Study of Music and Spanish students came together to attend a special community concert celebrating Día de los Muertos on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. The San Francisco Symphony performed with Grammy winning Mexican-American singer-songwriter Lila Downs, and the show triggered thoughtful reactions from students who attended.
“I thought the concert was a great blend of classical and cultural music to please everyone of all ages and backgrounds,” said Jessica Zhu, grade 12. “ Lila Downs’ voice was powerful and soulful, as she told different stories and conveyed different feelings with each song.”
Vineet Kosaraju, grade 12, said the show complemented his classroom learning. “Before the concert, because I had never been to one before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” he said. “However, as soon as the concert started, I was immediately wowed by the powerful combination of music and culture, and I really enjoyed each of the pieces. As I had taken Spanish in the past, it was nice to relate the theoretical information about the celebration I learned in class to seeing the festive tradition in person.”
Other students also expressed positive reactions to the show. “I enjoyed how the music was adapted for an orchestra, which blended together Latin American and more traditional styles,” said Alex Yu, grade 9.
While Lawrence Li, grade 12, noted he “thought that the first half of the concert was mysterious, enchanting, but powerful at the same time,” Logan Bhamidipaty, grade 9, said he “found that Lila Downs’ voice in the second half reinvigorated the performance with a fresh, modern twist on classical Latin American music.” Great crossover outing!
Playoff season is in full swing! Athletes across numerous sports are setting personal and school records, while helping their teams earn spots in the CCS championships. Junior Niki Iyer is the reigning cross country champ, the football team finished the regular season with Harker’s best-ever record and various teams will compete in championship games this week. “Outstanding! My congratulations to all!” enthused Head of School Chris Nikoloff.
Here’s a look at the week ahead:
Cross Country
Niki Iyer, grade 11, won the girls varsity individual WBAL cross country crown for the second time in three years with a time of 17:48 at Crystal Springs – more than a full minute ahead of the second place finisher – making her the league champion! Another great performance was turned in by Alex Dellar, grade 12, who placed eighth out of 70-plus runners in the championships. The girls team qualified for the CCS Championships for the first time since 2008. That event will be held this Saturday at Crystal Springs. For the boys, sophomore Peter Connors led the way with his 25th place finish followed by senior Jack Rothschild in 29th, taking 2:30 off of his best course time. Over all, there were seven girls with personal bests and five boys. The girls team placed fifth in the meet; third overall in the league.
Football
Football ended its regular season Friday with a 50-7 victory at Richmond. The squad’s 8-2 record is the best in Harker history, and earned the team Harker’s second-ever NCS playoff bid. The boys drew a first round game at Fortuna High (a six-hour bus ride) this Friday. Congratulations boys and good luck in the playoffs!
Girls volleyball earned a No. 3 seed in this week’s CCS tournament, granting them a bye straight to the quarterfinals! That game will be held at Harker on Saturday night at 7 p.m. against the winner of the King’s Academy/Santa Cruz match. Admission of $8 for adults and $4 for students will be charged at all CCS matches. We’ll see you there Saturday!
Girls tennis drew a No. 8 seed in the CCS team championship and our doubles team of freshman Pam Duke and sophomore Lizzie Schick drew a Harker-best No. 2 seed in the doubles championship. Freshman Liza Egorova is the first alternate in the singles bracket. The team gets to host a second round match at our home site, Santa Clara Tennis Center, Tuesday at 2 p.m. vs. the winner of Sacred Heart/St. Ignatius. Please come show your support.
The boys water polo team ended its season with a third place league finish as a result of its 16-8 victory over Fremont. The team ended with a 15-9 overall record. Excellent season boys! The girls ended with a victory as well – a 18-6 win over Milpitas. Senior captain Yasemin Narin led the charge with six goals. Freshman goalkeeper Lily Wancewicz excelled in the cage with 10 saves for the Eagles. It was a great way to finish out the season, way to go ladies!
Golf
Remember to send good thoughts to Katherine Zhu, grade 10, as she competes in the NorCal tournament today in Salinas.
A Harker alum and student received nice mentions in Nuntius Californiensis, the official newsletter of the California Junior Classical League, regarding results at the 62nd National Junior Classical League Convention, held at Trinity University in Texas: Maya Nandakumar ’15 received the Jessie Chambers NJCL Scholarship, and Elisabeth Siegel, grade 12, was part of a multi-school advanced competitive Certamen team that took third place. Congrats to both women! Read on: http://cajcl.org/uploads/fall2015nuntius.pdf
“My mother was born just a few years before Mao died, living in a time when people kept the work ethic and spirit but not the stricter Socialist ideas. The life she spun in her stories possessed few physical luxuries, but was uniquely rich in spirit and ambition.” – Millie Lin
Last month, Millie Lin, grade 10, took first place in Family Travel Forum’s Teen Travel Writing Scholarship. Her piece, “Dirt-Caked Memories: A Story Revisited and Retold” was chosen from among 3,000 entries. In it, she details her journey back to the village in rural China where her mother spent her childhood. The poignant travelogue captures her mother’s memories of daily chores, rivalries with neighborhood children and growing up in Maoist China.
Entries were judged by professional writers, educators and journalists. Lin was awarded with a certificate and a $1,000 cash prize. Lin was thankful for the support of her teacher, Marc Hufnagl, who helped her with the essay by offering feedback in preparing it for submission.
This year’s fall play, “The Laramie Project,” saw the Harker Conservatory tackle some tough material with grace and style. Upper school drama teacher Jeffrey Draper directed this story about the 1998 kidnapping, beating and murder of a 21-year-old student in Laramie, Wyo. Due to the victim’s sexual orientation, the act was classified as a hate crime.
Compiled from interviews from Laramie’s citizens, members of the media and all manner of personalities surrounding the incident, the story plays out via a non-traditional structure in which “moments” are juxtaposed with one another. Every member of the cast worked overtime, portraying multiple characters, more than 60 in total, with a minimal set by Paul Vallerga meant to capture the open Wyoming plains.
The ever-present team of lighting designer Natti Pierce-Thomson, costume designer Caela Fujii and production manager Brian Larsen again came together to help produce this exceptionally powerful work. Several students also worked behind the scenes to produce the play, namely stage manager Aishu Murari, grade 12, sound board operator Zachary Wong, grade 9, video lead Tamar Sasson, grade 9, and light board operator Shilpa Repakula, grade 12.
Sophomore golfer Katherine Zhu shot a 69 en route to a third place overall finish at the CCS Girls Golf Championships – qualifying her for the NorCal tournament for the second year in a row. The girls team placed a very respectable eighth overall. Congratulations to the team on a great season, and let’s wish Katherine well as she competes against the best golfers in Northern California next week in Salinas.
The WBAL girls tennis tournament finals were held yesterday, with outstanding results. For only the second time in school history, we have league champions in doubles. Sophomore Lizzie Schick and freshman Pam Duke teamed up to place first overall in the doubles bracket! Freshman Liza Egorova placed third in singles, and the team of Gloria Guo, grade 10, and Izzy Gross, grade 12, placed fourth in doubles. Schick and Duke will represent Harker and the WBAL in the CCS individual tournament later this month.
San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 18, 2015 — Senior Sadhika Malladi and alumna Nitya Mani ’15 both received mayoral commendations for their outstanding projects showcased at the most recent Synopsys Science and Technology Championship.
SikhNet, Oct. 26, 2015 — Ameek Singh, grade 12, is featured in a story about Kids Tutoring Free, a tutoring service the he founded.
San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 15, 2015 – Senior Vineet Kosaraju is mentioned in the paper’s “School Scene” for being named a 2015 Davidson Fellow.
San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 8, 2015 – The Varsity Extra Highlight Reel recognized Shannon Richardson, grade 12, for her 18 kills in Harker’s 3-0 win against Menlo.
San Jose Mercury News, Sept. 30, 2015 – Harker girls volleyball reached the Mercury News Top 15. At the time, the team had a 6-6 record, only losing to ranked teams.
Grade 2 students recently had a great time painting and hand delivering some 100 colorful pumpkins to residents living near the lower school campus. They created the festive pumpkins on Oct. 23, then delivered them to the school’s immediate neighbors the following week.
The annual outreach and community service project is an expression of gratitude to the residents for being such good neighbors.
The painting took place in the lower school’s art room. The delivery entailed walking around the school’s neighborhood, leaving pumpkins and handwritten cards on porches or into the hands of the appreciative residents if they were home.
Showstoppers, the grades 7-8 girls dance team, was asked to perform at the 2015 Red Cross Innovation Celebration, which took place on Oct. 24. Showstoppers performed a great vampire-themed routine, despite having little time to prepare for this unexpected performance, as the girls were out for a week on the middle school class trips. Regardless of having little recovery time from their trips, the students were honored to have this opportunity and delivered a fabulous performance.
The Red Cross Innovation Celebration is the American Red Cross of the Silicon Valley’s annual fundraising event that benefits local emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts for Silicon Valley’s 2 million residents. Go Showstoppers!
Festive classroom parties and trick-or-treating around the schoolyards marked Harker Preschool’s third annual Halloween celebration, held in the late afternoon on Oct.29.
“Parents were encouraged to attend and participate,” shared Andrea Hart, director of Harker Preschool, adding that treats (non-food items) were passed out by Harker staff members.
Volunteer parents coordinated classroom parties and costumes were worn by nearly all of the students and teachers. “Everyone had a really good time!” recalled Hart.