gunmajet.net

I was prepping for the Newcomer's Guide and looking up local festivals and noticed this website:
http://www.g-is.or.jp/hanabi/hanabi.html

It announces that due to a lack of financial support, the Isesaki Fireworks Festival has been canceled this year (2008).

Maebashi Boys' HS: Byron Ahn
Maebashi West HS: TBA
Maebashi Girls' HS: Laurel Swift
Maebashi East HS: Sayoko Miller (Visit School: Maebashi Industrial HS)
Maebashi Commercial HS: Alex Laws (Visit School: Maebashi East Commercial HS)
Takasaki East HS: Lesley Jacobs (Visit Schools: Takasaki Industrial HS, Haruna HS)
Takasaki North HS: Molly Peterson

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/magazine/09wwln-consumed-t.html?ref=ma...

FreeRice.com

THIS FOREIGN LAND
Assistant language teachers in trying times

By KANAKO TAKAHARA
Staff writer

In November, Samantha Bouton, an assistant language teacher working at a public elementary school in the rural town of Shibayama, Chiba Prefecture, had a fever of 38.5 degrees and was diagnosed as suffering bronchitis.

Here's an excerpt. Download the file if you're interested. There's only about 1 page of writing. The bulk of the report is just graphs. Also, the pdf file is in both Japanese and English so I'd like to encourage you to print out copies of the report and give it to your JTEs or BOEs.

http://www.gunmajet.net/node/929

When to add a tenten
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendaku (English)

When to use a small "tsu"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokuon (English)

Basic rules for reading Japanese
http://tiaokumura.exblog.jp/2071067/　(Japanese)

Ne vs. Yo at the end of a sentence
http://nihongo-teacher.com/docu/tips.php (English)

A big "THANK YOU" to all those who came to these meetings. It was really helpful for Ogawa-san, Bahia, and me to get a feel for people's situations. The executive summary was also translated and read by the Director and the Director General of the Tourism and International Affairs Division.

Here are the summaries of the Regional Opinion Exchange.

Enjoy!