First Up!

Our first meeting will be Tuesday, April 7, 6:30-8:00pm at 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, the Colton Open House, is in the second or third week of April.  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, April 7!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the fourteen successful applicants selected for the 2015 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, as well as the number of applicants selected by the Nanao Junior Wings Program, are what limits the number of applicants that can be selected.  We truly regret that we are unable to accept everyone.

Applicant Notification Letters Mailed

Thank you all for your patience.  Application notification letters were mailed as of Tuesday, March 31.  You should be receiving your letter in a day or two.  If your letter does not reach you by Saturday, April 4, please contact rushwind24@gmail.com as your application may have been one of the two that were missing a complete mailing address.

Application period ended/Student Interviews

Thank you to everyone who submitted an application on Friday, March 6.  We received a record number of 37 applications, thus making the selection process very difficult. 

The written application is only half of the process.  The next step is to sign up for a 10-minute interview with the Selection Committee.  Sign up in Ms. H's classroom.  Interviews will be held on Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, from 5:00-9:00PM at the Monterey Youth Center (777 Pearl St in Monterey, next to Dennis the Menace Park).

Parents are strongly encouraged to attend the interview so as to talk one-on-one with the Junior Wings greeter (a former Junior Wing parent).  This is your chance to learn more about the program and to ask any and all questions you might have.

Students, please know that interviews will be conducted on time.  DO NOT BE LATE!  If an extenuating circumstance comes up, call us!  831-601-1592.

Best of luck to you all.

Student Application Now Available!

The student application and evaluation rubric for Junior Wings Program 2015 are now available!

• Student Application
• Evaluation Rubric

These documents are also on the Documents & Links page.

Applications are due to Ms. Hochstaedter by 4:00PM FRIDAY, MARCH 6.

To maintain fairness for all applicants, no late submissions will be accepted.

Junior Wings 2015 Begins!

The Junior Wings Program for 2015 begins February 24 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 24, 6:30-7:30 pm.  Student applications are here.  The evaluation rubric is here.  These documents are also on the Documents & Links page.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE: 4:00PM FRIDAY, MARCH 6

Initial Calendar

• February 24:  Student/Family Orientation Meeting, 6:30-7:30pm, Monterey Youth Center.  Student applications available at the meeting.
• March 6:  Student applications due by 4:00pm, Colton Middle School Office.  Sign up for an interview time slot.   No late applications accepted.
• March 16-17:  Student interviews,  5:00-9:00pm, Monterey Youth Center
• March 23:  Notification letters mailed over Spring Break

• April 7:  First meeting!!

Nanao to SFO

Our parting at Nanao Station was of mixed emotions: sadness that our time in Nanao was ending, but excitement that we were headed home to tell our families and friends all about our adventures.  The train to Kanazawa was uneventful and we made our transfer to the Thunderbird easily; however, our train to Kyoto was somehow delayed, causing us to miss our next connection.  We took the next Haruka express train from Kyoto to the Kansai Airport, but we lost 45 minutes of our time-cushion to the delay.  More time was lost when the luggage shipping company sent us hiking across the terminal to a different pick-up point.  To make things worse, one bag was missing, only to be found at the counter we went to initially!  While we were packing our backpack souvenirs into our large suitcases we heard the final check-in call for our flight - the counter would be closing in a couple of minutes - HURRY!  We got everyone checked in, through security and immigration, and out to the gate with about 10 minutes to spare before the posted boarding time.  Whew!  No stress...!

The flight home was a quick 9:30 hours and we were met with a rousing welcome by the parents.  Hugs, thank yous, and good byes until our final party on Saturday night!