An upper school student has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Obama. James Seifert, grade 12, was nominated for the award after meeting the Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) Foundation’s “Leadership for Service Challenge,” in which he completed in excess of 100 hours of community service during his junior year. During his years at the upper school Seifert has completed more than 250 hours of community service, dividing his time between Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT), Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and local community projects in Saratoga and San Jose.
In October, National Assessment & Testing (NAT) announced that a team of Harker mathematicians finished in sixth place out of 25 teams during the 2010 Fall Startup Event. The team, coached by upper school math teacher Misael Fisico, included Vikram Sundar, Varun Mohan and Alex Pei, grade 9; Ashvin Swaminathan, grade 10; Patrick Yang, Albert Wu, Lucy Cheng and Ramya Rangan, grade 11; and Richard Chiou, grade 12. The test was administered by mail and each student was required to answer 100 problems in half an hour. Each student’s results then were used to make the team’s final score. Part of the challenge, according to a NAT press release, is choosing which problems to solve and which ones to skip.
In October, several faculty and staff gathered at the home of Pat and Terry Walsh, grade 5 math teacher and Harker archivist, respectively, for a special poker event to commemorate the passing of beloved Harker U.S. history teacher John Near one year earlier.
The event also acted as a fundraiser for the John Near Resource Center, raising a total of $945. Funds were donated by visitors and those who were unable to attend but wanted to contribute nonetheless. The center, located in Shah Hall, adjacent to Near’s former classroom, reflects the late teacher’s love of American history. Near taught at Harker middle and upper schools for 31 years prior to his passing in 2009. His legacy includes many hundreds of students left with a love of learning and history as well as the John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund.
Two tables of Texas Hold ‘Em were run for the poker competition which was won by recently retired 30-year lower school geography teacher John Zetterquist, who pocketed a $200 first prize. Casey Near ’06, Dickinson and Near’s daughter, cleverly called Zetterquist’s bluff on one hand, which netted her a $75 prize.
“Casey did an amazing job for her first time playing poker,” said host Terry Walsh, Harker’s archivist.
With the holiday season in full swing, holiday activities distracted upper school students from studying for finals in the days prior to the break. Following a Harker tradition, students, faculty and administrators got to work cobbling together gingerbread houses in early December. Houses were built by each upper school class, and one by the faculty and administrative staff. In addition, each class decorated a section of windows in Manzanita Hall, with the seniors’ effort themed” Nightmare Before Christmas”; the juniors’ was Winnie the Pooh; sophomores drew Invader Zim; and freshmen illustrated the class Grinch. Spirit point winners of the gingerbread house contest were juniors followed by seniors, freshmen and sophomores; while in window painting, seniors came in first followed by juniors, freshmen and sophomores.
In other pre-holiday activity, the Cooking Club went natural, making pumpkin pies from scratch in mid-December. About half a dozen students joined Danae McLaughlin, Saratoga kitchen supervisor, and club advisor Tony Silk in the main kitchen to scoop fresh pumpkin from the rind to create delicious pies. A few days later, teachers got Santa’d up and spread out across the campus to deliver candy to advisories. Finally, one evening, not a creature was stirring, except the Candy Cane Santa: in an as-of-yet unsolved mystery, persons unknown taped candy canes to every classroom and office door on campus overnight, bringing one more drop of sweetness to the holiday spirit on campus.
Vishesh Gupta, grade 11, attended the California Nobel Laureate Dinner at the Getty Center in Los Angeles on Nov. 10. Hosted by the Consulate General of Sweden and the University of California, the dinner brought California winners of the Nobel Prize together with exceptional California high school math and science students. Students also showcased their science projects to attending guests, among whom were ten Nobel Laureates and University of California President Mark Yudof.
On Oct. 20, a special ceremony was held at Nichols Hall auditorium to induct the newest members of Harker’s National Honor Society. The society is one of the oldest and largest high school academic recognition organizations in the United States, with chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Harker School chapter’s inductees for this year are:
Grade 10: Paulomi Bhattacharya, Neel Bhoopalam, Rohan Chandra, Jenny Chen, Jonathan Tayro, Emily Chu, Keri Clifford, Sondra Costa, Tiphaine Delepine, Ria Desai, Richard Fan, Amy Gendotti, Neel Jani, Michaela Kastelman, Nayeon Kim, Kevin Lin, Ramakrishnan Menon, Tara Rezvani, Maya Sathaye, Indulaxmi Seeni, Wendy Shwe, Christopher Sund, Shreya Vemuri, Sarina Vij, Emily Wang, Jacqueline Wang, Joseph Wang, Molly Wolfe and Lorraine Wong.
Grade 11: William Chang, Alexander Hsu, Max Isenberg, Sachin Jain, Aranshi Kumar, Vivian Li, Alexander Najibi, Nikhil Narayen, Gerilyn Olsen, Akhil Prakash, Sankalp Raju, Priyanka Sharma, Gene Wong, Albert Wu, Evan Yao and Laura Yau.
The fabulous cast of the upper school musical “Pippin” extended its Fringe-driven fundraising efforts to Thanksgiving week, holding a car wash at Rosenthal Field on Nov. 22. “The Fringe (an annual event held in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a wonderful opportunity that only the top performing schools in the nation can attend through The American High School Theatre Festival’s (AHSTF) annual competition,” said cast member James Seifert. Faculty, parents and students, many on campus for parent-teacher conferences, all got a shiny car and a warm conscience for only $5. By noon, a line of cars were already finished with a half dozen waiting their turn.
Harker only enters the AHSTF competition every four years, so with their chance to participate in the Fringe this year, those connected to “Pippin” are especially motivated to raise funds. Cast and crew ran a booth at homecoming selling funnel cakes and cozy hats and scarves. They will also run concessions and sell flowers at major productions. In addition, there are other fundraisers in the planning stages, including a dinner and dessert outing, a special pre-Fringe production of “Pippin” and a Super Bowl party. The group is also hoping to hold a winter ball for adults, to take place at the same time as the students’ Winter Ball, but on the Blackford campus!
A dozen educators from various educational institutes in Taiwan visited Harker in late October to learn more about Harker’s administration, college admissions preparation process and test preparation efforts.
After Nan Nielsen, director of admission, provided a tour of the upper school campus, the delegates from universities, high schools and the Ministry of Education of Taiwan met with Evan Barth, upper school dean of studies, to learn more about exam preparation and college acceptances. “My repeated answer was that we don’t really teach to the test here,” Barth said in response to questions about how Harker assists students in preparing for standardized tests. “We teach the academics and the preparation just comes.” Barth also offered them insight into the college application process, which entails meeting with students to set up an appropriate academic plan and talking to the college counselors.
Later that morning, Chris Daren, journalism teacher, and Samantha Hoffman, grade 10 and global editor for the Winged Post, offered insight into the journalism program and other extracurricular activities that are offered on campus. “I think they saw a school where students are trying to be well-rounded, and we have much to offer our student body to enhance their high school experience,” said Daren.
Taiwan delegates included representatives from National Chung Cheng University, Taipei Municipal Zhongzheng Senior High School, National Tsing Hua University, Lawrence S. Ting School, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, National Taichung First Senior High School and the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education of Taiwan. This visit was one of many visits to high schools, including Gunn High School and Fremont High School, in the Silicon Valley.
A score or more attended the official opening of the John Near Resource Center on Nov. 5, celebrating this inspiring room that reflects the late teacher’s love of American history. Near taught at Harker middle and upper schools for 31 years prior to his passing in 2009. His legacy includes many hundreds of students left with a love of learning and history and now, the John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund and this center.
The endowment, the first of its kind at Harker, also funds robust online research databases for students, as well as grants to students or teachers each year for research on history projects of their choice. The first three recipients of John Near Scholar Grants have already received their funding and are listed in a display alongside photos of Near and a plaque commemorating his contribution to Harker and philosophy for the fund’s use. As only interest from the Endowment will be spent, and none had yet accumulated, the first grant recipients, initial data bases and the center itself were funded by special contributions from the Class of 2010 (with 100 percent participation!), a John Near Fun Run, a benefit poker game and special contributions from alumni.
Those attending the wine and cheese reception included history department faculty members, administrators, office of advancement staff, longtime employees, John’s wife, Pam Dickinson, director of Harker’s office of communication, and daughter Casey Near. Key members of the John Near Resource Center planning committee were also present, including Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of academic affairs; Donna Gilbert, history department chair; Susan Smith, head librarian; Mike Bassoni, facilities manager; and Sarah Covey, a ’91 alumna and interior designer who donated her expertise to the project. All were instrumental in making the room come to life.
Once the gathering was underway, Dickinson acknowledged John’s parents, Jim and Pat Near, who established the endowment fund in their son’s honor – and based on John’s own wishes – just months before he passed away. She also recognized the special role so many played in achieving the final outcome. “We all agreed this space needed to be inspirational, warm and comfortable,” she said. “Each person involved just intuitively knew the right thing to do, and did it. It’s an amazing space, and John would have loved both the space and the process.”
The room features media and periodical libraries that will each expand over time, a flat screen and DVD/VHS player, a collaborative work table, comfortable sofa seating, and bookcases of Near’s books from his personal library. Poster–sized, framed black and white photos decorate the walls – from singer Billie Holiday to president John F. Kennedy – each representing iconic facets of American history and culture that had resonated with John Near.
Gilbert noted that the room, adjacent to Near’s most former classroom, has already been in use by both students and teachers for various uses, and has become a bit of a sanctuary for teachers to enjoy a few moments away from the bustle of the hallways. Each year the room will also host a reception for the John Near grant scholars when they receive their awards, but from day to day, Near’s scholarly soul, represented by the photos and books he loved, fills the room, providing a lasting memory of one of Harker’s finest teachers.
Football
The Eagles picked up another victory last weekend, moving them to an impressive 7-1 on this season and making them the winningest team in school history. The Eagles defeated league opponent St. Elizabeth 40-29 Friday night. Once again senior quarterback Rishi Bhatia led the offense, throwing for three touchdowns and running for one. Other Eagles touchdowns were scored by seniors Greg Cox, Chris McCallaCreary and Gautam Krishnamurthi and Daanish Jamal, grade 11. Not content to limit his contributions to one side of the ball Cox was outstanding on defense as well posting 15 tackles. This victory gives them a 2-1 league record, moving them into third place in league behind Salesian and Berean Christian. The boys will have a chance to improve their position even more when they play Berean this week.
Golf
The girls finished their season with matches against Mercy Burlingame and Sacred Heart last week. They split the matches with a decisive victory over Mercy and a close loss to Sacred Heart. Their performance over the season earned them third place in league with a record of 6-4. Kristine Lin, grade 9 and Patricia Huang, grade 10, both qualified for CCS and will compete this week.
Tennis
The girls finished out the last four games of their season 2-2. They lost to highly ranked Saratoga two weeks ago but rebounded with 6-1 victories over both Notre Dame and Castilleja. Unfortunately, they lost their final match to a tough Menlo squad. However, their overall performance was exceptional, with their 7-3 league record earning them second place. In the CCS contest Jenny Chen, grade 10, advanced in singles and the doubles team of Daria Karakoulka, grade 10 and Swetha Bharadwaj, grade 9, advanced to the next round.
Water Polo
The teams honored their seniors at their home game last week against Santa Clara. Both teams came out on top, with the boys winning 10-7 and the girls 10-9. The girls said goodbye to seniors Niva Bigler, Miranda Gorman, Dawn Queen, Priya Sahdev and Cynthia Shwe. The boys team wished farewell to their seniors Rex Chen, Justin Murtiff, Chris Ng, Baran Ozdemir, Derek Quach, Jerry Sun, Michael Tsai and Gabriel Yanovsky.
The girls won all three of their tournament games over the weekend at Lincoln High, defeating Lincoln 14-7, Evergreen Valley 16-8 and Mt. Pleasant 17-6. The boys went 1-2 at their tournament defeating Palma and losing to Palo Alto and Homestead.
Both teams are competing in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League tournament in early November.
Cross Country
The cross country teams have their league final races this week at Crystal Springs.
Volleyball
The girls continue to compete with some of the toughest teams in Northern California. Their final two home games are this week against Mercy Burlingame and Notre Dame. The game against Notre Dame is senior night so please come out and show your support.