About 160 new-to-Harker parents received a warm welcome upon attending an evening reception held in their honor at the Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose.
Held in June, the annual event that welcomes new parents to Harker was graciously hosted by board member Sally Anderson. Chris Nikoloff, head of school, and Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, opened the reception, then, while socializing over appetizers and beverages, attendees visited with current parent “ambassadors” from various grades who were on hand to answer questions.
The group viewed a variety of video clips highlighting Harker’s strong academic, performing arts and athletic programs. Capping off the event was Casey Near ’06, who spoke about her many memorable experiences at Harker and how they have helped shape her as a person.
“At the end of the evening, guests had connected with one another and were very excited to become a part of the Harker community,” observed Rosenthal.
Grandparents and “grand-friends” visited the lower school in mid-May for a charming NASA-themed day where guests toured the Blackford campus, met with teachers and participated in activities with students.
Held annually, Grandparents’ Day is coordinated by a committee of dedicated parent volunteers and is always a highlight of the school year. During the event, students welcomed grandparents, special adult friends or adoptive grandparents-for-the-day for a memorable afternoon held in their honor.
This year’s event, “Blast Off!: An Aerospace Adventure,” featured space station activities at various booths. Students in the primary grades made faces of the moon out of Oreo cookies and learned about gravity force. Older kids in grades 4-5 explored the phases of the moon, learned about space and participated in a “create your own tornado” activity.
Guests also enjoyed performances by students, refreshments, a visit to the lower school’s art show, a fun photo booth, a telescope set up to view the flares of the sun and seeing the students’ classrooms. Another special highlight was the school’s coinciding annual book fair in the Bucknall library, where some visitors chose to dedicate a book especially for their grandchild or special young friend.
“We are delighted that every year the number of attendees increases … over 400 grandparents or special friends came to the event,” said Teré Aceves, director of Harker’s lower school volunteer events program. “The theme was my favorite so far; NASA provided us with age-appropriate activities that everyone enjoyed,” she added.
Aceves noted that this year, for the first time, activity stations were kept open after the event for those students who were not able to invite a guest. She also voiced her appreciation to all the volunteers, faculty and staff who helped make this event such a huge success.
At the end of the day, grandparents and grand-friends were given Harker tote bags to commemorate their visit. Meanwhile, all the lower school students received popsicles, capping off a very sweet day!
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Nineteen enthusiastic grade 7 and 8 students participated in the annual middle school trip to China, where they spent time with their buddies at the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai.
Adding to the excitement of this year’s visit to Harker’s sister school in China, which ran from March 27 to April 7, was the addition of the grade 7 students, who joined the trip for the first time.
Originally based around the grade 8 computer science class’ global issues forum, the China trip this year also incorporated the grade 7 historical component of learning about ancient China. According to Harker’s global education department, including seventh graders on the trip proved to be such a success that it will be the norm going forward.
To be able to go on the China exchange trip was a dream come true for grade 7 student Raveena Panja, who said that in Shanghai, spending time with her WFLMS buddy Jasmine taught her a lot about Chinese family values.
“My favorite memory with Jasmine was when she took me to an outdoor night market. It was so pretty with all the night lights, and everyone I met was so sweet and welcoming. Beijing was also very beautiful, for it holds the historical and traditional side of China. The Great Wall was breathtaking! Traveling to China exposed me to a new culture, allowed me to make lifelong friends halfway across the world and made me realize I am a part of a bigger global community which is filled with wonderful people, regardless of where they are from,” recalled Panja.
Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs, headed this year’s trip, and was accompanied by three faculty chaperones. In addition, middle school computer science teacher Abigail Joseph preceded the group to spend some rewarding time working as an exchange teacher at WFLMS.
“I most enjoyed watching the students engage in round-table discussions with their buddies on various topics affecting youth, from homework loads and family rituals to United States-China relations. They were very interested in learning about and sharing with one another,” observed Joseph. “As a teacher it was really wonderful to see two different communities collide and sit down at the table to have real dialogues about personal matters. This made me know the future of dialogue and deliberation is in good hands,” she said.
Upon their arrival in China, the students were warmly welcomed at the Pudong International Airport by their pals from WFLMS. From there, they hopped on a bus for the short drive into the city to meet their host families.
“The variety of experiences that were extended by their host families gave them all a marvelous glimpse into life in Shanghai, and these were augmented by our further travels. The students also had a chance to make regional arts comparisons, attending both the Shanghai acrobats show and the Beijing ‘Legend of Kung Fu’ spectacle,” Lawson reported.
During their time at WFLMS, the Harker students enjoyed attending classes with their Chinese friends and taking part in special activities such as making dumplings and creating culturally-based art projects. In fact, Harker and WFLMS students grew so close that as their time together came to a close, there were numerous touching goodbyes, speeches, performances and heartfelt promises to stay in touch.
After spending time at WFLMS, the Harker contingent departed for the next phase of the trip, Beijing. Their first adventure in Beijing was a rickshaw tour of the Hutong, or ancient alleyways that once covered the city.
Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Great Wall of China. Taking a ski lift to the top of the mountain, they entered onto the wall. Many photos were taken of the renowned structure, and the students were thrilled to take a toboggan ride back down the side of the mountain.
Back in Beijing the students visited Tiananmen Square, site of the 1989 protests and ensuing military action. Then they headed to the Forbidden City, where they were guided through several of its 980 palatial buildings.
After lunch, they went to Silk Street Market, a famous shopping center, where they had fun haggling with its many vendors. From there, they enjoyed a final outing to the Summer Palace, China’s largest imperial garden, where they rode a dragon boat to the palace’s pavilion.
The grade 7 and 8 students arrived back home in early April, feeling bonded and eager to share their trip experiences with friends, family and fellow middle-schoolers. And this year, the good news for grade 7 students is that they will have a chance to repeat the wonderful experience of the China trip all over again in grade 8!
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
In late March and early April, students Neeraj Baid, Neel Bhoopalam and Simar Mangat, all grade 12, traveled to India with Chris Nikoloff, head of school, and Jennifer Walrod, global education director, to learn about entrepreneurship there and see the cultural and natural wonders the country has to offer.
Eager to learn about India’s business and technology culture, the group visited a number of important spots throughout the country. One such spot was Gurgaon, where they met with the founder of India’s largest accelerator – a firm that supports entrepreneurial enterprises – and learned about how the dominance of the mobile phone in India will have a profound effect on how business develops in the country.
They also visited the data center of SiFy, one of the biggest Internet service providers in India, and T-Labs, an accelerator designed to assist the ventures of entrepreneurs in the Internet and mobile data fields. There they met a 16-year-old prodigy who is an entrepreneur and examined the business plans of several startups.
Not ones to let a trip to such a culturally-rich country go to waste, the Harker contingent also visited many of India’s spectacular sights, including Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens, the Agra Fort and, of course, the Taj Mahal, to name a few. They even met the maharaja of Jodhpur, who was gracious enough to give the students an audience with Indian royalty.
Toward the end of the trip, the students visited The International School Bangalore (TISB) to participate in the Idea Challenge Competition, which they ended up winning, and tour the school campus, visiting classrooms and observing the life of TISB students.
The students kept an online journal of their adventures in India, which can be found at http://indiatrip.harker.org.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
More than $8,000 Raised by Annual Cancer Walk; Harker Community Goes the Extra Mile During Walk to Raise Money for Camp Okizu
Students, faculty and family members recently put on their walking shoes for the seventh annual Harker Cancer Walk. The successful schoolwide effort netted more than $8,000 for Camp Okizu. “This will give many young cancer patients a fantastic opportunity to go to camp!” said Cindy Ellis, middle school head. “I know they will also enjoy the many decorated Frisbees from the middle school students while at camp.” The symbolic stroll was held in late March at Blackford. Supplementing cash donations were sales of T-shirts, water bottles, Jamba Juice, baked goodies, temporary tattoos and wrist bands, all of which were sold by volunteers.
The “biggest cancer walk poster ever” was hung on the amphitheater wall from March 25-29 and stood 8 feet high. Advisories also made small, honorary flags for those who have survived or passed away which were then placed in the ground along the walking path.
“The Cancer Walk is truly an effort of the community that I have grown to cherish at Harker,” said Michael Schmidt, organizer, who teaches middle school computer science. “Thank you again for our seventh amazing Cancer Walk.”
Upper School Student Creates Unique Math Program for Children
Like many teens, Urvi Gupta, grade 11, maintains a jam-packed schedule, yet she makes time to give back to her community by providing free math tutoring to K-3 kids at local libraries in San Jose using a unique program she created called OneInMath. The program teaches youngsters simple ways to add, subtract, multiply, divide and understand concepts quickly for math success.
“I designed the free volunteer-run program from the ground up, defining its purpose, goals and developing materials, including 1,862 math problem sheets, teaching instructions, learning videos, program format, volunteer instructions and the logistics of running it,” said Gupta, who teaches as well as independently manages the overall program.
She currently supervises more than 150 kids and 27 high school volunteers across three libraries using the program, which was implemented in November 2011. Now, the popular OneInMath classes – which utilize video instruction in addition to faceto- face volunteer tutoring – have both students and parents excited about learning mathematics.
Gupta was recently honored as Volunteer of the Year from the entire San Jose public library system for her dynamic math program and volunteer efforts. The top honor began with a nomination from local librarian Vidya Kilambi, who had been impressed with Gupta’s program for some time. As a result of her efforts, aside from all the children her program has helped, Gupta received a commendation on June 11 from the City of San Jose for her efforts.
Students Raise Record Amount for the Humane Society
Life just got a little easier for animals at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, thanks to the efforts of the school’s grade 1 community service project.
The students showed their love for the shelter’s displaced rabbits, dogs and cats by collecting monetary donations, buying needed supplies and making toys for distribution to the shelter.
“We raised about $900 (a new record) and collected more than 80 bags of toys, supplies and food for the animals,” reported the students’ homeroom teacher, Cindy Proctor, who oversaw the project. In addition to monetary donations, items for collection included animal treats, collars, litter, toys, clean blankets, sheets, towels and comforters.
“We would like to express our thanks for the tremendous support and generosity of our Harker families for participating in this project. The donations continue to come in, and we are extremely grateful,” said Proctor.
Blood Drive to Help Remedy Local Blood Shortage
At least 100 locally-based hospital patients desperately in need of blood will be helped, thanks to the annual Harker Blood Drive held at the upper school campus in March.
This year’s successful drive resulted in the collection of 44 total pints, which will benefit the Blood Centers of the Pacific, a nonprofit organization that supplies blood to Northern California hospitals, doctors and patients.
Thirty-nine Harker students, faculty and staff members gave blood at the drive, which was organized by the Red Cross Club, with five people donating double red cells.
GEO Week Raises Funds to Build Schools Overseas
By Zach Jones
The Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) student club held its annual GEO week in mid-March, raising nearly $1,000 for Pencils of Promise, an organization that works to build educational programs in poor areas of the world. Some of Pencils of Promise’s efforts include building schools, training teachers and providing supplies. The organization has already completed construction on 110 schools, and 14 are in construction with plans for at least four more.
According to Amie Chien, grade 12, GEO president, the cost to provide a year’s worth of education for a child in one of these areas is just $25. “A pair of jeans from Express is easily $25, a week’s worth of Starbucks every morning, about the same. If we were to give up a little luxury for a week, we could easily find $25 lying around,” she said.
Five Seniors Recognized by National Charity League for Thousands of Volunteer Hours
On March 16, Michelle Douglas, Cristina Jerney, Emily Wang, Amy Grace Wardenburg and Molly Wolfe, all grade 12, were honored by the Heritage Oaks Chapter of the National Charity League, Inc. NCL is a philanthropic organization that fosters mother-daughter relationships through community service, leadership development and cultural experiences. Over the past six years, the five seniors have logged hundreds of volunteer hours (often with their mothers) at many local organizations including the American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity – Silicon Valley, Humane Society of Silicon Valley, InnVision, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Sacred Heart Community Services.
In addition to these awards, Wardenburg has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for volunteering over 100 hours in a calendar year for all six years she has been volunteering, and Wolfe and Jerney have also each received the award in the past. Wardenburg will also be receiving the Senior Service Award, which is given to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative philanthropic hours earned during her years at National Charity League.
Senior Honored by Stanford for Volunteering
Senior Leslie Chan was awarded the Stanford University Medical Center Auxiliary Scholarship in May in recognition of exemplary service and contributions to the C-1 Unit and Junior Volunteer program at Stanford Hospitals and Clinics.
Harker’s youngest artists (K-5 students) kicked off their annual art show at the lower school with a well-attended opening reception in May. Refreshments were served as exhibiting students once again demonstrated an impressive range of abilities in their remarkably sophisticated sculptures, drawings and architectural designs.
The festive art show began in the main lobby outside the Bucknall gymnasium, continuing to wind its way into the gym and up the stairs, all the way to the top floor classrooms.
Displays were broken up by themes, which included, among other items, grade 5 oil pastels dubbed “Inspired Starry Nights,” grade 3 foil/metallic pen creations called “African Reliquary Figures,” and grade 2 ceramic self-portraits.
Among the grade 4 art on display were many illustrations of vases holding dainty pussy willows and scenes of bridges running over beautiful waterways. Meanwhile, grade 1 students did a series of unique depictions of owls using chalk pastels, clay, acrylics and even sharpie pens. Kindergartners specialized in creating playful pictures of sea creatures, moonlit pumpkins and flowers.
“I think it’s really cool to see everything the other grades are doing,” said Rashmi Iyer, grade 5, who had stopped to admire several works in the art show on her way up to class.
“This year we got to try new things,” she added, excitedly noting that she had created a “Starry Night” illustration (based on the famous Van Gogh piece) as well as some ceramic animal sculptures.
Arushi Nety, also grade 5, added that even though she doesn’t consider herself an artist, she enjoyed making a ceramic whale and seeing it on display at the art exhibit. “It’s a very different type of whale,” she said, with obvious pride.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Good morning. I would like to welcome the members of the board of trustees, administration, faculty, staff, families, friends, alumni, and the true guests of honor, the graduating Class of 2013, to this year’s commencement exercises. I currently have the privilege of saying a few words of farewell at graduation. Typically my talk takes the form of a final piece of advice, like “Dare to Singletask” or “See like a Baby.” Since my talk is the only thing that stands between you and your diplomas, I will continue the tradition of confining my remarks to one page of single-spaced, size-12 font. However, I make no promises about my margins or font choice. In fact, this year I have chosen the slim yet elegant “Adobe Garamond Pro.”
It is only fitting that I draw my advice to you today from the latest addition to our family, Kona, our new chocolate Lab. I noticed that when I say “chocolate Lab” people immediately understand that I mean a dog and not some strange room or device from Willy Wonka’s factory. Also, there is something about a chocolate Lab that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system unlike any other animal. Perhaps it is the word chocolate – so much more soothing and specific than the word “yellow” for yellow Lab or “black” for black Lab. Also, I just wanted to use the word “parasympathetic” in this talk to make it sound scientific.
What possible advice can I offer from Kona? First, having a puppy improves your social life a little. We now know some of our neighbors a little better. Many have fallen in love with Kona, offered free dog sitting, and some even take her for walks, one neighbor every day. We are talking to neighbors we never knew we had. Kona is a real draw. Why? Because she loves everyone and everything she sees. She wags her tail, draws back her ears and licks generously. We thought she would make a good watch dog, but we soon discovered that the only deterrence she presents to an intruder is licking him to death. She loves unconditionally, like a Labrador.
So my advice to you today is to love like a Labrador. I could have generalized to “love like a canine” but that just sounds too clinical. No, I mean love like a Labrador. Not only does it employ three “L’s” in a row – “alliteration” for those of you who recall your poetic devices – but it singles out perhaps the most loving of dog breeds, the Labrador.
When I say love like a Labrador, I mean to love unconditionally all that you do and all that is around you. Love your job, your significant other, your family, your garden, your driveway. This is easier said than done. The Sufi poet Rumi said that “Gratitude is the open door to abundance,” meaning that it is easy to fall asleep and take for granted what is truly wonderful around you. A Labrador is thrilled to see you in the morning, like you dropped from heaven. Of course, the outside chance that you will feed her helps. Take that same loving attitude to all that you do and you will find the abundance Rumi invokes.
Some will hear this as hopelessly naïve, or will question whether or not we can learn from a dog. No, I haven’t been spending too much time in Santa Cruz, though I hope to this summer. I think loving like a Labrador is supremely practical. If you believe in the law of attraction or karma, then love will attract love. Also, we have much to learn from the so-called “lesser species,” including plants, rivers, mountains and even potatoes. The philosopher Alan Watts dedicated an entire page in one of his books to why a potato is a superior being. It is pretty convincing.
So to conclude, love like a Labrador whatever you do, without condition, with full appreciation and without wobbling. A Zen saying goes, “Walk or sit. Above all, don’t wobble.” If you love like a Labrador, you might find that the world loves you, and that there is very little difference between you and everything you love. Thank you.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly. Read the complete issue at http://bit.ly/10W17nX.
The Board of Fellows, an advisory board to Harker’s Board of Trustees, welcomed six new members during its spring reception held in April.
Current parents Dr. Raju Vegesna and Jeffrey Rothschild joined Harker alumni Ayanna Cage ’89, Ken Hunt ’79, Maheen Kaleem ’03 and John Owens ’85 in becoming part of a dedicated group of current parents, alumni parents and alumni who meet regularly to exchange ideas on strategic planning for the school.
Vegesna, a highly respected Silicon Valley entrepreneur, currently chairs the Raju Vegesna Infotech & Industries Group, a consultancy firm serving the information technology industry. Earlier in his career, he leveraged his technical and business expertise to found two leading technology companies, ServerWorks and ServerEngines. He and his wife, Bala, live in San Jose and are the parents of twins Ramanand and Srivani, grade 5.
Rothschild and his wife, Marieke, are the parents of Isaac, grade 11. Rothschild currently serves as the vice president of technology at Facebook and works as a consulting partner with Accel in Palo Alto. He co-founded Veritas Software, which merged with Symantec in 2004.
Cage is a corporate paralegal with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto. She brings 14 years of experience as a paralegal, law clerk and licensed attorney in the state of New Jersey, including five years of experience in private practice. She is engaged to be married to John Carey this July.
Hunt, who received a Distinguished Alumni Award at the 2012 Harker Homecoming game, currently serves as the president of Produxs, which designs online marketing platforms for Fortune 500 corporations and sophisticated consumer video sites. With his experience in strategic marketing, he has secured and managed millions of dollars in commercial deals, government contracts, grants and venture capital. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Karen, and their two children, Mary, 13, and Kenneth, 9.
Kaleem has done extensive work in the movement against human trafficking. As one of the leaders of the Georgetown University anti-trafficking group SSTOP (Students Stopping the Trafficking of People), she helped organize a regional student conference on trafficking and is currently completing her studies as a student attorney at the Georgetown University Law Center. In 2010 she received the Community Service Award at Harker’s All-Alumni Day.
Owens is a partner at the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. He graduated first in his class from Stanford Law School in 1996 and served as a law clerk for the Honorable J. Clifford Wallace of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and for the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that he was a federal prosecutor for more than 11 years, focusing on white-collar fraud and corruption cases. He and his wife, Marjorie, have two daughters, Jaclyn, 8, and Audrey, 4, and live in San Diego.
The Board of Fellows reception was hosted by Dr. Randhir and Shalini Thakur (Chandini, grade 9; Keshav, grade 8; Shivani, grade 3) at their Fremont home.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Diane Main, the upper school’s assistant director of instructional technology, has been named one of the “100 Top Experts in eLearning and Technology Education” by a blog called The .Edu Toolbox.
“I didn’t know about [the honor] until someone congratulated me on Twitter and provided a link!” said an incredulous Main, who was ranked number 94 on the list by the site, a learning and educational resource.
The blog writes: “Diane Main is passionate about students receiving the skills they need to succeed, and so she took up an interest in educational technology. Her website highlights various presentations and handouts that are helpful for Ed Tech-related activities.”
While most of the experts honored by the blog’s list are very active in the field of educational technology through social media such as Twitter, Google+ and Facebook, those listed in the top 10 are extremely well-known “edu-bloggers” and speakers who are also educators themselves.
Main helps organize local educational technology events through professional development activities she helps run. She also presents on the topic at a number of conferences each year. She began working at Harker last summer and currently teaches one class (Digital World) while simultaneously working with faculty at the upper school on their own technology integration and other ideas. She is also an adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University, teaching an online educational technology course.
Before coming to Harker, she worked at the Milpitas Christian School for about 14 years as a teacher in computer technology. A member of Phi Kappa Phi, Main is a Google certified teacher, Google apps certified trainer and SVCUE board president.
She is also the director of the Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology (MERIT) program of the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College. MERIT is a yearlong professional development experience for teachers, with a two-week summer institute.
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Middle school history teacher Andrea Milius loves spending her days speaking about events from the past. Last month the inspiring instructor made a little history of her own after being selected as the first Harker faculty member to travel to Turkey on an impressive two-week historic and culturally-based teacher training trip.
Milius heard about “this wonderful opportunity” through a resource she had been working with for professional development called ORIAS (The Office of Resources for International and Area Studies). Sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley, ORIAS provides scholarly resources and professional development for K-12 and community college educators.
Her application to be considered for the trip consisted of a series of essay questions focused on the incorporation of global education and international perspectives into her curriculum, especially in reference to the Middle East and Islam.
The unique travel program was offered through the Middle Eastern Studies Center at Ohio State University, which strives to peacefully bridge gaps dividing people along cultural, ethnic and religious lines.
Aided by a Turkish guide named Serkand, Milius and nine other lucky trip recipients (including teachers, curriculum writers, librarians and even an international lawyer) gained firsthand knowledge of the Middle East, its past and current economic, social and political developments.
The goal of the trip was to enable participants to return to their work in the United States better equipped to promote teaching, learning, research and public awareness of the diverse array of Middle Eastern languages, cultures and peoples.
“The trip achieved its objectives. I feel honored to have participated, and I am so thankful that Harker supported me in this endeavor. I learned so much about Turkish daily life and culture as well as the many intricate details about the actual practice of Islam, even though this was one of my major areas of research in graduate school,” reported Milius.