Since the start of the year, students ages 10 to 13 have been involved in weekly sessions of the KidLead program, which uses a variety of methods to develop leadership skills in that age group.
For the past several weeks, students in the program have been taking 90-minute classes led by certified instructors who assist them in activities to improve qualities that are grouped into four color-coded modules. Each module has four sections stressing a value, an attitude, a relationship and a decision; for instance, the red module’s sections are ethics, honor, communication and power.
As of the second week of October, the class has been working on the communication piece of the red module. “We do simple brain-wake exercises like ‘untying a human knot,’ and play special versions of charades or Pictionary to help students understand the value of various types of communication,” said Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs and one of Harker’s certified KidLead instructors. “There are dozens of activities, all of which involve teams led by the students themselves, who are given opportunities to organize, direct, communicate and provide feedback to their teammates.”
The activities are overseen, but not led, by specially trained “Koaches” who also observe and guide the group discussions. Students also take home “Leadership Challenges” every week that parents are asked to sign off on in order to foster discussions with their children about the KidLead sessions.
Harker’s KidLead program began when its founder, Dr. Alan Nelson, contacted Christopher Nikoloff, head of school, to discuss the possibility of offering it here. Lawson researched the organization and began talking with Nelson to further explore the opportunity. “The more we talked, the more it seemed like a good fit for Harker, and particularly for Harker’s BEST program,” Lawson recalled. “It was an area that our parents define as important in the educational development of their children, and while Harker offers a good deal of practical leadership experience, this program offers us the chance to provide some developmental practice to support that.”
Harker currently has four certified trainers: Lawson; Joe Connolly, dean of students K-5; Keith Hirota, middle school history teacher; and Catherine Le, grade 5 science teacher. These experts are responsible for training the Koaches who guide the weekly sessions. “We’d like to expand the group, even double it in size to be able to offer multiple modules per quarter,” Lawson said. “This year we’ll inaugurate the program with 45 students involved, and we hope that many of them will see their way through the four-module course.” To accomplish that, the program will need to expand to include more sections. “We will also look forward to bringing Dr. Nelson to Harker on a regular basis to speak with our parents about how they can best nurture the leadership development of their own children,” Lawson added.
Although the program is still new, Lawson believes it has enormous potential: “All you need to do is look at the dozens of community service opportunities, sports teams, performing arts groups, extracurriculars in general, student government, along with all the team academics like Robotics, Future Problem Solvers, etc., to know that these skills have the potential to augment the development of this next generation of Harker leaders.”
This story was originally published in the Fall 2010 issue of Harker Quarterly
The academic year at the lower school began smoothly, with fresh-faced students taking on new responsibilities and learning new concepts about school life. Grade 3 students, for instance, spent much of the first few days finding their lockers and figuring out where to go between periods. “The administration and the teachers were all out there on the first few days at the change of periods helping students and reassuring them,” said Joe Connolly, K-5 dean of students. At an assembly held on the first day of school, the students learned that the year’s theme would be “compassion,” a subject that will be discussed with students throughout the year. Also new this year is the Eagle Buddy program, in which every student from grade 3 is paired with a student in grade 10, with whom they will interact at various events throughout the year.
Over at the Blackford campus, students spent their first few days adjusting to their everyday routines. During their orientation on Aug. 23, students met with advisors, received their textbooks and schedules and were given a primer on the advisory system. Students have many new things to look forward to, including several key changes to the lunch program. This year the kitchen has two new service areas and an expanded selection of foods, including more vegetarian options. Students, faculty and staff can now enjoy the new Chef’s Grill, the BBQ Express and The Bistro. Because of the new bell schedule, students in grades 7 and 8 will now eat together.
This story was originally published in the Fall 2010 issue of Harker Quarterly
For the fourth year in a row, Harker students claimed regional recognition in eCYBERMISSION’s national competition, receiving monetary awards totaling $18,000 between the two teams. One team also received an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Judging and Educational Event in Baltimore, Md., on June 21-26 to present their final project to four army officials and teachers from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
A competition challenging students in grades six to nine to use science, math and technology to solve real community issues, eCYBERMISSION encourages students to research and conduct experiments to find a solution. While “Dust Busters,” Allen Cheng, Daniel Pak, Albert Chu and Sharon Babu, now all grade 9, did not place nationally in Baltimore, the team had the opportunity to meet with all regional winners and explore the two Smithsonian museums and Aberdeen Proving Ground, home of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command.
The “Dust Busters’” presentation was the culmination of a year’s worth of research on a community controversy two students initially read about in the town newspaper related to mercury dust emissions from Lehigh Hanson Cement Plant.
Before submitting their project online in February, the quartet spent five months collecting water from four different bodies of water, testing for emissions in the lab and compiling data to research ways to educate the residents about the pollution and possible health issues. They also interviewed Hanson Quarry to hear the company’s side of the story.
The “Dust Busters” discovered that, while the local cement plant was not in violation of the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the mercury level in water near the quarry was significantly higher than mercury levels in other bodies of water in the area. The students took their findings to the Cupertino City Council and created a pamphlet that was distributed door-to-door to residents.
“This project needs students who have good research skills, writing skills, data collection and analysis and public relations skills to help them interview experts in the field that they are working on,” Vandana Kadam, advisor and math teacher, said about the group’s dynamic. “This team had a good combination of these qualities and hence worked very well together.”
The “Analytic Trio,” now also in grade 9, were Vikas Bhetanabhotla, Divyahans Gupta and Brian Tuan. They also received high honors and were recognized for their project’s application of science, math and technology. After experimenting with six different designs, the “Analytic Trio” presented a gas nozzle prototype that emits a lower amount of volatile organic compounds (VOC) into the environment than the current nozzle used across the nation.
“We are extremely proud of the students from The Harker School for their creative and innovative use of outstanding research, experimentation and analysis during this year’s eCYBERMISSION competition,” Major General Nick G. Justice said. “These students were selected from thousands of their peers, not only for their potential as future leaders in STEM [science, technology, engineering, math], but for their work to improve and make a positive impact on the communities in which they live.”
This story was originally published in the Fall 2010 issue of Harker Quarterly
Since 1998, Harker’s Latin programs have been highly successful, due to a high degree of commitment from both the students and faculty. “The kids are enthusiastic about what they do, and they get it when it comes to excelling at these things,” said John Hawley, upper school Latin teacher. This enthusiasm has resulted in consistent top placements in both state and national competitions. Since it first went into full swing in 1998, the upper school’s Junior Classical League (JCL) has placed either first or second in its division in every state JCL convention it has entered since 2000. “We got very good, very fast,” Hawley said.
The middle school program, too, has often received top honors at state competitions and has finished in the top 10 at nationals.
“The addition of the sixth graders to the middle school means that Latin starts earlier and that eighth graders compete at a higher level,” said Lisa Masoni, middle school Latin teacher. “In fact, the California Junior Classical League needed to create a new category, Middle School 3, last year, because of the students from Harker and a few other middle schools with three-year programs.”
In May, 13 Harker upper school students won awards after taking the Medusa Mythology Exam, which tests knowledge of Greek mythology and is open to all students. Shannon Su, grade 10, received a gold medal award and was eligible to apply for a cash prize. Taking silver were Ashvin Swaminathan and Richard Fan, both grade 10, while sophomore Phillip Oung and Jessica Lin, grade 11, earned bronze medal awards. Sophomores Jonathan Cho, Eric Zhang, Pranav Sharma, Sean Fernandes, Suchita Nety and junior Alex Hsu received Corona Laurea Certificates. Prag Batra and Ila Dwivedi, both grade 11, won Corona Olivae Certificates.
Most recently, at the national JCL convention, held at North Dakota State University in late July, four Harker students earned top spots.
Annirudh Ankola, grade 8, competed at levels 1 and 2 and took first place in novice open certamen, second place in large models and third in boys costume.
Oishi Banerjee, a grade 9 student who represented the middle school at level 2, had the most top finishes of the Harker students in attendance at the convention. Banerjee had first place finishes in level 2 girls Latin sight reading; level 2 girls dramatic interpretation; and mottoes, quotes and abbreviations. She also placed second in modern myth, intermediate competitive, level 2 Latin oratory and creative arts.
Nik Datuashvili, grade 10, competed at level 3 and took first place in ancient geography and Hellenic history. Classmate Fan also competed at level 3 and took first place in the junior boys 800 meters and second places in the junior boys marathon.
Finally, level 4 competitor Lin, took second place in Roman life
Editor’s Note: Oung and Banerjee have since transferred to other schools.
Softball
Softball continued their undefeated streak with two big victories in late September, boosting their record to an impressive 4-0. In their 12-3 victory over Sacred Heart Prep, Regan Heslop, grade 7, had an excellent day on the mound, throwing 12 strikeouts. She also hit a home run. The offense was helped by Safia Kouja, grade 8; Jordan Thompson, grade 6; and Gillian Wallin, grade 8. The Eagles had a home game against Woodside Priory, winning 10-2. Marita Del Alto, grade 7, pitched a complete game and gave up only two runs. Regan contributed again on offense with another home run. Ankita Sharma and Tong Wu, both grade 7, also turned in hits while Alisa Wakita, grade 7, got on base three times and stole three bases.
Cross Country
The cross country team ran at their third meet of the season at John D. Morgan Park in late September. The race was the longest of the year at just over 1.5 miles. Corey Gonzales, grade 8, posted the fastest time and placed eighth. Gabi Gupta, grade 8, earned the team’s highest place, finishing seventh in her race. Rounding out the places were Mary Najibi, grade 7, finishing tenth, and grade 6 students Meilan Steimle and Stephanie Scaglia finishing at 13 and 14, respectively. For the first time this year, Harker placed as a team, taking fourth in the grade 6 girls race.
The team competed last week in their toughest race of the season at C.T. English. The course, while not the longest, is in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is the hilliest race of the year. This didn’t deter Alex Deller, grade 7, from continuing her tradition of excellence by taking third place. In the grade 8 races, Alyssa Amick finished sixth, Thomas Doyle, grade 8, took eighth and Gonzales placed 11th. Rounding out the Eagles’ top placers was Najibi, who finished 12th. Congratulations to all the runners and good luck in future races!
Football
Junior varsity A continues their undefeated streak, as well, compiling a 5-0 record to date. In late September, they showed solid defense with a 20-0 shutout over Woodside Priory. Last week the streak continued with big wins over Menlo and Valley Christian San Jose. The Menlo game was an offensive shootout, with both teams scoring over 25 points. The Eagles emerged victorious 33-26 and were led by Alex Yuan and Nick Bean, both grade 6. Nick Weisbloom, grade 6, also added impressive rushing. In their game against Valley Christian the Eagles showed that they don’t lack defensive skills, holding the Warriors to only 12 points. The Eagles, on the other hand, scored an impressive 33 points and soundly defeated their opponent. Sandip Nirmel, grade 6, returned an interception for a touchdown and Varun Baldwa, grade 6, had two sacks while putting intense pressure on the Warriors’ offense throughout the game.
Varsity A football posted two big wins in late September, bringing them to 2-2 in league play. The Eagles defeated Crystal Springs 40-27 in an important league away game. At home, the team beat a tough King’s Academy squad 19-12. The offense has been led by quarterback and running back Allan Huang, grade 8. He is supported by Erick Holt and Billy Bloomquest, both grade 8. Srivinay Irrinki, grade 8, has been solid on the line, providing critical support for the rest of the team. Last week, they posted a victory over league opponent Pinewood 35-13. In their second contest of the week the Eagles had an extremely close game with King’s Academy, which ended in a 12-12 tie.
Varsity B football is 3-1-1 after their league win over Menlo School in late September. The score was a nail-biting 9-7. The team’s defense has been key to their success this year, and played a huge part in both of their victories. Last week they posted a big win over league opponent Crystal Springs. Coach Manny Martinez attributed the 26-12 outcome to a solid defensive effort by the Eagles. The team also competed in the West Valley Middle School Tournament, where they went 2-1-1 and took an impressive second place. Their performance was due in large part to excellent play by the offensive line. Vishal Vaidya, grade 8, played especially well in this respect.
Swim
The combined lower and middle school swim had their first competition of the year at Castilleja in early September. The team did quite well, with 33 students earning medals. Jeremy Binkley, grade 8, took first in both the 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle races in his class. Seventh-graders Justin Su and Peter Wu won their 50 flystroke and 50 backstroke races, respectively. Justin Culpepper, grade 6, and Mason Menaker, grade 5, won separate 5/6th 25 freestyle races while Swetha Tummala, grade 6, took first in girls freestyle. Mason also won the boys 100 freestyle. In the 25 flystroke, Kayvon Solaimanpour, grade 6, took first while Kendall Ka, grade 6, and Swetha won their 25 backstroke races. Rounding out the Eagles’ top finishers were Eddie Shiang, grade 6, and Kai- Sang Ang, grade 6, who both won their 25-breaststroke races.
This story was originally published in the Fall 2010 issue of Harker Quarterly Harker’s 2010 Summer Camp brought students from all over the San Jose area for learning and fun – often both at the same time.
With the entire afternoon set aside for activities, summer academics for K-8 took place within a short class day, from 8:30-11:30. The curriculum focused primarily on math and language arts, and the environment was somewhat more relaxed than regular school, according to Diann Chung, K-8 summer academic principal. “It’s still education, but it has a different vibe,” she said.
To ensure that each student was appropriately challenged, teachers used differentiated instruction to adapt their lessons to multiple levels within the same classroom. The summer curriculum was designed to be compatible with that for the school year, not redundant, and teachers had a great deal of latitude within which to incorporate games, crafts and activities.
For example, teacher Alice Cooley read a silly story to her first graders every day. “They think it’s great to hear me get my tongue twisted while reading ‘Fox in Sox,’” she said.
Elective topics ran the gamut from math to language arts, science, technology and the arts. In Enviro-Kids, students made their own dust collectors for a study of air pollution and later used computers to learn more about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Campers in grades 1-4 looking for a different kind of academic experience, or just a shorter camp, opted for a two-week thematic program titled Big Blue Marble. The curriculum integrated science, history, the arts and social studies – and, of course, math and language arts – into a multidisciplinary study of our world.
Each session focused on two continents, and students wrote in their travel journals, counted in different languages, and read both fiction and nonfiction. During the Africa module, all classes made hummus and fufu (sweet potato balls). They studied mummies and hieroglyphic writing, and created 3-D square and triangular pyramids.
“I really enjoy the integrated curriculum,” said veteran Harker teacher Kathleen Ferretti. “It’s a chance to look at things in a different way and have a lot of fun doing it.”
Some students in grades 5-8 chose two-week summer courses with a longer school day (8:30-3:30) for an in-depth look at a single subject area.
Michael Schmidt, Harker middle school computer science and robotics teacher, taught a lighter version of his required seventh grade course in which students built robots out of Legos. After learning how to program their creations during several days of robot wars, the students directed their energy toward making useful robots.
Products included Lego motorized wheelchairs, robotic pets, a grocery scanner, and a vending machine that operated perfectly during the parent demonstration before slipping off the table and crashing apart. With a maturity beyond his years, the builder shrugged, “That’s why vending machines aren’t built out of Legos.”
Schmidt made sure his students absorbed key concepts without letting go of the joy. “The more fun I’m having, the more fun they’re having,” he said.
Five Harker students took high honors at the the 13th Po Leung Kuk Primary Mathematics World Contest (PMWC), held in July in Hong Kong. David Zhu and Peter Wu, now grade 6, were on the Silicon Valley team that took first runner-up in the Po Leung Kuk Cup. Cindy Liu, Rachel Wu and David Lin, all now grade 8, helped the East Bay team reach second runner-up.
In individual competition, Liu had a perfect score and won a first place honor, Zhu earned a second place honor and Peter Wu and Rachel Wu won third place honors.
Each student at the competition was selected from two tryout rounds. Both rounds were administered by MathEdge, an organization that trains students in problem-solving and competitive mathematics. The first round attracted 154 students from 76 Bay Area schools. From the first round, 15 were selected to attend a 12-week training camp. Of those 15, eight were selected to compete at the PMWC after a second tryout.
To celebrate the upcoming “Peace Love Picnic” on Oct. 10, the entire grade 6 class got together on a Friday in September to make colorful tie-dyed T-shirts. The special occasion was in keeping with the 1960s theme of the picnic, which fittingly turns 60 this year. Students wore their new psychedelic fashion statements to school the following Tuesday to help build even more excitement for this year’s event.
Over the summer, enlight’ning, Harker’s middle school literary magazine, was recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) and Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for its exemplary product.
The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) awarded the 2009-2010 edition of enlight’ning the First Class award with marks of distinction for concept, writing and editing. ASPA named Kevin Ke, now Gr. 7, Best Artist for his artwork “Octopus Wreck” and gave the publication first place with special merit. “We are all very proud of the staff members’ work,” adviser Patricia Lai Burrows said.
enlight’ning editor Nila Banerjee, now Gr. 9, was delighted to hear about the awards. “As part of the staff, I really enjoyed working as a team to build the magazine,” she said, “It’s such a great feeling when everyone enjoys something that you help make.”
CSPA named this edition a Silver Medalist winner, scoring the design, writing and organization very highly. The adviser-judge who critiqued enlight’ning offered ways to improve and also offered her praise, calling “Changing Life” the best poem in the magazine. The judge also commended the clean look and standout images and gave the literary magazine a comprehensive 741 points out of 1000.
Softball
Softball is currently undefeated, with two big wins last week. Their first game was an 8-3 victory over a tough Valley Christian team. The Eagles started things off right with a seven-run first inning. Big players included lead-off hitter Alisa Watika, grade 7, catcher Gillian Wallin, grade 8, and pitcher Regan Heslop, grade 7. Even though the offense was impressive, Coach CJ Cali said it was the defense that sealed the deal. In their first league game the team defeated Menlo 10-4. Heslop, Marita Del Alto, grade 7, and Safia Khouja, grade 8, all played exceptionally well in this victory. The team as a whole has had zero errors so far this season, which explains how the Eagles have outscored their opponents more than two to one.
Flag Football
Varsity A had two games last week, which they split. They lost a close game to the much larger St. Joseph’s 6-0 despite great play by quarterback Allen Huang, grade 8. Their second game was a come-from-behind victory over Valley Christian. The final score was 39-27 but at one point the Eagles were down by 18 points.
Varsity B also split their games last week with a tough loss to Valley Christian and a big win over cross-town rival St Joseph’s. In the latter game the Eagles were down 18-0 but mounted a huge comeback to tie the score. As the clock wound down Andrew Kirshner, grade 7, had a game-changing interception that gave the Eagles one last chance for victory. Shannon Richardson, grade 7, had the game-winning touchdown reception. St Joesph’s responded with a hail Mary pass that was caught and run almost to the end zone. Luckily, Nick Labruna, grade 7, was there to make the tackle that sealed the Eagles’ victory. The offense is led by the stylish play of Jonathan Keller and Nathanal “Noko” Sterns, both grade 7.
Junior Varsity A is undefeated with a win over Crystal Springs last week, 25-7. Quarterback Alex Youn, grade 6, ran for two touchdowns and threw for one. The defense clinched the win with interceptions by sixth graders Sandie Nirmel, Ryan Vaughan and Edmond Wu.
Cross Country
The cross country team ran in its first league race last week at Rolling Hills Middle School. In the grade 8 boys race, Thomas Doyle took eighth place and Corey Gonzales took ninth. The boys had times of 7:19 and 7:41 respectively. Diba Massihpour and Gabi Gupta, both grade 8, took fourth and sixth in the girls race with times of 8:21 and 8:29. In the grade 7 race, Alexandra Dellar took the team’s highest place, third, with a time of 8:35, followed by Mary Najibi, who placed 10th, finishing at 9:05. Rounding out the team were grade 6 girls Meilan Steimle, 9:19, and Rachel Cheng, 9:42, who finished eighth and 13th in their grade’s race.