Parents gathered at all three campuses during the first week of school for the annual Volunteer Sign-Up Breakfasts. Guests had coffee, pastries and fruit while signing up to volunteer at various Harker fundraising events, such as the Family and Alumni Picnic and the fashion show. Parents also had the opportunity to sign up for volunteer work with various academic departments, including athletics, science, robotics, debate and global education, as well as the library and bookstore.
“It’s just a way for parents to talk to people who represent those different departments,” said Danielle Wood-Hammond, assistant to the executive director of advancement. The upper school breakfast on Aug. 25, she said, was useful for parents because “people think that there are not a lot of volunteering opportunities at the upper school level.”
This summer, Harker Summer Tennis Camp (HSTC) participants had the opportunity to learn tennis through a new program. Craig Pasqua, tennis program director, introduced beginning players to the Quick Start Tennis Format, a nationally-sanctioned teaching method approved by the USTA, USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association) and PTR (Professional Tennis Registry). This method utilizes diminished court and racquet sizes and uses foam training balls (as well as regular tennis balls). Open to boys and girls ages 7-14 entering Gr. 2-8 in the fall of 2009, HSTC is designed for campers with an interest in improving their tennis knowledge and skill base. For the third year in a row, HSTC participants also attended the USTA Kids Town Hall Forum at the Bank of the West Tennis Classic, a WTA professional tournament.
For older and/or more experienced players ages 6-18, the HOTTS (Harker Oakwood Tennis Training System) program offered competitive tennis players the opportunity to participate in a program that combined regular team practice with weekly interclub matches. Players under age 19 who desired to compete against local tennis clubs and develop tactical skills learned advanced technical strokes, footwork and sports psychology. The program included on-court instruction, technique and strategy practice, and stroke practice with both an instructor and ball machine.
Over 100 students participated in the summer tennis program this year, including some players who have come for all six of the years that Pasqua has been running the program.
Following the Gr. 3 orientation on the Bucknall campus on Aug. 26, new students, along with their “buddies” (returning students paired with new students of the same gender), participated in a special welcome party. In groups of eight, buddies went on a scavenger hunt to locate various buildings and offices around campus, where each pair retrieved a special ticket. These tickets were then entered into a raffle for prizes, with each prize containing items for both the student and his or her buddy. At the end of the party the students snacked on fruit bars. What a sweet way to be welcomed to Harker!
Simultaneously, new parents met with Sarah Leonard, primary division head, Kathy Clark, LS librarian, Joe Connolly, K-Gr. 5 dean of students and Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, for an informational meeting in the library.
ArmanGupta ’07, became the first Harker football player to start in the Charley Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game, also known as the Silicon Valley Youth Classic, this past July. Gupta started at free safety and, according to proud former coach Karriem Stinson, “played more than any other defensive back in the game.” Gupta, who played both quarterback and defensive back on the varsity team all four of his years at Harker, co-earned the male Athlete of the Year award for 2009. Three other Harker players have been on past All-Star teams, which is an opportunity for recently graduated seniors, chosen by Santa Clara County coaches, to play their final high school game.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has made its final of four announcements of scholarship winners. The first announcement presented the winners of corporate sponsorships, the second, National Merit-sponsored awards, and the third and fourth, college-sponsored gifts.
These scholars, all now college freshmen, were chosen from the finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition, based on their PSAT scores from their junior year. According to NMSC, “College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.” This year 201 colleges and universities participated.
Congratulations to Harker’s five newest scholarship recipients: Stephanie Guo (University of Southern California), Juliane Tran (Rice University), Priya Thumma (St. Louis University), Chetan Vakkalagadda (Washington University in St. Louis) andKevin Xu (University of Southern California).
The school year officially kicked off on Aug. 24 as the classes of 2010, ’11, ’12 and ’13 gathered outside the Saratoga gym for the annual matriculation ceremony, welcoming students back from their summer activities and preparing them for the coming school year.
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, began the ceremony by welcoming the board of trustees, administration, faculty, staff and students to the ceremony. “I am sure you will be relieved to hear that I am continuing the tradition of confining my talk to the equivalent of two pages of single-spaced, size 12 font,” he joked.
Touching on a nationwide topic in the education community, Nikoloff took the opportunity to discuss academic integrity. While acknowledging that academic dishonesty exists, he stated his confidence in the overall integrity of the Harker student body. The Harker community, he added, will continue to discuss the issue to gain a better perspective on the nature of academic integrity. “The faculty and staff, deans and administration will seek an open dialogue with you to further our common understanding of academic integrity,” he said. “We invite you to speak with any faculty or staff member about any thoughts you have on this topic.”
Butch Keller, US division head, then spoke to the students, extending a “welcome” to the class of 2013 and a “welcome back” to the returning sophomores, juniors and seniors. He shared with the students three essays written by three 2009 graduates, each from different backgrounds and having varied experiences as students. Each essay advised the new students to make the most of their time and to experience as much as they can of what Harker has to offer.
Keller also addressed academic integrity, saying that all students have a role in making sure that the “soul” of Harker stays true to the school’s promise of offering a fulfilling and enriching experience. “If the faculty is the mind of this place, then it is their responsibility to lead with integrity, and if you are the soul then it is your responsibility to follow with equal integrity and pride in earning your accomplishments the right way,” he said.
In between the speeches was a performance by last year’s student vocal group Camerata, who sang “Ah, Could My Eyes Behold Thee” by Orlando di Lasso, directed by Susan Nace, US music teacher. Their harmonious performance was met with warm applause.
Following Keller’s speech, ASB president Andy Fang, Gr. 12, introduced the 2009-10 class officers before leading all students in the recitation of the matriculation oath. The freshmen then signed the matriculation book.
More entertainment was on deck, as the student officers then put on their “Freshman 101” show, an amusing skit that introduced the class of 2013 to the various policies of the school. The story followed the familiar cast of “The Wizard of Oz” re-imagined as high school students, as they struggled with meeting the school dress code, picking a club to join and (gasp!) finding a date for the homecoming dance.
There was even a special guest appearance by Winny Huang ’09, last year’s ASB president, who played the part of a performing arts teacher auditioning the Tin Man for a role in a school production.
After the play, Nikoloff returned to the stage and wished the students well in the coming year, as they all departed to meet with their advisors and begin the year in earnest.
The Blackford gym filled with students, parents and coaches from Gr. 6-12 on Aug. 26 to meet, mingle and obtain information on sports programs and each other. Although fall practices are already under way for upper school athletes and middle school students will soon begin practices, all Harker athletes from Gr. 6-12 had an opportunity to meet their coaches, regardless of season. Gr. 6 boys Zachary Clausen, Nathaniel Stearns, Connor Powers and Spencer Powers were all excited for soccer to start, and were particularly looking forward to “beating St. Joseph’s again!” Explaining their passion, Stearns said, “Last year, we tied them 3-3 and beat them once.” This year, in addition to soccer, Clausen will play flag football and “maybe basketball.” Stearns will also play flag football, basketball and possibly baseball. Both Powers boys also plan on playing tennis.
Athletes Shireen Moshkelani and Ava Rezvani, both Gr. 11, put their names on the soccer sign-up sheet “with an asterisk saying we’re going to play when we’re seniors.” Anticipating a busy junior year, both volleyball players say they are “being good Harker students and planning our futures.” Priya Sadhev, also Gr. 11, plans on playing both soccer and varsity water polo this year, sports she has played for the past two years. She is thinking about playing water polo in college.
“I really like the dynamics of the sport, how you can foul people really hard under water,” Sadhev explained. In soccer, the closeness of the team is a plus. “I just like the team, how we all just really try hard together.”
Amy Rorabaugh, Gr. 12, is also an enthusiastic soccer player who will play both soccer and volleyball this year, as she has the past three years. She says the volleyball team is looking good this year, and “I think it’s going to be a fun season!”
After meeting coaches and catching up with each other, students and parents then met with the appropriate athletic director. Theresa Smith, Gr. 4-8 athletic director, and Dan Molin, US athletic director, each met with the athletes and parents from their divisions and presented an overview of the yearly sports offerings as well as other information regarding sports participation and safety issues. Following their presentations, there was a short college recruiting presentation by Rick Wire, a nationally-known speaker from Dynamite Sports. Let the seasons begin!
Harker students weren’t the only ones out and about over the summer. Several teachers and staff were also busy traveling, learning new skills and completing various projects.
Susan Nace, US music teacher, performed in a semi-staged production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe,” alongside the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus and members of the D’Oyly Carte Company. She also completed seven jazz choral arrangements of songs by the respected jazz composer Billy Strayhorn, who wrote many of the songs for which Duke Ellington became famous.
Nace’s colleague, US music teacher Catherine Snider, traveled to China this summer with her choir, the Ohlone Chamber Singers. The group tours every three years, but this was their first trip to Asia, where they performed at music conservatories in Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou and a community center in Dalian. The group highlighted American spirituals and pieces in French, Hebrew, Mandarin and Italian. An alto in the choir, Snider also led a vocal jazz quartet at their performances. A highlight was rehearsing and singing with a choir in Hangzhou, which has an exchange partnership with Ohlone College’s performing arts department. The choir ended their tour with a few days in Hong Kong. When Snider returned she resumed rehearsals for “The Producers,” her 17th outing as musical director for award-winning Foothill Musical Theatre. The show played to critical and popular praise for four weeks in July and August.
One of the busier staff members this summer was Angela Neff, MS assistant director of instructional technology. She worked with a number of MS teachers who were spending their summer learning new skills via Harker’s Tech Grants program. She also traveled to Memphis, Tenn., for the Lausanne Laptop Conference, where she gave presentations on sharing technology-based curricula and one-to-one laptop programs.
Also at the Lausanne Laptop Conference was Dan Hudkins, US director of information systems, who was a keynote speaker on the topic of “Leading From the Trenches,” or “what do we do until we have all the time, talent and resources we need,” he explained.
In late July, Amalia Vasconi, MS dance teacher, went to New York City for the ninth annual Broadway Dance Center /Pulse Teacher Workshop. She spent three days at the workshop in a variety of seminars and dance classes. “I was able to meet and network with dance teachers from all over the United States, and take classes from the amazing BDC/Pulse faculty,” she said. “Aside from all of the fantastic choreography, I was able to bring home a lot of different methods in teaching dance, especially for the younger students.”
US English teacher Brigid Miller went to Oxford, Miss., in July for the 36th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, held at the University of Mississippi. Every year, the week-long conference is held for the study and appreciation of the works of 20th century writer William Faulkner. “The ‘Teaching Faulkner’ sessions were especially informative, and I came back with wonderful ideas about how to better approach the works of Faulkner that I teach in American Literature, The Study of Short Fiction and especially Southern Fiction,” Miller said.
In late July, US chemistry teacher Mala Raghavan attended a workshop at Stanford University on AP Chemistry, where she learned about different methods of conducting experiments, demonstrations that students may find interesting and how AP teachers grade student papers. “I plan to incorporate all of these into my class,” Raghavan said.
US physics teacher Miriam Allersma accompanied a group of Harker students to the NASA Space Camp at the NASA Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale for two weeks in June. Along with students from several other South Bay schools, the group toured the labs and attended lectures, in addition to conducting biological experiments and creating rockets and robots. All of their work at the center was used to design an expedition to Mars to search for life. “It was amazing,” Allersma said. “We learned so much and can’t wait to bring it back to Harker.”
Nicholas Manjoine, US French teacher, headed across the pond to Avignon, France, for four weeks to attend a seminar held by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The seminar, titled “Theatricality and Reality in Modern French Drama,” examined the relationship between “culture, history and the theater in 20th century French drama,” Manjoine said. “Being in France for the month allowed me to collect up-to-date materials and information on current cultural patterns and linguistic trends. Of course, I hope that my students will like to sample some plays in class this year.”
US librarian Susan Smith went to Chicago for the American Library Association Conference, which was attended by nearly 30,000 people and had more than 6,000 exhibitors, “including authors and publishers, furniture and equipment manufacturers, subscription database providers, and generally all things library!” Smith exclaimed. She kept busy at the conference, attending a workshop on instructional design, taking in a presentation about the limits on access to government information and treating herself to a keynote address by NPR’s Cokie Roberts. She plans to use what she learned at the conference to develop “a more refined and targeted approach to each information literacy lesson,” collect information that will be used to create instruction for research projects and require students to publish what they learned from the projects.
MS fine arts teacher Elizabeth Saltos spent a week at the Mendocino Art Center in an intensive clay sculpture program. “We had no TV, no phones, no interference or distractions,” Saltos said. “Just art!” The program was small (three students and two teachers) but rewarding. “All of us were mature working artists and we just made art all week,” Saltos recalled. “I learned a ton of techniques to make sculptural shapes and vessels using the wheel and tons of applications for underglaze and color.”
US performing arts teacher Laura Lang-Ree spent four days in New York City at the Broadway Teachers Workshop. Held at Lincoln Center, the workshop attracted teachers from other top performing arts schools. “The caliber of the workshops and the leaders was top notch. All of them were working professionals, currently on Broadway in the areas of directing, lighting, sound, theater and musical theater,” said Lang-Ree. “It was engaging to work with them side-by-side on projects that the facilitators created for us.” Lang-Ree returned from the program with new ideas and directing tools for the US musical, and ideas for a touring company that she hopes to work into the US performing arts program.
The Class of 2013 came together the Friday before school started, along with the Link Crew (senior mentors) and faculty advisors, for freshmen orientation day.
The program started with a general meeting followed by breakout sessions in the gym, and continued throughout the day with team-building activities on Davis Field and the Singh Aquatic Center. Welcome to the new group of Harker high schoolers!