A fun, festive St. Patrick’s Day party served as the final Eagle Buddies gathering of the school year for upper school juniors and their grade 4 pals.
Capping off a successful program for this Eagle Buddies pairing, the party was held on the lower school’s Rincon Field on a sunny afternoon in mid-March, with plenty of food, fun and games on hand.
The juniors traveled to the Bucknall campus by bus and were greeted by their younger buddies shortly after their noon arrival. Both the older and younger students were clad in their special Eagle Buddies polo shirts.
The bittersweet event consisted of lunch, free play, making friendship bracelets, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and promising to stay in touch. It also served as a reminder that Harker’s Eagle Buddies program continues to be a success, fostering lasting friendships between upper and lower school students.
“Juniors enjoy the chance to have unstructured fun time during which they can be ‘kids’ again when they get together with their younger friends,” observed Carol Zink, who coordinates the Eagle Buddies program.
“The students at Bucknall have really benefited from the Eagle Buddies program and had a great time getting acquainted with each other this school year,” added Ken Allen, lower school dean of students.
The boys’ march through the playoffs has come to an end after a 53-46 loss against league-rival Menlo last Saturday at Menlo. The teams had rocketed into their quarterfinal showdown after splitting their two matchups during the regular season. The loss marks a tough end to a very strong run by the the team. The boys had advanced to the playoffs after earning a #6 seed with a 17-7 overall record and an 11-3 record in league play. Their sterling play earned the team a first-round bye as they waited to play the winner of a first-round matchup between Stevenson and Pacific Grove. Pacific Grove defeated Stevenson, setting into motion a second-round game between Pacific Grove and Harker last Thursday at Blackford. There, Harker muscled through to a 64-56 victory. Senior Nikhil Panu led the way with a team-high 21 points and sophomore Nic Nguyen played well on all sides of the ball, delivering 13 points, five assists, and seven steals. That win set up the final game of the season against Menlo. Thanks to all of the fans for their support, and congratulations to the boys on their season!
The girls dropped their second-round game against Monte Vista Christian, 53-35, to cap off a season that saw them go 17-6 overall and 7-3 in league play, good for a third-place finish in the WBAL. The girls won their postseason game against 11th-seeded Ocean High School 51-40, setting up the challenge against #6-seeded Monte Vista Christian. Please congratulate the girls for their strong play, especially graduating seniors Daniza Rodriguez, Priscilla Auyueng, Emily Chu, Shreya Vemuri and Rebecca Liu.
Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse had three victories in their jamboree on Saturday in Menlo and then won their home opener on Monday against Tamalpais High School at Davis Field, 18-6. Michelle Douglas, grade 12, led the team with six goals, while Hannah Bollar, grade 10, added five and Wendy Shwe, grade 12, scored four. Tiphaine Delepine and Sam Hoffman, both grade 12, also added scores, while Delepine, Allison Kiang, grade 10, and Adrienne Mendel, grade 12, tacked on assists. Christine Lee, grade 11, had 10 saves in net as the girls’ season got off to a strong start.
Track and Field
Track and field competed at the Bellarmine Meet this Saturday with solid performances from sophomores Julia Wang and Corey Gonzales and seniors Sumit Minocha and Michael Chen, among others. They compete at Mitty and Willow Glen this week.
Lower and Middle School Update
Girls basketball
Grade 8 Varsity A team: 5-2, currently in second place in the WBAL. Key performers are Joelle Anderson, Jordan Thompson and Lindsey Trinh.
Grade 7 Varsity B team: 5-0, currently in first place in the WBAL. Key performers are Satchi Thockchom and Tiffany Shou.
Grade 6 JV A team: 0-5, currently tied for eighth place in the WBAL.Key performers are Jennifer Hayashi and Deana Kajmakovic.
Grade 5 JV B team: 2-2, currently in third place in the WBAL. Key performers are Haley Arena and Grace Hajjar.
Grade 4 JV C team: 4-0, currently in first place in the WBAL. Key performers are Courtney Thompson and Sarah Raymond.
Boys soccer
Grade 8 Varsity A team: 0-3, currently tied for sixth place in the WBAL. Key performers are Joseph Krackeler, Zayne Khouja and Quentin Delepine.
Grade 7 Varsity B team: 2-0, currently tied for first place in the WBAL. Key performers are Rohit Shah, Vedant Shah and Neelesh Ramachandran.
Grade 6 JV A team: 2-1-1, currently in third place in the WBAL. Key performers are Jarrett Anderson, Edwin Su, Stephan Sokolov and Brandon Bien.
Grade 5 JV B team: 4-0, currently in first place in the WBAL. Key performers are Darshan Chahal, Andrew Cheplyansky and Asmit Kumar.
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 relations with their overseas pals in Tokyo.
Most recently, the lower school’s four kindergarten homerooms held a series of video chats with same-age children from Tamagawa, Harker’s sister school. Parents first learned of the scheduled conferences, which were held in January and February, back at their orientation meeting before the official start of the school year.
Since then, kindergarten families had been looking forward to the video chats, which ran for 30 minutes and afforded both Harker and Tamagawa youngsters the unique opportunity to interact with, learn from and entertain one another.
Because it was such a special happening, parents were invited to join their children for the event, which took place in a designated kindergarten classroom. Harker students were required to wear their full dress uniform the day of their video conference, including their sweaters.
The kindergartners’ initial contact with their Tamagawa buddies has now set the stage for an ongoing relationship that will develop all the way through high school.
“We have lots of fun … and it’s time very well spent!” enthused Sarah Leonard, primary school head, of the video conferences.
Global education programs for the lower school focus on teaching about the similarities and differences between students around the world. Through a variety of activities students learn from each other about their respective countries and cultures.
There are global exchange programs running on all three campuses for students of various grade levels. In addition to Japan, Harker has sister schools in China, Russia, India, Australia, Costa Rica, Spain, Thailand, Ethiopia, Switzerland, France and Saudi Arabia.
For many children bedtime means snuggling up in cozy pajamas and reading a favorite bedtime story. Yet for youngsters in need, even something as basic as curling up with a good book in comfy jammies can be wishful thinking.
For the past six years, to make life a bit better for children living in shelters locally, Harker’s lower school has held donation drives for the Pajama Program, a nationally run nonprofit organization dedicated to providing new pajamas and books to kids waiting to be adopted.
The school recently donated hundreds of pairs of pajamas and five boxes of books to the program which this year 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. Although the drive was primarily a grade 3 service project, all elementary school families were invited to participate by dropping off donated items in a designated area in the gym’s lobby.
Meanwhile, the students’ homeroom teachers explained how much their donations would benefit children who are less fortunate. Parents were also encouraged to help their children become involved in the project by taking them to the store to pick out donation items themselves.
The much beloved program began six years ago at the suggestion of Rishi Narain, a former lower school student and current freshman at the upper school. He got the idea for the project when he was in grade 3, after watching the “Oprah” show. The show’s guest that day was Genevieve Piturro, founder of the Pajama Program. Watching her discuss it motivated Narain to bring the cause to Harker, where he helped organize the inaugural donation drive, which went on to become an annual occurrence.
Kathy Ferretti, a grade 3 teacher who has been involved with the program since its inception, called the project a wonderful example of how one student has the power to make a difference. In fact, she noted that Sarah Leonard, primary school head, still has the original letter that Narain wrote with his suggestion to collect donations for the Pajama Program.
“This was the sixth year in a row that Harker has held a drive and we are so grateful for the continued support. We love working with children to help other children!” enthused Zambrano.
“Our third graders love to read and be read to, especially at bedtime. It’s something they look forward to with pleasure. They hope that by participating in the pajama and book drive more children will be able to enjoy this experience, too,” added Ferretti.
To learn more about about the Pajama Program, visit their website at www.pajamaprogram.org.
During the Jan. 18 pajama day assembly, sophomore Eagle Buddies took the opportunity to personally tell their grade 3 pals how proud they were of them for collecting books and pajamas on behalf of children in need.
The upper school students had traveled to the lower school campus as part of the Eagle Buddies program, and to participate in the assembly, which celebrated the grade 3 service project collecting items to donate to the Pajama Program, a nationally run nonprofit organization dedicated to providing new sleepwear and books to kids waiting to be adopted (for the full story on the drive, see the HNO article.)
The assembly was held in the gym on the Bucknall campus, with participants wearing a colorful assortment of robes, pajamas, slippers and snuggly knit hats. Pink robes were all the rage for the grade 3 girls, many of whom sported ponytails and pigtails, while a large number of boys wore jammies showing off their favorite super heroes.
Although wearing sleepwear was optional, almost all of the younger students were dressed in their pajamas, and some of the upper school students wore them as well. Those who didn’t had on Eagle Buddies polo shirts instead. And, to the delight of students, most of the grade 3 faculty showed off their favorite nightwear, adding to the fun, festive atmosphere of the assembly.
Before the assembly officially began, the eager third graders connected with their older Eagle Buddies for a short period of mingling and socializing. The sophomores had been encouraged to bring items to donate to the Pajama Program, which is one of the lower school’s supported charities.
Grade 3 student Alyssa Tomberg said she recommends other schools get involved in the Pajama Program, as well as have an Eagle Buddies program of their own. Her classmate, Antonio Mele, echoed her sentiments, calling the Eagle Buddies program “pretty cool.”
Mele added that the most fun he’s had with his two buddies so far was playing soccer and getting to know each other at the first Eagle Buddies event of the school year. He added that he hopes one day, when he’s older, he can be an Eagle Buddy to a younger student.
Meanwhile, Angeline Kiang, another young Eagle Buddy, said she is used to hanging around with older kids as she has a teenage sibling. Her favorite thing to do with her buddies is simply to hang out. “I love talking with them.”
As the assembly officially got under way, Ken Allen, the lower school’s dean of students, reminded the audience that this is Harker’s sixth year of running the pajama and book drive for children who often come to shelters with “just the clothes on their backs.”
Following his talk, Pallie Zambrano, a spokesperson for the Pajama Program, took to the podium to thank Harker students for supporting the drive and enabling hundreds of children to have new pajamas and books.
Butch Keller, upper school head, then approached the stage wearing a dark robe and slippers. He sat down in a rocking chair and read a book called “Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook” to the children in his warm, distinctive voice, as the lights in the gym were slowly dimmed to set the mood of a bedtime story.
Keller, who received a big round of applause, originally came up with the idea for the Eagle Buddies program in an effort to help bridge the campus divide. The buddies stay together for three years, until the sophomores graduate and the third graders matriculate into middle school.
Concluding the assembly, the Eagle Buddies teamed up to read a book together, which the students selected from a big blue bin holding popular, age-appropriate, scholastic chapter books. Soon after, the pals headed off for a special lunch together before the older students returned via buses to resume their day at the upper school.
Eagle Buddies activities continued the next week, as on Jan. 24 there were two more events, one for juniors and fourth graders and another for seniors and their grade 5 buddies.
Clad in their Eagle Buddies shirts, the juniors hosted their fourth grade friends for “clown day” at the upper school. After eating lunch in the gym together, the students watched a performance by professional clowns, and then were given the opportunity to try a few clown tricks themselves.
That same day the seniors went off to the lower school during their eighth period to watch a special showing of the grade 5 play, “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, Jr.,” in which all of their Eagle Buddies performed. The sneak preview was held in the gym, where the actual show occurred the following evening. The play, based on the beloved children’s book by Jeff Brown, was free of charge.
“I think Eagle Buddies is a really great concept. For the older buddy the experience is a way to return to a place where school is just really exciting and fun, filled with new experiences,” observed 15-year-old Tiara Bhatacharya, a sophomore Eagle Buddy who has attended Harker since kindergarten.
“Hanging out with your Eagle Buddy is also great because they’re so energetic, hilarious and willing to share as much of their lives with you as possible,” she added.
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, 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 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.
To Kendricks “Ken” Allen, Harker’s new dean of lower school students, there is nothing like the sound of children at play. And, from where he sits in his office – located adjacent to the gymnasium and across from Rincon Field – students are never very far away.
“I like being where the action is!” enthused Allen, whose office is adorned with diplomas and pictures with the motivating words “respect,” “integrity” and “success.”
Allen has long enjoyed working with youngsters, having previously been an elementary school teacher at Fort Worth County Day School in Texas, where he also served as head track and field coach, assistant varsity football coach and assistant head coach for varsity girls basketball.
A native of Illinois, he was raised in Colorado, where his family still resides. He comes to Harker with an undergraduate degree in exercise and sports science from Colorado State University along with a master’s in education administration from Texas Christian University.
This past July Allen got married and relocated here from Texas. With so many exciting yet major life changes he credits fellow administrators, staff and colleagues with enabling him to quickly settle in and feel confident in his new role at Harker.
Allen has been working hard at getting to know many of the 596 students who attend the lower school. To that end, he employed a unique method of having students with locker troubles come to his office for help at the start of the school year.
“That way I was able to immediately start getting to know them individually,” said Allen, who is steadily learning the Harker community of students, parents, faculty and staff members. In fact, this first year one of his priorities will be simply to listen and observe.
“Harker is a very special community, and I’m proud to be a part of it,” he said, adding, “I love my job!”
A cold Friday night in early January did not keep grade 1 students and their families from attending a movie night held at the lower school.
Warmed by the good feelings of shared camaraderie, they gathered at the gym for the special event which had been organized by grade level coordinators.
Some 74 people attended the evening, where they watched the third “Toy Story” movie. Wearing pajamas, the children sat on blankets munching pizza, salad, fruit and, of course, popcorn, while their parents met and chatted with one another. After the movie was over, the fun continued with students running around enjoying time with friends.
“The purpose of all our after-school gatherings is to promote community,” said Tere Aceves, who Harker’s lower school volunteer director.
Last month, the lower school’s youngest students took to the Bucknall gym for a much anticipated breakfast with Santa shortly after the start of their day on Dec. 14.
Led into the gym by their teachers, the excited kindergartners met up with their parents and were treated to a delicious breakfast prepped by the kitchen staff, complete with bacon, eggs, waffles, fresh fruit, orange juice, coffee and tea.
Partway into their yummy meal, Sarah Leonard, primary school head, introduced Santa to the children as classes lined up by teacher and, one by one, walked over and sat with him to discuss their wishes for the holiday season.
The students had dressed up for the event and looked very sharp as they took turns talking to Santa before returning to their tables where their parents sat waiting. After finishing up eating, playing and socializing they were lined up by homerooms and filed neatly back into their classes to continue on with a day that had a very special start.
Technological learning was in full swing for the lower school’s grade 5 class during a recent class field trip to the Intel Museum.
This past October, fifth graders visited the museum, conveniently located near Harker at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara. The museum has exhibits of 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, and was expanded in 1999 to triple its size and add a store. Today the museum has exhibits about how semiconductor chip technology works and is a popular destination for gradeschool educational programs. Intel is especially relevant to many students at Harker, who live in the area or have parents who work in Silicon Valley’s high tech industry.
Lisa Diffenderfer, an assistant director of instructional technology at Harker, said that prior to the outing students had been shown an interactive presentation on “Writing Good Emails.” Viewed on a projector as a whole class activity, the lesson (via a journey with Gmail) taught students what occurs when you send out an email. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at what happens “after you click send,” the students were treated to an insider’s view of data centers through videos, photos and more.
Both the interactive classroom presentation and field trip provided informative and fun ways to get students plugged into and invested in learning more about the quickly growing, ever changing, increasingly global world of high tech.