 |
Japanese Teachers' Association of NSWABN 94 045 344 808 |
March 2008 Newsletter
Hi Everyone,
A very warm welcome to the new JTAN members. Of course, welcome back to the old members. Hope you are all surviving the long hot Term 1.
A few things to report to you in this newsletter.
Mailing Address
Please note that JTAN's mailing address is P O Box 419, Belrose 2085
Please send any future correspondence to the new address. It is especially important if you are applying to come to the JTAN activities and you are ordering exams. It may also be a good idea to remind your school administration staff so that your letters to JTAN can be addressed correctly.
Website password
All of you should have already received your personal username and password to gain access to the JTAN website "members' area". If you have not received yours, or if you have problems logging in, please send me an email to angela.lam@unswalumni.com
Please take a look at the "Teaching and Assessment" area where other members have kindly uploaded their teaching resources for sharing. If you also have anything that may be useful to the rest of us, please upload it too. No names appear so you can be anonymous.
Year 11 Beginners Assessment Kit
Those of you who have purchased the Year 11 Semester 1 Beginners Assessment Kit should have already received it. We still have a small number of Assessment Kits available. If you are panicking about the upcoming assessment task, put your order in now. (You can find the application forms from the JTAN website www.jtan.org.au) There are altogether 15 listening tasks, 9 reading tasks, 12 short and 4 long writing tasks. Some writing tasks are good for Stage 5. Some reading and listening tasks are good for Year 11 Continuers students to practise how to analyse texts.
Please note that the CD has a misprint on the label. It reads "Japanese Beginners Year 11 Semester 1 Listening Assessment CD 2008". In fact, it has both the audio and text files. You can print the exam papers from the Word document in the CD.
If your school has not yet received your ordered copy of the Year 11 Semester 1 Beginners Assessment Kit, please check with your administration staff to find out if the correct address was used. We have had quite a few schools that are worried because their order has not arrived, and it turns out that the orders were sent to the previous postal address. If you are in this position, please contact Liz Sugimoto (Secretary of JTAN) esugimoto@optusnet.com.au with the details of your order and payment. Liz will do her best to get your order to you.
Japan Club Sydney
If you are looking for some Japanese activities for your class, the Japan Club may be able to help you. Take a look at their website http://www.japanclubofsydney.org
You can also find the Japan Club application form and invoice from the JTAN website. Just go to www.jtan.org.au and click the "contact" tag. Then go to the bottom to find the Japan Club. JTAN does not gain any money from the Japan Club but relating this information to you is another service JTAN offers its members.
Exam kit purchase
Other than the year 11 Semester 1 Beginners Assessment Kit, JTAN will also be producing other exam kits. The exam kits will be on a CD. The written paper can be printed from the Word files and the listening section can be played from the audio files of the CD. You will be able to play the sound tracks from a CD player or a computer. You can find the application forms from the JTAN website www.jtan.org.au Please note that JTAN can only accept school orders.
- Beginners - Year 11 Preliminary Yearly Examination Paper
- Continuers - Year 11Preliminary Yearly Examination Paper
- Beginners - Year 12 Trial HSC Examination Paper
- Continuers - Year 12 Trial HSC Examination Paper
- Extension - Year 12 Trial HSC Examination Paper (Word files ONLY, no audio files)
Year 10 Day
Thanks to Mami Izuishi, JTAN Workshop Co-ordinator, and the Year 10 Day Committee's organization, a lot has been planned for this exciting event.
| Date: | Friday, 25th July (week 1 Term 3) |
| Time: | Registration at 9:00am for a 9:30am start Finish at approximately 2:40pm |
| Cost: | $15.00 per student |
| Venue: | Sydney University Carslaw Building (It is not Macquarie University because Macquarie is now unavailable) |
How to get to Carslaw Building of the University of Sydney:
- You can enter via the City Road entrance.
- By train: 15 minutes walk from the Redfern Station
- By bus: 10 minutes walk from Parramatta Road buses or 2 minutes walk from City Road buses.
Take a look at this map http://www.emu.usyd.edu.au/emu/unimap.html
The Carlsaw Building is opposite the blue bit of the map on Eastern Avenue.
Students will actively participate in listening, reading and speaking activities and interacting with fellow Japanese students from other schools. Students will also have an opportunity to gain information about Japanese at a tertiary level and beyond. Like any other school excursions, you are supposed to be there to actively supervise your students.
Please remember that JTAN events are only open to members only. So if your friends from other schools also want to bring students to this exciting event, the teacher needs to become a member first. Sorry, we must enforce this for taxation purposes.
The application form for the Year 10 Day is attached to this newsletter email. The deadline for application and payment is 9th May. We know there will be a lot of interest in for the Year 10 Day. However, we can only accommodate 200 students. So please get your application and payment in to JTAN quickly to avoid disappointment. First come first served!
Year 12 Continuers Day
Following from the success of the previous years, JTAN will continue to run the Year 12 Continuers Day.
| Date: | Saturday 14th June (week 7, term 2) |
| Cost: | $20.00 per student |
| Venue: | North Sydney Boys High School (Crows Nest) |
Please note that teachers taking students to the Year 12 Continuers Day must be a part of the examiners team on the day.
Students will gain experience of HSC style speaking interviews and feedback from interviewers. They will also get advice on tackling listening global style questions. The deadline for the application and payment is also 9th May. The application form for the Year 12 Continuers Day is also attached to this newsletter email.
Year 12 Beginners Day
The Year 12 Beginners Day will be similar in style to the Continuers Day. This is the first time for the new beginners speaking exam. Some teachers, especially those who are unfamiliar with the Continuers style speaking exam may find it hectic. Similarly students are uncertain of what to do. Come along to the Year 12 Beginners Day where you can get a lot of speaking practice and performance feedback. Students will also receive advice on how to respond to higher Order thinking/ global questions implemented in the new syllabus. The deadline for application and payment is 9th May. The application form for the Year 12 Beginners Day is also attached to this newsletter email.
| Date: | Saturday 21st June (week 8, Term 2) |
| Cost: | $20.00 per student |
| Venue: | St Scholastica's College (Glebe) |
Please note that teachers taking students to the Year 12 Beginners Day must be a part of the examiners team on the day.
That's all for now! Have a nice Easter long weekend.
Regards
Angela Lam
JTAN Communications Officer
Past Newsletters