Hi Everyone

I haven't done one of these for ages. You probably haven't noticed, but hey. I have a few bits of information that may not apply to all of you, but for time-saving purposes I'm going to whack it all together and call it a newsletter :)

1. Prefectural SHS English Teachers Meeting.

2. Rumours about ALT cuts

3. Changes to the re-contracting process

4. Disaster Message Board service

1. Prefectural SHS ALTs only

Almost all the prefectural SHS teachers in Toyama will go to a training day on Wednesday October 4th. This includes the JTEs and to a lesser extent, ALTs. Your JTEs will be attending all day - some long meeting in the morning and then a choice of presentations in the afternoon. As the morning is conducted entirely in Japanese, we're not required to be there (unless you really want to!), so you'll probably find yourself in a mostly empty staffroom, or maybe even at home if you're sneaky.

The afternoon part is compulsory for us though, and your school should have received paperwork about this in the last couple of days - there will be a sheet with a list of the presentations and descriptions in English and Japanese. You're supposed to sign up for one. This isn't anything to do with JET so doesn't go through Tsukashima sensei at the GEC - we didn't send out the paperwork and we're not able to answer any questions about the event. If you haven't heard about it yet, or haven't been given the presentation sign-up sheet, then please talk to one of your JTEs ASAP.

2. Rumours about ALT cuts.

From the message boards and questions at the regional meetings I understand that several private SHS ALTs have been told that Toyama's private high schools won't have ALTs next year, or at least not JET ALTs. As I said at the regional meetings - the PAs hadn't heard anything about this, and Yasuhara sensei still hasn't heard anything from the division of the Toyama Government that is in charge of these schools.

For it to be official, he would need to receive paperwork about it. He hasn't yet, but we talked yesterday and he said that he will talk to his contact in the department and hopefully get an answer which I can pass on. If it does turn out to be true, I'll also try to confirm what will happen next year for ALTs who would like to re-contract. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything official, but until then I'm sorry that you've got to wait and wonder.

As for prefectural SHS - any cuts that are made are made by Morita sensei (who you met at the regional meetings), not your individual principals. Morita sensei is told what the budget for ALTs will be and he is then responsible for cutting/shuffling people around. Unfortunately at this point in time we have no idea what that will mean for next year, but again, as soon as I have any information I will pass it on.

3. Changes to Re-contracting

Since the regional meetings, we've heard from CLAIR about changes to the re-contracting process this year. It is now possible, in principle, for JETs to re-contract for up to 5 years in their current job. There are conditions attached though. Your contracting organization has the final say in whether they will keep you or not. First of all, if you are interested in staying for another year, you will have to talk to your school/office about it. If they think that you've been a super-duper wonderful JET and they really want to keep you for another year, then they will talk to the CO about it, and if there is the scope/budget to keep you, and everyone is happy, you can extend your contract for another year. Please note, however, that like your first 3 years, you don't have the right to have your contract extended, and it is entirely at your CO's discretion.

This also has implications for the people currently working as Elementary ALTs - essentially your position will not exist next year, but if you and your BOE are in agreement, and budget allows, then you will be able to stay for your 5th and final year, however your job name will change back to ALT (as opposed to Elementary ALT). I'm not yet sure what this means for any 3rd years who were considering applying for the Elementary position. If you have any questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

You will receive the re-contracting papers soon and this will all be explained in more detail there. Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime!

4. Disaster Message Board Service.

At the recent regional meetings, we asked you all for your address and other contact info to be used incase of an emergency. I wanted to pass on this information about the "Disaster Message Board" service that the telephone and keitai providers offer in Japan. If there is some kind of big disaster, it's possible for you to record a message (voice or text) that can be accessed by people (within Japan) who are concerned about your safety. It's also possible for you to check on a friend if something happens in another part of Japan. They all have instructions in English, and the attached file gives you a run-down of what to do to record/access a message should something happen. Please read it and keep it in mind if anything should happen during your time in Japan.