Price Hike

(by Colin)

Because of the global energy and food supply crisis, the cost of living has sharply increased in the past months. Like many families, Noriko and I are constantly worried about the price of our next gas bill or shopping cart. In this economy, we feel the need to cut down on our expenses.

Although many businesses will have to raise their prices this year, in Okey Dokey, we will try our best to keep the price of the tuitions as low as possible this year as well. Financially speaking, it would be wise for us to increase our prices according to inflation, but it would also go against our philosophy of providing good English education accessible to all.

In order to maintain the quality of our services at a low cost, we have decided to decrease the amount of paper and telephone communication. Amongst other measures, though the printed version of the yearly calendar will only be available on demand, it will be readily accessible on our website. The monthly student evaluations will be sent directly to the parents via LINE or email. We would also like to ask you to contact us by telephone only in case of emergency. Just send us a LINE message or email instead for any inquiries, and we will get back to you as soon as possible at a later time.

We really appreciate your understanding and cooperation!

Eiken Interview

(by Colin)

After I took my driving license at Shinoro Driving School, there was an announcement on the speaker saying that all students had passed the test. It gave me the idea of putting up a poster at school every time all students passed the Eiken interview. Since we have started doing this a few years ago, we have been able to put it up proudly after every session. I don’t think the poster is some sort of lucky charm, but rather that the students have been preparing more seriously for the interview lately. I don’t know if anyone looks at the poster, but it makes me happy that the average English speaking level is increasing at Okey Dokey.

Flyers

(by Colin)

Okey Dokey’s flyers are sent once a year around February or March to announce the trial lessons. Having them printed and sent to so many people in the area is quite expensive. Having a professional company design the flyers would double that cost, so I have been learning to design them myself on my computer. I was very bad at it in the beginning, but I think I am getting better year after year.

Every time, I struggle to come up with a design which is original and appealing. I try to use many small pictures for the children to enjoy finding themselves in the newspaper, and to give a sense of the atmosphere of the classes.

The colors are particularly difficult to choose, as the printed colors are different from the colors displayed on computer monitors. Printers use CMYK cartridges (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black), so this time I chose a range of colors which would be easy to print. It is quite different from the usual purple theme, but I think it stands out. I hope you like it!