Last weekend, filmmaking educator Michael Hernandez gave a special workshop to Harker journalism students on video storytelling. Hernandez, who teaches at Mira Costa High School in Southern California’s Manhattan Beach, has spent nearly 20 years helping students develop projects that positively impact communities around the world. Recognized by PBS, Google and Apple for his innovative methods, he has traveled with his students on documentary trips to places including Guatemala, Vietnam and Cuba.
Over the course of the two-day workshop, students learned how to research, film, edit and publish stories in a short time period, exercising skills such as videography, interviewing and capturing sound. Students also practiced writing for broadcast formats and how to record voice-overs. The students used these skills in their video coverage of Saturday’s March for Our Lives rallies in San Jose and San Francisco, capturing footage of the marchers as well as reactions from students on the ground to create a powerful report of the events.
The 10th annual Stellar Waitstaff Luncheon was, as usual, a great success! Even though the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic was unfortunately cancelled, Harker parents rallied with the silent auction offerings, and sixth grader Kyle Johnson’s parents won him the prize of being served lunch by Harker’s top administrators.
Johnson invited friends and classmates Kuga Pence, Kieran Figueroa, Jackson Lara, Sebastian Dionne and Dominic Ortiz to join his birthday celebration on Tuesday. With Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school, and Brian Yager, head of school, as waitstaff, the service was stellar. The pair dished out root beer floats, Greek salads, fruit cups, make-your-own tacos and hamburgers. The students rounded out the feast with make-your-own ice cream sundaes and chocolate-covered strawberries.
The boys volleyball team had a very good week! It started with a 3-1 win over Mountain View and a 3-0 win over Los Altos, before taking second in the Monta Vista Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles defeated Lynbrook, Christopher, Branham and St. Francis, all 2-0, before falling in the championship to host Monta Vista 0-2. The 13-3 boys team will host Los Altos on Wednesday and Cupertino on Friday.
Swim
Last week, the Harker swim team hosted nearly 200 swimmers from 11 teams at the first WBAL jamboree of the season.
The Harker boys came out on top in the meet, defeating The King’s Academy, Pinewood, Menlo, Crystal Springs and Nueva.
It was a one-two-three sweep in the varsity 50 free with Matthew Chung (CCS time), Jason Kwok and Rhys Edwards, all grade 9.
Ethan Hu, grade 10, and Yannick Bohbot-Dridi, grade 12, were first and third in the 100 fly, with Hu placing second in the 100 back. Both swimmers made CCS cuts in the event.
Alex Yu, grade 11, won the 500 free in CCS time and took second in the 100 breast.
The varsity 200 free relay team of Edwards, Arnav Joshi, grade 10, Kwok and Bohbot-Dridi took first.
The varsity 400 free relay team of Chung, Kwok, Bohbot-Dridi and Hu took first.
For the JV boys, Russell Yang, Andrew Chang, Nicky Kriplani and Andrew Lu, all grade 9, won the medley relay and 200 free relay events.
Lu and Chang went first and third in the JV individual medley, and Lu went on to win the 50 free in varsity time with Kriplani taking third and winning the JV 50 fly.
Chang and Yang went first and second in the JV 50 breast. Karthik Nukala, grade 10, won the 50 back.
The Harker girls defeated The King’s Academy, Pinewood, Nueva and Mercy SF.
The girls medley A relay team of Taylor Kohlmann, grade 12, Vivian Wang, grade 12, Alyssa Huang, grade 10, and Angela Li, grade 11, won the event in CCS time.
Huang was third in the 200 IM, posting a best time.
Wang won the 50 and 100 free in CCS time.
Claudia Opris, grade 11, won the JV 50 and 100 free with best times for both races.
Next up for the Eagles is the Ron Freeman Invitational at Monta Vista on April 7.
Boys Golf
Last week, the boys golf team took fourth out of 21 teams at the Wildcat Invitational in Fairfax. Daulet Tuleubayev, grade 12, placed third overall. Later in the week, the Eagles defeated The King’s Academy 217-183, with Jaimin Bhagat, grade 10, leading the way with a 34. This week, the Eagles battle for first place with Menlo on Monday, followed by a league match with Crystal Springs Uplands and Nueva on Wednesday, and finishing the week with a trip to Moraga to take on one of the best teams in the NCS, Campolindo.
Baseball
Last week, the baseball team defeated Summit Rainier 19-4. The Eagles got huge games from Matthew Kennedy, grade 12, who had two hits and four RBIs, and Max Lee, grade 10, who had three hits and three RBIs. This week, the 3-2 Eagles travel to Crystal Springs Uplands on Monday, host Westmoor on Tuesday and travel to Jefferson on Thursday.
Track and Field
The track and field team competed at the Firebird Invitational last week with more great results. The girls sprint medley relay team of Grace Koonmen, grade 12, Nikki Solanki, grade 10, Gloria Guo, grade 12, and Anna Weirich, grade 9, won with a new school record time of 1:59.99. All four were running in their third race of an 11-hour track meet. The boys 400-meter relay team of Marcus Tymous, grade 11, Angel Cervantes, grade 12, Mitch Granados, grade 11, and Anthony Contreras, grade 12, placed second. Kismet Singh, grade 10, placed third against 30 other runners in the 100 hurdles. Contreras ran a personal best 11.57 to place fourth in the top 100 heat. Also, 15 runners posted their best times of the year. This weekend, the Eagles compete at the Stanford Invitational.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team started the season on fire as it defeated Notre Dame San Jose 14-6 and Lincoln 13-3 last week to bring its record to 5-0. This week, the Eagles travel to Priory on Tuesday and host Lincoln on Thursday.
Softball
The softball team picked up its first win of the season as it defeated The King’s Academy 6-3 last week. Anika Rajamani, grade 11, had three hits and an RBI and Molly Mobley, grade 9, drove in two runs. This week, the Eagles host Mercy Burlingame on Tuesday and Pinewood on Thursday.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team was able to beat the rain and pick up a 7-0 win over Sacred Heart Prep last week. This week, the 7-1 Eagles take on Nueva on Monday and Menlo on Tuesday.
After being canceled last year due to ongoing construction, the annual upper school Hoscars variety show made its Rothschild Performing Arts Center debut on Friday, featuring dozens of students putting their many talents on display, be they musical, comedic or terpsichorean. Several students performed modified versions of popular songs, such as the duo of pianist Annabelle Perng and violinist Susan He, both juniors, who played a medley they put together in an experiment to see how many songs they could fit into three minutes. The show also featured energetic dance performances, as well as a comedic monologue by Andrew Semenza, grade 12, offering a feverish interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” recreated faithfully by Harker students posing as the famous painting’s subjects.
Because of limited capacity in the Patil Theater, this year’s Hoscars consisted of two shows to give as many students as possible the chance to attend. Audiences at both shows were very enthusiastic, relishing the opportunity to be among the first to cheer for Hoscars performers at the new venue, which is especially suited for live performances.
An estimated 650 people arrived at the middle school campus on March 23 for the 2018 Cancer Walk. The annual event raises awareness of cancer and money for Camp Okizu, which organizes outings for children living with cancer. The event was started in 2007 by former Harker computer science teacher Michael Schmidt, whose mother died of cancer in 2006. Money was raised by selling baked goods, hot chocolate, T-shirts and other items at stations set up at various points around the walking area, which was adorned with flags that had written tributes to loved ones who died from cancer as well as survivors and those currently fighting it. In the days leading up to the event, several classroom doors were decorated to promote the event and encourage participants. Donations for the fundraiser totaled more than $6,300. To date, the Cancer Walk has raised more than $100,000 since its first year in 2007.
On March 7, the upper school choir Downbeat, co-directed by Jennifer Sandusky and Laura Lang-Ree, performed at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts Gala at the gorgeous (and enormous!) San Jose Performing Arts Center.
The gala celebrated the announcement of Broadway San Jose’s upcoming season with performances by Downbeat, Café Society and members of Children’s Musical Theater. Downbeat was selected to perform because of Harker’s long history of success in the San Jose Top Honors Musical Awards program, which is held in the same venue. The head of the gala gave Downbeat a warm welcome and extensively praised Harker for being a leader in performing arts in Northern California.
On Monday, Dave Hart’s middle school music students were visited by Brad Hogarth, band and orchestra director at San Francisco State University. A friend of Hart’s since their time at the Eastman School of Music, Hogarth worked with the students on a section of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “English Folk Song Suite,” advising them on technique and how to sound more enthusiastic while performing. One of his methods was to ask the students for words that came to mind while playing various sections of the piece, which helped them bond with the music and deliver more sincere, heartfelt performances.
“The main thing that I was trying to get them to do today was give them permission to use all the energy that they naturally have at this age and put it into their instruments,” Hogarth said.
The boys golf team picked up a 240-197 league win over The King’s Academy last week with Jin Kim, grade 12, leading the way with a 35. This week, the Eagles once again take on King’s on Wednesday, followed by a matchup with Nueva on Thursday.
Track and Field
The Eagles competed in the first WBAL meet of the year last week with some great results, including 15 season bests. Tiffany Shou, grade 12, threw a lifetime best in the discus, only 4 feet off of the school record. All seven Harker hurdlers ran seasonal bests as well. Kismet Singh, grade 10, Lilly Anderson, grade 11, Zoey Rosa, grade 10, Hannah Bohbot-Dridi, grade 9, and Angela Cai, grade 9, for the girls, and in his first hurdle race ever, Gio Rofa, grade 10, won the boy’s 65-meter high hurdles. In the closest Eagle race of the day, Mitch Granados, grade 11, edged out Anthony Contreras, grade 12, in the 100 by 0.006 seconds.
Then over the weekend, the Eagles competed at the very competitive St. Francis Invitational. Anna Weirich, grade 9, opened the meet at 8 am, in 44-degree weather, with a win in the 3,000-meter. She came back three hours later and won the mile run with a time of 5:28. Contreras and Rofa ran well in their sections of the 400 and 100. Shou placed fourth in the girls’ discus while Eric Fang, grade 10, threw a personal best in the frosh-soph discus.
Up next for the track and field team is the Firebird Invitational at Fremont High this weekend.
Boys Volleyball
Last week, the boys volleyball team took a 0-3 loss to Monta Vista, but bounced back with a 3-0 win over Lynbrook later in the week. This week, the Eagles host Mountain View on Wednesday and travel to Los Altos on Friday, then compete in the Monta Vista Tournament over the weekend.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team picked up two wins last week as it defeated Woodside 14-13 and Stevenson 15-4. The 3-0 Eagles host Notre Dame San Jose on Tuesday and Lincoln on Wednesday.
Baseball
The baseball team returns to action this week with a trip to Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday before hosting Summit Prep Ranier on Friday.
Softball
This week, the softball team travels to The King’s Academy on Tuesday and hosts Notre Dame Belmont on Thursday.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team was able to squeeze in a 6-1 win over The King’s Academy last week before the rains came. This week, the Eagles will take on Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday and Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday.
Swim
The swim team will host the first WBAL Jamboree this Wednesday at the Singh Aquatic Center.
This article was written by Radhika Jain, Harker DECA director of communications.
From March 2-5, 84 students and six chaperones from The Harker School DECA chapter traveled to the Anaheim Marriott to compete in the 2018 California State Career Development Conference (SCDC).
At the conference, students competed in events, attended workshops and networked with students from throughout the state. Harker performed respectably, with 27 overall finalists. Thirteen of those finalists also qualified for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC), to be held in Atlanta in April.
“With the State Career Development Conference being my last conference as a member of Harker DECA, it was definitely memorable for me,” said Ashna Chandra, grade 12, Harker DECA co-CEO. “I’m excited to see the outcomes of chapter members in future years, and I know they’ll be successful in whatever they pursue.”
Members placing in the top eight are as follows:
First Place
Andrew Sun, grade 9, Principles of Finance
Nishka Ayyar and Riya Gupta, both grade 11, Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 10, Advertising Campaign
Erin Liu, grade 11, Business Growth Plan
Second Place
Emma Andrews, grade 9, Principles of Business Management and Administration
Rishi Dange, grade 10, Accounting Applications Series
Evan Cheng, grade 10, Business Services Marketing Series
Naveen Mirapuri, grade 10, Food Marketing Series
Alyssa Huang, grade 10, and Enya Lu, grade 11, Financial Services Team Decision Making
Third Place
Vignesh Panchanatham and Ashna Chandra, both grade 12, Learn and Earn Project
Fourth Place
Aditya Singhvi, grade 9, Principles of Finance
David Feng, grade 10, Marketing Communications Series
Bryan Wang, grade 10, Retail Merchandising Series
Fifth Place
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 10, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Arnav Joshi and Nikhil Sharma, both grade 10, Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making
Sayon Biswas and Suraj Pakala, both grade 11, Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
Zara Vakath and Ronit Gagneja, both grade 10, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making
Shania Wang and Enya Lu, both grade 11, Public Relations Project
Arushi Saxena, grade 9, Innovation Plan
Sixth Place
Claire Luo, grade 9, Principles of Finance
Anay Karwal, grade 10, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Ashna Chandra, grade 12, Quick Serve Restaurant Management Series
Michelle Si, grade 9, Financial Consulting
Seventh Place
Jeffrey Liu, Rakesh Nori, both grade 10, Hospitality Services Team Decision Making
N Wang and Andrew Sun, both grade 9, Innovation Plan
Eighth Place
Arun Sundaresan, grade 10, Business Services Marketing Series
Ramesh Nori and Jeffrey Liu, both grade 10, and Alisa Su, grade 12, Independent Business Plan
On Friday, students had a chance to relax and study before examinations later that day. From 4-8 p.m., students took their respective tests and gathered soon after for the grand opening session in the Marquis Ballroom.
Saturday was the first day of competitions, and students performed their role-play events throughout the day. Competitions finished around 4 p.m., and students had the options of going to Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm, or staying at the hotel.
On Saturday, students were required to attend one workshop hosted by keynote speakers, as well as take one Protégé exam. These exams are a great way for students to be recognized on stage. Students from Harker DECA who were recognized on stage for their Protégé exams were Aditya Singhvi, Anvitha Tummala, Helen Zhu, Stephanie Shen and Elizabeth Szeto, all grade 9; and Rishi Dange, David Feng, Shomrik Mondal, Allison Jia, Jessie Wang, Bryan Wang, Arun Sundaresan and Martin Bourdev, all grade 10.
“I took the insurance exam, and I found it pretty interesting,” said Zhu. “I’ve never really taken a test of that sort on that topic, so it was a different experience for me.”
Along with those events, there was also a room for Downtown DECA in the Anaheim Marriott, where state candidates campaigned, businesses hosted booths and students took their Protégé exams. In light of the recent tragedy in Parkland, Fla., Harker DECA set up a banner in Downtown DECA for students to write notes of encouragement towards the Marjory Stoneman Douglas DECA chapter.
“In order to commemorate those who have been affected by the recent shooting in Florida, we organized a campaign to raise awareness,” said Jia. “I’m really happy with the outcome of it, and I hope this banner can brighten up the students’ days a little.”
Sunday was written events day, and students presented their written projects to a judge. Similar to Saturday, they were required to attend another workshop as well. After students finished their written presentations, they had down time throughout the afternoon to do homework, attend workshops and hang out with their friends.
To prepare for these events, the Harker DECA officer team had organized various study sessions after school to give students the opportunity to perfect their competitive skills and build confidence. Held one to three times a week, the officer team as well as chapter advisors and mentors were available to help students with their written events and role-plays.
In the evening, Harker DECA gathered in the Marquis Ballroom once again for the grand awards session as well as the closing ceremony. New, this year, mini awards and grand awards were presented together. In total, Harker DECA performed admirably, with a number of teams called up to the stage and qualifying for ICDC.
“Being on stage was amazing and stressful at the same time,” said Anay Karwal, grade 10. “I felt nervous when I was walking up, but the support from my chapter definitely calmed me down. It was one of the best and most surreal moments of my life.”
After awards concluded, the closing ceremony began. The California DECA state officer team for the 2017-18 year said their goodbyes. The new state officer team for the 2018-19 year, including Harker DECA’s very own Enya Lu, took an oath of commitment to always support and serve California DECA.
As the closing ceremony finished, members of California DECA had time to hang out with friends and attend a social dance before curfew. With the conference coming to a close, California DECA cherished these last moments together.
Overall, Harker DECA had a very successful and enjoyable conference, as students were able to hone their competitive skills in their events, learn new things from motivational speakers, and network with other students from around California. Harker DECA looks forward to the next SCDC in San Diego in March 2019.
In preparation for the International Career Development Conference in April, qualifiers have the time to prepare to face the best of the world! Stay tuned for more updates on ICDC.
“At this year’s SCDC, students were given a variety of opportunities to broaden their horizons in business and entrepreneurship and try something new,” said Juston Glass, Harker DECA chapter advisor. “I am extremely proud of all members of Harker DECA, and I really hope students can utilize the skills they learned in future events and conferences.”
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.
Contact information: To learn more about this story, please contact Radhika Jain, director of communications 20RadhikaJ@students.harker.org.
Harker celebrated its major donors at the Head of School’s Circle Celebration on March 17. The group, over 400 strong, met in the early evening for hors d’oeuvres and champagne in the Zhang Gymnasium in the athletic center, which opened this past August.
Guests then migrated to the Rothschild Performing Arts Center, which opened Feb. 2, where they enjoyed performances in the Patil Theater by Harker musicians, along with several dance groups and choirs, and received a quartet of heartfelt thank you speeches from senior athletes and performers. The evening ended in the Zhang Gymnasium with dinner, socializing and music by a jazz ensemble of Harker teachers and students.