This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Nineteen enthusiastic grade 7 and 8 students participated in the annual middle school trip to China, where they spent time with their buddies at the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai.
Adding to the excitement of this year’s visit to Harker’s sister school in China, which ran from March 27 to April 7, was the addition of the grade 7 students, who joined the trip for the first time.
Originally based around the grade 8 computer science class’ global issues forum, the China trip this year also incorporated the grade 7 historical component of learning about ancient China. According to Harker’s global education department, including seventh graders on the trip proved to be such a success that it will be the norm going forward.
To be able to go on the China exchange trip was a dream come true for grade 7 student Raveena Panja, who said that in Shanghai, spending time with her WFLMS buddy Jasmine taught her a lot about Chinese family values.
“My favorite memory with Jasmine was when she took me to an outdoor night market. It was so pretty with all the night lights, and everyone I met was so sweet and welcoming. Beijing was also very beautiful, for it holds the historical and traditional side of China. The Great Wall was breathtaking! Traveling to China exposed me to a new culture, allowed me to make lifelong friends halfway across the world and made me realize I am a part of a bigger global community which is filled with wonderful people, regardless of where they are from,” recalled Panja.
Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs, headed this year’s trip, and was accompanied by three faculty chaperones. In addition, middle school computer science teacher Abigail Joseph preceded the group to spend some rewarding time working as an exchange teacher at WFLMS.
“I most enjoyed watching the students engage in round-table discussions with their buddies on various topics affecting youth, from homework loads and family rituals to United States-China relations. They were very interested in learning about and sharing with one another,” observed Joseph. “As a teacher it was really wonderful to see two different communities collide and sit down at the table to have real dialogues about personal matters. This made me know the future of dialogue and deliberation is in good hands,” she said.
Upon their arrival in China, the students were warmly welcomed at the Pudong International Airport by their pals from WFLMS. From there, they hopped on a bus for the short drive into the city to meet their host families.
“The variety of experiences that were extended by their host families gave them all a marvelous glimpse into life in Shanghai, and these were augmented by our further travels. The students also had a chance to make regional arts comparisons, attending both the Shanghai acrobats show and the Beijing ‘Legend of Kung Fu’ spectacle,” Lawson reported.
During their time at WFLMS, the Harker students enjoyed attending classes with their Chinese friends and taking part in special activities such as making dumplings and creating culturally-based art projects. In fact, Harker and WFLMS students grew so close that as their time together came to a close, there were numerous touching goodbyes, speeches, performances and heartfelt promises to stay in touch.
After spending time at WFLMS, the Harker contingent departed for the next phase of the trip, Beijing. Their first adventure in Beijing was a rickshaw tour of the Hutong, or ancient alleyways that once covered the city.
Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Great Wall of China. Taking a ski lift to the top of the mountain, they entered onto the wall. Many photos were taken of the renowned structure, and the students were thrilled to take a toboggan ride back down the side of the mountain.
Back in Beijing the students visited Tiananmen Square, site of the 1989 protests and ensuing military action. Then they headed to the Forbidden City, where they were guided through several of its 980 palatial buildings.
After lunch, they went to Silk Street Market, a famous shopping center, where they had fun haggling with its many vendors. From there, they enjoyed a final outing to the Summer Palace, China’s largest imperial garden, where they rode a dragon boat to the palace’s pavilion.
The grade 7 and 8 students arrived back home in early April, feeling bonded and eager to share their trip experiences with friends, family and fellow middle-schoolers. And this year, the good news for grade 7 students is that they will have a chance to repeat the wonderful experience of the China trip all over again in grade 8!
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly. Read the complete issue at http://bit.ly/10W17nX.
In an effort to realign its recognition of outstanding students with its mission as a school, Harker has revamped its year-end awards format. This K-12 initiative will recognize students who not only have excelled academically but have also demonstrated other qualities that exemplify the school’s overall goals.
“Basically, we feel that it no longer makes sense to determine the best in a variety of categories when we have such an exceptional group of students,” said Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs. “That said, we still believe strongly in recognizing students for their efforts and hard work.”
To that end, the year-end awards now honor students who particularly reflect the school’s effort to instill love of learning, commitment to service, leadership abilities and other qualities crucial to Harker’s mission.
In grades 1-5, students will receive citizenship awards for meeting or exceeding expectations in all courses and maintaining a clean disciplinary record. An effort award will be given to students who meet or exceed expectations in every course they take.
Middle school students are eligible for the Honor Roll, which includes three categories. Maintaining a grade point average of 3.7 or higher will earn the student an Honor Roll certificate for academic achievement. A citizenship Honor Roll certificate will be awarded to students who meet or exceed expectations in all of their classes and receive no more than two disciplinary hours. For meeting or exceeding expectations in all of their courses, students will receive an Honor Roll certificate for effort. A certificate with a gold ribbon will be awarded to students who earn recognition in all three of these categories.
At the upper school, the community service director will highlight five students for their efforts approximately every other month at a school meeting. These students will receive a community service award, and each awardee will have the opportunity to donate $200 to a charity of his or her choosing.
Students who showed their dedication to the Harker community by serving on the student council or honor council will be honored with a school service recognition certificate.
In grades 4-12, students will be given a love of learning award for showing their dedication to being engaged in the classroom and displaying a genuine passion for their subject. Recipients for these awards will be chosen by teachers, with faculty nominating up to five students they believe worthy of the award. Division heads and deans will then review the list of nominees and decide who will receive the awards. Awardees who were nominated by more than one faculty member will receive a special keepsake along with their certificates, which they receive by mail.
Students in grades 4-12 who best encompass Harker’s philosophy and goals will receive the mission of the school award. As with the love of learning award, teachers will nominate up to five students who they feel exhibit and promote kindness, respect, integrity and intellectual curiosity, while acting as role models to fellow students and helping to strengthen the Harker community. The list of nominees will be reviewed by each campus’ respective division head and dean, and the awardees will be mailed their certificates. Those students who were recognized by more than one faculty member will receive a special keepsake.
At the upper school, a leadership award has been introduced, which will honor students who have successfully enlisted the help of others in achieving a goal that benefits and strengthens the Harker community. The process for selecting recipients for this award is similar to that of the love of learning and mission of the school awards. Upper school teachers will select up to two students in their classes who they believe are worthy of the award. After the list is evaluated by the upper school division head and dean, the award recipients will be mailed their certificates, and those who were nominated by more than one faculty member will receive a memento with their certificates.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Spring is a special time for art at Harker, when all three campuses hold exhibits, giving students age-appropriate venues in which to display various works they have completed throughout the year. At the lower and middle school shows, students featured their best drawings, paintings, carvings and ceramics. In the upper school, older students showcased selected items from a range of artistic media, including sketches, chalk pastels and bronze castings. Below is a year-end reflection of art at Harker, which was, indeed, in full bloom this past spring!
Lower School Students Impress with Wide Range of Work
Harker’s youngest artists (K-5 students) kicked off their annual art show at the lower school with a well-attended opening reception in May. Refreshments were served as exhibiting students once again demonstrated an impressive range of abilities in their remarkably sophisticated sculptures, drawings and architectural designs.
The festive art show began in the main lobby outside the Bucknall gymnasium and wound its way into the gym and up the stairs, all the way to the top floor classrooms.
Displays were grouped by themes which included, among other items, grade 5 oil pastels dubbed “Inspired Starry Nights,” grade 3 foil/metallic pen creations called “African Reliquary Figures” and grade 2 ceramic “Self-Portraits.”
Among the grade 4 art on display were many illustrations of vases holding dainty pussy willows and scenes of bridges running over beautiful waterways. Meanwhile, grade 1 students created a series of unique depictions of owls using chalk pastels, clay, acrylics and even Sharpie pens. Kindergartners specialized in creating playful pictures of sea creatures, moonlit pumpkins and flowers.
“I think it’s really cool to see everything the other grades are doing,” said Rashmi Iyer, grade 5, who had stopped to admire several works in the art show on her way up to class.
“This year we got to try new things,” she added, excitedly noting that she had created a “Starry Night” illustration (based on the famous Van Gogh piece) as well as some ceramic animal sculptures.
Arushi Nety, also grade 5, added that even though she doesn’t consider herself an artist, she enjoyed making a ceramic whale and seeing it on display at the art exhibit. “It’s a very different type of whale,” she said, with obvious pride.
Middle School Students Showcase Increasingly Complex Pieces
The middle school art exhibit is unique in that its opening reception is held off-site, at the Saratoga main reception lobby, to showcase the quality of middle school art for the many visitors to the school’s main office.
The beautiful gallery-style showing featured select student work of colorful paintings, ceramics, figurines, wire sculptures and mobiles. After a brief run at the upper school, it was relocated to the Blackford multipurpose room.
Among the items on display were animal-themed ceramics, playful illustrations of sneakers and high-heeled shoes, small canvas paintings held on stands, intricate hanging glass designs and an array of sculptures depicting familiar scenes, including that of a diner.
In May, the middle school hosted an end-of-the-year art exhibit at its Blackford campus, which was all-inclusive and ran through that month following an opening afternoon reception.
According to art instructor Elizabeth Saltos, at the end of each year the middle school’s visual arts program honors outstanding students working in various media with Golden Brush awards.
“The students who stand out in an art class are the ones who consistently explore each lesson. They take it farther. They use it as a window into their minds. What these students create goes beyond the lesson and reveals something about themselves,” said Saltos.
Beyond the Harker shows, Saltos was excited to note that a number of her students had artwork selected for display in the nearby Saratoga Rotary Exhibit at West Valley College, also held in May.
Upper School Students Create Gallery-Style Art
It was nearly March when Harker’s talented AP Studio Art students put their works on display at a special reception held in the upper school’s Nichols Hall atrium. Using a variety of media, grade 12 students created paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs covering a vast range of styles and themes.
Inspired by Tim O’Brien’s book, “The Things They Carried,” Emily Wang created a series of drawings depicting famous historical events, such as the raising of the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima, the Tiananmen Square protests and the Vietnam War.
Meanwhile, a series of sculptures by Sylvie Dobrota illustrated principles of tension and movement that came to mind while examining a knot. Eric Swenson’s photography portraits featured subjects as they imagined key moments in their lives, such as the passing of a loved one or a climactic scene in a movie.
The professionally-styled show was visited by both students and faculty, who strolled through the atrium admiring the various projects. AP Studio Art is a high-level class for talented artists, mostly seniors, interested in both 3-D art, taught by Jaap Bongers, and 2-D art, taught by Pilar Agüero-Esparza.
Following on the successful heels of the AP Studio Art exhibit was the upper school’s regular annual art exhibition held in May, also at the Nichols Hall atrium gallery. That show featured juried art selections, distribution of prizes to a dozen student artists and DJ music (sponsored by the Spirit Club) during a long lunch on the day of its opening.
The exhibition, which featured more than 150 pieces in various genres such as paintings, ceramics, advanced photography, 3-D models and sketches, was juried by Ace Lehner, an Oakland-based artist, arts and culture writer and art educator. In judging the works, Lehner looked for technical proficiency, critical engagement or inspiration, and originality.
Standing in front of her still-life depiction of strawberries, exhibiting artist and senior Molly Wolfe said that she finds taking art classes to be a great “de-stressor” and wonderful way to take a break from the pressure of studying.
“I love it! I advise other students to take art, even if only for one semester,” said Wolfe.
The middle school production of the punk-sci-fi musical “Starmites” took audiences on a wildly colorful romp through a young teenager’s imagination on May 10-11 at the Blackford Theater.
Directed by Monica Colletti, this energetic, rock music-driven story centers on Eleanor (Mia Giammona, grade 8), a withdrawn teenager who retreats into the world of the characters in her comic book collection, where she meets the heroic Starmites, who are engaged in a battle with the evil Shak Graa (Emre Ezer, grade 8) to decide the fate of Innerspace. Eleanor and her new friends then set out on a journey to find a powerful musical instrument known as the Cruelty before Shak Graa can obtain it and use it for his own ends.
The set, designed, as always, by Paul Vallerga, also kept the adventurous and raucous spirit of the musical, with its multi-levels and angular shapes. Natti Pierce-Thomson’s lighting design deftly handled the shifting moods of the story.
Toward the end of the school year, Harker’s lower and middle school faculty were treated to two delicious meals expertly prepared and served by both parents and students. The breakfast and luncheon events were a token of appreciation for all the teachers’ hard work.
Following a hearty breakfast in the multipurpose room, the middle school teachers enjoyed a moving presentation that thanked them for their dedication. Then, in the afternoon, middle school parents continued the festivities by hosting an elegant luncheon for the teachers.
The lower school also held a teacher appreciation luncheon with a special breakfast served by parents. The Bucknall event took place in the faculty lounge. Later, lower school teachers joined parents for an outdoor lunch held on the school’s front field. Parents thanked teachers for their unconditional dedication to their students. Attendees enjoyed the glorious weather, a wide variety of entrees and desserts and easy conversation.
The lower and middle school appreciation breakfast and luncheon events are a much-beloved annual Harker tradition, caringly organized by class grade level coordinators at each campus.
In May the middle school’s Enlight’ning Club held its annual magazine kick-off celebration. During the well-attended late-afternoon event, talented students featured in the literary arts magazine proudly read and discussed their work.
Created in 2002 as an opportunity for selected students to publish outstanding writing and art, the magazine is produced by the club, which, for years, had met weekly during the school day in the second semester to solicit and evaluate magazine submissions. Last year the club expanded to also meet once a week during the first semester to get a behind-the-scenes look into the process of putting together the magazine.
Enlight’ning is recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), American Scholastic Press Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for its exemplary product. In fact, it has placed as a gold medalist by CSPA and a silver medalist by NSPA in previous scholastic literary journal competitions.
Middle school singers sang about ups and downs of being a kid at this year’s Spring Sing concert, directed by Mary Ellen Agnew-Place and titled “Just Kidding!” The show featured the grade 6 class and also featured middle school vocal groups Dynamics, Harmonics and Vivace, performing a series of songs about childhood from several famous Broadway musicals such as “Les Misérables,” “West Side Story” and “Hairspray.”
After the opening number of “Kids” from “Bye, Bye, Birdie,” the show entered its first set of songs, which followed the theme of famous orphaned characters of Broadway musicals. Grade 6 student groups sang the wistful “Castle on a Cloud” from “Les Misérables” and “Where is Love?” from the 1960 musical “Oliver.” The grade 6 show choir Dynamics, directed by Agnew-Place, finished the set with the “Annie” favorite “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “I Won’t Grow Up” from “Peter Pan.”
Adolescent angst was the theme for another stage of the show, which featured Vivace and the girls of Harmonics, directed by Dave Hart, singing Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” from “Hairspray,” and performances of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” by the male singers of Harmonics.
Director Monica Colletti and the entire group of Harmonics singers kicked off the next part of the show, dedicated to parents, with another Rodgers and Hammerstein piece, “The Other Generation” from “Flower Drum Song.” Vivace returned to the stage to sing Harold Rome’s “Be Kind to Your Parents” before grade 6 students performed “Never Say No” and “Plant a Radish” from “The Fantasticks.”
For the finale, all of the night’s singers stood together onstage to sing “Happiness” from “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.”
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Dance Jamz, the annual middle school dance show, entertained audiences at the Blackford Theater on March 8-9. Directed by Gail Palmer with choreography by Rachelle Ellis, Grant Chenok, Stephanie Bayer, Kimberley Teodoro and Palmer herself, middle school students (and several faculty members) hit the stage to perform a variety of uptempo dance numbers set to music by Skrillex, David Guetta, No Doubt, Michael Jackson and more. One of the highlights of the show was a routine featuring a cast made up entirely of faculty members, including history teacher Cyrus Merrill, English teacher Patricia Lai Burrows and art teacher Elizabeth Saltos. The finale saw the entire cast of dancers gather on the stage for a rousing number that received a fittingly enthusiastic ovation.
As usual, the stalwart crew of set designer Paul Vallerga, sound engineer Brian Larsen and lighting designer Natti Pierce-Thomson worked tirelessly to keep all the moving parts of this technically demanding show in order.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
This spring included league championships, scholarships and record-breaking performances for Harker. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Track and Field
This year saw the most successful day in Harker’s track history when SumitMinocha, grade 12, won the CCS championship in the 200m, becoming Harker’s second-ever individual CCS champion. His effort was part of a banner day in which Harker had more of its most talented athletes qualify and score points at the CCS championships than ever before in its history. Nadia Palte, grade 9, Corey Gonzales and Julia Wang, grade 10, Claudia Tischler, grade 11, and seniors Isabelle Connell, Michael Chen and Ragini Bhattacharya all joined Minocha at the CCS championships. On the team side, both the boys and girls teams placed third in the team standings at the league championships.
Connell and Minocha finished up their high school track careers by becoming the first Harker athletes to qualify for the state meet, where they faced the toughest competition the state of California has to offer. Each came within less than a second of qualifying for the finals.
Track and field’s 2013 season has been studded with record-breaking moments. Cheryl Liu, grade 10, broke a Harker record in the 100m hurdles, then saw Palte break that same record minutes later. Michael Cheng, grade 12, broke a Harker record in the discus competition. Minocha broke a Harker record in the 100m for the boys, and Connell, who already owned the 100m Harker record for the girls, improved her own time. Minocha was also recognized as Athlete of the Week earlier this spring by the San Jose Mercury News. Congratulations to all of Harker’s track and field athletes on a thrilling season!
Softball
The girls won a league championship this year with an 11-1 record in league play, reaching the first round of the CCS playoffs. The league championship was the first in Harker’s history, and it came in dramatic fashion.
In the bottom of the seventh and final inning of a 1-1 tie game against King’s Academy with two outs and the league championship on the line, freshman Tong Wu singled to knock in sophomore Briana Liang from second base, delivering Harker a walk-off victory. With two out and no one on base, Liang knocked a double, setting up Wu’s hit and the exciting final moments.
Golf
Harker golfer Maverick McNealy, grade 12, is off to Stanford to compete on their golf team next year! He ended his high school career by tying for fourth place at the CCS championships after winning the WBAL individual title. Shrish Dwivedi, grade 10, also qualified for the CCS tournament.
Harker linksman Kyle Roter, grade 12, received a REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) scholarship of $1,500 this spring. Over the past 17 years the REACH Youth Scholarship Program has been providing college funds to high school students who have overcome adversity to excel in academics and sports. Roter suffered from Chiari malformation, a condition in which brain tissue protrudes into the spinal canal. He underwent an operation to correct the problem after headaches became intolerable. Roter received the scholarship at the REACH awards breakfast, chaired by former San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott at the San Jose Marriott.
Baseball
The boys ended their season with a 9-15-1 overall record. Kevin Cali, grade 12, led the team with a .425 average, socking seven homers with three triples and two doubles. Jacob Hoffman, also grade 12, led the team with 24 RBIs and was second on the team with three homers. Hoffman hit for a scorching .369 average this year, and senior Drew Goldstein also broke the .300 mark with a .333 average. Goldstein racked up a .452 on-base percentage, topped by Cali and Hoffman, who both reached base more than half of the time.
Overall, Cali and Hoffman had ridiculously impressive slash lines, with Cali slugging .863 and Hoffman slugging .723.
Volleyball
The boys volleyball team reached the CCS quarterfinals this year, finally falling to Leigh High School after winning their first-round game against Valley Christian San Jose.
On the girls’ side, Harker freshman Shannon Richardson and her partner won first place in the AAU Huntington Beach Open Volleyball Tournament 16U Division, qualifying to compete in the AAU Junior Olympic Games this July in Southern California and AAU’s Best of the Beach Tournament this August.
Congratulations to recent graduate Josh Tien and rising senior Andrew Zhu for being named to the boys volleyball All-Mercury News Honorable Mention list. This is an elite list of players from the 55 high school boys volleyball teams in the section. Go Eagles!
Tennis
Boys varsity tennis got off to a great start, and the team was 5-1 in mid-March. The bottom end of the schedule was more challenging, but the boys held their own and then some, beating first Pinewood, then Priory 6-1, capping that streak by beating Aragon 4-3, thus holding a 9-4 record in early April. The team then hit a tough run of three losses to end up with winning record of 9-7 for the season.
In middle school, the varsity A tennis team (grades 6-8) swept both public and private league championships for the first time, winning 5-4 against Kennedy to clinch the second title. The team went 20-0 for the season.
This is the first time the team has gone undefeated in both the regular season and the playoffs, and the first time the team has won both the private and public middle school tennis titles. “This is about as big as it gets in middle school sports!” said Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs.
Lawson added that over the last two years, the team compiled a 36-2 record and won three of four divisional titles. “Coach John Fruttero has done amazing things with the team,” Lawson added.
At the winning game, Fruttero said, “Today was not the 9-0 against Menlo last week in the WBAL championship match, but special in a very different way. The team battled from being down 4-1 for the second time this season to win 5-4. It was amazing to see these kids grow and transform themselves into a united championship team, from the inside out. It was an honor to lead them in entertaining a couple of hundred cheering fans today. What a blast!”
Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team’s historic run for a league championship came to a halt with a 17-14 loss to Notre Dame. This year, the girls set a Harker record for the most victories in a season with 12. With heart, determination and senior leadership, the girls finished the season by defeating rival Mercy Burlingame 18-8. This win was a sweet one, especially after the team had fallen just shy of success in their bid to capture a league title. After several years of struggle, the lacrosse program now finds itself carrying consecutive winning seasons forward.
Additionally there is thrilling news for the girls and for the Harker community. Two Harker lacrosse players, Christine Lee, grade 11, and Hannah Bollar, grade 10, have been named to the regional team for the national tournament.
On April 21, female high school varsity players from all throughout the Bay Area came together to compete for spots on the two Sub-Regional Pacific NorCal teams. The teams will compete in the 2013 U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament in May. This year marks the 81st anniversary of the event. It is one of the largest women’s lacrosse events in the nation. The 2013 tournament highlights include division championships, a U.S. team exhibition and a premier recruiting opportunity for high school players.
Swimming
Congratulations to all of Harker’s swimmers and divers on a fantastic season. Harker’s CCS swimmers include freshmen Angela Huang, Grace Guan and Sandhana Kannan; sophomores Aaron Huang and Craig Neubieser; juniors Manon Audebert and Kimmy Ma; and senior Amie Chien. Diver Stacey Chao, grade 10, was Harker’s lone diver this season.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
In May, 27 grade 6 students spent a week in Japan for the annual trip to Harker’s sister school, during which they explored the country and its rich culture in addition to visiting with their friends from Tamagawa Gakuen in Tokyo.
After arriving in Japan on May 9, the group checked into the Oiso Prince Hotel in Kanagawa, famous for its wonderful view overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Activities for their first full day included a visit to the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shinto shrine, the Hasedera Temple and the Great Buddha of Kamakura, followed by a trek to the island of Enoshima for shopping and play time.
The next day, the students had plenty of fun meeting their buddies and enjoying the welcome party that awaited them at the school. “Let’s just say we had no problem with your children waking up early and getting to breakfast by 7 o’clock because they were so excited for their homestays,” said elementary school head and trip chaperone Kristin Giammona in an email to parents during the trip.
Harker students were treated to a special performance by Tamagawa’s orchestra and taiko drumming groups. After the performances, the Harker students presented speeches to their Tamagawa friends, who were very appreciative.
On their last day at Tamagawa, they attended an assembly at the lower school campus, where they enjoyed another student vocal performance and sat in on two class sessions. Then they returned to the middle school for a potluck and field games. “It was great fun with the sun shining and a light breeze to keep us cool,” Giammona said. The students and parents said their tearful goodbyes at the farewell assembly, where the Harker students received special gifts before leaving to enjoy the rest of their journey.
On their final full day in Japan, the students headed to Itsukushima Island, famous for its torii gate situated in the water at Itsukushima Shrine. At a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the students hung 1,000 origami cranes in the hopes of being granted a wish, as is promised by an ancient Japanese legend. A bit of fun at the Iwatayama Monkey Park concluded this year’s sojourn.