This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Students Enjoy Spring Pool Party An excited group of 13 middle school students enjoyed a pool party in mid-April at the Bucknall campus pool. The party was an auction prize won at the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic in October and also celebrated the birthday of Shannon O’Shea, grade 8; thus the students also enjoyed cake and other refreshments in addition to swimming under the warm spring sun. Teachers Keith Hirota, Julie Pinzás, Rebecca Williams and Patricia Lai Burrows donated the package and put together this fun day for the kids.
Lower School Family Picnic Raffle Winners Enjoy Fun Field Trip Fifty happy K-2 students took a field trip in mid-March to Pump it Up, a warehouse filled with jump houses, obstacle courses and slides. The event was the reward for the students who sold at least 100 raffle tickets for the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic. Kim Coulter, director of the Bucknall Enrichment and Supervision Team (BEST), said, “The children had a great afternoon playing. They enjoyed going through the obstacle courses and racing some of their favorite BEST staff.” Top ticket sellers this year were grade 2 students Emma Gurleroglu with 2,780, Callie Mayer with 1,640 and Aaditya Gulati with 1,520.
Students Enjoy Picnic Outing in San Francisco On Dec. 10, four lucky Harker students enjoyed a whirlwind day in San Francisco with two of their favorite teachers. The grade 5 students, Arushee Bhoja, Devanshi Mehta, Nikhil Dharmaraj and Ayush Pancholy, won the trip at the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic auction on Oct. 9, where fun and silly teacher packages are auctioned off every year.
Accompanied by teachers Pat Walsh and Kate Shanahan, the excited students rode a cable car, visited AT&T park, North Beach and Chinatown, where the fortune cookie factory was deemed “awesome.” Said Shanahan, “The kids got a special kick out of where we stopped for dessert on the way home – a famous drive-through convenience store in South San Francisco!”
Walsh was a busy chaperone – he also accompanied about 30 kids to an Oakland A’s baseball game in late April.
Santaclarabroncos.com – June 11, 2012: Volleyball star Tanya Schmidt ’08 is featured in a story about receiving an award at the NCAA’s West Coast Conference awards dinner, which included a brief chat with the president of the NCAA.
The New York Times – May 27, 2012: Former Harker teacher Priscilla Chan is featured in an article about her recent marriage to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. She was also profiled by CNN.com.
San Jose Mercury News – May 2, 2012: Rising senior and softball player Alison Rugar is mentioned in the Highlight Reel section of Varsity Extra for her 13-strikeout performance in Harker’s win over Mercy-Burlingame, in which she also scored a home run, and for her 16 strikeouts against Menlo.
Microsoft JobsBlog – May 10, 2012:Sean Turner ’06, who interned at Microsoft Silicon Valley and now works there as an engineer, is profiled in the company’s JobsBlog.
Duke Magazine – March-April 2012: An article in the university’s magazine about admissions mentions and cites information provided by Harker college counselor Martin Walsh.
Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area – March 27, 2012:Recent graduate Max Maynard is featured in a story about his perseverance as a track athlete despite experiencing kidney problems, which required two surgeries. Track coach Brian Dougall and rising junior Claudia Tischler are also interviewed.
Indiawest – April 2, 2012:Recent graduates Prag Batra and Govinda Dasu, both Intel semifinalists, are featured in an article about their website, War of Word, which allows visitors to draft, debate and vote on political resolutions on a multitude of issues.
This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Class of 2012 Become Alumni at Induction Lunch Just before graduation, the Class of 2012 attended a special alumni induction lunch at Nichols Hall, where they officially became members of the Harker Alumni Association and also enjoyed a delicious lunch while reflecting on their years as Harker students and looking ahead to their post-high school futures.
Graduates’ Names Become Part of History at Brick Ceremony Graduating seniors and their parents gathered at Graduates’ Grove on the upper school campus on May 23 for the 2012 brick ceremony, in which students laid bricks engraved with their names and graduation years into the brick walkway. Students who placed bricks this year were Saira Ahuja, Bradley Araki, Simrun Bhagat, Rishi Bhandia, Rohan Bopardikar, Matt Carpenter, Crystal Chen, Lucy Cheng, Aura Dave, Zachary Ellenberg, Stephanie Hao, Stephen Hughes, Shreya Indukuri, Tariq Khalil Jahshan, Daanish Jamal, Jacqueline Jin, Margaret Krackeler, Richard Lee, Vivian Li, Jessica Lin, Chaitanya Malladi, Cole Manaster, Alisha Mayor, Daryl Neubieser, Devin Nguyen, Gerilyn Olsen, Christophe Pellissier, Mackenzie Porter, Ramya Rangan, Priyanka Sharma, Jessica Shen, Kathryn Siegel, Angela Singh, Ananth Subramaniam, Karen Wang, Paul West, Albert Wu, Lucy Xu and Johnny Yet.
Harker Lifers Celebrated at Dinner Hosted by Head of School Just before graduation, the Class of 2012 attended a special alumni induction lunch at Nichols Hall, where they officially became members of the Harker Alumni Association and also enjoyed a delicious lunch while reflecting on their years as Harker students and looking ahead to their post-high school futures.
This article was originally published in the Summer 2012 Harker Quarterly
Jessica Liu ’04 was profiled by The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) for her trip with fellow University of Washington School of Pharmacy students to Honduras in the summer of 2011. Liu, a doctor of pharmacy candidate, worked with 27 other students to organize a temporary healthcare program in the impoverished country. They raised more than $25,000 worth of medication and supplies to bring to Honduras and were able to see more than 800 patients in less than one week. “While no one had any misconception that we would ‘change the world’ in this one week, we knew that we could make a difference down there, no matter how small,” says Liu.
One incident that stands out in Liu’s mind was when a mother brought her infant daughter in who had been burned. The mother had applied an herbal paste, and the foot had become infected and was at risk for amputation. After treating the wound, Liu and her team educated her mother. “What we were able to teach them in a week about basic hygiene, the importance of clean drinking water, etc., was so much more effective than any amount of
medication we could bring down.”
After graduating in 2014, Liu plans to become a clinical pharmacist specializing in pediatrics or oncology. Liu said the trip reminded her of why she was so passionate about health care. “At the end of the day, if you can make even one patient’s life a little easier, then it’s worth it.”
This article was originally published in the Summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
A rainy Saturday morning didn’t deter participants from uniting in celebration and sharing memories of their good times while students at Harker, at the second annual Alumni Easter Egg Hunt.
More than 20 alumni turned out for the event, which was held on March 24 in the gym of the lower school campus. The attendees included grandparents, current parents and alumni who are now parents of current Harker students, making it a multigenerational event.
The atmosphere of the hunt was casual and fun, with eggs strategically hidden in the library. Adding to the festive mood was a bounce house, ball pits, and arts and crafts tables complete with child-friendly make-it-yourself projects, including bunny ear headpieces, decorating cups and bug collecting jars.
A visit by the Easter bunny (aka Kelle Sloan ’93) rounded out the day. “The Easter Egg Hunt is fun to be at because I enjoy watching the kids run around and play,” said Sloan, who is now a kindergarten teacher at Harker.
“It’s also really nice because you get to see familiar faces and catch up with people. It’s just another fun way for alumni to stay in touch with each other, bringing their families together,” she noted.
Present and future Harker volunteers were treated to an informative and entertaining workshop May 10, hosted by volunteer directors Teré Aceves (K-8) and Sue Prutton (upper school). The event, meant to educate interested parents on the large variety of volunteer opportunities at Harker, also served as a conversation starter, with experienced parents relating the necessary skills, time commitment and nature of each available opportunity.
“The event went extremely well,” said Prutton. “This year we brought in Dr. CK Andrade, associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, to talk about volunteering – its benefits and how to get the most out of the experience without getting overloaded. She was both insightful and very amusing, sharing several anecdotes from her own experiences.”
Parents at the workshop learned of new programs and opportunities, and particularly appreciated hearing from fellow expert volunteer parents, who talked about their experiences and were enthusiastic about the fun they had in their various tasks.
According to Prutton, participation in the Harker volunteer community is more important than necessarily being the most active volunteer. “We have volunteers who work on multiple programs in leadership roles each year and those who can only give an hour, but we’re appreciative of all our volunteers no matter how much or how little time they can give.” To Prutton, it’s all about the passion: “Each year a majority of our families volunteer some time to a program they and their students are passionate about and that’s what matters most to Teré and me.”
This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Circle Celebration Honors School Donors The Head of School’s Circle Celebration on May 4 brought together hundreds of donors and members of the Parent Development Council (PDC) to honor their generosity and thank them for their part in helping the school achieve its goals.
The audience was treated to special performances by three of Harker’s top performing arts groups: the upper school show choir Downbeat, High Voltage, the middle school all-male dance group and Showstoppers, the middle school girls dance group.
Giving Back: Harker Faculty and Staff Reach Record Level of Participation in Annual Giving Campaign Early this school year, the administration challenged Harker employees to beat the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) average of 94 percent faculty/staff participation in school annual giving campaigns. Harker stepped up with 99 percent participation.
The stage was set last year, when Harker parents Samir and Sundari Mitra (Shivani, grade 11) established the Mitra Family Endowment for the Humanities, which matches gifts for the annual campaign up to a total of $100,000.
“I heard about this initiative,” said Jonathan Brusco, grade 7 social studies teacher.
Brusco then urged others to contribute to annual giving, and was asked to join the newly created Faculty Development Council, a group working to increase faculty participation in the annual giving process. As a result of the record setting faculty/staff drive, many parents were also inspired to make a gift or pledge to the annual campaign.
“We are grateful to the many faculty and staff who participated in annual giving this year. Their contributions benefit and impact every student, parent and teacher here at Harker!” said Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement.
For more information about annual giving opportunities at Harker, contact Melinda Gonzales, director of development, at melindag@harker.org.
Volunteer Workshop Informs, Rallies Parents Present and future Harker volunteers were treated to an informative and entertaining workshop May 10, hosted by volunteer directors Teré Aceves (K-8) and Sue Prutton (upper school). The event, meant to educate interested parents on the large variety of volunteer opportunities at Harker, also served as a conversation starter, with experienced parents relating the necessary skills, time commitment and nature of each available opportunity.
“The event went extremely well,” said Prutton. “This year we brought in Dr. CK Andrade, associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco to talk about volunteering – its benefits and how to get the most out of the experience without getting overloaded. She was both insightful and very amusing, sharing several anecdotes from her own experiences.”
Parents at the workshop learned of new programs and opportunities, and particularly appreciated hearing from fellow expert volunteer parents, who talked about their experiences and were enthusiastic about the fun they had in their various tasks.
According to Prutton, participation in the Harker volunteer community is more important than necessarily being the most active volunteer. “We have volunteers who work on multiple programs in leadership roles each year and those who can only give an hour, but we’re appreciative of all our volunteers no matter how much or how little time they can give.” To Prutton, it’s all about the passion: “Each year a majority of our families volunteer some time to a program they and their students are passionate about and that’s what matters most to Teré and me.”
This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Harker has an excellent reputation in the local art community and beyond for providing students with exceptional visual arts offerings. In the lower and middle schools, students learn drawing, printmaking, painting, woodworking, carving, ceramics and art history. In the upper school, fine art students can choose Study of Visual Arts as their mandatory yearlong arts survey course and select from a variety of drawing vehicles, as well as stone carving, bronze casting, ceramics and architecture.
Art at Harker is widely celebrated through exhibitions spanning all three campuses; enjoy this year-end reflection of the work these talented artists produced.
Spotlight on Our Budding Young Artists
The lower school’s art exhibit, featuring works from K-5 students, went on display at the Bucknall campus in May. Exhibiting youngsters demonstrated an impressive range of abilities with their artwork, which included sculptures, drawings and architectural designs.
Pieces created by kindergartners in the Tuesday and Thursday after-school art classes were often inspired by book themes. Highlights included drawings of owls shown against blue backgrounds, sporting white feathers, from the beloved children’s book “Owl Babies,” written by Martin Waddell. Meanwhile, watercolor paintings of fish were motivated by the illustrations of Marcus Pfister’s book “The Rainbow Fish.”
Sculptures made by both kindergartners and first graders included lifelike depictions of tasty treats, including yogurt parfaits, cupcakes, truffles, cakes and fruit. Sculptures by students in grades 3 and 5 adorned the lobby outside the school’s gym, while inside – and winding their way upstairs – were brightly colored pictures from students in grades 1 and 2.
Located by the top-floor classrooms was an array of impressive masks by grade 5 artists including those of cats, pigs, people, owls, rabbits, sharks and even a deer complete with twigs for antlers. Also upstairs were architectural drawings from grade 4 students which depicted buildings familiar to students’ lives, such as Starbucks, Best Buy, the Santa Clara County Library, Target, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Intel.
Art student Andrew Lee, grade 3, was proud of his pastel oil drawing filled with beautiful butterflies. He said his picture was done in the after-school art program, which he just started this year and calls “really fun.” Standing by his side, his friend Aniket Kriplani, also grade 3, said he enjoys doing art at Harker because “you are free to do what you want, as long as you follow certain specific directions.”
Middle School Art Students Showcase Unique Styles
The middle school exhibit kicked off with an opening reception held in the main office lobby of the upper school campus in April before moving over to the middle school campus, where it ran until May 15. Artists showcased colorful paintings and ceramics, from figurines to wire sculptures and mobiles.
On display from sixth graders were assorted plates and bowls with tempting fake food such as pie, French fries, vegetables and fruit. One particularly cheery plate radiated with painted-on yellow smiley faces. Grade 7-8 ceramics included a section of sea animals titled “Formed by the Sea.” These grades also had a table at the show containing glass fusion and casting, comprising sculptures illuminated by lights revealing the intricacy of the work.
Meanwhile, eye-catching drawings themed around metamorphosis included that of an apple in various stages of being eaten (from full, to half bitten, to down to the core) and another depicting a girl whose features morphed into those of a tiger. Natalie Simonian, grade 8, had four pieces in the middle school art show, in which there were more than 75 students represented. Simonian also had artwork from the Harker exhibit selected for display in the nearby Saratoga Rotary Art Show at West Valley College.
“My first art class was the mandatory one in kindergarten,” Simonian said. “At that time, art and I were completely unrelated. My drawings of people looked more like an uncoordinated mess of squares, circles and triangles. But by the end of six years’ worth of mandatory art classes, I could draw and I developed a love for art,” she recalled, noting that in grade 6, she took an elective art course and has never looked back.
Upper School Show Exhibits Professional- Level Work
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Harker’s top artistic talent went the extra mile by showcasing written statements alongside original artwork at this year’s AP Studio Art Exhibition in March.
Featuring unique works in various media, the exhibition was held during a long lunch in the light-filled Nichols Hall atrium. The professionally-styled show was open to both students and faculty who strolled the hall admiring projects ranging from photography to sculptures and drawings.
AP Studio Art is a high-level class for talented artists, mostly seniors, interested in both 3-D art, taught by Jaap Bongers, and 2-D art, taught by Pilar Agüero-Esparza.
Commenting on the work of his students, Bongers, who is also chair of the art department, said he had been fortunate to follow many of the exhibitors’ evolving styles over the course of several years, having had them in various previous art courses.
Many of the students enjoying the annual show were not artists themselves. However, after attending, they said they had a new appreciation for the artistic friends they’d come out to support.“Some of my friends do art; I’ll probably take it next year,” said Eric Swenson, grade 11, who especially enjoyed reading the artists’ personal statements and seeing what inspired them.
Each of the student artists chose a theme that recurred throughout their works and wrote statements explaining their inspiration for the exhibition. These artist statements were prominently displayed next to their pieces.
In a statement about her cat sketches, artist Iris Xia, grade 11, wrote that her concentration involved the objectification of feelings. By illustrating cats placed into typical household tools and later luxury items, she said she sought to demonstrate how degrading people could be when they exploit innocent animals for their own benefits. Meanwhile, senior Karen Wang’s whimsical, colorful paintings focused on the idea of freedom and escape. “What is freedom and how do I communicate my perception of it?” she questioned in her artist statement.
One thing that all of the exhibiting artists seemed to agree on was the joy they personally took in having the freedom to create their own themes, rather than following a more standard project based on a class assignment.
Explaining that process, exhibiting artist Tariq Jahshan, grade 12, stood in front of his 3-D sculpture display and allowed that most of his ideas start out as a very basic abstract form. Then he “just kind of goes with it” until it becomes more conscious. “At that point, what’s going to come out takes over and I’ll then follow that.”
Following on the successful heels of the AP Studio Art exhibit was the upper school’s regular annual art exhibition held in May, also at the Nichols Hall atrium. That show featured juried art selections and DJ music sponsored by the Spirit Club.
This year’s exhibition juror was Teresa Cunniff, adjunct professor in the fine art department of San Jose State University, and a San Francisco-based mixed media installation artist and graphic designer.
There was an impressive array of advanced ceramics and sculptures on display at this, the upper school’s final art exhibit of the year, including a bust of Superman, a number of female torsos (including that of a pregnant woman) and a Colgate toothpaste tube. Meanwhile, at a table nearby were the completed assignments of architecture students who had been charged with the daunting task of “creating a new possibility for mankind.”
Also on hand was a thought-provoking “What Matters” series of charcoal drawings depicting such controversial topics as technology, the societal concept of beauty, and hopes and worries for our global future. There were other drawings without such powerful messages, but which could be equally appreciated for their simple beauty, such as a drawing showing white sugar cubes dropping down into a mug filled with dark coffee, realistic and tempting enough to make both coffee, and art lovers, return for a second look.
This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
She may be known as Tara Priya to her fans, but to her fellow Harker alumni she’ll always be Tara Chandra ’06. Already a rising star in Japan, Chandra is now poised to make a name for herself in the United States as well.
She has reached second place on the Japanese McDonalds Zip Hot 100 Chart and released a new music video. Most recently, she performed locally to an appreciative audience at The Hotel Utah Saloon, a historic San Francisco institution.
Chandra graduated from Columbia University in economics, political science and music performance in 2008. After spending a brief time working in the financial sector, she returned to her true passion, music, moving from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, where she is pursuing a career as a singer and songwriter.
In a previous interview with Harker Quarterly Chandra had said that she believes individuals create their own luck, and that she doesn’t believe in being “discovered” as an overnight success. Rather, she pointed to hard work and determination as skills required to make it in today’s fiercely competitive music industry.
“At Harker … I was supported and encouraged by the faculty, challenged and inspired by my peers,” she had said when giving advice. “No matter where you go to college, find a community for yourself and try to keep in touch with all your Harker friends! They’re some of the best people you’ll ever know.”
This article was originally published in the summer 2012 Harker Quarterly.
Across Harker, new technology is being put to use in several capacities, ranging from how students receive and read classroom texts to how teachers run classes.
The Eagle Store, the new online marketplace for Harker books and logo merchandise, went live in early May, giving students and parents a new way to purchase and rent new and used textbooks. It also allows students to input their student ID numbers and see all of the required texts for the classes in which they’re enrolled, saving valuable time for students, parents and teachers alike. The online bookstore and book list for the fall 2012 semester went live on June 25. Coming soon is a bookstore for members of the Harker community who wish to purchase eBooks for personal interest, and the school will receive a portion of the sales made at this store, which is powered by Barnes and Noble.
“We’re trying to leave more room to make sure we cover the broadest spectrum of possible editions that are available,” said Dan Hudkins, director of instructional technology, explaining the reason for making the fall 2012 bookstore and book lists available at a later date. As a special deal, any orders of more than $99 made within two weeks of the June 25 opening will be shipped free of charge.
Students are now also able to take advantage of MBS Direct’s buyback feature to sell their books back once they are no longer needed. Users simply fill out an online form and receive a quote for their used books, which they then mail back. Once the books are received and processed, the user receives a voucher in the amount that the books were decided to be worth.
For added convenience and to save costs on shipping, two on-campus buyback dates were held in May and June for students in grades 6-12.
A change in policy now also allows students to use electronic textbooks, as long as their contents match with their hard-copy counterparts. This was done to “offer more choices to teachers, and get weight out of the backpacks,” said Hudkins. Upper school students will be allowed to use any laptop or tablet device to view e-text versions of textbooks, as long as they are legitimately acquired and match the physical copies.
At the middle school, e-texts will be allowed on approved reader applications, which have yet to be announced. “We’re going to restrict to things that have an app that will run on Mac and Windows,” Hudkins said. “If it also runs on an iPad or an Android tablet, and they want to download it on that as well, great, but it’s got to be something that they bring to school, and at the moment what they bring to school is either a Mac or Windows computer.”
While e-texts are not currently permitted at the lower school, students and teachers are still finding innovative ways to use cutting-edge technology. This year, a small selection of kindergarten and grade 1 teachers began using Apple iPads as teaching tools in their classrooms. The devices proved to be highly versatile and were used to make movies, perform drills and lead activities. Cindy Proctor, grade 1 homeroom teacher, used her classroom iPad to make movies of her students performing magic tricks. She then posted the movies on Open Classroom, an online forum where the students could watch the videos and leave comments about them.
Another class used the iPads to make miniature virtual aquariums while learning about the Great Barrier Reef.
“We were ready to replace the classroom computers with newer technology,” said Lisa Diffenderfer, assistant director of instructional technology for K-5. “We decided to go with the iPads because they were so much easier for the younger students to use.”
She added that many students took to the iPads quickly: “They already know how to use them because they might have some sort of Apple touchscreen device at home.”
Teachers found them highly useful as well, so much so that their use will be greatly expanded next year. “Many of the teachers started using them so extensively that we ordered five more for the math and language arts teachers,” Diffenderfer said. Beginning next year, the devices will be used by every kindergarten and grade 1 math and language arts teacher and will also be introduced to grade 2 classes.
They will also be able to integrate their laptops into the curriculum using software called Doceri, which displays the laptop’s screen on the teacher’s iPad, which can then be projected onto a whiteboard, essentially turning the teacher’s laptop into a touchscreen device that can be carried around the classroom. An example of this in action would be a teacher placing an iPad on a student’s desk and having her solve a math problem from her seat, with the screen projected onto the whiteboard for the entire class to see.
In order to prevent misuse of or damage to the iPads, they are only used under teacher supervision and cannot be taken home.
For grades 3-5, a pilot program using Google Chromebooks began this year with a small selection of students. The laptops, whose primary function is to connect to and use the Internet, have so far been so well-suited to educational purposes that all grade 5 students will be issued Chromebooks during the next school year, which they will be able to take home.
Students have used the Chromebooks to do research, write essays and receive assignments from teachers through Google apps. Diffenderfer will spend time over the summer doing research on various applications that could prove useful to teachers. Additionally, grade 5 social studies teacher Jared Ramsey and grade 5 English teacher Shelby Guarino have received grants from Harker’s technology grant program to find ways to get the most out of using Chromebooks in the classroom.
Chromebooks also have great security features, as they allow only teacher approved websites to be accessed. “We’ve only whitelisted the websites that the teachers said they want to use for academic purposes,” Diffenderfer said. In fact, the only complaint Diffenderfer received from students about the Chromebooks was that “they couldn’t play any games on it.”