Dear ACE Students,

It`s the month of love again, but have you felt that January has passed by quickly?

Yes, it is! Just a loving reminder to all of you, that no matter your circumstances now

at school or work, it will surely come to pass quickly. 

The best thing we can remember is the lesson we learned that time. 

January has taught us many things and one thing I can think of is ` volunteer`. 

This word reminds me of my life when I lived in America and served the people there. 

I was a very introverted person before going there and it took me lots of courage to decide to be apart from my family and go far away from my country. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I conquered

my fear because of my desire to help others and the great support of my dad and

mom. My mom always tells me that ` If others can why can`t I? `. So, I tried, though I

had some doubts that I couldn’t. 

I am grateful to my parents. I`ve learned that there's no regret in trying 

and by trying you can make yourself and others happy.

I hope to share with you what I've read from happiness.com about the benefits of

volunteering. ` Studies do show that the more you volunteer, the more benefits you’ll

experience, volunteering doesn’t have to involve a long-term commitment.

1. Volunteering helps you connect to others and have fun 

- it is an important and interesting way to meet people.

2. It builds self-confidence and self-esteem 

- A 2017 study from the University of Missouri and Brigham Young University 

that included almost 700 11- to 14-year-olds examined how sharing, helping, and comforting others affected self-confidence.

3. It is important for physical health.

4. And mental health

5. It is important for a sense of purpose.

Let`s spread love by enjoying sharing our time and being kind to others. 

Happy Valentine`s Day.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

**********

親愛なるACEの皆さんへ、

再び愛の月がやってきましたが、1月が早く過ぎたと感じたことはありませんか？そうです、そうなんです！皆さんにとっての学校や仕事の状況はどうであれ、それは確実にすぐに過ぎ去るでしょう。私たちが覚えておくべき最良のことは、その時に学んだ教訓です。1月は私たちに多くのことを教えてくれました。私が考える一つのことは「ボランティア」です。この言葉は、アメリカに住んで人々に奉仕していたときの私の生活を思い出させます。私はそこに行く前は非常に内向的な人間で、家族から離れて国を離れるという決断には多くの勇気が必要でした。それは簡単な決断ではありませんでしたが、他人を助けるという強い欲望と父と母からの素晴らしいサポートのおかげで恐れを乗り越えました。母はいつも「他の人ができるなら、なぜ私ができないのか？」と私に言います。だから、私は試してみました。いくつかの疑念があったものの、それができないとは思いませんでした。両親に感謝しています。試すことに後悔はないことを学び、試すことで自分自身と他人を幸せにできると実感しました。

私はhappiness.comからのボランティアの利点についての情報を共有したいと思います。研究によれば、ボランティア活動をするほど、より多くの利点が得られます。ボランティア活動は長期のコミットメントを必要としないこともあります。

1. ボランティア活動は他者とのつながりを築き、楽しむための重要で興味深い方法です。

2. 自己信頼心と自尊心を構築します。2017年のミズーリ大学とブリガムヤング大学による研究によれば、約700人の11～14歳の子供たちを対象として、他人との共有、助け合い、慰めが自己信頼心に与える影響が調査されました。

3. 身体的な健康にとって重要です。

4. 精神的な健康にとっても重要です。

5. 目的感を持つために重要です。

愛を広げ、時間を共有し、他人に親切であることで、幸せなバレンタインデーをお過ごしください。

敬具、

ラブリー・ベンタニア 

Dear ACE Students,

We welcome you to the new beginning of the year 2024. We hope that everyone

could enjoy the winter holidays with family and friends. It might not be a good

start to the year because of some tragedies that happened in Japan or other

countries that made us feel sad, but we can still have hope and believe in miracles.

I`d like to share with you some miracle stories that happened in the tragedy.

According to good news, “After Japan’s 7.6 earthquake on January 1st, veteran

educator Anne Hanson urgently sought to learn the fate of her former host family

who live in Uozu, a coastline city not far from the quake’s epicenter.

After decades-old email addresses proved useless, Anne searched the internet for

Uozu information and made a hope-against-hope effort to reach them by

completing a form found on the website for Uozu City Hall.That’s when a miracle

happened. Less than 24 hours later, she received an email from Akihiko Kiyokawa,

her Japanese host of 22 years ago.“When I entered my information into each online

window provided, I knew the odds of reaching Akihiko were huge,” Anne told

GNN. “But I also knew I believed in miracles and prayed that someone in the

office of the beautiful Uozu community might take the time to locate the Uozu

teacher Akihiko Kiyokawa.” “I am so grateful that Akihiko’s friend ‘happened’ to

see my message. But for me and Akihiko, our reunion is no mere coincidence—it

is a miracle,” says Anne.

Wishing you all a very happy New Year and good health our dear students. Grow,

learn, and be your amazing self. May this year bring you lots of smiles, fun, and

discoveries.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

*****

 親愛なるACEの皆さま

2024年の新たな幕開けを歓迎いたします。

冬休みはご家族やご友人と楽しく過ごされたことと思います。

日本や他の国々で起こった悲劇が私たちを悲しませ、良い年明けとは言えないかもしれませんが、私たちはまだ希望を持ち、奇跡を信じることができます。 

グッドニュースによると、「1月1日の日本の地震（マグニチュード7.6）の後、ベテランの教育者であるアン・ハンソンさんは、震源地からそう遠くない海岸沿いの街、魚津市に住む元ホストファミリーの消息を緊急に探しました。

何十年も前のEメールアドレスが役に立たなかったため、アンは魚津の情報をインターネットで検索し、魚津市役所のウェブサイトにあるフォームに記入して連絡を取ろうと望みをかけました。

24時間も経たないうちに、彼女は22年前の日本人ホスト、清川昭彦からメールを受け取ったのです。

「オンラインで提供された各窓口に自分の情報を入力したとき、昭彦と連絡が取れる確率はとても大きいと思いました」とアンはGNNに語りました。

「しかし、私は奇跡を信じ、美しい魚津のコミュニティのオフィスの誰かが、魚津の教師である清川昭彦の居場所を見つけるために時間を割いてくれるかもしれないと祈りました。明彦の友人が "偶然 "私のメッセージを見てくれたことにとても感謝しています。でも、私と昭彦にとって、再会は単なる偶然ではなく、奇跡なのです」とアンは言います。

新年が皆さんにとって幸多き年でありますように。

成長し、学び、素晴らしい自分でいてください。

今年もたくさんの笑顔と楽しみと発見がありますように。

敬具

ラブリー・ベンタニーラ

Dear ACE Students,

How glorious that it’s Christmastime already. You’ve been working hard this year

so far, and We`re so proud of all that you’ve accomplished. It’s such a privilege to

teach, especially when the students are as wonderful as you. From the bottom of my

heart, thank you for always trying your hardest, even when you don’t feel like

studying. While I am a teacher, you have taught me so much about how to love and

how to have more fun while teaching you. I can’t thank you enough for that precious

gift. This is a very special time of the year because some of you are looking forward

to the winter holidays, most especially lots of presents. For this, we are very excited

to see and celebrate the Christmas party with you this coming 22nd and 23rd of

December in Hosen and Keshigoyama.

`Do you know that Christmas celebrations have their roots in the pagan

festival “Saturnalia” in Ancient Rome. Saturnalia festivities were held to honor the

God Saturn and express their gratitude for the bountiful year they’ve had, as Saturn

was the god of agriculture. The celebrations were held from 17 December to 23 and

involved a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn and a public banquet, private gift-giving,

and parties.

Sending you warm Christmas wishes. May all your dreams come true, and

your presents arrive on time. Don’t forget to wish upon a star. I hope this Christmas

brings love, joy, and lots of luck for the coming new year! Sending my best wishes

this Christmas to you and your family! Hoping for the merriest of Christmases this

year for you! This season is a time for joy, peace, and gift-giving!

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

*****

  親愛なるACEの皆様

      もうクリスマスの時期ですね。

みなさんは今年一年よく頑張ってきました。

教えることはとても名誉なことで、

特に生徒が皆さんのように素晴らしい場合はなおさらです。

勉強する気が起きないときでも、

いつも一生懸命頑張ってくれて、心から感謝しています。

私が教師である間、あなたは私に、愛し方と、

教えながらもっと楽しむ方法について多くのことを教えてくれました。

その貴重な贈り物には感謝してもしきれません.

皆さんの中には冬休み、特にたくさんのプレゼントを

楽しみにしている方もいらっしゃいます。

12月22日、23日に芳泉スクールと芥子山スクールで開催される

クリスマス・パーティーを、

皆さんと一緒にお祝いできることをとても楽しみにしています。

   クリスマスのルーツは古代ローマの異教の祭り

「サトゥルナーリア」であることをご存知ですか。

サトゥルナーリア祭は、サトゥルヌス神が農耕の神であったことから、

サトゥルヌス神を敬い、その年の豊穣に感謝するために行われました。

祝祭は12月17日から23日まで行われ、サトゥルヌス神殿で生贄を捧げ、

公の宴会、私的な贈り物、パーティーが催されました。

 暖かいクリスマスのお祝いを送ります。

あなたの夢がすべて叶い、プレゼントが予定通りに届きますように。

星に願いをかけるのをお忘れなく。

このクリスマスが、愛と喜び、そして来る新年へのたくさんの幸運を

もたらすことを願っています！

今年のクリスマスが、あなたとあなたのご家族にとって最高のものとなりますように！

あなたにとって今年が最高に楽しいクリスマスになりますように！

この季節は喜び、平和、そしてプレゼントを贈る時です！

敬具

ラブリー・ベンタニーラ

Dear ACE students,

Good day everyone! We are on the 11th month of 2023, 

so close to December but before thinking about that. 

Let`s all be reminded of how much nature has contributed its beauty to us

greatly in our daily lives despite the challenges we have faced. 

It has given us so much comfort and peace,

 most especially this Autumn season that In November the foliage reaches a peak of beauty, 

making this the best time to enjoy the autumn leaves. 

I`ve shared with you many time show stunningly beautiful the Autumn season here in Japan.

Furthermore, I`d like to share with you an inspiring story 

that I read on the Good News Network website about the country Canada 

and how they pay respect to and honor the 418 Canadian Soldiers 

who died defending freedom overseas.

Red maples commemorating 418

Canadian soldiers line the A3 in

Hampshire, England by Mark

Chambers –via SWNS

Autumnal red maple trees lining a highway are a moving commemoration of Canadian soldiers

who gave their lives overseas during the two World Wars. Many motorists are unaware that they are passing through a sacred war memorial on the A3 in Hampshire, England. 

Each tree is twinned with a soldier’s grave. 

Those who lost their lives in World War I are buried in Bramshott Churchyard  and St Joseph’s Catholic Church, in Grayshott. The soldiers who died in World War II were laid to rest at Brookwood Military Cemetery, in Surrey.

The maple trees were imported directly from their native Canada to replace the line of

sycamores that were previously planted there as a reminder to the lost soldiers. A scarlet maple

leaf is an iconic symbol on the Canadian flag, known for its bold, red design.

We can share our thoughtful thanksgiving this month by praying for peace in other countries and

protecting people's lives. Please stay safe and warm everyone.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

ACEの皆さんへ

皆さんこんにちは！2023年も11ヶ月目に入り、12月も間近ですが、それを考える前に、自然が日々の生活の中でどれほど私たちにその美しさを見せてくれているかに思いを馳せましょう。私たちの前に困難があるとしても。特にこの秋は、11月に入ると紅葉の美しさがピークに達し、紅葉を楽しむには最高の季節となります。

日本の秋がどんなに美しいか、これまで何度もお伝えしてきました。

さらに、Good News Networkのウェブサイトで読んだ、カナダという国の、

海外で自由を守って亡くなった418人のカナダ兵への敬意を表す感動的な話を紹介したいと思います。

高速道路に立ち並ぶ秋の赤カエデは、

2つの世界大戦中、海外で命を捧げたカナダ兵を偲ぶ感動的な記念碑です。

多くのドライバーは、イギリス、ハンプシャーのA3にある神聖な戦争記念碑を通過していることに気づいていません。それぞれの木は兵士の墓と双子になっています。第一次世界大戦で命を落とした兵士たちは、グレイショットのブラムショット教会墓地と聖ジョセフ・カトリック教会に埋葬されています。第二次世界大戦で亡くなった兵士たちは、サリー州にあるブルックウッド軍事墓地に眠っています。

カエデの木は、失われた兵士たちを偲ぶために、以前そこに植えられていたスズカケノキの並木に代わるものとして、原産国カナダから直接輸入されました。緋色のカエデの葉は、大胆な赤いデザインで知られるカナダ国旗の象徴的なシンボルです。

私たちは今月、他国の平和を祈り、人々の命を守ることで、心のこもった感謝の気持ちを分かち合うことができます。

どうか皆さん、安全で暖かくお過ごしください。

ラブリー　ベンタニーヤ

Dear ACE Students,

We got 25 days before our Halloween party and good thing that we could all

survive the summer temperature. During the summer, people tend to travel

for vacation and have less predictable schedules. Once fall starts, most

people resume their everyday routines, making it easier for friends to get

together and socialize. Autumn is at once symbolic of plenty, ripening,

harvest, and abundance. You can call a person who loves autumn an

"autumnophile".

Talking about the harvest, I would like to share with you the news of Andy

Corbley from goodnewsnetwork.com saying that ` One of the largest harvest

festivals Malvern Autumn Festival in the UK, there are 35 categories for giant

or long vegetables, and this year 8 new world records were set, including for

Largest Runner Bean Leaf, Heaviest Runner Bean, Tallest Tomatillo Plant,

Longest Luffa, Heaviest Bell Pepper, Heaviest Cucumber, Heaviest Broad

Bean, and Longest Broad Bean.

4th place winner Tim Saint transported his whopping 667 lbs. pumpkin in a

trailer to display at the event held over the weekend in England’s

Worcestershire. “I grew a 667 lbs. pumpkin this year which I’m delighted at,”

said Mr. Saint. “I’ve been growing pumpkins for 20 years and that’s the

biggest I’ve ever done It’s got to be over 3ft tall at least, I’m 6ft tall myself

and it’s big.” “The secret is just plenty of water and manure, plenty of cow

manure especially,” added Mr. Saint, who did take 1st prize for largest

beetroot. “It takes a lot of water; I normally give it five watering cans of

water a day.” Please check it,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ItGyZdlXU.

In addition, whoever can find or bring the biggest pumpkin will get a prize at

our Halloween party. We will choose 3 winners. Good luck and enjoy the

autumn season.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

ハロウィーン・パーティーまであと25日になりました。 夏の間、人々は休暇のために旅行し、スケジュールが予測しにくくなる傾向があります。秋が始まると、ほとんどの人が日常生活を再開し、友人たちが集まって交流しやすくなります。秋は同時に、豊穣、熟成、収穫、豊かさの象徴でもあります。秋を愛する人を「秋好き」と呼ぶこともできます。

収穫といえば、goodnewsnetwork.comのアンディ・コーブリー記者の「イギリス最大級の収穫祭マルヴァーン・オータム・フェスティバルでは、巨大野菜や長大野菜の部門が35もあり、今年は8つの世界新記録が樹立されました。

4位のティム・セイントは、週末にイギリスのウスターシャーで開催されたイベントに出展するため、なんと667ポンドのカボチャをトレーラーで運びました。「今年、667ポンドのカボチャを育てたんだ。「少なくとも高さは3フィート以上あるはずで、僕は身長が6フィートあるんだけど、大きいんだ。「その秘訣は、たっぷりの水と肥料、特に牛糞をたっぷりやることです。「普段は1日に水やり缶5缶分の水を与えています」。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ItGyZdlXU。

　最も大きなカボチャを見つけた人、または持ってきた人には、ハロウィーン・パーティーで賞品が贈られます。当選者は3名です。がんばって、秋を楽しみましょう。  

敬具

ラブリー・ヴェンタニーヤ

Dear ACE Students,

We thank everyone who practiced and participated in our 16th Recitation Contest that was held

last week. We truly commend your best effort to learn and showcase your self-confidence

through practicing and believing in yourself. As Kimura sensei said, we thank all the parents for

all your support and undaunted love for their children. Kimura sensei, Ueno sensei and I

appreciate all of you so much.

Here comes the Fall season again where we can see the beauty of autumn foliage and the start

of fun harvest festivals across Japan. In the Philippines, Decorations begin in September for

the Christmas season. Filipino families start to buy Christmas decorations and prepare gifts

for their loved ones. 

Fun facts from Rappler news that, ` In the Philippines, the Christmas season kicks off on

September or the start of the so-called ` BER months`, more than three months before the

actual Christmas day. Christmas songs start playing on the radio and in the malls, holiday

promos from airlines pop up, invitations from friends and family to get together and eat out start

coming in and Christmas trees and lights now occupy many department store racks. The

simplest explanation for the Philippines' long Christmas season is our psychological framework

to countdown the day for big celebrations, said Brother Sorita, a sociologist in the Philippines.

100 days until Christmas starts on September 16 th but Filipinos like to celebrate earlier. The 100-

day countdown is also a secondary motivator and encourages Filipinos to complete tasks before

the big day.

Most Importantly, getting together with lots of laughter, and sharing precious time with our family

and friends are the best memories we can have, whatever traditions we may have.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

ACEの生徒の皆さん、

先週開催された第16回レシテーションコンテストに参加された皆様、

練習に励まれた皆様、本当にありがとうございました。

練習に励み、自分を信じることで自信に満ちた姿を披露してくれた

皆さんの努力に心から敬意を表します。

木村先生もおっしゃっていましたが、保護者の皆様も、

お子様への変わらぬ愛情と応援をありがとうございました。

木村先生、上野先生、本当にありがとうございました。

今年も日本各地で紅葉が美しく、

楽しい収穫祭が始まる秋がやってきました。

フィリピンでは、9月からクリスマスの飾り付けが始まります。

フィリピンの家庭ではクリスマスの飾りを買い、愛する人へのプレゼントを準備し始めます。

Rapplerのニュースによると、

「フィリピンでは、クリスマス・シーズンは実際のクリスマスの3ヶ月以上前の9月、いわゆる「BER月」に始まります。

ラジオやショッピングモールではクリスマスソングが流れ始め、

航空会社からはホリデーシーズンの宣伝文句が飛び出し、

友人や家族からの集まりや外食の招待状が届き始め、

クリスマスツリーやイルミネーションが多くのデパートの棚を占めるようになります。

フィリピンのクリスマスシーズンが長いことの最も単純な説明は、

盛大なお祝いのためにその日をカウントダウンする私たちの心理的枠組みである、

とフィリピンの社会学者ブラザー・ソリタは言っています。

クリスマスまでの100日は9月16日に始まりますが、

フィリピン人はもっと早く祝うのが好きです。

100日のカウントダウンは二次的な動機付けにもなり、

フィリピン人に大みそかの前に仕事を完了するよう促します。

最も重要なことは、家族や友人と一緒にたくさん笑い、

貴重な時間を共有することは、どんな伝統があろうとも、

最高の思い出になるということです。

敬具

ラブリー・ヴェンタニーヤ

Dear ACE Students,

  How are you all enjoying your summer holiday? 

We`re getting ready for our Recitation contest that will be held on 

August 25th in Hosen and 26th in Keshigoyama. 

  We thank you for giving effort and time to listen and practice reciting at home. 

We are cheering you on and hope that everyone is staying hydrated with this blazing summer.  

July is climatologically the hottest month of the year for the Earth as a whole  

that makes July  2023the hottest month since records have been kept 

and likely the hottest in 120,000 year, 

according to Scientific American.com and earth.org research.

  I'd like to suggest some fun recreational activities that you can with your family or

friends this summer from this site,

 https://www.parents.com/fun/activities/outdoor/24-cheap-summer-activities-for-kids/. 

Or

1. Go hiking

2. Scavenger hunt

3. Outdoor Math games

4. Planting a garden

5. Museum tours

6. Learmig to play a musicali instrument

7. Watch movies with family

Enjoy your summer holiday healthily and safely.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

ACEの皆さんへ、

夏休みはいかがお過ごしですか？私たちは8月25日に芳泉スクールで、26日に芥子山スクールで開催されるレシテーションコンテストの準備をしています。ご家庭で暗唱の練習に励んでいただいていることに感謝いたします。暑い夏ですが、水分補給をしっかりとってください。サイエンティフィック・アメリカン・ドットコムとearth.orgの調査によると、7月は気候学的に地球全体にとって1年で最も暑い月であり、2023年7月は記録が残って以来最も暑い月となり、12万年ぶりの暑さとなる可能性が高い。

この夏、家族や友人と一緒にできる楽しいレクリエーションを、このサイトhttps://www.parents.com/fun/activities/outdoor/24-cheap-summer-activities-for-kids/。または

1.ハイキング

2.借り物競争

3.屋外での算数ゲーム

4.ガーデニング

5.博物館見学

6.楽器の演奏

7.家族で映画鑑賞

夏休みを健康で安全に楽しみましょう。

敬具

ラブリー　ベンタニア

Dear Ace Students,

I`d like to share with you some interesting facts about Titanic because It is timely

got viral on the news and the internet. One of the most surprising Titanic facts

reveals that the sinking of the Titanic was forecasted in advance. In 1898, 14 years

prior to the sinking, Morgan Robertson wrote a book in which he described an

“unsinkable” ship called the Titan, which collided with an iceberg and sank. When

the Titanic entered service in 1912, it was the largest passenger ship

afloat. The Titanic sank 111 years ago, on April 15, 1912, en route to New

York, USA. The wreck was discovered over 37 years ago, on September 1,

1985. The ship's lookouts had to rely on their eyesight alone. the ship's binoculars

were locked inside a cabinet that no one could find the key to. One theory is that

the crew didn't spot the iceberg in time because they didn't have access to said

binoculars. Millvina Dean was just 2 months old when she was wrapped in a sack

and lowered into a lifeboat. She was the last living survivor of the Titanic and

passed away in 2009, at age 97. Masabumi Hosono was originally called the

"Lucky Japanese Boy" by American media, who could survive. One of those four

women was Ann Elizabeth Isham, who perished because she refused to leave her

dog behind.

The wreckage lies at around 12,500 feet below the surface of the ocean, but will

not be there for much longer – according to scientists, a newly-discovered species

of rust-eating bacteria will completely consume the remains of the Titanic in the

next 20 years or so.

We get so lucky that we have the privilege to learn many things through the

Internet. All thanks to the researchers and the people who have worked so hard to

share much information that helps us prepare for future life and safety.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

親愛なるエースの皆さん、

タイタニックに関する興味深い事実をいくつか紹介したいと思います。

最も驚くべきタイタニック号の事実の一つは、
タイタニック号の沈没が事前に予測されていたことです。

沈没の14年前の1898年、モーガン・ロバートソンは、
氷山と衝突して沈没したタイタン号と呼ばれる「不沈船」について記した本を書いています。

タイタニック号が1912年に就航したとき、それは現存する最大の客船でした。
タイタニック号は111年前の1912年4月15日、
アメリカのニューヨークに向かう途中で沈没しました。
沈没船は37年以上前の1985年9月1日に発見されました。

船の双眼鏡はキャビネットの中に閉じ込められており、
誰もその鍵を見つけることができませんでした。

一説によると、乗組員が氷山を発見するのに間に合わなかったのは、
双眼鏡が使えなかったからだということでした。

ミルヴィナ・ディーンは生後わずか2ヶ月で、
袋に包まれて救命ボートに降ろされました。
彼女はタイタニック号の最後の生存者で、
2009年に97歳で亡くなりました。

細野真澄はもともと、生き残ることができ、
アメリカのメディアから「幸運な日本男児」と呼ばれていました。
1等客室の4人の女性のうちの1人がアン・エリザベス・イシャムで、
彼女は愛犬を置き去りにすることを拒否したために命を落としました。

科学者によれば、新たに発見されたサビを食べるバクテリアの一種が、
今後20年ほどでタイタニック号の残骸を完全に食べ尽くしてしまうという。

インターネットを通じてさまざまなことを学べる私たちは、本当に幸運です。
私たちが将来の生活と安全に備えることができるよう、
多くの情報を共有するために尽力してきた研究者や人々のおかげです。

ラブリー・ヴェンタニーラ

Dear ACE students,

Here comes the rainy season month of the year because it`s already June. Upon

my research about the cause of the rain here in Japan, it’s because of the collision

of cold northerly and warm southerly hot masses which result in stable bad

weather all over the Japan Archipelago. I also learned that we could make Teru

Teru Bozu and hang it in front of the window outside to wish to stop the rain. The

best time to hang one is a day before the day we don’t want it to rain. It should

not be upside down because it means you want it to rain.

The Philippines is considered a tropical country because it’s near the equator and

it experiences wet and dry seasons only, unlike the other countries having 4

seasons due to its location. This is due to the country's location in the Western

Pacific Ocean, which makes it susceptible to the monsoon winds that bring rainfall

during the latter half of the year. The rainy season, in the Philippines brings a lot

of blessings to the Filipinos as it helps in watering the lands of the country. As an

agricultural country, the rainy season is a season for the farmers to watch their

crops grow. The Philippines is a tropical country that experiences a lot of rainfall.

The dry season typically occurs from December to May and the rainy season in

the Philippines typically lasts from June to October. During this time, the country

experiences heavy rains and thunderstorms daily.

Moreover, let`s stay healthy and safe outside this rainy season.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

ACEの生徒の皆様へ、

もう6月になり梅雨の時期がやってきましたね。日本の雨の原因について調べてみると、北の寒気と南の暖気がぶつかり合って、日本列島の天候が安定するためだそうです。また、「てるてる坊主」を作って、外の窓の前に吊るしておくと、雨が止むことを願うことができることも知りました。雨を降らせたくない日の前日に飾るのがベストだそうです。逆さまにすると、雨を降らせることを意味するので、逆さまにしないこと。

フィリピンは赤道に近いため熱帯の国と言われ、位置的に四季のある他の国とは違い、雨季と乾季しかありません。これは、西太平洋に位置するため、モンスーン風の影響を受けやすく、1年の後半に雨を降らせるためです。フィリピンの雨季は、フィリピンの人々に多くの恵みをもたらし、国土に水を供給するのに役立っています。農業国である農家にとって、雨季は作物の成長を見守る季節でもある。フィリピンは熱帯の国であり、多くの雨が降ります。乾季は12月から5月まで、雨季は6月から10月までです。この間、フィリピンでは毎日激しい雨や雷雨に見舞われます。

この雨季の間も、健康で安全に過ごしましょう。

 敬具

ラブリー・ヴェンタニラ

Dear ACE students,

One month has already passed like it was just yesterday gone by. Isn`t it that fast? It is

truly worth learning each day to realize that every effort you exert is not wasted, but

essential for your coming test in school or life. You and I are all students that need to

learn how to pass the test and continue what we enjoy learning. I am so happy about

the many things I`ve learned because I open my mind to ideas, which helps me connect

to and help others. We are all imperfect, but by doing small acts of kindness to

ourselves by learning, we can give a hand to others who need them. That is one of

where happiness comes from.

Id like to share with you some of the things I’ve learned from others by reading,

“The people. Not the leaders or the oligarchs, but the everyday people who have

fascinating minds, love unconditionally, move through life with joy, no matter

what.” – Fiona, Gibraltar, Spain

“Paying more attention to the good and beautiful than the dark and difficult things in life

makes me optimistic about the world. I find the more I do this, the more I feel hopeful

and happy to live in the world as it is and the better able, I am to help those in need and

address life’s challenges.” – George, Auckland, New Zealand

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

ACEの生徒の皆様へ、

新学期が始まってもう1ヶ月が過ぎましたが、まるで昨日が過ぎ去ったかのようです。あっという間でしょうか。  毎日勉強していることは、決して無駄なことではなく、学校や人生でのテストに必要なことだと実感しています。

私も皆さんも、テストに合格するための方法を学び、楽しく学ぶことを継続する必要がある学生です。

私は、多くのことを学んだことをとても嬉しく思っています。

なぜなら、私はアイデアを受け入れるために心を開き、

それによって他の人とつながり、助けることができるからです。

私たちは皆不完全ですが、学ぶことで自分に小さな親切をすることで、それを必要としている人に手を差し伸べることができます。それが、幸せの原点のひとつです。

私が読書によって他の人から学んだことをいくつか紹介したいと思います、

"国民 "です。

リーダーやオリガルヒではなく、魅力的な心を持ち、無条件に愛し、何があっても喜びを持って人生を歩む日常的な人々です"- フィオナ、ジブラルタル、スペイン

「人生の暗いことや困難なことよりも、良いことや美しいことに注意を払うと、世界に対して楽観的になれます。そうすればするほど、この世界に生きることに希望と喜びを感じ、困っている人を助け、人生の難題に対処することができるようになります。

- ジョージ、オークランド、ニュージーランド

 敬具

ラブリー・ヴェンタニラ

4月は、新しい始まりと楽しい休日でいっぱいです。4月は美しい春の気候で知られ、より暖かい気候の始まりです。日が長くなり、暑くなり、多くの人にとって、冬と正式にお別れできることを意味します。この季節は、あらゆる種類の休日、美しさ、そしてたくさんの幸福に満ちています。日本では毎年、何千人もの人々が桜の開花を見るために全国の町や村を訪れます。

しかし、4月には天気とは関係のない、もっと楽しい事実がたくさんあるのです！

1.イースターはキリスト教の祝日で、イースターエッグはそこからきています。卵は新しい命と再生を象徴しています。

2.レオナルド・ダ・ヴィンチ、シェイクスピア、エリザベス2世など、4月生まれの歴史上の著名人が結構います。

3.1500年の時を経て、1896年4月6日、アテネで近代最初のオリンピックが開催されました。 

4.1912年4月15日、名船タイタニック号が氷山に衝突して沈没しました。

5.1970年4月22日、史上初の「アースデイ」が開催されました。2,000万人以上の人々が環境のために行進し、今日に至るまで、アメリカ史上最大の単発抗議行動となっています。地球を大切にすることは、当時も今も、さらに重要なことです。

皆さん、春休みを満喫してください。みんなで美しい景色を楽しみましょう。安全で健康でいましょう。 

敬具、

ラブリーベンタニーヤ

aaa

Dear Ace Students,

Happy new year everyone! 

I’ve spent my winter holidays with my family in the Philippines. 

I really had so much fun seeing and hanging out with them again 

after 3 years. It was such a wonderful time that we can all spend 

our precious times with our loved ones. 

Family is the best.

Lots of things have changed in my area. 

On Christmas Eve, there were less and less children who went house 

to house to do the caroling. Some of the vendors , who sells a variety of 

food are now selling in-front of the houses in our neighborhood.

I sometimes visited the beach near our home and noticed some small businesses, 

like resort, food stalls and many more have been built up near the beach. 

Alongside the beach, fun rides for the entertainment and lots of variety 

food stalls were placed, so people could enjoy more this holiday season. 

My hometown Lingayen is celebrating the festival every 1st week of the January. 

There are some music bands, educators night for the teachers and so on.

I could see fireworks everywhere in my neighborhood as we welcome 

the 2023 new year countdown. People went outside their respective houses 

to greet neighbors and see the fireworks. Some people, lit firecrackers 

which is a bit scary. After the fireworks display, It’s our family tradition 

to invite our neighbor couple to join us celebrate the new year 

by praying, eating, talking, playing some fun games and singing songs. 

At the end of the day, the smile that we see and share together is the best of all.

We wish you all an amazing and prosperous 2023. 

May  this year brings you so much joy, good health and success. 

Let’s have a happy life.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

It’s the time of the happiest time of the year, when we can celebrate Christmas

and welcome the new year with our family. Thankfully, we all survive this year

vigorously. 

The Japan soccer team at the World Cup 2022  has shown their determination to

win. We can be like them. We may feel behind now, but don’t worry because

there will always be tomorrow to try our best. As we continue to learn, our

experiences will teach us become better. 

Thank you to the students who took their best fall shot and handed over the

class.I put them in the board. We hope you’re all bundle up this winter season.

We’re  going to have a fun Christmas party at Hosen and Keshigoyama with the

Felice band before we end our classes this year. You are very special and

unique in every way. Wishing your Christmas be as special and unique as you

are! May your dreams come true this Christmas. Merry Christmas and a

prosperous New Year.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

   It was a lot of fun having the Halloween party with the elementary students. 

We thank all the participants for their efforts to dress up in cute Halloween costumes. 

We all enjoyed playing games with you, together with Kimura sensei, 

Mr. and Mrs. Ueno, and Akiho who have been a great help at Ace parties. 

   Halloween is celebrated by many people in other parts of the world, 

especially young kids.

   While American kids enjoyed going house to house to do trick or treating 

with their cute or scary costumes and receive lots of candies. 

   Some other countries like Mexico, Latin America, and Spain call it,

(Dia de Los Muertos) Philippines (Araw ng mga Patay) mean the day of the dead, 

takes place on November 1st and is the day to celebrate the significance of life and death, 

both past and present. 

   While the holiday is celebrated throughout Latin America, 

it had its strongest ties with Mexico, where the tradition originated. 

While one would think of death as being associated with sadness and mourning.

They honor the deceased through lively celebrations and festivals. 

   In the Philippines, they offer flowers and food on their altar. 

The day is spent lighting candles in the cemetery and enjoying good food with friends and family.

   This month is the time to enjoy the mesmerizing autumn season. I`d like to ask everyone to take a

picture of you with your best autumn shot and bring it with you to our class. 

We`ll make a fun Autumn collage. You`ll get some sweets when you bring yours.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students,

How do you feel about the beginning of the Autumn? What are you excited about this season? To start

with, let`s learn some facts about its name. According to the Wikipedia, the word Autumn came from

the Latin word `Autumnus` means fall. After the Greek era, the word continued to be used as Automne

in modern French. Before the 16 th century, `harvest` was the term usually used to refer to the season.

The term fall came as a symbol for the season in English 16 th century. During the 17 th century, Englishmen

began emigrating to the new North America and the people took the English language with them. While

the term `fall` gradually became nearly obsolete (no longer used) in Britain, it became more common

term in North America. A once common name for the season in Northern England, has today been

largely replaced by the name Autumn.

In addition, the name has been in use in the United stated since at least the late 1960`s and has been

ranked among the top 100 names for girls there since 1997. It has also been a popular name for girls in

Canada and the United States.

We are looking forward to our Halloween party on the 28 th and 29 th this month. We are excited to see

you all and have fun.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students,

We just finished the ACE 15 th Recitation contest, and we would like to thank all our elementary students

for their tremendous efforts and time to practice and memorize their chosen speech and their parents

for the encouragement and support they gave to their children. Congratulations to all the winners and

to everyone who keeps on trying. Kimura sensei and I are amazed by their astounding improvements of

their pronunciation and presenting themselves in public all throughout their recitation contest journey

at ACE. Also, we thank our visitors Aya san, Kensei and Daichi from Boston, USA who spent their summer

break in Okayama and got to help some of our students improved their pronunciation and self-

confidence and for Mr. and Mrs. Ueno san`s great help for us. It was so much fun working with them.

We hope to see them again next year. Please stay safe and healthy.

Fun facts, do you know that `Boston is named after a town in England`? Yes, many of the city settlers

came from Boston, England. The very first chocolate in the USA was in Boston in the year 1765.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

今月のLovely’s messaageはお休みです。

代わりに、新連載「浜家弘巳によるためになる英語」が始まりました！

今月のLovely’s messaageはお休みです。

代わりに、新連載「浜家弘巳によるためになる英語」が始まりました！

Dear ACE students,

The spring is coming to end and here come the rain and heat. I would like to share you something

positive about Rio de Janeiro, it´s a huge seaside city in Brazil, famed for its Copacabana and

Ipanema beaches. It´s one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is belong to

the seven wonders of the world. Indeed, Rio is a city with two faces - one rich, one poor. Poverty is

especially striking in the hilly outskirts of the city.

In the middle of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest Favellas or Brazilian slum in Manguinhos. There is the

largest urban vegetable garden in Latin America. The garden feeds around 800 families per month.

According to the creator of the vegetable garden program, “In normal times in this garden, half of the

production is donated to the population the other half sold at a low price so that people can buy this

food cheaply.” Retirement homes, shelters, and orphanages in the surrounding areas. The 25

employees of the garden are also benefiting from the project. Some have left behind a life of crime,

drug dependency and unemployment. The project provided employment for the residents of the

community who had nothing to do and no way of surviving there because life there is very precarious

(uncertain). For many the work provides a new sense of purpose. The rate of obesity in Brazil has

more than doubled in the past 20 years. According to a resident there, `These days, eating healthy

and exercising are important, but food is not always accessible, given the current prices. The city of

Rio has announced to build another garden. Please check out the video if you are interested to see

the garden.

(131) Rooting for Rio's poor: the urban garden feeding families in the favela | AFP -

YouTube

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students,

  It`s a golden week for everyone here in Japan. 

  Time is gold because it is precious and important to celebrate life. 

Some countries will have their new leaders, elected this month, like the Philippines on May 9, 

Lebanon on May 15 and Colombia on May 29. 

  The President of the Philippines is elected by direct vote of the people and

has a term of six years with no provision for reelection. The president of Lebanon is elected by the parliament

for a term of six years, which is renewable once. By convention, the president is always a Maronite Christian

who is at least 21 years old. Why should be a Christian? Due to the majority Christian population in Lebanon.

Colombian president is elected by the citizens for four-year terms using a two-round system; if no candidate

receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff is held between the top two candidates. 

  I hope that the people of each respective country will choose the President who can protect, support the need of

the people, and lead the people in unity to be good citizens and help others in need, like here in Japan. We have

known the conflict happening between Russia and Ukraine and we are all affected with it, but it is amazing

that Japan and other countries kindness have spread through accepting refugees and helping them in little

ways. I read in an article from positive.com, how we can help by shifting to a plant-based diet. More than half

of the wheat grown in the UK and 2/3 of its barley currently goes to feed livestock rather than people.

Replacing cattle with plant proteins, like beans and nuts is much more efficient in terms of land, water, and

emissions.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

We welcome you all to the new beginning of the school year 2022. It is very fascinating to gaze upon the

beauty of the Spring season, most especially how the cherry blossom bloom. I suppose lots of people

around the world would like to come and see its beauty. Somehow, it is a natural obsession for many of

us, but not those who have hay fever. How I wish, there`s no pollen trees so that everyone can enjoy the

Cherry blossom viewing. I learned that it only lasts for about 2 weeks. Therefore, many of us rejoice and

put effort to forecast Cherry blossoms arrival. ` This is why they symbolize the shortness of life`,

according to Jetstar.com article.

It is true that Life is short to worry, but it can be prolonged if we focus to see its beauty by doing things

that we enjoy, which help us learn and grow. There are different kinds of Cherry blossom trees, but they

have their own beauty that no one has. Like everyone is different and has their own beauty and talent to

share. There is no comparison, but to appreciate what we have been given and accept others who they

are. Given the example of the first 3000 Cherry blossom of the United States in 1912 that were given by

the mayor of Tokyo, Japan as a sign of friendship. How admirable that is.

Fun facts about English, did you know that some of the English words that we use come from other

languages, like` Kindergarten` a German word which means `children garden`, Lemon from Arabic word

`laymun. Souvenir from French mean `act of remembering`. Chocolate from Spanish `xocolatl`. Could

you tell me where the word `Tsunami` came from? Let`s explore the English world.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students,

We are so glad that we all survived the winter and here’s come the springtime to

welcome us for the new beginning. 

The Winter Olympics in Beijing, held in February　2022 was one of the big successes

for Japanese athletes for bringing home the 18 medals. 

Taking part in the Olympic Games is every athlete’s dream and requires huge

amounts of determination and long years of training. I think that an athlete is like a

student, who has a teacher. You and I are students of life. All of us go through the test

of life and what we need to have first is courage to try, even if we don’t know what the

result would be.

One of the best examples is Hanyu Yuzuru, a very humble and famous Japanese figure

skater who joined the recent winter Olympic. He said in an interview, and I read on

Japan News. “If I try to think about what went wrong, nothing comes to mind.” “Maybe

the ice hates me.” I didn’t feel like I’d made a mistake, so I kept my feelings focused on

performing the rest of the program.” “I’m very thankful to have received 95 points, and I

want to praise myself for performing the rest of my elements with such a high level of

quality.” “I can still go into the free skate in good form. I’ve trained well and I’m confident

in my techniques, and after that only God knows what will happen.”

Hanyu said He didn’t win a medal, but he took the challenge to believe in himself, which is very

admirable. If Hanyu can, you can also do it. Also, we want to share you a video of Kaito,

Kotoha, Erin and Takamichi who joined the OHK English Recitation contest last year.

https://youtu.be/DKOdwv_T8tg. So proud of you.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students, 

How`s everyone doing? It’s still freezing cold outside, and we hope everyone stays safe and warm. 

The 1st month has gone by so fast, hasn’t it? Here’s come the shortest month of the year. 

Did you know that Welsh call February `y mis bach` which means `little month`?

 I learned this from a blog on the olympicsecurity.com that 

January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar (c. 713 BC). 

Originally, February was made the last moth of the calendar year. 

Eventually, in 450 BC, February was moved to its place as the second month

Around the world, it is the month that we want to show love to others, 

but because of this pandemic, we have some restriction and preventive measures from WHO organization, 

for us to be protected. 

Don’t worry about it because we can show love in many ways 

and anytime by saying good things to the people around us, 

sharing your quality time by listening to them who need you, 

calling a friend to give an encouragement and lastly, 

we can share some sweets if there’s a chance to meet. 

I think that the simple act of kindness is called love. We are healthy if we don’t worry. 

For some fun activity at home, you can choose from these 3 tongue twisters and practice. 

If you can recite it by yourself, you can receive simple sweets. Have fun! 

1. Red roses for Ruby, Red Rubies for Rosie. 

2. Chatty Charlie is the chocolate chomping champ. 

3. Lily the ladybug loves lavender lilies. 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students,

Warm wishes on New Year to all of you. 

The New Year celebration is the big event of the year in every country and I'd like to share you 

which country is the 1st and last to welcome the 2022 year. 

The Pacific island of Tonga will be the first place to celebrate the New Year 2022

where January 1 begins at 10 am GMT or 3:30 pm IST on December 31. 

The small Pacific island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati are the first countries to welcome New Year 

and lead the world through New Year's celebrations that will follow all over the world. 

The uninhabited islands of Howland and Baker Islands, near the United States, 

are the last places on earth to celebrate New Year. 

They ring in the New Year at 12 pm GMT or 5:30 pm IST on 1 January.

GMT means "Greenwich Mean Time". 

It is the standard time in Great Britain which is used to calculate the time in the rest of the world. 

IST means "Indian Standard Time" is the time zone observed throughout India.

A New Year gives us all a chance to achieve whatever we could do in the last year. 

We may be the 1st or last to celebrate the new year, the most important is we all celebrate it every year.

That means we must celebrate, even the small achievements we have.

Please always remember that every problem has a solution and every child has a talent.

Successful are those who never give up to difficult situations and problems. 

You have a lot of potential to make the impossible possible. 

Wish you a successful year ahead. 

Happy new year.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear Ace Students,

Hi everyone, Christmas is coming to town. 

Can you imagine how quickly the 11 months passed by. 

It was just last year in December, when I shared you how Philippines celebrates Christmas and New Year holidays. 

But, do you know that the first recorded incidence of Christmas was celebrated way back in Rome in 336.

I would like to share you the unusual Christmas tradition from other countries including Japan.

Although Christmas isn't a national holiday in Japan, 

families from all over the country head to their local KFC for a special Christmas Eve meal.

In Germany, a pickle on the Christmas tree is a tradition. 

In Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, it is customary to travel to early-morning church services 

during the festival period on roller skates, roads are even cleared to provide Christmas worshippers with a safe passage. 

In Finland Christmas sauna is perhaps one of the oldest Christmas traditions. 

Traditionally, all the family members bathe in a sauna on the Christmas Eve in the afternoon. 

In Italy, According to folklore, instead of Santa, an old woman named Belfana visits all the children 

to fill their stockings with candy and leave them presents if they've been good. 

According to Norwegian folklore, Christmas Eve is the day when mischievous spirits and witches take to the skies for mischief and general tomfoolery. 

It’s tradition for Norwegian families to hide away any sweeping sticks where the witches won' be able to find them. 

In Sweden, people believed the Yule goat to be an invisible spirit that would appear before Christmas to make sure that the holiday preparations were done

correctly. The goat eventually took on the role of a gift giver and is sometimes seen in place of or alongside Santa, who is called Jultomten.

Sincerely

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

Happy Halloween everyone! 

It is almost over, but we really enjoyed seeing you at our 2021

Halloween party with your cute costumes. 

It is so much fun to have seen you all wearing variety of character which is trending now here in Japan. 

I saw students wore different kinds when I visited Aeon mall 

and lots of them gathered around Momotaro statue. 

Fun facts, "Hallow" or holy person refers to the saints celebrated on All Saints' Day, which is November 1. 

Basically, Halloween is just an old-fashioned way of saying "the night before All Saint' Day" 

also called Hallowmas or All Hallows' Day. 

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). 

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, 

the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.

Halloween first came to the United States in the 1840s.  

Children and adults dress in costumes and attend parties, visit haunted houses, and eat Halloween candy. 

Most kids spend the night “trick- or-treating,” going door-to-door to collect sweets from their neighbors. 

In the Philippines, the period from 31 October through 2 November is a time 

for remembering dead family members and friends. 

Many Filipinos travel back to their hometowns for family gatherings of festive remembrance. 

Families set up tents and stay all day and night at the graves of their loved ones,

offering of flowers, foods, candles, prayers and picnicking with favorite Filipino foods. 

On October 31, 1997, Japan started introducing Halloween to people. 

The event was a hit, and has increased in scale every year since. 

Please let me know your answer to this question, 

where was the 1st Halloween introduced here in Japan? 

Good luck.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

I’ve learned something new from Kimura sensei’s student at Tomiyama Kominkan about Harvest Moon. 

In my research, it is called the Harvest Moon because the Moon is particularly bright and rises early. 

In the past, this allowed farmers to extend their working day and work by the light of the extra-bright moon, 

gathering crops to prepare for the winter months.  It was thought that the viewer could express gratitude 

for this year’s harvest and hope for the year to come.

The moon can be viewed in many ways. In some countries, people see a man in the moon, 

whereas in others, they see handprints, or a tree. But in Japan, many people

think of a rabbit when looking at the moon. 

Throughout Asia has long held the rabbit as a symbol of rebirth that is commonly taken to represent the moon. 

Following the lunar calendar, the yearly Mid-Autumn festival brings about the stories of the Moon Goddess

and her steadfast companion, the noble Moon Rabbit. 

Though, in the Philippines has no such Moon viewing festival, but every May 15, 

the country's grandest harvest festival – the Pahiyas Festival – is celebrated. 

A festival of thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest, Filipinos decorate their houses with fruits, 

vegetables and flowers, transforming the town into a visual display in Lucban Quezon City. 

The word ‘pahiyas’ came from the word ‘payas’, which means decoration or to decorate.

The reason behind such practice dates back to the 15th century, when farmers used to offer their harvests

at the foot of Mount Banahaw. One of the famous ones that farmers harvest is sweet potato. 

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta carotene, vitamin C, and potassium, Manganese, 

Vitamin B6, Vitamin B5, Vitamin E. Let’s all enjoy eating healthy and nutritious meals.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

First of all, let me say thank you to all the elementary school participants who

attended the 14 th Recitation Contest, which were held on August 27 and 28 last

month and to them who couldn’t come but had practiced their recitation. 

We commend all your hard work and courage to challenge yourselves.

 Kimura sensei and I were amazed of all your growths and improvements that you have

shown us. I know, how did it feel like to come forward and recite in front of a lot of

people because I experienced having the (butterflies in my stomach)

nervousness when my teacher asked me to talk in front. 

Learning a new language and speaking it are so impressive to me as a foreigner. 

With the recitation, the focus is the Confidence, English pronunciation the way they convey the speech.

Let us keep working on your goals and believe in yourself like how you believe in

your trusted best friend. It all will be worth it if you do.

As the saying goes, like, no one is perfect that’s why pencils have erasers. We

can try and try until we succeed.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

Most of us feel the scorching heat of the summer. 

Lucky we all are to have vending machines everywhere here in Japan. 

One thing that we can be thankful about is to have cold bottled drinks, despite of the many challenges we are facing now. 

The second thing is that Japan got lots of gold medals in the Olympics Tokyo games and that is a triumph of joy. 

We want to congratulate all the athletes who have gone through lots of hardships and sacrifices,

 just to give their best to showcase their talents and represent their own countries. 

Somehow, it is hard to imagine this because some might not have been in favor of having this Olympic held in Japan, 

in this time of pandemic. 

I think that our leaders here in Japan are doing their best to protect the people, 

that’s why they set the precautionary measures for everyone’s protection if we follow.

The third thing that we are lucky is that we have the privilege to use innovative technologies and

enjoy watching TV to learn something new. 

Because of the technology, I learned that Kiyomizu- dera Kyoto, 

Japan was chosen as one of the 21 candidates for the new 7 Wonder of the world.

Also known as Temple of the Pure Water Spring, 

the Buddhist temple was initially founded in 798 AD

by Sakanoue Tamuramaro, the military leader of Japan at the time.

We are given so many privileges to be happy every day. Let’s focus our mind seeing good things

each day and be thankful because you matter in this world. We thank you so much for giving

time to practice at home for our recitation contest this month. Please do your best.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students, 

Summer has begun that is why we need to drink water to be hydrated. 

We will be starting our practice for our recitation contest in August. 

Please choose the best one for you. 

I would like to thank the students who participated from the question I asked, about the seven wonders of the world last month. 

Nowadays there is a panel formed by The New 7 Wonders of the World Foundation. 

Sites are nominated based on votes from people all across the world. 

And this saw more than 100 million votes by people to nominate the new wonders. 

They were chosen in 2007 through an online contest put on by a Swiss company. 

As a result of this, the current 7 Wonders of the Modern World are The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, The Colosseum, Chichén Itza, Christ the Redeemer, Petra, and the Taj Mahal. 

The seven winners were chosen from 21 candidates. 

Most of the answers I got was Taj Mahal in India and that is correct!

In addition, this complex work of art took 17 years to complete. The Taj Mahal was built in Agra from 1631 to 1648 by whopping 22,000 laborers, painter, Stonecutters, and embroidery artists. The materials that were used to built it were transported to the construction site by a whopping 1,000 elephants. 

Fun quiz, The Swiss Corporation New7Wonders Foundation chose 21 candidates for the new 7 Wonder of the world and that include one of the famous tourist spots in Japan. 

What is it?

 You have a small token when you get the right answer. 

Goodluck! 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla 

Dear ACE Students, 

Hooray, that you all completed the tasks and tests that you all had in May. 

You are doing an amazing job!

 I gave a fun quiz in my last letter of how many countries are there in Asia and what other country in Asia that starts with the letter J besides Japan?

 According to the worlddata.info that Asia has 51 countries, including Japan, which belongs to East Asia and the other country which starts in letter J is Jordan. Jordan is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia with a population of over 9 million people. 

It is known as an extremely friendly country, where you'll hear Ahlan wa sahlan! or “Welcome!” quite often. 

 In Jordan, it's considered polite to refuse a meal three times before accepting it. 

It's considered rude and unclean to eat or drink with your left hand. 

When you're having coffee as a guest in Jordan, you need to shake your cup from side to side to let the host know when you've had enough. 

Otherwise, they'll just keep refilling it. Arabic is the official language, but English is widely spoken in the middle and upper classes. 

The longest river in Jordan is the Jordan River that runs 251 kilometers. 

Jordan is home of the ancient city of Petra, one of the New 7 Wonders of The World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Petra is the home of over 800 carved tombs. 

Japan was also included in 2019 UNESCO World Heritages for Mozu Tombs in Sakai Osaka. 

Fun quiz, can you name 1 of the 7 Wonders of the World? 

You have a token when you tell your answer in our class. 

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

The first month of the school year has gone by so fast, hasn’t it? I would like to focus my newsletter every

month into good news from this month about the fun facts that we can learn from other countries because I

believe that each country has its own goodness, like each person does. I have noticed that the world news

today has shared us lots of earth-shattering news that made us feel anxious and poisoned our minds that

may lead to depression, but no worries because we can easily divert our negative thoughts into positive, as

we learn good things.

In my research, I found lots of fun facts about the country Bhutan “Land of The Thunder Dragon.” Bhutan is

located on the South Asian continent and a landlocked country in the Himalayan mountains. It is between

Nepal and China. It is the only Buddhist Kingdom in the world; Mahayana Buddhism is the official religion of

Bhutan. Over two thirds of the people are Buddhist, and Buddhism is supported by the government both

politically and economically. Buddhist values encourage people to focus more on what they have than what

they don’t. Perhaps, therefore people are extremely friendly, gentle, and hospitable like here in Japan.

Bhutanese receive free education and free health care from the government. The government charges no

tuition fees and even provides free stationery and textbooks to rural children. Most schools have an English

curriculum. They believe that teaching kids to be good people is as important as getting good grades.

In Bhutan,

Fun quiz, how many countries are there in Asia and what other country in Asia that starts with the letter J

besides Japan? You have a token price when you get the correct answer. I hope you are all enjoying your

Golden week holidays wherever you are.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

  April is a new beginning of everything. Did you know that before the 14 th century,

Spring was called “LENT” in Old English? It was the time of the year when plants

started ‘springing’ from the ground. After a century, the season was referred as

springtime and later shortened to ‘spring’.

  We hope that everyone has been enjoying your Spring holidays and can make use

of the Spring Fun activity lists that I handed out to you last month. That is not some

homework to do, but an activity suggestion for your Spring holidays when you get

bored.

  Congratulations to everyone who finished up last year’s lessons and graduated.

  Some of you might feel nervous moving on to the next grade or school, but don’t

worry because you are not alone. I felt the same way too when I was a student like

you. I clearly remember that I had some moments that I felt hesitant talking to my

classmates on the first day of school, because I was kind of introverted person. My

lifestyle as a new student in my high school was only “school and home”.

   As time passed by, I could make some good friends, whom I could enjoy talking and

laughing with. At that time until the present, I have realized, that ‘SMILE’ is one of

the most effective ways that we can do to make friends with everyone.

  Smile has lots of abbreviations on the internet, but I like this the most. It says, “Service Makes

Individual Lives Exciting”. We can serve or help other people when we simply just

smile.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

The Spring season is around the corner.
Let us welcome it with full of excitement because the cold days are over.

Most of you are excited to have the Spring holidays and see the mesmerizing views of the Cherry blossom trees.
I will teach you some of fun Spring activities this month that you might be interested in doing and give you a checklist in our class.

In the Philippines, due to the pandemic, most of the students have taken their classes online and some of them struggled because they live in a remote area, where internet connection is hard to reach.
The Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines announced in February that it is mulling the possibility of extending the school year and compressing the summer vacation from two months to two weeks this 2021 school year. 

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered to suspend face-to-face classes last year until a vaccine for the Covid-19 is available.
Luckily, the medical professionals have done their absolute best to bring about the Covid-19 Vaccine for they hope to protect everyone and live with no worries. 

The Philippines has not started the inoculation yet because the vaccines have just arrived in February.
President Duterte is hoping other vaccines will be available as soon as possible.
Some Filipinos have some fear taking it because of lots of negative information popping out around the news.

I would like to share about Dubai, since my 2 sisters have been working there for a while.
They both have already taken the vaccines twice in the last week of January, together with their husbands and bosses.
According to my sister, she felt some tiredness and sleepiness after taking the first shot and for the second shot, she got sick for 3 days.
However, she absolutely does well now and regained her energy by eating lots of healthy foods. 

The UAE has been cited as one of the successful cases in terms of handling of the pandemic.
They have recorded low number of cases and coronavirus death so far.
Rest assured that the Japan medical team has done their best to examine and test carefully the vaccines.
I think that the government really wants to protect us all, as well as they do not want to effectuate this to everyone, whom is not yet prepared to take it. 

We all have the freedom to choose for our own good.
We can follow our own instinct and not the opinion of other people.
At the end of the day, it is our choice that will determine our future. 

Stay happy everyone.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear Ace Students, 

January has passed by so quickly and here comes February, the month of love. And you know what we love? We love when feel good and the way we feel good is being surrounded by good people and things that truly makes us happy. Sometimes, it is definitely hard to deal with life because of the chaos happening around the globe and even the negative news that we hear and watch on tv that make us feel anxious. But fear not, there`s so much to feel hopeful about. The good news is that we can divert our thoughts by being consciously aware of the present, instead of worrying and focusing on what bad news we heard or watched. 

We can be hopeful when we love. As I searched the abbreviation of love on the internet, I found lots of it. But the one that I really love the most is this one. LISTEN to what your heart and others are speaking to you. OBSERVE the things before we react. VALUE the people and things we have now and EMBRACE the life you love. I, myself need to learn more about this because I am like you, a student of life. No one is perfect and no one expects you to be like that. It is okay to try again when we fail. Never give up on anything which you really want. All the hard works and efforts you do now will eventually pay off in the future. Thank you for trying your best and having the courage to take exams. We can learn from the Harry Potter movie that ` Love is the most powerful tool you have`. I love what Albus Dumbledore said and I quote `` You are protected, in short, by your ability to love. `` Happy Valentine’s day everyone! 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

Happy New Year everyone! Some of you might have done ‘Hatsumode’ or Shrine or Temple Visit

on the first day or sunrise of this year to make a wish for a better year. The New year is an exciting

holiday everywhere in the world. I have read and heard about how you celebrate it here in Japan. I

can say that your traditions and customs are fascinating for me because they show how you

treasure family bonding moments and enjoy each other company while eating the prepared dishes.

I am sure that most of you have enjoyed eating various kinds of special dishes like ‘osechi ryori’

and long soba noodles. Some of students have shared me their homemade ‘Omochi’ which I really

enjoyed eating with soybeans powder and soy sauce for my new year while talking with my family

online.

I am going to share with you here how most Filipino people celebrate theirs, like what traditional

foods we eat, clothes we wear and what fireworks signify for us. Many Filipino people unite on New

Year’s Eve to celebrate a midnight meal known as ‘Media Noche’. It is one the most important

tradition we have because this is where family members are complete, relatives working abroad or

in other provinces come home to spend time with the family. This symbolizes how locals value

family time so much. Preparing 12 round and sweet fruits on a table to welcome the New year is

believed to bring you good fortune, Pancit/ Noodles are cooked to signifies long life, as are eggs

signify new life and malagkit(Glutinous or sticky rice)like omochi here is the representation of a

very good fortune will stick around throughout the year. It is also common to stay awake to greet

the coming of the New year. Before the clock strikes midnight, all doors and windows must be left

wide open to allow good luck to enter. As we welcome the year, we do the countdown and lightning

fireworks and making a lot of noise to drive away evil spirits. Filipinos try to dress in polka dots

because the roundness means prosperity. Pockets are filled with round coins, which jangled to

attract wealth. At the exact moment of midnight, Filipino children jump as high as they can because

they believe this will make them taller. I did it as well when I was a child. We spend the last days of

the year cleaning everything, especially dust. However, on the 1 st day of the new year, you are not

supposed to do any cleaning. And do not start the year off by spending money. Frugality on the 1 st

day sets the tone for wise money management in the coming year.

In reality, it is up to us in how we’re going to make our fresh start and a year full of greatness.

Spending with our family and love ones, being thankful for another year and taking it as a good

memory or a lesson is what matters.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

 December has come and we all know that this is the 12th and the final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendar. It is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days. But do you know that it used to be the 10th month of the year? Yes, it was. According to the Wikipedia, ` Decem means `ten` in Latin, because in the ancient Roman calendar, it was the 10th month of the year. At that time, the calendar only had ten months and began with March. Originally, January and February were the last months of the year. Later, the month of January and February were created out of the month less period and added at the beginning of the calendar. But December retained its name. They were added around 700 BC. ``Lots of people who had lived before us had not known about this changed but they adopted it. 

 Our lives this year has been so challenging to many, especially to all of you. Many unexpected things happened and changed the way we live. This changed have taught all us how to be more cautious and thoughtful of our wellbeing and our love ones. It was uneasy to many people outside Japan to adopt the `new normal life` at first because they were not used to it. But luckily it was not much harder transition here in Japan because of the cultural practices you have that are truly admirable for everyone who is not Japanese. Moreover, we got the privileges to make use of technologies more than ever before to get in touch with our family and friends without going out. 

 As your teachers, we wish you all the success and happiness in life. Whatever you may choose, we believe in your capability that you can do all things as you believe in yourself. May this Christmas season bring you so much joy and excitement, and the brightest hope for the coming new year 2021. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear Ace students,

We are deeply grateful to all your parents who have supported you all the way to make this far to learn English at ACE and for joining events like the Halloween last month. We commend all the efforts and sacrifices that you and your parents have exerted and dedicated. Please know that you are good enough. We are so proud of you for showing much courage to learn something new each day and for all the accomplishments you have gotten.  As your teachers, we know the feelings of being in your shoes because we were once a student like you before. We have experienced and continue being a student in life because you and I are not perfect and need to learn more things. Focus on only one thing at a time, so you can finish it as “easy as pie”. We know that every hard work you do now will all be paid off in the future for your success. 

Everything you have done are not wasted so do not give up on what you have already started because one day in the future, you will thank yourself by choosing the right thing. Whatever challenge that you may encounter in the future, face it with confidence and a happy heart. My mom has always told me since when I was a child that “If other’s can, why can’t I?” She has given me challenge to believe in myself even it is sometimes hard. Nevertheless, I found this easy when I stop comparing myself to others and start accepting and loving myself. As a challenge, I would invite everyone to do one thing each day to love yourself. The things that I can suggest is to believe in yourself and to make yourself happy. To believe in yourself is to know that you can make your dreams come true. To make yourself happy is to be thankful that there is a sun that gives us light and air to breathe. Let us make every day full of joy and laughter and treat it as a “miracle”.

I have one riddle to share and please tell your answer to me to get some treat. “What did one autumn leaf say to another?”. I will be waiting for your answer. 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

The Autumn has come, and I am absolutely thrilled by having this season because I do love how the leaves change their colors. This is best time of the year not to worry about any heat, as Japan News reported last month that more than 12,000 were taken to  hospitals nationwide in Japan due to heat stroke,  but we still need and continue to be cautious of our health and surroundings because the pandemic is not yet over.

I`d like to tell you a story based on the real experience of our student at ACE which I think is relevant in our `new normal` life now. She told me that she went to a salon to have a haircut and the hair stylist put a towel on her face. As she started cutting her hair, the hairstylist started talking about Covid-19 while she just listened to her with all ears and pondered. The hairstylist said `` Covid-19 is good for the earth. There are too many people in the earth. And the population is increasing. The people consume natural resources. The reasons of the increasing population are due to indiscriminate birth and the longevity of people, etc. If Covid-19 expands much more, the population of the earth will decrease. Covid-19 might help the earth!?`` The  student thinks that her idea, maybe some truth,  but on the contrary, she thinks that having a  long life is good because it gives us lots of profits, such us, the benefits of our retirement and seeing our love one’s success in life that makes us truly happy.  The Covid-19 does not do any good thing for us and the birth and the death of people must not be controlled by men. On the other hand, we can say that the medical care is important for longevity, but what is more important are behaviors that can affect health. Anyway, we must live with not only Covid-19 but also other viruses from now on. After, we all get the best methods, let`s go on with our journey`.

I do agree with her and this story is an encouragement that we can`t change the circumstances of our new normal life now, but WE ALL HAVE HOPES and BRIGHT FUTURE if we continue to LIVE. Like the autumn trees which continue to live and we can all enjoy seeing the beautiful change of the leaves each year. 

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

The 13 th Recitation contest to all our elementary students for both Hosen and Keshigoyama

schools have done so successful with so much gratitude and appreciation to all the parents

who have supported our students all the way until the big day of the contest. We were all so

much impressed and proud to see your growth and how you delivered their respective

recitation with such courage and confidence! All your efforts and hard work are counted and

valued by us. The simple things you have exerted are so precious to us.

It is indeed a great news to be alive and to behold and be surrounded by the beauty of the

nature here in Okayama despite of many bad news going around social media or even on the

news now. The Filipino people have been so excited to welcome September because it is the

start of celebrating Christmas and even listening to some Christmas songs. We find so much

joy by doing these. We can always find happiness wherever we are. I read an article about

finding happiness and I would like to share with you a couple of phrases that spark joy for me.

The first is (It is really about love), I think that when you love what you are doing, you can

always find joy in it. The second is (See more art. Make more art. All kinds of art, even art you

do not like. This truly can help you find peace and relaxation. I, myself have experienced this

because Kimura sensei and I attended an Art class with a professional Art teacher in Saidaiji.

It was so much fun! If you think staying home is better, then you can do arts at home as well.

The 3 rd is to believe in yourself that YOU are enough. You are lovable and amazing and

deserving of true, genuine happiness exactly who you are. Being yourself is the best gift you

can share with everyone. What are the 3 things that make you genuinely happy?

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

Time flies by so fast, doesn’t it? 

We might haven’t noticed it, but we had experienced 

and accomplished many things for the past days

and months since the pandemic began. 

Nevertheless, we still continue to stay connected

and hope for the bright future,

no matter what happen. 

As your teachers at ACE,

we want to congratulate you for finishing your school requirements

and studying really hard, even at midnight to pass your exams. 

We are so proud of you! Thank you for all your efforts

and sacrifices for this year. We might not know,

what will happen in the future,

but we can rest assured that you will all success

as you continue to learn and strive by doing small and simple things each day. 

On this summer vacation, we wish you all to enjoy

and try some new experiences or activities

that you can do at home or even outside with your family. 

We will have the recitation contest sooner

and we would like to invite everyone who might be interested to join us. 

We humbly request the elementary students

to listen and practice the assigned recitation poem at home. 

In addition, we will be practicing the deliverance

of the chosen recitation poem of each elementary student at ACE this month.

Finally, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude

for all your thoughtfulness and support to the Love outreach project. 

I and all the members of the project are truly grateful

for all your endeavors and kindness. 

Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts.

We wish you all the good health and fulfilment this summer holidays. 

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla 

Dear ACE Students, 

First of all, I’d like to congratulate everyone 

who got the correct answer to my riddle last month. 

I really had so much hearing all your answers. 

Some of you might not have gotten the correct answer, 

but the most important thing was you tried your best answering it. 

So I think of a new riddle again for you to answer 

and this is “What goes up when the rain comes down?”

The rainy season has already started. 

The beauty of the rain is enjoyable when it is just drizzling. 

I suppose that some of people may dislike rain, 

but this season is one of the best ones for the farmers 

and even for all of the plants and trees which surrounds us and in the forest 

because they depend on it. 

I knew this because I used to live with my grandparents in my childhood days 

and my grandfather was a farmer. 

I really enjoyed living with them 

because I could eat fresh fruits and vegetables each day. 

Rainfall is one of the most important natural things 

which makes life possible on Earth. 

Since most of the living is based on water, 

we replenish ourselves with water every day. 

As rain, it replenishes the plant life. 

When little or no rain falls, 

soils can dry out and plants can die.  

According to the study, 

“Human can live without food for weeks, 

but cannot live without water just for a couple of days.” 

I am so thankful that we have rain 

and that we can have food to eat at our table each day. 

Please stay protected outside. 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla 

Dear ACE Students,

 We would like to tell you, that we are so proud of you all for making yourself healthier and having endured the 3 months holidays, staying home though some of you got bored. 

It was still a blessing in disguise that you could take some time to rest at home and be with your family. 

You might have missed your friends and look forward to seeing and talking with them at school. That would be grand! But please do remember the reminder of the Department of Health, to be cautious in our environment, such as avoiding overcrowding  and having social distance as much as possible because who knows, if there will be a second wave.  

 Some of the schools in Japan and most of the schools and businesses in other countries such as Denmark, France, Germany and China have reopened their school in mid-May. Italy and Spain, on the other hand, are much more cautious and only reopening schools in September. As well as in the Philippines, that will be on August 24. 

 Your parents might be anxious for your well-being as you go back to school, but let them know that the Japanese government is doing its best to protect everyone, especially you because you matter that’s why they have shortened the school hours. This might be a kind of a hard transition to make, both for you and your teachers at school but this is for your own good. 

 I`d like to give a riddle and if you get the answer right then I`ll give you a treat at ACE.

 “Which letter of the alphabet has the most water? I can’t wait to hear your answer in our class. 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students, 

Most of us might be traveling to somewhere with our families now or meeting some friends and enjoying the beautiful sceneries outside for this holiday season. 

Unfortunately, we all can’t do that for now, due to the unexpected Pandemic. 

We are sorry to say that the Japanese government has extended the state of emergency for a month which means our school will be closed this month. 

In the meantime, let us enjoy staying home by learning new things and writing in a notebook what you`ve learned. How about that? We don’t want to see your faces frown so lift up your head because we want to see your beautiful faces and smiles.

I`d like you to try something that will surely make you happy. 

Would you like to know?  Do you know that you can travel to anywhere, even just by staying home? 

Yes, you and everyone can do it.  

You need 3 to 5 minutes to do this. 

First, you need to sit on a chair, in a quiet room and close your eyes. 

Imagine the place that you really dream of and really feel that you are there with the people you really like to be with while eating your favorite foods. 

I do this sometimes because I often listen to music or sing when I feel sad. 

Please know, that we think of you and wonder how you are all doing now. You are the ones who encourage us to become better teachers and I’d like to thank you so much for your consistent efforts to learn English. 

We made some videos and will do more in the future. You can check them out on YouTube named Lovely ACE. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSp3WU3cpZvxA77aE_DswtQ

Thank you for your support. You are totally welcome, if you have any request video lesson. I would really appreciate it. 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students, 

April has come and the new beginning of our school is around the corner. 

We can’t wait to see you again, hear your stories and greet you all with a smile! 

We hope every one of you could enjoy your one-month holiday at home, 

spending time with your family. 

There is a saying that “Home is the best place of refuge”.A home is where you can be safe and protected. It’s been a month since we are hit by a shocking news about the Corona Virus pandemic not only in Japan but throughout the globe.  

No one really expected this kind of pandemic. It has forced millions of families to cancel plans, stay home from work and school, and self-quarantine together in different parts of the world and even many cities are in experiencing lockdown now. 

This can be really frustrating and boring for many people and especially for children. 

But it presents a good opportunity to teach kids about social responsibility to do small acts of sacrifice and kindness from washing hands and staying home to volunteer for those in need can improve the lives of many, many others in many other countries. 

Here in Japan, where the good conduct of manners has been taught to everyone from childhood up to present for many years, including, wearing a mask when catching even little cold, don’t shake hands but bow to greet someone, washing hands often when they get back home and after using the restroom, carrying wet tissue packets to clean hands when they go out and even, all the restaurants here provide it and lastly, maintaining social distance with others, the most important advice that WHO( World Health Organization) is asking everyone and to be cautious of. 

This really helped Japan to prevent from lockdown and continue the operate businesses. Isn’t it amazing that the Japanese government is teaching everyone, especially here in Japan to be prepared in times of crisis? This is a wonderful thing to be grateful for and I want to challenge everyone, including you, to think 3 things today, which you are grateful for or made you happy. 

According to Buddha, “We are what we think”. I think that we can always be happy by focusing and diverting our thoughts to good things and sharing them to others. Stay happy and healthy always. 

Sincerely, 

Lovely Ventanilla  

Dear ACE students,

We’ve been thinking about you a lot these days of how you are all doing? There have been lots of news about Corona virus everywhere. It’s one of the worries that everyone is scared of now, not only in Japan, but in many parts of the world. 

Fortunately for many worried parents, there appeared to be few confirmed cases of the virus among children so far. Kimura sensei has always said that every problem has its solution. We should not worry about it instead as an individual we can do something to avoid such unnecessary illness. 

Every respective authorities in the politics and health department groups are doing their very best to find a cure for this problem. 

I remember asking a student what he was thankful for before the year ended last year and he answered me, “I am thankful that I didn’t get sick in 2019”.

I asked him a question like, “What have you been doing to stay healthy?” with astonishment. He answered me like this, “I drink vegetable juice every morning”. What a good example he is and I try to follow it even though I’m not really a fan of drinking it every day.

 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the cancelation of the classes in March from elementary to Senior high school students really saddens us. One thing that we would like everyone to do at home is to use the time wisely by continuing to read books because you want to be smarter than yesterday.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends us everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread. We should avoid close contact with the people who are sick, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth and most importantly, wash our hands with soap and water at least 20 seconds, after going to the bathroom, before eating, after blowing our nose, coughing or sneezing. There are many prevented measures that we can do to prevent from the virus. If there’s anything we can do is to use Covid-19 as a reminder to care for our lives always because a bad diet is a thousand of times worse than coronavirus. Lastly, I want to talk about one last topic that is very important. A lot of people are using Covid -19 as an excuse to be racist against Chinese people and it shouldn’t be like that. 

We should not judge a whole nation and we need to come together to not only battle the virus, but also racism when hopefully everyone is safe and we have the virus under control. We will all be able to say that we did our absolute best to fight the virus and not fight each other.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE Students,

Hooray to the 2nd month of 2020 and for complying and finishing all the exams and projects in January. You did all a fantastic job. We welcome the month of February with full of love because it is the month of love which we can practice and show love to everyone and everything we do. I would like to share some interesting facts of the month of February. It is the only month that only has 28 days and gets longer every four years. Sure, everybody knows about leap years, and most know why we have them.

It’s named after one `Februa` was an early Roman spring festival and cleansing ritual held on Feb 15. Februs, the Roman god was named after this festival. In old English, it was called Kale-monath means Kale or cabbage. It`s the only month that can pass without having a full moon. That doesn’t mean February never has a full moon, it usually does, as a matter of fact. The last time it didn’t was 1999. People who are born on February 29 are called `leaper` or `leaping`. I have a godmother in the Philippines whose birthday falls on February 29. She usually celebrates her birthday on March 1. It’s also highly interesting to note that after six years only February is a month that contains a full 7 days week while the other months fail to fulfil this condition. We hope everyone stays warm, healthy and happy in this winter season.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla

Dear ACE students,

 The tinsel is away, the Christmas lights are down and 2 weeks into the New Year most people have already broken their new year’s resolutions! Kimura sensei had so much fun traveling to the Philippines for the very first time. 

 I feel ecstatic that she could visit my hometown and experienced the simple life of the people who reside there. 

Together, we visited several places, including the very famous Chocolate Hills in Bohol which is located in Cebu, a very countryside like that reminds me of my childhood days. 

 It was also my first time to visit Cebu though I’m a Filipino and I can say that Cebu is one of the places that I can recommend to everyone because most people can speak English and has an easy access to Taxi everywhere with the low cost fare. 

 We also visited Hundred Islands in Pangasinan which takes about 1 hour and half drive from where my family lives. My hometown is still in the process of developing its beauty to help the people who live there with their job opportunities and to foster their livelihood in near future.

 One of the things, I noticed with our trip is that most of the malls we visited have been using paper bags which is a big help to the environment. 

 It is impossible to have zero plastic bags in local municipalities. However the government in the Philippines made this rule to encourage people to reduce the garbage on the streets.

 I heard that Japanese people are fond of the “Reuse, Reduce and Recycle” Policy is a very smart idea. Thank you for being the best example of everyone in cleanliness and discipline.

 We are reducing our use of plastics!

 We have significantly reduced our usage of plastic carrier bags in favor of re-usable shopping bags and crates. Nowadays, many malls and supermarkets in the Philippines refrain from giving plastic bags to customers to carry their items. 

 Some malls exclusively offer mall-goers with brown-bags and “eco-bags” in any time of the week. 

 Although plastic bags could carry a lot of weight and a number of items, the disadvantages and environmental hazards outweigh its benefits. 

 It has raised alarm in those people who are concerned about the negative effects on the environment and global warming. 

 There’s not much wasted things if we will all adopt this kind of rules and regulations. Paper saves animals. 

 Plastic wastes which include plastic bags are one of the main reasons for many marine and land creatures to die. Each individual can contribute to the society in simple ways.

Sincerely,

Lovely Ventanilla