In July, junior Vayun Tiwari was declared the youth winner in the 2020 Audubon Photography Awards. The photo, a striking image of a northern jacana at the New River in Belize, was taken in 2018 during a boat ride. Tiwari spotted a group of the birds and asked the boat captain to stop. “I couldn’t believe my luck when one walked closer and closer to us,” he told the National Audubon Society. Tiwari snapped the photo when one of the birds paused to look at a nearby water lily. The National Audubon Society also posted a short video in which Tiwari details how he discovered and developed his passion for bird photography. This year’s award winners were narrowed to 10 from more than 6,000 submissions.
Tags: express, National Audobon Society, photographyOver the summer, upper school English teacher Chris Hurshman led a book club with several Harker alumni, meeting each week to discuss Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final novel, “The Brothers Karamazov.”
“I was dreading losing connection with people and longing for a bit of intellectual community over the summer,” said Hurshman. “So I posted an open call to Harker alums on Facebook and invited them to join me in reading and discussing a long novel of their choice.” With similar summer reading activities already established with current students, Hurshman decided to “carry on that habit with our alums.”
“Karamazov” was selected via an online poll, edging out George Eliot’s “Middlemarch.” “When Mr. Hurshman reached out, I thought it was a great opportunity to get to know some new people and take my first step into Russian literature,” said Sana Pandey ‘20. “‘The Brothers Karamazov’ has been called one of the best books of all time, and I wanted to read it and hear about other people’s perspectives on it.”
“I was interested in participating because the book club seemed like a good way both to spend some time with my former classmates and also explore subjects not included within my college studies,” said Derek Yen ‘18, who is currently attending MIT. “Between the interests of the student body and the structure of my coursework, I haven’t had as many opportunities to enjoy literature and participate in literary discussion in college.”
The club met each week via Zoom, and participants found both the reading and the discussions fruitful. “This might have been a byproduct of how ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ is written, but I really enjoyed the intellectual debates that some of the plot points or themes sparked,” said Pandey. “Oftentimes, even though book club was meant to last an hour, we would continue deliberating on the moral or social groundings of a character’s decisions and standpoints for at least an hour after we were supposed to end.”
Hurshman said he hopes that these organized discussions will continue, and possible topics for the next summer are already being discussed, “with some asking to read ‘Middlemarch’ and others to organize a discussion group centered on film or on poetry reading,” he said. “I’m hopeful that, regardless of its final form, this can become a growing tradition and that we’ll be able resume these conversations in person someday.”
Tags: alumni-express, eweekly, express, literature, topliteratureOn Thursday, Harker’s Recreate Reading program welcomed author Julie Berry to discuss her latest novel, “The Lovely War.” In the book, the lives of four young people during World War I are examined from the perspective of Greek gods. Berry went into detail about the process of creating the novel, including the tremendous amount of research involved.
“Berry was inspired to write a book about World War I because there are a lot of young adult books about World War II but not a lot about World War I,” said senior Anika Fuloria. “She was also super interested in the subject matter, likening writing a book to doing a master’s degree in terms of research and dedication.”
The discussion also helped students find more ways to appreciate the book. “The reasoning behind her use of the Greek gods as the narrators helped me view the narrators differently,” said sophomore Keesha Gondipalli. “They were used to personify both love and war and create a way to tell the story both broadly and with details.”
Fuloria enjoyed Berry’s explanation of the book’s ending: “She walked us through a few drafts of her book where each one had a different ending and explained why she did choose the ending in this way,” she said. “I found it super fulfilling as a reader of the book who imagined a few possible endings as I was reading.”
Tags: eweekly, ReCreate Reading, Remote LearningBy Radha Mehta, grade 10
From Aug. 15-16, 70 students attended Harker DECA’s seventh annual Launch event, which is designed to introduce prospective members to DECA and the Harker School’s business, economics and entrepreneurship department. Through detailed lectures, interactive activities, mock competitions, guest speakers and alumni panels, students were given an idea of what this year will look like. Due to the current circumstances, Launch was held over Zoom this year. Because this was the first virtual Launch, the officer team tried to simulate the in-person experience online.
“The Innovation Challenge allows our DECA Launch attendees to design a mini business plan for a product or service that they see a need for in the market. Along with creating an executive summary, groups present their ideas before a panel of alumni judges at the end of DECA Launch,” said Harker DECA co-chief executive officer Lisa Barooah, grade 12. “Since this year DECA Launch was held virtually, we redesigned the activities to be more engaging and more considerate of screen time. We added three icebreaker activities for group bonding and inserted 10-minute breaks into the schedule. Finally, after noticing room for improvement in the groups’ presentations at last year’s launch, our director of technology held a graphic design workshop on day two. Students presented impressive pitches in the Closing Ceremony due to these changes, which I thoroughly enjoyed.”
Early Saturday morning, students joined the Zoom call and viewed a slideshow of images from past conferences while the operations team took attendance. Then, sophomore Rohan Gorti as well as CEO of the 2019-20 school year, Phil Han ‘20, spoke about their past experiences with Harker DECA.
The officers held an icebreaker game for the attendees to get to know their innovation challenge teammates and the officers. Junior Melody Luo, director of writtens, introduced the students to the weekend’s main activity, the Innovation Challenge, before students went into breakout rooms with their teams and assigned officers. With the guidance of an upperclassman mentor, attendees brainstormed product ideas on virtual whiteboards and started working on their executive summaries.
“Despite the unprecedented online format, this year’s Launch was just as memorable, if not more so, as past events, with students embracing each part of the experience with brimming enthusiasm,” Luo said. “As they learned the ins and outs of roleplays with their mentors and collaborated together on their very first executive summary, there was an emerging sense of community that DECA is so known for. Launch is always special to the DECA officer team because it’s our first opportunity to bond with the new members and share with them the thrilling aspects of the competitive season.”
Next, the attendees bonded with their Innovation Challenge teams through an at-home Scavenger Hunt, in which they were asked to complete a DECA Bingo and pitch a random item for 30 seconds, along with other various activities. Through this exercise, students formed a stronger bond with their mentors and teammates. Attendees were then introduced to the several sectors of DECA events through the Cluster Presentations.
The last day of Launch, Juston Glass, business and entrepreneurship teacher and DECA chapter advisor, presented on all of Harker’s business and entrepreneurship programs. Next, sophomore Anika Muddu, director of roleplays, hosted a presentation introducing the attendees to roleplays before senior Bryan Zhang, VP of competitions, hosted a Kahoot! game covering the Business Administration Core exam topics. Afterward, Catherine He, grade 11, director of technology, hosted a graphic design workshop, which further prepared attendees for their Innovation Challenge presentations. Attendees then went back to their breakout session to work on the Innovation Challenge.
The Roleplay Tournament was a key part of Launch and took place on Sunday afternoon. Mentors were assigned to small groups and explained the process and guidelines of a roleplay. Subsequently, students were paired up with judges to present their roleplays.
“Launch was a fun and exciting way to learn more about DECA. I enjoyed with my team on the innovation challenge and competing in the roleplay and I look forward to participating in these events during the school year,” said Olivia Xu, grade 9.
Attendees were given extra time after the Roleplay Tournament for practicing their Innovation Challenge presentations before the parents joined the session for the Alumni Panel and the Closing Ceremony. The students and parents were given the opportunity to ask five alumni – Vignesh Panchanatham ’18, Enya Lu ’19, Lucas Wang ’17, Shania Wang ’19 and Savi Joshi ’15 – questions about how DECA has impacted their high school and college paths, as well as career choices. Afterward, teams pitched their Innovation Challenge ideas to the judges, who graded them on, presentation, innovation and teamwork. Attendees and parents watched a Launch recap video while the judges worked on scoring the teams. Closing speeches from Glass and the CEOs and the award ceremony concluded the weekend.
“Despite it being online, I really enjoyed the DECA launch this year and I can’t wait to attend conferences!” said attendee Sonya Apsey, grade 9.
Harker DECA is excited to welcome all new and returning members and is looking forward to starting the next school year with an exceptional group of future leaders.
“While the event was unprecedented in its delivery format, both the participants and our DECA officer team were very open, receptive and excited to dive right into the program. Students were able to meet new friends, prepare for the upcoming DECA year and finished the weekend with amazing business ideas and pitches. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds for our Harker DECA chapter. Go Eagles!” said Glass.
Students that won awards are as follows (all winners are in grade 9):
Roleplay Tournament:
1st Place: Ariav Misra
2nd Place: Harshini Chaturvedula
3rd Place: Gordy Sun
Innovation Challenge:
Most Feasible: Selina Chen, Desiree Luo, Sonya Apsey, Serena Janny, Nathan Liu, Devin Hawk, Siddhi Jain
Best Presentation: Aniketh Tummala, Sebastian Dionne, Vardaan Ghai, Reza Jalil, Claire Miao, Yoyo Bai, Cynthia Wang
Best Innovation: Meishin Yen, Medha Yarlagadda, Emi Fujimura, Heidi Lu, Sathvik Chundru, Joe Li
Best Overall: Ashwin Kuppahally, Kabir Ramzan, Spencer Mak, Edis Mesic, Tanisha Singh, Mariana Ryder
On Saturday, Harker students were invited to explore a virtual replica of the upper school campus, created in Minecraft by a team of about 40 students. The detailed recreation features nearly every room on campus, including teachers’ classrooms and staff offices.
“We’ve filled in many rooms and will make it as accurate as possible,” said senior Jason Lin, a lead on the project. “In some places, the detail is truly impressive. For instance, the inside library room, from which students are often ejected for being too loud, permanently has a red card next to its door, which signifies that it’s getting too loud.”
Those who did not have a Minecraft account were invited to view a special livestream for a tour of the campus. Minecraft players and viewers on the livestream combined for a total of nearly 200 visitors.
The project – led by Lin and seniors Richard Chang, Arusha Patil and Ethan Steeg, as well as junior Kailash Ranganathan and sophomores Rupert Chen, Kris Estrada, Michelle Jin and Anthony Tong – was staged on a Minecraft server set up toward the end of the 2019-20 school year with the help of upper school learning, innovation and design (LID) director Diane Main. “We worked with Mrs. Main to make sure that this server would be a positive, contained environment,” Lin said. “It went pretty well – dozens of people met with classmates, built houses together and just had fun on these servers amidst shelter-in-place.”
The upper school campus project was started over the summer, with map data, aerial footage and an online graphing calculator being used to recreate the campus. Lin hopes the Minecraft campus can continue to be a place for students to convene. “[Upper school dean of students Kevin Williamson] and the class deans have been very open and helpful in this process,” said Lin. “We will work with them to make sure that the server can be a positive, contained space for students to have fun together throughout the year.”
Lin said visiting the virtual campus with his friends has helped foster a sense of community in a time when students are spending so much time apart. “Nothing beats the feeling of racing down the hallways of [the campus’ main building] again with six friends,” he said. “Even though it’s Minecraft, the sense of togetherness is real.”
Tags: alumni-express, eweekly, express, MinecraftBy Lori L. Ferguson
While some may see field trips as simply a day off from school, this is far from the case at Harker. Talk to a teacher or student from any grade and it quickly becomes apparent: This is an institution where education and real-world experiences are indelibly linked. From preschool through grade 12, teachers work hard to ensure that students are afforded opportunities to enhance their classroom learning through field trips around the area.
The impact is profound. Students of every age evince delight in seeing classroom learning come alive and indicate time and again that interactive learning bolsters their understanding of the subject matter.
“Children learn best using a variety of modalities – kinesthetic, visual, auditory – and field trips allow students to experience the many ways in which concepts they’ve encountered in the classroom integrate into real life; that is very powerful,” observed Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs.
Lower School
Kindergarten teacher Michelle Anderson has repeatedly witnessed the magic of off-campus learning. Each year she takes her young charges on a series of excursions designed to reinforce classroom learning and teach life lessons such as how to be a welcome guest and behave responsibly in public.
Anderson begins the year with the Teddy Bear Picnic in a nearby park, then continues with trips to a Gilroy pumpkin patch and the De Anza College Fujitsu Planetarium. In late April most years, she completes her science unit with a visit to the Oakland Zoo. “The trip allows the children to get close to the animals they’ve studied in class. They view their habitats and seek out their favorites.
“The kids love our field trips – we all do,” she continued. “They learn how to be good stewards for Harker and enjoy public outings while respecting rules and boundaries. It’s fun for everyone.”
For visual arts teacher Gerry-louise Robinson, the joy of field trips rests in teaching children to live in the moment. For her grade 2 students, Robinson organizes a trip to the San Jose Museum of Art to view art and then make their own works. The outing stimulates the children’s curiosity and encourages them to embrace new concepts without fear. “They discuss what the artists have done and why,” she explained. “They look at art and decide whether they like it – there are no wrong answers – and then explore their own creative impulses.”
The children respond with enthusiasm. “My favorite part was when we got to see all the paintings,” said Kristian Warmdahl. “I liked when we made the art project of the mobile; it’s now hanging in my room,” said Kyra Varro. Natasha Chatterjee is similarly enthusiastic. “I really liked the hanging mobile craft because it shows who I really am,” she said.
For grade 4 and 5 students, the art experience is a children’s musical theater production at San Jose’s historic Montgomery Theater. This year’s offering was “Into the Woods,” Stephen Sondheim’s fanciful take on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. “It was especially exciting for the children to see this show because there was a Harker middle school student in the production,” said Robinson.
Attending a live theater performance imparts many lessons, Robinson explained. “The most interesting thing I learned was that the show took one to two months [to create],” marveled Nicki Yazdi, grade 5, who also welcomed the chance to learn in a new setting. “What makes trips off campus so fun is that we get to be with friends while learning something new.”
Watching a live performance also compels students to engage with the experience in real time, Robinson asserted. “They can’t press the pause button like they can when watching a video at home, so they learn to be present.” For many students, this appreciation of the moment holds true for the entire outing. “My favorite part of the trip was probably the bus ride,” said Ivanya Sadana, grade 5. “I got to hang out with my friends, and I got to spend time with my mom,” she observed.
Whatever students’ takeaway, offering them opportunities to embrace the arts is critical, Robinson contended. “We have some incredibly talented students at Harker; I want to be sure they know that their path in life can encompass their passion for the arts.”
Middle School
Middle school visual arts teacher Sofie Siegmann also believes deeply in the power of art and views field trips as an essential part of her curriculum. “Arts education not only involves creating art but also looking at art,” she asserted. “It’s a very direct experience and I want my students to be aware of the resources around them.”
Since joining the Harker faculty three years ago, Siegmann has explored a variety of options for exposing her students to the area’s rich visual culture. “We’ve been to Stanford to see the Anderson Collection of modern and contemporary art and the Cantor Arts Center and we’ve done Downtown Art-Walk San Jose,” she said.
Although Siegmann’s courses are electives for students, she maintains they’re no less important to their overall education. “I press my students to think critically about what they’re seeing and ask themselves ‘What is art? How does an artist think?’ and ‘How do artists choose their materials?’ I also encourage them to experience the works emotionally by appreciating their shapes, colors and sounds. I think everyone can have a connection with art, and I want to foster that connection.”
Siegmann’s students see the value in these excursions. “Unlike traditional classes, the skills you learn in art can be interpreted in many different ways outside the classroom and are more of a tool for artists to express their thoughts,” observed Anika Mantripragada, grade 8. “I truly believe that class trips are an integral part of the learning experience. They have broadened my views on how the skills we learn in class can be applied outside.”
“Harker students are very good at analyzing and studying, but I also think it’s important for them to have experiences that are more impulsive, organic and in the moment,” Siegmann observed. “My students see slides and videos of art all the time, but I want them to understand there’s great joy in experiencing art face-to-face as well.”
Face-to-face learning is also favored by middle school history and social science teacher Cyrus Merrill. Each year following the completion of his class unit on the 1920s, Merrill hosts a Roaring ’20s dinner for all grade 8 students. “I put a big emphasis on social history in my teaching process. My lessons on the period center on FAME: fashion, art, music and entertainment.”
For years, Merrill ended the 1920s unit with a classroom party. “Then about five years ago, I decided to step it up and host a dinner party outside the school,” he said. The dinner takes place at a local restaurant owned by collectors who have decorated the place in period-specific style and greet students in costume. “You walk into the place and it feels like [the 1920s],” marveled Merrill. “It’s filled with player pianos and other mechanized instruments as well as artwork of the day. The kids eat food cooked from 1920s recipes, drink sodas and fizzes common to the period, and listen to music from the time. It’s a lot of fun.”
Merrill encourages students to come in costume and distributes talking points culled from class content in advance of the evening to encourage discussions on issues of the day. “I ask students to try to have at least 10 things they could talk about from that list and then during the course of the evening, I stop by each table group and say, ‘Tell me about a fashion trend or a song you like.’ I expect them to draw on things they’ve learned in class, for example by using slang from the period while conversing or distinguishing ragtime from blues or 1920s hot jazz.”
The goal, said Merrill, is for students to have a fun evening that’s content inspired. “I’m a big believer in experiential learning; I like to bring history alive by challenging the kids to step into the past,” he said. “My hope is that they come away from the experience with a curiosity about life in different time periods.”
Student reactions indicate Merrill’s dream is being realized. “The party felt extremely authentic. I felt as if I had been transported back to the 1920s and was living my life from that time,” said Samvita Gautham, grade 9, of last year’s adventure. Classmate Deeya Viradia agrees. “Although we learned much about the ’20s in the classroom, this dinner taught us about the ways that people lived and interacted with each other,” she said. “Experiencing that firsthand is nothing like reading about it in a textbook.” Grade 9 student Amruta Dharmapurikar delighted in seeing history lessons come to life. “We’ve seen photos of old telephones and pianos and toilets, but it’s a different experience to see it all up close – it’s not just an abstract idea – they actually used those things and there’s proof right in front of us.”
Upper School
Fostering curiosity about life in other eras is also the impetus for upper school English teacher Charles Shuttleworth’s field trip to City Lights bookstore and The Beat Museum in San Francisco. After months of studying the works of Jack Kerouac and other Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti in Shuttleworth’s Beat Generation class, students hop a bus to San Francisco to experience the power of this formative generation for themselves. They spend an hour or so with famed Kerouac biographer Dennis McNally – author of “Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, The Beat Generation and America” – and then tour the museum and bookstore.
“The Beat Generation was the beginning of gay rights, women’s rights, freedom of expression and the ecology movement, but my students have had little contact with the subject matter because the 1950s are so far in the past for them,” said Shuttleworth. “Exposing them to the period’s energy and passion beyond the walls of my classroom is a big thing. They meet people who were directly involved in the movement; it’s a very visceral way to connect them with the subject matter they’ve been studying.”
Students appreciate the chance to unite coursework with the real world. “The trip to San Francisco was a different way of learning apart from class notes, books and discussions,” said senior Sahil Gosain. “Meeting people who lived through this time period made the learning more personal.” Classmate Jatin Kohli concurred: “The trip added a whole new perspective to the course and made it feel like we were part of the history; physically standing in the same places and talking to the same people [as the Beat poets] was an unforgettable experience.”
Standing together and talking with others is what the trip to the 2019 Silicon Valley Youth Climate Strike was all about. And as the Harker Green Team’s faculty advisors, upper school teachers Kate Schafer and Diana Moss were eager to facilitate their students’ involvement. “Our students are concerned about climate change and want to do something meaningful here and now, but they don’t always realize they have the power to make a difference,” said Schafer, who teaches biology. “Many aren’t from cultures where it’s commonplace to attend rallies or city council meetings to promote a cause, so we’re always looking for opportunities for students to get involved in ways they might not otherwise consider.”
The youth-organized climate strike was the perfect vehicle. Prior to the strike, students discussed climate change and made posters, then traveled to San Jose City Hall to share their concerns with the mayor and council members. “We want the kids to realize that they have a voice, that activism matters and that public officials will respond,” said Moss, a Spanish teacher. “This is the world they will inherit, so it’s important that they engage now.”
Students found the rally energizing. “I sometimes feel isolated because it seems like a lot of kids at school don’t care that much about environmental issues,” confessed Green Team member Anvi Banga, grade 12. “But at the Climate Strike, I met many young people who care about the giant problem we have and who are willing to spend their time and energy to fight for something they believe in, which was super cool.”
“Sometimes I feel like kids are all talk and no action,” agreed senior Aditi Ghalsasi. “Going to the strike felt good because I was doing something about an issue that’s important to me.” Classmate Anthony Shing was also inspired. “Getting people together to share their beliefs instills the idea that we can make a change in our community and the wider world.”
The experience also offered students a valuable illustration of the difference between theory and practice. “You can talk a lot of theory in class, but when you get involved, you get an immediate check on your wild ideas,” said Ghalsasi. Fellow student Allison Jia agreed: “When you immerse yourself in an environment, it bolsters your understanding of the subject matter and gives you a fresh perspective on things you’ve learned in class.”
And this, said Gargano, is the whole point. “Learning about a subject by hearing or reading about it is one thing. Having a personal experience with that subject is another,” she observed. “In the classroom, knowledge is sometimes imparted in segments, so when we expose our students to concepts in the real world, they’re integrated into an even more comprehensive framework, and that can make all the difference.”
Lori L. Ferguson is a freelance writer based on the Florida Gulf Coast.
Tags: Harker MagazineThis story originally appeared in the spring/summer 2020 issue of Harker Magazine.
A constant source of calm humor and graceful leadership, Debra Nott, director of health services, shepherds the school through everything from scraped knees to air quality issues and pandemics. She has also lent her expertise to the California School Nurses Organization as president of its Bay Coast section, where she implemented conference standards that continue to this day. Nott and her husband of 40 years have sent two daughters through Harker, one of whom was an Olympian (“I sewed over a hundred synchronized swimming suits and headpieces …”). This nurse who loves dancing, step aerobics and Zumba shared a little more about her favorite things.
What piece of advice have you given your children?
“Be careful of what you need to believe or have to believe.” Sometimes we desperately need to believe something is true, regardless of evidence to the contrary. Recognize that and think it through again.
What would constitute a perfect day for you?
I had a perfect day in Rio de Janeiro. Our daughter Andrea qualified for the Olympics in the morning. She placed first; the American flag was raised high and we sang our national anthem. In the afternoon, my husband and I jumped off a cliff in a tandem hang glider (with an expert) and landed on the beach. That night we watched the sunset from Sugarloaf Mountain.
What are you obsessed with?
Star Trek and Star Wars.
What gives you a reason to smile?
I love it when our youngest students want to re-enact how an injury occurred, sometimes complete with jumping off a chair and rolling around on the floor!
What do you love most about your life?
Students and adults come to me every day. My goal is that when they leave, they will feel better.
If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?
Although I love being a nurse, my first career goal will always be astronaut. Unfortunately, I get motion sickness at the drop of a hat, and let’s just say calculus and I didn’t see the world in the same way!
San Francisco native Paul Vallerga is the man behind the exquisite set designs for all middle and upper school performing arts productions. He also teaches a grade 7-8 Production and Design class. Vallerga likes the classics: He listens to baseball on the radio, watches old movies and named his “occasionally evil” cat Iago. He likes guiding his students into the word of technical theater with a sense of calm and attention, encouraging people around him to stay relaxed. Here’s a little more that Harker Magazine learned from this creative teacher, who is grateful to have made a career in the arts.
What is the one thing in the world you would fix if you could wave a magic wand?
We seem to be in a time where anger, bullying and a general incivility are not only acceptable but admired. I would fix that.
What makes you feel like a kid again?
Cheesy monster movies. Occasionally a new one pops up that, even with millions of CGI dollars, still gets the right vibe. The latest “Godzilla” got this right – he still looks like a guy in a rubber suit.
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken in your life?
I had just graduated with a B.A. in theater. I landed a temp job at Fairchild Semiconductor, and I designed one show at the California Theatre Center. I was offered permanent work at both places the same week. After some soul searching, I took the theater job, though it was lower paying. I was there for 20 years, and it led me directly to Harker.
What is your most treasured object and why?
I have a picture of my father right at the end of his life, with me in the background, and we both are (without knowing it) making the same hand gestures. I really love that picture.
What is something that you pretend to understand when you really don’t?
Baseball free agency.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Don’t sweat the small stuff – and it’s all small stuff.