The 2013 lower school Winter Concert on Dec. 5 brought warmth and a bit of holiday cheer to the audience and showcased the diverse talents of Harker’s lower school musicians. Lower school musical groups, including the orchestra and jazz ensemble, were featured, with special solo performances and appearances by groups from the middle and upper schools.
The lower school orchestra, conducted by Louis Hoffman, kicked things off with “King William’s March” by Jeremiah Clarke. Next up was the lower school string ensemble performing Brian Balmages’ “A Beethoven Lullaby,” the first of two pieces it played that evening. The string ensemble then made way for the lower school’s jazz combo, also conducted by Hoffman, which played the somewhat odd but nevertheless well-liked “Summertime” by George Gershwin.
Though not a holiday-themed concert, a smattering of seasonal songs were included. “A Festive Holiday” was performed by the string ensemble and arranged by David Shaffer and Toni Woodruff, who led the ensemble. Bob Cerulli’s “A Christmas Sing Along: Traditional,” performed by the lower school orchestra, continued along the winter theme.
A number of individual students had the chance to shine at various points throughout the concert. Kailash Ranganathan, grade 4, performed a sitar duet with renowned sitarist Pandit Habib Khan. Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango” was performed by cellist Angeline Kiang, grade 4, who was accompanied by pianist Chen Woo. Later, the lower school orchestra performed grade 5 student Paul Kratter’s original piece, “The Title.”
About midway through the concert, the grade 6 strings group, directed by Dave Hart, arrived to perform the “Spring” portion of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” as well as a string arrangement of Coldplay’s “Clocks.” The upper school string quartet, directed by Chris Florio, also showed up later in the evening, performing the first movement of Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor” and the Guns N’ Roses hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
Following two more songs by the jazz combo and jazz ensemble, the lower school orchestra ended the concert with the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s “Messiah.”
Just days before the holiday break, people eager for seasonal cheer flocked to the Bucknall Theater on Dec. 17 for the annual grade 1 holiday show, titled “Our Favorite Time of Year” and directed by Carena Montany.
The homeroom classes of Imelda Kusuma, Cindy Proctor, Larissa Weaver and Rita Stone gathered on stage to sing a selection of odes to the holidays, including favorites such as “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” “The First Noel” and “Jingle Bells.” Other notable performances included the Hanukkah-themed tune “Spin a Little Dreidel” and “Christmas Everyday” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, which featured a dance routine choreographed by Gail Palmer.
Accompanying the singers during the concert were pianist Melissa Lin and violinist Toni Woodruff. Technical director Danny Dunn, assistant technical director Carol Clever and Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater students made sure the show ran well from start to finish.
This year’s grade 4-5 Wintry Spirit Assembly, sponsored by the Service/Spirit Club, was recently held on the lower school’s blacktop with a new format. Rather than competing for points, students enjoyed various interactive stations supervised by homeroom teachers.
The festive, holiday-themed stations included Santa’s Workshop, where students colored and stacked various cups; Pin the Nose on Rudolph; Presents Down the Chimney, featuring students playing a lightning-quick game; and Naughty or Nice, which saw students shooting bean bags and other objects into small nets.
“Oh, the weather outside was frightful, but that didn’t stop our spirit assembly!” enthused Katie Molin, lower school English and study skills teacher. “I think everyone had a great time!”
Grade 5 students got a preview of life as a middle schooler during Step-Up Day on Nov.19. That day, the eager fifth graders were given a tour of the middle school campus. While there, they were introduced to the faculty and staff, and learned about the various academic and extracurricular activities they will experience next year. The students also were treated to a special vocal performance by Dynamics, the grade 6 choir. Middle school mentors acted as hosts and hostesses to each grade 5 homeroom by leading the students on tours and answering questions about middle school. “Each year, the fifth graders revel in the new campus and expanded options, especially in the lunch line! This ‘taste’ of middle school sets the stage for the many decisions students will be making in the near future, such as elective and language options, and, most importantly, laptop platform for the one-to-one laptop program,” said Cindy Ellis, head of the middle school. Last month, in preparation for Step-Up Day, the grade 5 students were treated to a special visit by the middle school mentors, 6-8 graders who volunteer to help make the transition to middle school as smooth as possible. They also enjoyed a visit from middle school art instructor, Elizabeth Saltos, who spent the day with the students at lower school campus. “While there, she engaged with the students, doing some projects and generally ‘advertising’ for art in the middle school,” explained Gerry-louise Robinson, Harker’s lower school art instructor.
In mid-November, grade 3 students headed to the East Bay to visit the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA).
The OMCA opened its doors more than 40 years ago, bringing together art, history and natural sciences under one roof. The museum’s collection now comprises more than 1.8 million objects, including works of art, historical artifacts, natural specimens and photographs.
Following an engaging morning tour, the students, who were accompanied by teacher Kathy Ferretti, enjoyed a relaxing lunch on the museum lawn before heading back to school.
Grade 5 students recently went on a high-tech field trip to the Intel Museum. Located at Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara, the museum’s exhibits showcase Intel’s products and history, as well as semiconductor technology in general.
The museum got its start in the early 1980s as an internal project to record Intel history. It opened to the public in 1992; in 1999 its size was tripled and a store was added. It is a popular destination for grade-school educational programs. Intel is especially relevant to many Harker students, who live in the area or have parents who work in the technology industry.
After the first group (out of 129 students) returned to Harker after visiting the museum, their teachers overheard them telling other students that they were going to “love the museum and that the exhibits were cool,” according to Lisa Diffenderfer, lower school assistant director of instructional technology.
Diffenderfer also reported that Stephanie Denova, Intel’s museum coordinator, wrote her a note stating how glad she was that the fifth graders had such a great visit and that “we were all impressed with your students and how well-behaved they are.”
Just before Thanksgiving break, grade 3 students Rahul Mulpuri, Dominick Piscione and Grant Sims won first place in the project category at a First Lego League (FLL) robotics tournament. The team, the youngest in the tournament, was chosen from 24 competing teams for their idea/presentation on early warning systems for earthquakes.
In advance of the tournament, the trio benefited from an informal practice session/demonstration in front of their teachers and classmates on the lower school blacktop.
“They did a wonderful job describing their initiative and showing us their Lego demonstration,” said Kim Cali, director of the lower school’s BEST program.
Cali said she was impressed that the third graders had the initiative to request to present their project in front of their teachers and classmates as practice for the event.
“They were very excited to be given the opportunity and committed to putting their presentation together for us and for FLL,” she recalled.
The First Lego League is a well-known robotics program for children ages 9-14, designed to get young people excited about science and technology, while teaching them valuable employment and life skills.
While FLL is often used in the classroom, it is not designed solely for this purpose. Teams comprise up to 10 children (with at least one adult coach) and are often associated with pre-existing clubs or organizations. Currently, there are over 20,000 FLL teams competing in more than 70 countries.
In early November, 126 students from grade 5 (accompanied by nine Harker teacher chaperones) journeyed to the scenic Marin Headlands for a two-and-a-half day educational field trip.
“All of the students were able to visit the Marine Mammal Center to explore the facility and observe sea lions that were being treated there,” reported Kristin Giammona, elementary division head.
She noted that students participated in a night hike to Rodeo Beach to look at “glow-in-the-dark creatures,” as well as enjoyed hikes to various vistas in the headlands. While some groups visited the Point Bonita Lighthouse, others hiked to a special spot called “Scotty’s Bluff.”
Students also worked with microscopes and completed a lab in the touch pool classroom at the Headlands Institute. Both students and chaperones stayed in former army barracks located in Fort Cronkite and enjoyed locally sourced meals.
The Marin Headlands has been called one of the most unique areas in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Along with its historical attractions, the area also boasts varied hiking trails, a dog-friendly beach, and astonishing views of the coast and San Francisco.
Harker students are running a number of fund raisers, gift and food drives this season, as they always do, and they are all detailed in the Greater Good section of the upcoming issue of Harker Quarterly, which should be in your mailboxes during the holiday break. We just got the news on some exceptionally generous gifts, however, and thought we’d share, in this season of sharing. –Ed.
The week after Thanksgiving break, the lower school’s student council sponsored a hot chocolate sale to help raise money to aid relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan and along with the the hot chocolate sales, there were some exceptional gifts made to the fund.
“The fundraiser was a huge success. We were able to raise $726 from the hot chocolate sales. In addition, we had some special donations, which brought our grand total to $6,996,” reported Kristin Giammona, elementary division head.
The special donations included $5,000 from an anonymous grade 5 family, $1,000 from the Mulpuri family (Rahul, grade 3) and $270 from Faux Hair Salon. Faculty and staff also pitched in by donating money to offset the cost of the hot chocolate, which was then sold for $1 a cup.
Further aiding the endeavor were grades 4-5 student council members, who served the hot chocolate. Various lower school teachers, the dean of students and members of the BEST staff helped ensure the sale ran smoothly.
Proceeds from the sale were then combined with funds previously collected by the middle school for donation to Habitat for Humanity to help typhoon victims rebuild their homes and provide clean-up kits. The boost from the middle school drive brought the grand total up to $8,096.12 raised on behalf of the people of the Philippines.
“I am very touched by the generosity and care of our Harker community. We will combine our funds raised with the middle school’s funds and send one check to Habitat for Humanity to assist with the rebuilding of homes in the Philippines,” said Giammona.
In a show of neighborly good will, grade 2 students recently painted and hand-delivered pumpkins to residents living near the lower school campus.
The pumpkin painting and delivery to local neighbors took place in late October, just in time for Halloween. An annual outreach and community service project for the lower school students, the painting effort this year was held for this first time in the art room.
After decorating the pumpkins and allowing them to dry, the students then walked around the neighborhood, delivering pumpkins on porches along with cards.
“This was their annual service project to say ‘thank you’ to the local residents for being such good neighbors,” reported Gerry-louise Robinson, who facilitated the painting part of the outreach activity. Students painted in her art room during their health education classes (one class at a time) with members of the BEST staff on hand to assist in the effort.
For student Kabir Ramzan, the biggest challenge was to “make the pumpkins really colorful.” Working in small groups he and his fellow classmates succeeded by painting in various hues of blue, green, yellow and red. They also gave each pumpkin its own special smile.
“It was action-packed and non-stop …. Utilizing the art room helped to make the event more meaningful and fun!” said Robinson, adding that the students really embraced drawing faces on the pumpkins, putting expressions and details that made each one a unique gift.
“It was marvelous how the children carefully chose colors and applied them. Seeing the pumpkins all lined up ready to be delivered looked very charming indeed,” she added.
“This is a really good project. I think it’s something the neighbors will like!” enthused student Aeliya Grover.