The end of January marked the beginning of the winter video conferences between grade 6 students and their same-age buddies from Harker’s sister school, Tamagawa Gakuen, in Tokyo, Japan.
“Every single one of our sixth graders has been partnered with a buddy in Japan who they’ve been emailing through their computer science class,” said Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
During the recent conference sessions, the students conversed with their buddies face to face (via the video chats) and participated in a fun game show-style question and answer activity.
Back in September, grade 6 students “met” their Tamagawa buddies and families from Japan for the first time via two separately held video conferences.
Those prior initial meetings for Harker’s 27 middle school students participating in the Tamagawa exchange program served as a prequel to the even more exciting live meetings which occurred Oct. 16 when Tamagawa students visited Harker in person. This spring, a contingent of Harker’s grade 6 students will head to Japan as part of the reciprocal exchange program.
“The video conferences are fun events held on the Blackford campus. We have a translator present to assist with communication,” explained Walrod. “The students are always so excited for them!”
Tamagawa Gakuen is a K-12 school and university founded in 1929 as an elementary education organization. Later secondary education divisions were added, 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 within a single campus.
The recent video conferences have now set the stage for the upcoming grade 6 trip to Japan. Meanwhile, kindergartners also had their own special video conferences where they had the opportunity to meet, explore one another’s classrooms, share their likes, and sing songs in both English and Japanese.
The video conferences and reciprocal student exchange program with Tamagawa are examples of Harker’s rich global education program, which has long strived to weave worldwide activities into its students’ daily lives.
Author Alexandra Zapruder, who penned “Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust,” visited Harker on Feb. 8 to speak to students about the subject of her book and why primary accounts are important to historical analysis. Harker journalism students captured the whole story.
On Feb. 1-2, Harker’s upper school hosted the U.S. Association of Young Physicists Tournament’s (USAYPT) U.S. invitational. The tournament featured students from schools from across the country as well as from China and Tunisia.
In preparation for the tournament, the USAYPT gives students at participating schools four physics problems in February of each year. The teams spend the next year researching and coming up with solutions for the problems, and each team presents its findings at the tournament. A team from another school then attempts to find flaws in the solution.
Judges from universities such as Santa Clara University, San Jose State University and University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as companies such as Apple and Google, compare the students’ methods against a rubric and assign scores accordingly.
Chaima Essid, a student from Pioneer Prep School in Tunisia, entered the tournament thanks to a friend who competed while attending school in the U.S. as an exchange student. “I thought, why not? It would be a great experience,” Essid said. Although she admitted to making some mistakes during her presentation, she nonetheless said she had a great experience and that she was “satisfied” with her performance.
Upper school students and faculty alike gave a warm Harker welcome to visiting exchange teacher Michiko Takahashi, who works as a music instructor at Tamagawa Gakuen, Harker’s sister school in Tokyo, Japan.
During her Jan. 5-18 visit, Takahashi taught Japanese music and observed classes in the upper school’s performing arts department.
“Michiko told me that she had such a wonderful time. She was very impressed with our students and said they seemed to have a lot of direction for what they wanted to do. She definitely had a very special time getting to know our performing arts students and teachers,” recalled Jennifer Walrod, director of the school’s rich global education program, of which Tamagawa Gakuen plays an integral role.
Tamagawa Gakuen is a K-12 school and university founded in 1929 as an elementary education organization. Later secondary education divisions were added, 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 within a single campus.
Although Takahashi does not speak English, she was made to feel at home at Harker, thanks to the efforts of several Japanese-speaking faculty members who offered to serve as interpreters, joining her for meals and serving as friendly faces around campus.
And, from the moment Susan Nace, upper school music teacher, picked Takahashi up from the San Francisco airport, it was a whirlwind of activity. After a weekend of sightseeing, Takahashi began her time at Harker with a tour of the Saratoga campus, followed by a study of the upper school’s music and acting programs.
Other highlights of her visit included lunch with the administration, time spent teaching Japanese classes, a visit with the college counseling department, observing both musical and Shakespeare performances, and enjoying a farewell party with performing arts teachers.
For many years, the teacher exchange program between Tamagawa and Harker has been an important complement to the school’s successful student exchange program.
Two of Harker’s musical theater certificate graduates have gone on to pursue exciting acting careers, taking them both on stage and in front of the camera. Kim Wong ’05, and D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 are rapidly making their marks in showbiz – on the West Coast and East Coast, respectively.
Most recently, Wong, now an actor and theater company founder/co-owner in New York City, took time out to head to Los Angeles where she shot a bit part in the new, much hyped, NBC television drama “Deception.”
“For the first time ever I’m going to be on TV!,” she had enthused earlier when she alerted performing arts faculty at Harker that that she was slated to be on the second episode of the show. “Don’t blink, and you might just catch yours truly as ‘Quinn,’ Mia’s (annoying) classmate.”
Wong is the co-founder of a groundbreaking theater company in New York called The Accidental Shakespeare Company, which mixes theater with improvisation, with casting decisions made by the audience moments before curtain and random props thrown into the mix. The theater company is dedicated to the idea of play.
Harker’s performing arts program played a significant role in Wong’s education. As a kindergartner, she was cast as a fairy princess in “Cinderella.” Every year thereafter Wong performed in Harker’s dance production, and she had the female lead in the upper school’s musical “42nd Street.” After graduation, Wong attended New York University, where she earned a BFA in drama.
She spent this past summer in upstate New York with the Adirondack Shakespeare Company. This spring she will be performing Margaret in the “Kingship Cycle” in New York City with the same company. And, Wong reports her own acting company is going strong and experiencing a rapid growth in audiences.
“I see how the work ethic, the professionalism and the passion that I learned at Harker set me apart from so many other actors. It is the reason why I can develop and run my company!”
Like Wong, Blickenstaff developed his acting chops at Harker. After graduating, he performed in the San Jose Children’s Musical Theater production of “Tommy,” the classic rock opera by The Who. The production received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Harker’s 2009-10 middle school drama teacher, Kikau Alvaro, a member of the artistic staff of SJCMT, choreographed an electrifying show.
Fast forward to today, and Blickenstaff is thrilled to be a part of a parody musical production of the bestselling novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” which just opened in an off-Broadway theater in New York.
Musical sketch comedy group Baby Wants Candy brought their original production “50 Shades! The Musical” to New York’s Gramercy Theater on Jan. 11-12. The work, which is based on the controversial trilogy by British author E.L. James, drew packed audiences to the Chicago theater where it originally opened and was part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before its New York premiere. Baby Wants Candy and Harker have enjoyed a relationship since the group supported the Conservatory’s cast of “Pippin” at the Fringe in 2011; the group did a workshop at Harker last February, and Harker performing arts director Laura Lang-Ree helped bring Blickenstaff and the improv troupe together.
Blickenstaff worked behind the scenes in production for the show, and also onstage as a dancer. “We did one performance there that somehow filled 788 seats of an 800-seat theater. People loved the show. It was so much fun, and I went back to L.A. so happy to have been a part of it,” recalled Blickenstaff, who went on to do a run in Chicago at the Apollo Theater and the Skoki Center for the Performing Arts.
“I played the role of Elliot Grey (Christin Grey’s brother) and also was the assistant director. Once again, we filled every seat at the Apollo both nights, and got over 500 in Skoki and the audiences, to our almost disbelief and shock, loved the show,” he recalled.
“I have had the best time of my life. I am so lucky to be a part of this production and I am hoping to keep being in it … yay, Harker Conservatory!”
On Wednesday, Rohan Chandra, grade 12, was presented with an award for being a distinguished finalist by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, which annually recognizes and honors young people nationwide who have volunteered to help their communities.
Chandra created earthquake preparedness kits for the senior citizens of his Fremont neighborhood, creating safety guides in a variety of languages, including English, Spanish, Farsi, Hindi and Mandarin. “We live in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the world, so I wanted to do something to cater to different cultures,” Chandra said. With the help of dozens of volunteers, Chandra raised more than $12,000 to make the project possible.
The award came with a letter from the office of President Barack Obama, thanking Chandra for his efforts and congratulating him on being recognized. He will also receive an engraved bronze medallion in the near future.
Chandra expressed thanks to his family, friends and the Harker community, particularly Kerry Enzensperger, director of upper school community service, who assisted him in discovering this unique opportunity.
“It’s definitely really nice to be recognized,” Chandra said. “I’m just really grateful for it.”
This summer, the Harker summer program will offer its first-ever softball camp for girls in grades 4-8. Open to players of all skill levels, the camp will cover offensive and defensive drills and simulate in-game situations to help players build confidence and improve their skills on the field.
The camp will also have students work on fundamental skills such as throwing, catching, fielding hitting and base-running, all in a fun, positive environment managed by trained and experienced coaches.
“This is the first year for our summer softball camp so we are excited and ready to get it going,” said softball coach Raul Rios, who led Harker’s upper school varsity softball team to its first CCS playoff appearance in 2011. “I am looking into getting some guest college players to help us with the program and also to speak to the girls about being student athletes at the college level.”
Harker’s summer softball camp will run June 24-28, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Harker’s middle school campus, located at 3800 Blackford Ave. in San Jose. Registration for the camp is at the The Harker Summer Sports Camps website.
Disgusted by the garbage that lines San Jose’s local freeways and surrounding areas, some members of the Harker community have become part of a team that dedicates one Saturday a month to litter cleanup on and around Highway 280.
Called “trashathons,” the effort is officially part of the California Adopt-A-Highway Program.
Upper school history teacher Carol Zink discovered the program and made Harker aware of it. Now she is joined by fellow faculty, parents and students in the litter roundup. The last trash pick-up day took place on Jan. 19, with the next one slated to occur on Feb. 16.
Crew members, who must be at least 16 years old or have written parental consent to join the monthly effort, meet and collect their gear (a bright yellow safety vest, hard hat, gloves, goggles, pick-up stick and supply of big trash bags) at the corner of Leigh and Moorpark, across from San Jose City College. At the end of each road beautification session, which run for several hours in the morning, the volunteer workers head over to Round Table Pizza on Bascom where they are treated to pizza and soft drinks.
“We hope to get more volunteers,” said Zink, who joined in the program last spring after reading about it in a local newspaper. She then contacted the organizer and asked if she and her crew could pick up trash along the ramps leading to and from Harker to 280.
“The weather has been pretty rainy lately and we had a short crew last month because of rain in some parts of the valley,” she added, hoping the next cleanup day will be sunny.
Over the years, the trash warriors have picked up some interesting finds during their trashathons, including a loaded shotgun shell (turned over to the police), a pair of nearly new high heels, an expensive motorcycle helmet, and a rubber Halloween mask.
Ethan Ma won his wrestling match last Thursday night against his Cupertino HIgh opponent. The wrestling team will compete in the league championships at Homestead this Saturday.
Basketball
Girls basketball earned victories over ICA and Mercy-Burlingame last week to improve their sterling record to 16-4 overall and 6-2 in league play. Against Mercy, Nithya Vemireddy, grade 11, scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds while Daniza Rodriguez, grade 12, netted 10 points. Wednesday evening marks a huge occasion for the girls: not only is it Senior Night, but the girls are fighting for a share of the league championship. They play Notre Dame in the crucial contest, with JV playing at 6 p.m. varsity playing at 7:30 p.m., and senior recognition just preceding the JV game.
Boys basketball went undefeated last week with victories over Crystal Springs and Pinewood, improving to 16-4 overall and 8-2 in league play. Nikhil Panu, grade 12, and Eric Holt, grade 10, led the way against Pinewood as each scored 17 points. The boys travel to Priory Wednesday and host King’s Academy on Friday. Senior night for the boys will be next Tuesday against Sacred Heart Prep.
Soccer
Girls soccer lost to Pinewood last week before rebounding with an impressive 5-4 victory over Mercy-San Francisco Thursday in a tightly-fought game. Sondra Leal Da Costa, grade 12, Safia Khouja, grade 10, and Wendy Shwe, grade 12 all added goals while sophomore Alyssa Amick’s two goals led the team. The girls’ record now stands at an impressive 6-3-1 in league. The girls hosted Latino College Prep today and then have their Senior Day on Thursday at 3:30 against ICA.
Boys soccer dropped a game to Priory last Friday, 2-1, then played well in a 0-0 tie against Menlo this past week. Omar Hamade, grade 9, scored in the loss against Priory. The boys host Crystal Springs today for their Senior Day; seniors will be recognized in a special celebration at halftime. The boys’ next game after Senior Day will be at home against Sacred Heart Prep on Friday.
Ashvin Swaminathan, grade 12, was recently named one of two national winners in the 2012 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. Each year, this award is given to one male and one female student in the U.S. for exhibiting excellence in AP math and science. On the eight exams used to determine winners of the awards, Swaminathan had the highest number of scores of 5 in the entire country for a male student. For his effort, Swaminathan has been awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the Siemens Foundation.
The senior said he was “happy but humbled” to received the award, and credits his steadfast work ethic and well-maintained sleep schedule to his success. “I don’t postpone work, and in fact, I have managed to stay ahead of the lectures in every course that I have taken at Harker,” he said. “I am firm about getting eight hours of sleep no matter how demanding a course is.”
Swaminathan, the son of middle school science teacher Raji Swaminathan, was also very thankful to his teachers, parents and grandparents for their mentoring and support over the years. “I thank my wonderful teachers at Harker for their help and encouragement all the way through,” he said. “None of my accomplishments would have been possible without the unconditional support of my parents and grandparents.”
In December, Pavitra Rengarajan ’12 earned one of two State AP Scholar Awards for her extraordinary performance on the 2012 Advanced Placement exams. She is one of 108 students nationwide to receive this honor. “I didn’t go into the exams with the goal of receiving any special distinction, so I’m not sure that I had any expectations to begin with. In fact, I only realized I had earned this distinction when Ms. [Jennifer] Gargano [assistant head of school for academic affairs] sent me a congratulatory email!” reported Rengarajan, adding that the majority of the exams she took corresponded to her AP classes at Harker.
Rengarajan, now a freshman at Stanford University, said that her college major will likely be computer science. She noted that Harker has “certainly prepared me well for the academic rigor of Stanford. Courses here seem like a natural progression from Harker. I am starting to realize how fortunate I was to have taken advanced topics classes.”
Last year, Ramya Rangan and Albert Wu, both now graduates, became the first pair of national winners from the same school.