As of today, the first new Ishikawa JETs will arrive in the prefecture! Remember what it was like your first day in Ishikawa - the beautiful views, the amazing people, the utter chaos of trying to get everything done this first week, the thoroughly unpleasant humidity, and at some point wondering, 'what the heck have I just done?!?!'

This year seems particularly pleasant and beautiful - the sky is clear and sunny and all the summer events' planning is underway, hopefully making the move to Japan a smooth transition for all new JETs.

Take a few minutes folks to find out who these new folks are and give them a proper welcome! Keep reading for the events and things to come for this month!

-Tonya

On to business!

Upcoming Events for August and September:

Job related:

August 1st: Group A arrives in Ishikawa

August 4th-6th: English Summer Seminar (MANDATORY FOR ALL PREFECTURAL GROUP A ALTS)

August 8th: Group B arrives in Ishikawa

August 15th: Education Day – Kanazawa Nishi High School

August 16th-17th
There are two events over these two days.
Morning - Ishikawa English Teachers’ Seminar – Jyosei Center
Afternoon - Ishikawa New JET Orientation – Riifare: IFIE

August 19th: Ishikawa English Club League Debate Contest – Jyosei Center
Some of your high schools will have teams participating in the contest. All are welcome to come and observe.

August 21st: Prefectural Payday!

August 24th - 25th: Group C Arrives in Ishikawa.

August 28th: Municipal Payday!

September 3rd: First Day of School

JET Related

Festivals
The month of August is prolific with small and large festivals. Get in touch with your area leaders or PAs and find out what is happening in and around your area. If you see ropes with strange little pieces of paper attached to them hanging from houses and business, follow them, they will probably lead to your local shrine where even the smallest shrines will have evening events.

August 11th: Uchinada Beach Party – Contact Scott Page or your area leader for details.

August 18th: AJET Bar Crawl – Please contact Fiona Shaw, our AJET representative for details.

September 1st: AJET Official Welcome Party
We have a few folks coming in quite late with Group C. We wanted to wait and include them in the revelry. It is also gives the returning JETs a chance to come meet you if they have been out of the country and properly set you up for your first day of school the following Monday.

Area Leaders

This year's area leaders are:

Wajima: Joel Werley, Marie Wojcik
Noto, Suzu, Anamizu: Eliza Muskett, Anne Scoufalos, Christy Straniero
Kahoku, Hakui, Shika, Hodatsu-shimizu, Tsubata: Travis Pierce, Lauren Hill, Beth Farlik
Nanao: Michael Younker, Rachel Chua
Kanazawa, Uchinada, Nonoichi: Jessica Cleary, Phill Cantone, Scott Page, Fiona Shaw, Mo McKeurtan
Hakusan, Nomi, Terai: Azadeh (Oz) Pour, Andrew DeCock
Komatsu, Kaga, Daishoji: Caoihme Ni Dhubshlaine, Keith Ibsen

If you are new - these folks will be getting in touch with your shortly. If you are not Ishikawa veterans, please contact these area leaders to see if any of the new JETs need a hand or if there are coming events going on that you should know about!

Last, thing: if you all are back home or traveling abroad in general, play safely and come back in one piece!

That is all for now! Let me know if you have any questions. Good Luck and I’ll keep all of you posted with updates.

-Tonya