It’s not every day a Harker graduate gets to experience life on the other side of the classroom, but Vyvy Trinh ’07 was on the other side of the desk when she came out to Harker for a visit last spring.
Trinh, who starts medical school at Brown University this fall, had been teaching grade 5-6 after-school programs in San Francisco when she connected with Kate Shanahan, lower school English department chair.
“We had been in touch,” recalled Shanahan, “and I told her that if she wanted to, I’d love for her to come in and spend the day teaching in my room. She took me up on it and we essentially team-taught a lesson on the Hobbit book, something I had read with her many years ago.”
According to Shanahan, the students loved having Trinh in the classroom. And, she added, “it was great to come full circle with Vyvy!”
Reading historical text about the California Gold Rush is one thing … experiencing what it might have been like first-hand quite another.
During several action packed spring days in Coloma, Harker’s grade 4 class had the unique opportunity to live the legendary life of a gold digger. This past spring, the students ventured to Coloma, located near Sacramento and most noted for being the site where gold was first discovered back in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. Today, Coloma is a designated national historic landmark district and tourist attraction best known for its ghost town and Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.
According to Kristin Giammona, elementary school head, initial rain showers on day one didn’t deter the excited Harker students from hiking five miles on the area’s Monroe Ridge, armed with ponchos, rain jackets, “smiles, songs and lots of learning.”
After the rain cleared, students had a blast making cornbread, building a shelter and panning for gold. They even had a hoedown under a huge tent, warmed by a campfire alongside the breathtaking American River.
Following the evening’s fun skits, performed by both teachers and children, was a surprise visit from a special guest, a Native American who informed them that the name Coloma comes from the original natives name for the surrounding valley: Cullumah, meaning “beautiful.” In fact, Coloma is located on the south fork of the American River that runs through the valley and was built on an original Native American village.
These days, the small town has only several hundred inhabitants, mainly consisting of hopeful modern-day miners who pan the American River, and others who run the museums and tours in the area. In fact, Coloma’s economy is largely based on money generated from its museums and students like Harker’s fourth graders, who take field trips with their schools to learn about the California Gold Rush.
Grandparents’ Day, held annually in May, is always a highlight of the school year. During the event, students on the lower school campus welcome grandparents, special adult friends or “adoptive” grandparents-for-the-day for a memorable afternoon in their honor.
This year, grandparents enjoyed a performance by Harker students of varying grade levels, refreshments, a visit to the art show and their grandchildren’s classrooms. Another special highlight was the school’s coinciding annual book fair in the Bucknall library, where some guests chose to dedicate a book especially for their grandchild. Attendees had their pictures taken as a memento of their visit to their grandchildren’s home away from home.
On May 8 the lower school instrumental and choral programs held their 2012 Bucknall Spring Concert, directed by Louis Hoffman and Jennifer Cowgill. The performance featured dozens of young students and showcased Bucknall’s instrumental program, open to all students K-5.
The instrumental program includes a comprehensive course of study in orchestra, string, wind and jazz ensembles and beginning group lessons, as well as the opportunity to study privately with specialty teachers. The program focuses on musicianship, ensemble playing, articulation, dynamics, intonation and understanding of different styles through exposure to various repertoires.
All these skills were on radiant display during the spring concert, from both singers and instrumentalists, giving the crowd a great night of entertainment.
Harker showed its appreciation for the many parent volunteers who offer their time at school events and other functions by treating them to a special lunch at the lower school campus on May 16. Jennifer Cowgill led the Bucknall Choir in a much-applauded performance before the parents enjoyed food and conversation in the warm spring weather.
In mid April, grade 3 students left campus early for an all-day trip to Mission San Juan Bautista. The students gathered with faculty and chaperones to tour the mission grounds and get a hands-on feel for daily life back when the Spanish missions were at the height of their power in California. This included a look at a bedroom, kitchen and sitting room that reflect different periods in the mission’s life.
San Juan Bautista, the largest of the missions founded by Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, also has a museum and extensive gardens. The mission was founded in the summer of 1797, and today remains not only a functioning parish, but also a fun and educational way to teach students about early California history.
Harker’s newest families had an opportunity to get their questions answered at the kindergarten Answer Quest, the school’s annual orientation for parents of incoming students.
The informal event, held during the evening of April 17, began with check-in and light refreshments, giving parents the opportunity to get to know one another. Then, as the quest for answers to parental questions officially began, participants were asked to travel from table to table in the gym at the Bucknall campus to chat with Harker staff. Following that came an administrative presentation and additional chance for questions and answers.
Sponsored by the Harker admission team for all grade levels, Answer Quest is an especially important first step for parents of kindergartners who are new to the Harker community and may not have other children already attending the school.
Knowing that answers to all the questions in the Answer Quest booklet handed out during the program would be made available in a special section of the parent portal on Harker’s website the day after the event, parents were relieved of any note-taking burden and instead were able to simply relax and enjoy the evening.
With the goal of working as a team in mutual commitment to each student’s success, Answer Quest enables newcomers to learn about Harker’s educational philosophy, gain an overview about curriculum and procedures and get a sense of the school’s dynamic, rich and exciting environment.
Things were really hopping at this year’s Kiddie Carnival, Harker’s end-of-the-year celebration for K-3. Called “Harker Sock Hop,” the 1950s-themed event was held the morning of June 6.
Students and faculty came dressed for the 32nd annual Kiddie Carnival in creative ’50s attire. A good time was had by all during the festive morning filled with fun booths, games, activities and prizes. A noon dismissal ended the day, with fond farewell wishes to children from teachers for a wonderful summer!
This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Students Enjoy Spring Pool Party An excited group of 13 middle school students enjoyed a pool party in mid-April at the Bucknall campus pool. The party was an auction prize won at the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic in October and also celebrated the birthday of Shannon O’Shea, grade 8; thus the students also enjoyed cake and other refreshments in addition to swimming under the warm spring sun. Teachers Keith Hirota, Julie Pinzás, Rebecca Williams and Patricia Lai Burrows donated the package and put together this fun day for the kids.
Lower School Family Picnic Raffle Winners Enjoy Fun Field Trip Fifty happy K-2 students took a field trip in mid-March to Pump it Up, a warehouse filled with jump houses, obstacle courses and slides. The event was the reward for the students who sold at least 100 raffle tickets for the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic. Kim Coulter, director of the Bucknall Enrichment and Supervision Team (BEST), said, “The children had a great afternoon playing. They enjoyed going through the obstacle courses and racing some of their favorite BEST staff.” Top ticket sellers this year were grade 2 students Emma Gurleroglu with 2,780, Callie Mayer with 1,640 and Aaditya Gulati with 1,520.
Students Enjoy Picnic Outing in San Francisco On Dec. 10, four lucky Harker students enjoyed a whirlwind day in San Francisco with two of their favorite teachers. The grade 5 students, Arushee Bhoja, Devanshi Mehta, Nikhil Dharmaraj and Ayush Pancholy, won the trip at the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic auction on Oct. 9, where fun and silly teacher packages are auctioned off every year.
Accompanied by teachers Pat Walsh and Kate Shanahan, the excited students rode a cable car, visited AT&T park, North Beach and Chinatown, where the fortune cookie factory was deemed “awesome.” Said Shanahan, “The kids got a special kick out of where we stopped for dessert on the way home – a famous drive-through convenience store in South San Francisco!”
Walsh was a busy chaperone – he also accompanied about 30 kids to an Oakland A’s baseball game in late April.
This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Now in its second year, the Harker Eagle Buddies program continues to be a success, fostering friendships between upper and lower school students that Eagle Buddies coordinators hope will last beyond the Class of 2013’s graduation. Last year’s Eagle Buddies, now in grades 4 and 11, bonded during a number of fun activities during the fall and spring semesters.
“The kids had a really good time with it,” said upper school history teacher and Eagle Buddies coordinator Carol Zink. “Both the big kids and the little kids look forward to these things.”
Simar Mangat, grade 11, said his experience with Eagle Buddies so far has been “fantastic. Our lower school friends are always energetic and excited to play. Visiting allows us to reminisce about the good old days in lower school and escape the often stressful life.”
In November, grade 4 kids met up with their friends in the Class of 2013 at the lower school to put together boxes of utensils and candy that were donated to children in need at Scott Lane Elementary.
When the juniors visited again in mid-March, they dropped in on an assembly and played a game with their buddies in which groups of eight had to pose as various shapes or structures, such as a circle or a bridge. Afterward, they chatted over lunch.
In April the grade 4 buddies headed to the upper school to participate in a day of fun with a group of professional clowns hired by Jeff Draper, upper school performing arts teacher. In addition to watching the clowns perform entertaining and hilarious antics such as walking on stilts, spinning plates and balancing precariously on stacks of chairs, the students donned clown makeup, and learned scarf juggling and how to balance feathers on their fingertips and noses.
“It was fun because even though we were on the upper school campus, we all became 10-year-olds for a couple of hours,” said Tiphaine Delepine, grade 11. “It was fun to go to my college counseling meeting with a butterfly painted on my face and to see classmates walking all over campus with other crazy face-paint designs.”
The success of last year’s inaugural Eagle Buddies activities meant that students new to the program enjoyed the same fun. There was an initial meet-up and field day at the lower school in October, a special visit by grade 10 buddies to the Pajama Day assembly at the lower school, with students from both grades wearing pajamas for the occasion and a special visit to the upper school by the grade 3 buddies, who participated in the spring spirit rally’s scream-off, where they were recorded screaming at 101.3 decibels.
Sofia Fernandez, grade 3 student and the daughter of upper school math teacher Jeanette Fernandez, said the rally was her favorite Eagle Buddies event this year. “I enjoyed yelling and cheering for the 10th graders and running on the field chasing the advisors – my mom – during the skit.”
Bryan Zhang, also grade 3, agreed, “because you have the chance to watch the performance with your buddies and play with them at the upper school campus.”
For next year, the Eagle Buddies coordinators plan an added element, offering coaching to any grade 10 students who may not have a lot of experience with young children, hopefully thus increasing their enjoyment of the program even more. “So many of our students are the only child in their families or are the younger child themselves and don’t have a lot of experience with 8-yearolds,” Zink said. A special graduation ceremony for next year’s seniors and fifth graders (who will respectively be spending their final years at the upper and lower schools) is also planned.
“Eagle Buddies is a way to make Harker smaller and closer as a group while simultaneously giving the young students people to look up to,” said Delepine. “I wish there had been a program like Eagle Buddies when I was at the lower school!”