Author and neighborhood organizer Mike Lanza spoke at the first Harker Speaker Series event of the year on Sept. 14 to share his insights into how neighborhoods can be great places for children to grow up and lead fun, fulfilling lives.
Beginning with some of the problems currently facing children, Lanza made the point that many kids spend too much time in front of screens, be they television, sets, laptops or tablets. On average, he noted, kids spend about eight hours each day consuming visual media.
Their lives are also highly scheduled, with sporting events, lessons and other activities. “They have no time on their own in the world to do things,” Lanza said.
Lack of unstructured play time leads to several problems, he said, among them obesity, depression and lack of creativity. He added, however, that taking away screen time and sending kids off into their neighborhoods won’t work on its own, because many neighborhoods are “boring.”
To remedy this problem in his Menlo Park neighborhood, Lanza got active and began making changes to his home to make it into a place where neighborhood children could play whenever they wanted. Among the modifications made to his home were a driveway that could be drawn on (it now contains a mural representing different parts of the neighborhood), a picnic table in the front yard, a whiteboard fixed to a fence and a play house where kids have been encouraged to write on the walls.
“We’re defacing everything we can,” Lanza said. “We want this place to look like kids live here. We want them to feel like they own this place.”
He and his family also visited homes throughout the neighborhood and encouraged other families to use the various amenities he had installed, even when no one was home. As a result, children regularly engage with one another in outdoor activities and neighborhood families have come to know one another much better.
Lanza also touched on other examples of American neighborhoods that were transformed to provide their children with meaningful play lives, such as Lyman Place, located in the South Bronx of New York City, normally an area associated with drug problems and high crime rates. In the 1970s, Lyman Place resident Hetty Fox led an effort to designate the area as a traffic-free spot from the morning until the late afternoon during the summer months. For more than 35 years, Fox has helped maintain the neighborhood as a place where kids of all ages can play safely in the street, and hires youth workers as assistants.
Another case study was a spot in Portland, Ore., where an architect had the street in his neighborhood painted with intricate designs and placed installations on every corner, including a clubhouse with toys for kids, a book exchange station and a solar-powered tea stand that is refilled by residents of the neighborhood.
Lanza finished the talk by providing advice to the audience about what they could do to change the atmosphere of their neighborhoods to accommodate kids at play. When moving, he said, parents should think about what’s in their children’s interests besides schools and housing amenities. “Are we really moving for our kids? Do they want this high-pressure school district you’re moving them to? Do they want the extra bedroom?” he asked. “Kids would love to double up in bedrooms if they have a neighborhood that’s thriving, that’s really happening.”
He also urged parents to make a neighborhood hangout, a place where kids could be certain something was happening a good portion of the time. “Kids are not going to go outside if there’ s nothing going on,” he said. “The best way to assure that something’s going on is if there’s a place where people can go where there’s something happening.”
Another important task, he said, is to “make the place you live into a close, communal village, where you know people, where they know you, where they know your kids, where you know their kids. If you can make that into a nice, comfortable place then you’ll comfortable letting your kids go. And other kids will show up at your door because they’re comfortable with you.”
Harker athletes had the unique opportunity to meet two Olympic gold medalist swimmers on Friday, when three-time gold medalist Ambrose “Rowdy” Gaines and silver and gold medalist Cullen Jones spoke to students at the Singh Aquatic Center at the upper school campus just before a USA Swimming Foundation event held at Nichols Hall.
Gaines, who won three gold medals at the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles and now works in television as a swimming commentator, shared his story of perseverance and determination. He began swimming competitively at age 17 after being denied spots on his high school football, baseball, basketball, golf and tennis teams.
“I am living proof it’s never too late to achieve your dreams,” he said, reminding students that setbacks are a part of the journey, such as when he broke a world record in 1980, only to find out the next day that the United States would be boycotting that year’s Olympic games.
Undaunted, he pressed on, practicing rigorously six days a week, winning SEC and NCAA titles and qualifying for the 1984 games, where at age 25 he became the third-oldest Olympic swimmer to date to win a gold medal.
After Gaines spoke, Jones took his turn to speak to the students about his experience at the 2012 games in London, touching on his experience staying at the Olympic Village and his daily regimen, which consisted of a near-constant cycle of training and nutritional intake.
Aside from winning the silver and gold, highlights of the London games for Cullen also included meeting athletes such as NBA stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James as well as tennis legend Serena Williams.
The transition to middle school was made easier for both new and returning Harker students entering grade 6, thanks to a middle school preview event held on the middle school campus on August 24.
Both the newcomers and returnees and their families benefited from the day-long preview which afforded grade 6-8 participants the opportunity to reconnect with friends, meet new students and parents, and become familiar with the middle school campus. The jam-packed day had two tracks – one with an emphasis on information for parents and the other offering fun activities for students.
Lana Morrison, middle school dean of students, explained that an important component of the preview is a “special event with our annual ‘buddy bash’ for new students and their Harker buddies. It’s an opportunity for current students to help new students transition into Harker.”
While the buddy bash was underway a new parent social and breakfast with current parents occurred. The breakfast gave new parents the chance to meet with current parents and get many questions answered.
Shortly after the buddy bash program all returning grade six students and their families arrived. While the students went off to hear the dean’s orientation and partake in grade level activities in the multipurpose room, their parents headed for an informal meeting in the gym.
The meeting for parents was led by Cindy Ellis, middle school head, who shared important information about adolescence and the middle school experience, followed by a casual question and answer reception.
Seventh and eighth graders also had a laptop orientation in the library and students received their much anticipated computers and cases (grade 6 students received their laptops later in August). All students then met in the amp for “house and spirit” activities. The exciting day ended with student council members giving campus tours to both students and parents.
Harker has introduced its first school-run shuttle, which will serve those on the Peninsula; 25 students are riding it so far. There has been a parent-run shuttle from Fremont for some years which the Peninsula shuttle will complement, solving, for some families, the knotty issue of driving to drop students, then returning to their home area for work.
The shuttle makes one stop in Portola Valley, one in Los Altos, then heads to the middle school where upper school students transfer to a waiting bus that takes them to their campus, while the shuttle itself continues on to the lower school.
Cost is quite reasonable at $25 per student per week, with discounts for families of three or more riders. Aside from cutting down on pollution and traffic, and saving parents’ time, Pip Sanders (Zoe, grade 4), said, “Running the shuttle expands Harker’s outreach and accessibility to families who live some distance from Harker.”
“I would love to see our ridership increase!” said Heather Perrotta, Harker transportation manager. “Not only does it decrease traffic on our campuses, it gives a sense of bonding to the students. They are able to get to know other students from their neighborhood that they may otherwise not have known. It can also be an opportunity to get some last minute studying done before class.”
Harker is open to expanding the service to other areas, too. “We are hoping that the success of this route will lead to others, and we will be exploring those possibilities over the course of this year using the same market testing methods we did for this one,” said Greg Lawson, assistant head of school for student affairs.
The parent-organized Fremont shuttle has been running for more than 15 years, said Monica Kumar (Gaurav, grade 11; Maya, grade 7), who organizes the shuttle. That bus has had between six and 11 riders this year. “My son is now a junior and he took the shuttle from kindergarten until tenth grade,” when he started driving himself, she said. “My daughter is still taking the shuttle.
“The shuttle saves time for busy parents and makes sure kids get to school safely and on time!” said Kumar. “Of course, it is a greener option as well, as opposed to all the parents driving on their own.”
Cost for the Fremont shuttle, operated by Durham Transportation, is based on a flat fee by the bus company so the current cost depends on the number of riders per day. “The more kids, the less cost per child!” she said.
The Fremont shuttle does return students to Fremont, but the numbers are dropping on the return leg. “The number of kids taking the return bus are much smaller,” noted Kumar. “Each year I keep thinking it will be the last year for (the return service) but we keep going!”
After an informative middle school orientation meeting held on the morning of Aug. 27, parents headed to the multipurpose room where they mingled with one another, enjoyed a delicious breakfast, and learned about the various volunteer opportunities at Harker.
“This is our one big event to present all the parent volunteer options,” explained Jennifer Hargreaves, director of Harker’s middle and upper school volunteer programs, noting that veteran parent volunteers were on hand at each sign-up table to share their experiences and encourage other parents to become involved.
Current volunteer options range from big community events such as the picnic or fashion show to working with clubs like debate or helping with the cancer walk. “There is something for everyone – from leadership and ongoing positions to one-time tasks. This year we were fortunate to have had many parents come and lots of sign-ups,” said Hargreaves.
Any parents who did not have a chance to sign up can email Hargreaves at JenniferH2@harker.org and she will send them a list of available volunteer opportunities. “It’s not too late!” she said.
Before school even began, Harker’s newest lower school students in grades 3-5 were made to feel welcome at a couple of buddy parties held in August.
The idea was simple: to introduce the newcomers to their classmates, allowing them to make new friends while gaining insight into what elementary school life at Harker would be like.
Nicole Brink, counselor for this age group onsite at the Bucknall campus, noted there was a pool party for the new grade 4-5 students and their buddies, and an arts and crafts project event for the third graders.
Brink, who supervised the grade 4-5 party, said, “They did a scavenger hunt to learn how to navigate the campus and then we had the pool party where they splashed around and had fun getting to know each other. We ended with some yummy popsicles and popcorn.”
For each group, buddies are specifically trained on how to mentor and help make their new classmates feel welcome.
Additionally, there were other start-of-the-year welcome events affording new and returning students the opportunity to get to know one another, including an elementary school-age barbecue and welcome to kindergarten barbecue held on the playground.
“Yosemite Grasslands,” a short story by Meilan Steimle, grade 8, winner of a statewide Scholastic Gold Key award, has been published in the July-August issue of Stone Soup, a national magazine of children’s artwork and writing. The story was first published in Enlight’ning, Harker’s middle school literary publication.
Harker teams are reporting in and the news is all good!
Football
The Eagles dominated Yerba Buena High School Aug. 31, winning 49-0 on Davis Field. “They worked hard and looked sharp,” said Dan Molin, athletic director.
“They executed very well,” agreed Ron Forbes, head coach. “When we got a big lead the boys didn’t play down — they did well for a young team. I liked that we had seven touchdowns scored by six different players.” Forbes added a shout out to the defensive squad, noting, “Last year, we had 56 points scored against us in each of three games in a row so kudos to the defense and defensive coordinator, Mike Taribassi,” for the shutout. Tonight, they play Andrew Hill High School.
Boys Water Polo
The team went 2-1 at the Hollister Tournament Saturday with a 14-3 victory over Harbor, a 10-4 victory over San Lorenzo Valley High School, and a 11-5 loss to Monterey. Ryan Hume, grade 12, led all Harker scorers with 14 goals over the three games; Eric Holt, grade 10, and Karan Das-Grande, grade 12, added four each throughout the day. They participate in the Wilcox Tournament this weekend.
Girls Volleyball
Varsity is 2-1, after a five-set, exciting win over Priory, a victory over Fremont and a tough loss to seventh-seeded Homestead. The key players so far have been Mercedes Chien, grade 11, on defense and Shreya Dixit, grade 10, Divya Kalidindi, grade 11, and Shannon Richardson, grade 9, on offense,” said Theresa “Smitty” Smith, head coach.
JV is 3-0 with crushing defeats of Priory and Fremont and a close win over Homestead. “Key players so far have been Selin Ekici, grade 9, at setter, and Hannah Bollar, grade 10, Tasia Belton, grade 9, and Sheridan Tobin, grade 10, on offense,” Smitty added. Next up, Saratoga High School!
Cross Country
The first competition was against Gunn High School and though full results haven’t been reported, the San Jose Mercury News listed Corey Gonzales, grade 10, as having won the 2.5-mile course in 11:36 in their Highlight Reel column yesterday.
Girls Tennis
The 2012-13 girls tennis team opened their season this week with two victories. In their opener, the team traveled to Milpitas and defeated a strong Milpitas squad 5-2. The team was lead by junior Katia Mironova and sophomore Arden Hu at #1 doubles, who bageled their opponents, 6-0, 6-0. In their second match, the team defeated Fremont 7-0. In their victory, the girls failed to drop a set. Next week, the girls travel to Monterey to defend their championship at the Santa Catalina Invitational Tournament.
Alumni Sports
Tanya Schmidt ’08 is a top 30 finalist for the 2012 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Finalists were selected from 429 nominees from Division I, II and III. Those nominated must have “demonstrated academic and athletics excellence and engaged in community service and leadership opportunities,” according to the NCAA website.
Usua Amanam ’09 has found a new niche on the Stanford University football team, switching from running back to defensive back. Amanam attended middle school at Harker and high school at Bellermine. Read about it in the San Jose Mercury News!
The class of 2016 got a head start on their high school careers on Aug. 24 during freshman orientation day. Students new to Harker arrived early to attend library and technology training sessions. All grade 9 students then convened in the gym to meet with their advisors and advisory groups. After making their introductions, the students in each group sat in a circle and played games to help them get to know one another. All the while, the students were helped along by the Harker Link Crew, grade 11 and 12 students who assist incoming freshmen with their transition to the upper school.
Later, they headed to Davis Field to participate in some fun team-building activities set up by Apex Adventures. The warm late-summer weather was the perfect environment for outdoor fun, as students were divided into teams and competed in games that required teamwork and cooperation to complete. One required teams to fill tubes with holes punched in them with water by plugging the holes with their hands, while another placed a student in a large wooden triangle who attempted to walk across the field while teammates used ropes to balance the triangle on its two “feet.” All the while, students laughed and cheered one another on as they worked together to complete each challenge.
The middle school celebrated the end of the first week of school with its annual ice cream social. The fact that it was preceded by a three-day weekend and that sixth graders had just received their laptops that morning in advisory caused one sixth grader to say, “It just can’t get any better than this!” The amphitheater was really rocking during the assembly period, with students preparing for a paper airplane contest, listening to music, dancing, eating ice cream, socializing and discovering what their laptops were going to offer them!