Harker has received a regional gold Award of Excellence for our 125th Anniversary microsite from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in the Individual Sub-Websites category. The field of competitors included colleges, universities and independent schools in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands and Utah.
“Your excellent work stood out among the best,” stated the notification letter from CASE. “One of our objectives is to share best practices among our colleagues, and your efforts will be recognized as an example for others to emulate. Thank you for producing the kind of work that brings respect and best practices to our profession.”
The website, published in July 2018 to launch the Harker’s 125th anniversary celebration year, was two years in the making and features historical “then and now” photos, video clips, “125 fun facts about Harker” and a timeline of milestones. The site was created by Harker’s Office of Communication. The Harker 125th Anniversary commemorative website is here: https://www.harker.org/about/history
“This site was a labor of love for the department over a two-year period,” said Pam Dickinson, director of the Office of Communication. “We outlined what we felt would be interesting for our community and the public and then packaged the components in ways that were informative yet engaging. The goal was not only to educate, but to entertain, and now we have a comprehensive [website] capturing of our history that will be relevant for years to come.
“Nick Gassmann, our web designer, and Cathy Snider, our communication manager, were especially pivotal in the process, working with our photographer, Mark Kocina, and our multimedia specialist, Eric Marten, to find and curate our archival images. But our entire team had a hand in the site and we met almost weekly for two years to keep it on track and make it the best it could be. Sue Smith, head librarian, Terry Walsh, retired archivist, and Thomas Fowler, former web developer, also contributed. Kudos to this whole team for this well-deserved recognition,” Dickinson finished.
Silver medalists in our category were the University of California, Davis, and Fuller Theological Seminary; bronze winner was California State University, Fresno.
As a gold award winner, the entry will now be considered for a grand gold award, “given to the truly groundbreaking work in the category.” Those awards will be announced in February at the Awards of Excellence reception in Anaheim.
The Harker Podcast Network has produced a new series to help Harker students make informed decisions about the courses they take, and the site has had around 400 visitors.
“We produced this series with the hope of helping students make more informed decisions about the courses they take,” said Arushi Saxena, grade 10. “Apart from a brief description in the Course Catalog and what they hear from upperclassmen, students oftentimes don’t have much to go off of when choosing courses, so these interviews with the teachers of these courses should provide students with a better understanding of each course.
“We currently have over 20 episodes completed, covering individual courses from Food Science to Behavioral Economics, as well as comparative episodes that help students make decisions like Honors versus AP Biology, AP Physics 2 versus AP Physics C, and AP English Literature versus senior English electives. All of the podcasts are 5-8 minutes long, and the majority of them cover electives offered alongside core subjects.”
The Harker Podcast Network team of Enya Lu, grade 12, Evan Cheng, grade 11, Larissa Tyagi, grade 11, and Arushi Saxena, grade 10, began brainstorming this series about two months ago, and since then have been writing questions, recording, editing and posting.
The series is an ongoing project, “and we hope to add many more episodes on academic courses over the next several years in addition to the 20 we’ve already recorded,” said Evan Cheng, grade 11. “This next month, we also plan to record episodes on all the extra period options, such as Speech & Debate and Principles of Business, as well as the Study of Arts courses like Study of Theater.
“Working with Ms. Horan, the upper school academic dean, we’ll get these episodes to the incoming freshman (the Class of 2023) so they can make more informed decisions about their freshman year courses. As a whole, the HPN team is also releasing a Blockchain Decrypted podcast within the next month to help demystify the world of cryptocurrency and localize its application on our very own campus.
The group has expansion hopes. “Since the reception to the Courses at Harker series has been extremely positive, we see a bigger opportunity to help inform students about not just the courses at Harker but other aspects of the upper school as well,” said Cheng. “For example, we may produce an episode on how students can fulfill their P.E. requirement or an episode on the Harker Conservatory’s Certificate Program. For now, though, our priority is to expand the amount of courses covered in the Courses at Harker series.”
Podcasts can be accessed either through the web at www.harkerpodcasts.net or through the Apple Podcasts app by searching “Courses at Harker.” The team is working with Horan to add podcasts to the student portal for easier access.
The Harker Podcast Network was started in 2014 by the Business and Entrepreneurship Department.
The Society for Science & the Public announced the 40 finalists for this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, and three Harker seniors are among those named! They (and their projects) are:
Ayush Alag, “Computational DNA Methylation Analysis of Food Allergy Yields Novel 13-gene Signature to Diagnose Clinical Reactivity”
Natasha Maniar, “MapAF: Deep Learning to Improve Therapy of Complex Human Heart Rhythm Abnormalities”
Ruhi Sayana, “Precision Care for Leukemia: Discovery of Novel Therapeutics for High-Risk ALL via Epigenetic and Computational Transcriptome Profiling”
Each of these students will head to Washington, D.C., in early March for the national finals.
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Jan. 9, 2019:
Seven Harker seniors – the most of any school in California – were named Top 300 Scholars in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Society for Science & the Public announced today. Ayush Alag, Cameron Jones, Natasha Maniar, Ruhi Sayana, Katherine Tian, Cindy Wang and Richard Wang were among 300 students chosen from the 2,000 entries in this year’s competition. Each will receive a $2,000 prize, and Harker will be awarded an additional $2,000, as will every school that produced a Top 300 Scholar.
This year’s 40 finalists will be announced on Jan. 23, and in March they will embark on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the final portion of the competition, during which more than $1.8 million in prizes will be awarded. Congratulations and best of luck to these stellar students!
The girls basketball team picked up a win and a loss last week to bring its season record to 10-5. First, the Eagles fell to The King’s Academy 47-55 with Cindy Su, grade 9, leading the offense with 12 points. Later in the week, the girls defeated Lincoln High 54-32 led by Akhila Ramgiri, grade 12, who scored 12 points. This week, the Eagles host Mercy SF on Tuesday and Castilleja on Thursday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team continues to roll as it picked up two decisive league wins last week. The Eagles defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 8-0 and Eastside College Prep 3-0. Since dropping the first match of the season, the boys have rallied for nine straight wins. This week, the Eagles travel to Sacred Heart Prep on Wednesday and host Menlo on Friday for the Kicks Against Cancer game.
Girls Soccer
Last week, the girls soccer team fell to Crystal Springs Uplands in a tough 0-1 match before defeating Mercy SF 6-0. The 5-4-3 Eagles host Castilleja on Wednesday and Pinewood on Friday for the Kicks Against Cancer game.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two league games last week, falling to 7-9 on the season. The boys started the week with a 40-61 loss to Menlo, with Giovanni Rofa, grade 11, leading the way with 10 points and five rebounds. Later in the week, the Eagles fell to The King’s Academy 42-60, with Jack Connors, grade 11, and Gene Wang, grade 12, each scoring 12 points. This week, the Eagles travel to Pinewood on Tuesday and host Sacred Heart Prep on Friday.
Wrestling
The Harker wrestling team competed at the JV Oceana Tournament over the weekend with some nice results. In their respective weight classes, Arjun Kilaru, grade 12, placed fifth, Bobby Wang, grade 9, took fifth, Kobe Howard, grade 12, placed fourth, and Eric Fang, grade 11, took first place. The wrestlers take to the mat again this Saturday at the Del Mar Tournament.
Next month, senior Nikhil Dharmaraj (pictured, second from the right) will visit Cambridge, Mass., to speak on a panel about the intersection of artificial intelligence and the humanities with Harvard University faculty members Jessica Fjeld and David Weinberger of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Dharmaraj’s work with Harvard began last summer during an internship at the college’s metaLAB, “a joint product of [Harvard’s] graduate school of design and the law school,” he explained, “which seeks to explore various issues at the intersection of technology and the humanities. Right up my alley, as I’m equally interested in both subjects!”
Dharmaraj worked on two projects during his time with metaLAB. The first, titled “Moral Labyrinth,” was showcased at the prestigious Ars Electronica festival in Linz, Austria, in September and consisted of mazes with borders made up of ethical quandaries about technology and nature. “My role in the project involved web development and early design of the digital labyrinth that ended up being exhibited at the festival,” said Dharmaraj. “I also contributed to the ideation of the physical labyrinth as well as general research for the project.”
His next project was “The Laughing Room,” an installation designed to emulate the set of a sitcom, in which participants’ conversations were scanned by an algorithm for speech patterns that would elicit laughter. A laugh track would play when the algorithm detected a phrase perceived as funny. “As a summer intern, I completed a full literature review on philosophical theories of laughter and computational humor, and I contributed to the project’s data collection and code,” Dharmaraj said. “It was done using a neural network, trained on various stand-up comedians.”
Upon matriculating at Harvard in the fall, Dharmaraj plans to continue working with metaLAB while working on his dual concentration in computer science and classics.
From Jan. 4-6, nearly 100 students from The Harker School DECA chapter traveled to the Burlingame Waterfront Marriott to compete in the 2019 Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC). Harker performed respectably, with 69 teams as overall finalists and 30 top three winners.
“SVCDC was a really great experience for all participants, both new and returning members. A lot of people were able to stage and place [in the] top 10 in their events, which was encouraging for everyone, especially as many returning members were trying new events,” said Shania Wang, grade 12, Harker DECA CEO. “Beyond that, I think that the spirit of the chapter was something really great to see, as everyone was supporting each other and cheering for every Harker member that went on stage. In general, we are at a wonderful place as a chapter and have really great momentum as we approach the states conference.”
Members placing in top 10 are as follows:
First Place
Rishi Dange, grade 11, Accounting Applications Series
Ronit Gagneja, grade 11, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Mahi Kolla, grade 11, Entrepreneurship Individual Series
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 11, Start-Up Business Plan
William Chien, grade 9, Principles of Finance
David Feng, grade 11, Professional Selling Event
Ghalsasi and Allison Jia, both grade 11, Travel and Tourism Marketing Team Decision Making Event
Second Place
Anay Karwal ,grade 11, Automotive Services Marketing Series
Claire Luo, grade 10, Business Finance Series
Arun Sundaresan, grade 11, Business Services Marketing Series
Dange, Financial Consulting Event
Phil Han, grade 11, Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling
Simren Kochhar, grade 9, Principles of Business Management and Administration
Victoria Han, grade 9, Principles of Marketing
Evan Cheng, grade 11, Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
Enya Lu and Shania Wang, both grade 12, Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team Decision Making Event
Third Place
Calais Poirson and Elaine Zhai, both grade 10, Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making Event
Andrea Thia grade 9, Business Growth Plan
Sayon Biswas and Suraj Pakala, both grade 12, Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
Bryan Zhang, grade 10, Finance Operations Research Event
Fonda Hu and Anvitha Tummala, both grade 10, Hospitality and Tourism Operations Research Event
On Friday, Harker DECA members and chaperones traveled to the Burlingame Waterfront Marriott for the first competitive conference of the 2018-2019 competitive season. While participants were waiting for hotel rooms, the Harker DECA officer team had Jamba Juice brought in for members to enjoy. Testing session began promptly after and took up the remainder of the day until the opening ceremony, at which the California DECA officer team welcomed all of the competitors with the SV Factor, the annual talent show, and officially kicked off the beginning of the conference.
Competitive events began early on Saturday morning, and teams made use of the leisure time before and between their competitive events to practice and receive some last-minute feedback from their officers and mentors.
“As a first year member attending my first conference, it was stressful at times to talk in front of a judge and answer the questions that they had impromptu,” said Rosh Roy, grade 10. “However, it was a wonderful learning experience and an opportunity to build and strengthen friendships, and I’m excited to bring this new knowledge into SCDC.”
After finishing their competitive events, members were given the rest of the day to explore Burlingame, relax and grab some dinner. Silicon Valley DECA also hosted the DECA Dance, a great opportunity to create networks with other members from different schools.
Early Sunday morning, all attendees and chaperones gathered for the award ceremony, where Harker proudly sent 69 teams to top 10 at the mini awards.
“Because it’s my first competitive DECA Conference, I didn’t think I would place, but then they called my name up,” said William Chien, grade 9, who was awarded first place in Principles of Finance. “It’s inspiring because I didn’t have as much experience as compared to some of my other competitors, but it really goes to show that if you do your best, you can achieve anything.”
After the mini awards, breakfast was served and not long after, the grand awards session began in the Grand Ballroom, where Harker members were continuously recognized. Overall, 30 teams placed as top 3 in their events, a monumental honor for the Harker DECA chapter.
After the grand awards, Enya Lu, grade 12, vice president of Silicon Valley DECA, announced the approaching end of her service on the Silicon Valley officer team, spoke about the accomplishments of her term and encouraged other members to campaign.
“It was a very bittersweet moment and it felt like time had passed so fast since when I went up on stage to speak at my last SVCDC,” said Lu. “However, I have about two months left in my term until states, and I’m looking forward to what I can do for SV during these months. Once again, I am incredibly thankful to my chapter that has supported me through their cheers, spirit and work.”
Overall, the 2018-19 SVCDC was an enormous success and a rewarding experience for all Harker DECA competitors and officers. All members were able to experience a competitive conference, gain useful preparation skills for the upcoming states competition, and leave feeling inspired and motivated to continue with their DECA journey.
“As a chapter advisor, I think this year’s SVCDC was a stellar kickoff to the competitive season,” said Juston Glass, Harker DECA chapter advisor. “It gave students confidence as they continue on to the states conference, and I’m proud of the effort, poise and determination that each student demonstrated to prepare for the competitions. Go Harker DECA!”
Every Friday and several Saturdays leading up to SVCDC, Harker DECA held weekly study sessions in the Innovation Center, where students could practice their role-plays in front of an officer, receive live feedback for their written events and take mock exams. To prepare for the California State Career Development Conference, DECA strongly advises all members to attend the weekly study sessions. Go Eagles!
About The Harker School DECA Harker DECA is an international competitive business organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Our DECA chapter integrates classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business and promotes competition so that the next generation will be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.
To learn more about this story, please contact Elaine Zhai, director of communications for Harker DECA, 21ElaineZ@students.harker.org.
On Friday, students in Charles Shuttleworth’s class on Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation received a special visit from Jami Cassady Ratto, daughter of influential beat writer Neal Cassady, whose works were a major influence on Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and other important counterculture writers. Joined by her husband, Randy, Ratto shared excerpts from a famous letter that Neal Cassady wrote to Kerouac, which had a major impact on the style that Kerouac later became famous for in works such as “On the Road.” She also reminisced about her time growing up in early 1960s Los Gatos and told stories about her father, Kerouac and other cultural icons of the time, including the Grateful Dead.
Julie Wheeler’s AP US History students were invited to sit in on one of the classes and were given a brief overview of the Beat Generation and its works by Shuttleworth’s students, covering the authors’ disillusionment with 1950s American culture, their jazz-influenced writing style and their importance to later counterculture movements.
“The students told me they really enjoyed the experience,” said Shuttleworth. “It was another opportunity for them to interact directly with a primary source and experience living history.”
The boys basketball team went 2-1 last week, bringing its season record to 7-7. Early in the week the Eagles defeated Woodside Priory 49-38 behind 17 points and seven rebounds from Jeffrey Liu, grade 11. The boys then dropped a 27-69 matchup with Eastside College Prep. Liu and Giovanni Rofa, grade 11, each scored 7 points in the loss. The Eagles finished off the week in style as they had the opportunity to play Crystal Springs Uplands at the Golden 1 Center, the home of the Sacramento Kings. Harker took care of the Gryphons 57-37. The Eagles host Menlo on Tuesday and The King’s Academy on Thursday.
Girls Basketball
Last week, the girls basketball team went 1-1 The Eagles fell to Mercy Burlingame 37-49, but Akhila Ramgiri, grade 12, scored 19 points. Later in the week, the girls defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 51-38 with Ramgiri again scoring 19 points and Kaitlyn Dai, grade 11, adding 12 points. The 9-4 Eagles host The King’s Academy on Thursday and Lincoln on Saturday.
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team is now 7-1 on the year as it picked up two more wins last week. The Eagles defeated ACE Charter 1-0 and Woodside Priory 3-1. This week the boys host Crystal Springs Uplands on Wednesday and Eastside College Prep on Friday.
Girls Soccer
It was a good week for the girls soccer team as it went 2-0-1, picking up a 6-0 win over Pinewood and a 3-0 win over Eastside College Prep before playing to a 1-1 tie with Notre Dame San Jose. This week, the girls host Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday, then travel to Mercy SF on Thursday.
In November, seventh grader Shayla He appeared on the Chinese talk show “From Opinion to Future,” filmed in Beijing. She was invited to the program after its producers discovered her singing talents, and was featured in a 14-minute segment in which she also gave a speech, titled “Communicate With the World Through Music,” about discovering a passion for music at a very young age. In it, she explained that her musical studies have “helped me explore the cultures of different countries.” Her speech was interspersed with short musical performances to demonstrate what she had learned. Following a brief interview with the show’s hosts, she gave a performance of an original song called “Who Will Come,” written to highlight the plight of the homeless.