The lower school gym was magically transformed into “the enchanted kingdom of Harker” when, in early April, it was taken over by a live television crew from WOLF TV, Channel 18.
So began the library department’s 18th annual Ogre Awards. In a new twist this year, an imaginary TV network covered the “star-studded literary awards show,” which it deemed the highest-rated program in Fairyland.
Late breaking news threatened to interrupt the much-anticipated broadcast, as the wolves discover that the Ogre Awards do not have a “Best Wolf” category. The distraught wolves begin howling about the injustice. They even threaten to “huff and puff and blow the house down.”
Starring all grade 2 students (otherwise known as the Ogre Academy), the awards show was dedicated to the characters of 21 classic folk and fairy tales, as well as the storytellers who created them. The beloved production was created by former library director Enid Davis. Since her retirement two years ago, the library department has proudly carried on the tradition of hosting the Ogres with Danny Dunn, lower school technical director, serving as director.
The idea behind this year’s Ogre Awards, which was emceed by lower school librarian Kathy Clark, was to take stories that have been around for in many cases centuries and to show them holding their own against television, explained Dunn. “We wanted to compare books and stories to television – the point being that whatever you might enjoy about television, there is always a book or story that could fill that entertainment need. Books are just as relevant and entertaining as TV – in fact, we would argue more so!” she said.
“In the future, we plan to continue this trend of looking at the classic stories through the lens of something current and relatable,” Dunn elaborated. “Each year will have a different hook.”
The second graders enthusiastically portrayed characters and creatures from the folklore of cultures worldwide (including enchanted royalty and objects, fools, witches, heroines, villains, tricksters and, of course, wolves), which they had learned about during the school year. Folk stories and fairytales featured in this year’s awards ceremony came from such well-known, endearing stories as The Frog Princess, Snow White, The Water of Life, Butterball, Peder and the Water Sprite and more.
During the show, a whole host of special guests from the faculty and staff presented the awards, which took many forms such as the “publisher’s fairyhouse” sweepstakes check, and a plaque in the sports hall of fame.
All but one of the Ogre Awards are bestowed upon fairytale characters, with a special honor going to a real person who provides exceptional service or support to the Harker libraries. This year the honor went to lower school library assistant Moureen Lennon, who oversees library volunteers and champions the Fifth Grade Reads project.
In her acceptance speech, Lennon said she was thrilled to receive the 2014 Special Ogre Award for Lifetime Achievement. She then recalled the explosive growth of the lower school library, which she said began primarily as a center for storytelling and has since become a “full-fledged literary service.” She also praised the library’s dedicated group of parent volunteers, many of whom have stayed on even after their children matriculated to higher campuses.
Toward the end of the show, all of the student wolves took to the stage in protest of their perceived exclusion in the Ogre Awards. Holding picket signs, they chanted their outrage until special guest Sarah Leonard, primary school head, observed that there were more wolves on stage than in any other year’s awards show – at which point they promptly stopped complaining and apologized in unison.
Concluding the Ogre Awards was the much-anticipated Best Folk or Fairy Tale award, which this year went to the Norwegian fairytale “Butterball.” Leonard then approached the podium to thank the dedicated team (of volunteer faculty and parents), both on hand and behind the scenes, who generously helped out with technical direction, music, costumes, videography and choreography.
Although the audience undoubtedly recognized many familiar tales, several of the stories told were new to the Ogres this year. This year also saw the introduction of a new category expanded to include all villains (in addition to witches, which have their own category). “We are happy to report you can expect wolves to continue to make an appearance in future years along with other audience-eating villains,” said Dunn.
They call themselves members of the CIA, although their work is anything but secretive. “They” are Harker’s tech-savvy grade 5 Computer Instruction Assistants (aka CIAs) who, in early March, gave a well-received presentation at the Silicon Valley Computer Using Educators (SVCUE) conference.
Seven group members (Andrew Chavez, Nikhil Gargeya, Jason Lin, John Lynch, Akshay Manglik, Russell Yang and Bowen Yin) spoke about their work as CIAs during SVCUE’s Teach Through Technology event, which was held at the upper school and attracted more than 400 attendees.
SVCUE is the local affiliate for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties of Computer-Using Educators Inc. of California (CUE). CUE and SVCUE are committed to networking, resources and the integration of all forms of technology throughout the curriculum.
“The 2014 Teach Through Technology event was a huge success!” enthused Lisa Diffenderfer, assistant director of instructional technology, adding that the conference included a variety of presenters and workshops designed to help teachers enhance the classroom experience by integrating technology. “The students did a great job representing the school and the wonderful work they are performing as a member of the CIA team.”
The CIA group comprises 18 grade 5 students. Both teachers and students can take advantage of the CIA website, which is hosted on the Harker server. Through it, classmates can submit requests for tech help, especially regarding ongoing issues. Also available on the site are helpful hints/tutorials for online programs, printable documents, FAQs, videos and other relevant applications.
To become a voluntary student tech helper, fifth graders must be nominated by a teacher, tech savvy and doing well academically. During CIA meetings, which are held during lunch, group members go over agenda items, such as establishing new networks and email protocol.
The main purpose of the group is to help other students troubleshoot minor issues while using their Chromebooks in class (major problems are directed to their teachers in computer lab). When a tech request form is submitted to the CIA, all members of the group can view it.
During the SVCUE conference, CIA members spoke passionately about their role as student tech helpers at Harker. “One audience member suggested that I pay these students for their services!” said Diffenderfer. “I’m going to start paying them in dessert at our lunch meetings. Another audience member from a local high school was very impressed with the students’ enthusiasm for assisting their fellow classmates and teachers.”
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
On Jan. 30-31, grade 5 students came together on one stage for “Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.,” a tribute to the classic educational cartoon series. The show, directed by lower school performing arts teacher Kellie Binney-Smart, followed the young Tom Mizer (played by students Srinath Somasundaram, Levi Sutton, John Lynch and Chance Hewitt, who switched off during the show) amid preparations for his first day as a teacher. As he goes about his business, he notices his thoughts materializing in front of him. He turns on the TV to calm his nerves, and the lessons of “Schoolhouse Rock” leap from the screen to show him all the fascinating things he can teach.
The show featured many of “Schoolhouse Rock’s” most famous songs, including “A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing,” “Interplanet Janet” and “Just a Bill,” each with unique choreography and costuming. “The Great American Melting Pot,” for example, featured a student dressed as the Statue of Liberty, while “Interplanet Janet” had students dressed in gleaming robes representing the different planets.
Scenic artist Whitney Pintello’s creative set design transformed the entire Bucknall Theater stage into a massive TV set – complete with color bars – in which most of the action took place. Karoli Clever and Ken Boswell acted as the show’s stage managers, while Danny Higgins Dunn’s work as technical director kept the show running tip-top, with her technical theater students indispensable as the show’s crew and costume assistants.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
By Debbie Cohen and Zach Jones
Even Democrats and Republicans agree on the crucial need for American students to become computer literate. To help meet that need, Harker, which already promotes computer science (C.S.) education in all grades, has been systematically upgrading its C.S. program at the middle school.
A new required programming class for grade 7 and an advanced programming elective were added at the start of the school year. Harker also beefed up various elements of the C.S. program for the middle school’s entire student body (grades 6-8).
The expanded C.S. program aims to provide students with a foundation to become well-rounded programmers in the future, according to Abigail Joseph, middle school computer science teacher.
“Courses at each grade level provide students with not only foundational programming concepts, but also curriculum that develop students’ critical thinking, problem-solving and design abilities,” she said.
“We are definitely seeing an upswing in interest in computer science,” reported Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs.
Since Eric Nelson became the chair of the upper school computer science department in 2010, that program has matured significantly, now offering a number of pathways to students interested in entering the field as a career.
Nelson said his desire to create a comprehensive and effective C.S. program stretches back more than two decades, when he found himself unsatisfied with the level of competency he saw in many of his co-workers. “At that time I remember swearing if I was ever, ever in a position where I could teach students computer science, I would make sure I didn’t have people like this walking into my office,” he said. He began taking copious notes. When the time finally came for him to develop a curriculum, “I already had the framework, and so that’s what we ended up with.”
Upper school students fulfill their C.S. requirements in the Digital Worlds class, which covers basic concepts, how computers work and algorithmic thinking. Those who are interesting in furthering their C.S. education can take either an introductory or advanced programming class. Depending on their choice of class, students may then enter one of two Advanced Placement classes, one for introductory students and another for those who have completed advanced programming. Both AP classes lead into more advanced topics.
The program is also designed to allow teachers freedom to move students into different areas of the program as necessary. “If a kid says they’re interested in computer science, the first thing I ask is, well what have you done?” Nelson said. If their experience is limited they are directed to either of the starting programming classes. Those students who demonstrate a certain level of experience become eligible to take a challenge exam to determine whether they can skip the programming courses entirely.
“It’s not an exam on Java or any other language,” Nelson said. Instead, it tests the student’s ability to think algorithmically and their understanding of key concepts. “How they approach a problem will tell us that.”
Although the program has not yet reached K-3 in earnest, students do begin learning key concepts related to computer science, such as algorithmic thinking, problem solving and logical reasoning, as early as kindergarten. This year, kindergartners also will begin playing a board game that introduces some programming concepts. In the coming years, actual teaching of computer science will be slowly integrated into the lower grades.
Currently, grade 2 students are learning computer science concepts by working with robots that can be programmed by placing cards in a certain order. Next year, grade 3 students will use Pro-Bots that will be programmed manually to execute more complex instructions. Grade 4 students learn to program simple games, and grade 5 students go deeper into programming while also learning binary code and searching and sorting algorithms. “We do all of that with very little use of the technology,” said Lisa Diffenderfer, K-8 computer science chair. “We learn binary sort with a deck of playing cards. We learn some searching algorithms by playing ‘Battleship’-type games.”
As with the upper school, understanding computer science on a conceptual level is important to the lower and middle school computer science programs. “We really stress the underlying principles and fundamentals of programming and not one specific language,” said Diffenderfer. “We don’t want to teach one language because we don’t know what the language of the future is going to be.
It used to be C++ and now it’s Java. Who knows what it’s going to be 10 years from now?”
In fact, C.S. curriculum is so sorely lacking in many other schools that both President Barack Obama and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-VA, have united to support the recent launch of the “Hour of Code,” a massive publicity campaign to promote scholastic computer science education.
Due to the global effort, more than 33,000 schools in 166 countries dedicated time to computer science education as part of Code.org’s initiative, which was timed to coincide with Computer Science Education Week in December. The Hour of Code was part of Code.org’s broader campaign to encourage computer science education in more classrooms.
“The impact of the Hour of Code to change communities and propel computer science education to a new level of awareness globally is tremendous,” affirmed Joseph.
The Bureau of Labor estimates that more than 140,000 computer science jobs are added to the American economy every year, making it one of the fastest-growing occupations. Yet, according to the National Science Foundation, just 40,000 college students are graduating with computer science degrees.
“When part of a high-quality academic program, computer science classes add an element that helps all students navigate our complex, technologically driven world. It also gives our graduates an edge over those who are not taught these increasingly essential skills,” Dan Hudkins, Harker’s K-12 director of instructional technology, was quoted as saying in an article that originally appeared in the summer 2013 issue of Independent School Magazine, and also was printed in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Faculty members at Harker’s lower school can’t speak highly enough of Helping Hands, a BEST (Bucknall Enrichment and Supervision Team) program created to provide K-5 teachers with an extra pair of hands while working on a special or labor-intensive project.
Helping Hands began in the 2010-11 school year as an attempt to bridge academics with BEST, explained Kim Cali, director of the program. “We all had the common goal of providing the best experience for the children; however, teachers and BEST staff didn’t know much about each other,” she recalled.
Cali said another driving force behind the Helping Hands program was that many BEST staffers are young adults who want to forge careers in education. “What better way to get some hands-on experience than to learn and work with the best (teachers, that is)?” she added, noting that she also viewed the program as a way for students to see teachers and BEST staff working together toward a common goal.
Lower school teachers, however, credit Helping Hands with being a lifesaver at times. For example, grade 3 teacher Elise Robichaud reported that Helping Hands staff jumped right in to help her homeroom accomplish an extraordinary amount of holiday crafting in just two short periods. “I would not have been able to do any of it without their help. I truly appreciate their amazing efforts!” said Robichaud.
Another teacher, Eileen Schick, said that without assistance from Helping Hands her kindergarten polyhedron ornament project would not have been possible. “Many hands were required to help the students cut, fold, tape and decorate their ornaments. The patience, guidance and encouraging words from the BEST staff made this project successful and a special memory for our kindergarteners!” she said.
This year the BEST staff has put at least 50 hours into the Helping Hands program, according to Cali, “and they are always eager to do more!”
BEST staff member Ali Bo said, “It’s awesome being able to work hands on with the children in a classroom setting, as well as getting to know the teachers across different grade levels. The best part about Helping Hands, from my perspective, is that everyone involved benefits. Not only are the teachers able to accomplish more, but while working in the classrooms, I’m also able to learn from the teachers how to better manage and direct students. It’s a nice treat to the BEST staff when a teacher does need help, because it’s something new and different and opens our eyes to a variety of ways to be involved at Harker!”
“It’s incredible what time in a classroom can teach you about a kid you’ve known for five years. I can’t overstate the significance of getting to know our children as students,” added fellow BEST staffer Troy Townzen ’08.
The Helping Hands program operates quietly and without fanfare, leading many lower school teachers to speculate that it may, indeed, be one of Harker’s BEST kept secrets.
The desire to lead is what unites 13 graduates of KidLead, Harker’s successful after-school offering for lower and middle school students.
Ready and armed with the tools to take on leadership positions, many KidLead graduates are now role models for their peers. From community outreach to student government, performing arts, sports and team academics, there are many opportunities for young leaders to use their talents. Several years ago, to help foster leadership development early in students’ academic careers, Harker became one of the firstschools nationwide to implement KidLead, an executive-caliber, globally recognized leadership training program designed especially for preteens.
“We believe this unique program is consistent with the values and ideals fostered at Harker. It is not simply a leadership education program; it attemptsto focus on developing leaders who have already demonstrated aptitude in this area and expands upon it,” explained Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs.
Lawson was instrumental in bringing KidLead to Harker, first to the middle school and more recently to the lower school. Now, he is thrilled that the enrichment program has turned out more than a dozen graduates. Run by the lower and middle school’s BEST departments, KidLead – a nonprofit organization based in Monterey – has created an age-appropriate leadership skill curriculum for 10- to 13-year-olds called “LeadNow” that Harker is using. The after-school program is separately run on the lower- and middle school campuses during a series of eight 90-minute sessions. In the fall quarter there were eight students enrolled in the lower school program and 10 in the middle school offering.
Shafieen Ibrahim, a grade 7 student and KidLead graduate, put his leadership skills to use last year by establishing his dream club, the Blackford Computer Game Development Club. After getting the green light from Cindy Ellis, middle school head, and assistance from some of his teachers, Ibrahim launched his club, which has since grown and branched out into two different groups, one for boys and another for girls.
“In the club, I was given teacher privileges to teach my peers Scratch, a program to develop computer games. The club now includes both video games and board games. We will be moving onto teaching app development soon. I had [used] Scratch for many years, and I thought that it was very interesting and fun,” explained Ibrahim. He said he enrolled in the KidLead program while in grade 5 and that it took him a little over a year to complete all the requirements to graduate. “I always wanted to be a leader … to be able to work with a team well, develop leadership capabilities, and grow out of my shell,” he added.
“We couldn’t be happier and prouder and I’m so thankful for having Shafieen complete the KidLead program. It has helped him tremendously!” enthused his mother, Zeba Ibrahim. This past fall, another KidLead graduate, grade 8 student Aliesa Bahri, took it upon herself to organize a commemorative event on the middle school campus celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child, which raises awareness about the issues girls face both in the United States and internationally. She urged eighth graders to show their support for the cause by dressing in blue, and asked that sixth and seventh graders wear some type of blue accessory.
“I wanted to raise awareness about girls’ rights … and I chose the color blue since it is typically associated with boys and goes against the ‘pink is for girls’ stereotype,” recalled Bahri.
Bahri used the campus lunch hour on the Day of the Girl to hold a special video presentation for grade 7 and 8 students about the plight of girls in Pakistan, where just over half of all girls make it to a primary school classroom, and only 12 percent make it to secondary school.
“I found out about KidLead from a flier that arrived in my take-home folder one year. The program intrigued me, as I knew that one day I hoped to be a leader in my community. What I did not know was how to be one. KidLead gave me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone in a safe environment and be a leader in different group situations,” said Bahri.
KidLead founder Dr. Alan Nelson said he is impressed with both the students and staff involved with the program at Harker. Nelson, who has given well-attended talks to Harker parents about how to foster leadership skills in their children, called Harker “the flagship school” for being an early adopter of the program.
Weekly KidLead program sessions are led by certified instructors and “koaches” (all Harker teachers and staff members) who assist students in activities designed to improve qualities that are grouped into four color-coded modules. Each module has four sections stressing a value, an attitude, a relationship and a decision – such as ethics, honor, communication and power.
Harker’s current list of certified trainers and “koaches” are: Lawson; Keith Hirota, middle school social studies instructor; Patricia Lai Burrows, middle school English teacher; Jennifer Walrod, director of global education; Eric Kallbrier, club/ programs coordinator; Gerry-louise Robinson, lower school art instructor; Arabelle Chow, middle school English teacher; Cathy Hsieh, lower school science teacher; Eric Leonard, lower school language arts teacher; and Ken Allen, lower school dean of students. At the lower school, Robinson said the Bucknall effort had several graduates last year, as well as a returning student this year.
Alexander Young graduated from KidLead at the lower school in grade 5. Now a seventh grader, he praised it as an amazing experience. “It gave me the opportunity to interact with fellow classmates and teachers to learn about important leadership skills; these often proved useful when working with others both in and out of the classroom. Topics such as responsibility, commitment, optimism and communication were discussed and practiced so that I could use them in everyday life. I found that I could strategize and coordinate to make tasks smooth and straightforward. Overall, KidLead is a course that I would definitely recommend,” he said.
Current KidLead participants can already be found flexing their leadership muscles. In fact, several of them were among the group of grade 7 students who earlier this year held an assembly to mark the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “The motto of KidLead is, ‘If you want to change the world, focus on leaders. If you want to change leaders, focus on them when they’re young,’” said Robinson.
Chow said she decided to become a KidLead “koach” because she wanted to help students grow leadership skills. “It’s exciting to see the students participate in the activities and learn, not just from the trainer, but from one another as well. Their enthusiasm and genuine desire to learn is what brings me back each quarter,” she enthused.
Kallbrier agreed: “After many years of working with young Harker students, I noticed that we have a very high volume of motivated young leaders who hunger to grow and develop their abilities. KidLead has been the perfect place for these students to learn, practice and discuss practical aspects of leadership … while having fun!”
All KidLead graduates walk away upon successful completion of the program with a T-shirt, book for parents, class materials, and an eagerness to roll up their sleeves and get to work on becoming future leaders – starting today. “According to Harvard, the average age of a first, formal leadership training is 42. So Harker students in this program are getting a 30-year head start!” said KidLead’s Nelson.
Grade 7 Student Victorious in National Chess Tournament
Shafieen Ibrahim, grade 7, participated in the March 29 national playoffs of the 2014 US Amateur Team West Chess Tournament. His NorCal House Team emerged as the champions for the second year in a row. Ibrahim will be featured in an article in the April issue of Chess Life Magazine and is slated to appear on its May cover. To read more about the chess win: http://www.uschess.org/content/view/12598/757/.
Grade 5 Student Wins PayPal San Francisco Junior Squash Tournament
Avid squash player Vivek Sunkam, grade 5, recently participated in the PayPal San Francisco Junior Silver tournament. Participants included ranked players, such as top-seeded Mario Reifschneider (ranked 63rd by US Squash in the Boys Under 13 category). Sunkam, ranked 85th by US Squash in the Boys Under 13 category, was the second seed going into this tournament.
In the final, Sunkam was paired against Reifschneider for the championship in a best of five games set. Sunkam narrowly lost the first two with scores of 9-11 and 11-13. Then he started fighting back, winning the next two games convincingly with scores of 11-7 and 11-7. The deciding game was tense, with both players under pressure and tired. Both Sunkam and Reifschneider saved quite a few match points as they drew even at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12. Ultimately Sunkam prevailed with a score of 14-12. The last game was definitely championship quality! Congrats, Vivek, on your first Boys Under 13 (BU13) squash tournament win!
Middle Schooler Has Solid Performance at Regional Spelling Bee
Katherine Zhang, grade 7, represented Harker in the CBS Bay Area Spelling Bee oral final competition on March 15 in San Francisco. Zhang breezed through the first six rounds, correctly spelling “praline,” “cedilla,” “sagacity,” “cheka,” “pennyroyal” and “herpetology,” but in the seventh round misspelled “embayment” as “enbayment”.
A total of 49 students from the Bay Area participated in this final round, after successfully emerging from 132 students who, as winners of the spelling contests at their respective schools in December, took the written semifinal round in February. Students vied for the opportunity to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which takes place in Washington, D.C., in May.
Although Zhang did not qualify, she found the experience to be very rewarding. “First, I have greatly expanded my vocabulary. I learned a lot of words from other languages, and I now know the roots of a lot of words,” she said. “Secondly, the experience further teaches me that hard work pays off. I had thought that I worked hard enough, but apparently someone else worked much harder. The winner practiced hours per day by getting up as early as 5 a.m.!”
A half-hour documentary on the regional spelling bee aired on March 29 at 7 p.m. on CBS Channel 5. It will re-air on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. CBS has created a promo video for the documentary.
This spring saw an amazing number of important outreach efforts at both Harker’s lower and upper schools. At the lower school, grade 1 students broke a new record raising funds for animals living at the Humane Society. Additionally, a number of grade 5 girls took it upon themselves to help sew items for local charities, and a grade 5 boy started a foundation providing sick children with comforting toys. Meanwhile, happenings at the upper school included a freshman serving as a featured speaker for an organization that seeks to eradicate child labor; a senior receiving an award for her advocacy work on behalf of the hearing impaired; and two juniors working to improve the lives of women in poverty. Read on for a more detailed overview of all of these outreach efforts, each one significant in its own right.
Grade 1 Students Raise Money, Create and Collect Items for Shelter Animals
Grade 1 students at the lower school recently completed their annual community service project for the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. The entire first grade student body worked to improve the lives of the shelter’s displaced rabbits, dogs and cats by collecting monetary donations as well as buying needed supplies and making toys for distribution to the animals.
“It was pretty sweet to get Ziplock bags filled with dollar bills and coins. Every bit made a difference … We also collected over 50 bags of food, toys, rabbit hay, treats, collars, leashes, blankets, sheets and towels. We also raised over $1,250. A new record!” reported Cindy Proctor, a grade 1 homeroom teacher who helped oversee the project.
To learn as much as possible about the Humane Society – an 80-year-old independent, nonprofit animal shelter – the children toured the nearby Silicon Valley facility. Following the fun and informative outing, the students decorated a bulletin board with photos of themselves and their animal friends. They also made pet blankets and toys for donation.
Parents played a role as well, as the children were encouraged to earn extra money for the Humane Society at home by doing small jobs around the house.
“The animals will be really happy because they will feel special when they receive all their gifts,” observed grade 1 student Angelina Burrows, who said she spent time cleaning her room to help raise money for the shelter effort.
Her classmate, Stefan Maxim, said he did “a bunch” of extra jobs to help raise money as well, including watering the garden, washing the car and “even washing the house!”
“I want to express our gratitude for the support of the entire Bucknall campus. This grade 1 donation drive was a huge success!” enthused Proctor.
Grade 5 Student Honored for Philanthropic Work at Children’s Hospital
Bryan Zhang, grade 5, recently received a certificate from the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in recognition of his philanthropic efforts there providing young patients with comforting toys.
“This hospital means a lot to me, and the patients there deserve the service and toys. I am delighted to be helping the Lucile Packard’s Children Hospital,” said Zhang.
Four years ago, when the Los Altos resident was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, his nurses brought him a stuffed teddy bear, which he found very reassuring. Upon returning home, Zhang began thinking about all the other sick children at the hospital and wondering whether they also received such gifts to help ease their hospital stays.
He had a lot of souvenirs from countries he had visited while traveling with his parents and decided to donate them to children at the hospital – an idea he shared with the staff at the hospital. They were very receptive to the suggestion. Soon after, Zhang’s parents helped him carry his vision even further by forming the nonprofit World Toys for Children Foundation, whose mission is to “support Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital with donations that educate, inspire imagination and comfort sick children.”
Now, thanks to Zhang and his parents, many sick children at the hospital will benefit from the cheering effect that new toys can bring to young patients.
Grade 5 Students Spend Presidents’ Break Volunteering for Sew for Love Program
Five fifth grade girls shared the joy of volunteering during a fun community service project called Sew for Love, an event consisting of sewing needed items for local charities.
Nilisha Baid had heard about the opportunity via her Girl Scouts group. She had met the Sew for Love organizer at other Girl Scout events and been wanting to volunteer herself. So she decided to ask some of her classmates to join her at this year’s 12th annual Sew For Love, which was held on a weekend over the Presidents’ Week break.
There, she and some of her friends (fellow grade 5 students: Ankita Kundu, Advika Phadnis, Pramiti Sankar and Arushi Saxena) joined other volunteers who were working in shifts on projects together.
Whether busy at the sewing machine, scissors cutting, hand sewing or threading, Sew for Love volunteers were able to combine their efforts to produce some 871 items in just two days. Completed items included child and adult quilts, pet beds, tote and drawstring bags, fleece hats, bean bag chairs, and small “Pocket Love Bears.”
Reflecting back upon their volunteer work, Baid and her Harker pals agreed it was a very rewarding experience to learn to assemble and sew a variety of items for a worthy cause. And, as an added bonus since the event, all the girls have now signed up to be Girl Scouts together, where they are sure to continue to enjoy further shared communal outreach efforts.
Grade 11 Students Work to Help Empower Impoverished Women and Children
When grade 11 student Ashwini Iyer was in seventh grade she went off to Tanzania, Africa, with her father and a school teacher to help orphans there learn math and English. It was that firsthand experience, she said, that planted the seeds for her current volunteer efforts striving to empower poverty stricken women and children from around the globe.
“Ever since then, I have been trying to find ways to give back and help those who are not as fortunate without having to travel too far,” said Iyer, who is the founder and president of Harker’s Rising International Club. The club is one of several local chapters of an international nonprofit by the same name whose mission to help end world poverty
On March 30, Iyer, with the help of schoolmate and club vice president Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 11, hosted a home-based fundraising event attended by about 60 Harker students and parents, as well as neighbors and family friends. All proceeds from the house party, which totaled $4,226 (with more donations expected to flow in from people who could not attend but wanted to donate) went directly to the Rising organization.
In addition to selling arts and crafts made by women locally and in developing nations, they hosted several guest speakers including Rising’s CEO Carmel Jud and Saratoga city council candidate Pragati Grover. Jud and Grover discussed the topic of women empowerment and the importance of teaching impoverished women around the world how to run their own sustainable micro-enterprises.
Iyer originally met Jud at the Khaled Hosseini Harker Speaker Series event held at the upper school last year, which she was covering for journalism. “As we talked, I explained my experiences, and how much I wanted to give back to my community, and she told me to contact her to see if I could get involved in her organization,” recalled Iyer.
Iyer then began her volunteer work with Rising International by working with Jud and two students from other high schools to organize a successful large scale fundraiser at the AMC 14 theaters in Saratoga, as well as their own private home parties.
“Sometimes it’s easy to get overwhelmed with grades and college applications, but we have to remember that many of these women and children would give anything for these worries. Since we are so blessed, I believe that it is our duty to help them and share all that we have,” said Iyer.
“Growing up in Silicon Valley we are in a relatively sheltered environment and I find it really important for all of us to realize that the world isn’t as perfect as it seems. I saw Rising as a wonderful way to bring attention to the cause,” added Pankhaniya.
Zina Jawadi, grade 12, received Harker’s Community Service Spotlight Award at a recent Monday morning school meeting. At the gathering she was given a $200 check from the upper school community service program, which she in turn donated to the Hearing Loss Association of America’s (HLAA) Walk4Hearing event to help promote awareness about children with hearing loss.
The community service spotlight awards are given several times during the school year. They were created to celebrate and honor outstanding community service by upper school students.
In her acceptance speech at the meeting, Jawadi explained that HLAA is the largest national nonprofit support and advocacy organization serving people with hearing loss, with 200 chapters and tens of thousands of members.
A couple years ago Jawadi, who herself has hearing loss, became the youngest board member of any HLAA board nationwide. Shortly after, she was nominated and unanimously elected HLAA-CA secretary. And, she was recently voted HLAA-CA vice president. Among her work for the cause, Jawadi has organized and spearheaded youth events, conventions and fundraisers. She also has been asked to serve as a guest speaker on behalf of the organization.
Previously, between her freshman and sophomore years, she launched a used hearing aid collection in the Bay Area on behalf of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, an effort which she has continued by signing up 29 audiologists and hearing aid dispensers, and collecting more than 600 hearing aids for needy people with hearing loss.
During her speech, Jawadi noted that she used to be inspired to do community service because of her hearing loss. However, she said her source of inspiration has since changed as she is simply grateful to be able to serve people with disabilities, who she believes face more socioeconomic and educational barriers than all other minorities combined.
“Zina was selected to receive our community outreach award because of her passion for community service,” said Kerry Enzensperger, director of community service and activity director.
“She has turned in over 500 hours of community service but continues to volunteer without turning in hours because she so loves what she does! In fact, if she did turn in her hours she would be over 1,000 hours of community service,” said Enzensperger.
Grade 9 Student Presents Alongside Celebrities at Free the Children’s WE Day
Harker freshman Arjun Subramaniam recently joined celebrities and prominent activists in addressing an audience of more than 16,000 children from various California schools gathered at the Oakland Arena for an event called WE Day.
The event, held on March 26, was sponsored by an organization called Free the Children, which works to eradicate child labor in developing nations. After being introduced by actress Selena Gomez, Subramaniam took to the stage to speak about his work with the nonprofit organization. He then presented a short segment, telecast live, on the story of a young child laborer called Iqbal Masih.
Masih’s story had originally inspired the founding of Free the Children by a man named Craig Kielburger back in 1995. Kielburger was only 12 years old when he gathered 11 school friends to begin fighting child labor, laying the seeds for the organization.
Today, Free the Children is an international charity and educational partner that believes “in a world where all children are free to achieve their fullest potential as agents of change.” The organization works domestically to educate, engage and empower youth to become active local and global citizens.
Subramaniam said he first got involved with Free the Children after reading an article about child labor and being upset to learn that kids his own age and younger were being forced to work up to 15 hours a day and denied an education.
“While perusing the Web for organizations that were targeting this issue, I came across Free the Children, and their mission shared many parallels with my interests and passion,” recalled Subramaniam, noting that, by chance, the organization’s only office in the United States was just a few minutes away from his house.
Last year Subramaniam brought a Free the Children representative to speak at the middle school. Shortly after, he and a couple of friends set up a fundraiser on campus to help raise money for the cause.
“I have also talked to leading figures in the child labor movement in India, including Kailash Satyarthi, whose organization has rescued hundreds of thousands of child laborers and successfully petitioned the Indian government to change its child labor laws,” he said.
Speaking at the recent We Day was a transformative experience for Subramaniam. “Everyone there has inspired me to keep being part of the fight to eradicate child labor,” he said.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Few days go by that Harker’s grade 4-5 students aren’t using Google Chromebooks in their classrooms. From accessing comprehensive online Spanish textbooks and vocabulary programs to showcasing multimedia history and English projects, Chromebooks are revolutionizing the way the fourth and fifth graders learn.
Handed out at the beginning of the school year to grade 5 students (and stored in class for grade 4 students), the Chromebooks have become second nature to both students and their teachers. The versatile devices are being used to do research, write essays, receive assignments, maintain calendars and more.
Some students enjoy being able to communicate with one another directly by creating electronic walls enabling them to “pin” constructive feedback on each other’s presentations. Others enjoy working in a more collaborative environment, as they do when they complete projects in shared documents and presentations. And teachers can now comment directly on students’ soft-copy assignments, follow up on corrections in real time and interact via online commenting.
“A Chromebook is an amazing device … Internet, email and Google Drive! It’s something to make you crazy with delight,” enthused grade 5 student Arohee Bhoja.
Though conceding that the “pop-ups and amazing learning software” can, at times, be distracting, Bhoja said, when it comes to Chromebooks, the good cancels out the bad. “When you have all the letters of the alphabet at your fingertips, and all the learning sites you can ever imagine, it’s impossible to criticize.”
Bhoja’s classmate Sarah Raymond agreed. “I think that using the Chromebook has changed how we learn in the classroom for the better. It’s also a lot easier to collaborate with our peers on a Google Doc. At home we can still be working with our classmates even if we are not together. It is also more convenient for checking the homework calendar. Plus, it’s easily portable so we can bring it from class to class,” she said.
Most recently, a new wireless network called MercuryFast was implemented for the grade 5 students to connect their Chromebooks to the internet. But, despite the name, the fifth graders won’t have a faster connection than anyone else on campus. Instead wireless traffic is being split on two separate channels to increase speed and stability for everyone at the lower school.
Fifth graders are particularly familiar with Chromebook online applications such as Membean, a vocabulary learning tool that helps students understand and remember words; Movenote, an app that synchronizes video of the students with their docs or presentations; and Google Docs, which allow users to create and edit documents online while collaborating with other users.
At the lower school, a pilot program using Google Chromebooks began a couple years ago with a small group of students. The Chromebooks were then deemed so well-suited to Harker’s educational mission that it led to their now-standard issuing for grades 4-5. (There are also 50 Chromebooks available in the grade 3 classrooms, which are shared by students.)
“Each of our 129 fifth graders has a Chromebook that they use almost daily at school and can take home as well. And each of our 120 fourth graders has a Chromebook which stays at school and is housed on carts in their classrooms,” reported Lisa Diffenderfer, the lower school’s assistant director of instructional technology.
Chromebooks run on Google’s popular browser, are affordably priced and primarily intended for Internet use. Chromebooks also have great security features, which allow the school to enforce an Internet filter when the students are using the devices at home.
Over the past two years, some lower school teachers received funds from Harker’s technology grant program to find ways to get the most out of using Chromebooks in the classroom. Today, students in grades 4-5 are becoming adept at using the devices to learn and practice course material as well as showcase their newly found knowledge and skills.
Other fun-yet-practical ways Harker’s fourth and fifth graders have used Google apps include making notes about how to create Colonial-themed board games, tracking data from gummy bear experiments, creating a student tech help site, viewing rehearsal schedules for performing arts productions, and tracking nutrition and fitness information, according to Diffenderfer.
The use of Chromebooks in grade 4-5 was made possible as part of a $100,000 grant, which provided both Chromebooks and iPads for use in the lower school classrooms. The gift from the Paramitas Foundation was endorsed by parents Winston Chen and Phyllis Huang (Karina, grade 5; Nicole, grade 7), who are passionate about helping teachers use technology in meaningful ways to enhance learning.
“On any given day I can walk around the fourth and fifth grade classrooms and find students on their Chromebooks engaged in their learning,” said Diffenderfer, adding that the future for Chromebook use at the lower school looks bright, based on the students’ demonstrated level of comfort and success using the resourceful devices.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Imagine if children struggling to make sense out of confusing emotions could simply reach into a box and pull out the appropriate tools to help them better navigate social and academic situations. At Harker’s lower school, students are learning to do just that, thanks to an innovative new curriculum called The Toolbox Project.
The award-winning program, involving all students and staff at the Bucknall campus, is designed to empower children with specific tools that will help guide them in managing their own lives – both at school and in the community at large.
“The tools help you when you are mad because you can calm down and work out problems with your friends,” said grade 1 student Maya Baker, an enthusiastic supporter of the project. Giving an example of the “garbage can tool,” she explained that if your mind is too focused on a problem, you can use the tool to simply “throw it away.” On the other hand, she added, being shown the “listening tool” means to start listening to what someone is saying.
“As a teacher, I appreciate that The Toolbox Project provides the children with effective ways to handle a variety of situations. It validates their feelings and gives them a common language to solve problems. Using the tools comes naturally to the students, and they are eager to put them to use!” noted Baker’s teacher, Cindy Proctor.
At the heart of the ongoing program are 12 tools, practiced both in and out of the classroom: breathing, quiet/safe place, listening, empathy, personal space, using our words, garbage can, taking time, please and thank you, apology and forgiveness, patience and courage.
The project was implemented at the lower school at the start of the school year.
The tools were introduced one at a time, as part of a weekly lesson. During each lesson, students were given a picture of an icon representing that week’s tool, which were then cut out and added to the children’s individual cardboard toolboxes.
Toolbox lessons, which continue throughout the year, are taught during character development sessions. These sessions are typically held in the students’ homerooms for K-2, but can take place in other settings for the older students depending on grade level scheduling. They often include role- playing, fun projects, class discussions and references to literary stories. They are also reinforced with home/connection letters and activities.
In the fall about 140 parents enthusiastically attended an informational kickoff presentation about The Toolbox Project. That event was held in the lower school’s gym and hosted by Chuck Fisher, director of programs at Dovetail Learning Inc., which runs the program.
“What impressed me most about Harker was the depth of interest adults had for using these tools in their own self-regulation practices,” Fisher recalled. “As adults, there is nothing more powerful than modeling to children how we use these tools to be the kind of teacher or parent we most want to be.”
The Toolbox Project founder Mark Collin developed the curriculum more than eight years ago when he was working as a school counselor. In his words, “The children were struggling with many personal and family challenges, in addition to the usual struggles of growing up. They had no tools to recognize and name their feelings and deal with them constructively.”
Together he and his students began to identify and tap into their own inner capacities and strengths, promoting natural resilience. Collin used the metaphor of a personal toolbox and the symbols of real tools that translated easily into the idea of inner tools. The children immediately took to it and helped him identify and name the 12 tools, which led to the creation of The Toolbox Project, a nonprofit organization whose name was later changed to Dovetail Learning, with Toolbox as the flagship curriculum program.
According to Sarah Leonard, primary school head, “Implementation of The Toolbox Project has been going quite well. Faculty and staff are fully supportive of the program and have embraced it with enthusiasm and commitment to achieve the desired results.”
Indeed, even at the lower school’s youngest level, The Toolbox Project has been a huge hit. Of his experience using the program, kindergartner Aidan Okyar said, “The patience tool is really good for you. Pretend my dad is using my soccer ball and I want it, I could just use my football instead.”
Okyar added that if he were going to make up his own tool, he would call it the “healthy tool” and it would look like a carrot. He even came up with a saying for his new make-believe tool, which would state: “I will be healthy for my life.”
“I felt that it was incredible that Aidan wanted to expand on the number tools and add more to help us with navigating our lives!” said his teacher, Katherine Chi.
As a further part of the empathy training for the kindergarten students, Troy Townzen ’08, a current member of the school’s BEST staff, helped the youngsters create a special music video to visually illustrate the concept.
“Troy and the kindergarten staff spent endless hours putting it together to help the children understand the meaning of empathy. And I really think it worked! The students are showing more empathy and kindness toward their friends. They’re even singing the chorus (from the video) out on the playground. A true success!” said Kim Cali, director of the lower school’s BEST program.
“These tools have become our common language,” said Leonard, noting that lower school students of all ages have been increasingly peppering their everyday language with references to the tools they have learned.