Upper school debate teacher and communication studies chair Adam Nelson recently received a first diamond degree of membership from the National Forensic League (NFL). Nelson earned this recognition by acquiring a total of 1,513 points on Feb. 28. Students coached by Nelson have earned more than 15,130 points to date. With this milestone, Nelson has earned the privilege of wearing a diamond-set NFL key or pin. He will be recognized in June at the Lincoln Financial Group/NFL National Speech and Debate Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Many thanks and congratulations to the winners of the live auction, silent auction and showcase drawing at this year’s fashion show, “Outside the Box: Chic and Unique!” The seventh annual show was a huge success, topping last year’s event. The final totals raised will be reported in mid-April.
Table Captain Winner (one-week stay at an exclusive villa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico): Rachana Jain
Tiffany Box Winners:
Luncheon – NO WINNER?
Dinner – Nina Panu
Live Auction Winners
The live auction at the fashion show has always proved to be one of the most popular events, and this year was no exception. Congratulations to all who walked away winners from this year’s live auction!
Chef Steve’s Dinners: Thomas Joseph Ivey, Durga Madala
VIP Graduation Package: R.K. Anand
Harker Kindergarten Quilt: Denise Hayashi
New York Alexander Wang Adventure: Jagruti Bhikha
Sharks Game and Zamboni Ride: Dean Rossi
Black Labrador Puppy: Alnoor Shivji
Night at the Emmys: Neeraj Gupta
Drive Six Exotic Cars: John Keller, Anupam Awasthi
Exclusive Resorts Vacation: Ajay Shah
Gentry Magazine Shoot: Michelle Keller
Harker Paella Party: Christine Davis
French Chateaux Trip: Charlene Blaine
Oakland A’s First Pitch: Michael Eckhardt
Bugatti Adventure: Brad Buss
Carlsbad Villa Vacation: Jeanette Hajjar
Stanford vs. USC game with Coach T.J.: Anupam Awasthi
Box Seats for S.F. Giants (12) and Parking (4): Karen Ivey
Organic Moksha Coffee Subscription: Dan Hudkins
Vivace Summer Music Camp: Soeun Park
$500 GC Container Store/Elfa: Susan Eckhardt
Zumba Classes: Ararti Awasthi
Philips Defibrillator: Phillip King
Chic and Comfy Dog Bed: Ludo Janssen
Genesis Photography Gift Certificate: Thomas Ivey Showcase Package Drawing Winners
Zone: Designed by Fred Ojeda and Craig Shannon of Concierge Du Cuisine:
Private dinner party for up to 12 persons by Concierge Du Cuisine, hand-painted buffet piece, eight dinner plates, eight salad plates, 12 red wine stemware, 12 white wine stemware, six Ralph Lauren herringbone glasses, eight Waterford water glasses, eight Waterford champagne flutes, four champagne flutes, flatware service for eight, two three-section serving pieces, one square platter, one black pedestal urn, two wrought iron and glass hurricanes. Winners: Cybil and Mike Armstrong
Vintner’s Roulette: Designed by Marie Peterson of Chelsea Court Designs
One-week stay at four-bedroom/two-bathroom home in Pajaro Dunes, Prana Skincare product basket, two in-home personal fitness sessions and stability ball. Winner: Janet Yohanna
Custom queen size silk teal coverlet, nine silk Custom Accent pillows, 1.5 hours of decorative or architectural consultation, IKEA Fillsta chandelier, two framed black-and-white prints. Winner: Shanthi Kannan
12 mm. 18-inch freshwater pearls, one night midweek stay at Bernardus Lodge, two 50-minute spa treatments at Bernardus Lodge, $1,000 Epi Center MedSpa skin rejuvenation package, Case de Cobre dining certificate, The Basin dining certificate, Dr. Craig Creasman skin care services, Ayurveda Exchange healthy package (massage included), Ayurveda Exchange beautiful package (products included), $25 eyebrow design, ring holder, shawl, two dress circle tickets to “Romeo and Juliet.” Winner: Tanya Ringold
Off Limits: Designed by Dennis Baldwin of Dennis Baldwin Interiors
Pottery Barn Sumatra Collection full-size bed and night stand, one custom duvet, three custom Euro shams, one custom cut-velvet bolster pillow, all custom accent pillows, Marquis Custom Collection love-seat sofa, media cabinet, two Padmas lamps, two-hour color consultation with Just Faux. Winner: Dhrumil Ghandi
nVidia 3-D Vision kit, Viewsonic 3-D ready monitor, GeForce 240 graphics card, one summer week at Deer Valley Club Resort, $500 Preston Wynne Spa gift card, $150 Dio Deka restaurant gift card, Brandi Chastain autographed soccer ball. Winner: Pratap Reddy
Apple iPad or $500 iCash-in, three nights in Casita de Las Brisas (Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico), Razor scooter, Nintendo Wii system and Monopoly game, $440 classic kids photography, $80 GameStop gift card, $50 All Ears audio books gift card, $25 Fleur de Cocoa gift card, $75 Bella James gift card and private party, $75 Sports Basement gift card and shopping party certificate, Uma silk wrap necklace, two De Brito Chocolate Factory baskets, Discovery Toys gift collection. Winner: Lana Kipnis
Inside the Row: Designed by Dr. Priya Vij and Rita Patel of Omesha Eternal Elegance, Inc.
Nikon Coolpix S220 digital camera, Atelier Aveda products and facial, two Burke Williams Spa facials, two Burke Williams relaxation massages with hot stone treatment, two Burke Williams bath robes, travel cup, Sonic care products, Vera Bradley gift package, two bottles of champagne, $280 Morphosis Photo Rejuvenation gift card, $250 Anne Fontaine gift card for a private in-store party including champagne and cupcakes, $50 Pink Stripes gift, $50 Pizza Antica gift card, $50 Straits Cafe gift card. Winner: Chris King
One-night stay in the executive suite at Hotel Valencia, designer jacket autographed by Ted Baker, The Blue Jeans Bar in-store party for up to 50 guests, $500 Franco Uomo gift card, $300 Eli Thomas for Men gift card, Paper Source in-store party for four to six guests, Sur La Table gift basket, Club One gym bag and massage packages, $50 Sino gift card. Winner: Kelle Sloan
Out & About : Designed by Robert Miller and Jacob Scherer of Miller Design Co.
One-week stay in two-bedroom/two-bath villa at Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Springs, $759 decorative faux finishing service from Mural Project, one hour design consultation with Miller Design Co. Winner: Victor Adler
Four-night stay in three-bedroom/four-bath oceanfront villa at Villa La Estancia resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Winner: Emily Stapleton
Aston Martin DB9 Volante for a weekend ride and drive, hand-beaded evening gown, Garmin NUVI 255W GPS, two-night weekend stay in a deluxe room at Taj Campton Place in San Francisco. Winner: Susan McNealy
Don Chamberlin, a retired IBM fellow and scientist visited Raji Swaminathan’s middle school science classes on March 11 for the third time in as many years. Chamberlin, who holds a Ph.D. from Stanford in electrical engineering, talked to the students about engineering as a career choice and the importance of studying math and science. Chamberlin is a staunch proponent of getting more women interested in engineering careers.
Students discussed several “cool” and “not cool” things about engineering, and did an activity where they estimated how many plastic balls could into Swaminathan’s classroom “to a great degree of precision using various estimation techniques.” Finally, Chamberlin shared with the class a five-minute movie clip made by his colleague John Cohn, who is also an IBM fellow. Titled “Engineering Paradise,” it uses rap music to send an inspiring message to students to study math and science and become engineers.
Dance Jamz, the annual middle school dance show, wowed audiences in early March, as nearly 150 dancers from all middle school grade levels performed a series of elaborate routines, covering several dance styles. The students performed a total of three shows from March 4-6, first showcasing their 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 a number of different styles, including 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, such as the silhouetted group of dancers that took the stage during the hip-hop portion of the show. Harker’s production manager Brian Larsen handled sound for the event. Dance Jamz, as usual, was a hit with both students and parents alike, who were thrilled to see the talented young dancers perform their hearts out onstage!
Upper school students attended a special assembly on March 5 for a talk on abuse and abuse prevention by Dr. Tanya Krautter, a Los Gatos-based psychologist and adjunct clinical faculty member of the psychiatry department at the Stanford School of Medicine.
Krautter also talked about the recent trend of “sexting,” or the practice of sending sexually explicit photos or videos via cell phones.
She opened her talk with a brief definition of abuse and its variants. “Abuse is actually when there’s one person in a relationship using a pattern of behavior to control the other person,” she said. “Abuse is an intentional act. It’s not accident. It didn’t happen just because.”
Abuse, she said, can be found in many forms, emotional or verbal abuse being the most common. “This can happen from all kinds of people,” she stressed, including friends, family, teachers and coaches. Emotional abuse can also be more than just insults or belittlement. Someone threatening to injure or kill themselves is also exhibiting abusive behavior. “They’re doing something to get you to do something for them, like not breaking up with them, and that’s a control issue,” she said. Such threats are nonetheless taken “very seriously,” and those who make them are urged to seek counseling.
Other kinds of abuse include physical and sexual. “Really important to remember with physical abuse is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be that there’s an actual incident that occurred. It can be the threat of physically abusing you,” she said.
“Many people who are being abused don’t see themselves as victims,” Krautter noted. “And abusers don’t usually see themselves as abusers.”
Krautter spent a large portion of her appearance talking about sexting, which she believes needs to be discussed with high school students far more often. “I think there’s a huge lack of education in our school systems around what the ramifications of sexting really are, “ she said.
Many students are not aware that creating and sending these sexually explicit photos and videos qualifies as production and distribution of child pornography, which has serious legal implications. Krautter related the story of one student who is currently awaiting sentencing in juvenile hall for sending hundreds of sexually explicit videos of minors.
Toward the end of the talk, Krautter said the biggest reason abuse occurs is because it works. “Unless victims know how to stop the abuse – walk away, assert themselves, let the person know, ‘this is not OK with me’ – then the abuse will continue to occur,” she said.
Following her talk, Krautter took some time to answer questions from students. She answered a question from one student about how laws related to abuse are changing, noting that people are now able to report instances of verbal abuse to Child Protective Services. Responding to a question about how young people should respond to partners threatening to harm or kill themselves, Krautter said the best course of action is to remind the person that they do not want the individual to hurt themselves, and to help them find someone they can talk to.
Firefighters from the San Jose Fire Department visited the lower school on March 3 to teach the students a few lessons on fire safety. The kids learned how to make an evacuation plan, the process of making a 911 emergency call and how to stop, drop and roll. Students had fun during the firefighters’ visit, paying close attention and taking the opportunity to ask questions, such as how to adapt an evacuation plan to the layout of one’s house.
The varsity tennis team made history last week when they defeated perennial state power Sacred Heart Prep for the first time ever! The singles lineup of Karthik Dhore, Adarsh Ranganathan, both Gr. 11, and Derek Tzeng, Gr. 10, won the top three spots. Ranganathan won an emotionally draining match 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 over an excellent opponent.
Our number two doubles team of Nikhil Parthasarathy, Gr. 11 and Justin Yang, Gr. 9, took second place in three sets and senior Akum Gill and sophomore Revanth Kosaraju teamed up to capture the number three doubles spot in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. The team record now stands at 3-0 (1-0 in WBAL play). The boys also traveled to a tournament in Fresno over March 6-7 where Dhore went 5-0, validating him as one of the top players in California.
A new Harker research workshop will be offered as part of Harker’s Summer Institute program. The introductory course will help students develop skills such as observation, critical analysis, conducting experiments and safe, effective use of lab equipment. Students will also go on a marine ecology field trip and see a number of guest speakers.
The course and is open to students entering grades 9 and 10 in the fall and takes place July 6-23, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Students must have completed a middle school science curriculum with a B average or better to attend the workshop. It will be taught by upper school science teacher Matthew Harley at Nichols Hall on Harker’s upper school campus at 500 Saratoga Ave. in San Jose. The cost for the course is $698. For more information on other courses offered during Harker’s Summer Institute, please visit the Summer Institute homepage.
Alumni Relations’ first regional association event in late February brought together local Harker alumni in the rustic atmosphere of San Francisco’s The District wine bar. Amongst brick walls and exposed wooden beams, alumni, faculty and administrators reminisced with each other about their times at Harker.
Regional associations reconnect Harker alumni in a given area – at least ten alumni live within two blocks of The District – adding strength and richness to the Harker alumni network. The Harker alumni office links alumni through class years, geographical regions and affinity groups.
Bob Torcellini, a 1966 graduate of the Palo Alto Military Academy, Harker’s predecessor, reminisced about his time at the Academy: “There was a lot of camaraderie among the students because everyone was so strict.” Torcellini came to the alumni event armed with an old photo album hoping to find classmates John and Matt Brooks to show them a picture from a past alumni event where a banner had displayed their father’s name. Out of his teachers, Torcellini remembers Eugene Renaghan and English teacher Trevor Morgan. Of his friends, he remembers Dwight Haldan, Robin Beaty, Dean Riskas and Eric Lane.
Though Harker has changed, Torcellini embraces the differences. “It’s good that it’s evolved away from the military and pushed the academics and actually flourished in that. I’m proud that it’s evolved and survived,” he added.
Tala Banatao ’93 lives in San Francisco and runs a successful children’s clothing line. One of her friends is Christina Yan ’93, Harker’s current director of alumni relations. Banatao said, “It’s rare that so many kids remember and have such fond memories [of high school]. Harker was instrumental in laying the foundation for us in school and really contributed to a lot of our successes.” She remembers several faculty members from her days at Harker including history teacher John Near, who passed away last fall, former coach and dean of students Jack Bither, former history teacher and volleyball coach Howard Saltzman, current math teacher Pat Walsh, and current K-Gr. 8 athletic director Theresa Smith.
Finding that history teacher and Coca-Cola fanatic John Zetterquist is still at Harker, Eric Wu ’97 recalled Zettterquist “plunging [his] hand into an ice-cold cooler for Cokes” during class.
Longtime Harker student Maheen Kaleem ’03 says she “spent more time at Harker than anywhere else in [her] life.” Some of her memorable moments are “every dance production and every moment with [dance teacher Laura Rae], and staying until 11 o’clock at night making decorations for spirit rallies the next day.” She expressed her admiration of Laura Lang-Ree, performing arts department chair, whom she described as a “second mother.”
Coming to alumni events is an exciting experience for Kaleem, who has spent time visiting Harker in the past. “I affiliate Harker so much with my childhood that I think it’s nice to be grown up and see how people have evolved,” Kaleem said. “Seeing them as adults is really cool.”
To enrich networks in other areas, upcoming alumni relations activity will include a March event in Manhattan, an April event in Southern California and gatherings in areas such as Washington, D.C., and the Midwest next year. Visit www.facebook.com/HarkerAlumniAssociation for exact details on events in your area, or contact Christina Yan, director of alumni relations, at christinay@harker.org.
The seventh annual Harker Fashion Show in February was another glamorous spectacle that put on fantastic display the many parts of the greater whole that is Harker. Titled “Outside the Box: Chic and Unique,” this year’s sold-out event was a celebration of Harker’s uniqueness as a school, creatively highlighting the various academic programs and activities in which its students are involved.
“I feel complete,” said fashion show co-chair Christine Davis, whose son, Cole, graduates this year. This year’s fashion show, witnessed by nearly 1,300 people, was her last as a co-chair. “It’s bittersweet, but it’s mostly sweet,” she later added.
Davis partnered with co-chair Marcia Riedel (Randall, Gr. 9; Hunter, Gr. 6) and a team of liaisons led by Sue Prutton, director of upper school volunteer programs, to put together the massive event. Davis and Riedel founded the fashion show more than seven years ago, when they first came up with the idea during a game of tennis. Since then, it has evolved into one of the school’s largest and most elaborate fundraisers.
The impressive design and execution of the show was largely the work of K-Gr. 12 performing arts director Laura Lang-Ree, who directed nearly every detail of the show as it happened, including video screen slides, skits, lighting and musical cues. Meanwhile, producer Beverly Zeiss and her team directed fashion choices, model choreography and backstage management.
“The fashion show has always been a tremendous fundraising event for the school, but in addition to that it gives us an opportunity to show the world what we can do,” Prutton said. “Our emphasis on telling the Harker story in the past three fashion shows has proven to be incredibly popular.”
Funds raised by the event are put toward scholarships for qualified students needing financial aid and to the Capital Campaign, which provides students with the ideal facilities to maximize their Harker experience. The final total of funds raised by the fashion show will be announced on Harker News Online in late March.
Each portion of the runway show was themed after a different department or program, including performing arts, science, athletics and community service. A total of 92 students, parents, faculty and staff strutted down the runway dressed in ensembles from fashion sponsors Macy’s and Eli Thomas. A special segment of the show featured Earth-friendly fashions by Priya Bhikha, Gr. 12, who assembled short and long gowns using recyclable materials such as duct tape, candy wrappers and water bottle labels.
[quote]Some amusing surprises were in store as well, such as the opening routine by a professional circus performer who handled a large metal cube and twirled his way effortlessly through a series of complex and visually striking maneuvers. Later, the robotics team wheeled out one of their creations onto the runway during a highly entertaining sequence. Not to be outdone, the Harker forensics team put on mock debate to decide whether Harker was more “chic” or “unique.”
The show also had exciting performances by the Varsity Dance Troupe, directed by Laura Rae, Dance Fusion, a Gr. 4-6 group directed by Gail Palmer, and the upper school’s Downbeat, co-directed by Catherine Snider and Lang-Ree. Meanwhile, the Harker Jazz Band and Chamber Ensemble, directed by Chris Florio, treated the attendees to some pre-show entertainment, bringing the total number of performers to 85.
The fashion show took place in two phases, a luncheon during the middle of the day and a dinner event in the evening. The evening portion of the show featured dancing and the ever-popular live auction, which sold everything from a helicopter ride above Silicon Valley to a night at the Emmy awards to an American Kennel Club-certified black Labrador puppy. Dennis Baldwin Interiors, Concierge Du Cuisine, Chelsea Court Designs, Omesha Eternal Elegance, Inc. and Miller Design Company designed this year’s showcases, which were won in drawings at the luncheon and evening shows.
Students who participated as models said the fashion show presented an opportunity to get involved in a fun and exciting way.
“I just like hanging out with my friends and doing this,” said model Danielle Buis, Gr. 12. “It was just cool to see how we come together as a community.”
Veronica Hsieh, Gr. 12, also served as a model in her freshman year and said she enjoyed being a part of the show “because the entire school’s involved. It’s fun to all be part of the Harker community, to see all ages.”
Nearly 200 students took an active and highly important role in this year’s event, modeling on the runway, greeting attendees, acting as hosts and hostesses and performing in one of the performing arts groups.
After the show, Riedel reflected on how the event had grown since its inception. “I really enjoyed the way that having this event has just brought Harker so much more outside of the Harker community,” she said. “I have people walking up to me and saying, ‘I wish I knew about Harker before this so my kids could go there,’ or, ‘This is where my kids are going to go to school.’”
This year, 92 committee members, all of them parents, came together to make sure the fashion show lived up to the reputation it has established. Whether they are securing sponsors, selling tickets or decorating the interiors, parent involvement is and has always been a crucial part of ensuring the event meets an increasingly high standard. Each aspect of the fashion show had a different parent committee chair to manage the many parts of the event that make it such a memorable experience. They were: Sangeeta Balram, Shyamoli Banerjee, Debbie Buss, Barb Chappell, Mariko Creasman, Barbara Drummer, Ram Duraiswamy, Susan Ellenberg, Minoo Gupta, Debbie Hutchings, Lana Kipnis, Lalitha Kumar, Betsy Lindars, Maria Lu, Mary Malysz, Michelle Maxey, Noela Nakos, Tina Najibi, Naren Nayak, Leslie Nielsen, Archana Sathaye, Ingrid Semenza, Shankari Sundar, Sathya Thyagaraj and Heather Wardenburg.
Tina Najibi (Alexander, Gr. 10; Mary, Gr. 6) has been involved with the fashion show since its founding and served as model coordinator for this year’s event. She said the schoolwide nature of the fashion show makes it a great event for parents to network. “When my kids were in lower school and middle school, I met upper school parents, and I got hints on what kinds of clubs to join, what kinds of things to do, that I would not have gotten had I not volunteered for the fashion show,” she said.
After the fashion show, Chris Nikoloff, head of school, thanked all involved for their months of hard work: “Sitting in the audience, as the Harker story unfolded before us throughout the evening, I was overcome with gratitude for the unique community we all share and help to create.”