Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs, recently acted as a guest reader during the weekly Teacher Reads period for kindergarten classes. Lawson, dramatizing the voices, and the children, listening to thrilling Halloween stories, all enjoyed the interlude. Lawson’s visit also tied in with the kindergartners’ study of communities, including the school community, as he is based at the upper school campus and does not often get into lower school classrooms.
This year’s Gr. 4 and Gr. 5 Gallon Creation contest resulted in more creative entries from young science enthusiasts. The contest, which began last year, challenges students to create “gallon guys” and “gallon gals” (in addition to some “gallon animals,” including a dog, sea turtle, bird and lion) using divisions of a gallon (such as four quarts, eight pints and so on) to create the body and limbs. Winners were separated into two categories, one for creativity and one for functionality, or how well the creation showed the relationship between the measurements.
Winners for creativity were Emma Brezoczky, Kate Chow and Amy Dunphy, all Gr. 4. Functionality category winners were fifth graders Lavinia Ding and Alexis Gauba and Stephanie Swanson, Gr. 4.
On Oct. 2 lower school students and faculty attended a special assembly on bullying. Soren Bennick Productions presented their internationally-recognized presentation in two separate assemblies, one for K-Gr. 3 and the other for Gr. 4-5. In each assembly, the two presenters took on the role of actors who demonstrated different types of bullying. They then discussed how to deal with each situation. For K-Gr. 3, physical and exclusionary bullying were discussed; for the older grades, cyber-bullying was also addressed. For both groups, a final component was that of the role of the bystander, who can perform one of three roles – cheering on the bully, watching or ignoring the situation. Student volunteers took part in this section, which made the assembly not only interactive but enjoyable for the students. In concluding the assembly, a final student volunteer took the stage, donned a superhero mask, cape and gloves, and, looking in a “power of one” box, which contained a mirror, the student revealed that the power to stop bullying lies within each student, who can report bullying so it will be stopped.
All faculty and students then took the Power of One Anti-Bullying Oath, pledging to use their power to prevent bullying at Harker. Each student and teacher on campus will be signing a poster containing the oath over the next week, and the posters will be displayed on campus. Although Harker has always focused on being a safe place for students, this assembly reminded all students of the importance of keeping the campus that way, further emphasizing that bullying is not just limited to physical actions.
Lower and middle school sports teams were busy in September; football, cross country, softball and swimming have kept our after-school athletes literally on the run! Take a look at the slide show at the bottom of this post to see for yourself.
Football
The Gr. 8 varsity A flag football team completed a very successful month by placing third in the annual eight-team Harker Flag Football tournament. Quarterback Brian Bither and running back Kevin Moss provided many of the offensive fireworks as the Eagles swept three games in pool play to earn a spot in the semifinals. The duo combined for four of the team’s six touchdowns in those three games, while touchdowns by wide receiver John Hughes and running back Arjun Goyal completed the scoring. The wins earned the Eagles a semifinal showdown with St. Joseph’s. Ian Richardson and Adarsh Battu led a strong defensive effort as the two teams battled to a 6-6 tie before St. Joe’s advanced to the finals after winning the California tiebreaker. Harker then earned third place with a 14-0 win over Menlo’s varsity B team. The 4-0-1 tournament record left the Eagles at 8-1-1 overall for the year, 3-1 and in second place in West Bay Athletic League play.
Harker opened the season and league play with wins over Pinewood and Crystal Springs Upland before dropping a tough 28-19 decision to Menlo. The Eagles rebounded from that loss to defeat King’s Academy 15-13, rallying from a 13-6 halftime deficit on a touchdown by Battu and a late safety by Richardson. The following day Harker rolled over Valley Christian 25-7. In addition to those mentioned above, coach Mike Delfino commends the strong play of Sean Youn, Sean Knudsen, and Andrew Zhu. The team has two remaining home games, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13.
The Gr. 7 varsity B football team has a record of 5-1 in season play, along with a tie for fifth place at the Harker tournament. The record does not reveal that the team had given up only four touchdowns and one extra point in the first few games. Coach Justin Sullivan credits the entire team with tenacious defense, and reports that the offense is starting to move the ball more each game as the season progresses. The team beat Valley Christian 19-0 on Sept. 24, and hopes to beat them again on Wed., Oct. 7 at Valley. Come out and cheer on the boys!
The Gr. 6 J.V. A football team has a 4-2 record, with impressive wins against Crystal Springs Uplands (41-0) and Priory (20-13). The team has two home games left on Oct. 6 and 14.
Fifth graders on the J.V. B team have played their way to a 2-1 record, with wins against Woodland (39–19) and St. Matthews (15-13). Remaining home games will be against St. Joseph’s on Oct. 6, and Keys on both Oct. 13 and 15.
Coaches Jim McGovern and Tomas Thompson report that the Gr. 4 boys are off to a solid start with flag football. The players are learning positions, pass patterns, the intricacies of hand-offs, listening for the snap count and pulling flags. Teamwork and fair play have been emphasized for the beginning of the season and the boys are extremely enthusiastic out on the field each day. Standout performances so far have included Michael Kwan and Brando Pakel both showing exemplary leadership early on in the season. Positive attitude and overall great effort have been shown by Albert Drewke, Rohit Shah and Maxwell Woerhrmann.
Cross Country At the Sept. 24 meet at JD Morgan Park, the MS cross country runners continued to perform well. Calvin Kocienda, Gr. 6, took ninth for the boys and Alexandra Dellar, Gr. 6, placed third. Alyssa Amick came in third for the Gr. 7 girls, and Claudia Tischler and Nicholas Navarro, both Gr. 8, took fourth and sixth, respectively. At the meet against C.T. English on Sept. 30, Dellar and Kocienda earned fourth and tenth; Amick again came in third, with Corey Gonzales, Gr. 7, taking sixth. Tischler and Navarro both took fourth.
Softball The MS varsity A softball team started off strong with a 13-4 victory over Priory. According to coach Raul Rios, “We had strong pitching from Regan Heslop, Gr. 6, who had eight strike outs and was relieved by Marita Del Alto, Gr. 6, who shut down the Priory offense.” The team played great defense, allowing only four hits. Laura Thacker, Gr. 8, “was like a wall behind the plate for us this game.” Hits from Safia Khouja, Gr. 7, Sarah Bean, Gr. 7, Heslop, Thacker and a long ball smash double by Nithya Vemireddy, Gr. 8, contributed to the high score of this win. They are now 2-2, with losses to King’s Academy and Valley Christian and an additional win against Castilleja 7-6.
The LS J.V. B softball team, coached by Casey Henderson and Michelle Hopkins, is undefeated with three wins, beating Woodland 17-3, St. Josephs 10-9, and Pinewood 9-8. Henderson reports, “The girls are still learning but we are hoping to continue the advancement of their technique and enthusiasm. Special thanks to all of the wonderful and supportive parents!”
Swimming
The LS and MS swim teams have had another great turn out this year with over 60 MS swimmers and 65 LS swimmers participating. The Gr. 6-8 girls had their first meet on Sept. 25 at Castilleja, and all the swimmers are gearing up for their meet Oct. 7 at the Bucknall campus. Come out and cheer on the team at the only home meet of the season!
The homerooms of Gr. 1 teachers Mary Holaday and Rita Stone combined for their third annual Friendship Gathering. With stellar support from the many parents attending, students made decorative flowering pencils Holaday will take to students in Japan, during her upcoming exchange trip to our sister school in Tamagawa. Many Harker first graders remember their video “meetings” with Tamagawa students during kindergarten, so the idea that these gifts would end up with the children seen from a distance made the project extra special.
Besides helping little hands, parents had the opportunity to connect with other adults and plans were made for other gatherings and celebrations. No gathering would be complete without a tasty treat, so the students enjoyed cookies and juice. They also heard two funny stories turned into meaningful lessons about friendship. Both Holaday and Stone hope to keep this tradition going as a great start to the year, combining students, crafts and parents.
Soren Bennick Productions will stage their internationally-recognized presentation on bullying, called “The Power of One,” on Oct. 2. The highly- recommended group will present at two assemblies, K-Gr. 3 and Gr. 4-5. Using role-playing, the group demonstrates bullying techniques and what students can do to combat them. The group also provides teacher aid posters and Power of One Pledge posters for children to sign. “I hope to create an atmosphere that will stay with the children throughout the rest of the year,” said Joe Connolly, dean of students K-Gr. 5.
Plenty of people write to the President, his wife and children, but one Harker Gr. 1 class is writing to Bo, the first dog. Students in Rita Stone’s Gr. 1 homeroom combined current events, social studies, creative writing and character development into letters to the newest resident of the White House.
“Before we wrote, I made sure the students knew who our president is, where he and his family live,” said Stone. “Then, talking about such a famous four-footed member of the first family really captured their interest,” she added. “I used the interest to work in a lesson on correctly writing a letter, and, wow, did the class get into it!”
In their letters, many of the students wanted to know Bo’s favorite food or toy. Julia wanted to know what kind of tricks he could do, Sofia wrote that Bo is cool and Nilisha asked him how he likes living in the White House. They were all impressed that he got to ride aboard Air Force One! The students also thought it was great that the President himself takes a turn at walking, and cleaning up after, Bo.
“Pictures decorated the cards,” said Stone. “We are going to mail them to the White House. I don’t know if there will be an answer on Bo’s behalf, but we had fun with the project, anyway.”
The Gr. 3 park day on Sept. 12 was organized by parents and grade level coordinators Lalitha Kumar (Aneesha, Gr. 3 and Arjun, Gr. 8 ) and Jeanette Hajjar (Grace, Gr. 2and Matthew, Gr. 3). The afternoon at John D. Morgan Park in Campbell was filled with smiling kids playing on the playground and field. It was a relaxing afternoon after a busy first few weeks of school.
Harker’s annual Family and Alumni Picnic, which takes place Sun., Oct. 11, is right around the corner, but the fun started a month in advance. The Picnic Kick-off event at the lower school on Sept. 10 offered a preview of what was to come at the October extravaganza, which has been a Harker tradition for nearly 60 years.
Students gathered around a make-believe campfire and enjoyed marshmallows at the assembly, in keeping with the theme for this year’s event, “Picnic in the Pines.” The picnic promises to be a fun-filled adventure into the great outdoors, as Harker’s middle school campus will be transformed into a vast wilderness, complete with game booths, themed activities and a variety of entertainment staged by students, faculty and staff.
Raffle tickets for the picnic’s grand drawing are currently being sold by lower and middle school students to their families and friends. Students receive a wide variety of prizes for selling tickets, including free dress passes and tickets to Great America. On the day of the picnic, the grand drawing will be held to see who wins the $10,000 prize. Other prizes include a hand-held GPS system, a 21-speed mountain bike and a trip to Las Vegas.
Tickets are sold for $8 when purchased in advance and $12 the day of the picnic. They can be purchased in advance at one of the Back-to-School events or ordered online. See the picnic overview page for more information on how to buy tickets.
On Sept. 11 Gr. 1 students received a visit by a few officers from the San Jose Police Department’s K-9 unit. The officers explained how the dogs are trained for their role in law enforcement and explained how they can pick up a person’s scent and alert officers to their presence. For example, if the dogs discover someone in a tree, they will circle the trunk and bark to let police officers know the location of their target.
The kids also got to pet the well-behaved, friendly German shepherds, which are trained in Germany for 18 months and then shipped to the U.S. Because of this, the dogs receive their instructions in German and Czech, rather than English.