(By Shige Kakinoki, Office Manager)

Class Observation, Parent/Teacher Conferences and the Welcome Forum were held on October 6th. We had a good turnout in some classes, and many questions were discussed during the conference with the teachers. After the parent/teacher conference, a Welcome Forum was hosted by the PTA board members at the school office, where they explained the school’s mission, policies, and programs. The parents presented many great ideas to raise money for our school. A parent said that the Kurimanju event was a great opportunity to meet new friends. Others showed enthusiasm to volunteer at the school, but they were not sure what they could do to help, and they asked the PTA to lay out some ideas for them. It was a very positive and constructive meeting. Even if you were not able to attend this meeting, please feel free to tell us your opinions or ask questions at anytime. All the PTA board members, coordinators, and I are here to talk to you. 

(By Kinuko Brown, Nyumon Class Parent)

I attended my first Class Observation session on October 6th. One month has passed since my 6 year-old son, Bryan, started in the Nyumon class, and he’s gradually getting used to Noriko Sensei, Tamiko-san and his classmates. He enjoys his school life here. He was peeking back at my face several times, feeling a little perplexed because I was there. I had a little trouble refraining myself from helping him when he could not answer the teacher’s question. The Welcome Forum was very informative and, in a near future, I would like to be involved as a volunteer. Because my son has been raised in an English, Spanish and Japanese speaking environment since he was very small, he’s a little behind in language development. For that reason, we’re currently using only English to communicate at home. Even so, we’re wishing for him to learn to be able communicate and to read and write in Japanese as well. Even though this class is offered only once a week, it is a still a very meaningful time for him. I’m very pleased to see him start showing an interest in the Japanese language, and I feel very grateful that we have enrolled him in this school. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu.