A-lympiad Lesson

On February 12, 2020, two members of the Dutch A-lympiad Committee in the Netherlands, Tom Goris and Ruud Stolwijk, were invited to give a special science lesson to the second-year students. The class, which was held only in English, was titled, “Mathematics in Real Life: Join the A-lympiad.”
Students worked on activities that captured real-world phenomena mathematically, such as calculating the number of draws from the soccer league’s point table, as well as working out to find the number of participating countries and the number of participants in the International Mathematical Modeling Challenge (IMMC) this coming year. This was done by checking the shifting of the current number of countries and participants.
The unusual mathematical activities were difficult but quite enjoyable, as the students used various approaches that showed how mathematics is used in daily life. Some of these methods included examining questions that have no fixed answers, or questions that could be considered from different viewpoints and approaches, which stimulated the students’ curiosity a great deal.
Utilizing graphs, the students were able to visually see and understand the changes that occur in phenomena. These realizations about how things change can provide valuable experience to the students, and they can hopefully use what they learned during the lesson in their futures.

About the 73rd Kisaragi Festival

On Thursday, February 6th, Kanazawa University Senior High School held its Kisaragi Festival. The festival was a farewell party for the 3rd-year students, who are presently busy preparing for entrance examinations and the graduation ceremony.
This year’s concept for the festival was “Spinning,” and colorful decorations
adorned the school, creating a fun atmosphere for the revelry. The program consisted of a quiz tournament, the minors’ claim, a video message from each club activity, a slideshow of memories of the 3rd-year students, video messages from the homerooms, and a play, entitled “High School Cinderella.” There are several scenes 3rd-year students enlivened the play and cheered up the casts.
Since the festival was totally different from the things happening in their usual everyday life, and they were able to show their true characteristics, students enjoyed the events very much. It also gave the students a needed break from their daily hard work. The 3rd-year students enjoyed looking back on their school life.
The event was a great success. And so, with this, the 3rd-year students head for their final exam. They have worked so hard, and this will no doubt lead to great results. Good luck, 3rd-year students!!

Study Trip to Singapore

From January 12 (Sunday) to January 17th (Friday), the 2nd year students went on a study trip to Singapore. Even though it was January, there was no snow, so the trip was made safely.
In Singapore, the students were able to experience and learn about multi-culturalism through mainly three kinds of activities:
1. an exchange with local schools
2. a cross border experience in Malaysia
3. self-directed study.
At the Kaplan School, students gave presentations and took part in discussions on topics they had been working on for almost one year. Despite some difficulties, which helped add to the multi-cultural experience, many points could be learned through this experience.
In Malaysia, the students participated in group homestays. The farmers in the village showed us how to collect gum from a gum tree and how to pick up a palm fruit, both of which had made their life better. Also, students ate local food cooked by the homestay mothers and interacted with the families, and some of them were fortunate enough to experience Dorian fruit!! “CONGKAK”, Malay’s traditional game, fascinated students, too.
At the last day, each group followed their own individual schedules. According to many students, interacting with the local people and using public transportation was the best way to experience a different culture.

72nd commemoration festival

On October 19th and 20th, the school held the 72nd commemoration festival celebrating the founding of the school. Heavy rain occurred on the 19th, but the 20th was a refreshing autumnal day and many supporters and friends came for the festivities. Based on the theme of “Running up the hill,” each person contributed to what was a wonderful event.
The 2nd-year students, with the cooperation of Umewaka Engeki Ishoten, had been rehearsing since July to stage the kabuki play, “Koibikyaku Yamato Orai Fuinkiri.” They put on a superb performance. Ms. Suzuki played the role of Hachiemon, and it was the first time in the school’s history that a female was a cast member in one of its kabuki plays. The kabuki, all of which was organized and run by the students, was introduced in an article in the “Koukousei Shimbun.”
Each club ran a refreshment booth or game corner. While most clubs repeated last year’s activities, the tennis club held a new simulation game called, “Real Escape Game,” which had an enthusiastic response from kids who played it.
The Midnight Festival featured teachers as cast members presenting “Ossan’s Love,” which had a tremendous reaction from the audience. In addition, “Kanazawa Tsuka Paradise Orchestra,” united teacher and student volunteers in an exciting musical performance.

Princeton in Ishikawa (PII)

On Wednesday, July 10, 2019, 31 students were welcomed to the school through the “Princeton in Ishikawa” (PII) program, a program held every year which allows foreign students to get together with high school students in Kanazawa. This year, the 1st and 2nd year students were able to partake in activities with the foreign exchange students.
The 1st year students talked about the “Regional Revitalization Project” that they are currently working on. It was necessary for the students to use difficult words and phrases in describing their work in the project, so it was sometimes quite a struggle to report the content of their research. Nevertheless, they managed to explain the details and get some feedback.
The 2nd year students conducted exchanges with the theme of “Speaking about one’s culture in another language.” For the guest students who had studied the Japanese language, it was an opportunity to talk about their culture using Japanese. For Fuzoku students, it was a chance to explain Japanese culture in English.
It was a very meaningful experience for all involved.