Sophomore Rohan Bopardikar has been selected to attend the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference (HOBY) at UC Davis this June 18 – 20. Classmate Sarika Asthanawill also attend if space allows.
The HOBY conference, a leading youth leadership organization which sponsors conferences annually across the U.S., was founded by actor Hugh O’Brian, famous for his depiction of Wyatt Earp on television in the 1950s. O’Brian was inspired by German doctor Albert Schweitzer who said, “The most important thing in education is to teach young people to think for themselves.”
Bopardikar and Asthana were selected through an application and interview process by Kevin Williamson, dean of students, and Matthew Harley, sophomore class dean. Harley commented, “Both are very strong candidates who would benefit greatly from this program and benefit Harker upon their return.”
Selection criteria included, among other things, outstanding communication skills, creative problem solving, courage to speak out for one’s beliefs and participation in community service activities.
Previous HOBY participants include James Seifert and Julian Wise, both Gr. 11.
Harker’s instrumental program has grown so steadily in the past few years, it has outgrown its annual winter showcase. This year, directors Chris Florio, Louis Hoffman and Toni Woodruff split their program into two separate concerts held Jan. 15, and judging by the packed houses and enthusiastic responses, the idea was a hit.
The 5 p.m. concert featured Woodruff’s Lower School String Ensemble, 19 students who performed two pieces. The new Lower School Jazz Ensemble introduced itself to the community with 17 students led by Hoffman. Hoffman’s Lower School Orchestra tackled Offenbach, Dvorak and Sibelius in an impressive program, and Florio’s Gr. 6 and Gr. 7-8 orchestras wrapped up the program with pieces by Brahms, Faure and Tchaikovsky.
At 7:30 the big kids took the stage, starting with Florio’s Jazz Band, who grooved through four standards with style. Francesca Nagle, Gr. 11, was outstanding as the band’s front singer, and sax player Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 12 and trombonist Benjamin Tien, Gr. 11, had impressive solo moments.
Florio also leads the Harker Orchestra, which has truly blossomed under his leadership. Now boasting 69 players, the musicians presented Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 1” in its entirety, as well as a Smetana overture and the humorous “Hungarian Dance” of Brahms.
Congratulations to all musicians and directors for a truly outstanding showcase of Harker talent!
Harker’s instrumental program has grown so steadily in the past few years, it has outgrown its annual winter showcase. This year, directors Chris Florio, Louis Hoffman and Toni Woodruff split their program into two separate concerts held Jan. 15, and judging by the packed houses and enthusiastic responses, the idea was a hit.
The 5 p.m. concert featured Woodruff’s Lower School String Ensemble, 19 students who performed two pieces. The new Lower School Jazz Ensemble introduced itself to the community with 17 students led by Hoffman. Hoffman’s Lower School Orchestra tackled Offenbach, Dvorak and Sibelius in an impressive program, and Florio’s Gr. 6 and Gr. 7-8 orchestras wrapped up the program with pieces by Brahms, Faure and Tchaikovsky.
At 7:30 the big kids took the stage, starting with Florio’s Jazz Band, who grooved through four standards with style. Francesca Nagle, Gr. 11, was outstanding as the band’s front singer, and sax player Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 12 and trombonist Benjamin Tien, Gr. 11, had impressive solo moments.
Florio also leads the Harker Orchestra, which has truly blossomed under his leadership. Now boasting 69 players, the musicians presented Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 1” in its entirety, as well as a Smetana overture and the humorous “Hungarian Dance” of Brahms.
Congratulations to all musicians and directors for a truly outstanding showcase of Harker talent!
Harker’s instrumental program has grown so steadily in the past few years, it has outgrown its annual winter showcase. This year, directors Chris Florio, Louis Hoffman and Toni Woodruff split their program into two separate concerts held Jan. 15, and judging by the packed houses and enthusiastic responses, the idea was a hit.
The 5 p.m. concert featured Woodruff’s Lower School String Ensemble, 19 students who performed two pieces. The new Lower School Jazz Ensemble introduced itself to the community with 17 students led by Hoffman. Hoffman’s Lower School Orchestra tackled Offenbach, Dvorak and Sibelius in an impressive program, and Florio’s Gr. 6 and Gr. 7-8 orchestras wrapped up the program with pieces by Brahms, Faure and Tchaikovsky.
At 7:30 the big kids took the stage, starting with Florio’s Jazz Band, who grooved through four standards with style. Francesca Nagle, Gr. 11, was outstanding as the band’s front singer, and sax player Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 12 and trombonist Benjamin Tien, Gr. 11, had impressive solo moments.
Florio also leads the Harker Orchestra, which has truly blossomed under his leadership. Now boasting 69 players, the musicians presented Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 1” in its entirety, as well as a Smetana overture and the humorous “Hungarian Dance” of Brahms.
Congratulations to all musicians and directors for a truly outstanding showcase of Harker talent!
Tonight at 6 p.m., 96.1 FM and 1400 AM will air a Chinese-language informational show about Harker’s summer English Language Institute (ELI). Interviewed regarding her experiences with the program will be Jessie Chen, an executive from Shanghai, who served as guardian of a student who attending Harker’s ELI program last year.
Students from the Silicon Valley and from all over the world participate in Harker’s intensive summer ELI program to improve their English and writing skills. Many international students attend to prepare for admission into an American boarding school or an American international school.
For more information about ELI and this summer’s offerings, please see the ELI homepage or contact eli@harker.org.
[Update]
The boys varsity basketball team is in first place! On Jan. 12, for the first time in Harker hoop history, the boys varsity team defeated Sacred Heart Prep in their own gym. “The boys remained poised and confident throughout the 55-50 victory which gives them sole possession of first place in the WBAL,” said Dan Molin, athletic director. The JV squad also won 38-36, making it a clean sweep of the Gators last night.
Jan. 11, 2010 Kelsey Hilbrich, Gr. 12, earned Honorable Mention status in the all-county cross country team named Dec. 15 by the San Jose Mercury News.
Jan. 7, 2010 The Mercury News announced their all-county water polo and girls tennis athletes over the break and Harker was represented again. Arthi Padmanabhan, Gr. 12, was selected all-county first team for girls tennis; Michael Clifford, Gr. 12, was chosen all-county honorable mention and co-league MVP for boys water polo, and Tina Ma and Melanie Herscher, both Gr. 12, were both selected all-league in girls water polo.
College Recruits
Colby Rapson, Gr. 12, has been accepted by Cal Berkeley to be the coxswain on the men’s crew team. Congratulations! (Editor’s note: female coxswains on male crews are relatively common.)
While most of our community was on winter break, upper school sports teams were hard at work.
Boys Basketball Boys basketball coach Jeremiah Brewer took a team of 12 to the St. Anthony Invitational Basketball Tournament in Maui, where they finished second. The team, a combination of JV and varsity players, started out strong, winning their first two games 55-18 against St. Anthony, 67-58 against Hilo (alma mater of Keith Hirota, middle school history and social science teacher), but losing to Mid-Pacific Institute 58-33 in the finals.
Ryan Cali, Gr. 12, was a consistently strong performer, scoring 15, 20 and 11 points, respectively, in the games; Lung Ying Yu, Gr. 12, also performed well, with 10 points in game one and 15 in game two. Greg Plauck, Gr. 12, scored 12 points in game two and three. Partha Mahajani, Gr. 11, also scored 12 points against Hilo.
The team received coverage in the local Maui newspaper, including photos of Plauck. Cali and Yu were named to the all-tournament team. The boys were able to explore the island between games, and Brewer thanks parents Ken Azebu, C.J. Cali, Ajay Chopra, Dan and Tracie Hughes, Deepa and Ashok Krishnamurthi, and Karla Callahan and Darrel Mank for helping to make the trip a great one.
Prior to the Hawaii trip, and on the last day of school before break, the varsity basketball boys also won the Lynbrook Classic. At that tournament, Cali, Yu and Plauck were selected to the all-tournament team. Including a 49-44 win this week against Menlo, where Yu contributed 15 points, Plauck scored 11 and Rohan Shah, Gr. 12, scored 10, the team is now 9-1 – a great start!
Also over break, the JV boys won the Wilcox Tournament championship, defeating Los Altos in the finals. Stephen Hughes, Gr. 10, was named tournament MVP and Gautam Krishnamurthi, Gr. 11, was named all-tournament.
Girls Soccer
Girls soccer traveled to the Garces Holiday Soccer Festival in Bakersfield and went 2-1-1 over the two days. Among the highlights was a 4-2, come-from-behind victory over Taft in their final game of the tournament. Throughout the tournament, goalie Shanthi Rajagopalan, Gr. 12, had 34 saves and goal scorers were Anjali Menon, Gr, 12; Esther Belogolovsky, Gr. 12; Indica Sur, Gr. 9; and Siobhan Cox, Gr. 9.
Girls Basketball
Girls basketball defeated Yerba Buena 54-34 and lost to Live Oak 48-39 over the break. Tanya Rai, Gr. 11, had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Neda Ghaffarian, Gr. 10, had 10 points in the win against YB. After this week’s 31-45 loss to Hillsdale, the girls have a 4-5 record and are putting forth a consistent effort.
Wrestling
Our wrestlers hit the mat over vacation, opening their season at the Lynn Dyche Tournament in mid-December. By far the most impressive was the performance of Chris McCallaCreary, Gr. 11, who won all four of his matches, making Harker history by winning the championship for his weight class. Mark Roh, Gr. 12 and David Wu, Gr. 11, placed sixth, while Jason Mendel, Gr. 11, took seventh in his weight class.
McCallaCreary made school history again when he was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, since no Harker wrestler has received this award at a varsity tournament. Coach Karriem Stinson is proud of McCallaCreary’s accomplishment and acknowledged the work of the wrestlers before him, explaining that it wasn’t long ago that the team wasn’t even invited to varsity tournaments. It took years of strong wrestlers to get the program recognized. He also stressed that this achievement is due in part to the hard work of his teammates, who push McCallaCreary to train hard in practice. Congratulations!
Alumni from the classes of 2006, ’07, ’08 and ’09 visited the Saratoga campus on Jan. 7 for the alumni relations department’s Home for the Holidays event. More than 100 alumni were in attendance, along with more than 30 faculty and staff members. Visiting alumni got to meet up with fellow graduates, current students and faculty over snacks. Chris Nikoloff, head of school, made a special appearance to talk about the important role that alumni play in the Harker community. Joe Rosenthal, director of advancement, was on hand to dedicate the large covering that now rests above the outdoor lunch area, which was gifted to the school by the parents of the 2009 senior class.
Christina Yan, director of alumni relations, was pleased to see so many past and present students enjoying themselves. “I was so pleased with the turnout,” she said, “and I was really happy to be able to put faces to names.”
For the first time in tournament history, a middle school team won the Novice High School Division at the Santa Clara University Invitational, a high school debate tournament held in mid-December. The winning Harker team consisted of eighth graders Rohith Bhethanabotla and Travis Chen. Because Harker is one of few middle schools with a debate team it is often difficult to find venues for competition. However, a small number of high school debate tournaments allow middle school teams to compete. Harker, the only middle school team in the tournament, sent 21 debaters and many of them came away with impressive achievements.
Other students who did especially well include Vikram Sundar, Kevin Duraiswamy and Jithin Vellian, all Gr. 8. Overall the team consists of primarily eighth graders but also includes some seventh and sixth graders. Their achievements are especially impressive because this tournament is attended by some of the best high school teams in the area.
Upper school music teacher Susan Nace, who also directs Cantilena and advises Guys’ Gig, will be on the edge of her seat come Grammy Award night January 31 – and for good reason. Last month, she and the rest of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus were nominated for the Best Choral Performance award for their live recording of “Symphony of a Thousand,” part of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in E flat Major. Produced under the direction of San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and choral director Ragnar Bohlin, the recording was made during live performances in Davies Symphony Hall in November 2008. The recording has also been nominated for Best Classical Album and Best Engineered Classical Album awards. A short video with behind the scenes footage and insights from the recording can be viewed at “A Universe of Sound: Recording Mahler’s Symphony No. 8.”
Harker opened the week before holiday break in typically grand fashion, with the annual holiday campus tour on Dec. 11. All three campuses were treated to performances by musicians, singers and dancers from many different grade levels, each performing their own unique odes to the time-honored lessons and traditions of the holiday season. In between songs and dance numbers, students acted out entertaining and often very humorous skits, in keeping with the joyous air of the holidays.
Audiences got to witness impressive orchestral performances by the lower school orchestra, directed by Louis Hoffman, and the upper school orchestra, directed by Chris Florio. Several vocal groups provided holiday-themed harmonies, including the upper school’s Bel Canto, directed by Catherine Snider, Snider and Laura Lang-Ree’s show choir, Downbeat, and the Susan Nace-directed Cantilena. The show also featured spirited performances by the Gr. 6 choir,directed by Roxann Hagemeyer, Vivace, the Gr. 7-8 traditional choir directed by Jennifer Cowgill, and Harmonics, the Gr. 7-8 singing and dance group directed by Hagemeyer and Monica Colletti.
Exhilarating dance performances were put on by the Gr. 6 group Dance Fusion, directed by Gail Palmer, as well as Gr. 7 groups Showstoppers and High Voltage, directed by Amalia Vasconi and Karl Kuehn, respectively.