Dear Students,

I am delighted to inform you that this guild has grown to 369 members, and is currently one of the largest and most active Foreign Language guilds on all of Gaia. Congratulations to everyone here - I certainly never anticipated the guild becoming this popular! Wow!

So, just a few updates to take care of today. As you're no doubt aware, summer is drawing to a close and school is upon us - with that, you'll see an increase in posted lessons over the next few months, as I move on to a harder Japanese course and I find that posting lessons is really great for studying.

You might also have noticed a new subforum - Culture Lessons! Yes, Culture Lessons are back! These will be un-numbered lessons that provide information on everything from mainstream Japanese culture to more obscure topics. If there's anything you're dying to know about Japanese culture, request it here or PM me and I will do a bit of research and post a new Culture Lesson on it.

I will also be taking the annual poll of where everyone is at with their Japanese and addressing individual concerns. There will be a sticky in the main forum posted for this purpose and I beg you, please go post in it! Getting an annual progress check-up from you people is like pulling teeth! Starry Sensei is only trying to help you, so do her a favor and go reply. I'll make the answer form really easy to fill out and everything.

Just a quick reminder for those interested - this year's Japanese Language Proficiency Test will be held December 4th worldwide. If you want any more information regarding the JLPT, see the thread in the main forum or PM me.

You'll also notice the addition of a "Schoolyard Chatter" subforum. This is a general chat forum where you can get to know your fellow classmates a bit better and - hopefully - make some friends in this guild.

As usual, leave me any comments or suggestions here in this thread or via PM.

Love,

Starry Starry Fright

P.S. As an extra special reward for reading this all the way through, I'm going to teach you three exciting new words! Ready?

なつ - natsu - summer

あご - ago - chin

しゃくり - shakuri - hiccup (noun)