February 9, 2007

Evergreen SchoolScene

Let it Ride!

Inaugural Casino Night fundraiser by J.F. Smith PTA raises $7,000

By Diego Abeloos
Editor

Parents, teachers and other community members found Las Vegas-style gaming right in their own neck of the woods at the J.F. Smith Elementary School PTA’s inaugural Casino night fundraiser on Feb. 2.

The first-time event, held at the Ranch Golf Clubhouse, raised approximately $7,000, according to event coordinator Sandy Feldman, benefiting J.F. Smith Elementary’s art, drama and music programs. The school hired a professional staff trained in the arts and music to come to the school and teach its’ students once a week.

“It was a great success,” said Feldman, who credited Jeannette Lewis, Rena Malkofsky-Berger, Brandi Sosa, and Loretta Mosley for helping to put on the event. “It was a whole lot of fun. Everyone was so happy. It was a great way to socialize with parents, teachers and the entire community.”

The Casino Night fundraiser replaced the PTA’s previous endeavor, Books on Par, a golfing event also held annually. All told, some 230 attendees spent the night playing popular casino games such as Black Jack, Pai Gow Poker, Roulette, and Craps. The fundraiser was not considered a gambling event, Feldman said, since no money was exchanged on bets and no money was awarded as prizes. Instead, attendees received $100 in gaming chips, which were then turned in for raffle tickets. The event’s raffle drawing featured a total of $5,000 in prizes, including Nintendo DS video game systems, DVD players and San Jose Sharks memorabilia, among other items.

"This was so much more than a fundraising event - it was a fun and relaxing way for everyone in our school community to get to know each other a little better,” said J.F. Smith Principal Keith Hodgin. “Everyone I spoke with had a great time and wants to do it again next year. This is another tribute to our parent volunteers and their ability to bring the school community together for the sake of our students. A special thanks to the chair of the event, Sandy Feldman, and all the parents who supported us throughout this new event."

In addition, the event also featured a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament with 16 players. The tournament’s winner, Laure Mann, received a pair of Southwest Airlines tickets as the grand prize.

While playing at the various gaming tables set up at the Ranch Golf Clubhouse, Casino Night attendees munched on hors d’oeuvres from Flourishing Gardens restaurant, Bay Leaf Restaurant and Tandoor, as well as food prepared by the Clubhouse.

For the kids, Casino Night organizers set up a children’s party, called “The Extreme Pizza Bash,” at the J.F. Smith multi-purpose room, and featured games, crafts and movies, among other activities for the kids to enjoy. In total, some 123 children of Casino Night attendees took part in the fun at the children’s party.

Although there was some uncertainty about the event’s success during its’ planning stages, Feldman said, the J.F. Smith plans on holding the fundraiser again next year, albeit with some small changes, such as more gaming tables for attendees to enjoy.

“Despite some early reservations on the idea of a gaming night,” she said, “it really turned out better than expected.”

Feldman also said the event would not have been possible without the numerous sponsors that took part in the event. Sponsors for Casino Night were: JMH Weiss, Inc., Land Mosaics, Inc., The Hall Family, Woodenbridge Custom Cabinets, Dr. Thomas Chou, Albin Engineering, The Reddy Family, Baskin-Robbins-Branham, Loretta Mosley/Intero Real Estate, The Colin Family, Solectron, Hionix/The Mullapudi Family, The Nguyen-Ngo Family, The Truong-Tran Family, The Millard Family/SF 49ers & San Jose Sharks, Clarity Medical Spa, Inc., Sports Chalet, Best Buy, McDonalds Corp., Coca-Cola, YMCA, Suzette Mack, CTA, ACC, Bay Leaf Restaurant, Flourishing Garden Restaurant, Class Casino Rentals, The Ranch, and Beads 'n' Things.

Getting Thunderously Hip with Japanese language, culture

Silver Creek’s Thunderously Hip Japanese Club and language
program looks to land in Japan Bowl, Washington D.C.

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Members of the Thunderously Hip Japanese Club at Silver Creek High are searching for ways to return to the Japan Bowl in Washington D.C. this spring.

Silver Creek possesses one of the top Japanese language programs in the nation, according to Sensei Matt Hall, a former employee at the Japanese Consulate in Chicago. Hall migrated to San Jose after learning about the SCHS program from its founder, Rushton Hurley, in 1998.

Members of the Thunderously Hip Japanese Club enjoy the view in Japan. Each year they visit the country, or host students from Japan.

After relocating to the Bay Area and entering Stanford’s teacher credentialing program, Hall was hired to instruct Japanese at Silver Creek. He now heads the program.

Yet, funds for the trip this year have been elusive, despite the fact that all three of the program’s teams were recently picked by a lottery system to compete in the event.

“The Japan Bowl is a Jeopardy-style event that places the best Japanese programs from all over the nation in competition,” said Hall. “We are in need of funds to pay for hotels and flights to Washington.”

Hall and his Silver Creek students have developed a program that regularly challenges for the Japan Bowl crown, finishing as high as second place in the past, while outshining prestigious East Coast private schools for top academic accolades.

“When you are placing well amongst schools like Handover from the East Coast, private high schools for senators’ sons, that’s pretty good,” said Hall.

Silver Creek, in fact, prepared more students (69) than any school in the nation to take the Japanese proficiency exam last year. Its pass rate hovers high, between 65-70 percent annually, according to Hall.

“The worldwide average is about 50 percent,” said Hall.

The Japanese language is widely regarded as one of the more difficult to learn. However, it comes easy at Silver Creek, where Hall and instructor Kaori McDaniel strive to bring the culture to students in fun and fascinating ways.

“If you are just offering Japanese courses one through four, then it is not really a program, but more of just a course study,” said Hall. “What makes our program superior is the overall pace of instruction and the amount of material that students master, but also the amount of things that we do outside of the classroom, and the opportunities that we provide students.”

This month the club hosted its annual sushi day, inviting students throughout the school to come and try sushi and experience Japanese culture for themselves.

Each year, Silver Creek students host or visit with students from Korakukan High School in Prefecture Okayama, in Japan.

“Rushton set it up, but we have done it very consistently for about seven years,” said Hall. “That trip to Japan and them coming to stay with us are hallmarks of the program.”

The Japanese proficiency exam is also a highlight of the curriculum each year. Students voluntarily subject themselves to the exam certified by the Japanese government. The test is broken into four levels of proficiency, with level four being beginner, and level one indicating an expert fluency.

Hall himself, who graduated from Notre Dame University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Japanese language and lived in Japan for several years before working at the Japanese Consulate for three years, tests at a level two.

Hall said that most Silver Creek students roll in at level four. Still, he has had students reach as high as level three and one at level two.

“They don’t get extra credit for the accomplishments,” said Hall. “It’s good for someone who wants to challenge themselves. I think they want the chance to prove that they can learn a language that is considered to be hard.”

Just one student in the program is of Japanese descent, according to Hall.

“The club’s membership demographic reflects that of the actual school,” he said. “Students become attached to the culture.”

That’s what happened to Hall. After reading “Shogun” at age 14, Hall was hooked on Japanese lore and ritual.

Sensei Matt Hall (right) and instructor Kaori McDaniel (left) pose on Sushi Day.

“I was fascinated by martial arts, calligraphy, the ritualized side of the culture,” he said.

Hall’s high school offered only French, but after entering Notre Dame, Hall immediately enrolled in Japanese courses and began studying Aikidou, a Japanese marital art in which he has since received his black belt.

In 1998, while working at the Japanese Consulate in Chicago, Hall met Silver Creek’s Hurley at the Advanced Language Training Institute, a prestigious program that appointed academics attend to hone language skills.

“If you asked Rushton, he would say that he wanted to create a college level Japanese program at the high school level,” he said. “We were there at the language conference for two weeks and he convinced me that when I finished my time at the Consulate that I should consider teaching at Silver Creek.”

Hall said that Hurley had observed many programs before implementing the one at Silver Creek. The thing he had loathed most was that schools didn’t often push students, based on the fear that it would turn them off.

McDaniel, meanwhile, came to the program two years ago after reading a past article about the program in the Evergreen Times. She received an emergency credential last year to help instruct Japanese courses, but she learned she would not be hired back unless she pursued an active credential.

Following new mentor Hall, McDaniel also enrolled at Stanford and remains at Silver Creek, while she completes the credentialing program.

“She is doing a fantastic job,” said Hall. “She is native speaker, so she has a different style. My style is kind of looking at students and saying, ‘hey, I know how you feel. I am here showing you what you could do.’”

If you would like to donate or find out more about the Thunderously Hip Japanese Club at Silver Creek High School, please call (408) 347-5600 or e-mail Matt Hall at hallm@esuhsd.org.