On a warm, sunny day in mid-March, students, parents, family members, faculty and staff from all four campuses gathered at the middle school field for the 10th annual Harker Cancer Walk.
Funds raised from the walk benefit young cancer patients attending Camp Okizu. Thanks to monetary donations and funds raised from the sale of baked goods and other items, more than $14,000 will go to the camp this year, reported Cindy Ellis, middle school head.
Located in the Berry Creek area of the Sierra foothills, Camp Okizu provides a safe place for children with cancer to enjoy regular summer camp activities and social events.
“This time was a bit more special as it was our 10th anniversary celebration walk!” said Michael Schmidt, middle school computer science teacher and department chair. Schmidt had the idea for the fundraiser following the passing of his own mother due to cancer.
“This is an event that Harker was kind enough to let me start in 2007 in honor of loved ones inflicted with cancer,” he continued. “Since then, it has been used as a moment for our entire community to come together and celebrate the lives of those we love and those we’ve lost. It is a symbolic walk that is measured not by the miles covered, but by the love and understanding between us all.”
Prior to the walk, students engaged in various activities to learn about different forms of cancer and cancer prevention strategies. In a further show of support, many teachers displayed door decorations with themes designed to promote cancer awareness. And during the walk, Honor Flags – honoring someone who is fighting or has fought cancer – were placed in the ground along the inner edge of the field’s walking path.
Harker middle and upper school debate students had outstanding success at the Western JV and Novice National Championship, held March 12-13 at San Francisco State University.
Cindy Wang and Clarissa Wang, both grade 9 were the tournament champions in second year public forum. Kelly Shen, grade 9, was the tournament champion in novice Lincoln-Douglas debate.
In addition, Esha Deokar, grade 9, and Deven Shah, grade 6, were in the semifinals of novice policy and Meghna Phalke and Alycia Cary, both grade 9, reached the octofinals of novice policy. Anusha Kuppahally, grade 9, and Jacob Ohana, grade 10, were in octos of second year policy.
Raymond Banke, grade 9, Floyd Gordon, grade 10, and Aimee Wang and Alina Yuan, both grade 6, were double octofinalists in novice public forum. Sascha Pakravan and Anshul Reddy, both grade 6, were in the quarters of novice public forum. In second year public forum, Betsy Tian, grade 7, and Shomrik Mondal, grade 8, were in octos. In second year Lincoln-Douglas, Akshay Manglik, grade 7, Cat Zhao, grade 8, Avi Gulati, grade 8 and Satvik Narashimhan, grade 9 were octofinalists.
Also in second year Lincoln-Douglas, Neha Tallapragada, grade 9, and Annie Ma, grade 8, were in quarters. In novice Lincoln-Douglas, Karoun Kaushik, grade 6, and Aditya Tadimeti, grade 7, were double octofinalists. Rishi Jain, grade 6, was in quarters of novice Lincoln-Douglas. Juniors Molly Wancewicz, Emmie Malyugina and Rahul Shukla and seniors Zarek Drozda and Karen Qi spent the weekend judging and coaching. Their help proved invaluable.
Sam Boucher, grade 6, and his teammates on the Santa Clara Blackhawks 12 and under travel ice hockey team finished first in their regular season. This earned the team a spot in the NORCAL playoffs, held in San Jose in mid-March. After struggling in the first game, the Blackhawks rallied to win four straight games, including beating the Santa Rosa Flyers twice, to claim first place. The Blackhawks are now one of four teams that will go on to play in the statewide California Amateur Hockey Association championships in early April.
More than 300 students from 14 schools participated in the 15th annual Diana Nichols Harker Math Invitational on March 6, with numerous Harker students earning high marks. In the grade 6 individual event, Rishab Parthasarathy took first place. For grade 7, Vivian Jin, Sidra Xu and Utkarsh Priyam took first, second and third, respectively.
In team competition, Harker students Vivian Jin, Luisa Pan, Srinath Somasundaram, Betsy Tian, George Wehner, Sidra Xu and Linus Zheng took second place in grade 7 level. For grade 8, Gabriel Chai, Allison Jia, Matthew Jin, Montek Kalsi, Shyl Lamba, Eileen Li and Sachin Shah took first place.
During the event, an estimation contest was held, in which contestants guessed the number of calories in a jar of candies. Harker student Luisa Pan, grade 7, won the contest by estimating a total of 15,780 calories. The actual number was 15,690.
Staying undefeated, the boys golf team picked up victories over Menlo and Sacred Heart Prep last week. Avi Khemani, grade 11, led the way for the Eagles, shooting a 36 in the Eagles two stroke win over Menlo. Sandip Nirmel, grade 11, shot a 35 in the 188-212 win over SHP. The Eagles travel north to compete in the Marin Catholic Wildcat Invitational today.
Track and Field
The track and field team traveled to Sacred Heart Prep last week and did very well as it competed in its first WBAL meet of the year. The team of Aria Coalson, Gloria Guo and Grace Koonmen, all grade 10, and Sara Min, grade 9, set a new school record in the girls 400m relay. Niki Iyer, grade 11, continued her amazing year as she won the 1600m. Winnie Li, grade 11, took first in the high jump, as well as second in the 100m hurdles and third in the 300m hurdles. Anthony Contreras, grade 10, took second in the 200m, and tied with Lucas Wang, grade 11, for third in the long jump. Bill Liang, grade 11, won the 300m hurdles, his first ever first place finish. The Eagles will compete at the Firebird Invitational this weekend at Fremont High.
Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team fell to Saratoga 11-2 last week. This week, the team hosts Mercy Burlingame at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and travels to Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team defeated Priory 7-0 last week, before losing a tough match to Sacred Heart Prep 4-3 later in the week. This week, the Eagles face off with Menlo on Tuesday and Crystal Springs Uplands on Thursday, both at 4 p.m. at the Santa Clara Tennis Center.
Baseball
The boys varsity baseball team started last week with a tough 4-3 loss to Westmoor High, but finished the week with two big wins over Pinewood and O’Connell of San Francisco. In the 12-2 win over Pinewood, Dominic Cea, grade 10, led the way offensively as he drove in three runs. Cea was back at it again over the weekend against O’Connell, but this time on the mound, as he tossed a no-hitter, striking out 12 and walking two as Harker picked up the 3-0 victory. Trenton Thomas, grade 12, had the big hit for the Eagles, as he drove in two runs on a first-inning single. The Eagles will face Crystal Springs Uplands twice this week.
JV Baseball
Last week, the JV baseball team defeated James Lick 9-2 behind a strong 4 inning performance from Akhil Arun, grade 10, who earned the win. Tanay Kamat, grade 10, had two hits, scored two runs and pitched two shutout innings to close out the victory. The JV squad takes on Hillsdale today at 4pm at Blackford.
Swim
The swim team traveled to Sacred Heart Prep over the weekend to race in the Small School Invitational. Highlights included Alex Yu, grade 9, placing first in the 500 freestyle and Vivian Wang, grade 10, winning the 100 butterfly and taking second in the 100 breaststroke, qualifying for CCS with both times. In addition, the 200 medley relay team of Taylor Kohlmann, grade 10, Vivian Wang, grade 10, Grace Guan, grade 12, and Karen Tu, grade 12, finishing second with a CCS qualifying time. The next swim meet is April 7 at Menlo.
Softball
The varsity softball team suffered its first loss of the season last week as it fell to The King’s Academy 13-3. Alisa Wakita, grade 12, had two hits and an RBI in the loss. The Eagles travel to Gunderson High today and Fremont on Wednesday.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team fell to Mountain View High in three games last week before going 1-3 at the Campbell Classic hosted by Leigh High over the weekend, picking up a win over Seaside. The Eagles host Harbor High on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m., then are at Fremont on Wednesday, before coming back home on Friday to face off with Eastside College Prep.
MS Wrestling
Last week the middle school wrestling team competed in the Mission Hills Classic held at Santa Cruz High. Eric Bollar, grade 6, took first place in his weight class, with Dezi Johnson, grade 6, and Rohan Arora, grade 8, placing second in their weight classes.
The results from the California Math League contest held in February were recently released, and Harker’s high scores propelled them into several top spots at the both the regional and state levels. All three middle school teams (grades 6-8) placed first in Santa Clara County in their respective categories. State-wide, grade 6 placed fourth, grade 7 placed second and grade 8 took third. Congratulations!
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Harker middle school students received high scores in the California Math League contest held in mid-February. The contest consists of a 35-question test in which an individual score of 28 or higher is considered exceptional. Each school’s team score for each grade is a sum of that grade’s top five scores, with 175 being the highest possible score.
The grade 6 team score was 165, with Rishab Parthasarathy earning a perfect score of 35 and Alex Hu scoring 34. Other high scorers were Rohan Thakur with 33, William Zhao with 32 and Kevin Wang with 31.
For grade 7, Vivian Jin and Sidra Xu each contributed 33 points to team score of 160. Srinath Somasundaram scored 32 points, while George Wehner and Eric Zhu each scored 31.
Grade 8 also scored 160 points, with strong performances from Grace Huang (34 points), Vani Mohindra (33 points), Shyl Lamba (32 points) and Cynthia Chen (31 points). Other high scorers were Jeffrey Kwan, Eileen Li and Rakesh Nori, who each earned 30 points.
On March 11-12, the middle school’s performing arts department held its annual Dance Jamz show at the Blackford Theater and we have some great photos. Directed by Gail Palmer, the show featured dozens of dancers from grades 6-8 performing complex, energetic routines to popular songs by Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor, Tori Kelly and more. Choreography for the show was done by Palmer, Kimberly Teodoro, Brittany Watts, Kento Vo, Jessalynn Espiritu, Brianna Alday, Shakira Ortiz and Alexandra Venter. Enjoy!
Several Harker students placed high in the mid-February MathCounts chapter level contest. In the team competition, eighth graders Cynthia Chen, Grace Huang, Jeffrey Kwan and Vani Mohindra took third place overall. Although they missed first place by only 1.75 points, the team qualified for the state-level competition to be held March 5 at Stanford University.
In individual competition, Chen scored 45 points to earn seventh place. The tough competition was evident, as the three top placers all scored 46 points, while the teams placing four through 10 all scored 45. Ranking was determined by which problems the students answered incorrectly.
The Santa Clara chapter of MathCounts has a reputation for being especially competitive, with more than 400 students from 44 schools taking part.
“The students are excited about the group’s success,” said middle school math chair Vandana Kadam “This is a huge achievement for the school and these students.”
Harker News periodically steps into classrooms and then shares what students are learning with the school community. This classroom exercise, courtesy of Stacie Wallace’s grade 8 students, shows the compassion and self-awareness our students are embracing and holds lessons for us all.
“As part of our work in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,'” said Wallace, “we eighth grade teachers have been working with our students on ‘laws of life’ that are exemplified by characters in the novel, such as Atticus, the father everyone wishes they had. We extended that outward and asked students to come up with and share some of the rules for living that they embrace. In my classes today, I’ve had them work in groups, talking with each other about these ‘rules’ and who taught them to the student, and then we’ve compiled lists of them.
“I think when you read them, you’ll know that there is hope for the future. I heard some very heartfelt and sincere words offered about an older brother, a grandpa, a mother who has passed away, and about many, many more people, all adults, who have helped describe the world to their kids and show them ways to live in it successfully. It’s more than encouraging!” she finished.
Some of the Values We Embrace in Life by Eighth Graders
You miss every shot you don’t take.
Try not to give in to negativity; optimism is better.
Give without expectation of something in return.
Respect is earned by showing it to others.
Live by the rules as long as it doesn’t conflict with your values.
Don’t lie; it’s always better to be honest.
Try your best at what you do. Don’t aim for perfection.
Do the right thing even when no one is looking.
Treat everyone as equals.
Stand up for what you believe in.
If you have self-control, everything is easier.
In adversity, don’t crumble.
Others’ judgments don’t have to be taken to heart.
See a need, fill a need. (Community mindedness!)
Be brave enough to think for yourself.
Nobody has enough time; make time for what you enjoy.
Focus on your own life, not others’.
Value independence. (But …) It’s not necessary always to be independent.
Be thankful for what you’ve been given.
Character is doing things with no reward in mind.
Don’t overthink it.
Be nice to everyone, no matter what.
Trust others, but don’t depend entirely on them.
When a leader is needed, step up and take responsibility.
Talk is cheap; actions speak louder than words.
Skills outside of school matter.
Solve problems rather than look to blame others.
Be selfless; look at the big picture (Community mindedness!).
Only work to impress yourself.
Embrace humility: See yourself realistically, not as entitled.
Jordan Thompson, grade 11, led the Eagles with 22 points in the regular season finale against first place Mercy San Francisco, but it wasn’t enough as Harker was defeated 52-43. However, the Eagles finished with an impressive 16-8 record and were given the No. 10 seed in the CCS Division 4 playoffs. That gives Harker’s team home court advantage as it hosts Terra Nova on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Come out to support our Eagles as they make a run at a CCS title!
Boys Basketball
Last week the boys varsity basketball team picked up a huge 71-29 win over Crystal Springs Uplands behind a 21-point, five-rebound, five-assist night from Rohan Desikan, grade 12. Later in the week, the Eagles faced off with Menlo to close out the regular season, but the Knights spoiled Senior Night by defeating Harker 55-42. Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, led the way with 13 points. The Eagles finished the season with a 12-12 record and were rewarded with the No. 11 seed in the CCS Division 4 brackets. The team travels to San Lorenzo Valley this Thursday at 7 p.m. to begin its postseason journey.
Boys Soccer
The varsity boys soccer team wrapped up its season last week as it split its two games. The Eagles fell to King’s Academy 3-1 on Senior Day, but finished the season on a winning note, taking down Priory 2-1 with goals from Kedar Gupta, grade 11, and Jared Anderson, grade 9. Harker ended with a respectable 7-9-1 record. Great job this year!
Wrestling
Although the Harker wrestling team was represented by only two wrestlers in the CCS tournament, it had a very strong showing. Anthony Contreras, grade 10, went 1-2 in the tournament, but with two more years of high school wrestling ahead, the sky is the limit for Contreras. Davis Howard, grade 11, represented Harker very well in the 285-pound division. Howard went 3-2, with all of his wins coming by fall, and his final loss coming at the hands of the eventual third place finisher. Congratulations on a great year to Anthony, Davis and the entire Harker wrestling team!
MS Wrestling
Dezi Johnson, grade 6, once again showed that he is one of the best young wrestlers in the nation as he finished fifth at the 2016 Liberty Nationals. The tournament was held this past weekend in St. Joseph, Mo., and showcased some of the best wrestling talent in the country. Again, congrats Dezi!