Middle school athletics coach Chrissy Chang spent part of October and November in Japan as this year’s exchange teacher with Tamagawa Academy K-12 & University in Tokyo. While teaching grade 7 boys basketball and a coed grade 8 international baccalaureate class, Chang noticed some of the things that make Tamagawa unique. “Each week, different classes had the responsibility of cleaning the campus,” she said. “Literally, brooms in hands sweeping up leaves in piles, throwing bags of leaves away, working diligently.”
She also noticed that Tamagawa students “were given the responsibility to govern themselves without adult supervision during break and lunch times. Students could check out equipment from the P.E. room and go out and play on the field by themselves.”
Working with the Tamagawa faculty, Chang said, was “awesome,” noting that “the physical education staff were fun and energetic.” She expressed eagerness to welcome the Tamagawa exchange teacher, Nobuya Osawa, in January. “I look forward to the opportunity to show him our great school and area as he did while on my visit,” she said.
During her visit, Chang embarked on some exciting cultural experiences and outings, including a tea ceremony and two “amazing home-cooked meals” by Osawa, who was also her host teacher. She also rode the “shinkansen”– Japan’s bullet train – to Karuizawa, a popular tourist destination, where she “spent a long weekend relaxing and sightseeing.” Later, she visited Kyoto to see a “geiko”(the Kyoto dialect word for “geisha”) and “maiko,”an apprentice.
Aside from the cultural experiences and bonding with faculty and students, the trip also gave Chang some instructional ideas that she plans to work into her own method. “I learned some new teaching practices that I can put in my lesson plans,” she said. “I was able to take some videos and pictures of new ways to teach particular skills and games.”
Prior to the Tamagawa students’ visit in October, Harker’s grade 6 students spoke with their buddies via special video conferences. The Harker students had been learning about their buddies’ likes and dislikes, which will be used to make a video game for the Tamagawa students. The video conferences gave Harker students the opportunity to learn more about their friends at Tokyo’s Tamagawa Academy K-12 & University. Participants asked each other questions about their respective schools, such as the number of students enrolled, special activities and more.
Grade 8 computer science students have been discussing global issues online with students at the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai. They have explored topics including the effects of human consumption on local environments, the influence of the media on society, and issues surrounding youth and technology. Those discussions have yielded viewpoints on how digital photo alterations can negatively affect one’s self-image and social problems caused by the media.
“With this technology, we are able to discuss real-world topics from the perspectives of two different countries – realizing that some are the same, and some are different, giving us the ability to empathize with different perspectives from around the world,” said Devanshi Mehta, grade 8.
Classmate Allison Cartee also enjoyed the variety of perspectives offered by the forum. “[The WFLMS students] offer interesting perspectives on ideas that Americans do not consider,” she said. “Sometimes, they bring up topics that we have never heard of, and I enjoy learning about their lifestyles through their posts.”
This year Harker was thrilled to welcome one of the largest-ever contingents of students from its sister school, the Tamagawa K-12 School & University in Tokyo, Japan. On Oct.14, the 28 exchange students, along with their three chaperones, arrived at the middle school for their first in-person meeting with their grade 6 Harker buddies.
Each fall, as part of a long-running program, the Tamagawa students come to Harker for a much-anticipated weeklong visit. Prior to that, Harker and Tamgawa peers keep in contact through video conferences and email exchanges.
While here, the Japanese students stayed with their Harker buddies and their families. They went sightseeing around the Bay Area, and visited and observed classes at the Blackford campus.
Among their many activities, the students made tie-dyed T-shirts with both the Harker eagle and Tamagawa eagle on them (the schools coincidentally share the same mascot), made slushies, went on a scavenger hunt and enjoyed a bittersweet ice cream farewell party. The Japanese students also joined in on classes such as dance, drama, art and P.E.
The Tamagawa students also spent time at the lower school, where they worked with the kindergarteners on an origami activity. Previously, the kindergarten students had received an album depicting life at Tamagawa’s kindergarten.
Kishan Sood, a grade 6 Harker student, said that he and his buddy, Satoya, had a lot of fun together. “We went to San Francisco and saw a lot of amazing things there.”
After his buddy returned to Japan, Sood received a thank you email from Satoya. “That really made me feel that he had a great time in America and he appreciated everything that we did for him. That made me feel special,” said Sood.
Fellow Harker sixth grader Ruya Ozveren added, “Mao Tominaga is my buddy and she is awesome. We had a great time together. It was really hard letting my buddy go, because she felt like my sister and I’ve never had a sister before. When she left she said she couldn’t wait till I come to Japan. She talked about her family and where she would take me when I got there. I also learned a lot about my buddy. I learned a lot of lessons from this experience and can’t wait for the rest in Japan!”
Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education, reported that all the students had an amazing time. “When the Tamagawa buddies first arrived everyone was so quiet and shy. But by the farewell party, the kids were all running around, laughing, taking photos and behaving like the best of friends that they have become,” she said.
In other Tamagawa news, middle school P.E. teacher Chrissy Chang spent time in Japan as Harker’s visiting exchange teacher. In the spring, Harker students will head to Tamagawa as part of the reciprocal exchange program. (Look for further coverage on that from Harker News!)
This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In late July, 10 upper school students embarked on a summer research trip to Costa Rica, where they had the unique opportunity to perform field research with working scientists and experience the country’s lush beauty.
After spending a relaxing first day in the Costa Rican capital city of San José, the group departed for the La Cusinga Lodge in Uvita. While walking on the beach, the students also were fortunate enough to observe a sea turtle laying her eggs. “They got to observe the entire process up close and we were able to get back to the lodge by 10 p.m.,” said upper school chemistry teacher and trip chaperone Smriti Koodanjeri.
The next day was packed with thrills, as the students went river and ocean kayaking before jumping into the water with snorkeling equipment. “We did more kayaking after the swim and also learned how to find, shuck and open coconuts with only a large stick and a rock,” Koodanjeri said. That evening, the students attended a lecture about how geographic information systems (GIS) are used to keep tabs on marine mammals such as whales and dolphins.
Over the next few days, the students worked on their research projects at Cabo Blanco Natural Reserve and the Monteverde Institute. At Cabo Blanco, the students went on a guided snorkeling exhibition and took part in a field research exercises, where they collected and identified shells and used the data collected to estimate the number of snail species in the area. “The controlled collection and analysis took most of the afternoon and was an excellent introduction into drawing quantitative conclusions even with a limited data set,” Koodanjeri said.
At the Monteverde Institute, the students analyzed the data they had gathered at Cabo Blanco and used it to create research projects that they later presented at a small conference. For their hard work, the students each received a certificate from the University of Georgia, which has a campus in Monteverde.
On their final night, the students went hiking through the Tirimbina rainforest.
This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In June, more than a dozen upper school students, accompanied by upper school science teachers Anita Chetty and Mike Pistacchi, embarked on an eye-opening trip to Tanzania.
Students had amazing interactions with some of Tanzania’s tribal people. The Hadzabe people are the oldest hunter-gatherer tribe. They speak with clicks and are entirely unfamiliar with cities or cars. The tribe welcomed the students to their village, sharing stories about their lives and culture. The chief of the tribe taught the students how to build a fire and to use a bow and arrow before taking them on a two-hour hunting excursion through the wilderness. Before parting ways with the Hadzabe, the group delivered medical and diagnostic equipment that they had raised money to purchase.
During their visit with the Maasai village of Esilalei, the students ran an eye clinic, fitting and delivering 50 pairs of glasses that they had collected from Harker community donations, in addition to donating 15 goats. Harker’s Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM) organization also donated uniforms and book bags for 40 children, enabling them to attend school.
While on safari through Tanzania’s Tarangire and Serengeti national parks and the Ngorogoro Crater, the students had the rare opportunity to see the Big Five over two separate days: elephant, rhino, leopard, lion and Cape buffalo. Students also saw a cheetah stalk, chase and kill a gazelle. During a Jeep tour of Tarangire National Park, the students observed impalas, elephants and a herd of more than 500 buffalo. At one point, several female and baby elephants wandered to within 20 feet of the group, who gladly took pictures.
This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Middle school art teacher Elizabeth Saltos headed to Australia this past summer for Harker’s annual teacher exchange with St. Stephen’s College, a PK-12 school located on the Gold Coast in the Australian province of Queensland. Her trip started in Sydney, where she visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, rode the Manly Ferry for a scenic view of the city and went kayak- ing at Sydney Harbor. Later, she traveled to Cairns to go snorkeling and kayaking at the famous Great Barrier Reef, calling the experience “a big bucket list highlight.”
After visiting Michaelmas Cay and Fitzroy Island, Saltos boarded a plane to Brisbane and rode a train to the Gold Coast suburb of Coomera. There, she stayed at the home of St. Stephen’s College headmaster Jamie Dorrington.
During her time teaching at St. Stephen’s, Saltos worked in the school’s visual arts department, teaching blind modeling in clay, doing clay relief projects and teaching grade 10 students about cubist perspective. She also gave presentations on her own work to grades 11 and 12, and collaborated with students of St. Stephen’s art department chair, Samantha Reynolds, to create a silk-screen.
Saltos said that she found the grading process at Australian schools to be very unique. “The school awards a grade and then the students submit their work to a panel of educators statewide and these professionals award a grade,” she said. “The two grades are then averaged and this is the grade looked at for entrance into university.”
Computer science teacher Liu (Rachel) Yiran was the first foreign exchange teacher to visit Harker this school year from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China.
During her Sept. 15-26 visit, Liu spent time observing and teaching classes (including computer science, Mandarin, Chinese, history, English, acting and debate) at Harker’s lower, middle and upper schools. Reflecting on her observations, she called it a great honor to visit Harker.
“Harker not only provides excellent facilities but also rewarding curriculum, which benefits every student’s overall development. Teachers are professional and creative; they spare no effort in practicing Harker’s philosophy of pursuing excellence. I am deeply impressed by everything in Harker,” she said.
While visiting from Harker’s Chinese sister school, Liu also made time for sightseeing with several Harker faculty and staff members, who showed her such attractions as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Gilroy Outlets, Napa Valley and Carmel/Big Sur. A bittersweet farewell dinner the evening before Liu’s departure concluded her memorable time at Harker.
“Going to our world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium is always a big hit with our visiting teachers. Rachel took so many pictures of the exhibits and the information placards to share with her students back in Shanghai,” recalled lower school teacher Kathy Ferretti, who accompanied Liu to the popular attraction.
Established in 1996, WFLMS is located in the southwest part of the Xuhui District in Shanghai, an area regarded as an important educational location. For many years, Harker has had both a student and teacher exchange program with WFLMS as part of its ongoing effort to build progressive academic and cultural relationships that prepare students to become global citizens.
“I thoroughly enjoyed hosting Rachel. … She observed a large variety of classes and was particularly interested in seeing how our teachers used technology in their curricula. The students responded very well to her and many mentioned they enjoyed having her visit their classrooms. What a wonderful experience for everyone!” reported Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Melissa Tronc, a lower and middle school teacher from St. Stephen’s College in Coomera, Queensland, Australia, visited Harker for two weeks in November for this year’s teacher exchange with the school.
Tronc had a particular interest in the many ways Harker teachers use technology in the classroom. While here she visited with Abigail Joseph, middle school computer science teacher; Scott Kley Contini, middle school assistant technology director; and Diane Main, upper school assistant director of technology. She also spent much of her time observing classes, such as Margaret Huntley’s algebra honors class, programming fundamentals with Michael Schmidt and Cyrus Merrill’s U.S. history class.
For the teaching portion of the exchange, Tronc taught several sessions of Diane Plauck’s grade 4 core math and grade 5 advanced core math classes.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Lower school English teacher Heather Russell had the great opportunity to travel to Japan as this year’s exchange teacher with Tamagawa Academy K-12 School & University, Harker’s sister school in Tokyo. While at Tamagawa, she observed several classes and taught English to students in grades 1-3. She also used her English lessons to teach the Tamagawa students about the American “Wild West,” including lessons about desert plants, wildlife, cowboys and how farm animals make sounds in English. Students from each class also contributed to a mural that followed the “Wild West” theme.
Russell was impressed at the sense of community among Tamagawa students. “From the start of the day when the whole school would gather on the field for morning exercises, singing the school song and marching to class together, there was a sense of community,” she said. “Teachers would gather in a circle to sing, share announcements and then gather by grade level to connect before the day began.” Russell also was inspired by the community effort to keep the school campus clean. “This act of service also showed great care for their school, teamwork and independence as students cleaned their school grounds together.”
In addition to her time at Tamagawa, Russell also visited a shrine in Tokyo and saw a traditional Japanese wedding procession, stood atop Tokyo Tower to take in the wonder of the city’s skyline, attended a kabuki play and enjoyed a wide variety of Japanese cuisine.
One of the highlights for Russell was a tour around the Tamagawa campus with a teacher nearing retirement after 45 years at the school. “We hiked through the gardens where the students would harvest vegetables. We saw giant spiders, a variety of trees and sculptures, as well as the original and new buildings on the sprawling campus,” she recalled. “Seeing the school through his experienced eyes gave me a new perspective of the history and culture of an amazing school.”