Last month, lower, middle and upper school dance groups got together for Just Dance, an annual performance for the Harker community. Groups who performed at the show were the grades 4-6 girls and boys group Dance Fusion, grades 7-8 girls group Showstoppers, grades 7-8 boys group High Voltage, the JV Dance Troupe, the grades 9-12 boys group Kinetic Krew and the Varsity Dance Troupe.
“Just Dance not only serves as another performance opportunity for our dancers,” said Kimberley Teodoro, K-8 dance teacher, “it’s a wonderful bonding experience for all of our dance teams from the lower school, middle school and high school that provides them with a sense of community and family.”
Nearly 50 middle school speech and debate students pitched in to help earn Harker the first place sweepstakes award at the Glendale Community College Tournament. The award is given to the top performing school at the tournament. In addition to the team award, Harker students had great success in each event as detailed below, making history as they won seven first place titles and numerous top five awards, said Karina Momary, director of middle school speech and debate.
“I wish you could have seen the parents when we landed. They had balloons, signs and flowers and were all waiting at baggage claim cheering,” she said. “The cooperation and teamwork displayed by our students was the true key to success. I have never seen them work as a team as well as they did this weekend. Special shout out to [performing arts teacher] Monica Colletti for giving up her weekend to attend as a chaperone/coach!”
Debate
In Lincoln-Douglas, the students discussed democracy promotion in the Middle East. The tournament advanced the top eight teams to the quarterfinals. Harker provided six of those eight teams. The students who advanced were Akhilesh Chegu, grade 6, Cat Zhao, grade 8, Akshay Manglik, grade 7, Annie Ma, grade 8, Montek Kalsi, grade 8, and Sachin Shah, grade 8. Kalsi and Shah each faced non-Harker students in the quarterfinals. They both won their rounds, making them co-champions of the tournament.
In public forum, the students discussed the prioritization of public infrastructure over means tested welfare. The tournament advanced the top 16 teams to the octofinals. Harker was third out of 16. Anshul Reddy, grade 6, and Krishay Mukhija, grade 7, were octofinalists. Amanda Cheung with Jason Pan, and Kenneth Liou with Jeremy Ding, all grade 8, were quarterfinalists. In addition, Liou was named fifth speaker and Pan was named seventh speaker.
In congressional debate, the students discussed Uber regulations, violent video games and mandatory paid family leave. Three Harker students were among the top 10 finishers. Nakul Bajaj, grade 8, earned second place; Reiya Das, grade 8, received third; and Andrew Sun, grade 7, received sixth place.
In policy debate, the students discussed domestic surveillance. The tournament advanced the top four teams. All three of our teams advanced. Deven Shah, grade 6, with Quentin Clark, grade 8, and Deven Parikh, grade 7, with Jai Bahri, grade 8, were named semifinalists. Jason Lin, grade 7, with Andy Lee, grade 7, were tournament champions. In addition Lee was third speaker, Bahri was fourth speaker and Clark was fifth speaker.
Speech
In impromptu, Shyl Lamba, grade 8, Anna Vazhaeparambil, grade 7, and Avi Gulati, grade 8, were among the six students who advanced to the final round. They were given three quotes and had to prepare a five-minute speech in two minutes. Gulati took first, Vazhaeparambil took fourth and Lamba took fifth.
In oratory, the students created their own 10-minute speech calling the audience to action. Harker took first and second places, with Arusha Patil, grade 7, in first and Gulati in second.
In declamation, Nikki Solanki, grade 8, advanced to the finals with her interpretation of a commencement speech and took second.
In dramatic interpretation, the tournament advanced six teams, including three from Harker. Harker also swept the top slots with Solanki in first, Bryan Wang, grade 8, in second and Katelyn Chen, grade 8, in third.
In storytelling, Gulati took first with his interpretation of a Berenstain Bears book.
In humorous interpretation, Aaditya Gulati, grade 6, advanced to the final round and received sixth place with his interpretation of toys escaping from the toy chest.
In prose, Solanki advanced to the finals and took first.
The middle school golf team took first place this week at the WBAL Spring Golf Tournament, beating out six other teams. With a top four average of 37.25, the Harker golfers edged out second place Nueva by a 4-stroke margin. Marcus Page, grade 6, placed first among all golfers shooting a 2-under-par 32, winning by 2 strokes. Katelyn Vo, grade 8, Natalie Vo, grade 7, and Bowen Yin, grade 7, each shot 39 to tie for sixth place.
Harker had five of the top 13 golfers in the field of 48 middle schoolers. In addition, for the first time in Harker history, three girls made the team of eight. “I am extremely proud of this group,” said coach Ie-Chen Cheng. “You can see it in their eyes, they wanted to bring the trophy back to Harker. After close losses at the past couple tournaments, their hard work really has paid off.”
Varsity Takes League Title
The boys varsity golf team also had a good week as it clinched its third consecutive league title. It was also the team’s second straight undefeated season, stretching its league winning streak to 22 matches! It is an extremely deep team with different golfers often leading the way during match play. Harker’s quest for a CCS title starts on May 10.
Earlier this month, sophomore Liana Wang was named one of 30 winners of an essay contest held by the New York City-based Joffrey Ballet School. As one of the winners (chosen from 1,200 entrants), and as a award-winning, accomplished dancer, Wang received a full scholarship to a two-week intensive jazz and contemporary dance program that will take place this summer.
“Liana is an incredibly talented dancer and performer,” noted Karl Kuehn, dance teacher, “and we are very fortunate to have her on the Varsity Dance Team, and as a Performing Arts Conservatory dance certificate candidate. Her strong work ethic, advanced technique, and exceptional performance skills identify her as an ideal candidate for this summer intensive program.”
The boys golf team took ninth place at the Aptos Tournament last week, with Scout McNealy, grade 9, leading the way with a 2-over-par 73 to place second individually. Colt McNealy, grade 11, had a good day as well, finishing tied for fifth. Later in the week, the Eagles defeated Crystal Springs Uplands with Ryan Vaughan, grade 11, shooting a team low 1-over-par 37. On Monday, the Eagles took down Sacred Heart Prep to stay unbeaten in league. Scout once again led the way, this time shooting a 1-over-par 37. The boys golf team takes on Pinewood on Tuesday.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team continues to roll in league play as it defeated Wilcox and Fremont last week, both in three games. The team is still undefeated and in first place in league. This week, the Eagles are at Eastside College Prep on Wednesday, home against Santa Clara on Friday and at the Habor Tournament on Saturday.
Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team fell to Woodside 13-2 last week. It’s a busy week for the Eagles as they travel to Mercy Burlingame on Tuesday, host Christian Brothers of Sacramento on Wednesday and then travel to Carlmont on Friday.
Baseball
The varsity baseball team dropped two high scoring games to Jefferson High last week. In a 12-8 loss, Trenton Thomas, grade 12, drove in two runs. Later in the week, Miles DeWitt, grade 12, had two hits and three RBIs in a 9-7 loss. This week the Eagles will play at Westmoor on Tuesday and host Westmoor on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Softball
The Eagles fell 6-2 to Castilleja last week, but Kristin LeBlanc, grade 10, had three hits and an RBI in the loss. This week the softball team is at Castilleja on Tuesday, followed by homes games on Wednesday versus Yerba Buena and Friday versus Pinewood.
Track and Field
Last Friday the track team competed at the CCS Top 8 event at Los Gatos High School. Anthony Contreras, grade 10, took second in the frosh soph 100m; Demonte Aleem, grade 9, hit a personal best by three feet in the shot put to place fifth; and Niki Iyer, grade 11, was fifth in the varsity girls 1600m, with her season best time of 4:59.55. The track team was back at it on Saturday as it headed to Mountain View to compete in the Saint Francis Invitational against some of the top athletes in Northern California. Contreras placed fifth in the varsity 100m, setting a personal best and sophomore school record as well. Bill Liang, grade 11, took home a fourth place finish in the 300m hurdles. Next up for the Eagles is a WBAL meet at King’s Academy on Wednesday.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team split its two matches last week, losing to Sacred Heart Prep 5-2, but defeating Crystal Springs Uplands 4-3. The team will travel to Menlo on Tuesday and then begin the WBAL tournament on Thursday.
Swimming
The Harker swimmers host King’s Academy on Wednesday. It is also Senior Day, so come support our graduating Eagles. The festivities start at 3:40 p.m., and the meet starts at 4 p.m.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
1996
Jeremy Kerr and his wife, Jennifer, had a baby. Please see the Celebrations section for details.
1997
In January Will Jarvis was featured in an article in the Napa Valley Register about Jarvis Estate winery, which he runs with his father in the Napa Valley. To view the article: http://bit.ly/1oXw48Y. 2003 Amit Saxena got married. Please see the Celebrations section for details.
2003
Amit Saxena got married. Please see the Celebrations section for details.
2004
Neil Bhalerao is getting married. Please see the Celebrations section for details.
2005
Kristen (Hulberg) Hunsbedt got married last May. “My husband (Mark) and I got married in the Santa Cruz Mountains near our home. I also got my M.A. in counselor education in 2014 from San Jose State, and I’m working as a college and career counselor at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville,” she said.
Liat Noten started an abstract art and photography business, using digital photography to create art that she said is full of heart, energy, vibrancy and wonder. “I’m interested in abstract and conceptual photography because it allows me to play and imagine even before I’ve picked up my camera. I’m always on the lookout for new ways to create digitally,” she said. Check out her website at: http://www.artislifeitself.com/.
The Class of 2005 held its reunion on Dec. 22, 2015 at The Old Pro in Palo Alto. Classmates enjoyed catching up over a nice dinner.
2006
Amit Mukherjee, a senior associate at New Enterprise As- sociates (NEA), was included on Forbes magazine’s prestigious “30 Under 30” list of of the 2016 young movers and shakers in the venture capital category. Amit has worked at NEA since 2012, overseeing more than $500 million of invested capital. A leading source for reliable business news and financial information, Forbes is well known for its annual lists and rankings. The “30 Under 30” list prides itself on predicting the brightest and most ambitious young adults to watch in the coming year. Congratulations, Amit!
In the winter 2015 issue of Harker Quarterly, we ran a note about Steve Boyle designing and directing a show called “Matthew Briar and the Age of Resurrection.”
Steve is a graduate of Harker’s Conservatory program and has produced several shows recently. In early March he returned to the upper school to speak with performing arts students about his career and life in the arts.
Rohini Venkatraman began working as a business designer at the award-winning global design and consulting firm IDEO last year. She recently helped arrange a visit to Harker’s middle school by IDEO representatives who were interested in observing classrooms there. For more information on the IDEO visit to Harker, see page 28 for a feature story on the middle school’s new “moveable classrooms.”
Michael Hammersly, a materials and processing engineer at SpaceX, was the official announcer for the SpaceX launch! Check out the webcast at http://bit.ly/1Ph7CXS. The video was streamed live on Dec. 21. SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. With this mission, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket delivered 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit.
Arvind Ravinutala and Nirav Chitkara stopped by the alumni relations office to say hello while visiting with former teachers on the upper school campus.
2009
Anu Ramachandran was one of two Johns Hopkins University students selected to spend next year pursuing a graduate degree in the United Kingdom after winning the highly competitive Marshall Scholarship. A third-year Hopkins medical student, Anu will study public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She was among 32 U.S. students selected as Marshall Scholars out of 916 applicants this year. Funded by the British government, the prestigious scholarship allows high-achieving scholars to undertake postgraduate studies in the U.K. program of their choice, with the goal of nurturing future leaders and strengthening British-American collaborations.
2010
The Class of 2010 held its reunion on the evening of Dec. 26 at BJ’s Restaurant in Cupertino. A great time was had by all!
2011
Harker Conservatory graduate James Seifert appeared in a Stanford University play. Seifert was also active in speech and debate, sang in the All-National Honor Choir in Washington, D.C., in 2011, and earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Obama in 2011.
To read an article about him that appeared in the Palo Alto Weekly: http://bit.ly/21E3kTM.
The Class of 2011 held its five-year reunion on Dec. 26 at Tied House in Mountain View. The evening was filled with fun filled memories and delicious food.
2012
Govi Dasu started a consultancy (abhigoviconsulting.com) that helps entrepreneurs build Web and mobile applications for their early startup ideas. “It’s pretty amazing how Harker has a business department now. At Harker, I didn’t really understand the value of the Harker network, but after Stanford, I realize how powerful both schools’ networks are. Harker is actually more powerful because it so tightly knit,” said Govi, who is offering a 5 percent commission on all project referrals. So far, several of his clients have come from the Harker community!
2013
Joe Wang is studying real estate finance at New York University and also raising funding for a food curation startup on the East Coast. Joe recently moved and is now living in Brooklyn. He is in touch with Caroline Lai, who also attends NYU. Joe stopped by to visit the alumni relations office and volunteered to become an alumni mentor for seniors interested in learning more about NYU and New York.
Lorraine Wong, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined other women representatives from the private research university to talk to local middle school girls about engineering. They discussed examining DNA from a strawberry that clumped and separated from an extraction process, among other topics.
Maverick McNealy is a regular in Harker Quarterly for his breaking golf news. In January the Stanford golfer made a guest appearance at a mandatory upper school spring sports meeting for parents and athletes. He spoke to them about his athletic experience and the lessons he has learned from playing sports.
Molly Wolfe was a White House intern last summer and is now at the London School of Economics for her junior year at Vanderbilt University.
A number of alumni from the Class of 2013 had a great time playing an informal pickup game during one of Harker’s varsity soccer team’s practices over the holiday break. Joining in the fun were several other alums from the classes of 2012, 2014 and 2015.
2015
Corey Gonzales took a gap year to travel around South America by motorcycle. While home for the holidays, Corey returned to Harker to present to an upper school Spanish 4 class. Corey plans to attend Harvard in the fall.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
1985
In the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly, we ran a feature story about Judge John Owens’ appointment to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the nation’s largest appeals court.
On Dec. 2, he visited Harker’s lower school where he talked with the third graders about his life as a judge. And in early March, he spoke to the upper school student body during a morning assembly titled “Honors and Ethics,” sponsored by the Honor Council.
Class agent Loren Due and class committee member Kalei Kelly recently dropped by the alumni relations office for an informal lunch and to reminisce over yearbooks.
Jon Mays is keeping busy as editor of the San Mateo Daily Journal, where he has worked for many years. The Daily Journal is the leading local news coverage on the Peninsula. To view the paper: www.smdailyjournal.com.
Pat Walsh, longtime Harker math teacher and former boarding school supervisor, recently caught up with Humberto Armenta, who came to Harker’s boarding school from Monterrey, Mexico, as a fifth grader in 1981-82. Over a leisurely dinner, Humberto filled Pat in on his work over the past two decades as owner of a successful construction company called REC- SA (Regiomontana de Construcción y Servicios) in Mexico. “Having dinner with him, his daughter Anna (16) and son Humberto (10) the Friday before the Super Bowl was a blast! My wife, Terry, was there. She was the dorm house- parent at the time, so she knew Humberto well, too. My son Kevin [’01] was also at dinner. Humberto was in town to take some clients and his children to the Super Bowl. He has three other children, but they did not make the trip,” recalled Pat, adding that he and Humberto plan to stay in touch.
1988
Joe Tremba is married to Amanda Hubber and living in Valley Village, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. They are having fun playing with their new, very small puppy named Porkchop.
1993
Found at last! The missing Class of 1993 time capsule was located while excavating to move the oak trees on Rosenthal Field. Facility manager Mike Bassoni and his crew found the long-lost 1993 time capsule. “It’s quite large, currently stored in the alumni closet, and the Class of 1993 is considering either a capsule-opening party, or a big 25 year reunion/capsule-opening bash!” said Karri Baker ’84, director of alumni relations.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
1940
Katrine “Trinkie” Watson attended Miss Harker’s School from 1939-40, and participated in its summer boarding program. Trinkie is now a successful real estate agent serving the luxury Lake Tahoe market. A San Francisco native, Trinkie spent her first seven years in Woodside and then lived in San Francisco until her move to Lake Tahoe in 1966. She fondly recalled making jam in a class at Miss Harker’s and giving it to her mother when she came to visit.
On Earth Day 2016, grade 8 students paid a special visit to their preschool friends for the very first Eco Buddies event. In a number of cottages, the middle schoolers set up stations to demonstrate various ecological concepts. One station demonstrated the concept of solar power by having a solar-power operated toy car move around when light was shone on it. At another station, eighth graders used a sock puppet (a stand-in for a worm) to explain Harker’s “wet/dry” waste disposal program: anything that the worm ate would go into the “wet” bin, while anything the worm rejected was headed to the “dry” bin. Other students cobbled together bird houses, made water filters and cut out makeshift helicopters that twirled to the ground when dropped.
The Eco Buddies event – the largest preschool buddy event to date — was set up by preschool science teacher Robyn Stone, who is also the preschool representative of the Harker Green Committee. Emboldened by the success of the upper school STEM Buddies program, Stone decided to reach out to middle school science teacher Kristin Morgensen to help kick off the Eco Buddies program. It is notable for being the first preschool buddies program to have 3-year-olds meet students from another division. “Eco Buddies is unique because it is a program for all of our preschoolers, even the youngest ones,” Stone said.
“I thought that this was a really cool buddy program, especially since we don’t do very many at middle school,” said Tasha Moorjani, grade 8. “I liked it a lot, for the most part, and my favorite bit was when I realized that the kids were genuinely interested, because it made me really excited to teach them.”
Based on the success of the Earth Day event, Stone would like to see the engagement between the two divisions continue. “Now that Preschool has buddy programs with the other three divisions, I hope that the older students are inspired to continue engaging in these buddy programs as they progress at Harker,” said Stone.
The 2016 Spring Orchestra Concert, featuring the middle and upper school orchestras, took place April 8 at De Anza College’s Visual & Performing Arts Center. The Grade 6 Orchestra, directed by Dave Hart, started the evening off with the iconic theme from “Star Wars” and a collection of favorites from the “Harry Potter” films.
Following a series of special performances by chamber groups, the Grades 7-8 Orchestra, also directed by Hart, performed pieces by Johannes Brahms and George Gershwin, as well as a medley of pieces from “The Empire Strikes Back.”
Director Chris Florio and The Harker School Orchestra delivered the final performances of the evening, with a set that included a series of dances from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” and a rousing rendition of the “William Tell Overture.”