This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
By Greg Achten and Jenny Alme
Harker’s speech and debate team finished the 2015-16 season strong, with many students earning national honors and awards. The end-of-the-year championship tournaments were a capstone to another great season in which Harker students competed against the best and brightest students nationwide. The success of our students at those tournaments is a testament to their hard work and all that they have learned this year.
Upper School Team Success
Harker’s upper school speech and debate team attended several end-of-year championship tournaments. Qualifying for these tournaments was a great honor, resulting from top performances throughout the year. Twelve Harker students competed at the National Debate Coaches Association National Championship in Orlando, Fla. At the tournament, Raymond Xu and Srivatsav Pyda, both juniors, advanced to the elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Xu lost in the first elimination and finished 17th in the nation, while Pyda reached the quarterfinals and finished fifth in the nation. Several Harker debate students also qualified to the Tournament of Champions, held in Lexington, Ky. Pyda was joined by teammates Aditya Dhar, grade 11, and Michael Tseitlin, grade 11, as well as Alexander Lam, grade 11, in congressional debate; Joyce Huang, grade 11, Emily Chen, grade 10, and Jimmy Lin, grade 10, in international public forum debate; and Emaad Raghib, grade 11, and Suraj Jagadeesh, grade 12, in public forum. At the tournament, Lam and Huang entered the elimination rounds as the top overall seed. They were joined in the elimination rounds by Chen and Lin.
Both teams reached the octofinal round of the tournament, finishing in the top 20 in the nation. In congressional debate, both Dhar and Tseitlin advanced to the semifinals. Dhar also qualified for the National Catholic Forensics League National Tournament in Sacramento, where he reached the final round of the tournament and finished fifth overall in the nation. In speech competitions, three Harker students qualified for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions in Denver. Sana Aladin and Divya Rajasekharan, both grade 11, qualified to the tournament in duo interpretation of literature, and Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 9, qualified in original oratory. Dharmaraj advanced to the final round of the tournament and finished fourth overall out of more than 140 students! Dharmaraj is the first Harker student to reach the final round of this prestigious tournament. He also qualified to the National Speech & Debate Association’s National Tournament in Salt Lake City, which will take place in mid-June.
Young Debaters Winning Big
One of the bright spots of the season was the success of grade 9 students throughout the year and especially at the end-of-the-year tournaments. Students from Harker’s team earned top honors at several late-season tournaments designed for students in their first or second year of competition.
The St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas holds a championship tournament in May for grade 9 and younger debaters. At that tournament Anusha Kuppahally, grade 9, and Maddie Huynh, grade 8, reached the semifinals and finished third overall. Both Kuppahally and Huynh also won individual speaker awards. At the Western JV & Novice National Championship at San Francisco State University, three Harker students were crowned national champions in their respective events. In second year public forum, Cindy Wang and Clarissa Wang, both grade 9, lost only one ballot on their way to winning the tournament. In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Kelly Shen, grade 9, also won the final round of her division and was named a national champion.
Many other Harker students also won awards at the Western tournament. In policy debate, Esha Deokar, grade 9, and Deven Shah, grade 6, reached the semifinals of the novice division and finished third in the nation. Meghna Phalke and Alycia Cary, both grade 9, reached the octofinal round of novice policy, finishing ninth in the nation.
Kuppahally and Jacob Ohana, grade 10, finished ninth in the second year policy debate division. In novice public forum, Raymond Banke, grade 9, Floyd Gordon, grade 10, Aimee Wang, grade 6, and Alina Yuan, grade 6, finished in the top 20 in the nation, while Sascha Pakravan, grade 6, and Anshul Reddy, grade 6, were in the quarterfinals of the tournament and finished fifth overall. In second year public forum, Betsy Tian, grade 7, and Shomrick Mondal, grade 8, finished the tournament in the top 10 in the country.
In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Karoun Kaushik, grade 6, and Aditya Tadimeti, grade 7, reached elimination rounds and finished in the top 20 overall. Also in novice Lincoln-Douglas, Rishi Jain, grade 6, reached the quarterfinals. In second year Lincoln-Douglas, Cat Zhao, grade 8, Avi Gulati, grade 8, Satvik Narasimhan, grade 9, Nishant Ravi, grade 9, and Suraj Pakala, grade 9, all reached the elimination rounds and finished in the top 20. Annie Ma, grade 8, and Neha Tallapragada, grade 9, both reached the quarterfinals and finished in the top eight in nation. Given the success of these young students, the future of the program is indeed very bright.
Middle School Team Success Harker’s middle school team recently attended the California Middle School State tournament at Skyline High School in Oakland, and many of our students won awards! In impromptu speaking Bryan Wang, grade 8, reached the finals and was crowned state champion. Avi Gulati also reached the finals of impromptu. In storytelling Gulati, Katelyn Chen, grade 8, Arusha Patil, grade 7, and Rhea Nanavati, grade 7, all were finalists.
In prose Nikki Solanki, grade 8, was a finalist. In oratory Gulati and Patil were finalists. In duo interpretation of literature, Chen and Wang were finalists. In dramatic interpretation Solanki was a finalist. In public forum debate the teams of Amanda Cheung, grade 8, and Jason Pan, grade 8, as well as Krishay Mukhija, grade 7, and Anshul Reddy were quarterfinalists.
Also in public forum, the team of Kenneth Liou, grade 8, and Jeremy Ding, grade 8, as well as Zain Awais, grade 7, and Chandan Aggarwal, grade 8, reached the octofinals and finished in the top 20, while the team of Datha Arramreddy, grade 8, and Vibha Arramreddy, grade 8, were double octofinalists. In Lincoln-Douglas Annie Ma and Cat Zhao reached the quarterfinals. Aditya Tadimeti was an octofinalist.
The following students reached the double octofinals in Lincoln Douglas: Sachin Shah, grade 8, Aditi Vinod, grade 7, Akhilesh Chegu, grade 6, and Montek Kalsi, grade 8. In congressional debate Nakul Bajaj, grade 8, and Andrew Sun, grade 7, were finalists.
The middle school team also attended the Glendale Middle School Championships. In policy debate Andy Lee and Jason Lin, both grade 7, were the tournament champions. The teams of Quentin Clark, grade 8, and Shah, as well as Jai Bahri, grade 8, and Deven Parikh, grade 7, were semifinalists.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, the team swept the tournament, claiming all of the top seven spots with the following students being named co-champions: Shah, Akshay Manglik, grade 7, Tadimeti, Kalsi, Ma, Chegu and Zhao. In public forum Reddy and Mukhija were octofinalists and the teams of Liou and Ding as well as Cheung and Pan reached the quarterfinals.
In congressional debate Sun, Bajaj, and Reiya Das, grade 8, all finished in the top eight at the tournament.
The following students reached the final round of speech competition: Aaditya Gulati, grade 6; Shyl Lamba, grade 8; Annamma Vazhaeparambil, grade 7; Wang and Chen. Patil won the oratory competition while Avi Gulati finished first overall in impromptu speaking and storytelling and Solanki was named tournament champion in both prose and dramatic interpretation.
Karina Momary, head coach of the Harker middle school team, credits the success of the program to the work of the students. “This group of students has certainly worked hard individually, but more importantly has worked collectively as a team to support each other. Our success this year is a direct result of our students working with and for each other,” she said. The middle school team next heads to the National Junior Forensics League National Championship Tournament in Salt Lake City in mid-June.
Welcoming a New Coach
In fall, Marjorie Hazeltine will transition from the middle school to the upper school to become the head coach of the Harker speech and congressional debate teams. Hazeltine had previously worked with the Harker middle school team, in addition to teaching English classes. She joins returning upper school coaches Jenny Alme and Greg Achten. Department chair Alme noted, “The upper school students and coaches are thrilled to have Ms. Hazeltine join us. She is very talented and has a great track record of success as a coach.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Read the full Eagle Report in Harker News, with team statistics, and player and coach interviews, at http://wp.me/pOeLQ-7ER.
Boys Volleyball
Boys volleyball started off the season losing eight of its first 10 nonleague games, but dramatically turned things around when they started league play, winning a league title with a perfect 10-0 record and qualifying for CCS. All told, they ended their season with a 16-12 record.
Boys Tennis
It was an exciting year for the boys tennis program. Competing at the California Tennis Classic in Fresno early in the season, the Eagles went 1-2, but there was more to this weekend than just numbers. After winning the division 4 championship in the tournament last year, the Eagles were moved up two divisions to face some of the best teams in the state. Their sole victory came against defending section champ Clovis West, proving that they could play with the big boys. The team then finished the season in third place in the WBAL, which produced a CCS berth. Their season ended in the next round of CCS as Gunn High defeated Harker 5-2.
Swimming
The 2016 swim season was full of amazing individual and team achievements, and led to many All-League selections. In addition to their prowess in the pool, both the boys and girls swim teams were CCS scholastic champions with a 3.5441 and 3.8451 GPA, respectively. “We had a very committed core who were encouraged by their improvements,” said coach Tania Chadwick. “By the end of the season it was great to see swimmers come together showing their team unity and camaraderie as they supported each other during practice and meets.”
Softball
The Harker softball team started the year on fire as it went 4-0 in its first four games, winning each game by an average of nine runs! The Eagles would finish the season tied for fourth in the WBAL with a 6-10 overall record. Read the full Eagle Report in Harker News, with team statistics and player and coach interviews, at http://wp.me/pOeLQ-7ER.
Girls Lacrosse
It was a tough season for the girls lacrosse team as team members played their hearts out through a 2-18 season. In addition to being a CCS scholastic champion, leading all CCS girls lacrosse teams with a 3.9098 GPA, the team also received many All-League awards.
Baseball
The varsity baseball team ended its season with a 9-13 record, but the future looks promising for this team. With only three graduating seniors on a 19-man roster, a solid core of players will return next year.
“Even though we will only have one senior next year, we’ll have eight to nine juniors, all of whom will be beginning their third year on varsity,” said coach Mike Delfino. “So, we’re definitely optimistic about the next few years. I am proud of the efforts each of the players put into the season. These guys worked hard and steadily improved as the season went along.”
Boys Golf
What a year for the boys golf team! They were WBAL champs for the third consecutive year and enjoyed a second-straight undefeated season, which included 22 consecutive league wins. They had a second place finish at CCS, third place finish at NorCals, and sixth place at state. Read the full story on the boys golf team.
Track and Field
It was one of the best years in Harker history for the track and field team! Every meet seemed to produce multiple personal and/or school records. At the WBAL finals, the Eagles had 14 season bests, and five athletes earned trips to the CCS championships. Junior Niki Iyer had a particularly stellar season; read more about Iyer, here!
Lower, Middle School Spring Athletes Finish Strong
By Theresa “Smitty” Smith
It was another great season for lower and middle school athletes!
VA (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The Varsity A team, coached by Diana Melendez and Stephanie Coleman, finished as league champs in the WBAL with a record of 7-1. Team awards went to Emily Cheng, grade 8 (Eagle), and Julia Yusupov, grade 7, and Lauren Beede, grade 8 (Coaches).
VB (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The Varsity B team, coached by Xiaofeng Foret, finished in third place in the WBAL with a record of 5-2. Team awards went to Rachel Abellera, grade 8 (MVP), Hannah Grannis, grade 7 (Eagle) and Anvitha Tummala, grade 7 (Coaches).
VB2 (Grades 7-8) Girls Volleyball: The Varsity B2 team, coached by Josh Miller, finished in sixth place in the WBAL with a record of 3-4. Team awards went to Anu Selvaraj, grade 8 (MVP), Aria Wong, grade 7 (Eagle) and Ayla Tanurhan, grade 8 (Coaches).
JVA (Grade 6) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity A team, coached by Tina Mai, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a record of 2-4. Team awards went to Tara Ozdemir (MVP), Leyla Artun (Eagle) and Sarah Leafstrand (Coaches).
JVB6 (Grade 6) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity B6 team, coached by Sarah Bell, finished as league champs in the WBAL with an undefeated record of 6-0. Team awards went to Michelle Liu (MVP), Emily Tan (Eagle) and Elizabeth Shchegrov (Coaches).
JVB1 (Grade 5) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity B1 team, coached by Ellie Pereria, finished in second place in the WBAL with a record of 5-1. Team awards went to Claire Chen (MVP), Shea Bryden (Eagle) and Lexi Nishimura (Coaches).
JVB2 (Grade 4) Girls Volleyball: The Junior Varsity B2 team, coached by Sydney Voss, finished in ninth place in the WBAL with a record of 0-6. Team awards went to Kate Grannis (MVP), Margaret Cartee (Eagle) and Masha Velikhovskaya (Coaches).
LS Intramural Girls Volleyball: Team awards went to Emily McCartney and Maggie Yan, both grade 4 (Eagle), and Emma Cai, Ceren Erdogan and Cecilia Yang, all grade 4 (Coaches). The team was coached by Maria Maldonado.
VA (Grade 8) Boys Volleyball: The Varsity A team, coached by Pete Anderson, finished as league champs in the ADAL with an undefeated record of 8-0 and an overall record of 9-0. Team awards went to Jeffrey Kwan (MVP), Vedanth Sundaram (Eagle) and Vance Hirota (Coaches).
JVA (Grades 6-7) Boys Volleyball: The Junior Varsity A team, coached by Pete Anderson, finished in second place in the ADAL with a record of 6-2. Team awards went to Marcus Page, grade 6 (MVP), Avery Young, grade 7 (Eagle) and Sujith Pakala, grade 6 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 7-8) Baseball: The Varsity A team, coached by Jeff Paull and Matt Arensberg, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a record of 1-4 and an overall record of 2-4. Team awards went to Nicholas Coulter (MVP), Marcus Anderson (Eagle) and John Lynch (Coaches), all grade 7.
JVA (Grades 6-7) Baseball: The Junior Varsity A team, coached by Jon Cvitanich and Richard Amarillas, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a record of 0-3-1 and an overall record of 0-5-1. Team awards went to Richard Amarillas, grade 6 (MVP), Chirag Kaushik, grade 6 (Eagle) and George Wehner, grade 7 (Coaches).
JVB (Grades 4-5) Baseball: The Junior Varsity B team, coached by Dan Pringle, Randy LeGris and Kristian Tiopo, finished in fourth place in the WBAL with a record of 2-4. Team awards went to Frederick Hoch, grade 5 (MVP), Tyler Beede, grade 5 (Eagle), and Wyatt Cote, grade 5, and Ashwin Kuppahally, grade 4 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 6-8) Water Polo: The Varsity A team, coached by Ted Ujifusa and Allie Lamb, finished with a WBAL record of 0-5 and an overall record of 1-6. Team awards went to Cassandra Ruedy, grade 8, and Bayden Yazalina, grade 7 (MVP), Anna Arnaudova, grade 7 (Eagle) and Chloe Affaki, grade 7 (Coaches).
VA (Grades 6-8) Tennis: The Varsity A team, coached by JP Fruttero and John Fruttero, finished as league champs and tournament champs of the WBAL with a record of 7-0. The team also finished as league champs of the MTP with a record of 4-0. In the MTP playoffs, Harker lost 5-4 to Kennedy in the finals. The Eagles finished the season with an impressive 13-1 record. Team awards went to Mihir Sharma and Ramanand Vegesna (MVP), Simar Bajaj and Gina Partridge (Eagle), and Jack Hansen, Bryan Wang and Rachel Broweleit (Coaches), all grade 8.
VB (Grades 6-8) Tennis: The Varsity B team, coached by Matt McGee, JP Fruttero and John Fruttero, finished as league champs and tournament champs of the WBAL with an undefeated record of 6-0 and an overall record of 8-0. Team awards went to Fonda Hu, grade 7, and Shika Tseitlin, grade 6 (MVP), Dawson Chen, grade 6 (Eagle), and Alexander Liou and Dhruv Saoji, both grade 6 (Coaches).
Sixth graders gathered in the MPR in mid-September to write letters of thanks to servicemen and servicewomen to be included in packages from Operation Gratitude. About 80 students RSVP’d to the event; a half hour in, the tables were full of chattering girls and boys. The letters will be inserted into packages of goodies and sundries, and then forwarded to service personnel who are far from their families during the holidays. The effort was coordinated by the grade level coordinators for grade 6.
Students in Allen Lyle’s grade 8 history class have been studying the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, along with the navigation methods they used during the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. One of these navigation methods, known as “the log and line,” helped navigators determine the speed of their vessels by counting the number of knots on a rope that passed through their hands in a set amount of time as measured by a sandglass. Eventually, the term “knot” came to mean 1 nautical mile per hour, a measurement still used today. Like the navigators, students were able to calculate their own speeds in knots for a variety of movements – from walking and running to bear crawling and cart-wheeling! Go Harker history Eagles!
Cynthia Chen, grade 9, earned the second place prize in the Broadcom MASTERS Competition in the science division! She will receive a $2,500 award for her efforts. Nice article in the Mercury: http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/05/school-scene-students-win-science-honors/. Congratulations Cynthia!
Update: Another great article on Chen’s project! https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/eureka-lab/teen-develops-water-saving-pods-seeds
UPDATE: Oct. 7, 2016
The Los Altos Town Crier recently published a story about the project that earned freshmen Aarzu Gupta and Maya Shukla semifinalist recognition in this year’s Broadcom MASTERS competition.
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UPDATE: Sept. 23, 2016
Earlier this week, Cynthia Chen, now grade 9, was named one of 30 national finalists in this year’s Broadcom MASTERS competition. The second finalist in Harker’s history, Chen has received a $500 cash prize and will head to Washington, D.C. in late October for the to compete for $100,000 in awards.
Chen’s project aimed to alleviate the problems caused by California’s ongoing drought by creating a capsule that housed seeds surrounded by water crystals, allowing them to grow with just a third of the water usage.
Good luck to Cynthia this October!
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Last week, the Society for Science & the Public announced that Harker freshmen Cynthia Chen, Aarzu Gupta and Maya Shukla were among 300 students nationwide named semifinalists in this year’s Broadcom MASTERS competition. Chen, Gupta and Shukla entered the competition last year while in eight grade. A total of 2,434 applicants entered this year’s competition.
The Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering Rising Stars) competition highlights the work of middle school scientists from across the country. The top 10 percent of middle school participants at society-affiliated science fairs are nominated to participate, and must then submit an application to enter the competition. Each application is rigorously reviewed by professionals in science, engineering and education.
Finalists are scheduled to be announced next week. Stay tuned!
Last week, grade 7 science students put their engineering skills to the test by building airplanes in the middle school campus’ innovation lab. Teacher Raji Swaminathan had taken the students to the middle school amphitheater to try out normal paper airplanes when, she said, “Scott [Kley Contini, grades 6-8 Learning, Innovation and Design Director], who was walking by, asked me if the Innovation Lab could have helped the kids build the planes.”
The students then headed to the lab and were instructed to build planes with the wealth of materials that were available to them. Kley Contini offered the students advice on how to get creative as they worked on their aircraft. One group of students went so far as to construct a wind tunnel to test the effects of tailwinds and headwinds. “I would’ve used just a fan, but Scott came up with the idea for a wind tunnel that would channel the breeze from the fan through which the plane flew,” said Swaminathan. “It was just a fantastic experience for those of my classes who were able to go to the Innovation Lab.”
Senior Venkat Sankar and Arohee Bhoja, grade 8, had excellent runs at this summer’s National Junior Classical League Convention at Indiana University.
Sankar reached the top 10 in no fewer than 11 events. He took second place in Greek Derivatives IV; third place in Ancient Geography IV, Classical Art IV and Roman Life IV; fourth place in Greek Life and Literature IV, Latin Vocabulary IV and Reading Comprehension IV; sixth place in Boys Dramatic Interpretation, Sight Latin Poetry and Maps, Drawn 11-2; and ninth place in Latin Derivatives IV.
Meanwhile, Bhoja took fourth place in Sight Latin Girls II, and ninth in Latin Vocabulary II and Reading Comprehension II, and helped the team representing California reach ninth place in Intermediate Certamen.
Sankar and Bhoja also helped the California delegation win the spirit competition.
Lower and middle school families that donated to the latest phase of our capital campaign gathered for two ice cream socials on the upper school campus this month to get a close-up look at the construction of our new performing arts and athletic centers. The gym is slated to be finished in June 2017 and the performing arts center by December 2017. For more information on the campaign and updates on the project, visit http://www.harker.org/giving/capital-giving.
Bay Area middle school students enjoyed a revamped Summer Institute this year that included a wealth of educational and recreational activities. “The entire program is new this year,” said middle school summer director Kelly Espinosa. In contrast to previous years, this year’s middle school summer institute operated independently at the middle school campus. “Because of the construction at Saratoga … we couldn’t have this many kids there,” Espinosa explained. “So we left the program at Saratoga for the high school kids and moved the sixth and seventh graders here.”
The program was designed to give students unprecedented flexibility in their choices of classes and activities. Morning offerings included beginning and advanced math, writing, science, robotics and art. Several classes were offered in both the morning and afternoon, enabling students to mix and match activities to their liking. For instance, a student could sign up for an afternoon pre-algebra session to make time for a morning debate boot camp.
The afternoon session also included various recreational activities, such as games, crafts and cooking so that students could learn new things and make new friends (as well as reconnect with old ones) in a positive environment.
A host of sports camps also were available to Summer Institute attendees, staffed by supportive coaches who guided students in a skill-focused environment. The camps, which included basketball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling and table tennis, were designed for players of all skill levels. “Our camps are targeted to kids who love the sport and want to learn more about it,” said Espinosa. This gives attendees the opportunity to establish a level of comfort with a sport and give them more confidence to play sports during the school year. “They actually understand it now where they never did before because they were too intimidated by it,” Espinosa noted. “And then things like pingpong are just fun.”
In mid-May, a group of Harker sixth graders traveled to Japan for the yearly visit to Tamagawa Academy. In addition to visiting their buddies, the trip gave students the opportunity to see many of Japan’s most famous landmarks and learn about the country’s rich culture.
The group’s first full day in Tokyo started with a visit to the Suginami Animation Museum, where students attended an animation workshop. “A set of eight pictures is scanned to make a one-second animation,” reported Vandana Kadam, grade 6-8 math department chair and one of the chaperones on the trip. “Students had a lot of fun doing it.” Later, the group headed to the Edo-Tokyo Museum to view its rich collection of art and cultural artifacts from Japan’s Edo period (1603-1867). Other highlights included seeing the 18-meter tall statue of Gundam, the titular robot of one of Japan’s most popular animated series, and getting a spectacular view of the Rainbow Bridge as the sun went down.
Saturday’s big event was the visit to Tamagawa Academy, where students met up with their buddies. “The drive to Tamagawa was used to practice their Japanese speeches, and as the coach rolled into the campus, a huge surprise awaited the students,” said Kadam. “The host families with buddies and siblings were waiting for our students with beautiful signs, flowers and other things that would make our students feel very welcome.” At an assembly, the Tamagawa students introduced themselves, and Toshiyuki Ibe, headmaster of Tamagawa’s lower secondary division, gave a special address. Following a video message from Harker Head of School Chris Nikoloff, the Harker students and faculty introduced themselves in Japanese. The students then departed to be with their homestays for the weekend.
On Monday, the students returned to Tamagawa for their first day of classes. The Harker students regaled their chaperones with stories of sightseeing in and around Tokyo, including Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Disneyland, Edo Wonderland, Mt. Fuji and more. Everyone received a warm welcome from Tamagawa’s students, who sang at a morning assembly. Afterward they learned about the history of Tamagawa from its president, Yoshiaki Obara, who also informed the students about Japanese culture and religious customs.
The ensuing two days were a whirlwind of activity for the Harker students and chaperones. They learned how to write their names in Japanese, made candles from beeswax and tasted honey straight from the honeycomb at a honey bee farm, and visited Tamagawa’s famous planetarium. “They watched an interactive show as the narrator was talking about the position of Tokyo and San Jose and how the skies would look similar due to the fact that the two cities have almost the same latitudes,” Kadam said.
On their final day with their Tamagawa buddies, the Harker students observed some elementary school classes and attended a potluck lunch hosted by Tamagawa parents. At a special farewell assembly, the Harker students enjoyed an entertaining magic show by Tamgawa students, and gathered to sing “The Harker School Song.” After exchanging tearful goodbyes, Harker’s students set off for Kyoto.
Japan’s former imperial capital offered a wealth of sights to see, including the famous Golden Pavilion with its brilliant gold-leaf coating. Students visited the centuries-old Nijo Castle, built by military leader Tokugawa Ieyasu, the head of the Tokugawa Shogunate. “The wooden floors here squeak so that the Shoguns [military dictators] could detect any intruders to the castle,” Kadam said. “These floors are called nightingale floors.” At the castle, the students learned about the Shogun’s meetings with feudal lords and advisers, and saw his private quarters. At Kiyomizu Temple, the students drank from the stream flowing from the nearby mountains, which is said to bring good fortune and health.
Early the next morning, the students were briefed on the purpose of visiting their next destination, and boarded a bullet train bound for Hiroshima. “They were extremely well behaved and were very sensitive to the history of Hiroshima,” Kadam said. Students were made aware of the destruction caused by the atomic bombing.” Their first stop was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as the A-Bomb Dome, a ruin that remains standing as a memorial to the victims of the 1945 Hiroshima bombing. They later headed to the Children’s Peace Monument, where they left 1,000 paper cranes they had folded, before visiting the Peace Memorial Museum.
After their activities in Hiroshima, the group boarded a ferry to Miyajima Island. They toured the Itsukushima Shrine and viewed its famous Tori gate, which is partially submerged in water.
The students’ final day in Japan was spent at a snow monkey habitat. “There is an enclosed area for people to buy food and offer it to monkeys that are outside of the enclosure. It is just fascinating to see how nicely the monkeys take the food from your hand and put it in their mouth,” Kadam reported. “Needless to say that this was, for the students, the highlight of the last few days of the Japan trip.”