Campus News & Events

Latest Newsletter

Caring for the Environment at Coastal Clean Up 2009

Form 5 students (7th and 8th graders) at Delphi Academy decided to take responsibility for the local environment and worked as a team to organize the school's participation in Coastal Cleanup Day 2009. On Saturday, September 19, about 36 students, parents and faculty spent their morning at the Stevens Creek Reservoir to clean the dam, banks and surrounding trails. The volunteers found bottles, cans, plastic bags, old rope and even a diaper while combing the park for trash. Fortunately, they were provided with gloves, trash bags and hand sanitizer! With their enthusiasm, Delphi volunteers collected a good-sized hill of refuse and were thanked by visitors to the park and the ranger.

We would like to thank all the students (and adults) that came out to help. A number of alumni joined the movement and donated their time. Several parents and faculty also contributed their Saturday morning to cleaning the local park and dam. Coastal Cleanup Day has grown to become an international event. At last year's Cleanup, nearly 400,000 volunteers collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash in 100 countries and 42 U.S. states — the largest volunteer effort of its kind. Delphi is proud to have participated in this event for the second year in a row!

Delphi would like to give a very special thanks to the Form 5 students that organized our participation: Majd, Luci, Daniel, Run, Rohan and Alexander. Great job, everyone!

Delphi Teacher Honored by San Jose Mayor & City Council

Ms. Sewasew Meaza and Ms. Semunesh Arega are honored at San Jose City Hall
by Mayor Chuck Reed and five City Council members.
(Left to right: Rose Herrera, Sam Liccardo, Chuck Reed, Semunesh Arega,
Kansen Chu, Sewasew Meaza, Ash Kalra and Nora Campos)

On September 8, 2009, Ms. Sewasew Meaza was recognized for her outstanding individual contribution to the Ethiopian community in a ceremony held at San Jose City Hall. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed presented her with a special plaque to honor her hard work and personal efforts to offer cultural support to the 25,000 Ethiopian immigrant families in the Bay Area. Ms. Meaza and her colleague Ms. Semunesh Arega founded the Ethiopian Cultural Institute seven years ago where they teach Amharic - the original Ethiopian language - and keep Ethiopian culture and traditions alive. Families appreciate the sense of community and the opportunity to pass the rich Ethiopian heritage on to their children even when they are far from their native land. Over the past seven years, the Ethiopian Cultural Institute has assisted over 300 students and their families.

The Ethiopian language dates back to 200 B.C. and risks being lost over time as new generations cease to use it daily. Ms. Meaza's grandfather was already concerned about this issue decades ago. Ms. Meaza remembers him traveling from village to village in Ethiopia, instructing villagers in Amharic and giving the best speakers in each village the task of passing the language on to the children. Now, she continues that tradition of preserving Amharic with her language school.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Meaza thanked the community for believing in her and sending their children to learn Amharic. She also thanked Delphi Academy for training her how to teach and how to help children to learn new material easily and effectively. She incorporates many of the teaching methods she learned in her ten years of experience at Delphi into the lessons she gives at her Ethiopian school.

The Ethiopian language has 257 characters in its alphabet. Ms. Meaza has found great success in teaching the children all these letters by using "clay demonstration", a study technique used at Delphi Academy in which students create concepts in clay. She has also utilized other drills and methods gained from her teacher training in Delphi's staff training academy. Ms. Meaza founded the Ethiopian Cultural Institute with the idea of passing on Amharic and a strong sense of cultural identity to her own daughter, Tarick Dereje, who is also a graduate of Delphi Academy.

After receiving her award, Ms. Meaza was invited to help raise the Ethiopian flag alongside the American flag outside City Hall. For one day, these flags flew together to symbolize friendship between the people of each country and to acknowledge the large Ethiopian community in the Bay Area and its exceptional members like Ms. Meaza and Ms. Arega.

Ms. Meaza is a beloved teacher at Delphi Academy. The care she shows to each child is evident and she is well-known for her abilities as an artist. Under her tutelage, students find the courage and talent to express themselves through a variety of aesthetic media, gaining confidence in themselves along the way. Delphi Academy is proud to have Ms. Sewasew Meaza as a teacher and we are very proud of her accomplishments in the community.

Thank You, Teachers

Dear Delphi Teachers,

Our son Manik joined Delphi Academy in 2002. Our daughter Mansee started in 2004. Both of them started when they were less than 5 years old. We still remember their first day; both came back from school so happy - excited about the school program, teachers, class pets, field trips...

After 7 years the excitement and enthusiasm is the same. They love going to school, learning not just the academics but also social skills. Delphi Academy has made learning fun for the kids. In the last 7 years we have not seen our kids under pressure for studies, and yet we see that they know a lot. We strongly believe that the school's style of teaching with individual programs, study techniques, examination methods, group programs, individual courses, student services and weekly field trips are very unique and very effective methods of learning.

Both Manik and Mansee have grown up to be very kind, helpful, considerate, intelligent, active and well-rounded young adults. A lot of the credit for this goes to the school for keeping the focus on the overall development of the kid, not just the academics.

We are moving from the Bay Area, so 2009 is the last school year at Delphi Academy for Manik and Mansee. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for teaching our kids so well. We know that the education they got from Delphi will go a long way in their lives.

THANK YOU. We will miss you. We will keep in touch.

Best regards,
Sati and Rajeev
(Manik and Mansee's Mom and Dad)

Graduation and Parents' Day

Form 5 Graduates in 2009 with the Dean at Parents' Day (Click to read speeches)
From left, Pooja Kumar, Claire Malloy, Mrs. Susan Wehner, Bahar Ghaderi and Shruti Swaminathan

Bike-a-thon 2009

Shoreline Park was once again the site of our annual Bike-a-thon, where families socialized and enjoyed the beautiful views as the students rode for Delphi.

Hand-made Cards Bring Help to Needy Children

Form 3 (5th grade) student Mansee K. has a big heart. When she learned that some children with cancer come from families without many means, she wanted to do something to help them. With her mother's assistance, she made many beautiful greeting cards by hand and is offering them for sale in the office. All of the proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society, specifically for these families in need. Please stop by the office and purchase one card for $4 or three cards for $10. There are cards for every occasion and it goes to a great cause.

Delphi Dragon Basketball

The Dragons showed great improvement this year, both in individual skills and overall teamwork. They won every game but one, playing mostly against Yavneh and Carden this season. From the veteran players of Forms 4 & 5 to the new players from Form 3, the Dragons set a great example to their fans by making sure every member of their team was given plenty of opportunities to shoot and score. The many exciting home games kept Delphi Dragon spirit high as cheers echoed across the campus during the fast-paced games. Playing away at other schools, the Dragons continued to show great sportsmanship and support of each player. The one game that was lost may be rescheduled and played before the soccer season starts, as it lacked a proper referee. The Dragons are looking forward to a rematch in the hopes of being able to consider themselves undefeated for the season!

Chinese New Year Celebration

On February 6th, Delphi students celebrated Chinese New Year on campus. Each class created something to wear or carry for the parade, which began with two dragons from Forms 1 & 2 (2nd and 3rd grade) and plenty of noisemakers. Chanting "Gung Hay Fat Choy!" the children paraded through the school, picking up other classes to join in the festive march. Parents and onlookers enjoyed the colorful costumes, lanterns and decorations. Following the parade, students returned to their classrooms for parties to celebrate the new year, which is the Year of the Ox. Happy New Year!

Mock Trial at the Santa Clara Superior Court

Students in Forms 4 & 5 (grades 6 - 8) visited the Santa Clara Superior Court on January 29th to conduct a mock trial. Information about the case was provided to them prior to the visit, and students chose roles and constructed their arguments in advance. Judge William J. Monahan shared his courtroom with the students and talked to them about the law and the role citizens play in administering justice. The students' mock trial involved a hit-and-run case. Student prosecutors and defendants presented their sides, the student judge kept order and the student jury deliberated. Following the trial, they had the opportunity to ask questions and see more of the courthouse, such as the judge's chambers. The students received many compliments from staff at the courthouse, who felt their mock trial was performed to the caliber of many high school groups.

Shruti Published (Again!) in Young Americans' Anthology of Short Stories

Shruti has done it again! Her short story Lukas Van Schuyl, Private Eye was chosen for publication in the 2008 edition of the Anthology of Short Stories by Young Americans. The story follows Lukas Van Schuyl around Europe as he solves the "Mystery of the Missing Mechanism" while outwitting his determined adversary, Karl Van Holdt. Shruti has also been published in earlier editions of the anthology.

Congratulations, Shruti!

Students Shine at Annual Winter Performance

Parents and family enjoyed a musical and festive evening at Napredak Hall on December 17th as the students showcased their musical talents. Each class performed several songs, often accompanied by their own musical instruments. The audience also enjoyed a sing-along to two songs performed by Mr. Raspberry's Guitar Class and the Guest Singers: Claire, Emily, Pooja, Isabella and Bahar from Form 5.

All the students would like to thank their teachers, Mrs. Wehner, the Dean, and Mrs. Green, our Head of School, for their many contributions to making this a show to remember.

The Form 1 (2nd grade) class sings a heartfelt "Feliz Navidad".	Nisha, Ben, Sudeep, Aaron and Daniel keep their eyes on their conductor, Mr. Raspberry, as they perform "Holly Jolly Christmas". (Other guitarists not pictured here are Chloe, Jessica, Alexander and Manik.)

Human Rights Club Commemorates 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Students in the Human Rights Club gave a presentation to their peers in December at the Elementary and Middle School Assembly. They talked about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 30 rights that belong to all of mankind. The document was written by a special United Nations Commission on Human Rights, led by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and was adopted on December 10th, 1948.

Other club members attended a Human Rights Fair in Santa Cruz, CA and met with representatives from Youth for Human Rights International, the NAACP and the ACLU amongst other organizations.

The club has also been active in 2008 collecting signatures for a petition to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in California and internationally. These petitions were sent to the United Nations and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.