In late July, Harker junior Sumati Wadhwa was honored by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) and was offered membership to the organization. The NSHSS seeks out and recognizes high school students with exemplary records in academics, leadership and dedication to their communities. In a press release, NSHSS president James W. Lewis said the organization “aim[s] to help students like Sumati build on their academic success by connecting them with unique learning experiences and resources to help prepare them for college and meaningful careers.”
The NSHSS was founded in 2002 by Lewis and Claes Nobel, a member of the family for which the Nobel Prize is named. High-achieving high school students are offered membership into the society, which provides a variety of opportunities, including internships, scholarships and peer networks. It currently boasts more than 1 million members in 160 countries.
Upper school students kicked off the new year in style at the 2016-17 matriculation ceremony, held at the upper school campus quad on Aug. 19.
It was apparent early on that this year’s ceremony would differ from those of years past. Upper School Head Butch Keller, who at previous ceremonies often spoke of stepping out of one’s comfort zone, decided to recite this year’s speech entirely from memory while standing away from the podium. He explained to the students how fortunate they are to be enrolled at Harker, giving special recognition to the teachers who spent their summers here and abroad learning how to improve at their jobs. “You’re lucky that you have these kinds of teachers … dedicated to being the best that they can be, so that they can make you the best that you can be.”
Keller also mentioned Harker’s extensive alumni network, which many students have used to find support systems during their time at Harker, as well as after graduation. Whether working at the White House, traveling abroad or forming their own startups, Harker’s alumni are an invaluable resource, Keller said. He identified one student with a successful company that he built by reaching out to his alumni network. “He’s making it happen because he’s relying on Harker alums all over the nation,” Keller said. “So they’ve gotten to where they are because of work ethic, humility and compassion. So they’ve set the stage for you.”
The ceremony was also highlighted by a welcome speech by ASB president Sandip Nirmel, grade 12, who said to the incoming freshmen, “Welcome to the big pond. Opportunities abound, friendly upperclassmen are plentiful and senior year twinkles in the distance like a little star. How I wonder what you are.
“Now is the time to set the tone for the next four years,” he continued. “Do you want to be remembered as the most awesomest class of all time?” The freshmen replied in the affirmative, to which he responded with, “Well, may the force be with you.”
Nirmel also addressed the other classes in attendance, offering his unique brand of advice to each group of students. He greeted the senior class to uproarious applause. “If this senior year is a carrot,” he said, “let’s extract as much juice from this carrot as possible. We want to be the very best like no one ever was!”
Apart from the speeches, the ceremony also included moving performances by the Susan Nace-led upper school women’s choir group Cantilena, whose version of “This Little Light of Mine” got the crowd amped prior to Keller’s speech, and The Harker String Quartet, directed by Chris Florio, which performed a stirring version of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.”
To send the students off on a high note, this year’s student council officers put on their yearly “Freshman 101” skit, in which they assumed the personages of super heroes including Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Powerpuff Girls and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to inform students about various upper school rules and regulations.
The Class of 2020 received a warm welcome to the upper school on Aug. 18 during freshman orientation and freshman field day. Upon arriving on campus, the freshmen were cheered on by the upper school’s Link Crew, a group of students who assist incoming grade 9 students with the transition from middle school.
After meeting with their advisors, the freshmen headed to Davis Field and the adjacent Singh Aquatic Center for a series of fun team-building activities organized by APEX Adventures. In one activity, students helped a team member walk on the field using a triangular apparatus, which was propped up by ropes held by the students’ teammates. In another, students had to fill a tube of water by using their fingers to plug holes in its side.
Bay Area high school students spent much of their summer enhancing their academic careers at the upper school’s Summer Institute. Open to students enrolled in any accredited high school, the courses – taught by caring, dedicated and highly qualified teachers – enabled students to earn credit or bolster their knowledge of a subject of interest.
Courses at this year’s upper school Summer Institute were divided into two categories. For-credit classes gave students the chance to earn academic credit in a variety of subjects, including algebra, geometry, economics and programming. Small class sizes helped to ensure each student received high-quality instruction. Many of the teachers at the Summer Institute teach at Harker year-round.
Also available was a range of enrichment courses, giving students the opportunity to explore their interests or boost their knowledge in various subject areas. Enrichment courses included Pre-Calculus Boost, Creative Writers Workshop, Driver’s Education and Climate Change.
All upper school Summer Institute courses were held at Harker’s upper school campus, which offers quality facilities and a top-notch learning environment.
“I enjoyed how both my teachers and my classmates were all focused solely on the classwork that was set for each day,” said Gene Wang, a Harker sophomore who took AP Chemistry and Advanced Programming. “There were very few distractions and very little wasted class time, which led to a lot getting accomplished each day.”
“I enjoyed the labs because they were a lot of fun and reinforced the concepts we learned during the lecture,” said Christopher Leafstrand, grade 10, who also attended AP Chemistry.
Wang said he would recommend the classes to any student who hopes to get ahead. “Although these two courses are intense, there is truly a lot of material that is covered and each student that completes this course will definitely learn a lot.”
Bay Area middle school students enjoyed a revamped Summer Institute this year that included a wealth of educational and recreational activities. “The entire program is new this year,” said middle school summer director Kelly Espinosa. In contrast to previous years, this year’s middle school summer institute operated independently at the middle school campus. “Because of the construction at Saratoga … we couldn’t have this many kids there,” Espinosa explained. “So we left the program at Saratoga for the high school kids and moved the sixth and seventh graders here.”
The program was designed to give students unprecedented flexibility in their choices of classes and activities. Morning offerings included beginning and advanced math, writing, science, robotics and art. Several classes were offered in both the morning and afternoon, enabling students to mix and match activities to their liking. For instance, a student could sign up for an afternoon pre-algebra session to make time for a morning debate boot camp.
The afternoon session also included various recreational activities, such as games, crafts and cooking so that students could learn new things and make new friends (as well as reconnect with old ones) in a positive environment.
A host of sports camps also were available to Summer Institute attendees, staffed by supportive coaches who guided students in a skill-focused environment. The camps, which included basketball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling and table tennis, were designed for players of all skill levels. “Our camps are targeted to kids who love the sport and want to learn more about it,” said Espinosa. This gives attendees the opportunity to establish a level of comfort with a sport and give them more confidence to play sports during the school year. “They actually understand it now where they never did before because they were too intimidated by it,” Espinosa noted. “And then things like pingpong are just fun.”
San Jose Mercury News – July 27, 2016: Kailash Ranganathan, who starts seventh grade this year, is the subject of a profile focusing on his interest in the sitar.
Business Insider – July 10, 2016: Harker is included in a series of summer reading lists provided by private schools from all over the country.
Greenwich Time – July 9, 2016: Harker recommends “The Catcher in the Rye” in this story about recommended summer reading by top private schools.
Piedmont Patch – July 7, 2016: Ameek Singh ’16 is mentioned as one of five Bay Area youths selected to participate in paid summer internships at local nonprofits.
The San Jose Mercury News published a story yesterday on Gargeya’s achievement, noting that he “appears to have already swayed Google judges.” Read the full story.
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Rishab Gargeya, rising senior and Saratoga resident, was recently named a regional finalist in the international Google Science Fair 2016! Thousands of participants from more than 100 countries entered their projects in the competition. Gargeya’s project is one of only 100 finalists selected from around the globe. It is currently one of the top 50 projects in the 16-18 age category identified as having the potential to change the world.
The project summary notes, “This study develops a novel smartphone-based diagnostic tool that can automatically detect any retinal abnormality within seconds. Through the use of a low-cost external ophthalmic lens attachment, individuals can diagnose themselves with their smartphones at any time, allowing them to seek medical attention accordingly to prevent any potential vision complications.”
Good morning. I would like to welcome the board of trustees, administration, faculty, staff, parents, friends and family, alumni, and the true guests of honor, the graduating Class of 2016. Each year, I have the privilege of saying a few words of farewell to our graduates. Like most graduation speeches, my talk takes the form of advice. Previous titles include “Love Like a Labrador” and “Dare to Singletask.” Last year’s talk was titled “Let’s Get Philosophical.” Parents almost stormed the stage thinking I might have been encouraging their children to major in philosophy. Since my talk is the only remaining formality between you and your diploma, I will continue the tradition of confining my remarks to one page of single-space, size-12 font. I will continue, however, to make no promises about the size of my margins.
Today I want to offer some advice that also might incite parents to storm the stage. My advice to you is to drop any concept you have about who you should be in the future. Definitely do not have an ideal of who you should be or what you should do. Yes, you can have goals and plans, but just don’t get too attached to them. Use them but do not let them use you.
I am calling this the “take and make” model of life. I will explain that name later, but I am not above admitting that I needed something catchy. The words “take and make” have the mnemonic advantage of rhyming with each other. They also rhyme with the memorable phrase “shake and bake,” which is a famous basketball move or a tasty method of making chicken.
Now what do I mean by “take and make”? Everyone talks about “making” our lives, but no one mentions “taking” our lives. I find this uncanny, because life provides abundant evidence that the “make” model of life is incomplete.
By “take” I do not mean steal. By “take” I mean accept. And by “accept” I do not mean “resignation.” I mean a more active acceptance, the way a Warriors teammate “accepts” a pass from Steph Curry. (I promised my boys I would sneak in a Warriors reference.) Hence my advice to you today is to “take and make” your life, or the less catchy “accept and make” your life.
To illustrate what I mean, allow me to engage in some audience participation. I will ask the adults in the audience a question. Adults, if today your life path, including your career, has taken the exact course you imagined when you were 18, raise your hand. Keep them high. Graduates, look around. I want this picture to be seared in your memory for the rest of your lives. Your life will take unexpected, unplanned, unnecessary, unfruitful and even unpleasant turns, and there is no way you can know where you will be or what you will be doing. This is a good thing. Start with being born – you didn’t know that would happen, did you? Much of what else happened probably surprised you, too. But you took what came and made the best of it – and now you are here. This is just the beginning, and that is why we call it “commencement.” The beginning of what? We don’t really know.
In philosophical terms, making your life is an existential point of view; taking your life is a fatalistic point of view. I say both viewpoints are true: you make your life but only after it is handed to you. Ben Horowitz, founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, in a commencement address at Columbia University, advised graduates not to follow their passion, but to follow their contribution. How do you know what your contribution will be? You don’t, but life will show you as you go. It is showing you now as we speak. Or as I speak. Your life is your contribution, and you have more than begun it. You are taking and making your life as you go, and who knows what ripples throughout eternity you will create? Some ripples already created you. That is why you are ripply. “Ripply” is not a word, but I needed a surprise right about now.
The great philosopher Schopenhauer said that our life is like a mosaic. A mosaic cannot be understood when viewed up close – we need to have distance and perspective to understand its totality. He also said that most of us miss our lives while waiting for it, planning for it. The poet Randall Jarrell put it this way: “The ways we miss our lives are life.” So do not overly plan, do not wait for some undefined future, because you will miss important cues life is sending you, or you will miss life itself. Life will come, and all you need to do is take it and make it what you will. If you take and make your life, you will not only find many unexpected wonders, you will see that you too are one of those many wonders. Thank you.
In mid-May, a group of Harker sixth graders traveled to Japan for the yearly visit to Tamagawa Academy. In addition to visiting their buddies, the trip gave students the opportunity to see many of Japan’s most famous landmarks and learn about the country’s rich culture.
The group’s first full day in Tokyo started with a visit to the Suginami Animation Museum, where students attended an animation workshop. “A set of eight pictures is scanned to make a one-second animation,” reported Vandana Kadam, grade 6-8 math department chair and one of the chaperones on the trip. “Students had a lot of fun doing it.” Later, the group headed to the Edo-Tokyo Museum to view its rich collection of art and cultural artifacts from Japan’s Edo period (1603-1867). Other highlights included seeing the 18-meter tall statue of Gundam, the titular robot of one of Japan’s most popular animated series, and getting a spectacular view of the Rainbow Bridge as the sun went down.
Saturday’s big event was the visit to Tamagawa Academy, where students met up with their buddies. “The drive to Tamagawa was used to practice their Japanese speeches, and as the coach rolled into the campus, a huge surprise awaited the students,” said Kadam. “The host families with buddies and siblings were waiting for our students with beautiful signs, flowers and other things that would make our students feel very welcome.” At an assembly, the Tamagawa students introduced themselves, and Toshiyuki Ibe, headmaster of Tamagawa’s lower secondary division, gave a special address. Following a video message from Harker Head of School Chris Nikoloff, the Harker students and faculty introduced themselves in Japanese. The students then departed to be with their homestays for the weekend.
On Monday, the students returned to Tamagawa for their first day of classes. The Harker students regaled their chaperones with stories of sightseeing in and around Tokyo, including Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Disneyland, Edo Wonderland, Mt. Fuji and more. Everyone received a warm welcome from Tamagawa’s students, who sang at a morning assembly. Afterward they learned about the history of Tamagawa from its president, Yoshiaki Obara, who also informed the students about Japanese culture and religious customs.
The ensuing two days were a whirlwind of activity for the Harker students and chaperones. They learned how to write their names in Japanese, made candles from beeswax and tasted honey straight from the honeycomb at a honey bee farm, and visited Tamagawa’s famous planetarium. “They watched an interactive show as the narrator was talking about the position of Tokyo and San Jose and how the skies would look similar due to the fact that the two cities have almost the same latitudes,” Kadam said.
On their final day with their Tamagawa buddies, the Harker students observed some elementary school classes and attended a potluck lunch hosted by Tamagawa parents. At a special farewell assembly, the Harker students enjoyed an entertaining magic show by Tamgawa students, and gathered to sing “The Harker School Song.” After exchanging tearful goodbyes, Harker’s students set off for Kyoto.
Japan’s former imperial capital offered a wealth of sights to see, including the famous Golden Pavilion with its brilliant gold-leaf coating. Students visited the centuries-old Nijo Castle, built by military leader Tokugawa Ieyasu, the head of the Tokugawa Shogunate. “The wooden floors here squeak so that the Shoguns [military dictators] could detect any intruders to the castle,” Kadam said. “These floors are called nightingale floors.” At the castle, the students learned about the Shogun’s meetings with feudal lords and advisers, and saw his private quarters. At Kiyomizu Temple, the students drank from the stream flowing from the nearby mountains, which is said to bring good fortune and health.
Early the next morning, the students were briefed on the purpose of visiting their next destination, and boarded a bullet train bound for Hiroshima. “They were extremely well behaved and were very sensitive to the history of Hiroshima,” Kadam said. Students were made aware of the destruction caused by the atomic bombing.” Their first stop was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as the A-Bomb Dome, a ruin that remains standing as a memorial to the victims of the 1945 Hiroshima bombing. They later headed to the Children’s Peace Monument, where they left 1,000 paper cranes they had folded, before visiting the Peace Memorial Museum.
After their activities in Hiroshima, the group boarded a ferry to Miyajima Island. They toured the Itsukushima Shrine and viewed its famous Tori gate, which is partially submerged in water.
The students’ final day in Japan was spent at a snow monkey habitat. “There is an enclosed area for people to buy food and offer it to monkeys that are outside of the enclosure. It is just fascinating to see how nicely the monkeys take the food from your hand and put it in their mouth,” Kadam reported. “Needless to say that this was, for the students, the highlight of the last few days of the Japan trip.”
Rising senior Niki Iyer won the women’s age 17-18 3000-meter race in 10:05.08 at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships at Sacramento State University in late July! Check out this great interview with her as she recaps her motivation for the race and talks about her upcoming season at with the Harker team.