The Harker Conservatory’s 2013-14 fall play, “Anon(ymous),” is loaded. It features an original score created by students, original choreography by students, Balinese shadow puppetry, a Bollywood dance, fog, smoke, lights, and an all-new audience configuration.
Then there is the content. “Anon(ymous)” is a new, gritty, mythic exploration into cutting-edge, modern-day political challenges. The piece blends Homer’s “The Odyssey,” the epic read by all Harker freshmen, with the diaspora story of an undocumented immigrant finding his way across America, searching for his identity and his family.
“’Anon(ymous)‘ is a celebration of tradition and culture,” writes the director, Jeff Draper. “The epic adventure story is based on Homer’s “The Odyssey,” but this retelling reveals universal themes about our own contemporary world. This play is about the love and connection infused in the family, a love that is found in every culture, all around the world.”
While the themes of “Anon(ymous)” may be ancient and universal, there is a lot that is new and mold-breaking for The Harker Conservatory. The play is a new one, written in the last few years — there is no Shakespeare here. The audience is arranged on either side of a runway, a configuration never before seen at Harker. A handful of student directors are assisting Draper and rehearsing an alternate cast. A whole host of students are composing new music and choreographing new routines. There are more hands on deck and more moving parts than ever before, all to create a play that is not only epic but also searingly contemporary. Here are a few of the innovations taking center stage at Harker this fall:
A NEW CONFIGURATION
“Metamorphoses”featured a pool. “A Christmas Carol”had a live pre-show Dickens Faire. “Anon(ymous)” will split its audience into two and face them against each other across the stage, like fans on two sides of a football field, in a configuration known in the theater world as tennis court-style.
“I always like to mix it up,” says Draper. Because Harker lacks a theater, the performing arts directors flex their creativity every year, reinventing the Blackford auditorium when they can. Until Harker has a real performance space, he says, “I’m going to keep taking advantage of it.”
Draper named The National Theatre of Scotland’s “Black Watch” and Cirque du Soleil’s “Corteo”as his influences for the new design. In “Black Watch,” which toured the world before finally reaching San Francisco in May of this year, a partitioned audience watched a dozen soldiers race up and down a central runway connecting two structures resembling army bases at either end, acting out the Iraq War and their lives afterward. In “Corteo,” the audience wrapped circularly around a central disk, with exits and entrances also proceeding from two opposing poles. Both productions created immersive experiences that Draper was keen to emulate.
The year’s new setup is filled with exciting challenges for the actors, who now face an audience on all sides. “It makes you act three-sixty,” says Draper. “There’s no hiding,” shared one student at the cast’s retreat this month. “You feel like you always have eyes on you.” Draper, for his part, has enjoyed the new challenge. “We’re learning a lot,” he says. “It’s very different.”
A PIECE OF THE ZEITGEIST
“Anon(ymous)‘” treatment of contemporary material is startlingly new to Harker’s drama wing of the Conservatory; for a program that has made its name on classics like last year’s “Hamlet,” a freshly-written epic ripped from the headlines is a bold departure. When the actors were asked at their retreat whether this was the first time any of them had ever embarked on a project this much in the zeitgeist, the team responded with an almost-choral “yes.” “It’s not anything in the past,” one student chimed in. “It’s happening now. It’s part of our job to make people aware.”
On how they found their research for the play, the students were clear: rather than head to the library and search the catalog for critical essays as they might with a classic, they took to Google News and YouTube to develop deeper understandings of the predicaments and lifestyles of their characters.
For Draper, it was critical that the students examine their own lives and ancestries as well. So the director asked his actors to research their own lineages. He also gave each student a piece of foam core, and asked them to place information about what they uncovered on one side and their family trees on the other. That art, accompanied by the students’ personal stories, will hang in the lobby when the audience comes to view “Anon(ymous).”
The actors looked into their family histories with immigration and political and personal turmoil. One, whose character in “Anon(ymous)” must be the “man of the family,” told of an ancestor whose father was felled by an earthquake in Japan, leaving him to become that “man of the family.” Another told of a divide in the older generations of his family over allegiances with British prior to the partition of India. Those stories became a pretext to learn about the refugee camps spurred on by the political turmoil.
The exercise succeeded in casting the play as a piece of very personal reality for the actors, allowing them to see their characters in the context of their own lives. One student confessed that his heart was not in the play until he sought out his family and heard tales of their past. That made the play personal for him. “The play is resonating with students as I’d hoped it would,” says Draper.
Indeed, that “Anon(ymous)”is a tale of a diaspora journey was one more reason Draper chose the play for Harker. “It’s about home. It’s about immigration. It’s about leaving one place and going to another,” he says. “I think a lot of Harker families, within a generation or two, have left home and made a new home in Silicon Valley, in California, in the U.S.A.”
ULTRA-THEATRICAL
In many ways, “Anon(ymous)” is more than just a play, it’s a multidisciplinary theater event. In one love scene, two characters tread water in a sea of fabric. In another moment, moving hoops cascade down the runway to conjure up images of the characters dashing through tunnels. A shadow dance, in the style of Balinese wayang kulit shadow puppetry, tells the story of Anon and his mother.
The characters are outsized as well. “It’s not naturalistic or realistic,” says Draper. “One of the characters from “The Odyssey,” the cyclops, is, in this story, a demented butcher who eats people. He’s trying to kill our protagonist with a big butcher knife.”
“Anon(ymous)”is larger than life, in order to take the audience on a journey that is ripped from real life and even their own lives. With the actors being stretched in so many new ways, and with so many taking on extra responsibilities like choreography and puppeteering, it’s been a made dash to the finish, and an incredibly rewarding one for the collaborators. “You never know what’s going to happen next,” one student says. Another chimes in, “none of us knows exactly what we’re doing, but we know it’s going to be amazing.”
“Anon(ymous),” by Naomi Iizuka, plays Thurs., Oct. 31 through Sat., Nov. 2 at the Blackford Theater.
On Friday, the Siemens Foundation announced the regional finalists and semifinalists in this year’s Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Two Harker students, Steven Wang and Andrew Jin, both grade 11, were named regional finalists this year for their joint research project. Harker’s 10 regional semifinalists are: seniors Aditya Batra, Stephanie Chen, Zareen Choudhury, Varun Mohan and Srikar Pyda, and juniors Matthew Huang, Helen Wu, Stanley Xie (joint project with Helen Wu), Samyukta Yagati and Andrew Zhang. This marks the third consecutive year that Harker has had at least two regional finalists in the Siemens competition. Harker had six semifinalists and four regional finalists in 2012, and six semifinalists and two regional finalists in 2011.
In another record year for the Siemens Competition, 2,440 students took part in the 2013 competition, to which 1,559 projects were submitted. Of those, 331 semifinalists and 100 regional finalists were chosen.
Each regional finalist receives a $1,000 scholarship and advances to one of the regional competitions held in November. Winners from the regional competitions then move on to the national finals in Washington, D.C., held Dec. 6-7 at George Washington University.
Harker upper school female group Cantilena took part in a special concert at San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral on Oct. 2 to help rebuild and replenish the resources of The Holy Trinity Music School in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The school was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake that devastated much of the country.
The group was invited to perform at the concert by Ben Johns, the educational director for the world-renowned men’s choir Chanticleer. During the concert, Cantilena joined a group comprising 10 other choirs, which sang Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum,” from the composer’s “Vesperae solennes de confessore,” and “Wondrous Love” by Joseph Jennings.
Nace reported that the audience in attendance was “very enthusiastic” about the performance.
“Our visiting opera singers were astonished at the amazing show of strength and enthusiasm from all of [Harker’s] students,” said concert organizer Bruce Garnett. “(Soloist) Susan Graham remarked that she will never again hear ‘Laudate Dominum’ without remembering the experience of being surrounded by the future of music in this place.”
Harker’s first Eagle Buddies event of the year was held at the lower school recently, uniting grades 3 and 10, who had previously only corresponded via letters and pictures.
That all changed when, just before noon on Oct. 3, the third graders assembled on the blacktop at the Bucknall campus, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their sophomore Eagle Buddies.
Clad in their brand new Eagle Buddies polo shirts, and holding signs indicative of their homerooms so that the upper school students could find them, the third graders were overjoyed to finally meet their big pals in person. Then all the students ate lunch together on the main field and were free to play sports (including some “getting-to-know-you” games), work on craft tables located at the edges of the turf, or simply relax for some free play.
Following closing remarks out on the Rincon field, the buddies said goodbye to one another. The sophomores returned to the upper school campus and the third graders went on with their day. But the buddies will continue to follow one another and bond over the course of the next several years in the successful mentoring program.
“Before I first met my eagle buddy, Maria, I was really nervous but excited at the same time,” said big buddy Shannon Richardson. “She was really sweet and somewhat quiet, which is expected from a third grader. We talked about the things she enjoyed most like tennis and reading. For me, being at the lower school again and hearing stories about it brought back so many happy memories. I miss those times so much now; if only we had nap time in high school! While we talked we ate and made friendship bracelets. My Eagle Buddies experience was definitely an enjoyable one and I can’t wait to see her again.”
“We were so excited to see the children become acquainted with their new buddies!” said Ken Allen, the lower school’s dean of students. He noted that upcoming Eagle Buddies events for these two grades will include a pajama day, service project and book drive. They will also continue to correspond via Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day cards.
And, according to Carol Zink, an upper school history teacher who helps coordinate the Eagle Buddies program, there will be a Clown Day for juniors and their grade 4 buddies in January, held at the upper school gymnasium.
Look for continued coverage of Eagle Buddies events in Harker News Online!
It’s that Tamagawa time of year again over at the middle school – when excited grade 6 students first meet their buddies from Harker’s sister school in Tokyo, Japan.
Come fall, as part of a long-running student exchange program, peers from the Tamagawa K-12 School & University arrive at Harker for a much anticipated weeklong visit.
During their stay here they live in homestays with Harker students and their families, go sightseeing around the Bay Area, and spend time visiting and observing classes at the Blackford campus. This year 23 students from the Tamagawa academy were accompanied by several chaperones for their visit in early October.
Highlights of the Tamagawa visit included: a field trip to a pumpkin farm, a fun scavenger hunt, creating T-shirts, playing Pictionary, participating in art, drama and dances classes, making Halloween desserts at a cooking school, working on a story/origami project and enjoying a bittersweet ice cream farewell party. New this year, Harker students were also given special permission to use Google Translator on their personal electronic devices during their time with their Tamagawa buddies.
“Being a part of the Tamagawa exchange program has shown me the characteristics, culture and interests of Japanese students. I have not only learned new things, but I have made a new friend. A friend who can tell you things you never knew… A friend who you can visit in a foreign country,” recalled Harker student Grace Hajjar of her experience being a Tamagawa buddy.
“My buddy’s name is Kanta Okura,” added another Harker student, Avi Gulati. “We had lots of fun. He brought waterproof UNO cards and we played with them. We went to the Japanese market together and Kanta enjoyed talking to the people who worked there. We bought his favorite food: sushi,” Gulati finished, noting that he looks forward to a lifelong friendship with Kanta.
Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education, explained that the popular student exchange program between the Tamagawa and Harker schools is just one example of Harker’s rich global education program, which strives to weave global activities into its students’ daily lives.
“Before you meet your buddy, they are your pen pal. You get to know them and what they like until the day you meet them … and then you take them different places to have fun and get to laugh and enjoy their presence in your life. You gain a new friend you will cherish forever,” said Hajjar.
The Tamagawa School has a stated international focus on allowing students to experience differing cultures via exchange programs. “By giving opportunities for students to communicate with children overseas of the same age, global sensibilities will be fostered among our students,” states the school on its website.
In the spring, Harker students will head over to Japan as part of the reciprocal exchange program. Look for further coverage on that from Harker News Online!
Grades 4 and 5 recently held their first spirit/Service Club meeting of the year, playing fun activities in advance of the Harker Harvest Festival.
“Our first club meeting was great. We had over a dozen fourth and fifth graders sign up. Fun was had by all!” reported Mel Robinson, a grade 5 P.E. teacher who helps coordinate the club.
Among the activities club members participated in during the first meeting were creating as many words from the phrase “Harker Harvest Festival” as possible, playing “pass the pumpkin” (a game like hot potato) and “pass the baby pumpkin.”
The club meets every Monday in the late afternoon. “We keep points during each spirit event, and the top three homerooms are rewarded with an ice cream party at the end of the year!” enthused Robinson.
But the club is not all fun and games. It will also be introducing important outreach activities (such as aiding in California’s coastal cleanup efforts) and incorporating a Green Committee charged with task of uncovering food waste in grade 4-5 lunches.
“We look forward to an exciting year,” said Robinson.
After opening the Peninsula home-to-school route during the 2012-13 school year, Harker has further expanded its bus services for families in need of more transportation options.
The new Silver Creek route consists of two buses servicing the Silver Creek area. The middle and upper school bus first arrives at the Union Ave. preschool campus to connect to the intracampus shuttle, which then takes students to the middle and upper schools. Lower school students take a separate bus to the preschool, which then takes them to the lower school.
“The Bucknall parents, obviously, are thrilled about that, because their kids get to stay on the bus and go straight to campus which is what they’ve always wanted,” said Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs.
Continuing from last year, the Peninsula route makes stops at the middle and lower school campuses, with connections to the preschool and upper school campuses via the intracampus shuttle. “We really try to make sure we have a path for every child to get to every place,” Lawson said.
Additionally, the Union campus now serves as a hub for the intracampus shuttle, which allows families a way to transport students to Harker’s other three campuses via the preschool. “The opening of Union as a hub on the intracampus shuttle has actually served some of those Almaden families who are now dropping off kids there,” Lawson said.
The new routes make student transportation more convenient for Harker families whose parents live or work in areas that are out of the way. It also helps reduce traffic in the area around Harker’s campuses, lightening the traffic burden on the families who commute by car. Lawson estimated that between 70 and 80 students ride buses to school. “Maybe that’s 50 cars that don’t have to come to campus,” he said, factoring in the possibility of several families containing siblings. “Then if you add the folks that are using the intracampus shuttle, it’s reducing some more.”
This year, Harker also assumed management of the Fremont route, which had previously been run for years by a consortium of Harker parents. It stops at the lower, middle and upper school campuses and is also the only route that offers school-to-home service because of the complex nature of Harker’s afternoon schedule. Consideration may be given to opening additional school-to-home routes when there is more demand.
Harker may also look into adding more home-to-school routes if demand for them increases. “The fun part of getting started last year was that we had other people start chomping at the bit,” said Lawson. “We’re amenable to any area that can sustain it. We do it as a service, but we’ve got to be fiscally responsible.”
Already in the 2013-14 school year, Harker records are being shattered. For the second straight week, Harker’s girls golf team posted the top score in Harker history. Over at cross country, a freshman runner set a new school record by 50 full seconds. Varsity football stomped Livermore Valley in a blowout, while varsity tennis came away from the Los Altos Tournament with a silver division championship and all three water polo teams swept Cupertino. These are the scores and updates for Harker athletics from a busy second week of October:
Golf:
GIRLS GOLF CONTINUES TO ROLL
Two weeks ago, the girls golf team shot a school record in a 199-211 loss to Sacred Heart Prep at Los Lagos. This past week, they did one better, shooting a 210 to set a new record and defeat Notre Dame San Jose by the score of 210-255.
In the match, senior Kristine Lin earned her eighth straight medalist honors, shooting a 2 over par 36. On the fourth hole of the game, a 236-yard par 4, Lin drove the green and then two-putted for a birdie.
In driving the team to its best overall score in history, a number of Harker athletes also reached personal bests. Daphne Liang, grade 10, tied her career best with a 5 over par 39, while fellow sophomore Ashley Zhong did the same with a 7 over par 41. Connie Li, a senior also tied her personal best, shooting a 12 over par 46.
The girls’ work is winning high praises from their leadership. “This is by far the most hard-working and most improved team I have ever coached,” writes coach Ie-Chen Cheng. “Literally, each team member shot her personal best scores in the past weeks.”
The Eagles travel next to face Menlo today and then return home to host Castilleja on Tuesday at Los Lagos. Tuesday will be their senior night. The celebration will cap off a stellar season of record-setting results and personal growth. “The time they put in over the summer and in the past couple of months [is] paying great dividends,” notes Cheng. “We are so proud of what we have accomplished so far.”
After their new victories over Mercy-Burlingame and Notre Dame, the girls are now in sole possession of third place in the league with a 5-3 record. Come support the team on their senior day this Tuesday at Los Lagos Golf Course!
HARKER ALUM PLAYS FOR STANFORD
Maverick McNealy ’13 has made the traveling squad at Stanford golf. With the team, “Mav” traveled to play a tournament at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, the site of the 2017 U.S. Open, and came in 25th place as Stanford secured a victory. All told, Stanford shot a 13 under 851, defeating runner-up UCLA by eight strokes and besting third-place SMU and Oklahoma by a dozen. Fourteen teams in total competed in the tournament. McNealy shot a 72 in the first round, a 75 in the second, and a 73 in the third. His first-round 72 went for par. Stanford plays again on Oct. 18-20, this time at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga.
Cross Country:
“TRULY ELITE LEVEL”
Niki Iyer is a freshman. She just won the varsity girls individual race title at the Crystal Springs Invitational this past Saturday.
“This is truly elite level,” wrote Dan Molin, Harker’s athletic director in an email announcing Iyer’s accomplishment to the school.
Iyer never trailed in the race, leaping out ahead of the pack and leading wire-to-wire. Her time set a new school record by 50 full seconds. That time was the fifth fastest of all CCS runners this year, and the 10-best ever for a freshman in the course’s 70 years of existence.
Junior Corey Gonzales had a great week as well, running in the championship varsity boys race and placing eighth against the top runners in all of California.
Both Gonzales and Iyer will run this Thursday at the Baylands Park cross country course. They will be looking for their second win in a row over WBAL league runners.
Football:
TRIPLE THREAT LEADS HARKER TO BLOWOUT WIN
Senior Kevin Moss led the Eagles on offense, defense and special teams in a blowout 58-16 victory against the Livermore Valley Preparatory Hawks. Moss ran for two touchdowns on offense, returned an interception for a touchdown, led the team with three solo sacks, and ran a kickoff back for his fourth touchdown of the game. Quarterback Keanu Forbes, grade 11, had a huge game as well, throwing two touchdown passes to wide receiver Sid Krishnamurthi, grade 11, and one to sophomore running back Jonathan Keller. Forbes ran for a touchdown as well on a 36-yard sprint in the fourth quarter. All told, Harker recorded 387 yards of total offense on 42 plays from scrimmage while a stingy and ferocious defense held the opposing Hawks to just 180 yards on 39 plays. While both teams were able to move the ball, Harker’s defense had Livermore Valley moving in both directions, sending them backwards on eight – count ‘em, eight – timely quarterback sacks. Harker kicker Alyssa Amick, grade 11, added six extra points after touchdowns. The junior varsity squad has the next game on the schedule, taking on Lynbrook this Friday.
Volleyball:
VARSITY CAPS BUSY WEEK WITH TOURNAMENT WIN
The varsity girls volleyball team had a busy week, defeating Woodside Priory in straight sets, losing to number 2-ranked Menlo, and then going 3-1 at the Los Altos Tournament to earn the silver division championship. Varsity’s record now stands at 9-6 overall and an even 2-2 in league going into tonight’s home matchup against Presentation. The junior varsity team, meanwhile, owns an exceptional 16-5 record and, after victories against Priory and Menlo this week, is looking strong in league play.
Water Polo:
THREE TEAMS SCORE VICTORIES AGAINST CUPERTINO
Three of Harker’s water polo teams faced off against Cupertino last Tuesday, and all three came away with big victories. The boys varsity team won 12-5. The boys junior varsity team won 8-4. And, the girls varsity team won 9-5. This Tuesday, the teams play again, with the boys hosting Saratoga and the girls hosting Mountain View. On Thursday, both teams will host Fremont at the Singh Aquatic Center.
Tennis:
AFTER 1-1 WEEK, GIRLS TENNIS STANDS AT 6-3 OVERALL
The girls tennis team crushed Crystal Springs by a margin of 6-1 last Tuesday, then lost a heartbreaking game to Castilleja, dropping their record to a still-sterling 6-3 overall. The girls will attempt to rebound against Notre Dame and Sacred Heart this week.
Coming Up This Week:
This Monday, the girls golf team heads to the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course to face off against the Menlo School in a league match, beginning at 3 p.m. Over at Blackford, the junior varsity girls volleyball team will take on Presentation High School at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity girls’ game against Presentation at 5:45 p.m.
On Tuesday, the varsity girls tennis team will head to the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara for a league home game against Notre Dame High School – San Jose. At Los Lagos Golf Course in San Jose, the girls golf team will play a “home” game of their own against Castilleja. The freshman girls volleyball team will take on Milpitas High School at Harker’s Saratoga campus at 4:15 p.m. Just 15 minutes later on that same campus, the varsity boys water polo team will face off against Saratoga High School in a league game. The JV boys water polo team will follow them at 5:45 p.m. with a game of their own against Saratoga. Out in Mountain View, the varsity girls water polo team plays Mountain View High School at 6:45 p.m.
All of Harker’s athletic teams are off on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, varsity cross country travels to Baylands Park in Sunnyvale for a WBAL league meet, beginning at 3 p.m. At 3:30 p.m, the varsity girls tennis team starts a match at Sacred Heart Preparatory School in Atherton. Back on Harker’s Saratoga campus, the varsity girls water polo team plays Fremont High School at 4:30 p.m. The junior varsity boys water polo team will follow that up with a game of their own against Fremont High School at 5:45 p.m, to be followed by the varsity boys water polo team’s night game at 6:45 p.m. Up in San Francisco, the junior varsity girls volleyball team will take on Mercy High School at 4:30 p.m, followed by the varsity girls volleyball game at 5:45 p.m.
Friday sees just one Harker athletic event: The junior varsity football team takes on Lynbrook High School in an away game at 5 p.m.
Harker staff writer Zach Jones contributed to this story.
A beautiful fall day provided the perfect backdrop for the 2013 Harker Harvest Festival, the school’s 63rd annual Family & Alumni Picnic.
As in previous years, the event was held on the middle school campus, but faithful picnic-goers surely noticed the fresh and fun changes to this family-oriented day. The multipurpose room held extravagant silent auction packages, offering art, outings with teachers, gift baskets and more. The cafetorium was kept wide open for laser tag, and lower school children were spotted ducking behind blinds scattered through the room as they tried to catch each other with light beams.
The blacktop was, as always, the site of carnival game booths. Here families tried their luck at skill games, trying to knock down, hit, fill, pop or ring objects for prize tickets. The Pig Pong Toss was a wall of cute painted piggies with actual boxes for noses, which kids tried to fill with Ping-Pong balls. At another popular booth kids threw paint on Frisbees as they spun around, resulting in fun and swirly souvenirs.
Around the edges of the blacktop were many fun activities to tempt kids of all ages. A petting zoo with goats and ducks, pony rides, bounce slides, a dunk tank and more all gathered crowds; and, new this year, old-fashioned tricycle and sack races kept both kids and adults giggling. Katie Florio, kindergarten teacher, was enjoying the trike races: “It’s great to see all the kids out having fun with their families and getting to play with all their teachers.”
As Florio alluded to, the structure of the day was changed to allow teachers more time to hang out with their students, and intense games of foosball, Ping-Pong and basketball throws were played out in the gym. Lower school math teacher Diane Plauck laughed, “I started my day having a Ping-Pong match with one of [my students]. He beat me, but still it was fun.”
“It’s probably really great for the lower school and middle school kids to have a chance to play Ping-Pong or foosball with teachers and stuff like that, to really change up the dynamic of how they interact with one another,” said upper school science teacher Gary Blickenstaff.
Aside from the opportunity to bond with their teachers, students also enjoyed meeting up with their friends in a welcoming and fun environment. “I like that most of my friends come here and we just have fun. It’s basically a huge carnival,” said student volunteer Calvin Kocienda, grade 10, who worked the laser tag area with his friends in the robotics club.
Classmate Alyssa Crawford liked that the Harvest Festival “brings all the different grades together.”
Parent volunteers also had a big impact on the event’s success, running game booths, selling tickets and serving food to the hundreds of attendees. “I just think it’s a great opportunity to help the children and help the school,” said parent Tracy Baeckler (Alexandra, grade 5), who has volunteered since her daughter was a kindergartner.
Themed around a fictional Harker Thanksgiving Parade, the student show was a huge hit, highlighting dozens of kids from nine performing arts troupes. Mallika Vashist, grade 6, who performed with the choir group Dynamics, enjoyed that Harvest Festival offered her the chance to perform in front of a large audience. “Performing in front of a bunch of people is really fun for me,” she said.
Making cameos were Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, as Cookie Monster, Head of School Chris Nikoloff as a giant turkey, and Butch Keller, upper school head, as a big SpongeBob SquarePants “float.” Other administrators as well as the IT and facility departments also walked the stage in the “parade,” to a warm and appreciative round of applause from spectators.
Alumni gathered at their shady grove to reunite and chat, and they had new neighbors this year: the preschool was a welcome presence at this long Harker tradition, with teachers and the newest Eagles having fun in a pumpkin patch. Preschool teacher Tanya Burrell, enjoying her first family picnic, said that not only was it “exciting to see [the preschoolers] outside of the school setting, we’re seeing them explore some of the other booths. It’s nice that they’re part of the larger Harker community.”
Indeed, this event truly captured the community spirit that is so much a part of Harker.
This past week, a Harker cross country runner set a new course record, and the girls golf team posted the best score of any girls golf team in Harker’s history. Here are the scores and great performances from the first week of October:
Cross Country:
At the first WBAL cross country meet of the year, Corey Gonzales, grade 11, avenged the narrow defeat he suffered on that same course last year by setting a new course record of 14:47.5. In the very next race, freshman Niki Iyer won the 60m. Iyer’s winning time of 17:10.0 missed the course record by a single second. Senior Claudia Tischler ran her best race of the year, finishing in fifth place with an time of 18:08.
Girls Tennis:
Girls tennis defeated league rival Sacred Heart Prep this past Tuesday by a score of 4-3 to improve their record to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. Dora Tzeng grade 12, Izzy Gross, grade 1o, Sahithya Prakash,grade 12, and Arden Hu, grade 11, all won their singles matches. Two days later, the girls dropped their contest against state power Menlo, with Tzeng’s victory in her singles match serving as Harker’s only win of the day. This week, the girls head to play Crystal on the road and then return home to host Castilleja.
Girls Volleyball:
Both the junior varsity and varsity squads fell just shy of defeating Sacred Heart last Tuesday. Divya Kalidindi, grade 12, had 20 kills in varsity’s loss. The varsity team rebounded against Castilleja on Thursday, winning in five sets. They hit the road this week to face off against Priory and Menlo.
Water Polo:
Down four goals against Wilcox last Tuesday, the boys rallied back but ultimately came up short, dropping the game 14-12. Eric Holt, grade 11, scored five goals in the game. Karan Kurbur, grade 12, scored four. Billy Bloomquist, grade 11, scored two, and Jeremy Binkley, also grade 11, added a goal as well. The boys then headed to the Sobrato Tournament for the weekend, where they won one game and dropped two. The team’s record now stands at 5-9 overall. They start this week off against Cupertino.
The girls, meanwhile, dropped their game to Wilcox on Tuesday, 11-7, despite three goals from senior Anne Levine and more from Delaney Martin, grade 11, Yasemin Narin, grade 10, and Sheridan Tobin, grade 11. On Thursday, the girls eked out a 5-4 win against Monta Vista, led by Martin’s and junior Anushka Das’ two goals apiece.
Girls Golf:
The girls posted the best score ever for a Harker girls golf team this past Friday in a 199-211 loss to Sacred Heart Prep at Los Lagos. It took the best performance of any team in the league this season for Sacred Heart Prep to pull out a win and take sole possession of second place in the WBAL. A red-hot Kristine Lin, grade 12, earned her sixth medalist honors in as many matches, and Daphne Liang, grade 10, drained a 40-foot put on the ninth hole to make par. Harker is currently in third place in the WBAL with a 3-3 record.
Football:
Varsity football has its senior night this Friday against Livermore Valley Prep at 7 p.m.