Wrestlers qualified for CCS, the soccer season is wrapping up and the girls basketball team had a Senior Night to remember. Let’s get to the scores!
Wrestling
For the second year in a row, sophomore Davis Howard qualified for CCS with a fifth place finish at the league wrestling championships. Freshman Anthony Contreras, meanwhile, will be second alternate for CCS after an eighth place finish, becoming only the fourth freshman in Harker’s history to place at the varsity level in league finals. Catch Howard and Contreras at CCS the weekend of Feb. 27!
Soccer
The girls just missed qualifying for the playoffs after losing to Notre Dame and Kings Academy to finish 7-8-1 overall.
Last week, the boys defeated Eastside College Prep 5-3 thanks to two goals from junior Omar Hamade and one apiece from seniors Eric Roxlo, Jeremiah Anderson and Alan Guo. Earlier this week, the team defeated Woodside Priory 4-2; it will take on Sacred Heart Prep today.
Basketball
The boys squad lost a heartbreaker against Pinewood last week on a last second shot 52-49 but rebounded with a dramatic 65-52 victory over Eastside College Prep to improve to 13-9 overall.
After Crystal Spring forfeited last week, the girls enjoyed a memorable Senior Night with an intersquad scrimmage. Team Green defeated Team White! Unfortunately, the girls lost to King’s Academy this week to fall to 12-10.
During the final two days of January, Harker’s Model UN team took top honors at the Santa Clara Valley Model United Nations Conference, where it represented Israel. Shannon Hong and Sophia Luo, both grade 11, received the gavel and were named the UN Environmental Program’s most outstanding delegation. Meanwhile, sophomores Melinda Wisdom and Sandip Nirmel received recognition as an outstanding delegation in the Security Council, and Haley Tran, grade 10, was verbally commended for her work in the UN Social and Humanitarian Committee.
Harker was a big winner in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, with students collecting more than 30 Regional Gold Key awards.
These works are under consideration for national medals. National medal winners are invited to attend a special event in New York City and also have the opportunity to have their works exhibited and published nationally.
This year’s Regional Gold Key winners, and the categories in which they won, are:
Kaity Gee, grade 11, four awards for her entries in Personal Essay/Memoir, Poetry and Flash Fiction
Shannon Hong, grade 11, three awards for her entries in Photography and Personal Essay/Memoir
Jeffrey Hsu, grade 12, one award for his entry in Design
Doreene Kang, grade 11, one award for her entry in Drawing and Illustration
Kevin Ke, grade 11, two awards for his entries in Drawing and Illustration
Johnathon Keller, grade 11, two awards for his entries in Photography
Safia Khouja, grade 12, one award for her entry in Photography
Sarisha Kurup, grade 10, two awards for her entries in Short Story and Flash Fiction
Suzy Lou, grade 12, two awards for her entries in Poetry
Maya Nandakumar, grade 12, two awards for her entries in Flash Fiction and Personal Essay/Memoir
Sahana Narayanan, grade 11, one award for her entry in Poetry
Archana Podury, grade 12, two awards for her entries in Drawing and Illustration
Andrew Rule, grade 10, two awards for his entries in Short Story
Ravuri Sindhu, grade 12, one award for her entry in Journalism
Meilan Steimle, grade 10, one award for her entry in Digital Art
Catherine Wang, grade 8, one award for her entry in Drawing and Illustration
Kelly Wang, grade 12, three awards for her entries in Digital Art and Drawing and Illustration
Madelyn Wang, grade 12, one award for her entry in Photography
Jessica Yang, grade 12, two awards for her entries in Digital Art
In addition, many students earned Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions for their submissions.
Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions in Writing were awarded to:
Tiara Bhatacharya, grade 12, Silver Key in Poetry, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Poetry
Arushee Bhoja, grade 8, Silver Key in Science Fiction/Fantasy, Honorable Mention in Flash Fiction
Hannah Bollar, grade 12, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Poetry
Gwyneth Chen, grade 9, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Poetry
Kaity Gee, grade 11, Silver Key in Flash Fiction, four Honorable Mentions for entries in Critical Essay, Poetry and Journalism
Alexa Gross, grade 10, Honorable Mention in Personal Essay/Memoir
Shannon Hong, grade 11, Silver Key in Poetry, Honorable Mention in Critical Essay
Vineet Kosaraju, grade 11, Honorable Mention in Poetry
Sarisha Kurup, grade 10, Silver Key in Short Story
Shay Lari-Hosain, grade 11, even Honorable Mentions for entries in Journalism, Personal Essay/Memoir and Poetry
Lauren Liu, grade 10, Honorable Mention in Science Fiction/Fantasy
Suzy Lou, grade 12, two Silver Keys for entries in Poetry and Critical Essay, Honorable Mention in Poetry
Sophia Luo, grade 11, Silver Key in Personal Essay/Memoir, three Honorable Mentions for entries in Humor and Poetry
Ethan Ma, grade 12, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Poetry
Maya Nandakumar, grade 12, three Silver Keys for entries in Personal Essay/Memoir and Poetry, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Critical Essay and Short Story
Sahana Narayanan, grade 11, Silver Key in Personal Essay/Memoir
Evani Radiya-Dixit, grade 10, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Poetry
Sindhu Ravuri, grade 12, Silver Key in Journalism
Sophia Shatas, grade 12, Silver Key in Poetry, Honorable Mention in Personal Essay/Memoir
Elisabeth Siegel, grade 11, two Silver Keys for entries in Poetry and Critical Essay, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Poetry
Meilan Steimle, grade 10, Silver Key in Short Story, Honorable Mention in Flash Fiction
Mariam Sulakian, grade 12, Silver Key in Personal Essay/Memoir
Alice Wu, grade 11, Honorable Mention in Personal Essay/Memoir
Menghua Wu, grade 12, Honorable Mention in Poetry
Daphne Yang, grade 11, Silver Key in Poetry
Tiffany Zhu, Grade 10, Silver Key in Short Story
Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions in Visual Arts were awarded to:
Avni Barman, grade 12, Honorable Mention in Painting
Hannah Bollar, grade 12, Honorable Mention in Drawing
Eric Cheung, grade 12, three Silver Keys for entries in Architecture
Emma Doherty, grade 11, Silver Key in Photography
Alexa Gross, grade 10, three Silver Keys and one Honorable Mention for entries in Photography and Drawing
Vance Hirota, grade 7, Honorable Mention
Matthew Ho, grade 12, Silver Key in Drawing
Jeffrey Hsu, grade 12, two Silver Keys and one Honorable Mention for entries in Painting and Drawing
Ramzi Jahshan, grade 12, Honorable Mention in Digital Art
Doreene Kang, grade 11, three Honorable Mentions for entries in Drawing
Kevin Ke, grade 11, four Honorable Mentions for entries in Drawing and Printmaking
Shay Lari-Hosain, grade 11, two Silver Keys and one Honorable Mention for entries in Photography
Cindy Liu, grade 12, two Silver Keys and three Honorable Mentions for entries in Photgraphy and Drawing
Cheryl Liu, grade 12, Honorable Mention in Drawing
Sophia Luo, grade 11, Honorable Mention in Drawing
Archana Podury, grade 12, Honorable Mention in Drawing
Neha Sunil, grade 12, Silver Key and Honorable Mention for entries in Photography
Kelly Wang, grade 12, Silver Key and Honorable Mention for entries in Drawing and Art Portfolio
Madelyn Wang, grade 12, three Honorable Mentions for entries in Photography
Menghua Wu, grade 12, two Honorable Mentions for entries in Drawing and Printmaking
Kevina Xiao, grade 11, Honorable Mention in Drawing
Jessica Yang, grade 12, Honorable Mention in Digital Art
Middle and upper school music groups gave their first concert of the new year on Jan. 16 at the 2015 Winter Concert at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Theater. The grade 6 jazz band got things off to a rollicking start with its version of the traditional spiritual “Down by the Riverside,” followed by Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island.”
Middle school music teacher Dave Hart then directed the grade 6 orchestra in its performance of Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” and Johann Strauss’ “Radetzky March.”
Next up was a series of performances by the middle school chamber groups. The first group – comprising violinists Nilisha Baid, Shalini Rohra and Aditi Vinod; violists Annamma Vazhaeparambil and Mariamma Vazhaeparambil; bassist Anika Fuloria; and trumpeter Arohee Bhoja, all grade 6 – performed their own arrangement of Green Day’s “21 Guns.” The next performers, grade 8 violin duo Constance Horng and Noah Lincke, performed Bach’s “Intervention No. 2.” A special ensemble of Harker private instructors – violinist Pierre Dazin, cellist Natachia Li and bassist Josh Thurston-Milgrom – treated the audience to Thurston-Milgrom’s arrangement of the popular song “Let It Go,” from the film “Frozen.”
The concert then made another excursion to jazz territory with the Middle School Jazz Band’s performances of “Sugar Plum” by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, “Orange Sherbert” by Sammy Nestico and “Chameleon/Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock.
The Grades 7-8 Orchestra was the final middle school group to appear, performing selections from the Harry Potter films and variations on themes by Joseph Haydn and Niccolo Paganini.
Chris Florio directed the first upper school group of the evening, the Lab Band, as it played a selection of jazz pieces, including Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” and “Bernie’s Tune” by Bernie Miller, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
More jazz followed, with The Harker School Jazz Band playing selections such as the Chick Corea classic “Spain,” the Stevie Wonder hit “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and Bill Liston’s “Sitka Shuffle.”
After the intermission, the members of The Harker School Orchestra took their places on stage and began with the second movement of Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphony No. 1.” In one of the evening’s highlights, the orchestra performed entirety of Dvořák’s famous “Symphony No. 9” (popularly known as the “New World Symphony”), before ending with “Overture to La Forza del Destino” by Giuseppe Verdi.
A huge cast of performers from grades 2 and 3 took the stage at the Bucknall Theater on the lower school campus on Dec. 18 for the annual Holiday Show. Dozens of students, directed by music teacher Carena Montany, sang a variety of songs to celebrate the holiday season, from classics “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” “O Chanukah, O Chanukah” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” to newer fare including “Let It Go,” from the hit film “Frozen.”
The show ran smoothly thanks to the hard work of technical director Danny Dunn and her grade 5 technical theater class, as well as deck manager Ken Boswell and stage manager Stephanie Woolsey. Choreography was done by Kimberly Teodoro, and Melissa Lin and Toni Woodruff provided accompaniment on piano and violin, respectively.
Days before the start of winter break, the grade 1 homeroom students of Imelda Kusuma, Cindy Proctor, Larissa Weaver and Rita Stone gathered for the Grade 1 Holiday Show, titled “My Favorite Time of Year.” Directed by Carena Montany, the concert featured students singing holiday favorites such as “Frosty the Snow Man,” “Jingle Bells” and “Spin a Little Dreidl,” with students doing narration between songs. The performance of “Little Saint Nick” featured several dancers, with choreography by Jessalyn Espiritu.
Instrumental accompaniment was provided by pianist Melissa Lin and violinist Toni Woodruff. Danny Dunn and her grade 5 technical theater class served as the technical director and crew, respectively.
Margaret Huntley’s middle school advisory is spreading Valentine’s Day cheer to seniors in the community! The 10 grade 7 students made about 50 cards that will be distributed by Meals on Wheels in Fremont. Huntley found the idea on dosomething.org, a website full of ideas for young people who want to make a difference. The students in her advisory wrote messages and poems inside the cards and attached origami hearts. “The students really enjoyed doing it, and some of the poems and messages are just lovely,” said Huntley.
Hannah Lee’s 6th grade advisory also participated, and a few of her Spanish IA students worked on some Valentines in Spanish for Spanish-speaking recipients — all Valentines were sent off to the Meals on Wheels in Fremont!
The wrestlers head to the league championship, while both the boys and girls soccer teams get ready to celebrate Senior Day! Let’s get to the scores!
Wrestling:
Senior Ryan Palmer went 2-0 last week, winning by pin against Homestead on his Senior Night and then winning by pin against Lynbrook on their Senior Night! Senior Anni Ankola went 1-1 last week, winning by pin versus Lynbrook as well. The wrestlers will compete in the league championship Feb. 13-14 at Milpitas High.
Soccer:
The girls are 6-5-1 overall despite losses last week to King’s Academy and Menlo. Sophomores Joelle Anderson and Kailee Gifford each scored for Harker. The Eagles celebrate Senior Day on Thursday with a game against Priory! The boys have their Senior Day on Wednesday on Davis Field, where they’ll look to defeat Menlo.
Last week, Anderson was also recognized by the San Jose Mercury News in its sports highlight reel of top performances for her five goals and two assists in an 8-3 win over Priory the week before.
Basketball:
The boys lost a heartbreaker to Menlo, falling short by a single point, but rebounded by beating Crystal Springs to bump their record up to 11-7 overall and 4-4 in league play. Senior Eric Holt racked up 28 points against Crystal, while Senior Sriv Irrinki netted 16 against Menlo. The boys will hit the road to play King’s Academy and Sacred Heart this week.
The girls, meanwhile, lost to two strong teams last week, dropping their games against Mercy and King’s Academy. In the game against King’s, sophomore Jordan Thompson scored 20 points and freshman Satchi Thockchom grabbed six rebounds. The team will look to rebound against Priory this Friday at Blackford.
The Harker Concert Series brought back one of its heavy hitters on Jan. 28, and for good reason. Playing to a sold-out audience, the Taylor Eigsti Trio proved again why they deserve to be a big draw in the modern jazz landscape.
This band is comfortable. Bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Eric Harland were still twisting knobs and turning pages as Eigsti began setting the mood for the show opener, “Speaking Song,” with deep chords and flitting notes. Soon the song had begun in earnest as Raghavan and Harland settled into an infectious, unassuming groove while Eigsti’s plaintive melodies rose to the fore, punctuated by his famous improvisations, eliciting vocal approval from Harland. Comfortable.
Eigsti shifted gears to give his bandmates room to shine, as Raghavan drifted into an airy bass solo, with effective note choice, catching fire as Harland picked up steam for an effortlessly musical drum solo.
Dave Brubeck is often mentioned in the same breath as Eigsti, the jazz legend having been a mentor to the young, promising pianist. Eigsti’s taste for texture served him well in the opening of Brubeck’s “Strange Meadlowlark,” sprinkling scale runs atop a layer of chords before casually strolling into a more subdued version of Brubeck’s often-overlooked 4/4 swing. Despite the slower pace, Eigsti nevertheless made commendable use of the many opportunities to execute his trademark stylistic flourishes. Proving that his imagination extends beyond the keyboard, he put an exclamation point at the end with a mild slam of the key cover.
Following “Meadowlark” and the afternoon-walk-after-heavy-rainfall quality of the trio’s version of Leonard Bernstein’s “Some Other Time,” the Eigsti original “Play With Me” felt like a splash of ice cold water. Eigsti’s solo intro had him traversing the length of the keyboard with playful flurries, not unlike a rambunctious child chasing a butterfly around the front lawn. A few hits on the hi-hat by Harland signaled that it was go time, propelling the song into its decidedly danceable tempo. A stunning Eric Harland drum solo brought the song to its emotional apex before winding down for the intermission.
During the intermission, attendees commented on the concert and the accompanying spread in the Nichols Hall atrium.
“We’ve had a great time because we arrived in time for some wine and hors d’oeuvres and then we went into the auditorium, which is lovely,” said Anna Ranieri. “We’re really enjoying the program, the wonderful ensemble, and I had seen Taylor Eigsti play when he was a really young kid so it’s fun to see how he’s grown up when he’s playing with other people.”
“I think it’s an excellent venue,” said Judy Busch, who had seen Eigsti’s previous Harker Concert Series performances. “It’s just small enough to be intimate and yet the sound and everything is exceptional.”
Eigsti kept the between-song banter to a minimum in the second set, kicking things off with a pair of standards, one of which transitioned from a marvelous Raghavan bass solo to an irresistible groove, heralded by Harland’s rattling snare.
For the final two pieces, Eigsti invited his longtime friend Dave Hart, Harker middle school music teacher, to sit in on trumpet. Performing as a duet on “Body and Soul,” Eigsti and Hart beautifully captured the hope and heartache of the jazz classic, with Hart showing that his neither his improvisational chops nor his interplay with Eigsti have waned since the two began pursuing different careers.
The band got back together for the closing number, a rendition of “Caravan” that riffed on Duke Ellington’s standard with time changes, wild syncopation and rhythms slightly reminiscent of Latin jazz. After a dazzling intro from Eigsti, they careened into the mix as Hart more than capably took the lead, showing no sign of being overwhelmed by the act he had to follow. Meanwhile, Eigsti continue to show his gift for finding beauty in nearly any sound, flirting with atonality and what others might even call noise.
As the end approached, Harland was due. Taking the cue from Eigsti, the Grammy-nominated drummer launched into the final solo of the evening, which included an extended drumroll that showcased Harland’s astonishing endurance and control.
This past weekend six Harker students participated in the ninth United States Invitational Young Physicists Tournament held at the Woodberry Forest School in Woodberry Forest, Va., and finished first, ahead of eight other teams from three continents.
The competition is the culmination of yearlong research into four problems spanning many aspects of classical physics including mechanics, fluid dynamics, experimental measurement, optics, wave behavior, magnetism, electrical circuits, etc.
The problems for the 2015 tournament were: 1) measure the Avogadro constant as precisely and accurately as possible; 2) build, analyze and optimize a Gauss rifle; 3) investigate and analyze the problem of the parametric resonance of a mass oscillating on the end of a spring; and 4) investigate and analyze the problem of the “teapot effect,” in which water clings to the underside of a surface as the water flows across the surface.
The tournament this year was the largest in its short history, with nine schools from three continents competing, including two schools from China, one school from Tunisia, and six schools from the United States.
The team from The Harker School came out on top, earning their third victory at the competition in the past five years. The members of the team were Vivek Bharadwaj, grade 11; Nitya Mani, grade 12; Elina Sendonaris, grade 11; Manan Shah, grade 10; Tong Wu, grade 11; and Jessica Zhu, grade 11. These students were supported by Alice Wu and Naman Jindal, both grade 11, in their research efforts leading up to the tournament. Dr. Mark Brada helped prepare the team and accompanied them on the trip.