going to take students to Japan in June next year. After the meeting, several teachers told me it's great and very exciting.

I used Glogster, the website Mrs. Ahrens used for her 8th grade day class, to create interactive posters for the sample schedule of the exchange program. The two posters can be found on the top navigation bar of this blog. Just click "schedule" and you will be able to choose either the 13 days or the 18 days samples.

Follow up response

Ms. Yoshida responded to my inquiries yesterday.

1) Date: They are not able to set the dates and length of the trip yet because we and other sister schools need to go at the same time and they have not discussed it yet. It will be either 13 days or 18 days in early June.

2) Cost: She estimated the cost of the activities but not including the transportations. JR-PASS is suggested.

3) Host family : one student per host family.

4) They want to focus on one program at at time, so they won't send exchange students to the US before Summer 2011.

In my reply, I asked for the contact information of other sister schools that will visit Japan at the same time with us. I think their experience will help me be a better leader and chaperon. I really want this program to succeed.

Follow up email

I sent a follow up email to sister Kotani, Ms. Mori, and Ms. Yoshida.

In the email, I told them about our open house. The Japan club displayed the full-color yearbook on the table and excitedly talked about our sister school relationship and the collaborative programs.

Homestay program info on Seishin's website

http://www.nd-seishin.ac.jp/sch_guide/sch_edu3.htm

Homestay program info on Seishin's website:

We also welcome students from St. Anthony High School (HI) and Blair High School (NB) in June. Some of our students and their parents volunteer to offer them a homestay. The students attend classes at Seishin where they learn the Japanese language, the Japanese culture and the Japanese way of thinking and living. Some of the experiences they have are tea ceremony lessons, Koto lessons, outings to famous sites in our area, visits to various temples and shrines, as well as joining in on the homeroom activities with Seishin students. The students from our school and the students from their sister schools help each other all the time, especially with communication and overcoming the language barriers. Their friendships will be stronger as they learn to communicate better in both languages. The fact of the sister school arrangement means that it is easy for the students to keep in touch with each other. We provide our students with the means to make the first steps towards cross-cultural understanding.

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From the paragraph, we know that Seishin is providing the homestay program to two other American high schools. Seishin will provide very similar program and schedule to our students.

Contact ND Seishin

An Email was sent to the principal Sister Kotani, vice principal Ms. Mori, and Ms. Yoshida. I asked a few questions.

1. Date of the trip and schedule
2. Expenses of the trip
3. Host family
4. Japanese exchange students