With activities beginning weeks prior to the main event, this year’s Homecoming on Nov. 12 was exciting and action-packed. As a close-knit K-12 community, Harker has a Homecoming celebration like no other. Students and faculty on all three campuses participated in spirit activities and competitions the week before the game, ensuring a fever pitch of excitement by game time.
Lower school students had dress-up days, culminating in green-and-white day on the Friday before the game, when the football players and cheerleaders visited the lower school for a huge rally.
Middle school students had costume and spirit competitions to get students excited. An assembly featuring upper school students helped to kick off Homecoming week.
At the upper school, spirit week included the traditional campus decorations, dress-up days and events at the pool. Each class competed to gain points by showing off their spirit, dressing up and helping decorate the campus according to this year’s theme of “imaginary places.” The freshmen chose the Land of Oz; sophomores, Mount Olympus; juniors, Treasure Island; and seniors, Hogwarts, from the “Harry Potter” series.
In preparation for game day, additional bleachers were erected to accommodate the crowd, public address equipment was checked and re-checked, placement for observers and the many participants on and near the field – alumni, cheerleaders, Eaglets, the Harker Jazz Band – was allocated. Students, faculty and staff vacated the parking lot right after classes ended, and tailgaters moved in alongside John and Christine Davis’ (Cole ’10) motor home to set up for the pre-game festivities.
A large and enthusiastic crowd of students, parents, staff and friends enjoyed the junior varsity game despite the 34-26 loss. Tailgate parties and traditional pre-game events, including a performance by the upper school Varsity Dance Troupe, the singing of the Harker anthem and national anthem by all combined choirs, and the upper school’s spirit competition tug-of-war semifinals, warmed up the crowd for the varsity game.
Tailgate parties allowed special groups like alumni, seniors and Eagle Buddies (see page 18) to congregate during the lulls in the on-field action. Joe Connolly, lower school dean of students, was proud of one activity that was new this year. As a part of the new Eagle Buddies program, “The third grade students were invited to a combined tailgate with their tenth grade buddy families,” said Connolly. This event, sure to become tradition, gave the Harker community yet another way to get closer together. Third grader Matthew Jin said his two favorite parts of Homecoming were, “going to the jump house and the slide and seeing my tenth grade buddy.”
Another popular spot was the alumni pavilion set up by Christina Yan, director of alumni relations. The alumni area included snacks as well as reserved bleacher seating. A wide range of alumni, from recent graduates to those who brought families of their own to the game, attended.
Like last year, the BEST staff from Bucknall and Blackford once again oversaw the bounce house and bounce slide on Rosenthal Field, giving the young and the young-at-heart alike some physical activity.
The Harker Jazz Band, directed by Chris Florio, played throughout the evening, using songs like “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath to pump up the crowd. The Varsity Dance Troupe, directed by Laura Rae, were transformed into Mad Hatters from the “Alice in Wonderland” movie during their pregame dance routine while the Eaglets and the junior cheerleaders joined the varsity cheer squad in rousing the fans throughout the game.
The upper school class spirit competitions continued with the pre-game tug-of-war. The seniors defeated the sophomores, and the juniors beat the freshmen, setting the stage for a showdown between the two oldest classes at halftime.
Amid the excitement, bright lights and fun, the Eagle football team prepared to face league opponent Valley Christian-Dublin. The home team came into the game missing several key starters who were sidelined by injuries. Nevertheless, the team hoped to add one more win to their 7-2 season, already a school record.
Game time under the Davis Field lights: Harker won the toss and Valley Christian took the kickoff. On their first play, Valley Christian ran for their first touchdown, adding two more touchdowns before the end of the first quarter. Harker senior Chris McCallaCreary scored, and classmate Greg Cox ran in the two-point conversion to put Harker on the board, but that was the end of Harker’s offensive success. Though the Eagles ended up losing the game, the boys put on a good show and can hold their heads high after their record-breaking season.
Speaking about the whole season, head coach Karriem Stinson said, “I am really proud of what this team has done. They are the tightest group I’ve ever been around, and I’m really proud to have coached them.”
His remarks were echoed by Jason Mendel, grade 12, who said that he “enjoyed the team’s 6-0 start and bonding with his teammates the most.”
Halftime brought the traditional presentation of the Homecoming court: freshmen Andrew Wang and Claudia Tischler; sophomores Rohit Agarwal and Tiphaine Delepine; juniors Jason Kuan and German exchange student Julia Lambertz; and seniors Amanda King, Brianna Tran, Ben Tien and Santosh Swaminathan. Seniors Greg Cox and Anisha Agarwal were crowned king and queen.
Of his time with the court Swaminathan remarked that his favorite experience came before the Homecoming dance. “I really enjoyed our dinner at Left Bank and the banana split at Ben and Jerry’s afterwards. Life is good when you’re a prince.”
In the tug-of-war finals, the juniors squared off against the seniors in what was to be a battle of epic proportions. While the juniors were declared the winners at the time, controversy later arose about the number of students on the juniors’ end of the rope and, at press time, negotiations on how to resolve the winner were continuing!
“Overall, school spirit was amazing!” said Kerry Enzensperger, student activities coordinator. “Classes took it upon themselves to decorate Shah, Dobbins and Main Hall; I would like to thank the class spirit officers for all their hard work!”
Vladimir Sepetov, grade 12, felt the same, saying, “Homecoming was awesome this year … I think there was good school spirit overall. Everyone really brought their A-game.”
Ultimately, Homecoming is about coming together as a community and celebrating the school. While the game may not have turned out as we would have liked (56-8 for Valley Christian), the whole community had a great time together and is surely looking forward to next year!
In the $10,000 grand prize drawing, the winner is … Debbie Hutchings, a parent who has been buying picnic drawing tickets every year since her son Doug, now a senior, started selling tickets at Harker in grade 1. There’s no better way to celebrate our 60th picnic than with a devoted Harker family winning our top prize!
Big thanks to all who bought or sold Grand Drawing tickets for this year’s Peace Love Picnic! We sold over 40,000 tickets with the help of students, parents, teachers and staff.
The Grand Drawing is a long-standing picnic tradition that allows everyone to pitch in and contribute to the fundraising efforts. From kindergarten students to upper school kitchen staff, everyone can get involved in the selling and the spirit and the fun.
In the lower school race, top sellers were: Avi Gulati, grade 3, who sold 1,406 tickets; Emma Gurleroglu, grade 1, with 1,110; Sum Yue Guan, grade 4, with 1,040. These students received their trophies and prize money at school assemblies in early November, and we thank them for their hard work and super ticket-selling skills!
In the middle school race, top sellers were all from grade 7: Shannon Richardson sold 711 tickets; Eesha Chona, 671; and Emma Doherty, 566. By class, the Class of 2016 (grade 7) won with 4,807 tickets sold; the Class of 2017 (grade 6) sold 3,883 and the Class of 2018 (grade 8) sold 1,774. This is the second year the Class of 2016 has earned the class trophy, having won last year as sixth graders, which makes us all wonder about next year: can you say three-peat? Accepting the trophy for the Class of 2016 was Doherty, who was our third-place ticket seller in the middle school. It was a tight race, and Doherty really contributed to the grade 7 cause. Congratulations to all!
We think you are terrific and we really appreciate your support of Harker and the Family & Alumni Picnic.
You might wonder how the Harker Family & Alumni Picnic became such a time-honored tradition at Harker, celebrating sixty years and still so much fun. Well, the reason is simple. It’s the people! There are so many individuals to thank, who genuinely love the picnic – the hard-working, talented, dedicated, fun-loving people who support this event year after year.
At its core, the picnic is nurtured by a group of parent volunteer committee chairs who give it their all to create a unique and fun-filled day for the entire Harker community. With a team like this you just can’t miss!
Peace and Lots of Love to our 2010 Committee:
Ken Azebu, artfully and skillfully producing our colorful picnic publications and printed materials; Debbie Buss, tirelessly coordinating and creating amazing picnic décor (especially in the auction area); Fred Carr, serving for many years as master builder and booth setup king; and Nancy Claunch, acting as picnic historian and photo coordinator extraordinaire, along with making cameo appearances as one of the original Curbside Crazies;
Becky Cox, leading us to new heights in sponsor recruitment while offering her expertise in auction setup; Kelly Delepine, kindly stocking and creating the plant booth display along with all the table centerpieces throughout the picnic; Sandhya Jagadeesh, singlehandedly and remarkably handling all pre-picnic admission ticket sales; and Shalini Jain, taking on the coordination of the Adult Wheel of Fortune display with style and grace;
Lalitha Kumar, happily co-chairing T-shirt sales and offering invaluable assistance with raffle ticket accounting; Mary Malysz, serving as our super positive and innovative “wine wizard” as she acquires donated wine and sets up our wine game year after year; Greg Martin, again creatively and efficiently taking charge of the ever popular MPR Bar (what fun!); and Melody Moyer, proving once again that creativity is alive and well at Harker as she adds her special magic to décor and costumed Curbside Crazy appearances;
Mark Peetz, offering his many artistic talents as our resident painter extraordinaire; Robyn Peetz, coordinating setup and cleanup duties in addition to the awesome Child’s Wheel of Fortune display and cheerfully assisting with anything and everything related to event setup;
Kim Pellissier, tirelessly helping with everything imaginable, organizing T-shirt sales, assisting with general event setup, coordinating sponsor check-in and seating, and more; and Janet Rohrer, serving as our fearless team meeting manager with wit and wisdom and offering guidance and help with anything and everything, including Adult Wheel of Fortune setup;
Lori and Ron Saxon, graciously returning to lend their expertise to auction setup; Alice Schwartz, displaying her amazing creative talents wherever needed; Ingrid Semenza, enjoying and excelling at being a first-time Teen Wheel coordinator; and Carol Underwood, happily assisting with the creative setup of our favorite MPR Bar;
Shankari Sundar and Jane Villadsen, serving as our silent heroes of the picnic, as they graciously organize a huge team of volunteers to tally thousands of raffle tickets and distribute a wealth of student incentive prizes, even working tirelessly throughout picnic Sunday.
These are the people who make it happen, with the help of many, many more!
We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to the nearly 700 loyal parent volunteers who worked the booths and served on committees, along with our amazing administrators, faculty, staff, students and alumni. Your help as sponsors and donors is deeply appreciated, too! It’s so gratifying to be able to come together year after year as a truly dynamic community. We can’t thank you enough!
On October 10, the 60th Harker Family & Alumni Picnic, Peace Love Picnic, unfolded on a beautiful and warm afternoon, the sound of Harker choirs and bands blending with the chatter of young and old enjoying a perfect fall day on the ’60s-themed middle school campus.
This year the picnic featured special theme activities and areas to celebrate the 60th birthday of this one-of-a-kind event. Happy Birthday Boulevard, Past and Present Plaza, K-BID Sound of the ’60s Auction and Groovy Grove all provided birthday themed fun for young and old. And, for the first time, the lower school choir and combination lower and middle school jazz band took to the stage to entertain picnickers. All three campuses’ performing arts groups, along with a magician and storyteller, kept the stage hopping the whole day.
New Harker parents Scott and Mary Hyver, with Ben, grade 5 and Emma, grade 3, enjoyed the picnic for the first time with two smaller children. The family was anticipating watching Ben perform with the lower and middle school jazz band later, and in the meantime, Mary Hyver said, “there is plenty to do for the kids.”
Middle schoolers were there to see and be seen. Selin Ekici, grade 7, has been attending Harker since grade 3 and attends picnics regularly. “It has just always been really fun,” she said.
Plenty of upper school students were evident. Sean Knudsen, grade 9, at the picnic to perform with Bel Canto and wearing his football jersey (the team was in the midst of a record setting seven-game winning streak), was wandering the picnic area with a friend, just checking things out. A full contingent of jersey-wearers were trying out the hammer-and-bell trial of strength with some success. Others were there to watch friends and family perform.
“I’m here to support my cousin,” said Apurva Gorti, grade 9. “He’s singing.” Otherwise, she said, “I’m just here to be with my friends, just hang. My brother is over there, and he’s in kindergarten, so he came for all the games and rides and he’s having a really good time.”
As an alumna and now a mom, Preete Bhanot ’88, attending with her two children (Keshav, grade 2; Priya, grade 4), has a few picnics behind her. “I love it!” she said of the picnic. “I have been bringing [the children] since Priya was in kindergarten – we come every year.”
This year, with her children on stage in the choir, “we ate and we watched their performance, which was really cool – this was the first time they have performed in it.”
At the picnic, the stage is never empty for long and at 3:30 the ’60s Dance Party started to wind up the day. The crowd was still going strong at 4 p.m. when the $10,000 grand prize was drawn (see winners on page 25), and the evening was still warm as the last picnickers trundled off, sated with food, entertainment and memories.
The eighth Harker Fashion Show is coming! This year brings some changes to this annual extravaganza, but what won’t be any different is the spectacular fashion show, the delicious lunch and dinner, the opportunity to bid on fabulous prizes, and of course the chance to “see and be seen” and mingle with the Harker community. The event is being held at the Santa Clara Convention Center for the first time and will feature an exciting online auction, live auction and gift wheel.
This year’s theme, “When I Grow Up,” will focus our attention on the cornerstone of our community, our students. They start off so small, dreaming big, big dreams, and by the time they leave the upper school, many have already begun to walk their life’s path. Proceeds from the event provide financial aid to students and help fund the building of our new performing and visual arts center.
Behind the scenes is the phenomenal team of Sue Prutton, the fashion show liaison and director of the upper school’s volunteer programs, and Laura Lang-Ree, chair of the performing arts department and director of the show. Prutton is always looking for volunteers to help out before and on the big day, and information is constantly being updated on the website, so go to www.harker.org, search on “fashion show, and keep checking back!
Live Auction Info
Each year the live auction items are eagerly scanned ahead of time and paddles prepared. Damon Casatico of Charity Benefit Auctions will once again lead the proceedings, and we promise you’ll be tempted by the packages being offered!
Here are some of the treats being offered at this year’s live auction:
a year of your child’s life documented in one-of-a-kind pictures by our own Harker photographers
a consultation with premier Bay Area designers, including Dennis Baldwin, Chelsea Court Designs and Tanvi Buch
a San Jose Police helicopter ride over Silicon Valley
a private party at Santana Row’s hottest wine bar
club-level seats and a Zamboni ride at a Sharks game
all-access VIP passes to Infineon Race Track in Sonoma
a trip to the 2011 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles
the chance to throw out the first pitch at an Oakland A’s game
a handmade quilt with the names and artwork from each student of Harker’s Class of 2023
And there’s more, including an encore of our spectacular vacation homes and our annual Harker packages of the VIP graduation experience and meals from the Harker kitchen. Get your paddle ready!
Director Spotlight
What does Laura Lang-Ree most look forward to this year, her fifth as the fashion show’s director? We asked her!
“I love that it’s centered not only around our kids, but the whole community. I’d like to think we are all young at heart, always looking to grow and challenge ourselves. When I see an amazing woman in her seventies or eighties doing great things, I always think, ‘I want to be her when I grow up!’ Life is full of possibilities, and this show reminds us of that.”
We also asked Lang-Ree if she could give us a sneak peek at some surprises in store. She wouldn’t give too much away, but did hint at the possibility of some cameo appearances from alumni or maybe some interesting revelations from teachers about their dreams when they were growing up.
New and Returning Features
Returning fashion show attendees will see a familiar feature out in the lobby before the lunch and dinner shows. Gift and wine wheels, like roulette wheels, will be providing a way to win some prizes even before you take your seat! Tickets for the wheels will not be presold and will be available only in the lobby at the show.
New this year is the online auction which will run during the lead-up to the event itself and will offer unique items including premium wines and gift packages from Santana Row. The online auction will provide an opportunity for everyone to participate in this fun event, even if you can’t attend; look for more details in January.
The Harker Research Symposium, providing a forum for Harker students to foster their passion for science since 2006, promises to offer more excitement for science enthusiasts in 2011. The symposium, to be held April 23, 8- a.m. -4 p.m. in Nichols Hall, is titled “A Call to Innovation,” and is a salute to the computer science and technology industries. Scott McNealy, founder of Sun Microsystems and a Harker parent, will be the afternoon keynote speaker, with a morning keynote to be announced pending finalization.
“We’re trying to do a two-fold approach this year with our exhibitors,” said Anita Chetty, science department chair. “We want to salute the historical development of Silicon Valley.” The symposium will also take a look toward the future and showcase ideas in development that have yet to reach consumers. Chetty also hopes the symposium will stand as a tribute to Harker’s own contributions to the industry, as many of its graduates and parents have had successful careers in technological fields.
To this end, Chetty has been working with a committee of parents to help gather exhibitors. The exhibitors, she says, will offer interactive displays for visitors to enjoy, in addition to the keynote speakers and student presentations that have become staple aspects of the symposium. Parents interested in helping to bring exhibitors to the research symposium are encouraged to contact Chetty by e-mailing anitac@harker.org.
As always, students in grades 6-12 will play a key role in the symposium, with student poster displays and paper presentations remaining central to its purpose. Submission deadline is Jan. 28. The student organization WiSTEM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) will again have a large hand in planning and running the event.
On Oct. 6, the Class of 2013 took a short field trip to the lower school campus and was welcomed with cheers and applause by the Class of 2021. It was an exciting day to celebrate in the Harker community as the students joined together for an afternoon of scavenger hunts, three-legged races and snacks.
The sophomores’ visit to the lower school marked the official kickoff of the Eagle Buddies program, an initiative aiming to bridge the campus divide by pairing tenth graders with third graders. Inspired by his own children’s experience with similar buddy programs, Butch Keller, upper school head, suggested starting Eagle Buddies, which strives to foster an ongoing relationship that will continue until the Class of 2013 graduates and the lower school students matriculate into the middle school.
Each third grader has been paired with one or two big buddies, and prior to the October kickoff the sophomores spent time writing introductions to their new buddies and talking about the exciting events to come. Crayons and markers in hand, the older students spent one advisory period creating handwritten cards about their interests. Some invited their little buddies to come watch their upcoming performances. Others talked about what they did during the summer and asked their little buddies to share stories as well. “I’m very excited to meet you. I remember when I was in third grade,” Apricot Tang wrote to her counterpart Annie Ma. “I had a buddy. It was lots of fun. I know we’ll have fun as well.”
“The goals for the program are to foster a K-12 sense of community and to promote responsibility, relationships and communication,” said Carol Zink, history teacher and one of the Eagle Buddies coordinators. Both students and faculty alike are looking forward to forging friendships.
“I am most looking forward to watching the students interact during the various activities we have planned for them at each campus,” Joe Connolly, lower school dean of students, said. “I am also looking forward to watching the relationships develop and seeing the positive benefits each student, young and old, will receive.”
Sarah Leonard, primary division head, was impressed by how quickly the new relationships unfolded during that October morning. “For most, it was instantaneous,” she said. “The buddies clicked, and new friendships were born.” Jeffrey Draper, sophomore class dean, thought it was great to see the care and attention taken by sophomores while working with their little buddies that day.
For Cecilia Lang-Ree, Eagle Buddies offers a chance to meet lower school students outside of her grade 4 sister’s circle of friends. Paired up with Fiona Wiesner, Lang-Ree looks forward to helping her through the rest of her years at the lower school. “I remember being a little kid in the lower grades, and influences from the ‘big kids at Saratoga’ were huge,” Lang-Ree said. “I’m excited and honored to be able to be a friend to one of these awesome kids.”
Eagle Buddies events will continue to happen throughout the year. A special tailgate party was organized before the Homecoming game, allowing the buddies’ parents to meet one another and providing a chance for the buddies to watch a portion of the game against Valley Christian-Dublin.
For Liam Bakar, hanging out with his Big Buddy Robert Deng meant watching Deng, a junior varsity football player, play on the field; they were able to say hello after the game finished. “He’s very nice,” Bakar said of Deng, “and I like a lot of things that he likes.”
In a series of notes, Deng told Bakar his interests in candy and video games and asked Bakar how Halloween went. In response, Bakar wrote him a Thanksgiving card answering questions and sharing more about his own interests.
“When I first heard about the program, I really liked it,” Bakar’s mother, Carla Hindie, said. “Liam is my oldest, and he doesn’t have an older brother. I thought it was great to match him up with somebody who would be able to explain to him stuff that kids might not like talking to their parents about.”
Hindie hopes to organize more opportunities for the two grades to get together. “I’m very happy,” Hindie said. “It’s an amazing idea. All the parents understand that it’s a pilot, so I’m sure that every year there will be more and more great things added to the program.”
In January, buddies will be participating in the lower school’s annual Pajama Day fundraiser, and little buddies will visit the upper school campus in the spring for the spring spirit rally. In between, sophomores will maintain correspondence through letters and invite their buddies to performances and sports events.
“We are a K through 12 school, and watching the interaction that day at Bucknall, all our hopes for the program came true,” Keller said. “We saw hundreds and hundreds of pictures – students throwing sponges, having a good time. When [the kickoff] was over and the upper school kids were on the bus coming back, it was incredible having the kids say, ‘Thanks. This was fun. Thanks for doing this.’”
The only complaint about the new program is that it is limited to third graders and sophomores. Students from other grade levels wish to participate and get involved. “So that’s the good negative comment,” Keller said. “Other people see it, and they want to be involved in it.”
Keller, Zink and Connolly do intend to expand the program. As the 2011-12 school year begins, the Class of 2014 will be paired with buddies from the class of 2022. With the exception of freshmen, who are still adjusting to the upper school, Keller hopes that three classes of buddies will be involved in the program at one time.
“It is my hope that this is the beginning of a long, time-honored tradition,” Leonard said. “The benefits to young and old alike in encouraging communication, promoting responsibility and building and managing relationships cannot be overestimated.”
This article originally appeared in the winter 2010 Harker Quarterly.
According to the dictionary, an entrepreneur organizes, manages and assumes risk. That definition clearly highlights ways that extracurricular activities at Harker offer great opportunities for entrepreneurial thinking.
In a number of Harker organizations, students develop creative paths to achieve organizational goals, many of which add to the coffers of their club or charitable organizations, while others develop the spirit of entrepreneurship through acquisition and effective use of materials and research.
Entrepreneurship is clearly alive at the lower school where the lower school student council, advised by Kristin Giammona, elementary school head, gathers feedback and suggestions from its peers, then discusses solutions and ideas to address the concerns of the community. “It’s always [the students] saying, ‘Hey, we need to do something,’” Giammona said. “It’s always their idea. They definitely want to respond and help.”
In addition to improving things on campus, the lower school student council also supports the grade 4 toy drive and grade 5 food drive, bagging, loading and organizing the donated goods before shipment. Last year, the student council organized a bake sale to raise money for Haiti’s earthquake victims.
In the middle school, the eCYBERMISSION program, led by science teacher Vandana Kadam, requires teams to use math, science and technology to present a solution to a community issue. One of last year’s teams, The Dust Busters, spent all year researching a community controversy two students initially read about in the town newspaper related to mercury dust emissions from Lehigh Hanson Cement Plant.
Before submitting their project online in February, the quartet spent five months collecting samples from four different bodies of water, testing for emissions in the lab and compiling data to research ways to educate the residents about the pollution and possible health issues. They also interviewed company officials to hear their side of the story.
The Dust Busters discovered that, while the plant was not in violation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the mercury level in water near the quarry was significantly higher than mercury levels in other bodies of water in the area. The students took their findings to the Cupertino City Council and created a pamphlet that was distributed door to door to residents.
The entrepreneurial aspects of eCYBERMISSION projects stand out. A good project “needs students who have good research skills, writing skills, data collection and analysis, and public relations skills to help them interview experts in the field that they are working on,” said Kadam.
Peace-2-Peace is one of many service- oriented groups on the middle school campus using entrepreneurship to advance its goals. Two years ago members organized a garage sale to raise money for an orphanage in India. Last year they sold Halloween “candy-grams” to start an account with Kiva, an organization which provides microloans to people in underdeveloped regions so they can start businesses.
The single most obvious entrepreneurial effort takes place in the hardware-filled robotics laboratory. “I model my program after a Silicon Valley start-up,” said Eric Nelson, physics teacher and robotics advisor. “Each year the team receives ‘seed funding’ through the school via the advancement office. The team learns early on that they must live within their funding limits, so all members are made aware of the need to plan and report.”
Elected officers appoint the corporate equivalent of vice presidents to oversee every aspect of the team, including team image (promotion, logos, recruiting, spirit, etc.), business development (business plan and sponsorships) and finance (purchasing, vendor relationships and budget planning).
In an example of spontaneous entrepreneurship, for this year’s Harker Family & Alumni Picnic, robotics students designed and built a laser gun game that allowed picnic goers to fire lasers instead of water to fill and pop balloons. The idea was a product of a brainstorming session, “and the details evolved as they tried to get the various parts to work,” Nelson said.
“In preparation for start of the robotics competition season which runs from January to April, the students must build up strategic partnerships with other teams, suppliers and machine shops in order to ensure we have access to the resources we are likely to need,” he added.
The efforts at all three schools embrace most, if not all, the elements of entrepreneurship, including risk: like adult entrepreneurs, students risk failure and risk spending their limited time on projects outside of required classroom work. The payoffs are there, however, in personal growth, whether failing or succeeding, and in some contests, like eCYBERMISSION, substantial cash prizes: Harker’s two regional winning teams, seven students in all, earned $18,000 in prize money last year, and one team traveled to Baltimore to present to the U.S Army organizers, an invaluable experience.
Of course, at Harker, the focus is on the lessons learned, not on results above all. In the robotics program, students learn a great deal more than just how to run a robot. They learn something about how to build and run an engineering company, said Nelson. “There are years where we ‘go public’ and are off to the championships, and then there are years where we go Chapter 11. In both cases the students learn volumes about not only engineering but also team work, leadership and organization,” he noted.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2010 Harker Quarterly.
Harker’s reputation as an academically rigorous school sometimes outshines the breadth of other key elements of student life, such as its many clubs and after-school programs. Another overlooked but highly important aspect of the K-12 experience is the emphasis on character and leadership, which has been a value at Harker since the school’s founding.
“The concepts of character and leadership have always been intertwined in what it means to be a Harker graduate, going back to the days of the Palo Alto Military Academy and Miss Harker’s School for Girls,” said Kevin Williamson, upper school dean of students.
Harker students are instilled with these values from their very first days at the school, and these values are reinforced through various programs for the entirety of their Harker careers.
“Children begin learning right from wrong at a very early age, even before school begins,” said Joe Connolly, dean of students at the lower school. “The development of strong character is part of that process. Values learned at an early age tend to stay with the child throughout life.”
Upon entering Harker, kindergartners are enrolled in a required character development class that they continue to attend until they complete grade 5. “They learn about respect, treating others like you would like to be treated, being kind and polite,” Connolly said. This year, the lower school is focusing on compassion as a theme. “It is a theme we choose to bring up whenever the opportunity presents itself. Compassion can be different things depending on the age level.”
The lower school also runs service projects for each grade level every year. Grade 5 ran its annual food drive in November, for example, and grade 4 students collected toys for their annual toy drive in December. Character building is also a valued component of the lower school athletics program, where values of fairness and good sportsmanship are constantly reinforced. After-school programs such as Share, Care and Be Fair and Students Play and Learning All Together (SPLAT) teach students about good playground conduct and how to treat one another while at school.
Upon entering the middle school, students build upon the groundwork laid during their time as lower school students. “Middle school students learn about character, leadership and academic integrity through the assembly and advisory programs,” said Lana Morrison, middle school dean of students. Throughout the year, outside speakers are invited to speak at assemblies on various topics. Students later discuss the topics brought up during the speaker’s appearance at advisory meetings. “Some students find the smaller setting easier to freely discuss how and what they are feeling,” Morrison said.
Middle school students also have access to several clubs and programs to strengthen character and leadership qualities. Recently, middle school students earned several regional awards from the eCYBERMISSION national competition, which challenges students to solve problems in their communities using science, math and technology. Several students also collaborate each year to create the middle school literary magazine “enlight’ning,” which this year received recognition from the National Scholastic Press Association, American Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
A recent development at the middle school is the KidLead program. Designed specifically for kids aged 10 to 13, KidLead is a program intended to develop the leadership skills of young students. The program consists of weekly 90-minute sessions that are run by certified instructors, during which students lead groups in various problem-solving activities. Although specially trained “Koaches” oversee each session, they are intentionally set up so that students are the ones designated to lead the activities.
Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs and a certified KidLead instructor, said he believes the program has great potential for teaching valuable leadership skills. “All you need to do is look at the dozens of community service opportunities, sports teams, performing arts groups, extracurriculars in general, student government, along with all the team academics like robotics, Future Problem Solvers, etc., to know that these skills have the potential to augment the development of this next generation of Harker leaders,” he said.
By the time students reach the upper school, character and leadership values have ideally become a part of their everyday lives. The upper school’s myriad programs and clubs are designed to further reinforce and develop these values within students.
“There is a lot of buzz about ‘leadership development’ programs these days,” Williamson said. “Leadership comes in a variety of forms. I think the wealth of volunteer programs that our students and faculty create and participate in speaks to this fact.”
Although Harker’s upper school population numbers fewer than 700 students, the Saratoga campus surprisingly houses more than 46 student clubs and organizations. “Our students are very self-motivated, and there is a lot of positive student encouragement to have peers step up and develop their own unique leadership styles,” Williamson said.
The Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) club, for example, runs an extensive program on international issues each year, while the Harker chapter of the Key Club focuses on community service in the South Bay area. Outside of clubs, students use the leadership qualities they’ve developed at events and classes such as the Research Symposium, Student-Directed Showcase and the many debate tournaments that students attend throughout the year.
The Honor Council, established by students and faculty in 2001 to create standards for academic integrity, is an important outgrowth of Harker’s commitment to the primacy of building character in its students. The group established the Honor Code, which is a central facet of academic life at Harker, and the Honor Council works to remind the student body about the Honor Code in a variety of ways. For instance, the Honor Codes and Honor Councils forum will be hosted in February and will draw similar organizations from independent schools across the country.
Leadership and character development principles are also a key part of the Living with Intention, Focus and Enthusiasm (LIFE) program, which teaches students about the value of maintaining good physical, mental and emotional well-being. “The freshmen will be using the book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens’ as a base, and they will spend two sessions working through the seven themes,” said Jane Keller, upper school mathematics teacher, who is running the program with Connolly and Jeffrey Draper, upper school dean and theater teacher, as well as a committee of students. “The beauty of this is that it will be an ongoing lesson for the next three years,” she said.