Late last month, the College Board revealed that seven Harker students and one 2017 alumna received perfect scores on Advanced Placement exams they took in May 2017, earning every possible point as well as the maximum score of five. Seniors Akhil Arun and Adriano Hernandez and 2017 graduate Divya Rajasekharan earned three of just 60 perfect scores on the AP Macroeconomics exam, while senior Vignesh Panchanatham earned one of only 26 perfect scores in AP Microeconomics.
On the AP Computer Science A exam, senior Swapnil Garg, junior Ryan Adolf and sophomores Eileen Li and Kyle Li earned four of 112 perfect scores. Harker was one of just 17 schools that had four or more students earn perfect scores on AP exams last year. According to the College Board, nearly 5 million AP exams were taken by almost 3 million students in 2017. Only 511 students earned every possible point.
Harker middle school students had a great showing at the Santa Clara Valley MathCounts competition on Feb. 10, winning the team event and setting a new Harker record with four students earning perfect scores.
In individual competition, eighth graders Alexander Hu, Mark Hu and Rishab Parthasarathy and seventh grader Sally Zhu all had perfect scores of 46, tying with 11 other students at the event. Such a result demonstrates the level of competition in the Santa Clara Valley chapter, which “is known to be the toughest chapter for MathCounts in the country,” said middle school math teacher Vandana Kadam. The contest went to a tie-breaker, from which Parthasarathy emerged victorious. Connie Jiang, grade 7, was among the 15 students who tied for second place, and won the tie-breaker round to officially take second with 45 points. Grade 8 students David Dai, Rohan Thakur and Kevin Wang, as well as Riya Gupta, grade 7, placed in the top 25 percent at the event, which featured more than 400 competitors from 46 schools.
The team of Alex Hu, Rishab Parthasarathy, Sally Zhu and eight grader William Zhao won the team competition by a slim margin, inching past Miller Middle School by just a quarter of a point. This victory advances the team to the state competition, to be held March 31 at Stanford University. Due to their performances in the individual event, Mark Hu and Connie Jiang also advanced to the state level. Qualifiers from the state competition will travel to Washington, D.C., for the MathCounts National Championship in May.
Kevin Moss ’14, who will graduate from Trinity University this spring, was awarded the Walter Adams Prize for Excellence in Economics. The prize honors Walter Adams, the Vernon F. Taylor Distinguished Professor of Economics at Trinity University in 1989 and 1992-98. It recognizes “a graduating economics major at Trinity who has achieved great distinction in scholarship and involvement in the life of the university community,” according to a congratulatory letter to Moss. As the winner of the award, Moss will receive a cash prize, an individual plaque and his name on a commemorative plaque that is displayed in the economics department. He will receive the prize at the spring honors convocation. Way to go, Kevin!
The Rothschild Performing Arts Center opened tonight to an excited crowd of nearly 700 visitors. The state-of-the-art facility opened its doors at 6:30 p.m. to a throng of students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, alumni parents and guests.
Guests included Jeff and Marieke Rothschild, for whom the facility is named, and Suhas and Jayashree Patil, daughter Dr. Teja Patil ’02, family members DJ and Devika Patil and their children, Veyd grade 6 and Samaara, grade 3, for whom the 450-seat theater is named. Other guests of honor included Diana Nichols, board of trustees chair, and members of the architectural and construction teams, as well as many of the major donors.
“It is a gorgeous building,” said Marieke Rothschild. “Harker has been known for its STEM students, and deservedly so, but the talent that is here in the arts – this gives them a home. It reminds me of the Bing Concert Hall (Stanford University) and the smaller theaters in New York. It is 450 seats, it is a good sized theater, but it is intimate.”
Diana Nichols, board chair, consultant to Harker and lifetime trustee, spoke eloquently on the passion the performing arts department faculty bring to their students: “Their talent their motivation, their ability to inspire students and move them to greater heights.” She went on to thank the donors along with the multitude of others, from architects to builders that helped make the 50,000-square-foot center possible, singling out Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, for his years of work on the $45 million capital campaign for the performing arts center and the athletic center that opened in August.
Head of School Brian Yager then conducted the ribbon cutting, done in three sections by donors, faculty and staff, and the architects and builders.
“Our main program,” Yager noted, “is to prepare kids for success in college and life, as well as to take their place as global citizens – those are the two bookends of our mission. The arts and performing arts are essential to both elements. In terms of preparing them for success in their own lives, performing arts open incredible opportunities for kids, not just professionally, but in terms of exploring who they are, understanding themselves and the world around them. That blends into the second part, which is making a difference in the world. You have to have an appreciation for others, for beauty and for the creative process to make a difference and this building provides a great platform for gaining that appreciation.”
As the doors opened, the crowd flowed into the building, filling the theater for the very first time. In a moment that sent a chill down the spine, in a darkened house, the show began with Laura Lang-Ree, chair of the performing arts department rising up from the orchestra pit, singing a few lines from that old show tune, “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Check out this video of the show!
Following opening remarks by Lang-Ree and Jeff Draper, drama teacher (and a delicious pass across the stage by Karl Kuehn, dance teacher!), the very first act performed on the new stage was by Suhas and Jayashree along with their grandchildren, Veyd and Samaara, dancing to “Never Knew Love Like This Before.”
Next, Dr. Teja Patil, who was in the first graduating class from Harker upper school and an original member of the Harker Conservatory who performed in many Harker shows, took the stage and delivered heartfelt remarks that dovetailed beautifully with Yager’s comment. She noted that Draper’s instructions to her as a performer were instrumental in her development. Following his insightful instructions to seek to move the audience while on stage one day, “I felt so powerful and confident and inspired,” she said. “So much of growing up is about gaining confidence, it is about learning how to express yourself and Harker theater did that for me.”
She went on to note that, “Theater … really helps you to understand other people. Theater builds empathy. When you ask a child to play a character, you are really asking them to think deeply about someone outside of them self. It is emotional. It is a different kind of learning. Through that kind of transformative experience, you build your emotional intelligence. You gain empathy.”
Patil noted that as a doctor at the Stanford Palo Alto Veterans Hospital, she deals with men aged 60 to 100, people quite different than herself. “They lived, sometimes, quite difficult lives. They have fought for our country. It is not just my job to care for them, but to connect to them. Everything I know about understanding other people, feeling empathy, my emotional intelligence, it was built here, not in biology class, but here, in the theater. This space is physical proof that Harker cares about raising the whole, caring, emotionally intelligent, well-rounded student.”
Three great performances followed Patil, showcasing the great acoustics of the auditorium. First was a piece by Mindy Truong, grade 4, rendering a truly incredible version of ”Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66” by Frédéric Chopin on one of the features of the new center, a Bösendorfer piano.
Two alumni working in performing arts took the stage in turn, starting with Michelle Holt ’11, a Harker vocal conservatory certificate graduate who went on to The Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Holt, who will be trying out for Opera San Jose this spring, sang “Regnava nel Silenzio,” from “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
John Ammatuna ’11, a musical theater Conservatory certificate graduate who attended Marymount Manhattan College for musical theater, is currently working on Broadway as “Brother Bear.” Ammatuna reprised a tune from “Pippin,” the upper school musical he and Holt both played in in 2011, singing “Corner of the Sky.”
Both singers were accompanied by Catherine Snider of the performing arts department, an accomplished pianist and musical director, on the Bösendorfer.
The audience was enthralled, and applauded each act and video in turn.
Marieke Rothschild had some inspiring words for those thinking of trying a performing art: “Don’t be afraid to fail, go out there and fail, go out there and carry that tune, just do it! And if you don’t want to be on stage, then be behind the scenes. The arts have so much to offer, there is so much there! You don’t have to be a star, just try it!”
The Rothschild Performing Arts Center opened tonight to an excited crowd of nearly 700 visitors. The state-of-the-art facility opened its doors at 6:30 p.m. to a throng of students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, alumni parents and guests.
Guests included Jeff and Marieke Rothschild, for whom the facility is named, and Suhas and Jayashree Patil, daughter Dr. Teja Patil ’02, family members DJ and Devika Patil and their children, Veyd grade 6 and Samaara, grade 3, for whom the 450-seat theater is named. Other guests of honor included Diana Nichols, board of trustees chair, and members of the architectural and construction teams, as well as many of the major donors.
“It is a gorgeous building,” said Marieke Rothschild. “Harker has been known for its STEM students, and deservedly so, but the talent that is here in the arts – this gives them a home. It reminds me of the Bing Concert Hall (Stanford University) and the smaller theaters in New York. It is 450 seats, it is a good sized theater, but it is intimate.”
Diana Nichols, board chair, consultant to Harker and lifetime trustee, spoke eloquently on the passion the performing arts department faculty bring to their students: “Their talent their motivation, their ability to inspire students and move them to greater heights.” She went on to thank the donors along with the multitude of others, from architects to builders that helped make the 50,000-square-foot center possible, singling out Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, for his years of work on the $45 million capital campaign for the performing arts center and the athletic center that opened in August.
Head of School Brian Yager then conducted the ribbon cutting, done in three sections by donors, faculty and staff, and the architects and builders.
“Our main program,” Yager noted, “is to prepare kids for success in college and life, as well as to take their place as global citizens – those are the two bookends of our mission. The arts and performing arts are essential to both elements. In terms of preparing them for success in their own lives, performing arts open incredible opportunities for kids, not just professionally, but in terms of exploring who they are, understanding themselves and the world around them. That blends into the second part, which is making a difference in the world. You have to have an appreciation for others, for beauty and for the creative process to make a difference and this building provides a great platform for gaining that appreciation.”
As the doors opened, the crowd flowed into the building, filling the theater for the very first time. In a moment that sent a chill down the spine, in a darkened house, the show began with Laura Lang-Ree, chair of the performing arts department rising up from the orchestra pit, singing a few lines from that old show tune, “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Check out this video of the show!
Following opening remarks by Lang-Ree and Jeff Draper, drama teacher (and a delicious pass across the stage by Karl Kuehn, dance teacher!), the very first act performed on the new stage was by Suhas and Jayashree along with their grandchildren, Veyd and Samaara, dancing to “Never Knew Love Like This Before.”
Next, Dr. Teja Patil, who was in the first graduating class from Harker upper school and an original member of the Harker Conservatory who performed in many Harker shows, took the stage and delivered heartfelt remarks that dovetailed beautifully with Yager’s comment. She noted that Draper’s instructions to her as a performer were instrumental in her development. Following his insightful instructions to seek to move the audience while on stage one day, “I felt so powerful and confident and inspired,” she said. “So much of growing up is about gaining confidence, it is about learning how to express yourself and Harker theater did that for me.”
She went on to note that, “Theater … really helps you to understand other people. Theater builds empathy. When you ask a child to play a character, you are really asking them to think deeply about someone outside of them self. It is emotional. It is a different kind of learning. Through that kind of transformative experience, you build your emotional intelligence. You gain empathy.”
Patil noted that as a doctor at the Stanford Palo Alto Veterans Hospital, she deals with men aged 60 to 100, people quite different than herself. “They lived, sometimes, quite difficult lives. They have fought for our country. It is not just my job to care for them, but to connect to them. Everything I know about understanding other people, feeling empathy, my emotional intelligence, it was built here, not in biology class, but here, in the theater. This space is physical proof that Harker cares about raising the whole, caring, emotionally intelligent, well-rounded student.”
Three great performances followed Patil, showcasing the great acoustics of the auditorium. First was a piece by Mindy Truong, grade 4, rendering a truly incredible version of ”Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66” by Frédéric Chopin on one of the features of the new center, a Bösendorfer piano.
Two alumni working in performing arts took the stage in turn, starting with Michelle Holt ’11, a Harker vocal conservatory certificate graduate who went on to The Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Holt, who will be trying out for Opera San Jose this spring, sang “Regnava nel Silenzio,” from “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
John Ammatuna ’11, a musical theater Conservatory certificate graduate who attended Marymount Manhattan College for musical theater, is currently working on Broadway as “Brother Bear.” Ammatuna reprised a tune from “Pippin,” the upper school musical he and Holt both played in in 2011, singing “Corner of the Sky.”
Both singers were accompanied by Catherine Snider of the performing arts department, an accomplished pianist and musical director, on the Bösendorfer.
The audience was enthralled, and applauded each act and video in turn.
Marieke Rothschild had some inspiring words for those thinking of trying a performing art: “Don’t be afraid to fail, go out there and fail, go out there and carry that tune, just do it! And if you don’t want to be on stage, then be behind the scenes. The arts have so much to offer, there is so much there! You don’t have to be a star, just try it!”
The Rothschild Performing Arts Center opened tonight to an excited crowd of nearly 700 visitors. The state-of-the-art facility opened its doors at 6:30 p.m. to a throng of students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, alumni parents and guests.
Guests included Jeff and Marieke Rothschild, for whom the facility is named, and Suhas and Jayashree Patil, daughter Dr. Teja Patil ’02, family members DJ and Devika Patil and their children, Veyd grade 6 and Samaara, grade 3, for whom the 450-seat theater is named. Other guests of honor included Diana Nichols, board of trustees chair, and members of the architectural and construction teams, as well as many of the major donors.
“It is a gorgeous building,” said Marieke Rothschild. “Harker has been known for its STEM students, and deservedly so, but the talent that is here in the arts – this gives them a home. It reminds me of the Bing Concert Hall (Stanford University) and the smaller theaters in New York. It is 450 seats, it is a good sized theater, but it is intimate.”
Diana Nichols, board chair, consultant to Harker and lifetime trustee, spoke eloquently on the passion the performing arts department faculty bring to their students: “Their talent their motivation, their ability to inspire students and move them to greater heights.” She went on to thank the donors along with the multitude of others, from architects to builders that helped make the 50,000-square-foot center possible, singling out Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, for his years of work on the $45 million capital campaign for the performing arts center and the athletic center that opened in August.
Head of School Brian Yager then conducted the ribbon cutting, done in three sections by donors, faculty and staff, and the architects and builders.
“Our main program,” Yager noted, “is to prepare kids for success in college and life, as well as to take their place as global citizens – those are the two bookends of our mission. The arts and performing arts are essential to both elements. In terms of preparing them for success in their own lives, performing arts open incredible opportunities for kids, not just professionally, but in terms of exploring who they are, understanding themselves and the world around them. That blends into the second part, which is making a difference in the world. You have to have an appreciation for others, for beauty and for the creative process to make a difference and this building provides a great platform for gaining that appreciation.”
As the doors opened, the crowd flowed into the building, filling the theater for the very first time. In a moment that sent a chill down the spine, in a darkened house, the show began with Laura Lang-Ree, chair of the performing arts department rising up from the orchestra pit, singing a few lines from that old show tune, “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Check out this video of the show!
Following opening remarks by Lang-Ree and Jeff Draper, drama teacher (and a delicious pass across the stage by Karl Kuehn, dance teacher!), the very first act performed on the new stage was by Suhas and Jayashree along with their grandchildren, Veyd and Samaara, dancing to “Never Knew Love Like This Before.”
Next, Dr. Teja Patil, who was in the first graduating class from Harker upper school and an original member of the Harker Conservatory who performed in many Harker shows, took the stage and delivered heartfelt remarks that dovetailed beautifully with Yager’s comment. She noted that Draper’s instructions to her as a performer were instrumental in her development. Following his insightful instructions to seek to move the audience while on stage one day, “I felt so powerful and confident and inspired,” she said. “So much of growing up is about gaining confidence, it is about learning how to express yourself and Harker theater did that for me.”
She went on to note that, “Theater … really helps you to understand other people. Theater builds empathy. When you ask a child to play a character, you are really asking them to think deeply about someone outside of them self. It is emotional. It is a different kind of learning. Through that kind of transformative experience, you build your emotional intelligence. You gain empathy.”
Patil noted that as a doctor at the Stanford Palo Alto Veterans Hospital, she deals with men aged 60 to 100, people quite different than herself. “They lived, sometimes, quite difficult lives. They have fought for our country. It is not just my job to care for them, but to connect to them. Everything I know about understanding other people, feeling empathy, my emotional intelligence, it was built here, not in biology class, but here, in the theater. This space is physical proof that Harker cares about raising the whole, caring, emotionally intelligent, well-rounded student.”
Three great performances followed Patil, showcasing the great acoustics of the auditorium. First was a piece by Mindy Truong, grade 4, rendering a truly incredible version of ”Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66” by Frédéric Chopin on one of the features of the new center, a Bösendorfer piano.
Two alumni working in performing arts took the stage in turn, starting with Michelle Holt ’11, a Harker vocal conservatory certificate graduate who went on to The Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Holt, who will be trying out for Opera San Jose this spring, sang “Regnava nel Silenzio,” from “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
John Ammatuna ’11, a musical theater Conservatory certificate graduate who attended Marymount Manhattan College for musical theater, is currently working on Broadway as “Brother Bear.” Ammatuna reprised a tune from “Pippin,” the upper school musical he and Holt both played in in 2011, singing “Corner of the Sky.”
Both singers were accompanied by Catherine Snider of the performing arts department, an accomplished pianist and musical director, on the Bösendorfer.
The audience was enthralled, and applauded each act and video in turn.
Marieke Rothschild had some inspiring words for those thinking of trying a performing art: “Don’t be afraid to fail, go out there and fail, go out there and carry that tune, just do it! And if you don’t want to be on stage, then be behind the scenes. The arts have so much to offer, there is so much there! You don’t have to be a star, just try it!”
Numerous middle school students were recently recognized in the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Each year the contest, which began in 1923, presents regional and national awards to students in grades 7 to 12 in a variety of literary and artistic categories. All students recognized will have their work showcased at local events, and Gold Key recipients will have their work evaluated to determine who will be named national medalists and honored at a special ceremony in New York City.
Students who received recognition in literary categories are:
Brian Chen, grade 7: Honorable mention (poetry)
Catherine He, grade 8: Honorable mention (personal essay and memoir)
In late January, 63 upper school students received recognition in the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the work of middle and high school students in the visual and literary arts. Past awardees include Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath and Topaz Winters.
Students who received Gold Keys, Silver Keys and honorable mentions will have their work featured at local events. A panel of luminaries will judge the work of Gold Key winners to determine who will receive national medals and travel to New York City for the National Ceremony.
This year’s awardees for literature are:
Emily Chen, grade 12: Three Gold Keys (critical essay, poetry, writing portfolio), two Silver Keys (poetry, short story), three honorable mentions (poetry)
Gwyneth Chen, grade 12: Silver Key (personal essay and memoir)
Aditi Ghalsasi, grade 10: Honorable mention (personal essay and memoir)
Sophia Gottfried, grade 9: Silver Key (poetry)
Rose Guan, grade 11: Silver Key (journalism)
Ellen Guo, grade 10: Gold Key (critical essay)
Aarzu Gupta, grade 10: Two honorable mentions (poetry, personal essay and memoir)
Mahika Halepete, grade 10: Two honorable mentions (journalism)
Jacqueline He, grade 12: Two Gold Keys (poetry, writing portfolio), two Silver Keys (poetry), four honorable mentions (poetry, science fiction and fantasy, two in short story)
Larissa Tyagi, grade 10: Gold Key (personal essay and memoir)
Joshua Valluru, grade 10: Gold Key (critical essay), Silver Key (critical essay) and honorable mention (personal essay and memoir)
Liana Wang, grade 12: Silver Key (poetry)
Shania Wang, grade 11: Silver Key (personal essay and memoir)
Kelsey Wu, grade 11: Two Silver Keys (critical essay)
Helen Yang, grade 11: Two Silver Keys (flash fiction)
Alexander Young, grade 11: Two honorable mentions (poetry)
Katherine Zhang, grade 11: Two Gold Keys (journalism), three Silver Keys (journalism) and three honorable mentions (flash fiction, journalism, and short story)
Tiffany Zhao, grade 11: Silver Key (personal essay and memoir) and honorable mention (critical essay)
Awardees in visual arts are:
Raymond Banke, grade 11: Two Gold Keys (design and mixed media), Silver Key (design), four honorable mentions (design, drawing and illustration and two for painting)
Anoushka Buch, grade 9: Three honorable mentions (drawing and illustration, digital art and photography)
Cynthia Chen, grade 10: Gold Key (photography), two Silver Keys (drawing and illustration, and photograph), two honorable mentions (printmaking and drawing and illustration)
Katrina Liou, grade 11: Silver Key (drawing and illustration), four honorable mentions (two for mixed media, two for drawing and illustration and one for editorial cartoon)
Raveena Panja, grade 12: Honorable mention (drawing and illustration)
Rani Sheth, grade 10: Honorable mention (drawing and illustration)
Catherine Wang, grade 11: Gold Key (drawing and illustration), two Silver Keys (drawing and illustration)
Elizabeth Yang, grade 11: Gold Key (painting)
Emma Yu, grade 12: Honorable mention (art portfolio)
Anna Wang, grade 11: one Gold Key (painting), two Silver Keys (design and painting), two honorable mentions (drawing and illustration)
Joshua Zhou, grade 10: Three honorable mentions (photography)
Swapnil Garg, grade 12, has been invited to participate in the Romanian Masters of Mathematics competition in Bucharest. The invitation to participate is based on a series of tests, called the team selection test (TST) or team selection exam (TSE); these tests are given to top finishers in the USA Mathematical Olympiad (ASAMO) and ultimately determine the national team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
To even qualify to take the TST, a student must first do exceptionally well on the American Mathematics Competition. He or she is then invited to participate in the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME), followed by the USAMO and Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO and USAJMO).
The top students from the USAJMO are invited to participate in the Mathematical Olympiad Program the summer after the exam. Those students are then eligible to be selected for the six-member team that will represent the United States at the IMO the following summer.
Garg will travel to Bucharest with three teammates and two adults; the group departs Feb. 20. Attending the Romanian Masters Mathematics competition is a huge honor! Good luck Swapnil! See all participants here.
On Wednesday, grade 3 students celebrated Dress for History Day by wearing costumes inspired by modes of dress from different cultures and historical periods. The costumes, each made by a student on a small budget, were worn throughout the school day and included miners, hippies and Civil War veterans.
“The idea behind Dress for History Day is to give students the opportunity to explore the past in a different way and to use their creative problem-solving skills to come up with a costume,” said history teacher Heidi Gough, who started the annual project in 2009.
Students were given their choice of any historical period and used their creativity and knowledge of that period’s dress to create a costume without spending more than $10. They also were asked to be ready to explain the history behind the outfits they made.
“I believe strongly in giving students choice in how they learn and what they do, both to develop creativity and keep curiosity at the forefront of learning whenever possible,” Gough said. “This seemed like a fun way to do that.”
To see how Harker makes history come alive throughout the school, check out the Harker Magazine article published last summer!