Harker won first place at the 2016 Cal High School Speech and Debate Tournament, held this past weekend at UC Berkeley. The team won the Sweepstakes trophy, which measures the overall success of a team across all events, including speech, policy debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, congressional debate and public forum debate. Harker teams prevailed over 243 schools from 26 states and four countries. Harker upper and middle school students participated.
“This award demonstrates the incredible breadth of our speech and debate program,” said Jenny Alme, speech and debate chair. “It took success on all fronts to win this prestigious award. From sixth through 12th grade, we had students excelling in all of the events.”
Over 100 Harker students participated in the 43rd annual invitational tournament.
“This is one of the largest tournaments in the nation,” said Karina Momary, director of middle school speech and debate. “It is also one of the most challenging tournaments our middle school students will attend all year. We had numerous students accomplish top finishes individually, however, the most impressive award is the first place in overall in speech and debate. This award is given to the top school at the entire tournament. This is a huge accomplishment for all of our students as is this is the first time Harker has won this award.”
Massive congratulations to all the participants and to their coaches! Go debate Eagles!
As the regular winter sports season comes to an end, one Harker team prepares for the postseason, while three others fight for the right to play in CCS.
Wrestling
The varsity wrestling team competed in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals this past weekend at Gunn High School. Two Harker wrestlers finished in the top six in their weight class to advance to the CCS tournament. Anthony Contreras, grade 10, placed third, and Davis Howard, grade 11, became only the fourth Harker wrestler in school history to make it to the league finals, where he placed second. Also finishing strong were Daniel Reidenbach, grade 11, who finished eight in his weight class, and Dolan Dworak, grade 10, who finished second in the JV tournament. CCS begins this Friday at Independence High School.
MS Wrestling
Dezi Johnson, grade 6, continues to rack up the trophies as he won the middle school division of the Valentine’s Day Massacre Central California Open in Paso Robles. Congrats, Dezi!
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team fell to Crystal Springs Uplands 3-1 last week. The Eagles are now 6-6-1 on the season as they head into the final two games of the year. The Eagles host King’s Academy on Wednesday at Davis Field, and travel to Priory on Friday.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team ended its season with a 6-0 loss to Menlo last week. Good job this year, ladies!
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two big road league games last week, falling to Eastside College Prep 61-59 and Priory 73-41. In the loss to ECP, Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, had another double double as he scored a team high 18 points and grabbed a team high 13 rebounds. Roy Yuan, grade 9, added 17 points in the loss. Edgehill led all Harker scorers again in the loss to Priory with 15 points. The Eagles drop to 11-11 on the season with two games left to play. Harker hosts Crystal Springs Uplands tonight at Blackford at 6:30 p.m. and the Menlo Knights on Friday.
Girls Basketball
The girls varsity basketball team fell to co-first place Priory last week 63-50, and will face the other first place team, Mercy San Francisco, Tuesday night in the city. In the loss to Priory, Jordon Thompson, grade 11, had another big night scoring 31 points. The Eagles go to 16-7 for the season.
Cross Country
Last week, Niki Iyer, grade 11, competed in the California Winter Track Championships at Cerritos College. In the 1500-meter run, Niki placed 28th out of 58 of the best runners in the state. Great job, Niki!
Two dozen Harker student writers were honored in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the awards have existed since 1923. Prominent past winners include Andy Warhol, Langston Hughes, Judy Blume and Wangechi Mutu.
Twenty-three Harker upper school students and one middle school student were honored this year. Arushee Bhoja, grade 9, received a Gold Key award in the flash fiction category, and a Silver Key and honorable mention in poetry. Sophomore Emily Chen received two Gold Keys in poetry and a Silver Key in short story. In personal essay/memoir, junior Alexis Gauba earned an honorable mention. Senior Kaity Gee won two Gold Keys in flash fiction, as well as one in poetry and one in writing portfolio. She also received a Silver Key and eight honorable mentions in poetry.
Jordan Goheen, grade 11, received an honorable mention for poetry, while fellow junior Joyce Huang hauled in a Gold Key and a Silver Key in the critical essay category and an honorable mention in personal essay/memoir. Junior Angela Kim’s pair of entries in the personal essay/memoir category earned her a Silver Key and an honorable mention.
Junior Sarisha Kurup earned three Gold Keys – two in short story and one in poetry – and three Silver Keys in the same categories. Kurup was also awarded five honorable mentions for poetry. Junior Chen Yu Li’s “The Dance Room” won her an honorable mention in personal essay/memoir, and Erin Liu, grade 9, received a Gold Key in the same category for her work, titled “In Our Hands.”
Rajiv Movva, grade 10, received an honorable mention for his critical essay “On Cancer Research,” and junior Jordan Murtiff won a Gold Key in personal essay/memoir. In poetry, Evani Radiya-Dixit, grade 11, was awarded two honorable mentions for her pieces “Gunshot” and “The Mirror.” Andrew Rule, also a junior, submitted four short stories to the contest, which earned him two Gold Keys, a Silver Key and an honorable mention. “Gravity” a personal essay/memoir earned senior Samali Sahoo a Silver Key, while junior Vedaad Shakib’s “A Constructive Use of Time” was awarded a Silver Key in the same category.
Five of senior Elisabeth Siegel’s poems were winners in the contest, earning her a Gold Key, a Silver Key and three honorable mentions. Her short story, “Clean,” also won a Silver Key. Sophomore Sahana Srinivasan received an honorable mention for “The Stages of Reading a Book” in the personal essay/memoir category. Three of junior Meilan Steimle’s entries in personal essay/memoir received Gold Key awards, while her flash fiction piece, “Postcards,” won her a Silver Key. Steimle also earned honorable mentions in flash fiction, personal essay/memoir and short story.
Maya Valluru, grade 11, was awarded a Silver Key and an honorable mention in poetry, as well as an honorable mention in flash fiction, and Eleanor Xiao, grade 10, received two Silver Keys for her entries in personal essay/memoir. Freshman Alexander Young received an honorable mention in critical essay, and Tiffany Zhu, grade 11, earned two honorable mentions for dramatic script and flash fiction.
At the middle school level, eighth grader Cynthia Chen received an honorable mention for her poem, “Reflections.”
Having her letter to the editor on the importance of making higher education accessible for all published in the San Jose Mercury News gave grade 8 student Mahika Halepete a heightened appreciation for the power of the written word.
Halepete wrote the letter in response to an assignment in Cyrus Merrill’s grade 8 U.S. History class. “This was a part of an activity where students identify modern 2016 issues (human trafficking, gender inequality, education reform, etc.) that reflect the same issues they researched in 1850 (slavery, women’s suffrage, education reform, temperance),” Merrill explained. “They then write a letter to the editor of any paper(s) they want, as well as convert it into a letter to their state legislator, since many of these are actually state issues. They have to make connections from the past to the present in both letters.”
Halepete said she was surprised to learn that her letter got picked up by the local newspaper. “To be honest, I didn’t even consider the possibility of being published. I was incredibly excited, since I never expected this to happen!” She added that she does not believe many students are fully aware of the startling reality of how few people have the opportunity to attend college.
“We should never take for granted the blessings we have, especially our ability to pursue an education. I hope that by writing, I can help others become aware of how lucky we are,” she said.
In addition to having her letter to the editor published, Halepete won first place in the district for an essay on “What Freedom Means To Me” in the Patriot’s Pen essay competition. Sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the annual contest attracts more than 125,000 student entries in grades 6-8.
Feeling fortunate for educational opportunities is also what prompted Halepete to write in the essay that “freedom means more than a red, white and blue flag waving in the breeze as fireworks fill the sky and the National Anthem is sung.”
She said after attending a talk by Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, she thought about how much her education really meant to her. “Around the world, over 60 million young girls are denied their education because of financial and societal barriers. Families, especially in developing countries, don’t believe that their daughters have potential. If the finances are tight and a choice must be made, it is the male sibling who gets to go to school. Often times, governments encourage discrimination against young girls, simply because of their gender,” she noted.
Halepete is passionate about human rights and social justice issues, often using her writing skills to advocate for her beliefs. Last year, she wrote and sang an original song called “Walked Away” after leading a student assembly on social justice and researching undocumented immigrant families separated by deportation. Her song was inspired by those stories.
She also set up a jewelry business on Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade goods, to raise money for World Vision, a humanitarian organization that works with communities worldwide to fight poverty and injustice. Halepete, who wrote the marketing copy on her site, was a finalist in a teen entrepreneur competition organized by Girls Life Magazine/Nickelodeon and was featured in the October/November 2015 issue.
“My life’s goal is to change the lives of other people for the better. I do believe that writing is a very powerful tool, and, if utilized properly, can make a significant difference in the world,” she said.
Lower and middle school results provided by Theresa “Smitty” Smith.
Boys Soccer
Picking up its fifth win in six games, the boys soccer team defeated Eastside Prep 2-1 the week before last with goals from Jared Anderson, grade 9, and Rohit Shah, grade 10. However, King’s Academy got the best of the Eagles later in the week, defeating Harker 4-1.
Girls soccer
The girls soccer team fell to King’s Academy and Notre Dame San Jose in Late January.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team went 1-1 to bring its season record to 10-6. In a tight 59-55 loss to Priory, Rohan Desikan, grade 12, had a team high 20 points with Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, adding 16 points and 11 rebounds. The team rebounded with a 67-32 win over Crystal Springs Uplands later in the week. Roy Yuan, grade 9, led all scorers with 20 points.
Girls Basketball
Continuing her amazing scoring streak, Jordan Thompson, grade 11, had 29 points to lead the Eagles over Immaculate Conception 76-56 last Wednesday. Thompson’s performance made her Harker’s all-time leading scorer. The previous record was held by Daniza Rodriguez ’13, who is currently playing at Whittier College. However, the girls team suffered a rare loss later in the week as it fell to Woodside Priory 76-66. Thompson again had 29 points with Akhila Ramgiri, grade 9, adding a season high 20 points, as the Eagles went to 14-4 on the season. The girls team will host first place Mercy SF tonight at Blackford at 6:30 p.m.
The Harker wrestling team fell to Santa Clara High last Wednesday 60-36.
MS Basketball
Michael Mitchell Jr., grade 7, will be attending West Coast Elite Basketball’s Jr. All-American Camp Feb. 6-7 in Cerritos. The camp attracts some of the top middle school players in the country. Mitchell was recently named the MVP of Harker’s VB boys basketball team. Good luck, Michael!
The early winter sports season for grades 4-8 has concluded. Nearly 220 students participated across the lower and middle school levels in boys basketball and girls soccer!
Our Varsity B and JVB1 boys basketball teams both won league championships and were also tournament champs!
Here is how our teams did this early winter season.
VB (Grades 7-8) Boys Basketball: The varsity B team, coached by Josh Miller and Rich Amarillas, finished in first place in the WBAL with a 7-0 record and went 9-0 overall. They were league champs of the south division and tournament champs! Team awards went to Michael Mitchell, grade 7 (MVP), Vance Vu, grade 8 (Eagle) and Vedanth Sundaram, grade 8 (Coaches).
VB2 (Grade 7) Boys Basketball: The varsity B2 team, coached by Jon Cvitanich, finished in sixth place in the WBAL with a 3-4 record. Team awards went to Levi Sutton (MVP), Marcus Anderson (Eagle) and Anmol Velagapudi (Coaches).
JVA (Grade 6) Boys Basketball: The junior varsity A team, coached by Mike Delfino, finished in fourth place in the WBAL with a 3-3 record and went 3-4 overall. Team awards went to Rishi Jain (MVP), Anquan Boldin Jr. (Eagle) and Alex Zhang (Coaches).
JVB6 (Grade 6) Boys Basketball: The junior varsity B6 team, coached by Matt Arensberg, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a 3-4 record. Team awards went to Marcus Page (MVP), Josh Tseitlin (Eagle) and Jack Hayashi (Coaches).
MS Intramural Boys Basketball: Team awards went to Tuhin Chatterjee, grade 7 (MVP), Alex Shing, grade 8 (Eagle) and Harrison Chang, grade 6, and Akshay Manglik, grade 7 (Coaches). The team was coached by CJ Cali, Jeff Martarano and Raul Rios.
JVB1 (Grade 5) Boys Basketball: The junior varsity B1 team, coached by Dan Pringle and Karriem Stinson, finished in first place in the WBAL with a 7-0 record and went 9-0 overall. They were league champs and tournament champs! Team awards went to Matthew Chen (MVP), Zeke Weng (Eagle), and Michael Pflaging and Armaan Thakker (Coaches).
JVB2 (Grade 5) Boys Basketball: The junior varsity B2 team, coached by Kristian Tiopo, finished in fourth place in the WBAL with a 4-3 record. Team awards went to Boulus Ajlouny (MVP), Max Pflaging (Eagle) and Pranav Mullappalli (Coaches).
JVC (Grade 4) Boys Basketball: The junior varsity C team, coached by Jim McGovern, finished in fourth place in the WBAL with a 4-3 record. Team awards went to Om Tandon (MVP), Rohin Bhagat (Eagle) and Spencer Mak (Coaches).
LS Intramural Boys Basketball: Team awards went to Panav Gogte, grade 4 (MVP), Jack Ledford and Kyle Leung, both grade 4 (Eagle) and Vivek Nayyar, grade 4 (Coaches). The team was coached by Ken Allen and Jeff Paull.
VA (Grades 7-8) Girls Soccer: The varsity A team, coached by Brighid Wood, Brittney Moseley and Kelcie Lai, finished in seventh place in the WBAL with a record of 2-5-0. Team awards went to Aria Wong and Hannah Grannis, both grade 7, (MVP), and Dylan Williams, grade 7, and Delaney Logue, grade 8 (Coaches).
JVA (Grade 6) Girls Soccer: The junior varsity A team, coached by Cyrus Merrill and Mandy Schroeder, finished in fifth place in the WBAL with a record of 2-3-1. Team awards went to Ashley Barth (MVP), Angela Jia (Eagle) and Diana Kohr (Coaches).
JVB (Grade 5) Girls Soccer: The junior varsity B team, coached by Lisa Lubke and Jared Ramsey, finished in second place in the WBAL with a record of 2-1-1 and went 2-3-1 overall. Team awards went to Anya Chauhan (MVP), Anika Muddu (Eagle) and Jia Parikh (Coaches).
LS Intramural Girls Soccer: Team awards went to Ananya Sriram, grade 4 (Eagle) and Kinnera Mulam, grade 4 (Coaches). The team was coached by Randy Le Gris and Maria Maldonado.
Last week, four Harker middle school students were chosen to be members of statewide ensembles that will perform 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 first 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.
“The audition is rigorous and requires great preparation and focus as they have to turn in a recording of scales and etudes,” said middle school music teacher Dave Hart. “These students were selected out of auditions from any seventh or eighth grader in the state of California, so it is quite an honor and opportunity.”
Each year around Thanksgiving, the middle school kicks off the holiday season with its canned food drive. With the “season of giving” now behind us, Lorena Martinez, BEST director for the middle school, reflected on the success of this year’s drive, which was hosted by the Service Club in conjunction with Second Harvest Food Bank.
“Last year, millions of Americans lived in homes without enough food to eat, some of them in our own backyard,” reported Martinez, noting that canned and non-perishable food items were collected in containers located in advisory rooms throughout the Blackford campus.
At the start of the drive, Martinez had told the students, “if we collect 5,000 cans, approximately 10 cans per student, Mr. Hathaway and I will dress up as turkeys before Thanksgiving break!” Although they didn’t meet the 5,000-can challenge, students felt great about helping those less fortunate during the holidays.
“It’s wonderful to be able to have fun while helping out those less fortunate. … Together we can make a difference in someone’s life,” noted Martinez.
In other news, middle school students also are collecting toiletries and assembling packets to take to a local women’s and children’s shelter. This project will continue throughout the school year.
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.
The girls basketball team put up three huge wins last week as it defeated Mercy Burlingame, Crystal Springs Uplands and Pacific Collegiate School by an average margin of 40 points! Junior Jordan Thompson’s 28 points per game is still among the best in the CCS. The 13-3 girls team will travel to Immaculate Conception Academy on Wednesday.
Boys Basketball
After a tough league loss to Pinewood last week, the Harker boys team defeated Eastside Prep 64-53 on Thursday. Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, led the Eagles with 21 points. Cal-Hi Sports covered the game and you can see the highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR_rKhcSWBk
The boys team plays tonight at Blackford at 7 p.m.
Boys Soccer
Last Monday, the boys varsity soccer team picked up its fourth win in a row as it defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 4-2. Omar Hamade, grade 12, had two goals, while Nick Acero and Sparsh Chauhan, both grade 10, each had one. Later in the week, the Eagles fell to Menlo 3-0. This Wednesday the team hosts Eastside Prep at 3 p.m. on Davis Field.
Girls Soccer
The girls Varsity soccer team dropped games to Sacred heart Prep and Castilleja last week. Lyndsey Mitchell, grade 11, scored the only goal for Harker. Come support the girls team as it takes on Notre Dame San Jose today on Davis Field at 3:30 p.m.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team traveled to Saratoga High last Thursday and, although they won five individual matches, the team lost 24-42. Kobe Howard, grade 9, and Davis Howard, grade 11, won by decision, and Diego Figueroa, grade 11, Anthony Contreras, grade 10, and Danny Reidenbach, grade 11, each won by fall. Later in the week at the Jim Root Tournament held at Prospect High, Davis Howard placed fifth in his weight class; he is currently ranked 19th in CCS in the 285-pound division.
MS Wrestling
Continuing his impressive run, Dezi Johnsen, grade 6, took home a first place trophy at the New Mexico National Wrestling Tournament in the 12-and-under, 130-pound division. Johnsen defeated wrestlers from New Mexico and Texas to earn the first place finish.
The middle school Wildlife SOS club, made up of students in grades 6 and 7, painted watercolor cards and made origami toys during club time, then sold them to parents during the parent-teacher conference. The cards and toys sold out in under an hour, and the group raised about $77 for Wildlife SOS, an organization that rescues and cares for abused elephants and other animals. Club members are continuing to make the popular watercolor cards and also will be making origami spinning tops, which they plan to sell at the next parent-teacher conference in the spring. Go Wildlife SOS!