Call for Volunteers at Japanese-American Heritage Days Festival on May 3-4

Junior Wings has been invited to participate in the First Annual Japanese-American Heritage Days festival at Old Fisherman's Wharf on Sat-Sun May 3-4.

The festival needs volunteers to staff various activities and the information booth from 10AM-5PM.  Specific duties for volunteers will be clarified as we get closer to the date, but in general we are to help distribute signs, direct foot traffic, staff the information booth, and help with "gyotaku" (fish-painting), abalone races, origami, and other activities.

We have also been invited to participate in the 4:00PM Saturday procession from Fisherman's Wharf to the Japanese-American Citizens League Hall on Adams Street (very near the corner of the Sports Center and Jacks Park) and stay for the reception.

The Japanese Consulate General from San Francisco, Mayor Chuck Della Salla, Former Mayor (and great supporter of Junior Wings) Dan Albert, and representatives from Nanao, our sister-city, will be present.

I will be posting more information in the coming days with specific activities and volunteer time slots for sign-up so please save May 3-4 to come learn about and support the Japanese heritage of our community.  It should prove to be interesting and a lot of fun.

April 16 Bake Sale

Great job on the Bake Sale at the Colton Open House last night, particularly on such short notice!  There were lots of goodies for sale and a steady stream of customers.  We earned $216!

April 15 General Meeting

We had a great first meeting.  Thank you all for coming and being so energetic, particularly with the self-introductions!  Your pronunciation sounded great by the end.  It was the first time for Junior Wings to meet in the preschool room at the Monterey Youth Center.  It worked out well and I am looking forward to our future meetings there.

For those of you who couldn't make it, here is a link to the presentation.

Students, your research projects by the next meeting:

• Find 5 interesting facts about Japan (cite source)
• Visit Kids Web Japan and learn the 14 greetings and useful words
• Make name placard, roughly 11x17", include email address (be sure it is big enough to read!)
• Apply for your passport.  If you already have one, please make a photocopy (color, if possible) and bring it to the next meeting
• Complete your Student Profile and bring it to the next meeting.  You can find another copy on our Documents & Links page under Handouts.

See you all again on April 29, 6:30-8:00pm at the Monterey Youth Center.

First Up!

Our first meeting will be Tuesday, April 15, 6:30-8:00pm and the Monterey Youth Center.  Please come excited and ready to learn!

After a brief reintroduction to the program, our tasks at the first meeting will be:

• Self-introductions
• Logistics of the program
• Passports
• Timeline
• Costs/Fundraisers
• Calendar
• Photos
• Next Steps

We will also need to begin collecting information from you, including a self/family profile that will be used to help match you with a partner in Nanao.  We will also be asking for your T-shirt size, your height (in centimeters), birthday, and general family information.

We will end each meeting with a simple and entertaining homework assignment for you to research before the next meeting.

What do you need to bring?  Please prepare a 1" three-ring binder with about 25 sheets of notebook paper and a pocket or two.  You will be given handouts that you will need to keep and you will need to take notes.  While smartphones are great and can be very useful, pencil and paper are still the best way to capture information quickly.  Bring your notebook and pen/pencil to every meeting!

Last, our first fundraiser opportunity is already here: The Colton Open House on Wednesday, April 16.  We will be selling baked goods as dessert to the pizza being sold by the Colton PTA.  Details will be discussed at the meeting, but please prepare some kind of baked good, such as cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and so on that we can sell during the Open House.

Contact Dana with any questions at 831-601-1592

This is going to be an exciting program year and I am looking forward to spending it with you.  See you all on Tuesday!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the eleven successful applicants selected for the 2014 Junior Wings Program.  Competition is always very tough and this year was no exception.  Thank you to all of the applicants for your interest in the program.

For those applicants that were not selected, please understand that the logistics of the program when traveling to Japan is what limits the number of applicants that can be selected.  We regret that we are unable to take everyone.  If you are still truly interested in Japan, please consider joining the Japan Friendship Club at school where you and your clubmates will learn and experience a lot of fun things about Japan.

Junior Wings 2014 Applications Now Available

The Student/Family Orientation meeting for Junior Wings 2014, held at the Monterey Youth Center on Tuesday, February 25, 6:30-7:30PM, was very well attended.  The meeting was lively with students and parents showing great enthusiasm and energy.  The students demonstrated great interest in Japan and they, and their parents, asked many good questions.

If you missed the meeting, you may view the presentation here.

The student application is here.  Hardcopies are available from Mrs. Frost in the Colton School office or from Mrs. Frey in Room A4.  Instructions are included in the application.  The submission deadline is 4:00PM, Friday, March 7.  To be fair to all applicants, no applications will be accepted after this deadline.  Give your completed application to Mrs. Frost in the Colton School office.

When you turn in your application, be sure to sign up for an interview time on the Interview Sign-up Sheet.  Interviews will be held Tuesday and Wednesday evening, March 11-12, from 5:00-9:00PM at the Monterey Youth Center.  Do not be late or miss your interview!

Thank you for your interest in the Junior Wings program.  We wish you the best of luck with the application process.

If you have any questions, please contact Dana Russell at rushwind24@gmail.com or 831-601-1592831-601-1592.

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Junior Wings 2014 Begins!

The Junior Wings Program for 2014 begins February 25 with a general orientation to the program for interested students and their families.  This orientation will be held at the Monterey Youth Center, Tuesday, February 25, 6:30-7:30 pm.  Applications will be available at the meeting or from this blog's Documents page here beginning February 25.  The evaluation rubric is available here.

For a detailed description of the Junior Wings Program, click here.

STUDENT APPLICATIONS ARE DUE: 4:00PM FRIDAY, MARCH 7

Initial Calendar

• February 25:  Student/Family Orientation Meeting, 6:30-7:30pm, Monterey Youth Center.  Student applications become available
• March 7:  Student applications due by 4:00pm, Colton Middle School Office, Mrs. Frost, sign up for interview time slot.   No late applications accepted.
• March 11-12:  Student interviews,  5:00-9:00pm, Monterey Youth Center
• March 17:  Notification letters mailed over Spring Break

• April 15:  First meeting!!