Last week, the middle school’s performing arts department held its annual fall plays, treating audiences to staged versions of two classic tales by Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
Middle school theater teacher Katie Champlin directed both plays, each of which featured multiple roles for narrators and storytellers, moving the plots at a brisk pace without losing the dramatic effect. The sixth graders’ version of “Rip Van Winkle” contained many of Irving’s original words, and students used percussion instruments to create sound effects reminiscent of the Catskill Mountains, where the story takes place.
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” a grades 7-8 production, was a comedy-infused retelling of the frightful tale of Ichabod Crane’s encounter with the terrifying Headless Horseman. For the finale, several students played the part of Sleepy Hollow’s whirling trees during the Headless Horseman’s legendary ride.
Last week, the middle school’s performing arts department held its annual fall plays, treating audiences to staged versions of two classic tales by Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
Middle school theater teacher Katie Champlin directed both plays, each of which featured multiple roles for narrators and storytellers, moving the plots at a brisk pace without losing the dramatic effect. The sixth graders’ version of “Rip Van Winkle” contained many of Irving’s original words, and students used percussion instruments to create sound effects reminiscent of the Catskill Mountains, where the story takes place.
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” a grades 7-8 production, was a comedy-infused retelling of the frightful tale of Ichabod Crane’s encounter with the terrifying Headless Horseman. For the finale, several students played the part of Sleepy Hollow’s whirling trees during the Headless Horseman’s legendary ride.
Grade 5 students recently enjoyed a three-day trek through the Marin Headlands, taking in the natural beauty of the northern Bay Area. Elementary Division Head Kristin Giammona sent the following write-up from the trip.
We are having a spectacular time on the trip. It is currently 72 degrees and sunny. We could not have asked for better weather. All of the children are currently out hiking on the trails and experiencing gorgeous views of San Francisco and the bay. Some groups went to the lighthouse, and other groups hiked up Hawk Hill. I am sure everyone will sleep well tonight.
Yesterday, we arrived at 11:45 a.m. and had lunch by the ocean. All of the groups ventured out to the beach, and some groups did lab work yesterday. We all went on a night hike to the beach to experience a special treat the children can share with you. We also had a great dinner with mac and cheese, pulled pork, carrots and an elaborate salad bar.
This morning we had croissants, blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, yogurt and cereal. We are definitely well fed. The children are looking forward to tonight’s dinner and a fun campfire.
The children have been a delight, and they are fortunate to have this experience.
Grade 6 students received a warm visit from their friends at Tokyo’s Tamagawa Academy in mid-October. The Tamagawa students arrived at Harker on Oct. 14, and enjoyed a welcome dinner, where they caught up with their Harker buddies. Tamagawa students then met up with their homestays and spent the weekend visiting sites around the Bay Area, including San Francisco and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The following week, Tamagawa students spent time observing their buddies’ classes and partaking in various fun activities, including making tie-dyed T-shirts with both the Harker and Tamagawa logos printed on them. They also learned the Virginia Reel, a 1600s folk dance, from middle school history teacher Melanie Ramsey.
On their final day at Harker, the Tamagawa students met with Head of School Chris Nikoloff, enjoyed an origami activity and attended a special homecoming assembly.
Harker student Michael Kwan, grade 11, will try to win $100,000 this Friday, Nov. 11, when he appears on Jeopardy! Teen Tournament. Kwan qualified to be on the show last spring by taking an online test that required him to answer 50 questions in 15 seconds. He was then invited to audition in Los Angeles, where he took another test and participated in a mock episode of the show. Some weeks later, he found himself on a plane to Washington, D.C., to film the episode.
Although Kwan was not able to share the results of the contest, he remembered a handful of “nerve-wracking moments” that occurred while the episode was being taped. “When I heard my name announced for the crowd in the theater and also for the people that would watch in their living rooms, I felt the pressure that performers feel stepping out onto the stage to perform,” he said. “Even talking to Alex Trebek during the commercial breaks made me nervous, because I was finally talking to someone that I had watched every night for a number of years.”
Aside from the taping, Kwan and the other contestants took a bus tour of Washington, to see the city’s many sights and film promotional videos for the show. “I got to connect with other kids who shared my interest in the show and the trivia knowledge that came with it, and we still keep in touch daily as a group even months after the filming of the show,” Kwan said.
Another highlight, of course, was the opportunity to meet Trebek, who met with the contestants before the show to offer them tips and inspiration.
Jeopardy!’s official website has more information on the Teen Tournament and its contestants, as well as a station locator to help viewers find out where and when to tune in.
Manan Shah, grade 12, was awarded second place in the individual category at the national Siemens Competition award ceremony in Washington, D.C., this morning! His win brings a $50,000 scholarship. The ceremony was live-streamed from Washington. Anita Chetty, science department chair noted, “We have not achieved this level in the individual category before. I join our entire K-12 team in celebrating this outstanding achievement for our school!” Heartiest congratulations to Manan!
UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2016
In early November, the Siemens Foundation announced that senior Manan Shah is a national finalist in the 2016 Siemens Competition. Shah’s work – a computational model designed to speed up and increase the accuracy of assessing the severity and growth of breast cancer tumors – won him top individual honors and a $3,000 scholarship.
Shah now moves on to the final stage of the competition in Washington, D.C., which will take place in early December. A total of $500,000 in scholarships will be distributed to winners, and two contestants will be awarded the top prize of $100,000
The Siemens Foundation announced on Oct. 20 that Harker senior Manan Shah and juniors Randy Zhao and Rajiv Movva were named regional finalists in this year’s Siemens Competition. These three students will compete in November for a chance to move on to the final stage of the competition in Washington, D.C. One of the country’s most prestigious science competitions, the Siemens Competition rigorously evaluates individual and team research projects submitted by high school students and awards more than $600,000 in scholarships through regional and national events.
Earlier this week, 19 Harker students were named Siemens semifinalists, the most of any school in California. More than 1,600 projects were submitted for the 2016 competition, and 498 students were named semifinalists. Harker’s semifinalists make up 3.8% of the total.
Harker’s semifinalists for 2016 are Rishab Gargeya, Joyce Huang, Nikhil Manglik, Connie Miao, Sandip Nirmel, Venkat Sankar, Manan Shah, Scott Song and Arjun Subramaniam, all grade 12; and Akhil Arun, Jerry Chen, Amy Jin, Jimmy Lin, Rajiv Movva, Sahana Srinivasan, Justin Xie, Kevin Xu, Shaya Zarkesh and Randy Zhao, all grade 11.
“Amazing process and outcomes from our powerhouse science departments,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school.
Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school, noted the high number of student submissions to the competition (40 in all) and said, “It is great to see such participation and involvement in research. Thank you to all science teachers who contribute to that love of science and curiosity.”
Anita Chetty, upper school science chair, recognized the efforts of the science faculty at the lower and middle schools, exclaiming, “The upper school science department celebrates with our amazing colleagues in the lower school who lay the foundation and the middle school that develops our farm team!”
Eight Harker golfers competed against 44 other middle schoolers from seven schools in the WBAL Tournament at Los Lagos Golf Course on Monday. The Eagles were victorious, beating the second place school by seven strokes. Bowen Yin, grade 8, (far left in group photo) was the top golfer. Competing for Harker were (l to r) Bowen Yin, grade 8, Athreya Daniel, grade 6, Freddy Hoch, grade 6, Elvin Chen, grade 8, Marcus Page, grade 7, Aditya Tadimeti, grade 8, Natalie Vo, grade 8, and Olivia Guo, grade 8. Harker’s middle school golf team is on a roll, having also won the spring WBAL tournament. Go Eagles!
Nikhil Panu ’13 and his app, Squadz, were among just 10 teams selected to participate in the Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures Social Innovation Lab (SIL). “In addition to being promising solutions to pressing social issues in the areas of health, education and community development, these ventures and their leaders represent the strength and diversity of Baltimore’s social innovation and entrepreneurship community,” said Darius Graham, SIL director, in the university’s news story.
The report noted, “Squadz is a social activity and venue booking platform that connects the community to play pickup sports, while generating revenue for community centers and recreation facilities. [It is] operated by Nikhil Panu, a Johns Hopkins University graduate student in the Whiting School of Engineering.”
“As a member of the cohort,” said Panu, “I see Squadz making the transition from a neat mobile app for pickup sports to a true sports community platform. We’ll be able to grow our user base through forming strategic partnerships and expand our venue network by meeting the right community leaders in the Baltimore area.”
Congrats to Nikhil! We’ll be watching to see where he takes Squadz!
Construction on the upper school’s new gym and theater facilities continues to forge ahead. Have a look at the latest update from Harker facilities director Mike Bassoni, who shares information about the developing basement walls, plumbing, electricity and more. The video also features some up-close highlights of the construction, which Bassoni says is “moving along at a very good pace.”
Each year Harker holds a Halloween parade for its littlest trick-or-treaters. Check out the photos of these little bunnies, superheroes and other fantastic costumed characters!