Community Briefs — Feb. 5, 2015

Free class on Japanese culture
The Consular Office of Japan on Saipan will organize a class about Japanese culture. Any interested person is kindly requested to register your name by Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, by contacting the Saipan Register at cojsf@ag.mofa.go.jp.

The class will be open to just 15 people on a first-come, first-served basis.

The class will be held Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, from 2:30pm to 4:30pm, at the conference room of the Consular Office of Japan, second floor, Bank Hawaii Building, Mariana Heights Business Park, Puerto Rico, Saipan

The class will take up Japanese animation Nitabo, a story of the founder of Tsugaru, shamisen, origami (paper folding), Japanese sake, etc. (PR)

Family grief support meeting today
The Compassionate Friends of Saipan will be holding its monthly grief support meeting today Feb. 5, from 6pm to 7:30pm, in the NMPASI conference room on Middle Road, in Gualo Rai. The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others to be supportive. For more information, e-mail tcfSaipan@gmail.com or call Jill Derickson (989-9821) or Donna Krum (783-0755). To learn more about The Compassionate Friends, visit their website at www.compassionatefriends.org. (PR)

MHS Q2 report cards out tomorrow
Marianas High School will be distributing second quarter report cards to students on Feb. 5, 2015. Here are other events happening this month:

• Feb. 2-6: Counselor’s Week
• Feb. 16: President’s Day (a holiday)
• Feb. 26: Early dismissal for high school due to professional development for all PSS staff

Should you have any questions or need to make an appointment to see your child’s teacher, call the Main Office at 237-3206/5/4. You can also check our website at www.marianashighschool.com. (PR)

CVES to host Canary Walk-aThon
San Vicente Elementary School is inviting the public to join its Canary Walk-a-Thon on Feb. 7, from 8am to noon. A total of 16 food and non-food vendors are participating. There will be performances from Saipan Southern High School, Marianas High School, San Vicente, Saipan Music and Dance Studio and Get Fit CNMI. Performances will be from 9am to 11am. Raffle tickets will be sold with chances of winning a $250 gift certificate from Fish & Tackle, live animals such as piglets, goats, chickens, pigeons, and many other consolation prizes. Food vendors are Matty’s, Hermans Bakery, Hill Top, to name a few. (PR)

PREL education conference in July
PREL is proud to announce the 29th Pacific Educational Conference, to be co-hosted with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Ministry of Education and the College of the Marshall Islands in Majuro this July.

Pre-ceremony activities will begin on July 27, 2015, with the opening ceremony dinner on July 28, 2015, where the 2014 PREL Teacher-of-the-Year award will be announced. The three-day PEC conference will be held from July 29 to 31.

Visit http://www.prel.org/signup/ for 2015 PEC registration and program updates, as well as other PREL news. (PREL)

Joeten-Kiyu library closed this week
This is to inform the public that the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library is closed from Feb. 3 to Feb. 7, 2015, due to its annual inventory. For more information, call 235-7322/23. (JKPL)

BECQ brigade sets Tank Beach cleanup on Sat.
The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality’s Cleanup Brigade will be picking up trash at Tank Beach on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, at 8am. If you would like to volunteer, meet the BECQ representatives on Saturday at the Tank Beach entrance at 8am. Volunteers will split into groups and clean until 10am and break for drinks and then continue, if needed.

This month, outstanding brigade volunteers who participated in at least 10 monthly cleanups will receive a brigade cap and those who participated in at least three cleanups will receive a brigade T-shirt.

For more information about volunteering, contact the BECQ office at 664-8500/1. (BECQ)

Air Force, Navy training on FDM, at Warning Area 517
The U.S. Air Force will conduct training at the island of Farallon de Mendinilla during the following times:

• Feb. 5, from 10am to 1:30pm and 3-9:30pm
•  Feb. 6, from 6am to 6pm

The U.S. Navy will conduct training at Warning Area 517 on Feb. 3-4 from noon to 8pm

The general public especially fishermen, commercial pilots and marine tour operators are advised to stay clear from the area during the dates and times indicated. (PR)