Yamate - Medicine Hat Student Exchange

Update and next meeting.

2005-05-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

We met again on May 3rd to discuss our future plans for fundraising and what still needs to be done for our return trip. Students have made $550.00 deposits so far and the balance will be due in two weeks time (cheques made out to Globetrotter Travel, visa and MC accepted as well).
Next meeting: MONDAY May 16th at 7pm @MHHS cafeteria to work on the cultural exchange night presentation mostly. Please make sure that your forms have been returned, you have submitted a picture and a photocopy of your passport as well.

Cultural Evening and Swimming.

2005-04-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

The students from Yamate Gakuin High School put on a spectacular performance. We have definitely got a lot of work ahead of us to prepare for our own performance in July. I thought it would be wise to communicate with the other delegations that are going in order to coordinate our performances in order to make sure they are unique and well organized. We will discuss that at our meeting in May.

If you are going swimming or bowling, could you please contact Keri Crewson at 527-3371 ext. 7707 to let us know how many in your party will be attending. Thank you!

2005-04-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

HOSTING UPDATE AND REMINDER
Hello Everyone,

For tomorrow April 20th the following will occur. Students will be taking part in an Aboriginal Cultural Awareness activity at MHHS from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. lunch will be provided.

Due to tomorrow being early dismissal for staff meetings, we have arranged for buses to pick up our guests and transport them to the Medicine Hat Mall for two hours of free time. At 3:00 p.m. the students will return by bus to MHHS to start setting up for the cultural exchange and supper will be provided.

Host families and the community are welcome to take part in the cultural evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Students can be taken home after the cultural evening has been cleaned up after 8:00 p.m.

For the 21st Students will leave from MHHS for Eagles Nest Ranch at 9:00 a.m. and return for around 3:30 p.m. Lunch is provided for this day.

For our students at CHHS and McCoy that are being bussed over to MHHS a reminder that the morning pick up time is 8:30 a.m. and the return from MHHS is at 2:40 p.m.

Thanks for the great pot luck everyone and we hope that everyone is having a great time.

The Medicine Hat Coordinators.

Newpaper Article

2005-04-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

Japanese students set to travel to Hat in cultural exchange
Matthew Grant
Medicine Hat News
Students from the world's largest urban area are coming to the city to experience some Medicine Hat hospitality.
As part of a cultural exchange from April 15 to 29, 76 Japanese students from Yamate Jr. and Sr. high school in Yokohama will be taking part in activities with students from Medicine Hat, Crescent Heights and McCoy high schools.
A Hat High teacher who's helping to organize the event, Keri Crewson, said the students will be staying with local families and are coming to learn about the Albertan way of life.
"I think what they'll enjoy here is the western way of life and our countryside."
The Japanese students will also be spending a day at a local high school, attending a potluck supper, going horseback riding and going to a cultural evening. The event is scheduled to take place on April 20 at Crescent Heights high school.
Crewson said the exchange also involves about 25 students from Medicine Hat who will be going to Yokohama to live with Japanese families later this year.
"It will definitely give (our students) an understanding of the world's diversity."
Yamate is a private school in Yokohama, a city with 3.5 million people and a population density of just over 8,000 people per square kilometre.
The city is part of the greater Tokyo area, a 3,000 square kilometre continuous urban sprawl which encompasses the cities of Yokohama, Tokyo and Kawasaki and has a population of over 33 million people.
In contrast, Medicine Hat has a population of just over 50,000, is 111.9 kilometres squared and has a population density of 457.6 people per square kilometre.
Crewson said, while she is excited the students are coming, the work is far from over as she is still looking for five more families to play host to the Asian visitors.
"We're looking for some people who hopefully have a connection with the schools," she said.
Crewson can be contacted at Medicine Hat high school.

Next Meeting.

2005-04-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday March 12th at MHHS. 7pm in the cafeteria
Please bring your $400 deposit if you haven't paid already (total remittance to date is $550)

Schedule of events

2005-03-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15 Students from Yamate Gakuin School Arrive 8-9 P.M.	16 FYI: Jr. B Cubs Western Canadian Hockey Championships this weekend see MH News for game times.
17 Potluck Supper for Yamate students and host families at Crescent Heights High School. Meal provided by the organizing committee for all. Please R.S.V.P. with your family numbers.	18 MH students invite Yamate students to spend a school day with them. Dignitary Evening for Chaperones 6-9 p.m. at the Zucchini Blossom	19 City Hall tour at 2 p.m. Medalta Museum tour and Tee-pee. Bag lunch needed. Yamate students.	20 Deb Lloyd’s Native Education Program. Cultural Evening at MHHS cafeteria for Yamate students (supper provided) 3-10pm. All welcome.	21 Field Trip to Eagle’s Nest Ranch 9-3p.m. Lunch provided. Yamate Students. -Horseback riding, zip-line, archery, and other activities.	22 Aquatic Day – At Leisure Center in Crescent Heights 1-3 p.m. (Yamate student’s fee covered.) All welcome.	23 Families plan their own activities for the weekend.
24 Chaperone BBQ at Dalton’s 5-?	25 Bowling at Panarama Lanes 7-9 (pay per user/~$8 shoe rental included.	26 Yamate Drumheller Tyrell Museum tour 8:30-6pm. Bag lunch required. A headset with a Japanese language tour will be provided.	27 Evening Barbecue and Dance Supper provided for Yamate students and host student. 5-10pm Dance 7-10 for host families.	28 Perhaps this is a day for Yamate students to take advantage of cheap Canadian shopping and a quiet evening with their host families.	29 Yamate Departs Students must be at MHHS by 5A.M. to leave by 6A.M.	30
		Bowling Fishing Billiards

Other things to do in Medicine Hat.

2005-03-31T16:45:00.001-08:00

Other happenings in Medicine Hat of interest.

There is a local Musical Theatre Production going on that would be of interest."Anne of Green Gables" (very popular in Japan right now)
April 25 to 30th at the College Theatre
7:30 pm nightly
Tickets $18 (on sale in City Hall foyer from 12pm to 6pm daily)
Contact person: Evan Tonin (527-3621).
I spoke to her and tickets could be blocked (no discount).
Mon April 25th or Thurs Apr 28th are possible dates that would work although both dates have some disadvantages. The 25th would mean missing the (optional) bowling and the 28th is the last night of the visit (and the next morning will be early).
Paul D'Agostino

Weekend Getaway in Calgary?

2005-03-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

The Sheraton Eau Claire Suites has available a number of rooms under its SAVOR SPRING rate. This rate is for two nights with the second night being FREE and with the hotel providing a $40 lunch/supper credit for its Barclay's Restaurant. Valet parking is about $22/night or guests may park in one of the nearby outdoor lots for less.The hotel is in my opinion the best of the downtown hotels offering all suite accommodation, a pool/hot tub/dry sauna/short fast waterslide/exercise area.
The hotel is on the Plus 15 walkway (inside walkway that connects the whole of the Calgary downtown together), across from Eau Claire market and nearby many restaurants/coffee shops etc... Driving is only required if you wish to leave the downtown area (like shopping at Chinook Centre).The 1 bedroom suite (2 queen beds in the bedroom and a pullout couch in the living room) is $199 + taxes for the 2 nights.The 2 bedroom suite (2 queen beds in one bedroom, a king bed in the other bedroom and a pullout couch in the living room) is $299 + taxes for the two nights. There are very few 2 bedrooms in the hotel and I think only two more are available for the nights of April 22/23.The link below is to the offered rate and will allow interested people to explore the hotel offerings. Other packages from $149 + taxes are also available for 1 night as well. For example there is a Zoo Rate for $159 that includes 1 night and 2 adult/2 child zoo passes (I don't think its on the website but was in a flyer sent in the Medicine Hat News that I have).http://www.sheratonsuites.com/savor.htm
If it works out it would be nice to have several families in the hotel for the students to be with during a Calgary visit.I have booked in already and would be happy to answer any questions on the hotel.
Paul D'Agostino529-2214 (home)544-4670 (work)

More information on Yamate Gakuin High School

2005-03-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

Check out this website:
http://www1.neweb.ne.jp/wb/yamate/Two-week.htm

March 16th

2005-03-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

The next meeting for the exchange will be March 22nd at 7p.m. in the MHHS cafeteria for those students who are going to Japan in July. Please bring your $400 deposit to the meeting.

We are hosting the Yamate Gakuin High School from Yokohama, Japan from April 15-29th. This is an excellent chance to show off some Canadian hospitality. We are hosting a total of 76 students are in need of 15 more host families to take in these students. If at all possible, we are looking for families that can take two students into their home. The students are here to learn about Canadian culture and to learn English. We have arranged for a variety of field trips for these students during the days they are here. There will also be a variety of activities that host families will be able to participate in as well during the evenings.
Please forward this information to your staff.
If you think you may be able to help us out, or would like more information, please contact:
Connie Atkison MHHS 527-3371 ext. 7262
Jill Eastly MHHS 527-3371 ext. 7123

Preference for families who can take in two students. Two separate rooms are not necessary, but certainly two separate beds/pullouts/cots are. Host families would be responsible for getting the students to Medicine Hat High School in the mornings for their field trips and getting them back at night. There are some days that a supper or a lunch may be provided for these students, but most of the time meals are the responsibility of the host families. A calendar of events will be posted on this site soon.

February 7th

2005-02-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, I just want to let you know what the criteria are for the contest which will determine the logo on the exchange's tshirts.

- it must include "Yamate Exchange" as well as the names or initials of the 3 involved high schools
- the logo itself may be 2 colours and the tshirt can only be 1 colour
- the year, 2005, must also be included somewhere

- the actual design is up to the students. For my japanese class, I simply brainstormed with the students what the exchange is all about (learning, experiencing new cultures, working together, etc.) and they came up lots of good ideas.
- the deadline will be Feb 28 and bring the entries to the meeting on March 1st.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me. Thanks.
Gen Handley

January 25th (Passport Validity)

2005-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

Message from Bill Pechtel:
I called the Japanese Consulate General today, which by the way is now located in Calgary effective January 1, 2005. I was checking about passport validity. In technical terms, as long as a persons passport is valid until after they arrive back into Canada (August 5, 2005) that is fine with the Japanese Government. However, being in the travel industry a long time, sometimes the airlines may look at a person's passport and give them a hard time about the passport only being valid for 1 day after arrival back in Canada. Their point would be that if there was any sort of delay and then the passport was no longer valid for entry back into Canada, then the problems start. I would suggest that you make sure that all passports are valid for at least 6 months after the return back to Canada - that would mean about February of 2006.

January 6th

2005-01-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

There are 25 students confirmed to go to Japan. Keri Crewson has receipts for those who have paid.

Bill Pechtel will be at our next meeting to explain the travel arrangements.

We have 19 families to take in students. We need 19 more. If each school is responsible for 6-7 more, then it doesn't seem so insurmountable. Connie Akison will contact parent council in this regard and has put announcements in the bulletin/morning announcements.
We don't have all the waiver forms yet: 14/25.
Discussed: A tour of city hall for 16 year olds seems like a very boring thing. How about a tour of BATUS instead? Other ideas? Perhaps we could break from tradition a bit and stir things up.

Someone has the list of committee members/committees. Any idea who got that? Connie/Jill will update this when they phone to remind about the meeting which is Tuesday the 11th at 7pm in the MHHS cafeteria.

December 6th

2004-12-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

Doug Dalton is meeting with Sue Moench And Lyle Cunningham on Dec. 7th to update them on the trip.
The funds from the last exchange have been moved to MHHS and all funds will be handled through MHHS.
Bill Pechtal comming down for the 11th of January (our next meeting) to talk to parents and students.

November 21st

2004-11-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

Answers to some important questions from the last meeting:

Vi Sheridan (Palliser Health) will be looking up records for immunizations. Students will be immunized at each of their respective schools during school hours. Permission forms for these will be coming to each student in the near future.

Students needing to use VISA to pay for deposits/plane tickets will need to come to the office during business hours and make a payment.

We should be able to get funding to cover our bus from Angela Turnbull at AB Learning. Mrs. Moench is looking into this on our behalf.

From Bill Pechtel, all we need to do is let him know and he will arrange to be here, we may want to shoot for early January. Unless we can set up a meeting for the busy month of December.

We don't have a specific letterhead, in the past we have used school letterhead.

Deposits will be required and made out to Medicine Hat High School with a final cheque from the school to Globetrotter Travel at a later date.

For the cultural evening we feed only our guests, students and chaperones, in the past we have done a pizza feast, we could also do a chicken thing as well.

We are offically approved by the board and will need students to fill out the travel waiver forms as provided by the district, have student accident insurance and have additional health insurance(like Blue cross extended care). We will need to know if GlobeTrotter's insurance will be adequate for this.

Vi Sheridan will probably be able to also arrange additional copies of the travel cards for students with information regarding their shots, we will copy these. We will also copy all waviers, passports, and other information for a travel set of binders for our chaperones.

2004-11-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

Here are the official dates for hosting the Japanese students.
Put these dates on your calendar:
Friday April 15 to Friday April 29

November 3rd

2004-11-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

We have SD 76's approval for our trip. Mr. Dalton made the presentation before the board last night. Further information on the stipulations are pending.

October 28th

2004-10-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting will be Tuesday November 23rd at 7 p.m. at MHHS cafeteria.
Please bring your travel deposit cheque.

October 28th

2004-10-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

All finances will be dealt with by Medicine Hat High School. Thank you to Mrs. Moench for making this possible and for having the funds transferred to us. Thank you to Mrs. Wendy Jalbert our staff controller for helping us with the bookkeeping. Deposit cheques should be made out to Medicine Hat High School.

October 26th

2004-10-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

What kind of activities should we plan for hosting?
Here are some of the activities in addition to what we have done in the past that have been suggested. Some of these could be optional activites for the students to attend.

A movie night (possibly involving booking a theatre).
A star-gazing night at the Sunridge Observatory (There is a lot of light pollution in Japan - not ideal for looking at stars/planets).
A games night. (Sports/board games).

Please add to the list of ideas by making comments to this posting!

October 22nd

2004-10-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Tentatively, we have asked for Thursday November 25th as our "fun"raising night at the Humpty's restaurant in Medicine Hat. Individuals hand out invitations to people interested in dining at Humpty's on November 25th between 4 p.m.-9 p.m. . Our group will get 20% (less GST) of the nights receipts as generated by our guests. We will probably have those invitations for you before the next meeting. Special thanks to Geraldine and Kevin Sheane for making this fundraising easier for us and arranging this night.

October 21st

2004-10-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

We have 40 seats reserved for students wanting to go to Japan. They will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis by turning in a $150.00 non-refundable deposit by November 26th. The dates for the trip to Japan are July 20th to August 4th.

The date to host 76 students from Japan is tentatively set for April 12-26th.

Make sure you have arranged to get your passport early.
Hopefully the SD76 board will approve our travels at the November board meeting. If not, remember, we do have a back up plan.

October 20th

2004-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Immunizations needed for the Japan Exchange: tetanus, diptheria, Hepatitus B, Hepatitus A (recommended). If students were headed to more rural locations, then a encephalitus immunization would be required (students are recommended to wear insect repellent as a precaution).
At the next meeting, please give the team leaders your child's birthdates/any previous names so the local Health Unit can do a pre-search for immunization records. Parents can make appointments with the Palliser Health unit directly for immunizations.

Next meeting date: October 26th, 7p.m. MHHS cafeteria.

The deposit for students going to Japan will be required before November 26th.