The 2015 Sakura Medal season has been exciting. The event involves many international schools in the Kanto region, such as ISSH, BST, Seisen, and ASIJ. The Sakura Medal Cup, on Thursday, April 2, resulted in many ISSH Middle School competitors rushing to read books to attempt to win for their respective homerooms.

Sahana (8), who competed in the Sakura Cup, said that “the event helps develop teamwork and really works your brain.”

The Sakura Medal books for the quiz were chosen by the English department. Fourteen teachers agreed to read and create questions for the competition. Sr. Olson, one of those 14 volunteers, read a total of four books.

The Sakura Cup was emceed by a former ISSH English teacher, Ms. Fish, and organised by the English Department. The event was held during afternoon homeroom, and 9 teams from grades 5, 6, and 8 answered various questions about the Sakura Medal books. For example, one asked, “What was the color of Aiko’s mother’s wedding dress?” a small detail from the book, Gadget Girl. (The correct answer was “maroon”.)

The winning team was Saturn, a 5th grade team, and the 8th grade team, 10yenpopcorn, came in second. The tiebreaker was this question: “What language was Seraphina originally written in?” Although the correct answer was “Spanish”, the 8th grade team answered  “Aztec”. Overall, it was a very close battle.

Each of the winners were awarded with a book gift card and a flower. Kiara Lazzari, who was part of team Saturn, said that she was ”relieved” and “surprised that we [the 5th grade team] actually won.”

You can find the Sakura Medal book titles on the official Sakura Medal site, and the books are still available in the library.

Results of the first Sakura Medal Book Trailer contest will be announced soon.