On June 15, Harker held its sixth annual Harker Teacher Institute to give educators around the Bay Area the chance to learn about how new instructional techniques and technologies can assist them in the classroom.
Various sessions were held at the upper school campus led by Harker faculty and staff members, who demonstrated various new technology tools available to teachers. In one session, Michael Schmidt, middle school computer science teacher, showed off Scratch, a new open-source programming language that is designed to make programming a fun and engaging activity for children and teenagers. Paul Vallerga, a teacher and designer in Harker’s performing arts department, showed how teachers could use Google SketchUp, a free 3-D modeling tool, for student art projects, demonstrations and more.
Other classes showed how already popular tools could be leveraged in new and useful ways. Mark Gelineau, middle school English teacher, and Rebecca Williams, middle school writing teacher, held a session to show how teachers could greatly reduce the stress of grading papers by using macros in Microsoft Word. WolframAlpha, as upper school math teacher Bradley Stoll demonstrated, could be used as a statistical research resource as well as a mathematics tool.
Other classes focused on effective teaching techniques, such as upper school Spanish teacher Diana Moss’ session on how poetry can be integrated into all levels of Spanish classes. Susan Nace, upper school music teacher, held a session to help teachers relax and reconnect “what you do with who you are,” using the arts and spirited conversation as a means to rejuvenate their passion for teaching.
This year’s Teacher Institute was once again sponsored by Silicon Valley Computer Using Educators (SVCUE), the local chapter of Computer Using Educators, a nonprofit corporation that aims to use technology to improve student achievement. It was organized and hosted by Dan Hudkins, instructional technology director, Fred Triefenbach, upper school assistant technology director, Lisa Diffenderfer, lower school assistant technology director and Angela Neff, middle school assistant technology director.
Gentry Magazine – June 2011: The Harker “Dream Big” Fashion Show fundraiser was recapped with a full page in the June 2011 (page 46) issue of Gentry. Harker community members featured included Hemant and Monisha Bheda and son Pranav, grade 10; Chris Douglas and sister-in-law, Cathleen Douglas; Gary and Pooja Gauba; Trevor Creary with sons Matthew, grade 5 and Chris McCallaCreary, grade 12; and Archana Sathaye and Christine Davis. Other photos from the event include runway shots of Sally Zhu and Annalyn Bean, both K; Amanda Kalb, grade 10; Brianna Tran and Clara Blickenstaff, both grade 12; John Davis at the live auction; and a touching photo of honorary chair Diana Nichols, receiving flowers from a student on stage. Please click here to view it.
San Jose Mercury News – June 8, 2011: Class of 2011 member Karthik Dhore was named a member of the Mercury News’ Boys Tennis First Team.
San Jose Mercury News – May 24, 2011: Recent graduates and Intel Science Talent Search finalists Rohan Mahajan and Nikhil Parthasarathy are mentioned in an article about the children of immigrants in science competitions.
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal – May 13, 2011: This year’s fashion show is covered in the “Valley Life” section with a pair of captioned photos. The first photo shows lower school dean Joe Connolly and parent Phillip King (Amanda, recent upper school graduate). Directly below is another photo of parent Trevor Creary with his sons Matthew McCallaCreary, grade 5, and Chris McCallaCreary, recent upper school graduate.
San Jose Mercury News – April 20, 2011: Softball player Alison Rugar, rising junior, is mentioned in Varsity Extra’s Highlight Reel section for her 13-strikeout game against Mercy-Burlingame.
Success is an elusive term which Stanford University School of Education and a team from the Harker community are working to define. Harker is proud to announce that the team will be meeting at Stanford to address a concern iterated by the Stanford School of Education on the Challenge Success website: “the concern that children and adolescents often compromise their mental and physical health, integrity, and engagement in learning as they contend with performance pressure in and out of school. We challenge the conventional, high-pressure, and narrow path to success and offer practical alternatives.”
The representatives from Harker (listed below) comprises students, administrators, teachers, parents and counselors.
Jennifer Gargano – Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs
Cindy Ellis – Middle School Division Head
Melinda Gonzales – Academic Counselor
Rebecca Williams – Middle School English Teacher
Mala Raghavan – Upper School Chemistry Teacher
Helena Jerney – Parent
Jenny Chen – grade 11 student (as of 2011-12)
Darian Edvalson – grade 10 student (as of 2011-12)
Grade 5 fencer Jerrica Liao has once again found success, this time in Portland, Ore. In late April, Liao competed at the USFA North American Cup and finished third in Girls Foil. This excellent result is very likely to improve her national ranking, which is currently 10th. She continues to learn from every match and hopes to take her improvement into Y12 and Y14 competitions.
Panny Shan, grade 7, and Carlie Ding, grade 9, skated at the fourth National Theater on Ice Championship in Cape Cod, Mass., in early April. The two compete for the San Francisco Ice Theater team, which finished sixth in Choreographic Exercise and seventh in Free Skate in the Senior Division. They will look to build on their current performances over the course of the year and compete again in 2012 when the competition is held in Ohio.
As Harker has grown, so has its commitment to excellence inside and outside of the classroom. To ensure this, it has continually upgraded and expanded its offerings through new programs and services. In order to continue seamless interactions between student programs and operations, four operational leaders, who have become integral parts of the administrative team, have been formally made part of the administration. Congratulations to Mike Bassoni (facility manager), Pam Dickinson (director of the office of communication), Dan Hudkins (director of instructional technology and information systems), and Clif Wilcox (business manager) on their inclusion.
On April 29 Teré Aceves, director of K-8 volunteer programs, led the first yearly series of Harker Parent Volunteer Workshops along with Sue Prutton, director of upper school volunteer programs. Aceves said the goal of the workshops was “to create awareness of the different volunteer opportunities in the school as well as to share with the parents the value of volunteering.”
The workshops were very successful, as evidenced by the high attendance and enthusiasm from the parents who participated. Approximately 140 parents arrived for the workshops, 60 parents from the lower school and 80 from the middle and upper schools. While there were some long-time volunteers who took part, most of those in attendance were brand new volunteers, a key indicator of high parent interest. This is great news for the Harker community as many of the school’s popular programs, such as robotics and debate in the upper school, and activities, like the Lunar New Year celebration in the lower school, are dependent on parent volunteers.
The workshops will become a yearly fixture at Harker, in order to bring more of these invaluable volunteers into the community. If you missed the workshop, or wanted to get more information about how to volunteer, email Aceves at terea@harker.org.
Harker News Online (HNO), The Harker School’s online news publication launched in May 2009, posted its 1,000th story on April 29, 2011. Reporting on the day-to-day news and activities of this robust community of 1,700 students, HNO also includes over 300 photos and nearly 100 slide shows. Established in 1893, Harker is now the largest K-12 independent school in the state of California with three campuses – lower, middle and upper – with extensive academic, athletic and performance offerings. Due to Harker’s far-reaching programs and activities, such as global partnerships, community programs and national news, HNO was established to report news of the school to the greater community. For more information, contact news@harker.org.
The portents of rain weren’t enough to keep students, parents, faculty and staff from once again swarming the Blackford campus on April 13 for this year’s Cancer Walk. The cause raised more than $7,300 for Camp Okizu, which provides fun outdoor activities to cancer-stricken youths.
Money was raised through donations and sales of T-shirts, water bottles, baked goods and more. Some of the money was raised in advance through T-shirt sales.
Flags honoring cancer victims and survivors were staked along the walking path, which had a steady stream of pedestrians for the duration of the event. Attendees enjoyed the carnival-like atmosphere, enjoying cotton candy and blowing bubbles, as well as singing along to the music selection played by Mark Gelineau, middle school English teacher.
When the rain finally did start to pour, Michael Schmidt, middle school computer science teacher and founder of the Cancer Walk, had just begun his yearly dance to conclude the event as The Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine” rang across the field. Other attendees joined him before the rain became too heavy to bear.
“Dancing in the rain with the students and all my friends at Harker will make this one of the most memorable Cancer Walks,” Schmidt said.
Donations in the form of cash or check (made out to Camp Okizu or The Harker School) are still being accepted and can be brought to the front office of the Blackford campus.
Radio host Sam Van Zandt of KBAY came to Harker prior to the Synopsys Championship Fair to talk to Harker students about their projects. Listen to the interviews here!
Harker once again won a host of awards at this year’s Synopsys Championship Fair, held March 6-7. Two upper school students, Revanth Kosaraju, grade 11 (“A Novel Perfusion-Based Protocol for Decellularization of Adipose Tissue on a Bioreactor”) and Vikas Bhetanabhotla , grade 9 (“A Theoretical Study of Factors Affecting Molecular Specificity in Hyperpolarized MRI Scans”) both won grand prizes and eligibility for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Bhetanabhotla, a member of the research club, was mentored by Kosaraju.
Harker had many more winners in several different categories at the fair at the high school level. In physics, Prag Batra, grade 11, won a $75 special award and certificate from Varian Medical Systems and a $400 team award from the Genencor Biotechnology Awards along with partner Govinda Dasu, grade 11, who also won the Varian Medical Systems special award. In addition to his grand prize, Bhetanabhotla also won a First Award for individual project in the physics category and certificate of achievement from the NASA-Ames Research Center, which included a VIP visit to the facilities. Varun Mohan, grade 9, earned a $100 prize and a certificate from Trimble Navigation, while Avinash Nayak, grade 9, took home a PW460t digital camera from Hewlett-Packard and a second place award with a $75 cash prize and certificate from the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering. Christopher Sund and Ravi Tadinada, both grade 10, each won First Awards.
Paulomi Bhattacharya, grade 10, was Harker’s biggest winner in Environmental Sciences, winning a First Award for individual project, a Certificate of Achievement from the NASA-Ames Research Center with a VIP visit, a certificate and medallion from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a $50 gift certificate and Certificate of Achievement from the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Zareen Choudhury, grade 9, received an Honorable Mention for her individual project. Payal Modi, grade 10, received the third place award high school award and a $25 prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Daniel Ryan Pak, grade 9, received a certificate of achievement in the Stockholm Junior Water Prize contest, as well as a chance to move on to the competition in Stockholm, Sweden.
In chemistry, Shreya Nathan, grade 12, won a First Award for individual project, a third place $25 prize and certificate from the Society of Vacuum Coaters, a third place award and $100 prize from the Santa Clara Valley local section of the American Chemical Society and a second place award of $75 from the Santa Clara Valley chapter of A Society for Materials (ASM). Suchita Nety, grade 10, earned a Second Award for individual project, a $50 prize from the San Jose State University from the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society and a first place $100 award and certificate from the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering. Pooja Shah, grade 10, received an Honorable Mention Award and certificate from the ASM Santa Clara Valley chapter.
Winners in the medicine/health/gerontology category included Lucy Cheng and Ramya Rangan, both grade 11, who received an honorable mention for team project, Varun Gudapati, grade 10, who earned an honorable mention for individual project, and Anika Radiya-Dixit, grade 10, winner of a Second Award for individual project.
Frederic Enea, grade 11, took home a Second Award for individual project in the engineering category, along with a certificate of achievement from the United States Army. Other engineering winners were Divyahans Gupta, grade 9, who received a certificate of achievement from Mu Alpha Theta; Vikram Sundar, grade 9, earning a Second Award for individual project as well as a $100 first prize award from Morgan Lewis; and Kiran Vodrahalli, grade 12, who won a First Award for individual project, a $100 first place high school award from the Northern California chapter of the American Vacuum Society, a $50 check and certificate from the Wireless Communications Alliance, a prize package from the United States Air Force (which included a certificate, charging stand, computer backpack and more) and the IEEE Award for Electro-Technology from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
Harker had two winners in the biochemistry/microbiology category. Anika Gupta, grade 9, won a Second Award for individual project, while, in addition to his grand prize, Kosaraju earned a First Award for individual project and was a finalist for the Synopsys Outreach Foundation’s n+1 Prize.
In botany, Claudia Tischer, grade 9, received a Second Award for individual project, and in computers/mathematics, Rahul Sridhar, grade 9, won a First Award for individual project, a $75 award and certificate from Varian Medical Systems and a $100 first prize from Morgan Lewis. Abhinav Khanna, grade 11, received a First Award for individual project in the behavioral/social category.
At the middle school level, Sneha Behtanabhotla, grade 6, won a First Award for individual project in the physics category, as well as a certificate of achievement from the Ricoh Corporation and a grades 6-8 certificate of achievement and Office of Naval Research medallion from the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Also in physics, Rishabh Jain and Neil Movva, both grade 8, were given a Second Award for team project, a certificate of achievement from the NASA-Ames Research Center and a VIP visit, and grades 6-8 second place award, with a $75 prize from the Santa Clara Valley chapter of A Society for Materials.
Nikash Shankar, grade 8, came up big in the medicine/health/gerontology category, taking home a First Award for individual project, an Isabelle Stone Award for Best Biological Science Projects, and a Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association Board of Directors Award (Middle School), which included a trip to the state science fair and a $100 cash prize. Classmate Sriram Somasundaram was also a winner in this category, earning a First Award for individual project.
In environmental sciences, eighth grader Vineet Kosaraju received an honorable mention for individual project, a grade 6-9 second place award with a $50 cash prize from the Society of Vacuum Coaters and a first place award from the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, which included a $100 cash prize and a framed certificate.
Andrew Jin and Stanley Xie, both grade 8, took home the First Award for team project in the biochemistry/microbiology category. Classmate Pranav Reddy, meanwhile, won a First Award for individual project, as did Steven Wang, another grade 8 student, who also earned a first place award for grades 6-9, which included a $75 cash prize and a certificate from the Society of Vacuum Coaters.
Samyukta Yagat, grade 8, won a First Award for individual project in botany, where Archana Podury, also grade 8, received an Honorable Mention for individual project.
Sixth grader Amrita Singh earned a Second Award for individual project in the zoology category and also won a second place award from the Northern California branch of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, which included a certificate and a $125 cash prize.
Special credit goes to upper school science teachers Richard Barber and Chris Spenner and middle school science teachers Lorna Claerbout, Ilona Davies, Scott Kley Contini, Benjamin Morgensen, Daniel Sommer and Raji Swaminathan, who were all instrumental in Harker’s success this year.
The Harker School, in collaboration with the Sutter Visiting Nurses organization, worked to provide middle and upper school students with their Pertussis (whooping cough) booster shots on both campuses April 19.
It will be required that middle school students and older all have these shots prior to starting school next fall, and in an effort to help Harker students (and parents) avoid the lines in September, Harker invited a team of nurses to deliver the shots to students.
Debra Nott, Harker’s head nurse, helped coordinate the effort that not only provided protection against whooping cough, but also against Diptheria and Tetanus (TDAP).
For more information, contact Nott at debran@harker.org.