JETache November 2001

Departure of 15th JET Programme Participants for 2001

On Friday 3 August 3 CIRs and 42 ALTs gathered at the Victorian Room of the Copthorne Central Hotel in Christchurch to be welcomed by Mr Hideo Date, Counsellor and Consul. Mr Geoffrey Price, who was on the interview panel, gave a short and very relevant address emphasising responsibility, professionalism and the danger of making comparisons and judgements. Mr Hiroshi Naka and Ms Michie Ichimura of Japan Travel Bureau gave out important travel instructions and luggage labels to each person and Miss Maureen Heffernan of the Consular Office of Japan mentioned about taking medication into Japan and other items of general advice.

Ms Shelley Keach and Ms Jane Turner of the JETAA of the South Island spoke of their experiences and keenly answered questions, allaying any last minute worries. In the adjourning Parkview Room a reception was held from 5.30 until 7.00 pm. Members of the Japanese Society of Canterbury, Japanese Supplementary School, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch College of Education and additional members of JETAA joined in wishing all participants well in a toast proposed by Mr Geoffrey Price.

On Saturday 4 August everyone was eager and ready for their big adventure, but there were still a few hours until departure. At 9.15am a video "Beyond the Classroom" showed the dedication of a Japanese Junior High School teacher. Ms Carolyn Shaw of the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology once again gave an enjoyable and most useful hour’s lesson in Japanese language. Introductions, role plays and singing "Haru ga kita" made words and phrases very memorable. The South Island CIRs and ALTs will probably gain a reputation around Japan for being very musical people who sing essential greetings and phrases! Everyone will have learned some very effective teaching methods from Carolyn’s fun-filled lessons. After morning tea, the next major task was loading the huge pile of luggage on to the 2 buses, before leaving for Christchurch International Airport and their 2.35pm departure for Sydney and on to Narita. We hope that they will uphold the fine standards set by their predecessors and look forward to hearing news from them.

Maureen Heffernan