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MINOH JET-ALT UPDATES (April 1, 2023)



This correspondence is issued by the JET-ALT team periodically to update
what going on with the JET-ALT program in Minoh City.  Your frank comment on
this e-mail magazine would be appreciated.



1. New School Year Starts!
Just as in most public offices and private business in Japan, a new fiscal
year of Minoh City and MAFGA started on April 1st (no April fool!).  That’s
why the entrance ceremonies at Japanese schools are held in the beginning of
April.  And so are personnel changes at school organizations.



2. Cherry Blossom (お花見=OHANAMI) Spots

Cherry trees are now in full blossom in Osaka region earlier than regular
season.  In our region, there are many cherry blossom spots, such as
Katsuoji Temple (勝尾寺) in Minoh and Satsuki-yama in Ikeda  (池田市五月山公
園).  Walking through cherry streets in the EXPO Park (万博公園) is nice in
both daytime and at night with light-up. You can see cherry blooming in your
school yard too.  A unique local spot in Minoh is a street called ‘桜並木
(Sakura-Namiki), a 200m section of street lined with cherry trees from Minoh
Kita Elementary School (箕面北小学校) down to near Naka Elementary School
(中小学校). Please note that a period of full bloom is just a week or less.
So don’t miss a chance to appreciate the spring of Japan!!



3. MAFGA Updates
MAFGA consultation hours at JET House will be regular schedule of 5-7pm on
Wednesday and Friday including the spring break of Minoh public schools. The
JET team staff members will change in April.  Peter Sakaguchi is back to the
team starting in April after a few year break, while Mike Kitadeya left at
the end of March after his service with the JET team since 2015. There is no
change in other staffing of MAFGA JET team.



4. Message from Editor Mike Kitadeya

As a member of MAFGA JET team which started in 2015 to receive the first
JET-ALTs in Minoh, I enjoyed working to help JET members in Minoh all these
years. In early days of JET program here with the size of a few dozen
members, it was possible to have social events with JET members and
community people, such as barbeque parties and food stands at community
festivals. Christmas parties and Bonenkai of JETs are pleasant memories for
me. As the number of JET members got bigger and as the COVID19 pandemic
spread, such events got hard to hold unfortunately.  I feel sorry for recent
JET members who could not experience social interactions with community
people and JET colleagues.  However, I hope that your experiences as JET-ALT
in Minoh will widen your view of world and enrich your future life.  Thank
you for following this JET-ALT Updates, and I wish all of you a good luck!