In October, senior Meilan Steimle and junior Jacqueline He we named as two of the 166 national finalists in the 2017 YoungArts competition, which received more than 8,000 entries. Both students submitted entries in the short story writing category.
As finalists – the highest honor offered by the National YoungArts Foundation – Steimle and He are eligible to participate in National YoungArts Week, which will take place in Miami in January and provide the opportunity to engage with and learn from industry professionals. They also will be eligible to win up to $10,000 in cash prizes, and considered for nomination to become a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
In addition, He recently had her poem, “Death as a Mother,” published in the online literary journal Eunoia Review.
The girls soccer team went to a 3-0-1 season record after defeating both Gunderson and Yerba Buena 6-2 last week. In the win over Gunderson, Joelle Anderson, grade 12, had five goals and Julia Amick, grade 10, had one goal. In the win over YB, Anderson added three more goals, with Cameron Zell, Sara Min and Alycia Cary, all grade 10, adding the other three goals. Anderson now has 15 goals in the first four games. The Eagles take on Saratoga this Friday on Davis Field.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team went 1-2 at the Lynbrook Winter Classic over the weekend. In the team’s opening 58-34 loss to Monta Vista, Peter Connors, grade 11, led the Eagles with 6 points. Harker then picked up a 68-42 win over Andrew Hill, with both Jack Connors, grade 9, and Eric Jeong, grade 11, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The boys finished the tournament with a 48-37 loss to Woodside, with junior Brando Pakel and seniors Justin Jia and Jordan Goheen, grade 12, each scoring 7 points. This Saturday, the Eagles take on Redwood Christian at Blackford.
Girls Basketball
Last week the girls basketball team defeated Kirby Prep 62-31 behind 33 points from Jordan Thompson, grade 12, and 12 points from Satchi Thockchom, grade 11. Later in the week, however, the Eagles fell to Leland 74-59, with Thompson scoring 30 points in the loss. This Saturday, the girls take on Pacific Collegiate at Blackford.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team picked up two wins last week, defeating San Mateo 4-1 and Woodside Priory 4-0. The Eagles are now 2-2 on the young season. The boys travel to Wilcox this Friday.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team starts its season after the winter break.
In November, Harker’s Green Team – an upper school organization that promotes sustainability and awareness of environmental issues – held a clothing drive to benefit Sacred Heart Community Service and Empowering World Change. Green Team member Kunal Bhandarkar, grade 11, said about eight to 10 large bags full of clothes were donated. “The clothing donation drive was started to give people who need clothes something warm and comfortable to wear as the days get increasingly colder,” he said.
Middle school students also got involved in the effort, as the advisories of science teacher Raji Swaminathan, Japanese teacher Kumi Matsui and English teacher Rebecca Williams contributed at least three more large bags of clothes.
Special to Harker News from Shania Wang, grade 10, Harker DECA director of communications.
Harker DECA celebrated November (National DECA Month) this year with several chapter events. Along with hosting numerous activities, Harker DECA also completed the #DECAMonth Social Media Challenge by posting daily on all handles, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
MDA Muscle Walk On Oct. 23, the Harker DECA officer team attended the MDA Muscle Walk in Los Gatos to support and raise awareness for muscular dystrophy. The officers all enjoyed walking together for a good cause and listening to the speakers share their inspirational stories.
Ice Cream Social
To kick off DECA Month, Harker DECA hosted an ice cream social after school in early November, outside Manzanita Hall. The officer team handed out free ice cream and toppings for dozens of students to enjoy. This event successfully brought the Harker community together while also exciting members for the upcoming DECA season.
Mock Conference
Harker DECA held a mock conference in early November. This event offered all members the opportunity to practice their event presentations and improve their competitive excellence. Because none of the first-year members had experienced a conference, the mock conference simulated the real-life competitive environment. All attendees competed in tests and role-play events, while also working on and receiving guidance for their written plans.
Kits for Kids On Nov. 9, Harker DECA partnered with Harker’s Red Cross Club to assemble Care Kits, an annual tradition. These kits were filled with Band-Aids, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, toothbrush, granola bars and stuffed animals. Many members from both clubs helped out to pack 66 total bags, which will be passed on to the Safe Kids Committee of Silicon Valley Red Cross to hand out while teaching children about safety.
Middle School Announcement
Three Harker DECA officers visited the Harker middle school campus to promote the Idea Challenge. Aside from encouraging the middle schoolers to participate in the Idea Challenge, they also answered any questions that students had. Many students already interested in the Idea Challenge found their visit to be helpful in their brainstorming process. This visit was also to encourage students to consider joining DECA when in high school.
Hustle for Muscle
DECA’s most popular event during the month was Hustle for Muscle, a student vs. faculty soccer game. Held during lunch on Nov. 17, a large majority of the school community, including many DECA members (82 percent of the chapter) and even more students not involved in DECA, gathered on the field to cheer on their fellow classmates and teachers. This event was meant to raise awareness and funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). In order to earn proceeds for the MDA, the officer team decided to sell milk tea from Fantasia to eager attendees, with great success. We also invited a representative from the local MDA office, Elyse Anderson, to attend the event. Anderson set up a booth for students to learn more about MDA’s mission and how to become more involved.
During halftime, DECA member Chris Hailey, grade 12, performed his original rap and dance, which brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to attendees. “I always like to bring the community together with my performances, and I wanted to have little fun,” Hailey said. “I really like how Hustle for Muscle brought the community together.”
The soccer match itself was lots of fun for everyone. “It’s fun to support school activities, and I like soccer,” said Evan Barth, academic dean, who played in the game. “It’s a good opportunity get some exercise, run around and have fun.” The faculty ended up victorious with a final score of 5 to 1.
Hustle for Muscle not only provided Harker with a fun community event before Thanksgiving break but also raised money for a great organization while inspiring students to become more involved in nonprofit organizations in general.
“This event and events like this really help to spread awareness that MDA exists, who MDA is and what we do,” Anderson said. “It also helps fundraise for our MDA Summer Camp, which sends over 80 kids to summer camp, so events like this really help make a huge difference.” Through the milk tea sales, the Harker chapter successfully raised over $500 to support the MDA.
“The MDA stands for so much,” said DECA member Bryan Wang, grade 9. “People already love going out to sports, so once you put sports together with an amazing cause, you get a lot of awareness, which is ultimately what we’re aiming for.”
Movie Night
In mid-November, Harker DECA hosted a movie night at the local AMC theater. In the evening, the chapter watched the recently-released “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” with all proceeds going to the MDA.
DECAgrams
To show appreciation for the support from faculty, Harker DECA individually thanked staff members by handing out DECAgrams. Each teacher received a “thank you” mug containing a succulent and personalized note. The note not only thanked teachers for their unending support but also explained what DECA is and encouraged them to chaperone.
DECA Shine
A new recognition program for Harker DECA, DECA Shine is meant to honor and recognize members that the officer team deems as outstanding and exceptional. After each DECA event, the officers come together to nominate and select one member who has truly shown what it means to be #DECAEpic. This chosen member then receives a limited-edition DECA Shine T-Shirt and is featured in a video.
As the DECA competitive season approaches, Harker DECA continues to prepare at the remaining study sessions and looks forward to having a great year!
About The Harker School DECA 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.
The fall sports All-League teams were recently announced and Harker definitely made its presence felt.
The girls volleyball team was a CCS Scholastic Champion, with Rachel Cheng, grade 12, earning a first team nod, and Lindsey Trinh, grade 12, and Lauren Napier, grade 11, taking home honorable mentions.
The football team made it to the NCS playoffs for the second year in a row, thanks to many superb individual efforts. Anthony Contreras, grade 11 was the league offensive MVP and James Pauli, grade 11, was the league defensive MVP. First team honors went to seniors Will Park and Saketh Gurram, and juniors Nate Kelly and Angel Cervantes. Second team honors went to seniors Danny Reidenbach and Davis Howard, and junior Jalen Clark
Finishing ninth in CCS, the girls golf team was home to co-league MVP and league champion Katherine Zhu, grade 11. Katelyn Vo, grade 9, was a first team honoree. Vanessa Tyagi, grade 11, and Vienna Wang, grade 12, received second team honors, while Alexis Gauba, grade 12, and Larissa Tyagi, grade 9, received honorable mentions.
In girls tennis, junior Elizabeth Schick and freshmen Rachel Broweleit and Gina Partridge picked up first team league honors. Second team went to Srivani Vegesna, grade 9, and Connie Miao, grade 12. Kathleen Cheng, grade 11, and Amanda Cheung, grade 9, received honorable mentions.
The girls water polo team was represented by Meghana Karinthi, grade 11, who received first team honors, and Abigail Wisdom, grade 10, who earned second team honors.
The boys water polo team had an amazing year, earning its first trip to CCS as league co-champs and being named CCS Scholastic Champions. Arben Gutierrez-Bujari, grade 12, was named the most valuable field player and Misha Ivkov, grade 12, was named co-most valuable goalie. Gutierrez-Bujari, Ivkov and Arnav Tandon, grade 12, were all named to the first team, with Gutierrez-Bujari and Tandon also earning D2 coaches All-CCS honorable mentions. Matthew Hajjar, grade 10, was also named to the second team.
Niki Iyer, grade 12, finished her incredible high school cross country career as league MVP, league champion and third place in CCS. Lilia Gonzales, grade 10, Gloria Guo, grade 11, Ryan Adolf, grade 10, and Peter Connors, grade 11, were all cross country honorable mentions.
Congratulations to all the hard-working Harker student athletes! Go Eagles!
Last month, Kate Schafer’s marine biology students took part in the Shark Fin Summits, in-class events that had students deliberate and come to a consensus on a recent piece of legislation regarding the sale of shark fins. A separate summit was held for each period of the class.
Schafer was inspired to hold the summits after seeing library director Sue Smith’s presentation on infographics at a teacher orientation meeting early in the school year. It also presented an opportunity for Schafer to bring multiple disciplines into her classroom. “I have been interested in finding ways to give students an exposure to interdisciplinary learning, and this was a fantastic opportunity for that,” she said. “Many students in our debrief expressed how much they appreciated having what felt like a real world experience, and said it got them thinking about possible careers that would cross different fields.”
Students represented each of the interest groups with a stake in the legislation – environmentalists, the fishing and restaurant industries, animal rights activists, cultural organizations and the ecotourism industry. Each representative gave presentations that were created following weeks of exhaustive research. In the end, the groups agreed “that an organization of stakeholders would regulate the capture and sale of shark fins,” said upper school librarian Lauri Vaughan, who developed the summit with Schafer.
Learning, innovation and design director Dan Hudkins moderated the first summit, while history teacher Damon Halback moderated the second. Each had different approaches to facilitating discussion, “but both were amazing and highly successful in terms of creating amazing learning experiences for the kids,” Vaughan said. “Both were able to weave in the basics of civics and legislative process while guiding a very complicated discussion.”
Schafer said the students learned many valuable lessons about the process of discussing and making decisions on legislation. “I think that the students were all struck by how difficult it can be for people with different stakes in an issue to come to a consensus,” she noted. “We were clear from the beginning that this wasn’t a debate and that there would be no winner.”
Raymond Banke, grade 10, recently received a distinguished honorable mention in the Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Student Contest. The contest, which received more than 2,100 submissions from nearly 70 countries, recognizes and rewards the work of middle and high school students who bring awareness to issues impacting the health of the world’s oceans.
Banke’s piece, titled “Protection from the Sun?” was submitted to the art category. As a distinguished honorable mention winner, Banke was awarded a prize of $250.
In addition, upper school science teacher Kate Schafer, who acted as Banke’s sponsor during the contest, received a sponsor recognition award. Congratulations!
In November, journalism teacher Ellen Austin and upper school head Butch Keller, along with senior Alex Youn and junior Michael Sikand, traveled to Indianapolis for the 2016 National High School Journalism Convention. Keller, who in August was named the Journalism Education Association’s administrator of the year, attended the conference to receive the award. Austin was recognized for winning the National Scholastic Press Association’s Pioneer Award.
There was plenty for students to see and do as well. “There was a multitude of advisors, teachers, administrators and professionals at the conference giving presentations and workshops on various topics regarding high school journalism,” said Sikand. “Given my position as social media editor of our online site [www.harkeraquila.com], I took interest in one seminar, where a marketing professional spoke to us on how to give an online news site a distinctive brand.”
In addition to bolstering his existing skill set, Sikand said he also learned new methods for reaching online audiences with various tools and branding techniques.
The girls basketball team went 3-0, winning the Pescadero Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles opened the tournament with a 57-12 win over host Pescadero. Jordan Thompson, grade 12, led the Eagles with 31 points. Next, the Eagles took down Alma Heights Christian 49-13, getting 22 points from Satchi Thockchom, grade 11. In the finals, the Eagles defeated Harbor 63-47, with another 31 points coming from Thompson. The Eagles face off with Kirby Prep on Tuesday and Leland on Friday, both at Blackford.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team went 2-1 and finished third at the James Lick Tournament over the weekend. Gene Wang, grade 10, had 14 points in the Eagles 74-38 win over Andrew Hill. In a 67-56 loss to Wilcox, both Wang and Jack Connors, grade 9, led the team with 11 points. And the Eagles took third place, beating the host team James Lick 63-62 in OT. Justin Jia, grade 12, earned all-tournament team honors. Next up for the boys basketball team is the Lynbrook Winter Classic starting this Thursday.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team played to a 3-3 tie with Half Moon Bay last week. Joelle Anderson, grade 12, scored all three goals for the Eagles. Harker travels to Gunderson on Tuesday and hosts Yerba Buena on Friday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team dropped a close 4-3 match with Mills last week. The Eagles try to pick up their first win of the season this week with a home game on Wednesday against San Mateo, then an away game on Friday at Woodside Priory.
Nine Harker students were recently named members of the All-State High School Honor Choir by the California chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Seniors Ashwin Rao and Tiffany Zhu, juniors Krishna Bheda and Millie Lin, sophomores Karli Sharp and Catherine Wang and freshmen Emily Chen, Joel Morel and Kalyan Narayanan will perform with the choir at San Jose’s Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph on Feb. 18.
These students make up the largest group ever from Harker to successfully audition for the choir, and the third largest group (tied with Lynbrook) from any school in California. It is also the first time three grade 9 students have qualified for the all-state choir.
The ACDA operates the All-State Honor Choirs in collaboration with the Southern California Vocal Association. To qualify, students must first successfully audition for a regional honor choir in their area. Those interested in singing with the all-state choir are then evaluated to determine whether they will participate.