For many children bedtime means snuggling up in cozy pajamas and reading a favorite bedtime story. Yet for youngsters in need, even something as basic as curling up with a good book in comfy jammies can be wishful thinking.
For the past six years, to make life a bit better for children living in shelters locally, Harker’s lower school has held donation drives for the Pajama Program, a nationally run nonprofit organization dedicated to providing new pajamas and books to kids waiting to be adopted.
The school recently donated hundreds of pairs of pajamas and five boxes of books to the program which this year ran from Jan. 7-18. While the exact final numbers are still being counted, Pallie Zambrano, co-president of the Pajama Program’s Northern and Central California chapter, reported that this year’s drive brings Harker’s total donations to more than 2,000 pairs of pajamas and 2,400 books.
The Bucknall campus pajama and book drive is held during the heart of winter, when needy children especially want to keep warm. This year, Harker students donated a range of books and pajamas (with the tags still on) in sizes ranging from toddler through young adult. Although the drive was primarily a grade 3 service project, all elementary school families were invited to participate by dropping off donated items in a designated area in the gym’s lobby.
Meanwhile, the students’ homeroom teachers explained how much their donations would benefit children who are less fortunate. Parents were also encouraged to help their children become involved in the project by taking them to the store to pick out donation items themselves.
The much beloved program began six years ago at the suggestion of Rishi Narain, a former lower school student and current freshman at the upper school. He got the idea for the project when he was in grade 3, after watching the “Oprah” show. The show’s guest that day was Genevieve Piturro, founder of the Pajama Program. Watching her discuss it motivated Narain to bring the cause to Harker, where he helped organize the inaugural donation drive, which went on to become an annual occurrence.
Kathy Ferretti, a grade 3 teacher who has been involved with the program since its inception, called the project a wonderful example of how one student has the power to make a difference. In fact, she noted that Sarah Leonard, primary school head, still has the original letter that Narain wrote with his suggestion to collect donations for the Pajama Program.
“This was the sixth year in a row that Harker has held a drive and we are so grateful for the continued support. We love working with children to help other children!” enthused Zambrano.
“Our third graders love to read and be read to, especially at bedtime. It’s something they look forward to with pleasure. They hope that by participating in the pajama and book drive more children will be able to enjoy this experience, too,” added Ferretti.
To learn more about about the Pajama Program, visit their website at www.pajamaprogram.org.
Many thanks to Karina Momary and Sue Prutton, who both contributed to this story.
Over the weekend of Jan. 26, 25 middle school forensics students traveled to Sacramento to compete at the National Catholic Forensics League National Tournament Qualifier. While the NCFL National Tournament is traditionally for high school students, Harker’s middle school students were still able to compete at the qualifier tournament with the understanding that they would not qualify to the tournament.
“Had our students been in high school we would have had two students qualify automatically given their records and three compete in an additional round to determine if they could qualify,” said middle school debate teacher Karina Momary. “This is an amazing accomplishment and shows the significant growth of our program in the past year as we did not have this same success at the tournament last year.”
On Jan. 11-12 the middle school forensics team traveled to Phoenix, Ariz., to compete at the Arizona State University Southwest Championship. Aditya Dhar and Alexander Lam, both grade 8, participated in Congressional Debate as the only middle school students among the 109 entrants. Lam finished in the top four in his group of 12, while Dhar finished in the top two and advanced to the Congress Finals where he received 11th place. The duo also competed in Public Forum debate together and were the only middle school team to advance to the top 32.
At a debate tournament held at College Preparatory School in Oakland on Dec 21-22, Raymond Xu, grade 11, advanced to the double octofinal round, finishing in the top 32 out of 104 students. Karan Das-Grande, grade 12, and Srikar Pyda, grade 11, made it to the quarterfinals, finishing in the top eight.
During the Jan. 18 pajama day assembly, sophomore Eagle Buddies took the opportunity to personally tell their grade 3 pals how proud they were of them for collecting books and pajamas on behalf of children in need.
The upper school students had traveled to the lower school campus as part of the Eagle Buddies program, and to participate in the assembly, which celebrated the grade 3 service project collecting items to donate to the Pajama Program, a nationally run nonprofit organization dedicated to providing new sleepwear and books to kids waiting to be adopted (for the full story on the drive, see the HNO article.)
The assembly was held in the gym on the Bucknall campus, with participants wearing a colorful assortment of robes, pajamas, slippers and snuggly knit hats. Pink robes were all the rage for the grade 3 girls, many of whom sported ponytails and pigtails, while a large number of boys wore jammies showing off their favorite super heroes.
Although wearing sleepwear was optional, almost all of the younger students were dressed in their pajamas, and some of the upper school students wore them as well. Those who didn’t had on Eagle Buddies polo shirts instead. And, to the delight of students, most of the grade 3 faculty showed off their favorite nightwear, adding to the fun, festive atmosphere of the assembly.
Before the assembly officially began, the eager third graders connected with their older Eagle Buddies for a short period of mingling and socializing. The sophomores had been encouraged to bring items to donate to the Pajama Program, which is one of the lower school’s supported charities.
Grade 3 student Alyssa Tomberg said she recommends other schools get involved in the Pajama Program, as well as have an Eagle Buddies program of their own. Her classmate, Antonio Mele, echoed her sentiments, calling the Eagle Buddies program “pretty cool.”
Mele added that the most fun he’s had with his two buddies so far was playing soccer and getting to know each other at the first Eagle Buddies event of the school year. He added that he hopes one day, when he’s older, he can be an Eagle Buddy to a younger student.
Meanwhile, Angeline Kiang, another young Eagle Buddy, said she is used to hanging around with older kids as she has a teenage sibling. Her favorite thing to do with her buddies is simply to hang out. “I love talking with them.”
As the assembly officially got under way, Ken Allen, the lower school’s dean of students, reminded the audience that this is Harker’s sixth year of running the pajama and book drive for children who often come to shelters with “just the clothes on their backs.”
Following his talk, Pallie Zambrano, a spokesperson for the Pajama Program, took to the podium to thank Harker students for supporting the drive and enabling hundreds of children to have new pajamas and books.
Butch Keller, upper school head, then approached the stage wearing a dark robe and slippers. He sat down in a rocking chair and read a book called “Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook” to the children in his warm, distinctive voice, as the lights in the gym were slowly dimmed to set the mood of a bedtime story.
Keller, who received a big round of applause, originally came up with the idea for the Eagle Buddies program in an effort to help bridge the campus divide. The buddies stay together for three years, until the sophomores graduate and the third graders matriculate into middle school.
Concluding the assembly, the Eagle Buddies teamed up to read a book together, which the students selected from a big blue bin holding popular, age-appropriate, scholastic chapter books. Soon after, the pals headed off for a special lunch together before the older students returned via buses to resume their day at the upper school.
Eagle Buddies activities continued the next week, as on Jan. 24 there were two more events, one for juniors and fourth graders and another for seniors and their grade 5 buddies.
Clad in their Eagle Buddies shirts, the juniors hosted their fourth grade friends for “clown day” at the upper school. After eating lunch in the gym together, the students watched a performance by professional clowns, and then were given the opportunity to try a few clown tricks themselves.
That same day the seniors went off to the lower school during their eighth period to watch a special showing of the grade 5 play, “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, Jr.,” in which all of their Eagle Buddies performed. The sneak preview was held in the gym, where the actual show occurred the following evening. The play, based on the beloved children’s book by Jeff Brown, was free of charge.
“I think Eagle Buddies is a really great concept. For the older buddy the experience is a way to return to a place where school is just really exciting and fun, filled with new experiences,” observed 15-year-old Tiara Bhatacharya, a sophomore Eagle Buddy who has attended Harker since kindergarten.
“Hanging out with your Eagle Buddy is also great because they’re so energetic, hilarious and willing to share as much of their lives with you as possible,” she added.
In early January, Student-Directed Showcase put the directorial talents of Harker Conservatory seniors on display in a series of one-act plays. This year’s show featured “The Shadow Box,” directed by Cecilia Lang-Ree, “The Choice is Yours,” directed by Lori Berenberg, “The Madwoman of Chaillot,” directed by Cristina Jerney and “DNA,” directed by Hannah Prutton.
Each production required a great deal of preparation and hands-on work from the student directors, who were involved in every step of the process, including auditioning actors, budgeting, planning and arranging sets and making sure all the technical details fell into place. They learned many more ambiguous lessons along the way, such as “when to stay on certain points and let go on others. And sometimes, letting the process take care of itself instead of trying to control everything,” said Jerney. The class is taught by performing arts chair Laura Lang-Ree, who selects three to four seniors each year after an in-depth audition and interview and guides them through the directing process.
But despite the challenges faced by each of the directors, it is clear that the road to completing the production is one the entire cast and crew travel together. “[My favorite part of directing was] definitely bonding and spending time with my cast,” Jerney said. “They were a really great group of people and I really had fun sharing this experience with them.”
As with every Harker production, Student-Directed Showcase was made possible by a sturdy crew of students and faculty. Harker’s production manager, Brian Larsen, acted as technical director and sound engineer, while Simon Orr, grade 12, was stage manager and Nicholas Semenza, grade 11, deftly handled lighting during the show. The deck crew of Alex Thomas and Jeremy Binkley, both grade 10, and Shilpa Repakula and Zarek Drozda, both grade 9, kept the show running smoothly, and sophomore Delaney Martin handled props and costumes. Stalwart scenic and lighting designer Paul Vallerga again offered his talents to the production, and Caela Fujii offered her guidance on costuming.
This year’s grade 5 show, “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, Jr.,” directed by Jennifer Sandusky, gave all grade 5 students the chance to showcase their musical prowess in late January at the Bucknall Theater. A musical re-telling of Jeff Brown’s beloved 1964 children’s book, “Flat Stanley,” the show recounted the tale of Stanley Lambchop, a young boy who is literally flattened one night by a falling bulletin board. He soon learns to use his flatness to his advantage, traveling the world by placing himself into envelopes destined for far-off places such as Paris and Hawaii.
Stanley’s story was told through such entertaining musical numbers as the wistful “I Wish I Were,” the light-hearted “The Funny Sunny Side” and the Beach Boys-flavored “Surfin’ the Mail,” all with lively choreography by Kimberly Teodoro and Stephanie Bayer. Each character had multiple actors to ensure stage time for all the students, who ably handled the often complex song-and-dance sequences, some of which included the entire grade 5 class on stage at once.
The show also featured some very creative usage of costumes and props (courtesy of costume designer Marylin Watts, prop master Karoli Clever and assistant prop master Feline Clever), such as the outfit worn by the actors in the role of Stanley, which amusingly conveyed his flatness.
For this show, Danny Dunn acted as both technical director and set designer, with help from technical assistant Oahnha Ly. The scenery on-set was painted by local artist Whitney Pintello. The production also received generous help from Dunn’s grade 5 technical theater students and middle school tech club. Veteran sound engineer Brian Larsen once again manned the soundboard, and Daniel Clark managed the microphones. Stage manager Karoli Clever and assistant stage manager Ken Boswell kept everything on cue, along with stage engineers Marcus Clever and Beric Dunn.
On Jan. 18, the upper school vocal group Bel Canto once again got together with some special guests in the Nichols Hall auditorium for this year’s WinterSong vocal concert. Led by Jennifer Sandusky, the group jumped right into the show with performances of Henry Purcell’s “Come Ye Sons of Art” and “Alleluia from Cantata No. 142” by Johann Kuhlau, with accompaniment from violinist Paul Woodruff, violist Toni Woodruff and Serena Wang, grade 10, on piano.
A series of stirring solo performances followed thereafter, including senior Justin Gerard’s rendition of the late 1920s classic “Old Man River,” and a version of the beloved Leonard Cohen ballad “Hallelujah,” sung by Gwen Howard, grade 9. Freshman Elina Sendonaris’ interpretation of Debussy’s “Claire De Lune” provided the perfect segue for a special appearance by Cantilena, the upper school women’s chamber ensemble directed by Susan Nace, who beautifully performed Ko Matsushita’s choral piece, “Dona Nobis Pacem.”
Bel Canto then retook the stage for the final series of songs for the evening, which included Felix Bernard’s “Winter Wonderland of Snow,” the traditional English folk song “Barbara Allen” and the finale, a rousing rendition of the African-American spiritual “Battle of Jericho.”
Dozens of musicians from Harker’s middle and upper schools gathered at the beautiful Mexican Heritage Theater in San Jose on Jan. 11 for this year’s Winter Concert. Musical groups from both campuses performed songs both modern and classic in a wide variety of styles.
The concert was separated into two portions, allowing students from both campuses equal time to shine. Middle school musicians, directed by Dave Hart, opened at 5 p.m. with Harker Winds performing “Bags Groove” by Milt Jackson and “Some Nights” by the pop group Fun, both arranged by the performers in the group.
Harker Strings continued with a string arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and the holiday favorite “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The grade 6 orchestra (made up of members from the Winds and Strings groups) then continued the performance with “Farandole” by Georges Bizet and the ever-popular theme from “Star Wars.”
Students Donna Boucher, Connie Xu, Arushee Bhoja and Catherine Wang, all grade 6, impressively performed the first of two chamber pieces showcased that evening, “Comptine D’un Autre Ete: L’Apres-Midi” by Yann Tiersen. The grade 8 duo of violinists Cuebeom Choi and May Gao then played a selection from “Duo Concertante for Two Violins” by Charles-August de Beriot.
Jazz musicians from grades 7 and 8 took the stage for a set of songs from greats such as Charles Mingus (“Boogie Bop Shuffle”) and Charlie Parker (“My Little Suede Shoes”). Finishing the middle school portion of the show was the grade 7-8 orchestra, who performed “Amazing Grace” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Greensleeves” before bringing the set to a spectacular close with the first movement of Antonín Dvořák’s “New World Symphony.”
The second half of the show featured upper school musicians , starting with the upper school Lab Band, the introductory jazz ensemble directed by Dave Hart, who performed Benny Golson’s “Blues March,” Joe Henderson’s “Recordame” (arranged by the band themselves) and “Big Dipper” by Thad Jones. The upper school jazz band, directed by Chris Florio, continued with “Launching Pad” by Clark Terry and Duke Ellington and the popular 1930s British standard “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” before bringing the house down with the Brian Setzer Orchestra’s “Jumpin’ East of Java.”
Finally, Florio led the headlining upper school orchestra in an array of selections from famed composers such as Dvořák, Tchaikovsky and Holst, bringing the concert to an exciting close with a performance of Percy Grainger’s famous reel “Molly on the Shore.”
To Kendricks “Ken” Allen, Harker’s new dean of lower school students, there is nothing like the sound of children at play. And, from where he sits in his office – located adjacent to the gymnasium and across from Rincon Field – students are never very far away.
“I like being where the action is!” enthused Allen, whose office is adorned with diplomas and pictures with the motivating words “respect,” “integrity” and “success.”
Allen has long enjoyed working with youngsters, having previously been an elementary school teacher at Fort Worth County Day School in Texas, where he also served as head track and field coach, assistant varsity football coach and assistant head coach for varsity girls basketball.
A native of Illinois, he was raised in Colorado, where his family still resides. He comes to Harker with an undergraduate degree in exercise and sports science from Colorado State University along with a master’s in education administration from Texas Christian University.
This past July Allen got married and relocated here from Texas. With so many exciting yet major life changes he credits fellow administrators, staff and colleagues with enabling him to quickly settle in and feel confident in his new role at Harker.
Allen has been working hard at getting to know many of the 596 students who attend the lower school. To that end, he employed a unique method of having students with locker troubles come to his office for help at the start of the school year.
“That way I was able to immediately start getting to know them individually,” said Allen, who is steadily learning the Harker community of students, parents, faculty and staff members. In fact, this first year one of his priorities will be simply to listen and observe.
“Harker is a very special community, and I’m proud to be a part of it,” he said, adding, “I love my job!”
Wrestler Danny Wang, grade 12, went 3-2 at the Overfelt Tournament on Saturday, earning his three victories by pinning his opponents. This Thursday is the wrestling team’s final home match of the regular season, which means that it’s also Senior Night for Wang, Harker’s lone senior wrestler. Come support him in his final Harker home match at Blackford this Thursday at 5:30 p.m.!
Soccer
Girls soccer had two wins and one loss last week to even up their record overall at 6-6-1 and improve their league record to a sterling 5-2-1. The girls capped off their week with a 6-0 win against Eastside College Prep in the annual Kicks Against Cancer fundraiser game. Sondra Leal Da Costa, grade 12, led the way with three goals. Safia Khouja, grade 10, added a pair, and Alyssa Amick, grade 10, scored one, while Indica Sur, grade 12, made two clutch saves in goal. The girls have now won four of their past five games after blowing out Latino College Prep 9-0, blanking Immaculate Conception Academy 5-0, defeating Summit Preparatory High 4-2, dropping to Mercy High School – Burlingame 6-2, and then finishing their run off 6-0 against ECP. That means they have also won those four out of five in spectacular fashion, walking away with shutouts in three of them. The girls travel to Pinewood today and host Mercy – San Francisco this Thursday on Davis Field.
The boys dropped their last game 4-1 against ECP, bringing their record to 6-4-1 overall and 4-3-1 in league play. The boys did win their Kicks Against Cancer fundraiser game the day before, blanking Pinewood 3-0 with seniors Denis Celik, Maverick McNealy and Simar Mangat all scoring goals. In the week leading up to the Kicks Against Cancer game, the boys had defeated Crystal Springs 2-1, dropped a 3-0 game to rival Sacred Heart Prep, and tied King’s Academy 1-1. The boys host Menlo on Wednesday and travel to Priory this Friday.
Basketball
Girls basketball defeated Crystal Springs on Tuesday, 56-36, but struggled in their away game against King’s Academy on Friday, losing 46-27. In the Crystal Springs victory, Nithya Vemireddy, grade 11, led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Shreya Vemuri, grade 12, added 11 points. The girls are now 14-4 overall and 4-2 in league play as they prepare to host ICA tonight at Blackford.
Boys basketball lost a heartbreakingly close game against Sacred Heart, 56-54, for their first league loss, but responded well with dominant victories against Crystal Springs Uplands, Eastside College Prep, and King’s Academy before dropping a game to Menlo on Saturday afternoon. The boys’ victory against Crystal Springs was a 75-41 drubbing, and they defeated Eastside College Prep to the tune of 59-32, while their win against King’s Academy was a closer but still comfortable 75-59. Against King’s Academy, sophomore Eric Holt had a team-high 25 points to add to his 15 rebounds. The boys travel to Crystal Springs today and host Pinewood on Friday as they try to improve upon their 6-2 league record.
San Jose Mercury News , Jan. 23, 2013: Paulomi Bhattacharya, grade 12, is mentioned in an article about Bay Area student finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search
San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 30, 2012: Varun Mohan, grade 11, is featured in a brief story about his exceptional performance at a recent math competition in Mexico.
San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 5, 2012: Seniors and Siemens competition regional finalists Paulomi Bhattacharya, Rohan Chandra, Zareen Choudhury and Ashvin Swaminathan are mentioned in a story about the competition in the paper’s “Around the Valley” section.