Health & Fitness
Harvey and Keio Expand on Their Exchange Tradition
Two schools in Northern Westchester, vastly different in many ways, bond through the Japanese language and the British game of rugby football..
It was Harvey’s turn this year to host students from Keio Academy. In keeping with an eight-year old tradition, Harvey’s Japanese Language Program invited 25 students from Keio Academy in Purchase to spend the day Tuesday on the Katonah campus shadowing Harvey students as they attended classes and participated in activities. Harvey students had done the same last year when Keio Academy played host.
Japanese language teacher Tim Cornell instituted the exchange program to offer his students the opportunity to learn more about Japan from their peers. “It’s a chance for them to practice a little bit of their Japanese in a real life situation, applying what they learn in the classroom, “said Cornell. “By interacting with these students and visiting their school,” he added, “Harvey’s students also learn about Japanese schools and the country’s youth culture.”
This year a new wrinkle to the two schools’ cultural exchange was added when Harvey’s rugby team traveled to Purchase Wednesday for an afternoon of practice with their Keio counterparts. As it turns out, Harvey’s rugby coach, athletic director Mark Brandon and Keio’s coach Dan Pazio were old teammates from their days playing on the White Plains Rugby Football Club, a Division 1 men’s team coached now by Pazio.
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Harvey, Keio, Xavier, New Rochelle High School, Fordham Prep, St. Anthony’s, and a club team, the Long Island Colts compete against one another in the Metropolitan Region of the New York State League. Brandon said the opportunity to have his players practice alongside the Keio players on their school’s turf field was “fantastic.” “We extended the idea of the cultural exchange into our mutual love of the game of rugby with the kids from both teams intermingling on drills and tackle games,” Brandon said.
The 25 members of Harvey’s rugby team and their three coaches will spend the spring break in mid-March in New Orleans and play games against two area schools. Ironically, the team will stay in a hotel in a town called Harvey located on the west bank of the Mississippi River near New Orleans.
