On April 5, middle school students taking advanced Japanese enjoyed an annual culinary and cultural field trip to local Japanese restaurant, Tomi Sushi. Their teacher, Kumi Matsui, said the students benefited from practicing Japanese outside the classroom.
“The staff of this restaurant spoke native Japanese and the students ordered dishes only in Japanese. After lunch, we went to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga to learn and experience a tea ceremony. This was a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about Japanese culture,” she said.
Last week, the softball team defeated Notre Dame San Jose 15-2 behind four hits, three runs and two RBIs from Kristin LeBlanc, grade 10. Marita Del Alto, grade 12, picked up the win, allowing just one earned run and four hits, while striking out four. However, later in the week the Eagles ran into an undefeated Lincoln team and fell 6-0. The softball team hosts Mercy Burlingame today at 4 p.m. at Blackford.
Swimming
Last week the Harker swim team traveled to Menlo High for its first WBAL meet, which also featured Mercy Burlingame and Pinewood. Vivian Wang, grade 10, won both the 200 free and 100 back; Michael Auld, grade 11, won the 200 free; Grace Guan, grade 12, finished first in the 200 IM; Alex Yu, grade 9, topped the 200 IM and 400 free; and Angela Huang, grade 12, was best in both the 50 and 100 free. Come support your Harker swimmers this Friday at 4 p.m. at the Singh Aquatic Center as they host another WBAL meet.
Track and Field
Over the weekend, Niki Iyer, grade 11, competed at the Arcadia Invitational in Southern California, which featured some of the best runners from California and eight other states. Iyer continued her stellar season as she ran a personal best and the top CCS time of this season! The entire track and field team competes this Wednesday against their WBAL rivals at Bellarmine, and this Saturday at the Bearcat Invitational at San Mateo High.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team picked up two wins last week to improve to 5-8 on the season, and 3-0 in league. First, it defeated Wilcox in three games with Andrew Gu, grade 11, leading the way with 16 kills. Later in the week, the Eagles defeated Santa Clara in four games. The boys volleyball team will host Pacific Collegiate School on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Blackford and travel to King’s Academy on Friday.
Baseball
The baseball team dropped its non-league matchup with Del Mar last week 9-2. Nate Kelly, grade 10, had two hits and an RBI in the loss. The Eagles travel to San Mateo High today and host San Mateo on Thursday.
Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team lost a close match to Notre Dame San Jose 11-10 last week, but rebounded with a win over Newark 9-4. The Eagles host Carlmont today on Davis Field.
Boys Tennis
Last week, the boys tennis team picked up victories over King’s Academy and Aptos. The Eagles have a busy week as they face off with Pinewood today, Priory on Thursday and Evergreen Valley on Friday.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team continues to play well as it notched three wins last week. In a 209-250 win over King’s Academy, Ryan Vaughan, grade 11, led the way shooting a 38; Scout McNealy, grade 9, shot a team-best 34 in the team’s 185-193 win over Menlo; and in the 186-214 victory over Pinewood, Victor Shin, grade 10, and Dakota McNealy, grade 12, each shot a team-best 35. The Eagles meet up with Palo Alto today.
MS Wrestling
Dezi Johnsen, grade 6, competed at the NUWAY Nationals in Battle Creek, Mich., this past weekend. Facing some of the best wrestlers in the country, Johnsen placed seventh in the 126-pound weight class. Congrats, Dezi!
On April 6, a luncheon was held at the Nichols Hall rotunda to recognize the 42 new members of the Spanish National Honor Society. Attendees enjoyed a Mexican buffet prepared by the Harker kitchen staff.
To be inducted into the Spanish NHS, students must complete three semesters of Spanish language classes at the upper school, be taking an honors or advanced placement class at the time of their induction, maintain good academic standing and commit to enrolling in an honors or AP Spanish course the following year.
This year’s inductees are Nick Acero, Aliesa Bahri, Vijay Bharadwaj, Richa Bhattacharya, Karina Butani, Debarati Chatterjee, Emily Chen, Morgan Douglas, Amy Dunphy, Aadi Ghildiyal, Arindam Ghosh, Jacqueline He, Julia Huang, Eric Jeong, Ashley Jiang, Tanay Kamat, Karena Kong, Jimmy Lin, Millie Lin, Serena Lu, Rahul Mehta, Alexandra Michael, Jacob Ohana, Abha Patkar, Rohit Shah, Tanvi Singh, Sushant Thyagaraj, Kevin Tzeng, David Wen, Sumati Wadhwa, Justin Xie, Sharon Yan and Shaya Zarkesh, all grade 10; and Niki Iyer, Preethi Kandappan, Raveena Kapatkar, Judy Pan, Tara Parimi, Shekar Ramaswamy, Noor Singh, Jordan Thompson and Ziwen Ye, all grade 11.
The 2016 Harker Golf Classic united Harker alumni, parents, alumni parents and their friends at the renowned Stanford Golf Course to raise funds for Harker’s General Endowment. For the second year in a row, the event was presented by the Harker Alumni Association.
The April 11 event brought 96 golfers out on a pleasant spring day. Jeremy Pomer ’91 was the event chair, while former Harker faculty member Howard Saltzman and current lower school math teacher Pat Walsh served as honorary marshals for the day. The marshals had a great time handing out prize ribbons and libations to golfers.
“Everyone had a wonderful time, made all the more meaningful with the knowledge that it was good fun for a good cause!” enthused Karri Baker ’84, director of alumni relations.
A variety of special awards and prizes, as well as numerous generous sponsors, helped make the day special. Capping off the event was a 19th hole reception with live music on the clubhouse patio for golfers, as well as non-golfers, wishing to join in on the fun.
A highlight of the day was the announcement of the winning foursomes. The winning men’s foursome comprised Harker parent Mike Armstrong, Trask Leonard, Josh Breeding and Rodney Plett ’81. The winning women’s foursome comprised Thu Ka, Connie Kim, Kavita Patel and Kavita Tankha, all Harker parents.
The Stanford Golf Course, designed in 1930 by renowned golf course architects William Bell and George C. Thomas, is located in the foothills above the Stanford University campus. In 2009, it was rated the nation’s third-best college course by golf coaches.
It was all smiles on the afternoon of April 8 as happy kindergartners donned homemade hats during the annual Spring Hat Parade. Gray skies did not deter the youngsters from proudly parading around campus, visiting classrooms and displaying their fabulous creations. Students wound their way through the lower school campus, stopping in various classrooms to model their unique and colorful headwear to the delight of onlookers. After the parade there was an egg hunt on the kindergarten playground, followed by festive homeroom parties.
Students in grades K-2 had a great time at the second annual Spring Fling Math Extravaganza, held outside on the morning of March 23 on the main Bucknall playground and adjoining field. Students enjoyed math related hands-on activities, including crafts and games, which covered a range of skills. Each K-2 math teacher was in charge of one math activity, which consisted of measurement, geometry, and number sense geared toward various math abilities. Go Math Eagles!
Harker’s team performed well in the state finals of the Wells Fargo Personal Financial Literacy Challenge, making it to the finals. The team, composed of Rahul Shukla, grade 11; Ameek Singh, grade 12; Alexander Lam, grade 11; and Aditya Dhar, grade 11, was among the top 10 teams out of 142 to qualify for the final rounds at the Federal Reserve Bank in Los Angeles. The team was one of the top five left after three rounds of competition and, ultimately, placed fourth.
This event was facilitated by the California Council on Economic Education, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (Los Angeles Branch), and sponsored by Honda Financial Services at the state level as well as Wells Fargo Advisors on a national level. Harker qualified two teams, but only one attended.
“Students were excited to go through security and be in the Federal Reserve and ask questions of the Fed Bank employees,” said Juston Glass, director of Harker’s business and entrepreneurship program, who coached the group. “They networked with students all over the state and came back charged and empowered in the area of personal finance.”
Harker enjoyed another successful year at the Synopsys Science & Technology Championship, garnering numerous grand prizes and other top honors.
Upper school students were particularly successful in the physical science and engineering category. Cameron Jones, grade 9, received a first award in the category, as well as recognition for outstanding sustainability project, a third place award from A Society for Materials International, a second place certificate from the Society of Vacuum Coaters (SVC) and recognition from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Other first award winners in this category were Aditya Dhar, grade 11; Cindy Wang, grade 9; and Katherine Zhang, also grade 9.
Sophomores Maya Kumar and Anooshree Sengupta each won a second award in the same category, in addition to receiving a certificate of achievement from the Wireless Communications Alliance and recognition from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Derek Yen, grade 10, received a second award, and fellow sophomores Sumer Kohli and Neelesh Ramachandran received honorable mentions. Meanwhile, Karena Kong and Linus Li, both grade 10, received certificates of achievement from the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin.
In the RRI (Registered Research Institution, denoting projects from students who worked under professional mentors) physical science and engineering category, sophomore Amy Dunphy won a grand prize and a first award, as well as a first place award from the American Chemical Society. Juniors Rishab Gargeya and Manan Shah each won a grand prize and a first award, as well as a $1,000 Muddu Family Entrepreneurial and Startup Award and a certificate of achievement from the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin. Sneha Bhetanabhotla, grade 11, received an honorable mention.
Upper school students also did extremely well in the biological science and engineering category. First award winners were Emily Chen and Shreyas Chandrashekaran, both grade 10. Sophomore Rajiv Movva also did well, receiving a second award in the category, along with recognition from Morgan Lewis and IBM. Juniors Shasvat Jawahar and Raymond Xu also received second awards, while Trisha Dwivedi, Kshithija Mulam, Winnie Li and Joyce Zhao, all grade 11, and Shaya Zarkesh, grade 10, received honorable mentions.
In the RRI biological science and engineering category, seniors Jonathan Ma and Sadhika Malladi won grand prizes and first awards. Additional first awards went to junior Scott Song, sophomores Jerry Chen and Amy Jin, and freshmen Krish Kapadia and Anjay Saklecha. Junior Arjun Subramaniam received an honorable mention and a certificate of achievement from Varian Medical Systems.
Middle school students performed very well in the biological science and engineering category. Cynthia Chen, grade 8, was named a middle school finalist and received the Synopsys Outreach Foundation n+1 prize, as well as a first award and a nomination to compete in the Broadcom MASTERS competition. Fellow eighth graders Aarzu Gupta, Maya Shukla, Vibha Arramreddy, Sejal Krishnan, Allison Jia and Jasmine Wiese also received first awards and nominations to compete in the Broadcom MASTERS competition. Eileen Li, Catherine Zhao, Naveen Mirapuri and Rohan Sonecha, all grade 8, received second awards, while fellow eighth graders Grace Huang, Anika Tiwari, Henry Wiese, Rachel Broweleit and Jackie Yang earned honorable mentions.
In the physical science and engineering category, a second award was won by Jeffrey Kwan, grade 8, and honorable mentions went to Rakesh Nori and Montek Kalsi, both grade 8. Amla Rashingkar and Gloria Zhang, both grade 8, each received an honorable mentions and a certificate of achievement from the Society of Vacuum Coaters.
Only boys golf and baseball were in action during the break. The rest of Harker’s spring athletes are rested and ready to continue their seasons with a full slate of games this week.
Boys Golf
Boys golf placed sixth out of 45 teams at the Champions Invitational in Indio over the break. This is considered to be perhaps the strongest high school tournament in the state. Avi Khemani, grade 11, was the highest Harker finisher. The boys have a busy week ahead, with matches Monday versus King’s Academy, Wednesday against rival Menlo and Thursday against Pinewood.
Baseball
The Eagles baseball team traveled to CSU Monterey Bay over the break, but lost 9-2 to Trinity Christian. This week, the team hosts Del Mar on Thursday at 4 p.m. and Lincoln of San Francisco on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Boys Volleyball
This Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. at Blackford, the boys volleyball team takes on Wilcox in an important league match. The team follows that up with another league match on Thursday at Santa Clara High.
Swim
Harker’s swimmers travel to Menlo on Thursday for a WBAL meet.
Softball
Harker’s softball team hosts Notre Dame San Jose today at 4 p.m. and then travels to Lincoln of San Jose on Thursday.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team travels to King’s Academy today.
Girls Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse takes on Notre Dame San Jose today and Newark on Thursday.
Track and Field
Track and field will compete next on April 13 in a WBAL meet at Bellarmine High.
MS Swim
Over the past few weeks, Rhys Edwards, grade 7, has joined the ranks of top young swimmers on the West Coast. A few weeks ago, Edwards competed in a Junior Olympics meet in San Ramon, swimming for his club, Santa Clara Swim Club, where he made the finals in all six of his races, finishing with a silver and bronze in two of the events.
Edwards then spent most of his spring break at the Far Western Championships in Pleasanton, where the best swimmers from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Oregon, among others, competed. Out of seven events, Edwards made the finals in four! His 11-12 boys relay team also won two golds and two silvers, even breaking a Santa Clara Swim Club team record in the process. Great job Rhys!
Once again, the middle school Wildlife SOS Club created watercolor cards and origami spinning toys, which they then sold to parents during the recent parent-teacher conferences, to raise money for animals in need.
The group, made up of students in grades 6 and 7, raised a record-breaking $135 for Wildlife SOS, an organization that rescues and cares for abused elephants and other animals.
“By selling our toys and cards, we contribute in a way that makes us feel proud for helping elephants while convening weekly with friends,” said club member Vienna Parnell, grade 6.
Science teacher Raji Swaminathan and Japanese teacher Kumi Matsui (who came up with the idea to make the origami toys) are the club’s mentors. They said working with the club members is incredibly rewarding.
“Every card and toy is very special, since it takes several club periods for a child to finish one,” said Swaminathan. “Club members have done this [fundraiser] in the past. Each time, they made about $70 to $80, which provides for the food of an elephant for a month. It is a small financial contribution from the students, but a lot of work and love go behind it.”
Meanwhile, club members said the benefits of being in Wildlife SOS Club include working together as a team, learning craft making skills, and relaxing together while raising money for wildlife in distress.
“These cards are better than Hallmark’s!” said grade 6 student Alysa Su, proudly.