Harker held its 11th annual Diana Nichols Math Invitational on March 10, which was attended by several schools in the area. A total of about 280 students participated in the contest. Shaya Zarkesh took fifth place in the grade 6 individual event, while Kai-Siang Ang earned third place at the grade 7 level. Jonathan Ma finished third in the grade 8 individual category.
The team of Ma, Jonathan Dai, Grace Guan, Vineet Kosaraju, Anika Mohindra, Emily Pan and Jessica Zhu took third in the grade 8 team competition.
Always the crowd pleaser, Dance Jamz, the middle school’s annual spring dance show, again left audiences wanting more.
Sponsored by the performing arts department and held at the Blackford Theater for a four-show run, the recent show featured 169 dancers (20 more than last year) from all middle school grade levels.
Dance Jamz 2012 encompassed a series of elaborate routines, covered varied dance styles and included more male performers than ever before. There was even an grade 8 boys-only number.
The student dancers performed a total of three shows, first showcasing their talents for grade 5, then entertaining their middle school classmates and finally performing for friends and family.
Middle school dance teacher Gail Palmer, who directed the show, said she was excited about watching Harker’s middle school program grow. With more students taking classes and becoming technically skilled dancers, she hopes her students continue to follow their passion for dance well into high school and beyond.
She noted that Dance Jamz would not be possible without the tireless effort of countless volunteers who ensure it runs smoothly, as well as those who give to Harker’s annual campaign, which funds the program.
From the first energetic piece, “This Place About to Blow,” to the final number, “Fame,” Dance Jamz entertained and delighted audience members with its stunning variety of dance styles, music and costumes.
Three Harker middle school social studies teachers recently returned from the 51st annual conference of the California Council for the Social Studies, held in Orange County.
The teachers – Jonathan Brusco, Keith Hirota and Cyrus Merril – were among conference attendees who annually come together as a group, from across the state and beyond, to share insights and ideas, collaborate and inspire one another in efforts to support and sustain a strong history/social studies education program for students.
“The best teachers are always trying to come up with new, innovative ways to engage their students and this convention is a means for them to share their great ideas with other educators,” said history teacher Brusco.
“This was my second year attending the convention and each year I brought back something innovative to implement in my classroom. This time I learned about a new method, called the four worlds, for students to do analysis of social studies topics. I’ve already begun utilizing it in my classroom.”
For more than 50 years, the conference’s mission has remained consistent: to prepare and equip the next generation with the necessary skills, understanding and dispositions to maintain a democratic republic.
This year’s theme was Social Studies to the Core! The theme explored how common core standards can be used as a tool to advance critical thinking through analytical reading and writing exercises with social studies content.
Keynote speakers and scholars included Holocaust survivor, author and Medal of Freedom recipient Gerda Weissmann Klein; “Enrique’s Journey” author Sonia Nazario; English Language Learning expert Margarita Jimenez-Silva; National Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools executive director Ted McConnell; and California Court of Appeals Justice Judith McConnell.
Sessions and workshops made up the bulk of the conference with programming delivered by K-12 teaching colleagues and other educators. An added bonus was an exhibit hall, complete with vendors on hand to hook up conference attendees with the latest instructional materials for use in the social studies classroom.
Social events included an appetizer reception where guests networked with colleagues and friends, an awards dinner and a breakfast with a legislative advocate. Next year’s conference will be held in San Francisco.
It’s not exactly business as usual in the main office lobby at Harker’s upper school campus. Sure, there are phones ringing, copy machines whirring, visitors popping in asking questions, the sound of papers rustling. And yet, despite these typical happenings, there’s something very different about the place: it is doubling as an art gallery for the middle school’s impressive visual arts program, presenting select student work created during the school year.
Each spring, all of Harker’s campuses hold art shows to give students a venue for the works they have completed thus far, but the Saratoga exhibit includes specially selected works. The exhibit kicked off with an opening reception this month and will run until April 6. On April 23 the main middle school art exhibit will open on the middle school campus, where it will run until May 15, with an opening reception held there on April 24.
In the Saratoga exhibit, colorful paintings and ceramics, from figurines to wire sculptures and mobiles, filled the outer walls on all sides of the room, giving a lovely, transformative ambience to the office setting.
On display from sixth graders were assorted plates and bowls with tempting fake food such as pie, French fries, vegetables and fruit. One particularly cheery plate radiated with painted-on yellow smiley faces. Grade 7-8 ceramics included a section of sea animals titled “Formed by the Sea.” They also had a table at the show containing glass fusion and casting, comprising sculptures illuminated by lights revealing the intricacy of the work.
Congratulations to the girls grade 5 basketball team for their 28-6 victory over Woodland last night! Today they play in the semifinal game against either Sacred Heart 2 or St Matthews in Harker’s Bucknall gym at 5 p.m. Please come out and support the girls!
In addition to the accomplishments of the girls basketball, boys soccer and wrestling teams, we participated in the first ever middle school WBAL golf tournament. Please see the results below.
Cyrus Merrill’s grade 8 history students had the unique opportunity to chat with White House speechwriter Laura Dean in late January, just after President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address.
The interviews were conducted by phone, and students asked a range of questions about speechwriting and what life is like as an employee of the president. Dean said that Obama practices the speech only “two or three” times without interruption from applause, and that speechwriters attempt to strike a balance between content that will be liked both by Congress and the general public.
During the process, she said, writers often spend a lot of time debating which ideas to start with, and find that it is difficult to say “no” to the president when he has an idea for the content of a speech.
Writing of the State of the Union speech starts in December, and begins with research teams finding out what they want the speech to cover and checking facts with specialists. During the last couple of weeks before the address, the president becomes more involved in the process, but during the final week, the team tries to keep him from making any further changes.
Amusingly, some students wanted to know what font is used when writing the speeches. “Times New Roman 12,” Dean replied.
Harker’s tradition of combining the latest technology with education continues as strongly as ever. Dozens of Harker middle school students have been participating in a pen pal exchange with the Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Astana, Kazakhstan, over the past few months, through a connection courtesy of Harker alumna Lauren Gutstein ’06, who is currently teaching English at the school.
On Feb. 7, the students video conferenced with their Kazakhstani buddies, and were able to interact face-to-face for the first time. The students participated in a question and answer session, as well as a fun show-and-tell, where both groups of students showed current trends, fashions, games and talents. The conference concluded with Harker students teaching their Kazakh friends some American slang, and with the Kazakh students teaching Russian and Kazakh words and slang in return.
What a day of crosscultural learning and connecting!
Football players in grades 6 through 8 looking to improve their skills at a certain position or learn a new one will have the chance to learn from one of the sport’s most respected trainers at the Harker Football School. The program starts Tues., March 13, and will run every Tuesday and Thursday until May 17.
“Success in producing football players who can compete on the highest level is the direct result of a consistent commitment to developing athletes who are sound in the fundamental skills of their respective positions,” says Harker football coach Ron Forbes, who directs the program.
Over a career spanning more than 15 years, Forbes has trained more than 60 athletes who were later drafted by the National Football League. He helped the University of Florida Gators on their way to seven consecutive bowl games, and helped Stanford secure its spot as one of the top teams in the NCAA’s PAC 10 division, second only to the University of Southern California.
Harker Football School sessions will take place at the upper school campus at 500 Saratoga Ave. in San Jose. Beginning- to advanced players will participate in practice drills to build speed, agility and quickness, learning fundamental skills such as proper stance and start, as well as higher-level concepts such as advanced offensive and defensive strategy.
Individual sessions can be purchased for $25 each. Purchasing a package of five sessions for $95 will save $6 per session for a total savings of $30. A package of 10 sessions is available for $125, cutting the cost of each session in half to save 50 percent overall. Tickets can be purchased at the following URL: http://bit.ly/wZOTko. The general public can register by clicking here. Harker parents should register from the link in the Harker Parent Portal.
A group of grade 6 advisories worked together to send 110 Valentine’s Day cards to deployed military personnel all over the world. The project involved the advisories of Lisa Masoni, Julie Pinzás, Kate Murphy, Karina Momary, Lorena Martinez, Mark Gelineau and Melanie McKenna. The groups met to make the Valentines, which will be shipped in care packages through the nonprofit “A Million Thanks.” “Students worked for a week and a half using glitter, construction paper, stamps and patterns,” said Momary. “Each card had a heartfelt message, kind comments, jokes and words of encouragement.”
Some advisories are continuing the card-making project through March, making thank you cards to be delivered later in the year.
Members of the grade 6 choir “Dynamics” traveled to the lower school on Jan. 13 to present interested fourth and fifth graders with a taste of what to expect in middle school, and to drum up interest in taking the choir elective. The sixth graders, dressed in their bright blue Dynamics shirts, worked with the lower school students on tongue twisters with choreography to better enunciate while singing. The middle school students also performed a choreographed song, with the younger students dancing and singing along with them.
While grade 4 and 5 is a more traditional choir, Dynamics is a very high energy show choir, bearing some similarities to musical numbers on the television show “Glee.” “Every year I have sixth graders coming to me saying they wished they had signed up for choir, but they did not realize it was going to be so much fun,” said the group’s director, Roxann Hagemeyer. Based on the energy and laughter seen on Jan. 13, that may not be a problem next year.