The fifth-annual Kicks Against Cancer boys and girls varsity soccer games raised more than $5,000 for children who attend Camp Okizu, a camp for cancer patients and their families.
“Camp Okizu provides peer support, respite, mentoring and recreational programs to meet the needs of all members of families affected by childhood cancer. The amount raised this year will help send five children to camp this summer,” reported Dan Molin, upper school athletic director.
The recent games were also a huge success out on the field. “Boys varsity started the double-header with a 6-0 victory over Pinewood. The girls also won by the score of 6-0 v. Summit Prep,” enthused Chris Collins, who works with Molin as an assistant.
The upper school’s Davis Field was the scene of the match off against Summit Preparatory High School and Pinewood High School. Grade 12 students Apurva Gorti and Julia Fink served as Harker’s boys and girls soccer captains, respectively.
The Kicks Against Cancer event got its start four years ago as a collaboration between the Class of 2010 and the varsity soccer coaches. Since then, the event has continued to serve as an opportunity to raise money for Camp Okizu, which runs week-long camp programs in Berry Creek.
This year’s fundraising efforts included a bake sale and T-shirt sale (the $12 T-shirts served as tickets to the games). The soccer teams also used long lunch periods leading up to the games as an opportunity to sell beanies, full-sleeve purple shirts, visors, bracelets and pens. Donations also were accepted during lunch periods.
As in previous years, faculty and staff were invited to pledge money for the number of goals the teams scored. There was even a silly half-time “butts-up” game in which students paid money to try and kick a ball at their favorite teacher’s backside. Game officials also donated their fees to the cause by officiating the games pro-bono.
In addition, the CIF/Central Coast Section website, http://www.cifccs.org/, is featuring the Kicks Against Cancer story and photo!
“The organization and leadership of the fundraiser was all student-driven,” said Molin.
To donate directly to Camp Okizu, visit www.okizu.org.
When grade 8 students in Cyrus Merrill’s history class began an assignment in the fall writing letters to their national representatives in Washington, D.C., they had no idea the effort would yield such tangible results.
In addition to writing their state representatives about reform issues, some students chose the “blanket” approach (as part of their lobbying plan), writing to state, local and national officials, as well as various newspapers.
Thanks to the class’ letter-writing campaign, several members of Congress contacted Harker about meeting with the grade 8 students during their upcoming trip to Washington, D.C.
“That helped allow us to choose who we wanted to meet with while we were in D.C., so all of their lobbying worked,” recalled Merrill.
In addition, Akhil Arun’s letter to the editor was published in the San Jose Mercury News during the government shutdown. Meanwhile, classmate Millie Lin received a call from a representative in state Sen. Jerry Hill’s office in response to her letter, which also expressed concern over the shutdown.
“The letter was a history assignment given when the government shutdown occurred,” explained Lin. “I really enjoyed this assignment. I also sent it to two other senators and a newspaper and got normal responses. My mom picked up the phone, because I was not at home. During the talk, the topic of internships was brought up. They needed someone who could write.”
Based on Lin’s writing (and passionate analysis about the debt crisis and government shutdown), the representative began discussing the possibility of an internship before realizing that Lin was only in middle school. Typically, students interested in public service and federal government are eligible to apply for an internship in a senator’s office as undergraduate college students.
The California State Senate has a legislative body of 40 members, with each member representing approximately 931,000 people. Due to the state’s large population and relatively small legislature, the state Senate has the largest population per representative ratio of any state legislative house.
“Millie Lin really wowed the senator’s staff!” enthused Cindy Ellis, middle school head.
Most recently, the grade 8 students embarked on a new letter-writing campaign to their state representatives as an extension of studying the reform era in the 19th century. The students are making modern appeals and expressing concerns over such topics as mental health, alcohol related topics, and the treatment and protection of women.
“I can understand why Millie enjoys Mr. Merrill’s assignment: These types of assignments inspire the students to be engaged in current affairs that are history in making. They are very creative and thought-provoking. It’s very different from the way I learned history, which was mainly based on memorization,” noted May Chen, Lin’s mother.
The annual Pajama Day assembly on Jan. 17 was special for the Eagle Buddies of grades 3 and 10, who met at the lower school gym and shared some of their favorite books with one another. It was also a special day for Rishi Narain, grade 10, who started Harker’s pajama program while he was a student at the lower school. The program collects and distributes pajamas, books and other goods to underprivileged children all around the world.
Per Eagle Buddies tradition, Butch Keller, upper school head, donned a robe, took his seat at a rocking chair located on the stage and read a story to the audience. This year’s story, fittingly enough, was “Pajama Day” by Lynn Plourde. After the reading, the third graders and their sophomore buddies chatted and read to each other from the books they had brought. They later headed to the lawn for a special pizza lunch. “It’s good to have a friend that you know you can trust,” said Brooke Baker, grade 3, who added that she looks forward to having more fun with her Eagle Buddies in the upcoming months.
Kevin Kim, grade 10, said being involved in the Eagle Buddies program is “really fun. It’s good to meet little kids and have fun with them.” The Eagle Buddies program was started during the 2010-11 school year as a means of establishing a bond between the students of the lower and upper schools. The program matches up grade 3 students with grade 10 students, who then meet periodically until the sophomores graduate and the third graders move on to the middle school.
This story was submitted by Harker parent Heather Wardenburg (Frederick, grade 5).
Hundreds of families’ Thanksgiving feasts were made better by the generosity of the Harker community. The grade 5-sponsored food drive, under the leadership of longtime Harker math teacher Pat Walsh, collected 400 bags of food and $4,332.77 for the St. Justin’s Food Pantry. St. Justin’s Community Outreach Program serves about 2,900 people each month. Harker’s donations helped fill Thanksgiving baskets for 750 families. Walsh, who has been organizing the annual event for 30 years, was thrilled by the donations from the lower school community. “I never cease to be amazed by the generosity of the Harker Community,” he said.
Many thanks to the grade 5 student council for promoting the event, the grade 5 teachers and administration for their support, grade 4-5 division head Kristin Giammona for her help and support, lower school dean Ken Allen for his help in loading, unloading and driving the truck, and the wonderful parent and student volunteers.
Walsh’s enthusiasm and dedication to this program inspired all involved to make the Thanksgiving of these 750 families even better!
Candy Land was the theme of a recent Fun Friday Program sponsored by the middle school’s BEST (Blackford Enrichment & Supervision Team). During the event, students had a blast becoming live pieces in a game of Candy Land, held outside on the field. To play, they had to spin a wheel and physically move from spot to spot to see who would reach the end first. Winners received a round of applause – as well as a yummy bag of popcorn.
“It was off the wall awesome!” reported BJ Hathaway, assistant director of BEST.
Harker’s upper school soccer teams competed last week in the annual Kicks Against Cancer games, putting up big numbers in the fundraising tally and on the scoreboard as both the boys and the girls trounced their opponents 6-0. The boys’ blowout came against Pinewood, led by 2 goals from sophomore Oisin Coveney, a penalty kick goal from senior goalie Samir Chaudhry, and scores by seniors Isaac Rothschild and Jeff Hanke, and sophomore Omar Hamade. The girls’ victory came against Summit Prep after freshman Joelle Anderson scored an amazing four goals. Junior Safia Khouja and senior Julia Fink added scores as well to extend the girls’ undefeated streak in league. The girls are now 6-0-1 in league play and 8-1-1 overall. On Tuesday, the girls go up against ECP, then play their senior day on Friday against Mercy San Francisco. The boys, meanwhile, who are 4-2 in league and 7-3-1 overall, host ECP on Wednesday and then play rival Sacred Heart on Friday.
Basketball
The varsity boys took Menlo to overtime on Friday before finally falling 72-65. After the loss, their record still stands at 5-2 in league and 10-6 overall. In the loss, junior Eric Holt had a double-double, netting 11 points and snagging 10 rebounds. Junior Nic Nguyen led the team with 15 points, with senior Will Deng close behind with 14.
The junior varsity boys, meanwhile, pulled out an amazing 44-43 victory over Menlo, with sophomore Rohan Desikan accounting for nearly half the scoring after putting up 19 points. The boys all travel to Priory on Tuesday, then return home to host Crystal Springs on Friday.
The girls played first place Castilleja last week and held tough throughout the first half before slipping in the second and finally falling 46-23. The girls will host ICA on Wednesday, and then hold their senior night on Friday against Crystal Springs.
Wrestling
On Thursday, freshman Philip Kendall won a match against an opponent from Lynbrook High.
Registration for Harker’s summer programs is now open! For students of all ages, whether they’re interested in academics, sports or just want to enjoy some fun in the sun, much excitement is in store for Harker Summer Camp students in 2014.
For those looking to gain high school credit during the summer, learn a new skill or simply enrich their summer experience, Harker’s Summer Institute offers a wide variety of classes to students in grades 6-12. Courses are offered in many disciplines, including math, computer programming, creative writing, performing arts and many more. The Summer Institute’s custom scheduling gives students the ability to create schedules suitable to their academic growth, and afternoon activity programs are available to both middle and high school students.
Harker’s signature summer sports camps will return better than ever. As always, the sports camps will emphasize positive, skill-based instruction in a wide variety of sports from Harker’s staff of experienced, caring coaches, many of whom are Harker coaches during the academic year. This year, the popular water polo camp will now be two weeks long, expanding on the fundamentals-based instruction that made it a success in previous years. The wrestling camp, now in its second year, will receive a visit by Anthony Robles, winner of the 2010-11 NCAA championship in the 125-pound weight class and author of “Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion.” Robles made waves in the wrestling world for winning the NCAA championship despite a birth defect that left him with only one leg. Watch for articles with details on each sports camp to appear over the next few weeks.
The Camp+ program will once again provide an exciting learning experience to students in kindergarten through grade 6. Camp+ has morning academics in math, language arts and electives, followed by afternoon activities that will be tailored to each student. The theme of this year’s Camp+ will be “Under the Big Top,” and will feature a wide variety of circus-themed activities, guests and special events. Students in grades 1-6 will have the option of enrolling in the Learning Opportunities in Literature (LOL) program, which features academic courses designed around a literary theme, which this year will be the work of the legendary and beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss. Afternoons are devoted to fun, with many options, including computer time, wall climbing, archery and more field sports available.
Harker’s long-running and highly successful English Language Institute has earned a worldwide reputation for providing overseas students with a proven English language education that prepares them for applications to top American and international schools and grants them valuable communication skills that will be useful in their future careers. This year, ELI is adding a new “Very Interesting Places” (VIP) tour, which will take place at the end of the program’s academic session. This tour will take students around Silicon Valley and the Bay Area to visit theme parks, museums, company campuses and more, capped off with a trip to Yosemite at the end of the week. ELI students have plenty of outside time in the afternoons, too!
For adults and children looking to improve their swimming ability, the Harker Summer Swim School offers several learning opportunities for swimmers of nearly any age, with instruction designed for ten different skill levels. The school is held at the beautiful Singh Aquatic Center and private and group lessons are available to swimmers aged 5-18, with private lessons available to adults and children aged 3-4. Students in grades 3-8 may participate in a Junior Swim Team program that emphasizes building skills for competitive swimming, working on skills such as stroke technique and endurance.
The summer office has permanently relocated to Harker’s preschool campus at 4525 Union Ave. in San Jose. The summer programs will take place on Harker’s lower, middle and upper school campuses. Harker summer 2014 is set to be a fun, exciting and enlightening experience for students. Parents are encouraged to register early as programs will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis!
The Huffington Post reported that Harker’s SAT scores rank it as No. 2 in the country. The online story states, “A website that analyzes and reviews K-12 schools and colleges in the U.S., Niche.com, collected data to find which 25 high schools throughout the entire country produce the highest SAT and ACT scores. The information is based on self-reported scores from 75,834 test-takers at 909 schools from 2012-2014. In order to be considered in the findings, a school had to have at least 100 students submit their scores.” Here’s a link to the findings: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/schools-highest-sat-scores_n_4654077.html?utm_hp_ref=education&ir=Education Go academic Eagles!
Darshan Chahal, grade 6, participated in the World Futsal Cup in Barcelona from Dec 28-30. Chahal plays futsal (indoor soccer) for the San Jose Legends Futsal Club. His futsal club won the USA Futsal National Championship in North Carolina in July, earning it the right to represent the United States in Barcelona. In addition to participating in the tournament, Chahal enjoyed touring the soccer stadiums of the world famous Real Madrid FC (Estadio Santiago Bernabeu) and FC Barcelona (Camp Nou). He also spent a night at the Ciudad del Futbol (Soccer City), a sports complex build for the Royal Spanish Football Federation, where the Spanish national soccer team stays and practices prior to international tournaments. Submitted by Harker parent Karen Singh
Twin boys Drake and Dominick Piscione, grade 3, have been acting and modeling since they were 5 years old. Most recently, they were thrilled to share the spotlight with a select group of children featured in a “MythBusters” spinoff television show, which just aired on the Discovery Channel. Co-hosted by MythBusters stars Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, the one-hour special was called “Dangerous Toys.” In the show, Hyneman and Savage mined the children’s imaginations for ideas on how to build such kid-inspired “toys” as a 25-foot couch fort and explosive robot armies. In other news, Drake recently filmed a pilot for the A&E network for a show called “Restless Souls,” which will air in the spring.
Nathan Liu, grade 2, made a number of very important chess wins at the recent CalChess State Grade Level Championship, held in mid-January at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlinghame. Among his awards was an individual trophy for “super performance.” He also joined the Bay Area Chess team and won second place for a team trophy. Liu learned how to play chess in an after-school club at Harker just last year and fell in love with it.
In other chess news, Shafieen Ibrahim, grade 7, recently tied for fifth place in the Golden Gate Open Chess Tournament held in Concord. The weekend event was sponsored by the Continental Chess Association.
Last week, Harker’s soccer teams were all undefeated! That’s right, the boys varsity, girls varsity and boys junior varsity teams went a combined 6-0!
The girls doubled up Castilleja 6-3 and then beat Crystal Springs for the first time ever by the score of 3-1 to remain undefeated in league with three wins and zero losses. The girls own a 7-1 record overall. Against Castilleja, freshman Joelle Anderson’s hat trick accounted for half of Harker’s goals. Senior Alicia Clark had 15 saves en route to holding Crystal Springs to just one goal, including a clutch save on a penalty kick. Earlier this week, the girls hosted Mercy-Burlingame and tied them 2-2. Today, the girls host Summit Prep in the Kicks Against Cancer Game.
The varsity boys beat both Priory and Crystal Springs last week. They are now in second place in league with a 3-1 record and are 6-2-1 overall. Junior Omar Hamade scored a hat trick to lead Harker to a 4-2 win over Priory, then scored again, along with senior Arun Goyal, junior Jeremiah Anderson and junior Nikhil Kishore, in Harker’s 5-2 victory over Crystal Springs. Today, they host Pinewood in the Kicks Against Cancer Game.
The junior varsity boys beat both Priory and KIPP-San Jose last week, avenging their earlier defeat at the hands of KIPP-San Jose when freshman Parth Pendurkar scored in the final minute of play to break a 0-0 tie and give Harker a dramatic victory.
Over at Blackford, Harker’s middle school soccer teams wrapped up their seasons. The varsity B girls of grades 7 and 8 finished undefeated in league with a 5-0-1 record, winning their league championship! Grade 6’s junior varsity A girls soccer team finished 0-6-1 in league, finishing in eighth, and grade 5’s JV B girls finished 2-4 in league for a second-place finish.
Wrestling
The boys won four matches and dropped only one against the Homestead Mustangs last Thursday, but because they lacked enough wrestlers to fill all weight classes, the contest goes down in the standings as a 27-36 loss. Senior Vincent Lin won at 128 lbs, junior Annirudh Ankola won by pin at 154 lbs, freshman Danny Reidenbach won by pin at 160 lbs, freshman Davis Howard won by pin at heavyweight and senior Ravi Bhandia fought hard in a loss at 138 lbs.
Basketball
Boys basketball beat both Crystal Springs and ECP last week, bumping their record up to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in league. Senior Wei Wei Buchsteiner scored 27 and Will Deng added 14 in the boys’ dominant 71-37 trouncing of Crystal Springs. Earlier this week, they added a victory against King’s Academy. Today, the boys host Menlo.
The girls lost to ICA 44-40, then defeated Crystal Springs 44-28. Senior Nithya Vemireddy led the team, scoring 18 points against Crystal Springs and 20 against ICA. The girls host Castilleja today.
The middle school basketball teams all wrapped up their seasons last week, with impressive results! Five out of eight of Harker’s boys basketball teams won their league championships!
For players in grades 7 and 8, the varsity A boys team finished in third place in league with a 5-2 league record and 6-4 overall record, then finished in fourth place in the VA Gold Division of the WBAL Tournament. The varsity B boys team went undefeated in league with a 9-0 record en route to winning the League Championship! They then went on to finish in fourth place of the VA Gold Division of the WBAL Tournament. The varsity B2 boys also won their League Championship with an undefeated 8-0 record in league and an overall record of 10-1, finishing second in the VB Gold Vision of the WBAL Tournament.
For players in grade 6, the junior varsity A boys finished in fifth place in league with a league record of 4-4 and an overall record of 5-5, finishing in third place in the JVA Silver Division of the WBAL Tournament. The junior varsity B6 boys won a Quad-League Championship with a 7-1 record in league and 8-2 record overall, then finished in second place in the JVB6 Gold Vision of the WBAl Tournament.
Grade 5’s junior varsity B1 boys went undefeated on the year, finishing 6-0 in league and 8-0 overall, winning both a League Championship and a Tournament Championship in the JVB Gold Vision of the WBAl Tournament. The junior varsity B2 boys of grade 5 finished 3-3 in league, good for a fourth place finish. Grade 4’s junior varsity C boys won their league championship with a 5-1 league record and 6-1 overall record.