This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Learning how to make Native American dream catchers was one of many exciting activities students from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China, enjoyed during their visit to Harker in mid-January.
While patiently working on her dream catcher, WFLMS student Liza Xiao looked up for a moment to exclaim, “I’m having an awesome time visiting Harker! And my buddy is really sweet. The teachers are all kind and the classes are fun.”
Xiao was one of 18 students visiting from Harker’s sister school in China. The students learned all about the dream catchers (a generations-old part of Native American culture) before making their own to take home as cherished souvenirs. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect sleeping individuals from negative dreams, while letting positive ones through.
This year, there was an emphasis on deepening the Chinese students’ understanding of Native American culture, according to Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Harker’s unique partnership with the school in the People’s Republic of China began in 2003 and is the first of its kind. The visiting students were accompanied by several chaperones (all teachers at WFLMS). They were welcomed to Harker and introduced at a morning meeting at the middle school before embarking on a tour of Stanford, including a visit to university’s museum to see the Native American collection.
Harker’s middle school students and their WFLMS buddies had been corresponding since the fall. Come spring, a contingent of Harker students will head to China as part of the reciprocal exchange program, which is an annual highlight of the middle school experience for many grade 7 and 8 students.
“This year, the students participated in a wide range of activities where they had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American culture and the surrounding area. They learned all about football and tailgating, watched American movies, created their own lunch of ‘California cuisine,’ and participated in a walking tour of San Jose,” reported Walrod.
While here, the exchange students observed and attended several middle school classes, including history, art, drama and dance. They also enjoyed a scavenger hunt on the middle school campus and a field trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The WFLMS students’ visit ended with a fun fare- well party – and a promise to see their buddies again in the spring!
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
The global water and pollution crisis was the subject of an informative talk jointly hosted by the upper school’s Clean Tech Club and Venezia Wee, a visiting student from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS), Harker’s sister school in Shanghai, China.
Held at the end of January during a long lunch in the Nichols Hall auditorium, the collaborative effort promoted the use of clean technology and importance of water conservation.
Steven Wang, a grade 11 student and president of the Clean Tech Club, opened the seminar, which attracted nearly two dozen students. He introduced Wee, noting that the WFLMS junior was using her winter break to go on a self-funded, self-organized worldwide tour to bring attention to the global water crisis.
“I’m super excited the two of us connected,” said Wang, adding that Wee contacted him about doing the talk together. Each year the Clean Tech Club chooses a new theme; this year’s theme was “A Solution to Pollution,” Wang explained. During his address, he noted that air pollution was the basis for global warming and stressed that there is an urgent need to develop new technologies to combat air pollution.
“I’m honored to be joining hands with the Clean Tech Club,” said Wee from the podium. She discussed her work as founder of the Global Water Crisis Awareness (GWA) international movement, of which Harker is now an ambassador.
“In the past I used water like it was nobody’s business. Why? Because I took it for granted,” said Wee, who later learned about the lack of safe drinking water worldwide, including the shocking statistic that a child dies every 21 seconds from a water-related illness. That, and other findings, prompted her to take on the global water crisis as her “personal project.”
She kicked off her talk by showing a powerful video about the international water shortage, citing it as particularly relevant to Harker students currently impacted by California’s drought, which has been declared a statewide emergency. “We are going to run out of water before we run out of oil,” said Wee, who ended her talk by offering practical water conservation tips.
Back at WFLMS, Wee launched a five-day GWA exhibition about her movement, which works to both increase awareness and raise money to help impoverished schools in Africa, Latin America and Asia improve their water hygiene. She said she used her own scholarship money to help finance her recent speaking tours at schools and other locations throughout Asia, the United States and Europe.
“I was thrilled that this took place!” enthused Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education, who has encouraged such global student-to-student collaborations.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Maruko Ishigami, a visiting exchange teacher from Tamagawa Academy K-12 School & University – Harker’s sister school in Tokyo, Japan – was touched by the warm welcome she received from students and faculty during her visit to Harker Jan. 7-18.
“This has been a very good experience. I am impressed by the children’s artwork here,” said Ishigami, who teaches art at Tamagawa’s elementary school and spent time observing classes at Harker’s lower, middle and upper school campuses.
She also helped teach art classes for grades 2-5, showing the second and third graders how to make traditional Japanese wood coasters and instructing the fourth and fifth graders in various painting techniques used in her country.
Grade 2 students Emi Fujimura, Shayla He and Shareen Chahal agreed that the best thing about making a wood coaster with Ishigami was “building it” from scratch, noting that the process reminded them of putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Classmate Vivek Nayyar said he especially enjoyed having a “visiting teacher” come to the classroom.
“It has been a truly fantastic experience having Maruko here,” agreed Gerry-louise Robinson, Harker’s lower school art teacher. “All the students warmed quickly to Maruko’s wonderful smile and gentle approach. Both grades 2 and 3 embraced this project with enthusiasm and determination!”
Ishigami also observed ceramics classes at the middle school and sat in on graphic arts, stone carving, drawing, photography and other art courses at the upper school.
Because her English is not fluent, Ishigami was aided by several Japanese-speaking faculty members who offered to be interpreters, joining her for meals and serving as friendly faces around campus.
From the moment her plane touched down at the San Francisco International Airport, Ishigami was kept engaged and busy. In addition to spending time observing and teaching classes at Harker, highlights of her visit included lunch with the administration, a visit to the San Jose Museum of Art, and sightseeing expeditions to Monterey Bay and San Francisco.
“I’ve really enjoyed showing Maruko around. She is very interested in everything that we do at Harker and is eager to learn all she can about our school and students. As an art teacher, she enjoyed viewing all the types of artwork our students are doing. It’s been fun seeing the students enjoying showing her their work,” noted Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Tamagawa, a K-12 school and university, was founded in 1929 as an elementary education organization. Secondary education divisions were added later, and in 1947 Tamagawa University received approval for establishment as an “old system” (pre-war) university. As a comprehensive institution (gakuen), they currently provide education from kindergarten to graduate school on a single campus.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Three Harker seniors made their directorial debuts at this year’s Student Directed Showcase in January. The show features three one-act plays directed by Harker students, the culmination of years of hard work in Harker’s Conservatory and one very intensive yearlong class, offered by Laura Lang-Ree to seniors through an application process. The plays featured in this year’s production were “Beyond Therapy,” directed by Ian Richardson, “The Case of Alex Hansen,” directed by Namrata Vakkalagadda, and “The Wonderful World of Dissocia,” directed by Shenel Ekici.
“Being a SDS director was really a goal I had for myself around freshman-sophomore year,” said Richardson. “The idea of directing a show using the talents of your fellow classmates really drew me to the program. Also, just being in control of your own show, having your own interpretation, blocking, lights, sound and stage for your choice of play was just too good to pass up.”
The directors of each play are heavily involved in every step of the process from the planning to the premiere. All of the elements necessary for the play to be a success, from auditioning and choosing the cast to managing props and costuming, fall under the director’s purview.
One lesson Vakkalagadda learned was that unexpected circumstances are part of the process. “No matter how much planning is done, I always had to be open to sudden changes and twists and turns, but by doing so, I was also able to take in so many new and exciting ideas I may not have had the chance to experience if I was solely set on my initial plan,” she said.
She also learned that often it is better for directors to trust the people they’ve chosen. “Being in charge does not necessarily mean controlling every aspect,” she said. “In reality, by letting my cast come to the conclusions I had come to on my own and wanted them to finally come to, we were able to grow together and make the show all of ours rather than just mine.”
Despite the frequent challenges and months of hard work, the students found the experience useful and fulfilling. “I really learned that you stick to what you love, no matter the hardships,” said Richardson. “Especially when directing a show, it’s all up to you and what you make of it.”
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
In mid-January, San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater played host to the annual middle and upper school Winter Concert, which featured the talents of a wide selection of musicians from Harker’s various music programs.
Middle and upper school music teacher David Hart directed all but two of the evening’s groups, leading performances by the Grade 6 Orchestra, Grade 7-8 Orchestra, Middle School Jazz Band and, now in its second year, The Harker School Lab Band. The grade 6 winds group kicked things off with the up-tempo “I’m Walkin’” by Fats Domino, followed by Joe Zawinul’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” The grade 6 strings group then performed three pieces, including a rendition of the “Spring” section of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” which included solos by Jun Lin, Ahn My Tran and Gabriel Chai. Winds and strings then joined forces to perform Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” and the iconic “Star Wars” theme by John Williams. Soon after, the evening audience was treated to a special appearance by the middle school chamber group, which performed a haunting version of the traditional favorite “Scarborough Fair.”
The show then shifted gears to feature the Middle School Jazz Band, which performed selections by Horace Silver, Billy Strayhorn, Oliver Nelson and Joe Henderson before the Grade 7-8 Orchestra performed pieces by Johannes Brahms and Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, finishing their set with the theme from the film “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
The Harker School Lab Band was the last of the groups directed by Hart. Their set included Thelonius Monk’s “I Mean You” and “Manteca” by the great Dizzy Gillespie. Upper school music teacher Chris Florio took over to direct The Harker School Jazz Band, leading them through four songs, including Dan Gailey’s “The Cheese That Time Forgot” and the swing classic “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” by Count Basie.
Capping off the night was The Harker School Orchestra, also directed by Florio. It began with Franz von Suppé’s “Poet and Peasant Overture” before moving on to a grand performance of excerpts from “Fiddler on the Roof.” Concluding the show was an exciting rendition of Stravinsky’s “Scherzo a la Russe.”
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
On Jan. 30-31, grade 5 students came together on one stage for “Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.,” a tribute to the classic educational cartoon series. The show, directed by lower school performing arts teacher Kellie Binney-Smart, followed the young Tom Mizer (played by students Srinath Somasundaram, Levi Sutton, John Lynch and Chance Hewitt, who switched off during the show) amid preparations for his first day as a teacher. As he goes about his business, he notices his thoughts materializing in front of him. He turns on the TV to calm his nerves, and the lessons of “Schoolhouse Rock” leap from the screen to show him all the fascinating things he can teach.
The show featured many of “Schoolhouse Rock’s” most famous songs, including “A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing,” “Interplanet Janet” and “Just a Bill,” each with unique choreography and costuming. “The Great American Melting Pot,” for example, featured a student dressed as the Statue of Liberty, while “Interplanet Janet” had students dressed in gleaming robes representing the different planets.
Scenic artist Whitney Pintello’s creative set design transformed the entire Bucknall Theater stage into a massive TV set – complete with color bars – in which most of the action took place. Karoli Clever and Ken Boswell acted as the show’s stage managers, while Danny Higgins Dunn’s work as technical director kept the show running tip-top, with her technical theater students indispensable as the show’s crew and costume assistants.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Students took charge as both dancers and choreographers to celebrate “Peace, Love, and Dance” at the 2014 upper school dance production, directed by dance teachers Amalia De La Rosa and Karl Kuehn. The production was staged in three parts, with each word of the show’s title corresponding to a section of the show.
“Peace” followed a thread from conflict to unity, with dancers performing to works such as the pensive “Heartbreak Warfare” by John Mayer, choreographed by De La Rosa, and the more energetic “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic, choreographed by Erika Olsen, grade 11.
In “Love,” Kuehn’s choreography for “Coin-Operated Boy” by The Dresden Dolls featured an inventive use of props, as the titular boys emerged from boxes as though they were action figures come to life. Other visuals elements included Natti Pierce-Thomson’s lighting design, which heightened the mood and atmosphere of each performance, and the costumes by De La Rosa, Kuehn and the student choreographers.
The final portion of the show, “Dance,” featured some of the most upbeat performances of the evening, with complex and spirited routines set to the likes of Groove Factory, Robyn and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This stage of the production also featured the lone solo performance of the show, as Angela Ma, grade 12, danced evocatively against a black backdrop to Clint Mansell’s “Lux Aeterna.”
The show closed on an exhilarating note, with the production’s entire cast gathering on stage for the final number, and the excitement moved into the crowd, punctuated with a cascade of confetti.
Technical director Paul Vallerga and production manager Brian Larsen made sure the show ran smoothly, with the help of student crew members Sean Knudsen and Nicky Semenza, both grade 12; Alexander Thomas, Steven Wang and Harry Xu, all grade 11; and Justin Culpepper, grade 9.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
By Debbie Cohen and Zach Jones
Even Democrats and Republicans agree on the crucial need for American students to become computer literate. To help meet that need, Harker, which already promotes computer science (C.S.) education in all grades, has been systematically upgrading its C.S. program at the middle school.
A new required programming class for grade 7 and an advanced programming elective were added at the start of the school year. Harker also beefed up various elements of the C.S. program for the middle school’s entire student body (grades 6-8).
The expanded C.S. program aims to provide students with a foundation to become well-rounded programmers in the future, according to Abigail Joseph, middle school computer science teacher.
“Courses at each grade level provide students with not only foundational programming concepts, but also curriculum that develop students’ critical thinking, problem-solving and design abilities,” she said.
“We are definitely seeing an upswing in interest in computer science,” reported Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs.
Since Eric Nelson became the chair of the upper school computer science department in 2010, that program has matured significantly, now offering a number of pathways to students interested in entering the field as a career.
Nelson said his desire to create a comprehensive and effective C.S. program stretches back more than two decades, when he found himself unsatisfied with the level of competency he saw in many of his co-workers. “At that time I remember swearing if I was ever, ever in a position where I could teach students computer science, I would make sure I didn’t have people like this walking into my office,” he said. He began taking copious notes. When the time finally came for him to develop a curriculum, “I already had the framework, and so that’s what we ended up with.”
Upper school students fulfill their C.S. requirements in the Digital Worlds class, which covers basic concepts, how computers work and algorithmic thinking. Those who are interesting in furthering their C.S. education can take either an introductory or advanced programming class. Depending on their choice of class, students may then enter one of two Advanced Placement classes, one for introductory students and another for those who have completed advanced programming. Both AP classes lead into more advanced topics.
The program is also designed to allow teachers freedom to move students into different areas of the program as necessary. “If a kid says they’re interested in computer science, the first thing I ask is, well what have you done?” Nelson said. If their experience is limited they are directed to either of the starting programming classes. Those students who demonstrate a certain level of experience become eligible to take a challenge exam to determine whether they can skip the programming courses entirely.
“It’s not an exam on Java or any other language,” Nelson said. Instead, it tests the student’s ability to think algorithmically and their understanding of key concepts. “How they approach a problem will tell us that.”
Although the program has not yet reached K-3 in earnest, students do begin learning key concepts related to computer science, such as algorithmic thinking, problem solving and logical reasoning, as early as kindergarten. This year, kindergartners also will begin playing a board game that introduces some programming concepts. In the coming years, actual teaching of computer science will be slowly integrated into the lower grades.
Currently, grade 2 students are learning computer science concepts by working with robots that can be programmed by placing cards in a certain order. Next year, grade 3 students will use Pro-Bots that will be programmed manually to execute more complex instructions. Grade 4 students learn to program simple games, and grade 5 students go deeper into programming while also learning binary code and searching and sorting algorithms. “We do all of that with very little use of the technology,” said Lisa Diffenderfer, K-8 computer science chair. “We learn binary sort with a deck of playing cards. We learn some searching algorithms by playing ‘Battleship’-type games.”
As with the upper school, understanding computer science on a conceptual level is important to the lower and middle school computer science programs. “We really stress the underlying principles and fundamentals of programming and not one specific language,” said Diffenderfer. “We don’t want to teach one language because we don’t know what the language of the future is going to be.
It used to be C++ and now it’s Java. Who knows what it’s going to be 10 years from now?”
In fact, C.S. curriculum is so sorely lacking in many other schools that both President Barack Obama and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-VA, have united to support the recent launch of the “Hour of Code,” a massive publicity campaign to promote scholastic computer science education.
Due to the global effort, more than 33,000 schools in 166 countries dedicated time to computer science education as part of Code.org’s initiative, which was timed to coincide with Computer Science Education Week in December. The Hour of Code was part of Code.org’s broader campaign to encourage computer science education in more classrooms.
“The impact of the Hour of Code to change communities and propel computer science education to a new level of awareness globally is tremendous,” affirmed Joseph.
The Bureau of Labor estimates that more than 140,000 computer science jobs are added to the American economy every year, making it one of the fastest-growing occupations. Yet, according to the National Science Foundation, just 40,000 college students are graduating with computer science degrees.
“When part of a high-quality academic program, computer science classes add an element that helps all students navigate our complex, technologically driven world. It also gives our graduates an edge over those who are not taught these increasingly essential skills,” Dan Hudkins, Harker’s K-12 director of instructional technology, was quoted as saying in an article that originally appeared in the summer 2013 issue of Independent School Magazine, and also was printed in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Casino chips clicking, hopeful bidders on the edges of their seats during the live auction, the clink of silverware, laughter and conversation – these were the sights and sounds of Night on the Town, Harker’s 11th annual gala, held this year at the San Jose Marriott.
The Marriott’s ballroom and two large lobby areas provided lots of room for the elegantly attired guests to socialize and meet up with friends. A silent auction, which opened for bidding a few days before the gala, offered vacation getaways, homecoming and graduation packages, the chance to shadow business professionals, and video software. Lucky live auction winners will enjoy a Hawaiian vacation, a visit to the San Francisco 49ers Winter Fest and – for the night’s highest winning bid of $15,000 – a trip to Los Angeles for the “American Idol” finale, to name just a few.
Out in the lobby, Harker students sold raffle tickets to patrons, who then dropped those tickets in boxes promising everything from beauty products to picnic baskets filled with goodies. Also in the lobby were several casino tables and refreshment stations, allowing guests to mix and mingle with friends and try their hands at some Vegas-style games.
Over dinner, Chris Nikoloff, head of school, and event chair Tina Najibi (Mary, grade 10) welcomed the crowd and introduced the show portion of the evening, which was a montage of video and live performances that showcased the school’s talented students, faculty and parents, and helped the audience understand the purpose of the evening: to raise funds for the construction of a theater and gym complex on the upper school campus, as well funds for financial aid.
Dance Fusion, Downbeat and Varsity Dance Troupe performed show-stopping numbers, and middle school teachers Mark Gelineau and Keith Hirota, with their many backup dancers, wowed the crowd with a terrific Blues Brothers imitation and lip sync.
A faculty/student rock band showed off the versatility of many: Brian Larsen (K-12 production manager) channeled his inner Huey Lewis by fronting a band comprising guitarist Chris Florio (upper school music); keyboardist Evan Barth (dean of studies); trumpeter Dave Hart (middle school music); drummer Nikoloff; and student musicians and singers in a rousing version of “Hip to Be Square.”
A particularly charming set of dances were the mother/son and father/daughter numbers, performed by both faculty and non-faculty parents and their kids, to “Good Times” by Chic and “My Girl” by The Temptations, respectively.
After the show and dinner, some guests returned to the casino games in the lobby while others hopped up on stage and danced the night away to tunes spun by a DJ. Harker Board of Trustees member Christine Davis, who was one of three chairs for the inaugural fashion show gala 11 years ago, attended Night on the Town and said, “I congratulate Harker on the outstanding event on Friday.”
The event was produced by the advancement office, and the show was directed by Laura Lang-Ree, chair of Harker’s K-12 performing arts department, with production management by Larsen and set design by Paul Vallerga.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
It’s art studio day, and the budding young artists filing into Harker Preschool’s beloved specialty class are eager to put their natural flair for all things creative to use.
Taking spots on a comfy rug in the meeting area, they listen attentively as the art specialist, Alexandria Kerekez (aka Miss Alex), patiently explains the projects they will be working on.
Before too long the spacious, sunny art studio bustles with activity, as the children move to various project stations while in the background soft piano music plays. This week in the studio they are exploring areas set up for printmaking, mixed media paintings, sponge stamping, ceramics, overhead projector drawings and creating tints using shades of yellow on the easel.
“Does this look like a good guy or a bad guy?” inquires 4-year-old Brian Le, holding up a purple painting. Then, deciding for himself, he says “I know … it’s a superhero face!”
During the art studio sessions, held at least twice a week, students like Le (who attends the preschool’s Feather Cottage classroom) can select which projects to work on.
Over at the ceramics table, Le’s classmate Ameera Ramzan, also 4, is keeping happily busy making a “pinch pot.” Sounding very much like a teacher herself, she proudly explains that to create the pot you “first roll the ball … and then you pinch it!”
According to Kerekez, preschoolers of all ages are invited into the studio to paint, work with clay, hone their pencil skills, and gain a greater ability to observe the world around them while working in a variety of media. Meanwhile, the school’s outdoor art area further allows for creative expression, where everyday things such as the sun, water and leaves can become part of a project.
Kerekez’s art classes always begin with an introduction to the day’s project and end with a fun, song-filled cleanup time followed by a reflective period where the children look back at what they have created and accomplished during their visit. Sometimes the youngsters exit the art class by cheerfully parading around the room doing a routine they now have down pat called “the studio stomp.”
A former lead preschool teacher for the San Jose State University Associated Students Child Development Center, Kerekez was named a plein air artist for the Art Box Project, commissioned to design and paint utility boxes as part of a local anti-graffiti initiative. She was awarded the 2012 Frances Guillard Award for Excellence in Music and the Arts and is co-creator of a musical, visual and creative arts program in the greater Bay Area.
“Alexandria is effervescent when discussing her work with the children. She recently put up a wonderful exhibit in our gallery as well,” says Andrea Hart, director of Harker Preschool. The exhibit, called “The Faces of Harker Preschool,” was a self-portrait show on display in January and February.
Included in the exhibit were offerings from all of the preschool’s children – from the Pebble, Clover, Acorn and Feather cottages to the transitional kindergarten (TK) crew.
“I invited each and every child to join me for a one-on-one exploration of their own unique facial features,” recalls Kerekez, noting that even some faculty and staff got in on the action by doing self-portraits for the show.
“Preschool-aged learners have captured my curiosity and heart, for they often share many of my philosophies on how to live life artfully, inquisitively, and with all of one’s senses,” adds Kerekez.
The art studio is one of several specialty classes offered at Harker Preschool. The others are the STEM lab (which was covered in the fall issue of Harker Quarterly) and music and movement. All of the specialty classes are broken up by ages, and are rich with activity centers and educational materials in each particular subject area, offering a balance between child-directed exploratory learning and teacher-directed activities.