Running a half marathon is daunting at any age, but that did not stop Rahul Balakrishnan, Gr. 7, who ran a half marathon in Lodi this May. Balakrishnan was the youngest person running the in the third annual Kaiser Permanente Avenue of the Vines Half Marathon & 5K. He finished the race at 2:11:05, placing 184 out of the 495 runners who participated, and finished fifth in his age group. Soon after, Balakrishnan began training for the San Francisco Marathon in July and broke his own record, running it in 1:58:25. His time placed him 32 out of 81 in his age group and 1,574 out of the 8,043 participants who ran the race.
In October, Rita Stone’s Gr. 1 social studies class celebrated Diwali, an important holiday in Hindu, Sikh and Jainist cultures. In the countries where it is celebrated, such as India, Diwali is a five-day celebration that culminates in a “festival of lights,” during which people light candles and special clay lanterns called diyas.
The students in Stone’s class celebrated the holiday by enjoying Indian desserts and decorating electric diyas that were brought in by parent volunteers. Stone organized the celebration and engaged the parents to help out because she felt it was important to “become involved in other cultures.” Staging a holiday celebration, she said, was a good way to make sure the students learn from the experience because they will remember the craft activities and ethnic foods. “It really has a lot of meaning for them,” she said.
The Bucknall campus welcomed potential new families to their Open House on Nov. 15, where families got a well-rounded look into the lives of Harker students, and explored the options available to their children while meeting and chatting with Harker faculty and staff. Student speakers at the event were Edward Tischler, Irene Bashar, Joyce Huang, Aditya Dhar, Amrita Singh, Michael Auld, Venkat Sankar and Nikhil Manglik, all Gr. 5.As always, student guides were at the ready, helping the visitors find their way so that the event ran smoothly.
Parents interested in learning more about Harker’s kindergarten offerings can attend one of four Cookies and Kindergarten tours scheduled for Jan. 8, 12, 21 and 26. A tour of the lower school campus will be conducted on each date, and parents will also have a chance to get a look at an ongoing class and chat with the admission office. Reservations are required for Cookies and Kindergarten tours. Please call 408-871-4662 or e-mail admissionK5@harker.org to make a reservation.
In late November, the kindergarten students (and quite a few adults) were busy on the Bucknall campus picking pomegranates from the grounds and bushes in front of the building and the swimming pool to prevent the fallen fruit from becoming an eyesore and hazard. This campus beautification is part of their service project; they also participate in tree-planting each year. Each grade at Bucknall is assigned a service project, with the Gr. 5 food drive having ended just prior to Thanksgiving; the Gr. 4 toy drive started November 30 and runs through December 17. In January, the third graders will be responsible for collecting pajamas and books for needy children.
Other service projects include Gr. 2 students decorating and delivering pumpkins to the neighbors in October, and in March, Gr. 1 students collecting food and toys for animals for the SPCA. Many of these projects have been long-running; some, like the tree-planting, beginning with the move to the Bucknall site in 1998. The pomegranate picking project is new this year.
The Gr. 5 food drive successfully culminated in the delivery of nearly 300 bags of food and $3,450 to St. Justin’s Community Ministry on the morning of Nov. 20. Goods were delivered personally by students and parents, with additional assistance from Pat Walsh, Gr. 5 math teacher. The group then received a tour of the facility and learned how their donations will be used to help families in need during the holiday season.
The lower school’s annual Gr. 5 food drive begins on Mon., Nov. 9, and ends on Fri., Nov. 20. All the food and donations collected from this year’s drive will be delivered to St. Justin’s Church in Santa Clara, where they will be used to make meals and food bags for those in need.
“As we start to prepare for the holidays, I like to see my students take a moment to reflect on the good fortune they have been blessed with while also taking the time and effort to make a concerted effort to improve the lives of others who are less fortunate,” said Gr. 5 math teacher Pat Walsh, in an announcement to parents.
Food donations can be dropped off at the Bucknall campus gym lobby. Cash and check donations are also welcome, and should be delivered to the front office or to Walsh. Please make checks payable to St. Justin’s Community Ministry.
On Oct. 27, Harker second graders visited the neighborhood around the Bucknall campus, gifting the nearby residents with pumpkins they had painted the previous week. The pumpkins were dropped off as a sign of goodwill to the school’s neighbors.
Storyteller Jim Cogan made his yearly visit to the lower school on Oct. 22 to share more tall tales with his unique, animated style of narration. Cogan spoke to two separate assemblies, sharing different stories with each. The theme of each assembly dealt with bullying, a topic that was also discussed at the Power of One assembly earlier in the year.
At an assembly of K-Gr. 3 students, Cogan told a Native American story of a coyote and a frog who stood up to the bullying bear so that day and night would follow one another correctly. Cogan had help from some audience participants for the next story, which told of villagers in Burma who were mystified at the sight of a mirror, something they had never before seen. The final story was about a turtle in Jamaica who wanted to fly to New York with his friend the pigeon, but would not refrain from talking during the trip.
Later, at the Gr. 4-5 assembly, Cogan told a story from his childhood about a boy named Eugene that he used to bully at school. Instead of standing idly by, Jim’s friends intervened and helped him realize how wrong it was to treat Eugene so poorly. Jim and Eugene eventually became very good friends later in life.
Third graders spent a day at the History Park in Kelley Park in San Jose, learning social studies by seeing homes and articles from the past in a natural setting. The park features 27 original and reproduction homes, businesses and landmarks that highlight Santa Clara Valley’s past. Children saw everything from an old firehouse to running trolley cars at the 14-acre park and played Victorian-era games.