Junior Veyd Patil ran well at the State Cross Country Championships over the weekend in Fresno, placing 67th out of 201 runners while setting a new personal record. Congratulations!
Frosh, junior varsity and varsity boys basketball all won their season openers last week. The frosh defeated Stratford with a score of 45-18 while JV and varsity each had wins against Yerba Buena with scores of 61-14 and 83-28, respectively.
Girls soccer’s season starts tomorrow against Scotts Valley on Davis Field at 4 p.m. The team returns to Davis Field on Friday at 5:30 p.m. to face James Lick. Also this week, boys soccer will visit Half Moon Bay tomorrow and play at home on Thursday against San Francisco International. Girls basketball will be playing in the Sandi Stober Classic tournament this week, hosted by Lynbrook High School. Their first game is scheduled for Thursday at 4:45 p.m.
Harker seniors Annmaria Antony, Brian Chen, Krish Maniar and Sarah Fatima Mohammed were recently named semifinalists in the 2022-23 Coca-Cola Scholars Program. They were among just over 1,500 students selected from more than 91,000 applicants. Following an application review process, 250 of these semifinalists will go on to become regional finalists, 150 of whom will be named Coca-Cola Scholars and receive a $20,000 scholarship. The Coca-Cola Scholars Program is the country’s largest corporate-sponsored scholarship program, and has provided more than $81 million in scholarships since it was founded in 1986. Last year Dawson Chen ’22 was named one of the 150 nationwide Coca-Cola Scholars.
Last month, junior Nathan Liu organized the third Tribute to Fallen Heroes Charity Golf Tournament and Gala. The golf tournament took place at San Jose’s Los Lagos Golf Course, while the gala was held at the Triton Museum of Art. The events raised more than $25,000 for the California Fire Foundation, which will put the funds toward scholarships for the children of California firefighters who died in the line of duty. The gala was attended by Rick Martinez, executive director of the California Fire Foundation, who drove in from Sacramento. Liu worked with Harker students Timothy Deng and Jonathan Szeto, both grade 9, and juniors Cecilia Yang and Jonathan Zhang to organize the events. Harker golfers from the middle and upper schools participated in the tournament, and Deng, Liu, Szeto and Harker alum Spencer Cha ’22 all performed on piano at the Gala, which also featured artwork from both Harker students and 10 other Bay Area High Schools.
Last week, TuffToy founders Rohan Gorti, Arin Jain and Zubin Khera, all grade 12, were named the winners of the California DECA Business Pitch Challenge. Over the summer, the three won the National Pitch Competition in Chicago for their energetic and creative pitch of TuffToy, which sells durable, high-quality dog toys. Each of the students will receive a trophy for placing in the top three.
At the Central Coast Section cross country meet on Nov. 12, individual runner Kara Kister, grade 12, finished 36th among 101 runners in girls division 4. Boys cross country finished a respectable seventh place, with junior Veyd Patil finishing in seventh individually, posting a personal best time of 16:15 and qualifying for the state championship on Nov. 26. Junior Andrew Smith and freshman Robinson Xiang also had strong performances, as Xiang posted the best time of any competing ninth grader.
Girls water polo came up short against Stevenson in the division 2 final this past weekend, which ended with a score of 12-15. The team nevertheless had a historically strong season, going 22-8 overall. Congratulations!
Another Harker season came to an end on Saturday, as girls tennis was defeated in the CCS semifinals 2-5 by Monta Vista, which would go on to be the CCS champions. The team finished another stellar season with its third consecutive league title and an overall record of 10-2.
Upper school debate teacher Greg Achten was recently elected to the executive board of the National Debate Coaches Association. All members of the organization are eligible to vote for the nine-member board. It is a national organization dedicated to supporting best practices in the debate community. The organization hosts one of the national championships and supports new programs with debate curriculum and research support. Achten’s years of community service, especially his expertise in running tournaments, were contributors to his election success. Additional details can be found at the NDCA website.
Arushi Sharma, grade 11, recently received a Congressional Silver Medal Award, one of the highest honors for civilian youths. The award honors young people for their service and achievements. Sharma was recognized for her work with a number of community organizations during the last few years, including Compassion for Seniors, which puts on musical performances for patients in Bay Area memory care facilities. She also organized efforts to send care packages to support caregivers and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and mentored students for the organization Inclusive World, which provides skill development and employment opportunities for the differently abled.
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin left the Patil Theater audience in awe Friday night at the second installment of the 2022-23 Harker Concert Series season. Backed by bassist Drew Gress and drummer Jonathan Blake, the acclaimed soloist and composer’s setlist consisted entirely of original songs, starting with the appropriately named “Fast Brazil,” an up-tempo number inspired by the rhythm of Brazil’s baião rhythm. He made his virtuosity apparent almost immediately with stunning chromatic runs, but made sure not to chew too much of the scenery by allowing Blake plenty of time for a rhythmically precise and musical drum solo.
Other highlights included “Page One,” an homage to saxophonist Joe Henderson, which featured an urgent, driving bassline and beautiful cymbal work, and “I Hear a Rhapsody,” which opened with an exhilarating McCaslin solo into a strolling rhythm that became increasingly frantic before ending with McCaslin and Blake trading solos.
The ensemble received a well-deserved standing ovation after “Fat Cat,” the breezy, extended closing number that featured stunning solos from every member. Shortly after, McCaslin met with concertgoers in the lobby for photos and autographs.
Earlier this week, Ethan Guan, grade 10, was named the K-8 winner in the 2022 Electronic Music Composition Competition held by the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME). Guan’s piece, “No Shame in Games,” earned him a cash prize and can be heard via the NAfME website. He composed the piece as a seventh grader in 2020, thus making him eligible for the competition. This competition is meant to demonstrate the various ways music technology has enhanced music education and is open to K-8, high school and college students.
Rory Hu, grade 7, was today announced as a top award winner in the 2022 Broadcom MASTERS competition, taking home the $10,000 Department of Defense STEM Talent Award. Her project for the competition studied how tea polyphenols and caffeine may help honeybees improve their learning and memory capabilities, as well as mitigate the harm from pesticides. More about Hu and her project can be found on her project page at the Society for Science website.
As one of the 30 finalists, Hu will receive a $500 prize and is eligible to win one of several top prizes, totaling more than $100,000. The finals are scheduled for this fall.
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Sept. 8, 2022
Yesterday, eight Harker students were named top 300 scholars in the 2022 Broadcom MASTERS competition, one of the country’s top middle school science competitions. The students were chosen from more than 1,800 applicants, and were among the top 10 percent at science fairs affiliated with the Society for Science.
Ninth graders Ava Bhowmik, Gupta Disha, Sofia Shah, Tanvi Sivakumar, Jonathan Szeto and Kallie Wang; eighth grader Jayden Liu; and seventh grader Rory Hu each will receive a $125 prize and are eligible to become top 30 finalists, who will be announced Sept. 21. Finalists will then be chosen for a variety of awards, totaling more than $100,000 in prizes.