Jocelyn Ko ’07 was recognized in early May for her outstanding work at Stanford University by receiving the J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement. This is one of Stanford’s most selective academic awards. Based on overall academic performance, it is given to 25 students from the graduating class in the School of Humanities and Sciences.
One of the features of the award is the in-person recognition of a secondary school teacher that has influenced the recipient most in their academic careers, and Ko chose to honor Evan Barth as her selection. In his short address, Barth highlighted Ko’s strong work ethic and amazing attitude, even when under extreme pressure. “We knew she was a rock star here, but now we know she was a rock star at Stanford, too,” said Barth. “As I said at the ceremony, the best part about Jocelyn is her amazing attitude and smile that persists even when working really hard.”
Ko is currently writing her honors thesis that discusses targeting tumors and accelerating their treatment. She is taking a year “off” before med school and will be working in Hawaii with native Hawaiian health issues.
The middle school’s spring musical, Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” entranced young and old with simple but evocative sets, colorful and active crowd scenes and superlative performances by leading actors.
There were three showings, plus shows for students during school time, and two casts, so special kudos go to Monica Colletti and Roxann Hagemeyer, the director and musical director, for the stellar performance of both groups!
Dinner was available before each of the evening shows and the Saturday matinee show was a special family event where children dressed as a prince or princess and met cast members in costume.
The story was introduced by players speaking to the audience. Then, the curtain opened to the vivid, active panorama of the village square, where we are introduced to Belle, the beauty, played by Apoorva Rangan and Rasika Raghavan, both grade 8, a quirky young woman and the only one in the village with the perspicacity –and motivation– to tame the Beast/Prince, played by Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari and Glenn Reddy, both grade 8. About 50 middle schoolers were in the cast, with more working as stage hands and in other technical positions.
Highlights included very fast set changes with the curtain open, displaying the clever arrangement that kept the continuity of the play intact. The village backdrop was simple, leaving center stage as the action focus; the interior of the Beast’s castle had simple risers that played into the plot, but again, kept the action center stage.
Characters were fun! The hunter, Gaston, played by Ryan Pachauri, grade 8, was a swaggering braggart, and his side kick Lefou, played by Sid Krishnamurthi and Agata Sorotokin, both grade 8, was by turns insouciant and ingratiating. Other characters brought the drama alive, including Lumiere, played by Ishanya Anthapur and Maya Nandakumar, both grade 8, whose inspired delivery and lively movement captivated the audience.
Costuming was thorough and fun, with Belle in a lovely dress, the prince in velvet and a shaggy mask, and market folk in peasant dress.
Crowd scenes were especially energizing, with opposing rows of players singing and moving back and forth across the stage to create symmetrical movement, while the chaotic raid by the villagers delighted young audience members with its frenzied search for the Beast/Prince.
“I am constantly amazed at the depth of talent that exists within this community amongst students, faculty and staff,” said Cindy Ellis, middle school head. “A special thank you to Monica Colletti and Roxann Hagemeyer, our phenomenal directors, and to Paul Vallerga and Brian Larsen, our magical tech and set managers. I know there are untold hours that go in to such a lavish production!”
Softball history! For the first time in Harker history our softball team qualified for CCS with a 10-0 victory over Alma Heights Saturday, solidifying third place in league and the last automatic league berth. The girls travel to Notre Dame-Belmont Wednesday for their first-round game. Please congratulate the girls and their coaches, Raul Rios, Dan Hudkins and Ray Fowler, for this outstanding accomplishment. Bracketdirections from the Saratoga campus As with all CCS games, there is an entry fee. For softball first-round games entry is $5 for all, children under 12 are free.
Here are details of the game from a message Dan Hudkins sent to team families:
“Wow! What a game! By defeating Alma Heights Christian (10-0 in 6 innings) we received an ‘automatic qualification’ for the Central Coast Sectional (CCS) softball tournament. This is a first for Harker’s softball program, and speaking as someone who was also an assistant coach in 2004 when we went 0-15, we’ve come a long, long way. Your daughter and her teammates did it by their continuous, enthusiastic support of each other.
“Coach Rios and I just got back from the tournament seeding meeting at the CCS office. We received the 12th of 13 seeds in Division III (smaller schools). This means the first round game will be played against the number five seed, Notre Dame High School – Belmont, at Belmont on Wed., May 18 at 4 p.m. Coach Rios will let everyone know departure time for the game on Wednesday; I suspect that it will between 2 and 2:30. The school’s address is 1540 Ralston Ave., Belmont, CA 94002. With any luck we’ll be back in time to participate in the sports award ceremonies that begin at 6:30 p.m. on the Saratoga campus (parents are welcome to that as well). CCS is single elimination. If we win, we continue, if we lose, it’s the end of the season. We hope that you can come out and support the team either at the CCS round 1 game, the sports award ceremonies, or both! It’s been a great season and a privilege to have been a part of it.”
Harker parents Samir and Sundari Mitra (Shivani, grade 10) have established The Mitra Family Endowment for the Humanities which will match gifts for the Annual Giving Campaign up to a total of $100,000.
“The subject matters taught under humanities such as history, languages, communications and philosophy are critical skills and knowledge that develop well-rounded Harker students,” said Samir Mitra. “Humanities is the bedrock of a superior education and will enable our students to stand out as recognized contributors in their future professions.”
Those interested in helping the Mitras’ effort can contribute online at www.harker.org/onlinegiving or send a check to Harker Advancement Office, 3800 Blackford Ave., San Jose, CA 95117, or drop off a check at any campus front office.
“The Mitra family’s endowment offer, and every matching give from others, will benefit our students every year, for years and years to come,” said Melinda Gonzales, director of development.
They Harker Key Club donated to the Shelterbox Foundation in April to help victims of the Japanese tsunami. The Key Club had originally planned to donate to the Make-A-Wish foundation, but the club board voted unanimously to choose a new organization in light of the disaster in Japan. Club president Jennifer Nguyen, grade 12, said, “We chose Shelterbox because of its mission, practicality, and its timely arrival to disaster areas.” The Shelterbox Foundation sends packages by the same name to disaster stricken areas; these boxes are filled with medical supplies and food to help their recipients.
After choosing to switch charities, the Key Club mobilized its members in order to raise the money to contribute to the organization. After school, the club sold root beer floats, Italian sodas and baked goods that were donated by Key Club members. During the Thursday morning advisory periods, the members of the club sold bagels donated by local business Noah’s Bagels.
These efforts were very successful and the group was able to donate more than $1,000.This translated to one Shelterbox, which was able to help a family of 12. This money was raised in just a few days, April 4-8, a testament to the character and persistence of the Key Club members. Let’s look forward to their next mission and lend a hand.
[Update] The San Jose Mercury News has published a nice story about the victory – read all about it!
May 11, 2011
Harker’s Vandana Kadam, middle school math teacher, led Celine Liang, grade 7, from Harker, and three students from other California schools to the Mathcounts national championship in Washington, D.C.
Students from Redwood, Cupertino and Kennedy middle schools, California’s top finishers at the state level, were the other three members of the championship team. Liang was third in the state competition. Mathcounts was founded 28 years ago by the National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Foundation and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
“Making it to the California state team itself is an accomplishment due to the population and the competition,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school.
A total of 250,000 students participated in MathCounts nationwide this year, coached by over 5,000 coaches, noted Kadam. There were 56 teams at nationals, which ran May 5-8. The teams come from each of the 50 states, plus the Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico, and added teams from the District of Columbia, Department of Defense and the State Department. No matter how large or small the state is, only four top students represent each one.
Students are graded individually for individual prizes and also on the team score. The team score comprises the average of the four individual scores and an additional team round. California beat all top teams to clinch first place and each member of the winning California team won a $2,000 scholarship and a trip to space camp. “The students did an awesome job. Harker was well represented by Celine Liang,” said Kadam.
In honor of Rome’s 2764th birthday, the middle school beginning Latin classes of Lisa Masoni and Andrea Milius cooked or brought Roman foods for a modest feast. Masoni’s students brought, for the first time ever, ostrich and wild boar. Milius’ class covered food basics, and both classes had a great end-of-year celebration with plenty of learning thrown in.
Two upper school school students participated in the U.S. Chemistry Olympiad last month, sending a junior, Albert Wu, and a sophomore, Ashvin Swaminathan, on to the second round in hopes of advancing to the third round (20 students from the entire U.S.). The first round of tests were taken by 42 Harker students, with Wu and Swaminathan advancing to the national round with the highest scores. The Olympiad, a multiple choice, free response, and lab-based problem-solving chemistry competition is taken across the U.S. to recognize excellence in the study of chemistry. Harker has a track record of being recognized in the competition and advancing to the further rounds.
Wu and Swaminathan took the national test, which was taken by 900 other students across the U.S., and are both hoping to advance to the same level that Vikram Nathan ’09 advanced to, the study camp. From that level, which consists of two weeks of learning and competition, they are hoping to advance again to represent the United States in the international chemistry Olympiad. Let’s wish them luck and congratulate them and the 40 other Harker students on their outstanding performances in the competition.
On April 29 Teré Aceves, director of K-8 volunteer programs, led the first yearly series of Harker Parent Volunteer Workshops along with Sue Prutton, director of upper school volunteer programs. Aceves said the goal of the workshops was “to create awareness of the different volunteer opportunities in the school as well as to share with the parents the value of volunteering.”
The workshops were very successful, as evidenced by the high attendance and enthusiasm from the parents who participated. Approximately 140 parents arrived for the workshops, 60 parents from the lower school and 80 from the middle and upper schools. While there were some long-time volunteers who took part, most of those in attendance were brand new volunteers, a key indicator of high parent interest. This is great news for the Harker community as many of the school’s popular programs, such as robotics and debate in the upper school, and activities, like the Lunar New Year celebration in the lower school, are dependent on parent volunteers.
The workshops will become a yearly fixture at Harker, in order to bring more of these invaluable volunteers into the community. If you missed the workshop, or wanted to get more information about how to volunteer, email Aceves at terea@harker.org.
In early May a representative of the Shriners Hospitals for Children – Sacramento came to Harker’s middle school to accept a $1,200 check from the Peace2Peace club. The club’s eighth graders raised the money in their annual garage sale to help the Shriners. Glenn Reddy has been spearheading these efforts over the last three years and this year was assisted by Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari, Jeremy Binkley and Alex Thomas, backed up by Sophia Shatas, Hannah Baz and Christina Andrus.
The Shriners Hospitals for Children is a nonprofit network of 22 hospitals that gives aid to children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, cleft lips and palates. The specific hospital that Peace2Peace is supporting is located in Sacramento.
Advised by Steven Hewitt, the group solicited items to sell at their sale, asking for everything from toaster ovens to paintings on velvet in their creative announcement, stating, “one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure” as their philosophy. They requested the donations be placed in special red bins spotted around the Blackford campus. In mid-April, aiming for a dry weekend, they collected all the goods, set up shop and ran the sale from Reddy’s home.
“Over the past few years, we have raised money for places in Uganda, Costa Rica and India,” Reddy said. “We sat down and realized this year that people need help locally and not just in other countries. Since I have been a patient at Shriners myself, I recommended the Shriners hospital as a group to donate to.”