Silver Creek High School began offering its students the option of taking Japanese from the beginning of the 1993-1994 academic year. Due to the efforts of its founder, Mr. Rushton Hurley, the program has grown into a dynamic force for learning on the Silver Creek campus. Hurley Sensei left the program in 2001, but not before recruiting and training its current director, Matthew Hall.

The serious student and the concerned parent should know that first and foremost Silver Creek's Japanese Program is a college level course. All four disciplines--speaking, listening, reading, and writing--are taught at an accelerated pace with emphasis placed on daily participation, nightly homework and review, as well as weekly quizzes and assessments. Students often improve their performance in other courses by applying the study methods and habits of mind they learn in Japanese class. In short, expectations are extremely high, and each student is assisted in every way possible to meet those standards.

As always, questions about the program are more than welcome. Every parent has a standing invitation to visit the D-5 classroom at any time to talk with Hall-sensei about a student's progress.