フージャーズ英語例会のおしらせ！

みなさま、明けましておめでとうございます。
今回サブリーダー代理を務めさせていただくスコットです。
本年もよろしくお願いいたします。
　
みなさんはお正月、どう過ごしましたか？
私は帰省してきたのですが、実家でものすごくダラけてました。
昼まで寝てたり、ＴＶドラマをボーっと見たり。
年末年始の時間があるときにしようと思っていたことは何一つできずじまい。
正月ボケを醒まして、スイッチを切り替えていかないといけませんね！
今年最初の例会、張り切って行きましょう！！

とはいっても、今回の例会は、すでにメンバーだけで参加希望者が４５人を超えていますので、若干名を募集します。

参加希望の方は、お早めにお願いします。
　
　
1st Part: 18:10〜18:50
「２００９年を迎えて」

いよいよ２００９年のフージャーズもスタートします。
一年の最初、ということで、
お正月の過ごし方、初夢、今年の抱負について話し合いましょう。
　
1.How did you spend the New Year?
　
2.How was your first dream (or a dream which you remember) of this year?
　
3.What would you like to achieve this year?
　
　
2nd Part Discussion: 19:00〜20:00
　
What policy should we take concerning about the current school lunch system?
　
2.2 billion yen [ the amount of unpaid school lunch fees ]
　
Most public elementary schools and junior high schools provide their students with school lunch. In Japan, elementary and junior highs are established as compulsory education, so parents are not required to pay tuition for public schools. However, they do have to pay school lunch fees. The average fee is about 3,900 yen (about 33 US dollars) a month for elementary, and 4,500 yen (about 38 US dollars) a month for junior highs.
　
However, it has been a growing issue that the amount of unpaid school lunch fees is increasing. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, more than 2.2 billion yen (about 18.4 million dollars) of school lunch fees remained unpaid in 2005. The problem is, not only that some families cannot afford the fee, but even some relatively wealthy families are reluctant to pay it.
　
But why are they choosing not to pay the required fee for their children? According to the same research, schools are recognizing that parents tend to be less responsible these days. In other words, some of them aren't paying the fee just because they don't want to. As a result, teachers have to call or visit the parents and persuade them to pay the fee. The task is becoming a heavy burden on teachers, of course, both physically and mentally.
　
Meanwhile, school lunch is a happy childhood memory for most adults in Japan. Bottled milk, fried bread with sprinkled sugar, noodles with curry soup...some of our favorite school meals stay in our minds. If there was someone absent, students would fight over desserts, half-jokingly and half-seriously. School lunches provide students with not only a well-balanced diet, but also precious memories of school days. In order to keep this system functioning smoothly, parents must be responsible enough to pay what is needed for their children.
　
出典　Japan in Numbers #17:
* 2007/2/27 配信 ALC Newsletter No.54(ALC International Marketing 発行)より
　
Following article is about an example of the solution in America.
　
Parents Owe Rogers District For Meals
Board Moves To Collect On $18,000 Debt
Last updated Wednesday, August 20, 2008 7:03 PM CDT in News
By Lana F. Flowers
The Morning News
Students may not eat at school if parents don't pay for meals.
　
The Rogers School Board at its Tuesday meeting passed a policy that states students in sixth through eighth grades can charge breakfast and lunch for six days. Students then must bring money for meals or they won't eat. Students in those grades previously could charge meals for three days.
　
Freshmen through seniors can charge meals for one day, then won't be served. The policy is effective immediately. It applies to students who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
　
The number of charges allowed can carry over from a previous year. A sixth-grader who charged three meals last year and charged meals Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday won't eat lunch today unless he or she brings money for today's meal, said Ashley Kelley, the district's communication coordinator.
　
Parents and guardians then must pay negative balances, she said.
Kristen Cobbs, a school board member, said it seems severe for schools to not serve lunches to students. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will be served breakfast and lunch regardless of previous charges and negative balances, the policy states.
　
Families owe the district more than $18,000 for meals for students from the past three years. The amount does not include meal debts for students who moved or graduated, said Margie Bowers, the food services director.
　
Those who owe $50 or more are turned in to a collection agency, the Federal Automated Recovery System, said Kathy Hanlon, the school district treasurer. Unpaid meals are unsecured debt that appears on credit reports and affects a person's credit score and ability to receive loans, Hanlon said.
　
There are 100 people who each owe $100 or more for unpaid meals, Hanlon said. District officials encourage families to apply for free and reduced-price meals. Students took home notices Monday and district officials this summer mailed packets to enrolled students.
　
Students who submit applications don't pay for meals while their application is processed, Bowers said. Students who qualify are not charged for meals back to the dates of their application, Bowers said. Those who qualify for reduced-price meals pay the reduced cost back to the date of the application. However, those who don't qualify are charged the full meal price back to the date of the application, Bowers said.
　
Some families may then owe $40 or more for meals, along with sending money for daily meals from that point on, said Jennie Rehl, principal at Grace Hill Elementary School. "Some parents ask me if they can send a little bit at a time until they are caught up, and I tell them to go ahead," Rehl said.
　
It's awkward to have principals pressuring parents to pay for meals or deciding whether students with negative balances can eat, said Mary Elmore, principal at Greer Lingle Middle School.
　
"The principals and counselors are trying to reach out and build relationships with parents," Elmore said.
　
Some who owe for meals just won't pay. One family owes more than $500 for meals for their two children at Grace Hill Elementary School, Rehl said. The mother and father work and appear to have good-paying jobs, she said. There was no crisis situation over the summer, Rehl said. Hanlon said she sent the family a collection letter, but someone sent the letter back, decorated with expletives and indications the family wouldn't pay. "These people see me in Wal-Mart and just smile at me and wave," Rehl said. Meanwhile, the children continue to eat at school.
　
Federal law does not allow schools to write off lunch debt, Bowers said, so district officials try and collect balances due. Otherwise, school officials must shift money from other funds to cover unpaid meals, so the food services division does not operate with a negative balance, said Superintendent Janie Darr.
　
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What policy should we take concerning about the current school lunch system?
　
1). Could you tell us your stance about School lunch?
　
2). How should we take a policy about parents who won't pay it?