Message from the Editor May 2015                   After adjusting to new teachers, new students, and perhaps even new schools this past April, Golden Week came as a welcomed reward. Although a much busier time of year for the hotspots in Japan hopefully you found worthwhile activities to spend your four days off. This month’s Naha…
Message from the Editor, April 2015            After flailing about at PunkSpring 2015 and relaxing in what may have potentially been my last overseas trip while on the JET Programme (shameless plug and thank you for Brittany Teodorski’s Cambodia review), I can’t help but hear Alien’s voice whisper, “Spring break forever,†over and over again…
Message from the Editor March in Japan is an incredibly difficult month to define and I can’t tell if it is one of the best or worst. With winter still lingering and spring not completely established (though my renewed runny nose and itchy eyes seem to say differently), March can be an enormously relaxing…
A month into the new year and it’s already almost time to bid farewell to your students. 3 nensei have their graduation ceremony in late February and most ALTs will wrap up their lessons before the month’s end. Similar to your students making it through their elementary, junior, and high school careers, you too will…
Renewal. That’s the word that comes to mind after the start of a new year. January 1st is like the Monday of a new week; it’s full of hope, possibilities, and often positivity. It is a time when most are motivated to start doing the things they have wanted to, but haven’t. Sure the weather…
Message from the Editor First off, let me congratulate any JET who arrived this past July and August on almost completing their first term of teaching here in Japan. For all your initial classroom confusion, cultural faux pas, and any other mishaps, you’ve nearly made it to your first closing ceremony. Let winter vacation be…
Message from the Editor Following the professional development that resulted from this year’s Skills Development Conference and the possible personal regret from Halloween festivities, November marks a time for many new JETs when things are finally beginning to fall into place. Much anticipated plans for winter vacation are being made in an effort to…
Message from the Editor I don’t know about you, but the end of summer and the beginning of fall have been a perfect combination of work and play. As for the play, this term is filled with so many national holidays the time not spent lesson planning is spent planning my three day weekends….
Message from the Editor  September is here and I can finally stop Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out†that’s been playing on repeat on my iTunes since mid-June. Indeed school is no longer out for summer and with summer’s end comes an end to trainings, orientations, and more unfortunately, vacations. I take it all the new…