To celebrate the upcoming “Peace Love Picnic” on Oct. 10, the entire grade 6 class got together on a Friday in September to make colorful tie-dyed T-shirts. The special occasion was in keeping with the 1960s theme of the picnic, which fittingly turns 60 this year. Students wore their new psychedelic fashion statements to school the following Tuesday to help build even more excitement for this year’s event.
As fall sports ramp up teams are building skills and garnering wins!
Volleyball
Varsity volleyball continued their undefeated season with wins over Del Mar, Saratoga and Leigh high schools, making them 7-0. All three victories were achieved in three sets in a best of five series, illustrating the Eagles’ dominance on the court. The girls face Silver Creek at home this Friday and will attend the Cupertino classic this weekend.
Junior varsity also posted three wins last week, improving their record to 10-2 on the season, and spent a weekend honing skills at a Spikefest tourney.
The freshmen team had their first game ever last week against Sacred Heart. Though the game ended in defeat, the girls put on an impressive show. The girls have been working hard all season; look for them to improve as the year progresses.
Football
Football continued their winning streak last week, now 3-0, with a 36-20 victory over Soledad last Friday. Quarterback Rishi Bhatia, grade 12, passed for over 200 yards and four touchdowns including two to Gautam Krishnamurthi, grade12; one to Daanish Jamal, grade 11; and one to Greg Cox, grade 12. Jamal also scored an additional touchdown on an interception return. Come show your support this Friday as the Eagles face Lynbrook in a contest of undefeated teams.
Cross Country
Last Saturday the team competed in the Chieftain Classic in Salinas. Tyler Yeats, grade 10, ran an impressive 18:26 which earned him 16th place in the boys race. In the girls race, Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 10, finished in 11th place with a time of 21:09. The team will travel to Stanford for their invitational this Saturday.
Girls Tennis
For the second year in a row our girls tennis team placed a strong second behind St. Francis Sacramento at last week’s Santa Catalina Tournament in Monterey. Sophomore Jenny Chen became the third Harker player to win the number one singles flight while Shwetha Bharadwaj, grade 9, won the number two singles. Sophomores Daria Karakoulka and Chau Nguyen in addition to Jaya Chandra, grade 11 and Sylvie Dobrota, grade 10, almost won their doubles flights, finishing as runners-up.
Harker’s number one doubles team, Tanya Piskun, grade 11 and Katia Mironova, grade 9, made it to the semifinals, and Harker’s number two doubles team, Sahithya Prakash, grade 9 and Aranshi Kumar, grade 11, made it to the second round. The girls have a big week with matches against Presentation, Mitty and Priory, all at Blackford.
Water Polo
Both the boys and girls teams fell to tough Wilcox teams last week. They look to rebound this week with two home games. The boys will face Cupertino and Saratoga, and the girls will face Mountain View and Cupertino.
Golf
The girls golf team opens league play this week with matches against Castilleja and Notre Dame.
Go Eagles!
Tags: Featured Story, SportsOn Sept. 20, sophomores took the Leap of Faith, clambered up the Vertical Playpen and twisted their way through the Spider’s Web during the annual sophomore class trip to outdoor adventure sites in La Honda and Santa Cruz.
“The faculty and students were enjoying the activities, the nice weather and spending time with their advisory groups,” class dean Jeff Draper said.
Aimed to encourage leadership, communication and team bonding the trip allowed students to use teamwork to complete various obstacles. “I think the day incorporates teamwork activities as well as the high ropes piece where students take a risk and do something they thought they would never do before,” adviser and upper school counselor Chris Colletti said.
Students in his advisory, while apprehensive at first, gathered the courage to jump off a 70-foot diving board, deemed the Leap of Faith, and traversed a 20-foot wall later in the day. “They did it by helping one another over this barrier!” Colletti said. “What a great metaphor in life that you can do anything with help, support and good guidance.”
Throughout the day, classmates cheered each other on and offered encouraging words as their friends climbed nets and walls and fell from tall platforms. Students climbing the Ninja and Lunge were forced to walk a thin wire and lunge towards a dangling rope. “It required teamwork, handholding and communication,” student Lori Berenberg said.
Later in the day, a looming six-foot net stood before Berenberg and her advisory was given one challenge: everyone had to get through the web without touching the wires that made the net.
“It was probably my proudest moment of sophomore year so far,” Berenberg said. “As I was standing in the middle of a high-five circle with my amazing advisory, I was overwhelmed with joy and love for these supportive people.”
Alice Tsui found the entire trip an amazing experience. “I’d never done anything like it before, and I think just the thrill and possibility of falling made it so much better,” Tsui said.
Like Berenberg and Tsui, Cecilia Lang-Ree and Apurva Tandon felt that the physical and mental challenges of the day strengthened the bond within their advisories.
“We were practically entrusting our advisory and class with our physical safety,” Tandon said. “It was definitely nice just working together and building spirit. It gave us a chance to somewhat shift from the more competitive Harker mentality to a team one, which was pretty special.”
Harker’s open houses begin in early November with the first of two upper school open houses on Sun., Nov. 7. at 7:00 p.m. Open houses put on display the many facets of student life found at Harker, from academic requirements to athletics and student-run clubs, and give interested parents a chance to visit with teachers and administrators. Students at all three campuses give presentations of their activities and act as guides for visitors.
The lower school open house is Sun., Nov. 14. Those parents interested in the kindergarten program attend from 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; grades 1-5 from 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Along with faculty and administrators, BEST staff will be on hand to answer questions about the after-school programs.
In addition to the open house, parents interested in learning more about Harker’s kindergarten offerings can attend one of four Cookies and Kindergarten tours scheduled for Jan. 7, 11, 20 and 25 at 9 a.m. A tour of the lower school campus will be conducted on each date, and parents will also have a chance to get a look at an ongoing class and chat with the admission office. Reservations are required for Cookies and Kindergarten tours. Please call 408.871.4662 or e-mail admissionK5@harker.org to make a reservation.
The second upper school open house is Thurs., Dec. 2, 11:30. Students will make presentations on school work and other facets of student life and share some of their Harker experiences. The varsity Dance Troupe has appeared in the past and students act as guides to help parents see the campus and answer questions.
The middle school open house is Sun., Dec. 5, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and will be hosted in the Blackford gym and multipurpose room. Along with on-hand faculty and administrators, the event will feature student singers and dancers from school groups, along with BEST staff and other activities staff.
For more information, and the complete open house and Cookies and Kindergarten listings, visit the admission pages of our website.
Tags: Featured StoryCurbside Crazies, the morning drop off of gifts and prizes for the 60th Harker Family & Alumni Picnic are wrapping up! During the week of Sept. 20 to 24, parent volunteers have been gathering at the curb outside the Blackford and Bucknall campuses each morning during student drop-off to collect donations of prizes for the game booths at this year’s picnic.
Themed the Peace Love Picnic, it will take place Oct. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Blackford campus. The picnic organizers have asked for items such as gift cards, candy, stuffed animals, electronics and room décor. All week, volunteers could be seen carrying colorful signs decorated with 1960s-themed slogans such as “Thanks Man” and “Cash is Cool Too,” for those who didn’t have time to shop but still wanted to donate.
Tags: Featured StorySoftball
The junior varsity B volleyball team, composed of fourth and fifth grade students, is currently undefeated after a 12-7 victory over Sacred Heart. Key players included Alyssa Whitman, grade 4; Kayla Dominguez, grade 4; and Satchi Thockchom, grade 5.
Football
Junior varsity B football is 1-1 on the season after a huge win over St Matthews. The victory was made especially sweet by the close nature of the game; the final score was 20-19. The team is lead by fifth graders Rohit Shah, Justin Su, Brando Pakel and Michael Kwan.
Swim
The Swim team has their first meet later this week, so check back next week for results.
Grade 1 students and their parents gathered at the Bucknall campus on Sept. 18 for a special movie night in the Bucknall gym. Prior to the movie showing, the kids enjoyed playing outside on the playground equipment and worked on a beading craft before dinner. They also munched on pre-movie pizza, veggies, and a dessert choice of apple pie or brownies. Parents were also treated to lasagna, salad and dessert. To cap off the evening, BEST staff helped kids settle in the gym to watch an entertaining Disney movie called “Space Buddies,” which each viewer enjoyed with a bag of popcorn.
Over the summer, enlight’ning, Harker’s middle school literary magazine, was recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) and Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for its exemplary product.
The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) awarded the 2009-2010 edition of enlight’ning the First Class award with marks of distinction for concept, writing and editing. ASPA named Kevin Ke, now Gr. 7, Best Artist for his artwork “Octopus Wreck” and gave the publication first place with special merit. “We are all very proud of the staff members’ work,” adviser Patricia Lai Burrows said.
enlight’ning editor Nila Banerjee, now Gr. 9, was delighted to hear about the awards. “As part of the staff, I really enjoyed working as a team to build the magazine,” she said, “It’s such a great feeling when everyone enjoys something that you help make.”
CSPA named this edition a Silver Medalist winner, scoring the design, writing and organization very highly. The adviser-judge who critiqued enlight’ning offered ways to improve and also offered her praise, calling “Changing Life” the best poem in the magazine. The judge also commended the clean look and standout images and gave the literary magazine a comprehensive 741 points out of 1000.
Tags: Featured Story, topliteratureSoftball
Softball is currently undefeated, with two big wins last week. Their first game was an 8-3 victory over a tough Valley Christian team. The Eagles started things off right with a seven-run first inning. Big players included lead-off hitter Alisa Watika, grade 7, catcher Gillian Wallin, grade 8, and pitcher Regan Heslop, grade 7. Even though the offense was impressive, Coach CJ Cali said it was the defense that sealed the deal. In their first league game the team defeated Menlo 10-4. Heslop, Marita Del Alto, grade 7, and Safia Khouja, grade 8, all played exceptionally well in this victory. The team as a whole has had zero errors so far this season, which explains how the Eagles have outscored their opponents more than two to one.
Flag Football
Varsity A had two games last week, which they split. They lost a close game to the much larger St. Joseph’s 6-0 despite great play by quarterback Allen Huang, grade 8. Their second game was a come-from-behind victory over Valley Christian. The final score was 39-27 but at one point the Eagles were down by 18 points.
Varsity B also split their games last week with a tough loss to Valley Christian and a big win over cross-town rival St Joseph’s. In the latter game the Eagles were down 18-0 but mounted a huge comeback to tie the score. As the clock wound down Andrew Kirshner, grade 7, had a game-changing interception that gave the Eagles one last chance for victory. Shannon Richardson, grade 7, had the game-winning touchdown reception. St Joesph’s responded with a hail Mary pass that was caught and run almost to the end zone. Luckily, Nick Labruna, grade 7, was there to make the tackle that sealed the Eagles’ victory. The offense is led by the stylish play of Jonathan Keller and Nathanal “Noko” Sterns, both grade 7.
Junior Varsity A is undefeated with a win over Crystal Springs last week, 25-7. Quarterback Alex Youn, grade 6, ran for two touchdowns and threw for one. The defense clinched the win with interceptions by sixth graders Sandie Nirmel, Ryan Vaughan and Edmond Wu.
Cross Country
The cross country team ran in its first league race last week at Rolling Hills Middle School. In the grade 8 boys race, Thomas Doyle took eighth place and Corey Gonzales took ninth. The boys had times of 7:19 and 7:41 respectively. Diba Massihpour and Gabi Gupta, both grade 8, took fourth and sixth in the girls race with times of 8:21 and 8:29. In the grade 7 race, Alexandra Dellar took the team’s highest place, third, with a time of 8:35, followed by Mary Najibi, who placed 10th, finishing at 9:05. Rounding out the team were grade 6 girls Meilan Steimle, 9:19, and Rachel Cheng, 9:42, who finished eighth and 13th in their grade’s race.
The girls junior varsity volleyball team recently participated in the 23rd annual JV Spikefest Volleyball Tournament, held at Milpitas and Independence high schools. Each team played a total of five matches, in addition to refereeing five matches. The teams are assigned to divisions based on a variety of factors and compete within their division. The result of each game helps to determine the next game’s match-up, making each contest that much more important.
The Eagles were among 33 teams at this year’s tournament and managed to finish at the top of their division. This earned them 17th place out of all 33 teams. Their record was an impressive 4-1 and they came back strong after losing their first match of the day.
Tags: Sports