Thanks to a nationwide effort co-sponsored by Harvest Snaps and Table for Two (TFT), Harker’s middle school students were able to help combat hunger simply by enjoying free samples of Harvest Snaps snacks handed out by members of the Academic and Cultural/Cuisine Exchange (ACE Club).
The ACE Club, co-led by Jennifer Walrod, director of global education, and middle school math teacher Kathy Pazirandeh, coordinated the arrival and distribution of the snack donations. They were handed out to students during lunchtime last month.
For each snack handed out, Harvest Snaps donated 25 cents to TFT to provide healthy school meals for children in East Africa, as well as in low-income communities in the U.S. ACE Club members raised $250 by distributing 1,000 bags of Harvest Snaps, reported Walrod.
By participating, Harker students had the opportunity to learn about healthy eating habits while providing nutritional school meals for malnourished children. The goal of the program was to elevate awareness on both childhood hunger and obesity around the world.
Through their partnership, Harvest Snaps and TFT raised enough money nationwide to provide more than 100,000 school meals to African children in Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia, as well as in the U.S. In Africa, 25 cents funds one school meal for a child, and in the U.S. it enables school meal upgrades for healthier options in low-income neighborhoods.
“It was fun – and easy!” recalled Walrod, sharing that ACE Club members had created a PowerPoint about the project, which they presented at a schoolwide meeting in advance of the effort.
ACE Club members Jackie Hu, Ritika Rajamani and Niecey Atwood, all grade 6, called the project a great way to have fun while helping others.
“It’s a creative way to not only advertise their project but to raise awareness of the needs of good school lunches. We have good lunches but other schools do not,” said Rajamani.
“It’s something where you can be social and raise awareness of a good cause,” added Atwood.
According to TFT statistics, of the more than 7 billion people in the world, 1 billion suffer from hunger and malnutrition, while 2 billion are overweight or obese.
Also this week, the boys water polo team was named as the CIF State Academic Team Champion. Teams with the highest collective grade point average in their respective sport are rewarded with a CIF State Academic Team Champion banner. The Eagles led all boys water polo teams in California with a 3.77 GPA.
Harker has been sending fourth graders to the Coloma Outdoor Discovery School (CODS) to learn about the California Gold Rush for more than 20 years. This year, 17 Harker faculty members attended as chaperones, while students spent several adventurous days experiencing what it was like to be a gold miner.
The annual spring sojourn to Coloma is a highlight of the school year for grade 4 students. Located on the south fork of the American River, Coloma is where gold was first discovered in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. Today, Coloma is a designated National Historic Landmark District and tourist attraction best known for its ghost town and Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.
On the first day of the trip, the students had a fun time settling in and creating a Gold Rush encampment, recalled Kristin Giammona, elementary school head. “They built a shelter, washed laundry, baked cornbread and panned for gold. They finished the day with a hoedown and campfire,” she said.
On day two, the students ventured into the town of Coloma and visited the state park. There students learned about the plants and animals of the Sierra foothills. The evening was capped off by a Native American storyteller who brought native life and local lore alive for the students.
“On the last day, students talked about the 49ers of today – themselves! They learned that what they need to survive hasn’t changed very much … or has it?” said Giammona.
In mid-May, grade 7 students, on the threshold of reaching their much-anticipated “senior status” at the middle school, participated in some special activities alongside their advisors.
“We were very fortunate to have had facilitators from Synergy Learning Systems, a team and leadership development company who works with clients worldwide, here to guide and direct us all through many interesting activities,” recalled Cindy Ellis, middle school head.
Synergy Learning Systems has worked with many of Silicon Valley’s largest companies, as well as with startups, nonprofits and student groups. They use fun and challenging activities paired with thoughtful facilitation to promote learning in leadership and communication, reported Ellis.
The Harker middle school students were encouraged to participate in a series of experiential learning exercises designed to foster their understanding of many different styles of leadership and communication. During these activities, students were asked to engage fully, step outside their comfort zone to promote growth and reflect on each activity to highlight key concepts.
“One of Synergy’s core values is the mantra ‘challenge by choice.’ Though we asked all students to participate fully, they individually determined how to engage with these activities while taking care not to detract from other students’ learning,” said Ellis.
After an informative morning of activities, the students enjoyed a celebratory Mexican lunch fiesta while Ellis discussed what it would be like to become members of the middle school’s senior class. Students were then invited to relax and enjoy a movie, as well as engage in a fun “selfie” station, complete with props.
“The day was enriching and fun – just like eighth grade will be for this exceptional class!” said Ellis.
Throughout the school year, lower school students participated in an engaging global education exchange program with their peers at the Bayan Gardens School (BGS) in Saudi Arabia. As part of that effort, students in Sejal Mehta’s grade 2 class held an informal Skype session with the BGS students in April.
Prior to the Skype session, the Harker students had watched videos created by the BGS students about their culture and school, as well as read a book about BGS (also created by the Saudi Arabian students). During the Skype session, students from both schools gave tours of their classrooms and participated in a fun and informative question and answer exchange.
“The global education department looks forward to hosting more of these Skype sessions in the lower school during the coming school year!” said Jennifer Walrod, director of global education.
The boys volleyball team started off the season losing eight of its first 10 nonleague games, but dramatically turned things around when they started league play, winning a league title with a perfect 10-0 record and qualifying for CCS. It was the fourth league title for the boys volleyball program in school history, and the first since 2009.
In the first round of CCS, the Eagles hosted Westmont in a five-game battle that eventually went to the Warriors. All told, they ended their season with a 16-12 record.
Luke Wu, grade 12, thinks this team is only going to get better. “Next year, I know they will go to greater heights! With so much raw talent and such young players, I know that they will only get better and improve in skill,” he said.
Playing in the SCVAL, Andrew Gu, grade 11, was named league MVP; Ray Song was named Junior of the Year; Chris Gong and Charlie Molin were co-Freshman of the Year; Song, Gong, Molin and Jonathan Schwartz, grade 11, were named to the first team; Wu, Jarrett Anderson, grade 9, and Kurt Schwartz, grade 12, were named to the second team. In addition, the team was a CCS scholastic champion with a 3.6760 GPA.
Boys Tennis
It was an exciting year for the boys tennis program. Competing at the California Tennis Classic in Fresno early in the season, the Eagles went 1-2, but there was more to this weekend than just numbers. After winning the division 4 championship in the tournament last year, the Eagles were moved up two divisions to face some of the best teams in the state. Their sole victory came against defending section champ Clovis West, proving that they could play with the big boys.
The team then finished the season in third place in the WBAL, which produced a CCS berth. In their first-round matchup, the Eagles were able to defeat Santa Cruz 5-2. However, their season ended in the next round of CCS as Gunn High defeated Harker 5-2.
Claiming All-League honors were Ronak Baldua, grade 12, and David Wen, grade 10, making the first team; Edward Tischler, grade 11, and Gary Tsai, grade 10, earning second team honors; and Randy Zhao, grade 10, earning an honorable mention. Coach John Fruttero was enthusiastic about this group, calling them “the closest and hardest-working team that I have coached at the upper school.”
Swimming
The 2016 swim season was full of amazing individual and team achievements. Jack Farnham, grade 11, was the league champ in the 100 backstroke; the girls 200 medley relay and 400 free relay team of sophomores Taylor Kohlmann and Vivian Wang, and seniors Grace Guan and Angela Huang took second at the league finals; Guan took third in the girls 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke; Michael Auld, grade 11, was third in the boys 500 freestyle; and the boys 400 free relay team of Farnham, Auld, Justin Culpepper, grade 11, and Alex Yu, grade 9, was third in league.
And then there was Vivian Wang! Wang was the league champion in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, as well as second in CCS in the 200 individual medley (IM) and 100 freestyle, which sent her to the state finals, where she placed fourth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 100 freestyle! Swimming at state was “such an experience to remember because it was both exhilarating and nerve-wracking,” said Wang. “I made so many new friends and created so many fun memories that I will never forget.”
All these amazing performances led to many All-League selections as well. Wang was named WBAL Girls Most Outstanding Swimmer, Guan was a first team selection, and Huang and Kohlmann earned second team honors. On the boys side, Auld and Farnham were named to the first team, Yu to the second team and Culpepper received an honorable mention. In addition to their prowess in the pool, both the boys and girls swim teams were CCS scholastic champions with a 3.5441 and 3.8451 GPA, respectively. “We had a very committed core who were encouraged by their improvements,” said coach Tania Chadwick. “By the end of the season it was great to see swimmers come together showing their team unity and camaraderie as they supported each other during practice and meets.”
Softball
The Harker softball team started the year on fire as it went 4-0 in its first four games, winning each game by an average of nine runs! The Eagles would finish the season tied for fourth in the WBAL with a 6-10 overall record. Leading the team offensively were Grace Park, grade 11, and Kristin LeBlanc, grade 10. Park led the Eagles in RBIs (15), doubles (6) and home runs (2). LeBlanc led the team in hits (22), runs (17) and batting average (.537). “I’m already excited for next year and I think that we have a very good shot of making CCS,” said LeBlanc.
Harker softball was well represented on the WBAL All-League Team as LeBlanc and Anika Rajamani, grade 9, were named to the first team, Park and Marti Sutton, grade 11, to the second team, and Alisa Wakita, grade 12, received an honorable mention.
Girls Lacrosse
It was a tough season for the girls lacrosse team as team members played their hearts out through a 2-18 season. After coaching the team for nine years, Andrew Irvine took on an assistant coach role with the birth of his daughter. “I am so proud of the all the girls for pulling the team together during this transition and keeping the program moving forward,” said Irvine.
In addition to being a CCS scholastic champion, leading all CCS girls lacrosse teams with a 3.9098 GPA, the team also received many All-League awards. Alayna Richmond, grade 11, was the Defender of the Year in the WBAL Skyline Division; Elise Mayer, grade 9, received second team honors; and Taylor Iantosca, grade 11, and Natasha Mayor, grade 12, received honorable mentions.
Baseball
The varsity baseball team ended its season with a 9-13 record, but the future looks promising for this team. With only three graduating seniors on a 19-man roster, a solid core of players will return next year. “Even though we will only have one senior next year, we’ll have eight to nine juniors, all of whom will be beginning their third year on varsity,” said coach Mike Delfino. “So, we’re definitely optimistic about the next few years.” Miles DeWitt is one of the seniors leaving the team this year. He led the team in RBIs. “I would always give an extra effort because I knew I wanted to finish my last year playing hard,” said DeWitt.
The team was a CCS scholastic champion this year, leading all CCS baseball teams with a 3.7519 GPA. Also, there were many Eagles on the PAL All-League team. Nate Kelly, grade 10, and DeWitt were first team selections, while Dominic Cea, grade 10, Varun Haltore, grade 11, and Matt Kennedy, grade 10, were named to the second team. “I am proud of the efforts each of the players put into the season,” said Delfino. “These guys worked hard and steadily improved as the season went along.”
Track and Field
It was one of the best years in Harker history for the track and field team! Every meet seemed to produce multiple personal and/or school records. At the WBAL finals, the Eagles had 14 season bests, and five athletes earned trips to the CCS championships. Davis Dunaway, grade 11, took first in the pole vault and second in the 300-meter hurdles in the WBAL finals. At CCS, Dunaway cleared his opening vault and placed seventh in his 300-meter hurdle heat. Demonte Aleem, grade 9, took first in the WBAL in the shot put and was the only freshman thrower at CCS, where he finished 28 out of 34 athletes, setting the school record in the process. Kevin Wang, grade 12, finished second in the WBAL in the discus, earning a trip to CCS. Anthony Contreras, grade 10, finished second in both the 200 and 400 at the league finals, and placed fifth and sixth respectively in his heats in each event, but did not make the cut for the finals. The boys team finished the year with a 3.4807 GPA, making it a top five scholastic champion. Finally, Niki Iyer, grade 11, continued her amazing career as she won both the 1600 and 3200 league finals. She went on to compete in the 3200 at CCS and the state finals, winning at CCS and placing third at state.
Iyer was named the WBAL Girls Track MVP and a first team selection. Dunaway and Aleem also were first team selections, with Wang and Contreras earning second team honors.
Boys Golf
What a year for the boys golf team! They were WBAL champs for the third consecutive year and enjoyed a second-straight undefeated season, which included 22 consecutive league wins. They had a second place finish at CCS, third place finish at NorCals, and sixth place at state. As for individual honors, Ryan Vaughan, grade 11, was named WBAL player of the year; Avi Khemani, grade 11, was named to the WBAL first team; and Dakota McNealy, grade 12, Colt McNealy, grade 11, Scout McNealy, grade 9, and Sandip Nirmel, grade 11, were all named to the second team.
Congratulations to Model United Nations coach Carol Green, who recently was named a Diamond Coach Award winner by the National Speech & Debate Association. Green was one of 22 coaches who received the award, which recognizes success and time served.
“Model UN students still earn points towards degrees in the National Speech & Debate Association,” said Green, who recently shifted roles and began coaching Model UN after several years as Harker’s speech and debate chair. “So I am still an active coach in the organization.” Green and 21 other Diamond Coach Award winners will be honored next week at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Salt Lake City.
Each year, as a special send-off to students in grades K-3, Harker’s BEST department hosts a Kiddie Carnival. Held onsite on the last day of school, the celebration is the student’s final school-sponsored activity of the year.
The 36th annual event, which took place on June 3, was called “Down on the Farm.” Students and faculty came dressed in farm-related attire for the carnival, which included a petting zoo, snow cones, games, prizes and more.
The day ended with a noon dismissal, with teachers wishing students a fond farewell and a fabulous summer.
“It has been another incredible year … and this event was a great opportunity to show our appreciation to the students!” said Kim Cali, BEST director for the lower school, speaking on behalf of the entire BEST team.
Michael Zhao, another 2016 graduate, was recently named a 2016 winner of a National Merit Scholarship, bringing the total number of winners to 13. Congratulations!
Update: June 9, 2016
Three more members of the Class of 2016 have won National Merit Scholarships, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced in early June. These college-sponsored scholarship winners are Stephanie Huang (Northwestern University), Joshua Hung (University of Southern California) and Jonathan Dai (Northwestern University).
This announcement brings the total number of National Merit Scholarship winners from the 2016 senior class to 12.
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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation just announced this year’s $2,500 National Merit Scholarship winners, and six Harker seniors are among them. Karen Qi, Evan Lohn, Vivek Bharadwaj, Victoria Ding, Anika Mohindra and Allison Wang were among 2,500 scholarship winners nationwide, who were chosen from more than 15,000 finalists.
Last month, seniors Emily Pan, Esther Wang and Vineet Kosaraju were among 1,000 students nationwide to receive corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in June and July.
More than 1.5 million high school students were entered into this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program after taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in October 2014. Less than 1 percent of these students went on to the semifinal round of the competition, and 15,000 of those were named finalists. To be eligible for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists must demonstrate good academic standing, be recommended by a school official and receive scores on their SAT exams consistent with their performance on the qualifying tests. They must also complete an application that details the awards they’ve received, their extracurricular activities and leadership positions they have held.
Rosenthal Field transformed: The power shovels are piling up the last of the debris for removal as the demolition phase of building the new Harker School performing arts and athletic centers wraps up. Stay tuned for updates as interesting milestones are reached!
Beginning in June 2016 Harker launched two new state-of-the art building projects on the upper school campus, the result of a $45M capital campaign. The 33,000 square-foot athletic center, opening August 2017, features a 12,000 sq.-ft. gym, athletic training room with advanced hydrotherapy unit, and spacious team rooms. The Rothschild Performing Arts Center, opening spring of 2018, features a 450-seat theater with fly loft and hydraulic orchestra pit, a state of the art scene shop, vocal, instrumental, theater/musical theater classrooms and dressing rooms. For more information visit the news and video links below or contact communications@harker.org