A number of Harker students placed well in the 20th annual United States Open Music Competition (USOMC) recently held in Oakland.
Since 1992, the competition has worked to promote the best of classical talent among young musicians, including all aspects of classical repertoire in solo, duet, ensemble and concerto events.
The USOMC bills itself as an organization “dedicated to creating an environment where local, national and international students of all levels strive to achieve musical excellence.” The organization continues to grow from increasing public support and is known for maintaining the high quality of a top-notch piano competition.
Among the Harker students who placed well in the respected competition were: Kai-Ming Ang, grade 4,Kai-Siang Ang, grade 7, Amy Jin, grade 6, Andrew Jin, grade 9, Sanjana Kaundinya, grade 9, Alexander Mo, grade 7, Brandon Mo, grade 6, and Andy Semenza, grade 6.
Harker’s forensics team had a number of top finishes in March, both locally and nationally. At the California Coast National Forensics League Qualifier, Harker took third place in overall sweepstakes and second place in debate sweepstakes. Aakash and Akshay Jagadeesh, both grade 12, as well as Aneesh Chona and Anuj Sharma, both grade 11, qualified to the NFL National Tournament in Indiana in June. In Duo Interpretation, the team of grade 9 students Madhu Nori and Nephele Troullinos earned fourth place, coming ever so close to pulling off the rare feat of qualifying to nationals as freshmen.
In Humorous Interpretation, Andy Wang, grade 10, earned fifth place but is already the first alternate because one of the students who placed ahead of him is not attending in another event. Nori also reached finals in Original Oratory, earning sixth place honors, and she is now the second alternate to Nationals because one of the students ahead of her has also chosen another event. Several more students made semifinals at the tournament, including Ashwin Chalaka, grade 10, and Sonya Chalaka, grade 12, in Duo Interpretation, Vivek Sriram, grade 9, in International Extemporaneous Speaking, and Steven Wang, grade 9, in United States Extemporaneous Speaking.
Harker had many successful qualifiers to the state championship (held in April in San Francisco). Sonya Chalaka qualified in Impromptu, Andy Wang qualified in Humorous Interpretation, freshmen Nori and Troullinos qualified in Duo Interpretation and sophomore Arjun Kumar qualified in Congressional Debate.
At the JV and Novice Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Debate Nationals Tournament hosted by Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Ayush Midha and Arya Kaul, both grade 9, made it to the top eight policy debate teams in the country before being defeated in quarterfinals.
The largest regular season tournament the team attended during the year was in February at UC Berkeley. This tournament draws thousands of competitors from all over the country. Harker sent almost 200 upper and middle school students to the tournament and ook first in overall debate team sweepstakes and second in overall team sweepstakes!
Berkeley Middle School results included Aditya Dhar, grade 7, who made it to varsity Congressional Debate semifinals. Sophia Luo and Lisa Liu, both grade 8, went undefeated in junior-varsity Policy Debate preliminary rounds and made it to the sweet 16. Liu was also in the top 15 named speakers at the tournament. Panny Shan, grade 8, and Steven Cao, grade 7, made it to the double-octofinal elimination round in junior-varsity policy debate. Grade 7 student Divya Rajasekharan made it to the octofinal level of varsity Humorous Interpretation.
Upper school students at Berkeley produced some of the best in Harker’s history:
Wajahat Ali ’94, winner of the Harker Distinguished Alumna award in 2010-11, will sit on a panel for the Commonwealth Club program titled “Paranoid Politics: Islamaphobia, McCarthyism and the Yellow Peril” in Los Gatos tomorrow.
Panel members include Larry Gerston, political science professor at San Jose State University and Channel 11 political analyst, and Congressman Mike Honda. Ali is a playwright, attorney and co-author of “Fear Inc, The Roots of the Islamaphobia Network in America,” and has been interviewed on NPR. The event is Tues., April 3, at the Jewish Community Center auditorium, 14855 Oka Rd. in Los Gatos. The program starts at 7 p.m. and is free to the public. The panel will cover three periods in U.S. history: World War I, the era of McCarthyism and post 9-11, when groups faced persecution in politics and the media. Panel members will share their personal perspectives and reflect on the historic lessons learned. Contact the Commonwealth Club for tickets .415.597.6705.
On Sat., March 24, Harker will host the seventh annual conference for Silicon Valley Computer-Using Educators (SVCUE), titled “T3: Teach Through Technology.” The conference will contain a variety of presenters and workshops designed to help teachers integrate technology to enhance the classroom experience.
As many as 200 teachers and administrators have attended previous conferences. Last year, Michael Schmidt, middle school computer science teacher, showed off Scratch, a new open-source programming language for children and teenagers, and Paul Vallerga, a teacher and designer in Harker’s performing arts department, demonstrated Google SketchUp, a free 3-D modeling tool, for student art projects, demonstrations and more.
This year, demonstrations will include how to use Google apps to reduce email clutter, the benefits of utilizing iPads as teaching tools, strategies to involve disengaged students and using video to enhance instruction. Vendors exhibiting at the event include Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education, Krause Center for Innovation and more.
A program with a full list of presentations and exhibitors is available for download at the SVCUE event page. Attendees can register at the registration page on the Harker website.
Nicholas Manjoine has just accepted a reappointment to the 2012-13 AP French Language Development Committee. As part of his duties he will help implement testing for the AP French Language and Culture examination.
Before joining Harker in 1998 as a founding member of the faculty’s upper school where he delights in teaching a wide spectrum of French courses (from French I to AP language and advanced seminars), Manjoine held teaching posts at the secondary and university levels.
He also has taught in the English and history departments, teaching electives such as Great Novels, Speculative Fiction and Ethics. He has further served both as a reader and table leader for the AP French Literature and Language courses. A repeat recipient of National Endowment for the Humanities summer grants, Manjoine participated in month-long seminars focusing on “The Paris of Balzac, Baudelaire and Zola,” held in Paris in 2003, and “Modern French Theater” in Avignon during that city’s theater festival in 2009.
Committed to developing students’ linguistic and cultural experiences, Manjoine regularly leads students on study abroad trips such as the exchange program with Harker’s sister school in Fribourg, Switzerland, the Collège de Gambach.
When not teaching, Manjoine’s passion for lifelong learning lead him to pursue a second M.A. in liberal arts at Stanford University, which he will complete this year.
Harker tennis coach Craig Pasqua was honored at the 2012 Awards Celebrating Excellence in Service (ACES) dinner in February, held by the Northern California Chapter of the United States Tennis Association. Pasqua, who has spent several years working with at-risk children on Indian reservations, was given the Trailblazer award in the Diversity category.
A graduate of Stanford University and a professional tennis coach since 2000, Pasqua was first approached to work with Native Americans in 1996, when David Gantzer of Standing Tall Tennis asked him to help out with the organization. “Being American Indian, I was able to break down some barriers and go places Dantzer was unable,” said Pasqua, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and also part Modoc. When Dantzer retired in 2006, Pasqua took over the organization and moved it to San Jose, where he has been running it ever since.
Since its inception, Standing Tall has worked with more than 10,000 people in 21 states and 40 reservations, serving about 80 tribal entities. “We have had continuing programs in the Dine, Hopi, White Mountain Apache and Potawatami Nations,” Pasqua noted.
In addition to his work with American Indians, Pasqua has been an active volunteer at other organizations. He has volunteered at the U.S. Open’s Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day since 2009, and serves on the board of the Santa Clara Indian Health Center. He has also been the president of the North American Indian Tennis Association.
Despite his impressive service record, Pasqua was “totally surprised to receive this award!” he exclaimed. “I’m extremely grateful and wish to thank the USTA NorCal Division and Harker for giving me the flexibility to spend some of my time away from the school.” Pasqa runs the Harker summer tennis program, too. Details are available on our summer web page.
Once again the Harker Fashion Show wowed its audience, living up to its nine-year-old reputation as a fun, profitable fundraiser.
Appreciative audiences filled out both lunch and dinner gatherings yesterday, which were open to the public and held at the San Jose Convention Center. The theme of the event, which raised funds and awareness for the school, was Celebrate! Money raised will go a long way towards aiding Harker’s scholarship and other funds.
The theme was carried through in celebrations of inner and outer beauty – illustrated with moving videos and breathtaking runway fashions. The videos shared the stories of the students themselves, and the bonds they had formed with their close knit community of teachers and peers. Fashions, representing a range of top designers, were expertly modeled by both students, teachers and parents alike.
“We have so much to celebrate at Harker every day,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school, in his welcome letter in the event program. “Sure, our students win competitions, perform admirably on the field and stage, score high on tests, make the papers. But what makes me celebrate our community even more are the smaller things – students who politely open doors for each other, who smile and greet passing teachers, who say ‘thank you,’ who take so much joy from simply being in school and learning new things.”
Net proceeds from Celebrate! go to provide financial assistance to students who would otherwise be unable to benefit from a Harker education, fund the construction of the new gym and performing arts center and support the mission to purchase a third campus.
The Harker Speaker Series is pleased to announce that author Joel Bakan will be the next speaker for the 2011-12 season, appearing at 7 p.m. at Nichols Hall on the upper school campus on Feb. 22.
Bakan is the internationally bestselling author of “The Corporation,” which inspired the acclaimed documentary of the same name. His newest book is titled “Childhood Under Siege: How Big Businesses Target Children,” also currently being adapted into a documentary. Focusing on the United States in particular, Bakan demonstrates how marketers target children, and rips the cover off the industry known as “kid marketing,” something he notes was a $50 billion industry 20 years ago, and is now a $1 trillion dollar industry. “As governments retreat from their previous roles of protecting children from harm at the hands of corporations,” Bakan writes, “we, as a society, increasingly neglect children’s needs, expose them to exploitation, and thus betray what we, as individuals, cherish most in our lives.”
Bakan is a Rhodes Scholar, with degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie and Harvard. Now a professor of law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Bakan also serves as a frequent media commentator. His public speaking is popular in the United States and abroad, and Harker looks forward to hosting him.
Dear Family and Friends (and Students past and present) of Sharron Reynolds Mittelstet,
Many of you have asked that I let you know as soon as I had details of the scholarship fund in Sharron’s memory. See below for details on the Harker Scholarship fund. In the meantime, many of you in Texas have discussed making your contribution to the Borger High School scholarship fund. I think that is a great idea, too.
So whichever makes the most sense to you, we’d very much appreciate your making a contribution to the fund of your choice instead of sending flowers. Sharron is blessed to have been able to call so many of you friends, including those of you who were her students (whether from Amarillo 40 years ago or Harker as recently as three months ago) and she loved you all.
(signed) John M
“We all consider it an honor to have these contributions be given in loving memory of Sharron,” said Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement. “Sharron Mittelstet made a tremendous, positive impact on the lives of many children during her distinguished teaching career here at The Harker School. In return, initiated by Sharron’s husband John Mittelstet, we are proud to provide scholarship assistance in honor of Sharron to motivated and talented children who would otherwise not be able to attend Harker. “
Families wishing to contribute to this endowed scholarship fund can make their checks payable to The Harker School in memory of Sharon Mittelstet. Contributions will be invested in the associated endowed scholarship fund. “Through this fund, Sharon will continue to positively impact Harker students in perpetuity,” said Rosenthal.
It is with great sadness we announce that Sharron Mittelstet, longtime English teacher at The Harker School, passed away last night, Feb. 2, after a brave battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. She was 67 years old. Our hearts go out to the Mittelstet family at this difficult time.
Mrs. Mittelstet began teaching English at Harker in 1992 and has been a familiar, friendly face in the Harker halls for the past two decades. She began teaching in the middle school and joined the upper school in its second year. The students lucky enough to be in an English class taught by Mrs. Mittelstet will always remember her passion for literature, her warmth and her razor-sharp Southern wit, which was in evidence right up until the last. Her impact on the lives of Harker students will be felt for generations.
Sharron Mittelstet is survived by John, her husband of 47 years, and their daughter, Claire.
There will be a memorial for Mrs. Mittelstet on Sat., March 10, on the upper school campus. Details will follow. Lori Villarreal, assistant to the upper school head, is collecting thoughts and wishes for the Mittelstet family at loriv@harker.org or at 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, 95129. Read the student-written Talon/Winged Post article at http://www.talonwp.com/2012/02/featured/beloved-english-teacher-sharron-mittelstet-passes/.
On Dec. 9, nearly 300 Harker students in grades 4-12 performed at holiday assemblies on all three campuses. Each campus’ show had its own orchestra in the opening slot, followed by dance and vocal groups from all across Harker’s expansive performing arts program. Louis Hoffman directed the lower school orchestra, with Dave Hart directing the orchestra at the middle school performance and Chris Florio at the helm of the upper school orchestra’s performance at the Saratoga campus. In between acts, students performed amusing skits to introduce the next performer.
The Bucknall Choir, directed by Jennifer Cowgill, sang “The 12 Days of Christmas” and “5 Minutes,” and was followed by Showstoppers, the middle school female dance ensemble directed by Rachelle Ellis, who performed an upbeat routine to the holiday classic “Jingle Bells.” Next, Cowgill’s upper school vocal group Bel Canto performed a rendition of “Sing We Fa La La,” and the upper school female vocal group Cantilena, directed by Susan Nace, sang “Carol of the Bells” and the Hebrew song “Shel Shoshanim.”
Other great vocal performances were provided by upper school chamber choir Camerata’s rendition of “Allons,” also directed by Nace, the middle school mixed choir Vivace singing “Danny Boy,” “Zat U Santa Claus,” by the middle school vocal group Harmonics, directed by Roxann Hagemeyer, the grade 6 choir Dynamics performing “Merry Christmas to Me,” directed by Hagemeyer and Monica Colletti, and the upper school show ensemble Downbeat performing “Hamisha Asar” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” directed by Catherine Snider and Laura Lang-Ree.
The show also featured performances from Harker’s many talented dancers, including the Karl Kuehn-directed middle school boys dance group High Voltage, the upper school’s junior varsity and varsity dance squads, the former directed by Amalia De La Rosa and the latter by De La Rosa and Kuehn, and the lower and middle school group Dance Fusion, directed by Gail Palmer. To close the show, Harmonics, Dance Fusion, Downbeat and Dynamics all took the stage for the finale, wishing the crowd Happy Holidays in raucous fashion. At the lower school campus, the finale included all groups leading the traditional sing-a-long with a very excited young audience.