(By Noriko Murata, Chief Coordinator)

Greetings, new students! Welcome to SFVJLI. And welcome back to all students from previous years. I’m feeling a little melancholy that the summer is almost over but, at the same time, excited to start a new school year with you. We’re welcoming three new teachers and getting ready to a start fun, exciting and fulfilling year. Get out of bed early Saturday morning and enjoy learning Japanese with our friends and teachers! As we start a new school year, we have one big favor to ask all the parents. Four hours of school time every week is a very limited and valuable time for them to learn Japanese, because our students live in Englishspeaking environment. All of our teachers and staff are trying very hard to provide as many opportunities as possible to speak, read, hear and write Japanese in every possible way. Therefore, please support and encourage your children to arrive at school on time and not to miss any classes. Parent involvement is the key to their improvement. Let’s work on this together!