Four Harker students qualified for the American Choral Directors Association California All-State Choir, which will perform in San Jose Feb. 15-18. To be selected for the All-State Choir, the students had to audition, qualify and attend the ACDA Regional Honor Choir. Their regional audition scores were used to determine their eligibility for All-State. Musicians will be placed in mixed, men’s, or women’s choruses with approximately 120 singers in each ensemble. Please congratulate Joel Morel, grade 10, tenor, Camerata; Vaishnavi Murari, grade 9, alto, Bel Canto; Karli Sharp, grade 11, soprano, Cantilena; and Meilin Yen, grade 9, soprano, Bel Canto, when you see them!
Harker’s upper school math club sent a team to the Princeton University Mathematics Competition, a tier one competition. Overall, our team finished in fifth place out of 60-plus teams – an excellent performance! In the individual subcategory, Swapnil Garg, grade 12, finished in a very impressive second place out of 300-plus students. Go math Eagles!
The Eagle football team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday night as it fell to Hercules High 14-30 in the NCS Division 4 semifinals. Nate Kelly, grade 12, threw two touchdown passes to Floyd Gordon, grade 12, in the defeat. The 11-1 record was the best all time for a Harker football team. The Eagles also hosted and won their first playoff game in school history. Congratulations on an historic season!
Cross Country
Over the weekend, Anna Weirich, grade 9, competed at the state cross country championships and placed 63rd out of 195 Division 4 runners. Congratulations on a great year, Anna!
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team officially begins its season this Thursday as it travels to Pescadero High for the annual Pescadero Tournament. The regular season home opener for the ladies is on Dec. 29 at 2:30 p.m. versus Yerba Buena High.
Boys Basketball
This Wednesday, the boys basketball team travels to James Lick High School to compete in the James Lick Tournament to kick off the season. The boys will have their regular season home opener on Dec. 22 at 4:30 p.m. as they take on Redwood Christian.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team officially opens its season on Tuesday as it hosts Independence High at 3:30 p.m. on Davis Field. Then on Thursday, the Eagles host Half Moon Bay at 3:30 p.m.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team gets its season going on Wednesday as it hosts Mills at 3 at Davis Field.
In mid-November, Harker DECA chapter members attended the Western Region Leadership Conference (WRLC) in Phoenix. WRLC provided a perfect opportunity for students to gain tips for competitive success, learn through industry workshops and bond with one another.
Keynote speakers at the grand opening and closing sessions recounted the biggest lessons they have learned to inspire attendees. From the workshops, students gained competitive advice for their role play and written events, in addition to knowledge about business and entrepreneurship. Harker DECA also participated in the mock competition, where each student performed a role play in front of a judge and received feedback. This event was a great opportunity for students to practice as the competitive season approaches. Finally, the chapter experienced local cuisine and culture at the Phoenix Pizza Festival in downtown Phoenix, where they sampled fresh pizza, listened to live music and enjoyed the warm Phoenix sun.
Overall, WRLC was an entertaining and informative conference for students. Harker DECA looks forward to kicking off the competitive season with Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC) in January. Go Eagles!
This story was submitted by upper school Latin teacher Scott Paterson.
On Nov. 18, 23 Harker upper school students headed to St. Francis School in Sacramento to attend Ludi Novembres, a California Junior Classical League event. Nearly 400 students from 18 schools attended this event. Harker students earned 16 individual awards. Additionally, seven students won team awards for Certamen (Latin quiz bowl).
Individual awards in Level 3 were won by grade 9 students Katie Li (tying for second place in grammar), Jason Lin (second place in mythology), Akshay Manglik (second place ties in derivatives and grammar), Maria Vazhaeparambil (first place in vocabulary) and Sara Yen (second place in vocabulary, tied for second place in grammar and derivatives).
Receiving individual awards at the advanced level were Timmy Chang, grade 11 (first place in daily life); Jeffrey Fung, grade 10 (first place in grammar, third place in reading comprehension); Kyle Li, grade 10 (first place in mythology, second place in vocabulary); Edgar Lin, grade 12 (first place in reading comprehension); and Kalyan Narayana, grade 10 (first place in vocabulary, third place in grammar).
In the Advanced Certamen Team Awards, Jeffrey Fung, Saloni Shah, grade 9, and Alex Young, grade 11, took first place, while grade 9 students Akshay Manglik, Sidra Xu and Sara Yen, along with senior Andrew Semenza, received second place awards.
Approximately 175 students attended TEDxHarkerSchool 2017, an event that featured innovative speakers, interactive booths and industry mentors in the Nichols Hall auditorium.
This year’s event, themed “Creating Conversations,” featured four speakers: Constellation Research CEO Ray Wang; Inboard CEO Ryan Evans; CEO of Stop, Breath & Think, Julie Campistron; and founder and president of Mutineer Magazine, Alan Kropf. Aside from the four professional speakers, Andy Semenza, grade 12, spoke on the complexity of specialization.
TEDx talks ran throughout the day and showcased a wide variety of topics. Evans, who spoke at the event and hosted a booth, illustrated the shift in personal transportation vehicles.
“My younger sister was in a wheelchair and getting around the city – it’s terrible, it’s a horrible experience,” Evans said in an interview with Harker Aquila. “We started to realize with battery technology, reducing costs, motors improving with controllers and electronics, there’s opportunities to take things like electric wheelchairs that cost $25,000 and now you can [sell] it for $2,000. Our big thing was answering the question of how to give mobility to everyone, and I think that was the big inspiration why.”
Students also had the opportunity to visit seven booths that featured Bay Area technology companies, including Giacomo ONO 3D printer, Serafim Keybo, Inboard, Sesame, Nomiku, Conduit Sports and Netgear.
Additionally, the event included a mentor luncheon in the auxiliary gym, where students interacted with industry professionals in various industries around the Silicon Valley. Mentors talked about their own experiences in their respective industries and answered questions that students had.
“We would like to remind you that in life, your best resource is yourself, and your second best resource is the people around you,” co-curator Anooshree Sengupta, grade 12, said in an interview with Harker Aquila. “Engage the world, innovate, challenge social norms and make a difference.”
For more information about future events, visit TEDxHarkerSchool’s official website here.
About TEDxHarkerSchool
TEDxHarkerSchool aims to spread cutting-edge ideas throughout its community and reach out to embrace the culture of Silicon Valley, a place where breakthrough concepts are supported and realized. We provide guidance for some of the brightest minds of the new generation – the future of what TED stands for: technology, entertainment and design. With the help of our corporate booths, speakers and mentors, TEDxHarkerSchool supplies the unique toolkit that enables our audience to imagine, innovate and inspire.
We are a completely student led initiative, having students curate the event, find speakers, run activities and bring awesome innovations to our students. Our goal is to bring students to greater intellectual heights. We hope to lead students to wisdom, revolution, innovation and passion. TEDxHarkerSchool fully believes that young people will make positive change in the world.
Congratulations to seniors Jerrica Liao, Daulet Tuleubayev, Vivian Wang and Katherine Zhu for signing letters of intent to play collegiate athletics. Liao will attend Northwestern and compete in fencing; Tuleubayev will stay close and play golf at Stanford; Wang will become a Tiger and swim for Princeton; and Zhu will join the Golden Bear golf team at Cal Berkeley. We look forward to following your careers at the next level. Go Eagles!
This article originally appeared in the summer 2017 issue of Harker Magazine. The winter issue of the Harker Magazine will be in mailboxes at the end of December with great features on computer science, the first year at college, our wonderful BEST program and more!
About 21.5 million children between the ages of 6 and 17 play team sports, according to a 2011 survey by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Nearly 40 percent of those are between the ages of 13 and 16. At Harker, nearly 70 percent of students in grades 4-12 participate in the school’s sports program. So, what attracts students to athletics?
We Are Family
A popular acronym in the sports world states: Together Everyone Achieves More. Sports aren’t just about making yourself better or boosting your own stats; they are about putting the team first. As upper school boys and girls golf coach Ie-Chen Cheng stated, “The most successful teams we’ve had are always the ones with team members who understand the importance of team goals.” This unity can be very meaningful to student athletes.
“The bond between teammates is something very unique and special,” stated volleyball and lacrosse player Taylor Iantosca, grade 12. “We go through a lot together: the wins, the losses, the victories, the tragedies, everything. I enjoy being able to contribute to something greater than myself while representing my school.”
Sharing these experiences and spending a lot of time together creates a deep sense of camaraderie and friendship. “Sure, we all like to compete and win,” stated middle and upper school coach Mike Delfino, “but as the years go on, the game results tend to fade a bit from memory. But the friendships made and the overall experience of being part of a team and competing last forever.”
Isabella Spradlin, grade 11, said, “My teammates on the volleyball team know me better than anyone else, because we are required to have such a deep understanding of each other’s personalities and abilities. Throughout the season, we spend so much time practicing and getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so that we can get the best possible outcome in any match or situation.”
If teammates are like a family, then the coaches are like the parents. Harker prides itself on selecting the best possible leaders for every sport. When asked how Harker went from being a new high school in the late 1990s with little success in athletics, to a school that produces numerous WBAL, CCS and state competitors each year, Dan Molin, upper school athletic director, was quick to give praise to one group of people. “It really has to do with our coaches,” he said. “Kids recognize quality and it’s proven with our coaching staff. [The students] buy in and the coach shows them the way.”
The quality of the programs and coaches resulted in a 2015-16 season in which 13 of the upper school’s 20 varsity sports sent teams or individuals to the CCS or NCS playoffs, with one individual advancing to NorCals, and three individuals and one team making it all the way to state. This emphasis on top-notch coaching also has produced success at the middle and lower schools, with nine league championship teams during the 2015-16 season.
But the Harker athletic experience isn’t only about the victories. “We don’t talk about winning, although of course we try to win, but that’s not the ultimate barometer,” said Molin.
However, when individuals unite for a common goal, like a family, “it increases their chance of succeeding because they learn to have each other’s backs,” stated Karriem Stinson, lower and middle school assistant athletic director.
Have Some Fun
“First off, we want to make sure the kids are having fun,” stated Molin, regarding the mission of Harker’s athletic department. Athletics allows students to escape the books and classrooms for a short time; it gives their minds a break from academics and allows them to concentrate on a completely different area.
“In an academic environment like Harker, [sports] is the break that a lot of them need in the day,” stated Brighid Wood, a middle school coach and assistant to the athletic directors.
“Basketball is my outlet,” said Jordan Thompson, grade 12. “I can forget all my responsibilities and just focus on the game.”
Soccer and volleyball player Aria Wong, grade 8, agrees. “Having something to do after school lets me forget about tests and homework and lose myself on the field,” she said.
Rosh Roy, grade 8, who plays flag football, basketball, soccer and runs track, added, “I like sports because it lets me be free and also lets me share memories with my friends.” While some students simply want to have fun, others find great satisfaction in succeeding in sports.
“My favorite aspect of sports was simply the opportunity to accomplish something unique,” stated Shrish Dwivedi ’15, an accomplished golfer at Harker who now plays at Duke University. “Academic pursuits afford a self-satisfaction that is extremely fulfilling; however, athletic accomplishments provide an incomparable feeling that I find highly enjoyable.”
Growing from the Inside
Perhaps the most important benefit of competing in sports is the personal growth each athlete experiences. “Athletics help children understand a lot about themselves. You’re looking well beyond the Xs and Os,” said Wood. “You’re looking at the actual child. You’re helping them grow as a human being.”
When a coach can lift up a child like that, everyone wins. Competing in sports also gives students the opportunity to learn how to fail, as well as how to deal with not being the best at an activity. In a recent article for Observer.com, titled “How Playing Sports, Even Poorly, Can Make You More Successful in Business,” author Judy Mandell cited psychologist Robert Troutwine: “To persevere when one is not good at something shows a great deal of character. To continue to strive under conditions of failure shows determination, the ability to handle frustration and resiliency.”
Anthony Contreras, grade 11, explained that sports can help athletes grow in the face of adversity and use this growth in other areas: “Sports has shown me how to handle difficult situations and to how to properly learn from my mistakes. Everything that I have learned from sports carries on to my personal and student life.” This personal growth isn’t just a handy trait that helps someone be a good person – it can be useful in the professional world as well.
Mandell continued in her article citing Rachel Gary, director of media strategies and communications at ONE World Sports: “Many of the traits needed to succeed in sports are similar to those needed to succeed in business, including goal-setting, confidence, discipline and leadership skills.” These skills, along with others, have helped Kristina Bither ’09 in her medical career. “Now working in the emergency department, I am able to stay calm and focused when situations get stressful,” she said. “I know the importance of coming together to work as a team and stepping up to be a leader when it is needed.”
Theresa “Smitty” Smith, lower and middle school athletic director, summed up what it’s like being part of the Harker athletic department: “There are little victories every day.” Whether it’s seeing the athletes growing as a family, growing as individuals or just having some fun, the victories on and off the field, court or pool show why teens continue to flock to sports.
The speech and debate team is off to an amazing start this season. The team has competed at 15 tournaments this season locally and in Texas, Florida, Iowa and Southern California. Already the team has proven to be nationally competitive across all of the events we participate in, with multiple students winning awards at national competitions. When asked about the keys to the team’s success, coach Greg Achten explained, “I have been very impressed with how hard our students have worked this year. In all of the events, we lost very talented seniors to graduation, but our returning students have really stepped up this year and demonstrated tremendous leadership.”
In policy debate, we have had standout performances by Jacob Ohana and Alan Hughes, both grade 12, who did so well at the prestigious St. Mark’s tournament that they are partly qualified for the Tournament of Champions. Maddie Huynh, grade 10, and Andy Lee, grade 9, made it to the final round of a sophomore round robin. Megan Huynh, grade 12, Anusha Kuppahally, grade 11, Esha Deokar, grade 11, Deven Parikh, grade 9, Jason Lin, grade 9 and Jai Bahri, grade 10, also have all won awards in policy. The year-long topic in policy debate is about federal education reform. Our students advocate that the Supreme Court needs to guarantee unauthorized migrants a right to education.
The individual events competitors also have had an outstanding season. Avi Gulati, grade 10 and Haris Hosseini, grade 11, have each won first place in original oratory and made it to the final round multiple times. Gulati also has made it to the final round of extemporaneous speaking, along with David Feng, grade 10. Nikhil Dharmaraj, grade 11, qualified for finals in original oratory. Nikki Solanki, grade 10, has made multiple final-round appearances in dramatic interpretation and programmed oral interpretation.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, Serena Lu, grade 12, was invited to compete in an elite round robin at Presentation High School. Karoun Kaushik, grade 8, had a remarkable performance in the junior varsity division of the Presentation tournament, where he took first place! Harker also had a fabulous showing at the Harvard-Westlake tournament. Lauren Fu, Sachin Shah and Quentin Clark, all grade 10, Akshay Manglik and Aditya Tadimeti, both grade 9, and Anshul Reddy, grade 8, all made it to elimination rounds. The Lincoln-Douglas debaters are researching and arguing about whether wealthy nations are morally obligated to provide poorer countries with development assistance.
In public forum debate, Amanda Cheung and Annie Ma, both grade 10, have reached elimination rounds. The grade 11 duo of Clarissa Wang and Cindy Wang have been invited to two exclusive round robins and have represented the school in elimination rounds across the country. The public forum community is debating the very timely topic of universal background checks for gun sales.
In congressional debate, Andrew Sun, grade 9, and David Feng, grade 10, performed well enough at the University of Florida to earn their first bids to the Tournament of Champions. Jason Huang, grade 11, already has had such a great season that he is fully qualified to the Tournament of Champions. Congressional debaters argue about a wide variety of topics and must be very tuned into current events to be successful.
The coaches also have been incredibly proud of how well the students have operated as a cohesive team. There have been many instances where students who were eliminated from a competition immediately turned around to coach teammates who advanced. More experienced students have also done a great job of mentoring newer students before tournaments. Coach Scott Odekirk noted, “The friendly and supportive atmosphere of the team is on display at tournament. Nobody is eliminated until everyone is eliminated. We cheer each other on and lift each other when we are down. Honestly, it is quite inspiring.”
The Harker football team made history twice last Saturday as it both hosted and won the first ever football playoff game with a 56-0 thrashing of visiting Sonoma Valley High. Marcus Tymous, grade 11, scored three rushing TDs; Aaron Smith, grade 11, added two TDs; Devin Keller, grade 10, added a rushing score; and Jared Anderson, grade 11, caught a 56-yard TD pass from Nate Kelly, grade 12, and later returned a punt 79 yards for a score. Once again, the Eagle D was ferocious all night, pitching another shutout. The Eagles will host the Piedmont Highlanders this Friday at 7 p.m.
Cross Country
Harker was represented by five runners at the CCS Cross Country Finals this past Saturday. The boys were represented by Ryan Adolf, grade 11, Arya Maheshwari, grade 9, and Aditya Singhvi, grade 9, who finished off their fine seasons. The top two finishes of the day belonged to the girls, as Lilia Gonzales, grade 11, finished 56 out of 96 D4 runners, and Anna Weirich, grade 9, took home a seventh place finish in D4, qualifying her for the state finals on Nov. 25 in Fresno.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team won its opening CCS matchup with Stevenson 5-2 last week. However, the team’s season came to an end the next day as its second-round opponent, Monta Vista, got the best of the Eagles with the 6-1 win. But this Tuesday, Sachi Bajaj, grade 9, and the doubles team of Gina Partridge, grade 10, and Rachel Broweleit, grade 10, begin their CCS journey at Bay Club Courtside in Los Gatos.
CCS Honors
Congratulations to the Harker boys cross country and boys water polo teams as they were recently honored as CCS Fall Scholastic Championship Teams. Of all the CCS teams in their respective sports, boys cross country had the highest team GPA at 3.9430 and boys water polo was second in their sport with a 3.8150. Great job giving it your all in your sport and in the classroom! Go Eagles!