Upper School Football Runningback DeVonte Smith, grade 10, ignited the Harker Eagles’ offense on the road against the Los Altos Eagles, rushing 14 times for 160 yards and a touchdown in Harker’s 14-12 win, their first Santa Clara Valley Athletic League victory of the season. Smith led on both sides of the ball, finishing the game with a team-high 10 solo tackles, and a third-quarter three-yard plunge into the endzone by quarterback Spenser Quash, grade 12, put Harker up for good. Linebacker Ryan Mui, grade 12, had nine solo tackles. Samir Chaudhry, grade 11, and Justin Marion, grade 9, each had a fumble recovery. This Friday is senior night for the team as they host Monta Vista on Davis Field.
Cross Country
In cross country action, both the boys and girls teams ran in the Crystal Springs Center Meet last Thursday. Corey Gonzales, grade 10, continued a fine year, setting a new Harker record with a 16:13 run and finishing in fifth place. Gonzales’ run was 40 seconds faster than his previous personal best, set in the CCS Championships last year, and 1:30 faster than his time at the same meet the year before. Tyler Yeats, grade 12, placed 26th, helping the team to a 12th place finish. Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, ran her best race of the year, placing 10th on a cold and rainy afternoon while running a season-best 20:11. Claudia Tischler, grade 11, was right behind Bhattacharya in 12th, running her personal best on the Crystal course, 20:19. Outstanding freshman Mary Najibi placed 41st with a time of 22:09, a top-five all-time freshman mark for Harker.
Water Polo
Girls water polo went 4-1 this past weekend at the Western State Tournament in Modesto, with their only loss coming in sudden-death overtime to Liberty High. The girls earned fifth place overall with victories over Gregori, West, Notre-Dame-Belmont and Pitman. Keri Clifford, grade 12, had 24 goals over the weekend and goalie Helena Dworak, grade 9, had 28 saves. The tournament success comes on the heels of the girls’ dramatic 6-5 victory over league foe Santa Clara last Thursday. Harker is now an impressive 16-5 overall, the most wins in the program’s history, and tied for first place in the league at 7-2.
Boys water polo suffered two nail-biter losses last week, dropping games to Fremont 6-5 and Santa Clara 12-11. Karan Das-Grande, grade 12, had six goals against Santa Clara and Eric Holt, grade 10, chipped in five. Both the boys and girls play their senior day at home this Thursday.
Golf
The girls golf team dominated Mercy Burlingame with a 249-299 win at Crystal Springs on Friday. Patricia Huang, grade 12, led the Eagles with a five over par 41 performance on a difficult course. Daphne Liang, grade 9, shot her career-best 46. Contributing scores were junior Kristine Lin’s 46, senior Jessica Son’s 48 and junior Connie Li’s 68. Newcomer Madelyn Wang, grade 10, made her debut league performance, having only picked up golf at the beginning of the season. The Eagles remain in sole possession of second place in the WBAL with a 4-1 record, taking on first-place undefeated Castilleja today and Friday of this week.
Volleyball Girls volleyball had an excellent showing at the Presentation Tournament on Saturday, considered to be among the toughest tournaments in California. The girls started the day by losing to the 13th ranked team in the nation, Archbishop Mitty, in a very respectable match, then went 1-3 the rest of the day.
Tennis
Girls tennis took nearly three hours to complete their match on Thursday as rain poured down, but as the storm receded, Harker defeated host Crystal Springs 4-2. Harker had leapt out to a swift 3-0 lead before the rain interrupted and caused a long delay. Two other teams lost after the delay, and it was not until Athlete of the Month Daria Karakoulka, grade 12, who played #2, stepped up to defeat her opponent in near darkness that Harker finally sealed the victory. Harker now stands at 8-1 and 5-1 in league. Girls tennis senior day is this Friday v. Notre Dame-San Jose.
Attendees at the 62nd Harker Family & Alumni Picnic on Oct. 14 gloried in the timelessness of the picnic: new things each year–especially the faces of students growing up–and some of the classics, like the never-get-tired-of-it dunk tank. The whole event, one of the big opening events of the school year, was attended by about 800 people and again fulfilled its promise in providing fun and entertainment to the entire Harker community on a warm fall day.
Families were greeted by Harker faculty and staff as they reached the entrance to the middle school campus, where the day’s festivities took place. This year’s theme, “Jaws, Paws and Claws,” celebrated all manner of wildlife, and patrons were treated to animal shows at the Blackford amphitheater throughout the day.
The crowd was also entertained by an energetic show by a wide selection of groups from Harker’s performing arts department, including Dance Fusion, the grade 4-6 boys and girls dance group; Downbeat, the upper school show choir; and the grade 6 choir, Dynamics.
Picknickers, particularly the younger ones, especially enjoyed being able to see and pet the pigs, goats, rabbits and other animals on display at the petting area. Talented and well-trained dogs performed tricks and ran through an obstacle course to the delight of audiences, and even a python several feet in length was available for visitors to view and briefly wear on their shoulders.
The always-popular game booths were among the main attractions throughout the day. Volunteers spun wheels of fortune, players tossed golf balls, shot hoops and more to win a myriad of prizes, including stuffed animals, toys and bottles of wine. One of the most popular carnival games, the dunk tank, continued to be a hit with picnic-goers. “The dunk tank was a little cold today. If you noticed, the weather was a little overcast,” said upper school chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine, who had an early shift. He was one of a number of faculty members who had the honor of sitting in the dunk tank this year, and one of the most enthusiastic: “I kind of like the anticipation,” Irvine said.
Kaela Bien, grade 5, who liked “watching the teachers get dunked,” also enjoyed the canine feats on display at the dog show. “It’s fun, and they’re sort of mischievous too,” she said.
Generous student and parent volunteers helped sell tickets to the booths that kept visitors entertained and fed all day. Food booths, run by parents, faculty and staff, served delicious refreshments, snacks and hot meals from a variety of vendors. Returning were the food trucks, which proved a hit during the 2011 picnic and received a similar response this year, serving Asian fusion and other types of cuisine.
At the “Claws Vegas” silent auction area, attendees bid on all sorts of prizes, ranging from trips to New York City and Las Vegas to sleepovers and animal-shaped topiaries. Parent alumna Tiffany Nishimura ’86 (Alexis, grade 2), said the silent auction was her favorite part of the picnic for the wide variety of prizes available and the various opportunities for “supporting the school.”
Harker alumni had a big presence at this year’s picnic, with more than 130 alumni and their families joining in on the fun. A special lunch area was set aside so that alumni could meet and reminisce, while alumni children enjoyed a craft activity. Alumni director MaryEllis Deacon reflected on the picnic, saying, “It is a time to come back, reconnect, and visit with those teachers who helped you as a child become who you are today. It also allows you to remember the fun things, the games, the food and the spirit of Harker.”
Vincy Chan, parent of Gemma, K, and Gianna, grade 3, said she enjoyed seeing the community’s hard work come to fruition: “It’s like a family, so I just love helping out, and then … seeing all our hard work.”
“When you see everybody come together, and see all the people in their civilian clothing, it shows the magic that makes the Harker community Harker,” Irvine said.
Following the picnic, Chris Nikoloff, head of school, gave well-deserved credit to all responsible for the event’s success. “Special thanks to the talented and creative flock of volunteers who comprise the picnic committee and the Harker faculty and staff who were as busy as beavers helping to make the picnic a great success,” Nikoloff said, making special mention of picnic co-chairs Lynette Stapleton, Kelly Espinosa and Tiffany Hurst, “whose vision made it possible for all our little eagles and their families to soar to new heights today!”
Golf Harker girls golfers defeated Menlo with only five girls, 236-242, to remain undefeated. Harker is tied atop the West Bay Athletic League with Castilleja. The girls face tough tests this week against Sacred Heart and then against Mercy-Burlingame on Friday.
Girls Volleyball The girls volleyball team defeated ECP last week, but lost in three tight games to a tough Crystal Springs squad on Thursday, 23-25, 23-25, 25-27. Even after the tough loss, however, the girls’ record remains at 14-2. This week, they hit the road for two games.
Girls Tennis Despite dropping last Thursday’s contest to Menlo 5-2, the girls took a major step toward removing the “Menlo Mystique,” a cloud of invincibility held by Menlo over Harker since joining the West Bay Athletic League.
The match was much closer than the score dictates. Harker had two opportunities to win the match on their service, but Menlo was able to break on those occasions and ultimately came out on top.
“The girls knew they should have won and are eager to play again,” commented coach Craig Pasqua, adding, “This could be the very event that makes us stronger and hungry for the next level.”
Dora Tzeng, grade 11, completely demolished two-time WBAL MVP Giannina Ong at #2, winning 3 and 1. Harker’s #1 doubles team, which features Sat Prakash, grade 11, and Arden Hu, grade 10, also defeated Menlo’s strong #1 team by an equally impressive 2 and 2. Both #2 and #3 doubles teams raced to early leads in their matches, but both came up short. At #1 singles, Jenny Chen, grade 12, lost a close three set match, losing in a third-set tiebreaker. Harker’s other two singles players both went down, losing in straight set matches.
Harker has another chance to lock up the league title when they play Menlo again in a couple of weeks. After Menlo’s victory this week, Harker stands alone in second place with a 3-1 record in league play and a 6-1 record overall.
Upper School Football Eagles quarterback Spenser Quash, grade 12, passed for 294 yards and rushed for 79, but Harker could not match Gunn High School’s 506 total yards as the Titans defeated the Eagles 49-21. Robert Deng, grade 12, and Kevin Moss, grade 11, each had touchdown catches, and kicker Deniz Celik, grade 12, added two field goals. Harker (2-4, 0-2) travels to Los Altos for a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League game this Saturday.
Cross Country Harker’s cross country teams competed in their first league meet last week. Corey Gonzales, grade 10, placed second overall in the varsity boys race, beating his time from last year by 40 seconds. For the girls, Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, placed 10th, and Claudia Tischler, grade 11, ran a solid race, placing 16th. The teams run again this Thursday at Crystal Springs.
Water Polo Both boys and girls water polo lost to Saratoga this past week. The boys lost 16-9 with goals scored by Karan Das-Grande, Gilad Nilo and Ryan Hume, all grade 12. The girls lost 6-3 for only their second league loss with goals by Keri Clifford, grade 12, Anna Levine, grade 11, and Anushka Das, grade 10. The boys also went 1-2 at the Live Oak Tournament over the weekend, defeating Harbor High and losing to Live Oak and Evergreen Valley. Goalie Sean Pan, grade 11, scored in the Evergreen loss, and David Grossman, grade 12, scored his first career goal. Both the boys and the girls host Santa Clara this Thursday.
Simona Snitkovskaya, Russian opera coach with Opera San Jose, visited the upper school on Sept. 25 to speak to some of Susan Nace’s music students. An accomplished pianist with a vast knowledge of Russian music, Snitkovskaya has coached professional singers hoping to expand their repertoire of Russian music, helping them with their pronunciation, diction and interpretation.
She began by sharing with the students some of the history of Russian classical music and its key figures. “Russian music basically came from non-professional composers,” she said. “The first composers we had, they all did it for fun. It was their hobby.”
Among Russia’s first notable professional composers were Modest Mussorgsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
The class was later joined by professional opera singers Kindra Scharich and Kirk Eichelberger, who shared their experiences learning how to perform Russian music. While studying music, Eichelberger said, “We have to learn, in addition to English, French, German, Italian and a lot of Latin.” The only way to learn how to perform in Russian was to do so independently. “It was long and painstaking, but so worth it.”
“Each language has its own music,” Scharich said. “Just to be able to make those sounds is part of the music of the language. You get a whole new palette of sounds that you can deal with.”
The singers then performed some pieces in Russian, demonstrating their hard-earned command of the language.
The 13th annual Howard and Diana Nichols Invitational debate tournament took place at the upper school campus Sept. 28-30, bringing in 208 students from 28 schools in California, Arizona and Washington. Because Harker qualified for the Tournament of Champions, Harker students were not permitted to participate in the main tournament, but Harker students did participate in the novice and tournament experience workshops. Nikhil Bopardikar and Anish Velagapudi, both grade 9, were in the top 20 in the novice division.
Harker students were instrumental in ensuring that the tournament and the novice workshop were run smoothly. “Student leaders organized and did the majority of teaching at the workshop. They also oversaw the timely management of the varsity tournament and managed our student workers. Our parents hosted visiting students in their homes, served meals and judged debates,” said Carol Green, chair of Harker’s communication studies department.
One student from Foothill High School commented the tournament was “extremely well run. Not only was the judging pool outstanding, but I really felt like The Harker School cared. The students were all around helping directing us, while there was a help desk and delicious food. Adding on to that, the rooms in which we debated were really nice also.”
Before his performance at the Harker Concert Series, renowned jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, bassist John Shifflett and drummer Jason Lewis held a master class in the Nichols Hall auditorium for upper and middle school students to help them improve their musicianship both as individuals and members of a group.
Students gathered around Eigsti as he sat at the piano and offered his advice. When improvising, he told the students, it is good to “leave a little of space” so that he can hear what his bandmates are doing and perhaps give them some room to add flourishes of their own.
The upper school jazz band played their rendition of John Coltrane’s “Blue Train” for the trio, who then gave them advice on how to improve, warning them against cutting into one another’s soloing time and advising them to be mindful of signals from their band mates.
Harker Girls Tennis
After their 3-0 week against CCS-quality opponents which ended with a rout of rival Sacred Heart Prep, Harker hosts powerhouse Menlo this Thursday at Blackford in a battle for first place. As Dan Molin, athletic director, said, “If you were to watch any girls tennis match, this would be the one!”
Harker Girls Water Polo
In sudden-death overtime last Tuesday, girls water polo snatched a victory over Monta Vista, 8-7, with Keri Clifford, grade 12, scoring 7 goals and Sonia Sidhu, grade 12, picking up the other. Sierra Lincoln, grade 12, made eight stops in goal. The girls play an away game against Saratoga High on Thursday.
Harker Girls Varsity Volleyball
Girls varsity volleyball went 2-0 last week with victories against King’s Academy and Santa Clara, improving to 10-1 overall. Their sterling record will be challenged when the girls hit the road to play two games away from home this week.
Harker Cross Country
At the Ram Invitational at Westmoor High this Saturday, Corey Gonzalez, grade 10, placed eighth out of 211 runners, running the 2.4 mile course in 12:46 and improving his time from last year by a full minute. Claudia Tischler, grade 11, placed 18th out of 165 runners, and Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, set a new personal best with her time. Thursday marks the first league meet for these runners.
Harker Football
Two touchdown passes from quarterback Spenser Quash, grade 12, to Kevin Moss, grade 11, were not enough as Harker fell to Cupertino this Friday, 40-13. The boys will get a chance to even their record, which now stands at 2-3, when they face off against Gunn this Friday night at Davis Field. There are only three home games, including Homecoming, remaining in Harker’s football season.
Harker Middle School and Lower School Girls Softball
Lower school and middle school girls softball teams are both off to undefeated starts to the season, with the grades 6-8 team standing at 3-0 in league play and the grades 4-5 team at 4-0.
The middle school team was locked in a tie for first place with Castilleja until Kristin LeBlanc, grade 7, knocked in Grace Park, grade 8, for a game-winning run with a base hit to defeat the Castilleja Gators, 6-5, and give Harker sole possession of first place, a game ahead of Castilleja. Meghan Robertson, grade 6, pitched an outstanding game, and Anika Rajamani, grade 6, Marti Sutton, grade 8, Tiffany Shou, grade 7, and Livinia Ding, grade 8, all came up with big plays to contribute to the victory.
The lower school girls team also has on lock on first place in its league after defeating Woodland for the second time this year. Arushi Nety, grade 5, has three doubles and two triples in her last two games, and Haley Arena, grade 5, and Courtni Thompson, grade 4, made important catches to preserve the Eagles’ last victory.
Flag Football
The grade 8 flag football team stands at 2-3 this year. Led by quarterback Alex Youn and wide receivers Nicolas Bean and Nik Weisbloom, Harker pulled off an exciting and tense 9-6 victory against Crystal Springs recently. After a season of close games, the boys are preparing for the Harker flag football tournament this weekend.
The grade 7 flag football team lost a tough 12-0 game to the Menlo Knights last week, dropping to a 1-3 record despite strong defensive play all year. James Shaw, Nirban Bhatia, Chris Smith and Jin Kim have all been standouts and leaders on defense. The highlight of the season so far came in game two, when the Eagles defeated Woodland courtesy of strong play by Dolan Dworak, who ran for one touchdown and threw for another, and Michael Sikand, who ran for a touchdown. The season closes out next week as Harker plays Valley Christian and Sacred Heart.
The grade 6 flag football team is in first place after an undefeated 6-0 run in which they never trailed at a single moment in any game. The team is led by offensive standouts like 1uarterback Bobby Bloomquist, running backs Jackson Williams and Jarrett Anderson, and tight end Charlie Molin. As cornerback, Hasan Awais has snatched four interceptions in just six games, while middle linebacker Jason Peetz has two interceptions and has scored a defensive touchdown. All told, the team has 13 interceptions in only six games and has outscored their opponents 197-36.
The grade 5 flag football team, coached by Tobias Wade and Patrick Hightower, is currently 2-1. The team is led by 1uarterback Darshan Chahal, who had a crucial punt return for a touchdown against Woodland. Safety Henry Weise has also made some stellar defensive plays by knocking the ball out of the receivers’ hands and getting crucial stops on third down.
Swimming
Harker’s lower school and middle school swim team, coached by Alisha Garcia, Andrew Booth, Jennifer Deasy and Ruth Hegedus, participated in the Castilleja meet earlier this season. The results were as follows:
Grade 6 Boys
25 Fly – first Edwin Su, second Stephan Sokolov, third Noah Salisbury
25 Breaststroke – first Leon Lu, second Jerry Peng, third Mihir Dixit
Grade 6 Girls
Medley Relay Team – third place
25 Back – first Angel Li
25 Breaststroke – second Sara Min
Grade 7 Boys
100 IM – first Derek Kou, second Alexander Wang, third Victor Shin
200 Free – first Jeffery Ma, third Aadith Srinvasan
Grade 7 Girls
50 Breaststroke – second Emma Brezoczky
Grade 8 Boys
50 Free – first Matthew Cheng, second Kayvon Solaimanpour, third Austin Zhang
50 Fly – third Justin Culpepper
Harker is hosting their own league meet on Tues., Oct. 9.
Cross Country
The middle school cross country team, coached by Scott Graham, Margaret Huntley and Jessica Sykora, is off to a great start. In the Crystal Spring Meet, a relay, Akshaya Vemuri, Sharon Yan, Gloria Guo and Sarah Savage, all grade 7, took second place. At the Priory Meet, Julia Amick, grade 6, took first place in her race. Savage did the same, while Niki Iyer, grade 8, took second in hers. The grade 6 boys took fourth place while the grade 7 and 8 girls took third and the grade 7 and 8 boys took second place. At Miller Meet, Savage again placed first in her race, with Amick placing fourth in hers, Iyer placing third in hers, and Arnav Tandon, grade 8, placing ninth in his. Harker hosts its own league meet on Wed., Oct. 10.
The first spirit event of the year got off to a great start for the lower school’s fourth and fifth graders. Held on Sept. 19 during second period, the assembly featured an action-packed cup race and oversized word search activity.
During the cup race, students and their homeroom teachers furiously worked to stack cups until the odd color was reached. The word search activity saw students attempting to find as many “paws, jaws and claws” as possible during the game.
Lower school students have spirit assemblies about once a month throughout the year to promote school spirit and homeroom unity. The students compete against one another for spirit points and the homeroom with the highest score at the end of the year wins a party, so the stakes are high!
According to Mel Robinson, grade 5 P.E. teacher who helped spearhead the event, “Our initial spirit assembly went really well. The spirit/service students brainstormed at our first pre-meeting, and came up with great ideas. The students were engaged, in high spirits and are now looking forward to our next event.”
Harker’s Junior Classical League (JCL) got off to a great start with this year’s inaugural event, held Sept. 28 at Laser Quest in Mountain View.
The evening, which landed on the last Friday night of the month, provided an informal opportunity for participants to unite in a fun, casual atmosphere.
According to Lisa Masoni, a middle school Latin teacher who helped spearhead the event, students enjoyed relaxing together and ending their busy week by “accessing their inner warriors and enjoying a Roman dinner of pizza and soda!”
The JCL is part of a larger organization – the California Junior Classical League – which was founded in 1955 to provide a forum for Latin students to compete in a wide range of academic, art and athletic contests, both individually and by chapter.
To qualify for admittance to the JCL students must be enrolled in or have successfully completed a semester of a classical language course.
Taylor Eigsti returned to a sold-out Nichols Hall auditorium on Sept. 28 to kick off the third season of the Harker Concert Series. Performing to a very enthusiastic crowd, the 27-year-old jazz piano phenom again dazzled an audience made up of everyone from budding jazz fans to longtime aficionados.
The slow, lilting chords of Eigsti’s version of the jazz standard “Cheryl” coursed through the auditorium as the show began, expertly punctuated by veteran drummer Jason Lewis’ light cymbal hits. The trio soon brought up the volume, with Eigsti bassist John Shifflett playing in fast, tight harmony. Never one to chew up scenery, Eigsti gave Shifflett and Lewis ample room to display their knack for tasteful soloing, in addition to showcasing his own immense chops.
“Speaking Song,” one of Eigsti’s own compositions, started with a fast, tricky solo filled with arpeggios and wide intervals, flowing into a strident and confident melody. Following Shifflett’s melodious bass solo, the band shifted into a gallop during Eigsti’s solo, culminating in a raucous middle section before mellowing for the ending.
For the last song of the first set, a rendition of Kenny Dorham’s “Lotus Blossom,” the trio was joined by Eigsti’s longtime friend and Harker middle school music teacher Dave Hart on trumpet. Hart navigated the songs shifting times and rhythms in seemingly effortless fashion, and also showcased his formidable improvisational skills.
During the intermission, several guests at the show remarked about the quality of the venue and reception.
“It’s wonderful,” said Vickie Grove of Portola Valley, a longtime Taylor Eigsti fan who attended last year’s concert. “I love the venue. It’s small. The food is excellent. It’s really fun.”
Kim Huynh, who lives in San Jose, decided to attend after being impressed with her experience seeing pianist Adam Golka last season, saying she enjoyed the “very nice reception. It was exceptional. It was great.”
The second set had some more surprises, including another guest turn by Dave Hart on “Declan,” written by Lewis and named after his son, and a powerful performance on vocals by the young and talented Laila Smith on “Midnight After Noon,” written by Eigsti with Becca Stevens.
Among the more emotionally charged pieces performed was “Distressed,” which Eigsti composed for the 2011 film “Detachment,” starring Adrien Brody. Fittingly, Eigsti performed with no accompaniment for this brooding piece, which was at times also dissonant, plodding and atmospheric.
Eigsti finished the show with the uplifting, groove-driven “Magnolia,” whose rousing mid-section and calming final moments drew a well-deserved extended ovation.