Andrew Wang and Namrata Vakkalagadda, both grade 11, attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Northern California Seminar in mid-June, held at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY for short) is a national organization that seeks to build principles of service and leadership in high school students. Students are selected by their schools to participate in HOBY events, where they participate in leadership-building activities, hear from important figures in a variety of fields and more.
“There were many activities that essentially made us ask ourselves how we would behave in certain circumstances that questioned our decision-making skills or our opinions,” said Wang, who said he met many new friends at the conference. “The activities ranged from building a tower with pipe cleaners to creating a mock business operation that interacted with other similar groups.”
Students also learned about different types of leadership, such as personal leadership, group leadership and society leadership.
“One of my favorite activities was where we answered a set of questions and found out which ‘color’ we are. Each color represented certain qualities that person possesses,” Vakkalagadda said. People of the same color were then put into groups and told to build a tower with the materials provided. “Each group had a very different experience, but all the towers failed. The activity showed us how all four types of leadership are needed to keep any type of organization or group running.”
Speakers at the conference included college counselors, service leaders and representatives from nonprofits. Vakkalagadda particularly enjoyed a presentation by Stephen Amundson, who heads a program called Reach Out and Impact a Life. “His speech that targeted the main skills needed by a group leader was not only informative, but also interactive as well as fun,” Vakkalagadda said. “He made his entire program enjoyable for the audience and yet still managed to strongly pass along his message.”
Once again, Enlight’ning, Harker’s annual award-winning (2009, 2010, 2011) literary arts magazine, showcased the work of a number of talented middle school students. But this year it also provided a unique opportunity for Enlight’ning club members to learn what it takes to create such a publication.
Students on both ends – published and publishers – played an integral role in making this year’s issue of Enlight’ning such a success.
Created in 2002 as an opportunity for selected students to publish their outstanding writing and art, the magazine traditionally has been produced by a club, which meets weekly during the school day in the second semester to solicit and evaluate magazine submissions.
This year, however, the club took the process a step further, by also meeting once a week during the first semester to get a behind-the-scenes look into the process of putting together a magazine. For the first time, club members had the chance to learn the ins and outs of publishing a literary journal – from publicity to formulating responses to sample submissions and print production. Also during the first semester, Enlight’ning ran a contest for poetry, prose and art to raise the number of early submissions, which were judged “blind.”
“This year’s issue’s really beautiful,” enthused Sabina Grogan, who teaches middle school expository writing and served as an advisor for the 2012 Enlight’ning staff.
Enlight’ning is recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), American Scholastic Press Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) for its exemplary product. In fact, it has placed as a gold medalist by CSPA and a silver medalist by NSPA in a recent scholastic literary journal competition.
The theme of this edition of the literary magazine was “journeys,” as suggested by the publication’s many images of trains and boats, and also travel through time and memory, explored by several poems and prose works showcased in the magazine. Moreover, Enlight’ning’s editors explained that the overriding theme of the journey motif expressed is one of transformation – as middle school itself is a stretch of intense and at times startling change.
Last spring, Enlight’ning held a kickoff launch and celebration, with students featured in the magazine reading excerpts from their pieces and talking about their work. The event saw published students and audience members lingering long after the readings to schmooze and enjoy refreshments.
At the end of the school year, Grogan urged seventh and incoming eighth graders to consider submitting writing and artwork for next year’s edition, stating, “You’ve got all summer to come up with something!”
Erik Andersen, grade 12, helped one of the United States teams win first place at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Andersen, who heads the Harker Language and Linguistics Club, also won a bronze medal for himself in the individual competition. Nearly 30 countries sent teams to the Olympiad, which had a total of 131 contestants.
Each team was required to translate the name of a country written in Lao, the official language of Laos. Contestants were also asked to guess how the countries’ Lao names would be pronounced. Competitors in the individual competitions solved problems that dealt with the Dyirbal, spoken by Australian Aborigines in northeast Queensland, the Umbu-Ungu and Teop languages of Papua New Guinea, Basque and the language of the Rotuman people of the Colony of Fiji.
Anderson qualified for the team after being one of the top 18 students to participate in this year’s North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO), in which he received an award for having the best solution to a problem dealing with the Aboriginal Australian Wanyi language. Approximately 1,000 students participate in the NACLO each year.
In the spring, Harker upper school students participated in the annual Physics Bowl, organized by the American Association of Physics Teachers, and finished with the top overall Division II team score. Harker was also the highest-scoring Division I school in its region. Ashvin Swaminathan, grade 12, was one of the top 10 overall division II scorers, and Rahul Sridhar, grade 11, was the highest Division II scorer in his region.
Every year, an estimated 10,000 students participate in the Physics Bowl, in which students take a test administered by the participating schools. First-year physics students are placed in the Division I category, and second-year physics students take the test in the Division II category. Each division is made up of 15 regions.
Harker published an updated website design today, www.harker.org, to better address visitor needs and give it a fresh look. The updated site has more information, more photos and the addition of helpful visual markers to assist in navigating the site.
“The updated look and content better reflects our vibrant community,” said Pam Dickinson, Office of Communication director. “We’ll continue to post fresh information and updates to ensure our website remains as vital as the community it represents.”
Harker alumni are back on campus helping out and, incidentally, picking up a paycheck. Alumni have helped out as volunteers in the past but, this year, several were hired as paid employees and brought their Harker knowledge to the job.
“We do big searches for administrative assistants,” said Chris Florio, the academic summer principal. “Finding the right person for the right job is so critical.” Along with administrative spots, several students are assisting with science and computer classes.
While alumni have informally worked on campus in previous years, this summer was the first time they had to fill out applications and turn in stellar references. Florio has found the students they hired to be “great” and “inspiring,” saying he would “absolutely bring them back,” and most of the students said they’d love to return.
Maddie Rao ’12 has had her first taste of a desk job and likes it. She’ll be attending Scripps College in the fall, and is considering majors in biology or foreign languages. Until then, she’s been working full-time doing library and attendance work for Harker. “I’ve learned a lot about time management and organization,” Rao said. She’s also enjoying helping students and the summer office assistant.
Other alumni have had a chance to experience life from the other side of the teacher’s desk, so to speak. Akhil Prakash ’12 has been helping science students in the morning program from 8-11 and then tutoring students for an additional four hours a day and has really learned to enjoy the teaching process. He has helped fellow students in class as a student, but always had his own work to attend to, as well. He enjoys being able to devote himself to the students without that concern.
“You get to see peoples’ grades and really know who you need to help out,” Prakash said. “Sometimes people getting bad grades don’t want to speak up. This way, you can give them your undivided attention.” Prakash is going to Carnegie Mellon, where he will major in math or computer science. He’s enjoying interacting with students, and enjoying inspiring a love of programming in them. In addition to some one-on-one teaching, he also feels he’s learned how to communicate better.
Lucy Xu ’12 has also gotten a glimpse of life from the other side of the desk. She’s worked 40 hours a week as a teaching assistant for science classes this summer before she heads to Brown University. “It’s different being a teacher than it was being a student,” she said. “As a student, you don’t realize how much forethought and preparation goes into [the science experiments]. All the little things you don’t consider.” Xu has helped with grading as well as lab work this summer.
Sarah Wang ’10 has also spent her summer as a teaching assistant in science classes, preparing solutions for experiments and grading assignments. She’ll be entering her third year at Georgetown, and was searching for something to do before she heads out for some time abroad in Japan. “I like being in a familiar setting and working with students,” Wang said. “I’m not majoring in a science, and it’s nice to go back to that.” She also agreed with Xu’s perspective on teaching, saying, “Things are not always what they seem. In high school, you have an idealized version of teachers as knowing everything they’re doing and having everything appear in front of them, and it’s not that easy.”
Sachin Jain ’12 is coming from a different angle, volunteering in science labs for three hours per day. He’d love to return next year as a paid assistant. Along with helping students and setting up labs, Jain has made several video tutorials teaching basic programming, which can be used during the school year to supplement classes. “There are so many different ways to write the code,” said Jain. He’ll soon be off to the University of Michigan, but for more than a month, he’s been on campus hard at work finding ways to explain programming concepts.
Jeff Sutton, an upper school science teacher, has truly enjoyed having alumni as assistants. “They’ve been amazing,” he said. “We’ve had professional chemistry teachers come help in the past, but these gals are way better. They kind of know what we expect, and they grade on a higher level.” Because they know “the scene,” as Sutton put it, they’re conscious of their time and of what needs to be done next. “I really like having them in the classroom,” he said.
All the alumni on campus have gracefully transitioned from students to workers. “They’re walking into the staff lunch room and getting coffee in the teacher room,” said Florio. “I knew they’d do a great job, but it’s still surprising to see just how great.” In fact, he said, by having them on campus, “I’ve further grown to enjoy what we do here.”
Summer camp time: academics or outside activities? Harker has both for youngsters.
During the summer many parents wonder whether to provide their children with a learning-based or play-based camp experience, so Harker offers Summer Camp+, where students in K-6 have it all: a full morning of morning academics followed by fun, action-packed afternoon activities.
Located on Harker’s lower school campus, the program affords parents the chance to choose sessions by their preferred format, with full, partial-day and morning-only options. Students have the choice of enrolling in either CoreFocus or LOL (Learning Opportunities in Literature). Both programs conclude at 11:30 a.m. to make room for an afternoon activity program. Core Focus is a three- or four-week math and language arts-focused program. LOL is a two-week integrated curriculum centered around a literary theme.
This year, a spirited four-way game of “color clash” kicked off the beginning of Summer Camp+. The traditional event, held in the Bucknall gymnasium, saw team groups yellow, red, green and blue competing in an array of activities coached by enthusiastic camp counselors.
Wearing hula skirts, capes and silly hats, counselors kept the huge room filled with enraptured campers. It was all part of an effort to unite and welcome Harker’s youngest summer camp participants as a group.
Standing near a door leading out to the gym’s lobby, the camp’s art specialist Arwen Lange explained, “This was an easy way to bring all the campers together in one spot, to unite them as a group and raise the camp spirit.” Lange, who also works as assistant director of the lower school’s BEST staff, said this is her second year working at the summer camp, an endeavor she plans to continue.
Officiating at the event was Joe Chung, director of Summer Camp+, who took center stage, flanked by colorful balloons and banners celebrating the teams. Decked out in yellow and sporting a bright hat adorned with a huge slice of cheese, he held timed contests for the enthusiastic campers. During one event, the pass the hula hoop activity, there was a four-way tie … a first time in camp history!
Kindergartners stayed for the beginning of color clash before wandering outside to the lawn where they had their own special activities, including art projects. First-time camper Sophie Grace, aged 5, said her favorite thing so far has been “making hearts.” Demonstrating her artistic talent, she proudly showed off a visor adorned with her pretty heart decoration. Grace, who is not a Harker student, said she is enjoying making new friends this summer.
During the regular school year Chung serves as Harker’s elementary computer science teacher. He said that in addition to the kickoff color clash game, several other big events marked the first session of camp, including numerous field trips, a patriotic games bash, a water carnival, an on-site sleepover for older campers, a presentation for parents, and a birthday celebration for the camp mascot, “Ray.”
New this year, under the rubric of morning academics, were expanded music workshops open to instrumental students entering grades 2- 6 with at least one year of experience playing violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, guitar, piano or percussion.
These two-week workshops offered exposure to music theory and composition, improvisation, ear training, singing, ensembles and full orchestral playing. A concert was performed at the end of each session and a recording and printed score given to each student.
“Making music can be isolating,” said Louis Hoffman, Harker’s K-5 instrumental coordinator, who started the program with the goal of keeping his students playing over the summer. “Often what happens with learning an instrument is that kids work hard all year, then stop during the summer, and have to start over or even worse, get frustrated and quit. My goal is to keep students engaged.”
Indeed, noted Chung, keeping young students engaged over the summer, no matter what camp option they ultimately select, is the overriding goal of Summer Camp+.
Four recent graduates and two upper school student musicians with the San Francisco Symphony’s Youth Orchestra participated in the Symphony’s European tour from June 20 to July 7. Cellist Melody Huang, cellist Jeffrey Kwong, violist Jessica Shen and flautist Pavitra Rengarajan, all recent graduates, as well as flautist Apoorva Rangan, grade 10, and violinist Ashvin Swaminathan, grade 12, traveled to Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, playing to audiences in several of Europe’s most famous concert halls.
The orchestra performed four concerts in Germany at the University of Regensburg, Munich Philharmonie, Rheingau Musik Festival and the Berlin Philharmonie. One concert was performed in the quaint Luxembourgish border town of Echternach at the prestigious Festival International Echternach, and the final concert was performed at Salzburg in Austria. The Youth Orchestra performed in the same concert halls that the San Francisco Symphony performs in during their European tour.
The SFS Youth Orchestra was a hit with critics, including Klaus Geitel, one of Berlin’s most prominent classical music critics. Additionally, the Youth Orchestra visited Weimar, where the famous composer Franz Liszt lived. They also visited Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach lived and died, and attended a service at the St. Thomas Church where Bach used to be an organist and which is also his final resting place. In Salzburg, they visited the house where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born and lived as a child with his family.
Harker’s library director and resident history buff Sue Smith had a very pleasant surprise over the summer: a visit from the grandson of Frank Cramer, the founder of Manzanita Hall, the school that eventually became The Harker School. Tom Lasley and his wife, Jayne, live in Southern California, but made a trip up to the Bay Area to show their own grandchildren some of their family’s old haunts.
Smith and Office of Communication staffer Catherine Snider showed the Lasley family around the campus on a peaceful Saturday afternoon, being sure to stop at the history wall in the main building and the current Manzanita Hall, named, of course, in homage to Cramer’s original institution. It was Manzanita Hall that became Palo Alto Military Academy, which in turn merged with Miss Harker’s School for Girls to become Harker Academy and later The Harker School.
Details of Cramer’s life have been hard to come by, so Smith and Lasley had a very pleasant hour catching each other up on photos, old documents and stories. “I feel like we’ve filled in some big gaps in our knowledge of our school’s founder,” said Smith, “and we’ve made plans to continue to share documents and information. It was such a wonderful surprise to meet Frank Cramer’s descendant!”
Harker’s campuses are a hubub of sumertime activity as the school opens its doors to the public, extending its huge variety of programs to local students, Harker and non-Harker, and to students from around the globe.
This year saw a potpourri of summer programming options: from Camp+ for younger children, to the Summer Institute (SI) for middle and high school students, to a bevy of sports offerings, and the world renowned English Language Institute (ELI) program.
In fact, for the last 50 years Harker has served as a recognized resource for a wide breadth of summer happenings. New this season was expanded programming for the sports camps. According to Kelly Espinosa, director of summer programs, Harker has always had tennis, soccer, swimming and sports performance camps. But added this year were football, basketball, volleyball and water polo camps.
Much thought went into the new sports camps, which integrated lower and middle-school athletics with upper school instructors to create a seamless path for athletes within their chosen sports. Moreover, sports camp participants taking a morning sports program had the option to enroll separately in another camp’s afternoon activity as well.
At Harker, known for its academic excellence, athletic camps are just one of the summer options. For students in grades K-6, Camp+ offered a full day of morning academics and afternoon activities. Located on Harker’s lower school campus, parents chose sessions by their preferred format, with full, partial-day and morning-only options. Students had the choice of enrolling in either CoreFocus or LOL (Learning Opportunities in Literature). Both programs concluded at 11:30 a.m. to make room for the afternoon activity program, which lasts until 3:30. Core Focus is a three- or four-week math and language arts-focused program. LOL is a two-week integrated curriculum centered around a literary theme. After care is provided until 5:30, which includes pool time, archery and a climbing wall, among other activities.
Meanwhile, The Harker School’s Summer Institute (SI) gives students from grades 6-12 the chance to earn credits, learn new skills and follow their passions. This year’s institute attracted some 722 students, with many taking multiple courses. New offerings were art classes, including portfolio preparation in drawing, 2-D and 3-D. The for-credit courses included a variety of classes across math, history and technology. Upper school enrichment courses spanned math, writing, art, history and driver’s education. Middle school enrichment was also offered, and included several core subjects as well as classes such as So You Think You Can Cook? and Champion Chess.
All SI participants had access to the libraries, pools and a prepared lunch. The wide range of choices and flexible program allowed each student to design a schedule around his or her own academic needs and personal interests to give each their own mix of learning and fun.
In addition to sports offerings, Camp+ and SI, each year more than 100 international students – from elementary through high school – participate in Harker’s renowned ELI program. They come with the goal of improving their English and writing skills but leave with a breathtaking exposure to cultural adventures as well.
It may be an old cliché, but when it comes to educating these foreign students, the world really is their classroom. Cultural adventures give international students the opportunity to get out of the classroom and see top Bay Area sights and, in ELI, weekly field trips provide international students exposure to local points of interest such as the Golden Gate Bridge, beautiful California beaches, Northern California redwood forests and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The trips are incorporated into the curriculum and students use their travel experiences to create written and oral projects for presentation.
“Harker has been offering outstanding summer programs, held on the school’s safe, secure and centrally-located campuses, for over 50 years. We have everything a camp consumer could want,” said Espinosa, noting that whether just out of preschool or about to enter their last year of high school, students of all ages and backgrounds can find their perfect summer program at Harker.
For more information on Harker’s summer offerings visit www.summer.harker.org.