In April, members of the Parent Development Council (PDC) were invited to have lunch at the Harker campuses. Parents of lower school children visited the Bucknall campus on April 15 and 16, joining their kids in the lunch line and enjoying their meals together. The following week, Blackford parents sat down to eat with kids at the middle school.
On April 22, PDC parents of upper school students had lunch and mingled in the Nichols Hall rotunda. Afterward, they were given a tour of the upper school art show by art teacher Pilar Aguero-Esparza.
Reprinted from the Harker Quarterly March 2010 issue
On Jan. 14, the tables turned at the upper school campus. The students, typically collecting awards at Intel and Siemens Science competitions and presenting their own research at the annual and upcoming Harker Research Symposium (see December Harker Quarterly), became the subjects for a cutting-edge research study conducted by Stanford University.
The collaboration began in the fall of 2008, when biologist and principal researcher Dr. Marcel Salathé contacted Katherine Schafer, biology and research teacher at Harker. After meeting with Schafer, Salathé knew that Harker would be a great place to run the study and that Schafer would be a great partner in the project.
“It’s … very important that everyone is excited about the research and the project,” Salathé said, “and after talking to a few teachers and students it became clear that Harker would be a very good place to do this.”
“There is no data of such detail about human contact networks at this scale, especially at schools,” Salathé said, “so the data will be the first of its kind, which is always a very exciting prospect in science.”
The data will be used to create a detailed contact network and Salathé and his team will run epidemic simulations on this established network to help advance understanding of how diseases spread through human interactions and, potentially, use the conclusions to improve epidemic control within schools.
Setting up the research took a year’s worth of preparation and two trial runs to work out kinks, but the experiment will offer new insight into the spread of viruses. For a day, students, faculty and staff wore wireless devices, called motes, around their necks, and stationary motes were mounted on the walls of most classrooms. These low-powered sensory devices logged interactions with each other through weak radio signal detection
To properly set up the research, Harker forwarded a letter from the researchers to parents explaining the project. Then, Salathé and colleagues Philip Levis, assistant professor of computer science, and James Holland Jones, assistant professor of anthropology, provided details at a schoolwide assembly the day before the data collection to stress the importance of student involvement in the research.
The study is a marriage between Stanford’s biology, anthropology and computer science departments and highlights the interdisciplinary nature of major research to Harker students. Harker is the only school participating in the study and the participation reflects the scientific spirit fostered on campus.
“One of the ideas [for the assembly] was to try and give a little bit of a feel for the different disciplinary perspectives and how it comes together in a single coherent project,” Jones said. Schafer also stressed the importance of reminding students to pursue multiple interests.
“One of the goals of this assembly, in addition to learning about the study, was to get the kids thinking about the fact that having lots of different talents is going to help them a lot down the line,” Schafer said. “Having knowledge of computer science and biology and all of these other things could potentially be a huge benefit for them in their careers and in their lives in general.”
Students were given the opportunity to expand their research interests by providing feedback and working closely with the researchers to determine the best possible way to extract data. Salathé’s team initially thought self-logged data would be sufficient and tested this possibility with Schafer’s research club.
The students in the club were given journals to record their interactions throughout a school day to test the method, but returns were short of the mark. “We then switched to the advanced version of motes, and quite a few students helped us test that idea,” Salathé said.
Andrea Lincoln, Gr. 12, participated in the study and coincidentally did research at Boston University last summer using wireless sensor networks (WSN) similar to the motes used in Stanford’s study. Lincoln thought the experiment served as a worthy introduction to the vast world of research.
“Given the huge percentage of Harker students who are considering research as a possible career, I believe it is valuable for us to have an introduction,” Lincoln said. “Perhaps seeing the WSN research will convince some students to look into research internships.”
Almost 800 motes were distributed across campus and roughly 6.5 million pieces of raw data were collected. Both Schafer and Salathé said the day went incredibly smoothly.
“This is in large part because we were so well prepared,” Salathé said.
The entire process was also Schafer’s chance to get involved in research again. After studying the population ecology of stomatopod crustaceans and pygmy octopuses on coral reefs in Belize for her doctoral dissertation, Schafer said the Stanford research project contrasted significantly from the type of research she did as a field biologist.
Salathé is pleased with the whole data gathering process and results should be available in April. “I think we would do it pretty much exactly the same way if we were to do it again,” he noted, giving full credit for the successful effort to Schafer.
“She was excited from the beginning and is the main reason why this Harker-Stanford collaboration has worked out so well,” he said. “It couldn’t have been done without her.”
Reprinted from the Harker Quarterly March 2010 issue
WinterSong: Bel Canto and Friends Bel Canto and fellow performers wowed the crowd with a Conservatory concert held on Jan. 22 at Nichols Hall. At WinterSong, this ensemble of Gr. 9-10 singers sang songs from a wide range of genres, including Harry Belafonte’s “Turn the World Around” and a moving rendition of Eric Whitacre’s “Five Hebrew Love Songs,” which was considered to be the group’s most ambitious work ever. They also sang a spiritual, a piece in Latin, and ‘60s staple “Bye Bye, Love.” Elodie Nguyen, Gr. 12, accompanied the group on the piano, and they were directed by Catherine Snider. Eight Conservatory Certificate candidates also performed solos at the concert, with works ranging from junior Shireen Moshkelani’s “When I Have Sung My Songs” by Ernest Charles to sophomore Alex Najibi’s rendition of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La donna e mobile.” Andrew Lee, Gr. 10, played his own four-movement Baroque-style composition on the piano and Lydia Demissachew, Gr. 11, played Johannes Brahms’ “Rhapsody, Op. 70 No. 2.” John Ammatuna, Gr. 11, was accompanied by Diane Villadsen, Gr. 11, on a song from “South Pacific”; also singing were Vrinda Goel, Gr. 11, Sebastian Herscher, Gr. 10 and Nina Sabharwal, Gr. 9.
Orchestra As Harker’s instrumental program has grown significantly in the past few years, directors Chris Florio, Louis Hoffman and Toni Woodruff split the annual winter showcase into two parts. Despite the change, both concerts, held Jan. 15, were packed and the showcase was a rousing success. The early evening show featured Woodruff’s Lower School String Ensemble, the new Lower School Jazz Ensemble led by Hoffman and Hoffman’s Lower School Orchestra.
Florio’s Gr. 6 and Gr. 7-8 orchestras closed the concert with Brahms, Fauré and Tchaikovsky compositions. The second show included Florio’s Jazz Band, featuring front singer Francesca Nagle, Gr. 11, singing smooth tunes and impressive solos from sax player Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 12 and trombonist Benjamin Tien, Gr. 11. The Harker Orchestra also performed all four movements of Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 1,” a Smetana overture and the humorous “Hungarian Dance” of Brahms.
Dance Production: Percussion Pathways Harker dancers hit the stage Jan. 29 and 30 in Percussion Pathways, this year’s theme for the ever-popular annual upper school dance production. Choreographers selected percussion-heavy music and were challenged by director Laura Rae to create dances that allowed them to “move to their own drummers.”
Student choreographers worked with Harker dance teachers Rae and Karl Kuehn, and dancers Heidi Landgraf, Adrian Bermudez and Sasha Stepanenko ’06 to create a three-part show, taking the audience through Harker school life into an exploration of larger themes about belonging, suffering and mystery. Some students, including Johnny Lau, Gr. 12 and Malika Mehrotra, Gr. 11, also had the opportunity to choreograph their own dances for the show, putting out toe-tappers and crowd-movers to “Break It Down” by Manu Dibango and “Shadowplay” by The Killers.
Dance Jamz Electrifies Audiences Dance Jamz, the annual middle school dance show, energized audiences in early March, as nearly 150 dancers from all middle school grade levels performed several dance styles. The show ran March 4-6, first showcasing the students’ talents for Gr. 5, then entertaining their middle school classmates and finally performing for friends and family.
Directed by middle school dance teacher Gail Palmer, with co-direction by dance teachers Amalia Vasconi and Karl Kuehn, the show highlighted swing, contemporary modern, musical theater and hip-hop, with elements of Bollywood and Latin. The dynamic lighting by middle school performing arts teacher Paul Vallerga brought more flair to each performance, including a dramatic shot of silhouetted hiphop dancers. Students and parents alike were thrilled to see the talented young dancers perform their hearts out onstage!
Conservatory Classic The second annual Conservatory Classic, “An Evening with Past, Present and Future Harker Stars,” brought together the Harker community at the end of winter break, with proceeds going towards the performing arts program. Vocal and musical theater alumni Kartik Venkatraman ’09, Stephanie Kim ’08, Siobhan Stevenson ’07 and many others returned to campus to perform collaborative pieces with current students.
Graduated Guys’ Gig members joined the current crew in song. A string octet, an alumni jazz combo and solos from students were also performed to highlight Harker’s performing arts in preparation for Phase 4 of the school’s master site plan – a new performing and visual arts center. For more information on Harker’s performing arts programs, e-mail K-Gr. 12 department chair Laura Lang-Ree at laural@harker.org.
Reprinted from the Harker Quarterly March 2010 issue
The seventh annual Harker Fashion Show in February was another glamorous spectacle that put on fantastic display the many parts of the greater whole that is Harker. Titled “Outside the Box: Chic and Unique,” this year’s sold-out event was a celebration of Harker’s uniqueness as a school, creatively highlighting the various academic programs and activities in which its students are involved.
Funds raised by the event are put toward scholarships for qualified students needing financial aid and to the Capital
Campaign, which provides students with the ideal facilities to maximize their Harker experience. The final total of funds raised by the fashion show will be announced on Harker News Online in April.
Each portion of the runway show was themed after a different department or program, including performing arts, science, athletics and community service. Students, parents, faculty and staff strutted down the runway dressed in ensembles from fashion sponsors Macy’s and Eli Thomas for Men. A special segment of the show featured Earth-friendly fashions by Priya Bhikha, Gr. 12, who assembled short and long gowns using recyclable materials such as duct tape, candy wrappers and water bottle labels.
Some amusing surprises were in store as well, such as the opening routine by a professional circus performer who handled a large metal cube and twirled his way effortlessly through a series of complex and visually striking maneuvers. Later, the robotics team wheeled out one of their creations onto the runway during a highly entertaining sequence. Not to be outdone, the Harker forensics team put on a humorous mock debate to decide whether Harker was more “chic” or “unique.”
The show also had exciting performances by Dance Fusion, a Gr. 4-6 group directed by Gail Palmer; the upper school’s Downbeat, co-directed by Catherine Snider and Lang-Ree; and pre-show entertainment from Chris Florio’s Jazz Band and Laura Rae’s Varsity Dance Troupe. The show featured a total of 85 student performers.
The fashion show took place in two phases, a luncheon and a dinner event. The evening portion of the show featured dancing and the ever-popular live auction, which sold everything from a helicopter ride above Silicon Valley to a night at the Emmy awards to an American Kennel Club-certified black Labrador puppy. Dennis Baldwin Interiors, Concierge Du Cuisine, Chelsea Court Designs, Omesha Eternal Elegance, Inc. and Miller Design Company designed this year’s showcases, which were won in drawings at the luncheon and evening shows.
“I feel complete,” said fashion show co-chair Christine Davis, whose son, Cole, graduates this year. This year’s fashion show, witnessed by nearly 1,300 people, was her last as a co-chair. “It’s bittersweet, but it’s mostly sweet,” she later added.
Davis partnered with co-chair Marcia Riedel (Randall, Gr. 9; Hunter, Gr. 6) and a team of liaisons led by Sue Prutton, director of upper school volunteer programs, to put together the massive event. Davis and Riedel founded the fashion show more than seven years ago, when they first came up with the idea during a game of tennis. Since then, it has evolved into one of the school’s two largest fundraisers (the Family & Alumni Picnic is the other).
The impressive design and execution of the show was largely the work of K-Gr. 12 performing arts director Laura Lang-Ree, who directed nearly every detail of the show as it happened, including video screen slides, skits, and lighting and musical cues. Meanwhile, producer Beverly Zeiss brought the fashion aspect to life, directing clothes choices, choreographing the models and handling backstage management.
“The fashion show has always been a tremendous fundraising event for the school, but in addition to that it gives us an opportunity to show the world what we can do,” Prutton said. “Our emphasis on telling the Harker story in the past three fashion shows has proven to be incredibly popular.”
Students who participated as models said the fashion show presented an opportunity to get involved in a fun and exciting way. “I just like hanging out with my friends and doing this,” said model Danielle Buis, Gr. 12. “It was just cool to see how we come together as a community.”
Veronica Hsieh, Gr. 12, also served as a model in her freshman year and said she enjoyed being a part of the show “because the entire school’s involved. It’s fun to all be part of the Harker community, to see all ages.”
Nearly 200 students took an active and highly important role in this year’s event, modeling on the runway, greeting attendees, acting as hosts and hostesses and performing in one of the performing arts groups.
After the show, Riedel reflected on how the event had grown since its inception. “I really enjoyed the way that having this event has just brought Harker so much more outside of the Harker community,” she said. “I have people walking up to me and saying, ‘I wish I knew about Harker before this so my kids could go there,’ or, ‘This is where my kids are going to go to school.’”
This year, 92 committee members, all of them parents, came together to make sure the fashion show lived up to the reputation that it has established. Whether they are securing sponsors, selling tickets or decorating the interiors, parent involvement has always been a crucial part of ensuring the event meets an increasingly high standard. Each
aspect of the fashion show had a different parent committee chair to manage the many parts of the event that make it such a memorable experience. Committee chairs were: Sangeeta Balram, Noela Nakos, Heather Wardenburg, Debbie Buss, Mary Malysz, Minoo Gupta, Michelle Maxey, Lana Kipnis, Leslie Nielsen, Debbie Hutchings, Ingrid Semenza, Maria Lu, Sathya Thyagaraj, Tina Najibi, Barb Chappell, Ram Duraiswamy, Susan Ellenberg, Lalitha Kumar, Shankari Sundar, Naren Nayak, Barbara Drummer, Shyamoli Banerjee, Archana Sathaye, Mariko Creasman and Betsy Lindars.
Najibi (Alexander, Gr. 10; Mary, Gr. 6) has been involved with the fashion show since its founding and served as model coordinator for this year’s event. She said the schoolwide nature of the fashion show makes it a great event for parents to network. “When my kids were in lower school and middle school, I met upper school parents, and I got hints on what kinds of clubs to join, what kinds of things to do, that I would not have gotten had I not volunteered for the fashion show,” she said.
Following the fashion show, Chris Nikoloff, head of school, thanked all involved for their months of hard work: “Sitting in the audience, as the Harker story unfolded before us throughout the evening, I was overcome with gratitude for the unique community we all share and help create.”
Nichols Hall on the Saratoga campus hummed with energy on April 10 during Harker’s fifth annual research symposium, “Technology for Life.” Begun in 2005 by upper school biology teacher and science department chair Anita Chetty, the student-led event is modeled after professional symposia that encourage the sharing of ideas in a non-competitive setting.
More than 300 people and 69 student presenters attended the increasingly popular event. “Each year sets a new standard and because of the nature of our community, we simply use that standard to grow from,” said Chetty. Three alumni also presented their current university research, and two keynote speakers linked science backgrounds to careers.
The day included breakout sessions led by 19 upper school students and poster presentations by an additional 16 students. Senior Anjali Menon formally presented her work with IBM’s Almaden facility, on using computers to replace human subjects in simulating the action of drug molecules. Her mother, Indira Somanathan, is enthusiastic about Harker’s research program. “Here you have your own facilities and technology. I’m really happy with Nichols Hall,” she said.
Amy Zhou, sponsor coordinator for the symposium and mother of Jason Young, Gr. 11, thinks Nichols Hall plays a big part in the excitement that middle school students have for science. “The level of science is getting better and better every year,” she said. “The teachers are encouraging and give you time to work in the lab, and the research class allows you to learn more skills like writing and presentation.” Young presented his work with epigenetic regulation of gene expression, which he will continue at the University of California, San Diego this summer.
The Chemistry Club presented demonstrations, and at a “Harker Hospital” workshop, middle school students, under the guidance of upper school students, ran EKGs, took blood pressure readings and analyzed simulated blood samples. “This was a great opportunity for us to not only showcase some of our sophisticated data acquisition tools, it was also a chance for our upper school students to mentor and inspire younger Harker students,” said Chetty.
Divya Kalidindi and Namita Ravi, both Gr. 8, were two of 34 middle school students on hand to discuss their poster presentations. By studying the effect of caffeine on the regeneration of body parts in planaria, they found that caffeine could halve the time required for planaria to grow a new head. Looking forward to working in Nichols Hall next year, Kalidindi said, “The center seems more professional. It is going to be really fun.” Ravi added, “The topics are really good here.”
Inspired by his Gr. 8 study of respiration to research the effect of phosphate on algae blooms in aquatic ecosystems, Josh Batra said, “It was fun to see my experiment in action.” Batra is looking forward to more exposure to biology and physics in the upper school.
Event sponsors offered hands-on technology demonstrations and career advice for students and parents. Brendon Yu, Gr. 8, stood in line to try out Autosuture, by Covidien Surgical. Taking a turn at the hand instruments for suturing, Yu said, “This helps you get inside the body and sew delicate arteries. It requires a lot of practice.”
The day closed with a workshop titled “Research Internships, Technical Writing and Research Competitions,” led by a panel of seniors. “These articulate and talented students gave such an informative talk that parents wanted to hear it again,” Chetty said. The videotaped presentation will be linked off of the research website. “The prospect of approaching a university researcher can be daunting. Seeing that their Harker peers have been successful in doing so is highly encouraging,” Chetty continued. “Presentations such as this one continue to assist in moving forward the mandate of the symposium, which is that it is a student-led research conference for students.”
Recently several students got to go to the home of Head of School Christopher Nikoloff for “American Idol” night. Siobhan Cox, Gr. 9, won this event at this year’s picnic silent auction. She turned the occasion into a celebration of her birthday as well.
Cox and her friends enjoyed an excellent dinner of Chinese food, prepared by Harker’s own chefs, which Nikoloff served. After dinner and birthday cake the girls and Nikoloff watched “American Idol” together and debated about who they thought is going to win the contest. Be on the lookout at next year’s picnic for your chance to enjoy some quality time with our head of school!
Harker ‘s middle and upper schools were once again big winners at the Synopsys Science and Technology Championship, pulling in more than 40 awards. Two upper school students, Alex Han, Gr. 12 and Revanth Kosaraju, Gr. 10, walked away with grand prizes for “Best of Championship” in the Biological Sciences category. Both were awarded a trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May.
Also winning in the Biological Sciences category was Josephine Chen, Gr. 11, who received a First Award and a $100 prize for the best technical paper from the Dr. Paul X Callahan Technical Paper Awards.
Kosaraju also won a First Award for Individual Project in the Behavioral/Social category, as did Aditi Joshi (Honorable Mention, Individual Project) and Max Lan (First Award, Individual Project), both Gr. 11.
Han also took home First Awards for Individual Project and Technical Paper in the Biochemistry/Microbiology category, where junior Jason David Young earned an Honorable Mention for Individual Project.
Harker US winners in the Medicine/Health/Gerontology category were Jeanette Chin (Second Award, Technical Paper), Supraja Swamy (Second Award, Technical Paper) and Isaac Madan (Honorable Mentions for Individual Project and Technical Paper), all Gr. 11 and Pranav Sharma, Gr. 9 (Honorable Mention, Individual Project).
A trio of Harker students performed well in the Engineering category, with senior Andrea Lincoln winning Second Awards for Individual Project and Technical Paper, junior Kiran Vodrahalli earning awards from Yale Science and Engineering Association, United States Army and more and sophomore Ashley King walking away with a first place bronze medallion award from the United States Army.
Upper school award winners in other categories were senior Tiffany Chien in Chemistry (First Award, Individual Project), senior Andrew Zhou earning a First Award in the Technical Paper category, senior Kevin Zhang in Earth/Space Sciences (Honorable Mention, Inividual Project) and Paulomi Bhattacharya, Gr. 9, in Environmental Science (First Award, Individual Project).
Harker had nearly 30 award winners at the middle school level. Winners in the Biochemistry/Microbiology category were Christopher Fu (Second Award, Team Project), Brendon Yu (Second Award Team Project), Mercedes Chien (Labcoat Award for Lab Bench Finesse) and Vikram Sundar (First Award, Individual Project), all Gr. 8.
In Environmental Sciences, awards were won by eighth graders Saachi Jain (Second Award, Team Project), Kristine Lin (Second Award, Team Project) and Aditya Batra (Honorable Mention, Individual Project).
Winners in Zoology were Divya Kalidindi (Second Award, Team Project), Namita Ravi (Second Award, Team Project), Pooja Chopra (Honorable Mention, Team Project) and Maneesha Panja (Honorable Mention, Team Project), all Gr. 8, while Anika Ayyar won a Second Award for Individual Project in Botany.
Harker’s biggest category was Physics, with a total of 13 winners: seventh graders Archana Podury (IEEE Award from Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), Corey Gonzales (First Award, Team Project), Madhu Nori (First Award, Team Project), Apoorva Rangan (First Award, Team Project), Allen Huang (Honorable Mention, Individual Project), Hemant Kunda (Second Award, Team Project), Neha Sunil (Second Award, Team Project), Sahana Rangarajan (First Award, Team Project), Vivek Sriram (First Award, Team Project), Rahul Balikrishnan (Second Award, Team Project) and Avinash Nayak (First Award, Team Project) and eighth graders Raymond Xu (First Award, Team Project) and Vikas Bhetanabotla (First Award, Individual Project).
Middle school award winners in the Engineering category were Neil Movva, Gr. 7 (Second Award, Individual Project) and Brian Tuan, Gr. 8 (Honorable Mention from the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering).
Finally, Jennifer Dai, Gr. 8, won a First Award in the Chemistry category.
In addition to the dozens of student awards, upper school science teacher Kate Schafer was named one of two Outstanding High School Teachers. The upper school received a $100 prize from the Wireless Communication Alliance and $1,000 from the Whitney Education Foundation for having the best biological science project. The middle school received an Outstanding School Award from the Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association.
To see the full list of student winners, including all awards won and project titles, visit the middle school and upper school winners pages on the Synopsys Championship website, or download the lists of the middle school winners and upper school winners in PDF format.
Congratulations to all of Harker’s award winners at this year’s Synopsys Science and Technology Championship!
World Journal, Jan. 14: In the Chinese-language newspaper, Intel Science Talent Search semifinalists Namrata Anand, Vishesh Jain, Kevin Zhang and Andrew Zhou, all Gr. 12, are featured in a story on their achievements.
Gentry Magazine, Jan./Feb. 2010 edition: A story titled “Chic & Unique” previews this year’s Harker Fashion Show and briefly summarizes its history. On the same page, a sidebar includes a short piece on the Harker Speaker Series.
This article first appeared in the March 2010 Harker Quarterly. Green is busting out all over Harker, and not just because it is spring. On the upper school campus, the greenhouse is filled with flora cultivated by the Biology Club. The club has a crop-style garden planned with an herb section and is scouting the art department for a collaborator to help landscape the site.
The upper school HEART Club (Harker Environmental and Animal Rights Team) continues their ongoing effort of collecting recyclable paper from classrooms and offices around campus. The weekly collection visits are reminders to the whole campus both to recycle and to take individual action to help the environment.
In January, middle school students and teachers collected spare paper generated from routine printing runs, extra copies of homework, staff directives, etc., “so we could get a clear idea of what our monthly ‘waste’ is,” said Cindy Ellis, middle school head. The effort is part of a three-campus push to curb excess printing and paper use. The effort ran Jan. 4-29 and resulted in a 2.5 foot pile of paper that was then recycled as scratch paper at the Harker Math Invitational in mid-March.
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, initiated the overall paper-saving awareness effort and Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, took on the role of educating faculty on the effort at schoolwide faculty meetings. “Teachers have been heeding recommendations – requesting fewer color copies, asking the print shop to send digital files and returning the colored pages separating print jobs to the print shop for reuse,” said Gargano. “Our next step is to recruit students in the middle and upper schools to the effort.”
In mid-December, Harker was featured on “Eco Company,” a national TV program covering teens who are taking an active role in creating greener communities. The segment, aired on KTVU Channel 2, featured the upper school campus’ greenhouse and organic garden, the LEED gold-certified Nichols Hall, the lower school’s energy monitoring systems and more. Those who were unable to tune in can watch the segment on Eco Company’s Web site, www.eco-company.tv.
Two Harker faculty members teamed up with a nationally recognized information specialist and spoke to a full house March 8 at the California Association of Independent School’s conference in North Hollywood. With Debbie Abilock, the editor of American School Librarians Association journal “Knowledge Quest,” Donna Gilbert, upper school history department chair, and Sue Smith, upper school campus librarian described their three-year project to integrate information literacy skills into the history curriculum.
Smith, citing the 2008 Stanford Study of Writing which found that college freshmen are expected to write 60-100 pages, using 18 different kinds of writing, suggested preparatory schools must better prepare students for this level of scholarship. Their presentation reflected on the work Harker’s upper school history department has done over the past few years to serve this end. Gilbert and Smith described the work of teachers as they integrated term papers into Gr. 9 history curriculum and held regular meetings discussing obstacles and successes along the way. Abilock spoke about the motivational component of research and writing, and about how teachers can engage in continuous improvement in their practice. The presentation acknowledged the work of the entire Gr. 9 history team: Ruth Meyer, Ally Montana, MaiLien Nguyen, Julie Wheeler and former Harker teacher Heather Jackson.