This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In mid-August, the office of District 28 State Assembly member Paul Fong held a special seminar at the middle school campus designed to help senior citizens identify and prevent fraud. A panel of experts instructed seniors on how to hire contractors, spot Medicare scams, prevent identify theft and more. The seminar was held in response to an increase in the activity of door-to-door salespeople in Cambrian and Willow Glen, two areas Fong represents.
This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In mid-June, 19 students and three teachers set off on a five-day backpacking adventure in Yosemite National Park, packing in their own supplies and making their own food.
Science teachers Ben Morgensen and Daniel Sommer, and math teacher Margaret Huntley, accompanied students on the trip, which began at Crane Flat Campground.
“The backpacking trip was incredible!” recalled Huntley. “We hiked to and camped at the truly amazing May Lake, with a pristine lake, snow-capped peaks and view out across Yosemite. We did a day hike to Mt. Hoffmann (10,856 ft.) then hiked to Murphy Creek and camped there for a night before hiking out and driving home. We had beautiful weather and a great mix of first-time and returning hikers, some sleeping in a tent for the first time and others taking on real leadership roles.”
After Crane Flat, the group drove to the May Lake Trailhead. “On the way … we watched the land unfold in front of us, with towering peaks jutting sharply into the deep blue sky and babbling brooks merrily cascading down deep gorges,” reminisced Andy Semenza, grade 9.
Once at the trailhead, it was a short hike up to May Lake through the alpine landscape. Upon their arrival at the lake beneath Mt. Hoffmann, they proceeded to set up camp and cook dinner.
“The need to purify all water instilled a greater appreciation for nature,” Semenza said. “Once we had finished our repast, we scrambled up a rock outcropping near the lake to watch a spectacular sunset and thunderstorm unfold over the great valley of Tuolumne Meadows and lightning strike the highest peaks of the region.”
The next morning, the students climbed Mt. Hoffman then descended to Murphy Creek where many of them fished for trout in the lake. That night, some of the group opted to spend the night in sleeping bags on the granite.
“Throughout that week, we learned many lessons only possible outside the confines of the classroom walls – from the crippling effects of altitude to the feeding practices of ospreys. However, we also had to cope with more psychological issues, like managing a good pace for a group or dealing with tent mates,” said Semenza.
Five middle school students successfully auditioned for spots in the Stanford Jazz Workshop Giant Steps All-Star Band. Students who were accepted are flutist Donna Boucher and double bassist Connie Xu, both grade 8, saxophonist Grant Miner, grade 7, and tenor saxophonist Paul Kratter and guitarist Arushi Saxena, both grade 6.
In addition, double bassist Anika Fuloria and trumpeter Leland Rossi, both grade 6, received recognition for their abilities on their respective instruments.
The band comprises 20 members, who were judged on such qualities as musicianship, improvisational ability, music theory knowledge and technique. Band members will rehearse once a week in preparation for a concert that will take place at Stanford University in December.
In mid-June, 19 students and three teachers set off on a five-day backpacking adventure in Yosemite National Park. The annual summer Middle School Backpacking Trip required students to carry their own supplies, as well as make their own food, teaching them independence and resilience.
With California as their classroom, science teachers Ben Morgensen and Daniel Sommer, and math teacher Margaret Huntley, accompanied students on the trip, which began with setting up an overnight camp at the Crane Flat Campground.
“The backpacking trip was incredible! We hiked to and camped at the truly amazing May Lake, with a pristine lake, snow-capped peaks and view out across Yosemite. We did a day hike to Mt. Hoffmann (10,856 ft.) then hiked to Murphy Creek and camped there for a night before hiking out and driving home. We had beautiful weather and a great mix of first-time and returning hikers, some sleeping in a tent for the first time and others taking on real leadership roles,” recalled Huntley.
After leaving the Crane Flat Campground, the group drove along Tioga Road to the May Lake Trailhead. “On the way, as we steadily rose from the lush conifers of Crane Flat to the barren alpine landscape of Yosemite’s High Country, we watched the land unfold in front of us, with towering peaks jutting sharply into the deep blue sky and babbling brooks merrily cascading down deep gorges,” reminisced rising grade 9 student Andy Semenza.
Once the group arrived at the trailhead, it was a short hike up to May Lake through the alpine landscape, made more difficult by the heavy loads they carried. Upon their arrival at the lake beneath Mt. Hoffmann, they proceeded to set up camp and cook dinner.
“The need to purify all water with iodine instilled a greater appreciation for nature inside of us,” Semenza said. “Once we had finished our repast, we scrambled up a rock outcropping near the lake to watch a spectacular sunset and thunderstorm unfold over the great valley of Tuolumne Meadows and lightning strike the highest peaks of the region.”
The next morning, the students made their incredible climb up Mt. Hoffmann. Then, after a grueling descent into Murphy Creek, many of them successfully fished for trout in the lake. That night, some of the group opted to forgo the shelter of a tent and spent the night in sleeping bags on the granite.
“Throughout that week, we learned many lessons only possible outside the confines of the classroom walls – from the crippling effects of altitude to the feeding practices of ospreys. However, we also had to cope with more psychological issues, like managing a good pace for a group or dealing with tent mates,” surmised Semenza.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Melissa Tronc, a lower and middle school teacher from St. Stephen’s College in Coomera, Queensland, Australia, visited Harker for two weeks in November for this year’s teacher exchange with the school.
Tronc had a particular interest in the many ways Harker teachers use technology in the classroom. While here she visited with Abigail Joseph, middle school computer science teacher; Scott Kley Contini, middle school assistant technology director; and Diane Main, upper school assistant director of technology. She also spent much of her time observing classes, such as Margaret Huntley’s algebra honors class, programming fundamentals with Michael Schmidt and Cyrus Merrill’s U.S. history class.
For the teaching portion of the exchange, Tronc taught several sessions of Diane Plauck’s grade 4 core math and grade 5 advanced core math classes.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
The works featured in this year’s middle school fall production provided both modern and classic examples of the influence of commedia dell’arte, a style of Italian theater that rose to prominence in the mid-16th century. Notable for its heavy use of improvisation, commedia dell’arte is credited with the proliferation of what is now known as slapstick comedy and was a major influence on playwrights such as Shakespeare and Moliere, whose “A Doctor in Spite of Himself” was one of the plays brought to the Blackford Theater on Nov. 15.
In “Doctor,” adapted from its original French version by Aurand Harris, a prodigal husband named Sgnarelle (Matthew Hajjar, grade 7) is punished for his spendthrift ways by his wife, Martine, played by Sameep Mangat, grade 8. Fed up with her husband’s penchant for spending extravagantly on food and drink, Martine tells the servants of a rich family in need of a doctor that Sgnarelle is a doctor held in high regard. They in turn coerce him into serving as a doctor for the wealthy family, which results in a series of amusing and occasionally dangerous situations.
The second play, “Bamboozled!” written by Michael Brill in 1985, is a story of mischief and deception, as the opportunistic Brighella (Sophia Angus, grade 7) devises a plot that involves tricking the old and greedy Pantalone (Akhil Arun, grade 8) into thinking he has killed the young Harlequin (Ellie Lang-Ree, grade 7) and having Pantalone pay Brighella to stay quiet and get rid of the very-much-alive Harlequin’s “body.” Another plot involving an arranged marriage between Pantalone and the beautiful Columbine (Maya Kumar, grade 8) sees Brighella attempt to switch the bride to be with Harlequin, thereby allowing Columbine to run away with her lover, Leandro, and simultaneously making Brighella and Harlequin the benefactors of the dowry from Columbine’s ward. Both plays were directed by middle school performing arts teacher Mary Ellen Agnew-Place, who was crucial in bringing out wonderful performances from the students, particularly since the material was uncommon for actors their age. Harker performing arts department veteran Paul Vallerga again designed the set, and also acted as technical director and lighting designer. Carol Clever designed the vibrant costumes and props, while Brian Larsen was the play’s production manager.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
China has taken on a new relevance for 20 middle school students, who in early April spent an action-packed week touring and meeting with their buddies at the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS), Harker’s sister school in Shanghai.
Upon their arrival in China, the students were warmly welcomed at the Pudong International Airport by their pals from WFLMS, upper school dean and chaperone Kevin Williamson recalled. From there, they hopped on a bus for the short drive into the city to meet their host families. Then, they experienced a full day of school, “WFLMS style,” he said.
The students’ time at WFLMS ended with a touching farewell party and dinner.
The tour of Beijing included a moving visit to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace.
Another highlight of the trip was a visit to the Great Wall of China. After taking a ski lift to the top of the mountain, the group entered the wall. Students took many photos of the renowned structure and were thrilled to enjoy a fun toboggan ride back down the mountain.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In May 23 Harker middle school students headed to Japan to meet their Tamagawa buddies, view the country’s many signature sights and more. The students’ first stop was Harker’s sister school, Tamagawa Academy (K-12) & University in Tokyo, where they were greeted warmly by Tamagawa families and treated to performances by students.
Over the next few days, Harker students – who stayed with Tamagawa families – spent time with their buddies and enjoyed various on-campus activities, such as visiting classes, touring the facilities and even seeing a beehive up close.
After saying goodbye to their buddies, the Harker group boarded a bullet train to Kyoto, where they visited many of the city’s most famous landmarks. They also traveled to Miyajima Island and Peach Memorial Park.
On their final day in Japan, the students visited the Monkey Park in Gion, where they enclosed themselves in small huts to feed the monkeys.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Girls Volleyball
Varsity A (grades 7-8), coached by Stephanie Coleman and Diana Melen- dez, went 7-2 overall and took third place in the WBAL. MVP: Lauren Napier, grade 8; Eagle Award: Melissa Kwan, grade 8; Coaches Award: Megan Cardosi and Kristen LeBlanc, both grade 8.
Varsity B (grades 7-8), coached by Therese Wunnenberg, went 5-2 overall and took second place in the WBAL. MVP Allison Cartee, grade 7; Eagle Award: Laura Wu, grade 7; Coaches Award: Catherine Wang, grade 7.
Varsity B2 (grades 7-8), coached by Candace Silva-Martin, went 6-0 and were league champs in the WBAL! MVP: Uttara Saha, grade 8; Eagle Award: Danya Zhang, grade 8; Coaches Award: Nicole Selvaggio, grade 7.
Junior Varsity A (grade 6), coached by Vonda Reid, went 6-1 overall and took second place in the WBAL. Eagle Award: Grace Hajjar, Anna Gert and Emily Cheng.
Junior Varsity B6 (grade 6), coached by Alyssa Glascott, went 6-1 overall and were league champs in the WBAL! MVP: Michelle Kwan; Eagle Award: Rashmi Iyer; Coaches Award: Annabelle Ju.
Baseball
Varsity A (grades 7-8), coached by Jeff Paul, Matt Arensberg and Carl Yaffe, went 1-4-1 overall and took fifth place in the WBAL. MVP: Chris Smith, grade 8; Eagle Award: Zach Hoffman, grade 7; Coaches Award: Tanay Kamat, grade 8.
Junior Varsity A (grades 6-7), coached by Dan Pringle, Gustavo Cordova and Joe Newman, went 1-5-1 overall and took sixth place in the WBAL. MVP: Logan Frank, grade 7; Eagle Award: Jack Dawson, grade 7 and Asmit Kumar, grade 6; Coaches Award: Henry Cuningham, grade 6 and Trevor Thompson, grade 7.
Boys Volleyball
Varsity A (grades 7-8), coached by Pete Anderson, went 8-1 overall and were league champs of the ADAL – their second league championship in a row! MVP: Derek Jones, grade 8 and Chris Gong, grade 7; Eagle Award: Jeffrey Kwan, grade 6.
Junior Varsity A (grades 6-7), coached by Travis Jones, went 5-4 overall and took second place in the ADAL. MVP: Rahul Goyal, grade 7; Eagle Award: Henry Wiese, grade 6; Coaches Award: Neal Sidhu, grade 6.
Tennis
Varsity A (grades 6-8), coached by John Fruttero and JP Fruttero, went 7-0 and were league champs of the WBAL! They also went 5-0 and were league champs of the MTP! They finished 15-1 overall, winning the WBAL tournament and taking second place in the MTP tournament. MVP: Brandon Mo, grade 8, Neil Ramaswamy, grade 7 and Joshua Valluru, grade 6; Eagle Award: Neil Bai and David Wen, both grade 8; Coaches Award: Elizabeth Schick, grade 8.
Varsity B (grades 6-8), coached by John Fruttero and JP Fruttero. All matches were exhibition matches and, therefore, were not scored. MVP: Jerry Chen, grade 8; Eagle Award: Alex Wang, grade 8.
Water Polo
Varsity B (grades 6-8), coached by Ted Ujifusa and Peter Blume, went 6-0 and were league champs of the WBAL, becoming the first Harker middle school water polo team to win a league title! MVP: Emma Brezoczky, grade 8; Eagle Award: Bobby Bloomquist, grade 7; Coaches Award: Cassandra Ruedy and Alicia Xu, both grade 6.
Golf
Middle School (grades 6-8), coached by Ie-Chen Cheng, shot a 180 (top five golfers’ scores) and were league champs of the WBAL spring golf tournament! This is the middle school golf team’s fifth WBAL league title in a row in the last three years (they play fall and spring each year)!
Theresa Smith and Karriem Stinson would like to thank all who have supported the Harker middle school sports program over the 2013-14 school year. GO EAGLES!
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
What a spring for Harker sports! Harker’s hard-working athletes excelled on the field this spring, with amazing streaks, playoff competition and some jaw-dropping results! On the academic front, Harker had 10 – count ’em, 10! – top five varsity spring 2014 CCS scholastic championship teams. Those 10 teams had the highest collective grade-point average of all teams competing in their sport. Harker’s teams finished in the top five for every spring sport in which we field a team, an amazing accomplishment. Together, the athletic and academic accomplishments are a strong testament to Harker’s ability to foster highly competitive athletes and great minds!
What a spring for Harker sports! Harker’s hard-working athletes excelled on the field this spring, with amazing streaks, playoff competition and some jaw-dropping results! On the academic front, Harker had 10 – count ’em, 10! – top five varsity spring 2014 CCS scholastic championship teams. Those 10 teams had the highest collective grade-point average of all teams competing in their sport. Harker’s teams finished in the top five for every spring sport in which we field a team, an amazing accomplishment. Together, the athletic and academic accomplishments are a strong testament to Harker’s ability to foster highly competitive athletes and great minds!
Golf The boys varsity golfers had a historic run this year, finishing third in the CCS regional tournament and sixth in their first-ever appearance in the CCS championships, ahead of league-rival Sacred Heart Prep! The future of Harker golf looks exceptionally bright as well, as the entire boys team will return next year, and the middle school golf team won its fifth consecutive WBAL tournament! Golfer Shrish Dwivedi, grade 11, was among the athletes who best exemplified the combination of athletic and academic achievement. After becoming co-league MVP, Dwivedi traveled to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to compete in the Future Collegians World Tour (FCWT) Championship, where he brought home a top three finish trophy in an international field of about 140 players, was named to the FCWT All-Academic Team and was awarded the First Team All-FCWT Award, becoming the only male to receive both academic and athletic honors.
Track and Field The track and field team competed in the league finals on May 17, where freshman phenom Niki Iyer became the new league champion in both the 1,600m and 3,200m runs! Meanwhile, senior Wei Wei Buchsteiner became the league champion in the high jump, setting a new Harker record of 5’9” – a foot better than the previous record. At the junior varsity championships, freshman Davis Dunaway won four events, while freshman Misha Ivkov placed in the top six in four events en route to the JV boys winning the team championship! These performances catapulted Harker’s athletes into the CCS preliminaries, where Iyer finished second and set a new Harker record.
In late-breaking news, Iyer placed fifth overall in the CCS 3,200m run, breaking her own week-old school record with a time of 10:51.14!
Swimming The swim team qualified for all CCS relays and sent a solid half of its swimmers and divers to the championships!
In a late-breaking update we are glad to report junior Aaron Huang made CCS finals, placing 14th in the 200 IM and 12th in the 100 breaststroke; senior Kimberly Ma placed 14th in the 500 freestyle and junior Stacey Chao placed 35th out of 51 1-meter divers.
Volleyball The boys went 20-14 this season, reaching the CCS quarterfinals after crushing Sobrato in their first-round matchup in straight sets. The team averaged 10 kills and 11.7 digs per set on the year, while also racking up 121 aces and 157 total blocks in its 34 games. Senior Andrew Zhu led the team in kills per set with 3.7, while junior Matt Ho led the team in kill percentage (59.7 percent) among players who played more than 50 sets. Zhu also led the team with 33 aces and an ace percentage of 13.2. Senior Will Deng led the team with 48 blocks.
The future of Harker volleyball looks bright as well, as the middle school squad won 53 of 54 games over the past three years, including winning the last 35 straight!
Baseball It was a rebuilding year for the team as the young squad faced off against varsity competition and finished 3-22 overall and 0-12 in league. As a whole, the team hit .248 with an excellent .355 on base percentage but a less-than-optimal .318 slugging percentage. In 25 games, the team scored 112 runs and hit 32 doubles, four triples and two homers. The speedsters also stole 62 bases, and were only thrown out three times all year! Pitching will be a key area of improvement for the team next year, as it finished with a 9.09 earned run average in 156 1/3 innings pitched.
Softball The softball team also is in the midst of a rebuilding year, going 1-15 and 0-8 in league. Overall, the team hit .238 with a .352 on base percentage and .298 slugging percentage for a total .650 on base plus slugging. The team also scored 90 runs with the help of 15 doubles, three triples and a homer. On the mound, the team finished with an 8.52 earned run average in 92 innings pitched.
Lacrosse The girls finished in second place in league this year with a 5-3 record, ending the year by avenging an earlier loss to Sacred Heart Prep with a 13-7 trumping.
Tennis Big news in middle school tennis! Harker’s varsity A team, comprising students in grades 6-8, went 20-0 this year and swept both the public and private league championships! That makes this the first time the team has ever gone undefeated and the first time it has won both titles. Winning, however, is not new to these players; the team is 36-2 over the past two years and has won three of the last four division titles!