A man and two young women pose with certificates in the foreground, while a man speaks at a podium in the background, all set against a backdrop of curtains and a stage.
A group of people of diverse ethnicities are seated at a long wooden table in the foreground, with a green gymnasium wall in the background.
A man speaks into a microphone in front of a dark background, while the foreground displays graphics for %22HIS READS%22 and %22HIS WRITES%22 competitions.
A young woman in the foreground smiles while holding a stick, as a child covers her eyes in a gymnasium with other people in the background.
In the foreground, two young women smile while holding papers, and in the background, a gymnasium is decorated with various national flags.
Two young women in the foreground hold certificates and books, while in the background, chairs are arranged on a stage.
A young man in a green t-shirt speaks at a podium with books on it, while two young women and another person watch from the left, all against a backdrop of blue and green curtains.
A collage of images shows students on a stage with colorful lighting, a group of students at a podium, and two students holding awards in the foreground, while a large group of students gathers in front of a modern building in the background.
Four young women hold hands in a circle in the foreground, while in the background, other students are visible in a gymnasium with flags hanging from the ceiling.
A group of students and two adults pose for a photo on a stage with chairs and musical equipment in the background.
A young man gestures with his right hand while speaking in front of a blue curtain, with two books on a table in the foreground.
A group of students and adults pose for a photo on a wooden stage with a colorful backdrop, some holding certificates.
In the foreground, a young woman holds up a cutout of a face with numbers 6 and 7 on it, while in the background, a diverse group of people are seated, watching an event.
A person in a blue jacket bends over chairs in the foreground, while another person stands behind them, and a small inset image shows a group of people in the background.
A group of students and a teacher are seated on chairs in front of a grand piano and a blue curtain.
In the foreground, a young man with long blonde hair and a maroon cap gestures while speaking, and in the background, an older Asian man with glasses clasps his hands together.
Three young men are featured in separate frames: one making a shushing gesture in front of a blue curtain, another proudly holding a certificate with a podium in the background, and a third playing a bass guitar on a stage with purple lighting.
In the foreground, three young people are seated on chairs, while the background features a red curtain.
A young woman stands at a podium holding two books, with a blue curtain in the background.
In the foreground, a group of young people are seated, with one holding up a colorful sign that spells out %22CYNTHIA,%22 while the background shows a larger audience gathered in a gymnasium.
GCSHWITHname1 (PDF)
AJourneyHomeName1 (PDF)
Catfight-JosieRaniga1 (PDF)
TheWhiteRabbitWITHname1 (PDF)
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HIS Reads 2026 Brackets & Final Results

The 2026-2027 Centering Theme

The_Architecture_of_Purpose2 (PDF)

The Architecture of Purpose: Stacking Kaizen atop Tsuchikau atop Ikigai to discover our deep purpose to achieve meaningful growth!

HIS Reads: The History, Value and Process

Why we value HIS Reads

Reading increases our ability to imagine, empathize, focus, and think critically. When we better understand the words of others, we deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Reading has also been shown to help us sleep better and battle depression. Despite these benefits, our modern world is filled with many other ways to capture our attention. In order to keep reading as a pillar of our society we must defend it!

Defending Reading

To defend reading, HIS Reads was born. In this secondary-wide program, students select books they find valuable, making connections to our annual theme, as they move to inspire their audience to think about questions that our society must answer in order to develop our individual character so that we can increase our positive impact on the world around us. By the end of six minutes, defenders strive to motivate their audience to not only read the selected defense book but to apply their new understandings to their life and the world. 

The Secondary-Wide Program

Students from grade 7 to 12 work throughout the school year within their English Language Arts classes to select books and defend them. Once April and May rolls around, students begin preparing for the HIS Reads Qualifiers, where special judges come into their classroom to select 16 students to enter the HIS Reads Finals — a yearly end-of-year competition, complete with prizes, special judges, and impressive competition —  open to the wider community. 

A Glimpse Into the Heart of HIS Reads

Historic HIS Reads Themes by Year

— 2025-2026 — Tsuchikau 培う: The Cultivation of Character

This year, we move from Kaizen—the steady improvement of what we do—to Tsuchikau (培う): the deep cultivation of who we are. Kaizen sharpens skills and habits, but Tsuchikau calls us deeper—to nurture character, resilience, and empathy. Like farmers cultivating soil before growth appears, we must tend our roots. In a world that stops at “Boys, be ambitious,”* we choose the fuller vision: to cultivate virtue, heart, and depth.

*** “Boys, be ambitious. Be ambitious not for money, not for selfish aggrandizement, not for the evanescent thing which men call fame. Be ambitious for the attainment of all that a man can be.”  ― William S. Clark

— 2024-2025 — KAIZEN 改善

"Live life in crescendo" were Stephen R. Covey's words and his approach to life. Just like that, we strive to seek ways to constantly adjust our own way of living to improve ourselves so that we might contribute to the world in a way that makes a positive difference. In the same way, stories are centered on a dramatic code (John Truby) that is based on the idea that each human being wants to become a better version of themselves. Characters and authors who demonstrate this serve as models for readers as they seek to find ways to live life in a morally upstanding way. 

— 2023-2024 — PIVOT

"Man was made for conflict, not for rest," Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote. "In action is his power; not in his goals but in his transitions man is great." Ongoing action through tension is at the heart of good storytelling and it is the key ingredient for future growth in our own lives. Choosing the right time to pivot and the right focus can make all the difference. 

— 2022-2023 — REDISCOVERY

To discover is to find out something for the first time. To rediscover is to remember what was lost or forgotten. Moments of great turmoil often lead to great loss, stripping us of the identity we once held dear. But as we battle through that turmoil, we reemerge in the place we started with fresh eyes to rediscover where we came from and who we used to be.

HIS Reads Finals by (Available) Year

The HIS Reads Process

Assessing the Defense