The life and contributions of John Near, 31-year veteran teacher and coach, were celebrated with tears and laughter by a crowd of nearly 500 on Oct. 10 in Nichols Hall on the Saratoga campus.
The moving tribute brought Near’s family, friends, fellow teachers, alumni, students and parents together to share anecdotes, reminisce, and, ultimately, celebrate a life well-lived and the impact Near had on all those around him.
From a stage featuring Near’s classroom and coaching memorabilia, including his roll top desk and sports jerseys, Head of School Chris Nikoloff spoke movingly of Near’s contribution to Harker’s development over the past three decades; Diana Nichols, former head of school and current Harker trustee and consultant, told how Near grew with the school, ever improving his teaching methods to challenge his students, and how he contributed immeasurably to the development of the school – and thus thousands of students – in many areas, from the classroom to faculty meetings to basketball teams.
Three alumnae, Jessica Liu ’04; VyVy Trinh ’07 and Casey Near ’06, Near’s daughter and a senior at Scripps College, read excerpts from Near’s legendary baccalaureate speeches, relaying philosophies he shared with graduates. Steve Tedesco, a lifelong friend, took the stage to talk about Near’s life prior to and outside of Harker, and was joined by two other friends he’d had since elementary school, Craig Pettengill and Mark DiFiore.
The audience was treated to a photo slide show set to music (“Secret of Life” and “Shower the People,” both by James Taylor and favorites of Near’s), spanning his life and showing the very human side of this most respected educator and mentor. The slide show illustrated his many roles: teacher; coach; husband of Pam Dickinson, director of Harker’s Office of Communication; father; son; brother; and friend.
Jim Near, John’s father, wrapped up the formal program. Over the years, John had repeatedly said how his father was the only man he respected more than former head of school Howard Nichols, who passed away in December 2008. His dad’s strength of character, passed from father to son, was apparent as he talked about his son growing up, in maturity, ill and in his final weeks, and how his son had come to accept the inevitable with the same strength he demonstrated throughout his life. His parents have established the John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund in his honor.
Microphones were opened up and teachers, alumni, students, parents and friends shared their special John Near memories and moments. Many involved the famous “Mr. Near look,” and each told how behind the look they found a caring, passionate teacher. An alumnus, inspired to become a history teacher, told how he also adopted Near’s approach to a wayward student, “We can do this the hard way, or my way”; a phrase as effective in his own classroom as it had been when he was on the receiving end in Near’s classroom many years ago.
Refreshments were served in front of Nichols Hall afterward, and guests mingled and reconnected, just as Near had requested. His favorite snack foods were served, such as popcorn, apples and brownies, which he was known to bake each week for his advisory group.
The printed program included some of Near’s favorite quotes, and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s especially captured the day:
“What is success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden path, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. That is to have succeeded.”
From the dozens of anecdotes and memories – whether they were courtside, in the classroom or with friends and families – it was clear that Near’s life and impact is a legacy that will continue to inspire his thousands of students, scores of peers and friends, and his own loving family.
At Near’s request, donations can be made to any one of the following: The John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund (Harker School Advancement Office; 3800 Blackford Ave; SJ 95117; checks to The Harker School, memo line “John Near Endowment Fund”); Hospice of the Valley; CaringBridge; Silicon Valley Wellness Center. To order a DVD of the memorial, email communication@harker.org.
Harker lost a member of its community last Saturday when history teacher, basketball coach and mentor extraordinaire John Near succumbed to a four-year battle with cancer. Below are the details for the planned memorial service. A full biography of John’s life will follow here soon.
A memorial will be held at Nichols Hall on the Saratoga campus of The Harker School on October 10 at 1:30 p.m. The Harker School is at 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, 95129. Please RSVP to johnnearmemorial@gmail.com so appropriate parking, seats and refreshments may be prepared. In keeping with John’s wishes and style, this event is casual. Please wear your sports jerseys, Harker T-shirts, etc.!
At John’s request, in lieu of flowers donations may be made to any one of these:
The John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund
Harker School Advancement Office; 3800 Blackford Ave; SJ 95117; checks to The Harker School, memo line “John Near Endowment Fund.”
Long-time Harker teacher John Near was honored Aug. 20 at the school’s opening faculty dinner, where he was told the top history department award would be named for him and that he had received a prestigious service award.
Donna Gilbert, history and social science department chair, said, “The history department, to honor John Near and his lifelong passion for history and politics, his unparalleled devotion to his students, and the lasting impact that he has had on so many Harker students for 30-plus years, will now call our senior award the John Near Excellence in History Award. This is the top award given out each May to one deserving senior. The award will thusforth read: The senior who has earned the John Near Excellence in History award is one who embodies those remarkable qualities of John Near: a love of learning and an abiding passion for the drama and mystery of the human story.”
Near was further honored with the annual Harker Alumni Association’s Phyllis Carley Award, given each spring to an individual who has devoted time and energy, and made significant contributions, towards advancing The Harker School’s programs.
“The Phyllis Carley Service Award is meant to honor outstanding service to the school, and I can think of no worthier recipient than John Near,” said Head of School Chris Nikoloff. “John is a teacher’s teacher who puts students and education first. His service to the school flows from his unswerving commitment to excellence in history education and his uncanny ability to hook students onto the subject of history.”
Christina Yan ’93, spoke movingly on how being treated like an adult by Near made a such a difference in her life. “That was the magic of being in your classroom. You accepted our adolescence, and used that understanding to help us see more of the world in its contexts and complications. Life is never one-sided; history is always a matter of perspective. You respected our desire to be treated as adults and you taught us how to engage in the adult world by entertaining all matter of questions with a tone of seriousness. You never let us feel that you’d dumbed something down for us, and you allowed us to partake in your wry and dry humor.
“For myself, I thank you for helping me find appreciation and understanding for all the complexities of human social interaction – be they between friends or nations. Thank you for teaching me to reflect and see myself for who I actually am, and be proud. And on behalf of all of your students over the years, thank you for your dedication to helping the teenage mind and heart grow in so many ways.”
Fellow history teacher Ramsay Westgate attended the dinner and said, “John is someone for whom my respect and admiration professionally and personally knows no bounds. It was an honor and a privilege to be in attendance and to be able to celebrate how much John means to our community. The opportunity to work with him and get to know him the past five years has been invaluable and something that I treasure. ”
Harker students weren’t the only ones out and about over the summer. Several teachers and staff were also busy traveling, learning new skills and completing various projects.
Susan Nace, US music teacher, performed in a semi-staged production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe,” alongside the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus and members of the D’Oyly Carte Company. She also completed seven jazz choral arrangements of songs by the respected jazz composer Billy Strayhorn, who wrote many of the songs for which Duke Ellington became famous.
Nace’s colleague, US music teacher Catherine Snider, traveled to China this summer with her choir, the Ohlone Chamber Singers. The group tours every three years, but this was their first trip to Asia, where they performed at music conservatories in Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou and a community center in Dalian. The group highlighted American spirituals and pieces in French, Hebrew, Mandarin and Italian. An alto in the choir, Snider also led a vocal jazz quartet at their performances. A highlight was rehearsing and singing with a choir in Hangzhou, which has an exchange partnership with Ohlone College’s performing arts department. The choir ended their tour with a few days in Hong Kong. When Snider returned she resumed rehearsals for “The Producers,” her 17th outing as musical director for award-winning Foothill Musical Theatre. The show played to critical and popular praise for four weeks in July and August.
One of the busier staff members this summer was Angela Neff, MS assistant director of instructional technology. She worked with a number of MS teachers who were spending their summer learning new skills via Harker’s Tech Grants program. She also traveled to Memphis, Tenn., for the Lausanne Laptop Conference, where she gave presentations on sharing technology-based curricula and one-to-one laptop programs.
Also at the Lausanne Laptop Conference was Dan Hudkins, US director of information systems, who was a keynote speaker on the topic of “Leading From the Trenches,” or “what do we do until we have all the time, talent and resources we need,” he explained.
In late July, Amalia Vasconi, MS dance teacher, went to New York City for the ninth annual Broadway Dance Center /Pulse Teacher Workshop. She spent three days at the workshop in a variety of seminars and dance classes. “I was able to meet and network with dance teachers from all over the United States, and take classes from the amazing BDC/Pulse faculty,” she said. “Aside from all of the fantastic choreography, I was able to bring home a lot of different methods in teaching dance, especially for the younger students.”
US English teacher Brigid Miller went to Oxford, Miss., in July for the 36th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, held at the University of Mississippi. Every year, the week-long conference is held for the study and appreciation of the works of 20th century writer William Faulkner. “The ‘Teaching Faulkner’ sessions were especially informative, and I came back with wonderful ideas about how to better approach the works of Faulkner that I teach in American Literature, The Study of Short Fiction and especially Southern Fiction,” Miller said.
In late July, US chemistry teacher Mala Raghavan attended a workshop at Stanford University on AP Chemistry, where she learned about different methods of conducting experiments, demonstrations that students may find interesting and how AP teachers grade student papers. “I plan to incorporate all of these into my class,” Raghavan said.
US physics teacher Miriam Allersma accompanied a group of Harker students to the NASA Space Camp at the NASA Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale for two weeks in June. Along with students from several other South Bay schools, the group toured the labs and attended lectures, in addition to conducting biological experiments and creating rockets and robots. All of their work at the center was used to design an expedition to Mars to search for life. “It was amazing,” Allersma said. “We learned so much and can’t wait to bring it back to Harker.”
Nicholas Manjoine, US French teacher, headed across the pond to Avignon, France, for four weeks to attend a seminar held by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The seminar, titled “Theatricality and Reality in Modern French Drama,” examined the relationship between “culture, history and the theater in 20th century French drama,” Manjoine said. “Being in France for the month allowed me to collect up-to-date materials and information on current cultural patterns and linguistic trends. Of course, I hope that my students will like to sample some plays in class this year.”
US librarian Susan Smith went to Chicago for the American Library Association Conference, which was attended by nearly 30,000 people and had more than 6,000 exhibitors, “including authors and publishers, furniture and equipment manufacturers, subscription database providers, and generally all things library!” Smith exclaimed. She kept busy at the conference, attending a workshop on instructional design, taking in a presentation about the limits on access to government information and treating herself to a keynote address by NPR’s Cokie Roberts. She plans to use what she learned at the conference to develop “a more refined and targeted approach to each information literacy lesson,” collect information that will be used to create instruction for research projects and require students to publish what they learned from the projects.
MS fine arts teacher Elizabeth Saltos spent a week at the Mendocino Art Center in an intensive clay sculpture program. “We had no TV, no phones, no interference or distractions,” Saltos said. “Just art!” The program was small (three students and two teachers) but rewarding. “All of us were mature working artists and we just made art all week,” Saltos recalled. “I learned a ton of techniques to make sculptural shapes and vessels using the wheel and tons of applications for underglaze and color.”
US performing arts teacher Laura Lang-Ree spent four days in New York City at the Broadway Teachers Workshop. Held at Lincoln Center, the workshop attracted teachers from other top performing arts schools. “The caliber of the workshops and the leaders was top notch. All of them were working professionals, currently on Broadway in the areas of directing, lighting, sound, theater and musical theater,” said Lang-Ree. “It was engaging to work with them side-by-side on projects that the facilitators created for us.” Lang-Ree returned from the program with new ideas and directing tools for the US musical, and ideas for a touring company that she hopes to work into the US performing arts program.
San Francisco Bay Guardian – Aug. 14, 2009 Enid Davis, library director, K – Gr. 12, was featured in the Street Threads: Look of the Day photo feature, taken while she was on Union Street in San Francisco.
SFBG photog Ariel Soto scoops SF street fashion. Today's Look: Enid the Librarian, Fillmore and Union
Tokyo U.S. Embassy Blog – Aug. 13, 2009 – Tokyo Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission James P. Zumwalt wrote a blog entry about Japan Bowl winners Roslyn Li, Sara Wang, both Gr. 12, and Kevin Wang ’09. An error in the blog states that Wang will be attending Princeton in the fall. Wang will in fact be going to Dartmouth.
Los Altos Town Crier/losaltosonline.com – Aug. 12, 2009 Arjun Chandra, Gr. 12, was featured in this article for his work this summer at UC Davis as one of 40 students statewide participating in the UC Davis Young Scholars Program.
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal – May 15, 2009 Valley Life noted the Harker Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) won top honors at the national competition, bringing home $5,000 and a trophy. See the full story at Harker News Online.
San Jose Mercury News – May 1, 2009 Harker Japanese students were mentioned as the winners of the National Japan Bowl. Harker swept all three top positions and the top team traveled to Japan as part of their award (see full article in Harker News, May, 2009, page 1, read about the trip in Harker News Online)
NAIS.org – May 2009 The Ogre Awards were written about by founder Enid Davis, library director, K – Gr. 12, and the article was published on the National Assocation of Independent Schools’ Web site with an update.
Image Magazine – May 2009 The annual fashion show was featured in a full-page article showing many photos of students and parents.
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal – March 27, 2009 The Valley Life section has a front page feature with three great photos featuring Harker students, volunteers, faculty and staff at the annual Harker fashion show, titled Freeze Frame.
The Harker boarding program, which moved to the Saratoga campus in 1972, officially closed on Thurs., June 6, 2002, due to the growing space needs of Harker’s expanding K-Gr. 12 program. The decision to close the program at the end of the 2001-02 school year was extremely difficult for then president Howard Nichols, who was once a Harker boarding student.
Caring, capable staff took care of the health, academics and social lives of approximately 1,377 school year boarding students and approximately 2,100 summer boarding students when the program was active. Study hall, meals, recreation, shopping, haircuts – all the daily needs – were met by the enthusiastic, dedicated dorm staff.
Staff who have lived and/or worked in the dorm include Terry Walsh, Joe Rosenthal, Pam Dickinson, Pat Walsh, Cindy Kerr, J.R. Del Alto and Andrew Hansen. Many of the dorm staff were coaches, teachers and bus drivers by day, and dorm staff by night. Some started out at the Harker dorm and went on to be teachers.
The dorm provided a family element to the school over the years, and with breakfast and dinner served each day to the boarding students. Harker encouraged faculty to come early or stay late and spend time with the boarders. The boarders always enjoyed seeing teachers outside of the classroom, and many of the teachers developed special bonds with this “extended family.”
As the program ended, former dorm staff members shared some of their favorite memories:
“I remember that we would play capture-the-flag before study hall when daylight savings time commenced in the spring. We had a great time.”—Howard Nichols (1940-2008), former head of school
“Drive-in movies on the lawn where Dobbins is, big pool parties and whale-watching with 24 sick kids and three sick staffers. And I’ve got a million more!” —Pat Walsh, Gr. 5 teacher
“One of my fondest memories when I was a houseparent in the dorm was the Major’s dog, Dutch, a 140-lb. mastiff. Dutch was the unofficial school mascot, and as such, had the run of the dorms and the campus.”—Dan Gelineau, former asst. head of school
“Staying up all night with the kids reading fairy tales after an earthquake; hiking through the hills to cut down the perfect Christmas tree and then having a party to decorate it with handmade ornaments; making bag lunches for the girls so they could have ‘home’ lunch; sewing on untold numbers of patches on sweaters; knowing that kids like Marta, Theresa, Jessica and many others felt like they were ‘home.’” —Cindy Ellis, middle school head
“I’ll never know who really had more fun in the weekend boarding program — me or the kids!”—Pam Dickinson, director of the Office of Communication
“Sitting in the dorm office with a bowl of fruit on my desk and having boarders stop by after school for a snack and a chat. The younger kids would plop down on my lap for a little TLC. It will be strange after 23 years not to have children asking me for a key to their room or a dollar or two to buy snacks.” —Terry Walsh, archivist
“I have the greatest respect for the boarding students. Boarders become independent and self-reliant and remember the kindnesses shown to them and know how important kindness is in their lives. I am a much better person because of what I have seen these children do and the expressions of friendship and kindnesses shown to each other. Only if one lived it would one be able to know how meaningful and important the boarders have been to each other.” —Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement
In mid-June, teachers from around the Bay Area attended the fourth annual Harker Teacher Institute held in Nichols Hall. Kicked off with a keynote address titled “Jumping the Education Shark,” by Kyle Brumbaugh, administrative vice principal at Woodside High School, the day-long institute included twelve workshops and two keynote addresses.
This year workshops focused on the instructional use of free – or almost free – software and Web resources. Presenters were primarily Harker teachers from kindergarten through upper school (US), although both keynote speakers and some additional presenters came from the local community.
Workshop titles included “Out of This World Tech Tools,” presented by US physics teacher Eric Nelson,in which teachers learned methods to explore space; “Alice Beyond Wonderland,” presented by Fred Triefenbach, US assistant director of instructional technology, which focused on the Alice programming environment; and “Multimedia Poetry Project,” presented by MS English teachers Patricia Lai Burrows and Mark Gelineau,in which teachers learned how students can analyze poetic imagery and themes and through images and music.
Librarians Kathy Clark, Sue Smith and Lauri Vaughan gave presentations on bibliographic citations and the strengths and failings of electronic information, respectively. In two separate workshops, MS science teacher Scott Kley-Contini and MS technology assistant director Angela Neffpresented the aspects of the Moodle quiz module, which allows teachers to integrate digital content in their classroom.
Hosted by Harker’s instructional technology department, the annual institute has become increasingly popular each year.
Joe Connolly, LS dean of students, is a sought-after speaker of family topics and widely known for his expertise and powerful speaking on parenting teens and young children. This summer, he brought his expertise to Harker in a special class. Connolly, author and creator of “3 STEPS to Parenting Teens” and the “One Minute Rule,” is one of the founders of Good Parents, Inc.. In his class this summer, he shared his knowledge with Harker and non-Harker families in two week-long evening workshops titled “Tools for Effective Parenting in the 21st Century” – one for Gr. 1-4 parents and one for Gr. 5-8 parents.
Parents enjoyed the class and were thankful for the tips. Tricia Swanson, parent of Megan, Gr. 4, and Stephanie, Gr. 3, reported, “(Husband) Michael and I very much enjoyed the parenting class this summer. We took away some good ideas. Joe has a lot of great information.”
Nina Smith, parent of Grant, K, said, “I am always interested in parenting classes and the psychology of kids. This class was very interesting and gave me some new ideas and helpful tips that I have been able to practice; and they work!”
Smith added, “Mr. Connolly kept the class interesting and funny. I think a good sense of humor in dealing with kids is a must!” Connolly included information on how to understand one’s children better, to communicate based on your child’s developmental level, and provided tools and skills to help with everyday parenting. This is the first year Connolly has offered his classes at Harker, and by all accounts, they were a success. Harker may offer similar classes in the fall, so watch for more news!
The faculty gathered one Saturday evening in early May to bid adieu to Howard Saltzman, who is retiring after 31 years of training young minds, adding levity to e-mail chains, his classes, faculty meetings, tough moments and bright moments alike. To say he will be missed is an understatement.
Attended by about 160 well-wishers, the party extraordinaire was moved to the Saratoga gym to accommodate the crowd. Friend Pat Walsh, LS teacher, ran the show and Brian Larsen of the performing arts department emceed the evening. Chris Nikoloff, head of school, spoke briefly to open the festivities and the parade of well-wishers and gifts, both gag and other, began.
“Howard himself was incredibly touched by the whole evening,” said fellow teacher Elise Schwartz, who helped organize the event. “He was just thrilled from the beginning to have everyone there together in one room. Then, he was overwhelmed by the speeches and the gifts. There were tears in his eyes at many points during the evening. His wife, Susan, was also enormously touched,” Schwartz said.
An amazing slideshow was created by colleague Lisa Diffenderfer. “She collected quite an array of pictures of Howard from over the years and had a running slideshow going along with music that he picked out,” Schwartz added. “There were hilarious pictures of Howard from the beginning of his career up to today. It was a beautiful slideshow and they even showed it again at the next faculty meeting.” No party is complete without food and, as usual, executive chef Steve Martin outdid himself. “Chef Steve, as always, put on an amazing spread,” said Schwartz. “Howard has nothing but high praise for him and is always amazed by Chef Steve and his crew.
“Great love for Howard was felt everywhere in the room. He was thankful to the school for hosting this event and for allowing not only his colleagues but also all of his family and close friends to attend as well. Howard’s roast was so funny and the presentation of the memorial urinal left everyone in hysterics!”’
Saltzman ended the evening with a gracious speech. His gratitude was apparent and he was overwhelmed by the love in the room.
Parent and former Harker employee Mary Jo Townzen sent this accolade: “I am fortunate to be able to say that Howard has taught all three of my children, Ryan MS ’02, Troy MS ’04 and Samantha, Gr. 3. Samantha has had the opportunity to have Mr. Saltzman as a homeroom teacher in this, his last year of teaching. Howard’s timing is impeccable. I choose to believe he waited until now to retire in order to make sure he personally shuttled all of the Townzen children through. Howard will always hold a place in my heart for all he’s done over the years for me and for my family and Samantha wants Howard to know, ‘He’s the best teacher ever!’”
Would you like to have lunch at school served to you by Harker royalty? Lunch is served…by Chris Nikoloff, head of school; Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs; and Cindy Ellis, MS division head, to six Gr. 6 girls on a delightful spring day on the Blackford campus! Under the cool shade of a gazebo, the girls had a memorable dining experience. Madi Bourquin’s parents bought her the teacher auction package offered by English teacher Kate Murphy. While their classmates waited in line for lunch, the girls relaxed at the table in the open-air gazebo at a table adorned by soft linens, silver candelabra and beautiful flowers. They sipped apple juice and ice water from cobalt blue goblets as their wait staff served them a multicourse lunch. The auction package will again be offered at the next family picnic!
