Opening the season at the 63rd annual Santa Catalina Tennis Invitational, the girls tennis team defeated Carmel, Sacred Heart Cathedral and Castilleja all 7-0 to advance to the finals, where the girls defeated Salinas 5-2 to take the tournament championship. The Eagles are back on the court on Sept. 23 as they host Homestead.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team opened its season with an impressive 192-255 win over Sacred Heart Prep with Natalie Vo, grade 11, earning medalist honors by shooting a 35. Over the weekend, the Eagles finished second at the prestigious Palm Desert Tournament where they faced off with 17 of the top programs in the country, and Claire Chen, grade 9, placed fourth overall. On Monday, the girls take on Notre Dame SJ and Notre Dame Belmont in a tri-match followed by a match with Castilleja on Wednesday.
Girls Volleyball
The girls volleyball team continued its hot start to the season with two more wins last week. The team defeated Mercy Burlingame 3-0 and Westmont 3-1. This week, the Eagles host Mercy SF on Tuesday before traveling to Carmel on Friday.
Football
Picking up its first win of the young season, the football team defeated Washington SF 20-6 last Friday. Devin Keller, grade 12, scored two rushing touchdowns, with Vijay Vyas, grade 11, connecting with Sid Dudyala, grade 12, for the final score. The Eagle D also played great all night. Harker hosts Lowell this Friday at Davis Field.
Cross Country
Last weekend the cross country team competed at the Lowell Invitational at Golden Gate Park with Dawson Chen, grade 10, and Anna Weirich, grade 11, leading the way for the varsity squad. This Saturday, the Eagles travel to North Monterey County High for the Jackie Henderson Memorial Invitational.
Boys Water Polo
Over the weekend, the boys water polo team went 1-2 at the Wilcox Tournament. This week, the Eagles host Milpitas on Tuesday and Fremont on Thursday.
Girls Water Polo
The girls water polo team opens its season this week as it hosts Milpitas on Tuesday and Fremont on Thursday.
A Swiss magazine, Das Magazin, includes an article from a local Swiss writer on her efforts to find a school for her child. She visited Harker and included some comments about it in her article.
Volleyball phenom Jarrett Anderson ’19 is lauded in the Los Altos Town Crier as a critical member of Mountain View Volleyball Club’s 18 Red team, which took the 18 Open Division of the USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships earlier this summer.
Harker’s “Urinetown” traveling team went to Scotland this summer to present the show in the noted Edinburgh Festival Fringe and garnered a nice review in the Edinburgh Guide.
A pair of Harker students, Nikhil Sharma and Arnav Joshi, both grade 12, are noted for creating a platform to launch new technology ideas.
Three Harker women were honored by the Davidson Institute. Two were named fellows and one received honorable mention. Patch included the two fellows in this article about Davidson Fellows from the South Bay. For more information on these three women, see our Harker news article.
Jai Bahri, grade 12, who lives in Los Altos Hills, spoke at a recent city council meeting to support raising the minimum wage, as reported in the Los Altos Town Crier.
The girls varsity volleyball team opened its 2019 season with a 3-0 victory over Branham before going 3-2 at the Spikefest Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles picked up wins over Pioneer, Valley Christian and Clovis West to earn the Blue Division championship. This week, the girls travel to Serra High to face Mercy Burlingame on Wednesday and host Westmont on Friday.
Football
The football team opened its season with a 22-57 loss to Burton last Friday. Vijay Vyas, grade 11, rushed for a score and threw a touchdown to Marcus Anderson, grade 11, with Levi Sutton, grade 11, recovering a fumble for the final score. Devin Keller, grade 12, also had a huge night rushing. The Eagles look to bounce back against Washington High of San Francisco this Friday.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team officially kicks off its season on Wednesday at Sharon Heights Country Club, where the Eagles will take on Sacred Heart Prep.
Cross Country
The cross country team gets the season off and running by heading to Golden Gate Park for the Lowell Invitational this Saturday.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team gets its 2019 season going at the 63rd annual Santa Catalina Tennis Invitational this weekend. The first time you can cheer on your Eagles at home will be Oct. 1 vs. Crystal Springs Uplands.
Boys/Girls Water Polo
On Sept. 10, the water polo season gets going as the boys varsity team hosts Milpitas High at 4 p.m. with the girls team playing at 6:15 p.m.
Yesterday morning, author Kaia Anderson paid a visit to the upper school campus as part of this year’s ReCreate Reading series of author visits. Anderson, whose book “Trial By Fire” outlines her 30-year ordeal involving an acquaintance turned stalker, answered questions from students who read the book over summer break. She discussed her battle with the Colorado judiciary – which at the time did not comprehend the seriousness of the dangers faced by stalking victims – and how the healing process helped her to move past “bitterness and anger” and reach “a much more expansive level than I have been at before.”
An environmental consultant, Anderson also spoke this morning to Jeff Sutton’s biology classes about her career helping companies and government agencies develop their organizations and processes to be environmentally responsible. One of her projects involved working with the city of Fort Collins, Colo., and local gravel mining companies to make sure the nearby Cache la Poudre River stayed clean and continued to support local wildlife.
Upper school students packed the campus quad on Friday for the 2019-20 Matriculation Ceremony, in which they celebrated the start of the school year and formally welcomed the Class of 2023 to the upper school community. Head of School Brian Yager opened the ceremony with some words for the incoming students, telling them to “enjoy and embrace the process and look to the students in the grades above you for guidance and inspiration as well as for examples of what will be expected of you in the years to come.”
The assembled students also heard from ASB president Avi Gulati, grade 12, who stressed to the freshmen that the community was there to help them succeed when the demands of high school life seem daunting. “You have counselors, advisors, teachers [and] upperclassmen here for support,” he said. “The entire community prides itself on ensuring that you thrive.”
Keeping with tradition, the ceremony also featured great musical performances. Cantilena sang David Montoya’s “Jambo Rafiki Yangu,” directed by Susan Nace, and The Harker String Quartet performed its renditions of the Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
While the quartet played, grade 9 students each signed the matriculation book and honor code. After returning to their seats, the audience was treated to the annual “Freshman 101” series of skits, which featured students in the role of characters from famous pop-culture properties such as “Star Wars” and Marvel Comics, humorously outlining various aspects of student life, including the dress code, club opportunities, athletics teams and the honor code.
Upper school students packed the campus quad on Friday for the 2019-20 Matriculation Ceremony, in which they celebrated the start of the school year and formally welcomed the Class of 2023 to the upper school community. Head of School Brian Yager opened the ceremony with some words for the incoming students, telling them to “enjoy and embrace the process and look to the students in the grades above you for guidance and inspiration as well as for examples of what will be expected of you in the years to come.”
The assembled students also heard from ASB president Avi Gulati, grade 12, who stressed to the freshmen that the community was there to help them succeed when the demands of high school life seem daunting. “You have counselors, advisors, teachers [and] upperclassmen here for support,” he said. “The entire community prides itself on ensuring that you thrive.”
Keeping with tradition, the ceremony also featured great musical performances. Cantilena sang David Montoya’s “Jambo Rafiki Yangu,” directed by Susan Nace, and The Harker String Quartet performed its renditions of the Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
While the quartet played, grade 9 students each signed the matriculation book and honor code. After returning to their seats, the audience was treated to the annual “Freshman 101” series of skits, which featured students in the role of characters from famous pop-culture properties such as “Star Wars” and Marvel Comics, humorously outlining various aspects of student life, including the dress code, club opportunities, athletics teams and the honor code.
Upper school students packed the campus quad on Friday for the 2019-20 Matriculation Ceremony, in which they celebrated the start of the school year and formally welcomed the Class of 2023 to the upper school community. Head of School Brian Yager opened the ceremony with some words for the incoming students, telling them to “enjoy and embrace the process and look to the students in the grades above you for guidance and inspiration as well as for examples of what will be expected of you in the years to come.”
The assembled students also heard from ASB president Avi Gulati, grade 12, who stressed to the freshmen that the community was there to help them succeed when the demands of high school life seem daunting. “You have counselors, advisors, teachers [and] upperclassmen here for support,” he said. “The entire community prides itself on ensuring that you thrive.”
Keeping with tradition, the ceremony also featured great musical performances. Cantilena sang David Montoya’s “Jambo Rafiki Yangu,” directed by Susan Nace, and The Harker String Quartet performed its renditions of the Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
While the quartet played, grade 9 students each signed the matriculation book and honor code. After returning to their seats, the audience was treated to the annual “Freshman 101” series of skits, which featured students in the role of characters from famous pop-culture properties such as “Star Wars” and Marvel Comics, humorously outlining various aspects of student life, including the dress code, club opportunities, athletics teams and the honor code.
The middle school and upper school speech and debate teams held their annual retreat Aug. 23-25 in Milpitas. Seventy students attended the retreat and got a head start preparing new topics and speeches for the 2019-20 season. They also won prizes at the team bonding event at Dave & Busters! Check out the photos!
The girls varsity volleyball team officially opens its 2019 season at the St. Francis Jamboree on Tuesday. The Eagles then host Branham on Thursday for their home opener, followed by the Spikefest Tournament at Independence High over the weekend.
Also, congrats to senior captain Emily Cheng for being named as a national finalist for the Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship. Cheng was chosen as a student athlete who embodies the Triple-Impact Competitor model of making herself, her team and her sport better by her behavior in and out of the sport. Winners from each chapter will be announced throughout the school year. Check out the full list of finalists:
The football team opens its season at home as it takes on visiting Burton High at 7 p.m. on Davis Field.
Boys/Girls Water Polo
On Sept. 10, the water polo season gets going as the boys varsity team hosts Milpitas High at 4 p.m. with the girls team playing at 6:15 p.m.
Cross Country
The cross country team gets the season off and running by heading to Golden Gate Park for the Lowell Invitational on Sept. 7.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team officially kicks off its season on Sept. 3 at Sharon Heights Country Club as the Eagles take on Sacred Heart Prep.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team gets its 2019 season going at the 63rd annual Santa Catalina Tennis Invitational on Sept. 6. The first time you can cheer on your Eagles at home will be Oct. 1 vs Crystal Springs Uplands.
Last weekend, 55 students attended Harker DECA’s sixth annual Launch event, which introduced prospective members to DECA and the Harker School’s business and entrepreneurship department. Students were given an overview of the upcoming DECA competitive season through alumni panels, detailed lectures, guest speakers, mock competitions and interactive activities.
“In my opinion, the Innovation Challenge, which we revamped the last competitive season, now provides a perfect opportunity for our new members to become familiarized with the writing of an introductory business plan, which is one of the key aspects of competition at DECA conferences,” said Harker DECA co-CEO Phil Han, grade 12. “The biggest way in which DECA Launch improved from last year is definitely the increased amount of time that we are allocating towards the Innovation Challenge. I’m very excited to see what the new members will come up with this year!”
On Saturday morning, attendees met the chapter advisors and officers in the Nichols Hall atrium, while enjoying breakfast from Noah’s Bagels. They then went into the auditorium for the Student Opening Ceremony, where California DECA president Elisa Zhang and former Harker DECA vice president of public relations Riya Gupta ’19 shared how DECA impacted their high school experiences and sparked their passions for business and entrepreneurship.
Afterward, the officers held an ice-breaker game of competitive rock, paper, scissors before Bryan Zhang, grade 11, the director of written events, introduced the Innovation Challenge. Students divided themselves into teams of six, and throughout the weekend, each group, under the guidance of a mentor, brainstormed and developed a product or idea relating to this year’s theme of sustainability to present at the closing ceremony.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the whole mentoring process and the opportunity to bond with the grade below me. It was rewarding to be involved with the operations side of this event and be able to recreate the eye-opening experience that I had the year before for a whole new group of students,” said Alivia Li, grade 10, director of roleplays. “I think that Launch provides a unique setting for students to meet upperclassmen and gain exposure to the high school while still learning about DECA’s purpose. These students have a bright future ahead of them, and I’m excited to observe their growth during the next school year.”
Next, the attendees bonded with their Innovation Challenge teams through a Scavenger Hunt, in which they were asked to follow a list of riddles to find the Harker DECA officers, who were located around campus. The exercise allowed them to explore the upper school campus and strengthen their friendships with their teammates.
The students enjoyed pizza from Pizza My Heart for lunch while working on their innovation plans and, in the afternoon, officers gave short presentations introducing the different competitive clusters: business management and administration, marketing, hospitality and tourism, finance, and entrepreneurship.
On Sunday morning, the students briefly worked on their Innovation Challenge ideas. Then Harker student Mahi Kolla, grade 12, founder of The Minty Boutique and co-CEO of Harker DECA, shared her own experiences with creating her company through the Harker Incubator program. Afterward, Juston Glass, chapter advisor, presented on Harker’s various business, economics and entrepreneurship programs. After a live roleplay demonstration by Li, Zhang hosted a Kahoot! (a live game collaboration site) covering the business administration core exam topics. Next, the competitions team introduced the various competitive events, followed by a graphic design workshop by Kolla. Then, students practiced their Innovation Challenge presentations while enjoying burritos.
“DECA seems like an amazing opportunity to gain skills and knowledge which will help me in the future and, most importantly, in the real world,” said Grant Sims, grade 9.
One of the focal points of the launch was the roleplay tournament, which occurred on Sunday afternoon. Mentors acquainted students with the expectations and the process of competing in roleplays, and students then paired up and competed in their first competitive event by preparing and presenting a hospitality roleplay to the judges.
Following the roleplay tournament, attendees were given extra time to practice their presentations for the Innovation Challenge before parents arrived for dinner, the alumni panel and the closing ceremony. Students and parents had the opportunity to ask seven alumni, Chirag Aswani ’15, Riya Chandra ’17, Ankur Karwal ’16, Sidhart Krishnamurthi ’15, Gaurav Kumar ’14, Haley Tran ’17 and Lucas Wang ’17, questions about DECA’s impact on their high school and college experiences, as well as their current careers.
Next, teams pitched their Innovation Challenge ideas to the judges, who scored each team on feasibility, presentation, innovation and teamwork. While the judges discussed the final scores, the students and parents watched a recap video of the weekend. Finally, Launch ended with the announcement of the Roleplay Tournament and Innovation Challenge winners, as well as closing speeches from Glass, Han and Kolla.
“As a new student, DECA Launch really helped me make new friends and feel more welcome to the Harker community,” said attendee Sara Wan, grade 9.
Harker DECA is looking forward to welcoming all the new and returning members and is excited to begin the upcoming school year with an extraordinary community of future leaders.
“I was extremely impressed by this year’s Launch attendees and cannot wait to see them grow during the competitive season,” said Glass.
Results of the competition are below. All students named are grade 9.
Roleplay Tournament:
First Place: Rahul Mulpuri, Ethan Wong
Second Place: Zain Vakath, Rohan Gorti
Thirsd Place: Zeke Weng, Armaan Thakker
Innovation Challenge:
Most Feasible: Matthew Lau, Rohan Bhowmik , Kyle Chang, Raj Kalra, John Cracraft, Alex Lan
Best Presentation: BB Ajlouny, Jonathan Mo, Grant Sims, Robert Zhang, Smrithi Sambamurthy, Pelin Unsal
Best Innovation: Ada Praun-Petrovic, Natalie Gergov, Gary Ding, Richard Zhang, Anthony Zhao, Aneesha Asthana
Harker DECA is an international competitive business organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition in order to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders
Gianna Chan is the communications director for Harker DECA.