Excited for Golden Week!

Hello all,
April went by so fast! We've been very busy since the start of term, and we're glad that things are finally starting to settle down.

There are some changes happening in the month of May, and we'll be saying "see you" to one of our favourites, and welcoming some new faces into the OEK family.

Jo, one of our teachers, will be leaving OEK at the start of June. Our resident snowboarder will be returning back to her native Australia for a brief stint, before making her way to Canada in the winter. We're all sad to see her go, but we're excited to welcome our new teacher Brian!

Brian is an American from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has previously lived in Japan before, and has worked as an ALT in Nagano. He is currently living in London, England, and will be arriving here in late-May. Brian will be coming to Shimizu with his wife, Akane, who grew up in Mishima-shi. OEK is excited to welcome them both back to Japan!

Also joining the OEK staff is Mari, our new Japanese assistant manager. Today was Mari's first day of work and we're so happy to welcome her to into our OEK family.

To say "see you" to Jo for everything she has done in her time at our school, and to welcome Brian, Akane and Mari into the OEK family, we're throwing a party at Umegaoka on May 31st. It will be a B.Y.O. and BBQ party, starting from 1:30pm until the late evening. We're looking forward to celebrate our staff, both old and new, and we hope that you can join us in the celebration. Mark your calendars!

The OEK staff is also getting ready for our Golden Week vacation, and we're all very excited! It's going to be a busy vacation for us all.

Felicity, a friend of Jayne's, is hosting a few events from the 2nd to 4th. On the 2nd there will be a contemporary Egyptian dance event held at Funakoshi Learning Center.
On the 3rd and 4th the Mandala event will be held at Umegaoka. It's a great process where you can discover more about yourself through art therapy!

Jayne is really excited that Felicity is coming down to Shimizu to share her knowledge about art therapy and dance ... she has been hosting fabulous workshops in Japan for the last 20 years and it's great to have her here at last!

As for the rest of us, we'll be busy too. Ken is heading back to Canada for his brother's wedding, but don't worry! He'll be back in Japan on May 12th. Jo, Kotoe, Cindy and I are headed to Hiroshima next week, and we're looking forward to our trip, and to learning more about Japanese history.

We're all looking forward to some rest and relaxation, but we will be missing our students in the upcoming week!

OEK will be closed from May 3rd to May 10th. We will re-open for the summer term on Monday, May 11th! See you then!


- from Kim