The lower, middle and upper school orchestras came together for a special spring concert on April 10 in the Bucknall gym. It was a special night for each orchestra, being the final performance of the school year.
The Bucknall orchestra bookended their set with George Frideric Handel’s “La Rejouissance” and “Hallelujah Chorus,” in addition to performing the third movement of Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1.” The Gr. 6 orchestra performed the first movement of Mozart’s “Jupiter Symphony” and “The Overture to Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini. The entire MS orchestra then performed “Bartered Bride” by Bedrich Smetana, followed by the Gr. 7 and Gr. 8 orchestra’s performances of pieces by Mozart, Edward Elgar, Antonin Dvorák and Johannes Brahms.
Fresh off of their trip to New York to perform at Alice Tully Hall, the US orchestra performed their renditions of Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46” and “Dance of the Tumblers” by Nikolay Rimsky Korsakoff, as well as pieces by Aaron Copland and Smetana that were performed in New York.
The Nichols Hall atrium was the setting for a confluence of art and science at Harker’s fourth annual science research symposium, New Frontiers, in mid-March. Over 300 attendees enjoyed breakfast, The Science of Art display in the upstairs gallery and music by the Harker String Quartet while viewing student presentations on site and streamed via the Internet.
All told, there were 37 MS and US presentations, 22 student papers, two alumni presenters from the class of 2004 and two keynote speakers.
With enthusiasm and confidence, students presented their work and answered questions from both guests and each other. Vikram Sundar, Gr. 7, sought out faculty mentor Rajasree Swaminathan, MS science teacher, and the Science Research Club to support his look at the use of capacitors to provide a steady current to charge solar lithium-ion batteries. “Research is a lot of fun,” Sundar said. “You can make it your own.”
“Kids argue logic and reasoning with one another, and challenge each other to do better and better,” said Huali G. Chai, mother of Siemens semifinalist Andrew Stanek, Gr. 12.
Papers were given on topics ranging from a survey of insect pollinator biodiversity on plants in Costa Rica to the activation of two proteins by airborne particulates relative to lung damage.
Emily Carr, Gr. 12, credited her faculty mentor, biology teacher Kate Schafer, with inspiring her to take Harker’s research class and develop her work on the effect of estrogens on sea urchins. “The class was terrific and Harker was very supportive,” Carr said.
Intel finalist Denzil Sikka, Gr. 12, credited Harker’s research class with the opportunity and support to develop a new algorithm for aligning large data sets. “Harker teachers are really open,” she said. “As long as you are willing to put in the work, they are willing to support you.”
Senior Dominique Dabija found a summer internship at Stanford University to develop her program that makes it easier to visualize the way a signal travels in a protein, and its effect on amino acids. She is also a member of Harker’s Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (WiSTEM) club, conducted the symposium’s CSI: Harker workshop, and was an Intel and Siemens semifinalist.
From afar, alumni Alfred Pokmeng See ’04, Johns Hopkins University, and Nikhil Deshmukh ’04, Princeton University, each led interactive videoconference sessions on their work with malignant brain tumors and neural activity in spatial navigation, respectively. This year’s event also featured two keynote speakers. Nimet Maherali, Ph.D. candidate at Har vard University Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cancer, spoke about “Cellular Alchemy and the Making of a Research Scientist.” Dr. Andrew Chan, senior vice president of immunology and antibody engineering at Genentech, addressed guests regarding “Science, Biotechnology and Medicine in the 21st Centur y.” Sponsors for this year’s event were Roche, Fortebio, Hunter Labs, Nanosyn, Pearl Therapeutics, Relypsa and Health Hero Network/Bosch.
The symposium was established by Anita Chetty, science department chair, as an opportunity for students to enter research competitions and share their work prior to graduation, and for alumni and other research leaders to link lab work with real world applications and careers. Alumnus Deshmukh noted, “I think it’s fair to say that the majority of my peers in graduate school did not even know what research was until junior or senior year of college; to have such an experience as a high school student can make a huge difference.”
Cal Tech student Aarathi Minisandram ’08 credits Chetty with helping her solidify her interest in pre-med. “The symposium is amazing,” she said. “The upper school resources are better than most colleges and the variety of science courses helped me broaden my horizons.” Minisandram ser ved as WiSTEM co-president when at Harker. “You see companies here and they are really interested in our work,” said Minisandram.
Chetty expressed her delight in the completion of Nichols Hall, which brings together all the sciences in one location and promotes the sharing of knowledge. “Thank you for making my dreams come true,” Chetty said as she expressed appreciation to the students, parents, mentors and faculty for their passion and patience, along with alumni who represent Harker and return to share. She also thanked the administration and lifetime trustee Diana Nichols for their support. Looking ahead, Chetty hopes to increase opportunities for students to find mentors, and expand the event to include students from schools across the country. She is also considering videoconferencing with sister schools in Australia and Switzerland. Next year’s symposium will be held on March 20, 2010.
February proved to be a strong month for Harker LS and MS mathematics, with students performing well in regional competitions, and yet another faculty member receiving honors.
MS math students posted a slew of high scores in the California Math League contest on February 17. The contest consists of 40 problems, with a top score of 40. The league classifies a score of 15 as “commendable” and a score of 30 as “exceptional.”
The Gr. 6 team scored 184 points, with top scorers Angela Gu and Andrew Zhang each earning 39 points. Other high scorers were Cindy Lu and Apoorva Rangan with 36; and Nikhil Kishore, Vivek Sriram and Helen Wu all with 34 points.
Gr. 7 math students shone with a total team score of 194. Top scorers were Vikram Sundar and Albert Zhao, both with a per fect score of 40; Travis Chen and Kristine Lin, both with 39; Albert Chu, Alex Pei, Rahul Sridhar and Nathan Wong, all with 38; Stephanie Chen, Tiffany Chu, Kevin Gao, Ben Huchley and Koshu Takatsuji, all with 37 points. Oishi Banerjee and Nihal Uppugunduri both scored 36 points. Ashwin Chalaka, Nikhil Dilip, Megan Prakash, Claudia Tischler and Andrew Wang each scored 35 points.
The Gr. 8’s team score was 187, with top scorer Ashvin Swaminathan pulling in a per fect score of 40. Tyler Yeats had 38, while Richard Fan had 37. Michael Cheng, Sierra Lincoln and Wilbur Yang each scored 36 points. Connie Cheng, Kyle Roter, Pranav Sharma and Michael Yu had 35 points.
Harker students also had a strong showing at the MathCounts Santa Clara Chapter Competition on Feb. 14. Team competitors were Travis Chen, Sierra Lincoln, Vikram Sundar and Nathan Wong. Competing individually were Rahul Desirazu, Simar Mangat, Pranav Sharma and Wilbur Yang.
Harker was one of 35 schools in the event, which featured a total of 235 highly talented students. As is usual in the Santa Clara chapter, competition was very stiff. Harker placed seventh overall in the event, despite being just 4.5 points behind the first-place school.
At the February tryouts for the Primary Mathematics World Contest, Harker had the highest number of top placers, with five students in Gr. 3-6 earning a top five rank in their respective grades. In the Gr. 6 category, students Cindy Liu and Menghua Rachel Wu took first and fourth place, respectively, while David Zhu took first in the Gr. 4 category, in which classmate Aneesh Samineni took third. Shaya Zarkesh earned first place in the Gr. 3 category.
Also in February, MS math teacher Scott Graham was awarded the Edyth May Sliffe award for 2008 for Distinguished Junior High School Mathematics Teaching.
‘Phyllis Gwynn Carley, much beloved member of the Harker community for over 50 years, passed away in her sleep April 25. She was 88 years old. At a school that values its deep ties to the community Mrs. Carley, as she was known to so many, was an institution and an irreplaceable tie to our past.
Born December 29, 1920, Mrs. Carley came of age prior to World War II in the Salinas Valley where in 1937, in one of her cherished moments, she was named Hostess of the California Rodeo in Salinas and awarded a pair of silver spurs she always treasured. She was a life-long aficionado of rodeos — always pronounced “ro day’ o” — and returned to Salinas to attend the California Rodeo every year, as well as attending other rodeos in central and northern California as often as possible.
Harker School was graced with Mrs. Carley’s presence in a number of valuable roles, culminating with her services as secretary to the Board of Trustees and as a private clipping service for Harker’s Office of Communication. She opened her Harker career in 1952 in Palo Alto as a driver, shuttling local students to and from school. She progressed by virtue of her wonderful disposition and hard work to become secretary first to Donald Nichols, then to Howard Nichols and remained in that role for many years, though her contribution to campus life went far beyond her desk in the administration building.
After retiring from Harker, Mrs. Carley went to work for her nephew at Hackett Pipeline and, following her retirement from there, Mrs. Carley continued to provide critical services to the school as secretary of the Board of Trustees. She was also a familiar face to current students and, as an avid sports fan, could be spotted at many home games. It didn’t matter what sport, she just enjoyed seeing kids active.
In 2006, Mrs. Carley received the Harker Alumni Association (HAA) Service Award, which was immediately renamed in her honor the HAA Phyllis Carley Service Award. Head of School Christopher Nikoloff noted, “Whether cheering our students at games or serving as secretary to the Board of Trustees, Phyllis Carley’s long career at The Harker School embodied the true spirit of service. Everyone at Harker enjoyed seeing Phyllis around campus, and her attitude of service and love has helped make Harker the special place it is today.”
Mrs. Carley lived the advice she once gave high school students, to “enjoy life and consider your friends. Academics are important, but so are our attitudes. Your attitude will stay with you throughout your life.” Mrs. Carley’s attitude, her dedication to her family and friends and to Harker will always inspire those who knew her.
She is preceded in death by her husband Rue Carley. Mrs. Carley is survived by her grandson, Dale Johnson (Harker Academy Class of 1980), stepsons Edwin and Ken Blasé, as well as many other nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
A Celebration of Phyllis Carley’s Life will be held on Thursday, May 7 at 5 p.m. in Nichols Hall Auditorium, 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations can be made to The Harker School with The Phyllis Carley Student Scholarship Fund noted in the memo section and sent to The Harker School Advancement Office at 3800 Blackford Avenue, San Jose, CA 95117.
On Aug. 22, the dream of opening a new science and technology center became reality as the Harker Benefactors (families making gifts of $100,000 or more) gathered together to dedicate the five centers that make up this new facility. The five Centers, named after the families who made Visionary gifts of $1,000,000 to help fund these individual Centers, are proudly named: The Jain Technology Center, The Pawlowski Chemistry Center, The Krishnamurthi Physics Center, The Madala Biology Center and The Ringold Research Center.
Over 120 guests attended the gala, which began with Askok Krishnamurthi thanking the teachers for their work with Harker students before making the inaugural swing of the Foucault pendulum in the building’s rotunda, setting it in perpetual motion and signifying the opening of the building. Guests were then invited to tour the building where teachers were happily showing their new classrooms and labs.
The 52,000-square-foot “green” center, which broke ground in May 2007, is designed to be fully LEED certified; the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green Building Rating System.
As guests were summoned to the auditorium, Christopher Nikoloff, head of school, was joined on stage by the Visionary Donors, and thanks were extended for their incredible generosity. “You all can feel really good about what you have helped make possible and this building will have a major
impact for our students, our teachers and our program,” Nikoloff said.
The Jain Technology Center was dedicated first. “Navin and Madhu Jain made the very first Visionary gift to the Cornerstones Campaign approximately nine years ago. Navin and Madhu are involved as volunteers, including serving on our Parent Technology Committee and being a member of the Board of Trustees, and it is with great joy that we dedicate the Jain Technology Center tonight,” Nikoloff said.
The Pawlowski Chemistry Center is named for Visionary Donor Brian Pawlowski, who made his gift when his son Nic was in the upper school. “Brian continues to be a mentor to our 11th grade students and we are very grateful to Brian for his early leadership in the Senior Parent Appreciation Giving
Program,” Nikoloff said, as he thanked Pawlowski and his wife, Aki Ueno.
Gordon and Tanya Ringold were among the first donors to the Cornerstones Campaign when Harker first began the expansion to a K-Gr. 12 school. During Phase III of the campaign, the Ringolds made an additional
commitment to the school, becoming Visionary Donors. The Research Center was dedicated in their honor.
Ashok Krishnamurthi and Deepa Iyengar were next to be recognized for their visionary gift. The Physics Center in the building is named in memory of Krishnamurthi’s father, who passed away a few years ago.
“Ashok has not only been a major benefactor, but he co-chaired this phase of the Capital Campaign along with John and Christine Davis,” Nikoloff noted.
The final center dedication was for the Biology Center. Nikoloff: “Srini and Durga Madala just kept getting more and more excited about what they were seeing happening as Phase III began to come together. They committed to making a gift early in this phase and they kept increasing
the amount of their gift as they became more and more excited about the benefits that it was going to provide to our students and teachers. We are grateful for their visionary commitment and for naming the Biology Center.”
Also being honored for their Visionary gift were Krish and Nina Panu. Much of the success of the record-breaking year in annual giving (bringing in $1.5 million and 80 percent parent participation) is due directly to the Panus, who joined the Madala family in a matching gift challenge that resulted in 153 families making gifts who had not donated the year before, and 418 families increasing their gifts to the campaign.
After this moving ceremony, Nikoloff turned his thanks to the Gold Circle Benefactors, Shirish and Archana Sathaye, and Marcia and Chris Riedel, Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai and Sally Anderson and presented them each with a commemorative book highlighting the process of the construction of the entire Phase III project.
Harker’s long-held commitment to environmental issues informed every decision in the current capital expansion project, and environmentally focused features have been incorporated into the design of the new science and technology center also known as Nichols Hall, which is designed to be LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
According to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Web site, “LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.” LEED certification is based on a point system recognizing performance in the aforementioned five areas. XL Construction Corporation and DES Architects + Engineers, Inc. have designed the building so that it is on target to become LEED silver certified, which ranges from 37 to 43 points.
During production, 95 percent of the construction debris generated by demolition and construction were sent to recycling facilities instead of landfills. Additionally, more than 10 percent of the materials – steel, concrete, carpet, casework – used for construction are manufactured from post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content. Eighty percent of the steel content itself is recycled. All of the paint, adhesives, sealants, carpet and other products used are low VOC and the wood products used have low urea-formaldehyde, earning the building four points for improving the indoor environmental quality. Air quality was also monitored during construction and before occupancy. All the air handlers were cleaned and capped after each day of work to prevent dust collection and no combustion vehicles were allowed on site during construction. Once the construction was done, there was a flush out period to ensure good air quality.
Since the area where Nichols Hall stands was originally a field and no buildings were demolished for the construction of the new science center, the location selected earns the building one point under sustainable site development. Nichols Hall also earns another point for community development, because the school has pedestrian access to residential neighborhoods and shopping centers. The proximity to bus stops, availability of bike racks and locker rooms, limited parking capacity and preferred parking for carpools and low-emitting and fuel efficient vehicles encourage the community to use alternative transportation, giving the building an additional four LEED points.
The building also has bioswales, turf cell paving and a green roof that provide a storm water management system. The bioswales, located around the building and alongside the parking lot, act as a natural earthen filter for the rainwater before it goes to San Tomas Aquinos Creek on its way to the bay. The turf cell paving effectively absorbs rainwater into the ground and minimizes storm water runoff and also preserves the soil from human activity. The green roof has a two-fold purpose; while the vegetation filters rainwater particulates and reduces storm water runoff, the green roof also acts as a natural insulator, keeping the heat in the building during the winter and out during the summer. The green modules as well as the surrounding reflective white coating on the roof help minimize the heat island effect caused by solar absorption of traditional black rooftops.
Nichols Hall also uses targeted exterior lighting and low-contrast yellow lighting to reduce undesirable light and night sky pollution. The interior lighting is designed to maximize brightness throughout the building while minimizing excessive energy use. For example, the recessed lighting used in the atrium decreases glare and also lights up large areas without taking up a lot of space. XL Construction has also installed occupancy sensors in all the rooms to minimize power consumption, improving the indoor environmental quality.
The use of water efficient features allow the building to use 40 percent less water than a typical building of the same size. These features include low-flow sinks, also included in the labs, as well as dual-flush toilets and ultra-low flush urinals, which use only 0.125 gallons per flush.
Additionally, the building operates 27-33 percent more energy efficiently than a baseline building of the same size due to features like the improved air handling system, heating, lighting, photovoltaic cells and building envelope.
The building envelope includes the low-emissivity glass windows used for the atrium and rotunda and the green roof. The polycrystalline solar panels will generate more than 2.5 percent of the energy used, offsetting a significant amount of greenhouse gases. The efficient HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) system will help the building consume $30,000 less in electricity annually with the help of features like the directive/indirect evaporative cooling air handlers that use one-tenth the amount of electricity generated by regular air conditioners that use compressors. Instead of using Freons, the air conditioning system uses enhanced refrigerant made entirely of water, so no ozone-depleting chemicals are used within the building. Also, the HVAC system uses air circulated from outside and has more air changes than required by code, ensuring good air quality indoors. To increase thermal comfort, each room has individual temperature controls to maximize energy efficiency and comfort for building occupants.
Additional points will also be considered for educating the community and going above and beyond the requirements in energy efficiency. With a rolling display of the solar panel energy production as well as displays explaining all the LEED-certified features of the building, students can learn just how “green” the building is.
More than 2.5 percent of the energy used in Nichols Hall, approximately 9000 watts of electricity, comes from onsite renewable sources such as the photovoltaic cells, allowing the green building to operate 27 to 33 percent more efficiently than a baseline building of the same size. Akeena Solar, Inc., the nation’s leading solar power installer, has installed over 3000 systems nationwide and provided Harker with the 54 solar modules sitting on Nichols Hall’s roof. The poly-crystalline panels will produce about 10.3 kilowatts of energy, offsetting 165,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and 152 pounds of nitrous oxide. With Fat Spaniel Technologies’ monitoring system, the community can see the energy production data online and on display in the atrium.
The display, located outside of the Jain Technology Center, shows the current and historical production, the amount of greenhouse gases avoided by the use of this solar energy, and a technical tour of how solar electricity is generated. In addition, environmental equivalencies place the energy production into perspective and offers educational awareness by calculating the amount of homes that can be powered by the energy generated and also the amount of car emissions avoided. Fat Spaniel has provided about 2,500 monitoring and reporting systems worldwide, of which roughly 25 percent have been for schools, but only a handful of these schools have installed displays, according to Richard Eckman, director of operations at Fat Spaniel. All data is made available to teachers and students,” Eckman said. The production data “becomes a teaching aid for how solar panels work.”
Nichols Hall’s numerous green features have garnered attention from the San Jose Business Journal, which printed an article in the Oct. 3 edition of the newspaper.
The article, titled “Harker LEEDs by Design,” details some of Nichols Hall’s many environmentally-sound features and includes interviews with facilities manager Mike Bassoni and project manager Casper Wagner of XL Construction Corp.