This article originally appeared in the spring 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Girls Basketball
Varsity A (grades 7-8) girls basketball, coached by Richard Amarillas and Angelo Parangat, finished the season with a league record of 1-5 and have the WBAL tournament remaining on the schedule. Team awards went to Jennifer Hayashi (MVP), Lilly Wancewicz (Eagle), and Prameela Kottapalli (Coaches), all grade 8.
Varsity B (grade 7) girls basketball, coached by Allison Burzio and Kelcie Lai, is currently 3-3 with one game and the WBAL tournament remaining. Team awards went to Cassandra Ruedy (MVP), Adhya Hoskote (Eagle) and Radhika Jain (Coaches). Junior Varsity A (grade 6) girls basketball, coached by Coli Simmons and Jon Cvitanich, finished the league season with a 7-0 record and are league champs! The girls will also participate in the WBAL tournament. Team awards went to Courtni Thompson (MVP), Hunter Hernandez (Eagle) and Reina Joseph (Coaches).
Middle school (grades 6-8) intramural basketball, coached by Chrissy Chang and Vince Salinas, enjoyed working on the fundamental skills of basketball and playing intersquad scrimmages. Team awards went to Vaishnavi Murari and Shreya Srinivasan (Eagle) and Aditi Vinod (Coaches).
Wrestling
Middle school (grades 6-8) wrestling, coached by Karriem Stinson, Charlie Ward, Jason Mendel and Jeff Paull, worked tirelessly to learn the fundamentals of wrestling. They will compete in two upcoming tournaments. Team awards went to Kobe Howard, grade 8 (MVP), Devin Keller, grade 7 (Eagle), and Eric Fang, grade 7 and Anish Kilaru, grade 6 (Coaches).
Boys Soccer
Varsity A (grade 8) boys soccer, coached by Matt Arensberg, is currently 3-1-1 with two matches remaining in the season. Team awards went to Jared Anderson (MVP), Edwin Su (Eagle), and Aleksander Erk and Logan Frank (Coaches).
Varsity B (grade 7) boys soccer, coached by Emily Oliver, finished the season with a league record of 2-2-1. Team awards went to Andrew Cheplyansky (MVP), Henry Wiese (Eagle) and Griffin Crook (Coaches).
Varsity B2 (grades 6-7) boys soccer, coached by Cyrus Merrill, is currently 0-6 with one match remaining in the season.
Junior Varsity A (grade 6) boys soccer, coached by Brighid Wood, is currently 3-1 with one match remaining in the season.
Team awards went to Ryan Tobin (MVP), Tuhin Chatterjee (Eagle), and Arjun Virmani and Rosh Roy (Coaches).
Making traditional dumplings in the home of her host teacher was just one of many special activities that have marked Harker debate instructor Carol Green’s experience in China, where she is currently serving as an exchange teacher with the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS).
Green, Harker’s middle and upper school communication studies department chair, departed for China on March 17 and will return to San Jose on April 6. In addition to serving as a visiting teacher, she is chaperoning Harker’s middle school students, now on their annual trip to WFLMS, Harker’s sister school in China.
Reached for comment via email, Green reported that she is “very excited to be the exchange teacher for Harker to the WFLMS.” During her time abroad, Green has been observing the Chinese school’s humanities classes and guest teaching.
“I am teaching lessons on public speaking as well as debate. Debate as an academic activity is growing in popularity in China and I have enjoyed meeting with the debate club at WFLMS,” she said, adding that she had the opportunity to teach a lesson about argument mapping.
“I have also enjoyed meeting local and international teachers and learning about the life of a teacher here in Shanghai. The school has a wonderful peer-observation program that allows teachers to connect and share feedback and lessons with each other… every teacher is encouraged to watch their peers and to welcome their peers into their classrooms,” Green elaborated.
“The students are also very lovely. Many of the older students have told me about their exchanges with Harker and have asked me to pass along warm wishes to their peers back in San Jose!” she added.
Established in 1996, WFLMS is located in the southwest part of the Xuhui District in Shanghai, an area regarded as an important educational location. For many years, Harker has had both a student and teacher exchange program with WFLMS as part of its ongoing effort to build progressive academic and cultural relationships that prepare students to become global citizens.
Middle school Latin students had a great weekend at the California Junior Classical League (CJCL) Convention, held March 27-28 at Miramonte High School in Orinda. Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 8, won in the Individual Academic category for middle school level three, while Jack Hansen, grade 7, won Individual Arts for middle school level two and Arohee Bhoja, grade 6, won Individual Combined for middle school level one. Harker was also the first-place middle school in the state! The CJCL was founded in 1955 to provide a forum for Latin students to compete in a wide range of academic, art and athletic contests, both individually and by chapter.
Shortly after their arrival at the San Francisco International Airport, 23 students from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China, were welcomed by their Harker middle school buddies.
This year, Harker students enthusiastically greeted their WFLMS buddies at the airport, adding to the excitement of their Jan. 26 arrival. They then spent the day together at the California Academy of Sciences before returning to Harker. After the school day ended, the Harker students took their pals to their respective homestays to live with their families until their departure on Feb. 2.
“The kids had a fantastic time! As we gathered to say our goodbyes, several families told me that they were really going to miss their guests. Our students asked me several times how soon we will be leaving for our visit to China,” recalled Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Harker student Jai Bahri, grade 7, said that having his buddy stay with him was a wonderful experience. “I learned a lot about my buddy and in such a short amount of time, we got to know each other extraordinarily well.”
Arjun Kilaru, grade 8, said, “The best memory [was] when I took him to a burger joint. He had a half-pound burger with a lot on it and he ate it all for his first time!”
Harker’s relationship with the school in the People’s Republic of China began in 2003 and is the first of its kind. The visiting students were accompanied by several chaperones (all teachers at WFLMS). They were welcomed to Harker and officially introduced during a meeting at the middle school.
Harker students and their WFLMS buddies had been corresponding since the fall. On March 25, a contingent of Harker students headed to China as part of the annual reciprocal exchange program, which is a highlight of the middle school experience for many grade 7 and 8 students.
While here, the exchange students enjoyed going on a number of field trips, including touring the campus at Stanford University and visiting the Tech Museum in San Jose. They also observed and attended several middle school classes, including history, art, drama and dance.
Other fun activities included a scavenger hunt on the middle school campus, making Native American dream catchers and doing a Chinese paper cutting activity with students at the lower school. The WFLMS students’ visit ended with a viewing of the upper school dance show followed by a fun farewell party.
Over the weekend of March 14-15, the Willow Glen Thunder National Junior Basketball team, which features grade 6 students Hunter Hernandez, Courtni Thompson and Dylan Williams and is co-coached by Hunter’s father, Sam Hernandez, took home the NJB All-Net National Championship! The team was undefeated the entire weekend, using a fast-paced play style, rock-solid defense and perimeter shooting to finish with a 16-1 overall record on the season. The three girls also were part of the Harker JVB basketball team that earned the league championship a few weeks ago!
That same weekend, Freddy Hoch, grade 4, and Om Tandon and Justin Chao, both grade 3, who play for the NJB Saratoga D3 All-Star team, helped their squad win the Silicon Valley Championship. They will play in the All-Star championship tournament this weekend in Anaheim. Wish them luck!
This past weekend, a team of five Harker students participated in the South/West Bay Area Regional Middle School Science Bowl, taking second place behind Miller Middle School in a final round that was decided by a mere six points. Team Harker – comprising grade 8 students Leon Lu, Akshay Ravoor, Kaushik Shivakumar, Katherine Tian and team captain Alexander Young – suffered only one loss in the early rounds, against Kennedy Middle School, and then defeated four other schools to reach the finals. Because Miller had not yet lost, they had to be defeated twice in the final round. “Harker beat Miller decisively in the final, scoring 108 to 50 points,” said middle school science teacher Vandana Kadam. “However, Miller still had one life and Harker had to go against them again and in this round Miller got an early lead of 54 points over Harker in the first half.” In the second half, Harker claimed a 66-18 lead, but a new rule that introduced a limit of 23 questions per round prevented Harker from moving any further.
“Although Harker came in second, the performance by the team members was a winning one!” Kadam exclaimed. “They did a commendable job in every round. It is not easy to sit through 11 rounds answering the hardest science questions you can find, ranging from Earth science to astronomy to life science to physical science to mathematics.”
Computer science students in grades 6 and 8 put their design skills to use, creating their first actual product of the semester for a recent class assignment called the “Name Card Project.”
“The Name Card Project products were accomplished by my students covering the ‘design thinking process’ concept. The students enjoyed working and creating, going through all the steps (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test) of the process. They are very proud of their products,” reported middle school computer science teacher Sharmila Misra.
The lesson was based on the “design thinking process” used by Stanford Graduate School. The project’s objective was to teach students to empathize with user (customer) requirements by creating a business card to their satisfaction, Misra explained. But, unlike a typical business card that could easily be lost or misplaced, the goal was to create one that would persuade the customer to save it for future use.
During the process, students gathered requirements as to what their user (who were their student partners) would like to know about them. They then made sketches of their ideas, took feedback and created the final product. They made sure their partner was satisfied with the end result before delivering it.
The cards reflected each creator’s personality traits, hobbies and passions, including gymnastics, traveling, math, music and science. They showed their creativity using various methods of communication to portray things like their favorite vacation spots, food, sports and pets.
“I truly enjoyed creating a note card that represented who I am, because I rarely get a chance to harness my imagination and let it propel me in the right direction … in a safe and efficient environment,” said grade 8 computer science student Matthew Hajjar.
Classmate Aryana Far, grade 8, added “getting to interpret our creative abilities into an assignment was pretty fun. I loved that … all of the posters were unique and illustrated aspects of my classmates that I had not seen before.”
“I am very proud of my students’ creativity. I believe these are the best business cards I’ve ever seen,” said Misra. “They speak so eloquently of the [people] they represent. My room looks so alive with them!”
Margaret Huntley’s middle school advisory is spreading Valentine’s Day cheer to seniors in the community! The 10 grade 7 students made about 50 cards that will be distributed by Meals on Wheels in Fremont. Huntley found the idea on dosomething.org, a website full of ideas for young people who want to make a difference. The students in her advisory wrote messages and poems inside the cards and attached origami hearts. “The students really enjoyed doing it, and some of the poems and messages are just lovely,” said Huntley.
Hannah Lee’s 6th grade advisory also participated, and a few of her Spanish IA students worked on some Valentines in Spanish for Spanish-speaking recipients — all Valentines were sent off to the Meals on Wheels in Fremont!
Each fall, grade 7 students enjoy a fun-filled Southwestern adventure on the middle school’s annual national parks trip.
This school year was no exception. From viewing the unique red rock formations in Utah and Arizona to experiencing the incredible hiking trails of the Grand Canyon, the students learned firsthand about the American Southwest.
The first stop on the trip was Montzuma Castle National Monument, located 50 miles south of Flagstaff, Ariz., reported Lana Morrison, middle school dean of students. While there, students and chaperones listened to a Navajo presentation before heading to nearby Sedona for some hiking.
The next day’s adventure began with a visit to Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim, where students participated in an organized trust walk (listening to directions while walking with eyes closed). “Students were blindfolded while they walked from the parking lot to the rim,” Morrison recalled. “With one hand on the backpack in front of them and the other on a rope, Harker chaperones provided step-by-step and turn-by-turn directions. Upon arriving at the rim, Harker chaperones counted to three for students to take off their blindfolds and see the Grand Canyon together as a group. I noticed many of the foreign tourists watching us seemed more amazed by this activity than the majestic Grand Canyon!”
Another trip highlight was a tour of Monument Valley, known to many as “the eighth wonder of the world.” Monument Valley, located in Southeast Utah, has been a significant place for centuries, and houses ruins that some believe to belong to the mysterious Anasazi people who disappeared from the area hundreds of years ago. The area is also notable for the fact that it is not a national park, but rather a Navajo park.
Monument Valley became an icon in the late 1930s, thanks to valley resident Henry Goulding (owner and founder of Goulding’s Lodge), Morrison explained. Goulding heard about a new Western movie being made in Hollywood and decided that the valley should be the location. Acclaimed film director John Ford agreed, and the film “Stagecoach,” starring John Wayne, showed the majesty of Monument Valley to the world. The iconic buttes and open sky continued to be emblematic of the American Southwest, and can been seen in movies such as “Forrest Gump,” “Cars,” “The Lone Ranger” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”
After leaving Monument Valley, the contingent drove to nearby Moonlight Springs Ranch, which is owned by the Holiday family. Members of the Holiday family taught the group about “The Navajo Way,” as part of a special program for Harker students.
“During our stay, we learned how to make delicious tasting fry bread and created sand paintings. Members of the Holiday family also sang traditional Navajo songs and danced with some of our students and chaperones. At the end of the ceremony, the eldest member of the family chanted a blessing for the rest of our trip and travel back to San Jose,” recalled Morrison.
On the final day of the trip, the seventh graders spent time in Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park, where students and chaperones alike marveled at the world-famous Hoodoos (pillars of rock formed by erosion).
The trip ended with the now close-knit group traveling to Zion National Park before packing up for their return flight back home. The grade 7 visit to the national parks of the Southwest was one of several weeklong middle school class trips held during the fall. Grade 6 went to the Santa Cruz Mountains and grade 8 traveled to Washington, D.C.
Harker’s grade 8 students, who traveled to Washington, D.C., on their class trip in October, are still speaking fondly of their whirlwind adventure exploring the nation’s capital.
Accompanied on the trip by Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, the journey began with a visit to Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, and Colonial Williamsburg, an interpretation of a colonial American city. The students were also able to participate in an interactive African-American dance and music program held in a slave quarter in Colonial Williamsburg.
“Specialized guides showed us what it was like to live in Jamestown in the early 1600s. One guide asked why certain posts had Roman numerals on them, and after one of our students responded, she (the guide) indicated this was the first time in her six years of doing these tours that someone answered that question correctly,” recalled Gargano.
The following day the contingent headed to Pamplin Historical Park, one of America’s best-preserved battlefields. The students first went to the Civil War Museum on the park grounds where they learned about the lives of soldiers who fought in the Civil War. Students also participated in military drills and visited the park’s recreated military encampment, experiencing elements of a common soldier’s life.
From there they visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Another highlight was a visit to the Newseum, where Gargano recalled that the students particularly enjoyed the FBI exhibit and a video about 9/11.
The students then met for dinner at the Capitol Hill Club, one of the most popular locations in Washington for lawmakers, government officials and other political figures to socialize and gather. Each year, during this evening, a former Harker student working in D.C. joins up with the group as a guest speaker.
“Eighth grader Alycia Cary introduced our speaker for this year, Stephanie Benedict ’08. Stephanie is currently an associate for Albright Stonebridge Group, a premier strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm. One of the many individuals she works with is Madeleine Albright, the first woman to have become the United States Secretary of State,” said Gargano.
The following day turned more solemn as the class visited the Iwo Jima U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Ford’s Theatre and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Toward the end of the trip, students visited the Capitol building, learning about the branches of the government and touring the House of Representatives, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. In keeping with annual tradition, the group took a photo in front of the Capitol.
New this year, the grade 8 students also had the exciting opportunity to visit the Washington Monument, the world’s tallest stone structure (at 555 feet), built to commemorate George Washington. “We took an elevator to get to the observation deck where we had an amazing view of the nation’s capital. This was the first trip where we obtained tickets to go to the top of the monument,” said Gargano.
By the end of the trip the students had fully bonded as a group, returning home eager to share highlights of their trip with friends and family. The grade 8 visit to Washington, D.C., was one of several weeklong middle school class trips held during the fall. Grade 6 went to the Santa Cruz Mountains and grade 7 toured national parks around the Southwest.