[Update] Watch the video of this exciting contest! Check out Harker students on Quiz Kids at http://www.vimeo.com/8665715!
Jan. 12, 2010 At their first Quiz Kids event of the year on Jan. 9, students Andrew Zhou and Brandon Araki, both Gr. 12, and Olivia Zhu, Gr. 11, notched a victory against Archbishop Riordan. The Harker team fell behind early on, but later cleared the deficit and won the game in the extreme lightning round with a final score of 450-190.
Those who could not attend the taping of the game can tune in to KRON4 on Sat., Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. to view the game for themselves. Harker’s next Quiz Kids game will be played on Sun., Feb. 28.
Harker Summer Institute, renowned for quality, fast-paced academic programs, has announced classes and registration is open. Many of these upper school elective courses qualify for credit; summer academic classes are equivalent to the courses offered during the academic year and utilize the same text and course materials. Courses are fast-paced and very demanding, and attendance is mandatory to receive credit.
The Institute runs from June 7- Aug. 13 and offerings include mathematics, art, English, forensics and drivers’ ed. Mathematics courses include pre-algebra and geometry classes, as well as advanced programming for those intending to pursue Advanced Placement Computer Science with Data Structures. See prerequisites.
Art classes include graphic arts and beginning and advanced classes in ceramics, drawing and painting; writing and English classes areExpository Writing & Grammar Reviewand Creative Writing Workshop; Enrichment (Forensics Institute) classes include an array of speech and debate classes; drivers’ education class is the state-required course, four days long, which covers all the material needed for students to pass the California Drivers License written test. All instructors are credentialed.
Many classes require prerequisites so review information online or download the Summer Institute brochure (pdf). For more information please contact: Summer Institute Office, E-Mail: SI@harker.org; Phone: 408.553.0524.
In September, Cindy Liu, Gr. 7, was named one of the winners in category two (9-12 years of age) of the 2009 Peace Pals International Arts Awards and Exhibition, taking second place. Her artwork, along with that of the other winners, will be displayed around the world during the 2010 Peace Pals Art Exhibition Tour.
In early January, Cantilena (Harker’s classical, all-female singing ensemble directed by performing arts instructor Susan Nace) received a visit from two members of Chanticleer, the San Francisco-based all-male choir that has achieved worldwide renown since its founding in 1978. Singers Ben Johns and Gabriel Lewis-O’Connor served as guest teachers for the day as part of Chanticleer’s Education Outreach program.
The pair ran the students through some singing exercises and offered their guidance with two songs Cantilena had been learning: “Hotaru Koi,” a Japanese children’s song arranged by Ro Ogura, and “The Snow,” by late 19th- and early 20th-century composer Sir Edward Elgar. Along the way, they coached the students about how to interpret the words and music vocally, as well as express themselves through movement while singing.
Wrestling Coach Karriem Stinson reports that the wrestling team had a strong showing last weekend at the Jim Root Tournament at Prospect High, with team members receiving high praise from coaches and spectators. Out of 30 teams we came in eighth with only six wrestlers! Tournament champions were Santosh Swaminathan, Gr. 11, at 105 pounds, who is currently ranked seventh in the CCS, and Chris McCallaCreary, Gr. 11, at 140 lbs., currently ranked 15 in CCS. Jason Mendel, Gr. 11, at 112 pounds, took third place and is currently ranked 20th in CCS, while Mark Roh, Gr. 12, was fourth at 160 lbs. This is the first time in our short history that we had two varsity tournament champs in one tournament. It is also the first time we have had three ranked wrestlers in the section. Although the team lost to Santa Clara on Thursday, impressive wins were achieved by Govind Raghunath, Gr. 12, who pinned his opponent in just his second varsity match and Roh, who won in a 12-9 decision. Swaminathan also won by forfeit.
Boys basketball The strong boys team continued their winning streak by defeating Eastside College Prep Tuesday 53-41 to improve to 13-2 overall and first in the league with a 5-0 record. Lung Ying-Yu, Gr. 12, had 16 points. They also beat Crystal Springs last Friday.
Girls basketball Our girls played extremely well against first-place Notre Dame Tuesday, but unfortunately came up a bit short in the fourth quarter and lost 52-39 despite 13 points from Tanya Rai, Gr. 11. The girls also got edged out Wednesday at Capuchino as Kacie Kaneyuki, Gr. 12, chipped in 19 points. Last week, they lost to Crystal Springs despite 12 points by Kaneyuki and seven rebounds by Rai.
Boys Soccer The boys lost at Sacred Heart Wednesday 2-0, and had a tough 1-0 loss to King’s Academy last week.
Girls Soccer The girls soccer team earned their third victory of the season defeating Eastside College Prep Tuesday 2-1. Goals were scored by Esther Belogolovsky, Gr. 12 and Noriko Ishisoko, Gr. 12, with an assist by Siobhan Cox, Gr. 9. The girls had a close game against King’s Academy last week, losing 1-0.
[Update II] The final total the US Girls Soccer Team raised for the American Cancer Society at their Kicks Against Cancer fundraiser held on January 13, 2010 is $3,787!
Jan. 22, 2010:
The varsity girls and boys soccer teams raised a total of approximately $2,500 for the American Red Cross last week with their special Kicks Against Cancer fundraiser, which culminated with the teams’ respective games against Pinewood School and Crystal Springs Uplands School. Raised through a variety of means, the money will go toward breast cancer prevention.
Organizers leveraged a number of different methods to raise the amount, including selling tickets to the games, raffling prizes from local merchants and selling commemorative ribbons that were displayed during the game.
Faculty and staff also pledged to donate $150 for every goal scored by Harker, and each game featured a halftime penalty kick contest in which participants paid a dollar for a chance to score a goal against each team’s goalkeeper.
At the upper school assembly on Jan. 19, Chris Collins, assistant to the director of athletics, received a special commemorative soccer ball to honor her hard work in ensuring that Kicks Against Cancer was a success.
Jan. 7, 2010:
A number of organizations at Harker have run anti-cancer fundraisers over the years, and now an athletic team is joining the effort. The upper school varsity girls and boys soccer squads are currently raising funds for their “Kicks Against Cancer” games on Jan. 13 at Davis Field. The girls varsity soccer team will play Pinewood School at 4:30 p.m., and the boys will play Crystal Springs Uplands School at 6:30 p.m.
The admission charge of $10 will include a pink T-shirt (while supplies last) commemorating the event. Raffle tickets can be purchased for $5 each. Prizes will include, among other things, a signed jersey and ball from the San Jose Earthquakes, a bowling party, gift cards and Harker apparel. Attendees can also purchase a commemorative ribbon with an optional personal message, which will be displayed on Davis Field on the day of the event. All proceeds raised from the event will go toward breast cancer research and prevention.
All items will be available for purchase at the games, or during lunchtime in the days leading up to the event, at the Edge on the Saratoga campus. Items can be purchased with cash. Purchases of $10 or more can be charged to a student account. Donations can be sent on The Harker School’s Saratoga campus to Troy Thiele, girls varsity soccer coach and upper school math teacher. Coach Thiele can be contacted at troyt@harker.org. Checks should be made payable to The Harker School.
WinterSong: An Evening with Bel Canto and Friends, is this Friday at 6 p.m. in Nichols Hall. The Harker community is welcome and there is no admission fee and no ticket needed.
The show features the upper school choir Bel Canto, who, in addition to a wide range of genres, will be presenting their most ambitious work ever: a five-song cycle by living composer Eric Whitacre, with Hebrew lyrics by Whitacre’s Israeli wife, Hila Plitmann.
In addition, eight Conservatory Certificate candidates are performing solos. Two are piano pieces, one of which is a Baroque-style suite written by the student; vocal pieces include art songs and works from musical theater and opera.
After kicking off 2010 with a tournament title at the Victory Briefs Tournament in Los Angeles, Harker Speech and Debate has raised the bar again, winning three more tournament titles over the last two weeks.
Two weeks ago, 11 Harker students flew to North Carolina to compete in the Myers Park Laird Lewis Invitational. Eight students managed to make it to elimination rounds in Public Forum debate, including four Gr. 8 students. After attending the Harker Forensics Institute over the summer and applying their skills in the fall, six middle school students were invited to compete in the high school novice division of this national invitational. Jithin Vellian and Kevin Duraiswamy, both Gr. 8, made it to the round of 16 while classmates Stephanie Lu and Neil Khemani advanced to the quarterfinals (top eight) in the tournament.
In the varsity division, Kelsey Hilbrich, Gr. 12 and Frederic Enea, Gr. 10, beat a team from Ohio to claim the Laird Lewis title. Junior Justine Liu and sophomore Akshay Jagadeesh advanced to the round of 16 and earned their first bid to the Public Forum Tournament of Champions.
Both varsity teams attending the Laird Lewis were also invited to compete in the Public Forum Challenge. This elite tournament issues their invitations in the fall to the top 16 teams in the country. The challenge included the other two teams who won PF National Championship Titles in the 2008-09 season. While Liu and Jagadeesh were eliminated after four rounds of the challenge, the TOC National Champion Hilbrich and current partner Enea remained undefeated throughout the entire challenge, including beating both the returning member of the 2009 Grand National Championship team in the semifinal round and the complete 2009 NFL National Championship team in the final round on a 4-1 decision.
Over the three-day weekend, 16 Harker students traveled up to Union City to compete in the James Logan Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament. With competitors from five states in attendance, eleven Harker students made it to elimination rounds. Zina Jawadi, Gr. 8, became the first Harker middle school student to clear the elimination rounds in a high school varsity speech event, making it to quarterfinals in Expository Speaking. Freshmen Aneesh Chona and Anuj Sharma, sophomores Revanth Kosaraju and Ishan Taneja, as well as juniors Christine Chien and James Seifert made it to the round of 32 in Public Forum debate. In the round of 16, the team of Justine Liu and Jagadeesh were seeded to hit junior Ziad Jawadi and sophomore Aakash Jagadeesh. As the higher seed, Jawadi and Aakash were advanced over Liu and Akshay to the quarterfinal round. Both teams earned their second qualifying leg to the Public Forum Tournament of Champions, setting a new record for Harker qualifications in the event. Jawadi and Aakash Jagadeesh promised their teammates that they would try to win the tournament after eliminating another Harker team’s chance at the title.
In a 5-0 decision in finals against a team from Colorado, Jawadi and Aakash claimed the James Logan MLK 2010 Public Forum Championship title.
During the weekend of Jan. 23, students will compete in the NCFL Grand Nationals Qualifier in Sacramento and the Golden Desert National Invitational in Las Vegas.
Student representatives from around the state convened in mid-November to develop proposals for the State Board of Education to encourage student involvement in and improve education.
The Student Advisory Board of Education (SABE), a program of the California Association of Student Councils, presented its recommendations addressing standardized testing, student board involvement, disciplinary actions, alternate accreditation and life skills instruction.
During the five-day conference, The Harker School was recognized for its Cum Laude Society and its emphasis on real-world applications in various class curricula. The school was also highlighted for allowing students to redeem physical education credits for participation in sports and for in-school suspension policies that allow suspended students to keep up with class work.
Darren Syu, Gr. 12, participated in the discussion about student involvement in decision-making. His group aimed to write a proposal that stressed a more active student board and a greater awareness of opportunities to serve as representatives in education development.
Other suggestions included creating a merit-based fee waiver to University of California and California State University schools, and recognizing students who meet the requirements of the Golden State Seal Merit Diploma Program. The group believed that standardized tests like the STAR test did not reflect the full potential of students because of a lack of motivation.
Additionally, the students recommended integrating life skills instruction and practical application into high school curricula and establishing accreditation that recognizes extracurricular activities as supplemental courses – that’s where Harker’s recognition came in.
These students will meet again in February for the Student Advisory Board on Legislation in Education to refine their ideas and present proposals to senate and assembly committees on education.
Student Directed Showcase, the venue for final projects by students in the class of the same name, took place in early January to sell-out crowds. The theme this year was comedy and three vignettes, “Scuba Lessons,” directed by Priya Bhikha, “Check, Please,” directed by Nikita Agrawal and “Christmas Incorporated,” directed by Maggie Woods, all seniors, were performed in front of an enthusiastic audience at the Blackford Theater.
The productions were entirely cast and set by their directors, using volunteer students. The student directors underwent an interview process to be chosen for the class, taught by Laura Lang-Ree. Once selected, the students start researching plays the summer before school begins, and in class Lang-Ree guides them through the myriad details of show direction. They learn the intricacies of casting, budgeting, staging, designing and leading a cast and crew.
In “Check, Please,” Agrawal directed a cast of 15 in her hilarious take on playwright Jonathan Rand’s well-known comedy on the vagaries of blind dinner dates. Woods’ production had nine actors and took a hard and hilarious look at one girl’s Christmas wish for Santa to eliminate her most despised teacher. Bhikha chose another blind date comedy, set in a coffeehouse, in which two good friends sabotage each other’s dates, only to end up with each other; her show featured 14 actors, including extras.
Crew, an integral part of any production, was led by “Advisor and Super-Mom” Lang-Ree, as the directors refer to her in their program notes. Set and lighting design was done by Paul Vallerga of the performing arts department, stage manager was Scott Underwood, Gr. 12, with Araby Martin, Gr. 11, as assistant stage manager. Brian Larsen, performing arts technical director, handled sound design. The deck crew consisted of Bridget Nixon, Rachelle Koch, both Gr. 10 and Gabriel Yanovsky, Gr. 11, and follow spot operators were Charles Levine and Nandita Krishna, both Gr. 10.
The three directors answered questions on their efforts following the performances.
OOC: What was the most challenging part of putting on your production? Agrawal: The most challenging part of putting on the production was being louder than fifteen people! I swear I almost bought a whistle once. Other than that, technical things like learning the lingo of the headset were difficult because it was my first time communicating professionally as a director with the many different people involved.
Woods: Casting was the most difficult part of the process because it was so hard to say “no,” to make steadfast decisions that would partly determine the course of my play, and to work with the other directors to get us each exactly what we needed. We stayed until 9:30pm on call-back night and we had to have a second round of callbacks on Monday in addition to that, so the process was tough and dragged out.
Bhikha: The most challenging part of putting on the production was probably coordinating rehearsal schedules. Everyone had different activities they were involved in at different times, and it was difficult getting everyone to stick to one time, but we did it!
OOC: What was the most fun? Agrawal: Mass cast rehearsals were always the most entertaining, because when everyone came together, there was always an exciting and tangible energy amongst everyone. It was so much fun being in a room of energetic performers who were ready to take risks and be even bigger with their newfound energy. Everyone was there to tell a story, and when we all came together, the show came to life.
Woods: Rehearsals. The people I cast were so personable and friendly with each other that I never had to break up any arguments or pull anyone aside for a “chat.” We were all pretty much friends, or at least friendly acquaintances, and enjoyed each others’ company, so rehearsals seemed more like parties than work. Second would be the SDS classes – again, my fellow directors are two of my best friends and Ms. Lang-Ree is like our second mom. Having SDS classes with them at the end of the day would always brighten my mood or help me cope with stress.
Bhikha: I had the most fun watching my actors grow and seeing the whole show come together. The retreat was really fun as well, as we worked on the show and bonded as a cast.
OOC: Did you watch the audience or the show more during the performance? Agrawal: The first night I watched the show from the audience’s perspective near the door. I don’t think I could have sat down; I was jumping so much. The second night I sat back and attempted to calmly enjoy the show. I crept into the fourth row of the audience and soaked up the experience. I was so happy, nervous, and excited for my actors that I was shaking in my chair the entire time. It was absolutely wonderful being in the midst of a laughing audience and expecting the laughs two lines in advance!
Woods: I think I watched my play more. My actors would always tweak something that would surprise even me, but I did listen carefully to the audience’s reactions at my favorite parts, particularly Sean’s entrance as All-Action Man.
Bhikha: During each of the performances, I stayed at the back of the theater, barely breathing and just watching the show. I laughed the hardest at the jokes, and I was in tune with the show the whole time. I felt like I was having an out of body experience – that was my hard work shining on stage!
OOC: How did you put your special stamp on your production? Agrawal: I think every director naturally puts their special stamp on a production in the way that they work with the performers to tell a story. Every director has their own vision of what they want to communicate to the audience, what message they want to impart. The crew in particular helped me with my vision of time passing through the series of blind dates. Every vignette took place during a specific month that required changing the background, the centerpiece, the costumes. It took a lot of tech practice, but in the end it looked exactly like what I had pictured in my head. Props to the crew!
Woods: I honestly don’t think I needed to add anything to the play. It was pretty much in line with my personality from the beginning: charmingly and wittily innocent but not really,with some attitude about being passed over.I say my insults with a smile, and so did Peter Horsler when he wrote Christmas Incorporated.
Bhikha: I created the ambience for the set, and I chose some of my favorite songs to be featured as instrumentals throughout the show. I also added some signature movements.
OOC: Do you plan to continue in show business? Agrawal: What’s great about show business is that you can be an actor and still have a career outside of show business. I definitely plan to continue with theater and acting in college. There are so many opportunities, both small and large, that it’s pretty hard to limit yourself.
Woods: I’m not sure. I plan to continue acting and doing improv comedy in college, but I don’t have the rest of my life after that planned out very thoroughly.
Bhikha: If only! I’m actually going to major in business and do some interning in fashion design. I love performing and directing, and hopefully I’ll be able to continue that in the future.
OOC: Are you choosing your college for its performing arts department? Agrawal: I am looking at the performing arts departments in many universities, but as there are so many theater opportunities in college — through majors, minors, clubs — it’s easy to be involved in the performing arts almost anywhere you go.
Woods: That’s the second consideration in my criteria. I am not going to study theater, though I might minor in it. I want to major in history. However, I do look at the schools’ performing arts, making sure they have a lot of opportunities to act in plays and do improv.
Bhikha: I am not choosing my college for its performing arts department; however, I do plan to make the most of the performing arts department at the college I attend.