Harvey School News

Thirty-five members of Harvey's Japanese language classes traveled down to the United Nations International School in New York City Monday, March 27, to participate in the 28th annual Northeast Council of Teachers of Japanese (NECTJ) Harumatsuri (Spring Festival).

Celebrated for centuries as a major spring (haru) festival (matsuri), Harumatsuri is one of the most important festivals in Japan. Originally, it was a way to welcome spring and pray for crops. Matsuri refers to offering appreciation and admiration to kami, the Shinto gods, at their  shrines. It also has a meaning of entertainment and working together.

"For Japanese people, matsuri is a time when we come together and celebrate, consider our surroundings, and allow ourselves to enjoy the present moment," Harvey Japanese language teacher Mr. Cornell explained. "We hope that the spirit of matsuri will be with us all and that students, teachers, volunteers, and parents will have the opportunity to take part in this wonderful experience," said Mr. Cornell.

The Harumatsuri is a completely volunteer-run festival put on by the teachers of the NECTJ. More than 400 students from 11 high schools in the area gathered for this event in which students are able to experience several Japanese cultural activities in the space of a few hours. The events ranged from sampling Japanese food to engaging in martial arts, participating in dance, and working with calligraphy and origami.

"It was a great opportunity for our students to experience Japanese culture without having to travel there as I continue to bring the Japanese culture to our students through experiential learning experiences," said Mr. Cornell. 

It was also a lucky day in the raffle for two Harvey students as Jason '25 won a Pokemon T-shirt and Lucy '26 won a copy of the Japanese version of "Pokemon Sword for Nintendo Switch."

We are thrilled our Japanese language students had the opportunity to experience this fun and educational cultural celebration.