UPDATE: Classes and events for the remainder of the Spring Semester through June 2020 have been cancelled due to COVID-19.
The Buddhist Church of Sacramento’s Obon (July 2020) and Bazaar (August 2020) are also cancelled. The church will be closed until further notice.
Message from Nari Igawa, Board President:
Classes for the remainder of March are cancelled / suspended.
Please note: classes and events at Sakura Gakuen / Buddhist Church of Sacramento for the remainder of the month of March have been suspended / cancelled. Youth classes on Saturday and Adult classes on Monday are both affected. This includes any other events that were scheduled to be held at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento including, but not limited to: Sakura Matsuri Food and Vendor Bazaar (03/15/20) as well as the Youth Speech Contest (03/28/20.) Classes are currently scheduled to resume on: Youth Classes (04/04/20 – SAT) and Adult Classes (04/06/20 – MON) and we are exploring what steps may be taking to ensure students have access to quality Japanese education to make up during this absence.
What should I do?
Please feel free to stay home and in addition to practicing good hygiene and safety guidelines, study Japanese. Teachers should be reaching out with assignments that may be covered at home during the break. The Sakura Gakuen School Board and PTC will work with the Deans of our programs to explore different options to make up classes, i.e. conference calls, make up classes, etc. This is a new situation for us, so we likely will be trying new avenues to ensure our students can continue studying with our support.
Why was this decision made?
In response to the recent increase of COVID-19 exposure in the Western United States, as well as general advisory statements made by our government officials, the Buddhist Church of Sacramento Executive Council has made the decision that to best serve the members of the Temple and its affiliated and sponsored organizations, the extraordinary step of closing down the Temple in March would be best. The announcement letter from the BCS (Buddhist Church of Sacramento) President Stuart Ito is attached for your review.
How do I keep up to date on what’s going on at Sakura Gakuen?
In addition to email contact, we will be updating our two respective Facebook pages — Sakura Gakuen Japanese Language School and Sakura Gakuen Adult Classes — as well as our webpage as information becomes available.
Additionally, Youth Class families can join the Sakura Gakuen Families page to help share study ideas.
We will continue to try to make sure everyone is up-to-date.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to either email (neigawa.sakuragakuen@gmail.com) or call (916-749-8131) the current school president Nari Igawa.
Thanks for your understanding with this. Encourage your students to keep studying, keep washing their hands, and staying healthy — we’ll see you back in class soon.
Best wishes.
— Nari Igawa
