Middle school students took the next step toward their high school careers on June 3 at the Gr. 8 promotion ceremony. After a brief processional, Chris Nikoloff, head of school, welcomed and congratulated the students, offering some inspirational words to take with them into the summer and beyond.
After a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, a celebratory slide show commemorated the journey the eighth graders have made so far. Scott Kley-Contini, science teacher and dean of the Class of 2014, made his farewell address to the soon-to-be high school students.
Middle school vocal group Harmonics performed the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World” before Nikoloff and Cindy Ellis, middle school division head, called up the students one by one to receive their promotion certificates.
Ellis had some heartfelt parting words of her own to offer the students. The Gr. 8 class brought the ceremony to a close with their rendition of “The Harker School Song.”
Harker’s own all-girl pop band, the Pizookies, has been hard at it, wrapping up their summer before heading off to college. The six girls, five grads and one current student, have been performing at a variety of venues and donating the proceeds to the American Cancer Society. Their latest triumph was an all-ages CD-release show at The Venue in San Jose. The Pizookie sound was described in the San Jose Mercury News as “quirky, big-hearted folk-pop with touches of glockenspiel, violin and saxophone.” Read all about the effort these generous young women are making at their Web Site, http://www.thepizookies.com/
Reprinted from the Harker QuarterlyMarch 2010 issue
The unwary might be fooled by the tranquil spaces that are the Harker libraries – but make no mistake: momentous changes are underfoot schoolwide.
Harker library director Enid Davis has kept the department atop the morphing information world all along, but the addition of several features have resulted in a watershed year for all library users, including the construction of a new library on the upper school campus.
The new building will come in at 3,803 square feet – an 89 percent increase over the previous library space – with a comfortable reading area, a separate classroom equipped with eBeam technology, expanded study tables with lighting and outlets, a print/scan/copy center, increased shelving, enhanced wireless connectivity and a security system to keep it all safe.
With the opening of the new upper school library, all three campuses will enjoy wireless learning spaces with ceiling mounted projector systems. Other changes this year include:
• streamlining of the library’s Web site design featuring customized resources matched to age and curricula at each division;
• the addition of a proxy server, enabling single user login for all 80-plus subscription databases around the clock;
• the addition of Questia, an electronic library containing nearly 30,000 full textbooks with robust tools for personalized note-taking;
• significant growth of Harker’s eBook collection, including supplementary resources for class projects which necessitate simultaneous use;
• online catalogue makeover to increase user access including the ability to add book reviews, and the addition of cover art to books’ listings; and
• expanded use of NoodleBib, an online tool that allows students to collect, organize and synthesize research in personalized accounts, across grade levels and disciplines.
Connecting users with information is the primary job of Harker’s librarians – a job that’s become both easier and more difficult in a Web 2.0 world. Easier because information abounds; more difficult because, well, information abounds, and sifting through the chaff to find value can be an overwhelming task for children, teens and adults alike.
“Our Internet age has made the information explosion possible,” explains middle school librarian Bernie Morrissey. “Libraries have become more important than ever. In many cases, a librarian can provide the magnet that makes the perfect needle jump out of its haystack.”
Dramatic change can be disconcerting, but Davis’ creation of the Information Literacy committees four years ago has made Harker’s transitions nearly seamless. The committees, which meet regularly on each campus, allow teachers to voice information concerns and share successes with library professionals and instructional technologists, thus serving as a crucible for innovation to address concerns and replicate successes.
As a result, Harker teachers have been taking greater advantage of professional librarians at all levels to help their students navigate through the information deluge. Teacher librarian collaboration projects have increased significantly, making Harker’s information professionals regular fixtures in kindergarten and Gr. 1 classrooms, in addition to the regularly scheduled library instruction K-Gr. 4.
“The most important contribution we can make is to teach faculty and students how to access, evaluate and synthesize all the information pouring over our heads from an infinite digital sky,” said Davis
Staying in front of technology and the changes it causes in educational philosophy can be challenging, but Harker librarians have developed a reputation as leaders in their field. This fall Davis was invited to speak at the BayNet Librarian Conference, and librarians Kathy Clark, Lauri Vaughan, Smith and Morrissey all presented at the Harker Teacher Tech Institute last June.
In January, Vaughan and Smith were keynote speakers at a regional conference of independent school librarians. This month Smith will present with Donna Gilbert, upper school history department chair, on their collaborative efforts at the California Association of Independent Schools conference at Campbell Hall in North Hollywood.
“The role of school libraries has expanded,” said Smith. “They are important places for students to gather for collaboration and learning, but they also represent portals, both physical and virtual, to new resources, tools and technologies. The tools and technologies will change, but libraries as intellectual hubs of schools and communities – as learning commons – will outlive us all!”
Reprinted from the Harker QuarterlyMarch 2010 issue
WinterSong: Bel Canto and Friends
Bel Canto and fellow performers wowed the crowd with a Conservatory concert held on Jan. 22 at Nichols Hall. At WinterSong, this ensemble of Gr. 9-10 singers sang songs from a wide range of genres, including Harry Belafonte’s “Turn the World Around” and a moving rendition of Eric Whitacre’s “Five Hebrew Love Songs,” which was considered to be the group’s most ambitious work ever. They also sang a spiritual, a piece in Latin, and ‘60s staple “Bye Bye, Love.” Elodie Nguyen, Gr. 12, accompanied the group on the piano, and they were directed by Catherine Snider.
Eight Conservatory Certificate candidates also performed solos at the concert, with works ranging from junior Shireen Moshkelani’s “When I Have Sung My Songs” by Ernest Charles to sophomore Alex Najibi’s rendition of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La donna e mobile.” Andrew Lee, Gr. 10, played his own four-movement Baroque-style composition on the piano and Lydia Demissachew, Gr. 11, played Johannes Brahms’ “Rhapsody, Op. 70 No. 2.” John Ammatuna, Gr. 11, was accompanied by Diane Villadsen, Gr. 11, on a song from “South Pacific”; also singing were Vrinda Goel, Gr. 11, Sebastian Herscher, Gr. 10 and Nina Sabharwal, Gr. 9.
Orchestra
As Harker’s instrumental program has grown significantly in the past few years, directors Chris Florio, Louis Hoffman and Toni Woodruff split the annual winter showcase into two parts. Despite the change, both concerts, held Jan. 15, were packed and the showcase was a rousing success.
The early evening show featured Woodruff’s Lower School String Ensemble, the new Lower School Jazz Ensemble led by Hoffman and Hoffman’s Lower School Orchestra. Florio’s Gr. 6 and Gr. 7-8 orchestras closed the concert with Brahms, Fauré and Tchaikovsky compositions.
The second show included Florio’s Jazz Band, featuring front singer Francesca Nagle, Gr. 11, singing smooth tunes and impressive solos from sax player Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 12 and trombonist Benjamin Tien, Gr. 11. The Harker Orchestra also performed all four movements of Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 1,” a Smetana overture and the humorous “Hungarian Dance” of Brahms.
Dance Production: Percussion Pathways
Harker dancers hit the stage Jan. 29 and 30 in Percussion Pathways, this year’s theme for the ever-popular annual upper school dance production. Choreographers selected percussion-heavy music and were challenged by director Laura Rae to create dances that allowed them to “move to their own drummers.”
Student choreographers worked with Harker dance teachers Rae and Karl Kuehn, and dancers Heidi Landgraf, Adrian Bermudez and Sasha Stepanenko ’06 to create a three-part show, taking the audience through Harker school life into an exploration of larger themes about belonging, suffering and mystery. Some students, including Johnny Lau, Gr. 12 and Malika Mehrotra, Gr. 11, also had the opportunity to choreograph their own dances for the show, putting out toe-tappers and crowd-movers to “Break It Down” by Manu Dibango and “Shadowplay” by The Killers.
Dance Jamz Electrifies Audiences
Dance Jamz, the annual middle school dance show, energized audiences in early March, as nearly 150 dancers from all middle school grade levels performed several dance styles. The show ran March 4-6, first showcasing the students’ talents for Gr. 5, then entertaining their middle school classmates and finally performing for friends and family.
Directed by middle school dance teacher Gail Palmer, with co-direction by dance teachers Amalia Vasconi and Karl Kuehn, the show highlighted swing, contemporary modern, musical theater and hip-hop, with elements of Bollywood and Latin.
The dynamic lighting by middle school performing arts teacher Paul Vallerga brought more flair to each performance, including a dramatic shot of silhouetted hiphop dancers. Students and parents alike were thrilled to see the talented young dancers perform their hearts out onstage!
Conservatory Classic
The second annual Conservatory Classic, “An Evening with Past, Present and Future Harker Stars,” brought together the Harker community at the end of winter break, with proceeds going towards the performing arts program. Vocal and musical theater alumni Kartik Venkatraman ’09, Stephanie Kim ’08, Siobhan Stevenson ’07 and many others returned to campus to perform collaborative pieces with current students.
Graduated Guys’ Gig members joined the current crew in song. A string octet, an alumni jazz combo and solos from students were also performed to highlight Harker’s performing arts in preparation for Phase 4 of the school’s master site plan – a new performing and visual arts center.
Reprinted from the Harker QuarterlyMarch 2010 issue
Lower & Middle School
Basketball
Coached by Greg Lawson, the Gr. 8 varsity A team improved defensively over the season, but had difficulty scoring. The team finished the season 3-7, with wins against Pinewood, Crystal Springs and Woodside Priory.
The seventh graders had much more depth than Gr. 8 – enough players to field three teams. The Gr. 7 varsity B1 team finished league play 7-0, making them league champs! The Gr. 7 varsity B2 team finished 3-4, and the Gr. 7 varsity B3 team finished 1-6.
The Gr. 6 boys junior varsity A team overcame the setbacks of injured players through good student leadership, finishing strong in league play. Coach Walid Fahmy said, “Look out for these boys as they move on to seventh grade!” The boys ended the season 2-7.
Coach Mousa Katwan credits the camaraderie of the Gr. 5 JV B1 team for a strong finish. “Strong play down low from Alex Mo gave us an advantage on offense, while the strength and heart of Nicolas Bean on defense stopped opposing teams’ efforts. Overall the boys learned a lot and grew together while having fun,” Katwan said. The team ended the season with a 4-5 record.
Coaches Tobias Wade and David Ramos both enjoyed the season with the Gr. 5 B2 team. Wade reported, “Our boys practiced and played hard, and it was a learning experience for them.” Everyone improved throughout the whole season and the team ended with a 2-7 record.
The Gr. 4 JV C team had only two days of practice before the team’s first game but, reported coach and lower school P.E. teacher Jim McGovern, “The boys jelled quickly and worked on playing an exciting fast-break style of basketball.” Although their season record was 3-5, the boys were very close to flipping those numbers as two losses were only by one point each. McGovern added, “I look forward to the continued effort and love for the game by this group of players.”
The girls Gr. 4-5 basketball team had a fantastic season. The JV B1 team, who finished one game shy of a perfect season before tournament play, led the charge and the JV B2 team truly enjoyed the spirit of competition and the fun they had with their teammates. Finally, the JV C team also enjoyed spirited competitions and the thrill of victory following exciting back-to-back wins.
Soccer
The junior varsity B boys soccer team also had a fantastic season, with exciting victories against Crystal Springs, Pinewood and St. Joseph’s Sacred Heart. At press time, the team was 4-1 in league and in second place in the standings. The team was led by Nikolas Weisbloom, Kedar Gupta and Joseph Krackeler, all Gr. 5.
The intramural boys Gr. 4-5 soccer team also learned a lot about soccer and had a lot of fun with their teammates and coach Jim McGovern. The team was led by Nirban Bhatia, Rohit Shah and Shaya Zarkesh, all Gr. 4
Girls varsity A soccer had an exciting season, coach Chrissy Chang reported. “We faced many tough opponents but were still able to put the ball in the back of the net, and every player contributed to our awesome soccer season.” The team had individuals who played outstanding offense and defense, and they ended the season 2-5.
Coach Justin “Sully” Sullivan was impressed with the vast improvement of the girls Gr. 7 varsity B team, which showed in their strong finishes of their final four games, where they won two of the four and nearly earned a draw in another. Excellent goaltending was an important part of the team’s improvement and Sullivan complimented several players with particularly strong play and excellent hustle. The season ended 2-5, and with several players returning, next year’s soccer season looks to be an exciting one.
Despite the 1-5 season record of the Gr. 6 JV A team, coach Cyrus Merrill was impressed with the strength and growth of his team. “The ladies played even with a number of the teams in the league and surprised many of them with early goals and strong play,” he commented. The girls enjoyed practicing next to the upper school girls soccer team at Blackford this season.
The Gr. 5 JV B team finished 5-0-1 to take the leag ue championship, making it back-to-back league championships for the Gr. 5 girls softball and soccer teams this year. Coach Casey Henderson credited fearless goalkeeping and added, “The girls demonstrated a wide variety of skills and enthusiasm during the season.”
Upper School
Basketball
The varsity boys basketball team had a strong season that included a historic win against Sacred Heart Prep in Prep’s gym. They ended the regular season with a remarkable 20-4 overall record and 12-2 league record, securing second place in the league. In CCS play, the boys played Stevenson at the Blackford gym after securing the sixth seed but lost to Santa Cruz 56-44 in the CCS quarterfinals.
The JV boys ended their season as WBAL champions! The team had a 20-2 overall record and was 11-1 in league.
Girls basketball ended their season with an overtime loss to playoff-bound King’s Academy and a loss at Mercy- Burlingame over the break. The girls were very competitive in every game this season and were actually one non-league win away from qualifying for CCS. They ended the season 7-14.
Soccer
Boys soccer had a great season, coming close to making it to CCS. They faced Menlo School in the league finals where they lost 2-1, just missing CCS qualification. For a squad that started as many as eight freshmen per game, it was a remarkable season, which ended 8-8-2 overall.
Girls soccer ended their season with a loss to Mercy- San Francisco 2-1. This committed group of young ladies ended the season 2-5-3 in league play, was competitive in every match, and showed improvement throughout the season.
Wrestling
Although wrestling meets are team events, individuals, rather than teams, proceed to league championships and CCS finals. This year three wrestlers made it to CCS finals and one, Santosh Swaminathan, Gr. 11, made Harker history by taking fifth place in the 103-pound weight class, the first Harker wrestler to medal at CCS.
The response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti tops the list of Harker’s recent outreach efforts. Students, teachers and parents joined forces at all three campuses to fund ongoing efforts to provide food, medical supplies and shelter to the victims of the January temblor in Port au Prince, the tiny country’s densely populated capitol.
The Bucknall Student Council and the Gr. 4-5 Spirit and Service Club helped organize a hot chocolate and donuthole drive in January, earning over $3,000. Several lower school teachers and staff donated funds to offset the costs of food and drink to further enhance profit margin.
“Our student body truly outdid itself with its generosity and concern displayed throughout our fundraising effort,” said Kristin Giammona, elementary division head Gr. 4-5. “It is heartwarming to witness and be a part of such an outpouring of care and monetary support.”
Similarly, middle school students participated in Coin Wars, a friendly grade-level competition to make a difference. The organizers asked students to donate pennies and nickels for Haitian relief. The class with the largest number of one- and five-cent coins in their collection earned the most points. The effort, won by the class of 2015, raised a total of $3,100 in ten days.
Although they planned their fundraising and blood drive months in advance, members of the upper school Red Cross Club adapted their efforts to benefit Haitian relief. The annual blood drive collected over 80 donations from eligible students, faculty, staff and parents. While donations will likely be used locally, the collection helps offset blood donations elsewhere that will be sent to Port au Prince.
In another Red Cross effort, students emptied their pockets of change in a competition to slime the class dean and class presidents at the weekly school meeting, prompting generous contributions. The mounting piles of coin attracted daily attention in Manzanita Hall, and playful challenges by the deans and presidents to stuff the jars of their competitors added spice to the contest.
In the end, the sophomores were victorious, resulting in class dean Matt Harley and class president Revanth Kosaraju suffering a sliming worth $1,137. In total, the slime contest earned $1,983, an amount complemented by bake sales and pretzel-grams which earned $274 for a total of $2,267.
“We thought that it would be great to offer the Harker community an opportunity to assist Red Cross Haiti relief efforts during our week,” said Red Cross Club president Alex Han, Gr. 12. “We put our best efforts into raising awareness for the cause and making our fundraisers original and exciting, whether through selling handmade pretzel-grams or having a dean and class president get slimed.”
In late February 18 upper school students spent half a day removing non-native plants from the Arastradero Preserve as part of a project by Acterra, an environmental nonprofit in Palo Alto. “The weather held and everyone enjoyed working together; we got a lot done,” said Kerry Enzensperger, director of upper school community service. Harker students were involved in a variety of other activates geared toward helping the community as well.
Gr. 3 students collected new pajamas and books for needy children in the U.S. and elsewhere. Over 330 pairs of pajamas and 677 books were collected. “All of the third graders were encouraged to participate by bringing in books or pajamas,” said Joe Connolly, dean of students K-Gr. 5. “We had two third graders present the donations to Pallie Zambrano, co-president of the Northern California Chapter of The Pajama Program.”
On Martin Luther King Day, an official Congressional Day of Service, Colin Goodwin, Gr. 4 English teacher, organized a group of about 30 Gr. 4-5 students and parents to work with Save the Bay, planting native trees and grasses at the Eden Landing Ecological Preserve in Hayward. “On our day of service we planted something like 300 plants,” said Goodwin. “This was my first year organizing this project, and I hope to do the project again next year .”
Upper school Key Club members organized a drive for denim in January, collecting lightly-used jeans for homeless teenagers worldwide.
The class of 2011 held its annual toiletries drive, collecting hundreds of personal hygiene items for distribution at local homeless shelters. Similar efforts are mounted by lower school English teacher Pat Walsh and middle school librarian Bernie Morrissey on their campuses.
Lower school students authored and sent valentines to U.S. marines serving in Afghanistan.
Members of the middle school Peace2Peace Club will transform donations of lightly used toys, electronics and games into funds for daycare in India via a garage sale over spring break. The program allows older siblings who would otherwise be forced to stay home, to attend school regularly.
Upper school girls and boys soccer teams raised over $3,000 through T-shirt sales and donations for cancer research at their January doubleheader.
The middle school Service Club gathered new and gently used winter coats to benefit the local organization InnVision (www.innvision.org), which helps Bay Area families and individuals who are homeless or struggling financially.
Math instructor Peggy Crisler challenged middle school advisories to provide Christmas gifts for families through Kidango, a Bay Area nonprofit child development agency.
The upper school’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club recently hosted a talk with famous poet Yosimar Reyes. Reyes came to the school to read some of his poetry and speak about his experiences as a Latino immigrant and gay man.
Reyes is an immigrant from the Mountains of Guerrero, Mexico who currently resides in San Jose. His newest book of poetry is entitled “For Colored Boys Who Speak Softly” and focuses on the experiences of gay minorities in their home countries as well as in the United States. He is a spoken word poet and as such his poetry is very rhythmic and is meant to be read aloud.
Reyes’ visit to campus gave students a chance to learn about something that the majority of them will never experience. He spoke to an appreciative audience of about eight students and staff and his charm, intelligence and honesty kept the listeners smiling with empathy. The struggles with oppression that homosexuals go through in many countries around the world are reminiscent of the struggles of countless minorities throughout history.
[Updated] Harker had five top-three placements in an impressive showing at the international finals of the Future Problem Solvers competition, held the weekend of June 12 in Wisconsin. One middle division team, made up of grade 9 students NaYeon Kim, Maya Sathaye, Hansa Srinivasan and Karan Das-Grande, took first place in action plan presentation.
The other middle division team of Ria Desai, Sonia Gupta, Pooja Shah and Emily Wang, also all grade 9, earned third place in action plan presentation and also finished in 11th place in the booklet competition. The senior team, rising senior Justine Liu and rising juniors Ananth Subramaniam, Jennie Xu and Laura Yau, earned a respectable sixth place in the presentation of action plan contest, although many at the event, including some fellow competitors, felt they should have placed higher. The three teams were among 50 from around the world that participated.
Standout individuals included Shelby Rorabaugh, Gr. 9, who was the first place scenario writer in the middle division; and Joy Li, Gr. 9, and Madhu Nori, Gr. 7, who took second and third place, respectively, as alternates in global issues problem solving. Shivani Mitra, Gr. 9, finished just shy of third place in the same category. In the senior division of alternate global problem solving, sophomore Akshay Tangutur performed well, missing the top three by just 10 points. Rising senior Olivia Zhu took sixth place as an overall individual competitor in the senior division.
Journalism students are currently attending their annual training camp and retreat, this year in Hawaii. The group has managed to get some surf time in between posting stories, photos and tweets. They’ve posted a slide show and story on the Talon/Winged Post home page. Tweets go out as events and adventures unfold, so check the pages and see the fun!
Bay Area Parent – June 2010: Recent upper school graduate Colby Rapson and kindergartner Ravi Lal appear on the cover of this month’s issue, now available on newsstands throughout the area.
California Coast Parent, Santa Clara County and San Mateo County Edition – Summer 2010: Harker is featured in an extensive story on the school and its various programs.
San Jose Mercury News – June 6, 2010: Auto insurance company Progressive took out a full-page ad in this edition of the newspaper to congratulate Harker on being named a finalist in the DASH+ competition.