Lower school instrumentalists and singers were the stars during the Winter Concert on Dec. 6, which featured five ensembles performing lesser-known classics and familiar favorites. Joe Connolly, dean of students K-5, acted as master of ceremonies, while Danny Dunn’s lower and middle school technical theater students made sure the show went off without a hitch.
Louis Hoffman led the Lower School Orchestra in performing Jacques Offensbach’s “Can Can” and “Rosamunde Overture” by Franz Schubert. Hoffman also directed the Lower School Jazz Ensemble, who performed “St. James Infirmary” by Joe Primrose and “Doin’ My Thing” by Jimmy McGriff.
The evening also featured Harker’s two preparatory ensembles. Rick Leder conducted the preparatory wind ensemble’s performances of the American traditional “Go Tell Aunt Rodie,” the theme from “New World Symphony” by Antonin Dvorak and “Boogie Blues” by Bruce Pearson and Ryan Nowlin. Conducted by Toni Woodruff, the preparatory string ensemble played “I Have a Song to Sing, Oh” by Arthur Sullivan and brought some holiday cheer to the show with the traditional “Christmas Fiddlers in the Hall.”
The Bucknall Choir, directed by Jennifer Cowgill, sang a traditional Hanukkah song titled “Hanerot Halalu,” the hymn “Panis Angelicus” by Cesar Franck and, in the spirit of the holiday season, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
For the last song of the evening, Hoffman brought together his orchestra and jazz band for the fun-filled finale, a performance of the theme from the immensely popular mobile game “Angry Birds,” with the students and conductor wearing hats shaped like characters from the game.
Grades 2 and 3 came together on Dec. 15 to perform at their annual holiday show, this year titled “December in Our Town,” directed by lower school music teacher Kellie Binney and held at the Bucknall Theater. Both classes kicked off the show with a performance of the show’s title tune, composed by Roger Emerson. Grade 2 then took center stage and performed a series of holiday songs, both modern and classic, such as “Deck the Halls,” “O Christmas Tree” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” which featured choreography by Stephanie Bayer. The students of grade 3 then performed their own set, singing “Jingle Bells,” “Let it Snow,” “Kwanzaa Celebration” and others. The two classes reunited on stage for the final two songs, “A Visit From Saint Nick” and “Somewhere in My Memory.”
Technical theater teacher Danny Dunn and her grade 5 technical theater class kept the show running smoothly, while veteran accompanists Paul Woodruff on piano and Toni Woodruff on violin provided splendid musical support to the student singers.
The “parent reads” program at The Harker School gives parents of kindergartners an opportunity to come to the homeroom class and read a story to the students. In late November, Gerry-louise Robinson, a kindergarten teacher, and her students got more than just a Leo Lionni story – they got an entire performance, complete with puppets. “The parent (Wayne Liu, father of Nathan Liu, K) brought in two Sesame Street puppets, which he used first to introduce himself and the story, and then to comment/ask questions about the book. It was fantastic and the children just could not get enough! They laughed and talked with the puppets,” said Robinson. The puppets were a surprise to her as well, and a novelty so far in the “parent reads” program. The creative approach had a strong, positive reaction on the students. “It was just magical and so appropriate for this level! Truly wonderful,” Robinson said.
In early December, The Harker School’s lower school music students gathered for their annual concert. The concert featured six groups total, including the choir (directed by Jennifer Cowgill, a grade 4-5 performing arts teacher), the orchestra and the jazz ensemble. Technically, practice for the concert began on the first day of class. As Louis Hoffman, a K-5 music teacher, said, preparing for the concert is a “whole learning process.” Class and practice are one and the same, and the concert allows students to showcase the broad range of style they’ve learned by singing and playing in various pieces.
Closer to the concert date, Hoffman brought a selection of songs to his students and let them pick what they’d play. The wide range of songs performed was capped off by a unique, energetic song choice. As the finale for the event, the students chose the theme song to the popular game Angry Birds. The students wore Angry Birds hats, and Hoffman conducted the piece with a slingshot (an item any Angry Birds fan will recognize as the tool the birds use to launch themselves at their enemies). Conducting the piece and hearing it performed tied for first for Hoffman’s favorite moment in the concert. His other was hearing the choir sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” complete with sound effects for each day’s calling birds or pipers piping or swans a-swimming. “It was very funny,” Hoffman said.
At the end of each year, the three campuses have a joint performance. So as Hoffman said, “It’s nice to highlight the accomplishments of our youngest students. It’s different at this level than it is at a high school level. Rather than instilling a sense of competition, we focus on learning to play together, learning to hear yourself, and learning to follow a conductor. We give them the opportunity to explore and to be successful.”
The concert provided the students with the chance to let everyone participate equally. Even in the jazz ensemble, where each student had a short solo piece, no one solo was focused on over the other. This way, Hoffman said, “The real star of the show is the music itself.”
That does not mean there isn’t room for special recognition for those who help make the concerts happen, though! Hoffman noted Toni and Paul Woodruff, both from the performing arts department, for playing violin and piano, respectively, and “for all their support and willingness to participate. They’re really remarkable people.”
In mid-December, the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) at Stanford University sent over an art curation and interior design team to select art to display in different parts of the hospital.
The Harker School’s lower school art department has had students involved in displaying art at the hospital for several years, ever since Eric Hoffman, lower school art department chair K-5, asked his students for suggestions on where their art could be displayed back in 2008. Hoffman contacted LPCH on a student’s suggestion, and after months of planning with Susan Gray, administrative project manager at the hospital, and display specialist Ted Cohen, student works premiered in spring 2009.
The art is switched out occasionally, and the team from LPCH came to Harker to select the newest pieces. “We had displayed everything in the conference room at the lower school campus, and when they came in, they were truly surprised, and very, very happy,” said Hoffman of the team’s visit. “This particular ceramics project is one we’ve been developing for about a year.”
The grade 4 art students made ceramic desserts as part of this year’s art curriculum, and the LPCH team thought they looked good enough to eat. The students did, too. According to Hoffman, his morning classes had been working on decorating their ceramic pieces, and there was a whole table full of them when the afternoon class came in.
“They thought it was the best thing they’d ever seen,” Hoffman said. They even asked who had done the pieces, and Hoffman told them that they had – this was the work of their classmates, and their pieces were looking just as great. Part of the LPCH’s team’s visit also involved a discussion of LPCH’s expansion – the hospital is going to have more wall space, and the team is rethinking where and how to display artwork.
The ceramics dessert project the grade 4 students did inspired some spur-of-the-moment brainstorming. “Normally we display our 3-D work there for a year or so, and when they saw this dessert project, they started playing with the idea of taking it and putting it on permanent display in the cafeteria,” Hoffman said, something the team had not intended on when they first arrived at the school.
For the new wall space in LPCH’s clinic, the team also selected about 45 pieces of flatwork. Looking toward the future, Hoffman believes they will “absolutely be involved” with the project five years from now and beyond. “Giving to our community is so important,” he said. “I don’t know a better way to do that than to make people laugh and smile. Especially in a hospital situation.”
Harker will once again hold a series of Cookies and Kindergarten events in January, where prospective parents will have the opportunity to tour the lower school campus, meet with admissions staff and view a kindergarten class session while enjoying warm cookies. The dates for these events are as follows (all tours start at 9 a.m.): Jan. 6, Jan. 10, Jan. 19 and Jan. 24. An RSVP is required for those planning to attend.
In November, the entire grade 1 class headed to the Cantor Arts Center at the Stanford University campus to view and learn about great works of art from all over the world. “The children saw sculptures, paintings, drawings, pottery and statues,” said Cindy Proctor, a grade 1 teacher who accompanied the students on the trip. “Under the care of our docents, the children learned that art tells a story.” With this in mind, students shared the stories they believed were being told by the various pieces at the museum.
The museum also contained lots of interesting history on the Stanford family. “Learning about Leland’s dog, Tootsie, was a highlight,” Proctor said. Students also strolled through the Rodin Sculpture Garden, famous for its amazing collection of bronze sculptures and statues. One of their favorite pieces was “David,” a life-like statue of a man leaning against a wall.
After the trip, students chimed in with what they enjoyed seeing at the museum. “I liked seeing Leland Stanford’s collection because he had lots of things from nature,” said student Andrew Reed.
Another student, Sabrina Zhu, said, “My favorite was the metal horse that looked like it was made from wood. How did they make the wood look like metal?”
Grade 5 students enjoyed a three-day journey through the Marin Headlands in early November. Students toured the wildlife-rich area and bonded over dinner while surrounded by the wonderful scenery. A highlight of the trip was a nighttime hike helped along by a particularly bright moon. Students also enjoyed tacos, performing skits and singing around the campfire.
On a morning in early November, lower school parents gathered in the Bucknall gym to meet, chat and drink coffee. Tere Aceves, director of K-8 volunteer programs and event fundraising, said the lower school is aiming for these kinds of meet and greets twice a year as “an opportunity to connect with parents and build community.” Approximately 70 parents attended, giving everyone a chance to get to know someone new. “We love to see the parents and have time to connect [with them],” said Aceves. “It’s always an opportunity to build great, long-lasting relationships.”
In early November, The Harker School’s grade 4 students boarded a bus to the Sunnyvale Theater, where they saw “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The students usually attend a play this time of year, and as Nancy Tomlitz, a grade 4 English teacher, says, “Legends are a part of short stories in literature that we study during trimester one, so [the play] fits in perfectly with our curriculum.” One parent chaperon per homeroom accompanied the students and teachers, and the students returned from their performing arts experience just in time for lunch. “Overall, it was a great experience,” said Tomlitz. “This production was quite interesting, chock-full of humor and masterfully musical!”