Culture Competition

On Saturday, March 12, students from the Japanese department participated in the fourth Annual Japan Bowl of California, which was hosted by the Japan America Society of Southern California. This event took place at Loyola Marymount University and was the first time that both level-four teams made it to the championships, ranking second and third place.
The Japan Bowl is an academic decathlon that tests students’ knowledge on Japanese language and culture, with topics ranging from common Japanese phrases and yojijukugo, a 4-character compound consisting entirely of kanji, to literature, history, and even economics.
This year, AP Japanese and 5-6 Honors teacher Watson-Sensei organized two level-three teams and two level-four teams from the 5-6 Honors and AP Japanese classes―level-three representing the 5-6 Honors difficulty and level-four representing the AP Japanese difficulty.
Seniors Azalia Avellan and Jonathan Rodriguez placed second in the level-four category, and seniors Fatima Nunez, Panhaneath Seng, and Jared Weinstein placed third in the level-four category. Junior Michaela Gonzales and seniors Tiffany Pham and Itza Soto participated in the level-three category alongside juniors Emilio Carreon, Isis Hayes, and Brianna Son. Though they were unable to place, their hard work leading up to this event should still be recognized.
“We started studying since January. I’d like to thank Sensei for working so hard to prepare us for this event. It was a really fun bonding experience for everyone and I am glad I took the opportunity to participate,” said Weinstein.