February 2020 News
Team Places First in Japan Olympiad of Indiana for Third Straight Year
Monday, February 24, 2020
The team from the Indiana Academy placed first at the Japan Olympiad of Indiana, held at Purdue University on Saturday, February 22. This is the third consecutive year in which the Indiana Academy has placed first. Ms. Clara Chi, the team sponsor, said “In the championship round our team members were not only lightning fast in raising their hand, they knew obscure facts in areas such as Japanese geography and history. They attended every weekly practice the past two months, and put in hours outside of practice times. Their dedication, hard work, and stellar teamwork led them to easily dominate the competition.”
The Indiana Academy Level II team includes seniors Mary Wilson (captain), Brandon Kem, Maggie Dong, and alternate Kylie Wilson. Special thanks also go to senior Allie Foury for volunteering her time to help quiz the team at weekly practices.
Teacher Awarded Funding for Creative and Innovative Classroom Project
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Clara Chi, Indiana Academy instructor, was awarded $450 to expose high school juniors and seniors to Japanese culture through animation and film. After watching a series of Japanese animations, students will create their own comic books using manga art style. Students will illustrate their knowledge of Japanese culture through their art and present it to the class.
Bell Grants are funded through the Robert P. Bell Teacher Grants Fund at The Community Foundation (www.cfmdin.org). This fund ensures that teachers have access to grants to help engage their students in meaningful ways for years to come. Individuals can contribute to the endowment fund to memorialize a special teacher, honor a retiring teacher or teacher celebrating a work anniversary, or to simply show their support for K-12 education in Delaware County. Awards of up to $450 are available through the Bell Grants program. Funded projects are creative or innovative ideas or programs designed to stimulate learning in students. All Delaware County teachers are invited to apply during any of the four grant cycles.
Japanese Instructor at the Academy Named a Rising Star
Monday, November 6, 2017
Indiana Academy Japanese instructor Clara Chi was selected by the Association for Indiana Teachers of Japanese for the 2018 Rising Star Award. The award recognizes extraordinary instructors with 5 or less years of teaching experience.
Ms. Chi has helped the Japanese department reach new heights during her short tenure at the Academy. She has helped students receive college credit by transforming Japanese classes into dual credit courses. Outside of the classroom, she is regularly involved with conferences. She helped the Indiana Academy place 2nd in the level 2 section at the 2017 Japan Olympiad of Indiana. One of Ms. Chi’s students won second place at the Chicago Consulate Japanese Speech Contest in 2017.
Ms. Chi will receive the award next year at the 2018 Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association conference.