On Wednesday, sixth grader Rory Hu appeared on an episode of Nickelodeon’s “Nick News” to host a segment about The Turtle Hospital, a Florida-based organization that rescues and cares for injured sea turtles. Hu met and interviewed the hospital’s staff, toured the facility and watched a surgeon remove a tumor.
Last year, Hu was selected to be a reporter by TIME for Kids, where she wrote recommendations for books and interviewed figures such as Apple CEO Tim Cook. She was later chosen to be a Nick News host after a successful audition.
The Santa Clara Children’s Business Fair, organized by eighth grader Mikhil Kiran, took place Oct. 23 at Live Oak Park in Santa Clara, during which 100 young entrepreneurs pitched their product ideas to visitors from the local community. “We had a really good event, with a wonderful turnout,” said Kiran, who estimated that several hundred people attended.
The event has been run by Kiran, who is also the founder of the nonprofit Kidzrule, since he was a fifth grader. Last year’s fair was canceled due to restrictions caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harker students participating at the fair included fourth grader Ryan Santosh, who promoted Rylego Designs, sixth grader Aditya Banwasi of ThePhysicsHub, and eighth grader Aditya Shivakumar and seventh grader Trisha Shivakumar of Magic Escape. About a month before fair, participants attended a special orientation that contained advice on how to prepare for the event. Senior Arnav Gupta spoke at the orientation and provided information about this venture, called GetWellSoon.
Making a special appearance at the event was Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who gave a speech about how the fair benefits the community and commended and congratulated the young entrepreneurs on their first forays into business.
On Friday, lower and middle school students viewed special presentations about the importance of acknowledging Indigenous land and the history of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, the direct ancestors of the Thámien Ohlone-speaking people, the original stewards of the land on which Harker’s campuses now rest. Also shown were videos of the ceremonies unveiling the land acknowledgment monuments that have been placed on each campus. Each video featured representatives from the lower and middle school Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees speaking to their respective communities. Students at each campus then viewed the newly unveiled monuments for themselves. These activities were the continuation of the land acknowledgment ceremony that took place at the upper school in May, footage from which was also shown Friday.
Middle school mathematics department chair Vandana Kadam recently won the Edyth May Sliffe Award, which is awarded to middle and high school math teachers who have shown dedication to teaching by motivating students to participate in the American Mathematics Competitions. Kadam last won the award in 2018. Candidates for this award are nominated by colleagues, students, parents and administrators, and winners are chosen based on criteria such as demonstrated improvement in AMC scores over multiple years, increased participation in the competitions and increased participation in invitational events such as the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME) and the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO).
Sixth grader and chess enthusiast Omya Vidyarthi won a gold medal at last month’s 17th Annual North American Youth Chess Championship, which hosted more than 400 entrants from the Canada, Mexico and the United States. Vidyarthi competed in the U12 Girls category and won with a score of 8.5 points out of a possible 9. She is now eligible to earn the Woman FIDE Master title from the International Chess Federation. As a bonus, Vidyarthi also took second place in the blitz chess side event!
Middle schoolers returned to school at their new campus yesterday after a year-long construction process, led by now-retired facility manager Mike Bassoni. Students had visited campus a day earlier to meet with their advisors and see the finished campus, which they were eager to explore. On their first full day of instruction, students flocked to the new lunch area and its array of items and greatly enjoyed using the new facilities such as the library and play areas. Days earlier, donors attended a special ribbon-cutting ceremony and received a tour of the campus, enjoying refreshments in its brand new gym.
“It was amazing to see the students on campus today, seeing the buildings, finding their way, meeting advisors and teachers, and friends and classmates of course!” said Evan Barth, middle school division head, in a letter to parents following the orientation.
Chess whiz Vyom Vidyarthi, who starts as a freshman at the upper school this year, was the winner at the 11th Annual Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions, held July 31-Aug. 3 in Cherry Hill, N.J., becoming the Champion of Champions among middle school competitors. The Barber tournament is a meeting of representatives from each state, who then face off to determine the nation’s top player. As a first-place winner, Vidyarthi received a $5,000 scholarship and an invitation to the 2022 US Cadet Championship. His score was combined with those of other top players from Northern California region, which won the team portion of the event.
Last month, rising seventh grader Xianyao He qualified for the U13 (under 13) boys national table tennis team following a terrific performance at the national team trials in Pleasantville, N.Y. He is now eligible to represent Team USA at the International Table Tennis Federation’s Pan American U11 and U13 Championships, set to be held in Cuenca, Ecuador, in October. Xianyao has been training diligently at the Spartans Table Tennis Center in Santa Clara and is among the highest-ranked U13 boys players in California.
Yesterday, rising eighth grader Danielle Steinbach was named a finalist in the 2021 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Steinbach’s project explored how to improve the accuracy of diagnosing and treating neurological disorders and brain diseases using neural networks. Students who enter the competition each create a video explaining their solution to a current scientific problem. Finalists are awarded $1,000 and are invited to take part in a summer mentorship program with a 3M scientist. The grand prize winner will receive $25,000 and a two-day, one-night trip. The final event is scheduled to take place at 3M’s headquarters in Saint Paul, Minn., in October.
Harker had incredible results at the final speech and debate tournament of the season. The National Speech & Debate Association tournament took place online June 13-19. It is one of three major national championships. Thousands of students try to qualify to attend the tournament in each event, a few hundred are selected to compete, and only the top 16 competitors win awards. Harker had four students make it to their respective final rounds!
Rising senior William Chien was in the final round of domestic extemporaneous speaking and placed third. Chien said that his favorite thing about the experience was “meeting people from all across the country and getting to know their different backgrounds, ideas and perspectives.” Rising junior Michelle Jin was in the finals of international extemporaneous speaking and came in fifth. Jin commented that speech has helped her confidence, noting, “In [extemporaneous speaking], where you only have 30 minutes to organize your speech, you just have to trust yourself when you begin speaking.”
In congressional debate, recent graduate Andrew Sun placed third and was awarded the Leadership Bowl for Most Outstanding Legislator by his peers. Sun summed up his many years on the team, saying, “Speech and debate has been a defining part of my middle school and high school experience at Harker; I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Rising junior Arissa Huda also qualified to compete in congress.
In the middle school division, rising eighth grader Pavitra Kasthuri was a finalist in prepared prompt speaking.
Several Harker students were also named Academic All-American by the NSDA, placing them in the top 1 percent of student members in terms of speech and debate records and grade point averages. Recent graduates Andy Lee, Jason Lin, Akshay Manglik, Nathan Ohana and Andrew Sun, as well as rising seniors William Chien, Melody Luo, Deven Shah and Rohan Thakur were honored.
Harker coaches also received awards. Scott Odekirk was named an Educator of the Year! Only one to three coaches receive that award per year, out of thousands of coaches. Department Chair Jenny Achten was awarded a fourth Diamond, meaning that she has coached a large and successful team for 20 years.