During the week of Feb. 28, flour sack babies were distributed to grade 8 students to give them a glimpse of the experience of parenthood. The students earned points for science and physical education for participating in the project, and were expected to look after their would-be children with the utmost care. Any neglect or abuse resulted in lost points. Daycare centers were set up so that students who had after-school activities could leave their flour sacks to be supervised. Students made the activity fun by accessorizing their flour sacks with sunglasses, hats, blankets and other items.
In the biggest collaboration yet among Harker vocal groups, ensembles from all three campuses gathered at a packed Blackford Theater on March 18 for this year’s United Voices concert.
Community was a major emphasis for this installment of the show. In order to give all classes the chance to see one another perform, a twist on the traditional technical run-through was held before the show took place: the performers sat in the audience instead of backstage. The performers also enjoyed a pasta dinner, where students from all campuses mingled with one another. Several upper school girls also assisted the lower school choir performers with their hair and wardrobe.
Vivace, directed by Dave Hart and featuring singers from grades 7 and 8, kicked off the show with Antonio Vivaldi’s “Laudamas Te” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “One Note Samba.” The group made three more appearances on stage that evening singing a variety of works, including traditional folk songs from Korea and Japan, as well as “Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin. One number had them team up with the grade 7 and 8 group Harmonics for a special performance of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.”
Representing the lower school was the Bucknall Choir, made up of grade 4 and 5 students who were directed by Jennifer Cowgill. They sang “Red Dragonflies” by Kosaku Yamada, as well as the traditional Russian Yiddish piece “Turn Balalaika.” Special accompaniment was provided by Paul Woodruff on piano and Toni Woodruff on violin.
The first of the upper school groups to perform was Camerata, directed by Susan Nace, singing “Adieu, Sweet Amaryllis.” Bel Canto, directed by Catherine Snider and featuring juniors Alex Najibi on violin and the group’s accompanist, Ramya Rangan, on piano, then sang a beautiful arrangement of the traditional song “Shenandoah.”
Cantilena, Nace’s all-female group, performed the Native American-inspired soundscape “Watane,” which featured percussion, wind chimes and other atmospheric touches.
Roxann Hagemeyer directed the Grade 6 choir, who sang Susan Thrift’s “Antiphony Kyrie” before breaking into the energetic performances of “Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop” and “Feel the Beat,” driven by infectiously upbeat choreography.
Harmonics, directed by middle school music teachers Monica Colletti and Hagemeyer, performed a spirited, animated medleys of 1960s classics, which included such cultural standards as “Dancing in the Street,” “The Loco-Motion” and “Twist and Shout.”
Prior to the show’s final number, the upper school’s Downbeat, directed by Snider and Laura Lang-Ree, delivered a rich and moving version of Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” after which all of the groups who performed that evening assembled on the stage for the last song. Following some thankful words from Lang-Ree to the parents and administration, Cowgill led the gathering of more than 175 students in singing a modern arrangement of the traditional English folk song “The Water is Wide,” a truly momentous performance that for the first time captured so many voices from all three campuses singing in harmony together. United, indeed!
A special ceremony was held on March 21 for the new inductees of the Harker Cum Laude Society. New members from the class of 2011 are Roshni Bhatnagar, Tracey Chan, Christine Chien, Tiffany Chien, Timothy Chou, Saloni Gupta, Andrew Liang, Isaac Madan, Rohan Mahajan, Zachary Mank, Moneesha Mukherjee, Shreya Nathan, Margaux Nielsen, Dawn Queen, Swetha Repakula and Brianna Tran.
New members from the class of 2012 are Prag Batra, Lucy Cheng, Chun Man Chow, Nicole Dalal, Govinda Dasu, Michelle Deng, Alexander Hsu, Max Isenberg, Revanth Kosaraju, Jeffrey Kwong, Chaitanya Malladi, Ramya Rangan, Pavitra Rengarajan, Kathryn Siegel, Albert Wu and Patrick Yang.
Attendees were also treated to a performance by the Harker Woodwind Quintet, and English teacher John Heyes distributed the latest issue of “Reflections,” the Harker Cum Laude Society’s print magazine.
The spring 2011 edition of the Harker Quarterly magazine is in the mail and online. This issue features Harker’s upcoming summer program offerings, highlights from our recent fashion show event, and the community conversations on “Race to Nowhere” and student life/work balance. The digital version of the Quarterly can be accessed on our home page at www.harker.org. For more information, contact communications@harker.org.
Published four times a year, the Harker Quarterly showcases some of the top news, leading programs, inspiring people and visionary plans of the greater Harker community.
Accolades from the winter season: in early March, girls basketball player Daniza Rodriguez, grade 10, was named West Bay Athletic League-Skyline Division Most Valuable Player.
Spring Sports
Swimming
Harker varsity swimming had a dominating win over Mercy Burlingame last week, winning all eleven events to post a 129-36 win. The girls team has yet to lose a single event this season and are now 2-0 and in first place in the WBAL. Double event winners were Jessica Khojasteh, grade 12 and Manon Audebert, grade 9.
Other event winners were Rachelle Koch, Lucy Cheng, Katie Siegel and Tiffany Wong, all grade 11, as well as all three relays: Harker had 1-2-3 sweeps in the 50 freestyle, the 500 freestyle, and the 100 breaststroke. Cheng had her first CCS qualifying swim of the year in the 200 IM. Of special note from the boys’ scrimmage: Kevin Khojasteh, grade 11, had a spectacular swim in the 200 freestyle, breaking now-junior Daryl Neubieser’s school record, set last May, by .11 of a second, going 1:46.79.
Golf
Our boys golfers opened league play in early March with a victory over King’s Academy 207-237 at Los Lagos. Co-medalist honors went to sophomores Kyle Roter and Maverick McNealy, shooting 2 over par at 36. In mid-March, linksmen defeated Pinewood and lost to SHP. McNealy earned medalist honors against Prep.
Track and Field
The track and field team had an outstanding display at the Willow Glen Invitational in early March. Isabelle Connell, grade 10, placed first in both the 200m and 400m races, and Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 10, took fourth in both the 1600m and 3200m races. On the boys team, Charles Levine, grade 10, placed eighth in the 800m, Krish Chandani, grade 9, finished eighth for the freshman-sophomore (FS) boys 400m. Matthew Giammona, grade 10, threw to place fifth in the boys FS discus, while classmate Michael Chen finished seventh.
In their first league meet, in mid-March, track and field had some notable moments. Individual highlights include Claudia Tischler, grade 9, who took first place in both the mile (1600m) and the 2 mile (3200m), running a 5:39 and 12:34, respectively. Connell took first place in both the 400 meter and the 200 meter dashes, running a 1:01.48 and a 26.95, respectively. Sonya Chalaka, grade 11, took first place in the triple jump, jumping 29 feet and 9 and one half inches, and second place in the long jump, jumping 13 feet and 8 inches.
For the boys, Jonny Yet, grade 11, ran the 100 meter dash in 12.71 seconds, placing second. Giammona took second place in the discus, throwing 88 feet and 5 inches, and Chen took third place in both the shot put and the discus, throwing 37 feet and one half inches and 87 feet and six inches, respectively.
Softball
Softball started the season 1-1 in early March, defeating San Jose High 14-1 in their opener and losing to Independence High the week before. Against San Jose, Ashley Del Alto, grade 10, had a triple with three RBIs, Tracey Chan, grade 12, hit a home run, and Alison Rugar, grade 10, pitched eight strikeouts. The following week the team defeated Yerba Buena 18-3 and Alma Heights 7-3. Against Alma Heights, Del Alto pitched 15 strikeouts, Rugar hit a triple and we had hits from Chan, Victoria Liang, Aileen Wen and Trisha Basu, all seniors, and Sonia Gupta, grade 10.
Baseball
Varsity baseball started the season 0-3. The junior varsity team lost 6-5 in early March in 10 innings against Santa Clara. Noah Levy, grade 11, had three hits, Drew Goldstein, grade 10, had a hit, and Kevin Cali, grade 10, pitched 13 strikeouts.
Volleyball
Boys volleyball went 4-1 at the Aptos Tournament in early March, placing second behind Mt. Madonna. In mid-March, they lost first to St. Ignatius and then a nail-biter to Mt. Madonna last week to drop to 5-5 on the season. Jacob Chappell, grade 12, had 22 kills against Mt. Madonna.
Tennis
Boys tennis started out 2-0 after victories over Piedmont Hills and Priory. Against Priory, Derek Tzeng, grade 11, played #1 singles and didn’t drop a game, winning 6-0, 6-0. Sophmore Chris Chang played #2 singles and was almost as impressive, winning 6-0, 6-1. Senior Nick Parth won a tiebreaker at #3, 8-7. Nikhil Narayen, grade 10, played his first singles match, winning at #4, 6-1, 6-2. In doubles, the #1 team of Adarsh Ranganathan, grade 12 and freshman Killian Burke won 6-1, 6-1. Also impressive was #2 doubles team of Sachin Jain, grade 11 and Justin Yang, grade 10, who also won 6-1, 6-1. Finally, Revanth Kosaraju, grade 11 and Simar Mangat, grade 10, won 6-2, 6-3 at #3 doubles. In mid-March the boys defeated Crystal Springs but lost to Cupertino and Sacred Heart Prep. The boys take their 5-2 record against national power Menlo and Monte Vista this week.
Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse lost their home opener in early March and the team has been fighting for their first win. They get two more chances before spring break, with home games against Mercy and Stevenson March 23 and 24 at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
Harker’s MathCounts team, Celine Liang, grade 7 and eighth graders Matthew Huang, Cindy Liu and Andrew Zhang, placed first at the State MathCounts competition held at Stanford in mid-March. The Harker team was declared California State Champion, beating even the Cupertino Middle School team, the Santa Clara Chapter champion at the competition held on Feb. 12. David Lin, grade 8, participated as an independent qualifier and also did a fine job, said Vandana Kadam, MathCounts coach and middle school mathematics department chair.
Liang placed third following the countdown round of the competition, missing first place by a single point. There are only four students from the entire state who make the team which represents California at the national competition to be held May 5-8 in Washington, D.C., and Liang is one of the four students on this prestigious team. Three of the four top finishers came from the same chapter as Harker (Santa Clara Chapter).
Out of 155 students participating, Liang was third, Huang placed sixth, Liu placed 11th, Lin placed 12th and Zhang placed 28th. Kennedy, Redwood and Miller schools fielded extremely strong teams and Harker beat defending state champion William Hopkins School from Fremont, and also past champions Miller and Redwood, to clinch the number one spot.
Fourteen different chapters from Northern California participated and a similar number of students from 12 Southern California chapters participated in the same contest held simultaneously at University of California, Irvine. The top 10 students were recognized at each of these venues.
After the main event, two students each tied with 46 points (perfect score) and 45 points, so runoffs were held for each of the top four slots. Liang had to go head to head with her competitor to gain the number three spot; her competitor dropped to fourth place. Harker’s Huang barely missed making the team with his sixth place finish. The top four finishers will go to nationals, held in May. Kadam will be there, too, as California State Coach.
“The title of California State Champions is well deserved for each one of them. This is an incredible achievement for the students and for the school,” said Tim McCarthy, coordinator of the Santa Clara Chapter and the Northern California competition.
On Feb. 4, the lower school held an exciting Valentine’s assembly, complete with teamwork, dancing and presents for Harker kitchen, maintenance and support staff.
The first activity was a relay in which the students ran to grab a construction-paper heart out of a hula hoop, then ran back to their homeroom where they worked with fellow students to assemble the heart into phrases like those found in conversational heart boxes (Be Mine, Friends Forever, etc.). Each homeroom teacher wrote down the phrases, and after time was up, the homerooms with the most phrases won.
Next there was a Freeze Dance competition set to fun, energetic love songs. Students who were able to stop moving and stand completely still when the music stopped stayed in. Since there were several champion freezers, those who never got out each won points for their homerooms.
At each spirit assembly, homeroom teachers award their homerooms points for behavior, good sportsmanship, spirit and the like, and these points get added to the total, with the top three homerooms at the end of the year awarded a party.
In a show of grand spirit, the service and spirit club members put together 26 Valentine’s goody bags for all the kitchen maintenance, garden and support staff.
Harker sent 28 instrumentalists to the California Association for Music Education (CMEA) Solo and Ensemble Festival in mid-March and earned more Command Performance and Superior ratings at Saturday’s festival than any other school participating!
Harker was well represented with standout performances by Cole Manaster, Dylan Qian and Cindy Tay, all grade 11; Patricia Huang and Katherine Woodruff, both grade 10; Dennis Moon and Daniel Pak, both grade 9, all of whom earned Superior ratings.
Superior/Command Performance ratings, the highest given at the festival, were earned by Arthur Oung, grade 4, Jeffrey Kwong and Andrew Lee, both grade 11; Albert Chen and Nayeon Kim, both grade 10; and Krishan Kumar, grade 9.
Other participants included seniors Jasmine Nee, Catherine Stiles and Jason Young; juniors Vivian Li, Nandita Krishna, Dwight Payne, Gene Wong and Evan Yao; sophomores Rohan Chandra and Lydia Werthen; and freshmen Meena Chetty, Nathan Dhablania, Sahithya Prakash, Renu Singh and Andrew Wang.
A dozen schools sent students to Harker in mid-March for the California Regional Certamen, the qualifying certamen (quiz bowl) event for the California Junior Classical League (CJCL) State Convention.
The event, held in Dobbins, the gym and Main hall, went well and five Harker teams, three middle school and two upper school, teams competed. All three middle school teams (MS1, MS2, MS3) amassed the most points in their divisions and thus each seeded first for the semifinal rounds to be held in April at the state convention. MS1 comprised Sean Costello, Aditya Dhar, Alexander Lam, Venkat Sankar, Arjun Subramaniam, Austin Tuan, all grade 6; MS2 was Rishabh Chandra, Kaushik Sankar, Elisabeth Siegel, Allison Wang, all grade 7; MS3 was Zabin Bashar, Aadyot Bhatnagar, Maya Nandakumar, Rasika Raghavan, all grade 8.
In upper school results, Harker’s HSAdv (advanced) team finished first in its level and our HS3 team finished third in its level, both qualifying for the state level with high seeds. HSAdv comprised Jessica Lin, Alex Hsu, both grade 11; Richard Fan, Nik Datuashvili and Pranav Sharma, all grade 10. HS3 was sophomore Ram Menon and freshmen Kevin Duraiswamy and Nikhil Dilip. The top nine students in each level will compete in a semifinal round at the CJCL Convention April 8-9 at Miramonte High School in Orinda. The final round will consist of the top three remaining of those nine.
History teacher Cyrus Merrill’s grade 6 advisory recently made a series of loans to help fund entrepreneurs in poor countries. Utilizing a service offered by the Kiva organization, Merrill and the students provided money to help a beekeeping business in Kyrgyzstan, a maize farming operation in Mali, a grocery store and a general store in Peru, a clothing vendor in the Philippines and a teacher in Israel.
Kiva is a service that allows users to connect with and financially assist entrepreneurs to combat poverty in various parts of the world through the use of microloans. Matt Flannery, Kiva’s co-founder and CEO, spoke as a guest of the Harker Speaker Series in May of last year.