Thanks to Sarina Vij, grade 12, and debate teachers Carol Green, Greg Achten and Jonathan Peele for providing this update!
UCLA Forensics Tournament, Jan. 11-13
In policy, Nitya Mani, grade 10, and Panny Shan, grade 9, advanced to the quarterfinals. Shannon Hong, grade 9, was named the ninth-place speaker and Shan was the third-place speaker.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate: Karan Das-Grande, grade 12, and Raymon Xu, grade 11, were triple-octafinalists. Junior Srikar Pyda was a double octafinalist and Pranav Reddy, grade 10, reached the octafinals. Reddy was also named 20th speaker.
Arizona State University, Jan. 10-13
Harker Public Forum students did extremely well at the Arizona State University tournament this past weekend. With 214 registered debaters, Harker had six upper school and one middle school team clear to elimination rounds. Junior Zoe Papakipos and Samali Sahoo, grade 9, barely missed the elimination rounds with a record of 4-2 in preliminary rounds. Upper and middle school students all worked together at the tournament, discussing arguments and strategies and preparing for upcoming rounds.
Alex Lam and Aditya Dhar, both grade 8, placed in the top 32 teams after meeting another Harker team in the double-octofinals. Seniors Pranav Sharma and Varun Gudapati as well as Aadyot Bhatnagar and Stanley Xie, both grade 10, met other Harker teams in the octofinal round and thus placed in the top 16 teams at the tournament.
Grade 11 students Maneesha Panja and Sebi Nakos as well as sophomores David Lin and Andrew Jin lost in the quarterfinal round (top eight) after going undefeated in the preliminary rounds. Jithin Vellian, grade 11, and Nikhil Kishore, grade 10, met another Harker team in the quarterfinal and thus placed in the top eight at the tournament.
Shivani Mitra, grade 12, and Stephanie Lu, grade 11, made it to the semifinal round of the tournament where they were eliminated and thus placed in the top four teams at the tournament.
In addition to team accomplishments, a number of Harker students were awarded with individual speaker awards. Lin earned fourth overall speaker, Nakos was eighth, Reddy was ninth, Jin was 10th, Mitra was 14th and Lu took 24th speaker out of 214 competitors.
Myers Park High School Tournament, North Carolina, Jan. 3-6
At the 40th annual Myers Park Laird Lewis Invitational in North Carolina, Harker Public Forum had some great results. Debating on the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, the teams of Suraj Jagadeesh and Abhinav Ketineni, both grade 9, as well as seniors David Grossman and Nikhil Agarwal, were triple octofinalists. Kevin Duraiswamy, grade 11, and Reyhan Kader, grade 12, were quarterfinalists and seniors Anuj Sharma and Aneesh Chona advanced to the finals of the tournament.
At the same tournament, Andy Wang, grade 11, won first place in original oratory and was a semifinalist in impromptu speaking. Warren Zhang, grade 12, was a finalist in congressional debate.
University School “Sunvitational” Tournament, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 10-14
Arjun Kumar, grade 11, took second place in congressional debate and Steven Wang, grade 10, was a semifinalist in extemporaneous speaking and impromptu speaking.
Society for Science announced Wednesday that Paulomi Bhattacharya, grade 12, has been named one of 40 finalists in this year’s Intel Science Talent Search, becoming the first Harker student to be named an Intel STS finalist and a Siemens contest finalist in the same year. Bhattacharya, who was also a Siemens finalist last year, “is a classic example of a student who has gone through our whole research program,” said science department chair Anita Chetty.
Bhattacharya found the inspiration for her project, titled “A Novel AAA-ATPase p97/VCP Inhibitor Lead for Multiple Myeloma by Fragment-Based Drug Design: A Computational Binding Model and NMR/SPR-Based Validation,” while interviewing for a position at the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences at Univeristy of California, San Francisco, last year. “As I discussed possible projects with my professor, he mentioned a post-doctoral research group in the department that was working on a National Cancer Institute-funded project,” she said. “But the target protein was proving to be very difficult, and even after a year they had few significant results.”
Eager to help and seeking a new experience, Bhattacharya joined the team and began working on one of three unexplored drug target regions. “I designed an independent project and worked separately from the group throughout the summer, reading background literature, learning the molecular modeling techniques, using NMR/SPR spectroscopies, and learning the underlying theories of physics and chemistry,” she said.
In choosing the project, Bhattacharya expressed her desire to add to the field of cancer research. “I know far too many who have fought cancer without success,” she said. “Consequently, I jumped at the opportunity to pursue a cure for multiple myeloma. The cause that I was fighting for strengthened my resolve to creatively make an impact by scientific advancement.”
In addition to her success in these contests, Bhattacharya has also been an active member of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM) and other clubs, written for the Triple Helix Online and presented at the Harker Research Symposium on multiple occasions. “She represents a student who has taken advantage of not only the clubs, but of internships, research classes and the many other opportunities available to her in the research program,” Chetty said.
Bhattacharya has expressed her thanks to the many Harker teachers in various programs and disciplines who have supported and mentored her since she started at Harker in grade 5, including lower school history teacher Pat Walsh, middle school math teacher Vandana Kadam, middle school biology teacher Lorna Claerbout, middle school history teacher Cyrus Merrill, upper school science department teachers Chetty, Mala Raghavan, Chris Spenner, Robbie Korin and Richard Page and math teacher Victor Adler.
She also mentioned her sincere gratitude to her professor at UCSF, Dr. Matthew Jacobs, “for giving me the opportunity to work with him in this emerging field,” and her post-doctoral mentor at UCSF, Dr. Michael Chimenti, for offering his guidance to her throughout the project.
What began as a holiday seasonal community project has evolved into a larger, new schoolwide outreach program called HarKare (Harker Cares).
HarKare launched with its first project, making ornaments to accompany Christmas trees already slated to be donated from the lower, middle and upper school campuses to underprivileged families. During the holiday season Harker has Christmas trees or wreaths in nearly all of its 200 classrooms. This year, some 45 teachers volunteered to preserve their trees so they could be given out as part of the donation program.
To that end, about 40 Harker parents and children of varying ages took time out on a Sunday in December to gather for the ornament-making event, which had been earlier promoted by grade level coordinators. Using recycled paper, students in Pat Walsh’s grade 5 math class also contributed to the HarKare project by making paper hut ornaments.
“HarKare will create opportunities for kids and whole families to participate in all sorts of community projects going on all year, not just during the holiday season,” enthused Tere Aceves, lower school volunteer program director at Harker.
“This is not going to be another drive at our school but is going to be an ongoing program,” she elaborated, adding that the goal of HarKare is to create family involvement for community service projects, teach kids the value of giving and helping others and “use our creativity, elbow grease and spirits to make a difference.”
Already, HarKare members have tossed around a number of ideas for future projects including collecting clothes and household goods for those in need, preparing meals for the homeless, and helping local neighborhoods in a myriad of other ways.
“These are all very easy and really rewarding projects,” noted Aceves. “We are striving to involve our kids and teach them values coming from the heart.”
In February there will be two HarKare initiatives running nearly simultaneously: a book exchange on Feb. 8 and a volunteer effort with the organization Sea Scavenger the following day.
“Not only will Harker students give back to their community by cleaning up local waterways, but they will give back to the world by preventing plastic pollution from reaching the oceans,” said Aceves, adding that students may subsequently take on leadership roles to help create such awareness, shifting cultural values away from a disposable plastic society.
Sea Scavenger has been named the official shoreline restoration and clean-up partner of the 34th annual America’s Cup, which takes place in San Francisco this year. Together, with Sea Scavenger volunteers, HarKare participants will work collaboratively with sailors and staff from the America’s Cup teams in support of marine ecosystems.
Those interested in becoming involved with the upcoming book exchange, shoreline clean-up, and other future activities of the new HarKare program are urged to contact Aceves at terea@harker.org for more information.
A cold Friday night in early January did not keep grade 1 students and their families from attending a movie night held at the lower school.
Warmed by the good feelings of shared camaraderie, they gathered at the gym for the special event which had been organized by grade level coordinators.
Some 74 people attended the evening, where they watched the third “Toy Story” movie. Wearing pajamas, the children sat on blankets munching pizza, salad, fruit and, of course, popcorn, while their parents met and chatted with one another. After the movie was over, the fun continued with students running around enjoying time with friends.
“The purpose of all our after-school gatherings is to promote community,” said Tere Aceves, who Harker’s lower school volunteer director.
Some 30 alumni returned to cheer on their friends for Harker’s first basketball league games of the season, held Jan. 4, in front of a boisterous home crowd at the middle school campus. That night was also the premier of the Student Directed Showcase (SDS), concurrently held at Blackford, which many alums chose to come out in support of as well.
At both of the alumni driven happenings, alumni could be seen proudly sporting alumni “Eagle Nation” T-shirts.
While the Harker versus Menlo boys and girls respective basketball games went a long way towards building team spirit, SDS serves as an important venue for final projects by seniors in the class of the same name.
The graduates, along with the home crowd, celebrated the Harker boys’ win over Menlo at the Friday night game, where girls lost for only the second time this year in a tough match against the 10th-ranked opponent.
At the exciting conclusion of both the basketball games and theater performance, alumni joined basketball players and actors for a fun, informal pizza party held in the Blackford gym. Some parents of the students and grads enjoyed attending the party as well.
“Once again, it was a pleasure to see so many alums return home to Harker. We are truly one big community, where present and past students can join together – whether supporting each other on stage or on a court,” noted MaryEllis Deacon, director of alumni relations.
Dr. Nicolae Mihailide, father of Catalina, grade 12, and an orthopedic surgeon based in Romania, visited Anita Chetty’s human anatomy and physiology classes on Jan. 3 to give presentations on his profession and offer insight into various surgical procedures. Using projected x-ray images from past procedures, Mihailide asked students to identify the problems with the patients in the images. He then explained the procedure, providing samples of prosthetics used in the operations.
Harker’s 10th annual fashion show is just around the corner: Mission: Possible – Dare to Try! For life to have any degree of adventure, joy, satisfaction and challenge, we must take risks. So in this 10th year, there seems no better time to challenge our conventional ways!
THE LIVE AUCTIONS
An exciting change this year is our short, fun auction during lunch. The traditional dinner auction will have some never-before-seen items that will blow you away. And our favorite auctioneer from previous years, Damon Casatico, is back to help encourage you in your bidding.
THE SHOW
We have a new opportunity for donors called Sponsor a Segment. The money raised here will go directly to the budget of the show in the form of lights, video and costumes. For $2,500 you will receive a full color page in our program (valued at $900), two tickets to the show (valued at $350), and your name or company will be promoted at the start or ending of a segment in the lunch and dinner show. There are also some additional benefits; please call us for details.
THE LOBBY
Why go to Vegas when you can enjoy our full-blown lobby casino? Try your luck at winning one of the many showcases featuring all kinds of cool prizes. And there will be a lounge, photographer, a couple of bars (non-alcoholic for lunch) and a few other interesting surprises.
THE SPONSORS
We want to thank in advance our sponsors, especially the “first movers” who have really put us on track to having a very special and successful show. This year we’ve introduced a premiere-seating program: Gold Sponsors get the best seats in the house, Silver, next best and so on. Sponsors and future sponsors, thanks again!
THE VOLUNTEERS
Set up. Makeup and hair. Logistics. There’s so much to do! But we have a small army of volunteers willing and able to get the job done. If you are interested, you’re more than welcome to join our team; two or 20 hours, it’s up to you. And if you just want to see what’s going on, RSVP to one of our monthly meetings.
GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!
Fair warning … with record tryouts, more models and the overall buzz, this will definitely be a sold out show for both lunch and dinner. Get your tickets early!
THE WEBSITE
The Harker Fashion Show website covers every aspect of the show: model information, upcoming dates, volunteers, sponsorships, tickets, etc. It’s like one-stop shopping for information!
Middle School Basketball A great season in middle school basketball is coming to a close!
The varsity A girls soccer team finished 11-0 and took the league title.
The varsity B boys basketball team finished up 8-2 – co-champs – and took second place in the WBAL tournament.
A huge shout out to the middle school basketball teams!
Upper School
Basketball
Girls varsity basketball improved their record to a spectacular 13-2 after defeating Immaculate Conception Academy 52-32 and crushing Mercy-Burlingame in a crucial league game, 60-36. Against ICA, Nithya Vemireddy, grade 11, led the way with 18 points and 13 rebounds. The girls face off against Notre Dame High School on Friday at 7 p.m.
Boys basketball improved to 9-4 overall and 3-0 in league play with their 68-45 win against Woodside Priory. Sophomore Eric Holt had 19 points and 10 rebounds and junior Will Deng had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. The boys traveled to Sacred Heart Prep this Wednesday in a huge league showdown and host Crystal Springs Friday at Blackford at 7:30 p.m.
Soccer
Girls soccer won a blowout 9-0 victory against Latino College Prep this Tuesday to improve their record to 3-5-1 overall. Before facing Latino College Prep, the girls had recently lost to Pinewood 4-0 and tied Mercy-San Francisco 1-1. They host Immaculate Conception Academy on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Boys soccer defeated Woodside Priory 6-1 at Davis Field on Saturday and then edged out Crystal Springs in an away game on Wednesday. Their record now stands at a strong 5-2 overall. Against Woodside Priory, goals were scored by Oisin Coveney, grade 9, Denis Celik, grade 12, Jeremiah Anderson, grade 10, Robert Deng, grade 12, Jeffrey Hanke, grade 11, and David Lindars, grade 12. The boys travel to Sacred Heart Prep this Friday.
Michaela Kastelman, whose run as DECA Silicon Valley president ends in March, was recently awarded an Applegate DECA Scholarship worth $5,000. She will receive the scholarship, which is sponsored by Hilton Worldwide, at the DECA International Career Development Conference in April.
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During the first week of the new year, 77 students from the Harker Business Club attended the Silicon Valley Career Development Conference hosted by the California state association of DECA, a nonprofit organization that prepares students interested in pursuing careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.
The conference presented an opportunity for students to receive feedback from judges (one of whom was Head of School Chris Nikoloff) on their business plans and to brush up on their presentation skills and learn how to respond to real-life situations. There was also a competitive element to the event, as students participated in contests that involved role-playing or written tests. In all, Harker students won 14 trophies and several medals, with Harker teams and individuals earning eight top-three finishes.
Andre Jia, grade 12, and Brian Tuan, grade 11, took first place in the team Marketing Communications competition. Saachi Jain and Brinda Perumal, both grade 11, were the second-place team in the Business Law and Ethics event; juniors Allison Sun and Emily Lin earned second place in Sports and Entertainment Operations Research; Emily Wang, grade 12 took second place in individual Business Finance; Jennifer Dai and Katie Gu, both grade 11, took third in the same event; seniors Tiphaine Delepine and Rachel Yanovsky took third in Travel and Tourism; Kevin Susai and Rohit Agarwal, both grade 12, placed third in Sports and Entertainment Marketing; and senior Neeli Gadagottu finished third in Restaurant and Food Service Management.
The event was a special one for student and current DECA Silicon Valley President Michaela Kastelman, grade 12, who gave a heartwarming farewell speech to the attendees. Her tenure as president will end in March, as she graduates this year. Meanwhile, Sophia Luo, grade 9, ascended to a new role at DECA Silicon Valley after being elected secretary and treasurer for next year.
“I think that Harker was really successful, especially since a lot of our chapter is made up of freshmen and sophomores,” Delepine said. “Of course, we are still learning and we hope to do better at States!”
Delepine noted that the regional event was viewed primarily as an opportunity to train for the state competition in March, where the top three written test competitors and top four role-players will head to the international conference in April.
Over the first weekend in January, the middle school debate team traveled to Spokane, Wash., for the Gonzaga University Conway Classic Tournament. Students in public forum debated “Resolved: On balance, the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission harms the election process.”
Aditya Dhar and Alexander Lam, both grade 8, competed in the varsity division, which was predominantly high school juniors and seniors. They made it to the final four. Emaad Raghib, grade 8, was recognized as being the ninth speaker in the division, and Lam was recognized as being the second speaker in the division. These awards are given to individuals who have exemplified the strongest public speaking and communication skills. Judges in the rounds not only vote for a winner but also rate each competitor on a scale of one to 30.
Students in policy debate debated “Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its transportation infrastructure investment in the United States.”
Rahul Shukla and Rishabh Nijhawan, both grade 8, participated in the JV division and made it to the top 16 teams. Ray Xu, grade 8, received the second speaker award and Steven Cao, grade 8, received the first speaker award. Xu and Cao competed in the final round and defeated their opponents on a 3-0 decision to be named JV policy debate champions.
Just prior to the break, Harker hosted a middle school debate tournament at the middle school campus. The tournament had more than 200 entries in the tournament, with 10 different middle schools from all over California and one team visiting from Canada. Harker had 75 students competing at the tournament and an additional five who volunteered to help with the logistical aspect and act as student ambassadors. Harker students helped clean the classrooms and guide visiting students in between their speech and debate rounds.
Divya Rajasekharan and Andrew Tierno, both grade 8, respectively took first and fifth in dramatic interpretation, in which competitors act out a portion of a novel, short story, play or poem. In extemporaneous speaking, in which students must do on-the-spot research for questions posed to them by the tournament director, Adrian Chu, grade 7, took third and Raymond Xu placed fifth.
Rajasekharan also took first place in humorous interpretation, while Sana Aladin, grade 7, took second and Linus Li, grade 7, placed third. Harker had four top placements in impromptu speaking, with Carissa Chen, grade 8, winning first, Praveen Batra, grade 7, in second place, Tiffany Wong, grade 6, taking fifth and Sneha Bhetanabhotla, grade 8, finishing sixth.
The original oratory competition saw Chen take second, Behtanabhotla win third, Ashli Jain, grade 6, in fourth place and Riya Gupta, grade 6, earning fifth. Nikhil Dharmaraj and Akshay Ravoor, both grade 6, both took second place in the poetry and prose events, respectively, and Aladin took first place in storytelling, while Katherine Zhang, grade 6, took third.
For their exceptional public speaking skills, public forum speaker awards were given to Batra, who took second and Emaad Raghib, who earned fourth. Batra and teammate Michael Kwan, grade 7, took second in the team public forum competition. In policy, Rahul Shukla won the second place speaker award, and took second place with teammate Rishab Nijhawan in the policy competition.
Lincoln-Douglas speaker awards were given to grade 8 student Manan Shah for first place, Liza Turchinsky, grade 7, for second place and Steven Cao in fourth place. In the Lincoln-Douglas debate competition, Shah and Kai Ang, grade 8, were named co-champions.
Harker’s best category at the tournament was the congressional debate, where Harker students, all grade 8, took the six top spots, with Aditya Dhar winning first, Alexander Lam earning second, Michael Tseitlin taking third, Venkat Sankar finishing fourth, Sandip Nirmel taking fifth and Rishab Gargeya in sixth place.