Dear colleagues,
As we discussed in our Tuesday meeting, it is time to work on purchasing supplies/books for 2017-18 school year. Below you can find some general explanations as well as detailed steps for making orders. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either Remi-san, Heikki or Sachiko-san about the orders
Budget
Grade level and subject area budgets include funds for teaching material, field trips (excluding school buses), consumables and books. Teachers can use up to 60% of their total budgets for orders.
Overseas orders
Overseas orders should include teaching material and consumables that cannot be found in Japan. Please note that after adding tax and shipping the cost of overseas material is about twice (x1.8) compared to the list prices. Overseas orders are also time sensitive, so it is important to follow the timeline.
Local orders
Local orders include consumables and teaching material available in Japan. These orders can be done throughout the school year. However, it is important that every classroom has a sufficient amount of consumables for the beginning of the year, particularly in those classrooms with a new teacher to CA. The point person for local orders is Remi-san, who will receive your orders and get Heikki's approval against each budget.
Book orders
We have been able to establish a good classroom library through the book orders already. There will be some needs to continue to build the stacks and to ensure that all genres and units of study have sufficient resources. For book orders, we recommend Baker&Taylor for lower cost (longer delivery time, though) and, of course, Amazon. Please consult Kim for further information.
Mathematics
The Research&Design team will make recommendations on the material to be used for teaching math including reference books, manipulatives and software/subscriptions. Please, wait for their recommendations before placing any orders. Please note, that math orders may have to be done outside the general ordering timeline.
Important dates and steps to follow:
Overseas orders to Heikki and Remi-san by 15 April 2017
Book orders to Heikki (via Yuko-san) by 12 April 2017Local orders to Heikki and Remi-san by 25 May 2017
All the orders above should be classified as follows:
Maintenance: Resources needed to run the current program and subject area teaching
Enhancement: Resources needed to upgrade the current program and subject area teaching
Development: Resources needed to pilot/trial something new to support student learning
Local orders to Remi-san between April 19 and May 25, 2017
Remi-san will provide you with forms and instructions by 14 April 2017
Please note, the different vendors require separate order forms. Make sure you save each order form separately.
Overseas Orders Guidelines
Material and supplies that are not available in Japan are usually ordered via the Foreign Buyers Club (FBC) and they have only one surface freight in a month. If we miss July freight, your materials only come in Mid August.Please, find the excel forms attached to an additional email from Heikki including FBC Form and 7 catalogs data -School Specialty, Art Education, Sport Time, Frey Science, Child Craft, Special Need, Furniture.The hard copies have not yet arrived. Sachiko san distributes them to the ES office as soon as they arrive.Here are the procedures on placing overseas orders for the 2017-18 school year:
A) Ordering less than 5 items per supplier:
please work on CA Purchase Order Form on School Website as usual.
B) Ordering more than 5 items per supplier:
1. Open the attached Purchase Order request form template
2. Place orders by company and also by categories (of textbooks or supplies/materials). Please use the correct form either for materials/supplies or for books.
This template is designed to calculte the total amount of your request at the bottom.3. Go to CA Purchase Order Form on School Website and give the supplier name and the total amount. This is an important step for controlling budget. In the description, please mention "see attached" and submit it to Heikki4. Please send the original Purchase Order Request to Heikki and Remi-san.
Notes:
a. In order to save hanlding and shipping costs it is best to use as few different companies as possible.b.Avoid ordering supplies from UK or outside Japan. The price can be as high as three time to the actual list price due to shipping and tax.c. The average rate of total expenses including shipping/handling charge for oversea orders is:
1.40 for materials/supplies from FBC (by boat)
1.15 - 1.30 for books
For further information please contact Sachiko Takihara at the reception as she is the CA Overseas Purchasing Agent.
