Harker’s team returned home after a very respectable showing at the Harvard Pre-Collegiate Economics Challenge! Ameek Singh, grade 11, placed second in individual testing out of 120 students, while the team made the final eight out of more than 30 teams, said advisor Sam Lepler. Following the competition, the team adjourned for Thai food near Harvard Square, where they were joined by four alumni, Olivia Zhu ’11, Vikram Sundar ’14, Angela Ma ’14 and Ashvin Swaminathan ’13, with Ramya Rangan ’12 enroute.
Last weekend, grade 9 students Anooshree Sengupta, Maya Kumar, Aria Coalson, Jessica Susai and Aliesa Bahri, also known as the Infinities Vex Robotics team, won the Design Award at the Vex Robotics World Championships in Louisville, Ky. Of the 450 teams in attendance, the Infinites were one of five division award winners. This latest win caps off a season of achievements for the team, which won two regional tournaments and a slew of awards earlier this year, including the Create Award at the NorCal State tournament and two Excellence Awards. Congratulations!
Eight Harker students qualified to take the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) or the United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO) exams! These tests, which will be taken on campus tomorrow and Wednesday, are qualifiers for the 2015 U.S. Math Olympiad Team.
Students who qualified to take tests are seniors Patrick Lin and Ashwath Thirumalai; juniors Lawrence Li and Richard Yi; sophomores Kai Ang, Peter Wu and David Zhu; and freshman Swapnil Garg.
The tests are six-question, two-day, nine-hour essay/proof examinations. Students qualify by taking the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) exam and then, after passing that, the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME).
The AIME is a 15-question three-hour test given to those who rank in the top 5 percent, or score at least 100, on the AMC 12 high school mathematics contest (formerly known as the AHSME), and those who rank in the top 2.5 percent, or score at least 120, on the AMC 10.
Only about 500 students out of 350,000 who take the AMC exam qualify for either the USAMO or USAJMO exams. Of that 500, 12 then qualify for the prep team based on their scores. A variety of other top finishers also may be invited under various qualifications. These students then attend the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP), where instructors select the six-person team (plus supernumeraries) to compete in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from July 4-16. Go Math Eagles!
The Hurrikeynes are going to New York! The team, comprising seniors Aaron Huang, Ashwath Thirumalai, Leo Yu, Rohith Kuditipudi and Steven Wang, was named one of the top four teams in the nation in the National Economics Challenge, administered by the Council for Economic Education. This is the most prestigious high school economics competition, with more than 10,000 students participating nationwide, said Sam Lepler, economics teacher and the team’s coach. Harker won the Northern California finals on April 7; our championship team, the “Hurrikeynes,” then competed against all the other state winners in an exam on April 14. The Hurrikeynes are one of just four top U.S. teams moving on to the National Championships in New York. The team earned an all-expense paid trip to NYC to compete for the No. 1 spot! “I am so incredibly proud of them and so excited for the finals!” said Lepler. “Yay!!”
Jonathan Ma, grade 11, was selected to attend the U.S. Physics Team Training Camp this year. He was one of only 20 students chosen nationwide. Ma will travel to the University of Maryland to attend the camp from May 17-28, where the team members will improve laboratory and problem-solving skills, hear lectures by prominent physicists and work with peers.
“The competition for a position on the U.S. Physics Team is intense and each student who participated in the 2015 selection process is deserving of recognition. They are the future of America’s success in physics related fields. AAPT is honored to recognize the exceptional scholars who qualified for the team and to support their further participation in the International Physics Olympiad,” said Dr. Beth A. Cunningham, Executive Officer of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
The training camp is a crash course in the first two years of university physics. Students learn at a very fast pace. They have an opportunity to hear about cutting edge research from some of the community’s leading physicists. At the end of the training camp, five team members will be chosen to represent the U.S. in Mumbai, India, at the 46th International Physics Olympiad, July 5-12.
Midweek Flash Update: Our boys golf team clinched the league title for the second consecutive season yesterday by beating Pinewood 192-207 at Sunnyvale Golf Course. Sophomore Ryan Vaughan earned his second medalist honors with an even par 35 with two birdies and two eagles. Fellow sophomore Avi Khemani carded a 37 by sinking a 5-foot eagle putt on the 478 yard par 5. Also on Monday the team placed second overall in the prestigious Atwater Invitational, edging third-place Bellarmine by one stroke. The boys hope to go undefeated in league vs. Crystal Springs today.
More sports:
Boys tennis defeated rival Sacred Heart Prep 5-2 yesterday on their Senior Day to improve to 15-2 overall. Congratulations to seniors Sohil Singh and John Dobrota on their stellar careers thus far as they get ready for CCS play.
Baseball earned a league win yesterday over Jefferson 8-2. Kedar Gupta, grade 10, had two hits and Varun Haltore, grade 10, pitched for the victory. The boys travel to Jefferson tomorrow as they try to improve upon their 7-10 record.
Softball defeated Fremont Christian 21-0 yesterday to improve to 8-4 overall. Wish them well at Pinewood tomorrow.
April 21, 2015 Quarterback Keanu Forbes, grade 12, was awarded a huge honor and will play this summer on the San Francisco 49ers’ home field. Forbes was selected to play in the 41st Annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game at Levi’s Stadium on Aug. 1 at 6pm. Over the years, the game has had a slew of participants go on to become collegiate standouts and NFL stars. It represents the very best graduating football players from all 46 Santa Clara County high schools.
Forbes follows in the footsteps of a few Eagles athletes who have competed in the classic. In 2011, three Harker community members participated in the Silicon Valley Youth Classic 37th Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game, which was held at San Jose State University’s Spartan Stadium. Harker coach Karriem Stinson was named head coach of the north squad, while new graduates Rishi Bhatia and Gautam Krishnamurthi were selected for the team.
The first Harker athlete selected to start in the classic was Arman Gupta in 2009. Gupta started at free safety and, according to Stinson, “played more than any other defensive back in the game.”
Golf
The boys remain undefeated and in first place after stretching their run of victories to eight to start the season, with wins last week over King’s Academy and rival Sacred Heart Prep. Senior Shrish Dwivedi celebrated Senior Day in style by leading all scorers against Sacred Heart with a 35! A win this week over either Pinewood or Crystal Springs would award the team their second consecutive league championship.
Tennis
The boys tennis squad won three matches last week, defeating Aragon, Priory and Crystal Springs to improve to 14-2 overall. The team will celebrate seniors John Dobrota and Sohil Singh at Senior Day this Tuesday when they play Sacred Heart Prep at the Santa Clara Tennis Center.
Softball
The Eagles had two key league victories last week, highlighted by a 5-4 come-from-behind win at Castilleja Friday, which kept them in a tie for first place in the league standings. The girls have a busy week ahead as they travel to Palo Alto, Fremont Christian and Pinewood this week to try to improve upon their 7-3 record.
Track and Field
The track and field team competed in the Bearcat Invitational track meet at San Mateo High School last Saturday, setting 16 personal bests. Freshman Grace Koonmen won her heat in the 100m and 200m sprints. Sophomore Davis Dunaway won the frosh-soph 110m hurdles, placed third in the long jump and finished second in the pole vault, setting a new school record with a 10’6″ pole vault. The 400m relay team of juniors Johnathon Keller and Calvin Kocienda, freshman Anthony Contreras and sophomore Lucas Wang placed sixth out of 25 teams, with a season best of 46.50, the best Eagles time in five years. Wang and fellow junior Jonathan Hochberg threw personal bests in the shot put and discus throw.
Swimming
Last week’s swimming action was filled with improved scores and top finishes! Divya Periyakoil, grade 11, dropped 10 seconds in her 100 Free. Junior Philip Krause dropped 6 seconds in his 100 Free. Freshman Rishi Chopra improved by 5 seconds in both his 50 Free and 50 Back. The team also saw a number of first-place finishes, including sophomore Michael Auld in the 200 Free; junior Grace Guan in the 200 IM and 50 Fly; freshman Adriano Hernandez in the 100 IM; freshman Shikhar Solanki in 50 Free; freshman Taylor Kohlmann in the 50 Free and 100 Back; junior Angela Huang in 100 Free; sophomore Austin Zhang in 50 Back; sophomore Jack Farnham in 100 Backstroke; and Joshua Hung, grade 11, in 100 Breast. Junior Angela Huang qualified for CCS in the 100 Free with a time of 55.66, while freshman Vivian Wang qualified in both of her individual events, the 500 Free (5:07.83) and the 100 Breaststroke (1:09.64). The swimmers host King’s Academy on Wednesday, when they’ll celebrate Senior Day. Thank you to our seniors, Stacy Chao, Sanjana Kaundinya, Delaney Martin, Jackelyn Shen, Leon Chin, Aaron Huang, Craig Neubeiser and Harry Xu.
Baseball
Baseball played well last week, despite losses to Pinewood and Cupertino. Freshman Dominic Cea had two hits in Tuesday’s loss, and freshman Nate Kelly and sophomore Varun Haltore had two hits Thursday. The team will look to improve upon its 6-10 record when they take on Jefferson this week.
Volleyball
The boys volleyball team went 0-3 last week, despite solid play from senior Matt Ho, junior Kurt Schwartz and senior Jeremiah Anderson. They travel to Lynbrook, Homestead and to the Harbor Tournament this weekend.
Lacrosse
The girls team lost to Sequoia and Woodside last week but rebounded to eke out a 12-11 victory over Mercy thanks to four goals each from seniors Leeza Kuo and Hannah Bollar and a whopping 23 saves from sophomore goalie Meilan Steimle. They play Notre Dame on Friday.
In a few short months, students in grades 6-12 will attend Harker’s Summer Institute (SI) on the upper school’s beautiful Saratoga Avenue campus.
A unique program open to both Harker students and those from other schools, SI runs from June 15-Aug. 7; course dates and times vary. Registration opened in January and spots have been filling up quickly.
Students typically enroll in SI to get a jump start on the next school year or to enrich their learning on topics they are passionate about. SI has two tracks: one designed for middle schoolers and another for high school students. Participants generally combine a morning academic program with afternoon activities, allowing them to earn credits and learn new skills, while also enjoying summertime fun.
The academic portion of the day offers rigorous for-credit courses such as algebra, economics and programming, as well as non-credit opportunities for enrichment and growth including creative writing, Web design, debate and robotics. A driver’s education course is available for students ages 15 and up.
For middle school students (grades 6-8), SI’s afternoon activity program includes many specialty classes and recreational activities; students in grade 9 are also invited to sign up for the afternoon activities. Offerings include backyard games, volleyball boot camp, cooking, art, jewelry making, magic, improv, dance, tech, junior lifeguard, chess and circus arts. There also will be off-campus field trips every couple of weeks to sites such as The Tech Museum and Capitola.
Although they are not eligible for the afternoon activity program, students in grades 10-12 may stay on campus to swim, study, shoot hoops, etc.
“Our Summer Institute offers a catalog of class choices designed to provide students with quality academic experiences. Whether it’s a ‘for credit’ class needed to round out a school schedule or just an academic interest students would like to pursue, we have it covered. Our professional, caring faculty, enthusiastic activity staff, great facilities and positive environment add up to a well-rounded summer experience,” said Kelly Espinosa, director of Harker’s summer and preschool programs.
Students interested in SI should register early for the best selection. For more information: summerinstitute@harker.org.
The Museums of Los Gatos held an artist reception in mid-April for its annual high school exhibition. Four Harker students were among those selected to show pieces in the exhibition, which runs through May 10. This year’s theme is “Bridges: Facing Challenges.” Kevin Ke, grade 11, won second place in watercolor/drawing category; Sophia Luo, grade 11, won judges recognition for theme; Archana Podury, grade 12, had two drawings selected and Kelly Wang, grade 12, had one drawing selected for the juried exhibition.
This year, the museum received 800 entries from students throughout Santa Clara County. Three jurors – art professors from San Jose State University, Santa Clara University and Mission College –selected 86 works of art for this year’s exhibition.
On April 10, middle and upper school orchestra ensembles gathered at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater for the 2015 Spring Orchestra Concert.
Up first was the Grade 6 Orchestra, directed by Dave Hart, which performed Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No. 5” and the modern folk classic “Ashokan Farewell” by Jay Ungar, finishing with the famous “James Bond Theme” by Monty Norman. The Grades 7-8 Orchestra, also directed by Hart, began with the invigorating theme from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and continued with selections by Brahms, Wagner and Tchaikovsky.
The middle school orchestras then joined forces for a crowd-pleasing performance of “Prelude to Carmen” by Georges Bizet.
Chris Florio directed The Harker School Orchestra, which headlined the evening, starting with Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre” before performing the entirety of Stravinsky’s “The Firebird.” Two soloists also performed. The first, senior violist Austin Lai, performed Léo Delibes “La Paix,” from the ballet “Coppélia,” while senior violinist Helen Wu, who recently earned a spot on the National Youth Orchestra for the second year in a row, performed the allegro from Samuel Barber’s “Concert for Violin & Orchestra.” The orchestra closed the evening with a spirited version of “Huapango” by renowned Mexican composer José Pablo Moncayo.
In mid-April, Harker CareerConnect hosted its annual mentorship banquet at which mentors and students had a chance to meet in a relaxed atmosphere. The mentorship program partners students with a professionals in their field of interest, giving them a chance to learn more about that career pathway. Students then keep in touch throughout the summer, often visiting their mentor’s workplace.