Each year the lower school Service and Spirit Club sells “snowman-grams” on all three of Harker’s campuses in an effort to promote holiday cheer and raise funds for various causes. Sold during the month of December for a dollar apiece, the ‘grams are delivered with a small bag of candy and an optional note to the Harker recipient of choice at the lower, middle and upper schools.
An annual contest is held amongst the fourth and fifth graders to select a handful of drawings that will be used for the ‘grams. This year Service and Spirit Club moderators reported having received 22 entries, of which they selected five winners. The winners were: grade 4 students Vidya Jeyendran, Sofia Fernandez and Ruya Ozveren, and grade 5 students Jasmine Wiese and Aarzu Gupta.
Last year the money raised by the ‘grams paid for racks outside of the gym lobby where grades 4-5 leave their belongings while at lunch or during assemblies. This year, the $636 raised was donated towards Superstorm Sandy relief efforts.
There was plenty of good cheer to go around during a special holiday celebration for alumni called Santa’s Winter Wonderland.
About 50 people – including Harker alumni, their families, faculty and staff – joined Santa Claus (played by upper school English teacher Jason Berry) recently for a pre-Christmas gathering held at the lower school.
Santa talked to and read stories to the children of alumni, as well as made crafts with them, before explaining that he had to leave to take gifts back to the elves and Mrs. Claus.
According to MaryEllis Deacon, director of alumni relations, the children worked on crafts under the supervision of members of the Student Alumni Relations group (STAR). Art projects included ornament designing, platemaking using reindeer or elves decorations, and doing drawings from holiday coloring books.
“Alumni had a great time seeing people they hadn’t in years, and shared a wonderful morning bringing in the holiday season with their extended Harker family,” Deacon recalled.
After reading a book about the American legend Johnny Appleseed this past fall, grade 2 students in teacher Judi Beil’s classroom marked his accomplishments by holding a classroom celebration in his honor. During the gathering, the lower school students had the opportunity to discuss the life of Appleseed, lesser known by his birth name, John Chapman.
“The children wrote and illustrated a brief biography of him, made a recipe book containing only recipes that used apples, and brought in their made recipe for the celebration; we had a tasting of all kinds of apple foods … lots of fun!” recalled Beil.
Like many people, some of the students believed Appleseed to be a fictional character, but he was, in fact, a real person who planted and supplied apple trees to much of the United States. A skilled nurseryman, Appleseed gave away and sold many trees. Although he was successful he was said to have lived a simple life as a vegetarian.
Born in Leominster, Mass., on Sept. 26, 1774, he died at the age of 70 after spending 50 years growing apple trees. In 1966, the U.S. Postal Service designed a 5-cent stamp honoring him.
Grades 2 and 3 held their annual Holiday Show on Dec. 13, bringing seasonal cheer to all in attendance at the Bucknall Theater. Directed by Kellie Binney-Smart, the 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” by Teresa Jennings and “Alfie the Elf” by Susan Nipp. Students provided amusing narration between songs to help keep the atmosphere light and fun. Great instrumental accompaniment was provided throughout the show by violinist Toni Woodruff and pianist Melissa Lin.
Technical director Danny Dunn, assistant technical director Carol Clever and stage manager Stephanie Woolsey, with much help from Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater students, were indispensable in keeping the show running on all cylinders.
The entire grade 1 class gathered on the stage at the Bucknall Theater for this year’s holiday show, a collection of songs titled “Flakes! A Musical Celebration of Snow, Slush and Snirt,” directed by Kellie Binney-Smart, lower school performing arts teacher.
Dressed in holiday-appropriate attire, the students sang a number of light and fun odes to winter and wintertime fun, such as “Snow is Falling Today,” “Little Snowflake” and “Snirt” (a portmanteau of “snow” and “dirt”). The students were all in their element, whether singing or dancing, as they did during “A Marshmallow World,” with choreography by Stephanie Bayer.
The show was punctuated by some short and amusing skits between song numbers. Much of the success of the show is owed to technical director Danny Dunn and assistant technical director Carol Clever, as well as Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater students.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Harker’s youngest students are using the holiday season to learn about being thankful, giving back to their local communities, and the joy that comes from helping those less fortunate.
Kicking off the first of their community service projects in late October, the kindergarten students helped care for their lower school campus by picking fallen pomegranates from the school grounds to prevent the fruit from becoming an eyesore and hazard. This campus beautification project began in 2009 and is part of the youngsters’ overall service projects; they also participate in tree planting each year.
The annual kindergarten tree planting at the Bucknall campus is a beloved tradition that began on the Saratoga campus. According to Sarah Leonard, primary division head, tree planting gives the children the opportunity to leave kindergarten with something that “serves as a living memory of their first year at Harker.”
Additionally, every winter, the lower school sponsors a canned food and toy drive, in which kindergartners take part. The importance of giving back and feeding the hungry is a lesson that many kindergarten teachers further tied into curriculum surrounding the holiday season.
The toy drive affords kindergartners the chance to learn, early on, the value of helping to get presents under the trees of many families who would not have otherwise been able to afford them.
In fact, last year’s drive resulted in hundreds of toys being delivered to Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose. Including Harker’s donation, more than 16,000 toys were donated, then set up and organized like a toy store for parents of children in need to choose from, resulting in a very merry Christmas day.
In November, kindergarten teacher Katherine Chi hosted a Thanksgiving feast with students and their families during her afternoon homeroom period. Held on Nov. 16, families each brought a favorite dish to share with the class, even including a bowl of macaroni and cheese for youngsters with hard-to-please palettes!
For those who wanted more traditional holiday fixings, there were also plenty of mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes and roasted turkey to choose from. And, to the delight of students, yummy desserts, including homemade pumpkin cookies, were served as well.
However, it wasn’t dessert that made kindergarten student Lindsey Tuckey’s mouth water. The five-year-old said what she is really thankful for is “the healthy stuff.” When asked to elaborate she noted she is especially grateful for having so much food to eat, particularly “broccoli and celery.”
Sitting next to her at a table set with colorful paper plates with turkeys on them was her father, Jeff Tuckey. He said he enjoyed being a part of the in-class celebration, sitting down with the youngsters as they enjoyed their mock Thanksgiving meal.
But it wasn’t all about the food. In addition to enjoying the sumptuous feast, Chi also had her class of 22 students take time out to discuss what they are thankful for. Previously, as part of their language arts curriculum, the kindergartners had created a journal about non-material things they are grateful for. Answers ranged from having clothes to wear and food to eat, to spending time with their family and pets.
From enjoying class holiday-themed celebrations to participating in community service projects and toy and canned food drives, kindergartners used the holiday season to its fullest – by uniting as a class, as well as helping to make the world a better place.
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
The “Claws Vegas” auction room, as it has been in past years, was one of the biggest attractions for this year’s picnickers. Teacher packages remained popular this year, as families bid for the opportunity to experience various fun-filled outings with Harker faculty.
Lower school social studies teacher Tobias Wade’s Paintball Challenge package took a group of students and faculty to Santa Clara Paintball over Thanksgiving weekend to play a variety of games, such as “Protect the President” and “Zombie War.”
“Teams are mixed up all the time,” Wade said, “but the students really like the kids against the teachers.” He enjoys seeing the students have a good time outside the classroom. “In paintball they are free to run around and jump around and act as crazy as they want,” he said. “It is fun to see them in a different light and element.”
Lower school musicians welcomed winter on Dec. 6 during their 2012 Winter Concert at the Bucknall Theater, directed by music teacher Louis Hoffman.
Hoffman conducted several of the performances that evening, including the lower school orchestra and string ensemble’s opening performance of “A Christmas Canon,” the Jazz Ensemble’s renditions of “Blues in the Closet” by Oscar Pettiford and the traditional American folk song “St. James Infirmary” and a performance of Henry Purcell’s “Rigaudon” by the lower school orchestra.
The night also included a pair of impressive solo performances. Kailash Ranganathan, grade 3, offered a stirring performance of “Raag Kalavati” on the sitar, and violinist Jun Lin, grade 5, wowed the audience with her version of Heindrich Ernst Kayser’s “Etude No. 30.”
Another interesting detour during the evening was the performance by the lower school’s fiddle group, conducted by Kevin Rogers, who played a 12-bar blues piece they composed themselves, as well as the Irish tune “Devil’s Dream.”
To the delight of the audience, the concert also included special performances by groups from the middle and upper schools. Music teacher Dave Hart led the middle school’s jazz band through Charlie Parker’s “Little Suede Shoes,” while the upper school wind ensemble performed a piece written by young composer Paul Kratter, grade 4, titled “The Green Things,” and Paul de Wailly’s “Aubade.”
This story recently appeared in the winter 2012 edition of Harker Quarterly.
Harker’s youngest students are using the holiday season to learn about being thankful, giving back to their local communities, and the joy that comes from helping those less fortunate.
Kicking off the first of their community service projects in late October, the kindergarten students helped care for their lower school campus by picking fallen pomegranates from the school grounds to prevent the fruit from becoming an eyesore and hazard. This campus beautification project began in 2009 and is part of the youngsters’ overall service projects; they also participate in tree-planting each year.
The annual kindergarten tree planting at the Bucknall campus is a beloved tradition that began on the Saratoga campus. According to Sarah Leonard, primary division head, tree planting gives the children the opportunity to leave kindergarten with something that “serves as a living memory of their first year at Harker.”
Additionally, every winter, the lower school sponsors a canned food and toy drive, in which kindergartners take part. The importance of giving back and feeding the hungry is a lesson that many kindergarten teachers further tied into curriculum surrounding the holiday season.
The toy drive affords kindergartners the chance to learn, early on, the value of helping to get presents under the trees of many families who would not have otherwise been able to afford them.
In fact, last year’s drive resulted in hundreds of toys being delivered to Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose. Including Harker’s donation, more than 16,000 toys were donated, then set up and organized like a toy store for parents of children in need to choose from, resulting in a very merry Christmas day.
In November, kindergarten teacher Katherine Chi hosted a Thanksgiving feast with students and their families during her afternoon homeroom period. Held on Nov. 16, families each brought a favorite dish to share with the class, even including a bowl of macaroni and cheese for youngsters with hard-to-please palettes!
For those who wanted more traditional holiday fixings, there were also plenty of mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes and roasted turkey to choose from. And, to the delight of students, a plethora of yummy desserts, including homemade pumpkin cookies, were served as well.
However, it wasn’t the desserts that made kindergarten student Lindsey Tuckey’s mouth water. The five-year-old said what she is really thankful for is “the healthy stuff.” When asked to elaborate she noted she is especially grateful for having so much food to eat, particularly “broccoli and celery.”
Sitting next to her at a table set with colorful paper plates with turkeys on them was her father, Jeff Tuckey. He said he enjoyed being a part of the in-class celebration, sitting down with the youngsters as they enjoyed their mock Thanksgiving meal.
But it wasn’t all about the food. In addition to enjoying the sumptuous feast, Chi also had her class of 22 students take time out to discuss what they are thankful for. Previously, as part of their language arts curriculum, the kindergartners had created a journal about non-material things they are grateful for. Answers ranged from having clothes to wear and food to eat, to spending time with their family and pets.
From enjoying class holiday-themed celebrations to participating in community service projects and toy and canned food drives, kindergartners used the holiday season to its fullest – by uniting as a class, as well as helping to make the world a better place.
Once again, Halloween at Harker was a highlight of the year at the lower school! There were plenty of superheroes, ghosts, goblins, witches, fairy princesses and more at the 14th annual Halloween parade.
Several hundred parents attended the Oct. 31 event, sponsored by Harker’s BEST staff which put on a Zombie dance number to open the parade. There were bleachers for sitters and plenty of standing room along the route, which began promptly at 2:30 p.m. Students could choose to either wear their costumes to school or bring it with them to put on before the parade, but most wore their costumes all day.
“Halloween is a fun and exciting time for all of us,” enthused Kim Cali, director of the lower school’s BEST program.