This article originally appeared in the fall 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Each year, faculty members participate in Harker’s learning, innovation and design (LID) department’s grants program, in which they spend their summers acquiring new skills to enhance their teaching methods. Formerly known as tech grants, many of these projects involve integrating technology into curricula.
Middle school English teacher Henry Cuningham had wanted to integrate an electronic polling system known as Clickers, but found it prohibitively expensive. Although a similar functionality could be found on student laptops, “I didn’t want to create another situation where I am forced to police student usage of laptops,” Cuningham said. “I do that enough already.”
Cuningham then discovered Plickers, a system that performs a function similar to Clickers, but without the need for students to use their own devices. Students simply hold up cards indicating their answers and the teacher records them using a smartphone or tablet camera. Cards are designed to ensure that each student can answer honestly without other students knowing each other’s answers. Moreover, it’s free. “It will be useful in breaking up a class with a short poll to see whether students understand taught material,” Cuningham said. “Plickers should also help to prime discussion.”
Students in Catherine Hsieh’s grade 5 science class have been greatly enjoying their Chromebooks, and Hsieh wanted to leverage this enthusiasm to improve their classroom experiences. “For my project, I explored different Web-based applications (Google Forms, Flubaroo, Pear Deck, EDpuzzle, Plickers) that can be used to create formative assessments,” she said. “The applications work as student response systems so that every student is engaged and can participate in the lesson.” They also provide instant feedback to the students and the teacher, allowing both to gauge how well they comprehend the material.
These advantages also will help Hsieh pace the class more appropriately so that the maximum number of students can benefit. “This would allow me to get a better sense of what works best for each group since I will be able to get feedback from all of the kids, not just the more vocal ones,” she said. It also helps students become more self-sufficient by enabling them to assess their own grasp of the material, and any topics they need to review can be easily revisited.
In keeping with the technology-based theme of the LID grants program, each participating teacher created short YouTube videos summarizing their projects and the benefits for students. These videos were shown at the faculty welcome meeting in mid-August.
This article originally appeared in the fall 2015 Harker Quarterly.
My first boss in education, a middle school principal in the Hayward public school system, used to flit around campus on the first day of school saying that when he stopped getting first-day butterflies, he would leave education. I think this “tummy check” is good for educators.
The beginning of the school year after a long summer is a time of possibility, a time of excitement. Friends, teachers, students, parents all reunite, coming together toward the common purpose of bringing out the best in the children.
Schools are a unique mix of “now” and “forever.” We want students and teachers to have as rich an experience as possible, to focus on the process, the journey, the “now”; yet we are all preparing for the future, to help students take their deep learning and make a meaningful impact on the world to, in the words of Henry Adams, “affect eternity.”
At the beginning and end of summers, I often wonder what happened to the year-round school trend. Summer is still here, even though, as Time pointed out in its recent article “Who Killed Summer Vacation?” summer feels shorter to all of us. Some schools across the country have adopted a year-round schedule with intermittent breaks, but the trend hasn’t seemed to sweep the educational system as anticipated. There are plenty of schools with a traditional calendar that includes vacations.
There may be many reasons why this is the case – an entrenched summer programs industry, family vacations, school budgets – but regardless of the reasons for summer’s persistence, there remain, I believe, cognitive benefits from the break summer provides. We now understand that much learning is consolidated during sleep; that time away from the grind can bring fresh insight; that top athletes cycle their training in peaks and valleys to allow the body to heal from exertion.
There are two types of learning, and we hope our children experience both: cumulative and transformational. Cumulative learning is the most familiar: we learn the events that led up to the Civil War, the grammatical components of a foreign language, the steps in a geometry proof, the solubility table. Transformational learning is when the learner doesn’t just accumulate knowledge but becomes a different learner altogether.
In transformational learning, perhaps the student falls in love with a subject; has an insight into an historical event or a scientific phenomenon; learns how to learn; takes ownership of his or her studies; sees the connections between two disciplines; discovers what he or she wants to study in college. Both cumulative and transformational learning are necessary, but cumulative learning is a step on the student’s journey while transformational learning is a leap.
So the opening of the new school year – after a long or short summer – is a magical time, an exhilarating time, a time of possible transformation. No one can predict when a child will hit a growth spurt, either physically or cognitively or otherwise, but we can nurture, like a garden, the conditions for growth. We want for our children the best in learning and growth, and we hope for them, as we do our educators, the butterflies that this time of year brings.
Each year, as part of a long-running reciprocal exchange program, Harker’s global education department hosts a visiting teacher from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai.
This year, from Sept.12-25, students and faculty warmly welcomed Ye Wang (who goes by the English nickname Athena). Wang is an upper school biology teacher at WFLMS, Harker’s sister school in China.
She said she greatly enjoyed her very first visit to the United States, where she spent time observing and teaching science classes at Harker’s lower, middle and upper schools.
“Athena was thrilled by all the science labs she visited and the incredible conversations with students she had,” reported Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Wang shared that she was most impressed by all the “nice people” she met. “Teachers were kind, nice, patient and helpful. Students were polite, diligent and creative,” she recalled.
Wang noted many similarities between the way Harker and WFLMS teach science – from the text-based content to the basic lab experiments. However, she added, what set Harker apart were the added research classes, field trips, and opportunities to learn from the experiences of area universities and professors.
“They all provide unlimited opportunities for the students to discover, investigate and research based on books … and also beyond books,” she explained.
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.
“I appreciated everything, everyone I met. I hope our sister school program and friendship can last forever!” enthused Wang.
Due to the strong response received in meeting the Rothschild Challenge, and the second inspirational matching-gift program currently in place, the groundbreaking for the new events center is on track for spring 2016, announced Chris Nikoloff, head of school. The funds needed to complete the campaign will continue to be raised as construction begins. The completion date will be influenced by the ability to reach the goal. Should the objective be met, the ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for fall 2017.
Learn more about capital giving:
How to plan your giving: Choose where to direct your gift, how to make your gift and learn about more giving opportunities.
Donate now: Donate now or learn other ways to make your charitable gift.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2011 Harker Quarterly.
Reading is like getting all the vitamins you need from a chocolate sundae – it feels good going down and it’s good for you, too.
According to the National Endowment for the Arts, high frequency adult readers are more than twice as likely to participate in charity work, three times as likely to attend performing arts events, one-and-a-half times more likely to attend or participate in a sporting event. (NEA 2002)
Reading, specifically reading for pleasure – a habit that includes the freedom to choose what to read – needs to be encouraged in childhood to flourish in adulthood. Not surprisingly, it’s a focus of a myriad of programs at Harker targeted at all ages, from the youngest kindergartners through senior faculty.
At the lower school, such programs include an annual book fair, the Halloween Haunted House Reading Contest and weekly library visits for K-4 students where librarians Kathy Clark and Enid Davis introduce lifelong fictional friends. Library clerk Moureen Lennon perpetuates the enthusiasm with book talks and checkout time in grade 5 English classes.
“Reading is like any skill: it has to be practiced to reach mastery. Being a master reader brings a lifetime of joy and knowledge,” says lower school librarian, former library director and folklorist Davis. Davis has made good on her promise for the last 15 years through the annual Ogre Awards – a yearlong revel in folklore study for second graders that culminates in an Academy Award-like celebration of witches, tricksters and giants. Nostalgic seniors are oft heard recalling their roles in the Ogre Awards a decade earlier.
Once bitten, students tend to experience long-lasting effects from the book-bug. “I like to read because it gives me a chance to escape reality,” says Nikhil Manglik, grade 6. “I can cast a spell with Harry Potter, solve a crime with the Hardy Boys, jump into Greek mythology with Percy Jackson, or anything else!”
Little wonder then, that a habit that fosters such good feelings also precipitates good grades. According to a 2004 study, students “who read more than just assigned materials show increased vocabulary skills, improved test performance (and) higher levels of general knowledge.” (Hatfield) A decade earlier, researchers determined that “leisure reading … has been positively related to psychological absorption and tolerance of complexity.” (Mill & Kuiken)
Such evidence is strong support for middle school librarian Bernie Morrissey’s take on reading. “Pleasure reading helps young people become better students by increasing their verbal abilities. Instead of spending school breaks with SAT vocabulary books, students should check out lots of library books to read for fun.”
To encourage leisure reading, Morrissey sponsors a self-directed book club for students in grades 6-8. Participants collectively decide on a novel, read it and enjoy a discussion over snacks.
Demanding schedules and homework loads foiled a similar design at the upper school. In response, upper school librarians created the Non Required Reading Reading Club (NRRRC). Twice a month students gather to chat about whatever book they’ve read recently or to get a list of suggestions. Nerk, as it’s fondly called, “celebrates reading without adding an extra obligation to already busy students,” reports upper school librarian Meredith Cranston. “We enjoy enthusiastic conversation about books, author readings and upcoming publications over lunch. It’s fabulous!”
Three Nerk members have spun their love of reading into national publication. Denzil Sikka ’09, Nikita Agrawal ’10 and Christina Li, grade 12, have had multiple reviews
of young adult fiction printed in “Voice of Youth Advocates,” a leading review source for librarians serving teens. On a college acceptance letter, a handwritten note encouraged Sikka to “come write book reviews at Cal Tech!”
Summer provides a spot on the calendar to which all three Harker libraries anchor their leisure reading programs. The lower school publishes an annual summer reading list of age-appropriate authors. Students in K-5 who read five or more titles earn a library pin to wear on their dress uniforms.
The middle school summer reading program, Reading Roundtable, features small group book discussions based on collectively chosen titles and takes place in student advisories the first week of school.
Itching to talk about summer reads, upper school students get a chance to chat books the first week of school, too. Every spring teachers and administrators sponsor a title or genre, and students select from among all offerings. This year’s list features 53 unique choices ranging from Steve Berry’s “The Last Emperor” (sponsored by history teacher Ramsay Westgate) to “Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health” by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie (sponsored by chemistry teacher Robbie Korin) to the very popular mystery genre groups.
As in past years, ReCreate Reading 2011 will host an author as well. Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author of “Acceptance,” David L. Marcus will engage a large group of students via Skype and recount the experience of seven Long Island teens’ quest for college. Previous years’ ReCreate Reading programs have featured Dave Cullen, author of “Columbine,” and Matt Richtel, author of “Hooked.”
The success of such programs depends upon allowing students freedom of choice. “When you’re doing something you like, it always makes things so much easier,” says Mercedes Chien, grade 9, who points out, “A great book is one that makes me want to keep reading.”
Teachers – just like students – step up to summer reading every year. Facilitated by Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, the popular faculty reading program allows Harker teachers to opt in to a discussion over an intriguing professional title. This summer’s read: “The Edutainer: Connecting the Art and Science of Teaching” by Brad Johnson and Tammy Maxson.
Not to be left out of the frenzy, members of the class of 2011 shared their all-time favorites by creating a Senior Book Legacy. This year’s Legacies – annotated book recommendations – are featured on a wall-size, Facebook-like display of titles in Manzanita Hall.
Like readers everywhere, Harker bibliophiles tend to get a little evangelistic about reading. Consequently several programs feature Harker students providing books for children who would not otherwise enjoy them. The Pajama Project, an annual grade 3 service event, brings in donations of pajamas and bedtime books. The drive culminates in a schoolwide pajama day in which a Harker administrator reads – wearing jammies, of course – to the student body.
At the upper school, members of the Global Outreach and Empowerment (GEO) club collected funds to build two libraries in Africa through the Reach Out and Read program.
“Reading,” says Sue Smith, library director, “is a win-win. It’s fun and it makes us better.” And it goes well with ice cream.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2015 Harker Quarterly.
Ancient and modern China formed an intriguing focus of study for 21 middle school students during their recent visit to the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS), Harker’s sister school in Shanghai.
At the end of March, 16 seventh graders and five eighth graders united for an action-packed week with their WFLMS buddies, who had earlier in the school year spent time at Harker as part of an annual reciprocal student exchange program.
Journeying to China is a much-anticipated adventure and highlight of the middle school experience for many grade 7 and 8 students. While there, the Harker contingent visited numerous landmarks and historic sites.
Originally based around the grade 8 computer science class’ global issues forum, the annual China trip expanded two years ago to incorporate the grade 7 historical component of learning about ancient China.
Keith Hirota, grade 6 ancient civilizations teacher, headed this year’s trip. Carol Green, Harker’s middle and upper school communication studies department chair, who was already in China serving as an exchange teacher at WFLMS, joined the group as a chaperone.
Students engaged in many activities with their group and with their hosts. For details, go to news.harker.org and search on Shanghai.
The students’ time at WFLMS ended with a farewell ceremony and dinner. “The ceremony was bittersweet as we watched several students from both schools give touching speeches and performances,” recalled Hirota, noting that Harker students and their WFLMS buddies had been faithfully corresponding since the fall.
Reflecting on the trip, grade 7 student Jatin Kohli said he really enjoyed the homestay with his buddy and the time they spent walking along the Huangpu River and the Bund, a famous waterfront area. “I wish our buddies could have joined us on our trip north to Beijing. The trip felt too short and I wish I had more time,” he said.
Grade 8 student Julia Amick added, “My favorite part of the homestay was getting to tour around Shanghai with my buddy and her parents and trying new and exotic foods like stinky tofu!”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2015 Harker Quarterly.
The final concert of The Harker Concert Series’ fifth season, featuring the Afiara Quartet, was a special one. Returning to Nichols Hall auditorium after their first performance here in 2012, the Canada-based group of elite players arrived with some special guests and surprises in store for the sizable crowd.
Afiara are an animated group of performers, an asset they employed throughout the flowing peaks and valleys of Anton Webern’s “Langsamer Satz,” moving in time with its contours and varying intensities, their expressiveness evoking Webern’s striking imagery. It proved equally effective as they frolicked through the opening movement of Haydn’s “String Quartet No. 37,” its darting melodies conjuring a bucolic atmosphere. The entire quartet took flight in the brisk final movement, effortlessly navigating the wilderness of complex harmonies.
The concert was part of a four-day residency during which the members of Afiara – violinists Valerie Li and Timothy Kantor, violist Eric Wong and cellist Adrian Fung – worked with Harker students, visiting the lower and middle school campuses in addition to preparing the students of the Harker String Quartet for a special sit-in performance. Joined by seniors Helen Wu and Eugene Gil on violin, Matthew Huang on cello and Austin Lai on viola, Afiara and company launched into the first movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Octet in E-Flat Major.” The students’ presence was immediate, the ensemble’s sound full, robust and locked in, especially during the more frenzied sections of the piece.
“We all had a lot of fun,” Wu said during the intermission. “It was one of those performances that was really energizing. I think their abilities definitely bolstered us up and I definitely think we improved as a quartet because of their being here.”
“One thing we immediately realized is that playing with them is so much fun,” Huang added. “We never really had that kind of experience, playing with a professional quartet. And they really did bring out the spirit in the music for us.”
Mendelssohn made another appearance on the evening’s program as Afiara came back from the break, sliding into the delicate harmonies of his “String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor,” which gave way to a significant tonal and rhythmic shift, as Afiara’s Li picked up and ran with the adagio’s tortured melody. A more subdued second movement followed as Afiara’s bodily movement slowed to match the mood and pace. The somewhat light- hearted intermezzo, featuring some of the evening’s most enjoyable playing, was countered by the fury of the presto movement, performed with both passion and mastery.
The extended standing ovation that followed was rewarded with an encore – an unexpected but fascinating rendition of “The Enemy Guns” by indie folk rockers DeVotchKa. The song, which recalled Romani folk music and Ennio Morricone, was well-suited to the quartet’s talents, in particular the latent whistling skills of Afiara’s Kantor.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2015 Harker Quarterly.
The 65th annual Family & Alumni Picnic promises to be a fabulous day of fun, food and festivities for the entire Harker community. This year the event is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11 on the middle school campus.
This year’s Harvest Festival will focus on “Fall-o-ween” fun, celebrating summer turning into fall. The event will bring together Harker families, faculty and staff and will feature fall- and Halloween-themed activities and entertainment.
Guests young and old are invited to wear their spookiest (or not so spooky) costumes and take part in our lively parade. We’ll also have photo opportunities perfect for capturing memories of our dressed-up guests.
Returning from last year will be the thrilling Witches’ Flight, for those ages 5 (and 45 pounds) and up. This 220-foot long zip line ride lets brave souls take in the sights and sounds of the Harvest Festival from 30-feet up! And be sure to enjoy old favorites like the student performances and the silent auction.
So save the date for this special day for the Harker community, put on for our families with the support of our dedicated volunteers and our terrific faculty and staff.
Each year students flock to the picnic’s auction table to bid on fun outings sponsored by their enthusiastic teachers. Here’s a recap of three of those adventures!
Middle School Pool Party
On May 17, 13 grade 6 students enjoyed a pool party, auctioned by middle school teachers Patricia Burrows, Keith Hirota, Rebecca Williams and Julie Pinzás.
Besides splashing and lounging together in the pool, the students listened to music, and ate pizza. savory snacks and ice cream sandwiches.
Two of the students had just returned from the exchange trip to Harker’s sister school in Tamagawa, Japan. “What a great way to get back into the social Harker scene!” enthused Burrows.
Best vs. Faculty Kickball
On April 10, more than 20 fans were on hand to witness the Bucknall BEST staff defeat the Bucknall faculty 6-4 in the third annual kickball game. BEST left fielder Pat Hopkins earned MVP honors for his four-hit performance, and captain Troy Townzen – who was traded to the faculty last season and then back to the BEST staff – won his record third-straight championship.
The event also featured a trading card giveaway, with every fan through the turnstiles receiving a card of their favorite BEST staff member, and lots of fun activities for attendees. Kindergartner Aiden Harshman won the inaugural Base Race and earned himself a Joe Chung (elementary computer science) commemorative “Honor the
Game” T-shirt. Sofie Marino, grade 2, was the raffle’s big winner, going home with an official Harker League kickball signed by the home team.
High Tea Outing
A week before her retirement, grade 2 teacher Judi Beil shared an outing with Samvita Gautham and Alexis Nishimura, both grade 4. The trio enjoyed high tea at Lisa’s Tea Treasures on May 31. “The girls were delightful, and ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhhed’ at the beautiful Victorian décor. It was such a pleasure,” said Beil.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2015 Harker Quarterly.
It was easy to understand the “Sky’s the Limit” theme of this year’s Night on the Town gala, held May 9 on the top of a hill with spectacular views of the mid-Peninsula, at the home of Susan and Scott McNealy (Scout, grade 8; Colt, grade 10; Dakota, grade 11; Maverick ’13).
The 300 attendees moved through- out the home visiting areas including the champagne patio, “view of the valley” swing spot, theater, casino and silent auction table. Guests enjoyed dinner under a beautiful sunset, and performances by several of Harker’s dance, show choir and instrumental ensembles.
Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, capped the dinner portion of the evening with the announcement that an additional $7 million had been pledged to the new gym and theater buildings from an anonymous donor who had al- ready pledged $3 million during the initial Rothschild Challenge phase of the campaign. (Look for full coverage on the new gym and theater buildings in the advancement section on pg. 43.)
Programming includes the event’s keynote and alumni speakers. New episodes will air monthly starting with entrepreneur Dr. Suhas Patil and data scientist Dr. DJ Patil, followed by climate scientist Dr. James McClintock, and wrapping up with Harker alumna and entrepreneur Shabnam Aggarwal.
CreaTV also will air the 2015 Harker Research Symposium on its new Bay Voice Channel (cable channel 27 in Atherton, Campbell, Cupertino, East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Stanford University and Sunnyvale) on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. starting in July.