Schools
Monta Vista Students Attend Japan Bowl
The annual competition, held in Washington, D.C., tests the achievements of high school students who are studying the Japanese language.
UPDATE, 12:15 p.m: The MVHS Advance Placement student team placed in the top 3 of all high schools competing.
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Nine Monta Vista High School students took a red-eye flight this week from the Bay Area to Washington, D.C. to compete in the 2013 National Japan Bowl.
The April 11-12 academic competition, sponsored by the Japan-American Society of Washington, D.C., tests the achievements of high school students who are studying the Japanese language. The Japan Bowl also goes beyond language and tests the students’ knowledge of Japan.
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About 20 schools from throughout the United States are expected to participate in this year’s competition which also attracts overseas students from as far away as Guam.
The nine students from Monta Vista are currently taking Japanese language classes at the school, under the instruction of Keiko Howard. Over the years Howard’s students have won trophies at the annual competition including a first place award in which the prize was a trip to Japan.
During the past year Howard’s students have spent their lunch periods preparing for the competition by learning the different eras of Japan’s history, its culture, customs and way of life. As part of the competition judges ask students specific questions based on their studies and each response must be made in Japanese.
The competition is divided into three levels and Monta Vista students are represented in each of them. They include sophomores Tiffany Wong, Sara Hsi and Alyssa Hada, who are competing for the first time at the Japan Bowl.
Junior students, Kevin Krause, Tasha Trinh and Blake Nishimoto, have a profound interest in learning Japanese which has been the reason for taking Japanese classes since their freshman year. For both Kevin and Tasha, this will be their third language to master. And for fourth generation Japanese-American, Blake, his interest in Japan sparked when he was chosen as the 2010 Cupertino Toyokawa student delegate.
Balancing out the Monta Vista team are Chi Yu Liu, Sze Chieh Chen and Erin Dowd who are currently taking advanced placement Japanese classes. This year marks the second time at the Japan Bowl for Chi who plans to attend college in Japan after graduating from high school this year.
-- by Patch staff
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