The Harker Preschool STEM lab got a makeover, and the young ones are having a ball in the updated facility with teacher Amanda Crook! “The transitional kindergartners were excited to explore all the new stations,” said Caren Drezner, preschool director. “They have STEM journals now to document their discoveries, record observations and draw pictures of their creations.
“Amanda’s vision for the new STEM program is to provide thought-provoking settings for the children to explore,” continued Drezner. “She wants the space to spark curiosity and inquiry as the children grapple with concepts from all areas of the sciences and math strands, as well as incorporate elements of technology and engineering. The new Makerspace and Loose Parts allow the children to design and test out ideas, while Amanda is at the ready to scaffold their learning and challenge their thinking.” Just check out the photos – too much fun!
Over the summer, fourth grader Omya Vidyarthi traveled to two international chess tournaments, taking first place in the U1700 Women’s category at the World Amateur Championship in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, and winning gold at the PanAmerican Youth Championship in the U10 Girls category in Guayaquil, Ecuador, her third consecutive PanAmerican Youth gold medal. At the World Amateur Championship, she was the youngest player in her section, squaring off against adult players for most of her run.
Also finding success this past summer was eighth grader Dominic Ortiz, a bowling enthusiast who in August took first place in the boys handicap division at the All Star Tournament held in Reno, Nev., by the Northern California Bowling Centers Youth Bowling Association.
A Swiss magazine, Das Magazin, includes an article from a local Swiss writer on her efforts to find a school for her child. She visited Harker and included some comments about it in her article.
Volleyball phenom Jarrett Anderson ’19 is lauded in the Los Altos Town Crier as a critical member of Mountain View Volleyball Club’s 18 Red team, which took the 18 Open Division of the USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championships earlier this summer.
Harker’s “Urinetown” traveling team went to Scotland this summer to present the show in the noted Edinburgh Festival Fringe and garnered a nice review in the Edinburgh Guide.
A pair of Harker students, Nikhil Sharma and Arnav Joshi, both grade 12, are noted for creating a platform to launch new technology ideas.
Three Harker women were honored by the Davidson Institute. Two were named fellows and one received honorable mention. Patch included the two fellows in this article about Davidson Fellows from the South Bay. For more information on these three women, see our Harker news article.
Jai Bahri, grade 12, who lives in Los Altos Hills, spoke at a recent city council meeting to support raising the minimum wage, as reported in the Los Altos Town Crier.
The girls varsity volleyball team opened its 2019 season with a 3-0 victory over Branham before going 3-2 at the Spikefest Tournament over the weekend. The Eagles picked up wins over Pioneer, Valley Christian and Clovis West to earn the Blue Division championship. This week, the girls travel to Serra High to face Mercy Burlingame on Wednesday and host Westmont on Friday.
Football
The football team opened its season with a 22-57 loss to Burton last Friday. Vijay Vyas, grade 11, rushed for a score and threw a touchdown to Marcus Anderson, grade 11, with Levi Sutton, grade 11, recovering a fumble for the final score. Devin Keller, grade 12, also had a huge night rushing. The Eagles look to bounce back against Washington High of San Francisco this Friday.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team officially kicks off its season on Wednesday at Sharon Heights Country Club, where the Eagles will take on Sacred Heart Prep.
Cross Country
The cross country team gets the season off and running by heading to Golden Gate Park for the Lowell Invitational this Saturday.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team gets its 2019 season going at the 63rd annual Santa Catalina Tennis Invitational this weekend. The first time you can cheer on your Eagles at home will be Oct. 1 vs. Crystal Springs Uplands.
Boys/Girls Water Polo
On Sept. 10, the water polo season gets going as the boys varsity team hosts Milpitas High at 4 p.m. with the girls team playing at 6:15 p.m.
Yesterday morning, author Kaia Anderson paid a visit to the upper school campus as part of this year’s ReCreate Reading series of author visits. Anderson, whose book “Trial By Fire” outlines her 30-year ordeal involving an acquaintance turned stalker, answered questions from students who read the book over summer break. She discussed her battle with the Colorado judiciary – which at the time did not comprehend the seriousness of the dangers faced by stalking victims – and how the healing process helped her to move past “bitterness and anger” and reach “a much more expansive level than I have been at before.”
An environmental consultant, Anderson also spoke this morning to Jeff Sutton’s biology classes about her career helping companies and government agencies develop their organizations and processes to be environmentally responsible. One of her projects involved working with the city of Fort Collins, Colo., and local gravel mining companies to make sure the nearby Cache la Poudre River stayed clean and continued to support local wildlife.
Upper school students packed the campus quad on Friday for the 2019-20 Matriculation Ceremony, in which they celebrated the start of the school year and formally welcomed the Class of 2023 to the upper school community. Head of School Brian Yager opened the ceremony with some words for the incoming students, telling them to “enjoy and embrace the process and look to the students in the grades above you for guidance and inspiration as well as for examples of what will be expected of you in the years to come.”
The assembled students also heard from ASB president Avi Gulati, grade 12, who stressed to the freshmen that the community was there to help them succeed when the demands of high school life seem daunting. “You have counselors, advisors, teachers [and] upperclassmen here for support,” he said. “The entire community prides itself on ensuring that you thrive.”
Keeping with tradition, the ceremony also featured great musical performances. Cantilena sang David Montoya’s “Jambo Rafiki Yangu,” directed by Susan Nace, and The Harker String Quartet performed its renditions of the Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
While the quartet played, grade 9 students each signed the matriculation book and honor code. After returning to their seats, the audience was treated to the annual “Freshman 101” series of skits, which featured students in the role of characters from famous pop-culture properties such as “Star Wars” and Marvel Comics, humorously outlining various aspects of student life, including the dress code, club opportunities, athletics teams and the honor code.
Upper school students packed the campus quad on Friday for the 2019-20 Matriculation Ceremony, in which they celebrated the start of the school year and formally welcomed the Class of 2023 to the upper school community. Head of School Brian Yager opened the ceremony with some words for the incoming students, telling them to “enjoy and embrace the process and look to the students in the grades above you for guidance and inspiration as well as for examples of what will be expected of you in the years to come.”
The assembled students also heard from ASB president Avi Gulati, grade 12, who stressed to the freshmen that the community was there to help them succeed when the demands of high school life seem daunting. “You have counselors, advisors, teachers [and] upperclassmen here for support,” he said. “The entire community prides itself on ensuring that you thrive.”
Keeping with tradition, the ceremony also featured great musical performances. Cantilena sang David Montoya’s “Jambo Rafiki Yangu,” directed by Susan Nace, and The Harker String Quartet performed its renditions of the Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
While the quartet played, grade 9 students each signed the matriculation book and honor code. After returning to their seats, the audience was treated to the annual “Freshman 101” series of skits, which featured students in the role of characters from famous pop-culture properties such as “Star Wars” and Marvel Comics, humorously outlining various aspects of student life, including the dress code, club opportunities, athletics teams and the honor code.
Upper school students packed the campus quad on Friday for the 2019-20 Matriculation Ceremony, in which they celebrated the start of the school year and formally welcomed the Class of 2023 to the upper school community. Head of School Brian Yager opened the ceremony with some words for the incoming students, telling them to “enjoy and embrace the process and look to the students in the grades above you for guidance and inspiration as well as for examples of what will be expected of you in the years to come.”
The assembled students also heard from ASB president Avi Gulati, grade 12, who stressed to the freshmen that the community was there to help them succeed when the demands of high school life seem daunting. “You have counselors, advisors, teachers [and] upperclassmen here for support,” he said. “The entire community prides itself on ensuring that you thrive.”
Keeping with tradition, the ceremony also featured great musical performances. Cantilena sang David Montoya’s “Jambo Rafiki Yangu,” directed by Susan Nace, and The Harker String Quartet performed its renditions of the Elvis Presley hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
While the quartet played, grade 9 students each signed the matriculation book and honor code. After returning to their seats, the audience was treated to the annual “Freshman 101” series of skits, which featured students in the role of characters from famous pop-culture properties such as “Star Wars” and Marvel Comics, humorously outlining various aspects of student life, including the dress code, club opportunities, athletics teams and the honor code.
The middle school and upper school speech and debate teams held their annual retreat Aug. 23-25 in Milpitas. Seventy students attended the retreat and got a head start preparing new topics and speeches for the 2019-20 season. They also won prizes at the team bonding event at Dave & Busters! Check out the photos!
The girls varsity volleyball team officially opens its 2019 season at the St. Francis Jamboree on Tuesday. The Eagles then host Branham on Thursday for their home opener, followed by the Spikefest Tournament at Independence High over the weekend.
Also, congrats to senior captain Emily Cheng for being named as a national finalist for the Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship. Cheng was chosen as a student athlete who embodies the Triple-Impact Competitor model of making herself, her team and her sport better by her behavior in and out of the sport. Winners from each chapter will be announced throughout the school year. Check out the full list of finalists:
The football team opens its season at home as it takes on visiting Burton High at 7 p.m. on Davis Field.
Boys/Girls Water Polo
On Sept. 10, the water polo season gets going as the boys varsity team hosts Milpitas High at 4 p.m. with the girls team playing at 6:15 p.m.
Cross Country
The cross country team gets the season off and running by heading to Golden Gate Park for the Lowell Invitational on Sept. 7.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team officially kicks off its season on Sept. 3 at Sharon Heights Country Club as the Eagles take on Sacred Heart Prep.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team gets its 2019 season going at the 63rd annual Santa Catalina Tennis Invitational on Sept. 6. The first time you can cheer on your Eagles at home will be Oct. 1 vs Crystal Springs Uplands.