It’s “the summer of wow!” over at the lower school’s Summer Camp+ program, just as the colorful sign hanging near the entrance to the Bucknall campus proclaims.
The wow factor ran high during a recent visit by Harker News Online to Camp+, where children could be seen joyfully climbing up a rock structure, hula hooping and cooling off in the pool or with a water mat and hose out on the field.
Indeed, campers are able to choose from a wide array of appropriate age-related summertime activities, creating the perfect environment for youngsters in K-6 to let loose and have some fun outdoors following earlier morning indoor academics.
Students have the choice of enrolling in either CoreFocus or LOL (Learning Opportunities in Literature) for the academic portion of the day. CoreFocus is a three- or four-week math- and language arts-focused program. LOL is a two-week integrated curriculum centered around a literary theme. Both programs leave room for the optional added afternoon activity program.
Each year, a spirited four-way game of “color clash” kicks off the beginning of the fun Camp+ activities. The traditional gathering, held in the Bucknall gymnasium, groups students in yellow, red, green and blue teams competing in an array of silly games cheered on by captains (aka camp counselors) wearing color-coordinated outfits running the gamut from superheroes to hula skirts and silly hats. Kindergartners stay for the beginning of color clash before heading outside to the lawn where they have their own special activities, including art projects.
Enthusiasm ran high at this year’s event, held in June. In a nice gesture of team spirit, campers got bonus points for loudly cheering for not only their own group but for everyone else as well. (Check out all the action in this video taken at the program: http://youtu.be/r_LDnLG7U7c.)
“Go, team yellow!” shouted camper and second grader Enzo Lucketti, also a regular student at the lower school. His favorite things about camp so far have been climbing on the rock structure outside and getting his study skills up in the academic portion of his day.
According to Joe Chung, program director of Camp+ and an elementary computer science teacher at the lower school, there is something for everyone in the program. On-site highlights include a patriotic games bash, water carnival, sleepover for older campers, presentation for parents and birthday celebration for camp mascot “Ray.” Campers also partake in numerous off-site field trips – from local outings for bowling and miniature golf to farther trips out to the Oakland Zoo and Coyote Point.
Afternoon activities are grouped by ages and weeks, with kindergartners attending kindercamp. First and second graders are in the owls group, third and fourth graders are called condors, and fifth and sixth graders are referred to as eagles. This year, the first session of camp included such themes as wow, whamo, wipe out and work out. The second session will feature weeks called wisdom of wizards, waiting on winter and wonders of wildlife.
“This is my third time at Camp+, and I really recommend it!” enthused grade 3 student Alexis Nishimura. To her, the best part about camp is “hanging out with friends,” followed by “all the fun activities and outings.”
Laughing and shielding their eyes from the sun, a group of Summer Institute (SI) participants casually tossed a Frisbee to one another out on Rosenthal Field. Meanwhile, in the upper school gym, another group of students playing volleyball couldn’t help but notice the delicious aroma from the nearby kitchen where a cooking class was underway.
From backyard games held on the field to volleyball boot camp and “cooking corner” in the gym and kitchen, SI students this year are enjoying brand-new specialty class period offerings. It’s all part of Harker’s increasingly popular Summer Institute program, now up and running on the Saratoga campus.
Open to both Harker students and the general public in grades 6-12, the institute got underway on June 17 and runs until Aug. 9.
Holding a plate of freshly-made scrambled eggs in her cooking class, Romina Parimi, a grade 6 student at San Jose’s Challenger Berryessa School, called it her favorite special activity so far. As a non-Harker student and first-time participant to SI, she said she was impressed by how beautiful the upper school campus is. “The academics are good; the activities are good!” she enthused.
The unique specialty classes are available via SI’s afternoon activity program (A.P.) where many middle school-aged students like Parimi sign up for courses, which change weekly. In addition to outdoor games, volleyball and cooking, other rotating class options include art, jewelry-making, magic, improv, dance, tech, junior lifeguard, chess and circus arts.
SI has two separate tracks, one designed for middle schoolers and another geared toward upper school-aged students. All SI participants typically combine a morning academic program with afternoon activities, allowing them to earn credits and learn new skills, yet still have plenty of time left over for summertime fun.
The institute’s academic portion offers rigorous for-credit courses such as algebra, economics and programming, as well as non-credit opportunities for enrichment and growth like creative writing, Web design, debate and robotics. A driver’s education course is available for students aged 15 and up.
For middle school aged participants (grades 6-8) A.P. provides many options for specialty classes and recreational activities. Weekly sessions are divided by themes, such as superhero, western, fantasy, Harry Potter, Disney and animation. There are also off-campus field trips every couple of weeks to such hot spots as the shoreline, the Tech Museum and Capitola.
“The wide range of choices and flexibility allows each student to design a schedule around his or her own academic needs and personal interests,” explained Keith Hirota, summer middle school director.
Grade 9 students have the option to either participate in A.P. or join the older high school students who have no organized afternoon activity program but enjoy free, drop-in access to the library, pool, art room, Ping-Pong table, basketball courts and study spaces. For all grades, an on-site prepared lunch is included.
According to Hirota, a total of 920 middle and upper school students are enrolled in this summer’s overall SI program, of which 550 participants are non-Harker students. He added that an average of 80-85 students per week attend A.P., with about 50 of those individuals coming from the general public.
After more than a year preparing, Harker received final approval July 18 for its new preschool, which opens Sept. 3.
Located on Union Avenue, Harker Preschool sits on an 8-acre site that has been under renovation since January.
“We’re very excited to add the preschool to our K-12 school community,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school.
The new play-based preschool offers programs for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds and transitional kindergartners. With a focus on child-centered learning and teacher-guided explorations, the curriculum is rich with music, art, movement and nature. All preschool teachers have college degrees – some with multiple and advanced degrees — and backgrounds working with children.
“We are building a very special place for young children, with kind, passionate and highly qualified teachers giving guidance,” said Andrea Hart, director of the preschool. “We also have a large, thoughtfully developed campus, and the best blend of early childhood education philosophies enabling children to develop and learn while engrossed in rich, hands-on play experiences.”
A Bay Area native, Hart spent 11 years teaching at the Bing Nursery School, the play-based laboratory preschool at Stanford University, spent years teaching in local Montessori preschools and was a student of the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership at Columbia University.
Applications for admission to the preschool are currently being accepted and interested parents may register online at http://preschool.harker.org or by picking up a registration packet at any of the other three Harker campuses. There will be tours for prospective parents July 18 at 9 a.m., July 21 at 10 a.m. and July 23 at 5:30 p.m. For parents to get the most out of these events, they are encouraged to arrange child care for their little ones.
“We are all so excited about the new preschool,” said Kelly Espinosa, who oversees the school’s summer and preschool programs. “It is a beautiful facility that promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience for young children.”
In April, Anand Natarajan ’09 became the second Harker alum in three years to receive the J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement from Stanford University, one of the university’s highest academic honors.
For the ceremony, Natarajan was asked to invite the teacher he felt was most influential during his school years, and he chose upper school physics teacher Eric Nelson, who shared his thoughts on the experience of having Natarajan as one of his students. In one memory that Nelson shared, Natarajan was “tasked with modeling the trajectory of a projectile that was subject to drag forces. The projectile was a ‘poof’ ball that was being fired out of our offering for the 2006 FIRST robotics competition,” he recalled. “Anand was memorable because he was so persistent in wanting to model the motion of the ball, but what really stood out was the fact that his email correspondence was so articulate that I thought at first that I was addressing his parents.”
Another favorite memory of Nelson’s was when Natarajan discovered and corrected an error in a calculus model Nelson had developed. “It was really quite remarkable, especially considering that he was only 12 years old at the time,” Nelson said.
The hot, late-afternoon sun could not deter a group of lower school English Language Institute (ELI) students from heading outdoors for recess, where they located a shady spot by the play structure and happily constructed a tower out of wooden blocks.
Although the group spoke several different languages, they expertly communicated in the silent yet universally-understood language of childhood play. Few words were spoken, but concentration ran high as the group stacked block upon block.
Once satisfied with their work, they took time out to talk (with interpretive help from a counselor) to Harker News Online about their experience in the school’s growing ELI program for elementary school-aged children held at the Blackford campus.
Nine-year-old ELI student Helen Kozak shared that going on a recent field trip to the beach at Santa Cruz reminded her of being back home in Ukraine, where she lives near the sea. “I like the ocean very much,” she said in remarkably good English, adding, “I swim all day long.”
In addition to swimming, her favorite things about ELI so far have been archery, circus arts and computer lab. “I like it all,” said Kozak, who has been to the United States several times but never before in the ELI program.
“My favorite thing about ELI is recess … which we are in right now!” enthused 11-year-old Aaron Guo of China. The first-time ELI participant added that his second favorite activity is basketball. He also liked all the “fun outings” to places like the Golden Gate Bridge and tide pools at the ocean.
Each summer the lower and upper school campuses are filled with excited students like Kozak and Guo, who come from abroad to improve their English speaking and writing abilities. And this year the lower school has a greater number of attendees than in previous years; in the lower school alone there are children from China, Korea, Japan, Ukraine and Turkey.
According to Anthony Wood, ELI director, the program saw a notable increase in enrollment at the beginner level, with more foreign students over at the Blackford campus than ever before, requiring a total of four classes. Older students (middle- and high school-aged) attend ELI on the Saratoga campus.
In addition to The Harker School’s rich global educational programming offered throughout the school year, summer at Harker brings with it its own special international flavor, as students meet and interact with peers from all over the world.
ELI initially began as a year-round boarding school, which closed in 2001. Its current summer program evolved and has been around since 2004. There are more than 60 students enrolled for the secondary division over the course of this summer, and at least 55 enrolled in the primary division.
Many ELI students and their families learn about the institute via the recommendation of American friends or relatives familiar with the program. But long before Harker launched the successful ELI program, the school had already earned a worldwide reputation for being among the finest in the United States, which further explains why ELI annually attracts students from diverse Asian and European countries.
The ELI program runs for an eight-week intensive session and is always kicked off with a welcome reception for ELI participants and their guardians. Students ages 6-16 are bound for American boarding schools, universities or internationally-based primarily English-speaking schools. They come to Harker to prepare for and increase their chances of admission to their next educational institution.
For the younger ELI students, formal class instruction is combined with enrichment programs, such as swimming and playing games. Often ELI students are able to join in activities with children attending the regular on-site summer camp, allowing them to have fun while improving language skills.
Karen Glovka, ELI primary program teacher, said the program for younger students teaches English in the context of what children like to do. True beginners, who know no English, learn greetings, colors, shapes, numbers, the alphabet (names of letters and sounds) and school and family vocabulary. Students with more developed skills work on reading, writing and computer skills.
“We strive to keep the learning fun,” explained Glovka, who for the past 10 years has also taught Spanish during the regular school year at Harker’s lower school.
The most advanced ELI students, usually middle and high school-aged, stay at the Saratoga campus and work on special projects tailored to their needs, including SAT preparation. They are assisted by mentors (called buddies or conversation partners) who are Harker juniors, seniors or recent graduates.
These older ELI students receive visits from admissions directors from some of the finest boarding schools worldwide, who come to Harker personally to meet with them and give presentations about what their schools have to offer.
Joe Rosenthal, Harker’s executive director of advancement and the former director of Harker’s elementary boarding program, is also a frequent guest lecturer to the ELI program on the topic of studying in the United States. This past spring Rosenthal organized a series of receptions in Asia on behalf of ELI, which provided a chance for the school to reconnect with several alumni now residing there.
At the end of their time at Harker, ELI students, upon full completion of either a three- or seven-week course, are eligible to receive a certificate (handed out during an official closing ceremony) and recommendation from their teachers.
On field trip days ELI students of all ages can be seen sporting green program T-shirts as they head out for cultural adventures to such diverse attractions as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Exploratorium, Academy of Sciences, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Santa Cruz Natural Bridges State Park and the Tech Museum.
Some ELI participants and their guardians opt to live with friends and relatives in the area. Others choose to stay at The Marriott Residence Inn, which made housing available for ELI students this year.
ELI participants at both the lower and upper schools may come with the primary goal of being able to travel, speak and learn in the States, yet they often leave with something they might not have anticipated: wonderful memories and strong ties to their new Harker community!
During the spring semester, rising seniors Kevin Zhu and Rahul Sridhar became the highest and second-highest Division II scorers in the region, respectively, in the 2013 Physics Bowl, administered by the American Association of Physics Teachers. Zhu scored 30 points, tying for the second-highest score nationally, and Sridhar scored 29 points.
As a team, Harker was the second-highest scoring school in the country with 144 points, just one point below the nation’s top-scoring school.
About 160 new-to-Harker parents received a warm welcome upon attending an evening reception held in their honor at the Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose.
Held in June, the annual event that welcomes new parents to Harker was graciously hosted by board member Sally Anderson. Chris Nikoloff, head of school, and Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, opened the reception, then, while socializing over appetizers and beverages, attendees visited with current parent “ambassadors” from various grades who were on hand to answer questions.
The group viewed a variety of video clips highlighting Harker’s strong academic, performing arts and athletic programs. Capping off the event was Casey Near ’06, who spoke about her many memorable experiences at Harker and how they have helped shape her as a person.
“At the end of the evening, guests had connected with one another and were very excited to become a part of the Harker community,” observed Rosenthal.
Grandparents and “grand-friends” visited the lower school in mid-May for a charming NASA-themed day where guests toured the Blackford campus, met with teachers and participated in activities with students.
Held annually, Grandparents’ Day is coordinated by a committee of dedicated parent volunteers and is always a highlight of the school year. During the event, students welcomed grandparents, special adult friends or adoptive grandparents-for-the-day for a memorable afternoon held in their honor.
This year’s event, “Blast Off!: An Aerospace Adventure,” featured space station activities at various booths. Students in the primary grades made faces of the moon out of Oreo cookies and learned about gravity force. Older kids in grades 4-5 explored the phases of the moon, learned about space and participated in a “create your own tornado” activity.
Guests also enjoyed performances by students, refreshments, a visit to the lower school’s art show, a fun photo booth, a telescope set up to view the flares of the sun and seeing the students’ classrooms. Another special highlight was the school’s coinciding annual book fair in the Bucknall library, where some visitors chose to dedicate a book especially for their grandchild or special young friend.
“We are delighted that every year the number of attendees increases … over 400 grandparents or special friends came to the event,” said Teré Aceves, director of Harker’s lower school volunteer events program. “The theme was my favorite so far; NASA provided us with age-appropriate activities that everyone enjoyed,” she added.
Aceves noted that this year, for the first time, activity stations were kept open after the event for those students who were not able to invite a guest. She also voiced her appreciation to all the volunteers, faculty and staff who helped make this event such a huge success.
At the end of the day, grandparents and grand-friends were given Harker tote bags to commemorate their visit. Meanwhile, all the lower school students received popsicles, capping off a very sweet day!
This article was originally published in the summer 2013 Harker Quarterly.
More than $8,000 Raised by Annual Cancer Walk; Harker Community Goes the Extra Mile During Walk to Raise Money for Camp Okizu
Students, faculty and family members recently put on their walking shoes for the seventh annual Harker Cancer Walk. The successful schoolwide effort netted more than $8,000 for Camp Okizu. “This will give many young cancer patients a fantastic opportunity to go to camp!” said Cindy Ellis, middle school head. “I know they will also enjoy the many decorated Frisbees from the middle school students while at camp.” The symbolic stroll was held in late March at Blackford. Supplementing cash donations were sales of T-shirts, water bottles, Jamba Juice, baked goodies, temporary tattoos and wrist bands, all of which were sold by volunteers.
The “biggest cancer walk poster ever” was hung on the amphitheater wall from March 25-29 and stood 8 feet high. Advisories also made small, honorary flags for those who have survived or passed away which were then placed in the ground along the walking path.
“The Cancer Walk is truly an effort of the community that I have grown to cherish at Harker,” said Michael Schmidt, organizer, who teaches middle school computer science. “Thank you again for our seventh amazing Cancer Walk.”
Upper School Student Creates Unique Math Program for Children
Like many teens, Urvi Gupta, grade 11, maintains a jam-packed schedule, yet she makes time to give back to her community by providing free math tutoring to K-3 kids at local libraries in San Jose using a unique program she created called OneInMath. The program teaches youngsters simple ways to add, subtract, multiply, divide and understand concepts quickly for math success.
“I designed the free volunteer-run program from the ground up, defining its purpose, goals and developing materials, including 1,862 math problem sheets, teaching instructions, learning videos, program format, volunteer instructions and the logistics of running it,” said Gupta, who teaches as well as independently manages the overall program.
She currently supervises more than 150 kids and 27 high school volunteers across three libraries using the program, which was implemented in November 2011. Now, the popular OneInMath classes – which utilize video instruction in addition to faceto- face volunteer tutoring – have both students and parents excited about learning mathematics.
Gupta was recently honored as Volunteer of the Year from the entire San Jose public library system for her dynamic math program and volunteer efforts. The top honor began with a nomination from local librarian Vidya Kilambi, who had been impressed with Gupta’s program for some time. As a result of her efforts, aside from all the children her program has helped, Gupta received a commendation on June 11 from the City of San Jose for her efforts.
Students Raise Record Amount for the Humane Society
Life just got a little easier for animals at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, thanks to the efforts of the school’s grade 1 community service project.
The students showed their love for the shelter’s displaced rabbits, dogs and cats by collecting monetary donations, buying needed supplies and making toys for distribution to the shelter.
“We raised about $900 (a new record) and collected more than 80 bags of toys, supplies and food for the animals,” reported the students’ homeroom teacher, Cindy Proctor, who oversaw the project. In addition to monetary donations, items for collection included animal treats, collars, litter, toys, clean blankets, sheets, towels and comforters.
“We would like to express our thanks for the tremendous support and generosity of our Harker families for participating in this project. The donations continue to come in, and we are extremely grateful,” said Proctor.
Blood Drive to Help Remedy Local Blood Shortage
At least 100 locally-based hospital patients desperately in need of blood will be helped, thanks to the annual Harker Blood Drive held at the upper school campus in March.
This year’s successful drive resulted in the collection of 44 total pints, which will benefit the Blood Centers of the Pacific, a nonprofit organization that supplies blood to Northern California hospitals, doctors and patients.
Thirty-nine Harker students, faculty and staff members gave blood at the drive, which was organized by the Red Cross Club, with five people donating double red cells.
GEO Week Raises Funds to Build Schools Overseas
By Zach Jones
The Global Empowerment and Outreach (GEO) student club held its annual GEO week in mid-March, raising nearly $1,000 for Pencils of Promise, an organization that works to build educational programs in poor areas of the world. Some of Pencils of Promise’s efforts include building schools, training teachers and providing supplies. The organization has already completed construction on 110 schools, and 14 are in construction with plans for at least four more.
According to Amie Chien, grade 12, GEO president, the cost to provide a year’s worth of education for a child in one of these areas is just $25. “A pair of jeans from Express is easily $25, a week’s worth of Starbucks every morning, about the same. If we were to give up a little luxury for a week, we could easily find $25 lying around,” she said.
Five Seniors Recognized by National Charity League for Thousands of Volunteer Hours
On March 16, Michelle Douglas, Cristina Jerney, Emily Wang, Amy Grace Wardenburg and Molly Wolfe, all grade 12, were honored by the Heritage Oaks Chapter of the National Charity League, Inc. NCL is a philanthropic organization that fosters mother-daughter relationships through community service, leadership development and cultural experiences. Over the past six years, the five seniors have logged hundreds of volunteer hours (often with their mothers) at many local organizations including the American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity – Silicon Valley, Humane Society of Silicon Valley, InnVision, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Sacred Heart Community Services.
In addition to these awards, Wardenburg has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for volunteering over 100 hours in a calendar year for all six years she has been volunteering, and Wolfe and Jerney have also each received the award in the past. Wardenburg will also be receiving the Senior Service Award, which is given to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative philanthropic hours earned during her years at National Charity League.
Senior Honored by Stanford for Volunteering
Senior Leslie Chan was awarded the Stanford University Medical Center Auxiliary Scholarship in May in recognition of exemplary service and contributions to the C-1 Unit and Junior Volunteer program at Stanford Hospitals and Clinics.
Harker’s youngest artists (K-5 students) kicked off their annual art show at the lower school with a well-attended opening reception in May. Refreshments were served as exhibiting students once again demonstrated an impressive range of abilities in their remarkably sophisticated sculptures, drawings and architectural designs.
The festive art show began in the main lobby outside the Bucknall gymnasium, continuing to wind its way into the gym and up the stairs, all the way to the top floor classrooms.
Displays were broken up by themes, which included, among other items, grade 5 oil pastels dubbed “Inspired Starry Nights,” grade 3 foil/metallic pen creations called “African Reliquary Figures,” and grade 2 ceramic self-portraits.
Among the grade 4 art on display were many illustrations of vases holding dainty pussy willows and scenes of bridges running over beautiful waterways. Meanwhile, grade 1 students did a series of unique depictions of owls using chalk pastels, clay, acrylics and even sharpie pens. Kindergartners specialized in creating playful pictures of sea creatures, moonlit pumpkins and flowers.
“I think it’s really cool to see everything the other grades are doing,” said Rashmi Iyer, grade 5, who had stopped to admire several works in the art show on her way up to class.
“This year we got to try new things,” she added, excitedly noting that she had created a “Starry Night” illustration (based on the famous Van Gogh piece) as well as some ceramic animal sculptures.
Arushi Nety, also grade 5, added that even though she doesn’t consider herself an artist, she enjoyed making a ceramic whale and seeing it on display at the art exhibit. “It’s a very different type of whale,” she said, with obvious pride.