Middle school students joined communities worldwide in celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child Oct. 11 – a day which raises awareness about the issues girls face both in the United States and on an international scale. Two years ago, in an effort to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges they face, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. This year, the theme of the day was “Innovating for Girls’ Education.”
To mark it, middle school student Aliesa Bahri, grade 8, took it upon herself to organize a commemorative event on campus. She urged eighth graders to show their support for the cause by dressing in blue, and asked that sixth and seventh graders wear some type of blue accessory.
“I wanted to raise awareness about girl’s rights … and I chose the color blue since it is typically associated with boys and goes against the ‘pink is for girls’ stereotype,” explained Bahri.
She said she got the idea to organize the event from her affiliation with an organization called The Girls Leadership Institute (GLI), which seeks to help motivate girls to become leaders. Co-founded by educator and social entrepreneur Simone Marean and bestselling author and educator Rachel Simmons, GLI is a national nonprofit providing transformational programs to girls, their parents and their educational communities.
Bahri used the campus’ lunch hour on the Day of the Girl to hold a special video presentation for grade 7-8 students about the plight of girls in Pakistan, where just over half of all girls make it to a primary school classroom, and only 12 percent make it to secondary school.
A large group of students turned out for the video viewing, where plenty of snacks were on hand.
“Aliesa spearheaded the event and worked with me to see what could be done to raise awareness about this important issue,” recalled Cindy Ellis, middle school head.
According to the United Nation’s website, there is overwhelming evidence that girls’ education, especially at the secondary level, is a powerful transformative force for societies and girls themselves. And, while there has been significant progress in improving girls’ access to education over the last two decades, many girls, particularly the most marginalized, continue to be deprived of this basic right.
Ellis cited some shocking statistics about girls, both here and abroad: one in three girls around the world is denied an education; in the developing world, one in seven girls is married before age 15; some 54 percent of girls in grades 3-5 worry about appearance and 37 percent about their weight; 57 percent of music videos feature women portrayed as sexual objects; and only 15 percent of top corporate American jobs are held by women.
Spectators arrived in droves to the upper school campus’ Davis Field for this year’s Homecoming, attended by families – both new and returning — from all of Harker’s four campuses.
Even though it occurred at a much earlier date than usual, and with slightly warmer weather, the event still retained the atmosphere that has made it a favorite with the Harker community. Prior to the game, early arrivals enjoyed food prepared by Harker parents at the parking lot tailgate area and by Harker’s kitchen staff, who served various dishes from the Mrs. Carley’s Café trailer, now a beloved tradition of every Homecoming. Grade 9 students sold pizza, sodas and candy to raise funds for various projects and spirit activities.
Younger attendees, meanwhile, had a blast at Rosenthal Field, where several bounce houses were set up so they could jump to their heart’s content. Others played schoolyard games and tossed Frisbees and footballs back and forth.
Back at Davis Field, onlookers enjoyed watching the first of two tug-of-war contests, with grade 10 defeating the Class of 2017. Spectators then watched performances by the lower school’s junior cheer squad and the upper school’s varsity dancers. Harker’s upper school jazz band, led by Chris Florio, also performed throughout the evening from their perch overlooking the field from the bleachers.
As the contest between Harker and Mount Pleasant drew nearer, the crowd enjoyed one of Homecoming’s most anticipated traditions, the Eaglets’ “Fly Through,” with lower school students adorned in eagle costumes performing a dance routine to the familiar strains of Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle.”
Shortly after the Harker Eagles burst through the Gauntlet of Spirit, flanked by members of Harker’s various cheer teams, singers from the lower, middle and upper school campuses gathered mid-field for a rousing version of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” directed by Jennifer Sandusky.
As the Eagles faced off against Mount Pleasant, the festivities continued both on the field and in the tailgate area. While the boosters in the stands cheered on their Eagles, Harker alumni in attendance met and reminisced in the special alumni area and parents socialized, while students relished the opportunity to spend more time with their friends.
“I like how there’s a lot of spirit and happiness,” said Angele Yang, grade 6. “It’s really fun and you can meet all of your friends, and it’s really fun to watch the game.”
Come halftime, the upper school cheer squad took to the field to entertain the crowd, and the Class of 2014 bested the juniors in the final tug-of-war contest of the year.
Upper school math teacher Victor Adler, dean of the class of 2014, then introduced this year’s Homecoming Court, who circled the field before the announcement of Adithram Rengaramchandran, grade 12, and Renu Singh, grade 11, as this year’s Homecoming King and Queen.
Although Harker lost the game 52-26 to Mount Pleasant, those in attendance still enjoyed the time spent bonding with other members of the community. “A lot of fun things go on. A lot of kids are having fun, so it’s a great event,” said parent Kim Hailey (Chris, grade 9). “A lot of great people and parents are at the school, and it’s good for them to get together.”
Congrats to five singers who have earned spots in the prestigious American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Coastal Region Honor Choir! With more than 300 singers auditioning, all five Harker singers were named to the choir. Named to the mixed choir was Ishanya Anthapur, grade 11 (alto 2). Named to the women’s choir were: Katie Chung, grade 10 (soprano 2); Maya Nandakumar, grade 11 (alto 2); Sahanna Narayan, grade 10 (soprano 1); Simran Singh, grade 11 (alto 1).
The number indicates what part – high alto or soprano (1) or low alto or soprano (2) – each girl will sing in the choir at its performance Nov. 23, 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto. Each girl’s audition included an Italian art song (40 points), tonal memory (25 points), sight reading (20 points), and scales and triads (15 points).
“It is range and voice quality that determines their placement into a voice part,” noted Susan Nace, a Harker choir director at the upper school. The girls’ audition will next be measured against other qualifiers from the state to determine who goes on to the state honor choir. Please congratulate these girls when you see them!
This year’s upper school fall play, “Anon(ymous),” will feature musical works composed by Harker students. A unique interpretation of Homer’s “Odyssey,” the play is “full of sense and places,” said upper school music teacher Susan Nace. “The soundscape to the play is huge, traversing oceans and continents. For one person to write all the music would be a daunting task.”
All of the composers – Brandon Yang, Kimberly Ma and Namrata Vakkalagadda, all grade 12; Agata Sorotokin, grade 11, and grade 10 students Jonathan Ta, Alice Wu and Gurutam Thockchom – volunteered without going through a selection process. “I believe that the people we need are the people we get!” Nace said.
The first task for the composers was for each of them to compose a version of the play’s main theme, dubbed “Nemasani’s Song” after the main character’s mother. Although only one student’s version was chosen to go into the play, Nace remarked that every version could find a place in the production. “There is a striking similarity between all the composers’ music, as they honed into the idea of home,” Nace said. “So I believe they all dug into the collective unconscious of what home sounds like.”
Wu was eager to try her hand at composing for the play even though she admitted her experience as a composer is limited. “I was a bit hesitant about whether I could do a good job with it, but after all, what is life without risks?” she said. “For me, I first figure out what I’m composing for and then just kind of let my mind wander. Sometimes I can find a melody by humming random notes or playing around with the keys on the piano, while other times, I just let the idea sit in the back of my head for a while until I suddenly happen to think of one.”
“I was glad to get the opportunity to compose for ‘Anon(ymous),’” said Sorotokin. “The sheer variety of genres and the idea of using music to enhance the audience’s experience, as in films, drew me to this.” The junior, who sings in the women’s vocal group Cantilena and studies piano at the San Francisco Conservatory, likes to record her ideas as soon as they arrive. “Ideas come suddenly and unpredictably,” she said. “This particular play, ‘Anon(ymous),’ has a lot of cultural references, so I like to picture how my musical ideas fit into the script. Also, it is important to keep in mind what feelings I would like to evoke in my music.”
“Anon(ymous)” premieres in late October. Be sure to attend to hear these student compositions live!
In mid-June, Samantha Madala, grade 11, gave a presentation at a meeting of the Endocrine Society held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The presentation was largely the result of her own experiences with hypothyroidism, an endocrine disorder in which the thyroid gland underperforms and whose symptoms include drowsiness and a lack of focus.
Prior to starting high school, Madala excelled academically. “But when I started high school, I noticed that I had a hard time focusing in class and I always felt tired and withdrawn. My grades were affected too,” she said. “I later found out that my symptoms were caused by hypothyroidism.”
Although relieved that her condition was treatable, Madala was disturbed by the lack of awareness on hypothyroidism and other endocrine disorders. She decided to conduct a study as a first step toward gauging the global awareness of endocrine-related health problems.
Madala and researchers from the University of British Columbia, University of California, Irvine, University of California, Berkeley and the Tufts University School of Medicine created an online survey administered to adults in different age groups and levels of education. “Overall, most survey-takers had very low knowledge of hypothyroidism and other disorders, with the average percentage of correct answers ranging from 15 percent to 45 percent,” Madala said. One of the more surprising finds was that most people surveyed had either completed a college degree or were attending college.
With this data, Madala hopes to eventually make the world aware of endocrine disorders and how they can be treated. “Ultimately, I would like to create solutions to raise awareness of all disorders that can impact learning, and help students reach their academic potential, without having to be held back by health problems,” she said. To this end, she has started a nonprofit organization for students suffering from chronic illnesses. “I believe that children should not have to struggle in school, especially when their problems can be solved with simple, effective treatments.”
She has also begun work on a publication dedicated to the discussion and treatment of pediatric hypothyroidism, featuring useful information on the topic and interviews with medical professionals and patients.
Fall sports continue, with a school record in girls cross country; victories in tennis, volleyball and golf; and a great homecoming event, with huge yardage from the Eagles, despite their loss.
Water Polo
After a tight 9-7 loss to Fremont earlier in the week, the varsity boys water polo squad roared back to crush Santa Clara on Thursday in their home opener, 14-8 win. In the win, Karan Kurber, grade 12, Eric Holt, grade 11, and Billy Bloomquist, grade 11, all racked up four goals apiece. Arnav Tandon, grade 9, and Stephan Pellissier, grade 12, each added a goal, and Sean Pan, grade 12, anchored the defense with four point-blank blocks. The week before, the boys had faced off against then-undefeated Saratoga High, with Bloomquist, Holt, Pellissier and Alex Thomas, grade 11, all scoring. The team is now 4-5 overall and 1-2 in league play. They travel to Wilcox on Tuesday and host Homestead on Thursday at the Singh Aquatic Center.
The girls played this weekend at the Aptos Tournament, winning one game and dropping three. On Friday evening, the girls lost to Santa Cruz High. The day, the girls defeated Lincoln 7-2 before losing to Pioneer and SLV. Delaney Martin, grade 11, led the team in scoring over the weekend, netting five goals. Helena Dworak, grade 10, had 24 saves in her four games. The team heads to Wilcox to lead off this week and then returns home to host Monta Vista on Thursday.
Cross Country
Freshman Niki Iyer raced the best-ever time for a Harker female runner in her first varsity cross country meet this past week at the Westmoor Invitational, finishing second overall and missing out on first place by one second. Senior Claudia Tischler placed 13th overall, while Connor O’Neill, grade 10, and Rahul Balakrishnan, grade 11, both broke 16:00 to lead the boys team. The team travels to San Bruno Mountain this Thursday for their first league meet of the season. Meanwhile, last Saturday, Corey Gonzales, grade 11, who is ranked in the top-five in CCS, faced off against a national field at the Stanford Invitational.
Football
Harker football dropped their Homecoming game to Mt. Pleasant last Friday, despite recording 420 total yards on offense. Running back Kevin Moss, grade 12, ran for 128 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Quarterback Keanu Forbes, grade 11, also scrambled for 52 yards on 11 runs, scoring twice in the third quarter. Forbes also connected with wide receiver Adarsh Battu, grade 12, five times for a total of 142 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown pass. The week before, junior varsity trumped Irvington High 20-6 to jump out to a 2-0 record early in the season. Varsity’s next game is this Fri., Oct. 4, at home against St. Francis at 7 p.m. The junior varsity plays next on Oct. 18 in a home game against Lynbrook.
Tennis
Girls tennis now stands at 4-1 on the season after a 7-0 victory over Milpitas last week. “The Lady Eagles battled through injuries to put together a new season-best team performance against an evenly matched Milpitas squad,” writes Dan Molin, Harker’s upper school athletic director.“The doubles team was highlighted by clutch and spirited wins in both third set tie-breakers and the sharp return of Ariana Shulman, grade 12, to the lineup.” Harker did not drop one set all day in their singles contests. The victory came one week after the girls defeated Fremont 5-2 with Dora Tzeng, grade 12, Izzy Gross, grade 10, and Arden Hu, grade 11, sweeping the singles matches. League play begins this week with a game at the Decathlon Club against Sacred Heart Prep.
Volleyball
The girls volleyball team defeated Lynbrook on Wednesday, bumping up their record to 4-3 overall as they prepare to open league play this Tuesday at Blackford against rival Sacred Heart Prep. They’ve now won two of their past three after an early start where the girls, tested early by a strong schedule, faced off against some of the top contenders in their section. Shreya Dixit, grade 11, Divya Kalindindi, grade 12, and Shannon Richardson, grade 10, have emerged as the team’s offensive leaders with setting duties shared by Selin Ozcelik and Selin Ekici, both grade 10. Mercedes Chien, grade 12, meanwhile, has excelled in her role as libero.
Following their league opener against Sacred Heart on Tuesday, the varsity girls will play Castilleja on Thursday. The junior varsity team has played great ball as well. This past week, the JV team won the silver division championship after victories over Presentation, Valley Christian and Menlo.
Golf
The girls golf team defeated Notre Dame San Jose this past Thursday, 213-246. Kristin Lin, grade 12, shot a 36. Daphne Liang, grade 10, shot a 39, and Ashley Zhong, grade 10, shot a 42. On Friday, the girls team upset their league rival Menlo 228-235 with Lin again shooting a 36. The weekend before, the girls finished in ninth place in the Lone Tree tournament in Antioch, with Lin shooting an 80 to finish in third place. The girls have a tournament on Monday of this week, followed by matches against Castilleja on Thursday and Sacred Heart on Friday.
When asked to give the special gift of time during a series of recent back-to-school events, Harker parents across all school campuses generously responded by signing up in the hundreds to serve as volunteers.
Thanks to a vast network of talented and enthusiastic parent volunteers, last year more than 1,100 hard-working volunteers set new records by collectively giving well over 4,800 hours of service on behalf of students, faculty and staff. This year, parents seem poised to repeat or even best that record.
At the lower school alone more than 300 sign-ups were collected electronically via iPads on hand at a special breakfast for parents, and about a hundred more flowed in after the event. Some parents chose to use QR codes (printed on sheets of paper and available at the breakfast) which they downloaded using their smart phones.
“We also had sign-ups available at the middle school breakfast, and an upper school welcome barbecue evening event. The upper school parent event coincided with the student social First Friday which had a great turnout as well,” reported Jennifer Hargreaves, director of middle and upper school volunteer programs.
According to her, parents could socialize, sign up and browse the range of volunteer opportunities. “We’ve had over 600 volunteer slots across the middle and upper school signed up for and counting …. We get people signing up every day!” she said.
This year Harker’s volunteer department went paperless with its successful launch of a convenient, new, user friendly, schoolwide online sign-up system called I-volunteer. I-volunteer was introduced across all divisions during the well-attended back-to-school functions. For parents of all campuses, a listing of volunteer opportunities is available on the parent community page of the portal with instructions for signing up.
“Parents were very receptive to both volunteering and the new online sign-up system,” said Tere Aceves, director of the preschool and lower school’s volunteer programs. She had been working on creating the I-volunteer system for the past several years and said she is hoping to soon bring it to the now open Harker Preschool.
Yet, putting technology aside, all of the back-to-school events served as an important opportunity for parents to become better acquainted with the school’s vibrant community by bonding with fellow parents. Present at all events were current parent volunteers and advancement office personnel to welcome newcomers and answer any and all questions about volunteering.
The global education department kicked off the new school year with a visit from Jin Yanfen, a teacher with a specialty in English as a Second Language from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China.
Jin (who goes by the name Fendy) was the first exchange teacher this school year to visit from WFLMS, Harker’s Chinese sister school. Established in 1996, WFLMS is located in the southwest part of the Xuhui District in Shanghai, an area regarded as an important educational location.
During her recent schoolwide visit, Jin observed and taught classes in both world history and Mandarin at the middle school. She also taught a Mandarin class at the upper school and read a book about Chinese writing to kindergartners at the lower school.
Voicing her support of Harker’s global education program, Jin, who had never been to Harker before, expressed how welcome she had been made to feel upon her arrival at Harker and her belief that “two minds are always better than one.”
She elaborated that when students are able to have an ongoing exchange, they have more options and ways to face problems. “When we talk with each other, both schools develop more quickly.”
Harker’s teacher exchange program is an example of its ongoing effort to build progressive academic and cultural partnerships between institutions around the world, providing meaningful experiences for students at all grade levels and preparing them to be true global citizens.
“We (WFLMS and Harker) have known each other for a long time. Our students enjoy the chance to communicate with an English-speaking friend; we especially want to know about America,” said Jin.
During her time at Harker, Jin was diligent about introducing information about Chinese culture and its traditional festivals, food and Confucianism so that students could more readily understand it. She also informed both Harker teachers and students alike about how China’s educational system operates.
“Our students – at all campuses – really benefit from these exchanges. They always approach me, asking questions about our guests and wanting to find out more about them,” reported Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Editor’s note: DECA used to be an acronym, but is now the organization’s name.
As the school year begins in earnest, the Harker DECA leadership team traveled to San Francisco’s Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing to learn from other chapters at this year’s Northern California DECA University.
DECA hones the skills of emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in finance, hospitality, management and marketing. The leadership team, including heads of public relations, treasury and membership, attended the Sept. 7 conference, which centered on teaching leadership teams critical skills needed to excel in the upcoming year.
Harker group advisor and mentor Juston Glass, director of business & entrepreneurial programs, said one important feature was for the group to see firsthand how businesses are using technologies to direct their teams. IBM, the ubiquitous technology company, and Uber, a four-year-old taxi service startup based in San Francisco, led the headlining discussions.
Shannon Hong, grade 10, public relations officer for DECA freshmen and sophomores, said she learned a great deal from her fellow DECA PR leaders, specifically “ways to make DECA the most prominent club in the school by utilizing social media properly.” She has used what she learned at the conference to plan a strong social media campaign for the club.
Gaurav Kumar, grade 12, director of PR for juniors and seniors, intends to use what he learned at the sessions to ensure the club has a top-notch relationship with the Harker community. “Making community outreach a more prominent part of our chapter’s endeavors,” is a key theme for him now, he said.
Club president Monica Thukral, grade 12, used the conference to work on her ability to manage the group as a whole. She learned “how other chapter presidents and vice presidents are better able to get everyone involved … to meet deadlines and collaborate more effectively,” she said. An overriding theme of the conference was goal setting and planning, something Thukral and her fellow leaders will be able to leverage for each of their teams.
After a long day of networking and learning, the leadership team bonded over shared excitement at a Giants game, unfortunately a 2-1 loss to the rival Arizona Diamondbacks. “When DECA activity gets crazy, these events will help keep the team together,” said Glass.
Synchronized Swimmers Shine Nationally and Overseas
Over the summer, synchronized swimmers Katie Gu, grade 12, Kate Chow, grade 8, and Anna Piskun, also grade 8, who are all members of the Santa Clara Aquamaids synchronized swimming club, traveled to a number of competitions.
Gu finished fourth at the 2013-14 Senior National Team Trials in Riverside, Calif., and later traveled to Puerto Rico with the rest of the U.S. Junior National Team to the Unión Americana de Natación (Amateur Swimming Union of the Americas) Pan-American Games. There, the team won first place.
At the U.S. Age Group Synchronized Swimming Championships in Riverside, Piskun’s team placed second overall in the 13-15 age group. Piskun also placed third in combination routine at the U.S. Open Synchro Swimming Championships in Irving, Texas.
Chow also competed at the Pan-American Games as a member of the 2013-14 national team in the 11-12 age group, and her team ended up placing first. At the U.S. Age Group Championships in Riverside, Chow’s team won first place. Her duet performance won third place, as did her trio.
Eighth Grade Swordswoman is National Champion
Foilist Jerrica Liao, grade 8, is the Youth-12 U.S. champion! She took the gold medal at the U.S. Fencing Summer National Championships in Columbus, Ohio, this July. Liao has finished in the top 16 in the past, but this year, her last in the Y-12 bracket, she earned the ultimate triumph.
Liao lost only one bout in her pool of seven but, out of 158 fencers, that was enough to seed her only 20th. Then the real fights began. Y-12 fencers fence for the best of two out of three five-touch bouts, and Liao, after a bye in the first round, beat her first three opponents in two bouts each. In the round of eight, things got tougher, as she faced the number three seed, winning in three bouts , 5-0, 0-1 and 1-0 (bouts with scores under five points went to time—3 minutes), in what must have been exhausting bouts after an already long day on the piste.
Liao then fenced the number four Y-12 female fencer in the country, who was seeded fifth, crushing her in two bouts 5-3, 5-0, but beating her next opponent to reach the gold medal match was tougher. Liao held her course, however, winning in three bouts 2-5, 5-4, 4-3. The gold medal match was a bit of an anticlimax, with Liao cruising to the championship 5-1, 5-1.
Liao’s finish left her ranked second in the U.S. in Y-12. Though she has now aged out of the Y-12 bracket, she has already made inroads in the Y-14 competitions. In Columbus, she fenced in the Y-14 bracket, where she took 22nd out of 152 fencers and is now ranked 11th in the U.S. in the Y-14 bracket. Liao trains at and fences for California Fencing Academy in San Jose. Congrats!
Student Helps Team to Basketball Tournament Victory
Grade 5 basketball enthusiast Benjamin Soraire and his National Junior Basketball League team, the Saratoga Fire, won the full court tournament on Aug. 25, defeating the South Bay Warriors. The Fire struggled early in the season, but rallied to make an impressive appearance in the playoffs, which culminated in last month’s tournament win.