Life just got a little easier for animals at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, thanks to the efforts of the lower school’s grade 1 community service project.
The students showed their love for the shelter’s displaced rabbits, dogs and cats by collecting monetary donations, buying needed supplies and making toys for distribution to the shelter.
“We raised about $900 (a new record) and collected more than 80 bags of toys, supplies and food for the animals,” reported the students’ homeroom teacher, Cindy Proctor, who oversaw the project.
Before beginning their donation drive on behalf of the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, the children visited the 80-year-old independent, nonprofit animal shelter. They toured the facility and learned what the organization does as well as how best to care for their own pets.
In computer class, the youngsters made posters about the project, and in other classes, they made pet blankets and toys for donation. Parents also got involved in the drive, as students were encouraged to earn money for the humane society at home by doing small jobs.
In addition to monetary donations of any amount, items for collection included animal treats, collars, litter, toys, clean blankets, sheets, towels and comforters.
“We would like to express our thanks for the tremendous support and generosity of our Harker families for participating in this project. The donations continue to come in and we are extremely grateful,” said Proctor.
“Once upon a time there stood an enchanted library. Within its walls, stories would come to life. Each year, the children of the land would invite characters from their best-loved tales to a celebration filled with music and merriment.”
So begins the program from the 17th annual Ogre Awards, the lower school’s beloved production, dedicated to the characters of 21 classic folk and fairy tales, as well as the storytellers who created them.
Starring all of the grade 2 students (otherwise known as the Ogre Academy), the show was proudly presented last month by the library department. It was originally created by former library director Enid Davis, who participated in this one as well.
Held in the “Kingdom of The Harker School” (aka the school’s gym) the Ogre Awards led off with a disgruntled witch who, throughout the event, mixed up the acts in revenge for not being invited to the show.
The student performers portrayed characters and creatures from the folklore of cultures worldwide (including tricksters, witches, magical objects, enchanted princes, heroines, wolves and fools), which they had learned about throughout the school year.
Folk stories and fairy tales featured in this year’s award ceremony came from such well known, endearing stories as Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Pig, Lazy Jack and The Water of Life.
According to Sue Smith, Harker’s current library director, the Ogre Awards show was extremely fortunate to have had Danny Dunn, lower school technical director, take over as the new director following Davis’ retirement last year after nearly two decades of service.
“She (Dunn) had some very big shoes to fill,” said Smith, noting that as her parting gift to the award show, Davis left behind a fully-written script for this year’s ceremony. “That allowed Mrs. Dunn to focus on the technical aspects of the show, including adding her many creative talents.”
All but one of the Ogre Awards are bestowed upon fairy tale characters, with a special honor going to a real person. This year that special someone was none other than Davis, who was thrilled to return to the Ogre Award stage as a guest and recipient of the 2013 Special Ogre award.
“We give this award each year to someone who provides exceptional service or support to the Harker libraries. I can’t think of anyone who fits that bill better than Mrs. Davis. As creator and director of the show for 16 years, she has written scripts and song parodies, made sets and props by hand, designed costumes, and rehearsed the children in library classes in the weeks leading up to the performance. It is pure joy for her to see the children experience the magic of theater in the shows she has written,” enthused Smith.
Smith further noted that the Ogre Awards are the culmination of the second grade library curriculum, which Davis also developed. “I loved Mrs. Davis’ acceptance speech – she said that being given the Special Ogre award meant so much .… After giving the award to others for so many years, it came back to her!”
Adding to the festive event was a special guest appearance by Brian Larsen, Harker’s production manager, appearing as the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. Towards the end of the show, the much anticipated Best Folk or Fairy Tale award went to the book “The Water of Life.”
Ensuring the Ogre Awards ran smoothly was a dedicated team both on hand and behind the scenes, comprising volunteer faculty and parents helping out with technical direction, music, costumes, videography and choreography.
All that hard work paid off, as this year’s show went off without a hitch, much to the delight of parents and other members of the audience, who gave the students rousing applause as the performance came to a close.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly
Thanks to video conferencing, even students as young as kindergarten can participate in Harker’s successful global education program.
Long before the much-anticipated exchange program with the Tamagawa Gakuen School in Japan that occurs in grade 6, Harker’s youngest students begin building relationships with their overseas pals in Tokyo.
In January and February, the lower school’s four kindergarten homerooms held a series of video chats with same-age children from Tamagawa, Harker’s sister school. The video chats, which ran for 30 minutes, afforded both Harker and Tamagawa youngsters the unique opportunity to interact with, learn from and entertain one another, as well as set the stage for an ongoing relationship that will develop all the way through high school.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
In December, lower school performers brought seasonal cheer to the many attendees at the Bucknall Theater during their annual holiday shows. The entire grade 1 class gathered on stage on Dec. 11, and grades 2-3 followed close on their heels on Dec. 13. Both shows were directed by Kellie Binney-Smart, lower school performing arts teacher.
The grade 1 offering was a collection of songs titled “Flakes! A Musical Celebration of Snow, Slush and Snirt.” Dressed in holiday-appropriate attire, the students sang a number of light and fun odes to winter and winter-time fun, such as “Snow is Falling Today,” “Little Snowflake” and “Snirt” (a portmanteau of “snow” and “dirt”). The students sang and danced, and the show was punctuated by some short and amusing skits between song numbers.
The grade 2-3 show featured every student from each class celebrating the holidays in song, with performances of classics such as “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and “Jingle Bell Rock” interspersed with newer songs, including “Spin a Little Dreidel” and “Alfie the Elf.” Students provided amusing narration between songs
to help keep the atmosphere light and fun. Great instrumental accompaniment was provided throughout the show by adult musicians Toni Woodruff on violin and Melissa Lin on piano.
Much of the success of the shows is owed to technical director Danny Dunn and assistant technical director Carol Clever, as well as Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater students. Stephanie Woolsey, lower school math teacher, stage managed the grade 2-3 show, and Stephanie Bayer provided choreography for the grade 1 show.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
This year’s grade 5 show, “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, Jr.,” directed by Jennifer Sandusky, gave all grade 5 students the chance to showcase their musical prowess in late January at the Bucknall Theater.
A musical re-telling of Jeff Brown’s beloved 1964 children’s book, “Flat Stanley,” the show recounted the tale of Stanley Lambchop, a young boy who is literally flattened one night by a falling bulletin board. He soon learns to use his flatness to his advantage, traveling the world by placing himself into envelopes destined for far-off places such as Paris and Hawaii.
Stanley’s story was told through such entertaining musical numbers as the wistful “I Wish I Were,” the light-hearted “The Funny Sunny Side” and the Beach Boys-flavored “Surfin’ the Mail,” all with lively choreography by Kimberly Teodoro and Stephanie Bayer. Each character had multiple actors to ensure stage time for all the students, who ably handled the often complex song-and-dance sequences, some of which included the entire grade 5 class on stage at once.
The show also featured some very creative usage of costumes and props (courtesy of costume designer Marylin Watts, prop master Karoli Clever and assistant prop master Feline Clever), such as the outfit worn by the actors in the role of Stanley, which amusingly conveyed his flatness.
For this show, lower school teacher Danny Dunn acted as both technical director and set designer, with help from technical assistant Oahnha Ly. The scenery on-set was painted by local artist Whitney Pintello. The production also received generous help from Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater students and middle school tech club. Veteran sound engineer Brian Larsen once again manned the soundboard, and Daniel Clark ’10 managed the microphones. Stage manager Karoli Clever and assistant stage manager Ken Boswell kept everything on cue, along with stage engineers Marcus Clever and Beric Dunn.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Students at the lower school were greeted with an afternoon of great weather in early March, after a night of rain, for this year’s Jump Rope for Heart event.
By the time the K-5 youngsters got out on the blacktop of the Bucknall campus to celebrate having raised $997 to date for the American Heart Association, the ground was dry and perfect for jumping rope, high jumping onto soft mats, limboing, leaping over makeshift hurdles, crawling through obstacle courses, shooting baskets and other fun activities.
Some teachers got in on the action, too, as each grade level rotated to different stations for various activities, held both outside and inside the school’s gym. Unlike previous times, this year’s event was held during P.E. classes, instead of as a whole school happening.
Students also had the option to take a quick break and enjoy some healthy snacks over by the lunch tables. Nearby was the “Heart Wall,” where they could attach small paper hearts adorned with special messages for loved ones or others in need.
Donations were still rolling in after the activities ended. Earlier, while encouraging his colleagues to attend the event, Jim McGovern, P.E. assistant department chair, had said, “We encourage everyone to be involved in the fun by coming to the gym and watching the students participate in all the activities. If you have never seen kindergartners or first graders jump rope, it will be a special treat!”
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
The school recently donated hundreds of pairs of pajamas and five boxes of books to this year’s pajama drive, which ran from Jan. 7-18. While the exact final numbers are still being counted, Pallie Zambrano, co-president of the Pajama Program’s Northern and Central California chapter, reported that this year’s drive brings Harker’s total donations to more than 2,000 pairs of pajamas and 2,400 books.
The Bucknall campus pajama and book drive is held during the heart of winter, when needy children especially want to keep warm. This year, Harker students donated a range of books and pajamas (with the tags still on) in sizes ranging from toddler through young adult. The drive was primarily a grade 3 service project, and all elementary school families were invited to participate.
Field trips are a much anticipated highlight of the year for Harker’s third graders. Their last outing was to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where they participated in the Discovery Lab, a hands-on lab providing students with a fun introduction to some of Monterey Bay’s most precious habitats and the animals that live there.
“Live marine invertebrates and the science processes were used during this activity,” explained Jeannette Bhatia, grade 3 science instructor, noting how much students enjoyed their visit to the aquarium.
After their time in the lab, the youngsters were free to explore the aquarium further, where they took full advantage, enjoying the splash zone, jellyfish, touch pools, puffins and kelp forest.
Come May, the third graders will be heading off to the California Academy of Sciences for another fun learning adventure!
Students at the lower school were greeted with an afternoon of great weather in early March, following a night of rain, during this year’s Jump Rope for Heart event.
By the time the K-5 youngsters got out on the blacktop of the Bucknall campus to celebrate having raised $997 for the American Heart Association, the ground was dry – and perfect for jumping rope, high jumping onto soft mats, limboing, leaping over makeshift hurdles, crawling through obstacle courses, shooting basketball and other fun activities.
Some teachers got in on the action too, as each grade level rotated to different stations for various activities, held both outside and inside the school’s gym. Unlike other times, this year’s event was run during P.E. classes, instead of as a whole school happening.
Students also had the option to take a quick break and enjoy some healthy snacks over by the lunch tables. Nearby was the “Heart Wall,” where they could attach small paper hearts adorned with special messages for loved ones or others in need.
Earlier, while encouraging his colleagues to attend the event, Jim McGovern, Harker’s assistant department chair of physical education, had said, “We encourage everyone to be involved in the fun by coming to the gym and watching the students participate in all the activities. If you have never seen kindergartners or first graders jump rope, that would be a special treat!”
He further noted that students were told that they were going to “jump, run and have fun,” all while raising money for a good cause. Donations, which were collected both online and in person, were still rolling in after the day ended.
Grade 3 students recently enjoyed seeing a play about clever Brer Rabbit, one of the craftiest characters in children’s literature, during a mid-March field trip to the Sunnyvale Community Theater.
Derived from African American folktales passed down in the American South, the play “The Adventures of Brer Rabbit”was written by Gayle Cornelison and first performed in 1977 at the community theater, part of a larger complex of buildings serving as Sunnyvale’s artistic community hub.
The play is based on the book originally titled “Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit,” which was written by Julius Lester. In both the book and play, Brer (short for Brother) Rabbit is locked in an eternal game of “catch-me-if-you-can” with the sly fox, using the most outrageous tricks to constantly outsmart him.
“The play was fantastic! The kids had a blast,” enthused Elise Robichaud, who teaches grade 3 language arts. After seeing the story on stage, the children returned to their classroom and excitedly wrote paragraphs about their experience watching the performance.