This article written by Neha Tallapragada, grade 12
Career Connect took seven students to the Constellation Connected Enterprise Conference at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay this week. The conference focused in on the ways that our new world of technology impacts several sectors, from health care to business to sports management.
Harker students were able to hear from panels focusing on the prospect of digital transformation in the business sphere, what to expect from digital privacy laws in the future, how analytics are helping a newer generation of athletes and more. They got the opportunity to hear perspectives from several top professionals in the Bay Area, including Mitra Azizirad, corporate vice president of cloud computing for Microsoft, and David West, a former Golden State Warrior and minority owner of Zoetic Global.
“My favorite part was connecting with all the people and learning about how I can be mindful about my future … and getting an internship offer!” said Julia Yusupov, grade 10.
“At Harker it’s difficult to find people who are interested in blockchain,” said Sayon Biswas, grade 12. “I think that has to do with our age; we’re not 100 percent sure about what we’re interested in. So events like these are really crucial for learning more about your interests and meeting new people who can connect you to potential opportunities.”
Upon conversing with Harker students, one professional remarked, “I like to ask Harker students at least one tough question, because I know they’ll have a good answer.” It’s exciting to know that our reputation as bright and intelligent students has made its way across the Bay!
Overall, the topics of the conference were incredibly topical and eye-opening for our students, and definitely sparked new interests regarding the ways we are starting to use technology and the strategic and moral questions that follow.
Girls Water Polo
The girls water polo team finished off one of the best seasons in school history with three wins in the SCVAL tournament to become tournament champs and co-league champs for just the second time in program history! The girls defeated Milpitas 13-3, Wilcox 11-2 and Saratoga 5-4 in the championship game. The Eagles are the No. 5 seed in the CCS D2 tournament and travel to Aptos on Nov. 3.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team finished the regular season with a 194-299 win over Castilleja. The girls followed up their league title with a league tournament title shooting a 370, defeating the second place team by 44 strokes! Sophie Zhang-Murphy, grade 9, won the individual title shooting a 69, with Tina Xu, grade 9, shooting a 70 to tie for second. The Eagles head to Laguna Seca on Tuesday to compete in the CCS Championships.
Girls Volleyball
The girls volleyball team finished off the regular season with a 3-1 victory over Mercy SF before beginning the CCS playoffs. The No. 4 seed Eagles defeated Marina High 3-0 and will now host Mercy Burlingame Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
Girls Tennis
Last week, the girls tennis team defeated Homestead 4-3 and Notre Dame Belmont 7-0 to finish off the regular season with a 13-5 record. On Monday, the doubles team of Sachi Bajaj, grade 10, and Fonda Hu, grade 10, as well as Liza Egorova, grade 12, advanced to the WBAL Tournament semis on Tuesday at Menlo.
Boys Water Polo
The boys water polo team played very well in the SCVAL Tournament finishing in second place. The Eagles defeated Saratoga 14-12 and Fremont 13-2 before falling to Wilcox 8-9 in the finals. The boys finished a very strong season with a 17-10 record.
Cross Country
The cross country team takes on the entire WBAL at the league finals on Friday at Crystal Springs Uplands Cross Country Course.
MS Golf
Congratulations to the MS golf team as it took first place among 52 competitors and eight teams in the fall WBAL tournament. The Eagles shot a 139, defeating the second place team by 17 strokes, and were led by Claire Chen, grade 8, who won the tournament with a 32, which included a hole in one on the fifth hole! This is the 12th championship out of the last 13 tournaments for the middle school.
San Jose Taiko returned to the lower school campus on Wednesday, treating students to a pair of entertaining and educational assemblies about this Japanese rhythmic art form that dates back to the sixth century. As its popularity grew in the 20th century, taiko artists began to incorporate styles such as jazz into their performances. San Jose Taiko was founded in 1973 and has since established itself as one of the world’s top taiko ensembles.
The visiting musicians performed selections from their repertoire and gave students a primer on taiko performance techniques and concepts, such as the use of shouts known as “ki-ai,” an expression of spiritual energy, or “ki.” These shouts often function as cues to other ensemble members of which beats to play. Students (as well as a few teachers) were later given the chance to perform on the drums, delighting their peers and faculty in attendance.
The Eagles ran very well in their final cross country race before the league championships in two weeks. Ryan Adolf, grade 12, again led the Eagles at Baylands Park as he and Aditya Singhvi, grade 10 , both finished in the top 20 for the first time this year. Freshmen Ritika Rajamani and Erica Cai were the top two Eagle varsity girl runners, both running times that may qualify for the CCS Championships in three weeks. (Courtesy Coach Scott Chisam.) The Eagles race again on Nov. 2 at Crystal Springs Cross Country Park for the WBAL Championships.
Girls Volleyball
Last week, the girls volleyball team fell to Menlo 0-3 before taking down Mercy Burlingame 3-1. The 13-11 Eagles travel to Mercy SF on Tuesday to complete their regular season before starting CCS this weekend.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team defeated Castilleja 184-231 to become league champs for the first time since 2006. Sophie Zhang-Murphy, grade 9, earned medalist honors shooting a 34. The girls take on Castilleja again on Tuesday before starting the WBAL Tournament on Wednesday.
Football
The football team completed its season with a 7-6 win over St. Vincent de Paul on Saturday. The defensive battle was capped by a second quarter pick-6 by Jared Anderson, grade 12, for the only Harker points on the day. The Eagles finished the year with a 7-2 record.
Boys Water Polo
Last week the boys water polo team fell to Wilcox 7-10 before defeating Saratoga 17-7 and going 3-0 in the Ronald J. Freeman Memorial Tournament, defeating Santa Teresa 15-6, Fremont 16-6 and The King’s Academy 13-1. The boys start the SCVAL Tournament this Wednesday.
Girls Tennis
Last week, the girls tennis team defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 6-1 before falling to Menlo 6-1. The Eagles take on Homestead on Monday and Notre Dame Belmont on Tuesday to wrap up the regular season.
Girls Water Polo
Last week, the girls water polo team defeated Wilcox 11-5 before suffering a rare loss, falling to Saratoga 0-2. The Eagles start the SCVAL Tournament this Wednesday.
Earlier this week, the New York Academy of Sciences accepted senior Ayush Vyas into the NYAS Junior Academy. As part of NYAS’ Global STEM Alliance (GSA), the Junior Academy program connects students aged 13-18 with a range of educational and networking opportunities in STEM disciplines such as public health, sustainability, emerging technology and many more.
Members of the academy participate twice a year in innovation challenges that address a wide range of global issues. Students attend a boot camp to bolster the skills necessary to address these challenges. More than 6,500 applications were submitted to the program this year, and Vyas is one of 586 students accepted. As one of the accepted participants, Vyas is eligible to attend the Global STEM Alliance Summit in New York City, set for summer 2019.
After Mikhil Kiran, grade 5, attended a children’s business fair in Burlingame, he decided to bring a similar event to the South Bay. He checked with Kristin Giammona, Harker’s elementary division head, who directed him to the upper school’s DECA program. After weeks of planning, the Santa Clara Children’s Business Fair took place in Santa Clara’s Live Oak Park last weekend, with more than 40 children’s businesses displaying products and several hundred attendees shopping.
The event was co-sponsored by the Harker DECA club as the event was created to promote and inspire student entrepreneurship and encourage children from ages 5-12 to pursue business.
Kiran had help from his father as the venture required fundraising, working with city officials on permits and marketing efforts to make it a reality. Kiran made a video to help raise money and he pitched the sponsorship to multiple retailers and corporations, successfully raising most of the money required, his father, Kiran Ganesh, noted.
Prior to the fair, Mahi Kolla, grade 11, executive vice president of Harker’s DECA club, gave a pep talk about her entrepreneurship journey building the Minty Boutique to help inspire the budding entrepreneurs. Following the event, the kids noted that Kolla’s pep talk was very motivating.
The displays at the fair featured innovative products and ideas including hand-drawn comic books, slippers made to slide on carpet, cosmetic products, handmade arts and crafts, and recycled papier-mache decor pieces.
For three hours, the kids pitched their products and made sales while customers visited booths. Ishaan Chandra, grade 11, Harker DECA’s vice president of operations, and DECA advisor Juston Glass, helped at the event and acted as judges. Representatives from Sand Hill Angels Investment Group also participated as judges.
“The event was a great success with over several hundred attendees shopping and interacting with the kids,” said Ganesh.
At the end of the event, certificates were awarded to the top three businesses in two categories, “Business Potential” and “Salesmanship,” in each age group. Two Harker teams won prizes. Bee the Key members Mikhil Kiran, Krish Nachnani and Sahil Jain, all grade 5, won second place in Best Salesmanship age 10 and above, while Slip-n-Slide members, Trisha Shivakumar and Risa Chokhawala, both grade 4, took first place for Best Salesmanship ages 10 and under.
Kathy Watanabe, vice mayor of Santa Clara, was a special guest at the event and spoke about the need to encourage student entrepreneurship and the importance of students in business. Students left with the experience of an amazing first step into the business world. Check out this great video of the event!
Jazz phenom Taylor Eigsti dazzled the 240 audience members in attendance at the Patil Theater this evening at the first event of the Harker Concert Series’ 2018-19 season. Joined by longtime friend and celebrated saxophonist Dayna Stephens, as well as drummer Jason Lewis and bassist Zach Ostroff, the prodigy-turned-Grammy nominee performed several of his own compositions as well as his own interpretations of works by artists such as John Coltrane. Upper school music teacher Dave Hart, an accomplished trumpeter and a friend of Eigsti’s, also joined the band for a song, as did the new middle school music teacher Naoki Taniguchi.
As a bonus to the fantastic performance, guests enjoyed the variety of food and drinks available during the reception and intermission, held in the Rothschild Performing Arts Center’s spacious and elegantly decorated lobby.
Harker’s Office of Communication was recently notified that marketing campaign materials for the 125th anniversary have earned a platinum MarCom Strategic Communications award. The submission included 20 items created for the campaign, including the 125th anniversary special issue of Harker Magazine, lamppost banners, the history website and the “125 Facts About Harker” compilation.
Gold MarCom awards were earned for the spring/summer 2018 issue of Harker Magazine and for the article “A Life in the Performing Arts: Harker Alumni are Finding Success in the Performing Arts both On Stage and Behind the Scenes.”
Honorable mention awards were earned for the video “Opening Night at The Harker School’s Rothschild Performing Arts Center/Patil Theater” and for a second article in the spring/summer 2018 issue of Harker Magazine, “It’s Showtime! The Rothschild Performing Arts Center Opens.”
MarCom, founded in 2004, is administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. Each year about 6,000 print and digital entries are submitted from dozens of countries. The awards honor excellence in marketing and communication while recognizing the creativity, hard work and generosity of industry professionals.
Harker has previously won platinum awards for Harker Magazine (2013, 2015, 2017), for the athletic and RPAC construction e-newsletters (2017), for the redesigned main public website (2015) and for an image branding campaign (2007), along with multiple gold and honorable mention awards.
The football team improved to 6-2 on the year as it soundly defeated the Oakland Military Institute 62-18 on Friday night. Once again, lots of impressive numbers including Devin Keller, grade 11, rushing for 151 yards and a score, Mitchell Granados, grade 12, rushing for a score and catching a TD pass, Anthony Meissner, grade 12, rushing for two scores and throwing another, and Jared Anderson with a huge game as he rushed for two scores, had a pick six and returned a kickoff for a score. The Eagles close out the regular season this Saturday as they travel to Petaluma to take on Saint Vincent de Paul.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team won its sole match last week by forfeit, but that didn’t stop the players from enjoying their Senior Night. The girls are undefeated and sit atop the WBAL standings as they take on Mercy Burlingame on Tuesday and Castilleja on Wednesday.
Boys Water Polo
The boys water polo team picked up two league wins last week as they defeated Fremont 17-8 and Cupertino 15-6. This week, the Eagles travel to Wilcox on Tuesday and Saratoga on Thursday to close out the regular season.
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team picked up two big non-league wins last week as it defeated Homestead 5-2 and Castilleja 4-3. This week, the ladies host Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday and Menlo on Thursday, both at Blackford.
Girls Water Polo
The girls water polo team continues to roll as it picked up two more league wins last week. The Eagle started the week with a 13-3 win over Lynbrook with Abby Wisdom, grade 12, scoring seven goals. Then in an 11-2 win over Cupertino, Wisdom led the Eagles with three goals, with Cas Ruedy, grade 11, Leah Anderson, grade 10, and Alicia Xu, grade 11, each scoring two goals. The 18-4 Eagles finish up the regular season this week as they travel to Wilcox on Tuesday and Saratoga on Thursday.
Girls Volleyball
Last week, the girls volleyball team took care of Sacred Heart Prep 3-0, but fell to Notre Dame Belmont 0-3 later in the week. The 12-10 Eagles host Menlo on Tuesday before traveling to Mercy Burlingame on Thursday.
Cross Country
The cross country team returns to action this Thursday at Baylands Park as it meets up with the entire WBAL.
The Class of 2022 visited the Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve on Oct. 10 for this year’s Frosh Service Trip. Students spent the day clearing the preserve’s trails and maintaining its fire lines, which are used to inhibit the spread of fires. The students arrived in the morning and were divided into groups to work on different areas.
Special activities were added to this service trip to help the students deepen their understanding and respect of the natural landscape. Art teacher Pilar Agüero-Esparza organized a drawing activity inspired by Coyote Valley’s longstanding oak trees, which she preceded by having the students “consider how the Ohlone and other indigenous peoples of Northern California completely relied on the oak trees for food, shelter, warmth, medicines, cultural crafts, etc.” Biology teacher Mike Pistacchi led his students on a brief hike and had them “notice nature” in a silent observation exercise.
Students expressed happiness at being given the opportunity to help preserve the area. “Not only did I realize how much effort went into maintaining a trail, but also I am overjoyed that I improved the environment for future hikers,” said Andrea Thia. “It is comforting to know I have impacted Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve in a positive way, even if it was just a very small amount.”
“Watching the path get cleared was pretty satisfying in that we could instantly see the effects of our hard work,” added Callie Mayer. “While it was very tiring and the work load was very intimidating, it was overall a good experience and worth it so that we as a class can contribute to making the environment better and more clean.”
Students also said they would like to return to Coyote Valley in the spring to continue their effort and also to see how the preserve looks during a different time of year. “I think getting to volunteer with friends made the experience more enjoyable and seeing it in the spring with that same group would be cool,” said Nageena Singh.