Middle school students excelled in this year’s American Mathematics Competition 8, a 25-question, 40-minute multiple choice exam administered by the Mathematical Association of America. Alexander Hu, grade 7, earned a perfect score of 25 on the exam, with fellow seventh graders Rishab Parthasarathy, Kevin Wang, Mark Hu and William Zhao receiving scores of 24. Eighth graders Sidra Xu, Eric Zhu, Aditya Singhvi and Vivian Jin also scored 24.
Other high scorers were Ashley Hu and Connie Jiang, both grade 6, Shounak Ghosh and Angela Jia, both grade 7, and eighth grader Arya Maheshwari, who each earned 23 points. Daniel Wang, Mariamma Vazhaeparambil, Anika Fuloria and Luisa Pan, all grade 8; Akhilesh Chegu and David Dai, both grade 7; Riya Gupta and Stephen Xia, both grade 6; and Ethan Liu, grade 5, all scored an impressive 22.
For many years, Harker’s Future Problem Solving program has proven invaluable to students in grades 6-12 who wish to engage in global issues while also developing their research and critical analysis skills. This year, the program was expanded to the lower school in the form of a grade 5 club to help prepare students for involvement in middle school.
The program is off to a good start, according to lower school English teacher Scott Murphy, who currently advises the lower school’s FPS club.
The club mainly serves to familiarize students with the procedure of FPS competitions. “In club, students practiced the different parts of the procedure and exercised creative and critical thinking skills,” said Murphy. FPS competitions typically deal with real-life or near-future scenarios, such as environmental or economic issues. By contrast, the lower school FPS club is “focused more on fairy tale scenarios, like what would happen if Robin Hood left Sherwood Forest and what becomes of Goldilocks’ reputation after the incident with the three bears,” Murphy said.
These club sessions act as precursors for “practice problem” sessions held on weekends, where the students practice solving problems in an environment simulating a real FPS competition, led by middle and upper school students.
Harker middle and upper school instrumentalists kicked off the new year on Jan. 13 at the annual Winter Concert, held at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San Jose. The middle school’s Grade 6 Jazz band, Grades 7-8 Jazz Band, Grade 6 Orchestra and Grades 7-8 Orchestra shared the stage with the upper school’s Jazz Band, Lab Band and the Harker Orchestra. The audience was treated to a wide selection of pieces, including works by Stevie Wonder, Brahms, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis and Dmitri Shostakovich, as well as a wonderful piece composed by grade 8 student Anika Fuloria.
Harker Preschool’s transitional kindergarten (TK) class just completed an exciting research project on the behavior and habitat of pill bugs (often referred to as roly-polys, these are the little grey bugs that roll into a ball when startled). Two students, Daniel Kroll and Dylan Ruffy, began studying the bugs on the playground in September, which led to the long-term study. Nina Smith, assistant teacher, guided the project for many months, involving the other students and supporting the researchers as they traveled the road of discovery.
Classmates Rishaan Lawande and Aisha Agrawal created a small terrarium to determine whether they could keep pill bugs in the classroom. After the death of the first pill bugs, students discovered that pill bugs need water in order to live. Rishaan and Aisha kept a log book in which they noted how much water they added to the habitat each week.
Students Laura Zhang and Anaika Verma collected data on how many pill bugs were in the habitat and discovered that the number kept increasing, so they concluded that the pill bugs were having babies. Laura and Anaika researched the pill bug life cycle.
Natalie Uhlig and Vedika Deoras made observations and recorded data about pill bug behavior.
As the pill bug colony grew larger, the students made larger terrariums. The students were eager to share their observations, research and discoveries, so they presented their observations, log books, book research and portable pill bug habitat last week to students in the preschool’s Acorn cottage.
The students’ paths of discovery were a lot of fun!
“I like the roly-polys,” said Clara Yu-Svensson, age 4.
“I found a worm,” added Adam Shimelfarb, age 4.
“[The habitat] is very wet!” noted Fiona Yan, age 4.
“The magnifier makes [the pill bug] look bigger,” observed Rohan Radhakrishna, age 4.
And the researchers appreciated their audience! “[The Acorns] were good listeners,” said Rishaan, one of the TK researchers.
Seniors Evani Radiya-Dixit, Arjun Subramaniam and Manan Shah were selected as three of the 40 national finalists in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Society for Science & the Public announced this morning. These three finalists represent the most from any school in the country, and are among three of five finalists hailing from the Bay Area. This number also ties the Harker record of three finalists set in 2015.
The students will be headed to Washington, D.C., in March for the final competition, where $1.8 million in prizes will be up for contention. During their visit, they will have the opportunity to meet with national leadership and present their work to the National Geographic Society.
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Nine Harker students were among the 300 scholars named today in the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search (formerly the Intel Science Talent Search). Seniors Kai Ang, Angela Kim, Sandip Nirmel, Srivatsav Pyda (not pictured), Evani Radiya-Dixit, Venkat Sankar, Manan Shah, Scott Song and Arjun Subramaniam made up the largest group of scholars from a single California high school and tied with New York’s Jericho High School and Maryland’s Montgomery Blair High School for the largest number from a single school in the nation.
Each student will receive a $2,000 cash prize, and an additional $2,000 will be awarded to Harker as one of the schools that produced this year’s STS scholars.
On Jan. 24, the Society for Science & the Public will announce this year’s 40 STS finalists, who will travel to Washington, D.C., in March to compete for $1.8 million in prizes.
In early January, the Student Directed Showcase, the first major upper school performing arts event of the year, treated audiences to a series of one-act plays directed by Harker Conservatory seniors. Directors prepared for the event during a months-long process that included choosing plays, casting, promotion and detailed planning.
In “Grover,” written by Joel Fishbane and directed by Chetana Kalidindi, a young woman separates from her husband and develops an elaborate deception to keep her persona non grata spouse at bay. Emre Ezer directed Clarence Coo’s “Removing the Glove,” a comedic but chilling alternate-reality tale in which being left-handed is so stigmatized that southpaws face widespread discrimination and bigotry. Sana Aladin looked to the classics, directing Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a Victorian-era comedy about multiple identities. Don Zolidis’ “Dystopia!” directed by Kayvon Solaimanpour, presented a darkly funny nightmare scenario in which a group of teenagers must face the many dangerous tropes of young-adult dystopian fiction.
Congratulations to Dezi Johnsen, grade 7, for placing fourth in the nation in the 145-pound weight division at the 62nd Annual Flo Tulsa Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., this past weekend. Johnsen was among more than 2,000 wrestlers ages 4-16 years old, representing 40 states, to compete in the “oldest, most prestigious junior wrestling event in the world,” according to World of Wrestling. Awesome job, Dezi!
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team continued its impressive year as it picked up two league wins last week, bringing the team’s season record to 8-2-1. In a 5-3 win over Castilleja, senior Joelle Anderson scored two goals, with senior Lyndsey Mitchell, and sophomores Sara Min and Julia Amick, also scoring goals. Last Friday, at the Kicks Against Cancer game, the Eagles defeated Eastside College Prep 10-1, with Anderson scoring five goals, Mitchell and Sahana Narayan, grade 10, each scoring two goals, and Cameron Zell, grade 10, also scoring. Next up for the Eagles is a home match versus Mercy San Francisco on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team started the week with a 4-1 loss to Menlo, but finished the week with an impressive 3-0 victory over Eastside College Prep. Today, the boys team takes on the German International School of Silicon Valley at Davis Field, with a trip to The Kings Academy set for Wednesday.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team defeated Saratoga High 45-12 last week at its first home meet of the year. Justin Su, grade 11, Anthony Contreras, grade 11, and Diego Figueroa, grade 12, all won by pin, with Alan Hughes, grade 11, winning by decision and Dolan Dworak, grade 11, winning by DQ. Next up for the Eagles is a league matchup at Santa Clara High.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team lost two league games last week. In a tough 51-47 OT loss to The Kings Academy, Brando Pakel, grade 11, led the Eagles with 11 points and seven rebounds. Later in the week, Justin Jia, grade 12, led all Eagles with seven points in a 64-24 loss to Menlo. This week, the Eagles host Pinewood on Tuesday and travel to Sacred Heart Prep on Friday.
Girls Basketball
Picking up a 39-31 win over The Kings Academy last week, the girls basketball team improved to 9-8 on the season. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday and a home game versus Notre Dame San Jose on Friday.
Six Harker students were recently invited to perform with the California Band Directors Association’s 2017 All-State ensembles. Alexa Gross, grade 12, joined the High School Symphonic Band as a bassoonist. Kai-Ming Ang and Katie Chang, both grade 9, will perform with the High School Concert Band on French horn and percussion, respectively. Junior Amy Jin will play violin for the High School Full Orchestra.
Eighth graders Anika Fuloria and Leland Rossi also successfully auditioned for junior high school ensembles. Fuloria, a string bassist, earned a spot on Junior High School Symphonic Band, while Rossi will play trumpet with the Junior High School Jazz Band.
The students will perform with their respective groups at the California All-State Music Education Conference. The event, to be held Feb. 16-19 in San Jose, is organized by the California Music Education Association.
Lauri Vaughan, upper school campus librarian, was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards (MAE) Award for the for Best Literature Program for Teens for Harker’s ReCreate Reading program. The award was presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association.
The MAE Award provides $500 to the recipient and $500 to the recipient’s library, and is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust.
Vaughan noted the ReCreate Reading program “brings the joy and excitement of reading that the faculty, administration, staff, and coaches at the Harker School’s upper school campus have to students who perhaps are not as excited about reading. While not compulsory, most all the students participate by selecting one of the year’s books through a competitive process to read over the summer. Then after returning to school, students gather with the school staff during the first week of classes to discuss what they read.”
ReCreate Reading is “amplifying a celebration of thrilling narrative, nail-biting adventure and thought-provoking prose that organically infects the large majority of our student body with a genuine interest in reading,” stated Vaughan in her application. “The success of the program has been evidenced … most convincingly by our English department faculty who decreased and eventually eliminated required summer reading assignments. ReCreate Reading has reliably kept kids’ noses in books.”
This program, which began several years ago, continues to inspire school personnel and students to read for pleasure. Upon hearing she received this award, Vaughan said, “A program like ReCreate Reading could not happen without annual full-on participation from our faculty and staff. The commitment by the adults in our community sends a powerful, genuinely enthusiastic message about the infectious thrill of reading. On behalf of Harker’s voracious readers, I am honored to accept this award.”
This article was prepared by Shania Wang, grade 10, Harker DECA director of communications.
In early January, DECA chapter members competed in the 2017 Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC). With 51 finalists and 23 top three winners, Harker earned first place in terms of wins per capita.
In preparation for SVCDC, the chapter held weekly study sessions in the Innovation Center to give members a chance to work on their testing, role-plays and written presentations. This year also continued the the officer mentorship program, which helped many new members in their competitive excellence.
“This SVCDC marks Harker DECA’s best in terms of competition, with our highest numbers of finalists and winners,” said Shreyas Chandrashekaran, grade 11, Harker DECA vice president of competitions and strategy. “There definitely are still areas for our students to improve in, so I look forward to seeing their growth and development in the future.”
Check out these results, as well as the event video!
First Place
Derek Kuo, grade 11, Professional Selling
Enya Lu and Shania Wang, both grade 10, Innovation Plan
Nishka Ayyar and Riya Gupta, both grade 10, Independent Business Plan
Bryan Wang, grade 9, Principles of Finance
Vedant Shah grade 11, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Enya Lu, grade 10, Business Finance Series
Alexis Gauba, grade 12, Business Services Marketing Series
Haley Tran, grade 12, Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
Lucas Wang, grade 12, Personal Financial Literacy
Rahul Mehta and Vanessa Tyagi, both grade 11, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making
Second Place
Bryan Wang, grade 9, Professional Selling
Erin Liu, grade 10, Business Growth Plan
Shaya Zarkesh, grade 11, Start-Up Business Plan
Shreyas Chandrashekaran and Shaan Gagneja, both grade 11, Business Services Operations Research
David Feng, grade 9, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Reiya Das, grade 9, Principles of Marketing
Mona Lee, grade 11, Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series
Ria Gandhi, grade 12, Retail Merchandising Series
Shreyas Chandrashekaran, grade 11, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series
Shea Tuli, grade 11, Personal Financial Literacy
Third Place
Ria Gandhi, Haley Tran and Lucas Wang, all grade 12, International Business Plan
Michael Sikand, grade 11, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Chandan Aggarwal, Rakesh Nori and Jeffrey Liu, all grade 9, Independent Business Plan
Competitions began on Friday, with students taking written examinations. The opening ceremony, organized by Silicon Valley DECA’s District Action Team, followed, with the main feature being the annual talent show. Saturday consisted entirely of competitions. Students competed in their written event presentations and role-plays throughout the day at their assigned time.
“I experienced what it was like to be in a business-like environment, and it really helped me hone my skills and learn what to do in the future,” said Rakesh Nori, grade 9.
In the evening, students had free time, including the option to attend the DECA Dance. The conference came to a close on Sunday morning at the awards ceremonies. At Mini-Awards, Harker performed very well with a total of 59 teams placing.
Afterward, there was a conference-wide breakfast, followed by the Grand Awards Ceremony. Harker DECA’s energy and excitement was unmatched as the many Harker recipients walked on stage to receive their awards.
“I really loved seeing the enthusiasm and the hard work that the students put into it,” chaperone Byron Stevens said. “It was just great energy throughout the whole weekend.”
Overall, this year’s SVCDC was a huge success for Harker DECA. Students not only enjoyed their first conference of this year’s competitive season, but also had the opportunity to delve further into business and expand their network with new connections.
“I feel like this conference was a really great opportunity to compete and see their hard work pay off in real time,” said Alexis Gauba, Harker DECA’s co-CEO. “It was great for everyone to see their efforts rewarded, and I’m really excited to see how everyone is going to improve for the state conference.”
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.