TES Times Takada English School Baby Baby Baby! It has been an exciting few months for a lot of people connected to us here at TES. Sara, who is back in Iowa, had a beautiful little girl, her second daughter, and they called her Hina Yoko. As you can see from the photo, she is a real cutie, much like her sister before her. Both mother and daughter are doing very well. Rich on this happiest of times for them. Well, they say that good things come in 3’s, so… Some of you may have noticed that our own Yoko has been around the school less lately, and you might be wondering why. Well, it was always planned that she would step back a bit and that Madoka would take over much of her work during the days. However, now we know that Yoko too is expecting our first baby on January 1st! We are both very happy and are looking forward to the birth of our first child, but are quite nervous about it too! I hope you are all Then, in November of ready for lots of this year, Nicole, who is pictures of the baby also living in Iowa, will (we don’t know if it’s a give birth to her first boy or a girl yet) and child. They already for me to be looking know that it’s a girl. We tired in the school! wish her a safe delivery With that in mind, and a healthy baby. Yoko is planning to We are delighted for stop working from the Sara, Tylek, Nicole and end of November, and Sara & Her baby girl, Hina. She was born in June 2014. we are currently searching for someone to come in during the evenings to work as a receptionist. We will let you all know who that person is when we have everything decided. Oct 2014 Issue 24 Inside this issue: From Peter 1 From Yoko 2 Holidays 2 From Madoka 2 We are also in the From Nicola process of looking for a From Marcia replacement for Sean, whose short stay here Event Info will finish at the end of From Sean the year. It was always a short term agreement, as we for what winter is knew Sean would be bringing me! heading back to Australia, but it’s been great to have him here, and we all wish him, and his wife Aya, well in their Australian adventure! Again, we will let you know who the new teacher will be as soon as everything is decided. 3 3 4 4 So, we will be having a farewell party for Sean later in the year, and we will of course let you know when that is. Winter is coming, so get yourselves prepared. I’m not sure I’ll be prepared enough Rick and 8 month pregnant Nicole. She is expecting a baby girl this November. 2 News from Yoko 秋晴れの気持ちのよい天候が続きますが、皆様いかがお過ごしですか？私事で恐縮ですが、11 月の終わり位から、産休を頂くことになりました。冒頭のＰｅｔｅｒ先生の記事にもありますように、私の大きなお腹を見て、お気づきの方も多いかと思いますが、現在 7 ヶ月で年末位の出産予定です！Sara 先生とＮｉｃｏle 先生の良いニュースに続いて、不安ながらも本当に嬉しく思っています☆ お仕事の方は今まで通り、午前中から夕方までは、引き続きまどか先生が、そして 11 月末からは、夕方から夜まで、新しく受付の方が入る予定です。皆様にはご迷惑をおかけしますが、新スタッフが決まり次第、皆さまにご紹介いたしますので、今しばらくお待ちいただければと思います。どうぞ宜しくお願いいたします。予想されますが、皆さまには今まで通り、楽しい英会話レッスンを提供できるよう、スタッフ一同努力して参りますので、今後共、どうぞ宜しくお願いたします！また、今年の 1 月から、当スクールで講師をしていただいている Sean 先生が残念ではありますが、今年一杯で、オーストラリアに帰国することになりました。来年、2015 年 1 月から、Ｓｅａｎ先生担当のレッスンを引き継ぐ、新ネイティブ講師も、決まり次第直ぐに皆様にお知らせいたします！ドカティ家にとっても、当スクールにとっても、今年の年末は変化が多く、何かと目まぐるしくなることが毎年恒例のハロウィーンパーティですが、今年は各キッズクラスでお子様のハロウィンレッスンを行う予定です♪大人のイベントは、少し先になりますが、Sean 先生の送別会＆恒例のクリスマスパーティを 12 月中旬に計画中です！こちらも日程が決まり次第、ポスター、ＨＰ、Facebook などでお知らせいたしますのでどうぞお楽しみに☆We will keep you posted! Next Holiday Schedule 当校の次のお休みは冬季休業です。期間は以下の通りです。 2014/12/23(祝日) ～ 2015/1/5(月）来年 1/6（火）からの通常営業です２０１５年のＴＥＳ年間休日カレンダーは、１２月より配布予定です。しばらくお待ちくださいますよう、お願い申し上げます。キッズクラス内で 10 月の最終週にハロウィーンのアクティビテイを楽しみましょう♪ 期間：10/28（火）～11/1（土）参加費は特にありません。Trick or Treat 言えるかな！？ News from Madoka 夏休みも終わり、2 学期がスターも段々わかってきて、「今やると Next トして 1 か月が過ぎました。我がころ！」なんて日本語で返してき家もやっと長女、次女が学校に行き、私よりも、夏休み中子守をお願いしていた私の母の方がホッとしたのではないかと思います (笑)。我が家では、毎朝子供たちに言うことが同じなので、自分の気持ちに余裕があるときは、英語で話しかけたりもします。そんな子育て英語を少しご紹介。「朝ごはん食べて!」は、”Eat your breakfast!”、「歯は磨いたの？」は、”Did you brush your teeth?”、「お着替えして！」は、”Get dressed!”と言います。ぜひ使ってみて下さい(*^_^*) 繰り返し語りかけていると、子供たりしますよ（笑）。さて、2014 年度が始まり、半年が経ちキッズクラスでは、参観日を設ける事にしました。日頃のお子さんのレッスンの様子を見て頂くいい機会だと思いますので、是非いらして下さい！参観の後に少しだけお時間を頂き、宿題の出し方、やり方などについてお話させていただきますので、ご都合付きましたらぜひそのままお付き合いください。お忙しいとは存じますが宜しくお願い申し上げます。さらに！10 月は Halloween のある月ですね!!今年は、10 月最後の週（10/27～11/1）に各クラス単位で Halloween-ish （ハロウィーンっぽい）Lesson をする予定です。Halloween にちなんだゲームやクラフトを楽しみ、最後にはお馴染みの Trick or Treating!!学校から直接来るお子さんもいらっしゃるので、仮装はありませんが、1 年に 1 度しか味わえない欧米の文化をクラスのお友達と楽しんでもらえたらうれしいです。ちょっと早いけれど、Happy Halloween to everyone!!! Scottish Independence 3 By Nicola Maruyama Well it has been an interesting couple of months for Scotland as the country debated the pros and cons of staying in the Union. We all know the result but sometimes it is not the result which is the most important thing. Many Scots thought long and hard about whether to vote YES (For independence) or NO (against independence). Opinions divided families, workplaces and towns and cities and fierce debates took place all over the country. This process has made many Scots recognize what is good about Scotland and with a little more time I believe the outcome may have been different! I initially started as a NO vote but after reading about the issues and watching programs debating the pros and cons I eventually swayed from NO to YES. I realize now how strong I felt because when the final result came in I was deeply disappointed. However one good thing which has come from this is the media coverage about Scotland. We are a small nation but have much to contribute and I hope one day we will once again be independent and have the power to make decisions for ourselves. My Summer in Japan By Marcia Faulise As the summer comes to a close we say goodbye to the sweltering heat and humidity, and hello to the crisp, cool breeze and changing trees. Everyone warned me that the summer in Joetsu would be miserable, full of long, hot days from June to September. Either people were just trying to scare me, or I really lucked out with a mild summer. True, there were some days where I didn’t even want to leave the air conditioned safety of the indoors, but it sure wasn’t as severe as I had been expecting. For the week-long summer holiday my parents came to visit and I had to play tour guide and show them around to all our favorite sites in the Joetsu area. We went to the beach a few times, to Myoko for a visit to Naena waterfall, and to Togakushi Ninja-mura in Nagano. On their own, my parents visited Kyoto. They loved exploring the many temples and parks within the city, but did complain that it was much hotter there than Joetsu. My stepfather’s main goal for his visit to Japan was to climb Mt. Fuji. He and my mother were successful and they were able to view the sun rising from the top of the mountain. Nick and I went to visit them for their last weekend in Tokyo. We cheered on the Giants at the Tokyo Dome and took a trip to the top of Tokyo Tower. They thoroughly enjoyed their stay in Japan and were sad to leave when the trip was over. Now, as we head into my favorite season of the year, Nick and I are taking part in the Komachi Magazine’s Ramen challenge. The magazine has showcased some of the best Ramen shops in Niigata prefecture. For those interested, there is a stamp book for collecting marks from participating shops. If you get thirty stamps you receive a prize and some free Ramen vouchers. I am already about halfway done and will hopefully get to thirty stamps by Halloween. Along with eating the delicious Ramen, I have also been taking pictures and writing a blog about each shop I visit. If you are interested I would be more than happy to share the website with you. It is pretty much all in English, but it may be a good chance to practice reading, as well as learning about some good Ramen shops here in Niigata. More about Sean 4 Takada English School 943-0824 上越市北城町 3-5-5 コスモスシティ内 2Ｆ Phone: 025 523 4788 Fax: 025 520 4008 E-mail: enquiries@takadaes.com http://www.facebook.com/takadaes あなたの町の英会話 We’re on the Web! www.takadaes.com 冒頭の News にもあります通り、今年の 1 月より、当校で子供から大人のクラスまで、幅広く授業を担当して頂いているパート講師の Sean 先生が今年いっぱいで、母国オーストラリアのタスマニアに帰国されることになりました(;_;) へのお手紙ですが、Sean 先生のレッスンは、年末まで、通常通り継続いたしますので、引き続きどうぞ宜しくお願いいたします<m(__)m> 10 年の間、ここ上越の地で、英語講師として、またアーティストとして活躍された Sean 先生ですが、また母国でも、ますます活躍の場が広がることをスタッフ一同応援しています！上越のフリーペーパーＧｉｆｔなどで、彼のアート作品に親しみのある方も多いかと思いますが、11 月の末に、Sean 先生帰国前の最後のグループ展示会が、東京・中目黒の『Ofr』で行われる予定です。即売会も実施しています。ご興味のある方は、詳細をお知らせいたしますので、直接Ｓｅａｎ先生にお問合せ頂くか、受付までお気軽にお問い合わせ下さい。以下、ショーン先生より受講生の皆様昨年購入した Sean 先生のオリジナル作品です。高田イングリッシュスクールのロゴマークも入れて頂きました❤ それにしても細かい！脱帽です。 Farewell Greetings from Sean Dear Students of Takada English School. It may come as a surprise, but in December this year, I will be retiring from TES and returning to Tasmania. Together with my wife, we will start the next chapter of our lives in Australia. It has not been an easy choice, and I will miss the friends I have made, the community I have become a part of, and you, the students, most of all. TES is a special place, and in the short time we have spent together, I have always felt like part of a family. I can say without reservation, that working here and meeting you has been such a privilege - you have motivated me to be the best teacher I can. The lessons I have learned from you in the classroom will never be forgotten. Thank you for your efforts, your patience and your generosity, so many good times, and so many good memories. In the future, when I look back on my 10 years in Japan, the last 12 months I spent at TES will be the most fondly remembered. Thank you! I wish you all the best with your English studies and hope we will have a chance to meet again - maybe in Tasmania? Yours Sincerely, Sean