Hello, I am Ian Stevenson, an English teacher here at Hakusanroku Campus.
 On Thursday, October 24th, 2024, in what has become an annual tradition at ICT, students made jack-o'-lantern. This year, because of weather and monkeys, I was not able to grow any pumpkins in my garden. All the jack-o'-lanterns this year are made from paper mache. 

If you’re interested in making paper mache see the link below for the recipe.
Hakusanroku Journal: November 19, 2022 Making Jack-o’-lantern

 1st year students Kotori Mae, Madoka Nakazawa, Ayane Ito and Takeshi Murayama, as well as Learning Mentor Sade Moore sensei, all made jack-o'-lanterns, put lights in the jack-o'-lanterns’ mouths and hung them so they could look across the road at Sena Roadside Station. Madoka cut a fanged and star eyed monster from her paper mache pumpkin, Sade sensei made a Cinnamoroll Roll jack-o-lantern, Kotori’s jack-o'-lantern had green hair, Ayane created an original pumpkin character called “Kabo Kabo” and Takeshi turned his paper mache pumpkin into a bat. 

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”
― Rachel Carson

 Hello, this is Dorsaf Gatri, one of the STEM teachers at ICT.

 As a teacher, one of my main focuses is to foster students’ interest in a particular topic. This would involve, amongst other things, tackling topics that have a direct influence on the students’ lives and/or future.

 When I learned that students will have the opportunity to choose for themselves if they wanted to join Biology class or another class, I realized that half of the task is done: All the students in my class would already be interested in what I have to teach. What is left to do is to use this golden opportunity to introduce young, bright minds to one of the biggest challenges that is facing us in the 21st century. 

 It is no secret that the news about the decline of the state of our environment is worrisome, to say the least. Environmental science is an interdisciplinary subject. This might be a reason to think of it as a complicated matter. It can also be a reason for hope; history shows us that big challenges can be overcome when humans collaborate. This biology class tried to enforce the following ideas:

Hope is part of the solution:

 There is a myriad of reasons to why we should be very concerned about the environment, however this does not mean that all hope to turn the tables is lost. Students were taught that human ingenuity can mitigate environmental issues. We discussed examples and possible innovative ideas to get humans needs met while preserving the only home that we know: the earth. Some of the solutions mentioned in class are: 
-Decentralized energy systems using microgrids
-Shared driverless cars to reduce GHG emission related to transportation
-Grazing animals’ systems as opposed to industrial livestock 
-Using seaweed to restore the overturning circulation in the oceans

Understanding the problem is the first step to the solution:

 Different activities and experiments were conducted to illustrate the concepts explained in class.

 One of these activities was a fishing game to explain the concept of the Tragedy of the Commons. In this activity students were part of an imaginary village and were competing against each other to catch fish. Each type of fish had a price tag. The winner of the game would be the richest person in the village.

This is how the game is played: Students have four 30 seconds turns with each turn corresponding to one fishing season. During each of these turns, students try to catch fish using a tape attached to two straws and they must make at least 500¥ to keep playing. At the end of each term, each pair of fish will produce two offspring.

 As expected, the students, hoping to be the richest and win, depleted all the fish in the ocean in the first round. This is when they realized that the only way to win this game is to come up with a sustainable strategy and make sure that there will be enough fish in the ocean for them to catch next season. I reset the game and the students were given another chance during which they worked together to maintain natural resources. Using an environmentally friendly approach to play, the students ended up with more financial prosperity.

 Another important experiment that was conducted is the soil salinization experiment. The students monitored the growth of mung beans using different salinity levels. The results of the experiments showed clearly the adverse impact of salinity on plants and, by extension, on our food sources.

 To sensitize the students to the problem of biodiversity loss and its impacts on ecosystems, they were introduced to taxonomy (the science of naming animals and plants) and ecology (the study of the interaction between the organisms and their environment). The taxonomy classes were followed by a microscopic observation of different animals and plants. The ecology classes were followed by a classroom food web activity. In this activity, the students, each representing an animal from a particular trophic level, had to draw that animal, hang it on the board and work together to create a food web.

The scientific method is the reliable way towards the solution:

 The students used the scientific method to brainstorm an experimental design to test the air quality of different locations of their choice. They presented and discussed their qualitative and quantitative data. This helped the students to not only learn about the different types of air pollutants and their sources, but also to familiarize themselves with the scientific method and the scientific jargon. 

 The students enjoyed this class and so did I. Next semester we will laser-focus on the most pressing of environmental issues: Climate change.

Dorsaf Gatri

1年生クラス写真

 Hello everyone! The 1st year homeroom and STEM class teacher, Brandon Wohlfarth, here to tell you about our trip with the 1st and 2nd year students on the Hakusan Shirakawa-go White Road on Friday September 20th, 2024. For those who do not know, Hakusan Shirakawa-go White Road is a famous sightseeing spot in the HAKUSANROKU (Foothills of Mt. Hakusan) area during the fall and summer. It is a beautiful stretch of road with various scenic photo spots where you can experience the wonderful expanse of nature, go hiking, or just enjoy a casual drive through nature. The original plan was to go for a hike through the woods along the White Road; however, due to the chance of rain that was forecasted for that day, we adjusted our plan to be a bus tour along the road instead. Even though we had planned for rain, it ended up being a beautiful, extremely hot day. 

 Our first stop along the White Road was a lookout point at the top of a mountain that separated Ishikawa and Gifu Prefectures. There, students could walk around the viewing area, take pictures on a swing that overlooked Gifu, or enjoy a snack or drink at a local shop. Seeing the students chatting, enjoying nature, and taking pictures of the spectacular view was wonderful.

 After this, we returned to the bus and traveled to a waterfall along the road. Here we took class pictures! This was only a brief stop just to see the waterfall, and we then continued to our last stop, the Chugu Onsen Visitor Center. Here, some students looked at the nature of HAKUSAN (Foothills of Mt. Hakusan) exhibits, while others went to the nearby river to play and skip stones. The students here really enjoyed the time they spent outside and playing by the river. Phillip Cadzow sensei even convinced some students to wade into the water with him. After that, the students returned to the bus, and we returned to ICT. I hope that the students were able to have some fun and enjoy their morning in nature, that we get to experience every day here at the Hakusanroku Campus.

Brandon Wohlfarth

Hello, everyone. I'm Meguru Ito, one of the physics teachers at ICT. This year, the STEM Fair was held on Wednesday September 18th, 2024, for the 1st year students, and on Wednesday September 25th, for the 2nd year students. The STEM Fair is an annual event held in mid-September, where students present the results of their Summer STEM Project, which is given as a summer assignment at ICT. In simpler terms, it’s a presentation of their summer independent research, but the students create posters in English and give their presentations in English, making it quite a challenging event. I envisioned it as something similar to a science fair, where students at schools abroad present their research, and hoped we could create a similar festive atmosphere when we started this at the Hakusanroku campus.

 Last year, in the Hakusanroku Journal , I introduced the origins of the STEM Fair and rules of the fair, so this year I would like to give a general review of the 2nd year students' presentations.
 Additionally, this year, we were finally able to reinstate the "Overseas English Program,” a short-term study abroad course for 2nd year students during the summer vacation. Seven students participated in three-week language training programs overseas during their summer break. Since the three-week program uses almost all of the summer vacation period, I thought it would be too difficult for the students to do the STEM Project, so I excused them from STEM projects. Instead, they conducted a “Debriefing Session of the Overseas English Program” at the same time as the STEM Fair. I was a little worried because there would be fewer students presenting at the STEM Fair, but they all gave presentations that blew those worries away.

Presentation by Mitsuki Ohta, a 2nd year student: Rear Wing and Downforce

 For the 2nd year students, I required them to write a proposal, collect data and give a poster presentation. For the presentation, they had to include tables and graphs on their posters as well as explain what they did so that everyone could understand the purpose of their research.
 What struck me the most this time was that many students presented topics and data from fields I wasn't familiar with, which made listening to all the presentations highly engaging. I was particularly impressed by Mitsuki Ohta, a 2nd year student who won the Best Presentation Award, for creating his own wind tunnel experiment equipment. His dedication was truly remarkable. Incidentally, Mitsuki Ohta also placed 2nd last year, and his brother, Haruki Ohta, a 3rd year student, has consistently placed 1st in past STEM Fairs. They are a family of top performers in the competition.

 I was also impressed by the significant evolution of the 2nd year students since last year. It was clear from their presentations how much effort and time they invested in this STEM project. Compared to last year's presentations, many students demonstrated a remarkable improvement in quality. Their familiarity with the tasks and presentations played a role in this enhancement, highlighting the effectiveness of the education at the ICT.

 I may have mentioned this before, but to be honest, I haven't really provided much direct guidance myself. However, thanks to the students' efforts and the support of the faculty, I believe the STEM Fair has become a signature event at ICT. As the number of students increases, we may need to change the way presentations are conducted, which could add to the faculty's workload. Nonetheless, I truly love the students' unique projects, and I hope we can continue this project. In the future, I would like to invite not only some of the faculty members from the Hakusanroku Campus, but also students, teachers and staff from Kanazawa campus as well. (Though the students might not be thrilled about it!)

Meguru Ito

Hello again! It’s me, Domyson Abuan, a Learning Mentor at ICT Hakusanroku campus. I am back with my second journal entry. This time, I have a story to share to mark my first anniversary of working at ICT!

My best friend gifted me a shirt that says, “EPIC FAIL.” At first, wearing something that labels me a failure seemed odd, but I proudly wear it anytime. “EPIC FAIL” has become a popular slang term for funny or ridiculous mishaps, usually made while doing something simple.

 It all started two years ago when the two of us joined a sports event in Ishikawa—wall climbing, BMX, parkour, all packed into one venue! So exciting! We drove a few hours to get there—only to discover that the event was mainly for kids!

 We were the only adults lining up to do parkour with children, looking like two out-of-place chaperones. To make it even funnier, I struggled with the course, and the kids easily beat me! We laughed so much that we dubbed the day an “EPIC FAIL.”

 Despite the mishap, we had a great time, and it became the start of more epic adventures—a race in Hokkaido, firefly squid fishing in Namerikawa, and even backpacking in the Philippines. Every trip brought more epic failures, but with each one, we picked life lessons. My friend gave me the shirt, and it reminded me of how much we’ve learned from those moments.

 Fast forward to August 7th, 2024. I wore my “EPIC FAIL” shirt during ICT Hakusanroku campus’s summer camp, where students from various schools gathered for STEM workshops. The theme of the camp was “Imagineering a dream company aimed at the future we want to see!!”, and I was assigned to introduce the concept. Imagineering blends imagination and technical skills, encouraging students to create innovative solutions for pressing social issues.

 I secretly hoped someone would ask about my shirt so I could tie it into the importance of failure in engineering. But to my surprise (and true to the spirit of an epic fail), all the workshops finished, and no one asked.

 Later that afternoon, while playing badminton with the participants in the gym, I finally got my chance. Three students from Thailand approached me, and one of them, a boy named CJ, noticed my shirt. He giggled and asked why I was wearing it. It was music to my ears! I felt like the universe was behind me, cheering me on to seize the moment.

 I told them about the meaning of the slang. We also discussed that in engineering—and in life—we often encounter failure. To my delight, they were genuinely engaged in the conversation. We discussed how failure proves that we’re trying, taking action, and learning. It pushes our ideas forward, eventually leading to better versions and successful outcomes. One of the boys chimed in saying, "As long as we keep trying, failing is okay." I couldn’t agree more, adding, "And if you’re going to fail while trying, make it epic so you always remember the lessons!"

 That conversation felt like a mission accomplished for the day.

 I saw the boys again later at the workshop venue. They smiled and waved, recognizing me as “the guy with the epic fail shirt.” Even if they didn’t remember my name, I was happy they recalled the conversation we had that night.

On the last day of camp, I was playing the ukulele with Sin, another participant. CJ approached me, holding something in his hands. He gave it to me and said, “This is for you.” He told me he enjoyed our conversation and wanted to give me a gift.

 I was thrilled to know that our talk had resonated with at least one student. As I write this, I’m marking one year of working at ICT. I’m incredibly grateful for moments like these, where we get to share engineering insights with students—lessons I hope will serve them as life skills as they grow.

 Oh, and by the way, CJ’s gift was a pair of traditional Thai pants! I’m sure they’ll go perfectly with my “EPIC FAIL” shirt. I can’t wait to wear the combo at a future workshop.

 Looking ahead, I’m excited to experience more realizations, “EPIC FAIL”, and eventual successes with the school community as we continue striving toward ICT’s goal of fostering global innovators. I’ll be sure to share more stories in future journal entries!

Domyson Abuan, Learning Mentor