Good news!

With the end of the school year approaching, it's also time for the ALTs to find out what their next schools will be. I've been pretty depressed recently by the thought of having to leave my favorite school. It's pretty uncommon to stay at a school as long as I have (two years now), so chances of keeping that school for yet another year were very slim. My supervisor had pretty strongly hinted that I'd be changing schools, as well.

Over the weekend I learned that two of the other ALTs had found out on Friday what their assignments would be. Unfortunately, they only knew which of their schools had changed, so they couldn't tell me whether I still had TJHS or not. So this morning I asked my supervisor what schools I'd have, and she seemed surprised and dismayed that I knew that the schedule had been decided. Apparently the other ALTs weren't supposed to have talked about it. She brushed me off and said that she'd talk to me later; I had to wait a few hours because she had meetings all morning. I think it was incredibly rude, maybe unprofessional, for her to share such important information with some of the ALTs while withholding it from others. I was kind of worried I'd have to press her for the answer, but once her meetings were over, she did come talk to me. It turns out that I get to keep my mountain school (TJHS), and my large school (YJHS) will be traded for another fairly large school.

I was almost shocked to find that I can keep TJHS; it sounded like it would be impossible. I'm really happy about it but at the moment I still don't quite believe it. But now that I know I don't have to say my goodbyes next week, I feel a lot better. I think this will make it a lot easier to enjoy graduation and the post-graduation enkai. I'm looking forward to the next year at TJHS, as well; I've already gotten to work with the incoming 7th graders, and I know they're pretty good kids. This also means that I'll get to see my first group of 7th graders all the way through to their graduation. The students who were in 7th grade when I arrived at TJHS will graduate next spring, and it's kind of awesome to think that I'll have been their ALT for all three years of junior high.

Anyhow, that's my good news. I was really concerned that I might regret staying for a third year if I were moved away from TJHS, but now that I know I can stay there, I'm looking forward to the next year.