The upper school campus became an eveningland of lights, music and fun on Saturday night, as Harker held the 125th Anniversary Gala, its first gala since 2016. Held in the new athletic center and branching out to the Rothschild Performing Arts Center’s Patil Theater, more than 370 parents, alumni, faculty and staff were feted with custom videos, singing, live music, dancers, top-drawer food and drink, a hot band and great company.
Actor D.J. Blickenstaff ’09 and opera singer Gabrielle DeMers ’03 brought their special talents to their alma mater for the evening, along with a host of current student performers.
The gala, reformed and resurrected following the opening of the new athletic center (2017) and Rothschild Performing Arts Center (2018), was also the final major event in Harker’s 125th anniversary celebration. Suspended during construction, the event took place in the newest portion of the upper school campus, opening with the show in the Patil Theater at 6:30 p.m.
The Gala Show was emceed, and included a special performance, by Blickenstaff (“Dear White People,” “Colony” and “Catching a Break”). Segments highlighting aspects of Harker’s programs were enhanced by historical photos and related performances by the Harker Jazz Band, Varsity Dance Troupe, Cantilena, Dance Fusion and Downbeat.
DeMers, a professional opera singer, sang the tour de force aria “The Jewel Song” from Gounod’s “Faust.” The show’s finale brought back Blickenstaff and DeMers, and culminated in – for the first time ever – all of Harker’s vocal, dance and instrumental groups performing together, including the middle school’s Concert Choir; boys hip-hop group, Kinetic Krew; and Showstoppers, the grade 7-8 dance troupe. Head of School Brian Yager shared a few remarks and announced the launch of the school’s new 125th Gift Initiative.
Following the show, guests moved to the athletic center’s Zhang Gym, now deep in party trim, for cocktails and more entertainment, including an auction.
Master of Ceremonies Jeff Draper welcomed attendees and led them through some games. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks were available in a beautifully decorated area on the gym floor, where guests could bid on auction items and try to win jewelry and wine. The evening’s food was prepared by the outstanding Harker culinary staff lead by Chef Steve Martin.
During dinner, Draper introduced a tribute to the seniors, which included some recorded memories by students and a slide show of every member of the Class of 2019. The event really got swinging after dinner as the Cosmo Alleycats brought their special brand of music to the dance floor. Other features of the evening included a special 125th anniversary photo booth with cool props where guests could take selfies or have a portrait taken.
The whole extravaganza was made possible by many kind donors, including presenting sponsors Rao and Rohini Mulpuri, and Fermi Wang and Jean Aida Kung. Gold sponsors were Atiq Raza and Nandini Saraiya of Reveti Jewels Inc., and Bobby and Ann Johnson, as well as an anonymous donor. Gold group sponsorship included DJ and Devika Patil, Vik and Roma Ghai, Amrita and Sunit Mukherjee, Priya and Shiva Shivakumar, and Suneela Muddu and Muddu Sudhakar.
Silver sponsors were Neeraj and Anisha Gupta; Nikki Lin and Brian Duff; and Yoko, leok SiTou and Tony Lau. Bronze sponsors were Ganesh and Sunitha Krishna, Robert Lee & Associates LLP, Devcon Construction Inc., and Vivek Thoppay, managing director at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.
The Sterling award is based on overall academic performance and is given to 25 students from the graduating class in the School of Humanities and Sciences. One of the university’s highest academic honors, it has been awarded to two other Harker alumni. In 2016, Anand Natarajan ’09 earned the award, and in 2011, Jocelyn Ko ’07 was an awardee.
One of the features of the award is the in-person recognition of a secondary school teacher who most influenced the recipient in their academic careers. Mani selected math teacher Victor Adler as her most influential teacher. Ko chose to honor Evan Barth and Natarajan chose Eric Nelson.
The Alice T. Schafer prize was established in 1990 by the executive committee of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). It is named for AWM former president and one of its founding members, Alice T. Schafer, who contributed a great deal to women in mathematics throughout her career.
“I am extremely lucky to have been honored by Stanford and the AWM,” said Mani. “I am incredibly grateful to all of the Harker teachers who inspired me to explore mathematics and research in college, and to an array of amazing Stanford faculty who mentored and encouraged me every step along my undergraduate journey.”
Harker took second in the annual Department of Energy Regional High School Science Bowl. “While Harker won the last two years, we graduated four of five members last May, so I was not expecting a three-peat,” said chemistry teacher Robbie Korin, who advises the group. “However, we almost got one! Our Harker Team 1 lost in the finals to an older Lynbrook team. Both Team 1 and Team 2 were 6-0 in their morning round-robin bracket.”
Both Harker teams were in the top eight, so they made it to the afternoon elimination rounds. Team 2 lost out quickly in the afternoon, but Team 1 pushed through to the finals before succumbing.
Members:
Team 1: Emily Liu, grade 11, Rishab Parthasarathy, grade 9, Alexander Young, grade 12, Russell Yang, grade 10, and William Zhao, grade 9.
Team 2: Kyle Li, grade 11, David Dai, grade 9, Harsh Deep, grade 9, Alexander Hu, grade 9, and Kaushik Shivakumar, grade 12.
“Thanks to all of you as these kids know a great deal of science and math!” Korin added. Go Eagles!
By Jenny Achten, Speech and Debate Department Chair
The Harker speech and debate team has continued its winning streak this winter with successes at a host of tournaments across the nation. Students traveled to tournaments across California as well as in Illinois, Georgia, Arizona and Florida. Harker is having an especially strong season and we are proud of the success of all of the students.
In early November, students attended a tournament at Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles. Sachin Shah, grade 11, was in the semi-finals of Lincoln-Douglas debate. Kelly Shen, grade 12, also made it to elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas. Anuhsa Kuppahally, grade 12, Maddie Huynh, grade 11, Andy Lee, grade 10 and Deven Shah, grade 9, all qualified for elimination rounds in policy debate.
At the Glenbrooks tournament in Chicago, our speech and congress students shined in late November. Haris Hosseini, grade 12, was first place in original oratory. Nikki Solanki, grade 11, was fifth place program oral interpretation and made it to semi-finals in dramatic interpretation. Jason Lin, grade 10; David Feng, grade 11; Andrew Sun, grade 10; and Nathan Ohana, grade 10, all made it to the semi-final round of congressional debate.
Students also won multiple awards at local league tournaments throughout the area. Meghna Phalke, grade 12, was a finalist in original oratory. In congressional debate tournaments Tiffany Zhao, grade 11, and Nakul Bajaj, grade 11, both placed second, Brandon Lin, grade 11, was third, while Andrew Lu, grade 10, and Aaditya Gulati, grade 9, both placed fifth.
Travel continued to the College Preparatory School in Oakland in late December where Akshay Manglik, grade 10, made it to the octo-finals in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Sachin Shah, Shen and Anshul Reddy, grade 9, also made it to elimination rounds of Lincoln-Douglas.
At the Arizona State University tournament in early January Sachin Shah, reached the octofinals in Lincoln-Douglas debate while Julia Biswas, grade 10, and partner Deven Shah reached the octofinals in policy debate. In congressional debate, Sun placed fifth and Jason Huang, grade 12, also reached finals. Ashwin Rammohan, grade 12, Annie Ma, grade 11, Bajaj, Ohana and Riyaa Randhawa, grade 9, reached semifinals of congress. Additionally, Hosseini placed first in original oratory.
Students also won awards at the Sunvitational Tournament in Fort Lauderdale this January. Jason Huang, grade 12, was in semis of congressional debate. Avi Gulati, grade 11, was third in extemporaneous speaking and made it to semi-finals of original oratory. Hosseini, was third in original oratory. Solanki, was in semis of program oral interpretation.
At the Harvard Westlake Lincoln-Douglas tournament in January, Manglik made it all of the way to the semi-final round. Shen and Sachin Shah also qualified for elimination rounds.
During the same weekend as Harvard-Westlake students also competed at the James Logan tournament in Union City. Ayan Nath, grade 9, and Ellen Guo, grade 11, reached the elimination rounds; Nath was named the fourth overall speaker and partner Guo placed 14. Prerana Archaryya, grade 11, placed fifth in dramatic interpretation of literature.
Finally, at the Barkley Forum Invitational at Emory University in Atlanta, Avi Gulati placed first in original oratory and Hosseini, placed third. Sun reached the finals of congressional debate while Ma, Ohana and Bajaj reached congressional semifinals. In policy debate, Kuppahally and Huynh reached double octo-finals.
The speech and debate season will continue until June with tournaments ranging all over California as well as Dallas, Chicago, and Lexington, Kentucky.
By Jenny Achten, Speech and Debate Department Chair
The Harker speech and debate team has continued its winning streak this winter with successes at a host of tournaments across the nation. Students traveled to tournaments across California as well as in Illinois, Georgia, Arizona and Florida. Harker is having an especially strong season and we are proud of the success of all of the students.
In early November, students attended a tournament at Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles. Sachin Shah, grade 11, was in the semi-finals of Lincoln-Douglas debate. Kelly Shen, grade 12, also made it to elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas. Anuhsa Kuppahally, grade 12, Maddie Huynh, grade 11, Andy Lee, grade 10 and Deven Shah, grade 9, all qualified for elimination rounds in policy debate.
At the Glenbrooks tournament in Chicago, our speech and congress students shined in late November. Haris Hosseini, grade 12, was first place in original oratory. Nikki Solanki, grade 11, was fifth place program oral interpretation and made it to semi-finals in dramatic interpretation. Jason Lin, grade 10; David Feng, grade 11; Andrew Sun, grade 10; and Nathan Ohana, grade 10, all made it to the semi-final round of congressional debate.
Students also won multiple awards at local league tournaments throughout the area. Meghna Phalke, grade 12, was a finalist in original oratory. In congressional debate tournaments Tiffany Zhao, grade 11, and Nakul Bajaj, grade 11, both placed second, Brandon Lin, grade 11, was third, while Andrew Lu, grade 10, and Aaditya Gulati, grade 9, both placed fifth.
Travel continued to the College Preparatory School in Oakland in late December where Akshay Manglik, grade 10, made it to the octo-finals in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Sachin Shah, Shen and Anshul Reddy, grade 9, also made it to elimination rounds of Lincoln-Douglas.
At the Arizona State University tournament in early January Sachin Shah, reached the octofinals in Lincoln-Douglas debate while Julia Biswas, grade 10, and partner Deven Shah reached the octofinals in policy debate. In congressional debate, Sun placed fifth and Jason Huang, grade 12, also reached finals. Ashwin Rammohan, grade 12, Annie Ma, grade 11, Bajaj, Ohana and Riyaa Randhawa, grade 9, reached semifinals of congress. Additionally, Hosseini placed first in original oratory.
Students also won awards at the Sunvitational Tournament in Fort Lauderdale this January. Jason Huang, grade 12, was in semis of congressional debate. Avi Gulati, grade 11, was third in extemporaneous speaking and made it to semi-finals of original oratory. Hosseini, was third in original oratory. Solanki, was in semis of program oral interpretation.
At the Harvard Westlake Lincoln-Douglas tournament in January, Manglik made it all of the way to the semi-final round. Shen and Sachin Shah also qualified for elimination rounds.
During the same weekend as Harvard-Westlake students also competed at the James Logan tournament in Union City. Ayan Nath, grade 9, and Ellen Guo, grade 11, reached the elimination rounds; Nath was named the fourth overall speaker and partner Guo placed 14. Prerana Archaryya, grade 11, placed fifth in dramatic interpretation of literature.
Finally, at the Barkley Forum Invitational at Emory University in Atlanta, Avi Gulati placed first in original oratory and Hosseini, placed third. Sun reached the finals of congressional debate while Ma, Ohana and Bajaj reached congressional semifinals. In policy debate, Kuppahally and Huynh reached double octo-finals.
The speech and debate season will continue until June with tournaments ranging all over California as well as Dallas, Chicago, and Lexington, Kentucky.
By Jenny Achten, Speech and Debate Department Chair
The Harker speech and debate team has continued its winning streak this winter with successes at a host of tournaments across the nation. Students traveled to tournaments across California as well as in Illinois, Georgia, Arizona and Florida. Harker is having an especially strong season and we are proud of the success of all of the students.
In early November, students attended a tournament at Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles. Sachin Shah, grade 11, was in the semi-finals of Lincoln-Douglas debate. Kelly Shen, grade 12, also made it to elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas. Anuhsa Kuppahally, grade 12, Maddie Huynh, grade 11, Andy Lee, grade 10 and Deven Shah, grade 9, all qualified for elimination rounds in policy debate.
At the Glenbrooks tournament in Chicago, our speech and congress students shined in late November. Haris Hosseini, grade 12, was first place in original oratory. Nikki Solanki, grade 11, was fifth place program oral interpretation and made it to semi-finals in dramatic interpretation. Jason Lin, grade 10; David Feng, grade 11; Andrew Sun, grade 10; and Nathan Ohana, grade 10, all made it to the semi-final round of congressional debate.
Students also won multiple awards at local league tournaments throughout the area. Meghna Phalke, grade 12, was a finalist in original oratory. In congressional debate tournaments Tiffany Zhao, grade 11, and Nakul Bajaj, grade 11, both placed second, Brandon Lin, grade 11, was third, while Andrew Lu, grade 10, and Aaditya Gulati, grade 9, both placed fifth.
Travel continued to the College Preparatory School in Oakland in late December where Akshay Manglik, grade 10, made it to the octo-finals in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Sachin Shah, Shen and Anshul Reddy, grade 9, also made it to elimination rounds of Lincoln-Douglas.
At the Arizona State University tournament in early January Sachin Shah, reached the octofinals in Lincoln-Douglas debate while Julia Biswas, grade 10, and partner Deven Shah reached the octofinals in policy debate. In congressional debate, Sun placed fifth and Jason Huang, grade 12, also reached finals. Ashwin Rammohan, grade 12, Annie Ma, grade 11, Bajaj, Ohana and Riyaa Randhawa, grade 9, reached semifinals of congress. Additionally, Hosseini placed first in original oratory.
Students also won awards at the Sunvitational Tournament in Fort Lauderdale this January. Jason Huang, grade 12, was in semis of congressional debate. Avi Gulati, grade 11, was third in extemporaneous speaking and made it to semi-finals of original oratory. Hosseini, was third in original oratory. Solanki, was in semis of program oral interpretation.
At the Harvard Westlake Lincoln-Douglas tournament in January, Manglik made it all of the way to the semi-final round. Shen and Sachin Shah also qualified for elimination rounds.
During the same weekend as Harvard-Westlake students also competed at the James Logan tournament in Union City. Ayan Nath, grade 9, and Ellen Guo, grade 11, reached the elimination rounds; Nath was named the fourth overall speaker and partner Guo placed 14. Prerana Archaryya, grade 11, placed fifth in dramatic interpretation of literature.
Finally, at the Barkley Forum Invitational at Emory University in Atlanta, Avi Gulati placed first in original oratory and Hosseini, placed third. Sun reached the finals of congressional debate while Ma, Ohana and Bajaj reached congressional semifinals. In policy debate, Kuppahally and Huynh reached double octo-finals.
The speech and debate season will continue until June with tournaments ranging all over California as well as Dallas, Chicago, and Lexington, Kentucky.
Last month, the middle school hosted some special guests during the Shanghai World Foreign Language Academy’s annual visit to Harker! The guests – 18 students and three chaperones – spent a week experiencing Harker and learning more about the daily lives of students by observing classes and conducting group activities, such as crafts and cooking, with their Harker buddies.
The SWFLA visitors also took the opportunity to see more of California during their trip, visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.
Late last month, the Japan Information and Cultural Center at the office of the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco recognized three Harker students in its annual New Year’s greeting card contest. In the middle school division, seventh grader Shareen Chahal received special recognition and Jessica Wang, grade 6, was awarded an honorable mention. Momo Matsui-Disini, grade 2, received an honorable mention in the elementary school division.
This contest invites local students to participate in the Japanese tradition of sending New Year’s cards (“nengajo”) to their loved ones. These and other greeting cards that Northern California students submitted for the contest (more than 640 in all) will be on display until Feb. 21 at the Japan Information and Cultural Center, located at 275 Battery St., Ste. 2100, San Francisco.
Last week, students in Rebecca Williams’ grade 7 English classes participated in an activity modeled after the popular TV show “Shark Tank.” Students created pitches to convince a panel of “Sharks” – middle school division head Evan Barth, assistant middle school division head Patricia Lai-Burrows, global education director Jennifer Walrod, English teacher Marjorie Hazeltine and middle school librarian Bernie Morrissey – to award money to charitable organizations chosen by the students.
Pitches were created by several students from each grade 7 English class, and each class voted to see who would face the panel in the final round. Williams came up with the idea for the activity both as a persuasive writing exercise and as a means of helping students “realize the privilege that we have.”
Harker parents raised the $700 in prize money, which was distributed among the finalists based on the judges’ evaluation of their pitches. Ritu Belani’s pitch took first place, earning $480 for the Women’s Global Empowerment Fund. Lera Vaisburd’s second-place pitch netted $90 for the American Cancer Society. In third place were Meishin Yen and Mira Goodwin, who donated $70 to the Best Friends Animal Society. Jason Monaghan won $40 for Doctors Without Borders, and Alice Tao and Reshma Kosaraju secured $20 for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“We really wanted the kids to have to consider their audience,” Williams noted. “I was just truly blown away by their preparedness, poise, confidence and passion.”
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.