Jerrica Liao, grade 10, took fifth place at the USA Fencing North American Cup tournament in Richmond, Va., this past weekend! There were 156 entries in the Women’s Foil Cadet (age 17 and under) field. Liao powered through pools, winning all her bouts with a +12 indicator, seeding 11th into the tableau. She then cruised through her first elimination bout, but had a tough one against the 75-seed, scraping by 4-3 (bouts go to 15 touches or 9 minutes of fencing time). Climbing the tableau, she next pushed past a Ukrainian fencer 10-9, crushed her next opponent to make the top eight 15-7 and finally lost to the eventual silver medalist. Liao reached a serious milestone in any fencer’s career in this event, earning her “A” rating. Most hearty congratulations to this fine swordswoman, a credit to her club, Silicon Valley Fencing Center.
A group of five seniors, with special interests in the performing arts, journalism or outreach work, recently joined more than 1,000 attendees at the YWCA of Silicon Valley’s annual fall fundraiser.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the popular event, called the Inspire Luncheon, which featured two keynote speakers: World YWCA General Secretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda and Oscar-winning actress and filmmaker Helen Hunt. Both spoke to the theme of empowering women and eliminating racism, key tenets of the YWCA’s mission.
Gumbonzvanda joined the World YWCA in 2007 after a decade working with the United Nations in Africa. At the end of her speech, she received the organization’s inaugural Empowerment Award. Hunt, meanwhile, is best known for her roles in movies, such as “As Good As It Gets,” and the TV show “Mad About You.” These days she is also heavily involved in youth and environmental causes.
Harker regularly hosts a table for upper school students with a special passion for the year’s topic. Attending this year’s event were seniors Melina Nakos, Naomi Molin, Helen Woodruff, Adele Li, and Ashi Gautam. Joining them were Emma Hawley ’04 and Aisha Khan ’03. Before the luncheon, the Harker contingent had the opportunity to meet with the event’s speakers.
The annual luncheon features guest speakers who serve as role models for women and girls. Held every October at the Santa Clara Convention Center, event proceeds help support the group’s much-lauded services.
Each year, more than 40 companies and hundreds of individuals sponsor the YWCA’s luncheon. The mission of the YWCA is to empower women, children and families, and to eliminate racism, hatred and prejudice. The organization provides programs in the areas of sexual assault intervention and prevention, counseling services, domestic violence, child care, youth programs, family services, and social and racial justice.
The YWCA of Silicon Valley serves nearly 18,000 Santa Clara County residents each year, and has provided countywide services for more than 100 years. More information can be found at www.ywca-sv.org.
A special shout out to Vivian Wang, grade 10, named Swimmer of the Year/Age Group Girls by Pacific Swimming, the third largest of USA Swimming’s 59 regional associations made up of 120 swim clubs and more than 16,000 swimmers. Every year, the most outstanding and accomplished swimmers in each age group for girls and the boys are nominated for the awards. Way to go Vivian!
Cross Country
Niki Iyer, grade 11, broke her own school record on the famed Crystal Springs course Saturday. Her time is the second best in CCS Division 4 this season. Freshmen Lilia Gonzales and Alycia Cary led the JV girls to a sixth place team finish against 30 teams. Senior Connor O’Neill ran the fastest race for the varsity boys with a time of 18:46 on the hilly 2.95-mile course. He improved by an astounding 3 minutes over last year. Michael Wang, grade 9, broke 21:00 to lead the JV boys. The teams run Thursday at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale in their second league meet.
Golf
Girls golf made history by shooting Harker’s best score of 189 in back-to-back matches against Castilleja and Menlo, losing by 2 to the Gators and beating the Knights by 4 at Los Lagos last week. The Eagles were paced by sophomore Katherine Zhu’s 29 and 31, tying alumnus Maverick McNealy’s record of 5-under in one round. Seniors Ashley Zhong and Daphne Liang also had their career bests of 35 and 38. Girls golf is now in second place in league. Please congratulate the team on a record-breaking performance.
Volleyball
Girls volleyball defeated last year’s Division 1 state runner-up Pitman en route to the finals of the Notre Dame-Belmont Tournament Saturday. The girls lost to the host school in the final match but went 4-1 on the day in the high-level tournament. Seniors Jackie Chen, Shannon Richardson and Doreene Kang led the Eagles offensively. The girls have a big home match on Oct. 22 vs. Menlo that could have huge league implications, so come out and support the team!
Heartiest congrats to Theresa “Smitty” Smith, U.S. women’s volleyball coach, for gaining her 300th career win as a volleyball coach at this event – a huge milestone! A thousand hurrahs for her dedication to the sport!
Football
Football won its fifth game in a row by defeating Emery in Oakland Saturday 34-12 to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. Freshman Demonte Aleem scored two touchdowns, senior Johnathon Keller, and sophomores Angel Cervantes and Anthony Contreras scored the others. The boys travel to Turlock Christian Friday for a non-league game.
Tennis
The girls tennis team won matches over Sacred Heart, Milpitas and Castilleja last week to improve to 7-1 overall. The girls face state powerhouse Menlo today at Menlo.
Water Polo
Every Eagle recorded a goal for the girls water polo team in their 19-3 win over Milpitas last week. Freshman Samantha Yanovsky led the way with four goals, while fellow freshmen Sophia Angus and Nicole Selvaggio recorded their first high school goals. Freshman Lily Wancewicz led the defense with five saves in goal. The boys team defeated Milpitas and lost to Saratoga last week, and went 2-2 in the Polofest held at Harker Friday and Saturday. The boys are now 8-7 overall. Both the boys and girls teams travel to Homestead today and host Cupertino Thursday.
A special shout out to Vivian Wang, grade 10, named Swimmer of the Year/Age Group Girls by Pacific Swimming, the third largest of USA Swimming’s 59 regional associations made up of 120 swim clubs and more than 16,000 swimmers. Every year, the most outstanding and accomplished swimmers in each age group for girls and the boys are nominated for the awards. Way to go Vivian!
Cross Country
Niki Iyer, grade 11, broke her own school record on the famed Crystal Springs course Saturday. Her time is the second best in CCS Division 4 this season. Freshmen Lilia Gonzales and Alycia Cary led the JV girls to a sixth place team finish against 30 teams. Senior Connor O’Neill ran the fastest race for the varsity boys with a time of 18:46 on the hilly 2.95-mile course. He improved by an astounding 3 minutes over last year. Michael Wang, grade 9, broke 21:00 to lead the JV boys. The teams run Thursday at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale in their second league meet.
Golf
Girls golf made history by shooting Harker’s best score of 189 in back-to-back matches against Castilleja and Menlo, losing by 2 to the Gators and beating the Knights by 4 at Los Lagos last week. The Eagles were paced by sophomore Katherine Zhu’s 29 and 31, tying alumnus Maverick McNealy’s record of 5-under in one round. Seniors Ashley Zhong and Daphne Liang also had their career bests of 35 and 38. Girls golf is now in second place in league. Please congratulate the team on a record-breaking performance.
Volleyball
Girls volleyball defeated last year’s Division 1 state runner-up Pitman en route to the finals of the Notre Dame-Belmont Tournament Saturday. The girls lost to the host school in the final match but went 4-1 on the day in the high-level tournament. Seniors Jackie Chen, Shannon Richardson and Doreene Kang led the Eagles offensively. The girls have a big home match on Oct. 22 vs. Menlo that could have huge league implications, so come out and support the team!
Heartiest congrats to Theresa “Smitty” Smith, U.S. women’s volleyball coach, for gaining her 300th career win as a volleyball coach at this event – a huge milestone! A thousand hurrahs for her dedication to the sport!
Football
Football won its fifth game in a row by defeating Emery in Oakland Saturday 34-12 to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. Freshman Demonte Aleem scored two touchdowns, senior Johnathon Keller, and sophomores Angel Cervantes and Anthony Contreras scored the others. The boys travel to Turlock Christian Friday for a non-league game.
Tennis
The girls tennis team won matches over Sacred Heart, Milpitas and Castilleja last week to improve to 7-1 overall. The girls face state powerhouse Menlo today at Menlo.
Water Polo
Every Eagle recorded a goal for the girls water polo team in their 19-3 win over Milpitas last week. Freshman Samantha Yanovsky led the way with four goals, while fellow freshmen Sophia Angus and Nicole Selvaggio recorded their first high school goals. Freshman Lily Wancewicz led the defense with five saves in goal. The boys team defeated Milpitas and lost to Saratoga last week, and went 2-2 in the Polofest held at Harker Friday and Saturday. The boys are now 8-7 overall. Both the boys and girls teams travel to Homestead today and host Cupertino Thursday.
A special shout out to Vivian Wang, grade 10, named Swimmer of the Year/Age Group Girls by Pacific Swimming, the third largest of USA Swimming’s 59 regional associations made up of 120 swim clubs and more than 16,000 swimmers. Every year, the most outstanding and accomplished swimmers in each age group for girls and the boys are nominated for the awards. Way to go Vivian!
Cross Country
Niki Iyer, grade 11, broke her own school record on the famed Crystal Springs course Saturday. Her time is the second best in CCS Division 4 this season. Freshmen Lilia Gonzales and Alycia Cary led the JV girls to a sixth place team finish against 30 teams. Senior Connor O’Neill ran the fastest race for the varsity boys with a time of 18:46 on the hilly 2.95-mile course. He improved by an astounding 3 minutes over last year. Michael Wang, grade 9, broke 21:00 to lead the JV boys. The teams run Thursday at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale in their second league meet.
Golf
Girls golf made history by shooting Harker’s best score of 189 in back-to-back matches against Castilleja and Menlo, losing by 2 to the Gators and beating the Knights by 4 at Los Lagos last week. The Eagles were paced by sophomore Katherine Zhu’s 29 and 31, tying alumnus Maverick McNealy’s record of 5-under in one round. Seniors Ashley Zhong and Daphne Liang also had their career bests of 35 and 38. Girls golf is now in second place in league. Please congratulate the team on a record-breaking performance.
Volleyball
Girls volleyball defeated last year’s Division 1 state runner-up Pitman en route to the finals of the Notre Dame-Belmont Tournament Saturday. The girls lost to the host school in the final match but went 4-1 on the day in the high-level tournament. Seniors Jackie Chen, Shannon Richardson and Doreene Kang led the Eagles offensively. The girls have a big home match on Oct. 22 vs. Menlo that could have huge league implications, so come out and support the team!
Heartiest congrats to Theresa “Smitty” Smith, U.S. women’s volleyball coach, for gaining her 300th career win as a volleyball coach at this event – a huge milestone! A thousand hurrahs for her dedication to the sport!
Football
Football won its fifth game in a row by defeating Emery in Oakland Saturday 34-12 to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. Freshman Demonte Aleem scored two touchdowns, senior Johnathon Keller, and sophomores Angel Cervantes and Anthony Contreras scored the others. The boys travel to Turlock Christian Friday for a non-league game.
Tennis
The girls tennis team won matches over Sacred Heart, Milpitas and Castilleja last week to improve to 7-1 overall. The girls face state powerhouse Menlo today at Menlo.
Water Polo
Every Eagle recorded a goal for the girls water polo team in their 19-3 win over Milpitas last week. Freshman Samantha Yanovsky led the way with four goals, while fellow freshmen Sophia Angus and Nicole Selvaggio recorded their first high school goals. Freshman Lily Wancewicz led the defense with five saves in goal. The boys team defeated Milpitas and lost to Saratoga last week, and went 2-2 in the Polofest held at Harker Friday and Saturday. The boys are now 8-7 overall. Both the boys and girls teams travel to Homestead today and host Cupertino Thursday.
Sunday was a banner day for people from throughout the Harker community, who arrived at the middle school campus in droves for the 65th annual Harker Family & Alumni Picnic. The carnival games were, as always, a popular attraction, offering attendees the chance to throw rings around bottles, fling stuffed frogs, tip tombstones and more.
Harker faculty and staff worked the booths, making sure a great time was had by all. “It’s always fun to see all the teachers behind the booths,” said Amy Wardenburg ’13, who also said she enjoys returning to see old friends.
One of last year’s most popular attractions, the zip line, again had attendees soaring through the air, while the new Hamster Dash put festival-goers in a large plastic ball that they moved across a track by running on all fours.
The crowd swelled in front of the middle school amphitheater for the afternoon show, which featured several of Harker’s talented performing arts groups in a Halloween-themed spectacular, singing and dancing to songs such as “Thriller” and “Monster Mash.”
“I love seeing everyone in a different context having a lot of fun,” said Pauline Paskali, upper school English department chair. “I also love seeing old students who come back.”
Following the day’s festivities, head of school Chris Nikoloff sent a message to the Harker community to express his gratitude to all involved in making the event a success. “In an age when everyone is living fast-paced, plugged-in lives, a day of relaxation, play and human connection is both needed and precious,” he said. “Our deep gratitude to Danae McLaughlin [director of special events] for her vision and diligence in putting together, along with her team of volunteers, a truly memorable day for the community.”
A group of 27 upper school students traveled to Ashland, Ore., for the annual visit to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), a professional theater company that specializes in classic and contemporary works. There, the students attended the OSF production of Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” Lynn Nottage’s “Sweat” and Stan Lai’s “Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land.”
In addition, the OSF provided intensive workshops, run by OSF actors and teachers, to enhance the students’ overall understanding of the plays they attended. In one session, students learned about the literary concept of the hero’s journey by having a student cover their eyes while other students acted as guides.
Read more about Harker’s annual trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the upcoming Winter 2015 issue of the Harker Quarterly.
A group of 27 upper school students traveled to Ashland, Ore., for the annual visit to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), a professional theater company that specializes in classic and contemporary works. There, the students attended the OSF production of Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” Lynn Nottage’s “Sweat” and Stan Lai’s “Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land.”
In addition, the OSF provided intensive workshops, run by OSF actors and teachers, to enhance the students’ overall understanding of the plays they attended. In one session, students learned about the literary concept of the hero’s journey by having a student cover their eyes while other students acted as guides.
Read more about Harker’s annual trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the upcoming Winter 2015 issue of the Harker Quarterly.
A group of 27 upper school students traveled to Ashland, Ore., for the annual visit to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), a professional theater company that specializes in classic and contemporary works. There, the students attended the OSF production of Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” Lynn Nottage’s “Sweat” and Stan Lai’s “Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land.”
In addition, the OSF provided intensive workshops, run by OSF actors and teachers, to enhance the students’ overall understanding of the plays they attended. In one session, students learned about the literary concept of the hero’s journey by having a student cover their eyes while other students acted as guides.
Read more about Harker’s annual trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the upcoming Winter 2015 issue of the Harker Quarterly.
James Gatenby, LinkedIn’s manager of web development (talent solutions), and Asha Chandrashekaran, senior software test engineer at LinkedIn (both pictured, standing), spoke at a CareerConnect workshop in early October on how to develop a great LinkedIn profile and build a network. The Innovation Center was packed! Harker has a special school LinkedIn page http://bit.ly/1Lq6HzA for students, alumni and others affiliated with the school and a separate LinkedIn page for general needs and recruitment: http://bit.ly/1jeUJSV