This report prepared by Neha Tallapragada, grade 10.
In late February, CareerConnect hosted a Resume Building Workshop led by Marissa Enfantino, a recruiter for Adobe and former recruiter for Facebook University. She spoke to around 40 students about how to craft the perfect resume for colleges, internships and jobs.
At the luncheon, students learned the importance of both content and appearance in a resume. Speaking from her experiences as a job recruiter, Enfantino discussed topics ranging from the importance of engaging with the community to the significance of having a resume that looks professional and organized. Anusha Kuppahally, grade 10, said of the event, “I really liked the resume workshop; it was very informative on how we should format our resumes to have a higher chance of getting selected for the programs we apply to.”
Overall, it was a valuable opportunity for students to receive advice that applies to their experiences outside of the classroom.
Starting this fall Harker will expand its student bus service to include picking up and dropping off middle and upper school students at the Santa Clara Caltrain station. A van will meet the northbound train at 7:24 a.m. and the southbound train at 7:36 a.m., then transport students to the upper school campus and then to the middle school campus. The afternoon schedule will be determined as ridership needs are assessed. There will be a nominal per-ride charge. Contact Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs, for more information: greg.lawson@harker.org, 408-345-9600.
Hollis Thompson, who attended Harker from 1996 to 2001 for kindergarten through fourth grade, recently signed back-to-back 10-day contracts with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. After his time at Harker, Thompson moved to Southern California before attending Georgetown University and going undrafted in the NBA draft. Thompson then played in the NBA Development League before signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013. He was released by Philadelphia earlier this year, and was soon acquired by another NBA Development League team before being picked up by the Pelicans for a 10-day contract. Thompson averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in five games during his first contract with New Orleans before signing another 10-day contract on Sunday.
Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team had a good week as it went 2-1 over its last three games. In a 10-3 win over Newark, Mahlet Demissachew, grade 12, led the Eagles with four goals and an assist, while Lauren Russell, grade 11, and Elise Mayer, grade 10, added two goals each. Later in the week, in a close 9-8 loss to Los Altos, Demissachew once again led the scoring with four goals with Russell adding two goals. Finally, in a 14-9 win over York, Demissachew scored six goals to lead the way for the Eagles, with Mayer chipping in three goals. This week, the Eagles host Castilleja on Tuesday and Mitty on Friday.
Softball
The softball team defeated Terra Nova 14-4 last week, going to 2-0 on the season. This week the Eagles host Yerba Buena on Wednesday and El Camino on Friday.
Track and Field
The track and field team had a very strong showing at the Willow Glen Invitational over the weekend. Highlights included Grace Koonmen, grade 11, tying for fourth place in the 100-meter; Anthony Contreras, grade 11, finishing eighth in the 200; Niki Iyer, grade 12, taking third in the 800; Sameer Prakash, grade 9, placing fourth in his first-ever hurdle race; Tiffany Shou, grade 11, and Davis Howard, grade 12, setting personal records in the shot put; and Rishi Chopra, grade 11, and Aman Ahluwalia, grade 11, setting personal record in the 800. This Saturday, the Eagles will compete at both the King’s Track Classic at The King’s Academy and the K-Bell Invitational at Bellarmine.
Boys Tennis
Last week, the boys tennis team defeated Sacred Heart Prep 7-0 before traveling to Clovis over the weekend to compete at the California Tennis Classic. The Eagles went 4-1 taking third place in the Division 3 bracket, with wins over Clovis West, Los Altos and Buchanan. It’s a busy week for the boys as they take on Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday, Menlo on Wednesday and The King’s Academy on Thursday.
Baseball
The Harker baseball team fell to Del Mar 11-1 last week, before defeating O’Connell 7-6 on Saturday. In the loss to the Dons, Nate Kelly, grade 11, drove in the only Eagle run. Varun Haltore, grade 12, led the offense in the win over O’Connell driving in two runs. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Westmoor in Daly City on Thursday, followed by a home game versus Pinewood on Friday.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team finished fifth out of 24 teams at the Cowboy Classic in Livermore last week. Daulet Tuleubayev, grade 11, had a great showing as he ended in a tie for first place. This week, the Eagles take on Valley Christian at Coyote Creek, followed by a match with Crystal Springs Uplands at The Peninsula Golf and Country Club. They then travel to Nevada to compete in the Pahrump Valley Invitational on Thursday.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team improved to 4-0 on the season as it defeated Monterey 3-0, Oak Grove 3-0 and Cupertino 3-1 last week. This week, they travel to Monta Vista on Wednesday and Los Altos on Friday.
Swim
The swim team competes next at the Small School Invitational at Sacred Heart Prep on March 18.
AP Studio Art students showcased their work at last week’s AP Studio Art Reception, a lunchtime event that attracted a crowd of students and faculty. The annual event highlights the dedication and talent of Harker’s young artists, who every year create dozens of pieces across different media, including paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs.
The boys golf team started its season with a bang as it brought home the program’s first-ever tournament win. The victory at the Joe Gambetta Tournament in Antioch was highlighted by first place medalist Victor Shin, grade 11, shooting a 1-over-par 73, edging out teammate Jaimin Bhagat, grade 9, who had the same score, but took second with a scorecard playoff. Ryan Vaughan, grade 12, tied for third with a 76. This Wednesday, the Eagles travel to Livermore to compete in the Cowboy Classic at The Golf Course at Wente Vineyards.
Basketball
The boys and girls basketball season came to end last week as both teams lost in the first round of CCS.
In a 64-51 loss to Carmel, the boys team recovered from a 23-point first quarter deficit to pull to within 6 at halftime, but the Padres pulled away in the second half to move on in the tournament. Playing in their final high school game, Justin Jia and Jordan Goheen, both grade 12, led the Eagles with solid performances. Jia led the team with 13 points and four steals, while Goheen added 11 points and team-high seven rebounds.
The girls team traveled to Santa Cruz, where it played to a tough 57-53 loss in a game that was close throughout. Jordan Thompson, grade 12, finished her illustrious high school career with a game-high 24 points.
Last week, Thompson also was recognized for her amazing career:
Daniel Reidenbach, grade 12, Eric Fang, grade 9, and Davis Howard, grade 12, competed at the CCS wrestling championship over the weekend. Howard picked up the only win for Harker with a win by fall over Half Moon Bay in his second match. Congrats on a great season, wrestlers!
Baseball
The baseball team opened its season with a 28-0 victory over Yerba Buena last week. Logan Frank, grade 10, had three hits and drove in two runs to lead the offense. Dominic Cea, grade 11, Zach Hoffman, grade 10, and Anthony Meissner, grade 10, each drove in three runs. This week the Eagles travel to Del Mar on Thursday and host O’Connell on Saturday.
Softball
The softball team kicked off its 2017 season with a 13-3 victory over Del Mar. Kristin LeBlanc, grade 11, and Cameron Zell, grade 10, led the Eagles with three hits each. LeBlanc, Mahi Gurram, grade 10, Grace Park, grade 12, Marti Sutton, grade 12, and Lily Wancewicz, grade 10, each drove in two runs. This Thursday, the Eagles host Terra Nova at Blackford.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team gets its season going this Tuesday versus Sacred Heart Prep before traveling to Clovis this weekend for the California Tennis Classic.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team officially opens its 2017 season this Wednesday as it hosts Newark on Davis Field, followed by home games versus Los Altos on Thursday and the York School on Friday.
Swim
Harker swimming opened its season at the Palo Alto Invitational. Vivian Wang, grade 11, won the 200 IM and broke the school record in the 100 breaststroke while qualifying for CCS in both events. Ethan Hu, grade 9, broke the school record in the 200 free and also qualified for CCS in the 200 free, 100 fly, and 100 backstroke. On March 18 the swim team travels to Sacred Heart Prep to compete at the Small School Invitational.
Track and Field
The track and field season gets started this Saturday at the Willow Glen Invite.
Boys Volleyball
It will be a busy week for the boys volleyball team as it travels to Monterey High on Tuesday, before hosting Oak Grove on Wednesday and Cupertino for its opening league match on Friday.
Alumni Track
Izzy Connell ’13 lowered her own Pepperdine school record in the 400-meter run last week as she took second place during the three-team meet with her Waves, host Westmont and UC Santa Barbara. Connell also holds the Pepperdine school records in the 100m, 200m, 4×400 relay, as well as indoor records in the 60m, 200m and 4×400 relay. Check out the full story: http://www.pepperdinewaves.com/sports/c-track/recaps/021817aaa.html
The boys soccer team finished its season last week with a 4-1 win over Eastside College Prep and a 5-3 win over The King’s Academy. The wins were part of an impressive 7-0-2 finish to the season, but the Eagles fell just 1 point shy of qualifying for CCS, which would have snapped an 11-year drought. The boys ended the year with a 10-6-2 record.
Girls Soccer
After a 3-0 loss to Mercy Burlingame last week, the girls soccer team defeated Eastside College Prep 5-1 with Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scoring all five goals. Anderson ended the season leading the CCS with 43 goals and 90 points. In addition, Anderson ended her career at Harker as the all-time leading goal scorer with an amazing 101 career goals! The girls team finished the season with an 11-5-1 record.
Girls Basketball
Last week, the girls basketball team lost to The King’s Academy 38-31 with Jordan Thomson, grade 12, scoring 16 points and Selin Sayiner, grade 11, adding 9 points. Later in the week, the Eagles defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 53-19 on Senior Night. Thompson scored 28 points, which included six 3-pointers, and Haley Arena, grade 9, added 9 points. In the win over CSU, Thompson surpassed the 2,000 career point mark, further extending her lead as the all-time scorer in Harker basketball history. The 13-11 girls team will begin its CCS journey Tuesday night at Santa Cruz High School.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped its final two games of the season last week. In a 63-47 loss to Menlo, Jordan Goheen, grade 12, led the Eagles with 8 points. Later in the week, the boys lost to Pinewood 65-37 with Jarrett Anderson, grade 10, and Eric Jeong, grade 11, each scoring 8 points. Despite the losses, the 7-17 Eagles qualified for CCS and will travel to Carmel on Thursday.
Wrestling
The CCS Wrestling tournament begins this weekend with Daniel Reidenbach, grade 12, Eric Fang, grade 9, Davis Howard, grade 12, and Anthony Contreras, grade 11, all representing Harker.
Spring Sports
The spring season kicks off this week with lots of action:
Baseball: Thursday vs. Yerba Buena at Blackford
Softball: Friday at Del Mar
Boys Golf: Wednesday at Lone Tree Golf Course for the Joe Gambetta Invitational
Boys Tennis: Tuesday at Priory
Boys Volleyball: Friday vs. San Lorenzo Valley at Blackford
Swim: Saturday at the Palo Alto Invitational
Lacrosse: March 1 vs. Newark at Davis Field
Track and Field: March 4 at the Willow Glen Invitational
Niki Iyer, grade 12, began her final high school track season with a bang as she placed second in the 3000-meter at the California Track & Field Winter Championships last week at Arcadia High School. In April, Iyer will compete in the 3200m at the Arcadia Invitational, which is one of the top high school meets in the country. Check out a post race interview with Niki:
On Feb. 11, Harker’s Science Bowl team won the regional competition held at the Stanford Linear Accelerator’s National Accelerator Laboratory. Senior Venkat Sankar and juniors Rajiv Movva, Shaya Zarkesh, Swapnil Garg and Derek Yen now move on to the national competition, to be held in Washington, D.C., April 27-May 1. Yen filled in for Arjun Subramaniam, grade 12, who could not compete due to a family obligation. Per the rules of the National Science Bowl, Yen will be part of the team that competes at nationals.
Organized by the U.S. Department of Energy since 1991, the National Science Bowl has teams of students compete against one another in a Q&A format similar to television game shows. Questions deal with a variety of topics, including biology, physics and math.
Nice articles from the Mercury News and Stanford on the win!
On Feb. 6, several members of Harker WiSTEM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) headed to the lower school for a first-ever STEM Buddies event at that campus.
The upper school students set up several stations with chemistry activities, including making silly putty, experimenting with milk and paint, and using a ProScope. “My favorite part of the visit was working with the kids, because I could see how much fun they were having,” said senior Judy Pan, who helped run the silly putty station.
STEM Buddies began in 2014 as a way to increase interest in STEM learning among Harker’s younger students, starting with visits to the preschool. “In the future,” Pan said, “we hope to expand STEM Buddies to have more frequent visits to the lower school and preschool.”
The wrestling team took seven Eagles to the SCVAL Tournament over the weekend and returned with six medals and four CCS qualifiers. Diego Figueroa, grade 12, placed eighth in his weight class, while Justin Su, grade 11, placed sixth and is a CCS alternate. Danny Reidenbach, grade 12, Eric Fang, grade 9, and Anthony Contreras, grade 11, all placed fifth in their respective weight classes and qualified for CCS. Davis Howard, grade 12, placed third and also qualified for CCS. The CCS State Championships begin on Feb. 24.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team has been playing really well as of late, going 5-0-2 in its last seven matches. Last week Harker defeated Sacred Heart Prep 4-3 with Sparsh Chauhan, grade 11, delivering a hat trick and Jared Anderson, grade 10, scoring the remaining goal. Later in the week, the Eagles played to a 2-2 tie with first place Menlo. This week, the boys team will host Eastside College Prep on Tuesday and The King’s Academy on Friday.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team lost 8-1 to a very tough Priory team last week. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scored the only Harker goal. This week, the 10-4-1 girls team will host Mercy Burlingame on Monday and Eastside College Prep on Wednesday to finish off the regular season.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team picked up a 53-43 win over Mercy Burlingame last week to bring its season record to 12-10. The team finishes off the regular season this week with a trip to The King’s Academy on Tuesday and a home game on Friday versus Crystal Springs Uplands.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two league games last week. In a 55-47 loss to Eastside College Prep, Jack Connors, grade 9, led the Eagles with nine points. Later in the week, Connors led the way again, this time with eight points and five rebounds in the 55-43 loss to The King’s Academy. The Eagles take the court for their final two regular season games this week as they travel to Menlo on Tuesday and Pinewood on Thursday.
Track and Field
Niki Iyer, grade 12, continued her long run of success this past weekend by placing second in the 3000-meter at the California Track & Field Winter Championships, held at Arcadia High School in Southern California. Iyer will return to Arcadia High later this year for the Arcadia Invitational, where she plans to run in the 3200m.
Late last year, Vignesh Panchanatham, grade 11, was named to the US Chess Federation’s 2017 All-America Chess Team in the age 15 category, one of the highest possible accolades for a chess player under the age of 18. It capped off a very successful chess year for Panchanatham, who was also named an International Master following his July performance at the World Open in Philadelphia. Way to go, Vignesh!