On Monday, the boys golf team competed in the Marin Catholic Wildcat Invitational, which featured 23 of the Bay Area’s best high school golf teams.
Harker proved it had become one of the elite teams in Northern California by finishing third, trailing only powerhouses De La Salle and Campolindo. Dakota McNealy, grade 12, and brother Colt, grade 11, led the way for the Eagles, shooting a team-best 74 and 75, respectively, on the par 71 course.
“We fought through a very cold, rainy and windy day. We were all exhausted by end of a 12-hour plus day,” said coach Ie-Chen Cheng. “We’re trying to put them through every test possible to get them ready for the postseason. I’m proud of these kids.” No rest for the team though, as it travels to Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo to take on Crystal Springs Uplands today.
Preschool students had a special treat in store for them on March 18 as they, along with teachers and staff, headed to the campus lawn to participate in Dance Anywhere day, a simultaneous international celebration of dancing. Participants came together around lunchtime to dance 10 minutes away.
Dance Anywhere was started in 2005 by Bay Area dancer Beth Fein. True to its name, the annual celebration encourages anyone and everyone – be they amateur or professional – to dance in virtually any place, public or private.
More than 300 students from 14 schools participated in the 15th annual Diana Nichols Harker Math Invitational on March 6, with numerous Harker students earning high marks. In the grade 6 individual event, Rishab Parthasarathy took first place. For grade 7, Vivian Jin, Sidra Xu and Utkarsh Priyam took first, second and third, respectively.
In team competition, Harker students Vivian Jin, Luisa Pan, Srinath Somasundaram, Betsy Tian, George Wehner, Sidra Xu and Linus Zheng took second place in grade 7 level. For grade 8, Gabriel Chai, Allison Jia, Matthew Jin, Montek Kalsi, Shyl Lamba, Eileen Li and Sachin Shah took first place.
During the event, an estimation contest was held, in which contestants guessed the number of calories in a jar of candies. Harker student Luisa Pan, grade 7, won the contest by estimating a total of 15,780 calories. The actual number was 15,690.
The program began with Joseph Haydn’s “String Quartet Op. 64, No. 6 in E-Flat Major.” The opening movement’s sweet, flowing melodies made one wonder why this particular piece was, as second violinist Rachel Shapiro called it, “one of the lesser-performed works of his opus 64 set.” First violinist Nicholas Tavani seemed to be enjoying himself on stage. On more than one occasion, while deftly finding his way through Haydn’s winding melodies, he could be seen nearly removing himself from his seat.
The jaunt of the first movement was contrasted by the slow, delicate harmonies of the second – that is, before a sudden and stressed change of tempo added a sense of urgency to an otherwise peaceful proceeding. Aeolus’ ability to show both restraint and abandon was just one sign of the group’s musical maturity.
Shapiro described the fourth movement as “a lot of fun to play,” and it was easy to see why. Its reel-like pacing and infectious melodies seem as joyful to play as they are to hear. Challenging though it was, the young musicians never appeared to be performing for the purpose of displaying their formidable chops.
Bela Bartok’s “String Quartet No. 2” provided a counterbalance to Haydn’s joyous aplomb. Written during the horror of World War I, its dense, dreary and disjointed structure felt as though it was modeled after the chaos that surrounded its creation. As Tavani explained to the audience, the piece relies on heavy use of the minor third interval, which lent a sense of anxiety and dread to its three movements.
Frayed and frantic, the work’s second movement was a highlight of the evening. Its ever-changing pace was punctuated with intervallic leaps and tempo changes. Were it not for Aeolus’ virtuosity and vision, it may have fallen apart at any moment.
As Aeolus launched into Dvorak’s “String Quartet Op. 105 in A-Flat Major,” the mood in the auditorium shifted from dour to triumphant. In a lengthy explanation prior to the performance, violist Gregory Luce explained that the piece was written toward the end of the composer’s life, and expresses “the feeling of coming home after a long journey.” Indeed, it was easy to imagine the first movement playing as someone arrives home after a tour abroad, greeting old friends and familiar faces.
Things moved from excited to regal for the second movement, which maintained a ballroom-friendly waltz for most of its duration. It was here that the quartet seemed most at ease, allowing Dvorak’s brilliance to carry them along. Following the soft stroll of the third movement (Aeolus had more than once proved itself skillful at shifting gears), the quartet moved through the hurried intro to the fourth movement, which gave cellist Alan Richardson the chance to take the spotlight for a few moments. Jumping from pastoral nostalgia to fleet-fingered flights of fancy, it showcased Aeolus’ talents perhaps more suitably than any of the evening’s previous pieces. A fitting choice for a closer.
Staying undefeated, the boys golf team picked up victories over Menlo and Sacred Heart Prep last week. Avi Khemani, grade 11, led the way for the Eagles, shooting a 36 in the Eagles two stroke win over Menlo. Sandip Nirmel, grade 11, shot a 35 in the 188-212 win over SHP. The Eagles travel north to compete in the Marin Catholic Wildcat Invitational today.
Track and Field
The track and field team traveled to Sacred Heart Prep last week and did very well as it competed in its first WBAL meet of the year. The team of Aria Coalson, Gloria Guo and Grace Koonmen, all grade 10, and Sara Min, grade 9, set a new school record in the girls 400m relay. Niki Iyer, grade 11, continued her amazing year as she won the 1600m. Winnie Li, grade 11, took first in the high jump, as well as second in the 100m hurdles and third in the 300m hurdles. Anthony Contreras, grade 10, took second in the 200m, and tied with Lucas Wang, grade 11, for third in the long jump. Bill Liang, grade 11, won the 300m hurdles, his first ever first place finish. The Eagles will compete at the Firebird Invitational this weekend at Fremont High.
Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team fell to Saratoga 11-2 last week. This week, the team hosts Mercy Burlingame at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and travels to Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team defeated Priory 7-0 last week, before losing a tough match to Sacred Heart Prep 4-3 later in the week. This week, the Eagles face off with Menlo on Tuesday and Crystal Springs Uplands on Thursday, both at 4 p.m. at the Santa Clara Tennis Center.
Baseball
The boys varsity baseball team started last week with a tough 4-3 loss to Westmoor High, but finished the week with two big wins over Pinewood and O’Connell of San Francisco. In the 12-2 win over Pinewood, Dominic Cea, grade 10, led the way offensively as he drove in three runs. Cea was back at it again over the weekend against O’Connell, but this time on the mound, as he tossed a no-hitter, striking out 12 and walking two as Harker picked up the 3-0 victory. Trenton Thomas, grade 12, had the big hit for the Eagles, as he drove in two runs on a first-inning single. The Eagles will face Crystal Springs Uplands twice this week.
JV Baseball
Last week, the JV baseball team defeated James Lick 9-2 behind a strong 4 inning performance from Akhil Arun, grade 10, who earned the win. Tanay Kamat, grade 10, had two hits, scored two runs and pitched two shutout innings to close out the victory. The JV squad takes on Hillsdale today at 4pm at Blackford.
Swim
The swim team traveled to Sacred Heart Prep over the weekend to race in the Small School Invitational. Highlights included Alex Yu, grade 9, placing first in the 500 freestyle and Vivian Wang, grade 10, winning the 100 butterfly and taking second in the 100 breaststroke, qualifying for CCS with both times. In addition, the 200 medley relay team of Taylor Kohlmann, grade 10, Vivian Wang, grade 10, Grace Guan, grade 12, and Karen Tu, grade 12, finishing second with a CCS qualifying time. The next swim meet is April 7 at Menlo.
Softball
The varsity softball team suffered its first loss of the season last week as it fell to The King’s Academy 13-3. Alisa Wakita, grade 12, had two hits and an RBI in the loss. The Eagles travel to Gunderson High today and Fremont on Wednesday.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team fell to Mountain View High in three games last week before going 1-3 at the Campbell Classic hosted by Leigh High over the weekend, picking up a win over Seaside. The Eagles host Harbor High on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m., then are at Fremont on Wednesday, before coming back home on Friday to face off with Eastside College Prep.
MS Wrestling
Last week the middle school wrestling team competed in the Mission Hills Classic held at Santa Cruz High. Eric Bollar, grade 6, took first place in his weight class, with Dezi Johnson, grade 6, and Rohan Arora, grade 8, placing second in their weight classes.
The results from the California Math League contest held in February were recently released, and Harker’s high scores propelled them into several top spots at the both the regional and state levels. All three middle school teams (grades 6-8) placed first in Santa Clara County in their respective categories. State-wide, grade 6 placed fourth, grade 7 placed second and grade 8 took third. Congratulations!
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Harker middle school students received high scores in the California Math League contest held in mid-February. The contest consists of a 35-question test in which an individual score of 28 or higher is considered exceptional. Each school’s team score for each grade is a sum of that grade’s top five scores, with 175 being the highest possible score.
The grade 6 team score was 165, with Rishab Parthasarathy earning a perfect score of 35 and Alex Hu scoring 34. Other high scorers were Rohan Thakur with 33, William Zhao with 32 and Kevin Wang with 31.
For grade 7, Vivian Jin and Sidra Xu each contributed 33 points to team score of 160. Srinath Somasundaram scored 32 points, while George Wehner and Eric Zhu each scored 31.
Grade 8 also scored 160 points, with strong performances from Grace Huang (34 points), Vani Mohindra (33 points), Shyl Lamba (32 points) and Cynthia Chen (31 points). Other high scorers were Jeffrey Kwan, Eileen Li and Rakesh Nori, who each earned 30 points.
On March 11-12, the middle school’s performing arts department held its annual Dance Jamz show at the Blackford Theater and we have some great photos. Directed by Gail Palmer, the show featured dozens of dancers from grades 6-8 performing complex, energetic routines to popular songs by Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor, Tori Kelly and more. Choreography for the show was done by Palmer, Kimberly Teodoro, Brittany Watts, Kento Vo, Jessalynn Espiritu, Brianna Alday, Shakira Ortiz and Alexandra Venter. Enjoy!
Students from grades 5 and 12 met up on March 11 for their final Eagle Buddies event, as the seniors prepare to graduate this spring. The buddies met at the upper school gym before being sent off to eat St. Patrick’s Day themed cupcakes and play with noisemakers and beach balls.
“The first time I met [my grade 5 buddy, Max Blennemann], he was really shy and quiet, but at the end of that first meeting, we just connected,” said senior Raghav Jain, “and since then we send emails to each other to keep in touch.”
“It’s fun to see what older kids do … in high school and stuff,” said Blennemann.
“It’s really fun. I really enjoy connecting with the lower school. It’s like having a little sibling,” added Sophia Luo, grade 12.
Christopher Nikoloff, head of school, dropped by toward the end of the meeting to share his appreciation for the Eagle Buddies program, saying, “It’s very, very important to the community. It’s very, very important to the growth of our young students and I hope the growth of our older students as they look back and remember when they were kids.”
The Eagle Buddies program began during the 2010-11 school year and pairs students in grade 3 with a buddy in grade 10. The two students correspond and engage in activities together each year until the sophomores graduate and the grade 3 students enter the middle school.
Although the upper school soccer teams lost this year’s Kicks Against Cancer games to Menlo High School, the real winner was Camp Okizu. The nonprofit organization allows children with cancer to “just be a kid for a week” through camp experiences they otherwise would not be able to have.
The seventh-annual soccer match took place on Feb. 5, with the junior varsity boys, varsity girls, and varsity boys playing against their respective Menlo High School teams. The junior varsity boys lost 0-2, the varsity girls lost 0-3 and the varsity boys lost 1-4.
Sparsh Chauhan, grade 10, scored the only goal for Harker during the last game of the night. After the junior varsity boys finished their game, the varsity girls team presented a check for $1,500 to four visiting Camp Okizu families.
Grade 11 student Maile Chung, who helped organize the event, said, “Every year we host these games in order to raise money and awareness for cancer. All the proceeds that we gain are donated to families in order for them to send their child to Camp Okizu.”
Camp Okizu offers a free weeklong summer camp that gives cancer patients and their families a sense of normalcy and stability. To help raise money for the camp, Kicks Against Cancer onlookers had the opportunity to buy T-shirts and wristbands, make monetary donations and purchase yummy treats at a bake sale.
During halftime of the last game, spectators were given a chance to play “Butts Up” with some faculty members lined up on the goal line. Cheerleaders, meanwhile, performed a special routine.
Upper school women’s vocal group Cantilena, directed by music teacher Susan Nace, garnered another unanimous superior rating at the California Music Educators Association’s Spring Festival on March 12. The group earned superior ratings for their sight-reading ability as well as their performance. Comments heard after the performance were extremely positive, Nace reported, adding that one person in attendance commented, “Wow! Mature, wonderful tone quality. Incredible group!” while another noted, “I didn’t want to comment, I just wanted to listen.”
The current members of Cantilena are Izzy Gross, Madhu Karra, Naomi Molin, Sahana Narayanan, Akshaya Premkumar, Rachel Renteria and Helen Woodruff, grade 12; Priyanka Chilukuri, Mia Giammona, Era Iyer, Chetana Kalidindi, Pooja Kini, Sara Pachauri, Medha Shah, Amrita Singh and Tiffany Zhu, grade 11; and Krishna Bheda and Millie Lin, grade 10.