The Harker Conservatory opened 2016 with its Student Directed Showcase, which took place at the Blackford Theater Jan. 8-9. One of the most rigorous courses in the performing arts program, the Student Directed Showcase puts four seniors each in charge of putting on a one-act play. In addition to directing the play, the students are tasked with handling every stage of its production, from casting to promotion to visual effects.
In the aptly named “The Internet is Distract – OH LOOK A KITTEN!” directed by Mary Najibi, a student struggled to divert her attention away from the Internet’s many distractions while finishing a paper. Rachel Renteria directed Bradley Hayward’s “Selfie,” a story about high school students dealing with mounting pressures as they near the end of their senior year. “Cheating Death,” directed by Janet Lee, took audiences to a mental hospital, where patients tried to outwit the angel of death in an effort to save their friend. M.C. Smitherman directed “Final Dress Rehearsal,” which followed the cast and crew of an amateur theater group as they attempted to save their flagging production of “Cinderella.”
“The most important lesson I learned while directing was learning how to be kind while also being assertive. Into the process, I really found got into the groove of being a director by clearly vocalizing when I wanted the actors to give more or try the scene a new way,” said Najibi, also noting that being a director was “such an amazing experience and I am so honored to have had such an opportunity.”
Senior Dakota McNealy’s stellar golf career at Harker will come to an end this spring, but his future looks bright! McNealy recently signed on to play collegiate golf at Stanford, joining his brother Maverick McNealy ’13.
“I could not pass up the chance to get to be around so many outstanding people and play with my brother for a year on a great golf team,” said McNealy when asked why he chose Stanford. “Obviously playing with Maverick is going to be an awesome experience, but I’m also excited to focus solely on golf and academics.”
In an interview with Palo Alto Online, Stanford head coach Conrad Ray said, “We are excited to welcome Dakota McNealy to the Stanford family. He is amazing in the classroom, first and foremost, but also a tremendous athlete.” And it takes a tremendous athlete to play for the Stanford golf team, as it is currently ranked fifth in the nation.
Even though Dakota is excited about his future at Stanford, he is focused on finishing strong at Harker. “Playing for Harker has been a blast and I’m excited to see how far we can go this year,” he said.
Linked below are two of the many press notices on Dakota’s signing. Good luck this year and beyond, Dakota!
Harker Preschool is proud to announce the release of its first musical album, “The Songs We Sing,” which was recorded in-house at the end of the 2014-15 school year. With the debut CD – featuring songs performed by the preschool students and their teachers – the children enjoyed learning what it is like to become a recording artist.
Andrea Hart, preschool director, and Kelly Espinosa, director of summer and preschool programs, got the ball rolling for the project, according to Mara Beckerman, Harker Preschool’s music and movement specialist. The two asked Beckerman if she would be interested in recording some of the songs she had taught the students in her specialty classes.
“’Of course,’ was my reply!” recalled Beckerman, who for the past 25 years has worked with children of all ages in both private and public schools. The music and movement class is one of several beloved specialty classes offered at Harker Preschool. Each week, preschoolers of all ages attend the interactive sessions.
Beckerman included the voices of students from all of the preschool’s cottages on the CD. “I wanted to include all the children in some way. I also wanted to have ‘classic’ children’s songs (such as, ‘The Wheels on the Bus’); songs that every Harker preschooler learns (‘Come On In,’ ‘Friends 1-2-3’ and ‘Flowers & Grasses,’ which was sung in STEM class); songs that individual classes had worked on (‘Polar Bear,’ ‘Sarasponda’ and ‘I Am A Pizza’); and finally songs that the children had a particular love of (‘Guong Xi,’ ‘Hey Dum Diddley Dum’ and ‘If I Could Write One Song’),” explained Beckerman.
The last two pieces added to the recording were the song, “Rainbow Round Me,” and a story, “Stone Soup,” that she had done with the students and had previously recorded on her own personal CDs. Once the songs were selected, Beckerman contacted Richard Karst of Prema Music Studio, a recording engineer with whom she had previously worked.
“We were very lucky that Richard had the ability to bring his studio to us. We found a quiet room at the back of the campus that we turned into the recording studio,” Beckerman said, noting how impressed she was with the children’s ability to wait for the signal to record, listen to the intro of the song, use their singing voices, and remain very quiet after they finished singing while waiting for the signal that it was done.
The recording sessions happened over two days. The students came in with their teachers and were introduced to Karst, who Beckerman said wore a special hat that “all the children really liked and continued to comment about afterwards.” Each class had the opportunity to do several takes of their songs.
“Their favorite mode of transportation to and from the recording room was by galloping to another song they had learned, ‘Horsey Horsey.’ Perhaps that song will appear on a future CD!” said Beckerman, adding that a few days after the students had recorded their songs, a parent reported that her son had immediately gone home, found a variety of boxes and created his own recording studio to use with his younger brother.
Beckerman’s father, artist Howard Beckerman, designed the cover artwork for the CD. He is a well-known animator who took great pleasure in creating a colorful and lively picture of the children enthusiastically singing alongside their teacher.
The CD is available for $20 and can be downloaded directly to a computer. Also included in the download are cover art and liner notes, which can be printed and trimmed to fit a CD case. Current parents interested in purchasing a copy can visit the parent portal to place an order. Over the holidays, some parents chose to purchase the CD to share as gifts with family and friends.
To read another Harker News story about the music and movement class: https://staging.news.harker.org/harker-preschoolers-are-on-the-move-in-fun-music-and-movement-specialty-class/.
A project by seniors Jonathan Ma and Sadhika Malladi, titled “Systematic Analysis of Sex-Linked Molecular Alterations and Therapies in Cancer,” was recently published by Nature Scientific Reports. Nature, one of the world’s top science publications, uses its Scientific Reports website to publish original research to a wide audience. Every manuscript submitted to Scientific Reports is peer reviewed before being published and hosted on Nature.com, which is viewed by more than 8 million unique visitors per month.
In December the lower school hosted a festive and fun holiday cookie decorating event for parents. Coffee and a light breakfast was served. Parents had been asked to bring in gently used children’s clothing for donation to the lower school’s dress drive, to help make the holidays more special for kids in need in the community. The middle and upper schools held their cookie decorating events together at the upper school campus, with both parents and students invited to attend. An unexpected side benefit of the activity was that it proved to be a great stress reliever for the high school students, who were able to relax in between taking their finals. In fact, it was so effective that talks are already in the works to bring it back next year during finals!
This article originally appeared in the winter 2015 Harker Quarterly. Access the full issue, including class notes, at Harker’s issuu.com page: http://issuu.com/theharkerschool/docs/harker_quarterly_winter_2015.
A brief hiatus in San Jose afforded Stephanie Guo ’09 precious time to pause for reflection, after spending nearly a year working as a human rights advocate in the Philippines, helping to combat child sex trafficking and global slavery.
In mid-September, the alumna and class agent returned to the U.S. from Manila, where she had been volunteering with International Justice Mission (IJM), the largest international human rights organization of its kind. She was preparing to head abroad again, to start a new life as a graduate student at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Still battling jet lag, she made room in her hectic schedule for a visit to Harker’s upper school. On a beautiful fall day, over a long lunch at the Edge’s French patio, she chatted with Harker Quarterly, reflecting back on her work in IJM’s Manila field office.
“I had the privilege of working in the National Communications, Mobilization and Advocacy Department as the government relations and advocacy intern,” said Guo, explaining that IJM is based in Washington, D.C., with field offices all over the world.
“IJM is dedicated to proving that justice for the poor is possible. In my office, our casework was focused on child sex trafficking, a global slavery epidemic fueled by poverty and exploitation. Manila is one of three offices in the Philippines dedicated to this work, and is also one of IJM’s oldest offices, and has accomplished so much in the past 14 years,” she reported.
Guo’s position normally requires a one-year commitment, although she had to leave the internship a couple months short due to her prior graduate school commitment. During her time with IJM, she had a variety of responsibilities. Many of her projects included advocacy work and facilitating government partnerships to improve post-rescue victim recovery and legal processes.
The overall mission of IJM, said Guo, is to combat everyday violence, an injustice that ensures that the poor stay
poor. This violence looks different in various contexts, she explained. “For the poor widow in Africa, this could manifest in land grabbing. For the impoverished father in India, this could look like bonded labor,” she said.
In response to the massive problem of global poverty, and motivated by the biblical call to love the poor, IJM has staffed its eld offices with interdisciplinary teams of lawyers, social workers, law enforcement professionals and community mobilizers, all experts in their respective fields and passionate about the cause. The ultimate goal is to leave the communities they serve with a trans- formed justice system, better equipped to do their own advocacy work.
Guo said that she had friends who had worked with IJM in the past and knew it was something she wanted to pursue in between finishing college and going on to graduate school. She was one of the youngest interns in her office.
One of her most memorable experiences was accompanying rescued girls saved from traffickers to shelters, assisting as they were set up with private social workers. “Having other girls present who had previously been rescued and successfully completed our program there to help out was really a game changer in getting these young girls to open up,” she recalled.
After graduate school, Guo hopes that her career will include working toward securing basic human rights. She credits Harker’s emphasis on global education and outreach for opening the door to her present interest in advocacy work.
“Harker was one of the first venues through which I began to realize my passion for seeking global justice and I would be thrilled if more students would consider pursuing careers in this field,” she said.
The Harker wrestling team dropped its league opener to Los Altos last Thursday, but Davis Howard, grade 11, and Anthony Contreras, grade 10, each picked up wins. Over the weekend, the Harker wrestlers traveled to Cupertino High for the Bianchini Memorial Tournament. Diego Figueroa, grade 11, and Kobe Howard, grade 9, placed third and fourth, respectively, in the JV tournament, while Davis Howard placed fourth in the varsity tournament. They travel to Saratoga High this Thursday for another league matchup.
On the middle school level, Dezi Johnsen, grade 6, placed second in the 12 and under division at the California Republic Tournament, which is one of the top tournaments in the state. Johnsen wrestles for Harker during the late winter season and for Bay Area Dawgz Wrestling Club during the off season.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team lost to Pinewood 3-1 and Crystal Springs Uplands 6-1 last week. Lyndsey Mitchell, grade 11, scored the lone goal for the Eagles vs. Crystal Springs. The girls team looks to pick up its first win of the season on Tuesday as it hosts Sacred Heart Prep at 3:30 p.m. on Davis Field.
Boys Soccer
Winning its third game in a row, the boys soccer team has been on fire as of late. Last Wednesday the boys team defeated Sacred heart Prep 2-1, getting two goals from Jared Anderson, grade 9. The team travels to Crystal Springs Uplands today at 3:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team dropped two tough league games this past week. In a 73-54 loss to King’s Academy, Rohan Desikan, grade 12, led the Eagles with 17 points, while Elijah Edgehill, grade 12, added a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Later in the week the Eagles fell to Sacred heart Prep 72-46. Roy Yuan, grade 9, led Harker with 17 points. The Eagles host Pinewood on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Blackford.
Girls Basketball
Coming off back-to-back losses, the girls basketball team rebounded as it defeated King’s Academy 52-37 last Friday. Jordan Thompson, grade 11, once again led all scorers with 23 points. (Jordan also got some love from CalHiSports.com this week: http://www.calhisports.com/2016/01/07/state-stat-stars-of-the-week-110/). Joelle Anderson, grade 11, added 20 points of her own in the win. The 10-3 Eagles host Mercy Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Blackford.
Each fall, middle school students embark on various weeklong class trips, opening up a world of learning outside the classroom. The annual adventures are a highlight for middle schoolers. This year, grade 6 students visited the Santa Cruz Mountains; grade 7 toured national parks around the Southwest; and grade 8 sojourned to Washington, D.C.
Grade 6 Students Bond at Mt. Cross
The Santa Cruz Mountains set the scene for grade 6 students to actively bond during their class trip to Mt. Cross. A camping and retreat site located in the redwood forest, Mt. Cross provided plenty of opportunities for kayaking, bird watching, completing a ropes course, swimming, and enjoying the area’s gorgeous weather and scenic beauty.
A highlight of the trip was a visit to Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of 28 such reserves established nationwide as field laboratories for scientific research and estuarine education. Following the reserve visit was an excursion to nearby Moss Landing, a quaint, historic fishing village known for its shopping, fresh seafood, fine art studios, and bird and whale watching.
“The skies were blue, the temperatures warm … and the excitement palpable!” recalled Cindy Ellis, middle school division head, of the trip.
Grade 7 Students Enjoy Southwestern Adventures
Grade 7 students were amazed by the Southwest’s scenic and historic national parks. In Arizona they enjoyed a jeep tour of Sedona, famous for its red rock formations and wildlife. In the Grand Canyon’s south rim, students participated in an organized trust walk (listening to directions while walking with eyes closed) as they headed toward the rim of the canyon.
They also toured Monument Valley, known to many as “the eighth wonder of the world.” Monument Valley has been a significant place for centuries, and houses ruins that some believe belong to the mysterious Anasazi people who disappeared from the area hundreds of years ago. Another highlight was traveling to Zion National Park to hike the Emerald Pools, Whistling Rock and several other well-known trails.
“It was a week of learning, adventure and fun!” recalled Alana Butler, middle school dean, adding that it was also “amazing to see everyone come together as a community.”
Grade 8 Students Take in Historic Nation’s Capital
History came alive for grade 8 students visiting the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C. Accompanied by Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, the group’s tour began with a visit to the Jamestown Settlement, the first permanent English settlement in North America, and Colonial Williamsburg, an interpretation of a colonial American city.
“Specialized guides showed us what it was like to live in Jamestown in the early 1600s. We were able to see how settlers prepared their food, how they made their clothes and the types of living quarters they had. The guides were impressed with our students’ knowledge of Jamestown,” reported Gargano.
On a more somber note, the group visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the Iwo Jima U.S. Marine Corps Memorial and Arlington Cemetery.
During a visit to Ford’s Theatre, students learned about what occurred on the day of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and were able to view the balcony where he was shot. The trip concluded with visits to the Capitol building, and tours of the House of Representatives, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court.
Students in grades 2 and 3 celebrated the giving spirit of the holidays at the annual Grades 2-3 Holiday Show, held Dec. 17 at the Bucknall Theater. Directed by lower school music teacher Carena Montany, the show featured students singing a variety of holiday-themed songs, including “Frosty the Snowman,” “Feliz Navidad” and “O Chanukah, O Chanukah.” Several numbers included special solo performances or instrumentation, such as the maraca and claves played respectively by second graders Sophia Schafer-Wharton and Jackson Powell on “Feliz Navidad.” The upbeat “Gettin’ in the Mood (For Christmas)” featured exciting choreography by Kimberly Teodoro.
Pianist Peggy Lao and violinist Toni Woodruff very capably provided the accompaniment during the show, while technical director Danny Dunn and her crew of grade 5 technical theater students again rose to the task of making sure the show was a success. The impressive backdrop by scenic designer Whitney Pintello provided the ideal atmosphere for a holiday-themed production.
On Dec. 15, just days before the winter break, the grade 1 homeroom students of teachers Imelda Kusuma, Cindy Proctor, Larissa Weaver and Rita Stone gathered on the stage at the Bucknall Theater for the annual grade 1 holiday show, directed by Carena Montany. The students sang seasonal favorites, including “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” as well as newer songs, including “Spin a Little Dreidl” and “A Million Little Snowflakes,” the song for which the show was named.
Accompaniment was provided by violinist Toni Woodruff and pianist Peggy Lao. Credit also goes to technical director Danny Dunn and her grade 5 technical theater class for keeping the show running smoothly, and to scenic designer Whitney Pintello and choreographer Gail Palmer.