The middle school Quiz Bowl team took fifth place at nationals in Atlanta this past weekend. “They performed incredibly well and earned a fifth place finish overall out of 160 teams that qualified for and attended nationals,” said advisor Jonathan Brusco. “Keep in mind that there were hundreds of other teams around the nation that didn’t qualify to even attend, so this makes their finish even more impressive.
“They were one very close game away from making the semifinals. In addition to this finish, Kyle Li, grade 8, also ranked as the 25th highest individual score out of the 600-plus students in the competition.” Team members are Li; Jin Tuan, grade 8; Jeffrey Fung, grade 8; Aksay Manglik, grade 7; and Arun Sundaresan, grade 8. Sankar Sundaresan, Arun’s father, was instrumental in coaching the team at nationals.
Latin 1, all grade 7 unless noted. Every student enrolled in Latin 1b earned an award this year, which is a first! Magna cum laude: Haley Arena (grade 8), Elizabeth Szeto, Abbie Blenko, Roberto Salgado. Maxima cum laude/silver medal: John Lynch, Shalini Rohra, Blake Richmond, Saloni Shah, Sidra Xu, Betsy Tian, Angela Cai. Summa cum laude/gold medal: Sara Yen, Jason Lin, Linus Zheng, Sriya Prathuri (grade 8), Kimi Butte, Maria Vazhaeparambil, Akshay Manglik, Annamma Vazhaeparambil. Perfect paper/summa cum laude/gold medal: Arohee Bhoja.
Latin 2, all grade 8 unless noted. Magna cum laude: Darshan Chahal, Kashov Sharma, Rachel Abellera, Lauren Fu.
Maxima cum laude/silver medal: Henry Wiese, Angele Yang, Catherine Zhao, Vedanth Sundaram, Kyle Li, Mahika Halepete, Bryan Wang, Kalyan Narayanan, Jai Bahri, Jatin Kohli, Katelyn Chen. Summa cum laude/gold medal: Datha Arramreddy, Jasmine Wiese, Cynthia Chen, Allison Jia, Alyssa Huang, Andrew Cheplyansky, Ashley Duraiswamy, George Wehner (grade 7), Jack Hansen, Jin Tuan, Eileen Li, Montek Kalsi. Perfect paper/summa cum laude/gold medal: Avi Gulati, Jeffrey Fung.
National Mythology Exam
Bronze Medal (90-94%): Madelyn Jin, Arnav Jain, Alex Zhang, Aaron Tran, Anoushka Khatri, Aaron Lo, all grade 6; Shalini Rohra, Blake Richmond, Jason Lin, Arohee Bhoja, Saloni Shah, Elizabeth Szeto, all grade 7; Ashley Duraiswamy, Angele Yang, Allison Jia, Matthew Jin, Henry Wiese, Jedd Hui, Jack Hansen, Jai Bahri, Kalyan Narayanan, Alyssa Huang, Andrew Cheplyansky, Jin Tuan, Lauren Fu, Jasmine Wiese, Catherine Zhao, Vedanth Sundaram, all grade 8.
Silver Medal (95-99%): Nicole Tian, Angela Jia, Brandon Park, Jacqueline Hu, all grade 6; Sidra Xu, Akshay Manglik, Betsy Tian, Linus Zheng, all grade 7; Katelyn Chen, Kyle Li, both grade 8.
Gold Medal (100%): Angela Cai, Kimi Butte, Annamma Vazhaeparambil, all grade 7.
In addition, a number of Latin students signed up to take some optional contests:
Medusa Mythology Exam
This is a challenging themed exam, originally open only to high school students. The theme this year was “Hercules, the First Avenger.” Corona Olivae (Olive Wreath): Brandon Park (grade 6), Montek Kalsi (grade 8). Corona Laurea (Laurel Wreath): Saloni Shah, Annama Vazhaeparambil, Akshay Manglik, all grade 7; Jeffrey Fung, Kyle Li, Allison Jia, all grade 8. Bronze Medal: Arohee Bhoja, grade 7; Katelyn Chen, grade 8.
National Classical Etymology Exam
This exam tests knowledge of English words from Latin and Greek roots.
Bronze Medal: Sriya Prathuri, Bryan Wang, both grade 8; Silver Medal: Allison Jia, Montek Kalsi, Eileen Li, Kalyan Narayanan, all grade 8. Gold Medal: Arohee Bhoja, Annamma Vazhaeparambil, Linus Zheng, all grade 7; Jeffrey Fung, Avi Gulati, Jack Hansen, Kyle Li, Jin Tuan, Angele Yang, all grade 8.
National Roman Civilization Exam
This exam covers Roman history and culture. Bronze Medal: Arohee Bhoja, grade 7. Silver Medal: Annamma Vazhaeparambil, grade 7; Avi Gulati, Jack Hansen, Eileen Li, Kalyan Narayanan, all grade 8. Gold Medal: Cynthia Chen, Jeffrey Fung, Allison Jia, Kyle Li , all grade 8.
National Latin Vocabulary Exam
Students must master a posted list of vocabulary words for their level. Latin 1/2. Bronze Medal: Angela Jia, Thresiamma Vazhaeparambil, both grade 6
Latin 1: Bronze Medal: Sriya Prathuri, grade 8. Silver Medal: Jason Lin, grade 7. Gold Medal: Arohee Bhoja, Akshay Manglik, Annamma Vazhaeparambil, Sidra Xu, Linus Zheng, all grade 7.
Latin 2:
Bronze Medal: Allison Jia, grade 8. Silver Medal: Cynthia Chen, Avi Gulati, Kyle Li, Kalyan Narayanan, all grade 8. Gold Medal: Jeffrey Fung, Jack Hansen, Montek Kalsi, Eileen Li, Jin Tuan, all grade 8.
The inaugural grade 8 off-campus 1920s party was a rousing success! This year, the eighth grade class placed emphasis on concluding many units with a social event at which students debated issues, values, and even food and drink from each era while playing the roles of different historical individuals.
The students, however, stepped it up recently. Rather than playing the roles of 1920s celebrities and learning about scandals and social history from the period in class, they did so in an authentic 1920s atmosphere off campus. The students, all very well dressed in 1920s attire, convened at the Orchestria Palm Court in downtown San Jose. A special thanks to Denise Sorkin, French teacher, who attended in a magnificent flapperesque dress herself, said Cyrus Merrill, social sciences and history teacher who led the group.
History flowed throughout the night, from the pouring of Prohibition-era non-alcoholic drinks to searching all over the restaurant for various sheet music covers of songs they had learned in class – many of which were decorations on the wall of the restaurant. Students were even greeted by a historically dressed doorman (who reports say bore an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Merrill’s brother, wink, wink!) as they arrived.
A special thank you to the staff and owners of Orchestria Palm Court in downtown San Jose, which reserved the entire restaurant on a Sunday night to host all of these eighth grade socialites. One student noted the group literally closed the joint down, even though they had to hang with a “fire-extinguisher” (1920s slang for a chaperone).
The restaurant is a wonderful place to hear authentic 1920s music in a fun atmosphere where everything is frozen in time, and the food is quite well done, noted Merrill. “The owners were amazed by the kids’ enthusiasm and endless questions about how the various ‘high-tech’ player pianos and more than 20 other machines, including a player violin, worked,” he added.
The restaurant’s owners even came out with extra desserts for students who best captured the decade with their use of slang and dress, as well as their breadth of knowledge regarding film and music of the era. The owners, however, refused to help with how to make a phone call from an old phone booth on a very strange (rotary dial) phone.
The students were mesmerized by the instrument and desperately tried to figure out how to get a dial tone and operate the mysterious telephone. They were astounded that such a device could call a cell phone. Many of them called their parents (yes 14-year-olds willingly contacting their parents!) to share the news that they were calling form a “very odd phone.”
Student Sofie Kassaras noted that most students dressed as flappers or upper class types. “As they all sat down at tables with their friends, the staff there brought out drinks with crazy names such as Raspberry Ambrosia and Chocolate Phosphate,” Kassaras said.
“Then came the entrees,” she added, “which included Shrimp Puttanesca and Austrian Goulash, which was frankly delicious. Finally, the dessert came, which was a cream puff, or a Profiterole. We summed up the night with a fun little scavenger hunt, where we searched for various picture, labels and items scattered throughout the venue. The night overall was ruled as a success, and the students went home with satisfied hungers and a sense of the 1920s.”
In a nice science/social studies crossover, after briefly discussing an article from the era claiming “flappers made better mothers” with healthier babies, the students correctly deduced that the much improved infant mortality rates of babies born during and after the 1920s was probably due to outside impacts and advances in science rather than the counterintuitive and mysterious claim made in the article that smoking, drinking and general carousing must contribute somehow to healthier children.
“Everyone had a blast! This pilot project of taking our end of unit dance parties out of class and into the real world was a smashing success!” noted Merrill.
Nearly 50 middle school speech and debate students pitched in to help earn Harker the first place sweepstakes award at the Glendale Community College Tournament. The award is given to the top performing school at the tournament. In addition to the team award, Harker students had great success in each event as detailed below, making history as they won seven first place titles and numerous top five awards, said Karina Momary, director of middle school speech and debate.
“I wish you could have seen the parents when we landed. They had balloons, signs and flowers and were all waiting at baggage claim cheering,” she said. “The cooperation and teamwork displayed by our students was the true key to success. I have never seen them work as a team as well as they did this weekend. Special shout out to [performing arts teacher] Monica Colletti for giving up her weekend to attend as a chaperone/coach!”
Debate
In Lincoln-Douglas, the students discussed democracy promotion in the Middle East. The tournament advanced the top eight teams to the quarterfinals. Harker provided six of those eight teams. The students who advanced were Akhilesh Chegu, grade 6, Cat Zhao, grade 8, Akshay Manglik, grade 7, Annie Ma, grade 8, Montek Kalsi, grade 8, and Sachin Shah, grade 8. Kalsi and Shah each faced non-Harker students in the quarterfinals. They both won their rounds, making them co-champions of the tournament.
In public forum, the students discussed the prioritization of public infrastructure over means tested welfare. The tournament advanced the top 16 teams to the octofinals. Harker was third out of 16. Anshul Reddy, grade 6, and Krishay Mukhija, grade 7, were octofinalists. Amanda Cheung with Jason Pan, and Kenneth Liou with Jeremy Ding, all grade 8, were quarterfinalists. In addition, Liou was named fifth speaker and Pan was named seventh speaker.
In congressional debate, the students discussed Uber regulations, violent video games and mandatory paid family leave. Three Harker students were among the top 10 finishers. Nakul Bajaj, grade 8, earned second place; Reiya Das, grade 8, received third; and Andrew Sun, grade 7, received sixth place.
In policy debate, the students discussed domestic surveillance. The tournament advanced the top four teams. All three of our teams advanced. Deven Shah, grade 6, with Quentin Clark, grade 8, and Deven Parikh, grade 7, with Jai Bahri, grade 8, were named semifinalists. Jason Lin, grade 7, with Andy Lee, grade 7, were tournament champions. In addition Lee was third speaker, Bahri was fourth speaker and Clark was fifth speaker.
Speech
In impromptu, Shyl Lamba, grade 8, Anna Vazhaeparambil, grade 7, and Avi Gulati, grade 8, were among the six students who advanced to the final round. They were given three quotes and had to prepare a five-minute speech in two minutes. Gulati took first, Vazhaeparambil took fourth and Lamba took fifth.
In oratory, the students created their own 10-minute speech calling the audience to action. Harker took first and second places, with Arusha Patil, grade 7, in first and Gulati in second.
In declamation, Nikki Solanki, grade 8, advanced to the finals with her interpretation of a commencement speech and took second.
In dramatic interpretation, the tournament advanced six teams, including three from Harker. Harker also swept the top slots with Solanki in first, Bryan Wang, grade 8, in second and Katelyn Chen, grade 8, in third.
In storytelling, Gulati took first with his interpretation of a Berenstain Bears book.
In humorous interpretation, Aaditya Gulati, grade 6, advanced to the final round and received sixth place with his interpretation of toys escaping from the toy chest.
In prose, Solanki advanced to the finals and took first.
The middle school golf team took first place this week at the WBAL Spring Golf Tournament, beating out six other teams. With a top four average of 37.25, the Harker golfers edged out second place Nueva by a 4-stroke margin. Marcus Page, grade 6, placed first among all golfers shooting a 2-under-par 32, winning by 2 strokes. Katelyn Vo, grade 8, Natalie Vo, grade 7, and Bowen Yin, grade 7, each shot 39 to tie for sixth place.
Harker had five of the top 13 golfers in the field of 48 middle schoolers. In addition, for the first time in Harker history, three girls made the team of eight. “I am extremely proud of this group,” said coach Ie-Chen Cheng. “You can see it in their eyes, they wanted to bring the trophy back to Harker. After close losses at the past couple tournaments, their hard work really has paid off.”
Varsity Takes League Title
The boys varsity golf team also had a good week as it clinched its third consecutive league title. It was also the team’s second straight undefeated season, stretching its league winning streak to 22 matches! It is an extremely deep team with different golfers often leading the way during match play. Harker’s quest for a CCS title starts on May 10.
On Earth Day 2016, grade 8 students paid a special visit to their preschool friends for the very first Eco Buddies event. In a number of cottages, the middle schoolers set up stations to demonstrate various ecological concepts. One station demonstrated the concept of solar power by having a solar-power operated toy car move around when light was shone on it. At another station, eighth graders used a sock puppet (a stand-in for a worm) to explain Harker’s “wet/dry” waste disposal program: anything that the worm ate would go into the “wet” bin, while anything the worm rejected was headed to the “dry” bin. Other students cobbled together bird houses, made water filters and cut out makeshift helicopters that twirled to the ground when dropped.
The Eco Buddies event – the largest preschool buddy event to date — was set up by preschool science teacher Robyn Stone, who is also the preschool representative of the Harker Green Committee. Emboldened by the success of the upper school STEM Buddies program, Stone decided to reach out to middle school science teacher Kristin Morgensen to help kick off the Eco Buddies program. It is notable for being the first preschool buddies program to have 3-year-olds meet students from another division. “Eco Buddies is unique because it is a program for all of our preschoolers, even the youngest ones,” Stone said.
“I thought that this was a really cool buddy program, especially since we don’t do very many at middle school,” said Tasha Moorjani, grade 8. “I liked it a lot, for the most part, and my favorite bit was when I realized that the kids were genuinely interested, because it made me really excited to teach them.”
Based on the success of the Earth Day event, Stone would like to see the engagement between the two divisions continue. “Now that Preschool has buddy programs with the other three divisions, I hope that the older students are inspired to continue engaging in these buddy programs as they progress at Harker,” said Stone.
The 2016 Spring Orchestra Concert, featuring the middle and upper school orchestras, took place April 8 at De Anza College’s Visual & Performing Arts Center. The Grade 6 Orchestra, directed by Dave Hart, started the evening off with the iconic theme from “Star Wars” and a collection of favorites from the “Harry Potter” films.
Following a series of special performances by chamber groups, the Grades 7-8 Orchestra, also directed by Hart, performed pieces by Johannes Brahms and George Gershwin, as well as a medley of pieces from “The Empire Strikes Back.”
Director Chris Florio and The Harker School Orchestra delivered the final performances of the evening, with a set that included a series of dances from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” and a rousing rendition of the “William Tell Overture.”
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
On a brisk afternoon in mid-January, grade 8 students gathered in the middle school’s multipurpose room to receive special visitors. A group of 20 students from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai had arrived for the first part of this year’s exchange between the two schools, continuing a tradition that began in 2003.
The WFLMS students, who are well-versed in English, took turns giving presentations about their daily academic lives: how they use technology to learn, their Halloween and Christmas celebrations and their annual science and art festivals. At the end, a Chinese student offered her solo acoustic guitar and vocal cover of Taylor Swift’s “Safe and Sound.” Following enthusiastic applause, the Harker and WFLMS students departed to begin their week together in earnest.
Harker’s exchange with WFLMS began shortly after the Shanghai school’s founding. Its then-head of school, Madame Luo Peiming, whose great aunt attended Harker, approached Harker’s then-head of school, Diana Nichols, about creating an exchange between the two schools.
“Just like Harker, it’s an ever-growing school,” said Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education. “They now have several campuses. They have several different types of programs.”
The two schools agreed to begin the exchange, and true to Luo’s predictions, it was a success. “It was a great fit,” Walrod said. “And so from there, it’s turned into an annual exchange.”
Students from Harker and WFLMS begin interacting months in advance of the visit by participating in discussion forums on technology and global issues, such as the effects of media on society and issues sur- rounding youth and the use of technology.
To qualify to apply for the exchange, the WFLMS students must be deeply involved in the study of English, and participation in the forums is required for those making the trip to Harker. Each year, discussions begin in the fall and last several weeks, leading up to the January visit by the WFLMS students, who spend the week staying with their Harker buddies. A second round of discussions is held toward the end of the school year before the Harker students visit China.
“We really put it in the hands of the students to be emailing back and forth,” Walrod said.
The forum discussions present an opportunity for students from both schools to learn about one another before meeting in person.
“I got to learn some things about them that helped me gauge their personality and the activities they enjoyed doing,” said Jackie Yang, grade 8.
Anna Weirich, grade 7, agreed. “It was very interesting to see what [my guest] did differently than what I did in the United States,” she said. “I loved learning about the diverse yet unique culture of the Chinese.”
During their week at Harker, the WFLMS students visit and observe classes with their buddies, embark on field trips to famous California landmarks and bond with their Harker hosts during their homestays.
In the last few years, a tour of the Stanford University campus was added to the exchange at the request of WFLMS administrators. “A lot of the kids are interested in going to college in the U.S., so now that’s just a standard field trip,” said Walrod.
They also get a big sampling of Silicon Valley culture by visiting The Tech Museum of Innovation in downtown San Jose, as well as various sites around San Francisco and Monterey.
The time the buddies spend together is especially valuable, as students from two different cultures learn about one another. on one occasion, the family of seventh grader Leland Rossi read a section of his assigned reading on Chinese history with his WFLMS buddy present. “As we read through the text and discussed it together, we were so lucky to have the perspective of Hu Fei, the eighth grader from China!” enthused Rossi’s mother, Lesley Matheson. “It was amazing to hear him bring his view of the history and politics alive. He loved it, too.”
Students also find that the exchange helps the two different cultures find common ground.
“I enjoyed going to school with them, because my buddy often found ways to relate Harker with her experiences at WFLMS and would often tell me interesting things about her school,” said Yang.
Walrod said the students are extraordinarily good at hosting due to the empathy they show for their WFLMS buddies. “They’re really good at putting themselves in their buddies’ shoes,” she said, adding that many students are initially nervous at the prospect of hosting “because it’s not like having someone over to your house for dinner.”
Seeing their buddies have a great time visiting Harker is a big confidence booster. “They really put their heart into this. They really want their buddies to have a good time,” said Walrod.
During the spring semester, Harker middle schoolers visit and stay with their WFLMS buddies as part of the annual exchange with China. For many Harker students who regularly visit family in China, the exchange program’s trip to Shanghai offers the chance to enjoy their time in the country visiting their WFLMS buddies and spending time as everyday Chinese citizens. oftentimes, Walrod said, spending time among the local citizens is a highlight of the trip for Harker students.
“That has been the regular feedback,” she said. “Everyone just thought they were typical Chinese students, and that’s what they’ll mention to me as one of their best memories.”
Grade 6 student Callie Mayer and five of her classmates (Shivani Thaakur, Julie Broch, Gloria Zhu, Madeleine Hansen and Emma Gurleroglu) enjoyed a free-dress day and delicious luncheon on April 19, thanks to an Alumni Family Picnic teacher auction package that her parents won.
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, and Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, served as the stellar waitstaff for the ninth annual luncheon, which was held at the Blackford campus amphitheater.
“The parents of a middle school child bids on this, with the winner picking five classmates as their guests. They select the menu and theme, which this year was llamas. They had strawberry smoothies, homemade guacamole and chips, Caesar salad, rolls and butter, sushi, an ice cream trolley for make-your-own sundaes, cream puffs in the shapes of llamas and chocolate covered strawberries,” recalled middle school teacher Kate Murphy, the picnic package sponsor.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
Grade 5 Sets Sail at Performance of ‘Pirates! The Musical’
Adventure on the high seas was in store for audiences of this year’s grade 5 show, “Pirates! The Musical,” directed by Kellie Binney-Smart and performed Jan. 28-29. A cast of 132 took the stage for a series of sea shanties about their swashbuckling exploits. In addition to the fifth graders, several faculty members joined in on the fun, including Katie Molin, Shelby Guarino, Jared Ramsey, Gerry-Louise Robinson, Kate Shanahan and Kristin Giam- mona. Songs performed during the show included “A Pirate’s Life for Me,” “Stowaway,” “King of the High C’s” and “The Pirate King.”
Upper School Dance Show Joyfully Reminisces About the ’80s and ’90s
A huge cast of 140 dancers paid tribute to the songs and styles of the ’80s and ’90s at the 2016 upper school dance show, “Mixed Tape: Songs to Dance To,” held Jan. 29-30 at the Blackford Theater. Separated into two acts – one for each decade – the show featured a total of 21 routines, set to such hits as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Wham!’s “Wake Me Up,” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Musicians Impress Audiences at Winter Concert
Middle and upper school student musicians performed this year’s Winter Concert at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater Jan. 15-16, displaying their many talents in a variety of styles. The concert featured performances by the Grade 6 Jazz Band, Grade 6 orchestra, Grade 7-8 Jazz Band, the upper school’s Lab Band and The Harker School orchestra.
Four Middle School Instrumentalists Selected for All-State Bands
Four Harker middle school students were chosen to be members of statewide ensembles that performed in February at the California All-State Music Education Conference. French hornist Kai-Ming Ang, clarinetist Jenny Shaw and flutist Anika Tiwari, all grade 8, were selected for the California Band Directors Association’s All-State Junior High School Concert Band. Trumpeter Leland rossi, grade 7, was selected to play with the CBDA’s All-State Junior High School Jazz Band, making him the rst Harker student to play for an all-state jazz band. Together, these four students represent the largest group of Harker middle school students ever selected to play for all-state ensembles.
Middle School Dancers Earn High Honors at Competition
Harker dance students Karina Chen, grade 7, and Chloe Chen, grade 8, recently competed at the Hollywood Connection dance competition in Santa Clara, where they won a first place gold medal for lyrical dance in the 11-13 age group. Karina also earned the chance to receive a Hollywood makeover, while Chloe was put in the running for a special studio scholarship for a week of unlimited classes at the Millennium Dance Complex.
Both students are enrolled in Harker’s middle school dance program as members of the grades 7-8 girls dance group Showstoppers, and Karina was previously a member of Dance Fusion, the coed dance group for grades 4-6.
Congratulations to these two young talents!
Series of One-Act Plays Featured at Student Directed Showcase
The Harker Conservatory opened 2016 with its Student Directed Showcase, which took place at the Blackford Theater Jan. 8-9. one of the most rigorous courses in the performing arts program, the Student Directed Showcase puts four seniors each in charge of putting on a one-act play. In addition to directing the play, the students are tasked with handling every stage of its production, from casting to promotion to visual effects.
Grade 1 Students Gather to Celebrate the Holiday Season in Song
On Dec. 15, just days before the winter break, the grade 1 homeroom students of teachers Imelda Kusuma, Cindy Proctor, Larissa Weaver and Rita Stone gathered on the stage at the Bucknall Theater for the annual grade 1 holiday show, directed by Carena Montany. The students sang seasonal favorites, including “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” as well as newer songs, including “Spin a Little Dreidl” and “A Million Little Snow akes,” the song for which the show was named.
Grades 2 and 3 Spread Seasonal Cheer at Annual Holiday Show
Students in grades 2 and 3 celebrated the giving spirit of the holidays at the annual grades 2-3 holiday show, this year titled “The Spirit of the Season,” held Dec. 17 at the Bucknall Theater. Directed by lower school music teacher Carena Montany, the show featured students singing a variety of holiday-themed songs, including “Frosty the Snowman,” “Feliz Navidad” and “o Chanukah, o Chanukah.” Several numbers included special solo performances or instrumentation, such as the maraca and claves played respectively by second graders Sophia Schafer-Wharton and Jackson Powell on “Feliz Navidad.” The upbeat “Gettin’ in the Mood (For Christmas)” featured exciting choreography by Kimberly Teodoro.
Winter Concert Brings Together Lower School Musicians
Several lower school performing arts groups united in early December for the 2015 lower school Winter Concert, directed by Louis Hoffman, who also conducted the Lower School Jazz Ensemble and Lower School orchestra. other featured groups included the Bucknall Choir, conducted by Kellie Binney-Smart and Carena Montany, the Lower School String Ensemble, conducted by Toni Woodruff, and the Preparatory String Ensemble, also directed by Woodruff.